Mark Is Old, But Still In His Forties

Our friends Dick and Randy sent me this birthday greeting today.  They are very sweet to remember me.  The video is hilarious.  Thanks guys!

I turn 49 today--another year closer to death, but still not dead.  As Dylan Thomas said, "Do not go gently into that good night."  And I don't plan to lay down and die just yet.  As a matter of fact, I think I'll start another running streak today (but I think that every day).

Maude Squats in Bed

New Yorker Cartoon Caption Contest #249

Accounting just isn't going to approve buying 20 tons of sand.

No running!  No horseplay!  Final warning!

Ergonomic said this type of chair would fix my neck pain, but every 

time I reach for the phone, I fall on my ass.  Now that's your job.  

These are my captions for the New Yorker Cartoon Caption Contest #249.  Use comments to suggest other captions or, you know, to make a comment.

Hot Hot Hot!!!

That is 103 on the car thermometer. It just went down from 104!

Tweet of the Day - Yoko Tweets

July 24, 2010: "Next time you meet a 'foreigner', remember it's only like a window with a different shape to it and the person who's sitting inside is you."  Gotta love the Yoko... 

New Yorker Cartoon Caption Contest #248

Sweetie, you don't always win by finishing first.

I need my oil checked. Where's your dip stick?

Fasten your seatbelt, it's going to be a bumpy night.

I never met anyone with a dual exhaust.  It's kind of gross.

Will you please stop calling them headlights?

This is the New Yorker Cartoon Caption Contest #248.  Above are my suggested captions.  Which one should I enter, if any?  Let me know if you have any captions too.

Waiting to See Idina Menzel at Wolf Trap

Shane and I are sitting on the lawn at The Wolf Trap National Park
for the Performing Arts to see stage, screen and TV star Idina Menzel
perform. She was the original Maureen in Rent and the wicked witch in
Wicked. She most recently played Lea Michaels mother on Glee. We
also have watched her in the concert version of Chess. She is going
to be joined by conductor Marvin Hamlisch. We just saw her playlist
in the program and it includes Roxanne (by Sting), two songs she
wrote, Defying Gravity and I'm Not That Girl from Wicked, No Day But
Today from Rent, and 5 other showtunes. It should be good!

Maude Goes to the Vet

Shane and I loaded Maude up in her carrier and walked the two blocks to the vet for her first trip to the doctor.  Things went very well.  She did not like all the dogs in the waiting room, but once we were in the examination room, she did very well.  Shane snapped this while we waited for the doctor.

She got a clean bill of health, except for the advice for her to lose some weight, and we're waiting for the verdict on her stool sample.  She weighed 14.9 lbs. when we got her, according to the shelter records.  Today she weighed 14.12 lbs.  She is already on the road to a more svelte figure.

What Ever Happened to Doris Day?

I recently (9/13/11) replaced the video above with an audio video (the previous version from a movie was a broken link) and added the video below.  The scene below is a great one from The Man Who Knew Too Much by Alfred Hitchcock.  Doris sings "Que Sera Sera" very loudly so her kidnapped son, who they suspect is in the house, will hear.  Gotta Love Doris!

Maude Laying in the Window

Apparently I am becoming one of those bloggers that constantly posts photos of his cat.  Isn't she adorable? 

Patty Griffin Sings "Tony"

Shane heard this song on Pandora Radio. It is called Tony, by Patty Griffin. It is about a gay boy committing suicide--not exactly a happy song, but very well done. Shane can become obsessed over songs and want to hear them over and over and over. This is one such song. Hearing this has solidified his love of Patty, so we'll be hearing LOTS more from her. Thank Jeebus he is over his Yentl phase.

Classic Mrs. Slocombe from "Are You Being Served"

These are the types of things I can say now that we have a kitty.

And Then There's Maude!

Maude relaxes on the ottoman in our living room. She hid under the chair at first and I think she spent most of last night under the guest room bed, but she has used the litter pan (praise Jeebus!). She has only used the litter pan once in 24 hours, but she hasn't appeared to go outside the litter pan. She is a great cat, and we have no regrets. She loves to be petted and rubs up against us all the time. Things couldn't have gone better.

Riding Home from the Shelter

We picked our new cat, Maude, up from the DC shelter last night. She meowed all the way home, but has been adjusting pretty well to home life.

Living In a Musical

We went to visit Shane's grandmother in an assisted-living facility and we had to "SING" in and out.  Above is a photo of the Guest Registery with what we found out later was a slight typo.  I wish we would have figured that out before the second verse of "Don't Cry for Me Argentina."

New Yorker Cartoon Caption Contest #247

There is no "Y" in Monkees and Davy Jones looks dead.

This is my caption for the New Yorker Cartoon Caption Contest #247. Click the link to enter your own caption and also share it here by leaving a comment.

Yoko Ono Is Following Me on Twitter

I was playing around with Twitter over the holiday weekend and started following a bunch of people, including Yoko Ono, widow of John Lennon.  I was very surprised when she followed me back.  Now, she will be closely monitoring all my important tweets.  I hope she doesn't try and break up Shane and I.

You also might notice that I added a Twitter gadget in the sidebar.  Follow me and I'll follow you!  Also, if you follow Yoko, she'll most likely follow you too.  But, be ready to get lots of messages about peace and ending war, etc.  She's crazy about the peace.

Lunch at the Mucky Duck

Shane and I drove out to Capitva and had a wonderful lunch at the Mucky Duck. I had the seafood platter and Shane had BBQ Bacon-Wrapped Shrimp. Yummy!!!

Shane On the Beach In Front of the Mucky Duck

The Seafood Platter at the Mucky Duck