Toadfish Monastery

For some reason today my mind superimposed the word "TOADFISHLAND" in white  "HOLLYWOOD" letters above the photo of the monastery on our masthead. Now I can't get it outta my head.

Okay, I can hear the British and Aussie siblings all ready saying "What's bloomin' what?"  

What's blooming in your garden or neighborhood today?

We've had a span of unseasonably warm weather here in our neck of the northern hemisphere (Washington DC US area). As a result, nearly ALL of our daffodils are either blossoming, fading, or in bud. It's a merry sight to see their bright colors out the window.

In our town the Bradford pears are all flowering. They look like bright white clouds on trunks. I have something in my yard that may be related (okay, spiritually we are all related, but ya know...), a small tree that is now speckled with white blossoms, possibly it's first blossoming year. I didn't plant it, but it may be a volunteer, if that's possible. I thought Bradford pears were hybrids, and sterile. It could also be some sort of wild pear or apple or something, I suppose.

I have to admit it: I'm beginning to think I hate Valentine's Day. I don't hate love, or expressions of love, and I do appreciate that, like Xmas, the day should distract us from the confounding weather patterns at this time of year. What I do not like are the expectations, or even worse- the fear of expectations.

I have been married for coming up on 23 (million) years now, and I honestly feel that we should be kinda beyond all the "get chokkies or the little woman will have you sleep in the doghouse" mind set. I like chokkies, but I do not expect them. I love flowers way more, but I will not kill my husband if he does not bring any. We are on a tight budget, or I would have just bought a modest bouquet at the grocery store, as I usually do for V-day.

The poor man walked into breakfast this morning asking if I wanted to go to the Mandarin place tonight for dinner with our daughter, and my first (no coffee yet, mind you) answer was heck no, it'll be all crowded with the Valentine date set. Let's go another time. (Again, we're on a tight budget and I know he has a gift card to the place, which would help pay the bill.)

Then I felt bad. Obviously he was trying to do the right Valenfreakintine thing, and here I was refusing, like a pill. I love going to dinner, what was I thinking? So I backed down and said that yes, that would be nice.

After he left for work, I noticed the two gifts I had wrapped for his Dad (turning 80 this weekend, we bough them together last weekend) and wondered if he had seen them, thought they were Valenfronkin gifts for him and freaked out because he had nothing for me! He came home for lunch and I asked him, and apparently he had wondered if they were for him.

So I gotta wonder, does anyone need this sort of nonsense? It's so silly.

It is the last day of January 2012, but I think I need to get outside today and tomorrow and start to prep the yard for spring. We have a couple of mild days in a row and it'll give me a good excuse to get the lead out and do some work.

We've had a mild January, and the daffodil fronds are up all ready. I'm afraid that if I wait too long they'll be in danger of opening bud, which will make them too fragile to work around.

This is a good time to prune branches, around here (mid east U.S.). The plants are dormant and won't mind the cuts so much, and the insects are not swarming and are less likely to take advantage of open spots in the bark.

I can clearly see some branches that are crossed and rubbing against one another. I'll chose the branch that's less attractive to the general shape of the tree and cut it above the collar, where it joins the trunk.

I have some roses that need pruning too. In general, you can prune regular rose canes way down to about a foot or so off the ground, choosing a site just above an outward-facing branch bud. That should encourage the branches to grow outward rather than inward and across one another.

I have some major wild berry canes to deal with, too. They are so deeply rooted in my bulb beds that all I've been able to do for the past few years is just cut them to the ground. This does not discourage them, however. It just makes them have to start again from the bottom. One of these days maybe I'll get my courage up and completely dig up those beds and get the roots out. Will I be fed up enough to find the energy this year?

My daughter and I were getting Grandad's room ready for him at assisted living, when a friendly nurse stopped by to say hello. Grandad was not there yet, just Th'O'lette and myself. We chat a bit about teenagers and boyfriends, and then the nurse says to Th'O: "Just be sure that when you decide to marry, choose a nerd and a Christian."

We didn't know what to say to this, neither of us being Christians, so we just smiled weakly and waved bye-bye. After she left we rolled our eyes at each other.

I am guessing that she meant to be nice (?) but I have to wonder if she's said the same thing to us if we looked Middle Eastern or Asian rather than our blonde, blue-eyed middle class-looking selves. Do you think she was assuming too much? How could I have replied without seeming to be crabby?

I guess I could have said, "As long as he's nice, we don't care what religion he comes from."

Are we really six years old? I can't tell whether that seems like too short or too long a time to be true.

A lot has happened to us during these six years. We've met a lot of interesting people and heard interesting opinions -of which we have tried to be tolerant with various levels of success. The most important thing though, is that we tried. It's that special effort that makes a person ready for the Honorable Order of Toadfish. We are not perfect, but we try hard together, for better or worse.

We became our own order on January 6th six years ago. It was our Sibling Chatty, whom we still think of and miss, that pointed out that January 6th is also known as Epiphany in some Christian variations. Here is the definition of epiphany according to Dictionary.com:

"e·piph·a·ny
   /ɪˈpɪfəni/ Show Spelled[ih-pif-uh-nee] Show IPA
noun, plural -nies.
1. ( initial capital letter ) a Christian festival, observed on January 6, commemorating the manifestation of Christ to the gentiles in the persons of the Magi; Twelfth-day.

2. an appearance or manifestation, especially of a deity.

3. a sudden, intuitive perception of or insight into the reality or essential meaning of something, usually initiated by some simple, homely, or commonplace occurrence or experience.

4. a literary work or section of a work presenting, usually symbolically, such a moment of revelation and insight. "

I like the reference to the Magi in the first definition- the wise men! We certainly strive for wisdom, here. I also like the "homely" intuition in definition #3. Enlightenment through humbleness is a goal of ours. It is a slippery goal, we've found, and needs constant attention. I guess most goals are like that, though. They are not to be taken for granted.

This place is a safe harbor for us. Here we am comforted and can freely give comfort back. Here we can find out what other people are thinking and can ask for clarification knowing that no-one will be offended that we couldn't read their mind the first time. My siblings are good at explaining their feelings because they are thoughtful enough to know their own minds. We can always count on that. When we're sad or upset we get encouragement here. When we're happy we can celebrate here. Here is anthropology, astronomy, news rants, and goofy wit.

I cherish my Toadfish Siblings and wish you all a happy 6th whether you just got here or have been here all along. Big hugs!

Always your Sibling,
Opsa

Just stopping by for a moment to say hello! I'm very busy with my latest children's theater production, but this is the final weekend, so I'll see ya next week!

Recently I got a window from Firefox saying that I needed to upgrade to the new firefox. I stupidly complied, as I was trying to get work done and wanted the window out of my face. I then got a window saying that I could not upgrade because I didn't have the latest version of operating system.

Okay. I know. I can't really afford it right now, so I have not been able to upgrade my OS. It'll just have to wait until I get some sort of money, somehow. But running a community children's theater pays me nothing for all my work, and that's something I need to fix, eventually, but I'm just getting it going now.

So today I notice that my Yahoo account has gone back to Yahoo Classic- which I haven't had in at least a year! I don't know how this happened. I immediately changed my yahoo password again. But this is stressing me out.

We're supposed to have a very frigid night tonight, so I decided to finally take in the houseplants from the front porch.

Some I had to leave out there, since they've gotten so huje I cannot find the windowsill space for them. I've got a gigantic fern out there in a big oriental pot. I am hoping that it is hardy enough to live in dormancy over the winter and pop up again next spring, as it is lovely. Last year I had it inside and it took up about a quarter of Mr. Ops' study. I don't think he cared much for that, even though he didn't make a fuss.

Others I brought in even though they are scrawly. I have a couple of old pale pink geraniums that my mother-in-law gave me the year before she died (14 years ago this December). I just can't bear to let them shrivel in the cold. I also have a very happy variegated geranium that my stepmother gave me many years ago. She's dead now, too. It is too big for the sill, but there it is.

I think of these plants as the last living remnants of these people I knew.

There are quite a few out in the garden that I think of in the same way.

Okay, as of today I'm fed up with seeing those animated weight-loss ads that pop up online, especially when I'm in my Yahoo! accounts. I guess they know my age and gender and just figure I'm a good target for these things, but some of them are so completely unrealistic they grate on me!

The ones I speak of show a young, healthy, plump, cartoon woman in a skin-tight dress (and I know men who would love women just like that) shrink into a wasp-waisted woman in a skin-tight dress. So, she goes from like a size 20 to a size 1 in three seconds. The one that I got today had the caption "Eat Yourself Skinny"! I try to avert my eyes, but honestly- what the heck are these people trying to do to us?

Schadenfreude- one of my favorite words, even though it is quite untaddy. It is described as feeling some joy at the misfortune of someone else.

I think I had a taste of it today. I was at a gas station I like to go to that's out in the sticks, but usually has cheaper gas than in town. On the way there I saw the gas prices range from $3.49 per gallon down to 3.29 per gallon. As I pulled into this particular station I was happy to see the price at 3.15! Many other people were taking advantage of this deal, and it was hard to find an available pump.

Finally I landed behind a person who was all ready pumping. There was a free pump in front of her, but I couldn't get around to it. She left the pump several times to go inside the station. Meanwhile other people were pulling up, filling up and leaving. After a while an attendant came out and the two of them fiddled with the pump, which seemed to be having some sort of problem.

I was worried that if I moved I would end up in a slower line, but I gave up on waiting for her to finish and moved to another open pump. As I began to fill my tank, the attendant went over to the price sign and changed it to 3.25 per gallon! I looked up at my pump, but it was still reading $3.15, so I guess I got there just in time before the price went up 10 cents!

Secretly I congratulated myself for moving when I did, and not being stuck behind other people who had just gotten the last good deal.



(Edited to fix numerical booboo)

Today marks the equinox- when the daylight equals the darkness.

What a yin and yang thing this is! Let's celebrate.

(Warning: Twinkirific message follows)

As pure spirit, we are equal with our fellow beings on this earth. There is no-one that is more or less important than we are. There is no-one that is more or less deserving of being and feeling good in this world. There is no-one more wonderful than you. Look for wonderfulness in this world today, and know that you are wonderful, too. You are part of this wonderfulness, no more, no less.

What respect you give the world you also give to yourself. Be good to yourself and you are being good to the world, too. Be equal to all that is good today. If it works for you, then do it again tomorrow.

September 21st is officially the International Day of Peace . Gimmicky? Maybe. But this kind of gimmick is something we can probably live with.

According to the website, the United Nations decided in 2002 that:
"Peace Day should be devoted to commemorating and strengthening the ideals of peace both within and among all nations and peoples...This day will serve as a reminder to all peoples that our organization, with all its limitations, is a living instrument in the service of peace and should serve all of us here within the organization as a constantly pealing bell reminding us that our permanent commitment, above all interests or differences of any kind, is to peace."

The Toadfish Monastery practices peacemaking skills through the art of tolerance. We believe that we can stand by our beliefs while also taking care to listen for truths from others.


What can we do to observe this occasion?

This is a place to discuss peculiar sayings from around the world, and their meanings. (Thread originally started in What significant Things Have I Done Today?)

We started out discussing the use of the term "Mixed bag".

I was sitting here tappin' to the Toadfish when suddenly everything in my immediate physical world began to rattle like nobody's beeswax. At first it felt like a wind shaking the windows, then like a big truck passing by, but when everything stared to clatter consistently I figured it was an earthquake. I decided to go outside. I'm an east coast U.S.-er. What do I know about earthquakes? But when I heard the light fixtures and mailboxes were clattering, I knew for sure.

Some of my neighbors ran out into the street, too. "What the heck was that?" one called to me. She thought it was weather-related, but the sky was blue and the wind was calm. Another thought that a helicopter had gone over.

The first and last time I felt an earthquake was last summer. It was early in the morning and I woke to the sound of a constant rumbling and felt the bed vibrating. "Lard, it's the devil, comin' fer me," I thought. No, not really. That just seems like the line to type next. That one was a magnitude 3.6 .

When I went back in, I looked up "earthquake" on the interwebz and there we were, all ready. This one was a 5.9 and centered south of us a good 60 miles or so.

I wonder if we'll get aftershocks. I'm a rookie at this earthquake experience stuff. Anyone else feel this?

I was supposed to be working on a script, but I wasted much of the day compulsively researching hotel amenities and rates. Gotta spend one day out of town next week and I kinda went bonkers trying to get the most for my pennies.

I read an article this morning in The Washington Post about a woman that wants to build a 'Peace Pentagon' in her town in Virginia, but it got voted down due to the Christian majority there, who felt it was "un-Christian". Uhhh... who exactly was the Prince of Peace, anyway? These so-called Christians must be worshiping the Artist Formerly Known as the Prince of Peace, maybe?

I find it really rather sad that she is unable to do this project, so far. According to the article, they planned to have guest speakers from all faiths there on a regular basis, kinda like at a Unitarian church, but hers does seem to have a more openly Pagan bend to it, which is what is probably causing alarm to the Christians.

At what point do we admit that we really have a problem in this country regarding the freedom of religion?

I just looked up The Oracle website, and am going in to see what it's all about. My hunch is that she may make a good Toadfish.

This thread is for posting photos of things that need identification.

Today I found this handsome person stuck in my screen tent. He had a three to four inch wing span. He was sluggish when I prodded him into a cup to escort him out, and sat on my picnic table for over an hour before he disappeared. I think he was either just out of the cocoon and drying out, or nocturnal.

He seems like some sort of large sphinx moth. Anyone know?

Hey hey! We're celebrating U.S. Independence Day by drinking German beverages and meaty treats while setting off Chinese fireworks. As a grand finale, we will attempt to light our collective gassy farts with one giant Roman candle in the shape of the Washington Monument. As a precaution, we would ask the other countries to please step back lest they be singed.

I'd love to get some junk off my chest here, but I am literally too exhausted to complain. Just thought you should know.