Low-Flying Plane "Defies Logic"

If the White House Press Secretary has no information about one of the President's planes that was flying low in Manhattan, then who would? If the appropriate agencies were supposedly informed of the photo op, then why is the mayor of New York City unaware? Mayor Bloomberg's take:

"To think that the FAA would plan such a photo shoot and not warn the public,
knowing full well that New Yorkers still have the vivid memory of 9/11 etched in
their minds," he said.

"In New York, of all places, to not warn the public that one of the largest jets in the county tailed by a fighter jet is going to fly low over their communities defies logic and borders on simply being cruel."

Bocce

Mr. Morgan's employer Atlas Technologies participates every year in a Bocce tournament to benefit The Special Olympics. Mr. Morgan took an empty spot on one of four company teams. His team was Yamato's, and the other teams from Atlas were Bocce Techs, Say Bocceeze, and Boccelicious. The Bocce Techs team won the whole tournament last year, but Mr. Morgan's team didn't fare so well this year.



But being outside in the beautiful weather was fun, and Claire had a great time. She, of course, made a friend before lunch time, so they played together the whole day.

I brought along little Abby Koch to enjoy the day with us; Bryce and Tiff were so sweet to let us "borrow" her for the day. She's such fun (being almost 2), and she really loved these giant stuffed safari animals that were on display at one end of the field. I mistakenly called the rhino a hippo at first, so for the rest of the day li'l Abbs kept saying, "ippo!" every few minutes to indicate her desire to go back and play on the animals.

Abby was fascinated with watching the guys throwing the Bocce balls, and she's fond of Mr. Morgan, whom she calls, "Ses."

The Park

Mr. Morgan has had a fascination with model rockets long before I knew him. Over Christmas of 2008, he bought a model airplane. He says he "bought it for Claire," but, let's be honest, he loves them and gets more excited about flying them than she does. There was a catastrophic crash during one of the first flights: Mr. Morgan repaired the plane, and since Christmas he's been storing and protecting the airplane in hopes of flying it again.

Tonight we went to the park down the street to do just that. We took the puppies and Claire, too. It was windy once we got there, but Mr. Morgan was determined to fly. The first flight was a nosedive into the ground, and if there had been any fuel on the plane, the second would have been an explosion. With the plane in pieces, we gave up, feeling a little disappointed.


















We walked to the playground nearby so Claire could play. Claire was much more successful at jumping and reaching the handle of the slider that we'd been at flying the plane.

Keeping the Doctor Away

Claire brought home this picture she'd drawn at school. She considers herself an artist already, and she's stated many times that art will be her adult profession. So when she brings home any pictures or drawings, I always examine them and ask lots of questions of interest.

The handwritten portion at the top of the picture says, "An apple a day keeps the docter away's to stay helthy and eat fruits and vegtibles." As I look at the picture I say to her, "Why is the apple on top of the doctor?"

"That's to keep the doctor away."

Blogging, a Growing Profession

I'm sure most of us with family blogs won't be making tons of money like the folks in this story, but I'm glad to know there's potential.

Two Girls on the Couch

As Claire said when she walked outside, "Wow, it's a beautiful day." So the Morgan girls are spending the afternoon outside. I'm on the back porch blogging and surfing online, and Claire is doing homework. The weather's been great the last few days, and today is sunny and breezy. I'm cherishing these cool spring days, as summer will be upon us soon with its sweltering heat, no-see-ums, and oppressive, smothered-by-a-hot-blanket humidity.

We've recently moved an old couch onto our back porch, which gives us comfy seating and a better place to house the couch. The couch last resided in the bonus room which is being transformed into the nursery. I'll post pictures of the completed nursery once we're done.

The couch originally belonged to Mr. Morgan's paternal grandmother, so he didn't want to get rid of it when we had no place to use it or store it. Last weekend Mr. Morgan sprayed three coats of marine-quality polyurethane on the wooden parts of the couch, and we've moved it to the screened-in porch. Our next step to making the couch durable for the outdoors is to re-cover the cushions in an outdoor fabric. I guess we'll add making cushion covers to the list of projects we have reserved for Debra Jo.

ALF and Joe Biden

For my birthday several years ago, my brother gave me season one of ALF. As children, we used to love watching this '80s show, and Dad liked it a lot too. While it's not nearly as funny as I remember, it's a family-friendly show that Claire loves. Mr. Morgan has since bought seasons two and three, and Claire wants to watch or rewatch an episode nearly every night. We usually do, and last night we watched episode 37, titled "Hail to the Chief."

At the beginning of the episode, the Tanner family is watching the Presidential debate. One of the "candidates" says, "As Joe Biden once said, 'We have nothing to fear but fear itself; and by arming ourselves against the impossible, we are preventing the unthinkable from becoming the inevitable.'" While Mr. Morgan and I were shocked to hear Joe Biden's name in this old sitcom--I mean, how long has this guy been in politics?--I've been wondering why it was supposed to be funny for that decade. I know Joe Biden has a reputation for being long-winded, but I'm not sure that fact makes it funny either. Any ideas?

Jericho

Well, Mr. Morgan had been itching, pretty much since we moved in nearly three years ago, to get a big-screen TV. Thanksgiving weekend of last year, after lots of researching and watching prices drop, we bought one. We also bought a Blu-Ray/Netflix player, which allows us to stream Netflix shows directly from the Internet onto our big-screen--with no computer needed.

Even when we only watched movies or TV shows online on my laptop, we decided two shows were all we could commit to watching and following--The Office and Lost. We still watch these shows, and we've found another drama that we've gotten sucked into. Jericho is about a small Kansas town after a nuclear attack on the U.S. We've already watched nearly half of season one. We're streaming in HD directly from the Netflix site with no commercials, so I think we're hooked on a third show.

Yard Sale Goodness

Mr. Morgan and I were up mighty early this morning, which he enjoys on a lazy Saturday. I made him some coffee as he broke out the banjo for a morning practice. I looked around on the Internet for baby gear, reading reviews and deciding we didn't need to spend nearly $600 for the stroller from New Zealand that looked really cool.

One advantage to being up early meant we were up in plenty of time for the yard sales in Tanner P. Since cash is essential at yard sales, we had to raid Claire's stash. The nine-year-old boasts more cash than we do these days. At our second stop, we found a jogging stroller travel system that had seen little use and at a great price! At our last stop--Mr. Morgan has little tolerance for all-morning shopping--we found a cute, infant-seat swing. It's similar to the vibrating infant seat I'd registered for, but it was a quarter of the price.

Grammar Pedantry

Mr. Morgan knows I love stuff like this, so, of course, he emailed me the link today. And, I discovered another blog that I'll be reading.

Rally Caps

My husband has many qualities enviable by any wife: He vacuums with no provocation from me, is fully capable of starting dinner if he has a recipe, eats anything I cook calling it gourmet, and is knowledgeable about doing laundry and ironing. He also has qualities that men could envy: He is handy with most any project indoors or out (and he has the tools to prove it), knows more about technical and mechanical things than most, and has an uncanny aptitude for online research which fills in any gaps. Then there are things you'd expect him to know "because he's a guy" of which he has no knowledge nor has he any apologies or embarrassment at his ignorance.

A few nights ago we were watching TV, and the new commercial for GM came on. While we were only halfway paying attention to the commercial, I got the general message: GM may be down and out, but they're trying really hard to make a comeback--see, they've got their "rally caps" on, so they're serious. I'm assuming most men at least know what rally caps are and what they mean in the context of a sports comeback.

Well, Mr. Morgan, as stated in paragraph one, is not like most men. As the commercial neared the end, he commented with a slightly perplexed tone, "That guy's hat is on inside out."

So, I said, "Yeah, that's the point of the commercial: Everybody's hat has been inside out. It's a rally cap."

"What's a rally cap?...Is that some sports thing that I don't get?"

Somali Voluntary Coast Guard

Hey, Al Sharpton. How can Voluntary Coast Guard be a "more apt" term when piracy is the service they perform? And, how does this guy still have an avenue for saying anything that we hear?

Pressure Washing and a Smashed Table

When I came home today, the pressure-washing guys were here cleaning the backside of our house. I wish I had a before picture; it looks so good now, but it's easier to appreciate if you knew how bad it was before. Anyway, that's not the point. As I came outside to assess the situation and let Fatty out to relieve herself, the heavy-set guy who wasn't doing the actual washing right then came over to me. I told him I was home now and to let me know when they were done and I would pay them. Then he showed me the picnic table, telling me how he sat on it and it flattened.

Backstory on the picnic table: When Mr. Morgan was moving out of Anthony's house because he'd bought our current house, we took a few things that Anthony didn't want. I'm not one to pass up free stuff usually, so we now have a huge charcoal grill, a way-too-loud vacuum cleaner, and an old ratty picnic table. Well the picnic table is no more.

Outdoor Blogging

Since I have Wednesday afternoons off usually and no community group to host tonight, I thought I'd take advantage of the beautiful afternoon by blogging outside in the backyard. At first, I tried to be actually in the yard sitting in my metal lounge chair. My attempts were thwarted by not only the bright sunlight, which makes a laptop screen difficult to read (especially through squinted eyes), but also the enormous bamboo that has nearly taken over my chair.

Keep in mind the chair was positioned in that flowerbed years ago when the bamboo was teeny. Now the ever-growing bamboo has encroached upon the chair, which I might have realized much sooner if I actually ever sat in said metal lounge chair.

Alas, I'm on the back, screened-in porch, but from this angle I get to enjoy the beautiful, and newly manicured backyard. Thanks Dale and Deb for all your help. And, I use the term "manicured" loosely.

UPDATE: As I'm reviewing the picture, I notice that Fatty is peeing. If it weren't, like, 20 steps to get another picture taken and uploaded, I might have changed it. Oh well. That's what she does.

Presale Bash

Tomorrow night Hardee and I are going to the Charleston Repeats moms sale. She registered early enough, so I'm getting to tag along with her because of her preparedness. All the first-time moms are getting to attend the Presale Bash before the sale is open to the public.

Hardee and I have been pregnant together nearly the whole time. We were both trying at the same time to get pregnant. We made it a friendly race, and the Morgans won--though I'm sure Hardee would say it's not over yet. She's convinced she'll be delivering earlier than her doctors are saying; and if I deliver late, then our boys could be born closer than our month-apart due dates indicate. We shall see.

It's been great to have a close friend who's newly pregnant with me. We've shared hand-me-down baby boy clothes, friends' maternity clothes, and yard-sale finds. Since we live so close together too, I'm sure we'll be sharing babysitters.

Tax Day Tea Party

I wish I could be at Charleston's Tea Party tomorrow. I am interested to see if the local media outlets here in Charleston will cover the event, since the previous ones all over the country have been largely ignored by the MSM. I heard one report today that estimates there will be a half million folks demonstating their opposition to spending and raising taxes.

UPDATE: Perhaps this ruckus will encourage the MSM to cover the Tea Parties, since the lede could call out "those crazy right-wingers."

French Drain

This past Saturday, Mr. Morgan and I worked in the yard. We planted some flowering perennials in our bed in the front yard, but the hard work was putting in a French drain in the backyard.

Our plan is, and has been for a year or so, to put in a rock patio in the back yard. We've had many steps to complete before the rock could be laid: Last year we had gutters installed, and last week we had our AC unit moved from the backyard, where it made too much noise, to the side of our house, where it can't be heard when we're enjoying our backyard.

Installing a French drain was our next step, and we got it done on Saturday! Mr. Morgan used the shovel to dig a 25 ft trench that was 12 inches deep, and I helped by using the hoe to smooth the bottom of the trench. Our next step is to have the back of the house pressure-washed, which should be completed this week. Then we'll make a final decision on the type of rock we want for the patio.

Fresh from the Farm

Just in the nick of time last week, I signed up for a Charleston-area community supported agriculture (CSA) program. We pay a fee here at the beginning of the spring harvest season, and we get a box of fresh-from-the-farm produce every week. There's even a drop-off/pickup spot here in North Charleston.

Last Thursday was our first day, and we're still eating on the produce from our box. We've been eating on the delicious lettuce all weekend, and I used an onion tonight in my main dish for dinner. We're trying the beets, though I've never cooked fresh beets before. I found a great recipe on the CSA Web site, so I'm hoping it'll be good.

I like the idea of helping a local farmer, especially having grown up on a farm myself. And, I like the idea of introducing my family to new veggies and testing my cooking skills on different veggies that I've never tried to cook before.

UPDATE: The beets turned out just fine, though they were small for all the effort. Then I got an email today from the CSA that informed me they're "baby beets." I assume they're supposed to be small, but they were delicious.

Mr. Morgan had never had beets before that he could remember, and I don't think Claire had either. We gave her one to try at the beginning of dinner, and halfway through we heard, "More beets please."

In Claire's typical, out-of-the-blue fashion, she asked in the middle of dinner, "Where do dyes come from?" I let Mr. Morgan answer that question, which included that "people back in the day" used things like beets to dye. Claire's response, "That's what I thought."

Banjo Tunes

Mr. Morgan has recently taken up the banjo. Now terms like forward roll, backward roll, and Earl Scruggs seem so common in the Morgan household. While sometimes the banjo is the loudest thing in the house, which can drive me a little crazy, I am really impressed with Mr. Morgan's dedication to learning his new instrument. He's doing really well according to his instructor--a prize student.

With a banjo player in the house, I've learned a few things. If you play the banjo, somehow you're automatically a fan of all things banjo: banjo music, people who play the banjo, YouTube clips of banjo playing, characters from TV shows that play the banjo, etc. Hence, Andy Bernard of The Office is now Mr. Morgan's favorite character for his showing out on the banjo in last week's episode.

"They have Richard!"

The Captain who's been held captive by Somali pirates for the past five days is finally safe. Navy SEALs rescued him. Praise the Lord!

Story of Us

I've spent the last hour or so creating our family blog and writing my first post. For a glimpse into the Morgan household, here's the current situation: I'm sitting in the back of the Explorer typing away on my laptop, while Mr. Morgan sits in the front tinkering with the GPS. He's hooking up the power for the GPS to the Explorer's power, so the GPS will turn on when the Explorer is started.

While his tinkering with all things mechanical is typical for our household, so is his wanting me to be a part of what he's doing and for us to be together. The mobility of the laptop enables me to be here doing my thing as he does his. This scenario is typical for our weekends. And, of course, the puppies are sitting next to me in the backseat. They would be restless and underfoot if they weren't taking part in the "exciting action" inside the Explorer.

And, success! I offer my typical "Yay!" The GPS's power is now synched with the Explorer's, so I'm hopeful we'll be on to the next Sunday afternoon activity soon.

Of Course We Did

Nearly everyone I know (with kids) has a blog. It's, like, the thing to do after you have a kid or find out you're pregnant. I've seen some great blogs that are mostly about the fabulously cute kids we know and love. But I've been a blog reader for most of this century--before everybody and his brother knew what a blog was.

I read lots of political blogs and news blogs, so you'll find some of my thoughts and various links here. But I do love family blogs, too, with cute pictures, videos, and stories of the little ones. Since we're pregnant, currently 29 weeks, you'll find thoughts, stories, and pictures of our adventures in pregnancy and parenting.

As my work outside the home is coming to an end, hopefully sooner rather than later, I figured it was high time we started a blog. (By "we" I mean "me" mostly, as Mr. Morgan doesn't have the affinity for blogs that I have.)