So these days, what exactly is St Patricks Day supposed to represent? To be honest, I’ve celebrated the secular form of St Patricks day since I was a child. My most FOND memory was in 2nd grade, when our teacher decided to get a pair of shoes, place them on my desk, and sprinkle glitter around them and take the shoes away. This was to make it look like a leprechaun had been there, and we celebrated with cakes and cookies and golden glitter. I felt very special that day.

I’ve never actually read much on St Patrick or the religious connotations of the holiday. I don’t know that much about the political side of it either, though most people are familiar with the religious wars over in Ireland. So is it wrong of me to celebrate St Patricks day as a day to be proud of my partial Irish decent? In addition to celebrate shamrocks and guiness and leprechauns in it’s secular form?

Perhaps it’s the kid in me that likes the secular form of holidays in addition to their spiritual purpose. I find it has a significant difference than the commercialized form of holidays. For example, I hate the commercialization of Christmas, how it’s shoved down our throats in September, Black Friday, and the fact that we can’t say Seasons Greetings without pissing off someone. Yet I love the thought of Santa Claus, presents, feasts, and fun. The childs play, warmth, and fun of holidays seems to help me block out all the money scams and commercialization for me. Perhaps I’ll just call it tradition over secular.

Today is also the birthday of my paternal grandfather, who passed away when I was in 7th grade. His family was from Olde Forge, Virginia with heritage from various cultures, including Native American. He was a farmer most of his life, corn and cattle for the most part. Though he did pitch for the Baltimore Orioles when they were in the minor leagues. Because of that he always pitched for our cookout baseball games on the farm and watched baseball on tv everynight till the day he died. I don’t know how, because I think it’s one of the most boring sports to watch.

My grandfather never liked his girls, meaning the boys of the family were always his favorite and were more worthy to talk to. He loved all his children and grandchildren, but the boys always had his special favor. They were the men of the family, and we had to teach them how to run the farm. So it was difficult for me, because growing up I was just one of the boys. I helped bale the hay, I helped kill turkeys during the holidays, I helped feed and water the cows every morning, but I was still a girl. I don’t think anything I could have done would have been able to earn his respect. So I never got to know my grandfather. He was actually a lot harder on my cousin Cindy who was a year older than me, because she grew up in the city, and she was as most girls were at that age, doing the typical pre-teen thing and oogling over boys.

I can’t say I’ve ever really been upset about being brushed off as a kid. It was unfortunate, and sometimes I think I tried too hard to be a boy than I really should have because I tried to prove myself a lot. But he grew up in different time, and you’re not going to change his mind at that age. So I learned to accept it. To my father, I was always his one and only, and I was the good one, so that was alright by me.

A friend showed me the “Stupid Girl” video by Pink. Not only did I crack up, but she totally earns my respect for telling it like it is. I don’t know all the people she’s making fun of, but I could figure out a few.

The first rule of thumb when you discover you have a pest problem, is to do RESEARCH. The internet is a wonderful tool, and virtually everyone has access to it these days (if you’re reading this, you’re one of them).

Not only will this save you money, because you may be able to discover a remedy for your pest problem that you can do yourself, and how to prevent it in the future. But it will also prevent you from calling up your local pest service provider and flipping the fuck out on the phone because you have spider mites in your house, and then demand to speak with someone who knows about spider mites, even if they are in another branch across the country.

Lady…first off, I’m not calling Bob in California, who is probably busy running his own branch, just to have him talk to you about spider mites.

Secondly, a service technician is already on his way to your house to do the service you requested for today, so why you are deciding now to call up and start making demands about pest control, when we have a guy ON THE WAY who can treat any pest problem your little heart desires, is beyond me.

So please, for the sake of sanity, pleeeease do some research first.

Answers to the lady’s questions:
- Spider mites will not eat or bite your children
- Spider mites are mostly attracted to foliage, take the plants out of the house
- They are active when it is warm out and they like dry conditions
- The only safe way to take care of mites on your plants is generally through soapy water, which is also a natural alternative to most insecticides.

Not as sunny out today, but I’ve been able to enjoy it regardless. Dad is plowing gardens for the neighbors, I’ve been cleaning and sewing (just bought myself a cheapass sewing machine for $40 and it works great). And I’m about to make some mushroom and chicken quesadillas for dinner, though my dad is driving up to Pennsylvania to visit his sister for dinner. It would be nice if my sweetheart could be here, but I’ll be eating alone.

Making use of some John Deere fabric I’ve had to make hankerchiefs for my father:

I picked up my guitar for the first time since being sick (and losing my voice). So I decided to mess with some stuff today.

Folsom Prison
Dead or Alive

My dad pokes fun at me cause when it’s warm out I’m always barefoot. I’ll even go to the gas station barefoot. I just can’t help it, the dirt and leaves and sun feel so good on my feet.

Some random pictures from today:
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I’ve always respected eagles, hawks, and falcons. Growing up in a household that had a deep respect for Native American spirituality and history, it would be hard not to. On occasion, I’ve posted about the importance or significance of the red-tailed hawk in my life. Read the rest of this entry »