Certain uncertainty...

... And I may never recover. J and I watched Mrs. Henderson Presents . I think I have seen more naked people in the last two hours than in my entire thirty years on this rock. All nudity aside, the movie was very clever. Based on a true story, it chronicles a wealthy English widow who purchases a rundown London theatre and stages variety shows. Judi Dench, Bob Hoskins, and Christopher Guest were fantastic, the writing was great, and the story compelling. Trouble is, I don't know that I would be comfortable watching it again. I guess I am that much of a prude.

Origami Boulder Company -- Original Origami Gifts! (Disclaimer: This is NOT PC. In fact, it is downright insulting. However, I admit to laughing at it.) I have a project for GPKids this week -- build a fake boulder for our set. J picked up some newsprint for me (the local paper only sells it, but one of the weekly rags gives away their ends. Down with the RJ !) and we shall be working paper mache magic tonight. Results of a quick Google search included the site above. I am still laughing, and my headache is almost gone!

(You know, because I flew to Maryland and back over the weekend) Good times for The Bassplayer's Wife. I visited with my parents and siblings, spent some time with the outlaws, and even took time to torture my nephews. In particular, N#3. I think he was never so glad to see the back of mean ol' Aunt Kelly. Of course, no trip home would be complete without at least one stop at Chic-Fil-A. I took pictures for J. He didn't really appreciate the gesture. Some people are never satisfied! Pictures will be up on our Flickr page this evening.

I have to send out a huge "thank you" to Susie over at A Little Luxury for my new blog template. She is fantastic! Hope that you like it. And if you are interested, she can make one for you, too.

Weekend Adventures... Once again, this weekend finds me away from MJ. It is always bittersweet for me. I covet time with our families, especially the young-uns (they are growing up so fast), but I also hate being away from J and Tele. Unfortunately, his money is made on the weekends, so alone I go. This weekend will find me on one coast, and J in the middle of nowhere (and almost to the other coast). So, if you find yorself in beautiful Indian Springs, check out Nasty Habits at the casino. Yes, the casino, the only one in town. Conversely, if you are in Sby / Ocean City area, the bassplayer's wife will be chilling at V-RIF farms, not the only farm around by a longshot.

My husband rocks! I have a new laptop -- mostly for school , but I am honest enough to admit also for fun. After J staying home two days in a row, and another near miss with UPS, it arrived at 6:30 last evening. Two wireless routers and two trips to BestBuy later, we are up and running. Sort of. I can get online, and the telephone is working, but our computers are not able to speak to one another. Now might be a good time to mention that we didn't quite follow the manual. (Details) Since J is home, it fell to him to get our "home network" up and running. I admit, I had my doubts. More than once, I said, "Maybe we should call your brother. Or even mine?" MJ, I apologize for doubting. Ten minutes ago, I get the news-- we are connected! Printing? Yep! Music? Yep! Files shared? Yep yep! My rock star husband saved the day. Just don't ask him what it was that he did.

I love you... woman? My DH and his other half (and I am pretty sure it is correct to say literally here, but I know someone will correct me if I am wrong) talk with fair regularity. Z-man calls Red when he's making the trek home from work. Anyway. As most of these calls are in the evening hours, I can hear at least one side of the conversation (if you know anything about these guys, you understand that often, I can hear the entire conversation). I eavesdrop shamelessly, as J is a complete clam afterwards. Our post-family-telephone-call exchange is something like this: Me: So, how is everything with your [mom, dad, sister, brother and T, brother and K] J: Fine, good. Me: Any news? J: No, not really. Me: Everybody healthy, happy, etc.? J: I think so. I guess. Me: So... J: Yeah... Perhaps this is to prepare me for teenagers, should we ever have any. I don't know. I digress... The part that really gets me tickled is signing off, especially signing off ...

Slow morning + Steep learning curve= Just discovering some fun: So, I am a little on the slow side, which has long been established, and a friend tagged me ages ago with a silly little meme which requires little effort on my part. Since I don't like e-mail forwards or tagging others, I will fulfill my "obligation" here. So, without further ado, this is what "Kelly needs" this Tuesday morning: Kelly needs her brother backstage - Well, if I were doing a play, I most certainly would want my brother backstage, and onstage too! Kelly needs patience right now -- Amen, and amen! However, I think He is teaching me patience, and I am not a fan. Kelly needs to feel important to someone -- I think we all do, don't we? Kelly needs to come clean on equality issues . -- Remarkably, I think I do hold something of a double standard, but how did they find out? Kelly needs to be part of a loving, committed marriage. -- Check. Kelly needs a quivering antenna .-- I have NO ...

There are some photos from Cory Palmer's funeral... Justice for All , something of a muckraking blog out of Salisbury has posted scads of photos from Cpl Palmer's funeral in Seaford. Here . And Here . And here. The Westboro baptist church crew was out protesting, as they are wont to do. Anyway, Joe Albero got some good pictures of the crowd who showed up in response to these hate-mongers. Aside from the fact that it wasn't entirely without incident (read: arrests for bad behavior ), I am otherwise glad to see the support for the Palmer family and their sacrifice.

Processing... I am something of a slow processor, so as I continue to mull over yesterday's sermon, I keep coming back to one point. When discussing why it is so easy for people to believe lies about the Bible (that it is unreliable etc.), Devin pointed out that, if the Bible is the Word of God, then it puts demands on us. Rather than accept that burden, it is often easier to dismiss the source of the burden. CS Lewis wrote: "I am trying here to prevent anyone saying the really foolish thing that people often say about Him: 'I'm ready to accept Jesus as a great moral teacher, but I don't accept His claim to be God.' That is the one thing we must not say. A man who was merely a man and said the sort of things Jesus said would not be a great moral teacher. He would be either a lunatic--on a level with the man who says he is a poached egg--or else he would be the Devil of Hell. You must make your choice. Either this man was, and is, the Son of God: or else a mad...

I guess I am a total sheep... But we went to see The DaVinci Code this afternoon. In fact, we went directly from church , where Devin preached on the reliability of the Bible in light of the Da Vinci Code. Having read the book a couple years ago, I was not surprised or scandalised by the story. I was, however, disappointed. I thought the film was poorly cast. Aside from Sir Ian McKellen and Jean Reno , I was not happy with the casting. (Hard to take Alfred Molina seriously after Spiderman, you know) Oh well, I guess that is why I go to movies rather than make them. What did surprise, and even concern me, were the results of several polls. The book was enormously popular, having sold over 40 million copies. The movie will no doubt be as popular, if not more so. And people will never cease to amaze me with their ignorance. I am amazed that people can take this for anything other than what it is-- a work of fiction. Another book, Holy Blood, Holy Grail is a "non-fictio...

He's Still Got It... DH has a new toy this week (and I have a new way to keep out utility bills down). Tonight, he took it for its first run. Chicken and some pretty yummy potatoes, to which I added a salad. This is my favorite division of labor. I do all the prep work, which means I can experiment, and J does the hot work, which he loves anyway. Even better, we are sitting cool as cucumbers inside! It has been pretty hot out here- about 15 degrees above normal. Not only that, but we had double digit humidity. Don't laugh, but 12% is a lot out here. The swamp coolers don't work very well with that kind of moisture in the air. Ted Pretty promised us a break, though. I am looking forward to 90! Well, I had better go get the dishwasher loaded... Still my job on the weekends, you know.

I wasn't going to say anything, but... The lack of attention and follow-up on this story is just too much for me to ignore. In a nutshell, this couple got lost in South Baltimore, ending up in Cherry Hill . They were looking for the 95, trying to get home after the O's game this weekend. This was the only other story I could find. I am at a disadvantage, being 2500 miles away, but this sure seems weird to me. Where are all the bleeding hearts who come out and cry "foul" over incidents just like this? And what will parents teach their kids about asking officers for help? I can't stop shaking my head. I keep reading and rereading, hoping I have missed something.

The overzealous war on indoor tanning. By William Saletan Here's another "war" for you, C. I guess I am kidding myself that the nanny state is not yet here and now. Sheesh!

It's May 18th, do you know where your President is? He is in sunny Yuma, Arizona . America's Salad Bowl . Home of my Gram and Lute's Casino (yummy yummy). Yuma is an interesting study in contrasts. Found at the crossing of the Colorado and Gila rivers, its history includes a Territorial Prison and a popular spot for elopements during Hollywood's fabled "golden age." Today, Yuma boasts MCAS Yuma , Yuma Proving Ground, and 2 Native American Reservations. Its population doubles every winter, as 85,000 snowbirds call Yuma their winter home. Mr. President, I hope that, while you are meeting with authorities and ordinary citizens, you'll take some time to enjoy the diversity and history that is Yuma. Oh, and definitely try the Especial at Lute's (I prefer mine without jalpenos).

Free Wi-Fi at Krispy Kreme ... Hot damn! I guess this could be a companion to DH's musings on why we are fat . It was doughnut day here at concrete funworld. As I was walking out with 1 dozen off the line , I saw the sign annoucning free wifi. Why bother with the 'Buck -- unless, of course, you like too smal tables, rickety chairs, and people bumping into you at every turn. No thank you. I'll take the red and white tile anyday. And tell me, how much more fun can a body have than watching those pillowy rings of golden dough bob along their merry way? I don't think it can be beat. So, you go ahead and hang out with your overpriced (though very yummy) coffee drinks. I'll take a good old-fashioned cup of joe with my new friends in their paper hats.

Whew! We have succeded in keeping our weekly fuel cost to same as it was one month ago. That is quite an accomplishment, considering that I now have to travel 2.5 times the distance to work and gas is up to 3.14/ gallon. I have been playing a little game with the fuel economy setting on the Jeep, trying to see how high I can get it to go. J luaghed and shook his head, but he's even playing now! We had been averaging 16, but when I last checked, we were up to 17.4-- yay us! The hardest part, but also the most effective, has been keeping speed down. 65 mph is a lot more expensive than 55, you see. As long as I am in the right lane, I don't feel the need to blast by people. My goal is to average 19 mpg. That's real-world, not silly EPA ratings.

As usual, I began my Sunday with Weekend Edition. I don't know why I still listen to NPR other than the fact that I was raised on a steady diet of Public Radio and Public Television. Very odd, considering my father's right-leaning tendencies. (BTW, that was a HUGE understatement) Anyway, the lead in to a cookbook commentary caught my attention. I cannot quote the entire sentence, but the phrase that snapped was, "On Mother's Day, that most Hallmark of holidays..." I may have to write a letter. I just cannot let this go unchecked. Hallmark Holiday is a rather snarky term to describe holidays that exist for commercial purposes. Sweetest Day is one that comes to mind. Mother's Day, on the other hand, finds its American roots from Civil War era activism. Julia Ward Howe wrote her Mother's Day Proclamation in 1870. However, Howe herself was influenced by the efforts of an Appalachian woman named Anna Jarvis, and it was Anna's daughter who worked ...

Huh? Just finished the season finale of Las Vegas. Man, I really hate cliffhangers.

In case anyone else out there needs this tonight as much as I do... Psalm 18 1 I love you, GOD- you make me strong. 2 GOD is bedrock under my feet, the castle in which I live, my rescuing knight. My God--the high crag where I run for dear life, hiding behind the boulders, safe in the granite hideout. 3 I sing to GOD, the Praise-Lofty, and find myself safe and saved. 4 The hangman's noose was tight at my throat; devil waters rushed over me. 5 Hell's ropes cinched me tight; death traps barred every exit. 6 A hostile world! I call to GOD, I cry to God to help me. From his palace he hears my call; my cry brings me right into his presence-- a private audience! 7 Earth wobbles and lurches; huge mountains shake like leaves, Quake like aspen leaves because of his rage. 8 His nostrils flare, bellowing smoke; his mouth spits fire. Tongues of fire dart in and out; ...

What's wrong here? Check out this guy's "About Me" blurb. Spare time husband and father? Oh. Okay. I want to go on record as thanking my own father for not being a spare-time Dad, but a full-time Dad. Even 30 years later. Thank you, Dad.

How proud are we? Oh, I'd safely say we are REALLY PROUD of A and D. My sister and D graduated from Wor-Wic Tuesday night, after several years of work and school. We weren't sure A would be able to finish this smester, but she met with her advisor and realised she was closer than she thought. So the girls were able to finish together. I have to tell a little bit about A, as she is my little sister. (Well, she's got a few inches on me, but I will always have years on her-- too many) She has thought for years that she wanted to be a teacher. Every class she has taken has been with this in mind. In fact, she signed on with WCBOE this year as a substitute. She figured every bit of experience would help, you see. Plus, a foot in the door never hurt anyone. I think it was about three weeks into her subbing gig (more or less) that A realised that teaching was not for her. After witnessing firsthand what goes on in our public school system, she was at a loss. And for s...

My DH has become something of a blog monitor these days (barely dodged a Godwin there) and is quick to remind me that it has been x days since I posted. Furthermore, he says my last post doesn't even COUNT as a post, since, in his opinion, it should have been a mere comment. So please pardon me, what with having something of a life, I have been unable to sit and type. You see, I have to work during the day, and cannot sit and play on the computer at my leisure. We have been busy little beavers, I must say. We went downtown for First Friday with Wojo and Jean. Say "yay!" As it was Cinco de Mayo, FF was pretty darn busy. Picked up a super cute t-shirt and a Mother's Day surprise for me Mudder. Can't say what that is, she might be reading (though I doubt it-- it is too close to the end of the year for her to be anything other than frantically busy and exhausted, I'm thinking.) One thing worth a mention is the street preacher we heard. As we were waiting...

So cool!!! I have a reader with whom I share neither a surname or genes! Thank you!!!!!