backgammon

i remember 'playing' backgammon in the 70's-80's when i was less than 7 years old.

i haven't played since, but my interest has been revived in the last month and i must say i enjoy playing this game.

if you 'put me in jail' and send one of my chips to the center bar when you could have moved other chips in other equally good ways, i may take it personally and not speak to you the rest of the game and for some time thereafter.

runs like nitwit

nacho's indian name.

he hops and gallops. nothing smooth about the gait. like a polar bunny.

exploding cameras

they reaaaaaaally don't want you to put another kind of battery in there.

when flaffy poop

he likes to chew the toys, but he is no chewing them, he's peeing on them.

he mark alllll the place in the house and where flaffy poop outside or inside he just running in circle

and after that sometimes i said he just step all in the poop and he making a mess

airplane etiquette

1. if you have the window or aisle seat, do not take the middle armrest.
2. if you sneeze, cover your mouth with your arm or a tissue
3. if you shoot snot out of your mouth or nose when you sneeze, don't wipe your hands on the tray table/wall
4. do not eat 6 oz. of curry before boarding

all that's left

he went to pick up ashes
of my dog who's dead
ten days since i mohawked
the fur on his soft head

the IV tube stuck in his arm
on which he laid his chin
i said goodbye my sweet sweet pet
i'll see you soon again

it sucks that i was lying
i thought he would be fine
his insides tangled dying
his outsides showed no sign

the saddest part is over
it can't hurt any worse
time will work its magic
only blessing no more curse

giant poplar

went out to joyce kilmer memorial forest this week to be amongst the OOOLD trees.

joyce kilmer was a poet and WWI soldier who died at age 31. he wrote the poem 'trees' - it starts: i think that i shall never see a poem as lovely as a tree.

he had the same name as my MOM - joycie!

a logging company went bankrupt in the early 1900s and prevented the area from being clearcut so there are some GIANT poplars out there. there are some giant hemlocks too, but those are dead now from the wooly adelgids.

circle

there was a baby shower/blessingway here yesterday. in the middle of the rainiest day in the past 6 months. onesies were decorated, the 4 directions were called, inspirational cards were shared, champagne was drink drank drunk, babies were fed, wigs were worn, flowers were everywhere, lemon pound cake was eaten, the strength of michelle was reinforced and celebrated.

moose humping mailbox

thank you animal planet

meditation and mantra

"may loving kindness come upon all things"

instead of screaming inside my head about things out of my control that i don't want to do, i've tried to repeat this sentence.

"may loving kindness come upon all things"

i'm not great at it, but the more i do it the better it will work.

here's another one:

'I sit down and say, and I run all my friends and relatives and enemies one by one in this, without entertaining any angers or gratitudes or anything, and I say, like 'Japhy Ryder, equally empty, equally to be loved, equally a coming Buddha,' then I run on, say to 'David O. Selznick, equally empty, equally to be loved, equally a coming Buddha' though I don't use names like David O. Selznick, just people I know because when I say the words 'equally a coming Buddha' I want to be thinking of their eyes, like you take Morley, his blue eyes behind those glasses, when you think 'equally a coming Buddha' you think of those eyes and you really do suddenly see the true secret serenity and the truth of his coming Buddhahood. Then you think of your enemy's eyes.'

dharma bums jack kerouac

with friends like these

who needs facebook?

i guess they're just kidding, but still.  taking playground teasing to a widespread public level.

camelback eli

this is turning into a dog blog, but what the hell. i love dogs!

kevin & eli have a trick where kevin squeezes the nozzle of the camelback water hose and eli opens his mouth and drinks the water. so he doesn't need a bowl while hiking. it's a great trick. nacho doesn't get it - he puts his head down and water spills all over him and he remains thirsty.

we hiked yesterday in pisgah national forest to john's rock which is a boulder outcropping on top of the world. the camelback hose wasn't spraying right so this is some next level shit.