All for Names & Names for All

Growing up, we always named the dogie calves that we bottle-fed. We named them after food (Choco, named by Da stood for chocolate-oreo), t.v. characters (Radar from MASH) Princess (nothing in particular), as well as colors (Orange Calf, Black Calf). We even had one named after another animal (Doggie, who acted strangely like a dog). We also named the problem cows, some were named #$@%&#!* and one was named Francois.

Apparently, this makes the family think, (me particularly) that many animals should be named. Ma named the peahens Mabel and Gladys. We don't know which is which, but it doesn't matter as they are never more than 10 feet apart and seem to share a brain. We have a hen that has taken up residence near our "gunk" or compost pile. I have creatively named her Compost Chicken.

I also give another name to general species (usually of the pest varieties). I have given all spiders the named of Fred, George, or Jorge. Loo and I have named all mice Hermie. This mouse "nickname" has caught on in the family with Pa, Eliza B. and Loo's husband all using the term "Hermie" to refer to mice. Perhaps naming the vermin makes me feel as if they aren't as truly gross and disturbing as I usually find them to be(mice are more disturbing than spiders, in my opinion). Or...perhaps it is so that I can live in denial that there are pests around (no, I'm not telling you how "around"), but that the pests are actually "friends" around and this is all just a mental game that I play with myself. You should be confused after the last sentence. At the very least, "naming" the pests gives me a name to shout when I see said critter. As in "HERRRRRRRRMMMEEEEEEEEEEEE! Get Away! I do not want to see you."

Now there is a squirrel in the garage stealing cat food and eating flowers off of plants (see Ma's post here. So, I have decided that it is now necessary to give the squirrel species a "name". Now, I ask you blog readers to help out by suggesting nicknames. Here are the rules:
1. Leave a nickname suggestion in the comment section.
2. All names must be male nicknames, because males (contrary to some media reports, and with the exception of seahorses) do not have babies that infest your space.
3. Name suggestions must be submitted by Sunday, June 14, 2009 by 11 p.m. MDT.
4. After the close of suggestions, a poll will be created, so that you in blogland (aka my family and a few friends) may vote.

Disclaimer: We may or may not use the nickname that is chosen.

Hulu! Hulu! Hulu! and Sesame Street

No, this is not a distant relative of Zulu. Hulu is my new favorite website. It is great for the slow days at work. It is basically TV on the internet. You can watch any show that is available on the individual channel sites (e.g. I just finished watching "House" from fox. In addition, you can watch old T.V. shows. My favorites this week are "Welcome Back, Kotter" and "Benson" and I'm hoping to move onto "Hill Street Blues" next. There are also several feature length movies. Most of them are B movies. Right now, some of the better ones are "Sleepless in Seattle" and "Some Like it Hot". There are just short commercial breaks during the show--30 seconds as opposed to 5 minutes on T.V. Want to try hulu out. Click here.

As I was on Hulu, I checked to see if they had old Sesame Street episodes to entertain Nuku while Cyn is not feeling well. They don't have full episodes, but there are clips. Then FarmerBoy asked me to see if they had the Alligator King short from Sesame Street. Alas, they did not; however, I found it on youtube and FarmerBoy asked me to share it specifically with Coo, Cyn, and & Nuku, and a few others. Anyhow the link to it is here.

Hope you all enjoy this clip. I found it enjoyable.

Ballerinas and Swans and pink happiness

For many years of my life I was not a fan of pink. As a matter of fact, I was anti-pink. I just did not own pink items. Clothes, cute little doo-dads, crayons. To understand this you must understand my grandma. Grandma loooooooooooooooooved pink. The following items in her house were pink: Walls, floors, refrigerator, oven, sink, bathtub, and toilet. My dad's baby announcements--yup, pink. I now live in my grandma's house, which is not quite as pink as it once was. The floors and some walls have changed, but the bathroom remains the same. My mom once told me that I couldn't change the wallpaper in the bathroom as the plaster walls would come down with the paper. As if I could commit such heresy. You would think that I would want to change the bathroom, but I don't for one reason and one reason only, and it has nothing to do with the fact that a bucket is sometimes needed to flush the toilet. It is the wallpaper. The wallpaper is pink with goldish-silver ballerinas and swans. Everytime I go into the bathroom, it makes me happy to see the wallpaper.

I have overcome this anti-pink stage in my life and you will now find a respectable amount of pink in my wardrobe. I post the photos above so that you, too, may have a happy day and dream of golden ballerinas dancing on a pink stage.