Longtime comedy writer Merrill Markoe is still hilarious. I just got her book, It’s My F—ing Birthday: A Novel and happened to find this video she made with her dogs. (If you recall, Merrill came up with “Stupid Pet Tricks” when she was David Letterman’s writer.) I love this, because my dogs would react exactly like this in an emergency. Come to think of it, they have.

Big news today! A butterfly landed in my garden.

I think it’s very hot this afternoon, just about 100 in the shade according to the Acu-Rite. Nearly a year’s gone by and we still haven’t taken the Acu-Rite out of the box. I think Buck is afraid if I take it out of the box I’ll want to hang it up using a cup hook. Men hate it when you hang things up, particularly with a cup hook.

Stargail sent us this photo of the “Border Patrol” that we thought was adorable. (I hope no one interprets this as negative or anything, because it was not meant in that vein.) All those little Chihuahuas look like our Stella, and Lily (who belongs to Little Miss), so I couldn’t resist. Thanks, Stargail!

I love kitchen gadgets. I have a drawer full of stuff like a strawberry huller and a calzone mold…you know, stuff that you can live without but it is kinda handy when you use it that one time a year. Most of it I’ve picked up at yard sales, but this new gadget by Heinz has got to be the king of all kitchen gadgets: The Beansawave. Yes! It’s a mini microwave you keep at your desk for heating up your beans!

This is not a joke, it’s an actual gadget that plugs into the USB drive of your computer and will retail for $160. And you just know no one in the office will ever make fun of you. You’ll be the envy the cubicle crowd! Just look at this dedicated guy enjoying his beans without even taking his eyes off his spreadsheet! And that Miss Slyboots over there across from him pretending not to notice…you know she’s dying with envy.

I’m always whining about gardening in El Paso and how difficult it’s been for me. So this year I resolved to have container gardens. Since money is tight I’m planting seeds. But I’m also looking for instant color, so I’m buying mostly annuals, which pretty much goes against everything I’ve ever believed in. I believe perennials give you more bang for your buck, like years worth of bang. But I can’t afford to spend $12.99 or more on a plant that might die in a week. So I’m going with annuals and a few veggies.

Because I’m spending money on annuals, I can’t really afford to go out and buy the beautiful pots I’d like to get. But I need deep containers so my plants will think they’re in the ground. So I’m trash can and bucket gardening. No one can see the garden but us, because it’s inside our courtyard where I can keep an eye on it 24/7. I’ve gone around and collected all the unused trash cans we’ve got, and I’ve been buying buckets. The cheapest buckets I’ve found are the Home Depot utility buckets for $2.79. I drill holes in the bottom, drop in some newspaper and rocks for drainage, then add my special soil mixture. And of course (the most important part) I’m turning the bucket so the giant Home Depot ad doesn’t show.

Here’s a pepper plant and his friends oregano, snap dragon, and the petunia gang. I took this shot about a week ago.

And here it is this morning. So far, so good.

Here’s some lovely bucket salvia.

Here’s some bucket petunias below:

And here’s my one big perennial splurge, trash can Rudbeckia and a hollyhock.

I went to the store yesterday with a specific “bucket list” of what I wanted and here they are below. I’ve got to plant these today. They’re already well on the way to looking good (unlike the half-dead marked down K-Mart plants I bought weeks ago), so hopefully they’ll keep on keeping on and encourage the rest of the garden to do the same.

I’ll keep playing chakra music to my bucket garden and talking to it, and I just know the garden will cooperate. OR I WILL FLIP OUT.

I’m not really supposed to on here right now, taking photos and blogging, because I’ve got too much work to do so I’m gonna run. Happy gardening, everyone!

     We just got back from a “whirlwind” trip back home for Max’s graduation from Johnson & Wales. Now he has a Bachelor’s Degree in Culinary Arts. We had a great time, and because we were there for such a short time we insisted everyone be together as much as possible. That meant seven of us stuffed into Cody and Paul’s apartment for much of the trip. Everyone was great about it, even those who had to sleep on camping mattresses on the floor, and we laughed and ate and really got to be “a family” again. That is to say, ever since I started having kids, I’m at my best when we’re all under one roof and I know where everybody is.

     I’m not a helicopter parent, but I do love those one or two nights a year when my whole family is within shouting distance and I can turn off my cell phone with confidence. Anyone who would really need to call me is right there. Life, simplified.

     No, he didn’t graduate at a Dunkin’ Donuts. It was the Dunkin’ Donuts Center in Providence. I think around 1500 graduates received their diplomas that morning.

     Because we were there for such a short time we didn’t get to visit with any friends or extended family, which is always a bummer. But they’re all very cool about it, nobody gets bent that we’ve flown thousands of miles and then didn’t rent a car to drive a few hundred more to squeeze in a one- or two-hour visit with them. Everybody’s down with that, and besides…Route 95 goes both ways, and we don’t freak out about them not driving up to see us so briefly.

     So that’s where I’ve been. Buck picked up a cold on the plane ride home and is still a little out of it. Maybe next time he’ll let us get the face masks I so desperately want to wear on a plane. It think it would serve two purposes: Keep us healthy, and stop anyone from sitting in the third seat. This one  plugs into a computer!

]]> http://lifewithbuck.com/2009/05/31/the-graduate/feed/ 5 Life With Buck Max Buck graduation The Fam http://lifewithbuck.com/2009/05/18/rhett-and-link-new-flight-of-the-conchords/ http://lifewithbuck.com/2009/05/18/rhett-and-link-new-flight-of-the-conchords/#comments Tue, 19 May 2009 03:37:36 +0000 Wendy http://awriterinthedesert.wordpress.com/?p=665 ]]>

Buck found these guys on YouTube, so I’ve got to give him all the credit. Rhett and Link, they make commercials for small businesses and local cable. We think they’re hilarious and will definitely go far. I have a feeling Bound and Gags is gonna love ‘em, but knowing him he’s probably been hip to them since the start. Here’s my personal favorite, “The Buffet Song”.  Thank you, Buck! (Buck says he feels like their Mel, that’s how big a fan he is.)