Picture Sunday

Hello, end of weekenders, and welcome to another round of Picture Sunday.

This weekend was definitely not business as usual, because guess what. Yes, Oktoberfest began this Saturday. Saturday I was in the Iron Maiden, aka my dirndl, in the sweltering barn up at Mountain Lake, playing German music. It was great to be with my old Sauerkraut Band buddies again, but that's about it. I'm already sick of the food, and it was just the first night, the people at Mountain Lake have shortened the stage, so it's even more crowded up there than usual, and I left with a massive headache. Mr M.

Hahahahahahahahahhahahahahahahahahahaha!

Well, I left with Mr M and a massive headache.

Anyway, though I took my camera up the mountain, I snapped nary a photo. So that's one less picture of men in lederhosen you'll have to see tonight.

Instead, let's go to other conquests of the past week. Like Friday. In the wee, wee, wee hours of Saturday morning, I went to bed after reaching a goal I'd had my eye on for some time.
















Yes, two million points. Now, before you start feeling sorry for me for the sad existence I lead, let me just stress these two million points didn't come all in one sitting. Not even I can sit still that long. This was an ongoing game, ongoing since Wednesday night. I was so happy to see the two million and know I could stop playing that I didn't even mind closing out the game and losing all my points once the goal was reached.

Another conquest of last week? My weeds. Remember my blog about the first mow with my new lawn mower? It was accompanied by a picture of a very neat and tidy front yard.
















However, what you probably didn't notice was this. What used to be my flower bed in summers past. And what this summer has come to be known as my weed bed.
















It was nasty, and out of control. It looked like something from the yard of a haunted house. So on Thursday I came home from work, changed clothes, hefted up my weed eater, and had at it. I threw away the ugliness once known as my little white fence, and ate weeds till, well, till I couldn't eat another bite. Then I had to rake them up and get them into a bag, after which I had this.

















Barren, but nice. I'm so happy to be rid of those. I'm now looking for some new type of fencing for the edges, but everything I've found I like is very expensive. So it'll remain edgeless for now. Maybe I'll wait till right before the last mow of the season to put something up, that way I'll have edging when the first daffodils of spring make their appearance. Those damn daffodils. I've pulled up bulbs by the hundreds, and they still come up every spring.

But anyway. It's now time for the recipe du jour.

Just in case you didn't read Thursday's blog, you may want to take a look at it. For it was only Thursday that I discovered I'm the proud owner of a Japanese Yew in my back yard. The Japanese Yew is the plant that bears berries that kill any poor animal unfortunate enough to take just one bite of them. It gave me ideas, ideas beyond my wildest dreams. And so from the "Last Suppers" file at cardland, would you please say hello to Dessert of Death!


















Yes, the Dessert of Death is easy to make. Just buy some ice cream, go to your Japanese Yew, pluck a berry or two (according to the literature, one is all it takes), and top the ice cream with your berries. Please have your life insurance policy at the ready, and a pen, so you can quickly change me to your beneficiary before the first bite. Which will also be the last bite. The Dessert of Death is very inexpensive to make, the ice cream was two dollars, but is very very costly indeed to eat.

Now, by the way, you all know I'm a pod. I know that too, it's common knowledge. You should have seen me making the Dessert of Death. This Japanese Yew, this plant I brush by several times with every yard mow, I was suddenly afraid to touch. I went into the yard in gloves and with a paper towel, pulled a small twig of a limb off, put it in the paper towel, and brought it inside. Then I used another paper towel to pull off the berries, which I then placed atop the ice cream - with a clothespin. I then threw the berries away, along with the paper towels and the clothespin, and washed my martini glass with a healthy dose of bleach before the dishwashing solution. It was like I was handling nuclear hazardous waste.

Then, after the dessert was over, I started having every symptom of Japanese Yew berry poisoning. Except the death, of course.

Happy week.

Betland's Olympic Update:
* You know, I used to laugh at men and their love for the weed eater. Now I understand it. God, that feeling of power in your hands!