I made my famous grilled chicken sandwich for dinner tonight: grilled marinated, thin sliced chicken breasts, grilled asparagus, grilled red peppers, grilled onions, loaded up on a huge loaf of Italian bread with sesame seeds, thick slices of Monterey Jack cheese, spiced with jalapenos, with a side of spanish and greek olives, marinated in olive oil with chopped up chili peppers. And a Beck's. And a cup of coffee and a cigar.
We had an invasion of blackbirds this afternoon. They're flocking, getting ready to head for warmer climes, and the decided to take a rest in our trees. They spied the rain water that collected in the pool cover and decended on it to have a bath. There most have been three or four hundred of them, splashing around, screeching and having a wonderful time. I was looking for Tippi Hedren...
I've been inspired by Sara's recent posting of Zen stories. Here's my favorite one;
An elderly Zen priest and his apprentice were walking to visit a temple in Shohan. The road they were travelling was full of huge puddles from a recent rain, causing them to detour around them. As they rounded a bend in the road, they came upon a young woman standing before a huge puddle that spread across the entire road. Without hesitation, the elderly priest waded through the puddle, picked up the young woman in his arms and waded back through, carrying her to the other side, where he put her down and bid her good day. He rejoind his apprentice and they continued to walk in silence for some time. Finally, the apprentice could hold his silence no longer and he said, "How could you have done that? You know we are forbidden to have contact with women!"
The elderly priest looked at him and replied, "Oh, so you are still carrying her? I put her down miles ago..."
We had quite an evening last night. It was a goth family outing to a farm in Pennsylvania with The Bloodhound and his crew to go on a haunted hayride and get the crap scared out of us in the Haunted Barn and the 3D Alien Encounter thingy. We had to wait out a full fledged autumn thunderstorm, complete with ferocious winds and hail!
The hayride was fun, lots of bizarre folks jumping out at you when you didn't expect it, gory scenes and stuff. I think the highlight was the guy doing the Beetlejuice routine. Very funny. Scary guy done up like Freddy Kruger and another costumed like Michael Meyers. Those two care the crap out of me. After that we went into the Barn of Horror. Dark, winding halls with gruesome characters lurking in the shadows; the girl from The Ring, the masked guys from Scream, Texas Chainsaw Massacre, the bloody bride, and various assorted ghouls and such. Judging by the amount of screaming, I think my daughters had a good time... I had a few good jumps myself.
The 3D Alien Encounter was fun, you had to wear the special glasses to see the effects. There was a rotating barrel room with a walkway in the center... it made you feel like you were spinning around and you hung onto the railings for dear life! All sorts of alien creatures hiding in the shadows and around every corner. Lots of fun! I love this time of year.
Well, I think that's about it... Oh, no, I actually finished the infamous pump room door! I completed refinishing the hardware and the antique lockbox yesterday and rehung it. It looks really great. Next on the list is the pressed tin backsplash behind the sink, range and the counter next to the range. We also sent for some flooring samples today so we can order it and try to get it done by Turkey day. The counter tops and the new appliances will have to wait until after then, I'm sure.
Well, my friend Richie just called, so I'm going to leave it here for now.
later.
pearls before swine...
