It's just - we're grumpy.

Faithful readers will notice that the recent Fairy Garden entries have been deleted. This is due to honesty issues. Mr. Beachy had been holed up in his room for several days and I finally approached him to ask what was the matter. He...was...grumpy. He explained ever so curmudgeonly that this blog was supposed to be OURS. Not some silly fairy tale. And I considered his comments and especially his grumpy way of showing his feelings, and admitted to him that he was right. After promising him that I would delete said entries, I heard him outside in the garden. Chilly and damp as it was, I could hear him whistling and I know all will be better for it.

First Day of 2010

Mr. Beachy woke up grumpy again this AM despite sleeping through the fireworks last night. Couldn't remember the password for this blog. So much happened in 2009 that it's impossible to recount it all. This picture of Emmett, the chameleon(whose name used to be Scout, but was changed to Emmett because of his sad clown smile), just goes to show how much has changed. He is now 6 inches long minus the tail, which could be another 6 if it's uncurled. That's a lot of crickets consumed! Harper has grown. Impossible to realize he'll be 6 yrs. old in another few weeks! And, it took all year, but now we have a new member of the family. His name was secret for so long that I almost forget he has one. It's Gus! And Gus it is! The brothers are already conspiring together - Gus uses the Force while Harper maneuvers the Wii Jedi characters. All is well and as it should be as this new year begins Happy New Year!

a wee christmas blog

just wanting to say amerry christmas to all. love, mr.beachy and friends

Amazing

The other day, SIE and I went to the pet store on Broadway to get a better cage for the chameleon. The box was about 4 inches thick, but about 2 feet x 2 feet. SIE wanter to carry it and he was doing OK as we manuevered between the aisles. When we got over to the checkout, I turned to help him lift it. He was emphatic: "No-o-o!" Then with a lower voice he says for my ears only, "I want them to see how amazing I am."

My Dear Gardener

Mr. Beachy informs me that a wee creature is growing out near the cabbage patch. He tells me it is definitely male, but so small that it may take 5 months or more to ripen. Oh, the joy that the Christmas snows will bring this year!

The Stealth Hunter Has Arrived

There's a new addition to our family. I know it hasn't been so long since hammy died, and it's not that we don't miss her....but the opportunity arose to add a baby veiled chameleon to our household. I could watch this guy all day. He is the kind of chameleon with mitten-like feet and eyes that move in all directions, being able to see in front and behind himself at the same time.

He is a slow mover as far as lizards go, which makes him perfect for SIE to hold. And what a great way to get SIE to wash his hands! I told him he should wash them before and after holding him. He went on to say it was because of the oils in our skin; maybe he heard that at school. This is a five year old who knows everything.

We are having some trouble with names. "Cammy" was a natural...in homor of Hammy, of course. But I was going for something a little more sophisticated. Hapapapa suggested "Mosie", because he just mosies along. I jumped to "Moses", which caught the evil eye glare of Hapapapa, who corrected me: "Mosie". He does that sometimes thinking he can manage me. hah! I personally think he's a "Noah" rather than a "Moses". That's just my personal take on him. Yesterday, we named him "Scout" because of his stealthy hunting habits. Also I thought it would be fun to name all my future pets after characters in To Kill a MockingbirdGet the subconcious connection to HarperLee? We'll see if this name sticks.

This new addition regretably has made me learn about cricket keeping. He's tiny, but can chow down more than 8 crickets a day! Now I have a very nice cricket habitat set up in the mud room. Plus about a half dozen loose crickets jumping around my house. How do you catch a cricket? I invented this technique myself, although others must have thought of it before me: You put the cardboard from an empty paper towel roll into their cage. The crickets crawl in to sleep. You easily reach in and cover both ends of the roll and take it to the Death Star and let those prisoners loose. Sometimes there aren't enough crickets sleeping in the roll, so you gently herd them into a corner with the roll covered at your end, and they hop and scurry and push and shove and run inside it thinking they are escaping, only to face the flying tongue of the Stealth Hunter.

Top O' the Morning

July 3rd - I think an old friend of mine, Larry Santo, was born today. He's gone now a year or two, but I woke up thinking of him so it might be today's his day. He was a character. I first met him at St. Patrick's Parish in Northside. He actually was the first person there to speak to me and he was a gentle soul. The church florist, sacristan, eucharistic minister, and server par ex-cell-ance. He loved to say he taught me all I know about serving and floral arranging, and that could be true. Along with my keen eye for observation and artistic temperment, of course.

Shortly after my arrival at St. Pat's I observed that Larry always wore a shade of green when he was on the altar. Later, at St. B's, he always wore the appropriate color tie to correspond with the vestments of the day. I think of him as the Irish/Northside version of Mr. Beachy. May he be teaching the angels a thing or two today!

A Thousand Splendid Suns

This book was so good I can't even describe it. I'd heard it wasn't as good as The Kite Runner so I was expecting it to be along the same lines. But it was so very much better that I can't even remember that 1st book. My heart went so much into these characters that I found myself praying for them! Now a much stronger awareness of Afghan women.

Farewell To Hammy

Little Hammy died last night and I am very sad.
She was the best hamster that we have ever had.
There was Mimi, and Snowy, and Poppi-Luigie, three.
But Hammy was the best ham that could ever be.

We liked to watch her. She made us glad.
She was hardly ever bad.
She only bit our fingers twice.
She learned real quick - that's not too nice.

Little Ham was lots of fun.
She loved the snow, the rain, the sun.
She loved her wheel and her boy.
She gave us all a lot of joy.

She'd play with Harper all the day.
Did you ever see a hamster "stay"?
That's one thing that they liked to play.
And, yes, she did. Right there she'd stay
And only sometimes run away;
For Hide and Seek she liked to roam,
But wasn't long, she'd come back home.

We'll miss the noise she made at night.
She'd run upon her wheel till light.
And when she'd wiggle in her sleep
Letting out a tiny peep.

We'll miss sharing our salad greens
and apples, pears, and kidney beans.
We'll even miss her smelly cage,
And marvel at her ripe old age.

We buried her in the garden deep
But know the ground will not her keep.
She's playing now in heaven above
With all the hamsters, in God's love.

Dear Mister Beachy

My dear friends and especially you, Mr. Beachy,

I promise to write soon. And, Soon, I'll write you. I really do promise. Cross my heart!