Banging banging banging

One of my neighbors is doing some sort of project that requires a lot of hammering of some sort, but all the hammer blows seem tentative, almost as if the person wielding the hammer is either not very strong or doesn't need to hit the nail very hard. Imagine the sounds of someone knocking on a wall to try to find the stud, a kind of uncertain tapping, banging, not the blows of someone really pile-driving.

Oh, how I would LOVE to rip off our deck and replace it with a nice sunroom and porch! Everyone is doing work on their homes this summer. Next to us, Eric and Lisa are putting up a playyard fence. One house over from them, the young couple (with a baby due any day) are replacing their deck and putting up a retaining wall to keep pond water out of their basement. The couple to our right (who really don't seem to have moved in yet) are doing various house-fixing activities, and the family beyond them (where I think the banging is coming from) is always doing something. The tree prevents my spying, though. Later: A house across the pond is being reroofed.

My deck is looking better now that I have set up the table/umbrella and added the brightly colored cushions and canopy. My husband's hard work yesterday, adding petunias and other flowers to our deck boxes, also contributed to a really warm and welcoming look. Now if I could only get motivated to clean house.... As much as I love my cat, and anyone who knows me KNOWS how much I love Simon, I do wish he didn't shed so much. If he were female, the name Lady Godiva would have been appropriate. There is simply no way (short of running a vacuum cleaner three or four times a day) we can keep up with the hair flow.

I'm trying to get myself ready for our trip back to Louisiana. Emotionally, that is. I do NOT want to see certain relatives, but I cannot figure out how to see only some of them and not others. I bought a t-shirt to write on with fabric paint, and what I wish I could write on it (and may still) is this: "If you don't have an IQ of at least 120 and a college degree, I won't discuss religion or politics with you." Too long, though. How about simply a circle with the words "religion" and "politics" written in it, and a slash mark through it? That might work.

I also ordered several t-shirts from Cafe Press. (When did they get so many right-wing conservative items? I was somewhat appalled!) I may or may not have the guts to wear them.

President Obama gave an excellent speech to the Kalamazoo High School graduation, even if a student seated behind him fell asleep. (Those rooms full of sweating bodies tend to be too warm, and hs students almost never get enough sleep.) Much ado will be made of it, though, especially since the napper was a young black man. When the president left, we heard and saw Air Force One overhead. I watched the speech on tv. He is so eloquent and funny and intelligent, so UNLIKE the previous president, who (as my mother would have said) "can't say SHIT with a mouthful!"

Okay, Esteemed Spouse has left for his day of teaching, and I need to get my day started. Fortunately I slept better last night, so maybe I won't be in a fog all day.