Keith Olbermann: Go to Iraq and fight, Mr. President

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/19859124/from/ET/

Happy Fourth of July!

Being back in the country this year, I was determined to eat fried dough and soft serve and watch fireworks. After watching the "push, pedal, and pull" parade down Main St. in Rockville, featuring my favorite 2-year-old, we stayed and watched the fireworks.

Backyard Visitor

I'm apparently quite popular amongst the turtles. We came across this little guy on our patio the other day, before he scurried off. This makes three turtle sightings this summer, after never having seen one in the wild!

Disappearing Lake

Missing: Large lake in southern Chile - Yahoo! Newshttp://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20070620/sc_nm/chile_lake_dc_1

Elise's Engagement Tea

On Sunday we hosted a tea for the recently engaged Elise. A few of us may have switched to wine before the afternoon was over...

CD's

Any idea what this is a picture of? When Pat sent it to me, I didn't either, even though there should have been a part of me that recognized it, albeit reluctantly...

Apparently, it's the bar from "Walker, Texas Ranger," which at one point was Patrick's favorite show and my least favorite show, a point he loved to torture me about. He had dinner across the street from it somewhere in Texas a few weeks ago and sent me the picture. Thanks.

turtle crossing

Once upon a time, somewhere along the way, I heard that if you see a turtle crossing the road and decide to help it cross to safety, you have to be sure to carry it to the side of the road that it's heading for. Turtles, at least some types, spend their lives walking in a giant square pattern, always following the same path, so if you cause it to go backwards, it will just keep trying to cross the road until it succeeds (or worse).

Today, I finally had the opportunity to use this piece of information I'd filed away! As I drove home from school, on a not-so-busy but still main road, I drove by a turtle in the middle of the road, thinking it was a rock or branch until I saw a head popping up looking around. I pulled over, turned around, and waited anxiously while three more cars drove right over it. I finally was able to run over to it, thinking I could sort of coax it to cross quickly. It didn't want to be coaxed, so, as a car came at us, I decided to pick it up and do the crossing for it. He didn't like that idea, and started scurrying away and relieving himself everywhere. I managed to grab him, get my foot covered in urine, and run us both to safety. I set him down on the grassy bank beyond the guardrail, but by then he had curled into his shell and wasn't interested in good-byes.

I wish I had had the presence of mind to grab my camera phone!