Perhaps you want to know what I gave my brother for our annual Christmas gift exchange?

My gift of a straight jacket for my crazy brother may not be as gross as his poo gifts, but I think it’s appropriate. He has a high stress computer job and also tends to be a bit, well, eccentric, if not outright crazy sometimes. What better gift than a straight jacket?


dale-in-straight-jacket.jpg

My card suggested this new straight jacket would be great for the days when he needs a jacket at work.

By the way, that’s his handsome son, Blake, in the background. He has another (a twin) named Hunter. (Actually, that looks like Hunter to me now. Pick one.)

I hope you had a great holiday. I have been at the Isle of Palms off the coast of Charleston, South Carolina. We were blessed with unseasonably warm weather, so I walked on the beach about two hours each day.

I ‘ve been working on New Year goals. I am not one of those who poopoos the idea of goal setting (like my poopoo brother). In fact I find this such an invigorating time of year. I’ll be sharing my goal setting strategy shortly. Whoohoo!

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Robin

5 Responses to “A Gift for My Crazy Brother”

  1. Lisa at Greenbow Says:

    It is good to hear that you had a good holiday. Your brother looks quite handsome in his new jacket. Perfect fit. ;)

  2. Dale Says:

    Actually the neck is a little tight. Oddly enough (the Houdini in me?) I had no problem getting out of the jacket, about 2 minutes. Fun, Carol and I have been looking for an new outfit for me…

    The picture is Blake, needs a haircut. Tsk tsk..

    dale

  3. Carol Says:

    A straight jacket is perfect for those with high stress jobs in any field. Wonderful idea!

  4. Bumblebee Blog » Blog Archive » We Now Take a Break for Big Hair Says:

    [...] my baby brother Dale on the left. He’s a big boy now. My mom had her own fashion issues, what with the fake hair and polyester dress. My dad looked [...]

  5. Bumblebee Blog » Blog Archive » A horse head in the bed…Merry Christmas Says:

    [...] we have exchanged taxidermy frogs, poo-themed gifts, concrete nose-picking trolls, bowls of coal, straight jackets and human-figure knife holders. This year, I lamely returned the bowl of coal Dale sent a few years [...]

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Right Now at Bumblebee

March 7th, 2010

It’s official. Dawn over at Owl Hollow News won the Grocery Gardening drawing.  Congratulations, Dawn. I hope you enjoy the book.

What’s on your plate today? The weather here is sunny and at least not frigid. I’ll continue my early spring garden cleanup and also clean and repair bird houses. The bluebirds have made their return and are already checking out the real estate. What a joy to watch over my Sunday morning coffee.

Robin

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March 6th, 2010

I find this one of the most anxiety-producing times of the year in the garden.

As I head outside and begin the winter cleanup, the whole summer garden thing just seems incredibly overwhelming. There’s so much to do. And I’m just one person out there. Honestly, I felt like sitting down to have a good cry about mid-afternoon. But I managed to put one foot in front of the other and actually got a good amount of tidy-up work done. Tomorrow will be more of the same.

Thank you everyone who left a comment explaining how you approach reading and leaving comments on blog posts. The cumulative input has been extremely helpful. The overall consensus is that you’ll read comments if it’s an interesting discussion. You don’t usually subscribe to comments because it clogs up your email box. And you’ll only check back to see if the author has responded if you’ve left a question. That about sums it up.

On another note, I have selected by random number generator the winner of Grocery Gardening. She’s been notified. When she responds back, I’ll announce who she is.

Thank you everyone!

Robin Ripley

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February 22nd, 2010

My lawn is a wreck.

I went outside to re-fill the bird feeders—AGAIN. The parts of my lawn that don’t look like the frozen tundra resemble a swamp. With every step I take my foot sinks down at least an inch. Walking to the feeders I can see my path in the mud.

I also see that we lost one small ornamental tree by the driveway as well as one of my rose trellises, which succumbed to the weight of the snow.

Spring better hurry up and get here. I have a lot of work to do.

Robin

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February 17th, 2010

Are you sick of everyone talking about the weather? I am too, but here goes…

There is so much snow on the ground, I don’t know when it’ll all melt. On top of that, much of it has iced to the extent that moving it from one place to another requires a pick ax. Walking in the back yard to fill the bird feeders is like walking on a bumpy ice rink. There are trees and bushes that need a bit of first aid to remove partially broken branches, but I don’t dare risk skating across the ice with my pruners. Not yet anyway.

Still, there is hope. Although we’re expecting snow flurries today, the weather should warm up into the forties in the next few days, providing some melting relief.

But really, all this unrelieved WHITE is getting to me!

Robin

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