You say tomato, I say yess!!!

Summer is finally having it's effect on my delicious little red beauties. For weeks I've watched as tiny yellow flowers full of the promise of rich red fruit emerged into tiny green marbles and now into yellow... yellow-orange and deep crimson red, juicy orbs of joy. The vines are finally heavy with ripening tomatoes and I'm giddy giddy giddy! Of course like most things it's feast or famine.

I found myself rationing the very first smallish red tomatoes. I would pick but not eat one until I saw another about ready on the vine. Why so parsimonious? I don't know really... there are so many on the vine, but the first sweet fruit of summer is so special. Now the vines are cranking out deep red tomatoes every day and I'm beginning to struggle to keep up. However, my mom-apparent Karen (she is my honorary mom) gave me the grand idea of storing tomatoes for use when they are no longer popping off the vines.

So I got to work .. washing and coarsely chopping them. I arranged the pieces on a piece of wax paper on a baking sheet and popped in the freezer. Once they are frozen I will put them in a container in the freezer for use in sauce later! Mmmm.....

Oh they are so beautiful and tasty. Look how plump and red!!! You can't get tomatoes like that at the market and I promise you they are salmonella free in my organic garden :D

P.S. though I occasionally dabble in vegetarianism, I have to say there is nothing more delectable (to me) than a BLT with lettuce and tomatoes from my garden.

Scrumdiddlyumptious!

It's a Big day to be Maggie!

What a spectacularly great day to be Maggie!

Yesterday Maggie tested for rank up to Yellow from White Belt. After six months in karate, she was the first to rank up to Advanced White belt in March which meant she was ready to test. I hate to brag, but I'm gonna... cos she was the first in her level of all boys :o)

Today was the Belt Ceremony. Maggie and her fellow classmate Javier both earned the Judges Choice for Best Student as well as their rank up to Yellow Belt. On the way home she said that all of those months of hard work was really worth it to earn that medal and Belt. :o)

To view Maggie demonstrating her Kata and earning her medal, please see video links at the bottom of the page :o)

Next comes the Library reading program! This program is two months during summer and challenges the kids to read 100 books during summer. Last year Maggie was picking small readers and this year it was chapter books mostly worth 2 - 3 books a piece (ranging 51-101 pages). So, a mere hour after earning her Yellow Belt and Best Student award, she was accepting her 100 books medal at the Library.

We're so proud of Maggie. To quote that song by Luce... "it's a pretty good day.. i'm lookin' forward to tomorrow..."

Wild America Redux - Bullock's Oriole

Perhaps we have a pleasant garden for a drop in, but today marks the second time in a few weeks that we've had unusual bird experiences. Three weeks ago we had a Cooper's Hawk land in our mulberry tree for a morning feast.

Just a few moment's ago as I was working Maggie looked up and said "look at that bird!" I look out of my office window and see a gorgeous bright yellow and black bird. perched atop one of our copper tiki torches. So after some sleuthing I decided to call our WONDERFUL Livermore Parks and Recreation Ranger Office. After having a great laugh with Peggy, Ranger Patti helped us identify what we saw based on our description. Maggie had a wonderful description of a black crown and a small beak with white and black stripes.

Isn't nature grand? I'm thinking of having our front yard named a birding preserve. Heh heh. Behold...... the Bullock's Oriole!

Babe Couture

Jessie needed a travel frock.

I've got you, Babe

It's not that I have too much time on my hands, it's just that I can't stop them from moving. Toward that end I made another Knitted Babe for Maggie. Please meet Jessie.

Jessie comes with her very own cowgirl skirt which will eventually have a little horse motif at the bottom and a new top in a cream colour to match the fringe. Alas I could only do so much last night.


I'm not sure why Jessie is so much smaller than Kate. Poor Kate's melon reminds me of that kid in So I Married and Axe Murderer.. that things like Sputnik! Oh well, each Babe is unique. I also wrestled with my sewing machine and brains to make the little blue dress which is probably good for Jessie, but slightly small on Kate.

I'm looking forward to knitting a couple more Babes for the charity Babes for the Brave which I mentioned in an earlier post. Maybe with all of this practice my sewing skills may very well improve! (I hope.)

Thoughts on Write and Wrong article by Anna Quindlen

I just read this article entitled Write and Wrong by Anna Quindlen in our copy of Newsweek.

As I read it.. I became outraged. For one, how long does it take for a "central office" to review a book? Based on the timeline it seems they had over two months to review. Secondly ANY teacher, especially a 27 year vet, who gets psyched to educate students, is worth their weight in gold.

So I started thinking back.... 20 years ago my Honors American History teacher sat on the edge of his desk on the first day of school and said "I don't care if any of you want to learn, I'm just here for my pension".... what is THAT teaching kids? Obviously that apathy had a lasting impression. In my Honors Economy class our teacher showed us the movie "The Gods Must Be Crazy" to demonstrate how Coca Cola had permeated itself in the far reaches of the world. So what? Did that inspire anyone?

At least Heermann was having her students READ the book and not just watch the movie adaptation. As far as the racial slur in literature...no one is banning that use of the word on the street and I've heard that slur being used as casually as "dude" in certain circles. Why is that acceptable? If words are used responsibly in the context of the story, tone and setting, so be it. Censorship has gotten out of control.

There may be other facets of the story we don't know, but anything that shakes ANY kid - at risk or not - into learning and opening their minds up to the possibility that they can shape their own destiny is valuable and necessary.

Incidentally, prior to this article I did not know this book existed. I only knew it was a movie and didn't see it cos well, I'm not a big Swank fan. Now that I know there's a book I will be reading it.

Spectacular Bleu Cheese Dressing

The hubby and I love a good bleu cheese dressing. I was compelled to make some homemade bleu cheese dressing last night and found a very tasty recipe indeed.
Bon appetit!

Blue Cheese Dressing
From AllRecipes.com submitted by Luckyme9

INGREDIENTS

• 2 1/2 ounces blue cheese
• 3 tablespoons buttermilk
• 3 tablespoons sour cream
• 2 tablespoons mayonnaise
• 2 teaspoons white wine vinegar
• 1/4 teaspoon sugar
• 1/8 teaspoon garlic powder (can use fresh cloves)
• salt and freshly ground black pepper

DIRECTIONS

In a small bowl, mash blue cheese and buttermilk together with a fork until mixture resembles large-curd cottage cheese. Stir in sour cream, mayonnaise, vinegar, sugar, and garlic powder until well blended. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

FOOTNOTE

Whole milk may be used in place of buttermilk for a milder flavor. Dressing may be refrigerated in an air-tight container for up to two weeks.

Babes for the Brave

Batman has the Bat Signal... knitters have the Knit Signal.

Cancer pisses me off. It took my dad when I was 18 and by proxy (in the form of a heart attack) took my mom two years later. I have fought back in ways that hopefully help others. I've knit chemo caps, I've donated my hair to Locks of Love along with Mags two years ago, and we just participated in the LIVESTRONG Challenge in San Jose. I guess it's my way of feeling less helpless in the world and give a little something of myself.

I recently saw the Knit Signal in the form of a post on the Knitted Babes blog. The call for Babes for the Brave switched on another light in the attic and gave me another way to help raise arms against that formidable bully, cancer. If you are a knitter, I urge you to consider knitting some Babes as well.

Knitted Babes by Claire Garland is a treat and you will have a whole world of wonder at your fingertips. You can create wonderful lasting treasures for that special little someone in your life (or a bigger someone!) as well as for adolescent/teen girls fighting cancer by donating to Babes for the Brave. It also serves another purpose... my incessant need to keep my fingers moving and knitting as well as diminishing my recently questioned out of control yarn stash :o)

LIVESTRONG and knit on!

So Sweet Tank v2.0

Three years ago I made a tank top for my sweet. She loved it so much and wore it until it was a belly shirt. Now the tank keeps her favorite teddy bear fashionable. I remember making that tank cos it was right before some minor surgery. Being the worry wart I am I kept thinking I wanted to finish it before surgery so Maggie would have something special from me "just in case". Yes, a morbid thought, but hey you never know when your number's up.

Here is the original tank...

and now three years later (my how time flies... le sigh) .... So Sweet Tank v2.0

Picnic Caviar

Yes, good food and good friends = fun. Below is a little recipe that everyone seemed to enjoy. It is from the July/August Vegetarian Times. Also, check out Chris' grilled fish tacos and tequila lime aoili sauce as well as world famous magaritas.

Picnic Caviar

Ingredients

1/4 cup Rice vinegar
1/4 cupVegetable oil
1 tbs Sugar
2 cloves Garlic, minced (2 tsp)
1/2 tsp Dried oregano
1/2 tsp Dried basil
1 15-oz can pinto beans & black beans (I changed the recipe here)
1 1/2 cups Fresh corn kernels
1 Red, yellow, or orange bell pepper, finely chopped (1 cup)
1/2 Small red onion, finely chopped (1/2 cup)
1 2-oz Can diced green chiles with liquid
1/4 cup Chopped cilantro


Preparation

1. Whisk together vinegar, oil, sugar, garlic, oregano, and basil in large bowl.
2. Stir in black and pinto beans, corn, bell pepper, onion, chiles, and cilantro. Season with salt and pepper. Refrigerate 1 hour before serving.

Tiny Bubbles

Update.... this is not the best bubble solution .... quite. Far be it for me to say something negative about Trader Joe's, but one thing about their dishsoap is.. it takes alot of soap to keep the bubbles going. I may try this bubble recipe again but with a different brand of dishsoap. Let me know your results!

I love bubbles. We are having a little gathering of friends and food and I knew I had to have a bubble machine. I had one before but it broke :o( Thankfully Target was clearancing some, but no bubbles. What to do when you're without bubbles? Make some! Here's the recipe...

Potpourri

Today's entry is a potpourri... food, nature & knitting.

Food.
I made this delightful little summer squash soup. It's totally fat free (except for the parmesan cheese on top) and vegan (ditto cheese on top). Recipe will be at the bottom of this entry.



Nature.
We have this gorgeous sunflower we started from seed. It's amazing that that tiny little seed sprouted and was an adorable little seedling and is now taller than I am. Yes, I know, surpassing my height is not difficult by any means. Chris pointed out the little loops of pollen. I decided to get artsy fartsy and see if I couldn't capture a little world of wonder. Click to enlarge for detail.



Knitting.
I had long forgotten about this Knitted Babe I made for M!. My first attempt was stuffed at the bottom of a toy chest and I eventually got rid of her. M! was quite upset but I reminded her that she was shoved down there, out of sight out of mind. Not to mention, she was my prototype and not the best work I've done. Yesterday M! brought Kate out onto the lanai for some summer reading. Since she had been paying some attention to the poor thing I decided to make a new top for her which Maggie asked for me to knit. She took Kate on her expedition with Dad and her friend to the Tech Museum today.

Summer Squash Soup

1 box of organic vegetable broth
1 large carrot, chunked
1 large zucchini, chunked
1 small yellow crookneck squash, chunked
½ medium onion, sliced lengthwise
1 medium tomato, chunked
½ C coarsely sliced crimini mushrooms
½ T herbs de Provence (or to taste)
Salt/Pepper to taste

Pour vegetable broth into a saucepan and heat. Add all other ingredients. Bring to a boil, and then reduce to a simmer for 20-25 minutes. Serve hot!

Sprinkle grated parmesan cheese on top if desired.
Serve with crusty bread! Bon appetit!

Makes 8 Cups

Knitted Babe Couture

Some of Kate's Collection

Winner winner!!!

When we finished running the LIVESTRONG event we had time to peruse the "village" and made a stop at the KGO News Radio tent. KGO is our fave local news radio station when we aren't listening to NPR. It's home to Len Tillem (a loyah) who gives free legal advice on weekends, Michael Finney consumer advocate and Dr. Dean Edell among others.

There was a raffle to win tickets to see Lewis Black Let Them Eat Cake tour. When I saw my beloved scribbling our personal info on this raffle entry form I knew he wanted it bad. Why risk inviting MORE junk mail? Heh. Because he loves Lew so much I doubled down and entered too.

Imagine my surprise when I got a letter in the mail today from KGO. All I could think was "oh no.. here comes the solicitations already!" Heckno, techno... I won two tickets to see Lewis Black live in August! WOO!

One of my favorite bits on hunting by Lew.

LIVESTRONG

LIVESTRONG Challenge San Jose CA - A journey

We awoke at 5am to NPR. Though not fully awake, we give our bodies fuel for the event.... Bircher Mueslix for Andie & Mags, two pieces of 12 grain toast for Chris. We are on the road by 5:45am. Lance and the 100 milers followed by 65, 50 and 10 mile cyclists began between 7:30am - 7:40am. We 5K runners started at 7:45am on the dot.

It was an amazing sight .. so much yellow... people doing the event as survivors, in memory of and in honor of participants. Thousands of people from different walks of life... all united for a single cause. Kick Cancer's Butt! It was amazing to see and hear Lance Armstrong speak in person. The entire experience was truly inspirational. We look forward to participating next year perhaps in one of the cycling slots.

Maggie and I wore In Memory Of bibs on our back for my dad. 2/3 of the way through she asked me what my Dad would say if he were there. I was caught off guard, but finally said that he would be proud of us. We were cheered on by folks on the side and police officers and fire fighters. A nice feeling to be cheered on by everyday heroes. We crossed the finish all holding hands. One pair of gals came up to tell us that they were feeling pretty tired but that they saw Maggie and she gave them the incentive to push through :o).

Thank you to those of you who supported our team and helped us not only reach, but exceed our personal team goal in fundraising. It was an amazing experience and we are so lucky to have been a part of this event. Here are just a few photos from the morning.

it's the end of the world as we know it

...and i feel fine.

last night my dearest and i had a date night. we went to see hancock which was a pleaser. i mean, will smith is always a fave and i've had a crush on jason bateman since he was derek in silver spoons. i digress..

after the movie we were walking downtown and two little emo boys were coming toward. i saw one working up a big loogey and spitting. disgusting, but whatever, right? move on... move on...

well, as we walked closer and they were just in front of us, the little jerk did it again. let me just say that he was not very old, he'd be lucky if his dodgeballs had dropped yet. they couldn't be more than 13-15. pimply faced. i said "dude, you shouldn't spit on the sidewalk".. he and his buddy dogged me the entire time they passed by and as a "parting shot" both worked up and spit a loogy.

it was at that moment i wished i had hancock powers so i could bend them in half and shove each of their heads up their own bums. i don't know, i know i never acted like that nor did any of my friends in our formative years. if i did something i knew to be wrong and an "adult" corrected me i would have been embarrassed and said sorry and skulked away. but point is, i wouldn't have done that cos my parents would have filleted me later so i knew better.

i'm pretty sure i'm not an "old lady", but my pondering make me realize i'm slipping into that demographic .... the ones that have to mediate as the "adult" .... cos the next generation is hopefully enjoying retirement. i wonder what is happening to society on the whole. what about common courtesy and respect? saying please, thank you and excuse me. my mom used to quote (i forget who) that manners are free.. everyone can afford them. what about caring about one's actions on society?

meh. maybe my knitting and a piece of hard candy will make me feel better. heh heh.

the incredible edible egg

Question: can you fry an egg on the sidewalk in summer?

Answer: yeah, well.... sorta

Yesterday was a warmish 110 degrees. So it hit me .. that childlike curiosity of whether or not we could fry an egg on the sidewalk just like the movie Father of the Bride.

First we gathered our egg.. a "nice medium brown" (segue, read Lulu Atlantis and the Quest for True Blue Love for more thoughts on eggs and how they fit just right in the palm of your hand and could be full of surprises .. even a fairy crown).

Then Maggie took a rock to crack the egg and gently deposited it on the sidewalk.

After that, we waited.... and waited

.... and waited

It seems Hollywood Magic is deemed so for a reason... there was no immediate sizzle and frying of the egg as seen in the movies. Actually it sat for a mo until the fluid albumen dissapated and left only the thick albumen (egg white) and vitelline (or yolk). Say, who said you couldn't learn something new every day! Isn't this a dandy little diagram of the chicken egg? :o)



So Maggie decided to poke at it a bit and try to break up the thick albumen from the vitteline to see what happens. Chris pointed out that the dried leaf she used resembles a fried piece of bacon. Hey.. bacon and eggs on the hoof, what could be better?



Scrambling the egg seems to have done the trick a bit because the yolk actually did appear cooked..... NOT that any of us were willilng to try it out... well, Chris doesn't hold with the likes of eggs and well, being the paragon of the ultimate mine-shaft canary when it comes to food poisoning I would not dare press my luck, let's not even mention the 5 second rule applies about 1,000-fold.

What a fun little science experiment to give a little wilted joy in the confines of the blazing hot sun.

Book Review: Lulu Atlantis and the Quest for True Blue Love

Lulu Atlantis and the Quest for True Blue Love by Patricia Martin (ISBN 978-0-375-84016-6) "had me at hello".

Actually, the cover is what got me. The cover art captured my attention at our local library. It was on the "new books" shelf in the children's library.

The story is intended for 2-4th grade children, but I have to tell you.. if you have a big soft grown up heart get this book for yourself. It's a quick read though 228 pages. The characters are adorable. Maggie and I shared reading this book. When I read out loud to her I like to give each character a voice and these were F-U-N! I pictured Yogurt Skunk sounding like a cross between Lou Costello and a Good Fella. I imagined Lulu's best friend Harry (a top-hat wearing daddy long leg spider) to be somewhat of an English gentleman with a gravely voice.

The bottom line is it's a wonderful story of friendship, sacrifices, heartache, joy, secret ingredients and yes... True Blue Love.

I encourage you to check it out at your local library or just pass GO and buy it. In our case we did both. It's one of those books that we will read and re-read.

Wild America

This morning I was plugging along at work and saw a commotion in the tree. It was a large bird, but it wasn't black so I know it wasn't the usual crow. After I saw it hopping around a bit I realized it was a raptor... some sort of hawk.

In it's talons was breakfast. He was hopping around on the branches trying to keep a hold of his quarry and balance on the branch. Finally he found his center (ooom) and Mags and I watched as he defeathered his breakfast. First came the poofy downy feathers... then came the larger grey feathers. I'm not sure what it was.... but I'm guessing breakfast might have been a mourning dove or a mockingbird.

We watched from my office window for quite some time. It was as if Discovery HD was on in front of us.. in our yard! I snapped some photos and was pleasantly surprised that the images came out rather clear for being taken 40 feet away through dual pane windows with an eastern exposure at 7am-ish! :D

In speaking with my dearest friend Mandy, who is a Wildlife Biologist, she said it looks like a Cooper's Hawk! Apparently they are not commonly sighted in our area and since he was comfortable dining in our mulberry, he may come back. Goody! To view photos, click to enlarge!

Tropsicles from Vegetarian Times Magazine

Looking for something fun to make and eat during this heat wave? Here is a tropical treat that's sure to please everyone. It's healthy, tasty and also vegan.

Bon Appetit!

Tropsicles

Coconut milk and banana give these ice pops a creamy consistency without dairy or soy. Be sure to puree the mixture until very smooth so resulting pops don’t contain crunchy buts that may be too icy for sensitive baby teeth.

2 cups fresh pineapple chunks
1 large banana, sliced
3/4 cup light coconut milk
1/4 to 1/2 cup agave nectar
Puree all ingredients in blender 1 to 2 minutes, or until mixture is smooth.
Ladle into ice pop molds, and ffreeze at least 4 hours. Run molds under warm water to unmold.

Vegetarian Times Magazine

Summer Nature Camp is here!

That is mini-me's favorite summer activity, bar none. It is a week long outdoor Bacchanalia devoted to creek walks, hikes, games, stories, one overnighter under the stars and dirt, dirt, dirt!!! The kid is a certified tree hugger extraordinaire and finds close examination of insects and various flora / fauna to be the ne plus ultra.

This is the kind of program where you watch the camp counselors grow up too. Each year we get to see alot of familar faces. Summer Nature Camp has become Mags "Cheers", if you will. When she walked in for this morning for the first time this summer they greeted by cheering her name and big hugs. That's a pretty darned good feeling.

It's going to be hot hot hot (plus 100, people!) so we invested in a small scale Camel Back. Coated in a nice shelack of spf 45, armed with the dromedary hydration station, healthy lunch and hat, we hugged toodles and I wished mightily I could go with her! Ah the lazy fun days of summer as a kid. Good times.

Pow Pow!

Another Independence Day come and gone. My dad would have been 77 this Independence Day. For years he convinced me that the fireworks, the day off for everyone... were all for him :p Every year we make fresh strawberry shortcake cos that was Dad's fave. It's also the 16th anniversary of the hubby and my first date!

We spent the day with good friends at their block party. It was a little slice of old fashioned goodness with good food, good drink, liars dice, make your own ice cream sundae's, splashing and of course fireworks.

Happy Birthday America and Happy Birthday, Daddy.

The good list

Kids laughing, splashing at the pool, sparklers, starry nights, the smell of my gardenias, watching a lazy copper-coloured dragonfly grace our pond, hummingbirds at our feeder, warm snuggles with Lil Bit, listening to Chris read to Maggie, tiki torches on our lanai, the smell my tomatoes plant give off when I pull the vines back to see if there are ripe fruit, watching Mags sleep and gently touching my cheek to her warm chubby cheek, home pedicures with my lil gal, playing Super Mario Bros on my DS and Chris teasing me for getting all jumpy and moving around like it's going to help Mario jump over that crevasse, peanut butter and homemade olallieberry jam sandwiches, BLT's with lettuce and tomatoes from our garden, Maggie's toesies, laughing with friends, rubbing feet with Chris, warm summer nights, a good book, drive-in movies, running, knitting something fantastic.

May your days be filled with wonderful things that make you smile :o)

Happy Independence Day!

On my list

Telemarketers, Jehovah's Witnesses and pull-string pinatas are on my list today.

Telemarketers:
Every morning at 10am I get a call from unknown number/name. I pick up and hang up and they call back. I've left my phone off the hook, let the machine pick up etc. Today I picked up and waited for the click and someone to say hello (stupid machine dialers.. why isn't there a code verification for phones!?). Someone finally did say hello, in the background I could hear many others calling their victims, and I simply said "remove me from your list, goodbye" and hung up. I wouldn't mind people doing their jobs except we're on the donotcall.gov list! It burns me that political calls are exempt. Poo poo!

JW's:
Next, 30 minutes later as I am trying to work, my doorbell rings. I see it is someone I don't know or have time for and hear the rustle of paper. I look outside and the whole street is crawling with people in clusters.. men with men and women with women.

I open the door, see the publication "Awake" which is a Watchtower publication. I calmly and deliberately take the publication and walk to my big recycle bin. A group of them is clustered near my house and my neighbors house. They were frozen like deer in headlights. Seeing "a live one" come out of their target door is unprecedented. It's as if they don't know what to do... go about their business or try to corner me. Apparently my swagger suggests they should leave me the heck alone, but not before they see me recycle their "reading material". :o) I heard a slight "ooooh" from one woman as in "oh no she di-n't" Oh YES. I DID! And to make the point clearer I saw a water bottle on our fence (not sure how that got there) and recycled that too.

Also, if they really believe that only 144,000 people go to heaven, why recruit "competition" door to door? Of course, I've read that they believe that is the sweet spot number of the "elite" JW's who get to recreate earth at the "second coming" while the rest of the peons just get to be reborn back to the "glorified earth", what.. to start again? Sounds a bit like Hitler's "master race" to me .... or.. if you like we can put a Marxist spin on it... the bourgeoisie controlling the proletariats .. the haves vs the have-nots. Shouldn't a better earth be a unified and egalitarian earth? My sweet hubby probably would have invited them in were he here. He's always interested in hearing these things as an Atheist.

My mother, a fine woman, used to tell me "no one is better than you and you are no better than anyone else.... we all take our pants down to sh*t". Not just pretty words. They are wise and true.

I don't mind people having their personal beliefs, just don't come to my door or call my house uninvited to push your agenda. As Jack Nicholson said once "go sell crazy somewhere else... we're all stocked up here". Pfft.

Pull-string pinatas:
Who invented this? They should be tied to a string and bobbed up and down avoiding the stick. Pull-string pinatas are pointless.... as my friend Butterflychica says "may as well just give the kids the candy". Thwacking the heck out of a paper decorated cardboard or balloon to get to the third tier candy is FUN, PEOPLE! Why take away life's simple pleasures and replace them with politically correct, "safe fun". BLERG!

Worst Person in the World

Any Keith Olbermann fans out there???

We are fans of Countdown and the amusing reparte of Keith on Bill O'Reilly. Prior to seeing this clip of Bill O I found him to appear unstable... like he could crack at any minute. Yes yes, I know what you're thinking... all of us have job stress and have lost it, but there is something not right there. Also, I think BillO is a certifiable nutjob espousing hatred, intolerance and ignorance. Not everyone can fit THAT bill.. heh heh... no pun intended.

There are many YouTube clips with the "full Monty" of BillO dropping the f-bomb and it's funny but something about the bleeps from Countdown makes it funnier for me.

Unfortunately the embedding feature is disabled, but you can view it here. It really makes me want this shirt......and yes, I doctored that too with flowers cos this is a family blog.....