:: Scuff Productions ::

I know you’ve been wondering HOW we can assure that Florida can be saved from Election Theft this year. If the vote margins can be just a bit wider, then it’s harder to steal the Supreme Judges decision, right?

IF you KNOW Sarah Silverman, this strong language in this clip won’t surprise you, and you’ll love it. IF a bit of crude language bothers, please do not clip the “play” button.

BUT . . . . . . if you want to help save Florida, maybe you’d better watch it:

The Great Schlep from The Great Schlep on Vimeo.

I hope on Nov 4, the Rethuglicans are voted out for at LEAST a few years so, hopefully, we can save it from the “end times” that Bush/Palin, Hagee, Dobson, do have us speeding toward as fast as we can go….. Give Democracy a chance on Nov 4 and vote Blue.

As nature’s summer fades into memory, and the local omnivores (read: deer) nibble up your tree branches:

I begin to realize OTHER things DO just BEGIN in the fall. In NY, it’s the theater season. At every high school in the country, it is Football Season. In Portland….

Thursday night:
**GATHER up with those independent thinking rapscallions at ANNA BANANA‘s to share views while watching the VP Debate. This is a great place. And a good beginning….. Early on in their business, a Fundamentalist Woman came in to see protest signs up, and a gay customer or two, some wine on the shelves. She wrote a letter to her neighborhood Improvement Committee asking that EVERYONE who shared her moral purity boycott this young house of “evil”. Rather than fight the Religiousity of the right, these young owners embraced the phlosophy, and are very happy now with their success.

Friday night:
**Invite two of those young whippersnappers, Andrea and Ross up for an evening of: Dinner, Snacks, Music, fierce discussion, and Petting Mac. Very smart, fun, interesting people. A new friendship may grow.

Saturday night:
**Thanks to Serafina & David’s contribution, we take their gift certificate along with Italian Emilio & Spanish Elena to Portland’s most “discussed” Tapas Restaurant: TORO BRAVO for a lovely meal.
If you think Tapas doesn’t sound interesting, let’s go back and repeat our meal: Boquerones, Chorizo & Manchego, Hidalgo Clasica Amontilla, Lamb with Noodles, Paprika & Manchego Fritters, Pimientos, Seared Scallops, Tortilla Espana, and settle in for some fabulous Churros dipped into a melted dark chocolate.

We stepped out of Toro Bravo to see a side entry called, “The Secret Society”. I knew I, for one, would HAVE to go up those stairs and investigate. We went. Built by an organization originally associated with Lumbermen, this large hall was purchased by the Free Masons, and more recently by a young guy who opened a cocktail lounge up here…small rooms, over-stuffed couches, it was NICE to sit and have a drink. But NO, we couldn’t finish with that. Elena and Emilio followed us home for more dog petting, drinking, singing around the piano.

SUNDAY PM:
**We began the Artist Rep Theater season seeing, “Blackbird” . Whew! Seems EVERY season they have a heavy hitter like this…………..
Afterwards, Baird, Karen & Joy had to return home, but Nancy & Elissa, the cousins favorite, went along with us for an early dinner at the Paragon in the Pearl. A lovely time was had by all.

Sunday night?
**Yep, football.

Monday?
**Tired, but happy. Wet, but some sun spots are showing through. IRA? Trashed. Oh the joys of unregulated Capitalism and the destruction it always brings. Thank GOD, I’m seeing sunbreaks, eh? I think we’ll have some sunny days beginning November 4.

SO will I continue to pine for early summer days where something as glorious as seeing a newly fledged baby Rufous hummingbird sitting in a tree branch would make my day:

**by the way, at least 2-4 Anna’s are STILL up here sipping occasionally….a NEW happening for us.

Well………it’s a good beginning for the Fall Season.

If I’d been gardening on the east coast last week, I would have torn everything out thinking that 6″ rain storm was the end for the year. However, Palin’s God must LIKE the West Coast. WE were given a reprieve in our forecasts about mid September for a two week warm dry spell. I suppose it was given to us to help her prepare for her debate w/Biden. It DID happen, it’s been a fabulous two weeks of beautiful weather.

So. Everything in the garden but the already harvested corn was given a reprieve to see what would happen.

With an extended period of rain beginning tonight, I harvested and cleaned up the garden yesterday. All that’s left out there is detritus as compost material, 1 tomatillo to go to seed, 2 tomatoes for “what the heck”, and herbs.

I saw what else needed attention, or just how we ended up in 2008.

For the first time in the 3 years the grapes have been growing along the driveway, they produced the fruit. HOW much wine do you think we can make over this bumper crop (I’m not kidding, this is the entire crop):

If you step back 3 feet, it looks like you’d see something more:

I got one big sunflower placed on the hook, so it’s now a bird feeder itself:

We have two apple trees, one Gravenstein and one Granny Smith……….the Gravensteins (by the dozens) are ready now and the Granny Smiths will be ready in a month, BUT don’t these look luscious? Both the deer and MAC are snacking on anything that falls:

I could not believe I picked a bunch of tomatoes yesterday. It was OCTOBER 1. …..But I’ve slow-roasted some today and will do more tomorrow.

Vine maples are showing wear and tear and are forecasting what’s coming:

At least we now have a little bit of wood stacked in the new shelter:

I saw one of the last stlll-thriving marigolds and said thanks to those plants if THEY ARE the ones who kept moles OUT of the vegetables this year…..Moles have been everywhere ELSE in the yard, so why NOT the garden?

So it’s a busy day! Making spaghetti sauce with fresh tomatoes, roasting new batches for winter, getting my “stuff” together to make Apple Marmalade tomorrow…………………. I guess just because the garden torn out, you’re not through cleaning up the thrill of picking what you grew YET…………………

Oh well. I’d better stop this silliness and make a decision about whether I can stomach watching Ms. Palin debate Mr. Biden. It does NOT matter what she succeeds at tonight, there’s a list a mile long why she has no business even being selected as a candidate. It truly shows Mr. McCains inability to make ANY kind of credible decision about ANYTHING. Yep, I’m having trouble relaxing this week.