Sweet, sweet happenin's

The weekend started on Thursday night, with lots o' tacos and television at Kate's. I watched yet another episode of the truly stellar OC. Really, quality work from everyone involved - I nearly wept when the spoiled blond shot the brother of the character who looks like a big Haley Joel Osmet. Great show (how does this show survive and "Sports Night" and that Jay Mohr show get cancelled?). It is a true testament to how much I like Kate (and tacos) that I have sat through 3 whole episodes of this show. And we watched the season finale of ER, which is a show that I really do love and have loved since I was a freshman in college. Noah Wyle left the show with very little fanfare and only a small amount of cheese. I kept waiting for the ambulance to drop on him as he walked away from the front doors, but that would ruin the planned 'guest star' episodes of next season. I'll miss seeing him on the show, and am curious to see who joins the cast and what new story lines pop up next season. And, if Wyle, like Sherry Stringfield, can't find work, he can always go back. And if ER ends, he can move to Seattle and work on 'Grey's Anatomy'.

Anyway, we spent a birthday-tastic weekend celebrating with first my mom at her house with pizza, cake and games, and then Dan M. at a local bar with catered food, beer, cake and a Red Sox game on the big screen. We also managed to watch 2 more movies, Notorious and Dr. Strangelove. I enjoyed and was taken in by the suspense of the Hitchcock film and I was highly entertained and frightened by the Kubrick film. I was particularly struck by the thought that we haven't come very far in our thinking when it comes to fear of "other" and the dangerous belief that Americans are always right.

I also finally found the heart to enter my back yard and bag up the large piles of leaves taunting me there. Said leaves were heavy, dense, wet and starting to decompose, so, all in all, a fun chore. I also bought a pair of grass shears to cut away a weird grass-like bush thing growing in a few places in both the front and back yards (aren't I a whiz with the garden lingo?!) I did manage to hack one of them down, but unfortunately my little grass shears split up the middle and were as useless as an udder on a bull. My body is groaning at me today for bending and lifting and weeding, and my resolve is stronger than ever not to commit random acts of gardening.

Happy birthday Mama mia! Remember, it's not the age of the birthday suit, it's how you wear it.