5 Things - Week 6

It's time for me to get some spectacles...

1. Hot Tip: Take your dog to the home improvement store.

Most Saturdays involve some kind of home improvement task for me, and those tasks almost always result in one OR MORE trips to the Home Depot. One silver lining to the weekly cash-draining trip to buy more things to keep the house from falling apart is that both Lowe’s and Home Depot allow dogs inside. If I had it my way, dogs would be allowed everywhere. JoJo and I have an almost co-dependent relationship, and her anxious attachment style means she would rather be with me looking at sprinkler replacement parts than sitting at home wondering when I’ll get back.

This week, there was a shocking surprise awaiting JoJo in the garden section:

It’s not often that you find artificial topiaries in the exact size and shape of a member of your family so it did require a close inspection and photo shoot. JoJo ultimately decided against bringing this bushy pup home. “It’s just too freaky,” she said.

2. this bear holding a balloon: it’s no secret that I love all things cute and colorful, of which Linzie Hunter’s The Cute List has an endless supply.

3. Waxflowers:

Hoya Carnosa

We’ve been getting a good amount of rain lately, so I brought our wax plant, aka Hoya carnosa, inside for protection. Upon doing so, I was thrilled to see it was mid-bloom! The wax plant produces these gorgeous star-shaped flowers whose craftsmanship is so precise they almost look fake.

According to Wikipedia:

Hoya carnosa, the porcelain flower or wax plant, is a species of flowering plant in the family Apocynaceae, native to East Asia. It is a common house plant grown for its attractive waxy foliage, and sweetly scented flowers. It is grown well in pots and hanging baskets.

This plant was procured from my favorite store on the planet, Costco, years ago, and it continues to happily bloom year after year. Now that’s what I call Kirkland Quality!

4. My eyes keep getting worse. According to researchers, eyesight deteriorates as one ages. And while I’m reluctant to acknowledge it, I am nearing 40. This year, 39, next year, 4-0. Listen, I’m grateful to be here, but it is wild to think that I, Adam Rucker, “the baby” of my family is nearing an age I once considered “ancient.”

I went to get my annual eye exam this week, and while there was nothing alarming, it was shocking to find out that my sight slowly, but steadily, continues to get worse and worse.

The only silver lining to this is that, as a result, I get to buy new glasses. I love trying glasses on, but I’m INCREDIBLY picky and almost never find anything I like.

My favorite pair, by far, was this pair of sunglasses that made me look like a citizen of Oz.

These are the kind of frames that qualify for the term “spectacles,” and frankly, given my advanced age, spectacles are probably what I need. Note: I did not buy the spectacles, because tell me why they were nearly $1,000???

5. The BLAHBS: Comics, Rucker Report-style

   As you may or may not know, I like to consider myself a bit of an artiste. And I’m happy to share that I’m going to begin sharing pieces from my archives on the Rucker Report. Beginning first with a series of single-frame watercolor and pen work called THE BLAHBS. Check out more about them here.

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