Thursday, September 24, 2009

September: Ch-ch-ch-chia!

There are two shipments of plants making their way to my house right now.  I don't remember what I ordered and I'm not going to look it up.  It's fun to be surprised!  In the meantime, I'd like you all to meet my birthday present to myself:

Chia Obama!
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I knew I had to have it the moment I saw it.  Some people say it's disrespectful, or racist, or just plain silly.  It's none of these things.  It's awesome.
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I'd barely pulled it from the box and I was already giggling with happiness.  I chose "Determined" Obama rather than the "Happy" Obama.  "Determined" still looks pretty pleased with himself.
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Check out those cornrows!
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I added water to the seed to create a seed-laden goo that looked something like frog eggs. (Chia incidentally is the common name of Salvia hispanica.  The oily seeds were a staple food of the Aztecs and are still commonly eaten in Central and South America.  The first Chia pet was a ram.  My first Chia pet was a pig.)  I had a ton of seeds left over and dribbled them into various houseplant pots.  Meanwhile, Mr. President went for a relaxing soak at the spa.
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Next time, I will use fewer seeds and less water!  The seedy goo was too wet and I had a terrible time keeping seeds from sliding down his face and neck.  He ended up with seeds in his eyes, ears, and nose, but I carefully wiped them away and fixed his bald patches.  Don't say I never did nothin' for you, Mr. President.
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After refilling his head with water, Mr. Obama is ready to grow his snazzy new hair!  Let me tell you, planting seeds on my president's head has definitely made me feel more hopeful.
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Chia Mt. Rushmore?  Yes, please!

5 comments:

Monica the Garden Faerie said...

While I always enjoy the quirky, Chia Pets in general have always weirded me out. And the image I can't get out of my mind is a mom scolding a child saying "Honey! Put that down! The President is not a pet!" LOL! Um, these are just my thoughts not meant to take away from your enjoyment!

Mr. McGregor's Daughter said...

LOL!!! And I thought the Home Simpson one was great.

Mr. McGregor's Daughter said...

Oops! I forgot to say Happy Birthday!

MrBrownthumb @ Chicago Garden said...

You have to buy yourself the Obama head pot too. That way you can have an Obama in your yard and inside your home at all times.

garden girl said...

Happy Birthday Diane!

I'm not generally a fan of Chia pets, but I want an Obama Chia. I thought they'd taken them all off the store shelves. . . now I'm going to have to look for one. Ha - Chia Obama even has a mole on his cheek - hadn't noticed that before.

(I bought the Hilary nut cracker during the primaries too. . . don't know why, just had to have it!)

I like to order plants and forget what I ordered too - love the element of surprise when they arrive!