September 2017

September had some fun highlights, a lot of school, and a whole lotta Willy Wonka rehearsals!

We were invited to an elaborate Old West mystery party.  Kylen was the sheriff, and Greg was a stagecoach driver!

Kylen came up with this idea, took a pic after mowing, and added a caption.

We attended a high school graduation for an awesome dude.

We were planning to skip Silverwood this year, but a very nice gal blessed us with free tickets on the last day.  And it just so happened to be a beautiful day.

The soup was AMAZING.  Some of the tastiest soup I've had.

Kylen talking to my brother.  We were able to get an extra ticket for him to join us!

We got in an old time photo shoot.

I'm in red, my brother's on one side, and Kylen's on the other.  :)

Happy Pi Day!!

Some friends of ours have a son who was born March 14th, and they got us warmed up to Pi Day last year with their fun celebration.  The mathematical term "pi" is a number that begins 3.14, hence March 14th or 3-14 being designated as Pi Day.  Well, I found out from my uncle's family that today is an extra special Pi Day that only comes up once every 100 years.  If you go out several more decimal places, pi is equal to 3.141592653.  This means that March 14th, '15 9:26:53 is a very special moment!  Happy Pi Day!!!  (Where will you be at 9:26:53?  Or where were you?  Better make note of it!  ;-)

Ain't That the Truth!

Love this page from my daily ME calendar.  It says, "Too many people go through life running from something that isn't after them."  Lol!  The picture is perfect!!!

Recall Notice

I really enjoyed this forward that arrived through email.  :-)

The Maker of all human beings is recalling all units manufactured, regardless of make or year, due to a serious defect in the primary and central component of the heart.  This is due to a malfunction in the original prototype units code named Adam and Eve, resulting in the reproduction of the same defect in all subsequent units.

This defect has been technically termed "Subsequential Internal Non-Morality," or more commonly known as S.I.N., as it is primarily expressed.  Some other symptoms include:

1. Loss of direction

2. Foul vocal emissions
3. Amnesia of origin
4. Lack of peace and joy
5. Selfish or violent behavior
6. Depression or confusion in the mental component
7. Fearfulness
8. Idolatry
9. Rebellion

The Manufacturer, who is neither liable nor at fault for this defect, is providing factory-authorized repair and service free of charge to correct this SIN defect.

The Repair Technician, Jesus, has most generously offered to bear the entire burden of the staggering cost of these repairs.  There is no additional fee required.

The number to call for repair in all areas is:  P-R-A-Y-E-R.  Once connected, please upload your burden to SIN through the REPENTANCE procedure.

Next, download ATONEMENT from the Repair Technician, Jesus, into the heart component.  No matter how big or small the SIN defect is, Jesus will replace it with:

1. Love

2. Joy
3. Peace
4. Patience
5. Kindness
6. Goodness
7. Faithfulness
8. Gentleness
9. Self-control
 
Please see the operating manual, the B.I.B.L.E (Believers' Instructions Before Leaving Earth) for further details on the use of these fixes.

WARNING:  Continuing to operate the human being unit without correction voids any manufacturer warranties, exposing the unit to dangers and problems too numerous to list and will result in the human being being permanently impounded.

For free emergency service, call on Jesus.

DANGER:  The human being units not responding to this recall action will have to be scrapped in the furnace.  The SIN defect will not be permitted to enter Heaven so as to prevent contamination of that facility.

Thank you for your attention!

GOD

Wild Hair

I can't remember if my cousin's daughter had been wearing a hat or what, but her hair afterwards was AWESOME!!!

Her mom had a lot of their shoes and clothes coordinated to match in color.  I thought their shoes were cute next to each other.  Love the flowers on daughter's and the sparkles on Mom's!

Carrie's Purse

I'm extremely busy with Christmas right now.  Today was our co-op's annual Christmas party, and my next focus is ordering our Christmas cards.  But I had to do a quick post about my friend Carrie's purse.  We were able to meet her family at a restaurant recently, and someone was missing a key.  So Carrie starts emptying her purse right there on the table.  I absolutely could NOT believe the stuff that came out of there!  I told her I was going to post a picture on my blog, and she kindly posed.  This doesn't show half the pile.  There was another mound to her left.  Let me tell you, she would win any purse contest hands down.  My favorite item was the baggie full of legos, which you can barely see at the bottom.

In case you're wondering, my purse is very, very small, and I'd get one smaller if it were at all practical.  So I'm truly in awe of big purses and their contents.

Word Magnets

Our theme in the main living area during May and part of June is black and white, which is great for Greg's birthday, graduations, and Father's Day.  Word magnets get put on the fridge, and we all work at composing silly, whacky, philosophical, and poetic lines.  If we have company, sometimes they'll get in on the fun.  My favorites are usually those with humor:

Man, horrible black galoshes like my bed.

Dogs do their time with family.

Toward the end, we start getting a little desperate to use EVERY word (which we accomplished this year!), and the sentences aren't always correct English:

Kid said, "This woman want my candy."

I am silent if she ask us for live skin.

I love this one, because Greg often says I'm on the "puter":

She was on the puter.

And we had a good laugh over:

They cry when you play ball.

All our lines were on the right fridge door; last year, they were more spread out:

Leisure

What is life if, full of care,

We have no time to stand and stare?

 

No time to stand beneath the boughs

And stare as long as sheep or cows.

 

No time to see, when woods we pass,

Where squirrels hide their nuts in grass.

 

No time to see, in broad daylight,

Streams full of stars, like skies at night.

 

. . .

 

A poor life this if, full of care,

We have no time to stand and stare.

 

~William H. Davies

The Good News and the Bad News

I'm happy to report that after six months of wearing my glasses slightly askew, we finally went in last night and had them adjusted.  The left lens is no longer drastically higher than the right.  Why did I wait so long?  Well, I picked a really busy month to get new ones back in December.  I barely had time to think, let alone add one more task to my list of things to do.  We have one night/week the eye place is open late enough that Hubby can drive me after work.  Once the terrible period of breaking in the new glasses had passed (seriously worst time I've EVER had getting used to new glasses - took several weeks rather than the usual few days - one eye had gotten so much worse I thought that was the problem), it just didn't seem that high priority.  Come to find out, with a prescription like mine, a little skewing can go a long way . . . toward messing up vision.  Not surprisingly, I see better.

In the good old days, I could adjust them myself.  But with this wonderful new and improved technology, we have to take them in.  The frames have a heat memory that will not allow them to be adjusted without high heat no matter how hard I try.  They will go back to the same skewed shape.  The lady at the eye place worked and worked.  She'd adjust them.  I'd try them on.  Nope, barely any change.  She'd try adjusting them again.  Barely any difference.  I guess with these new and improved glasses, not even the professionals can adjust them to fit.  About the time I was thinking we might have success with a sledge hammer, she got it.  The blurry gap at the bottom of my left eye was gone.  We departed feeling quite pleased and hungry.  Then at the restaurant I noticed something: the glasses are skewed toward the right, causing a big, blurry gap on the left.  Sigh . . . Perhaps six months from now we can do something about that.  And then if I'm very fortunate, it might be time to start over with a new pair.

He Still Brings Me Cadbury Eggs

It's my favorite candy, but they must be original. Only original will do.


My grandma won't eat them. She says the yellow center reminds her of a real yolk. There may be a back story in there about a baby chick lost during childhood, but I can't recall for sure.

Some men bring their wives flowers. Mine did that for a few years, but he switched to Cadbury Eggs. Probably because he was the one who got stuck arranging the flowers. Don't they look too long? I'd make him trim them. Then, I'd rearrange them myself. Don't they still look too long? He'd cut them again; I'd rearrange. And so it would go, poor man.

Besides that, Cadbury eggs last longer -- I can pack 'em around for months (as stored energy around my middle). And now that Easter candy is being sold at Christmas, the season for consumption is long indeed! Sweet!


My hubby loves me. He brings me Cadbury Eggs.

The Art of Cleaning Cardboard Shakers

Some individuals have shown a keen interest in learning more about my cardboard shakers and how I clean them. After much thought and extensive planning, I have decided to create a special post complete with pictures on this fine art. Here are my amazing shakers, which can be purchased as a pair at the grocery store already filled and ready to go! You certainly don’t have that kind of benefit when purchasing run of the mill glass or ceramic ones. Notice the cheery decorative print on the outside!

It is very fortunate that interest has been expressed at a time when my shakers are in need of cleaning! See the little grains of pepper and salt stuck to the tops?
I simply remove and disassemble them, then rinse with water. Be right back!
The tops are drying. Letting them sit tipped at an angle will speed the drying process. There is science behind this, which I will not go into, but it is related to gravity pulling the water droplets downward. Lidless shakers should be kept in a safe place where they will not be easily knocked over. This could take a while…

Now the tops are completely dry! I have reassembled and placed them back on the shakers. When the shakers become empty, I simply refill them using the items below.

If needed, the exterior of the cardboard containers themselves may be cleaned by gently wiping with a damp cloth.

I hope this post has contributed greatly to your knowledge of the world and its intricate workings. Please share with friends and family! Make sure they all leave comments, and remember: A clean cardboard shaker is a happy cardboard shaker!

Thursday Thirteen: Hauling in a Geo

You can’t really appreciate this list unless you’ve survived several years with a compact car. We loved our wonderful, reliable, little Geo, but it wasn’t designed for hauling large items!

13 Things We Carried In Our Compact Geo Prizm

1. kid’s basketball hoop (in the backseat for 1800 miles),
2. full-size basketball hoop (pictured above)
3. full-size desk
4. full-size entertainment center
5. two 6-foot bookshelves
6. items from many Costco trips
7. one little kid squished between to large adults in the backseat
8. moving boxes stacked to the roof, bulging from the trunk and overflowing into the front
9. one plastic toddler fire engine bed
10. Hubby’s long legs cramped by the steering wheel
11. approximately 12 helium filled balloons for a graduation party – all in the main compartment as we couldn’t get them to fit in the trunk
12. assorted building materials, including lumber
13. a trunk full of large, flat rocks for a path

You’re wondering how we did all of this? For the furniture, separate trips, unassembled in it’s box. Even then, we were making good use of bungee cords and stuff was extending way out the back!

Thursday 13: Painting Positive

Painting Kylen's room has turned into a WAY bigger job than we ever could have imagined. We had scarcely begun applying primer before I thought of The Glad Game in Pollyanna. We were in desperate need of a little entertainment and humor. This did the trick . . . for about five minutes.

13 Reasons To Be Glad While Painting

1. We will never need to paint this room again (hopefully).
2. We could be using a toothbrush instead of a paintbrush.
3. We could be doing this for a living.
4. We’re saving lots of money by doing it ourselves.
5. Painting 300 square feet is better than painting 301 square feet.
6. At least there aren’t borders all the way around every single edge.
7. Kylen has video games to keep him entertained.
8. I have blogging to keep me entertained.
9. Greg has the paint and paintbrush to keep him entertained.
10. All the ugly marks on the white walls are getting covered up.
11. We are spending quality time together during hours of mundane work.
12. It’s exciting waiting to find out whether or not our tape leaked.
13. When we’re finished, it’s going to look awesome!

Thursday 13: Rubber Band Uses

Greg uses rubber bands like other men use duct tape.

13 Uses Hubby Has Found For Rubber Bands

1. To attach a super hero to the wall
2. To fix broken super heroes
3. As ammunition for a rubber band gun
4. As ammunition for shooting directly at others
5. To hold small hand towels on our ladder so it won't scratch the house
6. To make a toy grappling hook
7. To hold his pony tail back in his college days
8. To bind rolls of wrapping paper
9. As a drive belt on Lego contraptions
10. For his braces in childhood
11. Around Kylen’s ankles to shorten his pants
12. To hold stacks of game cards together
13. To tie grocery bags shut thereby making a balloon

Pick Your Own Path

My son received some “Choose Your Own Adventure” type books from his Uncle Ryan for his birthday. I did a double take when I passed by one of them and had to grab the camera. Notice anything unusual in the picture? LOL! How many bookmarks do you count? No fewer than eight!