Letters From Third Grade

Rumors of my Demise Have Been Greatly Exaggerated

2009-11-13T15:35:00.000-08:00

To those loyal readers who have kept checking back for another post while this blog has been neglected for two and a half months, thank you! I even missed my three year blogiversary last month. I could say that I was having a hard time topping the last post featuring my daughter. But the real reasons for the neglect are 1) I started a new job last March that requires travel almost every week (which I will elaborate on in a future post), and 2) I got on Facebook. Soon after signing on, I realized that I am at least ten times more likely to get a comment from anything that I post on FB than I am here. And since I am a blatant comment whore, well, you can see why FB has lured me away from the blog. I have missed it, though, so thanks for your gentle nudging back to it.

When we last checked, Jessica had turned 21. She asked me about a year ago if I would take her to Las Vegas for her 21st birthday and I was happy to oblige. We went over Labor Day weekend. To those of you who have followed this blog from the start, you may remember my first November 4th post was about my dad, and how I met him in Las Vegas on Labor Day weekend. This past Labor Day marked the 25th anniversary of that meeting. Sadly, this trip we had to visit him at the cemetary, but it turned out to be a very nice visit. We hadn't seen his headstone, it has a cowboy hat on it. We sat down in the grass and told Grandpa stories and we could almost feel him laughing with us.

Other than that, we did the usual Vegas stuff, played some slots, went to a fancy restaurant, looked at the shops in Caesars Palace and Bellagio, saw the water show, visited the grand canal at the Venicia.

That is a key lime pie martini with graham cracker crust on the rim of the glass. To die for!

We had to go to Hoover Dam.

Full circle, that's me and Dad 25 years ago at Hoover Dam.

We stayed at the Luxor, the pyramid shaped hotel/casino. Because of the interesting shape, the elevator goes up and sort of sideways. They don't even call it an elevator, it's an inclinator. The evening we boarded along with several very loud, inebriated young women, it was quite amusing watching them try to stay upright.

We took this picture of the Hard Rock Cafe for my son, the guitarist. Figured he would appreciate the huge axe. He pointed out that the G string was missing.

And, of course, we had to have a picture in front of the famous sign. All in all, a wonderful weekend with my daughter. I have to say I am honored that my 21 year old wants to spend a long weekend in Vegas with me!

21 Already?!

2009-08-31T14:39:00.000-07:00

Twenty one years ago, this beautiful little person came into our lives.

Nurse: "Oh, whose little blonde baby girl is this?"
Randy: "MINE!"

First birthday at Chuck E. Cheese in Corpus Christi. She was the only little girl not screaming whenever Chuck E. or one of his friends came near.

This is on her second birthday. I didn't scan the photo of her in her pointy birthday hat stuffing cake into her mouth with her fist because it was Corpus Christi in August and the only thing she was wearing - besides the hat - was a diaper.

Her fifth birthday party at Ruttger's Resort in Bemidji, Minnesota, with her grandparents, aunts and uncles and cousins.

Tenth birthday at her grandparents' new house in Eden Prairie, Minnesota. She and I spent the day at the Mall of America.

Fifteenth birthday at the bowling alley. A month later, she and her friend did their annual combined birthday party (Kate's birthday is in November). Kate's mom and I drove twelve kids to Greenleaf State Park where we rafted down a river. Then we checked into this cabin. Jan and I took the bed, the kids sacked out literally wall to wall in their bedrolls on the floor.

Last Saturday her friends threw her a party at the home of one friend's parents (who happen to have a backyard pool). They also rented a moonwalk.

Today we went to Stillwater to take her out to lunch at Chili's. She ordered a Jamaican Paradise, and boy, did her eyes light up when she got carded!

Happy Birthday Jess, we love you!

Back to the Wild

2009-08-19T13:52:00.000-07:00

Last month we went back to the Boundary Waters. There were seven of us, six from last year plus a newbie. Our son and his bride weren't able to accompany us. It was the general consensus that we would not portage this year, no canoe carrying or schlepping of large, heavy packs. On that note, we set out from a different outfitter onto a very large lake.

We paddled out in search of a campsite. We came around a bend to see our first choice, which had a large, flat rock sloping down to a nice sandy beach. Unfortunately, there were several tents up and a naked guy standing on the rock, so we kept paddling. We didn't see any more naked guys, but every campsite we came to was already occupied, so we kept paddling. We'd been on the lake quite awhile by then and were getting a bit concerned about the availability of campsites. We were in an area where there had been some fires a few years back, and also a massive blowdown of trees during one storm that produced very strong straight line winds, so some of the campsites were uninhabitable. The thing was, the sky was starting to look ominous and the lake was getting choppy, and we had several confabs as to who was reading the map correctly.

We finally found a nice site just as the sky opened up and dumped its entire contents on our heads. Thank God for rain suits. We managed to get camp set up and the rain stopped long enough for us to get supper. Here are our resident engineers contemplating the design for putting up the food packs.

It rained a good portion of the night and then off and on all the next day, making it a day suitable for sitting in the tents and visiting and reading, or under the tarp, not so much for exploring or fishing. The following day, however, was beautiful.

Trevin cleaned his first fish, and he even had some fun with the fish head. Just kind of stuck his fingers into it and turned it into a little Billy Bass. This was Jessica's reaction.

The mosquitoes were out in full force this year, so I resorted to walking about with this on my head. I think I should send it to the What Not To Wear people and see if I can make them stroke out.

The next morning we paddled back out, took showers, stopped in Grand Marais for lunch, and headed back to The Cities. I collected scrapbooks from last year so I can add our new adventure and our new memories. All in all a fun trip. I think these two pictures sum it up nicely.

Going to the Chapel and We're Gonna Get Married . . .

2009-08-03T08:05:00.000-07:00

Everyone has been asking for more wedding photos, so here they are!

With best man, cousin Bob.

Being escorted to my seat by my ever so handsome son.

How did I get such gorgeous children? And would you check out those hot pink shoes!

Is this a wedding party or the Minnesota mafia?

Pastor Paul loves weddings!

That is a Hudson like the one in the movie "Cars." Very cool.

The fab four.

Weddings do make for some of the best pictures ever.

Road Trip Part 3

2009-07-21T18:57:00.001-07:00

Between work and car accidents, I haven't had time to post the last leg of the road trip to Atlanta. We started out from the hotel in Atlanta at something called a cyclorama, which was a 42' high, 360 degree painting of the battle of Atlanta. You are seated stadium style and rotated (slowly) while the narrator points out key pieces of the battle and the painting. From there, on to Graceland. Have to say it in pictures.

The infamous jungle room. Yeah, that's green shag carpeting ON THE CEILING!

This used to be a raquetball court.

From there we went to the Jack Daniels distillery in Tennessee and the Clinton presidential library in Little Rock. Then home and back to work. That's a tromp l'oeil wooden bench. You can sit on Hillary's lap.

Tomorrow, bright and early, we are off to return to the Boundary Waters Wilderness Canoe Area. We have hubby and me, his parents, Jess and two of her friends. The kids didn't want to portage this year, so we are taking a long haul across a big lake and setting up camp. I have some home remedies for mosquitoes (that smell ever so nasty) that I'm hopeful will keep them at bay. I'll let you know . . .

Footnote: We went out for Chinese last night for my birthday and Trevin's fortune cookie said this: You will soon be crossing great waters on a fun vacation. Bodes well for the mosquito situation. Indeed.

Close Call

2009-07-06T17:42:00.000-07:00

Every time my daughter leaves in her vehicle, I say a prayer for her safety, and I thank God for keeping her safe. He sure came through last night.

Jess and her BFF, Trevin, were driving in the dark on a dirt road (not much else to do in these parts) when a deer jumped in front of the car. Trev swerved to miss it (instinctual) and they went into a ditch and hit a tree. The impact was on the right front, so the side air bags deployed. That's where Jess was sitting.

They called the police and the parents. Several cars driving by stopped and asked if they could help. One of them was coming home from a weekend at the lake and had water in his cooler, which they greatly appreciated. The tow truck came and they got back into town a little after midnight. Jess had a huge bruise on her right arm and something of a burn from the air bag. She and I went to the chiropractor. He x-rayed her to make sure nothing was broken and fixed her up as much as possible. She's just going to be sore for awhile. We went down later to get some stuff out of the car. Not a pretty sight.

So again, praise to God for keeping them safe, and thank God for air bags and seat belts. And kids that, after that ordeal, are able to walk away and be goofballs.

Road Trip Part 2

2009-07-01T19:50:00.000-07:00

Hubby had a seminar Saturday, so my camera and I set out to explore Atlanta. We started at the aquarium.

From there, we went to the Rhodes house, also known as 'the castle on Peachtree Street.' It was built in 1904 by Amos Rhodes, a furniture magnate, in Romanesque Revival style, copied from some castles Amos saw in Europe. It was one of the first places in Atlanta to have electric lights. It also had a form of security system and an intercom system. Quite avant garde.

Those tall windows on the curved part of the building are protected from the sun from the outside because they are marvelous on the inside.

They appear to be stained glass, but they are actually painted. A pair of brothers from Germany painted some windows that won awards at the world's fair. Amos commissioned them to paint windows depicting scenes from the United States Civil War, and they are amazing.

There was a period beginning in the sixties when the house was empty for about two decades. City officials were afraid the windows would be damaged or vandalized, so they moved them (keep in mind, they are 15 feet tall) AND the mahogony staircase, to the archives building until they reopened the home for tourists. I'd kind of like to know how you go about moving such things.

From the Rhodes house, I went to the Margaret Mitchell house and saw where she wrote "Gone With the Wind," pretty cool. Then the Atlanta History Center and back to the hotel to rest up for the Jack Daniels distillery and Graceland on the way back home.

Road Trip

2009-06-27T16:37:00.000-07:00

A journey of 2000 some miles starts with a single . . . tank of gas, a cooler with sandwiches, juice, water and veggies, some snacks, a couple of laptops (working vacation), a few suitcases and a camera. Hubby had a seminar in Atlanta and we decided to drive so we could see some fun stuff along the way. And drive was pretty much what we did the first day. The terrain changed a lot from our neck of the woods and we stopped in Jasper, Alabama for the night. Next morning we drove into Atlanta, checked into our hotel and headed for the World of Coca Cola Museum.

The museum chronicles the history of Coke, has tons of Coke memorabilia and at the end of the tour you can taste over 60 Coke proucts from all over the world. Some of them are yummy, some taste like water, and some taste how I would imagine some of the yuckier Harry Potter Bertie Botts jelly beans would taste.

We made a stop at the Hard Rock cafe and I liked their neon sign out front. Oh, and the car stuck into the side of the building.

On our way back to catch the train to the airport, we encountered what has to be the longest escalator in the world. It was so long and steep that the floor below us looked like the wall, and we had to hold onto the railing to keep from tipping over.

When we got back to the hotel, we encountered what has to be the biggest tow truck in the world. It was, as they say, a badass.

But I guess you have to be a big honkin' tow truck if you're going to haul this thing around.

So that was our first afternoon in Atlanta. I get as much of a kick out of the mundane but funky things as I do out of the touristy things. Little things amuse me. We did get to see some other cool touristy things, though, so there'll be more pics coming up.

(There will also be more wedding stuff, but I'm waiting for some photos.)

New Definition of Biker Chicks

2009-05-20T19:01:00.000-07:00

First wedding story. We (moms, sisters, bridemaids, etc.) at the salon getting our hair done. Sipping mimosas, although I thought nine a.m. was a little early to be imbibing. Didn't participate.

Very nice salon, though, catering to us. I got my hair done in record time. The whole salon experience was fairly perfunctory, except that the photographer happened to be a bit avant garde. He looked out the window and saw some bikers. He said to me "I'm going to go out and ask those bikers if they'll let the bridesmaids sit on their motorcycles." I said "Go for it." He came back in and said "They're cool with it." So we went outside (and it was cold) and got some pics. They didn't actually sit on the bikes, but the photographer told them to get the biker attitude.

What I thought was amusing, and I should have totally gotten a picture of it . . . the bikers (leather, chains, do-rags) all pulled out their cameras and took pictures. Love it!

Nearly Wordless Wedding

2009-05-13T15:28:00.000-07:00

I'm taking a cue from some of Jeff's wordless and nearly wordless blog posts. I can't believe our little dude is getting married on Saturday!

First solo, flight instructor Dad

We love you so much and wish you both a world of happiness. Can't wait to be part of your big day!

Stay tuned for wedding pics.

Mother Nature Says No to Home Show

2009-04-26T11:38:00.000-07:00

The home show was going very well, good attendance, even in this economy. Had some interest in the business. The booth was in good shape. Jess and I took a break to look at the other booths and sample dips and cheese balls.

The show ran until seven last night, so I came home late afternoon to make some tacos. Hubby and Jess came home, we ate supper and were watching the television when Rick Mitchell came on to say that we had some nasty weather heading our way. Hubby got three motorcycle helmets and we went into our laundry room, because it's at the center of the house away from windows. The tornado sirens went off five or six times and we listened to storms hit and then fade away. Finally, they told us we could come out of our hidey holes.

Shortly afterward, they started showing pictures on the television about the tornadoes that had hit north Enid, which is where we live. In fact, the Expo Center, where the home show was being held (two miles east of our house), took a direct hit. Obviously, the home show was cancelled for today. We went over a couple of hours ago to see what was left of our booth, if anything.

This is the main part of the building. Our booth, however, was way down at the other end, near that awning on the right side of this photo.

This was a utility pole out by the street.

This is what we saw when we went in to see if any of our stuff was salvageable. This had been the booth behind ours. One of the back doors had been blown off, so everything in that buiding got tossed around for awhile.

This was taken from where our booth had been. Some of our pamphlets are over there, the blue ones. Oh, and that pink bowl was one of the ones we had candy in on our table.

Jessica had taken the balloons and put them in her car last night, I'm not sure why. We had a couple of boxes of pamphlets and flyers, some candy, a few snacks, a pot of flowers, and our banner. They were all there, still intact. All in all, we got lucky. But our booth doesn't much resemble the photo from the last post.

And that's how we do an Oklahoma home show!

Weekend Warriors

2009-04-24T14:42:00.000-07:00

Our town is holding its semi-annual home show this weekend and hubby decided it would be fun to rent a booth. He's going to be promoting his engineering and business consulting, and plant design. Jessica will be drumming up business for her web design division of the company. I'm going to be the one who runs out for food or a pot of flowers because the table is 'not colorful enough' or whatever else needs to be done.

The show goes five hours this afternoon and evening, ten tomorrow and six on Sunday. Not your typical weekend, but it will probably be an interesting one!

If we weren't doing this, I would probably be in St. Cloud, Minnesota for Jeff's CD release party. Congratulations and have fun, Jeff!

I Think That I Shall Never See a Thing as Heavy as a Tree

2009-04-19T15:40:00.001-07:00

When we lived in Minnesota, our next door neighbors were Bill and Lois. They are still some of our dearest friends. Bill is really smart and very kind. He is also a character. One day, he decided he was going to cut down the tree at the corner of his house. He had it rigged so that it would fall out into his back yard, missing his garden, the garage, and all the other trees around. It was a good plan. But you know what they say about the best laid plans.

I had just come home with the kids. We came out of the garage and started up the driveway and then stopped because Bill was taking a chain saw to a tree. We knew something exciting was about to happen. And it did. The tree fell, but instead of taking the preferred path down, it came out at an angle from the house, in a direct line with where my son, who was seven, was standing. I was not concerned, because I knew the tree was not tall enough to make it to the driveway, but he didn't. The tree fell, taking out their clothesline and ours, the ground shook, and Curtis burst into tears. Lois came out of the house and yelled at Bill for upsetting Curtis. Bill got his chain saw, cut up the tree, and righted the clotheslines.

So you can imagine my interest yesterday when hubby came home from Saturday breakfast with the boys to tell me that they were going over to one of the guys' house to cut down a tree. Where's my camera? Bill, you may want to take notes.

Lots of ropes controlling the path of the limbs.

The first of two big limbs coming down, spewing smaller limbs everywhere.

Now that the second big limb is down, it's a matter of cutting it up and cutting the trunk down to a stump. When that was done, they loaded it onto a trailer using a crane. Then they hauled it to the dump, where it weighed in at 1540 pounds.

I'm just glad no clotheslines were harmed in the cutting down of this tree.

Road Trip

2009-03-31T15:04:00.001-07:00

I did some work related travel last week and it turned into a bit of an adventure. Check it out.

Yeah, that was fun.

White Stuff

2009-03-28T11:47:00.000-07:00

Wasn't spring nice this year? But it sure went by so dang fast. What happened to my pretty hanging basket?

Ah, I see. Now there are things hanging from my hanging basket. Well, doesn't look like a good day for a walk.

Or a cup of tea on the patio.

This little guy doesn't know what the hell just happened.

Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm going to put on my coat and my Sorels and walk to the curb to get the mail. Tune in in about three and a half to four months when I will be bitching and moaning about the heat.

Is It Spring? Check 'yes' or 'no'

2009-03-26T12:11:00.000-07:00

Ah, spring in Oklahoma. Isn't it lovely? All the blooming, beautiful colors.

So isn't it really too bad that tomorrow afternoon we won't be able to see them because they'll be buried UNDER A HALF FOOT OF $#@%^&* SNOW!!! Okay, I'm done now.

Tiger Would be Proud

2009-03-21T19:09:00.000-07:00

Country Club Membership: $10,000 per annum

Small child golf clubs: $39.98
Small child golf duds: $34.99

Teaching your grandson to play golf: Priceless.

For the record, I took this at a local country club on the way home from job training. I love golf, but there is no way I would pay that much for it. Just saying.

What's in a Name?

2009-03-14T14:19:00.000-07:00

Someone sent me an interesing e-mail the other day, and I feel compelled to share. It was a list of legitimate companies who have seriously flawed web addresses. For instance, there is a website where you can go to find the name of the agent that represents any given celebrity. I don't know why you'd want to, but if you do, just go to www.whorepresents.com.

The next one is a knowledge base where programmers can exchange advice and views, called Experts Exchange. They had the good sense to change their domain name, probably because they were getting hits from pervs at this address: www.expertsexchange.com.

Then there is a wonderful pen company, where you can get custom made writing instruments. Unfortunately, their web address evokes an image that has nothing to do with fountain pens. Check them out at www.penisland.net. Please note: that's dot net, NOT dot com.

Need a therapist? You can find one at www.therapistfinder.com. You can check out an Italian power generator company at www.powergenitalia.com. Or IP computer software at www.ip_anywhere.com.

Last, but not least, you can find the designers at Speed of Art at their wonderful site, www.speedofart.com. I'm going to lob this one into Jeff's court because he is the expert on all things poopy and gaseous, and he was asking for blog post ideas awhile back. It's okay, Jeff, you can thank me later.

Would You Please Repeat That?

2009-02-22T12:31:00.001-08:00

I was channel surfing the other night and caught the end of "Blade Runner." That's special in our house because my first date with hubby was to see "Blade Runner." It also has one of my favorite movie quotes. The replicant, Batty, is sitting on a rooftop with Deckard, in the rain, and he is dying.

"I've seen things you people wouldn't believe. Attack ships on fire off the shoulder of Orion. I watched C-beams glitter in the dark near the Tannhauser gate. All those moments will be lost in time . . . like tears in rain. Time to die."

That got me to thinking about other memorable movie quotes. Two of my favorites are from Jimmy Dugan, the coach in "A League of Their Own." "THERE'S NO CRYING IN BASEBALL!"
"It's supposed to be hard. If it wasn't hard, everyone would do it. The hard is what makes it great."

"Month Python and the Holy Grail" has enough good quotes for a dozen blog posts. Here are a couple of gems.

"Listen, strange women lyin' in ponds distributin' swords is no basis for a system of government. Supreme executive power derives from a mandate from the masses, not from some farcical aquatic ceremony."

"I don't want to talk to you anymore, you empty headed animal food trough wiper. I fart in your general direction. Your mother was a hamster and your father smelled of elderberries."

I could sit here and quote movies all afternoon, but I am supposed to be making curtains and balancing my checkbook, so I'll just sign off with one of the all time greats.

"I know what you're thinking. Did he fire 6 shots, or only 5? Well, to tell you the truth, in all this excitement, I kind of lost track myself. But being as this is a .44 Magnum, the most powerful handgun in the world, and would blow your head clean off, you've got to ask yourself one question. Do I feel lucky? Well, do ya' . . . punk?"

Well, here we are

2009-02-07T21:18:00.000-08:00

Okay, as a mom who always looks at what her kids are doing and pictures the worst case, I have to say this doesn't look good. I'm talking running with scissors, leaning back in your chair and cracking open your head.

Seriously, is this a good idea?

Global Warming - Yeah, Right

2009-01-27T15:18:00.000-08:00

This is the view from the front door today.

It's a good day to stay inside and get some work done. Or battle cabin fever by working on a thousand piece jigsaw puzzle.

The real subject of this post, though, is my grandog. Our daughter was here with her puppy over Christmas break, and again last weekend. That little critter has more personality than any dog I've ever known. You can't look at her without smiling. Her name is Lucy, but she is also called Lucille and, occasionally, Lucifer.

She has several things that sort of define her personality. She's a thief, she's a jumper, and she's a runner. You don't want to leave anything, especially a sock, lying around on the floor, because she will steal it and run like the wind away from you. She's very sneaky about it. If she happens upon a pile of laundry, she'll look at you sideways, nonchalantly pick up a sock, turn around and walk a few steps, then streak out like lightning. She takes great sport in knowing that she will be pursued.

She jumps like a cat. She can scale things you would never believe her short little legs could get her onto. And when she wants down, she doesn't really jump or slide, she launches herself out into the air, reminiscent of the final scene in Thelma and Louise.

The running part isn't so fun. If she happens to get out without a leash, she will take off in any direction and you can't possibly catch her unless she stops because she runs at cheetah speed. Which almost stroked me out a few weeks ago when she got out and made a beeline across the street where our neighbors were backing both cars out of their driveway. I went chasing after her screaming at the top of my lungs and waving my arms. "LUCY! STOP!" I guess it was sufficiently maniacal that the neighbors heard it and both stopped, one of them inches from Lucy's body. When I came back in the house, I had to sit down because I couldn't feel my legs.

But one of the most striking things about her is that she bears a striking resemblance to this critter.

Which is why she's also sometimes referred to as Gizmo.

It's Not a Myth

2009-01-08T18:41:00.000-08:00

Gee, you look away, have a wedding, a visit with your son and future daughter-in-law, do Christmas with them, then do the 'real' Christmas and New Year's, look back, and it's been three weeks since your last blog post.

So, there was this quaint little restaurant downtown that had soups, salads and sandwiches for lunch every day. They closed last October. Meantime, there is a small place at our regional airport, Woodring, that does okay, but not all that great. Here is the story of the new place.

I thought it was interesting. Jessica's friend from school was visiting for break, so we all went to have lunch. It was a madhouse. The place was packed. There was a long table, which was three square tables pushed together. There were two elderly women at the end, the three of us parked at the middle one, and there were three good ol' boys at the other end. The wait staff was frantic but trying to please everyone. Somehow, they managed to combine our ticket with the three guys at the next table. We all realized it (except the wait staff, which was understandable, given how busy they were). The guys kept making jokes about how we were going to pay for their lunch. We were having a good laugh about it.

But when it came time for the bill, they had to leave, and they took the entire check. They said "We're paying for ya'll," and they did. Which is good ol' boys being really sweet to women. But that's Oklahoma. So I guess there is such a thing as a free lunch.

Bittersweet

2008-12-16T19:43:00.000-08:00

I went to a Board meeting today for Youth and Family, whose new shelter has been featured repeatedly on this blog. Right after we wrapped up the meeting, someone came in and yelled "Hey, they're tearing down the old building!" Which was something we'd been waiting for, and had been delayed a bit by crummy weather. But that has been our agency for thirty years. Despite the fact that the Christmas tree fell through the floor a few years ago, and parts of the kitchen had been condemned and we were putting band-aids on bleeding wounds . . . it was a refuge for thousands of children. We love our new building, but it was hard to watch the old one come down.

That used to be one of the girl's rooms.

So, the end of an era. We love the new, it's hard to see the old, no matter how decrepit, go.

On a lighter note, I was visiting with a couple of the Board members and got this story. Last week, we had a snowstorm. The weather, roads, and visibility were all crap. C was at a medical clinic and they asked her to go across the street to the hospital for a procedure, for which she would need an epidural. She said she'd walk and they advised her to drive . . .??? Anyway, she pulled out of the clinic, which is on a hill, slid, there was a car coming down and she couldn't stop, it honked, she hit the rear end of it. She got out, the other driver got out, and it was another Board member, J. They've been friends for years, so the first thing they did was hug. Damage to the vehicles was almost non-existent, so they got back in them and went about their business.

Meanwhile, C goes to the hospital and, in her words, "have my butt up in the air so they can figure out where to put the needle," and the woman administering the needle is telling the nurse how she just witnessed an accident outside and "they HUGGED!" So C, butt in the air, says "Yeah, that would be me." I have to say, we got a good cackle out of it.

Office Space

2008-12-11T17:00:00.000-08:00

When hubby quit his job and started a consulting firm two and a half years ago, he started on the dining room table. It was practical, he wasn't sure where and when he wanted to rent office space. It was fine until such time as he had enough business to merit piles of paperwork, and the dining table ended up looking like this.

I loathe clutter, so I would try to not look at it. But every six months or so, I would freak out and say why does the @#*&%*&@#!$!## house have to look like something off Clean Sweep?

We have a spare bedroom that I wanted to make into an office. It tends to be the place where everything goes that I don't want to deal with right now, so there have been times that I had to wade through junk on the floor to get to the window to open the shades.

Meanwhile, our daughter moved into an apartment last fall, and her room was largely empty, or, as she put it when she came home one weekend, sad.

Hubby and I both wanted an office in the spare room, but we disagreed on a fundamental item - the desk. I wanted a nice wood computer desk, maybe a dining room table sized desk facing it, and a bookcase. He didn't like the stuff I liked and he thought it was cheapo. He wanted something more industrial. I was picturing something like a metal desk with green sides, and I didn't want the home office to have that look.

My non-profit just moved into our new shelter and didn't take everything from the old one, so we had a big sale a few weeks ago. One of the sale items was a desk from our Office Manager's office. I liked it because it was nice wood and he liked it because it was sturdy. Okay, the thing is six feet long and weighs a ton.

We brought it home. The next day, hubby was out for around three hours running errands. When he came home, he had an office. I had cleared out all the junk, reformed the entire east wing of the house. He was shocked. He had underestimated how much I loathed the clutter, and underappreciated that I only blew up every six months or so. He said it was like a spring unloaded.

And Jessica's room is no longer sad.

And best of all, we have a dining room table. Just in time for Christmas!

So Peter Walsh will not be visiting me anytime soon. Well,unless he looks at the garage . . . .

Do You Know the Gingerbread Man?

2008-11-30T18:52:00.000-08:00

I have always liked gingerbread houses. They're so pretty, they're so Christmas. They remind me of the dollhouse I had as a child and even kind of the Barbie Palace Jess had as a child. Or the Legos the kids had. Small houses fascinate me. Probably because they are not so large that I can't control the cleaning of them or the possible freakout of the water heater that ruins the carpet in the closet, or the weird rupture of something under the kitchen sink that ruins the floors of the kitchen and dining room, which actually turned out to be a good thing because those floors were horrible and the insurance paid to replace them.

Jess and I tried constructing a gingerbread house some years ago, made the gingerbread from scratch, even. It was a disaster. We figured we'd made the gingerbread too heavy for the icing that was supposed to hold it together.

So hubby and I were in Sam's Club a couple of weeks ago and I saw a gingerbread house kit that had EVERYTHING you need to make one. It was only ten bucks and I thought maybe we could redeem ourselves and have a pleasant mother/daughter afternoon doing so.

Here's what happened. That's our scarecrow in the background. He's supposed to be outside, but it's been so windy that we have let him stay in, rather than get blown into the next county. I don't know what happened to the center of the box, but it looks quite creepy. What the focus is supposed to be is the upper left corner. That's the quintessential gingerbread house.

So we were decorating the roof and sides of the house and then we attempted to put it together. It worked.

At first. Until this happened.

We tried a number of things after that and it didn't turn out well for the house. Here is our attempt at keeping up the roof.

We however, did have a nice mother/daughter time eating frosting, candy, and gingerbread. The bottom line was that the house fell down and killed all the snowmen. The carnage was horrendous.

We probably won't be trying this again soon.