Bonus Time

It’s important to celebrate the little things. I get reminded of that nearly every day at this point in my life. Things like:

• How good it feels to clean out your ears with a warm Q-tip
• The magic of Potato/Leek Soup
• Coming home to the greeting of a dog
• Clothes that fit

This is a ‘living simply’ time for me, and one that increasingly is becoming a life choice more than a necessity. It’s a fitting line of thinking for me in this Ayyami-Ha season. A new beginning. Keep only what you need and only that which works. Jettison the rest and revel in the freedom and bliss that comes from simplicity. Let that freedom create the ability to respond to magical moments in life.

One of those magical moments happened this weekend, in fact. M had a date with her Mother to see the OBT professional dancers perform on Saturday. That left R with nothing to do on a Saturday night. I was informed that he could spend the evening with me if he wished; he wished; and so did I.

Now, full disclosure: I had planned to spend some evening time with my friend, D. This was, after all, my “weekend off”, so I’d planned some clothes shopping*, a trip to IKEA**, and a Saturday evening meal with D.

With the opportunity to spend time with R popping up short-notice, it was easy to adjust. D thought roller skating would be a lot of fun, so we merged everything. R tagged along on our meal / D tagged along on the impromptu boys night out, and I got to spend great social time with two delightfully witty and intelligent human beings. To watch R’s emerging mastery of sarcasm go toe-to-toe with D’s mastery of irony as a comedy device, was really cool. While I certainly could have joined in, it was much more fun to keep quiet, let them spar, and enjoy their fun. It was really, really cool for me to watch the two of them get acquainted. My son will do well in the world as he grows up. I can rest easy in that.

It was an Ayyami-Ha night. Celebrations all around, in ways that match the style of the individual members of the family.  Simple. Joyous. Freeing.

It was Bonus Time. And such a bonus it was. A “Bounty of Bonus” one might say…

Throughout this week, the kids and I will consult on a plan for our weekend together coming up. I wonder what else we can incorporate for Bonus Time?

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* I’m slowly gathering up some ‘skinny’ clothes to fit my svelter self. Right now, I’m wearing size 30 waists where I used to wear 33 waists. Needless to say, the old pants are pretty saggy when they’re 3-4 inches too big in the waist.

** My first trip to IKEA for me. Overwhelming without a guide.

Peace of Mind

We helped out some friends this weekend. Their rental house has a wonderfully landscaped yard, needing some of that springtime attention to help launch the yard on the right path for summer. But, 9 month-pregnant momma-to-be was in early stages of labor. This just would not do. So we went over to their house on Saturday and did the yard work with them. When we left, the grass was mowed and edged, lots of weeds had been pulled. Plants that didn’t survive the winter were removed; some replacements planted. Color spots from the nursery were put in the ground an hanger baskets, and all the winter accumulation of leaves and yard debris from all the storms was taken out. They were ready to enjoy the yard, while concentrating on the new arrival and the parade of family and friends that comes with the baby. They had a noticeably high level of peace-of-mind when we left.

That felt really, really good.

M’s rehearsals have gone well. They’re still on the fence as to whether she’s an understudy or a cast member. Regardless of which she ultimately is, this has already turned out well. We all have a good feeling about that.

R left on Sunday for Outdoor School. Six days of environmental awareness education along the Sandy River east of Portland. He’s going to have a blast. He might just come back a little disappointed once he realizes how much environmental awareness he already possesses.  Even if he’s a little disappointed, he’ll have the validation that he’s knowledgeable and increasingly expert.

The rest of the Typhoon spent Sunday working on our own house. Two different neighbors stopped to say ‘hi’ and to comment that they’re glad we’re back. They can tell we’re back because the yard already looks so nice. They’re thankful for that. We did some landscape planning and some cleanup. I took out the seven small junipers that C has always hated. We’re planning for something new, but we don’t yet know what.

I got the cars washed, too. M helped a little bit. Both got washed on the outside; the Jag got vacuumed out in the cabin and the trunk. Then I washed both sets of floor mats, and sprayed vinyl protectant on the rubber mats … same stuff that makes the tires look all shiny. The mats never looked better. A little protectant on the shielding under the hood, and my car looks showroom new again.

Most of the day, however, was spent on the garage.

See, the garage still is full of ‘stuff’ left over from the move: extra appliances; boxes of tax paperwork old enough to be discarded but still with us; clothes ready for donate/resale/hand-down; and the like.  We managed to get a bunch of stuff onto the shelves, and consolidated/culled a bunch more. We have three loads of stuff to go to donation, and will post the appliances to craigslist this week. Once the donations are gone, and the appliances are sold, we should be able to get one car into the garage. Both cars? Well, that’s a different story. That’ll require phase two of the culling of the contents of the garage.

While we worked on the garage, M shared that she’d like to become a vegetarian. She doesn’t want to eat meat that had to die to make the food. She’s okay with vegetables, fruit and beans. She’s okay with eating eggs and milk because no animal ‘died’. She wants to include bacon and sausage and fish. In other words, she wants to avoid most pork, most poultry and all beef. That’s her idea of vegetarianism. She’s a lacto-ouvo-baco-sauso-pesca-vegetarian. Uh huh…

Well, far be it for us to put that down in any way. While R (the vegephobe) is at Outdoor School, we’ll use this as a family project to explore lacto-ouvo-vegetarian eating habits. M can see for herself how a vegetarian puts together the right foods to make for a balanced diet. This’ll be fun. And it’ll be informative for M. Then, she can decide what she really wants to do, and feel peaceful about her decisions.

So, we feel pretty good about where we are. It was great to be of service to someone else at a valuable and critical time. We spread lots of peace-of-mind this weekend. And for that, we were blessed with peace-of-mind in return.

Did Superman Ever Have This Moment?

  I have a sort-of a spit curl. I didn’t when I was younger, but I have one now. Somewhere in my mid-30’s, my hair developed a touch more wave and curl. Right over my forehead, I have a lock that likes to cascade forward,  forming a C just over the bridge of my nose. Sort of a Superman thing, or so I’m told by those who love me. The photo here shows an example of what I’m talking about. We were at the beach that day, the salt air made the curl lazy, but  incessant.

[UPDATE:  some classmates from grade School and high school have lovingly pointed out that I have always had that curl. I stand corrected.]

Some days, the spit curl effect is less pronounced. Today, for example, only a few stray, persistent hairs are stubborn enough to fall down and make the curl. They’re probably not noticeable to others, but I can see them. Oh boy, can I see them. 

As anyone who’s been on the inside of a head where the hair falls over the forehead already knows: the hair is visible in your peripheral vision. Not a big deal. I don’t mind that at all.

Except today. Today I do mind.

Because today, the stubborn spit curl hair has suddenly turned GRAY.

It wasn’t gray BEFORE. Today it is (really? WHEN did it change? The whole hair? When?). Not the whole lock; I don’t have this big Jay Leno style color change at my widow’s peak. Instead, it’s  just the straggling few that refuse to get out of the way.  They sit there, glowing white in my field of vision, daring me to pay attention to them and making me immediately go cross-eyed as soon as I try to focus on them. Sweep them up and away with my hand? They’re back within 30 seconds. Distracting me again.

They taunt me – their grayness shouting ‘NEENER NEENER NEENER!” at me. Always there; always in front of me. Reminding me what my real age is. I rather like my real age. People have historically been surprised by how much older I am than they thought I was. But that may change with all that gray coming on…

I know (see earlier posts to the blog) that gray hair is caused by a build up of Hydrogen Peroxide in the body. Scientific fact. But I don’t have to LIKE it, do I? No. I don’t. Superman wouldn’t have liked gray in his spit curl, either. Not one bit.

Just in Time for Holiday Shopping…

Lifted, with credit, from epicwin.net

Here’s proof of what can happen when a woman drags her highly disinterested husband or boyfriend along when shopping. This letter was sent by a British hypermart to a customer in Oxford:

Dr Mrs Murray,

While we thank you for your valued patronage and use of our store loyalty card, the manager of our store is considering banning you and your family from shopping with us, unless your husband stops his antics.

Below is a list of just some of the offences over the past few months, all verified by our surveillance cameras:

• 15 June: Took 24 boxes of condoms and randomly put them in people's trolleys when they weren’t looking.
• 2 Jul: Set all the alarm clocks in Housewares to go off at five-minute intervals.
• 14 Aug: Moved a “Caution – Wet Floor” sign to a carpeted area.
• 4 Oct: Looked right into the security camera and used it as a mirror to pick his nose.
• 3 Dec: Darted around the store suspiciously, loudly humming the Mission Impossible theme.
• 18Dec: Hid in a clothing rack and yelled, “Pick Me, Pick ME!”
• 23 Dec: Went into a fitting room, shut the door, then yelled very loudly: “There’s no toilet paper in here!”

Yours sincerely,
Store Manager

Don’t Miss The Traffic Alerts!

I’m not trying to be a critic or anything. In fact, I’m pointing this out on the OregonLive.com webpage because awkward stuff like this happens much less often than one would think.

All I can say is that Halprin and Roy are both paying a LOT of attention to the real-time traffic alerts…and they want YOU to notice them too.

Oh Dear. I Think I’ve been Skewered.

Fans Re-make Star Wars … 15 Seconds at a Time!

Star Wars: Uncut Trailer from Casey Pugh on Vimeo.

BoingBoing Helps Me Out With Disneyland Movies

Because, today, I could use a little more magic in my life.

Home Movies At DisneyLand - 1956 from Jeff Altman on Vimeo.

And, a 40 year celebration of the Haunted Mansion

I Kinda' Wish It Were True...

The Onion is making fun of MacWorld, but oh they do it so well here!

Apple Introduces Revolutionary New Laptop With No Keyboard

What are YOUR plans for the holidays?

Robber uses Craigslist to hire unwitting look-a-like decoys?

 

by The Oregonian
Wednesday October 01, 2008, 9:42 AM

A guy who robbed an armored truck driver Monday in Monroe, Wash., and escaped downriver on an innertube may have hired as many as 12 men to dress the same and show up for a temp job at what would become a crime scene. The Seattle Times has the full story here.

Mike, who wanted to be identified only by his first name, told KING-5 that he saw a Craigslist ad last week seeking workers for a road-maintenance project. He inquired and was e-mailed instructions to meet near the bank at 11 a.m. Tuesday and to wear specific clothing. "Yellow vest, safety goggles, a respirator mask ... and, if possible, a blue shirt," Mike told KING-5.

No contractor met Mike and about a dozen other similarly dressed men who showed up at the bank, and they thought they had been stood up. Then, KING-5 reported, a man told them about the bank robbery.

Did innertube robber use Craigslist to hire unwitting look-a-like decoys? - Breaking News From Oregon & Portland - Oregonlive.com

Ice Cream ROCKS, but is it Really a Rock?

Maria Blumm blogs under the title GREEN GABBRO, on geology type topics. BoingBoing pointed at this specific blog entry on how ice cream can be re-cast as an igneous rock. Below are a couple illustrations from her blog entry, and an excerpt. But I don't want to bury the lead here, as I see it. For my purposes, the lead is in now being aware of an entire blog environment devoted to science topics.

 

 

ice cream

 

igneous rock

Much like igneous rocks, the same liquid mix can turn out very differently depending on what happens while it is freezing. The goal of most ice cream and sorbet is to have a smooth and creamy texture, which would be ruined by the presence of large ice crystals. To achieve this, you want to cool your ice cream so quickly that the crystals don't have time to grow, and keep the mixture stirred up while it freezes.

Read the entire entry here: Green Gabbro : The Igneous Petrology of Ice Cream

Someone Else Has Similar Thoughts About Guests in Disney Parks

"I wore a golf shirts and long pants. I was waaaay overdressed. Come on, people! At least the ratty t-shirts and torn plaid shorts should fit! You’re going to be taking pictures in those rags."

Link to Ken Levine's Post here

When Grandma Goes To Court

 

This was shared with me via email. Obviously it's been clipped from a website, but the source url is not included. My apologies to the original poster for not citing....but, it's just too funny not to include.

Of course, a quick google-based search shows that this has been well posted on a wide variety of blogs and joke sites. None look like legitimate news sources. And yet, snopes.com doesn't list it. So... I can't vouch for its legitimacy after about three minutes research.

Nonetheless, enjoy!