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First off--Happy Birthday, Mom! It was your birthday when I wrote this, but probably not when you read this. Today, my rant is on the wind. I am not a fan of the wind--a breeze, I love--the wind, I do not. What is so bad about the wind, you ask? I hold my breath in the wind; I don't know why I do this, but I do, and thus long periods of time in the wind are difficult for me as I have to force myself to breathe. Apparently, I did this as a baby, too. Old habits die hard. In fact, I haven't gone to get the mail today because it will involve walking in the wind. I haven't gone to get lunch today because I'll have to walk two steps in the wind to get to the car to go get lunch.
I forgot to post about how fun it was to have Cyn and NooKoo down last week. They were here for just a short time, but long enough for NooKoo to make great friends with one of the dogs and utter the great words "dog" and "cat". She could already say "mama" and "wow" and maybe a few other things. I must admit she is very cute, particularly when she gets excited and goes stiff and shakes. I think that FarmerBoy is her favorite aunt/uncle at this point. When she saw him she got excited and about rocked her car seat off of the table. Too bad he, Mom, and Dad were sick and couldn't hold her, but they enjoyed seeing her just the same. It was also good to get to talk to Cyn and see her again, of course. We really do like you Cyn, even if you didn't have NooKoo.
Well, I'm off to hold my breath and get the mail and my lunch.
Easter is one of the most tradition-filled holidays at my house. Every year the local grocery store has their anniversary celebration, which includes 10 cent hot dogs, as well as cotton candy and ice cream cones for 25 cents (originally they were 10 cents, but inflation hit last year). Another fun thing is the fact that the grocery store tapes papers with numbers on the floor of the store and intermittently calls numbers. If you are on the number, you win a bag of groceries, which includes potato chips and bacon, among other things.
This year was a bit different. Mom was out of town and the cousins, aunt and uncle weren't down. Also, Loo, et al. didn't get here until 5 p.m. on Saturday. Also, the rest of the family is sick with colds and are trying to limit their public exposure. As such, I was the one left with the tasks of getting the cotton candy and hot dogs, as well as the groceries needed to eat unhealthy all weekend. The cotton candy line was non-existent, so I got my 10 sticks (what is the correct term for a thing of cotton candy?) for FarmerBoy to consume almost entirely himself. I then went to do the grocery shopping and they did not call any numbers while I was in the store. I tried to dawdle and everything, but still no number calling. Finally, I went to get the hot dogs, which had a 45 minute line. I would have just gone back in the store to buy the stuff for hot dogs, but was told there were no hot dog buns in the store. Sheesh! Anyway, I finally got my hot dogs (limit 20 per person), only to remember I needed chicken for Saturday's dinner. I returned to the store for chicken and food coloring and continued home. I would like to say that this tradition is much more enjoyable with other people to stand in line with.
Saturday went fine and dandy. I boiled 4 dozen eggs, and made 17 cups of egg dye, properly labeled, so that I would know what I was getting. I also made a "Special Mystery" color which involved putting a random number of drops of all the food colors. I then set the colors out in the color of the rainbow to easily find the colors I needed. Also important--2 dozen eggs were brown ones from the chickens, and 2 dozen were white for more variety (yes, I do realize that I have OCD tendencies, but doesn't everyone?). Several of us died eggs, and pictures are posted above of the egg dyeing experience. Anyway, the coloring went well and I got supper made and potato challenge and the tradition is done for a year, and next year people better show up in time to help me stand in line for hot dogs!
My excitement of the week is the forthcoming death of my car. Apparently, it has a cracked engine block and there's nothing they can do for it. It could last 2-3 days or 2-3 months; however, my brake lights aren't working and I'm not putting $220.00 into fixing them if the car is just going to die. I've had the car for 6 years and put 65,000 miles on it. Total mileage is 120,000. So, my Chevy Lumina is the newest member of the farm fleet of cars. Once it has started the engine the last time, it will go to the Kidney foundation or some such place where it can be put to good use.
In other doings of the week, I spent hours with Mom yesterday, cleaning the house in preparation for a visit from Cyn and NooKoo. Cyn is easy to prepare for, she doesn't put everything in her mouth. NooKoo, on the other hand apparently likes to taste everything (I'll forgive her, as she is only 1). This means everything in the house--or at least the rooms she's penned in--has to be above her reach. I wonder if she is bigger than the chickens. (That comment was just for you, Cyn, as I know you don't like to be compared to cows, and thus, I thought I'd vary it for you!) The house is looking somewhat better, and will be even better once we hit D.I.
This coming week I have a conference in St. George--Yes, I get to learn even more about water. It is a nice change from the humdrum, day-to-day boredom of work. I'm making my Mom go down with me and we'll look at cars, so I'll kind of know what I'm looking for. I don't know what I want, as I didn't know that I'd be buying one. I'm looking at mid-size cars that are on the larger size, but below full-size. If you out in blogworld have any suggestions, let me know.
