Small Town Joys

Hum Drum

2012-01-12T17:24:00.000-08:00

So, I haven't posted in awhile because my life is just humdrum right now. Nothing too exciting--just the day-to-day fun of work. I'm getting lots of tax forms done and mailing lots of meeting notices. This will all be followed by lots and lots of meetings--10 to be exact. I haven't been doing much quilting, but hopefully will get a bit of time this weekend to work on it.

Next month--Dippyland with the Coo Family, Ma, Pa, & Roo. Pa has always called it Dippyland, so most of us do, too. I've been reading up on lots and lots and lots and lots of useless tips for the Magic Kingdom. Did you know that some people buy a computer program to plot out their course at Dippyland. They use a computer program! What happened to having a relaxing time on vacation. I'm sure that Coo will find a reason to create a spreadsheet for the occasion, as he and Loo are in love with spreadsheets.

Well, here is one thing tat I did recently finish--a rail fence quilt for Baby McBaby in the good old U.K. I don't think it is my favorite of my finished quilts--sorry MBC. I'm still working on boy and gender neutral quilts and getting them to be more attractive. I also made 4 pair of little, itty, bitty baby shoes that I did not take a picture of that I can remember. I will never be doing that again because it was a big, fat pain in the patoot.

Sorry that it is blurry, but I can't fix it.

In other news Maggie Mae is growing quickly. The family spent much time debating over her heritage, so I had a doggie DNA test done on her and gave my family the results for Christmas. Yes, I am well aware that I am a dork, but I was a curious dork.

For all of you that don't know what the results were, you have until January 27 to guess what her heritage is. I'd post newer pics of her but my camera is broken.

P.S. Roo posted some new blogs, even thought it doesn't look like it on my sidebar.

The Current Project

2011-10-12T20:43:00.000-07:00

For my current project I cut 420 1 1/2" fabric squares. They looked much bigger in my head than they did when I cut them. I also cut out an additional 348 pieces. Why, because I am nuts. You'll have to wait until Christmas 2012 to see the project, as it is part of a present that I am working on for then. I had to start early, so that I would be sure and finish it in time. I also have a quilt top done for a friend that lives over the pond. I wonder who that could be. Hmmm.

Our New Decor & Hair Accessory

2011-09-20T17:17:00.000-07:00

Maggie Mae is such the designer dog that we don't even know what all of her parts are. P.S. We reserve the right to change her name.

Apparently, my head is comfortable.

2011-09-15T15:39:00.001-07:00

So, Pa and I went out to visit Loo and Family in NC for little Loo 2's Baby Blessing. We took out the gorgeous blessing dress that Ma made. While we were there, we headed down to Charlotte, SC (New State, wahoo!) and drove through downtown with the pretty wrap around porches. We also went to Ft. Sumter to brush up on our Civil War history. Pa, a.k.a. Gramps was kind enough to take Little Loo #1 for lawn mower rides, which he loved. I also learned that LL #1 likes pickles and biting and going outside. LL #2 likes eating and eating and eating. All in all a good trip. I'd post more pics, but most are on Pa's I-pad.

I'm also posting pics of the blessing dresses Ma made (Coo & wife YooCoo had their little Coo #3 a mere three hours before Loo's & hubby's addition arrived). for Little Coo #3 and Little Loo #2, as well as pics of both in the blessing gowns. Ma did pintucking and all sorts of other sewy things on the dresses. I wasn't able to attend Little Coo #3's blessing, but I stole a pic from my cousin Eliza B.'s blog, unless she makes me take it down for stealing it :)

The Dresses:

Little Coo #3's Dress

Little Loo #2's Dress

And Little Coo #3 in her Dress with her mom.

And Little Loo #2 in her dress. Please ignore her severe red-eye. I'm on the wrong computer to fix it.

A group photo from LL2's blessing

So, there you have it.

Corn, a few quilts, and vacation

2011-08-14T18:38:00.001-07:00

Corn Season has begun here on the farm!

And here are a few quilts Ma and I have finished:
Sewn & quilted by me and bound by Ma.

Sewn & Bound by Ma, quilted by me.
All by me!
This was supposed to be a baby quilt, but ended up a little big.

And some pics from my vacation to visit Da in Montana. We also went to North Dakota and Saskatchewan. Please read her blog for details on the trip.

Pitchfork Steak Fondue at Medora, ND.

Me and Da as Mounties at the RCMP Museum in Regina, SK, Canada

Traveling the gravel roads of Canada

One of the fabulous murals in Moosejaw, SK, Canada

Da in front of the Moose of Moosejaw

More of the Creating Streak.

2011-07-20T16:32:00.000-07:00

Look! Two New Posts in One Day

Warning: This Blog Post contains photos of projects that have been made for nieces & nephews. All of these items are currently en route. If you want to be surprised by them, don't read any further until after you see them in person :)

So, with two new nieces, I had to get busy on my projects. Mom and I decided to split the work and each do one blanket. I don't think we would have worked together well. Both quilts turned out very cute, I think. I only have a pic of one of them. The other is still getting it's binding put on.
Fabulous Job, Mom!

I've recently been inspired to take a foray into the world of applique, so that meant I was going to make applique T-Shirts for the nephews. I started with balls, as seen below; however, I accidentally cut a little hole in one of them.

Loo, you'll need to put a sticker over that for L. They didn't turn out half-bad, so I decided to expand my repertoire into a train for J and a fire engine for L. What do you think?

I also decided to make ruffle-butt onesies, as demonstrated here. What, you ask, are ruffle-butt onesies? They are onesies with ruffles on the butt of course! At what other age can you wear ruffles on your butt and actually look cute. The left over ribbons from the onesies inspired me to make matching flower headbands.

In addition, I'd decided to make NooCoo a dress, but then I messed it up, I unpicked the mess up and then I lost it--It was not very big, o.k. I'm sure I'll find it someday. Thus, I had to make her a new dress, which also featured organza ribbon flowers. I was quite proud of it in the end. I'm afraid it will drown NooCoo because even though the T-Shirt top is her size, it seems to be quite wide. Also, the skirt may be a bit short, but I put a big hem in it and Gran can let that down if she needs to when she visits :)

So, now you know all of the many sewing projects that I've been working on. I've also made another baby quilt, as has Mom.

I'm headed off to the great state of Montana to visit sister Da. We will also be visiting other places that are yet to be determined. If you are lucky, someday I'll blog about the trip, but I wouldn't hold my breath.

What have all of you been up to for the summer?

By the Numbers

2011-07-20T16:22:00.000-07:00

2--Nieces I got with 3 hours and 5 minutes of each other
127-- Water Sheets I entered
105--Minutes it took me to enter above Water Sheets
4--Approximate times my Mom called me at work today
13--Number of other phone calls at work today
1--packages sent to the G-House crew in Oregon
1.5--Days until I leave to see Da in Montana
40--approximate number of ants I have killed on my desk with my Pointer Finger!

Water Water

2011-06-05T21:09:00.000-07:00

Pa at the Central Utah Water Spillway
Me and Uncle D with the DMAD spillway in the background
Uncle D, Aunt C and Ma at the DMAD spillway
The DMAD Spillway.

So, things have been pretty wet here lately. I notice these things because I work at an irrigation office, just in case you were wondering. The river commissioner has been sending water down from the upper reservoir because of increased run off, so we have a bunch of water going over our spillways. I go and check on the DMAD spillway a couple times a week. Last weekend, I went with Ma, Uncle D and Aunt C to the spillway. On Friday, Pa and I went driving around to look at river levels around the area and today we went up to the Central Utah Water spillway by the cement plant. It's pretty fun to look at, since we rarely see this much water.

All of this water and the river reminds me of the time that the Young Women in our ward were going tubing down the river when I was thirteen. My grandma called one of the girls that lived by the river to tell her to save my life if necessary. It mortified me. Here's the thing. We were scraping bottom because there was so little water in the river. In fact, we had to stand up and walk part of the way because there wasn't enough water to even move us downstream:). Anyway, above are a few pics of all the water for your enjoyment.

I've also been busy making more quilts. I just finished the top for Coo and YooCoo's upcoming addition. I'll eventually post pictures, maybe, perhaps, possibly. Oooh, oooh. I remember, I bought a new sewing machine. I now feel poor, but so far I like the machine. It has a feature where it will sew without the pedal.--You just hit a button and it starts sewing, and then when you want to stop, you push the button again. This results in me saying "Aaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhh" a lot, so I think it would be wise for me to use the pedal for now. You may see my machine here. I'm also pretty sure that the machine is smarter than I am.

In vacation news, I'm planning a visit up to Da's next month and Loo and family in Sept-Oct. to meet their newest baby.

My illness

2011-02-10T19:15:00.000-08:00

As we all know, I have a crafting illness. It is hereditary and comes from my mother, though I'm not sure from whom she inherited it. As we all know, I've been making quilts, though I still have 3 unfinished "block of the month" quilts. I've decided that I'm allowed to look at a new sewing machine when I have completed 10 quilt tops. I am currently at 8. I may include photos of my latest two quilts, as well as the four jelly roll skirts I recently made. To pass the February doldrums, Ma and I have signed up for a flower arranging class taught by the local high school agriculture sterling scholar. I wish they had flower arranging when I was in high school! Anyway, I'm posting photos of what we've made. The wreath was made 2 days ago, and thus is sad looking. The flower arrangement with the white & red ribbon hanging down is mine and the other is Ma's. I hope that you all are surviving the winter.

Christmas

2010-12-27T17:05:00.000-08:00

Yes, I've decided to post once again. I have to rely on my limited social interactions for blogposts, so they are few and far between, just like my social encounters. Christmas was very nice this year. Coo, Yoocoo, and their little ones came to visit, which makes Christmas much more exciting than just boring adults. NooCoo loves all thing princess and J-bud was happy with all things that moved--cars, tractors, trucks, trains, and planes. FarmerBoy and Coo helped the kids go sledding, and they got to sit and "drive" a tractor. Gran helped with crafts and Uncle S.Q. had Noocoo stumped with his magic. Everyone helped make a snowman, and we "girls" all slept in the same room with wall-to-wall beds. We all had lots of fun while they were here. I told Da that I'd post a few pictures for her enjoyment. Thanks to Coo for some of the photos.

Noocoo and her MegaMe, Roo
J-Bud and Gramps reading a story.
Give me a S-U-P-E-R-G-I-R-L, P-R-I-N-C-E-S-S
Opening Christmas crackers
Such a good tractor driver
"Vroom...Vroom.........
"Wheeeeeeeeeeeee"
I'm not so sure about this.
One cute family

On the Road

2010-10-06T20:29:00.001-07:00

So, I've been having a lovely vacation up in the Northwestern United States. First, I stayed with my cousin Bee and her husband DaBee. I had a lovely time. We went to the Salmon Festival in Issaquah, where we saw the fish swim upstream and spawn. We also saw many little booths. On Monday, we went to the zoo with the kids that Bee babysits, where the search of garbage truck seemed to be more entertaining than the animals to the little ones. I, however, enjoyed the animals. After my nap, Bee and DaBee took me out to eat, and Bee and I followed that with clothes shopping (I needed new clothes because I am too fat for my old ones :). Tuesday was my last day up in the Seattle area. Bee and I went to Pike's Market, and then had lunch at the Space Needle, followed by a quick trip to the Sci-Fi and EMP museum. It has been lovely. I am now spending time with Coo, YooCoo and family. Enjoy the pics below. Just kidding. The pictures won't load, so pretend that you pictures of me at most of the places above.

Rain & Craftiness.

2010-05-16T14:21:00.000-07:00

Well, I've decided to post once again. I like to wait long enough that you're not expecting me to ever post again! Life has continued on at the same humdrum pace as always. I get up, go to work, come home, go to bed, and repeat. We've had some very nice storms here this week, which created the Greathouse Lakes in our driveway, though they've disappeared now. I'll post a picture, anyway.

Hey, I live in a desert. That's as close to a lake as we get. We also moved cattle yesterday. Things went pretty smoothly. Only one cow and her calf didn't know where to go. I've been continuing on with my crafty streak, as has Roo. Mine is mostly quilts, though I did learn how to sew receiving blankets this last week and I have a special project for S.Q. planned. Yes, you should be worried. On the boring side, below are pics of my latest quilt blocks for sewing buddy, Lauren to see. I also found pictures of a quilt I finished last year. I'm including it as well, since this is as close to a journal as I get. One of these years I'll have to print out all of my posts and put them in a safe place never to be found again. Here comes on the quilting stuff. Please don't look too closely. Perfectionism is not a trait that I suffer from.

In other excitement, we had a ward activity on Wednesday on Emergency Preparedness. I was in charge of the kids activities. First, the firemen taught them about fire safety, showed them the truck and gave them hats. Then, with Roo's forced help, we talked about games you can play in an emergency and learned how to rip snowflakes out of paper. (One of FarmerBoy's church activities). (Roo pointed out that anything you can play in church, you can play in an emergency). Then we put together 72-minute kits. (Roo pointed out 72-minutes is about the length of Sacrament meeting). Either she thinks sacrament meeting is an emergency, or she likes to corrupt kids or both. We then played "Statue" in the dark with the glow bracelets. I was pretty pleased with the activity. No one seemed too bored and were excited for their "Free" stuff!

BTW, here is the quilt I finished last year:

Not the best photo, but you get the idea.

Ma is back in NC helping with the Velociraptor, since Loo had a bit of surgery and wasn't supposed to hold him. Not that she ever updates her blog or even puts up pictures. I would think having a baby would warrant a new blog post, hint, hint. Not that he's "new" anymore. Roo leaves for Portland tomorrow, where she picks up Coo's car and drives to Idaho. Ma gets back late Tuesday night. a drives out with Eliza B., leaving this Friday, stopping at Loo's on the way and getting in a whole bunch of states I don't have. Rude! Then S.Q. leaves before Memorial Day for his internship with the Evil Empire in Seattle. Everyone is on the move. O.k. not me, but much of the rest of the family.

Well, there's what's happening back at the ranch. Hope everything is going well for all of you. Sionara!

This weekend

2010-04-04T15:56:00.001-07:00

So, here is my project for this weekend. It is a skirt made out of jelly roll strips. I think I'll make a quilt with the other strips. I wonder who it could be for??? :) I need the waist size for a certain little NooCoo, so that I can finish the skirt up and get it in the mail. I'll just have to wait until her family gets back home from vacation.

You'll notice the NCAA brackets in the background. I think Pa won, o.k. S.Q. won, but he's at college and won his ward's, so he doesn't count. My bracket pretty much tanked. Yes, I took the picture with the webcam because I was too lazy to find a camera.

I went to the grocery store for 10 cent hotdogs at about 4:15, but they'd already shut down the line because it was so long. I just bought hot dogs in the store and burned them for supper last night.

Quilting

2010-03-28T19:07:00.000-07:00

So, for the past couple of years, I've taken up quilting. It is my Saturday activity, so I thought I'd share some of what I've accomplished. I have recently become long-distance sewing buddies with lissieloo, my sister Da's college roommate. We are doing a jelly roll sampler together found here at Moose on the Porch quilts. I was a little slow getting started, but I've finished the first two blocks. They are below.

Block #1

Block #2

I'm also doing a block of the month with our local quilt store, and am forcing Roo to do it along with me, using fabric at home. The first block below is mine, and the second is hers.

Mine

Roo's

I've also made four quilts (completed 3 7/8). I only have pictures of two. I have also made two baby quilts. The one for baby WooWoo was made from scraps of the farm quilt below. Oddly enough, the farm quilt is the first one started, and it is the one that still isn't finished. I still have to bind the quilt.

For NooCoo

The farm quilt

An up close of the farm quilt. I actually machine quilted this one. It was a pain, but I survived.

Cruise Slideshow 2010

2010-03-06T17:55:00.001-08:00

Because MBCB said I should

2010-03-06T15:21:00.000-08:00

Well, a certain MBCB has requested several times that I post about my recentish cruise, so here goes. I went with FarmerBoy to the Western Caribbean. I'll try to get a slideshow up with a few of the very few pictures that we took.

Day 1
Our flight left at about midnight from the Las Vegas airport. After our extended five hour drive (we needed books and goodies to survive), we got to the airport four hours early and I actually slept on the flight for a couple of hours.

Day 2
We got into Ft. Lauderdale, waited in the airport for a couple of hours before taking a shuttle to Miami on Superbowl Sunday. Traffic actually wasn't too bad. We got on the ship about 12:30 and promptly went to the buffet because eating is very important on a cruise. We took our tour of the ship and wasted some time before dinner and then went to bed early because I was exhausted from being up most of the night.

Day 3
At Sea. We spent the day going to trivia competitions, reading, sleeping, exploring, and various other things around the ship. This might be the day that FarmerBoy went ice skating on the ship and I went to the shopping seminar to learn about all of the great shopping deals that mostly applied to diamonds and really expensive watches.

Day 4
Costa Maya, Mexico. We were supposed to go parasailing here, but this was canceled because the weather had been bad the day before and all of the parasailing ships went to cozumel. We did, however go snorkeling. The snorkeling was diffiicult here because there were some waves, so we would swim and swim and not move much of anywhere. Next, I proceeded to get most of my silver jewelry and quite the sunburn on my back. I'd been to Cozumel before and knew that they didn't deal much. We also purchased a hammock chair, pagan mask for my parents' bathroom collection, and a cute little dress for Nookoo. I felt pretty good about my bargaining skills. I'm only willing to pay so much for earrings that I'll lose half of

Day 5
Lamanai Ruins, Belize. We took a bus for an hour and a half to a boat. We then took a boat ride up the river for about an hour to get to the ruins. Farmerboy saw a crocodile in the river and I saw sticks. He is a lot more observant than I was. On to the ruins. I thought they were fabulous and very cool. And we saw and heard howler monkeys, which was lots of fun. FarmerBoy climbed to the top of the building and took a picture of me sitting at the bottom as seen in the slideshow.

We got back about 20 minutes before the last tender to the ship and that was our day.

Day 6
Cozumel, Mexico. Again, we went snorkeling. The snorkeling here was amazing. Beautifully clear water and calm as can be. We stopped at three different locations and saw starfish and a turtle and tons of fish and coral and all sorts of cool stuff. The tour operators gave us the most delicious melon to snack on. We spent several hours snorkeling here and the tour guide was great, pointing lots of things out to us. We continued on with my shopping, getting the pearls for $1.50 an inch (I knew that shopping seminar on day 1 had to be worth something), as well as numerous lucidore (sp?) masks, and some T-shirts.

Day 7
Grand Cayman, Virgin Islands. We actually got to sleep in this morning, since our excursion wasn't until 1:30 or so. We went to Stingray city and held and kissed stingrays. No, we did not get stung and die. We then did a little bit of snorkeling there, which was pretty lame after Cozumel. I finished out my shopping with seashell necklaces and then we headed back to the ship. Grand Cayman is not my favorite place. Mostly it has high-end jewelry stores, which I'm not going to buy things from.

Day 8
At Sea. More random activites, art auctions, eating, and packing to go.

Day 9
Disembark at about 10:00 and spend many more hours waiting in the airport until our flight at 8:30 p.m. I did not sleep on the crowded plane this time. No leg room, and annoying people who thought that they should stand and talk all the way through the flight! Get into Las Vegas, spend the night and lose my .mp3 player somewhere along the way. Boo! I just bought it from S.Q. last summer. It may yet show up somewhere.

Day 10
Drive back from Vegas. Car quits at St. George exit. Mechanics can't figure out why. Car stops at New Harmony. We add more gas (the tank was not empty) and made it home safely.

Randomness
FarmerBoy and I found an old couple from Florida to team up with for our many trivia games. We did pretty well together, winning all kinds of useless stuff as pictured in the slide show.

As mentioned above, I burned my back pretty badly the first day that we were out, even though I used sunscreen. I just failed to reapply it. I spent the next days snorkeling coming out of restrooms and asking little old ladies if they would please line my swimming suit straps up with the white lines on my back. They were very accommodating.

I did spend some time in the Diamonds International stores collecting my free bracelet and charms, which I refer to as my DI bracelet.

You could eat 24 hours a day on the ship because they had a sandwich shop and pizzeria open 24 hours a day. The teenage boys loved the pizza place. We always went to the buffet for breakfast, and varied lunch between the pizzeria and buffet. Dinner was the dining room or buffet. A couple of the nights we went to dinner it took us 2 hours to eat, when we could be done in 30 minutes at the buffet.

FarmerBoy and I did not try the wave rider, but we did watch other people wipe out on it. Whenever it was going, you could watch on the T.V. in your room. We also did not do the rock climbing wall, because I am a wuss.

The Las Vegas and Ft. Lauderdale airports have very few entertainment options for those spending many hours there. Well, Vegas has slot machines, but I don't gamble. I find Chicago and Denver to be much better for those reasons.

Well, there is a long and boring post for you. Let me know if you have any questions I can answer about the cruise world.

P.S. The photos of FarmerBoy in the slideshow are for NooKoo's enjoyment because she loves her Uncle FarmerBoy. The rest of you close your eyes!

P.P.S. We bought the pictures of us with the stingrays. We didn't take them.

New Post because Roo said I should.

2010-01-31T17:25:00.000-08:00

So, Roo said that I should write a new blog post. January, as always, has been a very big month at work. I have accomplished the following there:
1. 65 W-2s prepared and sent
2. 30 1099s prepared and sent
3. 6 943s prepared and sent
4. 1 940 prepared and sent
5. 6 State withholding forms sent.
6. 3 Annual meetings attended and minutes taken (1 to go on Tuesday)
7. 7 Board meetings attended and minutes taken (1 to go on Tuesday)
8. Hundreds Voting cards made for said meetings, and we actually used some this year!
9. 6 Nasty accounting reviews
10. 24 Hours of Comp Time, and 1 sick day.

Needless to say, my month pretty much consisted of work, work, work! Farmer Boy and I are going on a Western Caribbean Cruise. We leave Saturday at midnight. Hurrah! We will be doing much snorkeling. I have been purchasing much sun gear--spf clothing and hat, sunblock; water-proof sunblock; biodegradable, water-proof sun-block. I also had to purchase a new swimming suit, and the most unflattering board shorts that you have ever seen in your life. Good thing no one but FarmerBoy will see me.

There you go--an update from me. I'll leave you with a picture of me in my fabulous new spf sun hat. It makes me look like an old lady. Let me know which side you like best, flowered or beige.

Hurry, Hurry! Mama Sita's Contest

2009-12-14T16:33:00.001-08:00

My Mom is giving away a Book--her book on her Blog! Yippee!

The photo is above because I couldn't get it to insert here.

Many of you know that my Mom has put together a wonderful organizing book for families. It helps you keep track of medical issues, soccer coaches, outside interests, and emergency locations all in one handy-dandy little book. It is called the Family Record Keeper. It looks like a cookbook, so that you can keep it with your cookbooks for easy retrieval. It is a binder, so that you can take out the pages you don't need, and add extras if you want (not that you need to--Mom thought of everything). Click the link above to order your own book.

To try and win your own Family Record Keeper, do the following:

1. Peruse the Family Record Keeper website here.

2. Go to my Mom's blog here or at www.marysgreathouse.blogspot.com or click the "Mama Sita link at the left) and...

3. Leave a comment about why you think the book is so wonderful and/or why it would help you. Mama Sita is drawing for the winner on December 16th at midnight, so you better hurry.

P.S. I am not being paid to do this review, and any order will result in more work for me, but I want you to order anyway!

Orneriness

2009-12-02T10:46:00.000-08:00

Dear World,

Today, I am ornery. I just thought that I should let you know, as most people can't figure out that I'm ornery because I'm still smiling.

Why am I ornery, you ask?

1. Because I spent 45 minutes on the phone with Credit Card services with them trying to explain how my card could be declined when I overpaid my bill. They took the block off of my card, and still could not give me a satisfactory answer.

2. I have to pay bills at work today.
--some company just sent us bills from last year. Like we can remember what they did for us that long ago! Makes it hard to verify the bill.

3. An employee told me he has a couple of questions ( I know, sounds stressful.), which I should be happy about because this is an improvement over the chewing out I got from him on why the company was ripping him off by requiring him to pay back his advance like he was told he was going to have to do.

4. Loo left.

5. People come into my office when I don't want them to and want me to be nice and I don't always want to be nice.

6. I don't know what to get Da for Christmas.

7. Because I want to be ornery. That's a good enough reason, isn't it.

Ornery regards to you.

Moo

P.S. maybe in my next post I'll write about happy things--maybe not.

Visit of the Coos

2009-10-25T19:59:00.000-07:00

So, Coo's family came down to visit this last weekend and we had a lot of fun. I e-mailed some photos to some of you. FarmerBoy had special powers getting NooCoo to eat. We didn't do anything exciting while they were here, but we had fun visiting with them. Above, are some photos that NooCoo and I took using the webcam. We would take one pic and I would show it to her and she would say "AGAIN!" So, we took several shots in the style of photo booth pictures. Hope you enjoy them. I'd post others, but they are on my memory card in my camera next door, so these will have to do. Baby JooCoo is very fond of his food and would eat 24 hours a day if given the chance, but still maintains his long, lean figure through exercise routines of wiggling, and crawling. JooCoo also said his first word while down visiting us. The word was "daddy" which I think pleased his mom YooCoo as NooCoo also said her first word while at our house last year. Her first word "doggie".

The whole Coo family came trick-or-treating at our houses and I have posted a photo of this below.

Yes, I'm scared of my cat.

2009-09-25T18:31:00.000-07:00

Every night, as I walk through the door from work, I am met by 2 dogs and 2 cats. It's not because I give them lots and lots of attention. They meet me for other reasons. The cats meow and the dogs talk for the next 15-20 minutes, letting me know that it is time to be fed. I let the dogs and one of the cats into the garage where I feed them in the following order: The cat (Callie)is fed dry food on top of the cupboard, so the dogs don't eat her food. Oscar is fed one scoop of dog food next because food is, arguably, the most important thing in his life. That and he will take the bowl from Zephyr if you feed Zephyr first. So, whether or not he is given food first, he eats the first bowl of food. Zephyr then gets a scoop on the side of the garage with no cars. This is because he picks up his bowl and moves it so that Oscar won't eat it, and he frequently leaves the bowl behind my car tires if he is fed on the side of the garage with the cars. Next, Oscar gets another half scoop--partially because he is bigger, but mostly because he tends to have bad food manners and has been known to steal the roast off the of the table or the beef jerky off of the radio. He knows he shouldn't do this, but he just loves his food too much. Thus, usually we remember to keep meat, cheese, and applesauce products in the middle of the table and not close to the edges.

Finally, I go back in the house and feed Tabitha (the other cat) on top of the terrarium. Again, so the dogs don't get her food. She gets a can of cat food of the poultry or beef variety. Why the canned? Because she bites me if she only gets dry food. Why the poultry or beef variety? Because she bites me if it is fish. If I don't feed her when she wants on weekends, you guessed it, she bites me. Don't worry, she always licks me before she bites because she is very particular about cleanliness and having a clean surface to bite.

I realize that this isn't logical to let her bite me since she is seven pounds and I am............a whole lot more than seven pounds, but apparently I'm scared of my cat because I keep letting her use her mind control powers to get me to feed her what she wants. I guess she does own me.

New Arrivals and Coloring Fun

2009-07-29T18:41:00.000-07:00

So, FarmerBoy and I went to SLC and got a call from S.Q. letting us know that he saw Compost Chicken (the chicken that doesn't like the other chickens and lives at the compost pile) crossing the lawn with at least at little chicks. We have since found out that there are at least 11 chicks. We haven't named them yet, as we expect several of them to disappear to predators. The other day I went to take a picture of Compostie with her little family and the picture below is what she thought of the idea.

This next picture shows a few of the chicks (most of them are black). Tonight I had to wait for a bit while she got her family out of the driveway and herded out of my path:

Today, at work, I finally cleaned out my fridge that has been sitting unplugged for two months because I stole the extension cord for something else. It was truly gross and growing lots of mold. Loo would be proud of the science experience. I opened the front door and used some Clorox Cleanup, that I got on my pants, which ended up looking like this:

So, I used some of these:

And my pants and leg ended up looking like this:

I then washed and dried my pants to see if that would blend the colors and make them better. Here is the result:

Not what I was hoping for. I guess my lesson is learned. At least until the next time I get Clorox on my clothes.

The return of the lazy blogger

2009-07-21T20:43:00.000-07:00

Dear all 5 blog readers, I have decided to create a new blog post, so as not to be outdone by Roo. You really should read her latest blog post about Dieter Dolls here.

Life has been going on slowly, but surely. I've actually had some energy lately, so I've finished several craft projects, some of which I may someday post a picture of if I remember. I've also accomplished several things at work that I have successfully postponed for months.

The Wii Saga
In my new purchases news, I bought a Wii at the end of May; however, said Wii is still not hooked up. Why, you ask did I buy a Wii when my parents already have one next door. Because I'm fat and would like to be not so fat...and I get sick in the heat and the parents house isn't very cool. I am only allowed to exercise on my Wii, should it ever get hooked up. All fun games must be played at Ma and Pa's house (at least until I lose my resolve) Why isn't the Wii hooked up? It isn't that hard, you say. Let me share the saga. I go to hook up the Wii and discover that all of the working ports on my switch box are full. So, I go buy a newer, bigger, better switch box and go to hook it up, only to discover that the power strip is full. I buy an extension cord to run from another plug (so I don't blow a fuse). I go to plug in said extension cord and discover (remember) that I live in an old house and all of the plug-ins have two holes and not three. I go buy several adapters so that I can plug in my extension cord (and other things throughout the house. I think I am ready to go as soon as I figure out which outlets are on which circuits.

The Smells in my Life
Also, my house currently has a very funky smell that I cannot figure out. There are no dead vermin that I can find. I found a puddle of water in the kitchen, which may be the source of the stench, but have not yet figured out where it came from. I tried to open the fridge to see if a more horrific waft of putrid air of the same variety would assault my olfactory senses. (Loo and I are very practiced at identifying and producing smells in a fridge. Ma suggested that the puddle of water was something that got in the house and died and then liquified. I informed her that I would have noticed the smell earlier. So, I have spent the last night and probably tonight next door at Ma and Pa's house, avoiding the nasty smell at my house.

As for the good smell in my life, I picked up food from my new favorite drive-through in Delta, El Jaliciense and it smelled fabulous. The smell of the churros and the healthier food mixed together was almost more than I could handle on the drive home. I do have to say that Chewy made a good decision selling water stock to open the restaurant.

Social News
All I can say on this front is that yesterday when Ron P. came into the office, I requested that he bring me back a husband from Scotland, when he, his wife, son Doug, and daughter-in-law go across the pond this summer. Note to MBC: You may also try to find me a Scottish husband while you are traversing the British Isles. Irish, Welsh, and English candidates are also acceptable.

Have a lovely day and enjoy this post. At this rate, you won't see another post for a month or two.

All for Names & Names for All

2009-06-10T15:35:00.001-07:00

Growing up, we always named the dogie calves that we bottle-fed. We named them after food (Choco, named by Da stood for chocolate-oreo), t.v. characters (Radar from MASH) Princess (nothing in particular), as well as colors (Orange Calf, Black Calf). We even had one named after another animal (Doggie, who acted strangely like a dog). We also named the problem cows, some were named #$@%&#!* and one was named Francois.

Apparently, this makes the family think, (me particularly) that many animals should be named. Ma named the peahens Mabel and Gladys. We don't know which is which, but it doesn't matter as they are never more than 10 feet apart and seem to share a brain. We have a hen that has taken up residence near our "gunk" or compost pile. I have creatively named her Compost Chicken.

I also give another name to general species (usually of the pest varieties). I have given all spiders the named of Fred, George, or Jorge. Loo and I have named all mice Hermie. This mouse "nickname" has caught on in the family with Pa, Eliza B. and Loo's husband all using the term "Hermie" to refer to mice. Perhaps naming the vermin makes me feel as if they aren't as truly gross and disturbing as I usually find them to be(mice are more disturbing than spiders, in my opinion). Or...perhaps it is so that I can live in denial that there are pests around (no, I'm not telling you how "around"), but that the pests are actually "friends" around and this is all just a mental game that I play with myself. You should be confused after the last sentence. At the very least, "naming" the pests gives me a name to shout when I see said critter. As in "HERRRRRRRRMMMEEEEEEEEEEEE! Get Away! I do not want to see you."

Now there is a squirrel in the garage stealing cat food and eating flowers off of plants (see Ma's post here. So, I have decided that it is now necessary to give the squirrel species a "name". Now, I ask you blog readers to help out by suggesting nicknames. Here are the rules:
1. Leave a nickname suggestion in the comment section.
2. All names must be male nicknames, because males (contrary to some media reports, and with the exception of seahorses) do not have babies that infest your space.
3. Name suggestions must be submitted by Sunday, June 14, 2009 by 11 p.m. MDT.
4. After the close of suggestions, a poll will be created, so that you in blogland (aka my family and a few friends) may vote.

Disclaimer: We may or may not use the nickname that is chosen.

Moving, Moving, Moving

2009-05-16T17:12:00.000-07:00

I've changed my blog background, and I realize that the font is a little hard to read, but you'll just have to deal with it, so there.

We moved cattle today and it went very smoothly--only one cow jumped a fence. That is pretty darn good. We move them 1-2 miles and my job is to stop traffic at the south end, where the cows turn. I had 12 vehicles stopped on the highway on my end and Ma had seven or eight. "A" came down to help with the fun and learned how to wave her arms to scare cows. You may visit here blog here for more details and photos. You may also visit Ma's blog for a more detailed account.

Not too much has been going on in my life recently. A mouse had the nerve to get in my car and die. This is my second car, and a mouse has died in each one. I'd appreciate it if they would choose someone else's car to die in. However, the smell has finally dissipated, thank goodness. Dead mice are a hazard of living on a farm. Live ones, too, but I don't want to say that. Work continues onward and has been a bit busy for the last couple of days, but I've still had plenty of time to stay up on my T.V. shows via the Internet.

I'm excited for "So You Think You Can Dance" to start this next week. It is much better than American Idol, though I wonder what MBC will do when she is in Europe for the summer. Guess she'll just have to watch them on YouTube.

Well, that's all the fun for today. I hope all you family members participated in our 1K walk today, so that you earned your participation prizes.

A Special Saturday Before Easter Post

2009-04-11T04:00:00.000-07:00

I have changed my blog background special for you. The pink is a close-up of actual cotton candy bought in Delta for 25 cents. The "Jelly Beans" are actually Spring M&Ms that I photographed. Included below are pictures to help you feel like you were here!

Do Peacocks Poop in Apostrophes?

2009-04-07T09:08:00.000-07:00

This morning as I was walking outside, I noticed that the peahens had pooped on Ma & Pa's porch and sidewalk. I also noticed that each of these poop spots were in the shape of apostrophes. I was going to take a picture to share, but Pa cleaned it up before I got my camera out. So, that brings up the questions, "Do Peacocks Poop in Apostrophes or Commas?" I'm voting for apostrophes because because it makes for better alliteration.

On to the NCAA championship game. UNC won, which I was not hoping for as I have very distinct prejudices against all North Carolina teams. This always hurts me in the brackets as I will almost always have them lose before the championship game. I would like to remind Loo and husband that they should not become fans of any NC team, even though they will be living in NC. I would like to remind her of a player that she referred to as a "cocky snot" that played for Duke, another NC team. I would like to amend my statement, allowing Loo to become a fan of small NC teams that are not well-known. In other words, underdogs that will never make it to the NCAA tourney.

I have created a poll so that you can vote on your reality shows. Why did I create this poll, you ask. I was bored, that's why. So you better all participate!

Photos for U

2009-04-05T16:02:00.001-07:00

Where did I go?

2009-04-05T15:23:00.000-07:00

Nowhere, that's where. I've just been slacking because I haven't done anything exciting. Work has finally slowed down a bit. I'm actually several days ahead on hours, which is amazing for me. Ma was kind enough to go to the St. George water conference with me. Monday night, our delegation was taken out to eat by the engineers. We went to a place where they brought your steak out on a hot stone. It was up to you to decide when it was done according to your standards. It was pretty good and kind of fun. I guess this way you can't send your steak back because it isn't cooked right.

I've spent the weekend watching LDS General Conference, which was good. My pet peeve about watching it here in Utah is all of the commercials in between sessions advertising the latest Mormon books. There is always syrupy sweet music in the background that drives me insane. Mom and I made a deal today. She could watch the programs, but I got to mute the commercials.

I got a new laptop, so I'd stop monopolizing Mom's all the time. Yea for me! I have been enjoying it thus far. An important feature for me is the number pad. Also, I had to turn off the fancy mouse settings, because I was always zooming in when I tried to type.

I've been staying at Ma and Pa's house since visiting Oregon. Why? Because I'm lazy. I went to move my stuff back last week, but the house smelled like diesel (which is what heats the house), and I couldn't air the house out because the wind has been constantly blowing and I did not want everything coated with a thick layer of dust.

An explanation of the above photos:
1. Ma's birthday & Mother's Day present, not that many of you asked what we were giving her or anything. Non-family members should not feel guilty.
2. Several of our cars parked in a row in Delta. What's wrong with this picture?
3. The inside of the "Eggs in a frame" that I made yesterday. Front and back. I wanted to make sure there was good presentation for the food, so I presented the non-black side on top. A nice surprise for the consumers of the food.
4. My new laptop.
5. A photo taken of me on the webcam of my computer, in honor of Alice and her many similar photos.

So, life continues on. I need to get out and visit friends in Provo one of these days. I got out my farm quilt to work on yesterday and was disappointed to learn that I had not yet cut out all of the pieces. That's what happens when it has been 5 months since you worked on a project. After that, I couldn't find the table, so I played a lot of Letter Linker. Maybe next week I'll try to work on the quilt again. Yes, I know that you are all jealous of the life that I lead. Perhaps I'll try to update the blog more often, but I make no guarantees.

Note to Coo: Heresy has occurred. The Easter egg hunt in Lynndyl begins 9:30 a.m. this year.

Note to Family Members: Remember to get your hot dogs and cotton candy this weekend for the Easter tradition. I'm not sure what happens if you don't eat hot dogs the day before Easter.

The Nerdiness of My Family

2009-03-03T13:49:00.000-08:00

Note: In my family "Nerd" is considered a term of endearment.

So, for awhile I've been thinking about my family and crossword puzzles and word puzzles in general. We seem to have an addiction to them. We play word games online like Letter Linker and Text Twist. Of course, we do much better when there is a person or two helping over your shoulder. Letter Linker is great preparation for playing Boggle. At a ward board game activity a few years ago, some of us played Boggle. We only lasted one round because I beat everyone by so far they didn't want to play with me any more. They had no idea that this came from playing word games online.

A couple of months ago, I was looking around the house for a new crossword puzzle book that I had purchased and I asked several people if they had seen the book. They would reply with something like, "No, but don't take the one that is in __________ location." They were quite adament. You would think I was going to steal their money, not their crosswords. I personally prefer Cryptoquizzes, Bowl-a-scores and easy to medium crosswords. My family is fairly varied in the puzzles they like to do, so usually we get a good chunk of the variety puzzles completed. It is important, when on vacation, that each person has their OWN puzzle book. You wouldn't want to share. It is o.k. to swap, but it is important that every person can do puzzles at the same time, if they want to. If there is only one book, Ma will say, "Just tear out such-and-such page for me." Of course, the most popular place to keep puzzle books is in The Loo. (Not to be confused with the person, Loo). FarmerBoy has recently solved the issue of books with no pens, by buying a sticky holder to keep the pen is. We may have to fingerprint if the pen goes missing.

Also, if there is a puzzle started, but not finished, it is perfectly acceptable to complete said puzzle, even if you didn't start it. Puzzle books on the table are especially susceptible if left open to a partially-completed puzzle.

I often say that for my tombstone, I will have a crossword puzzle. To learn who I am and important dates in my life, you will have to solve the crossword puzzle. No, the answers will not be on the back!

So, do any of you have any favorite word games that you like to play?

New nicknames

2009-02-21T18:09:00.000-08:00

Happy Birthday Eliza B!!!

So, after a bit of complaining from the peanut gallery, I suppose that I can change Squidgy's nickname to JooCoo (I contemplated CooJoo, but that sounds too much like Cojo) and his mother's name to YooCoo. However, JooCoo will still be Squidgy to me in my head. Just a not to YooCoo, I came up with the name while visiting you and even told you a few times, but my guess is you were too tired to notice:) If any of you would like to see pictures up to the Northwest, please visit my cousin's blog here. We did take a few photos, but I'm too lazy to put them up right now.

I spent the week recovering from my vacation. I have also sworn off sugar again. So far, I've gone four days without sugar. Yeah, me! Today, Ma and I went to the quilt show. I was impressed. They had 125 quilts displayed, much more difficult than the one I just finished. I'd show you a picture, but I forgot to take a picture before I sent it up to NooKoo. (Yes, I know that I change the spelling every time.) So, if Coo or Yoocoo, would take a picture and send it to me, I would much appreciate it.

Home again, home again

2009-02-16T16:40:00.000-08:00

Well, I made it back from Portland safe and sound. Ma and I had a lovely time up there. We visited Coo, Cynth, NuKoo and Squidgy. Squidgy is the new addition to the family. He spent many hours telling me the secrets of the universe; however, I don't speak newborn, so I couldn't understand the secrets. NuKoo spent many hours on my phone, talking to various family members and imaginary people; however, the family didn't speak 2-year-old very well. NuKoo was kind enough to make sure that we were entertained the whole time. She is a very busy child and reminded us of Roo when she was little. It was very fun. We don't get to see many little children around here. I turned NuKoo into a jerky junkie. I didn't think she would like beef jerky, but I was wrong.

On our drive there, I noticed two different signs in Idaho (two to mention, anyway). One was your typical deer sign. The other was a game migration sign. Apparently, Idahoans felt the need to differentiate between deer and other wild game. I'd forgotten how cold Idaho is and how much colder the wind is. Nothing wakes you up on a long drive, like getting out in the Idaho winter without your coat on.

The New United States

2009-01-18T17:57:00.000-08:00

I haven't blogged in quite awhile as work has been overbusy, and thus, I have not been very creative. Anyway, I was sitting around with the family tonight looking at a United States Map. We were marking the states that we had been to. Then we listed the countries that we had been to. Of course we also spent time planning trips wherein we could add more states to our list in one fell swoop. After awhile Uncle Isatalo and Pa decided that perhaps we could combine some of the northeastern states into one state. Then the group decided that perhaps they should even up all of the states based on land area. This would mean that Alaska would have 8 new states (or 12 people per Alaskan state). Texas would have four states, all retaining the name Texas in their name (East Texas, West Texas, Liberal Texas, etc.) as they would have a Civil War over who got to keep the name Texas. I also decided that we should square up all of the states in typical Monk fashion. If you did not live in a square, then you would be required to move.

And then it hit me--how many other families sit around redividing the United States, probably very few. I guess we're just unique.

What are all of your thoughts on this matter?

Yo-Ho-Ho-Ho

2008-12-24T17:37:00.000-08:00

Well, I thought that I'd post a post. I haven't been doing anything terribly exciting--just getting ready for Christmas and working. MBC and ARK came to visit again, which was fabulous. I made a gingerbread house on Saturday. We even made real gingerbread, with a few alterations, since we didn't quite know what was in it when we bought the ingredients. Most of the siblings are home and Mom and Dad should be getting home from their cruise in a couple of hours, so I think we are ready for Santa to come. Of course, I won't be anywhere near him, as I still have scarring from early childhood: ).

I've been filling in for Ma as primary pianist the last several weeks and played for the middle of the program. In the middle of the program, I couldn't find my sheet music, so we had a "technical difficulties" pause and someone found me the music. Of course after the program, I found the music in the pile of papers (6 papers). Yeah, I was a bit embarrassed, but you get used to the whole public embarrassment thing.

Work is starting to get busy with the annual audit coming up in a couple of weeks, and all of the annual meetings at the end of the month.

Have a Merry Christmas!

The untagged

2008-11-25T15:00:00.000-08:00

So, I'm participating in my cousin Eliza B's untag.

1. YOUR ROCK STAR NAME (first pet, current car): Onion Prius--doesn't real sound like a good one. It sounds more like an advertisement for a new odor of car freshener
2. YOUR GANGSTA STAR NAME (favorite ice cream flavor, favorite type of shoe): Chocolate Almond Asics--depends how you pronounce the last part, whether it would work or not.
3. YOUR NATIVE AMERICAN NAME (favorite color, favorite animal): Blue Cat. Boy, that sounds fierce.
4. YOUR SOAP OPERA NAME (middle name, city where you where born): Rachel Payson. This one does actually sound like a soap opera name, I must admit--I must be destined for greatness in bad T.V.
5. YOUR STAR WARS NAME (first three letters of your last name, first two letters of your first name):Greme--Maybe they got the name of the Gremlins this way.
6. SUPERHERO NAME (2nd favorite color, favorite drink): Green lemonade--saving the thirsty around the world with dyed beverages!
7. NASCAR NAME (the names of your grandfathers): Earl Wallace--just wanted to make it unnatural for those of you who know my family.
8. TV WEATHER ANCHOR NAME (your 5th grade teacher's last name, a major city that starts with the same letter): Johnson Jakarta. Johnson is kind of a manly name. I hope that I don't need to change genders to have this job.
9. SPY NAME (your favorite season/holiday, favorite flower):
Fall Lily--Companion to the Fall Guy, only better than he is.
10. CARTOON NAME (favorite fruit, article of clothing you are wearing right now): Peach Hoodie. I think I'm going to be the next character on Strawberry Shortcake. There may be a brawl to oust the current peach character, if there is one.
11. HIPPIE NAME (what you ate for breakfast, your favorite tree): Honey Bunches of Oats Maple. I think perhaps that would be a new kind of cereal rather than a Hippie name. It's a long name for a Hippie to remember in their psychedelic state.

Remember, Green Lemonade will quench that thirst you have.
signed, Peach Hoodie

P.S. You're going down Peach Blush!

As is the tradition with this, I tag No One.

Fun, fun, fun

2008-11-20T15:16:00.000-08:00

I know, I know. It's about time I posted again. I thought that I would post about my fabulous weekend that I had, as well as other happenings. I went up to SLC to pick up a work project and then spent the rest of the day shopping with Ma and Loo. We finished about 10:30 p.m. The next morning I had the maintenance done on my car, which only took an hour-and-a-half, (I know the punctuation is screwy on that phrase) even though we got there at our appointed time. When we got back in the car, it stunk to high heaven. We thought perhaps they had just spilled oil, so we rolled down the windows and aired out the car. We returned to Loo's house, and I chatted with S.Q. who was there for a few minutes, and then I went to hang out with Ark. Ark and I commenced with more shopping as that is what we do best together. We didn't actually accomplish a lot, but I did get a fabulous new coat that is sort of a lime green, or as FarmerBoy says "the color of a baby's poop after he's eaten strained peas". I like it--the coat, not baby's poop. I would post pictures, but my camera batteries are dead, so I cannot take a picture. Anyway, following our shopping expedition, we picked up the illustrious and cold-medicine doped MBC, before picking up pizza and going to the new Bond movie. It was good, but not as good as the last. It's hard to beat the initial chase scene in Casino Royale.

Moving on with the week. Work has been pretty slow, though I've had to deal with several angry people. I was very polite on the phone, though I was thinking mean thoughts in my head. Also, Pa looked at the car this morning and discovered that the oil cap had been left off when the oil was changed. I was not amused, nor was I impressed. I took the car to the proper place to have the oil changed (most of you know where that is), and they screwed it up. I called them up on the phone, was polite as usual, and proceeded to make the dealership aware of their error, and that they would need to come down here to fix the problem, as it was quite a distance to drive. They were happy to oblige, as they probably didn't want me suing them. When the technician got to the house, he apparently thought that it was clear out in the middle of nowhere (D'ya think? Why did you think I wasn't about to bring the car to you 70 miles away, so you could fix your mistake?) Anyway, hopefully they've refilled the oil, replaced the cap, and washed the engine.

So, there you have it--all of the excitement in my life.

Happy Trails!

P.S. If you didn't notice, this blog is written in the stream of consciousness style, my personal favorite.

Hulu! Hulu! Hulu! and Sesame Street

2008-11-11T10:08:00.000-08:00

No, this is not a distant relative of Zulu. Hulu is my new favorite website. It is great for the slow days at work. It is basically TV on the internet. You can watch any show that is available on the individual channel sites (e.g. I just finished watching "House" from fox. In addition, you can watch old T.V. shows. My favorites this week are "Welcome Back, Kotter" and "Benson" and I'm hoping to move onto "Hill Street Blues" next. There are also several feature length movies. Most of them are B movies. Right now, some of the better ones are "Sleepless in Seattle" and "Some Like it Hot". There are just short commercial breaks during the show--30 seconds as opposed to 5 minutes on T.V. Want to try hulu out. Click here.

As I was on Hulu, I checked to see if they had old Sesame Street episodes to entertain Nuku while Cyn is not feeling well. They don't have full episodes, but there are clips. Then FarmerBoy asked me to see if they had the Alligator King short from Sesame Street. Alas, they did not; however, I found it on youtube and FarmerBoy asked me to share it specifically with Coo, Cyn, and & Nuku, and a few others. Anyhow the link to it is here.

Hope you all enjoy this clip. I found it enjoyable.

Photo tag

2008-11-10T21:06:00.001-08:00

Alrighty, folks. I've been tagged by my cousin Eliza B., to post the sixth picture in the sixth folder of "My pictures" folder and explain. By the way, I tag no one as Eliza B. tagged most of the people I know. This is my Uncle Isatalo on his High School graduation day with my Grandpa Earl. Most of my photo files are photos that I've scanned for use in past, present or future family history projects, so that is what this is from. Have a fabulous day, Uncle Isatalo. The end. Tomorrow's topic: Hulu

Halloween and Frustrations

2008-10-31T12:22:00.000-07:00

In case you couldn't guess from the photo, I'm someone who put her finger in a light socket. I may have to shave my head to get rid of all of the ratting and the colors.

So, I've been trying since 10 a.m. this morning to get tickets to "Wicked" on the advance sale. However, there are so many people trying that the website is moving beyond slow. One time I even got the tickets reserved, but could not purchase them in the 13 minutes required, as the website is too bogged down. I have also been trying over and over and over again on the phone with no results and I am getting VERY frustrated. If any of you out there know any tricks or how else I can get tickets, please let me know. Thank you. The end.

Odd Searches

2008-10-17T11:01:00.000-07:00

Today I thought that I'd put the odd words people searched for that directed them to my blog, as I am lacking on the creativity front today.

boonie air freshener
--manure of course

I want excitement in my life
--don't we all

calling someone a lemming
--very important to know what this means before you do it

pressed wood dangers
--self explanatory
cancer danger carpet
--ditto

bird stuck in car grill
--this is one of the most frequent searches that leads people to my blog. Apparently this is a very common problem in the world.

silage bag photos
--when you need a photo, you need a photo.

pink pajamas for women
--I am very stylish

pink happiness background
--would make me sick. A more common search of the past is pink ballerina newspaper. Who knew so many people wanted this.

SMALL TOWNS
happiness in small towns

halloween in small towns

small town newspapers
--a recent newspaper article talked about the food growing on the banks of the sewage pond. It must be fertile ground!

In other stats, I've had visitors from the following countries:
*United States
*Israel
*Canada
*Sweden
*Australia
*United Kingdom
*Slovakia
*Saudi Arabia
*Some others, but they were over a month ago.

The Quirkiness of Me

2008-10-08T14:10:00.000-07:00

I was tagged recentlyish to share six quirky things about myself. I did not forget this, I just couldn't think of the things. Here it goes:

1. I won't eat square hamburgers, even with the corners broken off.
2. When I go to bed at night, I turn off the light and cross the room in the dark without turning on a lamp. I consider this quirky, since my room is a pig sty. I try to memorize where all of the junk is before I cross the room and am usually successful crossing the room safely.
3. I have a weird thing with numbers. I made cookies yesterday and there was enough dough for 6 dozen and 2 cookies. I made six dozen and saved the extra dough for my brother. My alarm clock is always set for a number ending in 4 or 9.
4. I close my eyes when I shower.
5. I start singing weird, made up songs when I am tired.
6. I don't sleep sitting up, meaning I don't sleep in cars, planes, trains, buses or any other kind of vehicle. Perhaps if I traveled first class...

There you have it, that is the quirkiest that I can remember. I now tag, Mama G, Mandyhead, Cynthia, Eliza B, Suz E Q, and Roo. However, you don't have to do it if you don't want to.

Could you be More Specific, Please?

2008-09-29T18:15:00.000-07:00

So, yesterday, my Dad brought me home a flyer about a multi-stake singles' dance yesterday. On the top was all of the typical information, regarding time, place, etc. However, the amusing apart was the small print at the bottom:
"Dress: Since Brothers will be coming from LDS General Conference Priesthood and will be in Sunday Dress, we suggest everyone attend in Sunday Dress. However, dress is officially "Dressy/Casual". You can wear jeans but please remember that LDS standards of dress and conduct apply. No hats, shorts, grubbies or immodest clothing in length, style and fit. Attire must cover shoulders, chest and mid-drift to below the knee. Dresses should not lift or rise above the knees when dancing or twirling. No alcohol, same sex dancing, unkind or indecent behavior, piercing except for ladies earrings. All divorces must be final. Best dress suggested; clothing should be neat, clean and cover garment lines."

While I do have to applaud the author for their use of the word, "however" I think they went a bit overboard with the instructions.

They should have also added the following disclaimers: "Dance only with those within 15 years of your own age. Not responsible for the reactions of those in attendance. Shmoopy couples may induce vomiting. Please eat accordingly before the dance. Should you have any questions, please consult the manual immediately. This dance is not for everyone and those who are nursing or pregnant should consult their bishop before attending. Side effects include cynicism, spinsterhood, and in rare cases marriage. Organizers of this dance are not responsible for any bad experiences, but do claim credit for any marriages that occur as a result of attending this dance. "

If I can say hippopotamus

2008-08-31T22:26:00.000-07:00

So this weekend, we have had many visitors, though none of them were hippopotamuses. The honored guests were MBC & ARK. They came down special to help put up corn. They also came down a several weeks ago for the opening ceremonies party, that I hold every time there are Olympics. You may read about the party on their blogs, available in the list to the left, as they update theirs more regularly than I do. (Summary--there was food from many nations, and not all chocolate is created equal). It is so nice for the MBC and the ARK to visit me out here in the boonies. Moving on, we picked, shucked, blanched, cut, and bagged a total of 900 ears, and came out with around 200 two cup bags of corn, post-cob. The boys usually do the picking and the shucking. MBC was nice enough to help with the picking this go round. Then we women folk finished the rest of the tasks. Needless to say, it was tiring and also a lot of fun because you get to sit around and talk with everyone.

Other special guests included Uncle Isotalo and Auntie CG, who are becoming cruise aficionados. Loo, hubby, and son also came, and of course everyone helped with the corn process. It is always nice to have visitors.

Today, I substituted in the nursery and learned that if I can say hippopotamus, then I can say, I'm sorry. It actually wasn't too bad. I am not a person that is known for my love of little children. I deal better with older kids. There were three kids and two leaders, I got to sit most of the time, I got a treat, and all of the kids were potty trained. If we would have naptime, it would have been even better.

Tomorrow, S.Q. leaves to go back to the Zoo. He will be missed for many reasons besides that he fixes all of our technology problems and helps with any work we ask him to. Have a fabulous holiday weekend and remember:
"If you can say hippopotamus, you can say I'm sorry."

Miss Peacock in the Corn with a Friend

2008-07-29T09:36:00.001-07:00

So, when I went over to my parents' house for breakfast this morning, FarmerBoy and S.Q. told me that there were two peacocks out by the shed. Of course, Mom and I had to go see for ourselves. Indeed there were two peacocks out by the shed, standing near the corn. Why and how, you ask. I don't know. We suspect that someone had seen FarmerBoy's happy, free-range chickens wandering around and decided that it would be a good place for peacocks to live out their lives. We've had dogs dropped off at our house before. In fact, that is how we acquired most of the dogs we've had. We don't know if the peacocks are hens or immature males. They do not have the colorful tail feathers that peacocks are known for, though they do have a plume on the top of their heads. If the peacocks stay around, we will have to come up with names for them. Well, I'm off to look up peacock facts.

What a Deal!

2008-07-27T18:55:00.000-07:00

So, I went up north this weekend (this means to Provo or Salt Lake, for all of you non-boonie-ites) to see some ex-roommates. I had a lovely time. Then on Saturday, I went shopping. I'd been looking through my closet and decided that most of my dresses/skirts are black, brown, or denim, and thus I needed to add color to my wardrobe. I learned that shopping is not nearly as fun by yourself. I tried on some dresses at the store, and couldn't tell if they looked good on me or not. You would think I could, but alas, I apparently often count on a second opinion from someone. I did buy two new dresses at a total cost of...thirty dollars! So far, at least one of them looks good on me. The other is a slinky red dress, which is not my normal color, so I don't know what color of shoes to wear with it. Do I have to wear red shoes or is there some other basic color that would work? Any input from readers with fashion sense would be appreciated. If you don't have fashion sense, please do not add your input as it will just confuse me. Thanks for reading my blog and have a great day!

I Laugh in the Face of Danger!

2008-07-25T10:43:00.000-07:00

I just read an article that told me that my life may end in early demise, due to things in my house. There is a list of 10 common household items that may be dangerous. Here they are:

1. Mothballs--Whew! I don't use these because I'm too lazy, so I just let the moths eat holes in my clothes--oh wait, they are all over the place in my Grandma's house that I live in. Check.
2. Pesticides--I don't use pesticides, I just kill the bugs with my hand, shoe, or whatever heavy item is handy. Safe.
3. Pressed Wood Products--Darn it! I look at pressed wood paneling as I sit typing this. Also, all of my high-quality furniture is made of pressed wood. I may have to get another furniture supplier. Check.
4. Carpet--The article refers to new carpet. Thankfully, there has been new carpet in the house I live in for 40 years. Carpet was made better back in the day and lasted longer. Safe.
5. Laser Printers--Uh-oh. I've used laser printers since they came out. In fact, there is even a color laser printer at my house. I wonder if color laser printers give off nastier things than black and white ones.
6. Lead Paint--Check. I was born in the seventies. Duh!
7. Air Fresheners & Cleaning Solutions--I try my hardest not to clean, so that keeps those chemicals at a minimum. I don't know an air freshener strong enough to override the smell of manure, so there is no use in trying. Safe.
8. Baby Bottles--No babies now or in the near-future; however, my bottles were probably toxic, but I'm not dead yet. Check.
9. Flame Retardant. I don't own any, so I may die in a fire, but the retardant won't kill me.
10. Cosmetics. I almost never wear makeup anymore, today being an exception. The people that come into my office smell of manure and have manure on their clothes, so I consider that I look and smell better than them if I shower occasionally. Safish.

Am I going to change my ways because of this report. Not really. Will I continue using all of this cancer causing, death inducing items. Probably. Such is life. The replacements for the items probably will be found to have different death-causing tendencies, so what's the use. I'll be happy and enjoy my life full of printers, pressed-wood products, and lead-based paint.

Check out my Slide Show!

2008-06-25T15:40:00.001-07:00

Technology Rolls into the Boonies

2008-06-25T15:08:00.000-07:00

I bet y'all thought I was never going to get another car. Hah! I actually did it--I have a new car. O.K. I have half of a new car. I had decided just to get an American-made (cheaper) car that was within my budget; however, the one that I wanted to look at was rented out. In the meantime, my Dad got annoyed with the prices at the gas pump, and my parents decided to go in half on a new Toyota Prius (a hybrid). My Mom went up a week and half ago and managed to get one for us in a week (the usual waiting period is 6 months). Anyway, we picked it up on Saturday. Mom was going to pick it up on Monday, when she was going to Provo, but I wanted to go, since the car was half mine, so we went up Saturday. FarmerBoy came with us. I drove around Provo and to Payson. Mom drove from Payson to Nephi and FarmerBoy drove from Nephi home. S.Q. drove to church on Sunday, and Dad took it for a spin yesterday. We wanted to make sure that everyone knew how to run it-as you don't use a key with it.

Our current average gas mileage is 41.5 mpg, which is fabulous. I've noticed that you become obsessive about watching your mileage, always trying to increase your mpg. The electric engine mostly runs the car under 30 mph and then the gas engine kicks in above that. The car isn't going to win any stoplight races, but that isn't why we got it. It managed up the Nephi hill just fine (when FarmerBoy wasn't trying to improve his mpg).

Weird things about the car:
1. Pushing a power button rather than turn a key to start the car.
2. Having a rear-view camera. I'd rather look out the window.
3. Controlling all the auxiliary functions with a touch screen--Air, radio, etc.

Other great things about the car:
1. Great space for long legs. So far, everyone that has sat or driven the car fits just fine.
2. Lots of little storage compartments
3. Auxiliary/MP3 jack--My Zen/Zun (can't remember which one I own) sounds great in the car.
4. Automatic adjust air-conditioning to keep the car at a comfy level.

So there you have, my description of the car. Right now the odometer is somewhere around 250 miles. I'll let you know how it performs in the long run. Enjoy the photos above.

Digging the Information Out of Small Town Newspapers

2008-06-18T14:49:00.000-07:00

You know how they say that everyone knows your business in a small town. Much of that "business" is learned from the local newspaper.

At work every week, I get several of the newspapers from surrounding small towns. These newspapers have a unique style of their own. In one of the papers, no real news makes the front page--you have to do some digging. You have to dig deep for it in the paper, if it is there at all. One great thing about many small town papers is the police blotter. I have to say that I find police blotters anywhere particular enjoyable. You should always look for your relatives and neighbors in the police report, just so you are up on their lives.

Another important section of the small town rag is the Society page. It lists births, deaths, and marriages, and missionaries (this is Utah) often on the same page in the same style. One has to look closely at the heading to see if the picture is for a wedding or a death or a missionary homecoming/farewell.. Another important thing about this page is that you find out how everyone is related to each other. Parents, siblings, and children are always listed in Obits, and the Marriages always have at least parents listed, if not the grandparents also. The wedding announcements also tell what the couple has been doing, what they'll do after marrying, and occasionally, how they met. Graduation announcements are important, as they can help you keep up-to-date with kids you graduated, important information like who is married, how many kids they have, where they are living, and where they are working.

Another integral part of the small town paper is the Senior Menu. This is published every week and lists what the senior will be serving each day of the week. This way you don't have to go out only to find that you don't like the food that is being served.

Real news can be found by scouring the paper. Check the want ads for who is selling houses--their names may not be listed, but the address will be! Also, don't miss the letters to the editor, as they often tell what has been going on in the community, and who is upset with whom and why.

And there you have it--the intricacies of a small town newspaper. There much more (and less) to them than meets the eye.

Bad Omens in my life

2008-06-13T12:17:00.000-07:00

As today is Friday the 13th, I followed some links to read about superstitions. In my family, we find Friday the 13th good luck as it is the day my Dad was born. Also Farmer boy was born on the 13th as was Uncle Isatalo. (though not on Fridays, however their birthdays fall on Friday the 13th sometimes--shocking, I know.) I'm not a very superstitious person, but I decided I'd share some reasons why I'm destined to have bad luck for the rest of my life (other than not passing on gazillions of e-mails that I've gotten).

Bad luck for:
1. Sitting on a table without one foot touching the ground
2. Passing someone on a staircase
3. Fastening a button in the wrong buttonhole (lots of bad luck for me on this one.)
4. Walking under a ladder
5. Mending a garment while I'm wearing it (I've found the bad luck here is that you poke yourself with the needle.
6. Opening an umbrella in the house
7. Singing before breakfast
8. A bat flying into the house (family, take note of this one. I'm not sure what the luck is for shooting the bat in the house with a BB gun.
9. Hearing a rooster crow at night (or anytime you are sleeping. It wakes you up--duh!)
10. Cutting my nails on a Friday

There you have it--all of the reasons that I'm doomed to have bad luck for the rest of my life. You should take a look at this website.

I found it all very amusing. And no wonder I'm not married, I read all of the wedding traditions as well. I don't think I could handle doing everything correctly on my wedding day--I'd just be doomed to an unhappy marriage.

The Aging Process

2008-06-03T13:12:00.000-07:00

Happy Birthday, S.Q.!

I recently hit the big 3-0 mark in my life and have been reflecting on how I have changed as I have gotten older. I've been thinking I was 30 for the last six months anyway, so it wasn't much of a shock to my system. First, the taste buds are dying. Foods that previously made me gag, no longer do (except for fish). I used to despise fresh tomatoes. I still pick them off my food, but I don't die if I miss one. Second, it is more important that shoes are comfortable than cute. This does not mean that cuteness is not important. The best shoes are stylish and comfortable. Third, gadgets only need to do what they are meant to do. A phone should dial another phone. It does not need to text, take pictures, get on the internet, or play music. Fine if I can get S.Q. to do it for me, but I don't care to find out myself. Fourth, I watch a lot more PBS than I used to. Historical shows, nature shows, and of course, British comedies, and my favorite, The Red Green Show. This show, in turn, leads me to believe that I can fix anything with duct tape, which I believe is true; however, the quality of the fix is in doubt. Please share any other unconventional signs of aging that you, my readers, come up with.

P.S. My space bar likes to put an extra space in half of the time and it is driving me nuts!

Living Dangerously

2008-05-20T14:25:00.000-07:00

I recently acquired 2000 pre-stamped envelopes for the office, and have now used 28 of them, as well as 3 envelopes that were provided with the bills. What, you ask, does this have to do with living dangerously. I'll tell you. I LICKED them all myself. Yes, even though there is the e-mail out there touting the "fact" that cockroach eggs are found on envelopes and will embed themselves into your tongue and grow into very large cockroaches inside your mouth, I took the plunge and licked the envelopes--with my tongue, no less. I know that my courage astounds you. You may later see my photo attached to that e-mail.

In other news, my Mom and I were eating lunch in my office, when we saw movement in the form of a mouse. I tried to ignore it, but could not after seeing it several times. The mouse then had the gall to climb on top of my fridge and dig around in my emergency food supply. If we made noise, he would pop up his head and look at us as if we were friends calling "hello" to him. Mice are not my friends, as you may know from earlier posts. The solution to the problem--I dumped all emergency food in the trash and took it outside, and my Mom was kind enough to set a new mousetrap to catch this "un-friend", so that the food foraging would stop, though she did say that the dead mouse in the office (which I cannot find, but only smell) probably died from overeating. By the way, it was a deer mouse we saw, so I also live dangerously as Hanta virus comes from deer mice. Deer mice are different than the mice drawn in kindergarten classes. They have very distinct features and look like very intelligent creatures, who condescendingly look at you daring you to outsmart them.

Check out my Slide Show!

2008-05-17T16:14:00.001-07:00

The Elephants and the Cows

2008-05-17T15:31:00.001-07:00

The Elephants
Last Saturday, I went to the State Republican convention as a state delegate. FarmerBoy was also a state delegate and Mom went up to help. It was quite a bit of fun, though it was long (8 a.m. to 5 p.m.) The voting took forever, but it is fun to see and get all of the fun stuff that the candidates are handing out and just to watch the process work. I always say "You can't complain if you don't vote". I figure if you can't manage to take the couple of minutes it takes to vote, then you don't have the right to complain, since you aren't doing the small part that you can do as a citizen.

The Cows
Today we moved cows. We move them a couple of miles is all, but part of that is down the highway. We don't use horses, we use our feet, 4-wheelers and cars to move them. Mom and I stop traffic (or try to) at our beginning point and the ending point (on the highway). Don't be jealous of our outfits. Sometimes cars pay attention to us and stop and other times they don't. Luckily, this time they all stopped pretty good and only two cows turned back. Earl and FarmerBoy followed behind to keep them moving and to encourage them to continue forward and not to turn back. Dad was on the four-wheeler and drove ahead of the herd to open the gates and wait at the desert, ready to count the cows as they come through the gate. The cows pretty much know the way, as they have been doing it for years. They even turn at the right spot most of the time. As my car has been relegated to a farm vehicle, I used it today. I had a visitor part way through, though I think he was scared, as he wet the seat. I know that grosses half of you out. Oh well. (Mom was kind enough to clean the seat). Yeah, for a smooth event! Those of you who are family members can view more on Flickr. The rest of you will have to be satisfied with the ones above.

o-blah-dee

2008-04-26T16:46:00.000-07:00

Life in the middle of nowhere lacks excitement, so I thought I'd let you in on my excitement for the day. Yes, I went to Delta to get a spark plug and a pocket knife. No, they weren't for me. While in Delta, there was a CERT (Certified Emergency Response Team) mock disaster going on, so there were fake injured people around town. We rode around trying to find my mom so that we could take a picture of her in her bright green vest. Maybe you can inherit it when mom dies, Da. Even though we're not supposed to give her stuff away and she's not going to die. Anyway, we were unsuccessful, so our exciting trip ended on a low note. I then came home, had some lunch and took a nap. Monday, I'm going with Mom and Dad to take Roo back and to drop off some microfiche to be scanned for work. Maybe I'll test-drive a Prius and maybe I won't. You'll just have to wait and see. No, I still have no car. Well, I hope your day was more exciting than mine.

Puzzles

2008-04-13T16:42:00.000-07:00

So, last weekend I decided to do a puzzle. May of you may not find this unusual; however, as a general rule, I prefer to watch other people do puzzles. Watching people lets you see the work progress without experiencing the frustration firsthand. I've been know to do the occasional 100-200 piece kids puzzles, and I even did a 300 piece puzzle over Christmas with my sister Da's help. Why did I decide to do a puzzle, you ask. Because it was a sphere. What could be more exciting than a spherical puzzle? So, I took it out of the box and began to do it. This particular puzzle has numbers on the back of it, but I was going to try it without the numbers, as that would have been cheating. I connected several of the the fish and then I became frustrated. After an hour of frustration, I began to use the numbers, so that I would actually finish the puzzle. It took quite awhile to even figure out how to use the numbers and even with the numbers, the puzzle was hard enough, as pieces seemed to fit in places where they did not go. I actually finished this puzzle and have posted the pictures with this blog. Not only did I finish the puzzle, I had an enjoyable time working on this puzzle and bought two more to entertain me for another few weekends. I'm off to work on another one

Enchanted, my Eye

2008-04-04T21:43:00.000-07:00

For those of you who liked the movie Enchanted, you may want to stop reading now.

Earlier today, Roo suggested that I stop at the RedBox for a movie and I was happy to oblige as things are often slow here in the middle of nowhere. There were several movies that I'd heard were good, including Enchanted. So the family sat down to watch it and I was annoyed from minute one. I wanted to take out my sling shot and shoot Giselle between the eyes. They took the most annoying part of Snow White--the voice and continued on with it in this movie. You can't call me unromantic because this movie was stupid, and thus does not qualify as a romance. Don't think I'm misled that chick flicks are stellar movies that should be seen by all. A good chick flick gets a solid two stars. This movie got a negative.7529. Next gripe, there was someone in the movie that could actually sing, but did we hear her sing. No Siree, Bob. That would have been much too pleasant. Let Idina Menzel sing for goodness sakes. Not only does she have a Tony for being Elpheba in Wicked, but she's married to Taye Diggs (which I realize has nothing to do with her singing ability, but let's face it--he's hot!)

If there are any of you perky, cheery, optimistic, and annoyingly everything girls out there reading my blog, I wouldn't talk to me right now because I might shoot you between the eyes with a sling shot, or maybe I'd shoot me with the sling shot to put me out of the misery I'd be in by being with you, the aforementioned perky person.

Wind, Wind, Wind

2008-03-26T15:09:00.000-07:00

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.

Check out my Slide Show!

2008-03-23T20:44:00.001-07:00

Easter Fun or not

2008-03-23T20:18:00.000-07:00

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!

The end of an era

2008-03-09T21:37:00.000-07:00

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.

Places of the Dead

2008-02-28T16:30:00.000-08:00

Rome--Installment 2

When in Rome, Farmer Boy (FB) and I went to two different catacombs, both of which had very unique and strange smells to them. A catacomb is a place where Romans buried dead people several layers deep. One of the catacombs we went to, Catacombs de San Sebastiano, had tunnels seven miles long, 3 layers down, with sub-levels within the levels. This particular catacomb housed over 30,000 bodies at one point. We only viewed one of the levels of the catacombs. This tour was very large and there were a ton of people.

The other catacomb we went to, Catacombs de Priscilla, was a very small, intimate tour. There were four of us on the tour and the only lighting was a flashlight. There were beautiful fresco paintings in these catacombs, as well as large rooms that we were able to see. In this catacomb, some of the sarcophogi (plural of sarcophogus) were kept sealed. It was really very interesting to see these places and how so many people were fit in such a small place. When we were in this catacomb, I thought what a great place it would be to play hide-and-seek. And then I thought, "that would probably be kind of creepy". I also thought that it would be a great place to hide and jump out and scare people.

On to the next burial places--mausoleums, burial places for the richer. The mausoleums had very decorated sarcophogi and were much fancier than the catacombs. This mausoleum was under St. Peter's Basilica in the Vatican city. These were built with bricks, unlike the catacombs which were dug out of dirt that hardened into rock when it was oxygenated. While there, we also got to see the bones of St. Peter, though I have my doubts whether they were his bones or not.

The next place we saw on our tour of the dead, I found gross and disturbing though FB found it fascinating. It was the Capuchin Crypt. It was several rooms that were decorated to look like a cathedral with human bones. There were thousands of peoples bones in there. There were specific rooms--like the femur room and the scapula room. They made chandeliers and sconces out of bones, as well as wall decorations. You can read more about it here and see pictures. I didn't take pictures because they told me not to, and who wants a picture like that to blow up and put on their wall. I keep thinking that I'm going to have dreams about the bones coming to life and reassembling themselves, so they can chase me. Yes, it did creep me out just a bit.

So there you have it, my tour of the dead or at least where the dead used to be. Sweet
dreams!

Italian, Other European, or American

2008-02-23T08:38:00.000-08:00

Well, I'm back from Rome and am now well-rested and clean, so I can now post to my blog. While in Rome, one of my favorite games to play was, "Italian, Other European, or American". This was easily played in Rome as it was full of locals and tourists. The following items were helpful in playing this game.

1. Shoes. Europeans wear much better shoes than Americans--they wear stylish leather shoes. Also, if they were wearing athletic shoes, they looked more like soccer shoes than basketball shoes. Boots were popular among the women--European boots had more gold on them than American boots.

2. Hair and eye color. Most of the Italians in Rome had jet black hair and brown eyes. If there was a person with good shoes and hair color other than naturally black, it was a safe bet that they were other European, or even other Italian (as opposed to Roman).

3. Facial expression. I found that most Romans and Europeans did not smile very often. Sheesh. Did you just come from a funeral--was work that bad for all of you--I mean you get 2 hours off for lunch, how bad can it be?

4. Clothes--Apparently color is not popular in Italy. I had FarmerBoy take "Where's Megan" pictures at the Vatican and Colosseum. They would have been much harder if I weren't the only one in a blue coat. Black and white are very popular colors in Europe. Come on people, let's show a little life. Obviously they must wear colors sometime as they sold colored clothes in the stores.

5. Jewelry--Europeans wear a lot more jewelry than your average American--even to work. I realize that dressing up for work for me means not wearing a sweatshirt, but I can't imagine wearing that much jewelry to work everyday. It would just distract me.

There you have some of my observations of the difference between chic Italians and Europeans and slobby Americans. If any of my readers out there have noticed any other differences, please feel free to let me know.

New Things for Me

2008-02-11T22:07:00.001-08:00

I spent many hours shopping with Loo, Roo, and Mom on Saturday. Roo found many great things on sale, of course. I found many things on sale, but I didn't care for them, so instead I bought the expensive things that I like. I am going to Rome in two days and have decided that I can't look like a slob in a European city (in the Delta sense of the word). Perhaps you will get to see some of my new clothes if I post pictures from my trip. Anyway, it was lots of fun and we stopped for See's chocolates in the end. Happiness. I would marry the bordeaux if it was a man.

Also this week, I got a fabulous mp3 player. As my friend Strongpants can attest to I have been trying for a couple of months to decide whether or not to buy one and which one to buy if I did buy one. Well, I finally decided last Monday night to order a refurbished one online. It was a great deal; however, I, of course, wanted to have it before my trip and needed time to load songs on it. Lucky for me it came on Thursday. Hooray for fast service! Anyway, I went to load some music onto it, but I cannot find my CD case. Ugh. I have looked many places and cleaned many parts of the house looking. What is a girl to do? Find all of the random ones in other CD cases containing only a few, pull the ones out of my car, bring the ones home from work, and "borrow" a few from the family. I also put on some Italian Language CDs, so that I can talk to myself on the airplane and the other passengers will look at me funny and my brother will refuse to sit in the same section of the plane with me.

No, I am not packed yet, but I have done some packing. It's hard to pack clothes when they are still wet. I've tried to think of sneaky places to hide my money, so that the pickpockets have to work hard to find it, but don't worry, I'll be ready by tomorrow night. Until I write again--Ciao!

Tag--You're it.

2008-02-06T21:00:00.001-08:00

I've been tagged by Strongpants, so I'll be happy to respond, as the rest of my life is quite boring and I can't thing of anything to post on the blog at this moment.

5 Things on my to-do list today (let's make that tomorrow, as it is after 10 p.m.)
1. Shower
2. Wash my Hair
3. Get dressed
4. Go to Work
5. Eat food

5 snacks I enjoy
1. Peanut M&Ms
2. Pistachios
3. Cinnamon Toast
4. Eclairs
5. Chocolate milk & potato chips

5 places I have lived
1. Lynndyl, UT
2. Rexburg, ID
3. Lynndyl, UT
4. Provo, UT
5. Lynndyl, UT
I'd give you some others, but there are no others.

5 jobs I have had
1. Water Secretary
2. Paralegal
3. Intern at the Board of Pardons & Parole
4. Secretary to religion teachers at Ricks
5. Data entry person
I'd give you different ones of these, but these are the only five that I've had.

5 things people don't know about me
1. I used to wash silverware in the following order: 7 spoons, 7 forks, 7 knives & repeat until finished.
2. I never set my alarm clock to a number ending in "0" e.g. 8:00, 8:20, 8:50
3. If I've been somewhere once, I can usually find it again fairly easily
4. I lost a thumbnail as a result of T-ball practice when I was a child
5. I hold my breath in the wind.

So there you have it, a few mundane things about my life. I survived work today, as well as all of the annual meetings at the Water Office. Huzzah! I now tag the following people/blogs:
onemilenorth, barelycoherent, prarierosen. You're it. Please answer these questions sometime in the next two years

Excitement in My Life

2008-01-31T21:25:00.000-08:00

Yes. There was indeed excitement in my life today. So exciting, in fact, that I told my family about it before I came home. So exciting that my Mom, who was listening to my Dad and brother's conversation on the phone with me thought I got a raise. What is as exciting as a raise, you ask? The answer: A new toilet at work. The toilet has been leaking for a couple of months now and I haven't gotten around to calling someone to fix it. I called the plumber, who at first thought it was a gasket that was the problem, but upon further inspection, he found...

...a crack in the tank! I know what excitement in my life. Even more exciting--he left the old toilet as he couldn't fit it on his truck. So, now I have two toilets at work. I hope someone doesn't use the one that isn't hooked up. I better make a sign for it. You would think it would be obvious with it being out in the hall, but you never know. Tomorrow's excitement will consist of trying out the new toilet out and taking off the sticker. Apparently toilets have a sticker that is the equivalent to the mattress "do not remove unless you are the owner tag". Who knew? I didn't. The things I am learning at my job.

The other excitement--I know your brain can hardly handle even more excitement--the plumber also insulated my furnace pipe, so that it hopefully won't freeze and then I won't have to remember to empty the "drain" bucket every couple of days.

Yeah for me! Well, I wish you all many happy flushes.

Ballerinas and Swans and pink happiness

2008-01-28T21:11:00.000-08:00

For many years of my life I was not a fan of pink. As a matter of fact, I was anti-pink. I just did not own pink items. Clothes, cute little doo-dads, crayons. To understand this you must understand my grandma. Grandma loooooooooooooooooved pink. The following items in her house were pink: Walls, floors, refrigerator, oven, sink, bathtub, and toilet. My dad's baby announcements--yup, pink. I now live in my grandma's house, which is not quite as pink as it once was. The floors and some walls have changed, but the bathroom remains the same. My mom once told me that I couldn't change the wallpaper in the bathroom as the plaster walls would come down with the paper. As if I could commit such heresy. You would think that I would want to change the bathroom, but I don't for one reason and one reason only, and it has nothing to do with the fact that a bucket is sometimes needed to flush the toilet. It is the wallpaper. The wallpaper is pink with goldish-silver ballerinas and swans. Everytime I go into the bathroom, it makes me happy to see the wallpaper.

I have overcome this anti-pink stage in my life and you will now find a respectable amount of pink in my wardrobe. I post the photos above so that you, too, may have a happy day and dream of golden ballerinas dancing on a pink stage.

The Singles Life

2008-01-24T21:29:00.000-08:00

So, my Mom kept telling me that I should go to a singles activity down here. I have lived here a year, so I decided that I should make it out to see if my suspicions were true that it was 18-year-olds and octegenarians. (sp?) Following a crappy day at work, I stuck to my decision to go to a singles activity that was announced as a Young Single Adult activity in my ward. I did make my little sister Roo go along with me for moral support, which may have been my downfall in the end. We arrived at the church and peeked in the door, seeing only old people. I decided to walk around a bit and investigate further, as I did not want to be the only one not collecting Social Security. This was me stalling. We came back and peeked in the door again. Still, I saw only old people. Roo and I stood in the parking lot deciding what to do. Roo kept saying that we might as well go in and look. I gave in. Bad decision. It was indeed all old people, but we were in too deep. They had seen us and knew that we were there. Yes, it was a typical singles activity in town. I think the person that was next youngest besides my sister and I was a member of the stake presidency and his wife who were in their fifties. I think young meant 65 or 70! (Coo, I bet this is bringing back memories of firesides at the Sands apartments for retired people.) Yes, that's right, I gave it a try, and I'm never going back, though I did laugh most of the way home. I hope you enjoy the picture above that I took at the activity (I took it with the permission of the stake presidency member, so it was o.k., though I did take it while the people weren't looking and with no flash. Yes, I was chicken. Roo and I snuck out after dinner and decided to skip the program for some odd reason.

It's about time

2008-01-21T21:10:00.000-08:00

I've had several people comment on the infrequency of my blog posts. I know. I'm a big slacker. First off, I'd like to offer my condolences to Strongpants, previously known as Pansy, on the loss of the Green Bay Packers. A moment of silence please.

Lately, my life has consisted of work, work and work. I did go up to Provo this last weekend and had a lovely time shopping with Strongpants. I bought me some new shoes, and my favorite purchase was a package of 12 lists, each having a month written on the bottom. Lists make me very happy, even though I lose them all the time.

Today my rant is on "State of the __________" addresses that happen this time of the year. Do all four of the major networks really need to carry these? Frankly, most of these speeches consist of a lot of clapping interspersed with a few phrases from the President, mayor or governor. Some of us would rather just read it on line the next day. I think if all of the clapping was omitted from the speeches, they would last approximately 7 minutes and 32 seconds. Fine. Cut into my programming for 8 minutes. I might forgive you for this, but no you go on forever. First we have the analysis of what the speaker might say, followed by the elongated speech, which is followed by commentary on what the speaker did say and why it is good and bad, as well as the virtues of all the major political parties. You cut into my T.V. time for two hours! I want to watch something else on T.V. Come on, give me some options. I realize that normal T.V. is slim pickin's right now, but it is better than having the same thing on every channel

The Christmas Horse

2007-12-21T14:45:00.000-08:00

Today is my last day of work before Christmas. Yeah for me! I'm excited to have some time off to get something done at home. Last weekend I went to Provo to stay with Pansy. We spent the day intermittently shopping and going to Christmas activities. This is what our day looked like:

1. Eat lunch
2. Go to Target
3. Go to Choir practice/school
4. Go to Barnes & Noble
5. Go to the Ward Christmas Party
6. Go to a Pie Party
7. Go to Wal-Mart

There were way too many people at Wal-Mart. I mean it was 11:30 on a Saturday night. There were a ton of kids there. What were they doing up that late? I shouldn't have been up that late and they definitely should not have been.

I finally have my tree up. Dad and FarmerBoy were kind enough to tangle with all of the wires to get it up for me. I then spent Tuesday night decorating it. The lights are special, but that is because I did them myself. They kind of make a net. They are mostly white, with two strings of colored ones. I think it is a gyp to have only white lights on the Christmas tree. They are so boring. You need a splash of color.

Yesterday, I went over to Moroni and picked up 20 turkey breasts. No, they were not all for me. They were for our employees and apparently not all turkeys are created equal, as I was given very specific instructions on exactly what type of bird to pick up (or part of a bird). I left about 9:45 and got home from work at 8:30. It was a long day for me, and I've even been being productive at work today. I know, it is a little weird for me. As of now, all of the turkeys except one have been delivered. We had a bit of snowstorm yesterday, and apparently a lot of people don't believe in plowing roads. They were pretty icy in a lot of places.

I'd like to send a Hell-o to Roo as she can't come home for Christmas since she hurt her back. Coo, Coo's wife and NooKoo are going up to Washington and Loo and Loo's husband will spend the day in Provo. That leaves Me, Mom, Dad, Da, S.Q. and FarmerBoy home for Christmas. That seems like such a small group to have at home--a true sign we're a big Mormon family. Changing topics, it is now time to tell of a Christmas tradition.

Many years ago, before I was in existence, my Dad set a rule that we could not get up until 7 a.m. on Christmas morning. Mom always thought that this was too late and she believed that we should have negotiated for an earlier time. We had tried to negotiate for an earlier time. This is how those negotiations went.

Dad: You can't get up until seven.
Us: Six.
Dad: Eight
Us: Five
Dad: Ten
Us: O.K. Seven is early enough

As we got older, we began more negotiations--for a later time. Needless to say, we wouldn't wake up at 7 a.m. as had been tradition forever. We all used to sleep in the basement on Christmas eve. Well, one year, we wouldn't wake up and all of a sudden there was loud pounding on the our ceiling--this was about six a.m.--I mean it wasn't even seven, yet. We ignored it a few times, but it wouldn't stop, so we dragged ourselves and went out upstairs to see if Mom was trying to get us out of bed before the appointed hour. Mom wouldn't admit to pounding a stick on the floor, claiming it was the "Christmas Horse" that woke us up. Now, every year the "Christmas Horse" has to wake us up if we don't get out of bed early enough.

The Bold Cold

2007-12-12T15:35:00.000-08:00

It's been pretty cold down here in the nether regions of Utah, but still not much snow. It's funny how it doesn't seem like Christmas unless there is snow on the ground. I'm just having a hard time feeling it this year for some reason. Maybe it is because I can't seem to get a Christmas Tree put up at my house. I attempted to put up my parents' castoff, but was reminded it was a castoff for a reason. I'm not really a fan of puzzles, particularly those involving a lot of wire, and so the tree went back in the bag. I then thought I could buy an artificial one and they were all pathetic, at least the ones that were affordable. I also thought for a moment that I could get a real one and have FarmerBoy help me pick one up. There were three left in the town and truthfully, they make me very scratchy, so decorating it would be a problem. How did I overcome this trial, you ask. I haven't. I placed the angel on top of the mantel and left the ornaments in their see-through cannister.

I'm also having a hard time finding a nativity that speaks to me. I found one I liked, but no shepherd. How, I ask, can there be no shepherd? This is just not right. A nativity should include the following figurines.

1. Mary & Baby Jesus
2. Joseph
3. 3 Wise Men
4. A SHEPHERD
5. Various and sundry animals, but probably not a prairie dog, a whale, or a bonobo.
6. Possibly an angel

I'm picky. As a general rule, I like traditional nativities. I like a half-way decent paint job and not that stylistic mumbo-jumbo, and a shepherd is a must. Christmas is about tradition, right after the birth of Christ and before Santa Clause, who as far as I'm concerned is a scary, old man who gives little children complexes into their adulthood.

Other goings on in my life--I have my Christmas cards addressed, but no amusing Christmas letter written. Apparently, people like my Christmas letters for some reason. I cannot guarantee the quality this year as Loo (whew, I had to edit the post, as I put her real name on the blog, as if all of you reading it didn't know her anyway) and I will have separate Christmas letters. Blame her, not me. She's the one that got married and didn't want to become the cat-lady and favorite aunt. I'm not sure if she's aware of the fact that once you get married, not only are you out of the single-people travel club, but you are also out of the running for the favorite aunt. It is just a fact of life that the "fun aunt" is always single, so that they can go and visit the nieces and nephews and spoil them. Once you are married, you no longer have the means to spoil them.

Well, I hope that you are having a more successful time decorating for Christmas than I am.

Thanksgiving

2007-11-30T14:28:00.001-08:00

Thanksgiving Fun

2007-11-30T13:44:00.001-08:00

Well, I've been a slacker on my blog lately. I have intentions of posting and then I don't. So last week I had a fabulous Thanksgiving dinner on Thursday. Then, I went up to my sister's house to stay over in preparation for Black Friday shopping. I used to be one of those people who swore that there was no way that I would go shopping the day after Thanksgiving, and then there was a really good deal on something I wanted. I don't even remember what it was. I found it slightly exciting the first year and then it got to be more and more fun. Something important to note--I go to office and computer stores, not clothes and toy stores. Last year, I bought a thermos, so that we could take hot chocolate with us.

So Thursday evening, CompUSA opened at 9:00 p.m. (I would like to note that I am morally opposed to them opening on Thanksgiving Day, as I don't think anyone should work on Thanksgiving that doesn't have to. I do not consider sales a mandatory working situation; however, if they are open, I will go there.) My Pop wanted a 24 inch monitor, so we got in line about 8:15. By the time we got in the store, the 24 inch monitor was gone; however, savvy shopper that I am, I thought that this might be the case, so I'd previously asked him if he'd take a 22 inch monitor if the 24 was gone, and he said that he would, so we picked up the monitor, along with some power strips, cans of air and other sundry items. We, meaning my brother S.Q. and I. We had left my sister Loo and her husband to go do some secretive Christmas shopping for their son. Loo's hubby was feeling pretty good about the time it took to get the stuff and then he realized how long the line to pay was. Apparently, paying takes longer than picking up the loot. He is new to Black Friday shoppig. As we went along, we started games on all of the computers, so that those behind us could continue playing the games to entertain themselves. We were in the car ready to go home at 11:21. Loo won the guessing contest of when we would finish.

Done with our shopping? No. It wasn't even Black Friday yet. S.Q. and I scoured the ads and tried to determine where to go. We couldn't decide, there was nowhere with anything we really wanted. (Loo and hubby decided to skip out on the morning run). We'd already determined that we wouldn't get up for the 5 a.m. store openings. 6 was the earliest we were willing to go. We woke up about 5:30 or so and headed out the door. We just slept in our clothes to save time. We decided to go to Staples first and arrived there at about 6:02 a.m. No line out the door because they were already open. We went and got what we came for and were out pretty quickly. Next I went to JCPenney to pick up some stuff for Mom, while S.Q. looked for a WII, so that he could resale it on E-bay. No luck for him. Next stop: Sam's for free breakfast. It was very good, but we knew we'd need food for later. On to Shopko for a glider for me and a bunch of baby clothes for all of the new babies in the home ward. I also picked up a few movies and a CD. Next, we went to McDonald's to finish our breakfast and mailed a package at UPS. So, here is the list of most of the stuff I/my family got, just in case you wondered:
A 24 inch monitor
Computer Memory
Surge Protectors
Cans of Air
Printer network thing
Other network thing (S.Q. will have to clarify)
DVD burner
Labeler (I didn't need one, but S.Q. and I thought it would be fun to play with)
Secret items at JCPenney
Battery Recharger
Glider w/ottoman
The Holiday
How to Marry a Millionaire
A U-2 cd
Baby clothes
Other stuff I forgot.

Now, I just need to submit all of the rebates, a very important part of Black Friday shopping.

On Saturday, I went with my Mum, Loo & L.H. (Loo's Hubby) to the light parade in Delta. It was very long, about 15 entries. We watched it at one end of town and then went to the grocery store for food, and it was just starting down there, but we didn't need to see it again, so we did our shopping and came out just as it was finishing up. The first year of the light parade, it was tractors and semi-trucks with lights on them. I was a bit disappointed this year, as there were actually decorated floats.

Well, now that I've bored you all, have a great day!

Weddings

2007-11-16T14:28:00.000-08:00

Well, I survived my sister's wedding last week. I'd like to reiterate that I'm not going to have a reception, I'm going to elope and only my immediate family will know about it. I don't care how good of a friend you are, you probably won't be invited, maybe. Why skip the reception? Many reasons. First, it is money that could be better spent traveling the world. Second, I don't like to talk to people for extended periods of time. Third, it will be stressful. Fourth, I can get the dress without the reception. My mom tells me that there will be another person involved in the wedding and that he might want a reception. My reply, "Then I won't marry him". You needn't worry yourself about the fact that you won't be invited as there are currently no prospects whatsoever, and unlike Dennis Rodman, I want to marry another person, rather than myself.

I do have to say that my sister was acting appropriately for her wedding day. She was all giddy and excited and giggly--exactly as a bride should be. The upside to weddings--you get to see the whole family, even it is for just a few minutes. Granted, our family isn't too large as Loo is only the second to get married. I also got to see the niece, NooKoo (how is that nickname Coo & wife). She is very cute and figured out how to get the animal book to make noise, as did the rest of the family. I'd post pictures of the wedding and the family, but I didn't take pictures. Why?, you ask. I'll tell you. There were five bazillion photographers at the wedding. The hired one and all of the amateur ones that are friends and relatives. I figure the more pictures you take, the fewer words they are worth. One picture is worth 1,000 words, but 1,000 pictures are only worth .25 words apiece.

I'll see if I can get my brother S.Q. to send me the video of the bouquet toss to post next time and then I can commentate on that whole debacle.

Ta-ta
Moo

Halloween Rundown

2007-11-01T12:17:00.000-07:00

We had a new record number of trick-or-treaters at the house this year, at least I think we did. That's right--17! I took my candy to Mum's, so the ghosts and goblins wouldn't hurt themselves on the way to my house (the light is motion-sensitive, so they would have had to walk most of the way in the dark.

As I child, I dressed up as many normal things--a witch, an alien, a punk-rocker, a baseball player with a black eye and a few not-so-normal things--Pippi longstocking (with a coat hanger threaded through my braids to make them stand up), a hunchbacked old man and random other things. We always had a Halloween party in the next town over a few days before Halloween and then on Halloween we'd go trick-or treating in my own town. It was very important that you went to every house in town, so that you wouldn't hurt somebody's feelings. I always hated the bit 'o honeys. I think my favorite were Almond Joys. One of the great things about having a large family is you can always trade candy with a sibling if you don't like certain kinds.

True fact: On vacation, I specifically bought candy with peanut butter because I knew some of my siblings didn't like it and they wouldn't ask me to share with them, thus leaving me more!

Top ten reasons to love Halloween in a small town.

1. You get lots of candy in few stops.
2. You know everyone in town, so there is no "scary" candy to eat.
3. People never run out of candy.
4. My mom gives out toys like play dough (I am playing with mine right now.)
5. You know everyone that comes trick-or-treating, if you can tell who they are.

This year I didn't dress up for Halloween, guess I'm just turning into a fuddy-duddy.

In other news, FarmerBoy and I are cancelling our South Asia cruise and may go to Rome instead. Who knows? I'm open to anything, as long as we know before we leave the driveway. Also, new to grandma's (my) house, is a programmable thermostat, smoke detectors, and a carbon monoxide detectors, so hopefully now I'll be a little bit safer in the house.

Pumpkin Walk + 1

2007-10-26T14:34:00.001-07:00

Walking Pumpkins

2007-10-26T09:54:00.001-07:00

I apologize for the blog in advance. I'm in a blah mood right now, so you'll get a blah blog. It's been awhile since I've posted. Friday night I went to the pumpkin walk in North Logan. It was pretty fun--one of those small town things that is slightly lame, but that is what makes it great. Yes, I realize that is contradictory. Anyway, I went with friends so we had a good time. I took pictures, but don't know if I'll get them posted.

Also, on Saturday Loo got the letter giving her fiancee' clearance for temple marriage. She is getting married two weeks from today, so I've been doing a few wedding things for her this week--ordered table runners and labeled envelopes. Hopefully, the invitations will get sent out before the wedding! I also brought some of my junk down from Loo's house.

Tomorrow I'll help clean her house and get some more of my stuff out of. Work has been pretty slow lately, as we are in the off-season.

In other news, I found a dead bird on my doorstep this morning. I think the birds are all plotting against me to die all around me. That's all for now, have a great weekend.

Country Critters--Installment 1

2007-10-18T14:56:00.000-07:00

First off--Happy Birthday Da!
The cookie picture is for your birthday.

I told you that I'd post a picture of a silage bag, so here it is.
Photo #2 Silage Bags (corn post-chopping)
Photo #3 Corn (pre-chopping) with the Harvest Moon

Country Critter Incident #1
The flies have been annoying me all day to the point of insanity. Yes, I was raving like a lunatic at the flies. Anyway walking by would surely think that I was insane. I finally pulled out the fly swatter early in the day to kill a wasp--I try to keep a safe distance from the wasps, as we are not kindred spirits. I then proceeded to swat two more flies--one on the desk and another on a self-inking, rubber stamp, which takes a special talent. The flies kept landing on the computer screen, which is very, very annoying. I didn't want to swat the flies on the screen, for fear of causing irreparable damage to the screen, but it was just too much. I had to swat and bam! I'm 4 for 4. I think these mad fly-swatting skills come from the days when my mum paid us a penny for every two flies we swatted. Back to the present. I saw a smudge on the screen. Is it a crack? Did I cause indeed ruin the expensive screen before me?! Alas, it was only fly guts. One swipe with the fingernail and the bug guts are gone (Using the fingernail was the gross part of the process). There is still one pesky fly buzzing around the office, though. I will get him. Just watch out Mr. or Ms. Fly.

Country critter incident #2
Last week as I was walking the 7 feet from the office door to my car, I noticed that there were two birds (dead, of course) stuck in the grill of my car. I obviously hit them at some point. I solved the problem before me in my head--make my Pop or FarmerBoy remove them for me. Excellent solution, if I do say so myself. I proceeded to go get my lunch; however, I could not stop thinking of the birds in the grill and what people would think of me if I left them there. If I continued to drive around town, would I become known as the girl with the birds stuck in her car that leaves them there as if they are hood ornaments. I couldn't let this happen to me. I placed my lunch on my desk and proceeded to get grocery sacks from the back room. I knew there was a reason to save grocery sacks. Anyway, I digress. I flipped the bag inside out to grab the birds ( a technique taught to me by my mother as a method of rodent removal) and pulled one of the birds out quickly flipping the bag over, so that I didn't have to look at the poor dead bird whose life was abruptly ended as it flew over the highway. I threw this bird/sack in the dumpster and proceeded with the next bird. However, this bird was wedged in there tightly. Wow! I really must have hit that one at high speed. I didn't know if I would be able to remove it without some of its body parts becoming detached. Oooh, gross! I popped my hood to get better access. I pushed from both sides and finally removed the sad bird from my car, which I did without any gagging on my part.

I called Loo to tell her of my great conquests, as Pop and FarmerBoy would just make fun of me for being a woose. She was properly amazed by my great feat or at least she pretended to be.

P.S. The photos would be in a slide show, but I'm not that advanced, yet.

The Joys of Silage--as promised

2007-10-12T10:30:00.000-07:00

I love fall on the farm. I love fall anyway, but I love as the fields begin to turn brown. One thing that fall on the farm means is it is time to chop corn for silage. For all of you that don't know what silage is, it is chopped corn that sits rotting in a pile waiting to bed fed to hungry cows. Cows love silage. I know this because they sometimes break into the silage area to eat it. In this day and age, silage is blown into long white bags. I'll try to post a picture later.

Back in the day, the chopped corn was put into a very large pile between the haystacks (to keep it contained). The top of the pile was even with the top of the haystack. Before I go on, I must state that when I was little, I had a very bad case of "older-brother" worship. FarmerBoy was the older brother that I worshiped. I would do anything that he wanted me to do. We had to make up our own fun in the summers and one fateful day FarmerBoy suggested that we go jump in the silage. I agreed. Why? Because FarmerBoy suggested it and I'd never done it before.

It was glorious. We would climb up the haystack and climb over to the silage pit. We would then jump off, pretending that we were the great gymnasts of the world (at least I did). We would jump, we would flip, we would do anything that we could get our bodies to do. There was a spongy goodness about the rotting corn. It was just as I imagined the big styrofoam pits that the gymnasts use to be. And it was free! And I could walk there! Well, FarmerBoy and I finished our exploits, and returned to the house. Mum, nice person that she was told us that we stunk. I disagreed. FarmerBoy definitely stunk, but I did NOT! All the smell must be coming from him. Mum made us both bathe, so that Farmer Boy wouldn't smell anymore. I just did it because I believe in good hygiene.

This is a tradition that continued for several years. I even remember playing with the neighbors and jumping in their silage pit. Later in life, the silage jumping adventures had to be curtailed as I developed itchy rashes from the decomposing goo.

Pink Pajamas

2007-10-09T10:13:00.000-07:00

The other day, I needed to go to the post office, but didn't want to get dressed before going, as that would require showering and getting presentable. No problem, I just went in my pajamas. I know it seems ironic that I went from worrying about being presentable to going in the P.J.'s, but some things in life just don't make sense (like the way my brain works).Don't worry. I don't wear seductive little nightgowns, like some unknown sister of mine who goes by the name of Loo. That particular morning I was wearing what I refer to as my "clown pajamas". These are basically a bright pink jogging suit, with pants that are too big and thus make me look even fatter than I am. I did brush my hair and put some gum in my mouth before going to get the mail--even I have standards!

I arrived at the post office and of course there were people there this time. (the town only has 130 people. Often there is no one but the post mistress at the post office.)No worries, they didn't look at me funny--they are probably used to me being in my pajamas at the post office. I recently made a comment to someone in a neighboring town about going to the post office in my pajamas and she replied, "Everyone does that". Apparently it is socially acceptable in small towns to go to the post office in pajamas. I have to admit that getting the mail is frequently the highlight of my family's day. Yes, we have boring lives, but at least we are easily entertained. You know, there are definitely advantages to this small town thing and going to the P.O. in your P.J.'s is one of them.

Next time: The joys of silage.

A lonesome pole cat

2007-10-05T22:57:00.001-07:00

I awoke this morning to the putrid smell of skunk. I mean what makes you more excited for your day to begin than the fresh aroma of the country pole cat. I must admit, the title of this blog is a bit misleading, as it was not a lonesome pole cat, but at least two of them. My brother, FarmerBoy, stated that perhaps it was mating season. The internet informed me that this was untrue as mating season is between March and June. Pepe Lepue was not wooing his love, but rather just "freshening" up my house--and my Mum and Pop's. FarmerBoy called me before I left the house to let me know of the wandering feline and to warn me to watch closely where I walked, as these striped stenchors had been on the porch, in the lane, and anywhere else they could think of. Skunk lookout is not a job that I want to be able to list on my resume, but one can always acquire new and useful skills.

As I returned from work, I was in my mode of non-thinking and walked onto my parents' porch to be assaulted by the smell. No, it was not gone and the rain just brings out the fresh skunk fragrance enough to make me wonder if I have absorbed the skunk's perfume as my own. Ah, the smells of the country--never dull.

Call Me a Lemming

2007-10-04T10:33:00.000-07:00

Yes, I am doing what everyone else is doing and starting a blog. What can I say? I live in the middle of nowhere and my life involves a lot of t.v. and a lot of eating. I thought maybe I could bring you into my sad and boring life. Have a great day.

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