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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.
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 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.
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.
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.
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.
