While doing some more decluttering of my house, I was able to recycle lots of pamphlets and miscellaneous papers from a trip we took to the West Coast in 1999 with all five of us and Louie's mom and dad. I didn't realize I had saved *all* the handouts . . . and still have photos, memories, journal entries, etc. to revisit that trip. However, in with all the "junk mail" of the trip were some pieces of paper.
There's a LOT of driving involved in going from Minnesota to California and back. We read books, played car games, and found other ways to entertain ourselves. But we played one game that I wanted to record here (from those random pieces of paper). Someone would suggest a theme and then we cast each person in the car into a role. Some of these I don't remember / understand, but most of them I do! Just putting this here for posterity and giggles. I've typed the info as it was hand-written on the sheets of paper (which are now in the recycle bin).
Seven Dwarves
Doc - Grandma Betty
Sleepy - Grandpa Lou
Sneezy - Morgan
Bashful - Louie
Dopey - Nick
Grumpy - Jeanne
Happy - Alex
Toy Story
Little Bo Peep - Jeanne
R.C. - Alex
Buzz Lightyear - Grandma
Rex - Morgan
Woody - Louie
Slink - Nick
Mr. Potato Head - Grandpa
??? (A video game? I should ask the boys)
Flik - Morgan
Old Queen - Grandma
Praying Mantis - Alex
Gypsy Moth - Jeanne
Potato Bug - Nick
Dim - Grandpa
Ladybug - Louie
Star Wars (I don't remember which one this is from. . . .)
Anakin - Nick
Obi Wan - Alex
Qui Gon Jinn - Louie
Jar Jar Binks - Morgan
Queen Amidala - Grandma
Padme - Jeanne
Mace Windu - Grandpa
Star Wars: A New Hope
Luke - Morgan
Han - Louie
Leia - Jeanne
Chewie - Alex
R2D2 - Nick
Obi Wan - Grandpa
C3PO - Grandma
Alice In Wonderland
White Rabbit - Nick
Alice - Grandma
Queen of Hearts - Jeanne
Cheshire Cat - Alex
Tortoise - Grandpa
Mad Hatter - Morgan
King of Hearts - Louie
Candy Bars
Snickers - Nick
Crunch - Morgan
100 Grand - Jeanne
Twix - Alex
Reese's PB Cups - Louie
3 Musketeers (soft middle) - Grandpa
Dove bar - Grandma
Beanie Babies
Radar - Nick
Princess Dye - Grandma
Hiss - Alex
Nanook - Morgan
Flip - Jeanne
Canyon - Louie
Legs - Grandpa
I remember the laughing and discussing, but not the details of how these titles came to be . . . though now I want to Google the Beanies to see what they are. Fun times!
Saturday, July 4, 2020
Monday, May 18, 2020
Yogurt Dots for Teething Babies
Once upon a time, I had a photo of this, but I don't know where it is.
A brilliant young friend of mine had teething babies (twins) and she took some strawberry yogurt and dropped small dollops (dime-sized) onto a cookie sheet covered with wax paper. She put those in the freezer and ended up with yummy, safe teething objects.
Brilliant! Yummy, healthy, easy. I just gave my kids a handful of frozen peas . . .
Found the pic! (2021.01.09)
Sunday, March 22, 2020
My Siblings Are So Talented!
I should be posting about all three of my siblings with a title like that. But today I'm focusing on one: Ann. She can create art in so many different mediums! She weaves, dyes, sews, and so much more. She is also a member of Minnesota's Textile Center. As such, she has a piece hanging in the member show. Joshua and I got there to see it in person before the show closed (and before Covid-19 had us all staying home).
Here we are, admiring Ann's piece in the gallery:
I had asked a volunteer to take our photo. I probably should have cropped it . . .
Below are the scans of the postcard advertisement sent out for the annual show. I love that Ann has done this for many years! I wish I were organized enough to share photos of some of her other years' entries.
She is so talented!
Here we are, admiring Ann's piece in the gallery:
I had asked a volunteer to take our photo. I probably should have cropped it . . .
Below are the scans of the postcard advertisement sent out for the annual show. I love that Ann has done this for many years! I wish I were organized enough to share photos of some of her other years' entries.
She is so talented!
Saturday, March 7, 2020
Options
Saturday, March 7, 2020
Commitments have dissolved. The day is gorgeous. We have so many home projects to do! Louie is diligently moving from one stated goal to the next, completing one before moving to the next. I am in a tizzy, overwhelmed by options and a lack of direction. I've done a little of this, a little of that . . . and need to make something a priority! I think I'll start with prayer. . .
Commitments have dissolved. The day is gorgeous. We have so many home projects to do! Louie is diligently moving from one stated goal to the next, completing one before moving to the next. I am in a tizzy, overwhelmed by options and a lack of direction. I've done a little of this, a little of that . . . and need to make something a priority! I think I'll start with prayer. . .
Friday, February 28, 2020
Fart Humor
I was trying to decide whether to put this on my reading blog, my mom and dad blog, or here! It fits on any of those places, but it's mostly a random musing.
My mom was very open about her gas "issues" and we joked about farting a lot. Here's one book I think she owned:
The Gas We Pass: The Story of Farts by Shinta Cho is actually pretty interesting in explaining how gas happens. It's also a bit crude / entertaining for kids who like scatological humor.
She farted a lot. It was often quite smelly. As a family, we had a lot of jokes about it. She was also a third grade teacher, and third graders absolutely lose it when someone farts. I'm not sure if she bought the book to use in her classroom or just got it for her own library and entertainment . . .
She also owned a copy of Everyone Poops by Taro Gomi. I grabbed a photo from the publisher. I've found that most kids are really fascinated by these books.
A book that I thought I owned but couldn't find on my bookshelf is Walter the Farting Dog by William Kotzwinkle. I borrowed it from the public library to share with some kiddos after we had a conversation about farting. Great conversation, huh?
Oh! I referenced "scatological humor" to someone and when they asked what that meant, I don't think I explained it very well. So I googled it and here's what Wikipedia said: "Toilet humour or scatological humour is a type of off-colour humour dealing with defecation, urination and flatulence, and to a lesser extent vomiting and other body functions."
My mom was very open about her gas "issues" and we joked about farting a lot. Here's one book I think she owned:
She farted a lot. It was often quite smelly. As a family, we had a lot of jokes about it. She was also a third grade teacher, and third graders absolutely lose it when someone farts. I'm not sure if she bought the book to use in her classroom or just got it for her own library and entertainment . . .
She also owned a copy of Everyone Poops by Taro Gomi. I grabbed a photo from the publisher. I've found that most kids are really fascinated by these books.
A book that I thought I owned but couldn't find on my bookshelf is Walter the Farting Dog by William Kotzwinkle. I borrowed it from the public library to share with some kiddos after we had a conversation about farting. Great conversation, huh?
Oh! I referenced "scatological humor" to someone and when they asked what that meant, I don't think I explained it very well. So I googled it and here's what Wikipedia said: "Toilet humour or scatological humour is a type of off-colour humour dealing with defecation, urination and flatulence, and to a lesser extent vomiting and other body functions."
Thursday, February 13, 2020
More Movies
This slip of paper has been sitting at my desk for a while. My recovery from knee surgery has been fantastic, so I'm busier again. These are movies I've watched since the last time I blogged about movies.
On A Clear Day
I had seen a trailer for this quite a while ago, but had a hard time remembering the title. When I googled for it, it took a while to find it! (Barbara Streisand comes up right away.) Here's a Wikipedia blurb about it: "On a Clear Day is a 2005 Scottish drama film written by Alex Rose and directed by Gaby Dellal. It stars Peter Mullan as Frank Redmond, an engineer in the shipyards on the River Clyde, who becomes stagnant and quickly sinks into depression following his redundancy. A naturally strong swimmer, Frank gets an idea while on a 'booze cruise' with his friends to swim the English Channel. Featuring an ensemble cast, it co-stars Brenda Blethyn, Sean McGinley and Billy Boyd, among others."Louie wasn't interested in watching it with me, but I really liked it a lot. I liked how his relationship with his son and his own self-discovery came along.
Upside
Again, I had seen a trailer that intrigued me. I really enjoyed this one, too. (I watched it alone.) Kevin Hart plays an ex-con who's trying to get his life together. Brian Cranston(?) is a quadriplegic who needs a caregiver / assistant. It was funny, touching, and sad. It made me a little curious to find and watch the French film originally made about the real-life people the story is based upon.
Letters To Juliet
Loved this! Super cute and fun! (Except her original fiance and how he basically ignored her . . . ) Louie watched it with me. Another one that makes me want to visit Italy. Delightful!
Aquaman
We watched our home DVD version. It's the second time we've seen it.
Bend It Like Beckham
I borrowed this from our d-i-l Angela. It's one that I've heard of for a long time, but never before watched. It was an interesting mix of coming-of-age and cultural lessons on Indians in Britain. I liked it a lot. I love that David and Victoria Beckham had a little cameo at the end!
Green Lantern
Again, a home DVD. I am so weird. As this is often panned as Ryan Reynolds' worst movie ever, I like it! I think it is an entertaining hero movie. And I love love love the way he and Blake Lively make googly eyes at one another . . . though I think that each was actually romantically involved with someone else at the time. They've been married for a while, though!
The Croods
Netflix. Pretty dumb. Kind of cute. Wouldn't watch it again or recommend it.
Instant Family
Amazing! This story of adoption and families and love had me. I thought about re-watching it before bringing it back to the library. Such a lovely story! And sad. And touching. And inspiring.
On A Clear Day
I had seen a trailer for this quite a while ago, but had a hard time remembering the title. When I googled for it, it took a while to find it! (Barbara Streisand comes up right away.) Here's a Wikipedia blurb about it: "On a Clear Day is a 2005 Scottish drama film written by Alex Rose and directed by Gaby Dellal. It stars Peter Mullan as Frank Redmond, an engineer in the shipyards on the River Clyde, who becomes stagnant and quickly sinks into depression following his redundancy. A naturally strong swimmer, Frank gets an idea while on a 'booze cruise' with his friends to swim the English Channel. Featuring an ensemble cast, it co-stars Brenda Blethyn, Sean McGinley and Billy Boyd, among others."Louie wasn't interested in watching it with me, but I really liked it a lot. I liked how his relationship with his son and his own self-discovery came along.
Upside
Again, I had seen a trailer that intrigued me. I really enjoyed this one, too. (I watched it alone.) Kevin Hart plays an ex-con who's trying to get his life together. Brian Cranston(?) is a quadriplegic who needs a caregiver / assistant. It was funny, touching, and sad. It made me a little curious to find and watch the French film originally made about the real-life people the story is based upon.
Letters To Juliet
Loved this! Super cute and fun! (Except her original fiance and how he basically ignored her . . . ) Louie watched it with me. Another one that makes me want to visit Italy. Delightful!
Aquaman
We watched our home DVD version. It's the second time we've seen it.
Bend It Like Beckham
I borrowed this from our d-i-l Angela. It's one that I've heard of for a long time, but never before watched. It was an interesting mix of coming-of-age and cultural lessons on Indians in Britain. I liked it a lot. I love that David and Victoria Beckham had a little cameo at the end!
Green Lantern
Again, a home DVD. I am so weird. As this is often panned as Ryan Reynolds' worst movie ever, I like it! I think it is an entertaining hero movie. And I love love love the way he and Blake Lively make googly eyes at one another . . . though I think that each was actually romantically involved with someone else at the time. They've been married for a while, though!
The Croods
Netflix. Pretty dumb. Kind of cute. Wouldn't watch it again or recommend it.
Instant Family
Amazing! This story of adoption and families and love had me. I thought about re-watching it before bringing it back to the library. Such a lovely story! And sad. And touching. And inspiring.
Wednesday, February 12, 2020
Difference Between Sisters and Brothers!
Every once in a while, I'll give one of my siblings the "gift of time" for a birthday gift. I've primarily done it for Ann and Louise (only one person at a time, though!). My sisters are always more than happy to have me help them with projects - cleaning, sorting, organizing, etc. This is a gift I enjoy giving and they enjoy receiving. I'm not always timely in my once-a-month intentions, but I usually get it all done in one calendar year.
For Tom's July 2018 birthday, I gave him this gift. It was the first time I've ever done this for my brother. Wow, was it hard. It has taken me 19 months to finally give / do something for the one year I intended! When I kept bringing this up, he kept saying I didn't need to do anything else. "That's not the point! What do you want?" He mostly wanted just to spend time with his little sister . . . he is such an incredibly sweet guy.
I'm not sure how I should try to do something like this for him in the future . . . but I know that my sisters have a much easier time bossing me around! (Just kidding. They're lovely, but are happy to have me help with projects.)
Here's my copy of the "coupon" for Tom:
For Tom's July 2018 birthday, I gave him this gift. It was the first time I've ever done this for my brother. Wow, was it hard. It has taken me 19 months to finally give / do something for the one year I intended! When I kept bringing this up, he kept saying I didn't need to do anything else. "That's not the point! What do you want?" He mostly wanted just to spend time with his little sister . . . he is such an incredibly sweet guy.
I'm not sure how I should try to do something like this for him in the future . . . but I know that my sisters have a much easier time bossing me around! (Just kidding. They're lovely, but are happy to have me help with projects.)
Here's my copy of the "coupon" for Tom:
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