Best. Christmas. Ever.

Okay, 2014 wasn't necessarily the "best" Christmas I've ever had, but it was pretty wonderful. Morgan's gift to me was a card saying he had donated to Habitat for Humanity! I have had this on my "wish list" for years, but this is the first time someone actually did it. So awesome! And Stacie gave me a lovely bag which was made by Lungile Mngometulu. Check out http://timbalicrafts.org/ and find out about the amazing way your shopping can bless small (really, really small) business owners in Swaziland. This made me so very happy.

LaMoore Christmas 2014

I love our family time together! Here were some of this year's gems (that I caught):

"The pun density is off the charts!"
- Nick, referring to the Guillotine card game, which has a subtitle of "The revolutionary card game where you win by getting a head."

"Viv cooked. There's no salmonella and no smoke detector."
- Nick

"He's a useful thing to have around."
- Ally, referring to Nick (before Lindsay's brakes were actually fixed . . . )

"I want the brown one. No, not Nick's. The cute brown one."
- Stacie, choosing a LaMoore exchange gift from the pile

"It's hard because I have a coat on."
- Viv

"I have a coat AND a penis."
- Mike
They were using the weighted hula hoop out on the patio, and may have been imbibing a bit, too . . .

I'm sure there were many other funny moments that I didn't write down. And I went to bed before the dance-off, but Jeff G won (of course!). Merry Christmas, all.

Cleaning

It's no secret that I really dislike cleaning. I do, however, like having a clean home. Since I haven't yet budgeted to hire a cleaner, I need to get in gear with this whole cleaning gig.

Tried this for the grout in the basement bathroom floor:
1 cup vinegar
1 Tbl dish soap (Dawn)
1 cup baking soda
2 gallons warm tap water

It worked okay, but I wasn't super impressed. I thought we had info from the tile place when we originally purchased and installed our floor, but I haven't done enough digging around to find it.

It's the first day after the end of the school year . . . and this blog entry rids my life of one random scrap of paper. Booyah! Onward.

Menopause?

A friend perfectly captured my sentiments with this:

“I feel like ripping someone’s head off and crying at the same time.”

I don't feel as though I'm actually IN menopause right now . . . because I haven't started having hot flashes yet. And I still feel as though I'm "too young" for that. But my periods are already getting weird, and my emotions have definitely been haywire, and this statement really sums it up.

Pool Table ReFelting

Louie saw the place where my rotary cutter slipped . . . and the research I've been meaning to do for a few years took on new urgency. First I looked at Peters Billiards, a local company. Too many choices on the website, so I called and asked. It will / would cost $445 to have someone come out and refelt the table. That's with the cheapest fabric ($160 of the total cost) they offer. Ouch!

I found a great little DIY site that teaches how to do it: http://refelting.com/ but there's no way on Earth I'd tackle something like that. Louie is being kind and understanding (though he asked me to never cut on his pool table again) though still irritated. We'll consult with Jeff Beaudoin and decide what to do.

At least I have finally taken all the junk off the pool table and vacuumed it. (And I have come clean about my oopsie.) Now he's nagging me about my punctuation. Oy vay!

Donating Books

As I was clearing out old newspapers today, one article caught my eye. (Okay, lots of them did. But I want to make note of this one!) A woman named Lenore Gendron has donated tens of thousands of books to Hennepin County Medical Center for their Children's Literacy Program. Books are for patients and family members to enjoy while they are at the hospital and to take home if they wish. For people who have few books, this is a great way to promote literacy. The coordinator of the literacy program is Lynne Burke.

I am not currently getting rid of books, but I'll try connecting with this program when I go through the children's books that we are storing out in the garage.

LaMoore Christmas 2013 quotes

"I left a puddle on the floor." - Charlie
"It takes a village to make a village." - Viv