I'm starting to feel old......
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Why I hate Pinterest ..sometimes
11 years ago
Sunday, July 30, 2006
They're for when I get Married
Hope came up to me tonight carrying her Strawberry Shortcake "jewelry box". She opened it and said, "Look at what Mom gave me Dad. She told me to keep them in here because they are for my wedding."
I'm starting to feel old......
I'm starting to feel old......
Tonight's Grilling Masterpiece
Tonight's Grilling Masterpiece:
The journey continues. I'm working my way through Weber's Real Grilling and I've added two new items to my list of grilling accomplishments: Tequila Ham Steaks and Grill Roasted corn. Both were really good. The neat trick for the corn is to soften up half a stick of butter and rub it all over the corn before putting it directly on the grill (No husks, really) at about 350 degrees for 10 minutes, rotating it about every two minutes.
Anyway, I was going to have Anna take a picture of me holding the platter of buttered ears ready to put on the grill. However, as she went to take the picture, the corn started to fall off the platter.... I was able to catch the falling ears by shoving them forward with my chest. This did save the corn, but left a butter streak on my shirt. It was a cruel twist of irony that I was wearing the shirt that I was. Here's the picture of me saving dinner:
(Yup, the shirt really does say "Let me drop everything...." In spite of that, I still maintain that I didn't drop them; they fell from me.)
The journey continues. I'm working my way through Weber's Real Grilling and I've added two new items to my list of grilling accomplishments: Tequila Ham Steaks and Grill Roasted corn. Both were really good. The neat trick for the corn is to soften up half a stick of butter and rub it all over the corn before putting it directly on the grill (No husks, really) at about 350 degrees for 10 minutes, rotating it about every two minutes.
Anyway, I was going to have Anna take a picture of me holding the platter of buttered ears ready to put on the grill. However, as she went to take the picture, the corn started to fall off the platter.... I was able to catch the falling ears by shoving them forward with my chest. This did save the corn, but left a butter streak on my shirt. It was a cruel twist of irony that I was wearing the shirt that I was. Here's the picture of me saving dinner:
(Yup, the shirt really does say "Let me drop everything...." In spite of that, I still maintain that I didn't drop them; they fell from me.)
Sunday, July 23, 2006
Hope Makes the Rules
Big sisters can be bossy, and Hope is no exception. This morning she took a piece of paper out and wrote down two rules:
1) Yes
2) No
She taped the paper to the wall. Every time Tori did something Hope didn't like, Hope would drag her over to the wall and point to the word "No" and say something like, "Tori, don't do that. See, the rule says "No" so we don't do that."
When she wanted Tori to do something, she'd drag her over to the wall and say, "See, you have to do it because the rules say "Yes", so you have to."
I love the logic of children. We tend to overcomplicate things. They keep things simple and straightforward. I asked Hope what gave her the authority to make the rules. Without batting an eye, Hope grabbed me by the arm and dragged me to the wall and said, "See Dad. Hope makes the rules. It says so right here. See? It says "Yes". So I get to make the rules."
hehe. I think I could probably get her a job working for Kim Jong Il. She could teach the communists a few things about making rules.
Anyway, I couldn't let this little escapade go without a response. So, I grabbed a pen and wrote on the sheet: Dad makes the rules. I pointed it out to Hope and told her that Dad makes the rules and told her in no uncertain terms to stop picking on her little sister.
A few minutes later I came back and here's what I found:
1) Yes
2) No
She taped the paper to the wall. Every time Tori did something Hope didn't like, Hope would drag her over to the wall and point to the word "No" and say something like, "Tori, don't do that. See, the rule says "No" so we don't do that."
When she wanted Tori to do something, she'd drag her over to the wall and say, "See, you have to do it because the rules say "Yes", so you have to."
I love the logic of children. We tend to overcomplicate things. They keep things simple and straightforward. I asked Hope what gave her the authority to make the rules. Without batting an eye, Hope grabbed me by the arm and dragged me to the wall and said, "See Dad. Hope makes the rules. It says so right here. See? It says "Yes". So I get to make the rules."
hehe. I think I could probably get her a job working for Kim Jong Il. She could teach the communists a few things about making rules.
Anyway, I couldn't let this little escapade go without a response. So, I grabbed a pen and wrote on the sheet: Dad makes the rules. I pointed it out to Hope and told her that Dad makes the rules and told her in no uncertain terms to stop picking on her little sister.
A few minutes later I came back and here's what I found:
Tuesday, July 04, 2006
Father's Day
We celebrated Father's day while we were in Indiana. This was the first Father's day that Anna has been able to spend with her Dad since the year we were married. Anna got me some new grill tools and an apron. I made Kabobs for everyone for dinner.
Fishing with Paka
While we were in Indiana, Anna's Dad and I took Hope on her first fishing trip. She wasn't originally supposed to go with us. Anna's Dad and I got up fairly early, hooked up the boat, and headed for the local reservoir. We made it about two miles before we blew a tire on the trailer. We limped back to the house. Undaunted, we pulled the wheels off the trailer, and ran them out to a tire shop while we grabbed some breakfast. Hope came with us. At the restaurant, the cook made her a special Mickey Mouse pancake.
Over breakfast, Hope kept asking if she could go fishing with us. I figured, hey, why not? It's going to be afternoon by the time we make it out and we probably won't catch anything anyway. So, on the way home, we stopped by Meijer and bought her a Barbie fishing pole and life jacket. Hope could now go fishing in style!
A few things came up, and we didn't end up going fishing until about 5:30 in the afternoon. Hope was really excited and asked all sorts of questions as we launched the boat and drove out to the bay where we would be fishing. On the way, I took this picture:
It wasn't too long until she caught her first fish, which turned out to be the biggest catch of the day:
Here's my "lunker":
Here's Paka's fish. Don't be fooled. That's not his minnow. It's his big catch.
Hope did really well on our little fishing trip. At about 8:45 PM, she was starting to look a little tired. I asked her if she was sleepy. "Yes," she replied, "Can I take a little nap here in the boat?"
I explained to her that we didn't sleep in the boat and we'd just leave when she was tired. She thought for a minute and said, "Maybe I could just catch another big one and then we could go."
She's hooked and has been talking about going fishing again ever since.
Over breakfast, Hope kept asking if she could go fishing with us. I figured, hey, why not? It's going to be afternoon by the time we make it out and we probably won't catch anything anyway. So, on the way home, we stopped by Meijer and bought her a Barbie fishing pole and life jacket. Hope could now go fishing in style!
A few things came up, and we didn't end up going fishing until about 5:30 in the afternoon. Hope was really excited and asked all sorts of questions as we launched the boat and drove out to the bay where we would be fishing. On the way, I took this picture:
It wasn't too long until she caught her first fish, which turned out to be the biggest catch of the day:
Here's my "lunker":
Here's Paka's fish. Don't be fooled. That's not his minnow. It's his big catch.
Hope did really well on our little fishing trip. At about 8:45 PM, she was starting to look a little tired. I asked her if she was sleepy. "Yes," she replied, "Can I take a little nap here in the boat?"
I explained to her that we didn't sleep in the boat and we'd just leave when she was tired. She thought for a minute and said, "Maybe I could just catch another big one and then we could go."
She's hooked and has been talking about going fishing again ever since.
Monopoly
I've pretty much burned myself out trying to beat Anna in Scrabble. So today we played Monopoly instead. This is a game that I normally do very well in. I lost.
So, tonight, we played again. The game started beautifully. I collected Baltic and Mediteranian and secured St. Charles, Virginia, and States within the first several turns. Great! Two sets! Then I secured almost one of every other color on the board. But I didn't get any railroads. This turned out to be tragic for me.
Because, even though Anna had no complete sets, and therefore, no houses or hotels, she had all 4 railroads. I landed on at least one railroad nearly every time around the board!
Eventually, I built my properties up to having hotels. I knew for sure that soon the game would be over and I'd be victorious. Well, Anna never really landed on my properties and kept hitting the Free Parking space and taking all of the money out of the pot (House Rules).
Even though I wasn't going bankrupt, I wasn't doing all that well and she was amasing a pile of cash that would have made Warren Buffet and Bill Gates proud. Things started to turn around for me later in the game, but I wasn't really draining Anna's cash. Finally, about 1:30 AM, the bank ran out of 500s, 100s, and 50s. We were tired. So, we decided to end the game.
Here's a photo of our board: (Anna's on the left and I'm on the bottom - By all accounts, she actually won, even though we decided it was a draw. She's being nice to me. I think she wants me to play Scrabble with her tomorrow. Besides, she knows that losing twice in the same day on a game I'm supposed to be good at would be hard on my fragile ego.)
What's the moral of the story? Given enough time and money, men and women can figure out a way to coexist peacefully.
So, tonight, we played again. The game started beautifully. I collected Baltic and Mediteranian and secured St. Charles, Virginia, and States within the first several turns. Great! Two sets! Then I secured almost one of every other color on the board. But I didn't get any railroads. This turned out to be tragic for me.
Because, even though Anna had no complete sets, and therefore, no houses or hotels, she had all 4 railroads. I landed on at least one railroad nearly every time around the board!
Eventually, I built my properties up to having hotels. I knew for sure that soon the game would be over and I'd be victorious. Well, Anna never really landed on my properties and kept hitting the Free Parking space and taking all of the money out of the pot (House Rules).
Even though I wasn't going bankrupt, I wasn't doing all that well and she was amasing a pile of cash that would have made Warren Buffet and Bill Gates proud. Things started to turn around for me later in the game, but I wasn't really draining Anna's cash. Finally, about 1:30 AM, the bank ran out of 500s, 100s, and 50s. We were tired. So, we decided to end the game.
Here's a photo of our board: (Anna's on the left and I'm on the bottom - By all accounts, she actually won, even though we decided it was a draw. She's being nice to me. I think she wants me to play Scrabble with her tomorrow. Besides, she knows that losing twice in the same day on a game I'm supposed to be good at would be hard on my fragile ego.)
What's the moral of the story? Given enough time and money, men and women can figure out a way to coexist peacefully.
Monday, July 03, 2006
Pretty in Pink
We went to Steve's wedding a few weeks ago and had a really great time. It was a real honor to be able to participate in the wedding.
On Thursday evening, I went with Steve, his Dad, and his brothers to pick up our tuxedos. Trevor picked his up separately. The tuxes were classic black with a silver/gray vest and tie. They looked pretty sharp.
While we were at the Tux shop, I noticed a pink tie and scarf hanging on one of the displays. I pointed it out to Steve and commented that it would be really fun to swap out Trevor's tie for a pink one and add a schnazzy pink scarf to boot as a gag. Steve got a good chuckle out of it and asked the clerk at the store how much she'd charge us to rent us the supplies for our gag. She overheard us talking about it, laughed, and said... "Just take it."
So, while at the bachelor party on Friday (which was conveniently hosted at Trevor's house), I snuck off and found Trevor's tux. I removed his silver tie and replaced it with a nice bright pink one and draped a pink scarf over his jacket. Perfect!
So, as it worked out, Trevor and I ended up getting to the wedding before Steve. We ran into the mother of the bride who suggested that we go ahead and put on our tuxes. Trevor stepped into the restroom and a few minutes later I heard him exclaim, "AAAAAHHHHHHHHHH!!!" I reached for my camera. Nuts! I'd left it in the car.
I ran outside to grab my camera. When I got back to the building I ran into one of the usher's and the father of the bride. They asked me if we'd figured out what we were going to do about Trevor's tux. They told me that the mother of the bride was pretty upset about it.
GULP! I'd failed to let the mother of the bride in on the joke. hehe. Whoops!
While I was gone, Trevor had told the mother of the bride about his tux issues. He thought that perhaps they wanted him to wear pink since he was the best man and the matron of honor was wearing pink. She told Trevor that she had other things to worry about and didn't care if he wore silver, pink, purple, or whatever. It wasn't her fault that Trevor had failed to check his tux. hehe... this actually worked out better than if I'd let her in on the joke.
I explained what was going on to the father of the bride. Then, I went and looked for the mother of the bride to apologize. I know from past experience never to mess with the mother of the bride on the day of the wedding. It was as if I'd walked with hobnailed shoes where angels would fear to trod. (Actually, she was really cool about the whole thing, but that last sentence sounded way too good to omit from my story). At any rate, I couldn't find her.
I went back to the restroom and gave Trev a bad time for a few minutes and decided I'd better cut the joke a little short and make amends with the mother of the bride. We did get Trevor to put on his pink ensemble and pose for some pictures:
On Thursday evening, I went with Steve, his Dad, and his brothers to pick up our tuxedos. Trevor picked his up separately. The tuxes were classic black with a silver/gray vest and tie. They looked pretty sharp.
While we were at the Tux shop, I noticed a pink tie and scarf hanging on one of the displays. I pointed it out to Steve and commented that it would be really fun to swap out Trevor's tie for a pink one and add a schnazzy pink scarf to boot as a gag. Steve got a good chuckle out of it and asked the clerk at the store how much she'd charge us to rent us the supplies for our gag. She overheard us talking about it, laughed, and said... "Just take it."
So, while at the bachelor party on Friday (which was conveniently hosted at Trevor's house), I snuck off and found Trevor's tux. I removed his silver tie and replaced it with a nice bright pink one and draped a pink scarf over his jacket. Perfect!
So, as it worked out, Trevor and I ended up getting to the wedding before Steve. We ran into the mother of the bride who suggested that we go ahead and put on our tuxes. Trevor stepped into the restroom and a few minutes later I heard him exclaim, "AAAAAHHHHHHHHHH!!!" I reached for my camera. Nuts! I'd left it in the car.
I ran outside to grab my camera. When I got back to the building I ran into one of the usher's and the father of the bride. They asked me if we'd figured out what we were going to do about Trevor's tux. They told me that the mother of the bride was pretty upset about it.
GULP! I'd failed to let the mother of the bride in on the joke. hehe. Whoops!
While I was gone, Trevor had told the mother of the bride about his tux issues. He thought that perhaps they wanted him to wear pink since he was the best man and the matron of honor was wearing pink. She told Trevor that she had other things to worry about and didn't care if he wore silver, pink, purple, or whatever. It wasn't her fault that Trevor had failed to check his tux. hehe... this actually worked out better than if I'd let her in on the joke.
I explained what was going on to the father of the bride. Then, I went and looked for the mother of the bride to apologize. I know from past experience never to mess with the mother of the bride on the day of the wedding. It was as if I'd walked with hobnailed shoes where angels would fear to trod. (Actually, she was really cool about the whole thing, but that last sentence sounded way too good to omit from my story). At any rate, I couldn't find her.
I went back to the restroom and gave Trev a bad time for a few minutes and decided I'd better cut the joke a little short and make amends with the mother of the bride. We did get Trevor to put on his pink ensemble and pose for some pictures:
Sunday, June 25, 2006
Funeral Weirdness
We just got home from a nice trip to Indiana to go to my friend Steve's wedding and visit with Anna's family. As it turns out, we also ended up going to a funeral.
It was an uncomfortable funeral. We went because Anna was related to the deceased, but she really didn't know her. I'd never met anyone from this part of the family, and the last time Anna had been around any of them was about 10 years ago. Have you ever been to a viewing like that? Where you just sit around and make idle conversation with people you've never met while standing next to a dead person you've never met? Awkward? Um.. yeah!
The deceased's adopted daughter's best friend put together a CD with music to play at the viewing. So, we're all siting there at the viewing chit-chatting uncomfortably while songs like Bette Midler's "Wind beneath my Wings" played in the background. Someone made a comment that the person who put the CD together had never arranged music for a funeral. This became more apparant as the CD went on. Some of the songs where a little iffy, but I really had a hard time not laughing out loud when the song changed to "Knockin' on Heaven's Door"
Oh yeah... it was The Guns N' Roses version....
It was an uncomfortable funeral. We went because Anna was related to the deceased, but she really didn't know her. I'd never met anyone from this part of the family, and the last time Anna had been around any of them was about 10 years ago. Have you ever been to a viewing like that? Where you just sit around and make idle conversation with people you've never met while standing next to a dead person you've never met? Awkward? Um.. yeah!
The deceased's adopted daughter's best friend put together a CD with music to play at the viewing. So, we're all siting there at the viewing chit-chatting uncomfortably while songs like Bette Midler's "Wind beneath my Wings" played in the background. Someone made a comment that the person who put the CD together had never arranged music for a funeral. This became more apparant as the CD went on. Some of the songs where a little iffy, but I really had a hard time not laughing out loud when the song changed to "Knockin' on Heaven's Door"
Oh yeah... it was The Guns N' Roses version....
Monday, June 12, 2006
Wild Hogs
There are a lot of wild pigs in Texas. Javelinas, Feral hogs, and assorted other varieties. They were originally introduced to the area by Coronado and their spread and population has grown over the years. While there are normally a fair number of them about, there seems to be an unusually high number within about 50 miles of where we live. The story is that in the 1960s there was a hog farmer who had about 3000 pigs in San Saba, TX - about 50 miles from here. Apparently he got in to some sort of trouble with the IRS and was going to lose his farm and animals. Rather than lose all of his livestock to the IRS, he let them all loose. Yup... Better to let them live free then give them to the government. He cut some fence, opened some gates, and let 3000 of these critters loose. They bred like rabbits with the wild hogs that were already here. There are hogs everywhere now. Ranchers will often let you come out for free and shoot them just to get rid of them. They tear up pastures and make a mess and car/boar accidents are almost as common as car/deer wrecks.
Why am I telling you all of this? We had a guest minister in town at church this week, so we had some extra services. Well, on Friday night one family was on their way home and low and behold, 9 wild hogs ran across the road in front of them. They were able to brake and swerve out of the way.
On Saturday night they were on their way home and at the same spot, they saw a single hog by the side of the road. Someone had just hit it. It was still alive and was flopping around on the shoulder. It was just about dead and would have been dangerous for them to approach in it's frenzy. It looked to be a good sized young hog. He thought about taking it home, but he was driving his Mom's van and he thought if he loaded a dead pig in it that she was just as likely to roast him as she would be to roast the pig. He gave up on the idea.
He called another guy who had to drive home on the same road and told him about it and reminded him to be careful. About 30 minutes later the second guy called back the first guy and says, "Hey, I got that boar all gutted and cleaned. I'll bring it over in just a little bit."
We were over at their house on Sunday afternoon and he told us this story and then he brought out this pork roast for us to try. We thought it was a big joke - you know... Texas humor is a little different. Turns out he wasn't kidding. That was some mighty tasty boar. Weighed in at 125 pounds and had about 2 inch tusks so he was pretty young and tender.
Ever eat Road Kill Boar anyone? Check!
Why am I telling you all of this? We had a guest minister in town at church this week, so we had some extra services. Well, on Friday night one family was on their way home and low and behold, 9 wild hogs ran across the road in front of them. They were able to brake and swerve out of the way.
On Saturday night they were on their way home and at the same spot, they saw a single hog by the side of the road. Someone had just hit it. It was still alive and was flopping around on the shoulder. It was just about dead and would have been dangerous for them to approach in it's frenzy. It looked to be a good sized young hog. He thought about taking it home, but he was driving his Mom's van and he thought if he loaded a dead pig in it that she was just as likely to roast him as she would be to roast the pig. He gave up on the idea.
He called another guy who had to drive home on the same road and told him about it and reminded him to be careful. About 30 minutes later the second guy called back the first guy and says, "Hey, I got that boar all gutted and cleaned. I'll bring it over in just a little bit."
We were over at their house on Sunday afternoon and he told us this story and then he brought out this pork roast for us to try. We thought it was a big joke - you know... Texas humor is a little different. Turns out he wasn't kidding. That was some mighty tasty boar. Weighed in at 125 pounds and had about 2 inch tusks so he was pretty young and tender.
Ever eat Road Kill Boar anyone? Check!
Sunday, June 11, 2006
Bloomin' Cactus
Did you know that Cactus bloom? I didn't. Texas amazes me sometimes. There really is a huge variety of flowers and other fauna that I find very interesting. There are cactus everywhere, but when they're not in bloom they blend in pretty good with the wild grasses and other greenery. Now that they are in bloom, they stand out in the ditches and pastures. Here's some pictures I took in the empty lot across the alley:
Scrabble - Round II
Anna asked me to play Scrabble with her the other day. We hadn't had a match in quite some time, so I agreed. She asked me why I never seem to want to play Scrabble with her. Ever since she started playing Scrabble on the Internet Scrabble Club (ISC), she's gotten really, really good. Her ranking on ISC is about 850.
So we played. I scored a respectable 253 points. Not my best showing, but OK. Anna plunked down four seven letter words to propel herself to a new personal record of 579 points. She had a single word that netted 185 points. Yikes! This woman knows how to strike fear into the heart of her opponents.
I wept. And she wonders why I never want to play this game with her? The sort of game that can make a grown man cry...
So we played. I scored a respectable 253 points. Not my best showing, but OK. Anna plunked down four seven letter words to propel herself to a new personal record of 579 points. She had a single word that netted 185 points. Yikes! This woman knows how to strike fear into the heart of her opponents.
I wept. And she wonders why I never want to play this game with her? The sort of game that can make a grown man cry...
Friday, June 02, 2006
New Hat
Anna took me shopping tonight. I really don't like to shop, but I needed to. My diet continues to go well. Since November, I've lost 16 lbs, which is great. The bad part is that my jeans are a little too loose now. So, she took me out to find some new ones. While we were out, I spotted this hat and decided to buy it too. What do you think?
Saturday, May 27, 2006
Eau de Toilette
I came home for lunch the other day and stepped inside the house. Tori walking out of my room, brushing her teeth. With my toothbrush.
Anna came around another corner and said, "Oh geez, she got into that again? Take that away from her!"
"Why?" I asked, figuring that she'd already pretty much ruined my toothbrush.
"Here," she said as she grabbed the toothbrush out of Tori's iron clad grip. "Smell this," as she rammed the toothbrush under my nose.
I reeled back, expecting something nasty, as if Tori might have used water from the toilet or something. My initial assumption was pretty close. "Yikes, that smells like Aqua di Gio!"
"Daddy, smell. Smell good. haa.. haa... Me smell." There she was, grinning from ear to ear and wanting me to smell her good breath. Thankfully, she didn't get sick or anything. So, I now officially have a daughter who has brushed her teeth with "Eau de Toilette".
The next morning, when I got ready for work, I grabbed my toothbrush and began to brush. Ewww! Yuck! Spit! pllllt! What is that? Oh nuts! I forgot. Guess I've officially had the Aqua di Gio treatment too.
By the way, in my quest to make sure I spelled "Eau de Toilette" correctly in this post, I ran across a website that explains the difference between eau de toilette and eau de parfum. I didn't know there was a difference, so I thought I'd share the website with all of you for your own enlightenment: Click Here.
Anna came around another corner and said, "Oh geez, she got into that again? Take that away from her!"
"Why?" I asked, figuring that she'd already pretty much ruined my toothbrush.
"Here," she said as she grabbed the toothbrush out of Tori's iron clad grip. "Smell this," as she rammed the toothbrush under my nose.
I reeled back, expecting something nasty, as if Tori might have used water from the toilet or something. My initial assumption was pretty close. "Yikes, that smells like Aqua di Gio!"
"Daddy, smell. Smell good. haa.. haa... Me smell." There she was, grinning from ear to ear and wanting me to smell her good breath. Thankfully, she didn't get sick or anything. So, I now officially have a daughter who has brushed her teeth with "Eau de Toilette".
The next morning, when I got ready for work, I grabbed my toothbrush and began to brush. Ewww! Yuck! Spit! pllllt! What is that? Oh nuts! I forgot. Guess I've officially had the Aqua di Gio treatment too.
By the way, in my quest to make sure I spelled "Eau de Toilette" correctly in this post, I ran across a website that explains the difference between eau de toilette and eau de parfum. I didn't know there was a difference, so I thought I'd share the website with all of you for your own enlightenment: Click Here.
Sunday, May 21, 2006
Tomatoes
Trevor asked me the other day how my tomatoes fared in our hailstorm. Suprisingly, they did pretty well. They lost a lot of leaves and there was some scaring on some of the vines, but they survived. The pepper plant right next to them took some direct hits and only had about 3-4 leaves left on it. I wasn't sure it was going to make it, but it's also recovering. I think this is all in a large part due to the very hot weather we had for about a week after the storm. There wasn't anywhere for the water to go, so the air was very humid for a while as well. Now it's dry as a bone and we haven't had any rain since our storm, which was on May 5th.
Saturday, May 20, 2006
Going to Grandma's
The other day Hope asked us why we had to buy a van. Anna told her that we bought the van so that it will be easier for us to drive to Grandma's house. That seemed to be the end of it and she scampered off to go play. About an hour later Hope came to me and told me she was all packed and ready to go to Grandma's. She wanted to know if I was ready to leave. I told her it would be several weeks before we went to Grandma's house. She seemed very disappointed and took me in the other room to show me that she was all ready to go:
Wednesday, May 17, 2006
Out of Focus and into a Mini.
"The best laid plans of mice and men," or so the saying goes.
Three years ago, I purchased a 2003 Ford Focus ZTW wagon. I thought it would be a great car with plenty of room for our family. It was good on gas and handled really well.
When I purchased the car I intended to drive it for 5 - 6 years. I didn't buy an extended warranty.
It looks like some of my assumptions weren't really that good. The little Focus served us pretty well, but it's a little cramped, especially on trips. The gas mileage hasn't been too bad, but I should have bought the extended warranty. The vehicle has 50,000 miles on it and so far I've replaced the tires twice. Yup, third set of tires. Yup.. that baby can burn up 60,000 mile tires in 20,000 miles. I've replaced the rear wheel bearings, rear lower control arms, front rotors (warped at 40,000 miles), and sway bar links. The size of the vehicle and the frequency of repairs was really starting to get to me. I got rid of it yesterday.
I decided that I needed something cooler. Something that would meet my family's needs. So, I bought a Mini.
ahem. I bought a Mini.
ahem.. cough... uh... I bought a Mini-van.
So, here it is. The vehicle that will officially take me from being a young man to a "Suburban-Mini-Van-Driving-30-something-kid-toting-Dad". It's a 2006 Dodge Grand Caravan SXT with 7 yr/100,000 mile warranty. It doesn't have a HEMI, but it's got Stow'N'Go seating baby! Wooohoo! And a remote power liftgate! Watch out WalMart, here I come!
Three years ago, I purchased a 2003 Ford Focus ZTW wagon. I thought it would be a great car with plenty of room for our family. It was good on gas and handled really well.
When I purchased the car I intended to drive it for 5 - 6 years. I didn't buy an extended warranty.
It looks like some of my assumptions weren't really that good. The little Focus served us pretty well, but it's a little cramped, especially on trips. The gas mileage hasn't been too bad, but I should have bought the extended warranty. The vehicle has 50,000 miles on it and so far I've replaced the tires twice. Yup, third set of tires. Yup.. that baby can burn up 60,000 mile tires in 20,000 miles. I've replaced the rear wheel bearings, rear lower control arms, front rotors (warped at 40,000 miles), and sway bar links. The size of the vehicle and the frequency of repairs was really starting to get to me. I got rid of it yesterday.
I decided that I needed something cooler. Something that would meet my family's needs. So, I bought a Mini.
ahem. I bought a Mini
ahem.. cough... uh... I bought a Mini-van.
So, here it is. The vehicle that will officially take me from being a young man to a "Suburban-Mini-Van-Driving-30-something-kid-toting-Dad". It's a 2006 Dodge Grand Caravan SXT with 7 yr/100,000 mile warranty. It doesn't have a HEMI, but it's got Stow'N'Go seating baby! Wooohoo! And a remote power liftgate! Watch out WalMart, here I come!
Saturday, May 06, 2006
Storms
It's been storming all week. Since Tuesday, it's been bright and sunny each morning, about 90 in the afternoon, and by 6 PM storms roll in. There's been a couple of good ones with magnificent lightning and strong winds. When I drove in to work on Friday, there were two empty Fedex semi trailers laying on their side in one of our parking lots. I don't know how strong the wind was on Thursday night, but it must have been pretty strong to tip over two semi trailers!
Well, last night we rented a couple of movies for the girls to watch: Felicity (American Girl) and Dreamer. (By the way, both were really good.) Anyway, we sat down to watch the movies, but it was begining to storm and there was an incredible amount of lightning. So, we decided to turn off all of the electronic stuff and unplug it. We made cookies and watched the storms roll in.
They really started to look nasty, so we turned on the radio and found out that there had been a tornado about 30 miles west of us and the same storm was headed our way shortly. As the storm approached the warnings got more severe. So, we grabbed a flashlight, radio and batteries, some drinks, snacks, and toys for the kids and headed to our walk-in closet to ride out the storm. We said a few prayers for us and our friends and then sat back and listened to the radio while the kids played.
The rain came down in buckets (5 inches in 90 minutes) and it started to hail. Having been through this experience when we lived in Wisconsin, it didn't seem so bad. There was some hail, but it didn't seem that there was too much and it didn't seem to be striking too hard.
SMACK! The wall shook behind us. Anna looked at me and I looked at her. What was that?
THUNK! It sounded liked someone was hitting our roof with a sledge hammer.
THUNK! BUNK! SMACK! Is that hail? It couldn't be... it would have to be huge to sound like that.
Over the radio we hear, "We're now receiving reports of tennis ball and baseball sized hail."
SMACK! THUNK! Now, our house doesn't really have any interior protected closets. All of the closets touch an outside wall. So, we elected to hang out in the one on the northeast corner of the house where two solid brick walls come together and the nearest window is in the next room. We were sitting on a cermaic tile floor over a concrete slab with our backs to a brick wall. When the hail struck the brick wall, it shook the floor. That was pretty impressive. We heard over the radio that the hail was forming at 41,000 feet. So, imagine a baseball sized hunk of ice propelling down from 41,000 feet and hitting your house. Yikes!
When the hail stopped, I waited a few minutes to make sure it was clear and dashed out to the yard to grab a sample to put in the freezer. It had already melted some because it was raining buckets and it was about 70 outside, but when I measured it with my caliper, it came in at 2.94". This is the biggest hail I've ever seen in my life. Here's a picture:
In my hand:
When these puppies hit the ground they make a little crater. Most of them were about 2 inches deep and 3 to 3.5 inches wide:
Well, last night we rented a couple of movies for the girls to watch: Felicity (American Girl) and Dreamer. (By the way, both were really good.) Anyway, we sat down to watch the movies, but it was begining to storm and there was an incredible amount of lightning. So, we decided to turn off all of the electronic stuff and unplug it. We made cookies and watched the storms roll in.
They really started to look nasty, so we turned on the radio and found out that there had been a tornado about 30 miles west of us and the same storm was headed our way shortly. As the storm approached the warnings got more severe. So, we grabbed a flashlight, radio and batteries, some drinks, snacks, and toys for the kids and headed to our walk-in closet to ride out the storm. We said a few prayers for us and our friends and then sat back and listened to the radio while the kids played.
The rain came down in buckets (5 inches in 90 minutes) and it started to hail. Having been through this experience when we lived in Wisconsin, it didn't seem so bad. There was some hail, but it didn't seem that there was too much and it didn't seem to be striking too hard.
SMACK! The wall shook behind us. Anna looked at me and I looked at her. What was that?
THUNK! It sounded liked someone was hitting our roof with a sledge hammer.
THUNK! BUNK! SMACK! Is that hail? It couldn't be... it would have to be huge to sound like that.
Over the radio we hear, "We're now receiving reports of tennis ball and baseball sized hail."
SMACK! THUNK! Now, our house doesn't really have any interior protected closets. All of the closets touch an outside wall. So, we elected to hang out in the one on the northeast corner of the house where two solid brick walls come together and the nearest window is in the next room. We were sitting on a cermaic tile floor over a concrete slab with our backs to a brick wall. When the hail struck the brick wall, it shook the floor. That was pretty impressive. We heard over the radio that the hail was forming at 41,000 feet. So, imagine a baseball sized hunk of ice propelling down from 41,000 feet and hitting your house. Yikes!
When the hail stopped, I waited a few minutes to make sure it was clear and dashed out to the yard to grab a sample to put in the freezer. It had already melted some because it was raining buckets and it was about 70 outside, but when I measured it with my caliper, it came in at 2.94". This is the biggest hail I've ever seen in my life. Here's a picture:
In my hand:
When these puppies hit the ground they make a little crater. Most of them were about 2 inches deep and 3 to 3.5 inches wide:
Tuesday, May 02, 2006
Tomatoes
I planted some tomatoes in early March. This seemed really early to me, but they had them at WalMart, so it must be time to plant in Texas, right? The temperatures had been in the 80s for a few weeks and so I planted them. They started to take root and were really taking off when we got a late frost. They died.
I was at the barber shop a few days later getting my hair cut and getting the now customary shave with a straight razor. I told the Barber about my tomato growing woes. He stopped cutting, leaned back and said, "You know, the old timers say that you need to go out of town and find some old gnarly mesquite trees. When they start to bud, the frost is over and it's OK to plant."
I took the barber shop advice to heart, opened up the back gate and looked at the gnarly old mesquite trees the line the other side of the alley. No buds. I waited about a week and checked again. Buds!
Instead of buying Walmart tomatoes, this time I bought some starts from Sligers, a local produce store. I planted a Celebrity, which is a good slicing tomato, and a hybrid cherry tomato. I made a raised bed for them along the fence using pavers and filled it with Miracle Gro garden soil. The results have really been great. This picture was taken this evening.
I was at the barber shop a few days later getting my hair cut and getting the now customary shave with a straight razor. I told the Barber about my tomato growing woes. He stopped cutting, leaned back and said, "You know, the old timers say that you need to go out of town and find some old gnarly mesquite trees. When they start to bud, the frost is over and it's OK to plant."
I took the barber shop advice to heart, opened up the back gate and looked at the gnarly old mesquite trees the line the other side of the alley. No buds. I waited about a week and checked again. Buds!
Instead of buying Walmart tomatoes, this time I bought some starts from Sligers, a local produce store. I planted a Celebrity, which is a good slicing tomato, and a hybrid cherry tomato. I made a raised bed for them along the fence using pavers and filled it with Miracle Gro garden soil. The results have really been great. This picture was taken this evening.
Landscaping
Lately, we've been working on our landscaping and lawn. My neighbor lost his yard to grub worms. It was really sad actually. He had a beautiful yard last year, but the grubs settled in through the fall and destroyed the root system of his grass. Of course, grubs eat all of the root over the fall and winter, so you really don't know there is a problem until spring. The poor man was almost in tears when he told us (the neighbors) all about it. The rest of us all ran out to Home Depot and bought Spectracide to kill off any of the bugs that might have migrated to our yards. So far, mine looks ok.
I've been doing a bunch of other stuff to try to get the lawn well-established. We've been talking about putting out some shrubs or something, but haven't gotten to that just yet. We may not get that done this year. In the mean time, we felt like we needed some plants or flowers or something. So, off we went to Wal Mart and Home Depot in search of some plants. After looking around I told Anna that we should take advantage of the fact that we're living in Texas and get something cool that would be hard or impossible to grow up north. So, we bought some cool stuff:
I've been doing a bunch of other stuff to try to get the lawn well-established. We've been talking about putting out some shrubs or something, but haven't gotten to that just yet. We may not get that done this year. In the mean time, we felt like we needed some plants or flowers or something. So, off we went to Wal Mart and Home Depot in search of some plants. After looking around I told Anna that we should take advantage of the fact that we're living in Texas and get something cool that would be hard or impossible to grow up north. So, we bought some cool stuff:
Sunday, April 16, 2006
Turn about is fair play
All right.... For all of your up north who I've been calling and emailing and saying, "Hey, it's 75 today!" or "I hope you're enjoying the snow, it's warm and sunny here"... Now's your chance. It was 106 degrees here today. Tomorrow it's supposed to be 103. 101 for Tuesday. Looks like it's cool and 70s back in MN.
Even 106 isn't too bad down here, but, I wasn't at home this weekend. We were in Del Rio, TX which is right on the border across the Rio Grande from Cuidad Acuna, Mexico. We went there for some special Easter church services. Del Rio is known for Lake Amistad which is where the Rio Grande, Pecos River, and Devil's river all combine. In addition, there are a bunch of natural springs all over the area. This all combined with 106 degree temperature made it pretty hot and sticky. The Easter services were outside in a park pavilion. There was a gentle breeze blowing and we kept a big cooler full of ice and drinks on hand. Overall, I actually fared better in the heat than I thought I would. I took 2 or 3 showers every day because I was sweating like a pig, but other than that it was a good time.
Del Rio is actually a pretty nice little town of about 35,000 people. A lot of the people there are pretty poor, and many of the buildings are old, but most of them are clean; you can tell that most people there take pride in what little they do have. This is in stark contrast to Brownwood, where our poor areas are just plain dirty. Palm trees dot the landscaping in Del Rio and a bunch of natural springs flow through the city in man-made irrigation ditches. The water is extremely clean and the most beautiful aqua-blue / turquoise color. Very cool.
We met a number of people who really don't have much at all - but were very happy. This was really good for me because it reminded me a lot of the poverty I saw as a child in Costa Rica. Also, there were a bunch of people in the services from Mexico who only spoke Spanish, so the services were bilingual. The poor guy translating had to switch back and forth between translating Spanish to English and English to Spanish depending on who was speaking. It's been about 17 years since I was fluent in Spanish, and unfortunately, I can only recall very little. After being "immersed" for only 2 days, I was starting to remember my Spanish. I was amazed. I think we'll have to head down there some more so I can work on being bilingual again.
The folks in Del Rio were very gracious in many ways, not the least of which was keeping us fed. On Saturday and Sunday they provided food for everyone: Rice and Beans, home-made tamales (YUM! - no.. Double-YUM!), home-made Salsa, fajitas, banana pudding, fresh watermelon, etc. When you sit for a meal, they serve you. When you finish your plate, someone comes by and drops another plate in front of you. They are very proud of their food, and they get offended if you don't eat it. This is a bit of a challenge for Anna because, while she likes most Mexican food, there are certain things that she won't eat. She didn't want to offend anyone and prayed before we left, "Lord, help me to eat when I'm not hungry, when it doesn't look good, and when it doesn't taste good."
When we showed up on Saturday morning a bunch of the guys were standing around eating soup. The pastor from Del Rio saw us walk up and said, "Come try some of this good soup we have made. It's a Mexican delicacy."
"What's it called?"
"It's called Menudo. It's very good, just try a little bit, even just the juice."
Menudo. Menudo. My Spanish was coming back. There was something familiar about this name. I knew there was a reason I didn't want to try it, but I consented.
He dished up a little bit of the broth for me.
I tried it. It was flavorful, but ohh... it was greasy. I didn't care for it. He asked if I wanted more.
"No, I'm sorry, I don't care for it," I replied. I looked more closely at the kettle of soup and asked, "It's made from intestines, isn't it?"
"Yes, cow. I'm sorry you don't like it." He was grinning from ear to ear and I could tell he was enjoying every second of stretching our cultural boundaries. The 20 year old strapping kid next to me turned a bit pale when he realized what he was eating, but then continued on and seemed to like it. Maybe he was just trying to prove his manliness. He regretted it later.
I walked over to get a glass of water to get the taste out of my mouth and looked back over towards "the soup". I didn't know whether to laugh or fear when I saw the pastor dishing up a bowl of soup for Anna. Her reaction was about the same as mine.
- - - PAUSE - - - -
Can any of you imagine my wife eating cow intestine soup?
God still works miracles. OK, we can go on now.
- - - - END PAUSE - - -
Anyway, later on this Mexican fellow walks up to us and says, "You didn't eat that stuff did you? It's disgusting. I don't even eat it, and I'm a Mexican."
Later, as the song service ended and the minister came forward to speak, we saw the 20 year old eat-all macho guy quietly exit the service and make a mad dash for the bathroom. He was there for a while.
Even 106 isn't too bad down here, but, I wasn't at home this weekend. We were in Del Rio, TX which is right on the border across the Rio Grande from Cuidad Acuna, Mexico. We went there for some special Easter church services. Del Rio is known for Lake Amistad which is where the Rio Grande, Pecos River, and Devil's river all combine. In addition, there are a bunch of natural springs all over the area. This all combined with 106 degree temperature made it pretty hot and sticky. The Easter services were outside in a park pavilion. There was a gentle breeze blowing and we kept a big cooler full of ice and drinks on hand. Overall, I actually fared better in the heat than I thought I would. I took 2 or 3 showers every day because I was sweating like a pig, but other than that it was a good time.
Del Rio is actually a pretty nice little town of about 35,000 people. A lot of the people there are pretty poor, and many of the buildings are old, but most of them are clean; you can tell that most people there take pride in what little they do have. This is in stark contrast to Brownwood, where our poor areas are just plain dirty. Palm trees dot the landscaping in Del Rio and a bunch of natural springs flow through the city in man-made irrigation ditches. The water is extremely clean and the most beautiful aqua-blue / turquoise color. Very cool.
We met a number of people who really don't have much at all - but were very happy. This was really good for me because it reminded me a lot of the poverty I saw as a child in Costa Rica. Also, there were a bunch of people in the services from Mexico who only spoke Spanish, so the services were bilingual. The poor guy translating had to switch back and forth between translating Spanish to English and English to Spanish depending on who was speaking. It's been about 17 years since I was fluent in Spanish, and unfortunately, I can only recall very little. After being "immersed" for only 2 days, I was starting to remember my Spanish. I was amazed. I think we'll have to head down there some more so I can work on being bilingual again.
The folks in Del Rio were very gracious in many ways, not the least of which was keeping us fed. On Saturday and Sunday they provided food for everyone: Rice and Beans, home-made tamales (YUM! - no.. Double-YUM!), home-made Salsa, fajitas, banana pudding, fresh watermelon, etc. When you sit for a meal, they serve you. When you finish your plate, someone comes by and drops another plate in front of you. They are very proud of their food, and they get offended if you don't eat it. This is a bit of a challenge for Anna because, while she likes most Mexican food, there are certain things that she won't eat. She didn't want to offend anyone and prayed before we left, "Lord, help me to eat when I'm not hungry, when it doesn't look good, and when it doesn't taste good."
When we showed up on Saturday morning a bunch of the guys were standing around eating soup. The pastor from Del Rio saw us walk up and said, "Come try some of this good soup we have made. It's a Mexican delicacy."
"What's it called?"
"It's called Menudo. It's very good, just try a little bit, even just the juice."
Menudo. Menudo. My Spanish was coming back. There was something familiar about this name. I knew there was a reason I didn't want to try it, but I consented.
He dished up a little bit of the broth for me.
I tried it. It was flavorful, but ohh... it was greasy. I didn't care for it. He asked if I wanted more.
"No, I'm sorry, I don't care for it," I replied. I looked more closely at the kettle of soup and asked, "It's made from intestines, isn't it?"
"Yes, cow. I'm sorry you don't like it." He was grinning from ear to ear and I could tell he was enjoying every second of stretching our cultural boundaries. The 20 year old strapping kid next to me turned a bit pale when he realized what he was eating, but then continued on and seemed to like it. Maybe he was just trying to prove his manliness. He regretted it later.
I walked over to get a glass of water to get the taste out of my mouth and looked back over towards "the soup". I didn't know whether to laugh or fear when I saw the pastor dishing up a bowl of soup for Anna. Her reaction was about the same as mine.
- - - PAUSE - - - -
Can any of you imagine my wife eating cow intestine soup?
God still works miracles. OK, we can go on now.
- - - - END PAUSE - - -
Anyway, later on this Mexican fellow walks up to us and says, "You didn't eat that stuff did you? It's disgusting. I don't even eat it, and I'm a Mexican."
Later, as the song service ended and the minister came forward to speak, we saw the 20 year old eat-all macho guy quietly exit the service and make a mad dash for the bathroom. He was there for a while.
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