I don’t really want to make a political statement here, but this observation should be noted.
Month: June 2017
But is the food any good?
According to a posting I saw online, the El Arroyo restaurant in Austin, TX puts clever, catchy phrases on its sign board. The sign changes frequently and it’s said that people drive by just to check out the sign.
Vote “yes”
Spotted in a shopping mall.
The man said he bought the shirt at a pizza place in Scottsdale, AZ.
Packer baby
In my continuing documentation of Wisconsin-based parents teaching their children to be Packer fans by dressing them in Packer regalia beginning at birth, I have yet another piece of evidence that this is Truth. My nephew, Brandon, and his wife had a baby girl in April and Brandon recently posted this picture of her on Facebook.
Save the world (and the wife)
Last night, Ted and I went to see Wonder Woman because: (1) Jeff’s family all liked it a lot; (2) it had very high ratings (92% on Rotten Tomatoes); and (3) we were in the mood for some fun and action. Our expectations were low, but the movie was actually very good and we left feeling glad we had decided to see it.
Today, I’m experiencing the Unfairness of Life with laryngitis. It caused me to miss having lunch with eight retired friends from the community college, an event to which all of us assign high priority because we have so much fun together.
As the day goes on and my energy level drops, I’m feeling worse. Ted took a break and went to the recycle center. He also picked up some AAA tour guides so we can start planning our fall trip to the southwestern U.S. Then he made a final stop to buy a rose for me to make me feel better.
I’m sure he was putting into practice what Wonder Woman learned after 2 hours and 21 minutes of fighting battles: Only love can save the world. Go, Wonder Woman! (And Ted!)
It’s a bird, it’s a . . .
Storm cells in Wisconsin and Michigan today look like a peacock.
Let the summer fun begin
Ted and I have been very busy during the last six weeks, but we’ve got all of our tasks checked off the list. Whew!
Indoor jobs:
Fix squeaky kitchen floor.
The squeaky boards are above the ductwork, so they expand and contract a lot. The floor guy told us to sprinkle talcum powder over the cracks between boards, then walk on them for a week to work it in. Success!
Replace kitchen blinds.
The dual-light blinds have translucent fabric (top photo) and opaque fabric (lower part in bottom photo) and can be adjusted to control light.
Re-upholster kitchen chairs. To be picked up in three days and returned to us with new fabric.
Update master bathroom and powder room. Contract signed. Work scheduled for September.Outdoor jobs:
Buy new solar lights.
New lights. Check!
Clean and stabilize pool.
Buy new pool umbrellas.
Wash lawn furniture.
Come on in! Everything is clean and ready to swim or to sit in the shade of the new umbrellas.
Wash house and windows.
The siding is power washed and the windows are shiny clean.
Trim trees, hedge, and shrubs.
No more overgrown shrubs.
Chip brush pile.
Ted ran the shrub trimmings through his chipper and changed the brush pile into mulch.
Buy, plant, and mulch some shrubs and annuals.
New shrubs, perennials, and annuals are growing in the back yard.
Wash and seal concrete.
This was the hardest job to schedule and to complete. In this rainy spring, it took six weeks to get three dry, calm days in a row to power wash and apply two coats of seal to our 2000+ sq. ft. of concrete.
Relax.
Aaaahhhh. Ready for summer fun.
Throwing shade (literally)
For several years, Ted and I have talked about getting a cantilevered umbrella to shade the “house corner” of the pool area. This year, we decided to go for it.
First, we went to the umbrella store.
The guys at the loading dock were doubtful, but we got a regular umbrella, the cantilevered umbrella, its stand, 200 lb. of sand, and both of us in the Prius.
The car was full, leaving just enough room for Ted to operate the gearshift.
“Assemble it where you want it” we were told, so we did. This is what 200 lb. of sand looks like in the umbrella base.
The next step was to attach the base cover. The directions wisely advised having two people to assemble the umbrella, so we worked on it together. Then Ted posed while I took pictures.
Here’s the post that will anchor the umbrella.
The most awkward job: getting the entire umbrella unit onto the anchor post. Oof! Eighty-eight pounds!
The last step: relax under the shade thrown by the new umbrella. The green umbrella on the right is the cantilevered one; the red one on the left is the other new one we bought.We put our two old umbrellas and an umbrella stand at the curb. In less than ten minutes, they all had new owners.
Celebrating in St. Peters
In Key West, people celebrate the sunset overlooking the Gulf of Mexico on Sunset Pier. In St. Peters, Ted and I celebrate the sunset overlooking our pool while we watch our new solar lights come on.
Well played!
Last week, Ted and I went out to lunch. While we were eating, one of the waitresses went around the room and gave each woman a small box of candy. Was the candy left over from Mother’s Day? Of course it was, but every woman who received the little gift was smiling.
Families
Three of our kids will be visiting us the last weekend in June, so I’ve been thinking about “family” over the past few days. As a result, I’m also thinking about some things I’ve learned about families and relationships.
One of my perspectives of family came from a movie. The two romantically involved main characters in My Big Fat Greek Wedding come from diametrically different family backgrounds. At one point, the woman tells the man she is uncomfortable about her family and the way they behave. The man responds by saying, “So your family’s weird. Everybody’s family is weird.” Hmmm.
I learned a way families get along from the TV series Everybody Loves Raymond. Raymond’s mother is a stereotypical buttinski Mom. (Wisconsin word for always putting her nose into everyone’s business.) Mom does her usual interference routine at the wedding of her son, Robert, creating stress on the wedding day for several of the characters in the show, especially Robert. In his role as the best man, Raymond makes a wedding toast to his brother and new sister-in-law. In his toast, he refers to Mom’s actions of the day and mentions that “families edit.” Family members know each other’s strengths and weaknesses, and they “edit” the less than perfect moments of family life, focusing instead on the strengths of the family unit.
One of my most valuable insights into relationships came from my Grandma Lorenzen, and it applies to people in general, not only family units. Grandma had a plaque above the stove in her kitchen that said: “All are queer but me and thee, and sometimes me thinks even thee.” (Note: This was in the 1950s, when common usage of the word queer meant “odd.”) I’ve always thought this was good to remember, and I guess Grandma thought so too.