A Fine Day in April

What a beautiful day! Cool, but sunny and just a lovely spring day. It went down in the 30's last night and will again tonight so I have my "spring" plants covered! I spent the day first doing a little dissertation work, then cleaning out kitchen cupboards. I got about 1/3 of the way through the kitchen; I also was repainting/touching up as I moved along. Will continue to work on that for a few days!

I thought I'd share one of my favorite singers (since earlier I shared a favorite artist!). I just love Paul Rodgers! He created and fronted "Free" in the 60's ("All Right Now") and "Bad Company" in the 70's ("Bad Company," "Feel Like Making Love") and just now is taking the lead for Queen. Here is a link to him 2 years ago, with Queen singing "Feel Like Making Love" : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kw2Bbgn-NFI He is now 59 years old - 57 in the video and looking pretty darn good! Here is another video, this time singing an old Queen hit "Fat Bottomed Girls": http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KjrHNu-Uq4o&feature=related I don't know a young singer that can out-rock or out-sing Paul Rodgers ... well probably very few can out-sing Paul Rodgers; he has always had one of the best voices in rock. Here's Paul singing "All Right Now": http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FxzJwl0Tanc He hasn't lost anything, has he?! And now ... if you want a blast from the past, here's Paul singing "All Right Now" with Free in 1971: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2B2clFsLA3w&feature=related

Birthday Weekend!

Clay turned 13 this weekend! He had 2 friends stay overnight Friday and Saturday nights. On Saturday morning, we drove to Frankenmuth (about 2 hours away) and spent the day hanging out and doing fun things! The boys really enjoyed the "Mirror Maze" and "Mission Impossible Lazer Challenge." They also had fun shopping! We met Grandma and Grandpa for lunch at Zehnder's Restaurant, and also celebrated Grandma's birthday (she's 73)! We enjoyed a traditional, family style chicken dinner. The photo to the left is the boys posing at Bronner's Christmas Wonderland, the largest Christmas Store in the World. They spent an hour just walking the perimeter of the store! Below is a blurry picture of Clay and Grandma and Grandpa; I only had my cell phone camera available and have no idea how to focus it!

In addition to the Mirror Maze (it's really huge), the boys and I also went to the Cheese House, the Taffy House, Willie's Sausage Shop, and the gift shop at Zehnder's. This is a great little town to spend a weekend in! I was thinking, if we'd had hotel rooms, the boys could have enjoyed water slides and pools.

Here we see the 3 boys finding creative ways to wear the party hats Grandma brought along! There was another family that arrived just as we were having desert who were also celebrating a birthday, so we passed along the party hats to them.

All in all, it was a good weekend. Harrison started Spring Varsity hockey on Sunday - he had 2 games. They won both (7-1 and 7-5). They have a full bench, so the kids don't get as much ice-time as they'd like; however none of them were hogging ice time yesterday. They all took their 40 seconds shifts and rotated fairly. It was fun to see the kids play!

Grocery Store Venting!

I just have to vent a bit about our local grocery store! I won't put the name here, but I'm sure most of you know exactly where I mean. I have a couple of "pet peeves" when it comes to grocery shopping anyway. First I despise it when the person in line behind me pushes my groceries to fit their's on the belt. I ALWAYS put the divider thing about 3 to 4 inches behind my groceries - a message saying "keep your distance!" About 80% of the time, someone behind me will grab it, shove it forward, mashing my groceries (thanks for the crushed chips and mashed bread) and start loading their stuff. It bugs me because first of all, I'm not messing with their groceries, and second there is no possible way doing that will get them out any sooner. They still have to wait for me to get checked out!

So, when our local store installed "self check" lanes, I started using those and it was great for the first month or so ... until other people started using them. First, I bring my own (cloth) bags and when you bring your bags to other lanes, you get a 5c credit, but not at self check. Second, people continually start scanning their stuff while I'm bagging and have so much stuff - and theirs starts moving down the belt into mine. I mean too much stuff to put the divider up yet. Next, the people who don't have much stuff (like eggs, bread, 2 cans, and a cake) and refuse to put the divider up so I can't check out!! Then there's just what I call "brain dead" people who stand and stare at the scanner like it's going to start chatting with them. I got behind a woman last week that couldn't figure out that the PICTURE of bananas meant bananas!

The last straw was this week. I was behind a woman that finished scanning - a store person had already bagged almost all her stuff - there was about 1 bag of stuff left to bag. She pushed her cart forward and then just stood at the end, not bagging. So, I scanned my frequent shopper card to get the belt moving, hoping she'd finish bagging. She turned around and yelled at me "Don't do that!" Then she went into this weird discussion of how she didn't get a receipt from the machine and she had to check every item when she got home so she'd know the store wasn't "stealing" from her. She got a clerk who told me to not check out - I had to wait. Well. I waited while in the lines on either side of me 2 people (per line) with FULL carts completely checked out, bagged, and left. I waited more than 2o minutes listening to this woman freaking out about a stupid food receipt. I finally asked why she doesn't just watch the prices as she scans. Then she huffed and turned around. Long story short, the store decided there was no way they could print out a receipt for her and finally said I could scan. I asked for the store manager and explained what happened and stated I felt it was wrong, inconsiderate and just terrible that I was made to stand there all that time. I was not asked to move into another lane ahead of a later arrival, or asked to check out by the manager or supervisor at a closed lane. Do you know what the response was? "Well .... I'm sorry. Hope it doesn't happen again." I lost it. I then explained how to make it not happen again - as in proper employee training, appropriate monitoring and use of self-check lanes. Then this person said to me "I guess I could talk to the store director." Great. A bunch of numbskulls.

Anyone ever see the movie "idiocracy?" It's based on the idea (actually this is a real scientific theory) that people are getting dumber. The movie is set in the future and demonstrates just what things will be like as everyone "dumbs down."

HUGE SIGH! Well, at least I've vented here. I am so tired of poor service, dull people, and especially people who aren't stupid but like to act as if they were!!!!!!!!! While I love progress and moving forward, I do wish we could return to the kind of customer service, basic kindness and courtesy, as well as morality of 30 or 40 years ago. I think we were all happier, kinder, more patient people then (I know I was!).

A Cat That Holds Things!

Thought I'd share this cute photo of Clay's cat, Shanty. She weighed just 4 pounds when we got her in August; she is now 11! She has those huge white paws that she loves to use like hands - we've seen her open doors, hold a ball, and like this picture, she'll hold on to a cell phone or remote control!

What's really cute is when we comb her (she has very long, fuzzy hair from her neck back which knots if not combed), she will grab the comb with her paws, pull it to her mouth and put it in - she doesn't bite, she just holds it in her mouth for some reason!

So it was another beautiful day (76 degrees and sunny). It's almost unbelievable how the leaves are coming out on the trees and plants are up all over! I really like this early spring!

Dali and Depp

I thought it would be fun to share some of Salvador Dali's work; he's my favorite artist! Interestingly enough, my favorite actor, Johnny Depp, is going to make a movie about Dali's life. If any of you are writers, Depp is searching for new talent (his words - "even housewives!") to write the script. He is taking applications in the form of script samples - look it up online if you're interested!

This painting (left) has the subject of DNA. Pretty cool, huh?

The next focuses on nuclear (quantum) mysticism and sacred geometry.

I also enjoy his watercolors, which really express the surrealism he was famous for. Maybe, someday, I'll actually own a Dali - most likely a lithograph (affordable!!).

So, it was another beautiful day! I planted tomato plants and some peppers today; it seems way too early, but the weather is perfect. I looked ahead at the forcast and it doesn't look like it's going to get any cooler in the next 10 days - and by then it'll be almost May! I can't imagine the daytime temperature falling below 50 degrees after the 1st of May, so I think the plants are safe. If not, I'll have to go out and cover them with jars or plastic.

EARTHQUAKE!

Wow, how cool! We had an earthquake this morning! Harrison and I woke up, but Dad and Clay slept through it. Reportedly, it ties for the strongest ever (5.4; also a 5.4 in 1968). The news indicated it occured at 4:37 am in Illinois, about 66 miles from Evansville, Indiana. We felt it here at 5:37 am. I woke up and felt things shaking a bit, as well as heard rattling - and my first thought was "Who is working at this hour??!" I was thinking it was something like an ashphalt removal truck or other thing along those lines, but almost instantly realized it was an earthquake. I experienced several little ones like this, plus a few bigger ones while living in Colombia (South America) years ago. Harrison said he woke up and thought the wind was really bad, but then realized the bed was moving! So a pretty "cool" and interesting event for us West-Michiganders! Here is a link for those intereseted in quakes that gives more information, maps, incident reports, etc. on this earthquake: http://earthquake.usgs.gov/eqcenter/recenteqsww/Quakes/us2008qza6.php

More Disney!

These acrobats were wonderful at the Animal Kingdom! It was amazing what these young men were able to do, include "limbo" under a pole that was about 10" off the ground. I really like the Animal Kingdom park but it's not a favorite of the rest of the family! I like the way it has lots of foliage, I like the animals, and I enjoy the rapids ride quite a bit. I am not a fan of the "Bug's Life" 3-D program in the Tree of Life however. I find it kind of creepy and I am always so disturbed by the crying (screaming, horrified, freaked out) young children. Clay was so scared of it the first time he saw it, he still dislikes it!

This next photo is from an evening we had dinner at Fort Wilderness (the Hoop-Dee-Doo-Review). Clay was given this washboard to play. Randy enjoyed the meal (bar-b-que, cornbread, salad), but the program was rater corny! We actually had more fun watching the extended family that sat in front of us!

This intersting duck was at EPCOT. Clay was fascinated by it and took several pictures from different angles. It was actually a rather large duck. We all enjoyed the new, updated "ball" (I think they call it Planet Earth or something like that) - but I'm talking about the big ball at the entrance to EPCOT.

Today was such a great day. The weather was sunny and warm! I got grading done (next week is final exams at Davenport) so my students know where they stand before the final exam. I also had my dress fitted for the Excellence in Business Dinner on May 9, got gas, went to the grocery store, made a low-fat chocolate cheesecake I've been craving but haven't made in years and a crab cassarole for dinner! I also helped Clay begin cleaning out the pond (all the fish made it through the winter!) and planted some early vegetables: radishes, beets, and carrots. I'm looking forward to next month when we can put in a few more vegetables and fruits! Our grape vines and kiwi vines are all budding, and the rose bushes as well! I'm soooooooooooooo excited that it is finally, really, truly spring!!

Snapshots from the Animal Kingdom and a Torn Ligament!

Here are some great photos from our day spent at Disney's Animal Kingdom! The first I couldn't resist as I looked up and saw the beautiful sun shining through the leaves! The next shot Clayton snapped: it's a meerkat lookout. Third, we have the ride "Everest," which Clay and I did NOT go on!! Dad and Harrison "enjoyed" this ride without Clay and me! Last is Clay taking the fruitcart for a spin!

Speaking of Clay ... since coming home, he's complained of a painful foot and been limping. In looking at his foot, I saw a bone sort of pressing up against the skin differently than his other foot and it was quite inflamed. We saw a foot/ankle specialist today and Clay has an extra bone that normally lays next to another foot bone; however he also has flat feet and it seems with all the walking at Disney, his flat-footedness put enough strain on the ligaments that he tore one, which also resulted in the extra bone being pulled away from where it normally lays. Long story short, he has a cast on for the next 3 weeks and then will require orthodic inserts for some time to help support that area and promote adequate healing.

It was a gorgeous day today! I think it hit 60 degrees! I cleaned off (swept, leaf-blew, washed furniture and light fixtures) the front porch. Also put in some more rhubarb yesterday and today added more topsoil to our "vegetable garden." I put that in quotes because we want it to be a vegetable garden! We don't have any soil - just sand. I'm mixing potting soil, peat, and other stuff into the sand (barely grew anything last summer). We also trimmed branches from surrounding trees to let in more sunlight to the area yesterday. So, the mixing of more soil today is just one more small effort toward the possiblity of growing something! Now, I have papers to correct, grades to calculate ... and the inside of the house is a mess. I'd like to hire a maid that REALLY cleaned EVERYTHING the way I'd like to! :-)

15 years

First of all, sorry for the poor picture quality on the right! I just can't seem to transfer it over the way I want and am out of time! The picture on the right is Harrison at 1 year: he has ALWAYS loved this Muppet Fountain at Disney's MGM (now Hollywood Studios). We took a picture of him this year as we can't walk past it without remembering how much time we've spent in years past letting him play there!

I pulled out the old photo to compare - 15 years makes quite a difference! At any rate, the day we spent in this park was fun; Clay really wanted to see the Indiana Jones Stunt Spectacular again - and it was a good show, as always! He purchased an "Indy whip" afterwards and since we've been home has been practicing with it in the yard. We've cautioned him (even though it's not grea quality) and he has been wearing glasses, shoes, and a jacket when he works with it! We've also laid down the rule of not doing this within 15 feet of other people!

Clay starts guitar lessons today (electric). We'll see how that goes! This is the last day of spring break for the boys. Now just the mad run until June 10 (I think that's the last day of school)!

Disney Highlights

The weather cleared up and we were able to get together with Lisa, Paul, and their kids Kristyn, Kaitlyn, and Kyler! Here we all are having dinner at the Polynesian (Kona Cafe) at 9:30 pm after close to 12 hours in the Magic Kingdom! Poor little Ky (5 years old and sleeping - you can see him on the right on his sister's lap - just next to Harrison). He was a real trooper. What a great 5-year-old!

It was a great day; we managed to ride Thunder Mountain Railway, Splash Mountain, Pirates of the Caribbean, Aladdin's Carpets, the Webway, Space Mountain, the Indy Speedway - well the teens rode the big rides - twice! Lisa and I also went on Snow White's Adventure. The park was very crowded (the most crowded day of our week there). It was too bad we had such a crowded day, but we enjoyed ourselves none-the-less and felt great about getting on so many rides with such a huge crowd!!

Over the next few days, I'll post more pictures and some comments on our trip. The WORST part was definitely the flight home. We had to pack into one of those teeny tiny jets from Atlanta to Grand Rapids. The runway was closed while we were queing (well over an hour on the runway) due to a severe thunder and rainstorm with high winds. It was so bad, the plane was rocking back and forth on the runway. Well, there was a momentary break a few of the jets in the queue took off - including us. What a bad thing to do. I was scared beyond belief. The lightening seen out the window was terrible, the rain kept coming, and the turbulance was terrible along with the wind sheer tipping us sideways. Even the guys were freaked out. I was never so glad to get off a plane when we finally arrived in GR! It seems to me planes shouldn't be taking off in that kind of weather - it's got to be very dangerous!

Green With Envy??

Well, I see it's 66 degrees at home today. It's about 85 here but quite stormy! To the right is a photo of yesterday afternoon - severe thunderstorm (heaviest rain we've ever been out in) with 45 mph winds! We got soaked through - our shoes are still drying out (hope they'll be dry in another day). I have to say, the boys really enjoyed the storm - they had never experienced anything like that from mother nature. This picture was at the start of it. It got much (MUCH!) worse - so bad we were happy to just stand up!

We've been having a good time, despite the weather! Pin trading is going well, the meals have been great (love the Disney Dining!), and we've managed to get on some rides!

Tomorrow will be spending time with friends in the magic kingdom - hoping for better weather and some fun pics!

Spring Break

It's a mad rush right now to wrap up everything before spring break! We're going to spend part at WDW. We're big pin traders and Clay is 12 for only 3 more weeks! That means he can trade on "special" lanyards for 12 and under for the last time this trip. We're hoping to meet up with friends and their 3 kids to spend some time in the Magic Kingdom.

Since Dad can't lift more than 20 pounds (surgery!), that means the boys and I will be on luggage duty. I just hope travel goes smoothly and without too much delay. The cats are boarding - it's always sad to leave them!

I was excited to learn that one of my students from last semester had one of the 3 winning essays on "Success" for the university and it was submitted to Houghton Mifflin for a $1000. scholarship. While she didn't win the scholarship, she did get a honorable mention and a nice certificate. They sent the certificate to me, so I emailed her and we're going to meet so she can have it. I'm really proud of her and think she can use this as a nice resume builder!

I think spring is finally, truly here!! I have a few day lilies and tulips poking out and today I noticed the barest beginnings of buds on some limbs of trees and shrubs. YEAH SPRING!!