A Boy Making Mask

Killing Time, Or Else Kill the Computer

Here I am at the computer trying to get our Phoenix vacation planned out and our Internet is not connecting.  So while I am waiting, and even better, to distract myself from wanting to launch the keyboard, monitor, and air card off the roof of this house, I decided to do something fun as I sit here and that involves looking through more recent camera shots that I just haven’t had a chance to post. 

Here’s our guard cats.

These shots were taken the weekend the boys worked on their Paul Bunyan certification for Scouts.  They had to cut down a tree themselves with an ax, and chop, split, and stack the wood. 

 

Here you can see the stump of one they fell and this picture was right before Gary swung on the grapevine into the briars wrapping around the standing tree and I laughed my head off.  I really did.  I don’t think that made him feel better about it.  Now I am sorry I laughed so hard but it was so worth it for me for him to get tangled up in those stickers.

Sam wanted to get in on the action.  He’s holding the grape vine.  It was huge!  Even though the boys got through the base of the tree, it was being held up by this grape vine wrapping to another big tree.  That made it a little, where little means lots, scary getting their tree free and down, but it all worked out.

Then we took a walk to the creek and of course having boots on means he absolutely has to walk in the ditch.

I love going to the creek as much as the kids.  This is with the water down.

----------------------------------------------------

Our Spring Break earlier this month was pretty uneventful, but the three of us did go to the zoo one day.  It was very chilly (guess who didn’t bring a jacket and ended up with a new zoo hoodie?), and it was perfect for seeing lots of active animals. 

The elephants are Sam’s favorite.

  

Caroline’s favorites are the zebras.  They were fighting which made it even more exciting.  But what poor manners.

I’m not sure whose camera these kids were looking into, but apparently it wasn’t mine. 

Now I’m gonna check on the dang Internet.

A Gill Family Grocery Receipt

Hi from the HyHo--Belleville

Having breakfast with Ross this morning.  The upside of having his car broke down.

Fried Rotten Apple

I have a dead iPod.  Not as in 'out of battery' but as in totally won't work.  I can't remember just what year it was given to me as the best present ever, but so many years ago, I can't really remember when.  I love/loved that thing!  I have slept with it playing in my ears many, many nights.  It's gone with me on countless walks and runs.  It's overflowing with all my favorite songs.  Precious!  I already miss it like crazy.  It had been acting up for a couple of years but I could, with patience, still use it.  Now it's just fried, and won't do anything at all, dead except for the apple symbol that somehow still lights up to appear on the screen. 

Now I have to lie in bed and listen to the radio that is set at Z107.7, i.e.  repetitive pop, and it's horrible. 

Miss you, iPod!

Camera Catch-up

At home today, finally.  There’s nothing even on the calendar for tonight.  Yeehaw!  Let’s just say that it’s the first time in a long time. 

This was from that one time a couple weeks ago when I was having a good hair day….I thought so anyway.

   

Here’s a boy too tired to finish unpacking after his Ordeal camping weekend.  This was the sleep-out-in-the-open, limited food, can’t speak, hard manual labor camp-out he had to do to as part of his accomplishing Order of the Arrow.  I wish he would post about all the details.  It was interesting. 

I think the fact that Jack can lie on the cat-pee carpet (yes, sorry to say Nature’s Miracle wasn’t quite the miracle afterall and that smell still lingers!  Just ask Ross, my harshest van critic.) attests to his level of tired. And that this has to be one of the most uncomfortable positions ever.

Recently, Caroline and Sam called me outside to check out their Thank-you-Mom-for-everything-you-do “tribute?” And not even on Mother’s Day?   They had worked from the afternoon to after dark.  They made handmade cards with heartfelt notes.

Heartfelt by at least one I guess since they did seem to say the same thing….verbatim.

Dear Mom,

We love you so much.  You are #2 Mom.  #2 because 1st is the worst  #2 is the best  3rd is the one with the harry chest (A.K.A Dad)  No Affcence Dad.  We did this because we need to give something nice to you since you do all that work. (for us)

  

Sam’s did have the extra touch of him drawing some of my favorite things:

Me and kids, heart, flower, milkshake, hot tub, tree, and grass.  Love it!  Especially the milkshake. 

Then here was the back.  Not sure Caroline is the one Sam should be copying.  No affcence of course, but “suprise”?  (I see he did semi-correct some of her misspellings:  hairry, affcense, but had some of his own…. yo, Apirl, becuase) 

You know, I really, really just love ‘em at this age.

And the surprise was music playing for me outside from an iPod and portable speakers and this homemade hammock.

I thought it was a pretty clever set-up by these little yahoos with multiple ropes and fasteners, however, suffice it to say the pile of bricks that can weigh down the rope to hold Sam or Caroline didn’t exactly hold for me when I sat in the hammock.  : )  The whole thing was a riot.

And the bricks are still in the yard.

And where’s Grant lately?  Making up some lost time on tuba practicing after the last mid-term progress report came with a shocking grade for Band.   I have a cool video of what he’s playing here, but I can’t get it to upload.  Grr, weak ol’ internet connection.  Maybe later.

And then this guy….here’s what he looks like when he’s around.  Between Scout meetings and events and work travel, we don’t see him much at all lately.  : (

But this weekend we will!  Yay yay yay!

Coping Kitty

I wondered what would happen when Bob's favorite bed wasn't available anymore. I'm glad he's smart enough not to mash down the new flowers.

NotMonday Music—Put a Spell

It’s not even Monday but it is about music.  Heard this on the radio this morning and it’s the only thing lately inspiring me to post.  A great song written by Jay Hawkins, and here’s a great version by CCR.

Better than OK Corral

Today Caroline and I spent a great day together, and much of that time was us riding together in the van, making for some deep mother-daughter conversation.  She asked me what were my best meals ever.  I told her about the first time I ever had Chateaubriand, with her daddy before we were married.  He came to the town where I was living and we went out for a special date and that was very memorable and a really incredibly delicious meal at a restaurant called Centralia House.

And then there was the steak meal we had together, still newlyweds, while on a vacation out West, visiting South Dakota.  It was a place where you had a choice of the ounce-steak you wanted and it was served with a wedge of iceberg lettuce, maybe a baked potato and piece of bread and that was their full menu.  We waited hours to get into that place and ate finally at like 3 in the afternoon, but it was so worth it.  I see now online they have a lunch menu listed but I am pretty sure back in 1996 or ‘97, your only choice of menu was the size of filet.

And one other really good meal was at Dierdorf and Hart’s in St. Louis which now I find is out of business, but they do have a Westport location open, pictured here.

So yes, they all involved select, thick cuts of beef and those were my three best meals ever.

Caroline asked if I wanted to know her best meal ever and of course I did.  She couldn’t wait to blurt it out, and with complete enthusiasm and earnest said,  “Golden Corral!  Now that was good food!!”

MusicMonday—Games Without Frontiers

Gary commented that last week’s Somebody That I Used to Know had an 80’s flavor to it and I thought so, too.  Even the video seemed so 80’s.  I couldn’t but Gary was able to tie it to a specific song it reminded him of.  He didn’t know the title but when he sang the part “She’s so punctual” to me, I knew exactly what song he meant, except I could not remember the name of it either.  I could recall the “something something without tears” line in a British accent and that was about it.  Not the most complete info to go off of, but even with a little tidbit to feed to Google, I think you can find anything.

Turns out it was Peter Gabriel’s hit from 1980 that Gary was reminded of, Games Without Frontiers.  And guess what, “She’s so punct-u-al” is actually “Jeux sans frontieres,” the title mis-sang in French by guest singer Kate Bush, who made the Jeux sound like Zhee.  And apparently nearly everyone else in the world misheard it, too.  The two prominently sang phrases are “She’s so funky, yeah” or “She’s so popular.”  I can’t remember now what exactly I used to sing it as, because I definitely didn't catch the French phrase, but I think from now on I’ll be singing my guy’s fun version,

Sheee’s / soo / punct-uu-al. 

Here, you sing along to it.