It's never too late..

There is an insurance company on our main street that I pass in the mornings on my way home from the pool. They have a billboard on which they post funny, inspirational or thought-provoking phrases. Yesterday the post was all three combined into one.

It's never too late to have a happy childhood.

I've spent some time in the last few days editing images from another outing to Chuck E Cheese (CEC) that was taken on Thursday afternoon. The original plan was for the girls to meet for our usual play date with the kids. Amy is in town so that seemed like a perfect plan. Until... noises from the guys started coming from all corners about being left out of all the fun. Okay, okay, since Don and Amy were here we decided to include them with the understanding that it won't happen every time! Zeus even joined us and had a good time.

I don't think there is enough fabric in the world to entice me into going to CEC on a Saturday afternoon. However, we have discovered that weekdays at 11:30 a.m. are actually quite pleasant and uncrowded. There is plenty of room for the little ones to enjoy the games without waiting or being run over by bigger kids. Also, that early there isn't the unmistakable smell of sweaty children. It is fairly quiet and the pizzas usually arrive before we are finished playing.

The guys had a nice time and got in their share of basketball games and skee ball. I will admit that it was nice to have them join us. The only problem that came up was what to do with the prize tickets. The guys were all opting for the cool helicopter that shoots missiles while the girls had their hearts set on the fancy tea set. No decisions were made. I have the voucher saved for the next trip out there.



For further proof that it is never too late to have a happy childhood you can go to the Shooting Blog.

$1.71

(Note: the boys and girls that I mentioned are the adults, NOT the little children.)

Shredded

(Sorry, another money post.)

Last Saturday Zeus and I paid a visit to my brother-in-law and sister-in-law. While we were there the BIL handed me an envelope. Inside this is what I found.

Apparently, quite a few months ago while working at his desk he picked up an envelope and sent it through the shredder. Immediately he knew that he had shredded the wrong envelope, one that contained two $20 bills. Too late, it went all the way through. Whoo boy, I'll bet there was some blue air that day!

I took the envelope and strips home and thought for awhile about the easiest way to reconstruct them. Later that night I put some double-sided tape on a piece of paper and started to reassemble the bills using an intact $20 as a reference. At first I was pretty confused because they just weren't fitting correctly. Then I realized that those two bills were different, one was the old style and the other was the new one. Only two slivers off the top one were missing. The serial numbers were perfectly visible. It took about an hour to get them all put in order.

Took the taped together bills to my bank. No questions asked, they exchanged them for new ones.

An interesting thing popped up on my computer when I tried to edit the above photos. Apparently my new PSE7 editing program has a feature that detects images of currency. I was able to edit but it will not allow these images to be printed. To err on the safe side I was advised by legal counsel (thanks, B) to convert them to black and white and also to mark the images with these red Xs. Sorry, no printing allowed. What will they think of next??

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Twenty-three pounds of coins

PAYDAY!

Before.. and after...

Total: $184.87

Collection time: 8 months 11 days

Zeus has a serious case of cabin fever and is sending me all kinds of travel information. This will buy us a few sweatshirts from wherever we end up. For sure I will be bringing home a Berkeley sweatshirt.

$.84 (The jars look so empty!)

It's a good thing..

Warning: Political rant ahead. Proceed with caution.

It's a good thing that the people I love are here in Utah. Otherwise I would be spending time packing boxes and prepping my home for potential buyers. A warm climate sounds very attractive now. Maybe somewhere in the Caribbean? Molokai? Berkeley?

But today the bigger reason is this: I am continually appalled at the leadership in this state that keeps getting reelected again and again. The blather that continually spews from the mouths of these people makes my head spin. And it is the same ones over and over.

I listened to the complete 15 minute interview. Should have known better but it was kind of like watching a train wreck about to happen. In slow motion. Next time I will just jam dirty bamboo sticks under my toenails. It would probably be less painful. And I could take an antibiotic to get rid of the resulting infection.

I am a registered Republican. Oh, that is excruciating to admit, but it seems to be the only way that I can make my vote count. I finally realized that in this state, and particularly in my district, there is no way a Democrat will ever be elected. In order for my vote to count at all I must vote in the primary for the least offensive R candidate. It worked in November and the new guy is slightly better than the old one, although he still seems to have blinders on.

Sorry folks. It was either write this down or break a plate. And I'm running out of plates.

$2.67 (love the car washes after a good snowstorm)

P.S. I warned you..

So proud..

(No, this one isn't about my kids or grandkids.)

Yesterday afternoon I got a phone call from Eris' sister-in-law, "JJ". By the way, this is a gal who I admire and really love to visit with. It is amazing that she will even talk to me after I unintentionally insulted her a few years ago, an episode that I will regret forever. Anyway, she said that she was calling to ask me a question about "found money etiquette" (I think those were the words). She had found some money and I believe was feeling a little guilty about putting it in her pocket.

I asked her where she found it. Grocery store parking lot. Okay, so far, so good. Was anyone else close by? No, nowhere near. Still in the clear. Did you look around to see if there was any more on the ground? Yes, she did and that was all she could see. Excellent.

I also asked her what her options were at the time. Go up to strangers, show them the money and ask if they dropped it? No way. Leave it on the ground? Huh? Absolutely no way.

After she successfully answered my questions I told her how proud I was of her for picking it up and that I was sure that she should spend it all on herself. No need to claim it as taxable income ("Found Money, Schedule C?) and for sure someone had already paid tithing on it so she didn't have to.

Each time someone tells me that they have picked up a coin I feel like a mother who has watched her child take her first step! There is a lump in my throat and my heart burns with pride. Way to go!

Last week there was a news clip on one of the national new stations about a family who picked up coins and saved them. After doing some googling I found a couple of other blogs where people are keeping track of the amounts that they find.

And you thought I was the only one?

$.54

Snowed in

Yesterday was one of those wonderful times when Mother Nature forces me to stay home and do something that should have been done a long time ago.

Zeus, 1961

Zeus and I have been married for 17 years and during that time I have been through nearly every box of photos and memorabilia that he has collected. The unruly envelopes of images were put in chronological order, prints were made of many and the rest were put in a box ready to be culled on a future snowy day. One box that had been avoided was full of slides from the 60's through 80's decades. We don't have a slide projector so it was easy to put it back in the closet. The nagging problem was that I knew that there might be some photos in there beside horse backsides and scenic mountain vistas that family members might like to have.

MA, Zeus' mother at Jackson Hole, WY

Jodi and Keegan were here for a visit on Monday evening (yay Jodi!) and we pulled Zeus' family album. When I mentioned those slides she encouraged me to tackle them. So when I looked out the window yesterday morning and saw four inches of white fluff on the ground there were no excuses left. By the time the day was over we had over 12 inches of snow and the boxes of forgotten family photos had all been explored. Many slides had been scanned, edited and were ready for printing.

Sedona, AZ 1967

Probably the most exciting finds were the groups from the late 50's and 60's that included many of Zeus in his high school and college days. But the best box contained photos of his and Bev's 1967 wedding in Sedona. He didn't recognize them at first and I now wonder if anyone else has ever seen these.

Gomer 1975

My emotions were varied as I worked throughout the day. Zeus' parents and Bev had passed away before we met. As I looked through the memories captured in those tiny slides I felt sadness for not having had the opportunity to know them, happiness in being able to share the memories, and pleasure in the discovery of these mementos. Strangely enough, I also felt what I can only describe as sweet envy of a woman whom I never met and the fact that she shared 25 years with my husband that I didn't.

Prints were made today, ready to be shared on Friday night when Nancy and Anna are here. And Jodi, now that you have me working on this again I expect you to come down and spend a day with me soon. We can pull out that large box of prints and find all those cute photos from the 80's when you and your sister were those adorable little granddaughters that came in the package deal when I married your grandpa.

$$$ Twelve inches of fresh snow.

Utah ice storm

Last Friday morning shortly after arriving home from the pool I got a phone call from Mom. She said to grab my camera and then directed me to an intersection about five miles from our house. I was skeptical about what she was telling me but went anyway. Wow, was I surprised!

Sometime earlier that morning a water main had broken on this corner and shot water high into the air. The temps were below freezing and there was a canyon wind blowing causing the water to form incredible icicles all over the trees and the side of the building.

The spraying water produced feathery icicles all over the bare trees. But the unusual thing about them was that the added effect of the wind made these icicles form perpendicular to the branches. They were clear and brilliant. And heavy. The poor tree branches were hanging nearly to the ground.

I spent about fifteen minutes shooting before my fingers had also turned to icicles. Man, it was cold!

Kara, I thought about you all day and wondered if this is what your ice storms look like. And Mom, thanks for the tip!

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