Heads in the Clouds

It is a dark and dreary day. It has rained all day and it is cold. Say it with me now,"It is never like this here." I was planning to paint things outside. Like my rocking chair for the porch, and the never ending fence.

But I have not had the best run of weather lately. As an example, I will share my pics from Mount Rushmore. Here is the view from the Grand View Terrace. Oops--a little foggy.

Let's get a little closer and see if we can see those president heads. After all, we drove half way across the United States to share this wonder with our son.

Maybe if we zoom in even closer. And squint.

Nope--just fog.
Some days are just like that. Not quite what you expect. A little less than clear.

But just know that there are heads up there in the clouds. Really, there are.

Who would think that I could miss a picture of things carved in granite?

Lassie? Lassie?

Oh the Muffler Man, Oh the Muffler Man...

Oh he came in the Spring...

What was in his hand?

Oh the muffler man,

Oh the muffler man,

Say, Hey! to the muffler man.

Rapid City, SD The muffler man is holding a pick axe and he has a mustache and a Harley Davidson belt buckle. He is much bigger than he looks. (I like him because he makes me look smaller.)
I tried to get a picture of my original muffler man on the way through Kittanning, PA but the STP's nose got in the way. It was a classic 'Lassie' moment.

You Should Just Know...

We arrived home safely. I attempted to download my vacation pics to the computer. I do not have enough disc space to do that. So I got my hair cut, and my eyebrows waxed, and planted my porch planter boxes instead. I went to work at Dodge City Federal and they offered me most of the summer off because they are overstaffed. So tomorrow I don't have to go to work at all (or the day after that, or the day after that...),so I will put away the stuff I dropped inside the door, and empty the dishwasher, and update the blog and try to find some space on the computer, and swing on my porch swing and drink iced tea. Wish you were here.

Wildlife Report

Spent two days in the Black Hills. Photographing wildlife as only Ms. Brenda can. Can't wait to get home to download what pictures I captured between dead batteries, full memory cards, corrupted data, and just pictures that I missed. Perhaps my favorite is one where I cut the head off of a prairie dog. The quintessential Ms. Brenda shot. The STP had his binoculars along and that was fun. Goober was using them to search the hills for elk. Occasionally he would claim to see one and then just be kidding. He became known as 'the boy who cried elk.' Also, he used them with out removing the lens caps. Claimed the elk were obviously using some kind of cloaking device. Must be, because we didn't see any elk.
Here then is a list of what we saw:
buffalo and baby buffalo
white tail deer and baby deer
mule deer
prairie dogs and baby prairie dogs
gobbling turkey and hens
blue birds
turkey vulture
pronghorn (antelope)
wild burros
and they were all in the wild!
Still haven't seen a big horn sheep, but tomorrow we go over the mountains again, so there is still hope. Maybe I will have pictures. (Maybe not).

The Search For Spock

I've seen the Star Trek movie twice. I have extended conversations about it with the Goober. (What is your favorite part? What is your least favorite part?) Currently I am traveling across the country, eating Whopper Jrs with cheese and collecting Star Trek glasses. So far I have one complete set of 4 and three fourths of a second set. Why do I need two sets? So when the Goober moves out and gets a place of his own he will have his own set. So he will remember the time he traveled across the country with his parents. And what great parents he had. So when his own kids are driving him crazy, he will remember that he was once a thirteen year old himself and that when he was his parents still took him out in public. So he will be kinder to my grandkids. Because by the time he grows up to be a responsible adult and moves out of my house, I will not remember any of this. I will be drinking iced tea from my Uhura glass saying. "Where did we get these glasses?" And the STP will say."I think they were a wedding gift." and I will say,"Oh, who got married?" And the STP will say,"I have been and always shall be your friend." And then I will smile and he will kiss me.
Live long and prosper.

Road Trip--Day After Yesterday

Yesterday we traveled (through Chicago!) without incident. Last night we stayed in a resort hotel. I took a bubblebath and read my book. The guys rented movies and relaxed on the couch. Today we will spend the day in our bathing suits at various indoor waterparks with people we don't know. My first order of business will be to find someone who looks worse in her swimsuit than I do. Then I will avoid all reflections of myself and slide and swim with wild abandon. Don't worry, the camera will stay in the suitcase. The only pictures I will appear in are in the background of other people's vacation pictures. See, they'll say, there is someone who looks worse in her swimsuit than I do.

Road Trip--Day 7--by the lists

Other things we didn't see along the way:
1. John Wayne's birthplace
2. The National Balloon Museum
3. The future birthplace of James T. Kirk
Important events we attended:
1. Amidala's college graduation
2. Sam and Colton's ballgames
3. The presentation of Ms Brenda's first ever giveaway to the lucky winner
Things we did:
1. Baked gobs
2. Shopped at Gabe's
Things I bought:
1. Two pairs of shoes
2. Gallons of My iced tea
3. Pretzel sticks
Things we ate:
1. Ham and little dumplings
2. Gobs of gobs
Tomorrow we head West again. We will leave early and travel long. Load 'em up, and move 'em out.

Road Trip--Day One

Today we crossed Wyoming and Nebraska. We drove past lots of historic and interesting places. But because of the distance we need to cover in the amount of time we have, we couldn't stop and sight see. We could only read about them and look at pictures at rest stops. We followed much the same path as the Oregon Trail. We saw pictures of wagon train ruts. We made one great discovery--my bladder is not what it used to be. Traveling with me today was like traveling with the princess when she was two years old and we had to stop at every public restroom between PA and GA. Speaking of the Princess, we talked extensively to her from Slovakia. Ah, the wonder of cell phones. She told us a story about trying to explain the English pronunciation difference between piss and piece. (Go ahead and say them both like Chekov and you'll see the problem.) In the book we are reading aloud in the car about Hank the cowdog, Hank claimed he was flatulent in several languages. And we had breakfast and lunch at Burger King and have a great start on our Star Trek glass collection. Tomorrow we will cross Iowa, Illinois, and Indiana. We will be on the lookout for Spock and Nero. Wagons ho!

Back East

Tommorrow we will leave for my first trip 'back east'. We are combining Amidala's college graduation, visits with families, and a road trip vacation all in one. Today I am working at Dodge City Federal, and doing laundry, and packing, and stressing. Maybe more later on what I have been thinking about Swine Flu, my allergies, and the prodigal son's brother. But today I must prioritize. And I'm putting clean underwear ahead of blogging. (But it wasn't an easy decision, cause most of you will not see my underwear.)

And The Winner Is...

I asked the STP to pick a number between 1 and 19, but not to pick seventeen. Then I asked to Booger to pick a number. Then I averaged them. Then I looked who was going to be the winner. And she didn't really want to win anything, so Ijust went with the STP's first choice, because the Boog's choice was from the same family, anyway. So that's really not as random as you would have liked it to be, but after all it's my contest. So Abi will be receiving the Handy Dandy Danger Signs of Melanoma card. (And I will be delivering it in person.) I guess I will have to have an on-line auction for the Sighting Target with three holes.
Thanks for playing.

Just for Entering

My big contest is ongoing. Winners will be announced on Saturday. I am still waiting to hear form a few previously admitted readers. (If I don't receive a comment from Uncle Michael, then I will free to make disparaging comments about him in future entries.) Since there wasn't much interest in the Harvard Beet Recipe and since I am going to throw one thing away before I shower I am going to offer the recipe here for all of you. People in Dodge City think Harvard Beets are high faluting food from 'back East'. This recipe serves 4 people who like beets and about 14 people who don't like beets. In these 'tough economic times' this is a great food budget stretcher.

Harvard Beets

1 can diced beets, drained (reserve 1/4 c. juice)
2 t. cornstarch
1/4 c. sugar
1/4 c. reserved beet juice
2 T. vinegar
2 T. butter

1. Mix cornstarch and sugar.
2. Add beet juice slowly, stirring into a smooth paste.
3. Cook over low heat until slightly thickened.
4. Add vinegar and butter.
5. Stir to blend.
6. Pour over beets and heat through.

Before and After

Yesterday we drove back to Lander to have the Booger's appliance repaired. On the way back we stopped at a Garden Center. Eight greenhouses. And a huge courtyard full of plants. Green plants. The STP had to drag me away. But before he got me to the car I had managed to latch on to a yarrow plant. And a big blue pot for the front porch. The STP agreed to get the pot for me for Mother's Day. Since we are going to be 'back east' for two weeks, I know I can not buy a lot of plants until we get back. In fact, I was not planting anything until June. So here is the geranium that I got for administrative assistant day at the bank. Alongside the new blue pot.

And here is a little lilac bush I couldn't resist when I ran into Walmart (through the Garden Center door) after the Cody track meet.

And here is a maple tree the STP and I bought together because it is ever so hopeful to plant a tree and because it was the grand opening of the new Pamida right here in Dodge City.

And here is my new yarrow.

And while we are 'touring the grounds' here are the two plants that survived the trip with the infamous truck.

And just to put things in perspective--here is the before:

And here is the current:

Except for one thing. After I took this picture this morning, the wind blew the gazing ball onto the sidewalk and smashed it to a million shards of blue iridescent glass.

(Into each yard a few dandelions must grow.)

Too bad I already got my Mother's Day present.

Wyoming--The Big Empty State

The state motto of Wyoming is actually "The Equality State". But anytime I see a map of the United States, it appears as the big empty state. It doesn't even matter what they are graphing or illustrating. When a company advertises nation-wide and shows a map of the U.S. with all their locations marked with red dots, there are not any dots in Wyoming. I saw a map where the states were shown elevated by degrees of something and Wyoming was just a big rectangular hole. On the official state map of Wyoming the state seal is printed on the map in the middle of the state. It doesn't cover anything. No rivers, no roads, no rails. Just a big empty space.

This is a picture of the map from this weeks Time magazine showing the birthplaces of several hundred of the most influencial people in the world.

See Wyoming? The Big Empty State.

Wyomingites like it that way. When I say I am new here, they invariably ask why I moved here. They don't want people to move here. They are leary of peole who move here. They are afraid some one will find out they are here. They are afraid more people will move here. I guess people who are attracted to nothing.

Hey look at this map. Here's a place with nothing. Let's move there.

Next they will take the state name off of the map. Then we will just be a big empty rectangle. We can pretend we are Colorado. Then no one will be able to find us and move here. Already we are at the alphabetical end of the list. We could just drop off the bottom quietly.

Weren't there 50 states? Alabama, Alaska,...West Virginia. No, I guess not.

Keep your eye on West Virginia. No one of influence was born there either.

Ms. Brenda's Big Giveaway

I've been thinking that I would like to have more comments on my blog. So I would know how wide my readership is. So I could feel really important like the big name bloggers who are making money with their blogs and going on Oprah and getting book deals. I don't really want to go on Oprah, or have ads on my blog, or even have a book deal. I just want comments. So, it seems to me that when those big time bloggers want more comments, they have a giveaway and they give something away to a commenter. So I've been thinking what I could give away.
I have a target with three holes in it.
I have a good recipe for Harvard Beets.
I have a handy guide to Danger Signs in Pigmented Lesions of the Skin.
So if I have a giveaway, it will serve a dual purpose of getting more comments and cleaning off my computer desk. (So I am back to starting a lot of my sentences with so.)
This week's giveaway will be one of the above items. Given away sometime this week to a randomly chosen commenter on this post.
Hurry up and comment. Contest ends soon. Remember--you have to comment to win. Please just leave a little comment. (Comments on how lame this is will not be considered.)

Two Tents?

In his quasi-awake state this morning, between the time the alarm went off and the time he really intended to get up, the STP said, "Two tents."
"Two tents?" I repeated. We only have one tent. Or was he having a Moses/Elijah vision?
"No, too tense."
"As in too much stress? Wound too tight?" Maybe it was just a description of how his day was starting.
"No, two tens."
"As in ten plus ten? Twenty? Or ten times ten? One hundred?"
"No, two tenths."
"Two tenths? Like a fraction?"
"Yes, two tenths of the order."
"What order?"
"Two bullet proof vests and eight guns. The vests are two tenths."
"Oh."
I didn't tell him it would have been clearer if he had just said 'one fifth' from the beginning. Then the only question would have been 'one fifth of what?'
Now the question remains: What exactly was the STP dreaming about and could it be related to the fact that he and Booger finished up their hunter safety course at the firing range last evening? Dave hit the target ten times. Boog hit it three times. Three tenths. Maybe two bullet proof vests are a good idea.

Today's Superpower

"What would your superpower be today?" The question presumes that I may choose my superpower. I usually have to verify whether my choice is just for today, or if it will have permanent consequences. Sometimes I have to choose my own logo, and where it would go on my supersuit. I used to just choose flying, or excessive speed or strength. But because I have lived with a boy child for 13 years, I am now more adept at answering the question. So yesterday I wanted to be able to grow things (like plants) any where and whenever I wanted to. I could grow vines faster than Spiderman could spin webs. I could grow huge oaks to block the path of my arch nemesis. (I could grow grass in my yard.) My calling card would be a green leaf with a distinctive shape. My name? Green Thumb. I just couldn't decide if I was good or evil. I guess it depends on if you find ivy growing over everything you own frightening or enchanting.
Last week I wanted to have one eye that worked like a telescope with impressive zoom power. And capable of even greater magnification. Like a microscope. So I could just look at you and zoom in on one freckle. Or one skin cell. My name? i-mom. Definately one of the good guys. I would work with a whole network of other moms. Some with eyes in the back of their heads. I'm not exactly sure what I would do with this superpower. I did use it to impress a five year old at the track meet. He was waiting for his sister to throw the discus. (Waiting seems to be a common theme at track meets.) He told me he was a superhero. I said I was also a superhero and, incidentally, so was my son. How odd that the three of us would find each other at a middle school track meet in Cody, WY. His name was Battlewar and his super powers involved running really fast and flying. Novice. He did, however, have a theme song, which he sang for us himself. I suggested he get a sidekick, but in his most incredible voice he said, "I work alone."
I thought perhaps my boy child would never grow up, but now that he is teenager, I find myself nostalgic for the five year old who wore his Robin costume through the streets of Salamanca.
Today I wish my superpower was fixing broken dental appliances. I may be getting too old to be a supermom.

Meeteetse Chocolatier

Yesterday's track meet was in a little town called Meeteetse. It is home to 351 people, a school with a track, a mercantile, and a cowboy chocolate shop . The STP and I went to the chocolate shop in between events--to warm up. I mean--to support the local economy. No really, just for the chocolate. The STP bought me one of my favorite things--a brown paper package tied up with...twine.

And stuffed with bandana tissue paper.

Wrapped around chocolate peanut butter truffles. And some marshmallow coconut bark. (And I also had a bag of chocolate covered stick pretzels, which I was going to save for later, but I ate before I took any pictures of them. But they were also tied up with twine.)

The chocolate is made by a real life cowboy, who was not in town for the weekend. But I saw his picture on the way out of the store. And he might be fine enough even if he didn't make chocolate truffles, and brownies and cheesecakes. But we all know you should get at least two things in a guy. If one of them is chaps, the other might as well be chocolate. Yee-haw.

Today's Track Meet-eetse Style

Started the day in the field throwing the disc.




Unfortunately, while much of the rest of the country enjoyed near record high temperatures, the Basin experienced a Spring set-back. (Set all the way back to Winter.) Causing the disc to freeze to the Goober's hand in his first attempt to throw it.

Sad.














He had better success with the shot put.









(The STP took these shots because my little hands were frozen, but that is not me in the blanket. But if I had a snuggi, I would have worn it.)

And by the afternoon, when the running events were scheduled, he had thawed sufficiently to run like the wind. Go Goob. Go. Run Goob. Run.

In other news, I spotted the captain talking to Goober's track coach. No, wait. Maybe that is the STP.








Actually the STP looked especially like the captain today. I think it was the hat.



See what I mean.












Stayed tuned for what the brave and daring STP and I did during the lunch break. It involves cowboys, chocolate and baling twine...

Hungering and Thirsting for Cheeses

During our 4th week of Lent, eating only things that grow in the ground and drinking only water, I developed a strong craving. (And it wasn't for Diet Pepsi.) It was for cheese. I started to think about cheese on Wednesday. I wanted pizza with three cheeses. I wanted a string cheese stick. I wanted nachos with cheese. I wanted to unwrap a slice of processed cheese food and fold it over on itself until it made a little stack of cheese before I ate it. Forget the crackers--I wanted to spray canned cheese directly into my mouth. On Thursday I began planning what I would eat on Sunday. By Friday I was talking about cheese with people at the drive up window at Dodge City Federal. I spent Saturday preparing for Sunday, when I could eat dairy products. I had our small group over for lunch. I asked them to bring cheese. I'm not even that crazy about cheese normally.

And then I read Psalm 63.

O God, you are my God, earnestly I seek You;

my soul thirsts for you, my body longs for You, ...

My soul will be satisfied as with the richest of foods;

with singing lips my mouth will praise You.

On my bed I remember You;

I think of You through the watches of the night.

And it occurred to me that I never felt as strongly about God as I did that week about cheese.

I have hungered and thirsted after Diet Pepsi and cheeses, more than I ever have after my Heavenly Father and Jesus.

So the good thing is that now I know what hungering and thirsting feels like. I just need to figure out how this translates to earnestly seeking God and finding my satisfaction there. I'm thinking that it has something to do with love and relationship. As part of my quest, I am collecting 'in' verses. God 'in' me. Me 'in' God.

Jesus said: I am the vine and you are the branches. If a (wo)man remains in Me and I in him (her), (s)he will bear much fruit; apart from Me you can do nothing. John 15:5

I'm thinking I may have a little wine with my cheese.

GOOB to BORG

GOOB

BOOB

BOOG

BORG

New Appliances or Is That a Refrigerator in Your Mouth?

I bought a new appliance. Although it is shiny stainless steel, it is not for the kitchen. It does open and close, but it does not have an ice dispenser. It is an orthodontic appliance. It attaches to the Goob's back teeth and will reposition and realign his jaw in preparation for his braces. For the down payment I could have bought a refrigerator with an ice dispenser. For the additional payments, I'm pretty sure I could have a matching range and dishwasher. It is no consolation, but the Goob feels like he has a refrigerator in his mouth. He can not touch his top teeth to his bottom teeth, making it difficult to eat anything except chocolate ice cream. The metal hinges and screws rub the insides of his cheeks sore. He is not fond of this. He had no desire to have his jaw repositioned nor his teeth straightened. I tried in vain to convince him that I'm doing this to him because I love him and that it will be good for him in the long run.

Me: It will make you more attractive. Your wife will thank me some day.

Goob: Do you want me to marry someone who is so shallow that she will only be interested in me if my teeth are straight?

M: It will make you breathe easier and reduce snoring.

G: Would you love Dad more if he didn't snore?

M: It will help you sleep better and improve your grades.

G: Oh, will it turn in assignments on time for me too?

M: Um, it will make you more attractive. It will help you get a date for the prom. Here take this advil.

G: Are you saying that I am such a failure as a human being that I will need to adjust my lower jaw a quarter of an inch and straighten my teeth to even get a date? Do you think that this smile is going to attract eighth grade girls? Do you think that my middle school experience will be enhanced if I look like Jaws from the Bond movie?

M: I don't think you look like any one from the Bond movie. I think you look like some one from the Wallace and Grommit movie. Maybe Wallace.

G: Can I quit track?

Okay, I didn't really say the part about Wallace. By this point I was really questioning if this really was the best course of action and feeling bad for him and picturing my kitchen with new stainless steel appliances, and maybe even a granite countertop.

Maybe we would both feel better if there was a little light that turned on when he opened his mouth.

Miracle #3

Remember when the Goob rode his bike to school?

And when he shoveled manure?

Well today he went to a track meet. As a member of the team.

He went out for track at the urging, nagging, insistence of his parents. Everyday he comes home from practice and asks if he can quit. On very cold days he calls me from school before practice to ask if he can quit. Their first meet was canceled because of snow. It was rescheduled for Thursday evening. It was wicked cold and windy. He begged to quit in the middle of the meet. I bought him a pizza. The coach and his Dad said he should stick it out. I didn't see them buying any pizza, or listening to any pitiful begging.

Today dawned bright and beautiful. But by the time it dawned he was already on a bus heading to meet number two. Because in Wyoming tracks are few and far between (like most other things). And it takes all day to get there and back.

Here is what the trip looked like.

Here are some horses along the way. They may have been wild. I can't really tell. They didn't look particularly wild, but they were a hundred miles from civilization. So maybe...

Here is the Goob in athletic wear. Waiting to throw the discus.

And here we are taking pictures of ourselves to pass the time waiting to throw the discus. We are standing beside each other. He is that much taller than me.

Here is the Goob running the 100 meters. Because they called that event while we were waiting to throw the discus.

They announced his name over the loud speaker. Not because he won anything. Because he had to report to throw the discus.

Here he is finally throwing the discus.

I signed him out early and got him a blizzard at Dairy Queen before we headed home. He didn't ask to quit one time today. That's the miracle part.

Happy Easter

From the three of us....

...to the rest of you.

And the Oscar Goes To...

Every year I want all the eggs to be solid colors. I want them to be beautiful in the basket. I want the colors to complement each other and the dining room.
Every year there are new 'experiments' with the eggs and their dyes. Every year their are 'magic' eggs with names, and rubber band eggs and striped eggs. Every year there is one egg that goes into all the colors various times. The result is the ugliest egg ever. We call it the Oscar egg. (I'm guessing after the Sesame street character--not because it will win any awards.) This year the Goob had to do the Oscar egg in the absence of his sisters. If you think about it too hard it is a very sad and lonely thing--to do the Oscar egg by default.
If you think just a little harder, it is a very joyful thing to be part of a family with love and traditions to pass on and hang on to.
That's how hard I'm thinking tonight, but I still miss my girls.

Did God Really Say...

I love art class pottery. When I used to go to the elementary school art shows, I couldn't wait until my kids were old enough to do the clay projects. The girls each brought home several wonderful pieces. When I moved across the country, I loaded one representative piece of each of theirs on the truck. Sadly, a few had to be left behind. (Impulsively, I hid one fine piece in the ivy on West Ave. to be discovered by a future adventurer. I can only hope they recognize a treasure when they find one. )
Yesterday, the Goober arrived home from school with a surprise for me in his packback. A one of a kind, hand crafted bowl. With a little green trim.

Carefully glazed so that I can use it for serving food.

There is a difference between girl pottery and boy pottery. Girl pottery is used for candy dishes or candle holders. It has butterflies cut into the design. Boy pottery is more robust. It is painted black. It has serpents in the design.

This is from the Goober's Garden of Eden collection. We call it, "Did God Really Sssssay...?"

We Just Stay at Home, and Lie Around...

So the Captain who is being held hostage by pirates off the coast of Africa looks a lot like the STP.

Just in case you've seen the story and were wondering if the STP was being held captive by pirates off the coast of Africa, fear not. He is safely at home. Firmly planted in front of the HDTV bonding with his son over Clone War reruns. Although he does have an increased interest in the Somalian pirates, I'm pretty sure that I never will look good in leggings.

Aye, aye, Cap'n Crunch.

Itty Bitty Healthcare Facility

I worked full time the past two weeeks at the IBHF. Just covering for a vacation. (Next week I go back to the bank. Part time.) The IBHF is attached to a nursing home facility. Because it was the first of the month, I got to do blood draws in the nursing home. Met some very dear old people and some very sick old people and some very grumpy old people. I hope when I am a very old person that I am a very dear one. (Or at least that some of my 'cuteness' remains.)

The Dear response:
Ms. Brenda, I'm here to get some blood from your arm.
Alright, deary, which arm do you want?

The Sick response:
Ms. Brenda, I'm here to get some blood from your arm.
Ms. Brenda? Ms. Brenda?

The Grumpy response:
Ms. Brenda, I'm here to get some blood from your arm.
Do you have to do it before breakfast? Get away from me. Where is that girl who always gets my blood? Ouch. Ouch. Nurse, do see what she's doing to me? Help me. Someone. Anyone. Oh, sweet Jesus.

Goober Eating Peas

A Lenten Update


Do I have to eat this?

Yes.

Could you food process it so it will go down easier?



Yes.







Could I try it in a glass so I can just chug it?



Yes.

Goodness, how delicious!

Are we counting down the days until the end of Lent?

Yes.