The Putting Together of Toys

As Bubby's first birthday quickly approaches, there are things that need to be put together so he can play with them right away.

Kids, when given a new toy, do not want to wait around while you figure out how to put it together. And that's not even the hard part with some of these things these days...have you tried to get a toy out of the package it's embedded in lately?

If you have little Barbie collectors in your circle, you know what I'm talking about. Geez, you would think that they are putting those dolls in the package with the thought of it's withstanding a nuclear bomb. Forget about the 800 twist ties binding that doll to the cardboard prison...they literally SEW her hair onto the package as well. It takes nearly half an hour to get that puppy outta the packaging.

And then there are those sealed plastic clamshell things. What the heck is the point of that? I don't really know anyone that hasn't gotten some kind of cut trying to get through those. I'm sure there's a class action suit looming somewhere about that...haven't any of those packaging designers heard of "zip strips" along the back of the plastic? Come on, cardboard boxes (like what you get sandwich bags in, for instance) have have them for years...get a clue and save someone a sliced tendon, won't you?

But, I'm digressing.

As you can see from the picture, the Fire Car wasn't in a clamshell, and it wasn't twist-tied to cardboard...it was just in a lot of pieces. I wasn't particularly daunted by it though. Throughout the years, I've put together my share of stuff, and this was just one more.



It took one hour and forty-five minutes to assemble this little car. My main sticking point was the driver's side roof post - that puppy needed to not only snap into the frame, it had to also encompass and provide support for the door hinge-pin. I think that took the most time of all - other than that, the assembly went rather smoothly I think.

And it's cute as hell :) I'm sure Mr. Bubby will be well pleased with his new wheels. I know I am. I'm most pleased that it makes noise...bwahahaha.

Now, if I can only find that fire hat that has a siren on it, life will be even better!

Just sayin'

Aha!

The other day I was quietly minding my own business (trying to take a nap, actually), when I heard a strange noise...

I looked up, and what do you think I spotted? In broad daylight even?

A MOLE! (I think it was a mole, it could also have been a "pocket gopher" but for now, I'm going with mole) :)

It brazenly came up from a nearly invisible hole, walked across a little way to another hole I hadn't seen before either, and then...

disappeared.

Hrmmmmm

Nothing running around under the lawn, eh?

BAH!

Time to gather up the safari gear and big ammo...

Just sayin'

Contemplating the Relative Usefulness

...of night vision goggles.

I was out mowing the lawn today - well, what passes for a lawn here, considering the fact that I've decided not to water the moss anymore - and as I was bumping and bouncing over the newly engineered "critter" tunnels, I began to wonder what the heck I could do to encourage them to engineer elsewhere.

There is some controversy over the critters. Several landscapers have told me they don't exist, when clearly, they do. Haven't seen them myself, but I do see their handiwork. They seem to tunnel around every so often (particularly after I've stomped and rolled over (and over and over) their tunnels with the tractor - hmmmmm, coincidence? )

Anyway...

I got to thinking...I haven't actually seen whatever the heck it is that is tunneling around the yard...maybe it's nocturnal. That led me right into the night vision goggles idea. (it's how my mind works - lol).

I'm wondering if I sit still in the dark with night vision goggles on, if I might see the engineers at work? And if so, perhaps I can "encourage" them to do their building in the woods. I also wonder if I can get some evidence of their existence (other than the damn tunnels and intermittent holes that would seem to indicate to a rational mind that there is something down there doing that).

I wonder, too, what else night vision goggles might be useful for. Other than looking at things in the dark, can't really think of much. I might contemplate that for a while too...

Or, I might just forget about it all and get a bunch of fireworks at the reservation and "plant" them around the tunnels...bwahaha.

*shrugs*

So...that's what I was thinking about...scary, but true.

Just sayin'

There and Back

Hi Y'all

I've been wanting to do a short slideshow of a road trip for awhile. so...here it is...shot from my iphone while driving across the I-90 floating bridge (and back). I mean, someone else held the camera and took the pics while i drove. Seriously, I wouldn't drive and click ;)



I actually like this, but I'm interested in your thoughts too. Let me know what you think, eh? Be nice, but constructive criticism is never wrong. I didn't do much other than throw the pics into iPhoto and make a slideshow, so there isn't a huge investment either. I just thought it'd be fun!...god, i love Macs!

Just sayin'

Pioneering

While Mini-Me (MM) was visiting last week, we had a ton of things to do. We had school and homework, and riding around in the roadster, and soccer game & practice, and tie-dying and math, and yardwork...oh! and BBQ's!!!

We also had to figure out how to build a covered wagon (model) for MM's Pioneer studies in school. Apparently, 4th grade is when you study those things.

It was fun, because it was something we could do together.

So, we did some research on the internet, and drew some plans, and went to get supplies.

The result is shown above (in it's pre-colored state). MM and Goofy made the cover (which isn't attached yet in the photo - painting wasn't done), and also made burlap sacks with the staples those pioneers took with them.

There's a little left to do, but all in all, I think we did a fair job - considering we are NOT pioneers.

;)

Promises of a good weekend ahead

Seattle is supposed to have a nice weekend coming up. In most places, considering that Memorial Day is the opening of the summer season, this wouldn't be much to talk about.

In SeaTown, however, the fact that we have any sunny days, let alone a weekend and never mind a HOLIDAY WEEKEND, is newsworthy indeed.

Generally, around here, we are nearly guaranteed to have clouds and rain as a matter of course - especially on holiday weekends.

Blue tarp camping originated here, and for good reason - it rains... ALOT!

So, for this upcoming weekend, we are anticipating sunny days. Warm, sunny days fit for BBQ's and family gatherings.

We'll see...keeping my fingers crossed!

Headaches and Black Licorice

I have a headache.

Have had for two or three days now.

I'm wondering if it's brought on by the black licorice I bought the other day and have been snacking on from time to time? It's somewhat coincidental that the headache and the licorice arrived at nearly the same time. I'm thinking it is coincidental and anecdotal rather than specifically pointing toward symptomatic. At least that's what I'm telling myself at the moment.

Hrrmmmmm.

A Sunny Seattle Weekend!

We had something of an anomaly here this weekend...SeaTown had sunshine! And on the weekend! It was lovely.

Around here, sunny weekends mean working outside. While Goofy used the pressure washer to get the patio ready for the summer bbq season, I tackled the lawns. They are all mowed (YAY). And the best news is, there's a new gardener being interviewed this evening, so there may be a chance that I'll be fighting the lawn less in the future (it's nasty, and despite all my efforts, it usually beats me ;).

After that, I sanded the deck stairs and got them sealed with water seal.

(i'm sore today...lol)

The weather was beautiful...and since COPPER RIVER SALMON arrived in Seattle this past Friday, we got the bbq's fired up and planked some fish! Invited some of the family over, and had a lovely time in the beautiful outdoors...sigh...it's really what it's all about in Seattle...we live for the sunny days....and then we go crazy like we've never seen one... lololol.

It was wonderful...and relaxing...and felt great to get some things done outside...ahhhhhhhhh! It's all relaxed and contented around here...sigh...

Hope you all had a great weekend too!

Mother's Day

This isn't the greatest picture ever taken of my mom and me...but when I look at it now, I can feel the comfort and safety of being held in her arms. Feeling her breathe, and laugh and just casually kissing me on the head. The absolute and utter love of a mother.

For a brief moment, I'm three again. No troubles, no worries beyond dodging bedtime to be able to stay for a few more minutes just like this. If I'd only known then how precious those moments really were...but, ahhhh...who does really?

I'm very fortunate to have known her for as long as I did. She was amazing as a person and a friend and a mother. But most of you already know that about her from my other musings on the subject.

Today, I'm reminded about my mother for obvious reasons. It's mother's day.

It's also the 13th anniversary of the day she left this earth for adventures that I will hear about someday when it's my turn to leave.

On the face of it, you might say it's extremely painful for me to recall this day. And in some ways I am right there again in that nondescript room holding her hand and praying that her brother and grandmother were there to help her through.

But in ways that matter, it's less about the day that she died than it is to reflect on how very much she impacted not only my life, but the lives of so many others around her. I"ve talked about that before here too. She was so fortunate to actually have people she cared about tell her how much she meant to them. She really had no idea how much her thoughtful insight mattered to people. But she didn't leave not knowing. And she didn't leave without knowing how very very much goofy and I loved and appreciated her.

And, this is also about the strong women in my life (and likely in yours if you think about it) that have - at one point or another - have been there when they were needed over the years. In huge ways and in little ways that made a huge difference..

They are not my mothers by blood or birth, but they have had impact on my life nonetheless. They are my friends and my family by choice. They are older than me, my age and younger. They are precious.

So, for the sake of the day, I salute all the women in this world who support not only the children they give birth to, but the people that cross through their lives that needed them for that minute or day or year. Some of those people stay with us forever, some are here and gone. But they made huge differences for their being in that place in that time.

Happy Mother's Day. To my mother, and yours and all the women that support us all.

I love you Mom...I still hear you...and I miss you every single day.

Catching up a bit

So, Aloha and Good Day, Eh?!

I've been a bit remiss in my blogging the last few days..guess it's too much sun, fun and good company.

At our last posting, I believe we'd been out to Molokini to "feed the fish", and spent a day at Ka'anapali Beach soaking up the sunshine.

We managed to find many things to do while waiting for the dive weather to be a bit better. Beach was one, shopping (ugh) another, visiting with friends while eating and drinking fancy tropical drinks yet another. Sigh...it's a tough life, but you know, someone's gotta live it. :)

Saturday morning we headed south to Ulua Beach. Goofy did some shore diving there with Richard and Phillip and got some great photos from the turtle cleaning station and along the reef. Magic stayed topside and was beachmaster and camera hauler. Brother Tom and his wife Kristie joined us a bit later in the day and they had fun snorkeling and hanging with Magic (i'm thinking so, anyway ;)

Here are a few pics from Goofy's first and second dives at Ulua.


Hawaiian Green Sea Turtle at the Cleaning Station - Ulua Reef





Moorish Idol's along Ulua Reef.





Juvenile Frogfish - Ulua Reef





Humuhumunukunukuapuaa - aka Hawaiian Reef Triggerfish, Ulua Reef






And, finally, the rare and somewhat elusive Tommyfish. Adorable and yet a bit contrary at times, this one is reliable and fun to have around. :)

I'll continue with Sunday's diving adventures in the next blog.