Happy Independence Day Weekend (coming up!)

I'm jumping the gun a bit, but have nothing else to blog about.  So happy 4th of July!  Our weather is supposed to be nice and sunny (which would be a welcome change), so I may wander down to the city pool for swimming and sunning.  Hopefully, the local children won't be too horrified at the sight.

The girls will be at camp, as will Miss Lucy, so it may be a quiet weekend around here.  I did get an invite to go camping with the P's, but the thought of setting up The Taj Mahal (as the ginormous tent is affectionately nicknamed), plus finding/purchasing all the camping supplies I'd need and a long drive up to Priest Lake is kind of daunting.  We'll see though. 

Crafty!

Pia brought back some wonderful fabric when she went to Africa a few years ago, and I've never been able to find a good project for using it.  But Martha Stewart came to my rescue with her Reversible Hat pattern.  For once, there's a Martha craft I can make!  And my hat turned out pretty cute, it will be perfect for the beach (if the weather ever gets hot enough to go to the beach). 

Side One:

Side 2:

I Love This Ad

This ad makes me laugh EVERY time I see it:



I think it's the husband saying "you look like a beach angel!".  Kills me.

Maybe It Just Isn't Meant To Be

Me riding a bike.

I got out Bertie the Bike today.  She has had a year of rest in garage due to last summer's "bwoken awm" debacle.  But it was gorgeous weather today, I needed to get something for dinner, the grocery store is like 6 blocks away, so it seemed like the time to renew acquaintances.

A year off of bike riding did NOT do me any good AT all.  Mind you, the route to the store is just a teeny bit uphill.  I was panting like a walrus by the time I'd gone 2 blocks.  Bertie is a fool-proof bike, with only 3 speeds.  I normally keep her in 2nd because, well, that's the only speed I know.  But I "downshifted" lol into 1st gear.  To get up the probably < than 1% incline.  And I was going about as slow as a human can go on a bike and still be making some sort of forward progress.  I'm blaming the tires, which I'm positive need air.  But I don't know how to check that.  I was wearing a helmet, so Safety Sam can relax.

I made it up to Albertsons (you remember, that's where strangers give me their game tickets).  My bike has BOTH a hand and foot/coaster brakes.  I panicked, not sure which to employ to stop my forward progress (I was being passed by snails, who flipped me off on their way by).  So when I put on the brake, I tipped over.  In the parking lot.  In full view of whoever was lucky enough to be shopping at Alby's.  I'm sure I made their day, and I'm probably getting millions of hits on my youtube video as we speak. Oh, and my thighs were so shocked at being exercised, they momentarily locked up and I wasn't at all sure I was going to be able to get back up. 

People, maybe I just wasn't meant to ride a bike.  Those who know me, know my long and dorky history with bike riding.  Me and the bike, we just don't mix.  Perhaps I just wasn't meant to have 2 wheel transit...

It's Officially Summer!

The ice cream truck just drove by!  Lulu and I wanted to dash out and buy a Spongebob ice cream bar, but our truck driver goes through the neighborhood at about 45 mph and we aren't that speedy.

Weirdly, the truck was NOT playing "The Entertainer".  Is there not a law that mandates this as the official ice cream truck song?

Memories

I had a great time going through old family photo albums while I was visiting Mom.  She doesn't remember who is in most of the really old pictures, which is too bad.  There are some wonderful photos from the 'teens and 1920s.  Maybe Judy or Susan will know who some of the posers are, and we can write down names for future viewers...

I borrowed a few pictures that I really really loved:

 Freda Herseth, B-Z and me getting fancied up for a tea party (for you youngs, those are SLIPS we are wearing.  You had to wear them under your dresses so you'd be all flouncy and fancy.  We're going for the slutty preschool look here, evidently)

 BFF's B-Z (or Beezie as we spelled it then) and me looking all cute in front of our somewhat sad Christmas Tree.  Yay for sailor dresses!  We must be 3 and 4 in this picture?

 Joey-Love and me looking quite saintly for our First Communion, 1961.  This was during my very brief holy era; when Father McGirl asked which girls wanted to be nuns when they grew up, you can bet my hand shot right up in the air.

 Jon "Zoolander" Sundstrom's Saint Brendan's Grade School picture.  I'm going to keep this pic in my wallet and whip it out every time he teases the boys about being girly-men.

Random Things that Make me Smile

During my long, boring drive home from Seattle, I had plenty of time to ponder things that make me smile:

1. Crop Names in Fenceline.  I have mentioned this before, but knowing what those mystery plants are as I whiz past on I90 makes me happy.

2.  Calling the fat dogs across the alley "Piggy and Munchy".  Everyone needs a chubby pair of some persons or animals they can nickname Piggy and Munchy.  It's a guaranteed day brightener.  I also got the intel from Lisa that P & M earned their mean nicknames the summer they stole plums from our tree (like we were going to eat them) and then engaged us in a cross-street rock war.

3. How much little kids love wearing bandaids.  I'm talking to you, Ms. Logan.

4. Finding a single ripe strawberry in our patch and eating it before the slug does.

5. Learning that Southwest is having a 3 day fare sale, and just happening to have money in my bank account!  So I bought a ticket to DC for dirt cheap.

6. Listening to 5 hours of songs from my junior high school days on above-mentioned trip across the state.  Most of them were heinous.  No need to relive that musical era, central Washington radio stations.  But it was still kind of fun and it kept me awake.

7. Seeing what a tiny shrimp our mom is.  She's about as big around as my pinkie.  And I'm the Incredible Hulk when I stand next to her.  She's still feisty though.