Nite Nite Truck Truck

I put away a lot of the "grandma" toys... and set out a different tub of things to play with yesterday. B (age 2) dug through the tub and came out with these two items. He sat on the floor and arranged and rearranged the truck in this little crib... too cute! Of course, by the time I grabbed my camera, he was off to play with the back scratcher and the cushions on the couch.

Never underestimate PLAY POWER and imagination in 2 year olds!

Depression...

Do you think plants get depressed? These two, side by side... someone definately looks sad, down-in-the-dumps... or depressed!

The buddy on the left sprung to life once moved into a larger home. He/she's even had a ton of babies recently!

I'm hoping Mr. Grumpypants perks up... I guess we'll see what happens! He moved into a larger home yesterday. Stay tuned for updates!

Ever have one of those days?

It's been one of those days...

I thought I'd fill the pop machine at work today... so I loaded up my cart and headed to the 2nd floor prior to everyone's arrival at 8. As I filled the rootbeer "column," cans rolled out onto the floor due to a misplaced can in the first slot. I unloaded them all and started over... this time one slipped and I heard the dreaded "pssssssst!" as it cracked open a tiny bit. Rootbeer spray! I had to unload the column again to find the culprit. And then unload them completely to wipe up the mess.

As I was working on this fiasco, a co-worker came in to start coffee. She got the pot brewing and chatted with me while helping me with the mess I had created. We turned around to see the coffee pot overflowing EVERYWHERE. We had to empty the cabinet, sop up a "bucket o'coffee" with a roll and a half of paper towel. Clean off all the little froo-froos that go with coffee, wipe everything down... get all the drips off the cabinet and floor mat...

As I locked up the pop machine, I found TWO cans of soda on the floor. I had to open up the beast again and placed them in their appropriate places, and off to work I went.

But not so fast.

I barely sat down at my desk when the phone rang. A panicked voice saying, "We have a major leak coming out of the ceiling on 2nd floor." I grabbed a trash can and my keys and headed upstairs. As I left my office, I could hear the phone ringing off the hook. (Sigh)

Yup! MAJOR leak! It was Niagara Falls in the hallway! The ladies on 2nd floor had assembled 12-14 trash cans to catch the water. They were emptying them out as fast as they could. I took off looking around for the main water shut off for the building! You'd think being the building manager, I'd know exactly where that was. I figured it out, but not before ceiling tiles soaked and everyone got into a frenzy! (I know now and had the plumber give me a lesson on which levers were which - I'm prepared for the next disaster)

Water shut off in the building means NO RESTROOMS. Of course today was a meeting with all the top dogs... um, Heads of the Church here. Being bathroomless on such a day was not a good thing. They ended up packing up all their files and folders and moved their meeting to a church about 12 miles away. A church with working restrooms.

Staff left behind was beside themselves with "WHAT TO DO" if we need a restroom! Our office is across the street from a video store, which is next to a Burger King, which is a block from a McDonalds. Do we need to call a meeting to figure this out?

One person actually came to ask me how long the building would stay open without restrooms. My response... "SERIOUSLY?" She nodded.. me: "Seriously?"

All of this happened before 9 a.m. this morning.

HVAC guy was here (not his problem) and the plumber finally showed up around 11. A cast iron drain pipe had ruptured and is fixed. I think...

My phone just rang (2:54 p.m.): "Katie, there's water on the floor in the 3rd floor ladies room."

..................let me go home, please!

Email Subject Lines

I get email from a custodian-service type company... titles of their email always amuse me. Guess I'll start collecting some to share here. As I was logging on to write about my AMUSING day, I saw this one:


"Custodian assaulted with toilet paper."



The stories are never as interesting as the titles... I like to let my imagination run with something like this. :)

========

Ok, I had to check it out... here is the story:


FRAMINGHAM —

A Framingham man threw a roll of toilet paper at a town custodian Wednesday because he thought he was inappropriately whistling in a restroom at the Memorial Building, police said.

Allen Kerner, 55, will be summoned to Framingham District Court for hitting the janitor in the head with the roll, police spokesman Lt. Ron Brandolini said.

Officers were standing outside, near the Memorial Building's parking lot, when they heard Kerner screaming and saw him being followed by the custodian.

"(Kerner) said he was angry about being whistled at," Brandolini said.

The custodian said he went into the men's room at the Memorial Building to change the toilet paper rolls and was whistling as he worked, unaware someone was in the bathroom.

As he was working in one of the stalls, he was pelted in the back of the head by a roll of toilet paper, the lieutenant said.

"He turned around, and (Kerner) began yelling at him about whistling and then he fled the bathroom," Brandolini said.

Kerner, of 3 Merchant Road, will be summoned to appear in court on a count of assault and battery. It is not known when he will appear in court.

The Other Side of the Rainbow

Girls night out! I went to see WICKED last week with my BFF, Jane (aka Ladybug the Clown)... We nearly had to fly in on our broomsticks as the President (THE President as in Obama) was in town. Traffic in downtown Madison was a nightmare.

WICKED was incredible! I am in awe of the performers, the stage hands, make up artists, lighting guys, costume makers, lyricist, musicians, producers, directors, author and EVERYTHING to do with this production.

I'm 59 years old and have seen The Wizard of Oz probably 40 times in my life. I will NEVER watch it without thinking of this story. WICKED explains the "behind the scenes" story of Glinda the Good and the Wicked Witch... everything makes perfect sense to me now... but I think I need to watch The Wizard of Oz another 40 times to put all the pieces together for me...

Sticker Shock

Tricky apple grower/grocer guys! I was so excited to try a new "breed" of apples - Sweet Tango. Headed to the sink to wash it up and chomp into it, I peeled off the bar code sticker. Funny how it just happened to be covering a worm hole!

Funny.

or not so!

The Fifties

A friend at work celebrated her 50th birthday yesterday. I think she was hoping to slide in under the radar. Her daughter who lives states away spilled the beans by ordering her a special 50th cake. Some of us rallied around to decorate her office and host a surprise party at break. It was great fun!

I remember when I turned 50! I felt so old... and here I am about to enter my last year in the 50's... time sure has gone by quickly! Since I turned 50:

• both kids got married
• three precious grand children were born
• both of my parents passed away
• we sold our house of 32 years
• we built and moved into a new home
• Gracie came into our family (our first and only cat)
• I've seen the Lion King three times (not counting endless viewings of the Disney DVD version)
• will have celebrated 39 years of marriage! 2/3 of my lifetime!!!

The Red Hat Society welcomed me at age 50... I think I'll see what the 60's have to bring me. But not yet... I have ONE MORE YEAR to go!

(yes, Judy: Door County is on my list for the 60's... )

Princess Silly Lily

My name is Princess Silly Lily. My dad is the King in The Land of Fisher. My mom is the Queen, and they both they think they are in charge of everything. I think they are beginning to figure out that I am really the one in charge.

An evil monster tried to break into The Land of Fisher. It took a lot of soldiers to fight it off. The King and Queen spent a lot of time holding hands and worrying. Their friends from far and wide all sent their powers to help fight off the monster. I didn’t even know The Land of Fisher was such a famous place! But I found out it is.

It was a huge fight! The Monster had invaded the most treasured thing in the Land of Fisher, me! I was very brave and not too silly while the soldiers tracked the monster down and took him away. Mom and dad were very brave too. We’re all so exhausted after the fight, but are celebrating now!

It’s going to take time for the Land of Fisher to return to normal. The king and queen are keeping a good eye out for any more monsters. And friends keep sending us their powers! I think we’re going to be okay. I think we are a lucky family. Personally, I can’t wait to get a little silly again!

You can read my dad's stuff at: http://www.landoffisher.blogspot.com/

A Step (or two) Behind...

Meet my new phone. I know! I KNOW! I committed to a new two year plan and did NOT get a DROID! All I really wanted was to be able to text without having to figure out doing so on a numeric keypad... Yes, I have a keyboard now. This photo is life size... so stick your finger onto your screen. Yup! TINY! My eyes can barely make out the keyboard. Good things my kids can read typo-ese!

DROID: Yeah, I wanted one until I played with one at the store. I wanted to see what my email looked like, so I swiftly navigated to GMAIL and logged in. KEWL! It worked! It was great! But then I couldn't log out. I had to interrupt my sales guy from a new client, and have him help me. He had to go to his supervisor - and the supervisor to the Geek On Duty! YIKES! They had to reset the entire phone...

I decided then and there that if it took three pros to get me out of my email, it wasn't really something I wanted to deal with on a regular basis... so now a new decision: I P A D or I P O D TOUCH?

or should I wait for the I G E E Z E R ?)

Decisions, Decisions!

New Eyes & Dirty Hands

I took my grandson on a walk today... we saw diggers, bobcats, dump trucks, and all sort of earth moving machines, piles of dirt and big pipes being buried in the ground... Regrading to correct a water problem for neighbors is the greatest thing on earth to happen to our 2 year old grandson.

B's favorite word it "TRUCK" --- although I can't begin to type it with the inflection and pronunciation and passion he uses! Our walk today was pure joy for him.

The joy of being a child... I don't think its something you really can remember. Exploring the world and seeing things through new eyes was just a fact of life when we were kids. This is what I love about being a grandma... I get to see life all over again... from bugs to watering cans to trucks (which never fascinated me before B came along)... watching language develop in our grandkids has been like discovering the new world must have felt to the explorers of old... Knock Knock jokes have never been funnier... misprounced words more profound... I'm so in love with our grandkids!

This is so different from being a MOM... I was too busy back then to see what I see now. Being a grandma is just AWESOME! Life is amazing as I see it all over again... Oh the JOY!

Full of Giggles

Sunday with our girls! We went to see Nanny McPhee Returns armed with extra containers for popcorn sharing. Lots of giggles, especially when a bunch of little piglets showed off their talents in synchronized swimming!

The down side to the day was the heat and rigmarole (running spell check on that word) of buckling the 4 year old into a car seat set up for a 2 year old...

If that's the worst thing to happen all day, that's okay!

The girls are full of giggles - and more than willing to share them with us!

Starting kindergarten in a couple of days for 5 year old Seluna brought back memories of new saddle shoes, knee socks and a plaid book bag. Now it's Sketchers, a dress that allows modesty when the teacher commands "Criss-cross Applesauce" (sitting cross legged on the floor) and a Toy Story 3's Jessie backpack and lunch box. Kindergarten was 1/2 day for me (and our kids)... now it's an all-day deal! We learned ABC's in kindergarten... now they're expected to know it before they arrive!

Life is tough for kids these days... but our kindergartener-to-be couldn't be more excited or happier!:)

Don't Sneeze!

You might disturb the hundreds of fruit flies hanging out at the salad bar... discretely under the sneeze guard! This was a nice "sit down" restaurant with real linen tablecloths, a hostess and menus! (Not fast food)

The lettuce was limp... the broccoli gray... the sliced up hard boiled eggs, mostly greenish gray... and the plenty of fruit flies for added protein. Hundreds (if not thousands) of them! Once I stirred them up, I lost all interest in the rest of the chopped up goodies at the salad bar!

When we told the waitress about the problem, she said, "Yeah, we know. We've tried spraying and scrubbing everything and we can't get rid of them." We told her we wouldn't be able to stay... she mumbled, "I don't blame you" as we left.

Off to Culvers (good old "fast food") --- and DELICIOUS salads! I had their new salad with strawberries, pecans, blue cheese... very very good! Got the name and number of the health inspector from the owner of Culvers... then reported the fruit fly infestation. (Doing my "civic duty" and all)

Ribbet! Ribbet!

We've lived in Sun Prairie for 33 years... and I've NEVER seen little green tree frogs before! Our son and family have a bumper crop of them at their home (about 15 min. away from us)... now we have them, or at least ONE now too! I wonder if this guy hitched a ride to our house from theirs... :)

This little guy was hanging out by my front door the other night. Fascinating little critter (so long as he stays OUTSIDE).

We also have a couple of common toads stuck in a deep window well outside my bedroom window. Everytime I try to get them out, they bury themselves under the rocks. I'm worried I'll find little toad skeletons in there someday! (ick) Gracie, our cat has been busy keeping an eye on them from the window. Not so fun in the middle of the night to have her tearing my shades apart to stalk them!

Banana Man

I picked up a bunch of bananas today... they were a BUNCH... I blinked and B had them all apart into six separate units

When he saw my surprised face, he quickly tried to put them back together again... not fast enough with the camera.

Funny li'l Bananaman!

(note the little truck in the foreground... bulldozing bananas is tough work!)

Creativity... It's not for whimps!

Just thinking of all the corners of our house... and my office for that matter that have STUFF I need for my projects. Yarn, paper, pens, markers, fabric, scrapbooking materials... Think of a craft, and I've probably tried it!

I've just taken up punch needle. Luckily I had my stash of embroidery floss from my days of cross stitching. Of course, I never seem to have the color I need - so I shop for more!

Guess it runs in the family

My sister just converted her basement into a beautiful studio for her weaving and spinning. It's huge and full of yarn, fiber, looms, spinning wheels, projects in various stages of completion... Upstairs, her front room (which most people would use as a livingroom) is another beautiful weaving studio... She fell carrying "projects" down to her basement studio and broke her ankle!

Crafts can be hazardous to your health...

No Humor Today..

Lily turned 3½ yesterday. Today she will be having brain surgery to relieve pressure and to take a biopsy of a tumor... results will take days. My heart is with the Fisher Family as they travel down this scarey road!

Prayers to find rainbows and butterflies!

Love you Lily-kins! (Mike and Liz too!)

Two days later: Lily is out of intensive care. She's watching TV, playing Candyland and eating like a marine! Test results should be back early next week. Keep praying for an easy fix!!!

Stick X 2

I've been eating popsicles since they were invented (yes, I am that old). This is the first time I've had one with a 2nd stick embedded! Too bad it was broken - rendered it unusable in popsicle stick construction projects.

By the way, the Sugar-Free TROPICAL flavors are delicious... especially the pineapple!

Lipstick

a chuckle from my email box...


NO, I HAVEN'T SEEN YOUR LIPSTICK !

Why would you even ask me that? I'm insulted!

Every time something goes missing around here, everybody looks at me!

For your information, I don't even wear that shade - it doesn't flatter my complexion and it tastes terrib….. oops.

Too cute.... can't help but make you smile!

Caught in the act...

Beetles caught munching tonight (left and right photos)

Different dining styles shown in the middle photo.

Munch out little holes from the center of the leaf

or just chew out notches around the edges?

Decisions, decisions!

Guess they like my dogwood too... grrr!

Bugged!

I'm all in favor of Mother Nature and the wonders created... lacey birch leaves are amazing and beautiful...

But come on "Mom!" Why are these opalescent critters hanging out at our home? They really BUG me!

Japanese Beetles have moved into our little piece of heaven. They've decided that our birch trees are "to die for."

TO DIE FOR? No kidding... I'm armed and doing battle... watch out. you Japanese-Birch-Leave-Eating Bugz!!! This is war! (Take your nasty wasp cousins and giant mosquitos with you when you leave...)

Mailbox Creativity

When a 3rd neighbor moved in this winter, the builder put up an "emergency" fix to the mailbox situation... adding the third one by adapting the original two. It's now July - and it still looks this way.






I thought it looked pretty "ghetto," but then leaving the neighborhood one day, I stopped to take a photo of this mailbox. I suppose a snowplow or careless driver knocked over their "real" mailbox... but again, it's July now and this contraption still stands.

Now it's my quest to find other GHETTO mailboxes! Show me yours!

Monkey Business

Back in my early days of crafting, I made sock monkeys. I was working at an insurance company at the time and my husband was working nights. Stitching, stuffing and giving "life" to these little guys kept me busy. I sold them at work for $5.00 a piece. I probably made a hundred of them.

When I came to my senses... I made them only for special friends having babies, and for our own children.

But now... Sock Monkeys are back! Our grandkids each have one, new friends with babies are getting them... and there is a special Sock Monkey Embassador named TT who is traveling around the country to visit online friends. He travels with a journal and map. TT has attended weddings, been on a cruise, visited Disneyland and has met (and brought smiles) to dozens of my cyber-friends.

Want to make your own sock monkey? Here is the link to my HOW TO site:
http://www.groundhogcentral.com/ktoon/sockmonkey/socko.html

Meet my BFF

Meet my best friend... Ladybug! She clowned around at our grandson's 2nd birthday party today... Parachute games, balloon sculptures, kazoo chorus... what fun! She's as much fun as a friend as she is as a clown...

I'm one lucky Toony!