What Day Is This?

Remember when you were a kid and you liked to get up and do the same thing? Remember when you saw the comedy Groundhog Day? When did things change?

Not Today, Mimi

One afternoon this week I stopped by the daycare to pick up my granddaughter, Toots, so we could spend some time together. 99.9% of the time she is excited about seeing me and going to my house. Well, not that day. She wouldn't come when called. I signed her out, took her to the car, where she smarted off and said she wanted her mommy to pick her up. So I took her back into the daycare. It was not pleasant for either of us. When mommy picked her up, they had a long talk. Mommy told her that she was rude to her Mimi and that she could not see her for a week. (This has worked as a persuader for good behavior in the past.) Again, Toots was not effected by it. Yesterday, because of conflict with work schedule, mommy asked me to pick up Toots from daycare. When I walked in the room, Toots ran to me, promptly put on her coat, and walked out hand-in-hand with me, talking all the way. Her eyes searched my face for a clue to my thoughts/mood. She told me that she just knew I was coming to get her even though mommy said it would be a week. And Toots asked for me to take her to her favorite Mexican restaurant since she hadn't been there in a week. I already had plans to go there, and it was necessary to take her with me, but would have been more effective if I didn't. Perhaps our family will need to do more reading on the strong-willed child. I wouldn't be surprised to find that Toots was the subject of the book.

Check It Out on the Web

While watching one of the CNN News programs where regular people can send in pictures or videos for I Reports, I saw two interesting web sites. The first is for stills and videos of the Antarctic. A famous photographer with very special equipment spends 7 months a year on Antarctic capturing the photos and videos. He was so exuberant about his work. You would have to be to enjoy the negative 175 degree temperatures. The other site is a matchmaking site for farmers and ranchers. The creator of the site lamented the hard working farmer who is misunderstood by those who know nothing of that life style nor the amount of time committed to the job. One example of having fun was mudding. A city chick, no wait, that would be on the farm, a city girl could not relate to the farmer's way of life and way of having fun, so a successful match would be most difficult. You do not have to be a farmer or rancher to join the matchmaking organization, but then why would you join?

When the Red, Red Robin...

As I stepped out of the house on my way to work Friday, I was greeted with a bird cheerfully singing. Don't know my bird calls, but I'm guessing it was a red robin, just bobbin' along. And it was light enough to see without artificial light! Both signs of Spring were much needed after all the snow and fridgid weather. Made going to work much easier.

This Little Light of Mine

Turned on the living room lights the other morning and experienced a strobe effect with one of the new energy-saving fluorescent bulbs, you know, the ones that look like a coil. When hubby awakened, I pointed it out to him. He promptly replaced the bulb with its package partner. Thinking out loud, he said that he should take the stobing bulb back, but soon found out that you must have your sales receipt. Okay, who is going to keep the receipt when the box clearly states they are guaranteed to burn for 11 years? Maybe the company was trying to be tricky and was counting both bulbs for the total of 11 years. But that would still be less than 4 years, or about 1/3 the lifespan predicted for one bulb. (Thought I'd throw that in there since we are doing fractions at school.) Hubby decided to try to return the bulb without the receipt since this type of bulb has only been on the market for about 2 years. Surely the store will believe him. No, wait! That would be too logical.

600th Post

I have reached a milestone for someone who is not completely computer illiterate by entering my 600th post. My computer literacy varies on a scale of 1 to 7 between illiterate and getting-by-okay. I'm truly amazed at those who are in their 70s and up who are able to use the computers. I saw on the news a man in his 80s who lived in an assisted living home who went to work every day (within the home) as a day trader. That won't be me!

Just One Dessert Please

We went out to eat to celebrate the birthday of our daughter-in-law. After the meal we ordered only two desserts for five people. The birthday girl needed help from her hubby and dad, but still could not finish the dessert. We couldn't help eat on it because we got the one pictured next.

This is the dessert that I ordered, tiramisu. Hubby helped me eat on it, but we ended up taking more than half of it home. You definitely get your money's worth at this restaurant, but unfortunately, you get your weight's worth too.

More Snow Pictures

The mailman would have trouble delivering to the large mailbox on my back porch. I find it amazing that the snow continued to pile up on the box, continuing the shape. If you look closely, you can see the pile on the latch. The snow was so beautiful. But the best thing about the snow is that it is melting!

I promised some pictures of the huge snow we received last week. So here they are.

• The top picture is of the birdcage on my back porch.
• The next picture is of our neighbors' picnic table a few days after the storm.
• And the last one is of Toots as she comes out the end of her slide. Click on this picture to see that she is loving it!

Lipstick Not on This Grandma

A few days ago, I had my granddaughter with me and her dad. Dad was telling about how Tootsie likes to put on lipstick, comb her hair and say how beautiful she is. Of course Toots was listening intently from the back seat. I entered the conversation to say that she is already beautiful and that she doesn't need lipstick. Then (I should have known better) I asked her if she thought her Mimi was beautiful. She quickly answered, "No, because you don't wear lipstick!"

Can You Believe This Weather?

I know I have been talking a lot about the weather, but in the winter, what else is so versatile? When I arose yesterday the actual temperature was -2 degrees, with a windchill of -11. This morning it is +40 degrees. What gives? I don't see fog in our backyard, but know that it will be a problem as the snow still blankets the ground. If this warm weather continues into Monday, we could have a 2-hour delay due to fog. GRRRR! We need to go to school to learn at some point in this year!