#1 Son - Summer 2007

Word of the Day

Defugalty - A sound that has had its musical fugue styling removed.

5 Days and a Wake Up Before HTP and I Fly South for the Winter

#1 Son is Here! I have a list of things that I need to have him help me do while he's here. Those Earthboxes are heavy when they have dirt in them. I need him to help me carry them into the garage so they don't freeze and break over the winter. The geraniums on my deck will come back next year if I store them someplace where they won't freeze, get too much light, and where someone can water them a couple of times yet. That's over in my sister's basement. I need #1 Son to help me load all the plants into the car and then carry them down to my sister's basement. Wind chimes. I've got LOTS of wind chimes. I don't leave them outside over the winter. As it is, I'm losing some of the dingle-dangles because the strings deteriorate over time when they're outside all summer. I guess I'll have to get some new string next spring. Anyway, while I'm up on a ladder removing wind chimes, #1 Son can grab them and put them in their box so I don't have to go up and down and up and down and up and down the ladder....though...it might be good exercise. Lastly? I need #1 Son to pack up the Wii so I can take it back to Arizona to use. He knows all about wires and hookups and un-hookups. HTP does too but he always snorts at me when I ask him to help me with the Wii and other electrical stuff like that. I used to panic every time the power goes out because I know I'll have to make that blinking time light go away on the VCR again. Now...I don't panic so much because we stored the VCR in the closet and use a DVD player instead. Hah! Problem solved. Unfortunately, I still have to program the answering machine after our last power outage. I'm hoping that I can hold off until next spring for that.

I'm up early this morning. Well...not really. I always get up around this time. Habit. Yesterday I forced myself to stay in bed until 8 AM. There's really no reason for me to get up so early anymore. Oh well... Anyway, I did get up "early" this morning because I needed to bake bread. I made the dough yesterday but then #1 Son got here and I only had time to slip it into a pan and put it in the fridge. And then I forgot about it until about 2 AM and by then it was too late to get up and deal with it. It was fine this morning. It raised slowly overnight in the fridge so I just squirted the top with water to hydrate it a bit and stuck it into the oven this morning. Smells good.

I made the bread so I could use up all of my yeast, or at least, that was my intention. It's not like we really needed the bread...even though HTP wanted the bread. Anyway, here I was feeling so proud of the fact that I'd used up all my yeast and then HTP got back from The Store with three little envelopes of additional yeast. HTP likes my homemade bread. Let's not tell him that it's a special recipe which is also good for him. Anyway, I now have more yeast so I plan to make another loaf of bread for when HTP goes to the big city to see his folks next week. They like my fresh bread too. I guess I'll have to send a box of food stuff back to the big city with #1 Son when he leaves on Sunday. I'll add two packets of yeast to the list of things I plan to send with him. Waste not, want not.

There's no way that HTP and I can finish all this food in the few days we have remaining here at The Lake. I'm bringing some of the frozen items home with me. I bought some special gel packs which I'm freezing. I've found that it's almost impossible now to buy dry ice anywhere...especially here or in the city. I did find a place I could have bought it in the big city but that doesn't help much when I don't live in the big city. I need it here. Oh well...I've got one of those coolers that promised to keep ice frozen for up to 5 days and this gel stuff is supposed to stay frozen even longer than ice. We'll see.

After much thought, HTP and I decided that with the limited time that we have left here at The Lake, I won't go into the big city with him next week to see his folks. I've just got too much to do here to button things up. I'm working on getting stuff done but I still need to clean even though I'll have to clean again in the spring. I've never understood that but it's what we do. I suppose it's so that if someone breaks into the house over the winter while we're not here we won't get all embarrassed at how dirty the place is. Kind of like making sure that you're wearing clean underwear in an accident.

Murphyism of the Day

Simon's Law of Destiny

Glory may be fleeting, but obscurity is forever.

Noteworthy Quote of the Day

Education's purpose is to replace an empty mind with an open one.

-- Malcolm Forbes