Puzzles

When you grow up in a small house with 8 siblings one things that you don't play with are puzzles. Hence, I never knew how to do them. 

 I clearly remember that the first time I worked a large puzzle (think 300 pieces), Peter helped me and he was six. That meant that I was 28 years old.

 For years as the kids got older, I usually sat on the sidelines and watched. I would try to help, but invariably a piece would be put in wrong. I thought that if I could make it lie flat, it fit. Imagine lots of pounding. 

So, now 20* years later, I work puzzles. And I enjoy them. I do 1000 piece ones, but I have only done one by myself. 

So it's cold out, the puzzle table is ready, and I'm raring to go. Wanna help?

You are not my Father

Whenever I go to the dentist, I'm always afraid that my father will appear. 

 Not, my birth father, but the father that hides behind the dentist mask and says, "You seemed to have missed this place while flossing." sigh

 Sometimes he may even become sterner, "You know, you only have to floss the teeth that you want to keep."

 And inside I'm shouting, "You, unlike Darth Vadar, are not my father. I'm paying you over $5 per minute to clean my teeth, so clean. If I knew how to get tartar and plaque off on my own I wouldn't be here." 

What if the hairdresser, tsk,tsked, because your hair was too long? 

How about pooh poohing over somebone's inability to do their own sonogram?

Sock sale mania

Yesterday, we headed out for the annual sock sale in Northfield, VT at Cabot Hosiery. We were an hour early and made it to just 4 people shy of standing by the door. Next year we're going to aim for the vestibule.

 Anyway, at 8:30, we headed on in. I made a beeline for the shot sock table and Russ headed up front to grab a bag. 15 minutes later and $70 poorer, we were on our way to the Mazzillis for homemade donuts. The grandkids helped sort socks and we are home today with way too many socks. The Mazzillis have a huge pile of mismatches to wear and destroy while doing chores. 

 I have dozens to give to the family and I plan to bring a large box of 40+ pairs to work. We like bargains, quantity, and great deals, I guess. 

On Thursday, we raided Penney's and filled a cart with maternity shirts for my clients. I think we bought 100, spent $19, and saved $3000.Yes, those numbers are real.

Update on Christmas boxes

I talked to my daughter and she relayed how proud the grandkids were when they brought their Christmas boxes to church. "They marched down the aisle holding them proudly, and then stacked them onto a tower of other boxes. They thought they were so amazing." 

Everything was fine until they got in the car after service. It was then that Antonia began to sob. They finally figured out what she was saying, "You forgot my present." 

Evidently, she didn't understand that she had to leave it. After it was explained, she was fine. But, hey, she's only 2.

Plays, some of my favorite things

For our anniversary Russ took me to see a play. I love everything about live theater, the seats, the sounds, the costumes, the energy.

 What I enjoy the most is the mistakes. There's nothing quite so fun as watching the clever way that the actors recover if they forget a line, trip on stage, or if the prop door doesn't open. I don't know if I could be so skillful. I'm afraid that I would probably burst into laughter. That tends to be my operating mode when I'm embarrassed.

 Witness someone trip and fall on their face? I'm there holding my sides. 

Enduring a class for continuing ed credits? Some remark made by the instructor will be misconstrued by me and I'll be hiding a smile. 

Let's just say that there are some of my co-workers that refuse to sit by me during lectures. They don't want to end up laughing.

 And me? I'm looking for a mistake. There must be one. On any given day, I make several.

Line dancing

At the end of October I held a small (4) dance instruction class for my nieces. I had gone on the internet and found a dance set to some Alan Jackson music. It looked doable if I took out a few spins. I am not a spinner. 

Over the next 3 weeks I found myself working through the steps while I sat in my recliner, ate at the kitchen table, worked at my desk, and waited at stop lights. 

 How do you say obsessed? Anyway, the night for the dance came and we did it!!! They actually learned two variations and we ended up dancing for about two hours with a nice break for pizza, salad, soda, brownies, and ice cream.

 I'm ready to teach it to anyone else who'd like to learn. I can see a future event with the whole room moving to "Walkin' to Jerusalem". Let's dance.

Bumper stickers

I don't have bumper stickers on my car. I don't want to offend people that might perhaps become my friends. 

Have a sticker complaining about other drivers? That'll be the day that you run a red light or rearend a fellow traveler. 

Pro-life, pro-choice, Republican, Democratic, redneck? As soon as you label yourself, you become associated with every extremists that is giving your cause a bad name. 

While driving recently I experienced someone misreading a bumper sticker. They read, "I love ME," then commented, "Boy, that person is pretty self centered."

 My reply, "I think it means I love Maine." It did, we laughed, and that's why I don't have bumper stickers on my car.