Category Archives: Fun

The “Deuce” is not on the menu

Food, Fun, Nature, ,

I mentioned last week that we got a new dog from the shelter.  She is a super sweet dog now that we got her all fixed up.  You see, she came to us from the shelter with parvovirus, fleas, ear mites, and maybe kennel cough (she has that now but it may have come from the vet).  So, first thing, I am pretty disgusted that the Kanawha/Charleston shelter doesn’t deal with it’s ickiness better.  A few months ago, they had to put down masses of animals because of disease. I have talked to several people who got dogs from there that had parvo and died.  Apparently it is a common problem for that shelter, but I think it is unacceptable.  I get that it’s a big and busy shelter, but gee whiz, it is what they are all about.  Parvo kills a lot of dogs, especially puppies, so not treating/testing/quarantining animals effectively makes them a high-rate kill-shelter depending on how you look at it.

Ok, sorry, I have strayed a bit.  So, Ginny came to us and within 2 days she was obviously very sick.  Many hundred dollars later and we are fortunate to have a mostly healthy dog.  But I wonder…you see, she has taken to eating poop from the yard.  We have some less-than-prize neighbors who let their dogs run and poop all over the neighborhood, but that only provides Ginny access, not inclination.  We walk Ginny on a leash every day and she has started searching out and eating other dogs’ poop!  Did something happen to her brain when she was sick?  I am not positive about this, but I suspect that poop doesn’t taste all that good (especially compared to the food she seems to like) so I cannot come up with an explanation why my sweet Ginny would eat every pile of deuce she comes upon.  “It’s number 2 Ginny…run away!”  Nope, not my dog.

She's sitting on Emily's back as she tries to sleep

It’s been a long time since I had a dog so maybe this is the new trendy thing that all of the young and hip dogs are doing nowadays…surely not.  No, I can definitely say that eating poop is a bad thing.  Come to think of it, I may have a new alternative saying for my kids.  No longer will I have to say, “Would you jump off a bridge if all of your friends were doing it?”  I can now say, “Would you eat poop just because all of your friends are doing it?”

Maybe I am being over-reactive.  She’s a puppy and I know puppies are crazy.  I hate to say it, but I would prefer she would chew on my shoes rather than the biohazards in the yard.  I guess we will have to work on her manners some.  The first trick I am going to teach her is “shake”.  You see, I can shake her paw without hesitation, but she is definitely not getting kisses from me!

Thank you Mr Carnegie

Adventure, Family, Fun, , ,

I grew up in NW PA.  We lived about 2 hours north of Pittsburgh, somewhat near the NY and OH borders in a little town called Tionesta.  It was pretty much a sleepy town…except during hunting and fishing seasons.  You see, Tionesta is an outdoor destination among sportsmen.  The number of hunting camps out number the permanent residences 10-to-1.  A large portion of the folks who descended upon the town were from Pittsburgh and many were not respectful of our peace and quiet.  They didn’t really ever understand that we could not have cared less how things were done in Pittsburgh.  I always sort of laughed that Pittsburgh was down hill and down stream from Tionesta so we always sent them “our best”.  Needless to say, I always considered Pittsburgh a smoldering pile as a kid.

My wife is a school counselor, but also licensed as a community counselor.  Being licensed and official and all that, she is required to get a certain number of continuing education units to maintain her certification.  The National Counseling Association held its annual meeting in Pittsburgh this year so we had an opportunity to travel uphill and upstream from Charleston to Pittsburgh so she could participate.  Emily was in meetings all day last weekend, but she brought me to be her arm candy in the evenings.  During the days, the kids and I had to find things to do in Pittsburgh.

One of the icons in Pittsburgh is Point State Park.  PSP is located at the confluence of the Allegheny and Monongahela Rivers where they join to form the Ohio River.  Basically, it is a scenic overlook between the rivers and it has a really cool fountain.  So, our hotel was in the down-town area (or, as they say in Pittsburgh-pronounced Picksburgh – we stayed in the dahn tahn area).  It seemed like a short walk from our hotel to PSP when I looked at the map.  The kids and I grabbed some donuts from the convenience store and started our trek.

Isaac wanted to launch Abigail out of the torpedo tube...

It turned out that our walk was a good bit farther than I expected.  The kids were troopers though and we started toward PSP only to find it closed and nasty from the recent high water.  Just across the river though, we spied the new baseball and football venues so we decided to walk over and see what we could see.  On the way, the kids encountered their first homeless person and had all sorts of questions.  We talked as we walked and, before we knew it, we arrived at the Carnegie Science Museum.  We have a membership at the Clay Center in Charleston, WV which gives us access to many museums through out the country, including the Carnegie Science Museum.  It seemed like an offer I couldn’t refuse!

We crawled all over exhibits and saw a robot shooting hoops (with a pretty good average).  We explored the USS Requin, a WWII-era submarine (can you believe it, Pittsburgh has a submarine in one of the rivers?!), and learned about cells oceans and volcanoes and flight.  In one afternoon, the Carnegie Science Museum showed me a different Pittsburgh than I had known.  The kids and I had a delightful time and can’t wait to go back to Pittsburgh to see what else the city has for us to explore!

Sleeping is weird

Fun, Thoughts,

Sleeping is biological and necessary and all that but it sort of cracks me up how weird we are when we sleep…by “we” I really mean my family.  I sleep entirely normally.  Anyhow, last night I went up to check on the kids and noticed Abigail in one of her crazy sleep poses.  She was a terrible sleeper as a kid but she seems to have turned a corner…most nights she sleeps all night.  Now she just seems to go into “bunker” mode at night.  She still talks in her sleep but it’s usually pretty interesting so I see nothing weird there.  Anyhow, in bunker mode, I think she surely must be protecting herself from Madeline.

Madeline, you see, is a needy cat.  She also sleeps weirdly.  When we first got her, she was very young and sucked her tail every night.   We took her to numerous cat psychics and analysts and, after spending our kids’ college funds on it, they concluded that she was taken from her momma at too young an age so was consoling herself with her tail…sort of like a kitty pacifier.  So, imagine your restless cat who sucks her tail at night waking up in a fit and smacking you in your sleeping  face with a tail full of cat slobber…it’s not pleasant.

Now Isaac is consistent in his sleep weirdness…he sleeps on his stomach under double the blankets that the rest of us use.  I am certain that I would suffocate under the enormous weight of the blankets but he seems to thrive.  It must be 110 degrees under there but he sleeps like that year round.  Actually , I figure that the heat from the blankets works like a kid-greenhouse.  The kid grows like mad and I am convinced that it’s blanket related.  He already wears the same size shoes I wear and he hasn’t even hit puberty yet!

I won’t give details on Emily but let me assure you friends, she is a weird sleeper too.  Now, I can almost guarantee that she is going to get on here and leave a comment saying some untruths about me.  Something like that I snore at night.  It’s simply not true .  That’s Mo (the cat) who snores.  I am a perfect sleeper!

Coffee will do…I guess

Adventure, Family, Food, Fun,

Well, Lent is upon us.  I still have my shirt after yesterday so I figure it will be a pretty easy going Lenten season.  I don’t typically give up stuff for it but my family does.  You may remember last year that Isaac gave up farting on the cat and Abigail gave up wearing Mom’s sparkly eye shadow.  This year Abigail is giving up chocolate…typical girl.  Isaac wanted to give up school but I told him that was not an option.  After much debate, he finally decided to give up graham crackers…way to go trooper!

Anyhow, I have had an ongoing struggle against caffeine which I won’t attempt to beat this spring.  I think a big part of it is a correlated addiction to pop.  So, this year for Lent, I am going to buck my typical lack of Lenten cheer and actually give up pop.  So, without pop, I still need a caffeine delivery system (I’ll work on that addiction another time).  The only other alternative to pop is coffee so I have been practicing drinking coffee and actually pretty well like it now.  It’s strange that I had to convince myself that I like something but I suppose lots of things in life are that way.

So, for special occasions like delays from school, we stop by the local convenience store and grab a couple of cappuccinos (Isaac likes them a lot) so we can be fully caffeinated as we greet the day!  Convenience store cappuccinos aren’t as flashy as “real” cappuccinos but at $1.29, I don’t really care…plus, they are just plain tasty…forget the purism!

At work I don’t (yet) have a cappuccino machine so I stick with the regular style coffee…strong, bitter and black…like my heart.  Most regular men would be satisfied with a regular-sized coffee cup, but, because of my caffeine disability, I prefer to drink from a barrel.  My barrel of coffee drains about half of the pot at a time.  I believe coffee will do…

Not only is WV wild and wonderful, but Isaac and I are as well when we are fully caffeinated!

luv and such

Family, Fun, ,

So, I am a pretty practical guy.  It drives my fashion (I always wear sensible shoes), my politics and even my romantical side.  I understand that lots of things go into driving our economy so I am proud to do my part and participate in the Valentine’s day festivities…but my practical side kicks in too.

Emily and I have been buying small things the past month or so and calling them early Valentine’s day presents (there were some great after-Christmas sales, afterall).  Still, being ever-so-slightly brighter than a toaster oven (which I also got in an after-Christmas sale), I knew that I had better have something in hand for the Mrs. come Valentine’s morning.  The boy and I went to the local big-box purveyor of Chinese goods and I quickly spotted my prize.  You see, Emily has been complaining about having only one small non-stick pan in which to cook my eggs and sausage in the morning.

China-Mart had a super deal on 2 Farberware non-stick pans and their bases were even coated in red enamel…and folks think I don’t speak the language of love!  I proudly placed my take on the cashier’s stand and she looked at me funny.  I sort of figured she was a bit jealous of the catch my wife had found, but I usually can’t read women very well.  Anyhow, we headed home and I hid her present so she would be surprised!

Just like a kid on Christmas morning, I woke early and fetched my gift and woke Emily and presented her with her apron and the new red pans.  At that point, things get a little fuzzy.  I guess she must have slipped getting out of bed, or maybe she had a nerve twitch, but somehow, the pan handle must have fallen into her hand and as she swung her arm to catch her balance, the pans whacked me in the head.  I don’t remember much else except waking up in a hospital bed with IVs stuck in my arms.

So, while my Valentine’s day was somewhat unusual, I am sure Emily liked her new pans and I saved us some cold hard cash by pocketing the pudding cups and packs of crackers that came with my hospital meals…all in all, I’d say it was a pretty good Valentine’s day!

Gather round the old “fire”

Family, Fun, ,

I have gone on and on about our old house.  There are a hundred (or more) things wrong with this place and we are working, slowly but surely, through most of th big ticket items.  The house has a great fireplace with a huge chimney that is, unfortunately, not in great shape.  I don’t think it is going to fall down anytime super soon, but we’ve been told by chimney-folk that burning a fire would hasten its failure, what with the expansion and shrinkage and all from the temperature changes.

Speaking of shrinkage, I can’t say the word without thinking of this:

Anyhow, until we get around to fixing the chimney, we won’t be burning any fires. But gee whiz, on days such as these, sitting around a warm fire surely sounds nice. Our house is a little short on insulation so heat is pretty precious around here. In lieu, of a real fire though, we have devised a new scheme to allow us to enjoy our own little “fire”.

When we get a hunger for hotdogs, we fire up the portable utility heater.  It is mostly safe and makes for a mean wienie roast.  Marshmallows work pretty well too though they smell worse when they fall onto the heating coils.  The best part about it is that there is no smoke to contend with as we gather round…

When Emily feels like a cup of hot cocoa, we don’t have to fool with heating a pot on top of the wood stove.  Oh no, we simply break out the hair dryer and let it blow!  She can have lukewarm cocoa in a mere 18 minutes!

On dental floss

Awesome, Fun, Thoughts, ,

I am Joe Q. Public.  I put my pants on one leg at a time.  I like hamburgers on the grill.  I cry when I watch Old Yeller.  And, like most people, I didn’t used to floss my teeth.  It’s a pain in the hind-end and it’s a bit gross.  I am stubborn though so when my new dental hygienist got on the old, “you have to floss or your head will rot and fall off” train, I decided to prove her wrong.

Clearly, this stuff was invented during the Inquisition

It’s not like I never flossed.  I flossed regularly for the week before I go to get my teeth cleaned and likewise the week afterwards.  With my Invisalign teeth aligners, I am supposed to brush and floss every time I hiccup anyhow, so I had additional motivation to floss like responsible teeth owners are supposed to do.

Dental floss technology...it amazes me!

I quickly found that the old-school floss was not gonna work long-term for me so I went in search of new flossing technology.  I found “the floss stick” as I like to call it.  It takes the guess-work out of flossing (did you know there is guess work in flossing?)  No more trying to figure the best way to get your big hairy hands in your mouth just right so you can get your back teeth.  No more accidentally cutting off all circulation to your index finger when you wrap it just a little bit too tight.  No, no, those days are over!  With my new floss stick, I can floss (and floss well) all the teeth in my head…faster than green grass through a goose!

The heads swap out so it isn't gross!

I haven’t yet been back to the hygienist, but I am sticking to my flossing challenge thanks to the flossing stick.  I am sort of torn…in one way I want to prove her wrong about flossing, but in another, I am pretty excited to have good teeth and to get accolades from a near-stranger as she dances around in my mouth.  Only time will tell, but I am sold on flossing now that’s it’s easy (and I don’t have to taste my hairy hands!)

Blossom Deli saved my life

Awesome, Family, Food, Fun, WV, , , ,

We started indoor soccer at the YMCA this weekend and the kids’ games were spaced just perfectly to mess with the entire day.  Abigail played at noon so, by 1, we were pretty hungry.  We knew better than to eat before the game as the floor needed to stay puke-free.  Anyhow, by 1, we were all pretty hungry so we headed downtown to one of our favorite restaurants.  It’s a local downtown place and lately has been somewhat flaky about when it is open.  We usually hit it on evenings and weekends though it really caters to the weekday lunchtime crowd.  That’s right…you guessed it…they were closed.

Anyhow, we were pretty bummed and more urgently, pretty dang hungry.  We stood in the middle of the street with vacant zombie-like looks on our faces, wondering how we would survive…what we would do to get food…whether we could bear to go on.  Fortunately, my lovely wife, with cat-like reflexes and an eagle eye, spotted the Blossom Deli a few hundred feet away.  If only we could make it the 100 steps to their door-step, surely they would have something they could give us to avert disaster.

Somehow we made it to Blossom Deli alive.  It’s all a little fuzzy, but I sort of think ants must have picked us up and were carrying us to their nest when some heroic patrons rescued us and drug us inside…but I have no evidence of that.  Anyhow, we got inside and…you’ll never believe this….they sell food at the Blossom Deli!

We were seated right away (I think they noticed our pitiful blank faces and feared a zombie attack) and quickly set us up with liquid salvation from the fountain.  Yes, you heard me right…they have a real soda fountain at Blossom!  I wasn’t going to push my luck, but I bet they have a real live soda-jerk somewhere too.  Anyhow, the whole place seems right out of the 1950s.  Inside the place is art-deco floor to ceiling.  A lowered grill sits adjacent to the bar seating and simple tables (like your grandma used to have in her kitchen) were everywhere.  Ours even had a nice, easy rock to it.  I think the only thing missing was a poodle skirt or two.

So, the less creative members of my family ordered hotdogs (all beef as Isaac likes to remind me) while I ordered my usual (see, I am the creative one!).  Whenever I go to a restaurant and I see a Reuben on the menu, I order it.  I am not sure why but I MUST order it if I see it.  So I ordered my “usual” and a cherry Coke.  When the waitress (I bet she wants to be called that rather than a server…it’s 1950 afterall) delivered our drinks, I initially wondered how she would tell my cherry Coke from the others’ vanilla Cokes.  Silly me, it was easy…she just sipped from each straw and knew right away!  Not really.  No, she simply looked at the color.  My cherry Coke was definitely red…and I think that red was either the fantastic cherry flavoring or the color of awesome!

Isaac and I quickly drained our glasses (he declared his vanilla Coke to be the best he’d ever had and he’s had a bunch) and asked for another.  When it finally became clear that we weren’t weren’t about to be hauled off by a creepy guy in black carrying a scythe, I took a look around.  The mirrored walls make the inside look much larger than it really is.  It’s really quite comfortable but cozy inside.  The waitresses gave great attention to everyone and I could see as the cooks prepared my meal…fresh!  Blossom Deli offers a daily blue plate special which I will definitely have the next time we go there.

I am sure we will go to our other “favorite place” again when we see it open sometime…but we now have a new go-to local restaurant in Charleston, WV!  Blossom Deli, not only did you possibly save my life, you nourished my soul (well…at least my stomach!)

(tap, tap, tap)…is this thing on?

Family, Fun,

Gee whiz, here it is 2010 already!  I haven’t been too faithful about writing since last year!  We’ve had snows and melts and we are back to snow again.  The temperature is only like 12 or something so it’s too cold to even go outside and complain about how cold it is.  The good news is that I have decided not to complain any in 2010.

Now if only all the dang annoying people would just leave me alone, I’d be set!

Anyhow, in typical style, we welcomed in 2010!  Don’t tell anyone but I think Emily secretly slipped into the broom closet during the festivities to down a few martinis.  I have evidence too:

Don’t her eyes look a little odd to you?  Of course, there are these too:

So, now on to today…we got the early morning wake-up call telling us that school was cancelled today.  So, here I am sitting here in the cold, writing this before I go in to work.  Everyone else is sound asleep in the jammies dreaming of sugar-plums and Dinah Shore and grizzly bears on roller skates.  The snow is once again stacking up and the wind and cold don’t help…but remember, I am not going to complain in 2010!  Instead, I think I will try to catch a quick nap and see what dreams turn up on my drive in to work!

Adams…Grizzly Adams

Fun

With the holidays, I have been pretty absent from all things Internet.  We’ve had family in town and really enjoyed our Christmas celebrations.  Last week, I mentioned one of my Brother’s traditions in which I participated this year.  We grew beards from Thanksgiving to Christmas, then shaved them off in pieces.  I had never grown a beard before so this was a new adventure for me.

So, without further adieu, here is a pictorial record of the transition:

Where I started...December 20, 2009
Gee whiz, my chin was cold!
Check out the handsome guy on my brother's left!
Perhaps a future in pro wrestling?
Yeah, I can't explain it either...

So, when Abigail finally saw me clean shaven, she told me she liked me better the other way.  Lots of people did in fact and that sort of gave me a complex…don’t you like the “real” me?  Do I need to hide my face under a beard?  Oh, the blow to my psyche!