25? It Sneaked Up On Me.

Today is Adoption Day. The day when I adopted Lady Lemon & The Ogre. I knew this. I bought cards and gifts for them. The Ogre got hers this morning when she dropped "The Girl" off at 5:30 AM. Lady Lemons is in the mail.


What didn't dawn on me until I read my wife's blog that this is the 25th anniversary.


A hearty Happy 25th to my baby girls.

How's That Again?

Today we stopped at Little Ceasar's (I can use the name since it is shown in the photo) and got a couple of pizzas for supper. On each pizza box was the coupon pictured above. It says that you can save 75 cents on any Sierra Mist Natural product. The kicker is, you can't use it at the place you got it. There is a asterisks that says "Offer not valid at Little Ceasars". Am I missing something? I just think this is hilarious.

Closure

A name that jumped into prominence on 9/11/01 was the same one mentioned prominently on the news last night. In case you were under a rock, or haven't heard, Osama bin Laden was killed last night in a fire fight with Navy SEAL Team Six.

This brings some closure to those who lost loved ones on that fateful day.

Flashback Friday #134

The Pink Jacket

Greetings one & all (I hope there's more than one). Today's post covers a subject that is near & dear to all shoppers. Are you the type of person that scans the aisles for a clearance rack? Sure, I knew you were.

During my Jr High years, I was in need of a lightweight jacket ( I honestly don't remember if this was 7th or 8th grade, spring or fall). While we were in Westerville, we stopped at Gold Circle department store to see if we could find me a jacket.

Denim jackets were the rage at the time (late 70's), but they were also pricey. In our search through the jackets, we came across some corduroy jackets that were marked 75% off. There was a problem, however. The colors available at 75% off were atrocious. They were coral & baby poop green.

I would chosen the nasty green, but there was a problem there too. At the present time, I was between sizes. The largest green jacket was snug. I could button it, but it left 0% room for growth. The largest coral jacket was a wee bit too big, but you know the saying "You'll grow into it". Needless to say, Mom couldn't turn down a dynamite deal like that.

If I had a dollar for every snide comment & every snarky remark about the "pink jacket" that I was wearing, I would have never had to work another day of my life. "It's coral", I kept telling people. It's not good when a young man is just entering manhood to have his manhood question because of the wardrobe he has. It would have been better to be cold than to be mocked, but you know how Moms can be, "Don't forget your jacket".

I was fortunate in that I didn't have to wear the jacket for long. I went into a growth spurt and grew out of the jacket in a few months. I made sure that it was in a bag of clothes that were headed for hand-me-downs.

Did you ever have to wear something that you really didn't want to?

A Day At COSI

On Friday, since there was no school, and both Lady Nottaguy-TYG and I had the day off, We made a trip to COSI (the Center Of Science & Industry). We weren't the only ones who had that idea. After a 30 minute wait to purchase tickets to get in, we went to see what all we could find.

When "Lady Lemon" & "The Ogre" were kids, we took them quite a bit. That was at the old location. They moved about 10 years or so ago, and I have been there only once since. Lady Nottaguy-TYG had never been to the new location.

Anyone who had ever been there before knows that are many hands-on activities for those of all ages. When it is crowded like it was Friday, you have to wait your turn to do the activity before you. In the Space exploration area, "The Boy" landed a lunar module on the moon, captured the Hubble telescope in the space shuttle, and flew a space ship using the expelled fuel to direct it.

We then went to the "Life & Body" exhibits. There were many hands-on displays about the body and how it works. "The Boy" seeing an empty kiosk, made a beeline for it, seeing that he didn't have to wait for it.

I was a few steps behind him, so I was able to see the name on the exhibit. I chuckled to myself, a thought "This is a place for learning. I'm going to keep my mouth shut." When I got to the kiosk, "The Boy" was already seated and had his hand on what appeared to be a rather large computer mouse. His hands were twitching in anticipation of beginning this learning activity. He touched the screen where it said "Touch screen here to begin". The instruction then came up on the screen on how to self examine yourself for breast cancer.

It took a moment for the idea to sink into his head just what this activity was. Then there was the moment of revelation. His eyes got as big as saucers. He jumped back from the screen and let go of "the computer mouse" when he realized what it was like it was on fire. "EWW YUCK", he exclaimed. I nearly busted a gut in laughter.

We also went on an adventure where you had to go through mazes and "perilous" situations (ala Indiana Jones") to find statues and inscriptions & clues to solve an archaeological puzzle. There were a few moments of frustration, but with the help of the COSI guides, we were able to find all the clues. Finding the clues was more fun that solving the puzzle at the end. I won't ruin it for you, you'll have to experience it yourself.


After lunch ($$$$), We checked out the gecko exhibit. I never knew there were as many types of geckos as there are. "The Girl" had to look in every display to find them. If you picked her up to see them, she wanted "DOWN". If you didn't pick her up, she fussed because she couldn't see.


We then went to the oceans exhibit. It was a plethora of hands-on water activities. I tried to keep "The Girl" interested in the grated sidewalk that randomly squirted water out different openings. There was opportunity for her to be absolutely drenched by the time we left there.


We had little time left, so Lady Nottaguy-TYG went to check out membership while I took the young'uns to places we hadn't been to yet. I had to hoist "The Girl" onto my shoulders. She was none too happy. When we got to the street of yesteryear (it's a lot like the old one but the similarities are different) "The Boy" was fascinated. The 1868 street was fun for him, but when we turned the corner into 1962, he flipped out.


There were things he was vaguely familiar with, but now he was able to see in real life. The dial telephones were a riot to him. Each one spoke to you when you picked it up. There was a working pinball machine that cost 10 cents to play. "The Girl" had to get down to sit in the spaceship ride. Both were fascinated with the old phone booth like the one Superman used to change in. They loved the Hula hoops.









We had a few minutes before closing, so we went over to Gadgets. We watched two robots doing a disco dance. "The Boy" found a catapult that lobbed balls onto a wall that looked liked a configuration of mazes, whirligigs & sprockets. The all moved when hit. "The girl" busied herself chasing down the balls. I got a text from my wife saying that it was closing time and we needed to leave.





Before we even made it out of the parking lot, "The Girl" was asleep. She was plumb wore out.

Flashback Friday #133

Making Panels

Welcome back to my faithful reader(s?).

Today we discuss a family activity that was was also a way to bring in some extra cash. Everyone in the family was involved. This activity was making panel for the tile company that Mom worked for.

A panel is like a picture frame that had no glass. They were used to display tile at the various outlets that sold the tile that Mom's factory made. They were about 18" wide, 24" long and 1" deep. These were filled with the various tile, so it was like a section of floor in a frame. Since there were many different colors and many different styles, we needed to make LOTS of these.

We would make about 50 every time we made them. Dad would take the wood and cut it to size. This involved using a circular saw for the backs and a table saw and miter box for notching the framing wood and cutting the angled wood for the frames. Once all the wood was cut it was easy to assemble them quickly. I was used to tote lumber and carry away the cut pieces and scrap.

All the lumber was arranged on & around a large table. Dad then used his air nailer to put them together. He could assemble a panel in less than three minutes. He then slid them to the end of the table. Mom & I were at another table staining them. Mom stained non-stop, while I stacked the panels that Dad slid down and took the stained panel from Mom and laid them in the yard to dry. When Dad was finished assembling them, he would grab a rag and help stain. Once the stain was dry. They were stacked in the trunk and back seat of the car. Everyone had dark brown hands when we were finished.

At the tile factory, they remodeled the offices and were planning to leave a section unfinished to show the difference. The boss was planning to leave a corner unfinished to show the contrast. To me, this didn't make much sense. I simply asked why they couldn't they take one of the panels we made, and use it to frame the unfinished section. The bosses looked at each other like they had just been handed a revelation. They thought it was a great idea.

We made these panel for years.

Spring Has Sprung

Thursday I picked "The Boy" up from school. I had a surprise waiting for him. He came out of the building, and his eyes got real big when he saw the bikes in the back of my truck. "Cool", he shouted, "Were going biking". I had promised him that when the weather was warmer an the weather nice, I would take him to the nearby bike trail. It was sunny & 68. Our bike trail used to be railroad tracks. It is nestled between rolling hills and a small river.

Although it looks barren in these pictures, there was proof of Spring all around us.

Here is a picture of "The Boy" at a bridge that was about 1 1/2 miles up the trail.

From this vantage point, you could see how high the flood waters were earlier this year. We were under flood warnings quite a bit. If you can look closely at the next picture, you will see leaves, grass & other vegetation in the upper parts of the trees on the banks of the river below us. From my estimation, the water was only about 5 feet below the bottom of the bridge. It's about 20-25 feet from the bottom of the bridge and the water currently.

Looking at this picture, I would estimate that the water was near the top block in the center support beam. That's a lot of water.

We rode up the trail for about 2 1/4 miles and "The Boy wanted to go even further. He wanted to venture to the next town, which is a college town about another 4 1/2 miles up. I looked at my watch and told him we need to get back because it was near 5 o'clock and supper would be soon. He sighed and reluctantly headed back down the trail for the truck.

I can count the number of times I have ridden on a bike in the last five years on both hands. 4 1/2 miles did a number on my seat. What added insult to injury was Friday at work, the job I did required me to sit 6 1/2 hours.