It’s no wonder I can’t get anything done around here… people 24/7. I accomplished not ONE SINGLE THING on the barndo yesterday.
I did get to watch my granddaughter play with the dogs.
And we solved world problems as she ate Flaming Hot Cheetos by licking off the hot outside before crunching the rest.
I helped Katie make peanut butter sandwiches with 5 loaves of bread for a fundraising lunch at the VFW tomorrow. And then I watched her catch a baby mouse in her hands (drop it and catch it again) — and lecture Merida for not being a good dog and doing it.
And finally, I attended an Otamatone concert featuring Colette and two highly talented Otamatones. Katie and I swayed with lit ignitors when Ben made a guest appearance.
TIL (Today I Learned): The Otamatone was developed in Japan and is a synthesizer whose body is shaped like an eighth note with sound emerging from a “mouth” on the notehead. (It sounds like screaming… sort of — at least when Coco and Ben played them.)
The driveway went in yesterday and access to the barndo was blocked until after 2:00 PM. (More about the dreaded Barndo Triangle on shelleyerwin.com.) Ben sent a text asking about the progress mid-morning. He and Colette were wanting to head this way. It’s like the floodgates opened once the workers rolled out.
Where’s the grub?
First order of business was for me to cook a massive breakfast. Eggs, hashbrowns, biscuits, and sausage — and again, it was mid-afternoon by that time. We were almost finished eating when the Peskies arrived to critique the driveway and see the “kids.”
Katie is a fire bug in training.
Katie arrived the second she was off from work. She didn’t want to miss the action but most of all she wanted dinner. And she wanted to make more s’mores. Perry was at work so she was in charge of the fire. She and Colette gathered the wood and after a bit of blowing and relighting attempts, she was pretty darned proud of her accomplishment.
All of that to create the ugliest s’more I think I’ve ever seen. Who would eat this (other than Katie)??
TIL (Today I Learned): Lucky Charms were invented by a General Mills employee who chopped Circus Peanut candies into a bowl of Cheerios.
Yesterday was Mr. Pesky’s birthday. I’m not going to reveal his age, but I will say he looks good to be so ancient. 😉 We celebrated with a Chinese smorgasbord and no cake.
Another photo op?
We always try to do a group photo at all get-togethers and this day was no different. We really stink when it comes to setting up a phone camera. Obviously. And the sun was our enemy.
Did you notice the birthday boy hiding in the photos at HIS birthday celebration. 🙄
It was 95 degrees in the shade when we started posing for our photos. We took three different groups of them — moving the phone/camera or our bodies each time. We were sweaty and the only reason we didn’t stop after a couple photos is because they were so bad.
In the first group, we were all directly in the sun causing blowout (white blank spots on our heads). We moved forward out of the sun in the second grouping. This move produced the best photos of the birthday boy but we moved so far forward that Ben’s head was cut off in every single one.
Even bad photos are better than none at all. Right?
TIL (Today I Learned): In 2006, a mother and son were convicted of trying to extort money from Cracker Barrel by claiming they found a dead mouse in her soup. Charges were filed after a necropsy showed the mouse had no soup in its lungs and had not been cooked, signs that it was dropped into the soup after its death.
While I’m listing facts, I will also tell you that medium-sized birthday cakes are $20. TWENTY DOLLARS, you guys! Making it even worse is the fact that I arrived too late to have the traditional, “Happy birthday, Colette” written on it. So I bought a tube of icing and made it the ugliest cake ever.
Our birthday tradition is that the one celebrating chooses their favorite restaurant. We loaded up and headed north to Taku Japanese Steakhouse in Columbus. Ben and I were less than thrilled, but it was indeed Coco’s special day and she just happens to like the same exact thing Perry does.
For the record, when you’re 12, you order filet mignon in adult size for lunch like a boss. So… I did too. 😉
Besides really, REALLY good food, everyone seated at our hibachi table sang ‘happy birthday’ to Coco — even the family that didn’t speak English. Then our teppanyaki chef squirted lemon juice in her mouth. Of course, she thought that was the coolest thing ever — even better than the broccoli he launched at her that she missed at least 5 times.
Even the outside atmosphere in the 4th Street Commons, Parks & Recreation area is nice. Walking the brick roadway to the nearby coffee shop was fun — and I saw a Mexican place there that I’ve yet to try called Luciana’s Mexican Restaurant and Cantina. That’s on the list!!
We finished off the day back home with cake and ice-cream. The Peskies were invited. Mr. Pesky is camera shy… I ended up with him as background visuals only in one shot.
Ms. Pesky is feeling great again… and looked so pretty today!
Celebrating one more time tomorrow, and then it’s back to the doctor with Mom (another new doctor) on Monday morning.
Happy birthday, Colette — and happy weekend to you!
TIL (Today I Learned): Dr Seuss studied English at the University of Oxford, with a plan to eventually become a professor there. Instead, he dropped out when he realized drawing was his only passion and moved back to the US to become a cartoonist.
My favorite brother spoke yesterday at an event in Cincinnati and drove to the Ville to see Ms. Pesky before returning to Las Vegas. I took a few photos after having a really difficult time finding a good spot for the phone/camera. In the photo below, I’m pretty sure Ben was humoring me, I was surprised, Mom was wondering if it was going to work, and Scott was just happy to be in his hometown…
We were a bit better prepared for this one. It’s after I had to remind Mom to stop looking around at everyone else and instead look at where the phone/camera was. I almost got grounded. Again.
But the best photo of all was this one…
Captain Jack VS Mera
I watched most of yesterday’s Depp/Heard trial — it was over early. Amber talked about being an American and did everything but wave our country’s flag while saying that she’s received threats to put her baby in a microwave. Listen… I think she’s conniving. I think she’s a mean girl. I think she’s exaggerating. I think she would step on her own sister to get what she wants (and probably has in actuality). But even if she set this in motion, this trial has been hard for her.
Johnny was (is?) a drug abuser. A drug abuser with an endless supply of cash, fans, and people to cater to his every whim. Anyone that’s ever had an addict in their family knows how hard it is to love them… and what they’re capable of when they’re using. This trial has also been hard for him, but he asked for it in an attempt to clear his name.
Life is too short to be either one of them.
Closing arguments today — 2 hours for each side — then the case goes to the jury. If they don’t render an opinion by end of the court day, they’ll return on Tuesday to continue deliberating. Here’s guessing I won’t be talking about the trial until next week.
TIL (Today I Learned): Possums don’t “play dead.” They actually pass out due to fear of predators. They go into shock and faint when confronted, involuntarily. They are in a catatonic state until they become conscious again.
