Discontinued

Holy smokes, that is a bright shirt there Len my friend. (And of course there isn't a picture of it yet...)
Yay for no dance-off and yay for bringing back the encore number. Even if it's just for the night, it was nice.
And can I just say, since Mel B wore a pleather bikini and great coat, EVERYONE else has decided that that is the paso doble uniform. I mean, it was hot the first ten hundred times I saw it, but the blue number last season was really great too.
As for the musical guests this evening...this always happens when I like something. When Tarzan and I got married we registered for china and linens - both were discontinued inside of six months of our wedding. My favorite 'flavor' of a certain shampoo brand? The one that actually does what all the commercials promise their shampoo will do? Discontinued. The red dress that makes me look hot, can do church or parties, always fits and is comfortable just like the black one? Don't make it anymore. What is that about?!?! So I should have known once I mentioned that I liked the talent the producers had chosen thus far for the DWTS results show.
This week: Kevin Rudolph (who IS that?) and Boys2Men. Seriously? Though I have to give B2M credit for wearing suits rather than floppy jeans and backwards baseball caps.
I couldn't be happier that Sam was giving her voice a rest.
And it was just a win-win situation from where I was sitting considering the three couples on the hot seat. And I think that was the way to go. Steve-O was not AS bad as the other two.

This is me, judging the results show too. I think I have an addiction.

Back To Our Regularly Scheduled Programming

This week my review is on the night that the show actually happened so I feel good about that. Sadly, I am not so in love with the show as I once was. (Is it telling that I am excited for tomorrow night when they send two couples home?) The drama is completely unnecessary. The "real-life romance" is irritating. And I'm kind of annoyed that all these non-ballroom dances are being included in what is ostensibly a ballroom competition. I know, most people have a half-second attention span these days, always needing more! More hospital visits! Bigger! Bigger temper tantrums in rehearsals! Wilder comments from the judges! More unease on elimination night.
As you may or may not have guessed; I am not most people, more's the pity sometimes I think.

• David's lindy hop was tame in comparison to what I expected. I get that he's on the old-er side of the group so maybe it was appropriate, but he's so fun and funny usually I wanted him to take this dance to the extreme.
• Li'l Kim continues to bug me when she opens her mouth BUT the tango that Derek choreographed was in many ways better than the same dance by the country of Argentina on the Superstars of Dance show. The movements were sharp, the musicality was spot on and they did hold the character and facial expressions throughout. I will cry if she wins the competition. And not the good kind of crying.
• I really want to like Chuck. I do. And he and Julianne aren't as irritating as I expected them to be. (Don't shoot me ATL!) But something doesn't sit right with me about them. Their lindy hop was not all I wanted it to be either. Mediocre.
• Lawrence's Argentinian tango was okay. He seemed to be concentrating just a bit too hard for me. But he kept the mood and the sharpness of the dance. I loved seeing Alec in rehearsals. SO CUTE!
• What amused me the most tonight was when they ran the wrong clip introducing Steve instead of Ty. I really want Ty to do well, but I'm thinking dance is just not his hidden talent. He was cute and he does try so hard and he is improving and I love him, but it's not as...easy as it is with some of the others. Is that fair to judge?
• If you've ever considered a teddy bear doing the Argentinian tango, that is what Steve looked like. So really very cute, but there was too much of the chair. And it's so obvious when the guy just stands there and his partner does all the steps around them. That's not so good.
• Melissa's lindy hop was EXACTLY what a lindy hop should be, and what the others thus far had not been. So awesomely energetic and equally spread around for both partners. Really nice. Melissa is the one this season to change my initial impression of her.
• Hmmm, Holly's Argentinian tango was almost like an instructional video. Holly would do a step and Dimitry would do it again, and do it right. The one lift was awesome and there were times when she looked good, like those were the moments they practiced a lot of and then the connector bits just lapsed.
• Sam sounded really gravelly tonight...I wonder why, in a world that can make real things out of nothing, they can't find something for her throat?
• Steve-O and Lacey looked like what they were trying to play, I think; country bumpkins learning a new dance? It wasn't horrible, there are certainly worse, but it wasn't good. His timing was fairly awful.
• Gilles' Argentinian tango was nearly as marvelous as his other dances. He is very incredible to watch. The one detraction for me was Cheryl's dress. I didn't like it so short; the passion of the tango usually means the skirt swirls a bit and I missed that.
• Mark sure does play the nerd really, really well. And while I loved the athleticism of Shawn's lindy hop, there wasn't as much dance as there were tricks. The stuff from rehearsals this week was better than the routine I think.

This is me, with the weekly report on the dancing, or lack thereof.

Almost Forgot

I realize I will be posting another one of these tomorrow, but I didn't want to be behind a whole week on the postings. You know how it is. Your week would not be complete without my snide remarks about people who make WAY more money than both of us combined in heels and fringe. It's like pizza and root beer.

• While it was awesome to see Maks in the samba skirt and hat, Denise’s samba was the slowest I have ever seen…but I don’t think it was totally her fault – I have said this before and I likely will say it again, whoever picks the music on this show ought to be shot.
• Okay look, Julianne and Chuck, NO ONE IS SUPPOSED TO KNOW HOW TO DANCE, that’s the point of the show idiots, so stop whining about him not knowing how. And what was that supposed to be? I did not find a lot of foxtrot in their routine and there was a total lift at the end. TOTAL LIFT.
• Holly’s samba had the right music at least…but her shimmys were scary, and I have seen some shaking in my day.
• Steve-O and Lacey had the right music as well, but I think he’s playing too much on the sympathy vote. This is too much of the “reality” crap I don’t need. Just do some dancing for once.
• I love that Lawrence gave up golf for his dancing. And it was not a bad samba, needs a little more enthusiasm perhaps, but correct and his music was good too.
• Shawn and Mark’s foxtrot got a lot of effervescent comments from the judges, but they were right about it being fluid and graceful. She was almost too quick to return to the hold but otherwise, lovely.
• And that, boys and girls, is how the samba is done. Gilles and Cheryl were awesome. I really hope it becomes a show down between him and Shawn.
• David and Kym’s foxtrot was cute, and pink. (Carrie Ann needs to stop with the hand gestures. She really does.)
• Do we really need an ambulance EVERY TIME someone tweaks a muscle? Seems a tad much. We are discussing Steve and Karina – and their samba was not bad…exactly. But not complete. It was a little tight, I guess. And Karina’s dress was awful.
• I love Tony’s analogy of the foxtrot frame being like a martini glass and the head being like the olive on the edge. I am totally surprised by Melissa’s style. She’s really good and makes it look easy. If there is any justice in the world they will be in the final three.
• I really need to not hear Li’l Kim talk. Ever. Their samba was action packed for sure. And it was fast and sunny. But as I’ve said and will say again, I can’t like her. She’s crude, she’s brash, she does not sound educated and there is no way I am voting for her.
• I like Ty. He is so smooth and classy and so dang cute! I liked me the cowboy’s foxtrot. Chelsie needs to speak to wardrobe about her dress and the hemline however. Twice she fell, TWICE, because her heel got caught in her outfit.

AND THE RESULTS:
Does anyone else hate the dance off idea as much as I do? I much prefer seeing the best dance repeated than the worst dances done again, with nerves added in and the pending doom of elimination. I have to say though, Denise’s samba looked better. It had much better timing, though it was still a crappy song, and looked like a dance at least and less like flailing. I’m unsure how Steve and Steve-O were both not in the bottom two? I lose the Internet for one week and look at what happens. Who is voting for these guys? And they saved the bunny?! It’s all chaos in here people. Chaos.
I really liked Hall and Oates though those boys are showing their age just a tad – their sunglasses are BACK in fashion again, that’s how old they are. But great guest singers thus far this season. I know, week three, whatever.

This is me, keeping you current on the snide.

Bumper Boogie

I know, I promised this days ago, but that thing I will not mention happened and I couldn't.
So.
This is my opinion on the first elimination round for Season 8 of Dancing With The Stars.
OMG – Big Bad Voo Doo Daddy was awesome. I would watch the insanity of Julianne and the stupidity of Steve-O AND the dance off – which was just as painful as I envisioned it being – I would watch all of that many, many times just to watch them play and sing. LOVE THEM!
I am sure I will say this many times this season, but they kept the Playboy Bunny? Really? Men don’t vote. I would have thought she’d be outta there. And it was a tough call between the two, Belinda and Steve. Neither were too good but there were other bad dancers too.

This is me, with the first results show.

Weird Dream #27

Just when you thought my mind couldn't get any more twisted, I dreamt I was at a church function, new building, new group and I was alone, that is, no Tarzan. In retrospect it seemed like a rather young crowd for me to be hanging out with.
The activity was going to require the group of us to stand in rows, kind of at attention, take turns stripping naked, recite a poem or other famous passage and then get dressed again. I declined to play, as did one other girl. Everyone else was just fine with the whole idea, and actually, the other girl was fine with idea, she just had a medical condition that prevented her from standing that long. (?) So they proceeded to recite, while naked, randomly, and since they were all in rows, no one could see anyone else, except from the back. (I also stood at the back of the room.) This went on for about ten people and then we were done, with no discernible timer, or signal.
Totally random and oddly vivid since I can remember lots of details, even now.

This is me, daring anyone else to come up with weirder dreams.

Word From Our Sponsor

Does anyone else remember when commercial breaks were so short you had to race to the bathroom, hope none of your siblings were there ahead of you, and still not make it back before the show started again?
Nowadays – do I sound old or what? – there’s not only time to visit the restroom, but time to change a load of laundry and get a snack as well and STILL be back before the ads are over.
What are we teaching our children?

This is me, and the times they are a changin’.

Not Breathing

Okay. No one move, no one even breathe...
It is quite possible that my Internet AND my phone are back online and I can call people and respond to email and post blogs from my living room. But don't tell anyone or they might take it away again.
Jeepers. What a drag this whole ordeal has been. What I want to know is why they can disconnect my phone and my Internet in 30 seconds but it takes two weeks to get it back?

This is me, and this is the last time I will whine about not being connected. I promise.

Just When I Thought The Worst Was Over

This has got to be the most irritating situation of my life. It was bad last week but I had the Internet back and now it's gone AGAIN. I barely got to enjoy the freedom for a few days and then Saturday the nasty red light was on again. (I hate the nasty little red light.) The lovely customer service girl told me we have apparently been cheating the system for the last few days and they finally got it caught up...Curses. But the deal is we won't get it fixed until the 25th. Do you know how long that is?!
I know.
I am posting this from the local library. Which is an amusing option I suppose. It will get old fairly fast though.

This is me, does it surprise anyone else that the first thing I do when I get online is check my Mafia Wars status on Facebook?

I Know You Missed Me

Lest my integrity as a critic be called into question, I have not watched, nor read, any entertainment news during the hiatus, so my review will be as unbiased as it ever is. Because I know you were worried about missing my scintillating commentary on this week's Dancing With The Stars. You're welcome.

• Holly IS improved from last week, but really, how could she not be? She needs to smooth out some edges though. She and Dimitry are not quite in sync.
• David looked better in his rehearsal of the salsa (Since when did salsa get put on the list of regulation ballroom dances?) than he did on the floor. He was not as fast on his feet and didn't have as much hip action as is necessary for that dance.
• Denise's quickstep was not bad, in fact for most of it I really liked it. Maks is right, she IS tense, even her face, which is an odd place to be visibly tense I think.
• I really want to like Belinda - partly for Jonathan - but her salsa was a little slow. She seemed more relaxed though, which is a good step.
• I love Ty's new "concentration" face. And I really liked his quickstep. I was worried when he started but then the music kicked in and rocked it. He definitely gets most improved from me. (Was it not a tad premature Sam to ask what dance they are going to do in the dance off FOR LAST PLACE?)
• I love that Mark has no problem doing the girl's part in demonstration for Shawn, including the full body shiver. I think her salsa hips were not quite in though. She has the steps down already and the face and everything, but her hips are stiff.
• Steve's quickstep was not overly quick...But he does try and he is very funny and has such a good attitude and enthusiasm about the whole thing.
• Chuck and Julianne's salsa was hot, but it wasn't a lot of salsa in my opinion. And I hate the pants on her. But I always do, on any of the girls. Dance needs a skirt on at least one of the competitors. Chuck is right though, we ALL know what Bruno wants.
• Lawrence's quickstep was not as quick as some of the others, but it was pretty - loved Edyta's dress - and his footwork was better than it looked like it would be after the rehearsal footage.
• Why am I not surprised that Steve-O hurt himself in a tiny little stunt dancing, rather than doing the hugely stupid things he does in his movies. In any case, the dress rehearsal of the salsa did not suck, (is it wrong of me to like the short skirts with the thigh-high stockings?) and I thought it was a good balance of rebel versus regular steps.
• No matter how good her dance is - and the quickstep was cute - I just can't get into Lil' Kim. She acts well on the dance floor, but as soon as she opens her mouth her real life persona is just too much for me.
• What still amuses me about Melissa is that they have to introduce her as a star of The Bachelor because she isn't famous for anything else. I thought her salsa was pretty good. Her hands have a tendency to flap when she isn't holding Tony's hands but it was fast and the musicality was very good.
• Good color scheme for Cheryl and Gilles. Love the green. The music took forever to get to quickstep speed though. That's a little disappointing. It was well done despite that though, I thought.

I will reviewing the first elimination and what seems to be a stupid dance off idea in the next episode, tomorrow. I will confess I am more excited for Big Bad VooDoo Daddy than for the theatrical tactics they use during the elimination show.

This is me, late but still opinionated.

Hospice Here I Come

I am not sure how these things happen to me - and it's not that I mind, I don't mind helping at all - it's just that these are not things I would have chosen as talents of mine aaaand then I get asked for a favor and find myself in the middle of something I just had not expected.
Tarzan's grandfather has been in the hospital and then at home recuperating. The man is ninety-two, his wife died last year and we didn't really expect a lot of recuperating to be going on, but his children - of which Tarzan's mother is one - just wanted him to be happy and comfortable at home. They arranged for at-home nursing and a caregiver in the afternoons and things went fairly well for the first week. Then issues of a variety I was not privileged to to know arose and the afternoon help was unable to continue.
I got a call last week, right around the time the phone and the Internet pooped out, to see if I was available to sit with him in the afternoons for a few days this week. As I had nothing else to do during the day - Internet off-line, remember - I said sure. How hard could it be? The man was bed-ridden the last time I saw him and none too lucid, so I figured I'd bring a book, hang out, pass a few sips of water across when necessary and then go home.
Ha.
Ha ha.
Ha ha ha.
This grandfather is freakin' resilient let me tell you. I went down there last Friday and he was up and walking around, flirting with the nurses. This week he's been able to have food that's not liquid and that seems to have perked him up even more - should have heard the exclamations about the Cream Of Wheat for breakfast! But he's stronger, ordering people around and making jokes; he taught me a joke in German to share with Tarzan. It makes me happy for him and for his kids, and happy I could in some way help with the process.
I have seen certain parts that I could have gone my whole life without seeing - a certain sense of detachment is quite necessary - but it's a small price to pay considering the benefits...don't you think?

This is me, all set for a career in nursing.

Finally

Holy crap people, that was the longest week of my life! I kid you not, it seemed every time I needed something it was in some way related to the Internet or the telephone and let me tell you, I did not realize quite how much time I spend each day with either of those two items.
I wonder of there is an Electronic Device Anonymous group...?

This is me, hooked up again.

Unconnected

Is it amusing to anyone else that when I found out Wednesday our phone had not been receiving calls for who knows how long, my first thought was: what an awesome blog post this will make!
Yes, I am slightly psychotic, thank you for asking.
The facts are these: Tarzan called - my cell phone - to ask why our - house - phone was disconnected. (His cell phone was dying and felt I needed to know that so if I called and got voicemail I would know he wasn't ignoring me. Remember the psychotic part above? Yeah, he sure knows me.) I called the phone company - from the house phone, meaning we could dial out, just not receive - to ask what had happened. They said our number was being ported to another service provider and I would have to call to figure it out. So I called the other company and THEY said there was no record of our name, number or address in their computer and so they surely weren't porting our phone number. I called the first group back to tell them my findings, got a different person, naturally, and they said, they would try and cancel the request. That night someone called us and we figured it was all fixed. Great story right?
But wait, it gets better.
I got home from the food bank, where I volunteer on Thursdays, and found our Internet modem blinking a nasty red light and the phone didn't work at all. I called the phone company AGAIN and apparently it was after hours because I got routed through some little town in darkest Africa where the dude had such a delay on the phone he only heard half of what I said.
"My Internet is not working and neither is my phone."
"Your Internet is not working? Have you tried resetting in from the back of the modem?" (I certainly had, twice.)
"Well, my phone doesn't work either, are the two related maybe?"
"The phone doesn't work? Have you tried unplugging it from the wall?"
...
Anyway, I went through that futile exercise in order to get a problem number to give to a repairman the next day only to have the connection severed right as my helpful agent started to read it to me. Gah! So annoying. Do you know how many hours a night I spend on Facebook? I think you do.
There's more.
So Friday, yesterday, I called the phone company yet again, only to have them tell me the cancellation had not gone through, our number had ported and the disconnect order for the Internet had begun. And apparently it can't be stopped for 3-5 days; they could reconnect my phone, but I would have a different number. And since it also takes 3-5 days to set UP the Internet, I will not be connected again until Wednesday - WEDNESDAY people - and then next Friday I will have to call and see if they can change my phone number BACK to what it was before. Turns out the company they thought had requested our number - who still had no idea what I was talking about - has very similar request codes as our cable TV provider. The TV people had requested our phone number and disconnected our Internet so they could bundle our services in one bill - not a bad idea in principle - but I hadn't said do it and they didn't tell me it was going to start. That's the last time I am nice to a telemarketer.
In the meantime I am snatching time wherever I can, even if it means enemy territory over here on the other side of town at ATL's apartment.

This is me, a girl's got to keep her Mafia Wars score up.

The Sky And The Dawn And The Sun

This is one of my new favorite songs:

This is me, liking the cascading melody. And the crescendos of course.

It's Back, And Real-er Than Before

It's begun again. Weirder, zanier, far more hype and more conflict and less actual consideration for the conception of the idea, but I watch it, yes I do, because it is addictive. I suddenly understand the obsessions other people have for reality shows. I thought I was above such things because MY reality show was classy. MY reality show had dignity. MY reality show had a point, needed talent, blah, blah, blah. Then last season happened.
And look at what is coming down the staircase in this, the eighth season of Dancing With The Stars.

• I cannot believe they let Lil' Kim on the show. A shout out to "her girls in the pen?!" This is a family show people. Derek Hough is her partner and he won last season but please don't let her win.
• I wonder if Jonathan Roberts asks for the older stars? He is a gentleman and a lot less competitive than some of the other professionals. I hope he and Belinda Carlisle get their partnership in sync. She seems nice and humble - reminds me of Priscilla Presley. Ugly color for a dress I thought.
• Lawrence Taylor has the footwork - like the other football players - and Edyta Slwinska has stamina. That girl REALLY wants to win a trophy. Of course her husband won the first season so I wonder if she wants one to even it up?
• Steve O...all I can say is oh my gosh, and really? And if anyone can relate to - and work with - this guy it is Lacey Schwimmer, so thank goodness she's his partner. His feet were...there. And they moved. But it wasn't the steps he was supposed to be doing.
• The fates have been kind, Cheryl Burke has a young-ish, hot guy. Too bad Gilles Marini is not as famous as some of the others; he could win.
• Oh no. Oh nonononono. Chuck Wicks is dating Julianne Hough?! AND they're partners?! This season is going to be one long soap opera. And not the good kind. TOTAL lift right there at the end of the routine.
• This has officially degenerated into a ratings game. We have a bunny on the show - a Playboy bunny and let me tell you Bruno was drooling all over the desk. Holly Madison, the bunny herself, is dancing with a new pro, Dimitry Chaplin who I know nothing about.
• I don't think I am going to like Chelsie Hightower - she's very Julianne-y. I did love her dress though. And Ty Murray needs to loosen his hips up A LOT. He's so cute and he sounds SO cute. Love the accent. I hope he can work out the footwork.
• Who does Mark Ballas know such that he gets the Olympic Champions? And what is with the beard? Shawn Johnson is very athletic, but she's got to make new muscles work. Mostly the ones in her face. But she's got the elegance, and I liked it. I might have to vote for them.
• Steve Wozniak - there is a man I would not have suspected as wanting to dance. He's going to need some work, but the dance was funny; not totally bad. And WHAT is Karina Smirnoff wearing? P.S. Do they know they have two contestants with the same name?
• David Alan Grier - there is a funny man. I don't think Kym Johnson is sure what to do with the sarcasm though. He's SO deadpan. And I think she's been getting fashion tips from Edyta. It didn't suck.
• Yay, Maksim Chmercovskiy's back! He can be tough, but I love him. And he's so cute and SO good. Denise Richard's needs to save the crying for later in the season when the stakes are higher. And she needs some work. Her feet need some work.
• The producers sure don't waste any time cashing in on new celebrities - and this one has a huge sympathy vote - Melissa Rycroft's been famous for about three days. Tony Dovolani may luck out this time, with the replacement rather than the originally scheduled partner.
• The hosts are back and they are the same, Tom is funny, Sam is sad, so sad. And the judges, oy. Len still offers the most constructive and unapologetic comments, Bruno still needs to be shot, and Carrie-Ann still wants to be young and hip.

This is me, it's all the same reality hype, even dressed up in sequins and heels.

Late Night

Have you ever woken up knowing you didn't move all night long? That was me this morning. I slept hard. Don't know if it's because we were out late - had dinner with QC, SBB and B's 2 and 3, then went to drive some cars really fast - or because of the stress we're dealing with. Weddings, funerals, all that.
The good news is; tomorrow is stake conference so I don't have to do any lessons, or go to any early meetings, or sit on unruly children, or direct singing, or...yeah, it'll be nice. Weird, but nice.

This is me, a little bit sore in the shoulder department.

Anti-Fantastic News

Just the karma of life I suppose, that following something good, something not good happens to keep the balance.
My dad called today to tell me my uncle Jamie, Dad's only sibling, had died. His brother was young, only 47, and my dad thinks he just gave up living. Their mother passed away two +/- years ago and Jamie had lived his whole life with her. (Grandad died a long time ago when the boys were teenagers.) He'd gone to school of course, even college, but he'd never had a job or a girlfriend and when grandma died, he was all alone. He didn't want to leave the only house he'd ever known and move closer to us, so we were a little surprised he hung around this long. (Is that a horrible thing to say?) He's probably happier, being with his mother again, and that makes me feel a little better. I really feel sorry for my father though. Uncle Jamie was the last of that side of the family - it wasn't large to begin with - so now my Dad's all alone. It's not the same, I know, he's got my mom and all us kids, and grandkids, but Jamie was the last person who knew my dad as a kid, the last person who knew the inside jokes we all have with our siblings, the only other person to talk about Grandma - young and pretty Grandma - with.
I might be going back to The Frozen North with my dad, depending on how the arrangements work out, to pick up all the pictures and things left behind. I'll let you know.

This is me, with the sad news now.

Fantastic News

QC is getting married! And she's marvelous. Tiny - seriously, shorter than me, and about a quarter of the thickness - but marvelous. She's from South Of The Border, WAY south, but she also has family here and we met some of them at dinner on Sunday night. Really cool folks. Friday night we're invited to a dinner with different family members to get to know her some more. Poor Music Man, he'll be the last one - he's at home in The Rockies and only finds stuff out if someone calls him. Gamma is out here to see her father who's in the hospital so even she got to meet MLL - the finacee.
We're all incredibly happy for QC - this is really good for him it's already apparent and SBB is very cool - but we were a little skeptical when he said he was coming to The Jungle to meet his future wife. (They've been talking via video conferencing for a while and chatting all the time, but they were meeting for the first time this week and it seemed quick.) QC is like that - he throws random topics out there with no intro just to see what will ignite. It's a family characteristic I suppose, Tarzan has non-sequiter-itis in spades.
But.
The wedding is likely to be soon, and so Rocketgirl and I are kind of the go to girls for the party. Rocketgirl because she's awesome, has great taste in everything, and me because I'm a girl and I live here. I say that with no bitterness. I am not one with a lot of...current trendiness let's say. But the wedding sounds very classy from our brief discussions so far and I'm totally excited. Small, mostly family but really elegant I think.


This is me, helping to plan a wedding.

Dwelling

Now THIS is an interesting story:

Not because of the upside down mortgage - half the people in the country have one of those. Is it sad, sure, but dude, you knew it was a risk when you financed it that way - no it's interesting because how did they plan it? It sounds like it would be a great idea, only have to build half the walls with the rock as the others, and the idea of using the earth as the heating/air conditioning system is very renewable resource of the family. I wish they'd included some plans, or more pictures.

I really want to know how they arranged the living spaces:

Is the house only one room deep so they can get natural light to every one?:

How much of a problem was the electrical and plumbing work? Could they use the abandoned mine utilities? Were there any? Was getting the materials down the cliff a huge obstacle? Which direction does the front face and what kind of window treatments are being used for heat transfer? I hear it gets cold in Missouri.

This is me, interested, intrigued and yet, not tempted.

Advertisement

People, people, people, how does the car have any effect whatsoever on how the kid performs at an event his parents aren't even present for?

This is me, bemused by how dumb they think we are.

Overscheduled

I'm pretty sure I have asked this question before, but I think it bears repeating: why the "*$%^&!#%@!" does everything get scheduled for the same weekend?
Friday night was the Blue & Gold dinner for the cub scouts, their families AND any boys who will be eligible to join in the coming year. It was also the dinner/lecture with Norm Chow. We chose to see Norm because there were many other people involved with the Cub Scout thing, and no one else was going to walk in with matching jackets of the rival team and ask Norm why he left us. But it was a tough decision.
Then yesterday, Fleighund needed help moving, a parent of one of my church kids was getting baptized, there was a veteran's memorial program, QC was flying into town to see family (and a girl) and they were ALL AT THE SAME TIME! We helped Fleighund move because, again, there was no one else involved with that and he had a lot of crap to clean out and schluff across town. Fortunately the girl QC was coming to see arranged to have him picked up at the airport because there was no way we were going to make his arrival time. Sadly, the veterans and the baptism had to go on without us.
Tonight we're scheduled for dinner with the paternal side of the family and also visiting grandpa (Tarzan's mother's father) in the hospital. All important things but I can only be one place at a time - SOMEone clearly needs to tell SOMEone else to not plan something on a day that I already have something arranged. That's all.

This is me, saying spread it around mateys, spread it around.