7 Quick Takes (Vol 40)

It is hard to believe that I have been participating in this little weekly project for 40 weeks. Where has all the time gone? Remember to click on the picture above to waft gently over to Conversion Diary to see what all the other "Quick Takers" are doing.

-1-

What is it about shredders that is so fun. I mean, it is just an excellent thing to stand in front of the paper shredder with a whole stack of stuff that has to be shredded.

Turn on the shredder, hear the lovely hummmmmmmm
Feed in the paper and hear the shredder do it's work Crunch, crunch, crunch
Or better yet! Feed in a CD and hear the machine go, "Nohm, nohm, nohm" as it chews through the disk.

Oh, it just gives me shivers. Perhaps I should be working for some company that needs to shred things. ACORN perhaps?

-2-

Random Things seen around town this week:
- a guitar pick on the ground by the gas station. Was someone strumming on the old geetar while filling up the buggy?
- one of those foam toe separators that you use when you paint your toenails. It was laying on the ground in front of the automatic sliding doors at the local Wally Mart.
- one flip flop in the middle of the road. How do people lose one shoe in the middle of the road?
- a discarded doll by the side of the road. My guess is that some child threw it out the window and mom never knew.

-3-

I am finding it very interesting to see new "Facebook friends" crop up on Shoe Queen's profile. That is the thing that happens when your kids go off to college. All of a sudden there are people in her friends that I have no idea who these people are. And then there are photos of her in places and with people that I do not know (don't worry, she isn't doing anything that she shouldn't). It is a strange and sometimes unsettling thing to see. It is a part of growing up and I am grateful that all three progeny "friended" me right off the bat, AND that many of their friends "friended" me as well. But strange none the less.

And may I say that if you have 1,000+ friends in Facebook you cannot POSSIBLY be able to manage that many friends. Or even remember who all your friends are. Overkill perhaps?

-4-

Do you have things in your life that you really don't like to do now, when you are an adult, that you really enjoyed doing as a child? Think about it and I bet you can come up with some. For me, the one that I can think of right off the bat is ironing. I distinctly remember ironing for hours on end when I was younger. Pillow cases, handkerchiefs, whatever I could and whatever my mom would let me. But now I will go A LONG TIME in between sessions of ironing. I just really don't like it. It is tedious.

Of course this doesn't apply when I get the iron out because I am doing some kind of sewing project. It is only when I have to iron clothes or table cloths or something like that. Which I have to go and do now.

And just as an aside. Polyester Barbie clothes DO NOT iron well. They tend to melt. I just thought I would let you know that fact. I learned it through hard and sad experience at a time long ago and far away.....and it wasn't even a Barbie dress that belonged to me. Not a good day or play session.

-5-

Do you have an ipod or some similar device? I love my ipod but my eclectic taste in music is a constant source of amusement to HHBL. What can I say, I have eclectic taste. The only thing I don't listen to is rap, everything else is fair game.

This is what came up on the ipod in the time it took me to drive home from a dinner meeting last night

Come On Get Higher - Matt Nathanson, Rock
Don't Rain on My Parade - Barbara Streisand, soundtrack of Funny Girl
Dooley - The Dillards, Bluegrass
In Her Eyes - Josh Gorban, yummy
Miracle of Hope - Michelle Wagner, Christian
Sexual Healing - Marvin Gaye, so sue me I like this song
Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy - The Puppini Sisters
Sosban fach - Bryn Terfel, opera singer singing Welsh songs

-6-

Tomorrow starts the annual garden clean out, not my favorite aspect of having flowers and all sorts of other growing things. However, it must be done and I always feel better when it is finished. Isn't that always the way with things that we don't like doing. We know that it has to be done and it isn't something that we want to do. If we let it just stay undone it makes us unhappy and when we finally get it done it feels so much better.

Now if the rain that is predicted for tomorrow will just hold off until Sunday. I have worked in the garden in the rain before but I would prefer not.

Besides, we are going to a local "battle of the marching bands" at the high school and I don't want rain to mess that up. Stop looking at me funny!

-7-

Talked to The Engaged One this week. It always amazes me that we can call her cell phone and she answers loud and clear all the way in Uganda! She is having life experiences I can tell you. She is currently staying with a "host family" in a home that has three rooms. There is a main room where all the actual living is done. Then there is a bedroom where the three youngest children sleep. And then TEO sleeps in the other bedroom with the mother of the family. The father is not present in the home. They don't have electricity most of the time and only have meat once a week or so. She is certainly learning alot.

Have a great week everyone and go and take some pictures. I am taking my camera on my walk around the lake this morning and am hoping that the Great Blue Heron will be out again. If so then you will see the pictures!