Throw Away!

This is a picture of the inside of my Freezer. Not a REAL freezer, like my father has in his basement, but instead that tiny portion of the refrigerator where the ice cube maker is. It has enough storage space to freeze a couple weeks worth of meals, less because we tend to pack it full of the frozen pre-made meals variety (hot pockets, crispy chicken strips, frozen pizzas, etc.) ... and this package of frozen hamburger.

I discovered it in the freezer this morning, and it made me laugh. I guess I should be comforted that my wife thought I might poison myself by taking out this frezzer-burned slab of meat, thawing it, and then eating it. Or maybe she was worried I would poison the kids. :-)

Anyway, the idea of taking some food out of the freezer that has clearly "gone bad", labeling it "Throw Away", and then putting it back into the frezzer (rather than simply throwing it away) struck me as immensely funny this morning.

Road Side Assistance

Cousin Nicholas has one of those nifty battery-powered cars that the kids all love to drive around the yard. It's been broken for awhile now, but the kids take turns pushing each other around in it. Finally, cousin Jael decided enough was enough ... and got out to take a look under the hood. Made for a cute pic! 

More Signs of Summer

I think I like summer the best. Favorite memories are mostly centered around summer: vacations at Higgin's Beach, driving across country (twice!) in a tiny Volkswagon bug, working as a life guard and later the Waterfront Director at Camp Sargent, trips to the carnival or amusement park (Old Orchard, Canobie Lake Park, or even the traveling variety). In the summer time, days are longer, nights are shorter, and that suits me just fine.

Summer can be brutal on my computer equipment though. We don't have air conditioning in the house, other than in the kids' bedrooms, and I hate turning on the gaming machine when the humidity and heat are high. But that's ok -- I prefer spending that time at the park with the boys, riding bikes, playing some backyard ball tag, or swimming in the pool.

Are you ready for a real laugh? I was listening to NHPR on the drive home the other night, and there was a story about a Kickball League in Manchester, part of the World Adult Kickball Association (gotta love an organization called WAKA!). It sounded like a blast, and I think I'm going to try out for one of the teams. Kickball ... LOL! I can't wait!!

The Three Mousekateers

Cousin Nicholas had a birthday party last week, too. In the goody grab bag were these mouse glasses, modeled by Brad, and cousins Jenna and Jael.

When did this goody grab bag thing begin anyway? When I was a kid, I remember having birthdays for ME! I got all the presents. Me, Mirna, moi. These days, when I bring my kids to the birthday parties of their friends or cousins, every kid walks away with a bag full of candy, small toy prizes, etc. What's up with that? When did that thing start? Maybe my parents did it for my birthdays when I was very little, but I don't remember it. Is it only something that happens for "little kids" birthdays? At what age do you stop giving out goody grab bags?

Did people stop coming to my birthday parties because I didn't hand out goody bags?

Birthday Cake by Chef Julian ... BAM!

My oldest son, 8-years old, made this birthday cake for me. The day before, he asked me what my favorite type of cake was -- chocolate cake with vanilla frosting, was my reply. I have simple needs. :-)

The cake was "a little heavy" (I think he either missed a few key ingredients, or added too many, I'm not sure which), but it was made with love and absolutely delicious!

See ... it really IS blue!

At the beginning of this blog, I said to myself, "One photo a day isn't really that hard to do, is it? I mean, it's only 365 pictures a year. I can do that!"

Well, like many "new habits", I've found it hard to keep up with this one. Maybe because it's summer time, and that has me even busier than normal. There's always another project that requires my "urgent attention".

Well, at least I have the pool back, and I can take a relaxing plunge into it at the end of the day. This shot comes from the past weekend, when we had a cookout in the backyard. I submit it as Exhibit A and evidence that yes, the pool really is blue -- and not that greenish-black color from a few weeks back.

This is grandpa throwing #1 around the deep end. Behind them both is #2, showing that he's not afraid of the pool any more -- not even the deep end -- as long as he's able to cling tightly to an inflatable tube.

And behind them, in the far background, is my NEXT project. Can't see it? Well, neither can I -- where is the far end of my diving board? From the picture, the diving board looks like it's kinda jutting out from those bushes and shrubs in the background ... and it is. They're slowly advancing forward across the pool deck (the've crossed about four feet of it already) and if I don't beat them back, I think they'll consume the entire diving board ... and perhaps even the pool. It's about 80 square feet of brush I need to clear, and so far, it seems very reluctant to give up any territory it has claimed.

Projects. I have no end of projects. 

Childhood

Click to enlarge. Submitted to Lensday.

At Hampton Beach, they have this great little playground right on the beach. It's still a bit cold (cloudy, grey, rainy ... we've had our share of rain this year, Mother Nature, ENOUGH!) for playing at the beach, but the kids needed to get out of the house for a couple hours, and the beach is the perfect spot.

Rosey Cheeks

My baby sister and my (newest) nephew -- and he's getting so big! Aren't they the cutest?!? This was taken at my father's house at the party mentioned in yesterday's blog. Oh, and that object in the background is the Photoalbum / Refrigerator, on which pictures are placed top to bottom (sometimes 2-3 deep on a single magnet). 

Fondest Childhood Memory

Fondest childhood memory? Getting in my father's '76 Green Vega on Saturday morning, and taking the long drive (or so it seemed to me) down to Lowell, where my dad worked as a technical writer at a company called Wang. He would work all day (or "putter", as my Mother called it), and I got to play on the nearby computer of one of his work mates. Monochrome monitor, bright green text on green-black background -- but it was magic to me.

The corporate computer system had only a dozen or so games on it, and I played them all to boredom. One game, however, kept my interest locked: Adventure. At first I played it as a simple text game. Then I realized it was bigger than my memory, and I needed to write things down. I drew maps of the dungeon, of complex mazes, and of a magical land, far far away. I idled my time solving puzzles and evading traps -- there weren't any beasties to battle against, it was more of a spuzzle game.

It shapped my fascination for computers and fantasy games for all the years afterwards. And it's something I think about on weekend mornings now that I have my own 3 boys, who's imaginations and minds I need to shape (as best I can) for the rest of their lives.

Picture: My dad, opening presents at last week's birthday party. 

The Jedi Navel

Here we see a rarely caught glimpse of the Jedi Belly-Button, as the young padawan fastens his light saber, before zooming off on his landspeeder. 

Bumper to Bumper

My youngest son is fascinated by toy cars. I don't see him play with them very often, at least not in the traditional sense. They don't go zooming across the floor, from one end of the room to the other. He doesn't make "Vroom, vrooooom!" sounds as he glides them over the carpet. Rather, he parks them, bumper to bumper, like some Friday afternoon traffic jam in the middle of our kitchen or playroom. Then he sits and watches them with silent fascination. Sometimes the traffic jams are small (only 4-5 car lengths). Sometimes they are massive car pile-ups, stretching for several yards.

I'm don't believe children settle on careers so early in their life, but if they did ... I wonder what his occupation will be. Is he imagining ways to solve tomorrow's problems of mass transit? Is he lining up customers to his auto repair center? Is he the architect for the vehicles of tomorrow? I wonder what he sees and thinks about, with his cars lined up end to end.