Does This Make Me Mean?

So the only good thing that seems to have come from the thirty degree temperature drop in the last 24 hours is the glee I experienced this morning when I let Caper outside. Watching him slip and try to gain traction on our deck-turned ice rink made me chuckle.

Of course, we all know Caper will get the last laugh the second I step outside and fall on my ass.

I Don't Get It

1. When renovating a house, does it seem smart to smoke your Marlboro Light and then throw the butt between the ugly green linoleum floor and plywood floor so that five years later some poor girl can clean it up while pulling up the carpet?

2. Why do people think they can walk across the middle of a busy street, where there is no crosswalk and have a line of cars stop for them? We are talking about a very busy street here. She didn't appear to have a death wish, but I could be wrong.


These are just two of the many.

The House is Quiet

So after a week of house guests, the house seems quiet and empty now. Caper no longer has his two new friends around and seems to be unsure of just what he should do now. I probably should do some cleaning, but relaxing on the couch seems like such a better idea.

Thanksgiving was good. The food was delicious. I stuffed my first turkey and even did a little skin grafting when the neck flap got a hole. Top three food choices would have to be the stuffing, the blackcherry jello with pineapple and blueberries and of course, my homemade pumpkin pie. Ooh, the butternut squash souffle was wonderful too! It turned out we didn't need a 17.2 LB turkey, but the leftovers the past few days have been great.

The rest of the weekend was spent working on odd jobs around the house, a little bit of shopping and the three Doerr women knitting. My dad said it felt as though he was surrounded by three little old ladies in a nursing home. Meanwhile, Pepper followed Caper everywhere and Emma slept, somehow commandeering half of the couch. Pictures of those cuties will come soon.

Sorry Folks

So I've been a slacker recently with the blogging and unfortunately with the turkey holiday in two days, Caperlove may remain stagnant a bit longer. Things have been busy here with cleaning and getting ready for the family and the additional two dogs to descend onto Thorndale.

I did take a break this weekend and made sugar cookies with friends. We did it up right and decorated with homemade frosting. Applying the frosting reminded me of being back in elementary school and using tongue depressors to spread out glue. I am no artist, but I am proud of the last two I decorated.

Go Bears!

Squeaks AND Streaks

I've been a longtime fan of WD-40 for its ability to get rid of annoying squeaks. But I recently read in Real Simple that it also has magical powers that erase crayon marks. There were two kids in our house before us and while most of the marks were painted over, I have come across several doodlings on non-wall surfaces.

Well, I finally found the little straw-thingy that goes with the WD-40 and tried it out today.

Brilliance, people, pure brilliance.

In the Presence of Stars

Or to be more accurate:

In the Presence of Two Men Who Have Been 240,000
Miles Closer to Any of the Stars than I Have Ever Been

But that title was just too long.

Back to the point though. Last night Drew and I went to the Adler Planetarium for a preview of their Shoot for the Moon exhibit that is opening this weekend. We got to wander around the exhibits, check out Gemini 12, attempt to land the lunar module (I successfully crashed into the moon), have dinner and then hear a moderated conversation between Jim Lovell and Buzz Aldrin.

So never in a million years have I ever wanted to go to space. I don't even want to fly to Minneapolis, so leaving our atmosphere is out of the question. And while the talk last night didn't change my feelings on outer space travel, I do greatly respect and admire the people who do. Ok, now it sounds like I didn't respect them before. I did. Just more so now.

Anyways. Their talk was very interesting and got me thinking about how little technology (compared to today) these men had when they went up on the Gemini and Apollo missions. I think it was Drew who said that there is more computer power in a TI-82 calculator than in all the Apollo missions combined. Yikes. And looking into the Gemini capsule, there were just a bunch of switches and dials to turn. All manual. Incredible. I can't imagine what these men must have felt when they were at the moon. They described looking back at earth as though there was a brilliant blue Christmas ball hanging in a black abyss. Pretty incredible what amount of trust, faith, intelligence and courage they must have had to go on those journeys.

It was good way to spend a Thursday evening. On a completely different note, if you want to see the most spectacular view of Chicago hands-down, walk out to the planetarium. It was absolutely stunning.

Fashion Sense

As two Omahan adolescents moved furniture into our house today, I couldn't help but shake my head in confusion as I noticed their outfits. Now if I was moving a crapload of stuff, I would not dress in anything special or nice. But here is what I would do. I would wear pants that did not put me in danger of tripping each time I took a step. I would choose to wear a belt with these pants and not rely on packing tape to keep them from exposing my butt. And I would tie my shoes. These things just seem to make sense and do not seem to require much thought.


Yikes. I think I might be starting to sound like my mother.

Call For a Change

So I HATE to make phone calls to strangers. I don't really know why, but I do. I make Drew do most of the calling to repairmen, delivery people, etc.

However, today I am calling all sorts of strangers in an effort to get out the vote.

Join in if you can. Whether you have five spare minutes or an hour.

We need a change.

Caper Can't Wait

Meet Emma, Caper's newest cousin!

Half Lhasa Apso, half Shih Tzu and all Cuteness!

Can't wait to see her at Thanksgiving!!

Interpretation Needed

My two dreams (summarized) from last night:

In a river on the back of a huge whale. I'm sitting on its head along with three other people when all of a sudden the whale decides to dive underwater.

Sitting in T.J. Maxx discussing the Bahamas and Katie Holmes with Tom Cruise, while Reba McEntire and Tim McGraw (I think) play a concert in the parking lot.

Any clue to their meanings?