Friday Funnies

A Few Things

1. Just to set the record straight---turns out, it was Sandy and Greg who left the sirachi sauce---it was Mindy and Justin. She says he puts it on everything! That mystery is solved.

2. As baseball season begins, this is pretty good advice.

3. A little morbid, but an interesting idea!

4. Did you know: 

Broadway sells more tickets than ALL cities pro sports teams combined! Now that's a lot of tickets!! 

5. I think this is pretty clever. 

Monday Mystery

When we got to the beach last week, I found this in the refrigerator:

Apparently, Sandy had left this after their week at the beach. 

Here's the back story: I've had recipes that call for a tablespoon or two now and then--not very often--maybe twice. Butch was opposed to having to buy a big bottle for that small amount. They don't sell small amounts. I knew that Sandy used it, so I asked her how long I could keep it. She said that she didn't really know because they went through it so fast! Now that blew my mind. It's really hot! Now, I can't handle very hot things. 

Anyway, after using it, we gave it away to Stephanie and Nicky. I guess we're the only ones who don't use it.

But the mystery here to me is: how can ONE person use this much sriracha sauce in a single week? And on what? I'm making a presumption here that Sandy, Elizabeth and her friend would not use it. 

That's a lot of hot sauce. I just don't get it. Definitely a mystery. I guess I'll have to ask Sandy about that!

Someone Special for Sunday

So yesterday was this one's birthday! 

That's. me on the left with my sweet little cousin, Chrissy. She's a year younger than me. Of course we saw each other all the time at so many family gatherings of our very large Italian family. But it wasn't until we were teenagers that we became inseparable. We spent every weekend together--either at my house or hers. If we went to her house, we usually babysat for her sister, Judy. We did that in exchange for rides to whatever "teen town" Bob Kuban was playing. When we were babysitting, Judy only lived a couple blocks from Steak n' Shake. Late at night, I was the one that had to run down and get us food. Chrissy would watch me from the front door. Honestly, that was crazy. I can't believe we did that!! 

I loved going to her house because her mom was an amazing cook. Aunt Jo liked it when I was there because I was such a "good eater!" Every good cook appreciates a good eater! Her Swiss steak was the BEST! Hmmm, I need to find out if Chrissy or Judy has that recipe! Oh, and they had great snacks! I could always count on Hydrox cookies along with a banana and milk. Or Cheez Its---they always had Cheez Its. And soda. We didn't get soda at my house.

At my house, snacks were few and far between. Mom bought snacks, but we kids ate them all up the day she shopped! There were so many of us that a pack of cookies was gone in seconds! Really! Same with pickles and chips---just about everything was gone in no time. 

If Chrissy came to my house for the weekend, it wasn't nearly as much fun for me. I think she liked it because of all the hustle and bustle going on with my six younger siblings. I did like the fact that she cleaned my room. To say I was a mess back then is an understatement!! Secretly, I think she liked all that cleaning!

Every Saturday morning started with us dancing to American Bandstand. We danced constantly and taught ourselves the latest dances. We had boyfriends who were friends. We even started smoking together as a joke when one of the guys left their cigarettes behind after a date. We thought it would be funny to smoke them all before they came over the next day. I never said we were smart!!

We had some great teen years together. Our friendship has continued all of these years. I look forward to seeing her whenever I can get to St. Louis. I always make sure to carve out plenty of time for just the two of us. She still likes hanging with my siblings and is happy to "tag-a-long" or chauffeur me as needed. I love her! And can't wait to see her whenever I can get home. Soon, I hope!

I'm not sure how long ago this picture was taken. She's the cute one on the right!

Happy birthday, girlie! You're really getting up there!!

A Couple Interesting Things

This is a beautiful time to be at the beach. We're having a good time with my bother, Matt and sil, Sharon. We rarely have any one on one time with them. When we are in St. Louis, it's always a crowd. 

While out walking, I went in to this old, historic cemetery from 1914. I was pretty surprised that there appear to be no rules. Here's what I mean:

It all seems pretty tacky to me. I guess the biggest thing is that I do not like artificial flowers. Also, since there isn't any grass to maintain, maybe no does anything here. I'm really not crazy about the astroturf. That does not look like grass in any way shape or form! Oh well, to each his own. I'm used to a serene place full of nature and beauty. I do like that there are a lot of benches if you'd like to take a seat and reflect. Still, it's a nice little place to take a detour on my walk.

Since we're talking about a final resting place, I thought this was pretty good:

Actually, I think this is good for a chuckle! We are a family of game players. Somehow I don't think our gang would go for it!

Friday Funnies

The Lifespan of Democracy

I read this on the web and found it pretty interesting. 

The Lifespan of Democracy

From bondage to spiritual faith;

from spiritual faith to great courage;

from courage to liberty;

from liberty to abundance;

from abundance to selfishness;

from selfishness to complacency; 

from complacency to apathy;

from apathy to dependency;

from dependency back into bondage.

Wow! That's pretty powerful. We can almost see it coming true. 

A Few Things

I'm trying to slip in a post before heading to the beach on Wednesday. My brother, Matt and sil, Sharon will already be there. This will be the first time we've gone together. We're looking forward to it. Butch has some fishing planned for Matt and him. 

I'm getting a pedicure as soon as I arrive. A couple months ago, I discovered Wilson. He gives the second best pedicure I've ever had. The first best I only got once. It was just my luck that when I found him (through my friend, Nancy E.--thanks Nancy!) he was getting ready to switch careers. He gave the kind of pedicure that made you want a cigarette afterwards--if you know what I mean!!!

Okay, on to it.

1. I love learning things. Yesterday, I learned something new from my eye doctor. I don't even know what we were talking about that lead to this bit of knowledge. He asked if I knew which city had the MOST fountains in the world. No, I didn't. It was Florence, Italy. Then he blew my mind with which city has the second most fountains in the world. You'll never guess. Kansas City, Missouri!! OMGosh! We lived there for 4 years and we never knew that. There is an area called Fountain Square--so that should have been a tip-off. Anyway, now I want to go back and visit through new eyes. Who knew? KC--the second most fountains in the world! I guess it's true, being second is forgotten.

2. All my life I've heard that you are supposed to drink 8 glasses of water a day--64 oz. But, I never knew why. Now I do. Did you know that you lose 96 oz. of water a day? We lose 2 cups through perspiration, two to four cups just breathing, four cups through urinating and most surprising of all--one cup through the soles of our feet!! Our feet! The numbers were a huge surprise to me. But the feet!?! I never knew that. That adds up to 11 cups or 88 oz. So, you need those 64 oz. of extra water. The rest comes from the food we eat. Now it makes sense and somehow motivates me to drink that water!

3. Another healthy thing I've learned recently: we should all be eating at least one serving of fish a week. If you do, it will reduce your risk of heart attack by 4.4%. Now I have no idea how people  come up with these statistics, but I read it in a health book. So, it must be true, right? I'm doin' it! If I never have a heart attack, then we'll know why! 

4. Have you noticed some of the new Netflix warnings? Actually, I don't know if it's new, I just recently noticed. I was aware of the normal ones: violence, nudity, language. But suddenly, I saw smoking on there. Holy smokes (no pun intended--or maybe so)! Now smoking is considered sooo bad that parents are warned of it before they let their kids watch any programs. If that's the case, then I think they should add  alcohol consumption! That's not so good either. 

5. Now this one is very close to my heart. You already know that I am a tea lover--and a purist at that. No tea bags for me (unless I'm traveling. And even then, I make my own! Thanks, Steph for my Sip subscription that introduced me to "fill your own tea bags." Well, because of Covid, my favorite tea room in London---Fortnum and Mason---has been closed. Still, I'm on their email list and they send out little fun ideas now and then about having your own tea. I already knew how to brew a perfect "cuppa" (look at me--sounding all British!), but I did not know this. Scone is NOT pronounced like stone. It's pronounced like gone!" I'm such an "all things tea" snob, that this goes to show that I still have a lot to learn. All I know is that when I'm feeling "peckish," I turn to afternoon tea! Picture me with my nose and pinkie in the air!

Friday Funnies

What I Buy Wednesdays

Well, I've been pretty busy since we got home on Saturday night. And I'm leaving today for a scrapbooking/golf weekend. We girls scrapbook while the guys play golf. Actually it's getting harder and harder to do this--even if it's only once a year! Where we go is out in the country with no internet access and barely any cell reception. Add to the fact that my phone needs to be replaced, I won't be able to get any emails. It's really hard for me to be completely off the grid. I get a little uptight when I cannot get or make calls or texts. I always worry that somebody might need to get a hold of me. Oh well, there's nothing I can do about it. Maybe when I do get a new phone, it will be better. 

I didn't have time to prepare any blog posts. But I can at least get this one done!

While on our trip last week, I didn't buy much.

I added two new Starbucks mugs to my collection. And I got some stamps for my National Parks Passport. That's it. 

We did some shopping, but I mostly stayed out of the stores. I'm too much of an impulse buyer. I saw some really cute jewelry, but I don't need anything, so I resisted. 

Have you bought anything interesting this week?

Some Things for Saturday

We had no idea that New Mexico and Arizona were so windy! I thought Chicago was the "Windy City" and I totally agree with that. But NM and AZ are definitely close seconds.

Several firsts for me!!

First time hiking to the top of a volcano. It was kind of hard for me. I had to stop and rest several times. Then somebody said something about the altitude. Yeah, no wonder I was breathing so hard!

Standing on the corner....just one more cool thing along Route 66.

The Petrified Forest.

My first time (and probably last time) hiking in a desert! I'm just glad it was such nice, moderate weather. I cannot imagine doing this in the summer. I was sweating a lot and it was cool! It was a lot of fun and I'm happy to be able to say I hiked in a desert!!

The painted desert was really neat too. We didn't hike here, just drove the national park road with stops along the way. It's so unusual---the colors changed along the way. 

The whole trip has been really fun. I'm happy to have logged so many firsts. At 69, that's hard to do!!

Friday Funnies

Five Things Thursday

Okay, I'm taking a minute to give you five things. We have been hitting it hard every day! Today, Butch and I decided to forego dinner so we can just call it a day. We got back at 4:30. I showered and collapsed! We decided to order room service--sushi--really hit the spot. Steph and Nicky are on their own. They are quite the "foodies" which is an important part of their vacation. Ours too, usually, but sometimes--not! I just did not want to have to get all fixed up and go to a lengthy dinner when all I want to do is relax and chill out! Win win for all of us!!

Here we go!

1. I saw my first moose at The Grand Canyon!! And, I didn't even have to pay for it! I cannot tell you how many times we've gone on excursions to see animals---only to never see any! I can't even begin to think about how much money we've spent. After I didn't see any whales in Alaska, I said, "that's it! I'm not paying for another animal watching excursion!" Actually, we saw pretty many moose today, to it was really cool. They were not afraid of people which made it nice to be able to get up close. There was another laying down behind this one.

Nicky made the comment that they looked pretty mangy. Butch informed us that they are just losing their winter coats. Makes sense.

2. You know how obsessed I am with book boxes! 

Well, this one might just be my favorite! It was built to match this church in Flagstaff, Arizona. Too cute!

3. Stephanie and Nicky at The Grand Canyon.

Butch and I. It was the most gorgeous day! We hiked the western rim for about 4 miles. We had a great lunch at the El Tovar Hotel on the rim. We had some great salads there.

4. We just don't understand people. You are not supposed to go off the path. Still, people break the rules all the time. That doesn't sit well with us. We are rule followers! Plus, it's just plain dangerous.

These guys were right up to the edge. With all the loose gravel, one little slip and they'd be gone. We saw a family who were encouraging their kids to get close to the edge so they could take a picture! We couldn't believe it!! It might be hard to tell, but it's a sheer drop off! Straight down, do not pass go, do not collect $200 dollars!! 

5. No trip would be complete without geo-caching. Luckily, Steph and Nicky enjoy it as much as we do.

What better spot than the forest floor at the Grand Canyon!

Do you see it? Look really close!

A chunk of wood right at the base of the tree! Right there in the open. You might not expect it to just be sitting there.

Flip it over and there's the log! That was a fun one. Of course Butch found it first. He stepped away and then I found it!

It was an exhausting day. We left at 8 a.m. and didn't get back until 4:30---just like every day so far!! But the truth is, we don't want to miss a thing! And, we don't!!