Nuts

Me, sometimes I think I am nuts. Speaking of nuts, I was in Victrola Cafe and walked by a table where it looked like someone left a Mighty O' Doughtnut 1/2 eaten. If I were an optimist, I would say 1/2 uneaten. But there you have it.) I went to put my empty double tall split shot Americano cup away when I thought, "I wonder what people would say if I said, 'Hey, excuse me, are you gonna finish that? Yeah, the doughnut. I just thought, well, if you weren't, I like chocolate doughnuts with nuts on 'em, so I could eat it for you, that is only if you weren't going to eat it. I don't want to be a pig or anything.'"

I wonder if they would think I was nuts, took the community thing a little far, or was staging some kinda arty performance art type thing. We'll never know for sure.

The Metric System

We have a friend Kely who is over tonight. Her mother whom I'll call Julie, dropped her off with Kraft Macaroni and Cheese. I told Ellie that we weren't eating it. She said why. I said, "Well, there is 580 milligrams of sodium per serving. And everyone knows that one box is one serving." She looked at me like I was crazy.

She wanted to take a bath. I said, "No, you took one this morning."
She said, "Well, I get really dirty at school. I play in the sand and I got like 7 milligrams of dirt on me."

Tats

This morning Ellie thought I ought to get a tatoo. The troll is obviously having a detrimental effect on the child. A heart with a picture of her in it. Ellie, not the troll.

Today my mother turns 76 years old and no one is around to take her to lunch. I feel badly about that. But other than that I feel pretty good about her having a birthday today.

Met a boy named Asher today. I wonder if he has 7 tiny siblings with the names:
Ancer, Rancer, Ixen, Omet, Upid, Under, or Lixem?

The Upcoming Vancouver Olympics

I have been looking forward to the Olympics and cannot wait to see real live naitve Canadian kick some Curling butt, against that crappy South Korean Curling team.



Nothing, and I mean NOTHING, gives me more joy than laughing at another's stupidity, except perhaps laughing at my own.

I have some trepidations about those will be visiting our part of the world. The questions below are supposedly real. The answers, I pray, are not.


Believe it or not these questions about Canada were posted on an International Tourism Website

Q: I have never seen it warm on Canadian TV, so how do the plants grow? (UK)
A: We import all plants fully grown and then just sit around and watch them die.

Q: Will I be able to see Polar Bears in the street? (USA)
A: Depends on how much you've been drinking.

Q: I want to walk from Vancouver to Toronto-can I follow the Railroad tracks? (Sweden)
A: Sure, it's only Four thousand miles, take lots of water.

Q: Is it safe to run around in the bushes in Canada? (Sweden)
A: So it's true what they say about Swedes.

Q: It is imperative that I find the names and addresses of places to contact for a stuffed Beaver. (Italy)
A: Let's not touch this one.

Q: Are there any ATM's (cash machines) in Canada? Can you send me a list of them in Toronto, Vancouver, Edmonton and Halifax? (UK)
A: What did your last slave die of?

Q: Can you give me some information about hippo racing in Canada? (USA )
A: A-fri-ca is the big triangle shaped continent south of Europe. Ca-na-da is that big country to your North...oh forget it. Sure, the
hippo racing is every Tuesday night in Calgary. Come naked.

Q: Which direction is North in Canada? (USA)
A: Face south and then turn 180 degrees Contact us when you get here and we'll send the rest of the directions.

Q: Can I bring cutlery into Canada? (UK)
A: Why? Just use your fingers like we do.

Q: Can you send me the Vienna Boys' Choir schedule? (USA)
A: Aus-tri-a is that quaint little country bordering Ger-man-y, which is...oh forget it. Sure, the Vienna Boys Choir plays every Tuesday
night in Vancouver and in Calgary, straight after the hippo races. Come naked.

Q: Do you have perfume in Canada? (Germany)
A: No, WE don't stink.

Q: Are there supermarkets in Toronto and is milk available all year round? (Germany)
A: No, we are a peaceful civilization of Vegan hunter/gathers. Milk is illegal.

Q: I have a question about a famous animal in Canada, but I forget its name. It's a kind of a big horse with horns. (USA)
A: It's called a Moose. They are tall and very violent, eating the brains of anyone walking close to them. You can scare them off by
spraying yourself with human urine before you go out walking..

Q: Will I be able to speak English most places I go? (USA)
A: Yes, but you will have to learn it first.

Money Saving Plan

In Jon's Blog he wrote:

In anticipation of higher gas prices, I decided to buy my gas now. I bought 250 gallons. That should get me through the summer. I’ll feel pretty good knowing I only spent $2.89.9 instead of $3.15.9 or what ever the summer price ends up being.

Well...I have a money saving plan of my own. This is now Sally Anne writing, the Great Aunt of Noah, Angelina and now Christian.

I have been obsessing about bio-diesel and WVO for a couple years now. BioDiesel is not a money saver, as it is more expensive than regular diesel, BUT - - it doesn't pollute like gasoline or DinoDiesel. Several of my friends are running around in trendy VW TDI's, (turbo diesel Injection) smelling like popcorn. My friend Mary gets a jillion mpg in her little golf TDI. Lots of folks are driving old cool Mercedes, so many that they are now hard to find for sale and the prices are going up. A lot.

Anyway...I was thinking since I am now going to have to drive all around the state visiting farmers markets this summer, and I am looking forward to that quite a bit, I want to drive a car that needs a war to fuel it. This brings me to Jim and Norma. Jim and Norma are 63 and 60,and are getting married on Ellie's birthday this May14th, also mother's day by the way. He put on Craigslist he was selling a Peugeot for sale. I wrote him a note that included my signature file with my fancy title of Ex Dir. on it. He called me and tried to talk me out of his car, gave me his mechanic's number who also plays French Horn for I think the Seattle Symphony. Nice English fellow who hates Peugeots, but continues to work on them.

Anyway, I called up Jim the other night and ended up talking to him and his wife for an hour on the phone about New Zealand, living out on the Olympic Penn, physics and spirituality.

I am driving out this Tuesday and he is selling me his car for several hundred dollars less than he was asking. And all because he likes farmers markets and wants me to advertise biodiesel around the state.

This isn't really about saving money after all. It was fuel related though.

Easter Rabbit

This morning Ellie said to me that she thought I hid the eggs, or Mommy Heather did. But she had a very unsure look on her face. I said, well, I have re-hid eggs so you can look for them some more. She said, "Well, I think you do it. Or the Bunny. I'm not sure." I am letting her be not sure for this, her last year of babyhood. I am hanging on to these days of wonder and mystery as long as I can.

I am up in Stanwood WA getting Shorty, Fido...now Charlie, neutered. Gavin took a perverse joy in knowing his fate today. He had been annoying Gavin while I was away by being constantly under foot. Know that I am back home, he is less annoying. He is under my foot now.

I Have Learned NOTHING

Nothing, I tell ya. Last year I found two baby crows and a baby squirrel. What I learned was, it is probably best to leave them be. Their mother probably just threw them out of the nest to teach 'em a lesson.

So, this morning, I went out to the front yard and Thomas was chasing a squirrel into a tree. Nothing unusual here, except it wasn't moving. I walked up and pick it up. She was sweet and cute. You know, like a baby squirrel. Photo not mine.

Anyway, I put the dogs back into the house and showed Ellie the baby. Killed the fleas that jumped from him/her, (the squirrel not Ellie) to me. I put him in the Almond Tree.

I waited and peeked outside. The mother squirrel, or father as Ellison pointed out, was searching the tree for the baby. Upon finding the wee thing, she pushed it down the tree, rolling it like a ball. Then grabbed it in her mouth and walked down the sidewalk with her in her mouth. It was remarkable.

I also saw a wolf eel and a red octopus fight over a cave at the Vancouver Aquarium.
That was fascinating too.

English Bay, Vancouver BC

English Bay, Vancouver BC
Originally uploaded by sasadler.

As you can see from the photograph below, things have changed along English Bay in Vancouver B.C.

Vancouver's English Bay

Vancouver's English Bay
Originally uploaded by sasadler.

I didn't take this picture. But I did go to Vancouver BC this weekend.

National Laurie Alice Day

Today we have planned:
The Annual L.A. Parade
LA Stamp and Currency Dedication Ceremony
The Annual L.A. Look Alike Contest
and of course, the
Laurie Alice Golf Tournament


PS, for those who don't know. Laurie is my sister, and the baby Ayja, is the daughter of dear friends. No relation to me.

Anja Elise Webster

Anja Elise Webster
Originally uploaded by sasadler.

Stats: Born at 1:27 on April Fools Day. Really.
She's a girl
She has black hair
She weighed 5lbs and 6 oz
She now weighs, on day Two, 5 pounds. But she got to go home any way.
She smiled at me last night and is a genius.

Catchin' Up on Sleep

Catchin' Up on Sleep
Originally uploaded by sasadler.

I don't know how to tell you about partciapting in the birth of a baby without sounding totally nuttin' but cliche...so I won't. Needless to say, it's pretty awesome and darn spiffy, if you ask me, welcoming into the world a whole new little person