Give the phone back, Sara!

Ben and Aunt Sara were taking turns taking to Nana on the cell phone. Ben's never had so much fun! He's trying his best to get it back so he can talk some more.

Posted by email from Alright! (posterous)

This was just too weird -- but good weird!

Yesterday I was shopping for entertainment centers with my daughter Sara, ending up at Ciruit City.  I'd also been working with my son Mark to coordinate a family lunch.  He said something about going to the Gap to get some shorts. So, when Sara was finished looking, I called Mark's cell to finalize plans.

Me:  "Hey."

Mark:  "Where are you?"  (suddenly in stereo!)

Me, after a quick glance in which I see Mark, Kathy and Ben not 15 feet away:  "Same place as you!"

So, what's the chance of all of us being in a place none of us had originally planned to be when we started out, and one of us making a call to the other?  Not high.

Posted by email from Alright! (posterous)

Collecting Sticks

Ben and I have been collecting sticks. Now collecting sticks from the
yard may not seem very exciting to you. In fact, for you and me,
sticks are viewed as trash, something to be thrown away. But to Ben,
sticks are important treasures, to be collected and studied and
counted. Nothing except ladybugs and treefrogs have as much currency
in Ben's world. And thanks to Ben, I again have learned to value
sticks, ladybugs, and tree frogs.

New Haircut and Shirt

The shirt says "what happens at Nana's house stays at Nana's house."
ben does usually leave evidence. :-)

Burning Trash

Sitting on the back porch, I see that someone is apparently burning
#Ike debris in the distance. The smoke grabs your attention against
the pristene, blue Houston sky, because we don't often have pristene,
blue sky. And now I can begin to smell it. Wonder if it's going to
contribute to today's ozone alert?

What seeing the smoke made me think about was how much we have changed
how we think about trash burning during my lifetime. As a child, I
remember those 55 gallon drums that people living in rural areas used
to burn their trash. And when I was a teenager, if you lived in Denver
as we did, you were required to have a trash incenerator in the back
yard, and to use it.

Now I'm conditioned to be shocked when I see trash being burned and
dirtying the air.

I wonder what practices we take for granted as okay today will change?
I vote for mowing grass!

Some Personal #Ike Debris

Owning two houses has disadvantages, especially after a hurricane.
This pile is some from house 2. Neither house had enough damage for
insurance to kick in, so I'm doing what I can, slowly.

Looking in the Mirror

For Ben, looking into Nana's makeup mirror is very entertaining. For me, looking into the mirror isn't entertaining, it's a reminder that I'm getting older, that my hair's a mess, and so forth. Maybe I need enough perspective to find my looks into the mirror entertaining.