Which One...?

I've been going through old papers - and came across this old (yellowed!) comic strip that I've kept for many years.

It dates back to our early years of marriage - when Terry and I (both older children with younger siblings)... Both of us fully expected to be in charge of making decisions that the other would happily accept.

It didn't work out that way! And all these years later, the struggle hasn't completely disappeared! The big difference is that we're more aware of the dynamic!

Those early "formative years" of childhood are really formative!

Interesting Thought

I've had a hard time, this past winter, finding books that really interest me. I came across this one, by Bonnie Thurston, a contemporary poet and theologian, in the library.

In an early chapter, Bonnie Thurston quotes Samuel Johnson - whom I remember studying about in my English literature courses at university...  

Johnson was most known for writing an English dictionary. He is also credited with inspiring many poets of his day, who were his friends.

In 1750, he wrote: "we are all prompted by the same motives, all deceived by the same fallacies, all animated by hope, obstructed by danger, entangled by desire, and seduced by pleasure."

"ALL DECEIVED BY THE SAME FALLACIES" caught my eye...

If it's true - and every generation looks back at the "strange" ideas of their parents and grandparents - what fallacies am I deceived by?! 

I'll probably never know!

What to Do?!

I wanted to photocopy some papers using a printer I no longer use. I knew there was black ink in the cartridge, but the machine directed me to replace the cartridge, I had no new cartridge, so took the old one out and shook it a few times before replacing it - a trick I learned when using laser printers at work.

I was on the verge of putting the cartridge back into the printer when I noticed that it was oozing toner all over my hand... 

What to do?! I grabbed some paper towel to sop up the wet ink. Then I ran to get a plastic bags to put the leaky cartridge in before disposing of it.

Then I looked at my hands - stained with black ink. How to clean them?!

Google directed me to several articles on how to remove printer ink from hands. I planned to try as many as it took to get rid of black stains. Apparently Windex might have worked if the ink was still wet - which it wasn't!

A pumice stone did remove a small amount of ink. But I didn't want to further damage my already-dry skin by rubbing too long.

Next I rubbed my hands with a cloth soaked with a few drops of tea tree oil. More ink came off. 

Baby oil or vaseline might also help, according to another article.

They all seem to help... some - but my hand looked so dirty that Terry didn't want me in the kitchen.

Here's my hand 12 hours later ... 

At first I thought it might take a few days to completely disappear - but... to my amazement .... another 12 hours and my hand was completely clean! Was it the many liquid soaps in my regular hand washing at home, in the mall and in the gym that did the job?!

Amaryllis Bud Forming!

I was focused on the sprouting leaves of my four amaryllis bulbs... So I didn't notice that one - tucked under the pepper tree - was already forming a bud!

So I moved it out into the open, where I can watch it develop.

I wonder how long it will take to flower ...

Learning to Skate

I never had good balance in ice - walking or skating. But I wanted my children to learn to skate.

Now I'm enjoying watching the next generation develop their skills on ice!

Learners used to push around wooden chairs for support...

Now they have lighter plastic gizmos!

It's fun to watch them improve... 

And have fun, too!

My Father's Birthday!

Today is my father's birthday... He was born 114 years ago today in Poland. 

And I was born ON HIS BIRTHDAY, 36 years later.

Here's a brief account of our family's early life in Hay Lakes, Alberta, written by my mother in 1994, the year my father died.

Here's the earliest photo I have of the two of us.

Strange, but I have no recollections of the inconveniences of NOT having an indoor bathroom. And I don't remember ever falling down those steep stairs. I DO remember standing at the bottom of the stairs and yelling for someone to help me come up! They seemed so high when I was a child.

Blanket Forts

Some childhood games continue to be popular from generation to generation...

Like building "forts" out of blankets and chairs.

I remember my children loving it...

And now my grandchildren do too!