Monday, May 9, 2011

Highlights

I’m writing this blog post pre-coffee so it’s probably going to be a bit skatter-shot. (Is that a word?) Maybe I shouldn’t be writing without coffee. Oh, well.

Here are the highlights of the weekend.

Friday: I weeded the grass. Why is that I can grow beautiful flowers and my grass looks scrofulous? I think it’s my neighbors’ fault. They both grow weeds and are allergic to lawnmowers. Luke used to mow the neighbor’s yard until he got frustrated that she never cleaned up her dog’s poop—it was like mowing a field of landmines. Maybe that’s why she doesn’t mow, the ground’s got to be solid dog poop by now.

Saturday: We watched the Derby. Everyone rooted for a different horse, except my 93 year old grandmother who wanted to cheer for the horse Matthew was rooting for—they yelled for Dialed In. We were all cheering for our horses, and then some horse named Animal Kingdom won. None of us were rooting for him. We didn’t even know his name. I guess that it’s good that none of us plays the ponies. We suck.

Saturday, later in the evening: After the race, we decided to watch a movie. My dad had never seen Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince so we started it. My grandmother asked me, “Is this one of those Potter things?” I said, “Yes. Do you like them?” After making a Dutch expression of distaste that sounds like a cat gargling a fur ball, she said, “No, they are strange.”

For Mother’s Day, I got a lovely Cross pen with red ink. (I asked specifically for one.) My teacher/homeschooler friends and writing friends all know why, and I’m sure you’re drooling with envy. I am so tired of editing and correcting with those lame Papermate pens that run out of ink or goop it in piles across my manuscript pages. And even though I have a drawer of red pens, they disappear—stolen by my children who like red ink or don’t want to bother looking for a pen in their own pen box. And the cheap red ink pens that I do have get chewed on by a child who will remain nameless but has long blondish hair.  Now I have a pen that writes with a constant flow of ink, cannot be easily stolen because it’s distinctive looking, and it can’t be chewed because it’s metal. Yeah, baby! I’m moving up.

12 comments:

  1. Yep, some of those Dutch words are exactly as you described! Very funny! Go Animal Kingdom!

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  2. Does anyone know why blogger likes to change my font mid blog post? I've been fighting this for months--I'm losing my mind.

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  3. My dad was screaming for that other horse to win, I think it came in second. Can't remember the name.

    I actually Remembered Animal Kingdom's name because it was so odd. And it won! Good for them:)

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  4. Hooray for your pen.
    My yard is kind of heinous too because we don't use weed killer and it's pockmarked with dandelions. Oh well.

    Can i just say--you rock for using the word "scrofulous" in your post BEFORE caffeine. Awesome.

    Oh, and Blogger does that to me too--sometimes I have to highlight the whole thing, re-choose a font and redo the paragraphs a few times before it's right. What a pain.

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  5. Haha! I think I know what that Dutch expression is. I used to live in the Netherlands :D

    Yay on your lovely pen!

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  6. Blogger is just like some of our more stubborn characters: no matter what WE think it should do, IT seems to think it knows better. (Sounds like it's time to whine to your daugher again.)

    As for the yard, we gave up on having a "lawn" long ago. If the weeds are green, it's good enough for us. Now that the kids are grown, at least we don't have dirt baselines or a mini dirt-bike trail in the yard anymore.

    Heads up: I'm gonna tag you in my blog today.

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  7. Google tells me that scattershot IS something of a word, but probably not how you're using it.

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  8. My children steal my pens w/ impunity!! Argh, it's the bane of this home-school mom's life. I'd love to have a free-flowing red pen that doesn't gunk up. Hey, at least you have grass. I have desert. And I've managed to kill all the tomatoes I've planted this year. What's up w/ that?

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  9. Blogger in the "Compose" mode does weird stuff sometimes, which is why I usually compose in the "Edit HTML" side and switch to the "Compose" side when I'm done and mess around with the font styles/bolding/etc. there. Even then, random spacing will happen.

    Yay for your pen! I had to look it up, and those like quite nice. :)

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  10. Funny! It sounds like a good day all around. My mommy's day was spent eating out and with lots of family always a good combination.

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  11. Congrats on the new red pen!

    I have a few favourite pens that no one is allowed to even look at for fear of getting "the look" (death ray eyes) and it's so nice to have one that doesn't throw up its innards as it makes its way across the page.

    Enjoy it!

    Sounds like you had a busy and full weekend!

    Cheers, Jenny.

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  12. Lol can imagine how the Dutch words sounded. Your mother's day gift sounds awesome. ^_^

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