Trivial Pursuits But Hey.....

There are so many important events taking place in the world. But after major surgery, your own personal world shrinks down to what feels good and what doesn't. Thus this blog entry.

We went to a restaurant which I won't mention, but those of you who know where I live know it is just down the main drag from McDonald's and has a teepee in front of it. It was raining icy rain and due to the blood thinners I'm on, I was chilled to the bone. Plus my appetite isn't so keen. So when we ordered our food, I decided shrimp would go down easy, although it was a bit of an extravagance, I can only eat like a half dinner at a time so I figured it would be worth it.

Well, the cole slaw came and it was like mayonnaise-saturated mush. Any plant fiber was long gone from the dish, so I kinda shoved it aside and hoped the entree would be better. The shrimp came, and I noticed it was dark brown and the first bite was like way too crunchy. Overdone, tasteless, and overpriced. I tried peeling off the crust but it was still tasteless and not moist at all. So, I told the waitress. They hammered away at me, insisting over and over they would bring me a replacement shrimp dinner. By that time, I just wanted to leave. You know, I wasn't really enjoying myself that much anyway. The fries were not bad, and I filled up on a handful or so.

But I let them try to make it right. So about 15 minutes later, the dish comes back out. And to my absolute astonishment, the shrimp looked EXACTLY the same...and it tasted the same and CRUNCHED the same, too! I looked at Fritz and he looked at me, and we were like "DUH!"

As I said, almost anything that happened that day was much more newsworthy than a bad meal. I just wanted to say, "What the HE>>!? Is this some kind of joke? Am I on Punk'd or Candid Camera, or Boiling Points?" Anyway, I know we have all had these unfortunate experiences. Feel free to tell me yours.

Christmas Eve Family Fun

This was Jamie's idea...we always make the kids sing us a carol before we let them open their presents...but they always say they don't know the words. So Jamie downloaded the lyrics to a carol and printed out copies for them...ha ha! It was "The 12 Days of Christmas"!!!! Brilliant. Oh, the kids did a pretty good job. They went flat and dragged some due to their reluctance, but we goaded them on, and pretty soon they started sounding pretty darn good.

Okay, I did drop Mike on his head when he was a baby. The deal was, I wanted to rock him in a little rocking chair we had, but I wanted the chair to be over by the stove. So I tried to carry Mike while dragging the rocking chair along. I was about 5 or 6 and small for my age. About halfway across the room, I knew I was going to have to drop either Mike or the rocking chair. I distinctively remember pondering which one to drop. Well, I don't remember what series of mental computations resulted in my deciding to drop Mike. But I did.

He cried, of course, and I got in trouble. As you can see from his kindergarten picture, there was permanent damage. Notice the definite jacking of the jaw to the left, and the prominent flap of the ears. Also the shadowy dent in the upper forehead, and the look of a dazed animal in the eyes. Above his head, there is a yellowy-brown stain looking cloud thing that followed him around for years, undoubtedly a result of the depression and persecution complex that is still evident to this day. Also, the buttoned up shirt and suspenders attest to his paranoia about his clothes falling off. He never let me forget it. So here is my official apology: Sorry, Mike! Really! I don't know what I was thinking. Now get over it, okay?

Christmas Memories

When this picture was taken, the Squire kids were about ages 3 t0 maybe 11 or 12. We lived in a 3 bedroom cottage converted to a year-round house in Blue Lake Township, which was about a mile from a little village called Lakewood Club. My Grandma's sister Myrtle Devering must have worked year-round to make us these nightgowns, which she sewed for us just about every Christmas. They were made of a rich, soft flannel. Each child's gown had a special print, for instance: kittens, cowboys and Indians, horses, etc. They were complete with collars, facings, buttons and or snaps, with ruffled sleeves and bottoms for the girls. We were so thrilled to have these soft, warm nightgowns. But she didn't stop there! She made us two apiece! And usually there was a huge bag of popcorn balls to go along with the other goodies she made. As an adult, I can only imagine the time and effort she spent making 2 nightgowns apiece for us just about every year. It must have taken such a long time, and infinite patience to get each one so perfectly made. But it remains one of my favorite Christmas memories. Even though Aunt Myrtle passed away when I was barely grown, I remember her as being loving and extremely fruitful, always cooking, planting, reaping, sewing, making life better for all of those lucky enough to know her. I just wanted to take this opportunity to remember her with love and gratitude.