Cop Car's Beat

Comment on "Helping Out"

Wichi Dude's posting of Helping Out elicited comments--each from within our family.  My latest comment grew so long that I took pity on WD and Bogie by posting it here, in my own space.

Yes, Hunky Husband flew as navigator (and was offered a job doing it full time) on B-52s back in the 1960s and early 1970s. However, in a car, he doesn't have an MD-1 Astrotracker or any other of the goodies that he used on the airplane. Yes, you are correct that he uses his GPS.  However, I doubt that he has ever lost a car in a parking lot.  He is too organized to do that!

Younger Brother also worked with aircraft navigation systems; but, the one time that I asked him to fly along with me (delivering a Cessna 152), it didn't work out so well. The weather was marginal, I needed to sneak through a pass in the mountains in central California during marginal weather, the airplane was anything but "high performance" and it was not well-equipped for instrument flying (what it did have was not compatible with the navigation systems that were on the ground in that area). Since Younger Brother lived, and had been on flights in the area, I thought his familiarity with the pass would be a plus--and it was. We did get through the pass, at which he was quite helpful; but asking him to keep track of our ground track once we exited the pass was a lost cause. Again, he didn't have the equipment that he was accustomed to and didn't really know how to track us on a sectional chart.

Pardon me if the following tale has been posted somewhere, before.  I believe that it has, but don't recall where.  The worst I ever misplaced a car was at an LAX parking lot (Parking Lot C, for those familiar with LAX). I was working at Edwards AFB and had returned from spending the year-end holidays at home in Albuquerque.  Arriving at the parking lot at about Midnight, I went to the place where I remembered having parked.  Not only was my car not there, but the slot was marked as no-parking. I went to the security office and called the people who were in charge of towing to see if they had my car. Nope. After a while, a security guard offered to drive me around the (rather large) parking lot. Of course, we eventually found my little Mazda 626--right where I had left it.

Eventually, I recalled what had happened:  I realized that the remembered slot was the first slot that I had chosen for parking.  But, the first slot was not allowed parking and I had picked out a second slot in a nearby row.  For some reason, I had decided not to park in the second slot (or maybe someone beat me to it). The car was parked in a third slot that was some distance from the first two--and I had failed to write down the location as I normally did. After a ten-day absence, it was easy for me to fail to recall the details.  It was about 3:00 AM by the time I reached my apartment in Lancaster. Bummer! 

Since that was when I was your age, WD, I suspect that age had nothing to do with it! (I'm just absent minded.)

November 25, 2005 at 09:45 AM

Comments

I understand the absent-minded-ness. That is why I always pick a familiar looking landmark when parking.
As far as the arena goes, it is extremely easy to get turned around inside of it. And as all sides look much like the others, inside and out, losing your vehicle is not difficult. In the years of going to shows there, I've watched a fair amount of people wander around.
And thanks for the clarification on the navagator info. I was starting to doubt myself after Bogies comment. I mean, she SHOULD know.
Umm, question: that wouldn't have been Wolf Creek Pass you were flying through would it? Or is that in CO.?

Posted by: Wichi Dude | November 25, 2005 at 10:21 AM

I parked early one morning at Disneyland and my kids and I rushed off to see the Magic Kingdom forgetting to double check the lot I parked in. Late that night, when we were leaving, I drew a complete blank. That is one heck of a large parking lot to drag two tired kids through and I felt like we would never find the car. Finally we did, but talk about exhaustion!

Posted by: Maria | November 25, 2005 at 01:31 PM

WD--Wolf Creek Pass is, indeed, in Colorado. I'm not sure about the name of the California pass (Stephen's?), but Lake Isabella is in it.

Maria--Yikes! Disneyland has a huge amount of parking. That could have been your fitness outing for the month!

Maria, you should know the name of the pass that I took in trying to fly from Inyokern to Monterey. (We actually landed in Fresno because Monterey was fogged in and lacked the Instrument Landing System that the airplane was equipped to perform.)

Posted by: Cop Car | November 26, 2005 at 08:06 AM

Oh man....I can't imagine having to look through the lots at Disneyland to find my car! I'd be sitting at the side of the road sobbing by then.

I'm the person who is in charge of writing down the parking space when we hit a big lot like that. After all, I'M the one who will be really upset if we can't find the car, so it seems fair.

As for navigating, I've seen my first car with the computerized map and directions. One of our friends has a Caddy with the screen in the dash. I do believe that I'd be up for a crash, trying to follow the map and drive at the same time.

Posted by: Buffy | December 02, 2005 at 10:17 AM

Buffy--I had started to write in the posting about HH's using a GPS that, using a GPS is as dangerous as trying to drive while talking on a telephone. He terrifies me when I am in the car!

Posted by: Cop Car | December 03, 2005 at 08:23 AM

I'm not surprised. While I was fascinated to see the directions and watch the screen, if we had all not known how to get where we were going, I would have been MUCH more nervous. As it was, the distraction from the road concerned me.

I've noticed that the act of typing a phone number into a cell phone is too great a distraction from the road. Trying to read this screen while you were in motion would be even worse.

In Chicago, they have passed a law banning hands on cell phone use, so people are trying to get around that by connecting to Onstar and having them do the dialing. I don't think it's just the "hands-on" aspect they need to be worried about. Driving in Chicago and dividing your attention with a phone call could be lethal. Furthermore, the On-star commercial talks about the driver being able to keep his hands at the "10 and 2" position of the steering wheel, which is outdated information. If you have air bags, you are instructed to hold the wheel lower. Ban it, I say! (hopping off the soap box)

Posted by: buffy | December 03, 2005 at 11:35 PM

Buffy--I agree. It is the mental concentration involved in the tasks of dialing, carrying on a conversation, stowing equipment, interpreting instructions, etcetera that is the real threat to safe driving. The in-dash instruction screens should be illegal--just as it is (in most places) to have a TV screen viewable by the driver. Or, we could certify drivers for use of specific equipments.

The training regime for driving a car is not the same as that for flying an airplane. Airplanes have been equipped with multi-function screens, for display of information and input of instructions to the navigation/control systems, for 20-30 years. However, pilots receive extensive training in use of the equipment. As it is in an airplane, HUD (heads up display) system would be a better alternative in a ground vehicle. But, regardless of whether a driver wishes to use a screen display or a HUD, s/he should be trained--extensively. Training in systems use (such as pilots must continue to take throughout their flying careers) could minimize the amount of conscious attention required to operate them, making system use much safer.

Drivers: When was your last driving lesson? (Mine was 18 months ago.) Pilots: When was your last flight/ground lesson? (Mine was about 12 months before I made, what turned out to be, my last flight as a pilot.) I'm willing to wager that the pilots have had a lot more current training than the auto drivers have had.

Aside: We really need to concentrate on mass transit in the USA to minimize the number of private vehicles on the roads and highways. Too much of our public wealth is spent on highway and safety systems. If we spent the dollars on mass transit, rather than highways, I'm thinking that fares could be entirely reasonable if not non-existent. Too much of our egos is wrapped up in being able to go wherever we wish, whenever we wish. We are too lazy or unthinking to take the training required to make/keep us safe drivers. We need to get a clue!

Posted by: Cop Car | December 04, 2005 at 09:30 AM

Wichi Dude's posting of Helping Out elicited comments--each from within our family.  My latest comment grew so long that I took pity on WD and Bogie by posting it here, in my own space.

Yes, Hunky Husband flew as navigator (and was offered a job doing it full time) on B-52s back in the 1960s and early 1970s. However, in a car, he doesn't have an MD-1 Astrotracker or any other of the goodies that he used on the airplane. Yes, you are correct that he uses his GPS.  However, I doubt that he has ever lost a car in a parking lot.  He is too organized to do that!

Younger Brother also worked with aircraft navigation systems; but, the one time that I asked him to fly along with me (delivering a Cessna 152), it didn't work out so well. The weather was marginal, I needed to sneak through a pass in the mountains in central California during marginal weather, the airplane was anything but "high performance" and it was not well-equipped for instrument flying (what it did have was not compatible with the navigation systems that were on the ground in that area). Since Younger Brother lived, and had been on flights in the area, I thought his familiarity with the pass would be a plus--and it was. We did get through the pass, at which he was quite helpful; but asking him to keep track of our ground track once we exited the pass was a lost cause. Again, he didn't have the equipment that he was accustomed to and didn't really know how to track us on a sectional chart.

Pardon me if the following tale has been posted somewhere, before.  I believe that it has, but don't recall where.  The worst I ever misplaced a car was at an LAX parking lot (Parking Lot C, for those familiar with LAX). I was working at Edwards AFB and had returned from spending the year-end holidays at home in Albuquerque.  Arriving at the parking lot at about Midnight, I went to the place where I remembered having parked.  Not only was my car not there, but the slot was marked as no-parking. I went to the security office and called the people who were in charge of towing to see if they had my car. Nope. After a while, a security guard offered to drive me around the (rather large) parking lot. Of course, we eventually found my little Mazda 626--right where I had left it.

Eventually, I recalled what had happened:  I realized that the remembered slot was the first slot that I had chosen for parking.  But, the first slot was not allowed parking and I had picked out a second slot in a nearby row.  For some reason, I had decided not to park in the second slot (or maybe someone beat me to it). The car was parked in a third slot that was some distance from the first two--and I had failed to write down the location as I normally did. After a ten-day absence, it was easy for me to fail to recall the details.  It was about 3:00 AM by the time I reached my apartment in Lancaster. Bummer! 

Since that was when I was your age, WD, I suspect that age had nothing to do with it! (I'm just absent minded.)

Hunky Husband is Home So I Go to KCMO

Hunky Husband made it in from his 22 days in Washington DC, Sunday.

Monday, I dropped my car off for routine servicing. My service writer did not have good news. I needed one new ball joint and four new tires (well, technically, the tires were not an emergency replacement; but with my planned trip to Kansas City the next day, it seemed prudent to go ahead and replace them.) Have you priced high-speed 17" tires, lately? Yikes!

Anyhoo, the car was in excellent shape for my run up to Kansas City MO, Tuesday, to see the aunt whose husband had died in September. When I arrived at Aunt V's apartment, just in time to take her to lunch, she had a surprise for me: my nephew, D, from California was in town. D had been unable to attend V's husband's funeral, and the funeral of his (D's) Grandfather B a week or so later, because he was in England on business. Staying with an online friend in KC, D was there to see his Great Aunt V and his Grandmother B.

Although we had to await D's arrival before we could leave for lunch, it was well that we got to see him--it gave us the opportunity to catch up on news of my Younger Brother's family in California. D was the perfect gentleman in helping V into/out of my car and lending her an arm when V needed to traverse rough sidewalk or curbing. We had a great lunch and were able to run errands with V, who hasn't driven a car, herself, since about 1947. In late afternoon, I bid adieu and returned home. HH was thankful to have had the opportunity to catch up on his rest and to start catching up on his mail, in peace!!

November 24, 2005 at 09:34 AM

Comments

Jeexe, you guys just make me sick. You are more active in retirement than WS and I are in "real life"!

Posted by: bogie | November 25, 2005 at 07:23 AM

Sorry to break this to you, Bogie: retirement is real life. We just get to do more of the side-issue things than when we were employed. You didn't read anywhere in the above about our having shoveled snow, though, did you? Nor did we stack any wood. Nor....

Posted by: Cop Car | November 25, 2005 at 09:57 AM

17" tires?? Yes, ma'am, I have priced those suckers. This will be my third set on this vehicle. Almost seems like it'd be cheaper to buy a new car than to keep putting on new treads - and everything else that's overpriced because it's a performance car.

Posted by: Frankie | November 26, 2005 at 05:21 PM

Frankie--Who knew that the 17" tires were that expensive when we were shopping for our respective vehicles? Not I. Nor did I realize what a short life the 17" tires had. The insurance folks aren't all that kind, either! Oh, well...now I know! I do like my car--a 2001 Lincoln LS (although, as previously mentioned, HH thinks that I should have bought a pickup truck rather than folding down the back seats to haul lumber, tree limbs, etc.) Yours?

Posted by: Cop Car | November 26, 2005 at 09:56 PM

I'm am just dying!!!! I have an 2001 LS!! Jeez - I knew you must be awesome from our first conversations. Might there be other similarities?? Like my HH flew KC-135's until about 13 years ago.
And your comment on my entry from this morning . . . WLS saw me through many a lonely night - couldn't get the sucker until almost 10 pm! And I went to Mizzou - BSW 1979. I'd be glad to tell you more . . . but would hate to bore you to death. What would you like to know?

Posted by: Frankie | November 27, 2005 at 08:00 PM

Cop Car....you may have to consider adopting another of my family into your clan! *G*

I agree with bogie....you two are incredibly busy! Kudos for all the ARC work you do.

Posted by: Buffy | December 02, 2005 at 10:23 AM

Frankie--Be careful about applying for membership in our family (Bogie, Cop Car, Wichi Dude, Dudette, Buffy). You just might get in and have to abide by all of the family "rules"! Buffy can aprise you of the hardships and pitfalls that come with membership. *grinning*

Posted by: Cop Car | December 03, 2005 at 11:03 AM

Hunky Husband made it in from his 22 days in Washington DC, Sunday.

Monday, I dropped my car off for routine servicing. My service writer did not have good news. I needed one new ball joint and four new tires (well, technically, the tires were not an emergency replacement; but with my planned trip to Kansas City the next day, it seemed prudent to go ahead and replace them.) Have you priced high-speed 17" tires, lately? Yikes!

Anyhoo, the car was in excellent shape for my run up to Kansas City MO, Tuesday, to see the aunt whose husband had died in September. When I arrived at Aunt V's apartment, just in time to take her to lunch, she had a surprise for me: my nephew, D, from California was in town. D had been unable to attend V's husband's funeral, and the funeral of his (D's) Grandfather B a week or so later, because he was in England on business. Staying with an online friend in KC, D was there to see his Great Aunt V and his Grandmother B.

Although we had to await D's arrival before we could leave for lunch, it was well that we got to see him--it gave us the opportunity to catch up on news of my Younger Brother's family in California. D was the perfect gentleman in helping V into/out of my car and lending her an arm when V needed to traverse rough sidewalk or curbing. We had a great lunch and were able to run errands with V, who hasn't driven a car, herself, since about 1947. In late afternoon, I bid adieu and returned home. HH was thankful to have had the opportunity to catch up on his rest and to start catching up on his mail, in peace!!

Not-So-New Kid Hits Homer

Many of my readers are inveterate readers of Cowtown Pattie's Blog, Texas Trifles.  I would wish that no one miss the last item in a meme, Ten Biggies, that Pattie posted the other day:

My first real out of high school job as a public school instructional aide found me assigned to an inner city impoverished neighborhood school - a rude awakening for this white bread, middle-class teenager whose only brush with the "other side of the tracks" was a class field trip to the county jail once. These children had seen more violence, heartbreak, and poverty than I could have ever imagined in my worst nightmare. Another teacher took me aside that first month as I struggled to pull socks away from impetigo-crusted sores on little legs and told me that these babies deserved more than my pity; they needed someone who cared enough about them to see that they learned to read, someone to teach them there is a different kind of life beyond the daily visions of addiction and crime. I will never forget the little girl who wanted to lift up my shirttail to see if I was white "all over", the young boy who did not have his own toothbrush, the child who saw his mother shoot his father full in the face and was being raised by a grandmother after the mom went to the penitentiary, and the over-powering stench of a child who did not ever have clean clothes - his siblings just tossed their daily clothing into a pile on the floor, and grabbed whatever was available from said pile the next day. These children taught me more than I could ever teach them.

November 20, 2005 at 02:00 PM

Comments

Thank you for bringing this post and the one below to my attention. Wonderful writing and so very inspirational. It is nice to have two new blogs to visit.

Posted by: Maria | November 20, 2005 at 06:54 PM

Sometimes it takes us a while to find a site. I don't recall how long Pattie has been blogging--but it's been for longer than my tenure in the blogosphere!

Posted by: Cop Car | November 21, 2005 at 06:26 AM

And she has the most amazing variety of entries!

She's a "must read," and it's good of you to bring her to the attention of others, Cop Car. That's a pretty amazing post, isn't it?

Posted by: buffy | November 22, 2005 at 09:18 PM

Thank you for pointing out this blog. It has now a place in my list of favourites. The post itself is amazing isn't it - it really makes you think.

Posted by: Adele | November 23, 2005 at 03:28 AM

Many of my readers are inveterate readers of Cowtown Pattie's Blog, Texas Trifles.  I would wish that no one miss the last item in a meme, Ten Biggies, that Pattie posted the other day:

My first real out of high school job as a public school instructional aide found me assigned to an inner city impoverished neighborhood school - a rude awakening for this white bread, middle-class teenager whose only brush with the "other side of the tracks" was a class field trip to the county jail once. These children had seen more violence, heartbreak, and poverty than I could have ever imagined in my worst nightmare. Another teacher took me aside that first month as I struggled to pull socks away from impetigo-crusted sores on little legs and told me that these babies deserved more than my pity; they needed someone who cared enough about them to see that they learned to read, someone to teach them there is a different kind of life beyond the daily visions of addiction and crime. I will never forget the little girl who wanted to lift up my shirttail to see if I was white "all over", the young boy who did not have his own toothbrush, the child who saw his mother shoot his father full in the face and was being raised by a grandmother after the mom went to the penitentiary, and the over-powering stench of a child who did not ever have clean clothes - his siblings just tossed their daily clothing into a pile on the floor, and grabbed whatever was available from said pile the next day. These children taught me more than I could ever teach them.

New Kid Hits Homer

The new kid on the blogging block, Frankie, hit a homer with her posting, From the Heart.  Please do not take my word for it.  Go read for yourself.  Frankie comes from one thoughtful, warm, intelligent, artistic...(insert own, laudatory adjectives here)...family. 

November 19, 2005 at 06:14 PM

Comments

Now I can't get to her comments either. I think Red Eagle hates me!

Posted by: bogie | November 21, 2005 at 03:14 AM

Or we share a comment banning gene, bogie. We don't know what the problem is, but you'll have to start visiting us at odd times to see if you can get in.

Posted by: buffy | November 22, 2005 at 09:19 PM

I really enjoyed that post. Thank you Cop Car for pointing it out.

I always have difficulty getting to the comments on the Redeagle sites also. I find the best way is to click on the comments displayed on the sidebar and that usually lets me in. Of course, it means that earlier comments get left.

Posted by: Adele | November 23, 2005 at 03:31 AM

Cut It Out! (Not light reading for the squeamish)

Having been annoyed by the sight of a lesion above my upper lip that had failed to heal for a few months, Hunky Husband insisted that I see my physician about it.  As I already had an appointment for a lump in my back that she's been watching, I took the opportunity to have Dr S look at the lesion.  She advised me to see a dermatologist.  As I am red-haired, light-eyed, fair-skinned, I've had bits of tissue removed over the years that were a little atypical, so her advice did not flummox me.  In fact, I thought that she was over-reacting when she suggested that her office make the appointment for me--that they might be able to get me in sooner. (I made my own appointment--Dr S's office cannot see my schedule when they do the calling!)

Yesterday, I saw the dermatology physician's assistant who had removed some annoying bumps on my back 18 months ago.  She took one look and announced that, in her opinion, the lesion was cancerous.

As the lesion was on my face, she said that there were a few options--with varying degrees of cosmetic acceptability.  The first that she listed was to take it out, right then.  "Cut it out!" said I.  "The other options are...."  "Cut it out!" said I.  "Some of the other options are more cosmetically acceptable."  "Cut it out!" said I.  So, she brought in her backhoe and took it out.  She dug and cauterized, dug and cauterized, dug and cauterized.  When the site heals, I will have a white scar above my lip--about the size of a cigarette burn.

The biopsy will confirm or deny that the lesion was cancerous--and what kind (fortunately, Ms D did not think it an aggressive sort.)  My message to you is:  We are accustomed to looking for irregularly shaped, multi-colored, large shapes on our skin that may be cancerous.  This thing was white, shiny, about 3/16" in diameter (a little irregular, but not badly).  If something doesn't heal within a month--have someone who is a professional check it out.  (You surely have my permission to use a more cosmetically acceptable approach to removal!)  I'm glad that Hunky Husband insisted.  He's a good guy!

November 16, 2005 at 08:05 AM

 

 

Comments

Ye Gods, Cop Car. I don't blame you at all for insisting that she dig it out immediately. I do hope all is well with you - and that the biopsy proves that it is benign.

Posted by: Adele | November 16, 2005 at 11:11 AM

Thanks for the well wishes, Adele. It's always a bit unnerving to find anything that isn't up to snuff on one's body; but, I've really been quite fortunate. I had some awful sunburns as a kid. Elegant Friend, an inveterate sun-worshipper has had several such cancers removed from her skin. (She has a terrific attitude--that she is willing to pay for her play!) My dad had numerous spots removed, too; but, I don't know how many of them were actually cancerous (he worked outside most of his life.) Think this latest little gem brought my removal count up to about one dozen or so; but, this is probably the only time they looked me in the eye and called one cancerous. At least that I recall.

Posted by: Cop Car | November 16, 2005 at 11:56 PM

I didn't realize that you still had that - it was there during the wedding (for those counting - that is more than a few months, 6 months that I know about).

Glad someone had enough sense to tell you to have it checked out!

Posted by: bogie | November 17, 2005 at 03:02 AM

Not to be picky, but the mar on my face at the wedding was a split in the skin--extending from the corner of my mouth. My physician told me to put Selsun Blue on it. Amazingly, although the split had been there for at least three months at that time (some times appearing to be healed, but recurring in a couple of weeks), within two or three weeks, the Selsun Blue had it healed. (The Selsun Blue acted as an instant chemical peel, but it worked!) I do think that it was shortly thereafter that the bump appeared--about an inch from where the split had been. I got to wondering last night if perhaps there is a link between the cancer and the outbreak of shingles that I had had on my upper lip 20 years ago. I'll have to ask the PA if there is a known link.

Posted by: Cop Car | November 17, 2005 at 07:56 AM

Bogie--Just checked my calendar. Dr S had given me the Selsun Blue advice just 4 days before the wedding, so I don't know whether I had actually bought the stuff to try it by the wedding. If so, the chemical peel action would account for the red glow around the corner of my mouth--that showed in the photos. Frugally, I started using the Selsun Blue for its intended purpose (as a shampoo if you're not familiar with it) and it does a good job. It was too expensive to throw away!

Posted by: Cop Car | November 17, 2005 at 08:06 AM

Well, you sure have had a busy time. I think you did best by going the more radical way and having it cut out. I also want to thank you for the skin warnings. I have a mole on my lip that came up suddenly. I had it checked out and it was nothing serious, but I still want to have it removed next time I see my doctor.

Posted by: Maria | November 17, 2005 at 06:50 PM

Oh, my! I'm glad you listened to HH. Those of us with fair skin need to be ever vigilent. I think it's just as well you had it removed immediately, rather than waiting for one of the cosmetic options. Elegante Mother made a similar choice for a spot on her nose, and you'd never know there had been any work done.

I've had some polyps removed, but so far I've been spared anything cancerous. My dermatologist does an annual check for growths of note, and I go in early if something shows up that concerns me. I'm really glad you didn't wait. Selfishly, I want you to be around, and in good health, for a LONG time.

Posted by: buffy | November 19, 2005 at 09:06 AM

Maria--Check it out! You are another person who should stick around a bit--for the benefit of the rest of us, you understand.

Buffy--Thanks for the sentiment. You know that it is entirely mutual. When I had the large hunk (1 inch long by .25 inch wide) taken out of my leg in 1986, the dermatologist cautioned me to have annual whole-skin exams. Truthfully, Tuesday was the first whole-skin exam that I'd had a dermatology specialist perform since then. My internist had performed a survey a few years ago--to save me the hassle of going to another medical office--and I've tried to keep watch. This one just sneaked up on me. It was white--and I thought that I was causing the continued bleeding by scrubbing my face too hard each day.

Posted by: Cop Car | November 19, 2005 at 06:38 PM

Having been annoyed by the sight of a lesion above my upper lip that had failed to heal for a few months, Hunky Husband insisted that I see my physician about it.  As I already had an appointment for a lump in my back that she's been watching, I took the opportunity to have Dr S look at the lesion.  She advised me to see a dermatologist.  As I am red-haired, light-eyed, fair-skinned, I've had bits of tissue removed over the years that were a little atypical, so her advice did not flummox me.  In fact, I thought that she was over-reacting when she suggested that her office make the appointment for me--that they might be able to get me in sooner. (I made my own appointment--Dr S's office cannot see my schedule when they do the calling!)

Yesterday, I saw the dermatology physician's assistant who had removed some annoying bumps on my back 18 months ago.  She took one look and announced that, in her opinion, the lesion was cancerous.

As the lesion was on my face, she said that there were a few options--with varying degrees of cosmetic acceptability.  The first that she listed was to take it out, right then.  "Cut it out!" said I.  "The other options are...."  "Cut it out!" said I.  "Some of the other options are more cosmetically acceptable."  "Cut it out!" said I.  So, she brought in her backhoe and took it out.  She dug and cauterized, dug and cauterized, dug and cauterized.  When the site heals, I will have a white scar above my lip--about the size of a cigarette burn.

The biopsy will confirm or deny that the lesion was cancerous--and what kind (fortunately, Ms D did not think it an aggressive sort.)  My message to you is:  We are accustomed to looking for irregularly shaped, multi-colored, large shapes on our skin that may be cancerous.  This thing was white, shiny, about 3/16" in diameter (a little irregular, but not badly).  If something doesn't heal within a month--have someone who is a professional check it out.  (You surely have my permission to use a more cosmetically acceptable approach to removal!)  I'm glad that Hunky Husband insisted.  He's a good guy!

Week in Review - 2005Nov12

Made a list of things that must get done--this weekend, if at all possible: move sand (about 1/2 of the pile is still there), finish quilt top (the last class is coming up on Wednesday), dust the furniture (especially in HH'S den, where the dust tends to gather because HH ignores it!), run vacuum--all house (HH didn't get this done before he left, and I've not done it in his absence), call window cleaner (HH and I agreed to have the outsides of the windows cleaned annually since most of our window area is too high for me to get without an extension ladder--wash window, move ladder 18", wash more window, move ladder 18", wash more....), pay bills, clean garage (pretty well full of leaves), mow lawn (again, mostly for the leaves), do laundry and iron (another HH chore that hasn't been done since he left--but, he was up-to-date on this one), plan packing (still carrying own water, wearing high boots, sleeping on floor, etc), and call Aunt V (it's been about five weeks since I last reached her--I'm assuming, since I've called on Sundays, that she has been at the casinos in KC, with friends.)

So, I drew up the list and immediately blew it! After the retiree breakfast, yesterday, I stopped by a quilting shop and the sewing machine shop that co-joins it (they have an interior door between them that is always open), to find appropriate "camo" fabric from which to cut sub-assemblies of a B-52 that I will applique on Hunky Husband's Afghan quilt--and to check out a cutting table that had been advertised as being 25% off. The ad that I had seen listed no price for the cutting table, so it about took my breath away when the guy told me how much it would cost--about 4 times what I had envisioned. Gahhh! Thanks, but no thanks, at that price--especially since I would have to do the labor of putting it together, myself (for that price I expected someone to set it up in my sewing room and fix me lunch while I was waiting!)

Cogitating in the car, I decided that it was likely that I would just stew over the situation and look for better prices--likely not finding them. So I marched myself back in and told the salesman that he was a silver-tongued devil--that, if the thing would fit into my car (a medium-sized one--already the repository for various stuffs), I would take the table. Of course, with my fold-forward rear seats, we had no difficulty at all in getting the pieces of the table into the trunk. (I did take the precaution of having him remove the pieces and parts from the larger of the two cartons. I could just see myself trying to wrest the pieces from within the carton, by myself!!!) This was a good move. It took me six trips down the basement steps to unload the pieces and parts; but, there was nothing unmanageable about the process (getting the pieces, the two bracing panels and the top center panel, out of the smaller carton was not too difficult.)

Worked outside in the yard (including moving some sand and doing some spading, but not mowing), in the afternoon. When I came in for dinner, I remembered to re-charge the battery for my electric drill/screwdriver. At about 9:10 PM, I went downstairs to start the assembly process. I could have saved the "effort" of charging the battery for my drill. Most of the assembly was done using #5 screws (in airplanes, I wouldn't let anyone use a screw smaller than a #8, for fear the assembler would yield the screw without realizing it!) By 10:15, construction was complete. Now I may cut out pieces for quilts without breaking my back bending over.

(The following description is for those who are unfamiliar with cutting tables. The table is pretty standard for those who know cutting tables.) From the Horn of America web site:

Finish:

• White with Oak Trim (.81)
  
  Dimensions:
• Width: 72" (16" closed)
• Depth: 40"
• Height: 35"
• Weight: 127 lbs.
  
  Features:
• Melamine mar resistant surface
• Sturdy steel to steel connectors
• Ready to assemble
• Large working surface
• Rounded corners for safety
• Large removable drawer
• Easy roll lockable casters

November 12, 2005 at 08:23 AM

 

Comments

I would guess that after planes, the cutting table shouldn't have been much of a challenge to assemble. Though no one ever asked you to lug a plane down to the basement.

Hope it works out to your expectations.

Posted by: Wichi Dude | November 12, 2005 at 10:33 AM

Awww, Wichi Dude, you are giving me way too much credit. I've worked on planes, but never put one together. [One of my friends did the totally unthinkable: he built an airplane in his basement with no easy means of removing it. Eventually, he had to take out part of a wall to get the plane out--fuselage and wing, separately, of course. Thankfully, the plane was a really small one. Most of my friends were smart enough to build their planes in a garage, at least. Actually, this guy was smart enough to know where he was heading. It just seemed the best option to him--allowing him to work in a comfortable environment.]

Over the years, as you well know, WD, I have put together my fair share of "comes-in-a-box" furniture. In Florida, I assembled the three tall bookcases that are now in this house (one in the living room, two in the family room). In California, I assembled two TV carts (one to hold my computer, the other to hold the TV that HH gave me while I "lived" in that apartment--I say "lived" in because, of course, my house was in Albuquerque.) Hunky Husband now uses both of them in his den.

About 10-15 years ago, while living on Sunrise, I put together a small bookcase for the cookbooks that I kept in the dining room of that house. That bookcase is now in my front room, holding sheet music. Although it is so small that it barely counts, I assembled a short, 1/4-round bookcase about 15 years ago to use in my (then) den. It is now in the kiln room where it holds accessories to the kiln. Then, the last things that I assembled were the three medium-sized bookcases that I put together about a year ago--to replace the large bookcases that I wished to get out of my den. They are in the basement family room holding airplane books and my collection of pewter model airplanes. And, the listing includes only the indoor furniture that I've assembled. Let's not get into patio tables and the such. Oh! And, you have a piece of furniture that I finished and assembled: the glider on your front porch. After Dad died, I finished the slats and assembled the glider for Mom. Dad had, of course, intended to do that chore.

Posted by: Cop Car | November 12, 2005 at 09:28 PM

Cop Car, I am impressed. Over here it is generally accepted that flat-pack furniture (what you call "comes-in-a-box) always lacks at least two screws, has one piece cut wrongly so it won't fit, had instructions translated from Swedish by a Japanese speaker whose grasp of English is rather weak and to put the actual piece of furniture together requires an expert carpenter who is also a nuclear scientist. I've never managed it anyway - I tend to leave such things to the Husband. So I am very impressed to hear that you can put such things together. Does the air around you get very blue while you are doing it?

Posted by: Adele | November 15, 2005 at 03:18 AM

Adele--Since my first love was nuclear physics--back before they discovered that there exist more than one type of particle in an atomic nucleus *grin*--I judge myself qualified to take a bunch of pre-cut, pre-drilled, pre-finished wood product parts and a handful of hardware (screws, bolts, nuts, nails) to make a usable piece of furniture.

Yes, on occasion there is a piece of hardware missing; but, if it's just a screw, I either get one from our inexhaustible supply of miscellaneous screws or take a run down to the hardware store. If I need more holes, I drill them. Only if the finish is greatly marred, or if something needs to be sawed, do I go back to the manufacturer. I am lousy at using a saw, a cutting plane, or any cutting tool other than a drill. In the case of the cutting table, my only complaint was that the small holes for the #5 screws that attached the 10 hinges that I installed were not positioned truly. Fortunately, they were close enough to true that I didn't need to re-position the hinges and drill new holes.

No, the air does not turn blue around me and my project. Assembly takes place when no one else is around, and what's the point of using blue words if there is no one to hear them!?! I did think thoughts to the person who drilled the holes for the hinge installations on the cutting table--to the effect that s/he should either ask the boss for a new jig (positioning tool) or learn how to use the one that s/he had, properly.

Posted by: Cop Car | November 15, 2005 at 08:30 AM

Cop Car, I find it interesting that there are as many problems with flat-pack furniture (a.k.a. comes-in-a-box) in the US as there is in the UK. I have to admit that I leave the constuction of such things to the Husband who usually manages to sort them out. They aren't something that personally I've ever tried so I hope that if I did that it would be a success, but I connot say so definitely.

Also I wasn't aware of your interest in nuclear physics. Another skill to add to your repertoir. Tell me, is there anything you are not both good and experienced at?

Posted by: Adele | November 16, 2005 at 11:17 AM

Reading your comment reminded me of how my Elder Brother and Hunky Husband approach assembly. By the time they have finished inventorying the parts, I have the thing put together. By the time they write up their own process flow sheet, I am enjoying the product of my labors. That is why I cannot work with either of them--I lose interest in the project before they get warmed up. BTW: This particular flat-pack originated in Canada; but, it is no better or worse than those that have originated in the USA or anywhere else.

I hasten to assure you that there are many things at which I do not excel--even if I've tried them. (I just shake my head in wonder at how good Buffy is at quilting, gardening, cooking...and at how good you must be at knitting, art appreciation, history....I'm one of those Jill-of-all-trades that one hears about. I can say that I've done a lot of things, but I don't pretend to be much more than average good at most of them.)

My original intent was to teach nuclear physics at the college level. That was before I figured out that it took about twice the brain power that I possessed. I was half-way to my master's degree when I switched from the physics curriculum into the engineering curriculum. It is not false modesty, but realism, that makes me say that I could never have completed a PhD in physics which would, of course, have been a basic requirement. Oh, well. I have had so much fun in engineering that it's hard for me to imagine why I didn't start out in it.

Posted by: Cop Car | November 17, 2005 at 12:11 AM

WOW!!!!!! I don't know where to start....so many things to respond to!

First...I am SO impressed that you went out and bought a cutting table at FOUR times the cost you were prepared to spend. It just goes to show that you really understand just how important it is to take care of your back (especially when you are quilting). Good for you!

Second....I didn't realize just how funny Adele is. I haven't given up on our trip to Scotland. I have more info to share, just not the time to do it yet. I can't wait to meet her and see if that humor pops up a lot! *G*

Third....you started putting that thing together after my bed time. I can't believe you waited until 9:10 at night to start the project. And, you are SO self-determined! Carrying all that stuff to the basement would have killed the project for me. Besides, I'd want it on the main floor of the house (where there's absolutely NO room). I'm perverse about that. We could build a studio in the basement, and I'd have all the room I'd need, but I need to be upstairs where there is natural light, and a window with a view.

If it were anyone else, I'd say that you probably would have been a fine nuclear engineer and professor, and you should have stuck with your dream. Actually, I still think that might be true, but I know that you are totally able to assess your own capabilities, so I won't go there. It seems to me that you've enjoyed engineering, and that's all that matters.

GREAT POST! AND GREAT COMMENTS!

Posted by: buffy | November 19, 2005 at 09:25 AM

Made a list of things that must get done--this weekend, if at all possible: move sand (about 1/2 of the pile is still there), finish quilt top (the last class is coming up on Wednesday), dust the furniture (especially in HH'S den, where the dust tends to gather because HH ignores it!), run vacuum--all house (HH didn't get this done before he left, and I've not done it in his absence), call window cleaner (HH and I agreed to have the outsides of the windows cleaned annually since most of our window area is too high for me to get without an extension ladder--wash window, move ladder 18", wash more window, move ladder 18", wash more....), pay bills, clean garage (pretty well full of leaves), mow lawn (again, mostly for the leaves), do laundry and iron (another HH chore that hasn't been done since he left--but, he was up-to-date on this one), plan packing (still carrying own water, wearing high boots, sleeping on floor, etc), and call Aunt V (it's been about five weeks since I last reached her--I'm assuming, since I've called on Sundays, that she has been at the casinos in KC, with friends.)

So, I drew up the list and immediately blew it! After the retiree breakfast, yesterday, I stopped by a quilting shop and the sewing machine shop that co-joins it (they have an interior door between them that is always open), to find appropriate "camo" fabric from which to cut sub-assemblies of a B-52 that I will applique on Hunky Husband's Afghan quilt--and to check out a cutting table that had been advertised as being 25% off. The ad that I had seen listed no price for the cutting table, so it about took my breath away when the guy told me how much it would cost--about 4 times what I had envisioned. Gahhh! Thanks, but no thanks, at that price--especially since I would have to do the labor of putting it together, myself (for that price I expected someone to set it up in my sewing room and fix me lunch while I was waiting!)

Cogitating in the car, I decided that it was likely that I would just stew over the situation and look for better prices--likely not finding them. So I marched myself back in and told the salesman that he was a silver-tongued devil--that, if the thing would fit into my car (a medium-sized one--already the repository for various stuffs), I would take the table. Of course, with my fold-forward rear seats, we had no difficulty at all in getting the pieces of the table into the trunk. (I did take the precaution of having him remove the pieces and parts from the larger of the two cartons. I could just see myself trying to wrest the pieces from within the carton, by myself!!!) This was a good move. It took me six trips down the basement steps to unload the pieces and parts; but, there was nothing unmanageable about the process (getting the pieces, the two bracing panels and the top center panel, out of the smaller carton was not too difficult.)

Worked outside in the yard (including moving some sand and doing some spading, but not mowing), in the afternoon. When I came in for dinner, I remembered to re-charge the battery for my electric drill/screwdriver. At about 9:10 PM, I went downstairs to start the assembly process. I could have saved the "effort" of charging the battery for my drill. Most of the assembly was done using #5 screws (in airplanes, I wouldn't let anyone use a screw smaller than a #8, for fear the assembler would yield the screw without realizing it!) By 10:15, construction was complete. Now I may cut out pieces for quilts without breaking my back bending over.

(The following description is for those who are unfamiliar with cutting tables. The table is pretty standard for those who know cutting tables.) From the Horn of America web site:

Finish:

• White with Oak Trim (.81)
  
  Dimensions:
• Width: 72" (16" closed)
• Depth: 40"
• Height: 35"
• Weight: 127 lbs.
  
  Features:
• Melamine mar resistant surface
• Sturdy steel to steel connectors
• Ready to assemble
• Large working surface
• Rounded corners for safety
• Large removable drawer
• Easy roll lockable casters

Lazy Morning

s I lay in bed, this morning, I was trying to recall whether I had a class to attend this morning or whether I would be able to go to the fitness center with Elegant Friend.  Just as I reached for the iPAQ to check my schedule, the radio program changed to Living on Earth.  Aha!  Today is Sunday...a day for me to get things done around the home front...and it was 6:00 AM.  Minutes later, I looked out the window (while Hunky Husband is away, I normally use his bedroom to take advantage of the huge bay window that looks out onto our back yard), and could see that the sky was lightening in the southeast.  For the next 45 minutes, or so, I watched the light change through reds, oranges, and golds, and enjoyed the vista of fluffy pink buttermilk-type clouds against a baby blue sky.  Then, I arose to make the bed (that means pulling the covers up over the pillows, and smoothing them!) 

As I started around the foot of the bed, toward the window, I became aware that there were large dark forms in the lawn--a lawn that I had been unable to see from the prone position.  (From the prone position, I can see only sky and tree tops.)  Thinking that the local flock of wild turkey had come for their morning browse, I fetched my glasses to observe them.  Returning to the bedroom, what I observed was a group of six white-tail deer browsing on the chokeberry bushes on our side of the neighbor's fence.  The deer were startled at my appearance, but stood their ground and we observed one another for long minutes.  Eventually, I resumed my bed-making chore and they bounded off into the woods.  A wonderful morning, I'm having!

Oops!  A cardinal just hit one of the front room windows.  He's been resting on the window ledge for several minutes, now.  Poor little guy.

November 06, 2005 at 08:56 AM

 

Comments

Deer are always cool to see. That's not really true - usually I see them as they are crossing the road in front of me, as I'm doing 45-50 MPH. Not Cool. Just about any other time though!

As WS and I were going to the transfer station on Saturday, I saw a flock of 20+ turkeys in the woods just off the side of the road. Turkey season starts soon, they better start being more careful where they lounge about at.

Posted by: bogie | November 07, 2005 at 02:54 AM

The local wild turkey flock numbers 13-16, just now. At their high, they numbered 21-22; but, for the first three years that we were here we never saw more than 8 turkey.

Posted by: Cop Car | November 07, 2005 at 07:48 AM

We don't have flocks of wild turkeys, but plenty of the human kind.

It sounds as though your Sunday was off to a most beautiful start. I hope the cardinal revived.

Posted by: buffy | November 07, 2005 at 01:57 PM

Yes, by the time I had finished blogging, Buffy, the cardinal had revived and flown off. This morning, as I was opening the blinds in the dining room, I saw a little Carolina wren in the chokeberry bushes that are there. The plantings were chosen with birds in mind, and they are using them!

Posted by: Cop Car | November 07, 2005 at 11:14 PM

Over here deer are considered with rather mixed feelings by gardeners. They are lovely to look at but, however, they tend to eat the plants in gardens. In fact gardeners living in the countryside regard deer as much a pest as rabbits.

NOt a problem we have where we live and so I just consider your sighting of deer with envy. Wild turkeys I don't think I have ever seen. Are they the same as the domesticated sort we eat at Christmas?

I wish I could see the cardinal but feel that I need to dissuade wonderful birds from our garden, what with Nimrod the Mighty Hunter on the prowl.

Posted by: Adele | November 08, 2005 at 03:53 AM

Adele--We have two mighty hunters; but, they mostly content themselves with mice, voles, frogs, and tiny bunny rabbits. They kill far fewer birds than do our windows.

The wild turkey are far prettier than the domestic lines that I have seen. They are indiginous to North America, so you should not have seen them--at least, not in the wild. Here is the e-address to the best photographs that I found in a quick search. The page is rather long, but the only photographs are the five near the top of the page. The last of the five is the best representation of our flock. We don't have any "smokey grey phase" turkey. (BTW: My Elder Brother insists that the plural of "turkey" is "turkey". Newer construction, as in the cited article, uses "turkeys".)

http://www.ohiobirds.org/news.php?News_ID=175

Posted by: Cop Car | November 08, 2005 at 07:35 AM

Adele--I forgot to mention that the plantings that the deer concentrate upon, in our yard, were put there (by me) for the wildlife. The deer are free to browse them. To my knowledge, the only things that they browse that I would rather they did not are some euonymous bushes that I planted to shield our neighbor from the sight of the brush pile that I maintain for the birds. From the vantage of our house, the 4 bushes appear as one--due to their being aligned with our line-of-sight; but, from the vantage of the neighbor's house, they should see the 4 bushes. If the deer would let the poor little things grow (I transplanted them from a place where I wished to plant roses), the euonymous would serve their intended function!

Posted by: Cop Car | November 08, 2005 at 07:42 AM

Cop Car,

Thanks for the link to the pictures of wild turkeys. You are right, they are more attractive than the domesticated type.

Our Mighty Hunter not only hunts mice, voles, rabbits, rats, etc he also catches birds. Every so often I have a bird's body to deal with or what's worse a mortally injured but still alive bird to deal with.

I am impressed that your plantings are for the wildlife. I have to admit that over here most gardeners, and I include myself in this, grow things for their own enjoyment. Thus the depredations of deer doesn't go down very well. There are many environmentalists/organic growers over here who grow things with respect to wildlife but even from these I have never heard that they are growing things for deer to eat. Very interesting concept.

Posted by: Adele | November 09, 2005 at 03:39 AM

The plantings were made with birds in mind; but, they must learn to share with their four-legged friends! (In addition, I keep a block of salt, back in the woods, for the deer.) Since it is we who are the intruders on this land, I welcome the nesting barn swallows on the front porch and the visits to our plantings from all manner of wildlife--with one exception: armadillo. Armadillos are moving northward ever-farther.

We had no armadillos in Oklahoma when I lived in Tulsa as a child--much less they should have been in Kansas. Not sure why, but I hate the little things. Perhaps I had a nasty encounter with them when as an even younger child I lived in several communities within Texas. Texas is not remembered as a really hospitable place (I'm talking about the place, here, not the people), by me. I was always ill or suffering from cactus needles in my fingers and toes--not to mention hot and dusty!

Posted by: Cop Car | November 09, 2005 at 07:27 AM

Adele,

I know many people that, although they don't plant for the wildlife, plant with the wildlife in mind.

When I planted my fruit trees, I planted enough for us (2 people don't eat that much) and for the birds and animals to get a plentiful share. 150 strawberry plants were put in so we could get a enough berries to have a handful a day, the wildlife gets the rest (by design).

When I plant the vegetable garden in summer, I over-plant by a good amount for the same reason. I know several people on my road that do the same thing, so it isn't an uncommon practice.

Posted by: bogie | November 11, 2005 at 03:08 AM

Over here lots of people try to garden "envitonmentally" or "organically". This means in fact no poisons or insectisides and an understanding that a certain proportion of their plants/crops are likely to be lost to insects or animals. I have, however, seen nothing that implies that therefore depredations by deer are likely to be welcomed. I suspect that those who suffer from visits by deer or rabbits are more likly to view them with resignation rather than welcoming them.

I was more than a bit baffled by Cop Car's reference to armadillos as I was under the impression that they are a South American animal and I had no idea that they were to be found wandering freely in the States. I have only ever seen one in a zoo or on the tv and have no feeling about them one way or another - their hard carapace presumably stops them from being viewed as "cuddly". Perhaps, as you said, you had a bad experience with them in your childhood. Are they anti-social animals?

Posted by: Adele | November 11, 2005 at 09:02 AM

While we were in San Luis Obispo this past week-end, a deer was outside our quarters. He was a beautiful guy with quite a rack of antlers. Hope he remains safe during the hunting season.

Posted by: Maria | November 11, 2005 at 12:33 PM

The flock of turkey are back in the woods, now, gobbling up a storm. I don't know what has them excited--it seems a bit early for them to go to roost. In letting Jelly outside, I listened to the turkey for a moment and heard, also, a barred owl hooting. All is at peace, I hope; although, this weekend was the start of some bird hunting season. Don't know which bird(s) are at risk. (Across the creek from us is outside the city limit; thus, I suppose, hunting is allowed. We hear shooting back there, at times; but, I believe it is mostly target practice.) Today has been a balmy day (in the mid-70s), with a light breeze, and the American robins have been flocking for the last few days. The robins sang, wondrously, this morning!

Adele--You are correct that the armadillo are anything but cuddly. Although, WIWAK, I thought that horned toads were fun to play with (their being about 3-5 inches long), I cannot envision anyone's playing with an armadillo. In fact, armadillo hide boots are popular with some ranchers--at least they were when we were in Texas (I'm sure that I was unaware of it at the time, though.)

Maria--Our deer are the small white-tailed deer. I've not seen one with a rack of antlers and I don't pay enough attention to the sports pages of the local newspaper (I just toss the sports pages aside!) to know much about the presence or absence of antlers on white-tailed deer. Hunky Husband keeps threatening to "shoot Bambi" when he sees the deer up in the tended part of our yard; but, I've never seen anything more dangerous than a BB gun in HH's hands, so I think it's an empty threat that he makes just to get a reaction out of me! It's a game we play. He threatens the birds that nest on the front porch (but suggested that I should remove our wind chimes for the nesting season), and he inveighs against the squirrels (but he feeds them).

Posted by: Cop Car | November 11, 2005 at 05:47 PM

Useless fact of the day (at least for this crowd) - armadillos can be housebroken. Coincidentally, I saw this on the local news the other evening.

Obviously, someone has found them to be the perfect pet (and they probably live closer to Texas than I do).

Posted by: bogie | November 12, 2005 at 06:01 AM

Good grief!

Posted by: Cop Car | November 12, 2005 at 07:38 AM

s I lay in bed, this morning, I was trying to recall whether I had a class to attend this morning or whether I would be able to go to the fitness center with Elegant Friend.  Just as I reached for the iPAQ to check my schedule, the radio program changed to Living on Earth.  Aha!  Today is Sunday...a day for me to get things done around the home front...and it was 6:00 AM.  Minutes later, I looked out the window (while Hunky Husband is away, I normally use his bedroom to take advantage of the huge bay window that looks out onto our back yard), and could see that the sky was lightening in the southeast.  For the next 45 minutes, or so, I watched the light change through reds, oranges, and golds, and enjoyed the vista of fluffy pink buttermilk-type clouds against a baby blue sky.  Then, I arose to make the bed (that means pulling the covers up over the pillows, and smoothing them!) 

As I started around the foot of the bed, toward the window, I became aware that there were large dark forms in the lawn--a lawn that I had been unable to see from the prone position.  (From the prone position, I can see only sky and tree tops.)  Thinking that the local flock of wild turkey had come for their morning browse, I fetched my glasses to observe them.  Returning to the bedroom, what I observed was a group of six white-tail deer browsing on the chokeberry bushes on our side of the neighbor's fence.  The deer were startled at my appearance, but stood their ground and we observed one another for long minutes.  Eventually, I resumed my bed-making chore and they bounded off into the woods.  A wonderful morning, I'm having!

Oops!  A cardinal just hit one of the front room windows.  He's been resting on the window ledge for several minutes, now.  Poor little guy.

Knitting

I met a woman who had come into town to teach a couple of classes.  When we were introduced, she complimented me on the poncho that I was wearing and asked if I had made it (see photos in left sidebar). Her question propelled us into a conversation on needlework.  She, born in the northern part of England, crochets and was amazed by two things:  1) that the lace on my poncho was knitted (she had assumed that it had been crocheted), and 2) that my mentor for knitting (as I am a beginner) lives near London.  Thanks, Val, for providing grist for conversation!

November 05, 2005 at 09:36 AM

Comments

You have this thing for long distance learning, don't you?? :-)

Posted by: buffy | November 07, 2005 at 02:10 PM

Hardly a mentor. But I hope I've helped a bit. All the energy, inspiration and love of the craft have come from you, CopCar.

Posted by: Val | November 08, 2005 at 03:59 AM

I met a woman who had come into town to teach a couple of classes.  When we were introduced, she complimented me on the poncho that I was wearing and asked if I had made it (see photos in left sidebar). Her question propelled us into a conversation on needlework.  She, born in the northern part of England, crochets and was amazed by two things:  1) that the lace on my poncho was knitted (she had assumed that it had been crocheted), and 2) that my mentor for knitting (as I am a beginner) lives near London.  Thanks, Val, for providing grist for conversation!

Comments

[Wichi Dude]

I understand the absent-minded-ness. That is why I always pick a familiar looking landmark when parking.
As far as the arena goes, it is extremely easy to get turned around inside of it. And as all sides look much like the others, inside and out, losing your vehicle is not difficult. In the years of going to shows there, I've watched a fair amount of people wander around.
And thanks for the clarification on the navagator info. I was starting to doubt myself after Bogies comment. I mean, she SHOULD know.
Umm, question: that wouldn't have been Wolf Creek Pass you were flying through would it? Or is that in CO.?

[Maria]

I parked early one morning at Disneyland and my kids and I rushed off to see the Magic Kingdom forgetting to double check the lot I parked in. Late that night, when we were leaving, I drew a complete blank. That is one heck of a large parking lot to drag two tired kids through and I felt like we would never find the car. Finally we did, but talk about exhaustion!

[Cop Car]

WD--Wolf Creek Pass is, indeed, in Colorado. I'm not sure about the name of the California pass (Stephen's?), but Lake Isabella is in it.

Maria--Yikes! Disneyland has a huge amount of parking. That could have been your fitness outing for the month!

Maria, you should know the name of the pass that I took in trying to fly from Inyokern to Monterey. (We actually landed in Fresno because Monterey was fogged in and lacked the Instrument Landing System that the airplane was equipped to perform.)

[Buffy]

Oh man....I can't imagine having to look through the lots at Disneyland to find my car! I'd be sitting at the side of the road sobbing by then.

I'm the person who is in charge of writing down the parking space when we hit a big lot like that. After all, I'M the one who will be really upset if we can't find the car, so it seems fair.

As for navigating, I've seen my first car with the computerized map and directions. One of our friends has a Caddy with the screen in the dash. I do believe that I'd be up for a crash, trying to follow the map and drive at the same time.

[Cop Car]

Buffy--I had started to write in the posting about HH's using a GPS that, using a GPS is as dangerous as trying to drive while talking on a telephone. He terrifies me when I am in the car!

[buffy]

I'm not surprised. While I was fascinated to see the directions and watch the screen, if we had all not known how to get where we were going, I would have been MUCH more nervous. As it was, the distraction from the road concerned me.

I've noticed that the act of typing a phone number into a cell phone is too great a distraction from the road. Trying to read this screen while you were in motion would be even worse.

In Chicago, they have passed a law banning hands on cell phone use, so people are trying to get around that by connecting to Onstar and having them do the dialing. I don't think it's just the "hands-on" aspect they need to be worried about. Driving in Chicago and dividing your attention with a phone call could be lethal. Furthermore, the On-star commercial talks about the driver being able to keep his hands at the "10 and 2" position of the steering wheel, which is outdated information. If you have air bags, you are instructed to hold the wheel lower. Ban it, I say! (hopping off the soap box)

[Cop Car]

Buffy--I agree. It is the mental concentration involved in the tasks of dialing, carrying on a conversation, stowing equipment, interpreting instructions, etcetera that is the real threat to safe driving. The in-dash instruction screens should be illegal--just as it is (in most places) to have a TV screen viewable by the driver. Or, we could certify drivers for use of specific equipments.

The training regime for driving a car is not the same as that for flying an airplane. Airplanes have been equipped with multi-function screens, for display of information and input of instructions to the navigation/control systems, for 20-30 years. However, pilots receive extensive training in use of the equipment. As it is in an airplane, HUD (heads up display) system would be a better alternative in a ground vehicle. But, regardless of whether a driver wishes to use a screen display or a HUD, s/he should be trained--extensively. Training in systems use (such as pilots must continue to take throughout their flying careers) could minimize the amount of conscious attention required to operate them, making system use much safer.

Drivers: When was your last driving lesson? (Mine was 18 months ago.) Pilots: When was your last flight/ground lesson? (Mine was about 12 months before I made, what turned out to be, my last flight as a pilot.) I'm willing to wager that the pilots have had a lot more current training than the auto drivers have had.

Aside: We really need to concentrate on mass transit in the USA to minimize the number of private vehicles on the roads and highways. Too much of our public wealth is spent on highway and safety systems. If we spent the dollars on mass transit, rather than highways, I'm thinking that fares could be entirely reasonable if not non-existent. Too much of our egos is wrapped up in being able to go wherever we wish, whenever we wish. We are too lazy or unthinking to take the training required to make/keep us safe drivers. We need to get a clue!

[bogie]

Jeexe, you guys just make me sick. You are more active in retirement than WS and I are in "real life"!

[Cop Car]

Sorry to break this to you, Bogie: retirement is real life. We just get to do more of the side-issue things than when we were employed. You didn't read anywhere in the above about our having shoveled snow, though, did you? Nor did we stack any wood. Nor....

[Frankie]

17" tires?? Yes, ma'am, I have priced those suckers. This will be my third set on this vehicle. Almost seems like it'd be cheaper to buy a new car than to keep putting on new treads - and everything else that's overpriced because it's a performance car.

[Cop Car]

Frankie--Who knew that the 17" tires were that expensive when we were shopping for our respective vehicles? Not I. Nor did I realize what a short life the 17" tires had. The insurance folks aren't all that kind, either! Oh, well...now I know! I do like my car--a 2001 Lincoln LS (although, as previously mentioned, HH thinks that I should have bought a pickup truck rather than folding down the back seats to haul lumber, tree limbs, etc.) Yours?

[Frankie]

I'm am just dying!!!! I have an 2001 LS!! Jeez - I knew you must be awesome from our first conversations. Might there be other similarities?? Like my HH flew KC-135's until about 13 years ago.
And your comment on my entry from this morning . . . WLS saw me through many a lonely night - couldn't get the sucker until almost 10 pm! And I went to Mizzou - BSW 1979. I'd be glad to tell you more . . . but would hate to bore you to death. What would you like to know?

[Buffy]

Cop Car....you may have to consider adopting another of my family into your clan! *G*

I agree with bogie....you two are incredibly busy! Kudos for all the ARC work you do.

[Cop Car]

Frankie--Be careful about applying for membership in our family (Bogie, Cop Car, Wichi Dude, Dudette, Buffy). You just might get in and have to abide by all of the family "rules"! Buffy can aprise you of the hardships and pitfalls that come with membership. *grinning*

[Maria]

Thank you for bringing this post and the one below to my attention. Wonderful writing and so very inspirational. It is nice to have two new blogs to visit.

[Cop Car]

Sometimes it takes us a while to find a site. I don't recall how long Pattie has been blogging--but it's been for longer than my tenure in the blogosphere!

[buffy]

And she has the most amazing variety of entries!

She's a "must read," and it's good of you to bring her to the attention of others, Cop Car. That's a pretty amazing post, isn't it?

[Adele]

Thank you for pointing out this blog. It has now a place in my list of favourites. The post itself is amazing isn't it - it really makes you think.

[bogie]

Now I can't get to her comments either. I think Red Eagle hates me!

[buffy]

Or we share a comment banning gene, bogie. We don't know what the problem is, but you'll have to start visiting us at odd times to see if you can get in.

[Adele]

I really enjoyed that post. Thank you Cop Car for pointing it out.

I always have difficulty getting to the comments on the Redeagle sites also. I find the best way is to click on the comments displayed on the sidebar and that usually lets me in. Of course, it means that earlier comments get left.

[Adele]

Ye Gods, Cop Car. I don't blame you at all for insisting that she dig it out immediately. I do hope all is well with you - and that the biopsy proves that it is benign.

[Cop Car]

Thanks for the well wishes, Adele. It's always a bit unnerving to find anything that isn't up to snuff on one's body; but, I've really been quite fortunate. I had some awful sunburns as a kid. Elegant Friend, an inveterate sun-worshipper has had several such cancers removed from her skin. (She has a terrific attitude--that she is willing to pay for her play!) My dad had numerous spots removed, too; but, I don't know how many of them were actually cancerous (he worked outside most of his life.) Think this latest little gem brought my removal count up to about one dozen or so; but, this is probably the only time they looked me in the eye and called one cancerous. At least that I recall.

[bogie]

I didn't realize that you still had that - it was there during the wedding (for those counting - that is more than a few months, 6 months that I know about).

Glad someone had enough sense to tell you to have it checked out!

[Cop Car]

Not to be picky, but the mar on my face at the wedding was a split in the skin--extending from the corner of my mouth. My physician told me to put Selsun Blue on it. Amazingly, although the split had been there for at least three months at that time (some times appearing to be healed, but recurring in a couple of weeks), within two or three weeks, the Selsun Blue had it healed. (The Selsun Blue acted as an instant chemical peel, but it worked!) I do think that it was shortly thereafter that the bump appeared--about an inch from where the split had been. I got to wondering last night if perhaps there is a link between the cancer and the outbreak of shingles that I had had on my upper lip 20 years ago. I'll have to ask the PA if there is a known link.

[Cop Car]

Bogie--Just checked my calendar. Dr S had given me the Selsun Blue advice just 4 days before the wedding, so I don't know whether I had actually bought the stuff to try it by the wedding. If so, the chemical peel action would account for the red glow around the corner of my mouth--that showed in the photos. Frugally, I started using the Selsun Blue for its intended purpose (as a shampoo if you're not familiar with it) and it does a good job. It was too expensive to throw away!

[Maria]

Well, you sure have had a busy time. I think you did best by going the more radical way and having it cut out. I also want to thank you for the skin warnings. I have a mole on my lip that came up suddenly. I had it checked out and it was nothing serious, but I still want to have it removed next time I see my doctor.

[buffy]

Oh, my! I'm glad you listened to HH. Those of us with fair skin need to be ever vigilent. I think it's just as well you had it removed immediately, rather than waiting for one of the cosmetic options. Elegante Mother made a similar choice for a spot on her nose, and you'd never know there had been any work done.

I've had some polyps removed, but so far I've been spared anything cancerous. My dermatologist does an annual check for growths of note, and I go in early if something shows up that concerns me. I'm really glad you didn't wait. Selfishly, I want you to be around, and in good health, for a LONG time.

[Cop Car]

Maria--Check it out! You are another person who should stick around a bit--for the benefit of the rest of us, you understand.

Buffy--Thanks for the sentiment. You know that it is entirely mutual. When I had the large hunk (1 inch long by .25 inch wide) taken out of my leg in 1986, the dermatologist cautioned me to have annual whole-skin exams. Truthfully, Tuesday was the first whole-skin exam that I'd had a dermatology specialist perform since then. My internist had performed a survey a few years ago--to save me the hassle of going to another medical office--and I've tried to keep watch. This one just sneaked up on me. It was white--and I thought that I was causing the continued bleeding by scrubbing my face too hard each day.

[Wichi Dude]

I would guess that after planes, the cutting table shouldn't have been much of a challenge to assemble. Though no one ever asked you to lug a plane down to the basement.

Hope it works out to your expectations.

[Cop Car]

Awww, Wichi Dude, you are giving me way too much credit. I've worked on planes, but never put one together. [One of my friends did the totally unthinkable: he built an airplane in his basement with no easy means of removing it. Eventually, he had to take out part of a wall to get the plane out--fuselage and wing, separately, of course. Thankfully, the plane was a really small one. Most of my friends were smart enough to build their planes in a garage, at least. Actually, this guy was smart enough to know where he was heading. It just seemed the best option to him--allowing him to work in a comfortable environment.]

Over the years, as you well know, WD, I have put together my fair share of "comes-in-a-box" furniture. In Florida, I assembled the three tall bookcases that are now in this house (one in the living room, two in the family room). In California, I assembled two TV carts (one to hold my computer, the other to hold the TV that HH gave me while I "lived" in that apartment--I say "lived" in because, of course, my house was in Albuquerque.) Hunky Husband now uses both of them in his den.

About 10-15 years ago, while living on Sunrise, I put together a small bookcase for the cookbooks that I kept in the dining room of that house. That bookcase is now in my front room, holding sheet music. Although it is so small that it barely counts, I assembled a short, 1/4-round bookcase about 15 years ago to use in my (then) den. It is now in the kiln room where it holds accessories to the kiln. Then, the last things that I assembled were the three medium-sized bookcases that I put together about a year ago--to replace the large bookcases that I wished to get out of my den. They are in the basement family room holding airplane books and my collection of pewter model airplanes. And, the listing includes only the indoor furniture that I've assembled. Let's not get into patio tables and the such. Oh! And, you have a piece of furniture that I finished and assembled: the glider on your front porch. After Dad died, I finished the slats and assembled the glider for Mom. Dad had, of course, intended to do that chore.

[Adele]

Cop Car, I am impressed. Over here it is generally accepted that flat-pack furniture (what you call "comes-in-a-box) always lacks at least two screws, has one piece cut wrongly so it won't fit, had instructions translated from Swedish by a Japanese speaker whose grasp of English is rather weak and to put the actual piece of furniture together requires an expert carpenter who is also a nuclear scientist. I've never managed it anyway - I tend to leave such things to the Husband. So I am very impressed to hear that you can put such things together. Does the air around you get very blue while you are doing it?

[Cop Car]

Adele--Since my first love was nuclear physics--back before they discovered that there exist more than one type of particle in an atomic nucleus *grin*--I judge myself qualified to take a bunch of pre-cut, pre-drilled, pre-finished wood product parts and a handful of hardware (screws, bolts, nuts, nails) to make a usable piece of furniture.

Yes, on occasion there is a piece of hardware missing; but, if it's just a screw, I either get one from our inexhaustible supply of miscellaneous screws or take a run down to the hardware store. If I need more holes, I drill them. Only if the finish is greatly marred, or if something needs to be sawed, do I go back to the manufacturer. I am lousy at using a saw, a cutting plane, or any cutting tool other than a drill. In the case of the cutting table, my only complaint was that the small holes for the #5 screws that attached the 10 hinges that I installed were not positioned truly. Fortunately, they were close enough to true that I didn't need to re-position the hinges and drill new holes.

No, the air does not turn blue around me and my project. Assembly takes place when no one else is around, and what's the point of using blue words if there is no one to hear them!?! I did think thoughts to the person who drilled the holes for the hinge installations on the cutting table--to the effect that s/he should either ask the boss for a new jig (positioning tool) or learn how to use the one that s/he had, properly.

[Adele]

Cop Car, I find it interesting that there are as many problems with flat-pack furniture (a.k.a. comes-in-a-box) in the US as there is in the UK. I have to admit that I leave the constuction of such things to the Husband who usually manages to sort them out. They aren't something that personally I've ever tried so I hope that if I did that it would be a success, but I connot say so definitely.

Also I wasn't aware of your interest in nuclear physics. Another skill to add to your repertoir. Tell me, is there anything you are not both good and experienced at?

[Cop Car]

Reading your comment reminded me of how my Elder Brother and Hunky Husband approach assembly. By the time they have finished inventorying the parts, I have the thing put together. By the time they write up their own process flow sheet, I am enjoying the product of my labors. That is why I cannot work with either of them--I lose interest in the project before they get warmed up. BTW: This particular flat-pack originated in Canada; but, it is no better or worse than those that have originated in the USA or anywhere else.

I hasten to assure you that there are many things at which I do not excel--even if I've tried them. (I just shake my head in wonder at how good Buffy is at quilting, gardening, cooking...and at how good you must be at knitting, art appreciation, history....I'm one of those Jill-of-all-trades that one hears about. I can say that I've done a lot of things, but I don't pretend to be much more than average good at most of them.)

My original intent was to teach nuclear physics at the college level. That was before I figured out that it took about twice the brain power that I possessed. I was half-way to my master's degree when I switched from the physics curriculum into the engineering curriculum. It is not false modesty, but realism, that makes me say that I could never have completed a PhD in physics which would, of course, have been a basic requirement. Oh, well. I have had so much fun in engineering that it's hard for me to imagine why I didn't start out in it.

[buffy]

WOW!!!!!! I don't know where to start....so many things to respond to!

First...I am SO impressed that you went out and bought a cutting table at FOUR times the cost you were prepared to spend. It just goes to show that you really understand just how important it is to take care of your back (especially when you are quilting). Good for you!

Second....I didn't realize just how funny Adele is. I haven't given up on our trip to Scotland. I have more info to share, just not the time to do it yet. I can't wait to meet her and see if that humor pops up a lot! *G*

Third....you started putting that thing together after my bed time. I can't believe you waited until 9:10 at night to start the project. And, you are SO self-determined! Carrying all that stuff to the basement would have killed the project for me. Besides, I'd want it on the main floor of the house (where there's absolutely NO room). I'm perverse about that. We could build a studio in the basement, and I'd have all the room I'd need, but I need to be upstairs where there is natural light, and a window with a view.

If it were anyone else, I'd say that you probably would have been a fine nuclear engineer and professor, and you should have stuck with your dream. Actually, I still think that might be true, but I know that you are totally able to assess your own capabilities, so I won't go there. It seems to me that you've enjoyed engineering, and that's all that matters.

GREAT POST! AND GREAT COMMENTS!

[bogie]

Deer are always cool to see. That's not really true - usually I see them as they are crossing the road in front of me, as I'm doing 45-50 MPH. Not Cool. Just about any other time though!

As WS and I were going to the transfer station on Saturday, I saw a flock of 20+ turkeys in the woods just off the side of the road. Turkey season starts soon, they better start being more careful where they lounge about at.

[Cop Car]

The local wild turkey flock numbers 13-16, just now. At their high, they numbered 21-22; but, for the first three years that we were here we never saw more than 8 turkey.

[buffy]

We don't have flocks of wild turkeys, but plenty of the human kind.

It sounds as though your Sunday was off to a most beautiful start. I hope the cardinal revived.

[Cop Car]

Yes, by the time I had finished blogging, Buffy, the cardinal had revived and flown off. This morning, as I was opening the blinds in the dining room, I saw a little Carolina wren in the chokeberry bushes that are there. The plantings were chosen with birds in mind, and they are using them!

[Adele]

Over here deer are considered with rather mixed feelings by gardeners. They are lovely to look at but, however, they tend to eat the plants in gardens. In fact gardeners living in the countryside regard deer as much a pest as rabbits.

NOt a problem we have where we live and so I just consider your sighting of deer with envy. Wild turkeys I don't think I have ever seen. Are they the same as the domesticated sort we eat at Christmas?

I wish I could see the cardinal but feel that I need to dissuade wonderful birds from our garden, what with Nimrod the Mighty Hunter on the prowl.

[Cop Car]

Adele--We have two mighty hunters; but, they mostly content themselves with mice, voles, frogs, and tiny bunny rabbits. They kill far fewer birds than do our windows.

The wild turkey are far prettier than the domestic lines that I have seen. They are indiginous to North America, so you should not have seen them--at least, not in the wild. Here is the e-address to the best photographs that I found in a quick search. The page is rather long, but the only photographs are the five near the top of the page. The last of the five is the best representation of our flock. We don't have any "smokey grey phase" turkey. (BTW: My Elder Brother insists that the plural of "turkey" is "turkey". Newer construction, as in the cited article, uses "turkeys".)

http://www.ohiobirds.org/news.php?News_ID=175

[Cop Car]

Adele--I forgot to mention that the plantings that the deer concentrate upon, in our yard, were put there (by me) for the wildlife. The deer are free to browse them. To my knowledge, the only things that they browse that I would rather they did not are some euonymous bushes that I planted to shield our neighbor from the sight of the brush pile that I maintain for the birds. From the vantage of our house, the 4 bushes appear as one--due to their being aligned with our line-of-sight; but, from the vantage of the neighbor's house, they should see the 4 bushes. If the deer would let the poor little things grow (I transplanted them from a place where I wished to plant roses), the euonymous would serve their intended function!

[Adele]

Cop Car,

Thanks for the link to the pictures of wild turkeys. You are right, they are more attractive than the domesticated type.

Our Mighty Hunter not only hunts mice, voles, rabbits, rats, etc he also catches birds. Every so often I have a bird's body to deal with or what's worse a mortally injured but still alive bird to deal with.

I am impressed that your plantings are for the wildlife. I have to admit that over here most gardeners, and I include myself in this, grow things for their own enjoyment. Thus the depredations of deer doesn't go down very well. There are many environmentalists/organic growers over here who grow things with respect to wildlife but even from these I have never heard that they are growing things for deer to eat. Very interesting concept.

[Cop Car]

The plantings were made with birds in mind; but, they must learn to share with their four-legged friends! (In addition, I keep a block of salt, back in the woods, for the deer.) Since it is we who are the intruders on this land, I welcome the nesting barn swallows on the front porch and the visits to our plantings from all manner of wildlife--with one exception: armadillo. Armadillos are moving northward ever-farther.

We had no armadillos in Oklahoma when I lived in Tulsa as a child--much less they should have been in Kansas. Not sure why, but I hate the little things. Perhaps I had a nasty encounter with them when as an even younger child I lived in several communities within Texas. Texas is not remembered as a really hospitable place (I'm talking about the place, here, not the people), by me. I was always ill or suffering from cactus needles in my fingers and toes--not to mention hot and dusty!

[bogie]

Adele,

I know many people that, although they don't plant for the wildlife, plant with the wildlife in mind.

When I planted my fruit trees, I planted enough for us (2 people don't eat that much) and for the birds and animals to get a plentiful share. 150 strawberry plants were put in so we could get a enough berries to have a handful a day, the wildlife gets the rest (by design).

When I plant the vegetable garden in summer, I over-plant by a good amount for the same reason. I know several people on my road that do the same thing, so it isn't an uncommon practice.

[Adele]

Over here lots of people try to garden "envitonmentally" or "organically". This means in fact no poisons or insectisides and an understanding that a certain proportion of their plants/crops are likely to be lost to insects or animals. I have, however, seen nothing that implies that therefore depredations by deer are likely to be welcomed. I suspect that those who suffer from visits by deer or rabbits are more likly to view them with resignation rather than welcoming them.

I was more than a bit baffled by Cop Car's reference to armadillos as I was under the impression that they are a South American animal and I had no idea that they were to be found wandering freely in the States. I have only ever seen one in a zoo or on the tv and have no feeling about them one way or another - their hard carapace presumably stops them from being viewed as "cuddly". Perhaps, as you said, you had a bad experience with them in your childhood. Are they anti-social animals?

[Maria]

While we were in San Luis Obispo this past week-end, a deer was outside our quarters. He was a beautiful guy with quite a rack of antlers. Hope he remains safe during the hunting season.

[Cop Car]

The flock of turkey are back in the woods, now, gobbling up a storm. I don't know what has them excited--it seems a bit early for them to go to roost. In letting Jelly outside, I listened to the turkey for a moment and heard, also, a barred owl hooting. All is at peace, I hope; although, this weekend was the start of some bird hunting season. Don't know which bird(s) are at risk. (Across the creek from us is outside the city limit; thus, I suppose, hunting is allowed. We hear shooting back there, at times; but, I believe it is mostly target practice.) Today has been a balmy day (in the mid-70s), with a light breeze, and the American robins have been flocking for the last few days. The robins sang, wondrously, this morning!

Adele--You are correct that the armadillo are anything but cuddly. Although, WIWAK, I thought that horned toads were fun to play with (their being about 3-5 inches long), I cannot envision anyone's playing with an armadillo. In fact, armadillo hide boots are popular with some ranchers--at least they were when we were in Texas (I'm sure that I was unaware of it at the time, though.)

Maria--Our deer are the small white-tailed deer. I've not seen one with a rack of antlers and I don't pay enough attention to the sports pages of the local newspaper (I just toss the sports pages aside!) to know much about the presence or absence of antlers on white-tailed deer. Hunky Husband keeps threatening to "shoot Bambi" when he sees the deer up in the tended part of our yard; but, I've never seen anything more dangerous than a BB gun in HH's hands, so I think it's an empty threat that he makes just to get a reaction out of me! It's a game we play. He threatens the birds that nest on the front porch (but suggested that I should remove our wind chimes for the nesting season), and he inveighs against the squirrels (but he feeds them).

[bogie]

Useless fact of the day (at least for this crowd) - armadillos can be housebroken. Coincidentally, I saw this on the local news the other evening.

Obviously, someone has found them to be the perfect pet (and they probably live closer to Texas than I do).

[Cop Car]

Good grief!

You have this thing for long distance learning, don't you?? :-)

Posted by: buffy | November 07, 2005 at 02:10 PM

[Val]

Hardly a mentor. But I hope I've helped a bit. All the energy, inspiration and love of the craft have come from you, CopCar.