Baby Car Crib/Stroller Combination

I have a small collection of books for the home handyman. This particular set, "Do-It-Yourself Encyclopedia" was put out my Popular Mechanics in 1955. My ex-husband's Uncle Forest gave it to me when we were visiting in Ohio in 1977. There are lots of interesting things to make in these and good tips for fixing things around the house, many of them still valid.

I love this innovative invention. It would not be considered safe by today's standards, but car beds were popular for a long time. I even had one for my daughter, Keri. She was born during a time when seat belts were optional and many cars didn't have them at all. Car seats were simply a way to put the baby up where they could see out the windows and had very little to do with safety. It was a much simpler time back then.

Avocado Ice Cream

The other day I finally convinced Tony that avocado was good to eat because it has "good" cholesterol. He promptly ate the avocado I had in the fridge to use with my tuna. Arggghhh! I complained.

Tony started buying avocados. Tony's philosphy is "one for you, one for me" or "half for you, half for me". So he buys two avocados each time. One for him, one for me. Tonight when he brought the avocados home he let me choose and then went in and cut his up. I didn't pay attention, so I figured he ate it with rice, but when I went back in the kitchen he was mixing something up in a dish. Whatever it was he said he wanted to put it in the freezer to get cold. He told me it tasted better cold. I left the kitchen and didn't really see what it was or that he didn't put a lid on it.

A little later Jeren went to the freezer to get some ice cream and when he opened it up, the mixture that Tony put in there, spilled all over. Ours is the type of freezer at the bottom of the fridge. I yelled for Tony to come in and clean it up and I explained that he needed to always put a lid on things in the fridge and freezer. (I think I've explained this to him about a million times if not more, but it still eludes him somehow.)

I noticed his mixture was brownish, but couldn't figure out what it was. Later I asked him what he put in the container in the freezer to get cold. He told me it was avocado with menthol. Well, obviously, he didn't mean Vicks or anything so I asked a few more questions and as it turns out the chocolate sauce he bought the other day is a mint chocolate sauce. He mixed that with the avocado and a little milk and then put it in the freezer until it was very cold, but not frozen solid. He told me they have avocado ice cream in the Phillipines but it is very expensive.

We sat down to watch a movie and after a bit he went in the kitchen. When he came back he brought me a little cup with that mixture in it. It was delicious. I would never have thought of it at all, but if you want a nice little treat that tastes very much like ice cream you should really try it.

I don't have a recipe but basically it was avocado mashed up, about a tablespoon of mint chocolate sauce (the type for ice cream) and a small amount of milk. Then just put it in the freezer until it is good and cold.

Trust me on this one! It is VERY good.

Surprise package.

I got a package in the mail today. I wasn't really expecting a package so was interested in what it might be. Remember the camera I ordered from TVsDepot back in May. I was supposed to get a new camera but I got refurbished instead. I complained to them because I didn't get my strap or lens cover. The guy who answered the phone assured me it wasn't refurbished (trust me, it was) and that Fujifilm accidentally sent them some without the strap or lens cover. He said he would have them sent to me from Fujifilm.

Haha....that was months ago. The strap and lens cover never came. I just gave up and decided I would just look on ebay or order one myself.

Then today I got that package and in it was the strap! It's not really the strap that comes with my camera, but it's a nice one and made by Fujifilm, so I'm good with that.

Maybe in a few more months I will get the lens cover.

Jeren's namesake.

It's funny how sometimes the tiniest little ties will bond two people together for a long time.

When I was expecting Jeren I wanted a girl but I wanted to have a boy name ready, just in case. I wanted a name that began with the letter J, but was tired of all the usual boy names beginning with J, so I started looking around. One day at the grocery store a young man was bagging my groceries and his name tag read "Jeren". I asked him about his name. He said his parents made it up because they couldn't decide between Jeremy and Jared. I thought it was a lovely name and asked the young man if he would mind if I used it for my baby if he was a boy. When Jeren was born I gave it a lot of thought, but finally on the day we went home decided to use the name. He became Jeren Thomas.

The first time I went back to the store with him, and the older Jeren was there, I proudly showed him his little namesake. He was so excited. He asked if he could hold him and took him around and showed him off. He was very proud to have a little namesake. I never thought in those days to take a picture of the two of them. Shortly after that he and his family moved to Gig Harbor, but I never forgot about him and always wondered about him.

Last night at work I verified a transaction for one of the cashiers. For some reason it didn't hit me at first, but as he walked away I realized his name was Jeren. It's not a common name and his birth year matched what year the older Jeren would have been born. I got all excited and called out to him as he walked away. He didn't hear me because he was on the phone, but then the whole front line of cashiers called out his name. LOL. I was a little mortified, but he turned around and they all motioned to him so I went forward to the counter and talked to him. I asked him if he had worked at Thriftway on Pacific. He said yes, and I told him I was Jeren's mom. He got so excited and even remembered Jeren's middle name. He told me that he tells his wife that story all the time! I told him that I tell the story all the time, too! It was nice to meet him again as an adult and to find that we still shared that tiny little bond of my son being his namesake. It made my day!

News?

Is it really news that the first lady wore shorts on her vacation? I personally would think it odder for her not to wear shorts in 100 degree weather while on a vacation. Sadly, there are way too many people with WAY too much time on their hands. It's really not news, people. It's just a person being a person. Does it really affect our lives in any way at all?

In other news...I found this extremely interesting and very tempting.

A different kind of cruise.

Cargo cruising.

Who knew?
I know it's not for everyone, but I am seriously considering it for something to do when I can afford to take that much time. I'm going to start saving my pennies now.

French Dip

Tonight at work I decided to order a French Dip for lunch. I like hamburger dips, so I ordered a hamburger dip with swiss cheese. I've ordered this many times at work and I usually get a nice french roll with the hamburger and swiss on it and a side of the au jus dipping sauce. It's a nice meal with cole slaw or sometimes, if I know someone will be there to eat most of my fries, I order fries. I really enjoy hamburger dips.
So what did I get tonight?
haha.
The box contained a hamburger with swiss, complete with sesame seed hamburger bun, lettuce, tomato, onion and a dill pickle. Beside the hamburger was a small container of au jus.
Oh my goodness! Are you kidding me? What cook in a fast order setting doesn't know what a hamburger dip is? haha.
I took it like it was because I didn't have time to have them redo it and I like their hamburgers, so it wasn't a total loss. Since I usually dip my hamburger dip in a barbeque sauce, mayonaise mixture more than in the au jus, it was ok, but I still can't believe the cook did not know what a hamburger dip is.

Mother's Day

Some of the best parts of being a mom are the little gifts and art projects. I have many more than this, but these are some of my favorites:

Clay bowl by Sean. Some of the tentacles came off.

Clay bowl. Maybe by Laurie?

Three little almost pigs. One is missing his snout, one is missing
an ear, and one isn't really a pig and not made by one of my
children, but I love it anyway.

This one was contributed by a grandchild.

David's pencil can. I've been meaning to replace the missing eye,
but it's obviously not a huge priority. I could kill whoever tried their
pen on it, but the culprit never 'fessed up.

I love this little booklet and picture story of our family. I especially love the yarn hair on each of us. David and Jack really were blond when Jeren made this, although neither is blond anymore. I love how he is separate from the rest of the kids. He was the youngest and, because of the 4 year gap, spent a lot of time alone while they were in school.

A few of the clay things. A trivet by Keri. A tow truck, camera and pickup truck by Sean.

Clown by Sean

Close-up of clown's face.

David at Lister and clay house by Jack.

Paint palette by David, castle by Dennis.

I love this little man made by Laurie. I like that he looks like a piece of folk art. He usually hangs on the wall by the computer or in my sewing area.

And another bowl. This one for a pet. I think this was made by Laurie, but it might have been Sean or Keri? I can't remember. I use it for little stuff I pick up around the house and change.