Yippee!!!

Woo-hoo! Tomorrow I get to see Sarah, Ryan, and Micah!

Answer to Triangle Puzzle--Don't Read If You Want to Do The Puzzle

Answer to the Triangle Puzzle posted two days ago:

The two shapes are not identical since the two triangles do not have the same slope. The picture of the triange with the space actually has a bulge on the bypotenuse which takes up one additional square.

I actually think the top triangle looks as if the slope dips more than the second one has a bulge

VP Picks

Today I read this entry at The Chuck Dunn Report. (Thanks Ann for linking to this on your blog.) I found it interesting as this morning on The Today Show they were discussing Tim Kaine as a potential running mate for Obama. The similiarities between the two men include:

1. Both are Harvard law grad
2. Both are married to Harvard law grads
3. Both of their mothers were born in El Dorado, KS
4. Both have community service--Obama on the south side of Chicago and Kaine as a Roman Catholic missionary in central America

Ouch but good!

This is a good thought. We probably all spend more time in front of tv then we realize. I like reading Seth Grodin--marketing guru with lots of practical life information from a marketing perspective.

Click here to read.

Triangle Puzzle

This was the puzzle on my board yesterday. There was quite a bit of traffic around it. Can you solve it?

Weekend

The past weekend seems kind of boring but I stayed busy. Saturday Renae and I picked blueberries. We'd found a place last year that we both thought we could remember where it was; however, we drove and drove and drove without finding the correct road. We both had looked through our checkbooks last week to try to find the name of the place, but apparently we both paid with cash which is pretty rare. Another friend of mine had gone along last year so we called Shelly from the car. She was on her way home, but when she checked her checkbook she'd only written in "Blueberries". I'd also gone on-line last week to find the place, but I couldn't find anything familiar. Shelly went on-line and started reading of blueberry farms in Ottawa County. We both agreed that Pierce St. sounded familiar so Renae and I put the address in the GPS and drove right there. I guess it's important to turn on 104th instead of 120th! We were only 2 miles off.

Saturday night I made blueberry bars for a church picnic on Sunday. They were a recipe I got at the blueberry farm and are pretty good. I was excited because it's the first time I took a dish to a potluck and everything was gone. However, I'm wondering if people thought they were chocolate chip and were disappointed when it was blueberry!

We have so many raspberries this year (although they are pretty much done now) that we made a batch of raspberry jam on Saturday and with so many still left over a batch of raspberry/cherry yesterday. We also are getting lots of beans from the garden. Anyone in AL want some when I come?

Both Saturday and Sunday were good pool days. I like that a lot!!!

As a friend in IL once said, "These pathetic lives we've grown to love.

Flashback

Last Sunday at church I had a college flashback. The organ began playing the Doxology and I started to stand up!

Bean Harvest

This is the result of my first bean picking this year and an updated picture of the garden. I'm working on the weeds, but it's a never ending battle. The raspberries keep coming. And, I "weeded" two carrots last night. It appears we could be picking them.





The garden picture is taken as it is getting dark so it actually looks better in person. The tomatoes are coming along but not as nicely as previous year. The beans are to the right; you can definitely tell which plants made it on the first, second, or third planting. The popcorn is to the right of the beans. About half of it came in. Behind those three is peppers, lettuce, carrots and potatoes that you cannot see. The raspberry bushes are at the back of the picture. Behind that is the squash and cantaloupe. Last night I decided that you just cannot grow okra in Michigan. My plants are only about 6" high and it's almost the end of July!

Quirk Edit

Not only do I need to read the newspaper everyday, I need to read it in order. I really don't like it if someone has read the paper before me, but I'll still read it. However, I want to read section A, then B, then C and so on.

The Sunday paper is different. I still need A first but after that it doesn't matter so much.

My Quirks

My sister tagged me to do a quirks meme. I have her same dilemma in having six readers who will do this.

Here are the rules:
1) Link to the person who tagged me.
2) Mention the rules.
3) Tell six quirky, yet boring, unspectacular details about myself.
4) Tag 6 other bloggers by linking to them.
5) Go to each person’s blog and leave a comment that lets them know they’ve been tagged.

Okay, six quirky things in no particular order:

1. I absolutely hate, detest, abhor, loathe, can't stand, can't bear, dislike, and find insufferable gum--the gum itself, the smell, and the act of others chewing it.
2. I need to read a newspaper everyday. It helps me relax and let's me know my day is ordered properly if I have time to do so. So quickly looking through it at 10:30 p.m helps me sleep but I need to read it earlier when I have time to read whatever I want. And I always read the comics.
3. Unlike my sister I do not like sheets tucked in tightly. Yes to having them tucked in but my feet can feel claustrophobic. On the same line of thought, I do not like lots of blankets even in winter. I can't sleep when the blankets are heavy and I can't roll easily from side to stomach and vice versa.
4. I love to wear socks and tennis shoes but rarely do.
5. It grates on me when people say "anyways".
6. And the one everyone thought would be first, I hate to be called Rhonda.

So Sarah, I tag you even though I think I never got around to doing the one you tagged me for.

Price of gas

I can't believe how good it is to see this sign.





It's been a few months since we've seen gas below $4/gallon.

Send Beauty to the Desert

This is a project my MK unit is doing this month to help support the troops. Our contact in the Middle East said the troops really like the MK sun products such as sun screen, lip protector, etc. There is no profit to me as all the money goes into product and I actually will cover the cost of packaging and shipping.




Let me know if you'd like more information. The deadline is soon, but if you are interesting in donating, you can just let me know.

Second Guessing Myself

Several weeks ago someone at work made a suggestion of something I should do to help in my potential of moving into another position. Because of some previous experiences I did not follow that advice.

I just found out some news that makes me wonder if I made a mistake.

How do you know when to do something you know is futile for the immediate but may be positive for the future without appearing to be out of touch with the current situation? In other words, how do you know when to apply for a position if you and they both know that you know the job is going to someone else?

No, Mom, there isn't a job opening.

East of Eden

This weekend was to be a finish books weekend. I completed one of the three books I was hoping to finish.

I finally finished East of Eden. I finished in third in the reading contest I was in. My sister and niece both finished it before I did.

A GPS and Michigan Lefts

Most of you know two things about me: I absolutely hate Michigan lefts and I got a GPS recently. Friday evening I was messing around with it on the way home from the store. There are some kinks I need to figure out, but I told friends that when I got to a Michigan left this is what the GPS said.

Turn right on Chicago Dr.
Stay left on Chicago Dr.
In 200 feet turn left on Chicago for a stupid Michigan left.

Even Garmin agrees with me!

Mmmm, raspberries

On Tuesday and Thursday evenings I picked a total of almost 3 quarts of raspberries from the garden.

Today I passed a house selling fresh picked raspberries for $3/pint. If I do the math correctly (which is highly suspect), I would say I picked almost $18 worth of raspberries. The raspberry bushes have been in the garden for quite a few years so there is no yearly cost for seed or plants, we don’t weed the bushes so there’s no work there, and all we do is pick the berries if the birds and Japanese beetles don’t beat us to them.

This morning I realized how agriculture in the muck farms of Hudsonville, Michigan’s Salad Bowl City, is different from other places. The obvious is the crop difference; everywhere else there’s corn and beans, but these fields have celery, onions, beets, radishes, etc.

This morning I saw workers harvesting celery. One person drives a tractor pulling a machine that cuts the celery and another drives a truck along side it for the celery to shoot into. About 20 yards off to where the celery had been cut was another lowriding “tractor” in which two people sat and were already planting the next crop of celery. I’ve been told in some years, they’ve been able to get in three crops of celery although I think two is typical.

Where am I going?

Looking forward to picking up this toy, I mean necessity, at the store in about a week. I found a very, very good deal on it at www.walmart.com which makes me wonder if it’s too good to be true so it is too good to be true.

I debated between Garmin and TomTom, as that had been recommended previously, but I like that this one has street name pronunciation.

Even though I’m not on the road as much as I have been previously, I think it will be good to have kind of like a cell phone on the road now is a necessity and no longer a luxury.

Cherries

Saturday Renae and I picked 30 lbs of tart cherries and then went to her house to process them. Tart cherries don't last long, hence they are not sold in stores. Once they are pitted they juice very quickly. I made almost 32 half-pints of jam, and Renae made two cherry pies. We are also enjoying the juice, and we have 3-4 bags of frozen cherries to make cherry sauce for pancakes or more pie this winter. Saying "this winter" makes me feel so Little House on the Prairie-ish.

Picking cherries and blueberries is one of the things I like about living in Michigan.

My I'm Not Having a Heart Attack Day

The last 8 days I've been experiencing a sharp pain 5-7 times a day on my upper left side. On Thursday I scheduled a physical in a few weeks and thought if it was still bothering me I'd have it checked then.

Yesterday sitting at my desk I had waves of extreme pain and pressure in my chest. I knew I wasn't having a heart attack--no nausea, sweating, etc., but it was still quite painful. I went out to lunch with a friend who offered to take me to the Med/Surg place, but that and especially the ER seemed too extreme. Finally in the afternoon after numerous waves of this pain I called the doctor and went in at 4:00.

I don't understand why the nurse has to get my height every time I go in, weight I understand more but still don't like, but why height. Then she measures me and says I'm an inch shorter than I've always been before! I was surprised and the student nurse who was job shadowing noticed my surprise. Then in the examining room, the student tried to take my blood pressure. Twice she tried and couldn't get it. I looked at her and said, "I do have some, don't I?" She said she couldn't figure why she couldn't get a reading on it because earlier she'd had her stethoscope on wrong, but she was sure it was right now! I was not very assured of her skills at that point.

Renae said no wonder I was having problems if I'm shrinking and have no blood pressure!

Because of chest pains the doctor had to have an EKG done. While the EKG was running the student nurse said, "Now what does an EKG do?" It seemed to me that she should have known that before going out in public representing her school.

I am reading John Steinbeck's East of Eden so the nurse was asking me about it. She said she'd read Steinbeck's Grapes of Wrath. The student nurse then said, "Steinbeck. Didn't he write Jurassic Park?" I definitely wasn't impressed with her at that point.

Anyway, the diagnosis is costochondritis. Hopefully in a few weeks after taking an ant-inflammatory the pain will be gone. And hopefully when I go back for the physical, the student nurse won't be there.

Retirement

A lady I worked with this past year on a special project is retiring. Today is her last day. I was just talking with a guy about how it must feel to know this is the last day of regular work.

I think I'd like that feeling.

She will do some consulting in the fall, but that will be doing what she wants, when she wants.

I think I'd like that feeling too.

Mmmm, New Electronics

This is the new computer on my desk at work. It's smoking fast compared to what I had. In fact, I told a co-worker that I can work so fast now I'll need a new performance plan!

Marital Advice

Yesterday I received this e-mail from my father:

Mama wants a digital camera. What do you recommend?


My reply:

If Mama wants a digital camera, I recommend you get her one.


I'm surprised after 51+ years of marriage he'd need me to tell him that!

This Will Be Me Someday

Last night I got hope about 8:30 to find my neighbor, her sister, and a friend sitting outside. It was a great night, and although they asked me to get a chair I really didn’t have time to sit down. I chatted for a few minutes with them. You may remember that neighbor is about 88, maybe 89, and her husband died in early April. This is basically how the conversation went. N=Neighbor, S=Sister, F=Friend, Me =Me.

F: You’re phone is ringing.
F: YOU’RE PHONE IS RINGING.
S: I hear something. Is your phone ringing?
S: IS THAT YOUR PHONE RINGING?
N: What, is my phone ringing?
After about 6 rings she gets up to answer it, but the others tell her there’s no point in it as they will hang up before she can get to it. That’s exactly what happened.
N: It’s probably my daughter or my son. But it may be that singles dating service. Milt wasn’t dead two weeks and I got information from a singles dating thing.
F: (Starting to laugh) Yeah, she went out with some guy and didn’t tell anyone.
ME: Oh, that was the strange car I saw in the driveway.
N: Don’t you know it!
I politely left and walked into my side of the garage to get several things out of my car. However the conversation continued. Remember, that through all of this I was about 10-15 feet from them.

S: Is she a good neighbor?
N: Oh yes.
F: Does she come by you and check on you.
N: No, she doesn’t do that. She’s real busy. She’s gone by quarter to 8 and doesn’t come back until late at night a lot of the time.
S: How long has she lived her.
N: Oh, 3 years.
S: That long:
N: Maybe even 4.
F: Has she ever been married?
N: I don’t know. We never asked.

Not only was I standing at my car getting stuff out and heard the entire conversation so did the rest of the neighborhood probably.

Jesus, Draw Me Close

Let's just say when you are playing the piano for church and a song is several pages long it's best to turn only one and not two pages. It made for an interesting couple of seconds.

Got to Love Cable

Last night about 8:30 the cable went out as in every channel was frozen. It was somewhat funny to flip through channels to see the expressions. The only channels that weren't affected were the public station, the public access channel, and Univision, the Spanish channel. The first had a monster movie on, the second had a local charity softball game, and the third I couldn't understand. I called cable's customer service and got a recording that there was an outage in my area, but I could sign up for a phone call for when service was restored. I hit 1 for that option. The service came back about 10:15 p.m. At 10:37 a.m. this morning I received a call from Charter that the service has been restored. Oh, you mean those channels I've been watching this morning are back on??? Good job, Charter.

HAPPY FOURTH!!!

Have a wonderful 4th of July weekend! What a wonderful country we live in, and no one realizes that more until they travel or live outside the USA. My combined 16 weeks in the DR, 3 weeks in Russia, and two trips to Antigua made me realize how good we have it here!

You Just Never Know

Last night I realized how little we often know about co-workers. Over the last few months I've been talking and becoming friends with a lady in the next department. Last night we went golfing at a short course near my home. It was fun as we are probably similar in abilities. The funny thing is that if she drove left, I drove right. On the next hole she'd drive right and I'd drive left. Anyway, I digress. Afterwards we ate a a local family restaurant--excellent chicken salad in a cantaloupe, but I digress yet again. In the course of conversation she told me that she has a daughter who was in a car accident and has severe brain damage as a result. For probably 12 years she lived about 2 1/2 hours away as they couldn't find a nice place close by for her. Apparently not too long ago they moved her back here to a new facility only a few miles from the mother's home. My friend needed to leave in order to stop by the home and visit the daughter before leaving for a week-long vacation.

I would never have known she has such a care in her life by our simple conversations at work.

Stuff Christians Love

I mentioned this website in a post a few days ago. I haven't read through all his entried yet so I don't know if this is on his list, but this morning I woke up and thought about perfect attendance Sunday School pins. You'd get a pin and then each year you had perfect attendance you added a bar at the bottom.

A father at the school I taught at in Illinois had something like 40 some years of perfect Sunday School attendance. The local Christian bookstore special ordered his bar for him every year to add.

My Ambulance Service

It's lunch time, but my work day has been quite different than typical. About 9:30 a co-worker asked for some aspirin because her back hurt so badly. She literally couldn't stand up straight. Other co-workers and I discussed her need of getting it checked out so I took her to the ER. Thankfully the hospital is only a mile or so from work. I felt kind of bad taking her in and then leaving, but there wasn't anything I could do sitting there. She called about two hours later that she has a kidney stone. I picked her up and brought her back to work. Another co-worker and I drove her home.

What a bummer way for her to start a three-day weekend.

My Latent Dream of Being on QVC

For last night’s MK meeting I was asked to do a 2-minute infomercial on one of my favorite products. I did a take-off of QVC with the Mary Kay 24-Hour Shopping Network and had a segment highlighting the microderm abrasion set. I had a “caller” and when I said, “I believe we have a caller on the line” the director’s phone started ringing on vibrate. I don’t think I could’ve scripted it better.