It doesn't matter

I remember as a kid being embarassed of my dad's work clothes. He was a hard working oil field welder, but I used to think "why doesn't he change clothes before going out in public?" He even wore a welder's cap which is sort of like a baseball cap, but looks too small for an adult head, almost like a beenie with a brim but no propeller on top.

Today I left work early to surprise Eli by showing up to his 1st grade "Winter Party" (I'm sick and tired of being politically correct, but that's another argument all together. ) He got so excited when he looked up amid the chaos and several of his friends seemed to remember me from when I volunteered in their classroom in September. I then had to go to an appointment after the party. When I got home, I was met by Eli in the garage. Can you guess what he said to me? "Dad, I wish you had come home and changed clothes before coming to my classroom. Your suit (a handsome grey pinstripe wool suit) kind of embarassed me in front of my friends." Guess clothes don't really make the man.

Newfies

I just finished a great book (it was a crazy-quick read). The book, The Day the World Came to Town: 9/11 in Gander, Newfoundland, is the first book written by Jim Defede (formerly a journalist at the Spokesman-Review in Spokane). As the title suggests, the book deals with how 9/11 brought the world to a small town on the Canadian island of Newfoundland when US airspace was closed and 38 US-bound aircraft were forced to land there with more than 6,000 travelers. The residents of Gander sprang into action and set the example of how we should put the needs of others ahead of our own.

There's nothing special about the writing, there's no "catch" at the end, there's really not even a plot. Plain and simple, it just tells stories of how the Newfies in the town of Gander did what needed to be done and didn't expect anything in return. In a world where trust of others is faint and human nature no longer assumes the best in people, this book reminded me that people are, by nature, good to others and pull together when help is needed. If you've got three or four hours this week, you should get a copy and take...a gander.

Frosty, por favor

At Halloween time, Wendy's sells coupon books for free Junior Frosties and we usually buy several. It's 10 Frosties for $1, so it's a deal we just can't pass up. Tonight we decided to stop by and get some after looking at Christmas lights. I pulled up to the drive-thru and placed my order for two vanilla and three chocolate Junior Frosties, and mentioned that I had five coupons for free Frosties. I was instructed to pull to the first window, which I did. The lady then asked for my three coupons, and I mentioned I had ordered five. She only heard three and didn't hear that I had coupons. The manager was called over who asked me what I had ordered. "Two vanilla and three chocolate Junior Frosties" I repeated. The lady, who was a Spanish speaker, then yelled to someone we couldn't see, "Dos vanilla y tres chocolate, por favor" several times. Nathan, following the goings-on very closely, hollered back "That's two vanilla and three chocolates."

Being instructed to pull up to the second window, we did so only to be met by a blond teenage girl who opened the window and asked what we had ordered. I repeated the order, but not before Nathan had done so from the back seat. Apparently she didn't understand the order that had been barked in Spanish moments earlier. Then, to our delight, she opened the window again and handed us our much-anticipated Frosties, but not before she said she had messed up the order and didn't know we'd ordered Junior size. So, despite the mistranslation and attempted clarification from the choco-holic in the back seat, we all drove away with our free regular-size treats. Muchas gracias, Seniorita Wendy.

Christmas Lights

Our friends the France's invited readers of their blog to try to beat their example of Christmas lights gone overboard. Theirs is good, just what we'd expect for Nevada. Here's our Kansas City entry. This is the Christmas house in our old neighborhood in Prairie Village and we've made a point of going by every year. The pictures don't do it justice, but it's an attempt anyway.

As seen from the street. Every window is an animated display..Santa and Rudolf, Gingerbread people, elves, you name it. As you walk up the drive, you can smell the musty odor of the decorations that have been stored in the basement for decades. Tonight the homeowner was out front and we heard him telling someone that he starts in August with the workshop (in the garage..picture below). To the far left, where you see a blue glow, is an animated nativity. The roof is covered with elves, Christmas shoppers, whatever.

The top picture is the roof. Below is Santa's workshop in the garage. Everything you see is animated from Santa and Mrs. Claus to the mice working on toys.

Gingerbread Showdown

Since Susan has upped the ante in the gingerbread house construction business, Jenny and I want to have a contest to see who has the sweetest skills when it comes to edible real estate. Anyone else up for it? Let's try to get the whole family going, and friends are welcome, too.

If you're in, comment on this post and include the hyperlink to your post containing your gingerbread house. I'll then include it below. For those of you who don't have a blog but want to "enter", email me or Jenny a picture and we'll post it here.

Entries:

• Susan & Elizabeth - "what you get when you cross an engineer with gingerbread"

Music for the ages, or aged

I was at the library picking up some Christmas movies I'd placed on hold. While the librarian was checking them out, we were talking about music and I mentioned the new Sting CD called Songs from the Labyrinth. The songs were written in the 16th century, and Sting says he related to them as pop music, just from a different time. I said to the librarian, who was in her late 50's or early 60s, "Sting has a new CD of music from the Middle Ages." She perked up and said, "Oh yea, I know who Sting is. I'm middle aged."

I wonder if AARP members get discounts on hearing devices.

Ski Kansas

That's right, Tom (yea, I read your comment on Jenny's post about finding some sweet slopes to sled on here). Kansas City is the best kept secret in alpine skiing ... move over, Utah. I'm sure you're asking yourself "Who knew?" Although I've never skiied in my life, I know when that day comes, I can run right over to Snow Creek Ski Resort.

Stats on Snow Creek:

• longest run: 0.33 mi
• vertical drop: 330 ft
• top elevation (brace yourself): 1100 feet
• total number of lifts: 4
• number of skiiers likely to take this place seriously: uh, what do you think?

Evolution

On my vacation last week, I swore off shaving. The boys call it "Scratchy Face."
Below is my pic-umentary - Evolution of Scratchy Face.

Clockwise from top left: 1) full beard, 2) gotee, 3) 'stache, and 4) Jenny's personal favorite, and what Momma K calls the Fu Man Chu, my "bad boy handlebar mustache". Creepy, huh.

Happy December

If you've watched the news, you may have seen that we had an ice storm followed by a snow storm the past two days. Our Christmas lights look really cool with the snow, but the pictures I took didn't quite do them justice. Anyway, this one looks kind of psychedelic....the specks in the picture are snowflakes.