junk

So, amongst the scrap papers on my desk is the one that says "tags" "ties" and "flyers"

It's a good thing I am an expert in cryptic, because I am the only one that would understand that note.

It means: last year (2007) I saved every twist tie and plastic bag tag that came into the house. This was something very do-able - a small bowl on the counter - and on January 1, 2008 I tallied it up. The number was quite high - 71 bread type tags (the plastic flat ones) and 69 twist ties. That is 140 tags and ties that came here and eventually would have gone to the landfill, had I not put them in a ziploc bag in my pantry. It doesn't sound like that much, and it definitely doesn't look like that much, but if we are an average household, imagine that number multiplied across my street, my county, my state, and then the entire United States. Holy crap that's a lot of plastic. I have no ideas or solutions to offer - it was just something I did for a year, and am doing it again this year. The kicker is that I even reuse these things - if I open a bag of frozen peas, I grab a twistie and put it on there. There were weeks when I even made our own bread, so I'm sure our number could have been a bit higher. Interesting.

Another interesting number I came up with, and this is slightly more annoying, is the number of flyers for political candidates we received in the weeks and months leading up to the election on February 5th. I ended up with 54 flyers, a stack that was over an inch high. This is crazy. And, we're not done yet because I have started another stack of flyers that we are getting on an almost daily basis for the special election which is next Saturday, March 8th. The stack won't be as impressive this time, seeing as there are only two candidates running, but since there are two registered voters here, we get two of everything, from each candidate. You would think that they would have a mailing program that would let you do a query and eliminate duplicate addresses, or something like that.

So that's my rant about junk. It's just something to think about, or at least it's something I think about.

Above Freezing

It was finally above freezing today, and not raining, with the sun shining. I don't know when we had that combination last ... so we took advantage of it.

While I vacuumed out the car (and found 36 cents and my Burts Bees peppermint chap stick) the kids got their bikes out and rode up and down the sidewalk and through the slush today. We were joined by the Neighbor Girl shortly thereafter, literally bundled up to her eyeballs, and we were out playing for over an hour. How wonderful it was.

I suppose the weather will be horrid tomorrow - rain, sleet, snow, ice - something not pleasant. But after today, I don't think I care ... it was just so nice to be outside and in the fresh air.

Maybe I'll start planning a garden this weekend.

Naah ... maybe not. I'll just end up ready to go and unable to do anything for six more weeks. I'll start the thinking process instead.

Nice, while she lasted

I think we may have had the worlds shortest pet ownership today.

We brought the fish, which ended up being named Buddy, home from preschool at 5:00 today.
At 8:15 she was swimming around the tank we had set up. We had called The Grandparents to tell them about Buddy.

At 8:45, after Tae Kwon Do and showers, we (The Husband, Q and I) had this conversation:

Q: The fish isn't moving
Us: Oh, that's okay, is she at the top of the water or the bottom?
Q: The bottom, but it's not moving
Us: (to each other) Oh Sh!t.
Q: "C'mon ... wake up. Mom, is it sleeping?"

The Husband and I walked into the other room and sure enough, Buddy had curved over on herself and was at the bottom of the tank, looking pretty dead.

Q: Is it dead?
Us: Oh, yes, it is. It looks like Buddy died.
Q: Oh, this is so sad. Why did it die? Oh, The Bee is going to be very sad in the morning.
Us: Well, Q, sometimes fish die. We talked about how they could die, remember?
Q: But why? Did it have too much water?
Us: No, I don't think that fish can have too much water.
Q: Oh, this is not good.

Seriously ... I figured if the fish lasted four days it would be a miracle. It didn't even last four hours. I know that the handling it got between leaving school and getting put in the tank was putting it at a high risk, but I didn't think it would die the same night we brought it home. Now, I have to explain to my daughter that her fish died last night, but, knowing how life works, her brother will get to her first and I'll get blasted by a crying child at 6am. Tomorrow morning could be very interesting.

So, it looks like we're taking a trip to the pet store tomorrow to get two fish instead of just one.

Let's pray that these next two fish last more than this one did.

fresh

In the middle of winter, on the eve of another supposed Winter Storm, I got a burst of summer today when I grabbed my jar of bay leaves, to put one in the chicken and dumplings I am making for dinner tonight.

I opened the jar and WOOSH! the smell of fresh bay leaves. What a lovely memory of summer.

I grew these myself last summer and dried them in the basement, and have been able to use them as my heart desires ... and I have plenty to get me through the year. The plant got kinda big.

Now I'm really looking forward to spring!

The Library

I must say, I love the library. I probably don't take the kids as often as I should, but they are just now getting to the age where they can both appreciate it and all it has to offer. And, most importantly, they have stopped yelling across the building to each other, which is key at the library.

Two weeks ago, I came home with a stack of books for us to read, some stories on cd (my car doesn't have a tape player), which the kids love to listen to. We don't always follow along in the book, but they love to listen to the stories. We've been listening to them in the car since we checked them out, and it's very popular. It's also a nice diversion from the kid music which is usually playing.

Today, we went and we checked out so many books that they didn't fit in our tote bag. What a wonderful problem to have. I came home with five books for me to read, and the kids have three stories on cd and a computer game to keep busy if we get the snow that we're supposed to.

I think what I love most of all is the used book section. On my two week ago trip, I also managed to pick up five other books for $2, one of which is an out of print allergy cookbook that I can use to get recipes for my nephew.

I have great memories of going to the library with my Dad when I was little - we used to go every Saturday, and for some reason, one of the things I remember the most, outside of the smell, was the melted album that they had on the counter with a warning not to leave them in your car, otherwise they could melt and you would have to pay the replacement costs. So yes, this post officially dates me, but I remember that melted album.

My first job in high school was located right next to the library and during my lunch hours, I could often be found next door checking out books, or reading on my lunch hour. I wish I could say that I always returned them on time, but that would be a fib.

I'm hoping that my kids can get as much enjoyment from the library as I do. Books are such a wonderful world ... I cannot imagine not going where books take me or the things they teach me ... I hope that they enjoy books and reading as much as my husband and I do. I'd say we're off to a good start now.

Off to read for a few ...