If you want your computer keyboard REALLY clean ...

I'm working on a project for which I'm using pried-off keys from a LOT of broken computer keyboards. (speaking of such ... if you have any that are headed for the trash .... please send them my way).

Anyway ...

I had the idea of running them through the dishwasher.

Those keys are SPOTLESS.

Though, I suppose if it were a keyboard you actually wanted to USE again ... not such a good idea. :)

Army is closed

My brother's Army base is closed because it's icy.

Yep ... hope nobody attacks Kentucky today 'cause there ain't nobody protecting it.

Tanks, helicopters, big guns, all kinds of cool toys ... but they close for ice. :)

Israel

An excellent portrayal of the facts on the Middle East conflict, that the media can't be bothered to report:

http://www.terrorismawareness.org/what-really-happened/

(probably not a video I'd watch with children around, just FYI).

Life Lesson for Today

No matter HOW sunny it is on one's lunch hour, it is still inadvisable to leave the car's sun-roof open when going back in to work after lunch, in Michigan, in January.

In other news ... we had a bat in the building this morning. My, but that was exciting. :)

Here's some kids getting a good foundation!

What software would YOU use, if you were me?

I am a church secretary, and a big part of my job is writing announcements for different events.

I'm trying to decide what software would be best to start saving these announcements, so I could re-use and reference them.

We're talking about 3-5 sentences of text, which would need to be cross-referenced in multiple ways ... by date, by the group having the event, by the room it met in, etc.

I'd thought about a database, but that isn't really exactly what I'm after, because it would need to be linked in so many different ways.

Suggestions? Anyone?

clock is done!

We ended up taking the clock to the folks at Eastern Avenue Clock Shop, as the works needed some work. I picked it up today, and am just loving it!

Adorable!

Now THIS is the proper use of the internet ... videos of hedgehogs eating carrots. :)

that's not funny!

OK ... actually ... it's ME that's not funny.

I have friends who are, naturally, funny.

D. comes from a family of story-tellers, and she can tell the simplest thing, and have a group rolling. T. has a naturally quick mind, and will come out with something hilarious before most of us have had time to process the situation she's referring to.

About the only naturally humorous gift I have is to tell "I did something dumb" stories. Fortunately I provide myself with a ready supply.

Why is she bringing this up? you may wonder.

Well, I'm having lunch with R. today.

She is one of the rare exceptions to the "Trinka's not funny" rule.

For some oddball reason, I am a regular comedian when I'm with her. She draws forth smart alec, goofy remarks, one after the other.

No idea why.

I have a few folks like this, and being with them is always a strange, yet wonderful experience. I come away thinking ... "this is what it must be like to be T." My handful of jollity-producing friends are as follows: two sisters I used to visit in Kirksville, Missouri, the nurse-practitioner in my doctor's office, and R--My handful of jollity-producing friends. So ... all of you with whom I laugh until my face hurts ... thanks! It's certainly a delight.

I suppose this is what "bringing out the best (or possibly worst) in me" means ... who can tell? :)

all hope of productivity is lost from henceforeth

I set up a Facebook account a couple years ago, but never really used it.

Until ... Friday ...

When I discovered it has these word games.

Word games you can play for hours and hours and hours.

Word games which might, if some kind of intervention is not planned, cause me to spend every free moment in front of my computer from now on. (No. I mean MORE than I already do!)

Pathwords and Scramble ... give them a try. REALLY addictive. Come, join me in the land of unproductivity ...

spring in my kitchen

While the snow falls outside, and they are predicting high temps in the single digits for the next several days, I'm encouraged to watch this little fellow.

R. gave me this bulb vase last year, with a hyacinth bulb to go in it. This year for my birthday, she gave me another bulb (of unknown type). It's been growing a little over a week now, and it's happening so fast that I could swear I see a difference every time I walk through the kitchen!

Trinka, the passive-agressive note writer ...

I have called my upstairs neighbor a few times to remind him of the quiet hours, and ask him to turn things down. (Christmas night at 11:15, and last night at 10:15.)

I thought that the quiet hours began at 10:00, but this morning, he had taped a copy of the bylaws to my door, and it says they begin at 10:30. (which he circled.)

OK. Fair enough.

But I also noticed that they START at 8:00 a.m. I had thought it was 9:00.

I left a note on HIS door this morning (since it seems he'd rather communicate through passive agressive notes, than picking up his phone).

I told him that, thanks to his kind information, I now realized it was 10:30. I also mentioned that I'd discovered my error about the morning hours ... how delighted I was to see that it was actually 8:00 a.m. I said that I was taking note of both times, and I thanked him for letting me know.

Happy New Year!

Today is the day when the differences between introverts and extroverts are most prominent.

Grand Rapids is having a big party downtown, with a ball dropping, live music, etc. The news is making a big fuss over it ... "yeah! free party! woo hoo!"

I can put myself in the shoes of someone who's extroverted and vivacious ... my step-brothers and their wives, several of my friends, my sister-in-law and one (or maybe both) of my nieces ... they would hear this and think, "wow! fun!".

Me? I would pay NOT to go! My favorite New Year's Eve memories involve small get-togethers to play games and visit. There was a group of us who met in college who gathered every New Year's for a few years after graduation, and it was always one of the highlights of the holidays.

But when I hear "FREE PARTY DOWNTOWN" ... all I can think of is looking for a parking place in the cold and dark ... fighting crowds ... noise ... freezing ... more noise ... then a long, cold walk back to my car in the dark, and a longer, colder drive home.

Think I'll just enjoy making jewelry tonight, and declare "midnight" some time around 10:30.

The extroverts reading this are thinking "pathetic" and the introverts are thinking, "perfect"!

a conversation from the Alamo desk at the Orlando Airport

When I went away a couple weeks ago, I got into Orlando about 9:00 p.m. I'm a morning person, so my brain doesn't fire on all cylinders at night.

I went to the Alamo counter to pick up a car ...

Alamo guy: "Where is your destination?"

Me: "Paisley, Florida"

Alamo guy: "and what part of Florida is that in?"

Me: "I don't know."

Alamo guy: "do you know what major city it's near?"

Me: "Nope."

Alamo guy ... obviously frustrated: "Ma'am ... how do you intend to GET there?"

At the time I was picking up the van, I wasn't particularly thinking about its use as a vehicle ... I was just looking forward to using it for a nap until my brother & his family's flight got in about midnight.

I had a GPS in my suitcase, and was counting on that to get me to my dad's house ... so I hadn't even looked at a map to see where I was going.

However, I realized that it must have sounded a bit odd to poor Alamo-guy ... I'm renting this car, and have absolutely no idea where I'm taking it. :)

the ultimate hard-to-clean-up mess

I've found it.

In trying to straighten a bent tube of unopened superglue, I discovered the bend had made a hole in the tube.

Fortunately I had a second-thought before I tried to clean up the drops on my buffet. I'd rather have clear, hard drops, than a smeared mess, if I MUST have superglue on my furniture forever!

Groan.

On the up-side ... I temporarily have no fingerprints on my left hand ... should I wish to rob a bank or some-such.

Life is so full of little surprises!

Here's some inspiration for you!

This is short clips from a bunch of movies (most of which I've never seen). It makes you feel all excited to tackle ... well ... to tackle SOMETHING anyway!

Merry Christmas!

I hope you were blessed today with thoughts of Him whose birth it celebrates!

Here are a couple of my favorite pictures from the time at Disney with my nieces, brother, sister-in-law, dad, step-mom and her mother.



This is adorable niece #2 showing me the penny she found on the carousel. Oddly enough, on both outings I've had with her recently, she's found cash. I think they might do well to take her for walks regularly. :)

the weekend

I just returned from a lovely weekend in Florida. I met my brother, sister-in-law, and the adorable nieces down there, and we had some time with my dad, step mother, and her mother, at their place near Orlando.

We were able to watch the girls enjoy Disney on Sunday ... which was so neat. I can't imagine wanting to go to Disney as an adult ... but it was very enjoyable when you could watch little ones having a wonderful time!

I thought I'd post a picture of the girls enjoying the Florida sunshine (on Saturday), and one of what I came home to today. (Note the bobcat in the background clearing the snow out of the parking lot, so the plows would have room to work.) :)

I did have the pleasant and unique experience of being bumped up to first class for the flight home. I could become very accustomed to life up at the front! They had real meals, on real plates and silverware. The seats were comfy. It was quite nice!

Florida update

Well, my 2:30 flight is now scheduled to leave at 4:45. But I'm encouraged that it's still supposed to LEAVE!

I just tried to move my car to a non-awkward spot in the parking lot, since I'm leaving it over the weekend. It's buried. Totally buried. I left the keys in the center of my desk, and asked if someone would please move it once the parking lot is plowed. :)

I was planning to drive myself to the airport, but I'm getting a ride now from my boss, who has a big 4 wheel drive pickup. I've become recently very fond of the idea of four wheel drive.

Warm weather, here I come!

looks like a good day to go to Florida

This is the view out the church's front door right now. Schools and businesses are closed ...

And I'm heading to Florida for a long weekend.

Yep. Feeling real sorry for myself. Yes, I am.