Grandpa's Eyebrows

Yikes, what a fright I had today.  As I gazed into the mirror while washing my hands I noticed a long straggly eyebrow hair sticking out from among its much shorter companions.  Oh no I'm getting my grandpa's eyebrows.

There has been a running joke, I guess you could say, in my family about my grandpa's eyebrows.  He happens to have the bushiest craziest eyebrows that any of us have ever seen.  He has even been in the hospital and had nurses go out and find their fellow nurses to come in and check out the man with the crazy eyebrows.

What am I going to do?  I don't know how good I (a female) would look with such crazy eyebrows.  While my grandpa may be able to pull them off I'm just not sure I can.  Too bad I passed over the opportunity to have my eyebrows waxed for free today.  I didn't figure that I needed it at the time.  Hindsight is 20/20 after all.

Krispy Kreme Conveyor Belt

Out of principal mostly I don't like Krispy Kreme doughnuts.  They are mostly air and something about them just doesn't appeal that much to me.  For Valentines day though I received a coupon for one free Krispy Kreme doughnut and on Friday I decided to use it.  I mean, hey, its a free doughnut.  

When I walked into the store I was caught with interest because I learned that they make their doughnuts on a conveyor belt system.  I watched as doughnut after doughnut first descended up and down in a large proofer to rise.  They then traveled down a conveyor belt that dipped into hot oil flipping the doughnuts half way through for even cooking.  As they came out of the oil they didn't have much time to cool before they traveled under a river of icing.  Once past the icing they cooled for a moment before being boxed and ready for sale.  I was shocked and I marveled at the ingenuity of it mostly.  I was especially intrigued because I have spent time making doughnuts from scratch.

I cant say that I necessarily enjoyed my creme filled Krispy Kreme doughnut, but I sure enjoyed watching them be made.  In a strange way it reminded me of when I was a child and on an episode of Mr. Rogers Neighborhood they did a segment on how crayons were made.  I was fascinated by it then as well as now.  It is amazing to me what the human mind can come up with.  I know that we have had conveyor belt systems for years and that much of the world is mechanized in one way or another.  I just love the fact that someone somewhere thought up all of these things allowing so many different products from crayons to doughnuts to be made.

My New Bedroom Wall

Time to bring a little art into my everyday life.  It may just be a cut up calendar because I can't afford the real thing, but it is enough for me.

Best Sledding Ever

The forecast - clear skies, great company, snow, and more snow.

I have never had so much fun sledding.  I'm sure that isn't a true statement because when I was little I'm sure that every time I went down the steep hill at the park across the street from my house it was the funnest I've ever had sledding.  Since I became an adult though I forget so easily my childhood so I would have to say that Saturday was the best sledding.

The roads were long and curved.  The snow and slope were the perfect smoothness and incline to get just the right speed to be thrilled whilst not being terrified for your life.  Each ride down was accentuated with different bumps in the terrain.  With just the right amount of pressure your arms became a rudder that directed your path.  Who knew that a plastic shallow boat could bring so much joy.  It fun was even heightened because instead of hiking up the road after every run and becoming exhausted before the day was halfway over we all would hold onto a rope hooked to the back of a 4x4 and be pulled up the hill.

It wasn't all fun I must confess.  Many left the hill with sore arms and a few battle wounds, but it was all worth it.

Brothers torn up elbow.

Sick Day

Sick days are the worst.  All you do is lie around wishing that you felt better.  When you finally can't stand it and you get up to do something you feel even worse.  This sick day had better end soon.

Walking With Statues

This weeks urban hiking took me to Main Street Springville.  What I discovered was a wide array of statues that have beautified this city.  I wish more often we could find beautiful things like this wherever we may be.

 

 

 

 

 

Seafood Yuck

What is my life coming to?  I have had a few defining parts about myself that I thought would never change, but these past 2 days have turned my world upside down.  The reason?  To explain that I have to adamantly tell you one thing.   I hate seafood.  I hate it with a passion.  Why then have I during the past 2 days indulged in seafood?  Why?  I don't know.  The scary thing is also that I liked it.

My brother was in charge of our Tuesday night dinner and because he was sick and didn't want to prepare anything he asked me to pick us up some sushi.  I loved it.  (Just a side note to the sushi.  When I picked up the sushi I tipped the restaurant, but in my haste I later realized that I put the total on the tip line.  I really hope that they don't add a $24.01 tip to my initial charge!)

Tonight my roommate and I were going to make dinner but because we both don't feel well we went to Zupas and I ended up getting a crab avocado melt and I like it.  How did I even decide to get the crab avocado melt?  Once again, I don't know.  Seafood is never on my radar as an acceptable food group.  What is wrong with me?  This defining part of myself in hating seafood is getting hazy.  I'm just going to blame it on the fact that I'm sick.  My taste buds and thinking must be whacked out.

The Place I Want To Live

I have found the place that I would like to live when I grow up and have a place of my own.  The only problem is that it only exists in an artists imagination who has painstakingly painted every wonderful stroke onto a willing canvas.  You may not be able to see it that well, but the place I would love to live is the cottage that is in the middle right of the above picture.

A couple of weeks ago in one of my window shopping walks through the local mall I entered a framing store that sells local artwork to admire the pieces that were on display.  In the very back of the store on one of the farthest walls there are 3 paintings of cottages.  They have captured my love and imagination.  I almost wish that I could justify the purchase of if not all at least the one painting of a cottage that I absolutely love.

Every Friday as of late I have made time in my schedule to go and admire this art.  The gentleman at the counter probably thinks it is odd to have a nonpaying customer come so frequently to sit on a chair facing the back wall of his store, but I cant help it I love these cottages and since I can't purchase them I will just continue to visit them until someone else comes and buys them.

The "Masses" Have spoken

Well 50% of you, my followers (because I'm pretty sure only 4 people read my blog), voted and the consensus was "Adventures in walking to Grandma's house".  So here it goes.

I have a habit of deciding to go for a walk and then just walking until I am exhausted.  The only problem with this is that I walk in one direction until I am exhausted.  I then am left with the entire trek back with no desire to walk it.  Luckily this particular day happened to take me in the direction of my Grandma and Grandpa's house giving me a perfect excuse to drop in and rest before I made my journey home.  Of course I had enjoyed the walk with all the wind chimes on peoples homes blowing in the wind reminding me of my other grandmothers house as well as my parents house, but it was time for a short break.

As I sat in their living room I was transported to Yellowstone the location of their vacation that they had just returned from.  Slowly sipping my ice chilled mango soda wonderfully offered to me by my grandmother I basked in the enjoy-ability of just sitting their in their living room listening to all the stories from their life that flowed so easily as each topic changed in the conversation.  As time drew to a close for my visit with them I realized that I still had the entire walk back to accomplish in order to make it to my home and beginning point of my adventure.  Luckily (at least I thought luckily at the time) my grandmother needed to go to the store and offered to give me ride home.

This is when my adventure truly began.  It may not have lasted that long, but it was long enough to get my heart truly pumping.  My grandmother had a stroke awhile ago, which is no laughing matter, but because of that stroke she no longer has feeling in her left hand.  She told me of an experience of how she likes to hold grandpa's hand as they sleep, but one morning in waking up she discovered that the hand she had been holding most of the night was not my grandfathers as she had thought, but her own.  This experience will hopefully give you a little insight as to why the trip home was the adventure.

As we got into her car it took quite some time to actually start because grandma couldn't feel the seat belt to pull it over to buckle.  She also is a little bit shorter now than she used to be so that the road in front of her is no longer as visible as it used to be.  The drive was slow and swirvy to say the least.  I wouldn't have minded the slowness of it except the roads that she took had speed limits much faster than she was driving which meant that cars were passing us and merging in all around us.  I also wouldn't have minded the swirvyness of it as much if she hadn't been turned into oncoming traffic as much.

I don't say any of this to say that she is a bad driver.  I made it home safe and sound and so did she.  I just haven't had such an exciting car ride in a long time.  All in all I guess I could say that it wasn't so much adventures in walking to grandma's house, but adventures in receiving a ride home from grandmothers house.

That Makes Sense

Which "Sherlock" Character Are You?

1. You got: You are Dr. John Watson.
   BBC/PBS

   Kind, patient and a fan of a wooly jumper. Also a crack shot when you need to be.

2. He was a blogger after all!

Only One

With only one vote in you may get short versions of all the stories.  I will wait one more day and then whatever votes come in will be tallied and the results shared.

Lets Vote

Which story do you want to hear about...

Adventures in walking to grandma's house.

Doll in stroller presented as living child.

Art store gallery stroll.

or

Superbowl surprise.