Biker Bar Action

Last weekend, DH and I spent 5 hours in a biker bar, listening to our son's band play. Oh, the things parents do to support their "kids." And now I'm wishing there was such a thing as a nose dush to get rid of the constant smoke-smell lingering in my nose.

As the band set up, we went into a side room to claim a table. While there, about 20 bikers piled in. The women started gathering for a photo. Their backs were to us. I thought it would be funny to sneak in and put my face between the ones in the back row. The men were laughing and taking photos. Only a couple of them seemed to notice I was there, and seemed to think it was funny, too. When they were done, I slipped back to our table where I was told "the rest of the story."

What I couldn't see from my angle -- my eyes were on the cameras, mind you -- the women were "flashing" the men.

I really should try to mind my own business. So now, somewhere out there, there are photos of me grinning away behind a group of biker babes. Have I learned my lesson? Will I ever do anything like this again?

Wait. Um... no. I mean, if you ever come across such a photo, it wasn't me... um... yeah. I just made this all up. The photo will have to be dubbed. Yeah. That's it. (yeesh!)

Hearing Voices

Is it difficult having a son who is a psychiatrist?... NAW.

Mom (me): Am I hearing voices? Or did someone just say something?
Son: Yes.

Speaking of Road Signs

Life is difficult for literate people.

Signs in Northern Michigan

I love the rustic north. People there simply tell things like they are.

My favorite road sign is "Do not pass when traffic is in opposing lanes." Wonder who in the world did something stupid to have THOSE multiple signs over the north?

My favorite billboard sign is near Traverse City, in Michigan's "pinky." It advertizes a mental care facility for (elderly) men: "Like deer camp, only tidier."

Yeah for the Michigan wilds.

Neighborhood Squirrels Aren't Afraid of Snowguy

They sneak up behind him... it.

February Snowperson Challenge

I didn't intend it to be funny... or creepy. I intended it to be fun, with the twist of a neighborhood challenge. Kids simply don't get outside enough these days (IMHO). So earlier this week, when the weather was just right, I rolled this snowguy and posted a challenge for others to make some. I imagined our neighborhood lined with snow creatures. Sadly, not true. But at least I can share this with you all.

My son thinks the face I gave the snowguy is creepy. DH agrees. What thinks you? (Did you notice the snow earmuff to keep his ears nice and cold?) Maybe I should add a wig and bikini. Would that make it less creepy? Maybe I'll roll a snowhorse next to him for the March Neighborhood Snowthing Challenge.

(I had a very lonely childhood.)

Survival Camping with Childen

We're buried under about a foot of new snowfall. Beautiful stuff, that. So as I'm tidying up inside our toasty warm house, listening to the sounds of neighbors' snowplows, I came across a palm-sized survival pack I'd put on the dining room table a couple weeks ago. (FYI, we only eat at the DR table when company comes; other than those times, it's up for grabs.)

Seeing the survival pack made me smile. I'd made one for each of the four of us in our family for when we'd go camping. We'd often take all-day hikes through the Canadian wilderness (pre-cell phone days, not that there's a tower anywhere near there now, anyway). It was just a nice security knowing we each had essential things in case we got lost, like a tin cup for drinking or cooking, sealed and dry matches, bandaids, toilet paper, string for fishing, etc..

During one of our first camping times after making these, while my hubby and I set up the tent, we noticed our three- and six-year-old were missing. We were in a new campground, hilly, wooded, ravined. Naturally, as soon as we parents noticed our boys were not in sight, we dropped our tent poles and started jogging around the area calling for them. After a couple minutes we heard one of them from a ravine next to our site. My heart nearly stopped, imagining them dead or injured at the bottom. Nope. Not our survival savvy boys.

Our older son decided to use the survival kit to help our younger son up the ravine they'd climbed into. OS had one end of the three-foot-long string. YS had the other end. DH and I affirmed their good thinking, then went back to setting up our tent while our children played in the wilderness nearby.