Do you remember pt. 2, the Canadians.

Like I said in my previous post, a lot of the shows I grew up loving were produced in Canada. That explains the way they spoke now. It was always just a little off, but I couldn't tell you why. Now I know. :)

My new friend LKP left me a few detailed comments containing thoughts that were already brewing inside my head. I'm glad that I'm not the only one that remembers shows like The Polka Dot Door. It was a live show with alternating human hosts intermingled with costumed characters like the Polka Roo. There were also stuffed animals and one little dolly, my favorite character, the rag doll Marigold, she reminded me of my beloved Raggedy Ann doll that my grandma had made me.

Was the Great Space Coaster Canadian? I vaguely remember that show, but my mom said I loved it. I'm sure I did actually. If it had anything that resembled my beloved muppets, I would have watched.

Then there was the treasure trove of shows on the new little channel Nickelodeon. When you could watch Pinwheel for 5 hours a day. I was never aloud to, but I was ready and willing. I remember all of the little shows that were on Pinwheel too. My favorites include The Magic Roundabout, Charlie's Climbing Tree, Chapi Chapo, Hattytown, King Rolo, Bod, Bagpuss, and Simon in the land of Chalk drawings just to name a few. I kinda liked the in between Sesame Street knock off parts. I always felt like that was just filler and the cartoons were the real show. I would LOVE to find videos from that list. I actually have a copy of some Hattytown episodes. I've seen Chapi Chapo on YouTube, then they got pulled for copyright. Blah.





























Oh man! Today's Special!!! Loved that show! How can you not like a show about a mannequin coming to life and hanging out in a department store all night? It had magic, miniatures, and puppetry. Very appealing to little Dorthy Hamill haircut Heidi.

There was always Mr. Wizard on in the morning before we got ready for School. I would wake up early for a few programs. Jeff recalls Mr. Wizard with much affection.

You Can't Do That On Television...{moment of silence} Greatest "edgy" kids show ever!!! Did anyone else have a super HUGE crush on Alasdair? If you ever wondered why Nickelodeon pours green slime on people, it's from this show. It's what would happen to you when you said "I don't know". Guess what would happen if you said water....I'll wait....yup, water would be dumped from above. Genius!!!

I'm sure there is more that I'm not remembering. Feel free to remind me in the comments. I'll probably be down for a while anyway. You see, I think I might have gotten the Mexican flu. I'm not totally sure, but I feel something coming on and it's starting in my chest. So, I'm going to get a bunch of orange juice and day/nigh quil. Wish me luck. :)

p.s. Hey Dude, and Salute Your Shorts, Count Duckula, Danger Mouse, Bananaman, Turkey Television, and Captain Kangaroo {ping pong balls}.

Do you remember pt. 1

I love to be nostalgic. I have a soft spot for toys and shows from my childhood. I'm sure most people do actually. So, not alone there.

One of my pastimes, sometimes, is to search out for those things on the Internet and take a leisurely stroll down memory lane. As I walk along I can see Care Bears playing in the distant forest of Tootsie Pop trees. Fat Albert and his gang are doing picture pages with Bill Cosby over in McDonald Land. I could go on, but I'll save it for parts 2, 3, and how ever many I want to do.

Do you remember the show on Disney Chanel {back when it was a pay channel} called the Edison Twins? I loved that show! I had such a crush on the male twin. I don't remember a whole lot, just that they solved cases using science. They had a pesky little brother too. The theme song was what I remembered most. I came across this while rooting around You Tube yesterday.


It seems like most of my favorite shows were Canadian. I think that might just be the subject of part two.

Thank you for reading my indulgent puff piece of a post. Feel free to reminisce in the comments.

A few random thoughts.

I have a few things running through my mind this morning.

Did you know that I've been trying to get a job? Ya, I did a working interview this week at a physical therapy office. I haven't heard back yet. So, I'm just a little bit worried. I know I wasn't the most qualified person, but I know I am a contender. We'll see I s'pose.

I wish I could start my garden. We had a hard frost last night. Not good for most plants. I heard that lettuce doesn't mind though. I think today after I get back from doing a session I'll have Jeff help me make it. I'm really excited about growing our own stuff this year. I'm really excited about the watermelon and the pumpkins.

I have a lot of family. I never had anyone on my Dad's side that was close. Well, I had an aunt that was intermittently in my life. I love her and miss her. She just had a gypsy spirit. I knew it and excepted it when I was really young. Aside from that, I had nothing on my Dad's side. So, everything had to come from my Mom. I had no shortage there. I am grateful that through blogging I am connecting with some of them. I had a bunch practically in my own backyard growing up, but I never knew them. Hopefully that is changing.

I don't talk about my religion much on my blog. I don't want to alienate anyone by making them think they have to belong to come to my blog. Anyways, I belong to the Church of Jesus Christ of Later Day Saints. Something I love to do is go to the temple. I'm going today in fact. I'm lucky enough to have one in Spokane. Temples are always so beautiful. Last night I found a picture of the inside of the Salt Lake temple. It is one of the most gorgeous rooms I have ever seen. I hope I can see it in person soon. Here is the photo I saw. It just took my breath away.If you would like to see more photos of the temples go here. There is a little video that explains why we have temples and you can watch it here.

Anyway, these are just some of the random things that were going through my mind this morning. Maybe I'll find a better topic for Monday. :) I know I will. I hope all of you have a good weekend. I think I will, I know I will.

These are a few of my favorite things.

This is just going to be a simple list. I'm enjoying some of my favorite things right now, so I thought I'd jot them down. A few others are tagging along as well.

1. Early summer morning air

2. My girls having breakfast together before school

3. Cats basking in the warm sunlight

4. The hope of spring

5. Memories

6. A good Broadway musical

7. Laundry soaps and softeners

8. Crisp, clean, coldish spring air

9. Lavender

10. Early morning sunlight

What are some of the things on your list? I have a ton more, these just came to my mind this morning. I love to count the simple things. I think they get overlooked sometimes.

What do you do in the summertime?

Summertime....ahh. It sounds so great doesn't it? I love summer. For the last 4 summers I've planned activities for every day of the month. We have park days, movie days, friend days, and the most important of all, swimming days! One thing I really loved about Spokane was their public pools. They were basic, rectangle, nothing fancy and FREE! For the 17 and under crowd that is. It was great. I would bring a nice light summer read. Find a cool spot in the shade to put my camping chair and settle in for the next 2 and a half hours. What a great place for kids too. You've got the over zealous lifeguards really watching out for the kids. Safety and foul language patrol seem to be the focus of the team. I feel pretty good about leaving my girls in their hands. Of course, I'm just right outside the gate. When they are ready to leave, there is always the same ice cream man, ready to take orders. They go as fancy as the Spiderman bar down to the humble twin pop. Something for everyone.

Those days are gone. I am so sad. Why, you may be wondering? I'll tell you. Last year they decided to tear up the old pools and put in new aquatic centers. Sounds like it would be a great idea doesn't it? I thought it was a great idea too, until I heard the proposed fee that would be tacked on to get in.

This may not seem like a big deal to you, but Spokane has prided themselves for having their pools free for the youth. It is a Spokane tradition that started with the first public pool. It gave all kids, regardless of economic condition, a place to be in the summer. It's a place to belong, a place that is constructive and safe. Spokane has quite a large population of inner-city kids that need a better choice of what to do on a Wednesday afternoon in July. Not to mention that the pools were fine the way they were. They got the job done. They were busy every day. Kids would walk, ride, and even bus to get to one. It was a summer mainstay for kids with working parents and daycare groups.

I think my problem is this, they had something great that wasn't broken and they try to "fix" it and then charge more than what the majority of the costumer base can afford. I just don't know why they don't leave well enough alone.

Well, instead of just being upset about it at home or doing some other impotent act, I'm going to send e-mails and show up at the May 5th hearing. I want my voice to be heard. Maybe they can come up with something that will work for everybody. I don't think the tradition of free swimming is going to hold up, but maybe it can at least be affordable swimming, for everyone.

OK, It didn't get started yesterday. Here's the plan.

Yesterday was the day we were going to construct our new garden. Didn't happen. {sigh} This week has been one of the busiest weeks I have had in a loooooooong time. We had dentist app, eye doctor app, ballet, activity days, Easter, and getting ready for our Seattle trip. {last part in a singsong voice} Needless to say, I've been busy.

So, we have all of the wood, soil components, and trellis structure stuff. It all just needs to be constructed. Why would I need wood for my garden you might be wondering?? Trellis? For a vegetable garden you might say? Eh ehm. I will tell you why, we are starting a Square Foot Garden this year! {crickets}

Maybe I should explain this so totally awesome way of growing stuff. Well, to save time I'm just going to cut and paste stuff from the Square Foot Gardening sight. They can explain it to you better than I can.

1st: Pick the location

• Pick an area that gets 6-8 hours of sunshine daily.
• Stay clear of trees and shrubs where roots and shade may interfere.
• Have it close to the house for convenience.
• Existing soil is not really important, since you won't be using it.
• Area should not puddle after a heavy rain.

2nd: Follow The Ten Basics

1. LAYOUT - Arrange your garden in squares, not rows. Lay it out in 4'x4' planting areas.
2. BOXES - Build boxes to hold a new soil mix above ground.
3. AISLES - Space boxes 3' apart to form walking aisles.
4. SOIL - Fill boxes with Mel's special soil mix: 1/3 blended compost, 1/3 peat moss, and 1/3 coarse vermiculite.
5. GRID - Make a permanent square foot grid for the top of each box. A MUST!
6. CARE - NEVER WALK ON YOUR GROWING SOIL. Tend your garden from the aisles.
7. SELECT - Plant a different flower, vegetable, or herb crop in each square foot, using 1, 4, 9, or 16 plants per square foot.
8. PLANT - Conserve seeds. Plant only a pinch (2 or 3 seeds) per hole. Place transplants in a slight saucer-shaped depression.
9. WATER - Water by hand from a bucket of sun-warmed water.
10. HARVEST - When you finish harvesting a square foot, add compost and replant it with a new and different crop.

3rd: Could it be easier than this?

Build A Box

Fill With Mel's Mix

Add A Grid

And start planting!

So cool right? If you have plants that tend to take over the whole garden like watermelon, pumpkins, zucchini, or cucumbers, no need to worry because they get trained to go right up a trellis. Leaving plenty of room for the rest of your plants. I just can't wait to start. It will have to wait till next week though. We can't even plant here yet. We need to wait till about memorial day. I think I'll experiment and start earlier. If you want to know more about this super cool gardening system you can check out his website at Squarefootgardening.com or just click on the link and it will take you there. Maybe we could start a little garden blog club. Just a thought. :)

And now for something completely different...

I come across pictures everyday that intrigue me. I thought today I would share some because my garden post isn't quiet ready yet. I warn you that some of them might not be viewed as being very nice, but I assure you it's all in good fun. I'm referring to celebrity look alike pictures that kinda tease them about a bad fashion choices or a resemblance to a fictional character. I also have seen other stuff that I just think looks cool or is just funny. So, here is a random filler post. {I hope you enjoy}

OK. That last one isn't very nice, but that dress and hat had it coming. :) I promise to have an enlightening and productive post tomorrow, promise!

Easter 09' was soooo great!

I think I just about had the best Easter ever. We don't count points on holidays so it was wide open for what we wanted to eat that day. We had a very lovely brunch with eggs, bacon, danishes, sticky pull aparts, strawberries, juice, and all the chocolate milk you want. Oh, it was heaven! Our church doesn't start until 12:30, so we had nice lounging time afterward.

The Easter bunny hid the girls baskets this year. We made them wait upstairs till we were all set to catch the mad dash and discovery of the coveted baskets of dietary debauchery. :) Lindsay's basket was hidden in the storage closet. It didn't take her very long to find it. I think the bunny might need to try harder next year. Abbey's was a little bit more difficult, we had to give her a hint before she found it in the oven. I even got a basket this year. Everything in it was the color orange, loved it. Jeff got one too, but the bunny didn't color code it. It was just filled with his favorite stuff. Abbey's basket was the blue theme and Lindsay's was the pink.












































Church was nice, long, but nice. Let's just say I was ready to come home and relax the rest of the day. The girls looked so beautiful in their Easter dresses. They each have matching ribbon in their hair, you can't see Lindsay's though. I was surprised to not see more girls wearing Easter dresses. I thought that was as much a part of Easter as anything else.





















We had the traditional ham for dinner. I was thinking of why ham and Easter are fairly synonymous with each other. I think it's because ham is a truly Christan meat. Many religions ban it. I don't know, just my crazy musings. Anyway, it came complete with sides of cheesy potatoes, fruit salad, and freshly made rolls. Again, heaven. We were so full we didn't even make it to dessert, strawberry shortcake.

Just before putting the girls to bed, we watched the Lamb of God. I am so humbled and grateful for the sacrifice that was made for me. I am so glad I have a savior.

I hope that everybody enjoyed their Easter too. I would love to hear about how yours went.

I want to ride my bicycle, I want to ride my bike!

One of the things I really want to get for myself is a really nice bike. I have visions of early bike rides on a still summer morning. Family excursions planed with a lunch packed for a pick-nic pit stop. Running short errands, like picking up a missing ingredient for dinner. Or just riding to ride {sigh} I used to do that when I was younger. I would hop on my bike at least once a day. It was my favorite {next to playing baseball at the park} pastime.

Oh, I forgot to mention evening and solo nighttime biking too. Just you alone, independent, left to what ever daydream popped in your head. Oh yeah, those were the days. :)

So, I want just a little piece of that back. I miss having a bike. I don't want just any bike now. I don't want to be hunched at the handlebars, or have my butt fall asleep from the pain of a tiny seat. I want an old fashioned 50's style, low bar, big wide handlebar, fatty seat bike. Yes!!! I would even like to have removable basket attachments for it. One for the front and one for the back, for the things stated above.Would I look a bit uncool? Um, maybe. Do I care? NO! I kind of stopped caring what people thought of me around the age of 17, so I don't think I'm gonna start now. :) Yes, I know that mountain bikes look cooler, but I am looking for another C word, comfort. I also like the vintage look of the touring bike, I think that's what they're called. So, at the risk of looking like this.I am saving up for my dream bike. Hopefully, I'll not have forgotten how to ride it.

Have a great weekend everyone!!!

p.s. No disrespect Pee Wee. I love you man.

It was cold, wet, and a bit miserable, but this made it worth the trip.

While we were in Seattle we got to go and visit the Point Defiance zoo. It turned very cold, had a constant drizzle that turned into a down pour, and we didn't get to see more than a quarter of the zoo. What we did see though, was so cool. We caught an animal preview show. It had various neat animals and they were showing us the new tricks that they were learning. The highlight was probably the Bald Eagle. Not sure if it needs capitalizing, but I'll do it anyway. :)


We saw their aquarium too. It was a big tank style and you could either view it from the top or down below. I don't think I got any pictures. My camera has decided that batteries are to be used like candy, so the new fresh pair my uncle gave me were already dying. LAME.

I think my favorite of all and what made the trip worth the discomfort would have to be the tiger. Oh it was so many levels of awesome my friends. It was about feeding time when we got to see him. He was talking up a storm. I think he was trying to tell the zoo people to hurry up with his grub. So with the constant vocalizing he was also pacing the perimeter of his enclosure. This was the really surreal part. We were at the glass and he would practically brush against it. We were INCHES from him!!! Oh man was is cool! So, that, for me, was all I needed to make it worth it.


We left shortly after that. The rain just became too much to handle. We stopped at the gift shop on the way out. Lindsay picked out a little stuffed animal. A cute, soft, and interesting sting ray. :) Abbey had a hard time with what to pick. Everything she wanted was about 20 dollars or more. I wish I could've let her have them, but such is life. So, she settled for a little kalidascope.

We were very happy to be back in the car and headed back to Mike's house. I am glad we went though, I hope to go back soon too. Better weather next time I'm hoping.

Rivision

There is a revision in the rules. Down below you will find them in green.

Quicky

The first five people to leave a comment on this blog will receive something made by me. However there are some limitations:

1. I make no guarantee that you will like what I make.

2. What I create will be just for you.

3. It will be done this year.

4. You have not a clue what it is going to be, poetry, shoes, bags or a little invention of my own. I may bake something and mail it you . Who knows? Not you that's for sure!

5. I reserve the right to do something extremely strange. It may blow your mind!

Here the catch...if you choose to do this, you must post this on your blog and be ready to make something for five people too. This will be fun! When you receive the fabulous item I make you, you must post a picture of it on your blog. {REVISION: You don't have to post this on your blog, you don't have to do this for 5 other people, you do have to promise to show on your blog what you got though. Now come on, comment already, or I might have to have my feelings hurt.}

I am so generous!

Looky what I've got!

Yup, and I get to keep him until 4:30 this afternoon! His name is Parker and he is a treat of a baby. He so good matured and smiley. He really liked the girls. Abbey said that she gets him from 3:30 till his Dad comes and picks him up.

I think he is being sent to me to warm my heart up to the thought of having a baby boy. I am all girl oriented, and don't try to tell me that boys are soooo much easier. I have seen the exact opposite to be true. If there is a kid screaming in church, I'd put my money on it that it's a boy. I know, I'm not being fair. I know there are plenty of girls that fit that description too. I also see lots of really nice and sweet boys on my family and friends blogs. I guess my reservations come from the old adage, "The devil you know, is better than the devil you don't know." My husband assures me that he was a nice little boy and ours would be too.

I just know that I want a baby. I don't care what gender it is. I can hope, but I'll will love whoever comes our way. I think Parker is here to help me be more open minded. :)

Now, I know that I may get some very opinionated mothers of boys commenting. Just for the record though, I wasn't referring to any of your kids. :)

Time to plan the week

I know I said I was back last week and then didn't post anything since then...LAME. Well, I am going to be much better this week. I am pretty sure my mood was directly effected by the weather. Gray, gloomy, rain, or snow. YUCK! Then on Saturday, it took a turn for the better. It was blue skies with big white fluff clouds and Sunday and Monday are following suit. I am feeling myself perk up. It's even supposed to get up to the 60's today!

So, what I thought about doing was making a list of things to get done this week. I know that getting our garden boxes made is going to be in there. Calling around for soil components will be one too. Getting stuff ready for Easter. Maybe even a house project. Start a new book, I think I might try something from Mark Twain. I am definitely going to have a new post every day. I have a couple of things to share. Life just seems to be coming out of hibernation right now, that's how it's feeling for me anyway.

Oh, I need to get the girls white dress shoes for their Easter dresses. This may sound like an easy task, but it's going to be the hardest thing I do this week. They need to be flat on the bottom (or as much as possible), white not cream, and they need to be cheap.