Thank God for his small and mighty servants. So far we have gone to Happy Joes Pizza Parlor (oooooh), Hannephins, which is a local grease trap but full of history, for breakfast (ahhhh), Purina Farms (ooooh) and today we are going to Grafton Illinois for a couple days to enjoy more scorching heat and some water sports. I know your asking how do we do it? How do we come up with these unique and adventurous ideas.....someday I'll share all my wisdom with you
This morning I woke up thinking about kitchens. I think a good cook can function in any kitchen. Having the right tools helps, but I think if you've got the skills, then you could make a casserole on an open flame in the pouring rain.
Okay so here is what I want to know:
What kitchen configuration works for you? Not what your living with, but what you perceive to be the best kitchen ever!
The U- I have this now, it does not work, too many tight corners for me. Not enough room for another person to help. However the tight triangle between the sink, stove and fridge is nice.
The L- I like this one, but sometimes the triangle gets too big and I really don't like corner cabinets or wasted space w/ lazy susans.
The Galley- I like this one too, but again sometimes it can feel like your a ball bearing in a pinball machine, I like that it can be the connecting point at both ends to two rooms and no corner cabinets, but it doesn't lend room for an island of any sort.
Those are the styles I'm most familiar with, am I missing one?
Now how do you like your triangle?
Where do you put the fridge in relation to the pantry?
Is your dishwasher on the right or left of you sink?
Island with stove, sink, or nothing? Or no island.
Gas or electric stove? (let's see who the real cooks are, heh, heh)
Wood, ceramic or other on the floor?
Let's hear it. I know I'm not the only person with strong opinions in the kitchen.
We were going to go to Iowa, but I didn't want to sit in the car that long.
We were going to go to Mark Twain Lake, but camping is not an option.
Our vacation this year, like we really ever take an annual vacation, (drum roll please) is going to be in St. Louis!
We've decided to try to do all the things we haven't done with the kids and some that we just love to do but Daddy is usually at work when we do them. I know we are just a wild, adventurous family. Who could possibly come up with these exciting ideas?
One stipulation: We have to actually do the vacation, No excuses, get out the door, have fun, no chores, no complaining, just relax (that's what I keep telling myself). I'll let you know how it goes.
Because Sometimes I need an Adverb
Clay makes fun of a couple sayings I have:
"Filthy Dirty" and "Freezing Cold"
because most things are not just dirty and I'm never just cold. I'm thinking this blog is looking filthy dirty, and needs some cleaning. I've got pictures in my sidebar that don't exist and links that go to an error, what the gall bladder is it all for? Gall bladder is going to be my new complaint or lack for luster words, like it? Try it. What the gall bladder are you talking about?! Get the gall bladder out of my way! Gall bladder kids knock it off! Puh, I'm just a simple minded person, gall bladder.
Breakfast Chatter
Ike- I wish we had a swimming pool. I wish everybody had one.
Me- Well, if everybody had a pool then there wouldn't be anything special about getting to swim. So if you asked a friend to come over to swim they would say, Nah I got a pool, and that wouldn't be much fun now would it?
Ike- Well, our pool would be more fun if it could sing.
Me- Yes a singing pool would be fun.
Seth- (in his best opera voice) Come swim in me, come swim in meee, I'm the fun singing pool, come swim in meeeeeeee.
I've said it before, I don't deserve a cell phone.
Levi snagged my phone out of my purse and was wacking it on the ground in the store, but it was keeping him in one spot and occupied. I made the best parenting decision to let him enjoy his little destructo moment and then I walked out of the store without the gall bladder phone! Clay is picking it up on his way home.
Social Graces
I bought this book- Social Graces- Manners, conversation, and Charm for Today by Ann Platz & Susan Wales
it says things like this:
It was easier to do a friendly thing than it was to stay and be thanked for it.- Louisa May Alcott, Little Women
It is wise to apply the oil of refined politeness to the mechanism of friendship- Colette
Much of good manners is about knowing when to pretend that what's happening isn't happening- Mrs. Falk Feeley
The last one cracks me up because how many times have I ignored the speck of food lodged in a tooth or the booger in a nose or the crumb on a chin or the running massacre or the slip of flatulence.....I'm speaking of these things happening to me, not me observing them, I'm not so sure that it's polite for people to let me walk about unaware of my filthy dirtiness. Oh, how difficult it is to tell someone that they have a white head the size of a lima bean forming by their nostril, no that's not good manners let's just ignore the elephant in the room.
Now for the Plug
My new post is up at Larger Families. This week we're writing on pregnancy, birth, miscarriage ect... I wrote a bit on my miscarriage. I have what seems like a book in the works to post on it here, maybe.
I like the idea of..
Camping, but I don't want to sleep in a tent or be away from air conditioning, running water and a kitchen.
Baseball, but I don't want to sit through an entire game or pretend that I'm interested in the game at all. This goes for basketball, soccer and any other game involving a sphere.
Exercising, but I don't want to get hot, sweaty or feel any pain.
Rising with the sun, but I really want to sleep in and enjoy the peaceful serenity of those couple of hours after Clay leaves for work that the bed is mine allllll mine.
Family vacation, but I don't want to go anywhere that causes me to be trapped in the car for more than four or five hours so that beach vacation would be a bit like using a hole punch to pierce my eyelids and cleanse the wounds with vinegar.
So what big idea do you like, but not really?
