The best logs

I finally made it to Yellowstone (thanks, EM)!!! And I discovered, among other things, that Yellowstone has the best logs:

Scenic log

Wagon Wheel log

Fox log (or bird? or bunny?)

Skeleton log

Moss log

Lakeside log

the V log

Not that logs are the only cool thing about Yellowstone. There are elk and bison and rivers and hot springs and geysers and mud pots and trails and mountains and stuff. Lots of cool nature stuff. But, I'm pretty darn sure Yellowstone has the best logs.

DOING something

I read a lot of news stories and listen to a lot of podcasts that talk about people in need: refugees from the Middle East, people in Venezuela, those in poverty in America, the hurricane victims in Haiti, and on and on. (There are a lot of people in this world that could use some help). And while I appreciate being informed, I always walk away thinking, "But what can I DO? How can I help?"* I do contribute financially to humanitarian efforts but keep wondering if there is more I can do.

And tonight, I did something. I went through my closet and I took out all the clothes I don't wear. Even the things that were sentimental. I just said, "I'm not wearing it and someone else could, so sentimentality can go hang!" Now, I will donate those and someone will benefit. My next project is to cull my books. Refugees could use some books, right? Or maybe someone could sell them and use the profits for a good cause?

I know it isn't much. I'm not leaving hearth and home to go volunteer in the refugee camps or anything but I think that is probably okay. I had been feeling like I should be giving more of myself, and not just money, but as I looked for opportunities, I realized that there is a need for money and supply donations and if that's the need, then it's okay to help that way. And right now, that might be all I can give. But however small or insignificant, I'm doing something. Hooray!


* If you are a reporter or podcaster, here's a tip: you've worked hard to tell people a story and get them to care. And it's working! People care! So, you should also give them some info on how they can help. Volunteer? Donate? Contact a congressperson? Definitely milk us for all we're worth!

Time Out

This week I realized just how sick and tired I am of the election. I think we're all feeling it, yeah? You're feeling it? Anyway, I was laying in bed late one night after having a two hour long discussion about the climate in the country and was thinking back on my trip to Atlanta and how much I enjoyed it and how nice and carefree life seemed then. Yes, I know, it was only August, which was only 2 months ago but it still feels like life was cheerier. Of course it was cheerier! It was summer and I was traveling a lot and there were kids to hug and photos to take of cool new places and I had another trip to look forward to so it felt like reality was on hold only now someone pressed play on reality and it is really very sad. (To cheer myself up, I've been watching re-runs of Keeping Up Appearances. Not a bad call, really).

Anyway, I have decided I am opting out of the election from here on out. Well, okay, not here on out because I have to fill out my ballot and mail it in, but other than that, I'm out. No more conversations about the insanity of the US 2016 election in which we rehash what has been thrown around for the last billion years. (Whaddya mean, it's only been 18 months, give or take a few? Are you sure? Really? Longest 18 months ever. Gotta be).

Instead, I will be falling back on my favorite conversation starters:

Sleeping Beauty - pink dress or blue?
The Beast - cuter as a man or a beast?
What vegetables best represent each of the high school stereotypes? (e.g. which veggies are the cheerleaders? The nerds? The class clowns? etc.)

And maybe adding some new ones:
Why is it that archery is so much cooler than guns? (Case in point: Thor: The Dark World. The Asgardians are supposed to be this superior society and they are still all using bows and arrows and spears against the bad guys who have really fancy guns. It makes no sense, and yet, you know the bows and arrows are hot.)
Is it true that you can't go wrong with chocolate? Or with deep frying things? (I argue, yes. The fun comes in inventing the ways you can go wrong.)
Animals that start with P. Discuss. (Pangolins, platypuses, pandas, penguins. So much possibility!)

Honestly, it's pretty fun to come up with these. I suggest you try it. Because we all definitely need a break.

Things just aren't what they used to be

I was at the store today and I caught a glimpse of the Halloween costumes. Can I just say, there were some really pathetic costumes? Just such sad, sad costumes. Not in terms of the costume idea, but in the actual manufacture of the costume. They were just embarrassing.

Now, I am not the biggest fan of Halloween. I always hated trying to figure out a costume. Because, in my family, you didn't say, "I want to be a princess" and go to the store and by the cheap-o manufactured-by-the-hundreds princess costume. I don't think I ever had a store bought costume growing up. We just had a costume box, of things my mom had sewn, or costumes my grandma sewed that we borrowed. There was a red cape, the two-man clown costume, a bunny costume, and a few others. One year my sisters and I were princesses - or maybe fairies, because I recall a wand in the picture - and the crowns were homemade (card board and aluminum foil, oh yeah!).

My favorite costume was they year I went as a hula girl. I got the idea from reading the American Doll Molly books. She and her friends dressed up as hula girls, and I liked the idea. I think it might have been the only time I was excited for Halloween, because I actually knew what I wanted to be! I made the costume myself using crepe paper, a shell necklace my grandpa had given me before I could even remember him giving it to me, and a shirt I had that was kind of Hawaiian-ish. It had a hibiscus flower design. Of course, it was October in Idaho, so I did have to wear pants and a coat, which doesn't look very island, but it worked.

Another of my all time favorite costumes that I've ever seen was a guy from Church who went as a man falling from a building, which, yes, it's a bit morbid, but it was clever which was why I liked it. He'd put wire in his shoelaces and tie so they looked like they were fluttering in the air, and he'd gelled his hair to stand up for the same effect. Cheap, hand crafted, and very clever. (I also love the stick figure costumes people do for their toddlers using glo-sticks).

Now, the costumes I saw today were these weird one-piece outfits with all the details printed on. So tacky! It seems so commercial, and that's saying something because really, there's not much else to Halloween in the US besides selling candy. I am sure that stores sold ready made costumes when I was a kid, too, and they were either really unmemorable or they were just better made. The costumes I saw today look like someone was trying to remove as much effort as possible from the whole trick-or-treating thing and the result was something that might conceivably pass as a costume but it might also have been an explosion in the fabric printing factory.

And I'm sure the kids don't see it that way, and they probably don't care as long as they get to dress up as their favorite character. Also, there are still plenty of kids who do make their own costumes and get really creative, and those are the best costumes to see. So, it's boo on the costume manufacturer.

Unless there really was an explosion at the factory. In which case, cool costume!

DIY

I bought a drill a year or so ago and I finally had a chance to bust it out today (I did use it--ok, it was mostly my dad using it--to put together a table when I first got it). I made myself a book press. And felt very cool using my drill.

It's not all that impressive, really, but I'm testing it out right now, and it sure did make the whole process easier. I think this might be my best book yet. Hurrah!