I am just a head bobbing through white caps

The mixer pictures have been long overdue. I wanted to have a finished shot, but it is taking a bit longer to finish. I'll put up a before and after shot when it's done.

Mixer story: Sarah's parents had an old mixer that broke. They got a new one. Eventually the old one was fixed by Sarah's Grandpa who fixes everything. Unfortunately the mixer was dropped coming back from Grandpa's shop. Fortunately I was able to JB weld a marble in place of the broken lever/knob. Now the mixer works fine. But who wants a cream/almond mixer? Not Sarah, she wants a brightly colored one with "Sarah's mixer" on the side. And so I have become the "mixer fixer" (and painter).

This is the original plus the JB welded marble as a replacement lever

Here it is with a coat of primer

White water kayaking comes with the warmer weather. I hadn’t been in a year. The last time I went I was scared most of the time. I was rigid and stiff, avoiding the big waves. But after a year of pool practicing I thought this trip would be different.

The first few waves were ok. Then my boat sliced through one and I could feel the cold water wash over my spray skirt. Wow! It was an amazing feeling. My mouth was still open when the next wave filled it.

There is something absolutely terrifying and yet fulfilling about being hidden in the trough of the rapids. From the shore I am just a head bobbing through white caps, but inside that bobbing head is the biggest rush I’ve ever known. By becoming part of the river I feel its power. The river’s power is something that really can’t be seen or explained or understood from the river bank. There is a beauty that is hidden in the waves, it can only be experienced.

I wish none of this had happened

Frodo: I wish the ring had never come to me. I wish none of this had happened

Gandolf: So do all who live to see such times, but that is not for them to decide. All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given to us

I was iPod free for almost a week. Sarah was adjusting to her new vice and my life was finding new freedoms that were not possible with the previous confines of the white wires. And now all of my progress has been thrown through the fan and shredded. This evening Sarah won another iPod and might be returning my old vice. In my heart I want it back. I miss its power, but know that I will be destroyed by its evil.

You can't stop the twins!

Its a scary world out there. Knowing the right people is everything.

I would have boycotted the dumb Bon-Ton

Sarah and I have been registering for gifts. This past week was break so we made several trips to Sears and then Bon-Ton to register. The last time I was in the Bon-Ton I was lost. And this time was scary. Every time I leaned back in a chair, made a large hand gesture, or walked quickly down an isle I was almost breaking a pretty little something that cost hundreds of dollars. Sarah and I both agreed that I was lucky to not have smashed something valueable.

Sears has some really nice stuff. We registered for some quality kettles that cost so much that Sarah spent the next 3 days wondering if she could live with herself.

About the time she was feeling ok about the $179 kettle set we visited the store I shop at: Kmart. It’s shelves were lined with really great stuff and priced at half of what the Bon-Ton charges.

In 8^th grade we had stop signs on the walls that said “stop and think”. This week I did just that.

Question: Who am I and what am I asking other people to do? Answer: I am a Goodwill/Kmart person asking others to be Bon-Ton people.

Question #2: Why am I asking people to be Bon-Ton people instead of Kmart people? Answer: Its not because I want to, it’s because of outside pressure. It’s commonly accepted that the Bon-Ton is a reasonable place to register.

So what have I learned from this whole ordeal? It’s time to be myself and grow a spine so I can stand up to the pressures of the outside world. If the outside world thinks its tacky to register on Amazon for snowshoes (which I did) then the outside world thinks I’m a tacky person. What’s wrong with being me? If you want to give a gift you got from a dumpster, go right ahead.

If I had the whole thing to do over again, I would have boycotted the dumb Bon-Ton and Sears and spent my time at Target or Kmart.

What have I done? (and how do I undo it?)

The ipod has become property of Sarah. It could be a bad decision. Why would I give such an evil thing to the one I love the most? She brought it home for break and Boni is borrowing it. Now she has white wires coming out of her ears and is humming a tune only she knows and trying to talk to me.

I try to talk to her and she says: “WHAT?”

I give up. Maybe I should have sent it to Africa where it will never come back. Maybe I should smash it and save Africa.

Stay tuned for the story on how I’m resurrecting a Kitchen Aid Mixer.