Work vs. Play

or Different Strokes for Different Folks

I've been trying to figure out for a while why what is work for some people is play for others. For example, I've been wondering why Uncle Billy likes to cook and I consider it a chore. Why Ward has fun raking and I find it tedious. Why Wally likes entropy and I love to put things in order.

And you know what? I figured out the obvious--we're all different. "Different strokes for different folks."

Different Strokes for Different Folks

Ward finds raking relaxing and I find it tedious.

Uncle Billy likes to cook and we just find it time consuming.  (However like Dog, we all like to eat.)

 

I like to plant and pull weeds and Theo only does it when he has to.

I like working with beads and Lucy would rather look at her toes.

I don't mind doing all parts of the laundry but Theodore doesn't like to fold.

But we all like the challenge of outsmarting the squirrels.

Second Look--July 22, 2012

On a Second Look, I often feature pictures that are close ups. This week, I decided to pull back a little and let you see more of the beds and land around them. It was good for me to do this because recently, all I seem to see are heat-stressed flowers and weeds when I look outside. While doing my exploring, I realized that we still have some nice beds in bloom. Once again, a Second Look is helping see things through a different set of eyes. That's why I do it.

Here's What I Saw This Week.

Coleus and Celosia

Marigolds

Hostas

Coreopsis

Black Eyed Susan

Balloon flowers

Storm clouds rolling in. I made it inside just before a huge clap of thunder.

Two fawns with their mother. We saw two more, also with their mother, on the other side of the yard.

Knucklehead by Jon Scieszka, a review

or Boys Will Be Boys

What? The book, Kuncklehead by Jon Scieszka. A memoir of growing up with five brothers in Flint, MI.


What is this book famous for? Creating the expression, "Boys will be boys." Well, maybe it didn't create it, but it could have. It is full of wild escapades of Jon and his brothers including explosions and fires, tying a little brother to his bed, and sword fighting while peeing/urinating. (There is a joke in the last two words that you will get after you read the book.)

Will it make you laugh or cry?  You will laugh until you cry.

Are all of the outlandish things Scieszka wrote about to be believed? I wasn't there as he was growing up, but according to Ward, Wally, and Theodore, they have done many of the same things. As they listened to the audio version of this book, they sometimes laughed because the situations were really funny and sometimes they laughed because they had done exactly the same thing that Jon and his brothers had done.

Who will enjoy it? The book is targeted for 4th -7th graders, but everyone will enjoy it.
 
Should I read it? Absolutely. 

Makin' Bacon

or Bakin' Bacon

As I was surfing the internet the other day, I found an idea that interested me. Or I should say, I found many ideas that interested me, but one of them I decided to try--cooking bacon in the oven. This seemed like a simple and appealing idea. No more standing over the stove dodging grease splatters or no more overcooking it in the microwave.

As often happens when I'm on the computer, one place leads to another which leads to another and before I know it, I now want to bake bacon instead of figuring out how to fix my washer. Anyway, the point of that is I don't have a credit for the baking idea or remember exactly what the favorite technique was. What I do remember is that it works better with cold bacon and a cold starting oven and should take 15-20 minutes. Also, you should use a pan with sides, so the grease won't run down into the oven.

So, I put bacon slices on my baking pan with sides, put it into the cold oven and set the temperature for 350˚ F. I checked it at 15 minutes and then again at 19 minutes where I found golden, crisp, long strips of bacon. Simple and delicious.

This is definitely something I will use in the future. The bacon can be baking while I am preparing another part of the meal, or if I have the oven on for something else, I can bake some bacon to be frozen for later use.  But the most important part of this experiment is that I got to do a post with the titles, Makin' Bacon and Bakin' Bacon. Once again, I amuse myself.

Thankful Sunday--August 19, 2012

I am thankful that I received a long, handwritten letter in the mail recently.