It’s “Hey Rene J” Today!

What do people do who are devoid of a “Stock Show” in their cities? Every January we celebrate the nation’s premiere livestock, rodeo and horse show in Denver. I haven’t been in years, but the little bit of the rodeo I got to see before my son experienced an allergic reaction to the hay, was very fun.

It’s quite an event, and even the City and County Building stays illuminated from the holidays in celebration. As a result, many residents of our fair city and surrounding counties keep their own Christmas lights ablaze. It’s considered acceptable.

All of this is to say that I finally got my Christmas lights taken down yesterday before the end of the Stock Show. When do folks in other cities take their lights down if they don’t have a Stock Show to guide them?

The best drivers out there in Mother Nature’s wind were inanimate objects! I had a wonderful chuckle as I watch a refrigerator box “drive” itself on Smoky Hill, make a left-hand turn at the light, bank against the curb, and continue on the major Parkway Road. It was keeping up with the speed limit!

All was good until I realized it was deciding to cross lanes and my light was about to change. I would soon be following this monster. Luckily, the wind assisted me and I avoided it, only to face a potential battle with a shopping cart in the parking lot.

This was even better! I’m walking uphill to my car, which I always park in the outer reaches. (Fewer dings, more steps, and my legs still work.) A shopping cart begins blowing down the center of the lot and I realize I am going to have to run to save someone’s car from a ding. (My legs don’t really work THAT well!). However, the cart made a lovely turn and parked itself in its cart return spot!

I think I’d take the wind driving over most of those we have on the road.

• Postage Stamp Collection
• Miniature Tea Sets
• Dictionaries
• Plastic Lids
• Fabric Scraps
• Legos
• Tissue Paper
• Little Plastic Containers

A list of some of my collections and things I’ve managed to save.

My friend, who’s Pinterest name would be, ”Pom,” recently returned from her trip to Thailand. She and her sisters physically saved five baby sharks from destruction. Seriously! What a wonderful thing to save.

I am going to have to up my game.

One of my three dream jobs in that questionnaire way back in high school was “quarterback.” The other two didn’t make sense either.

I spent this weekend loving the football games. And my poor husband had to hear me once again say, “If I were a coach, I would liken this game to a specific battle in WWII or WWI.” Seriously! War and football strategy have always made sense to me. Don’t you think you could fire up a team by recounting battles that were won through various schemes? You could even call plays by the battle name – and the heroes of those skirmishes could come to mind and inflame the passion of the game in the players.

My next book will be a book on football strategy, sure to be a bestseller.

I guess there could be something elegant and bold about camels. After meeting many new faces on our family trip to the city Saturday morning, I thought this was kind of appropriate.

Just thought I’d share a simple thought as we continue on our journey through January into 2020.

The self-proclaimed, “Year of the Mermaid,” was a good one. It might have surpassed the previous, “Year of the Pineapple.” However, nothing to date will come close to matching 2020’s “Year of the Camel.” Such a majestic beast! (Cough, sputter)

It all began two years ago when a friend gave me the famous, “Be a Pineapple,” kitchen towel. (Stand tall, wear a crown, and be sweet on the inside. Such a lovely sentiment) I decided to try and emulate that model for the year. My sister got on that bandwagon and crafts were flying out to all victims (aka, friends) in 2018.

During the course of that same year, another friend made some wacky comment while coming out of anesthesia and it referenced mermaids. (At least I assume she was still under the influence. How else could mermaids have surfaced in conversation? Although she can make strange enough comments anyway without medical assistance!)

The wheels were spinning. My sister researched crafts and friends stuck their nose into the plan. 2019, “The Year of the Mermaid,” became a hit. I had mermaid leggings, earrings, home decor, and even information on mermaid lessons! Friends became craft victims once again. It was such inane fun. And then the snarky comment by a so-called “friend.”

“It should just be camels. Why mermaids?”

The seed was planted and when the aforementioned friend celebrated her end-of-year-birthday two weeks ago, “Year of the Camel” was inaugurated. It may be silly – but you just wait and see how many camel-oriented things pop up this year!

Whoo hoo! I arrived home to find a postcard from “Kraft” from last year’s trip to Antarctica! My daughter reported she just received one. Truly, I’d forgotten I sent any at all. I know we were either the last or one of the last tours of the season….so….does a special mail boat have to go to South Georgia Island to retrieve missives? I’m wondering if a touring excursion can take on that responsibility? Apparently our ship did not take on mail from past excursions? Maybe the first excursion this past year was able to transport to Argentina, and then it took two months to get here? So many questions! Every friend with us just received their postcards this past week, also.

It’s a lovely mystery. More importantly, a lovely surprise! Hoping for more lovely surprises in 2020!

When you’re burning off some calories walking the terminal at the airport, you can wonder what the “NEWS HOPPING” is going to entail. I assumed a flashy sports bar with ten televisions would soon be constructed in the food court, with the emphasis on the “hopping.” It took me a few laps to recognize the error. Bad spacing.

It was “New Shopping” that was going to overtake the designated space. This delightful recognition had me checking every sign for spacing or alternate meanings. It really was a fun game to play after I had finished my book, written my emails, eaten lunch, and chatted on the phone. Why did I do all of this at the Indianapolis terminal? I arrived four hours too early for my flight – much to my dismay. My chosen airline never informed me of the cancellation of my flight and rebooking on another one, and of course, I checked myself in and just assumed all was as it was two months ago at booking!

Let it appear on record. I was wrong. You, dear spouse, were right. Always check and recheck your flight status. I know. I put it in writing!

• “C’mon, you know you belong here.”
• “It’s okay. You can wait until I find you.”
• “I was sure you went there.”
• ”You are driving me crazy!”
• ”I’ve had just about enough of you. I keep picking you up!”
• ”I’m going to need another cup of coffee to tackle the rest of this.”
• “I know where you belong!”

When you start talking to your puzzle pieces like children, it’s time to quit. I leave the last 250 pieces for my nephew to finish before he heads back to college. He’s the one who started this adventure!

Nothing quite like a good 9,000-piece puzzle to keep you from sleeping! It’s a genetic-addiction. Assemble a jigsaw puzzle on your table and anyone with my family’s DNA will swarm around to complete it. In this case, the puzzle resides on a ping pong table, the only surface large enough to accommodate it.

Luckily, 4,500 pieces were already placed before my arrival at my sister’s abode. Her son spent the first half of his vacation working on it, leaving the second half for our entertainment. I think the bold proclamation, “We can finish this!” Is probably what kept me awake all night long. Let’s just go with that.

In a fortuitous turn of events, I found no need for a nap. The sun made an appearance here in Indiana and I channeled my inner pretend-you-just-arrived-in-Australia-and -have-to-stay-awake-all-day mode. We made progress and estimate 1,500 pieces left!

Looking forward to a restful sleep tonight.