It’s “Hey Rene J” Today!

Okay…listen to the ads for this “new” bank. They end with a two-tone musical code which is quite pleasant. My theory? They are looking to garner the attention of children with the notes – and implanting that in little minds at an early age. I don’t think that’s a crazy notion or idea I have. And it’s probably a total marketing technique.

Years ago – oh, 31 plus to be exact – my eldest was 18 months old when she pointed to a sign at the old Southglenn mall and said, “JCPenney!” How did she know? Well, who was savvy enough to co-sponsor “Sesame Street?”

Since then I have been acutely aware of advertising and its audiences and equally distrusting. Maybe BMO didn’t intend for those sweet tones to stick in a child’s mind, but I think they sound like they will.

Just a mini-observation as I turn the television “off” when the children are around!

The neighbors to the west have a decorative windmill. The neighbors to the east have a high-flying flag. Along with these two anemometers we can also readily assess the temperature in the shade with our high-tech thermometer. Obviously, we can’t anticipate hail.

The clean-up begins! If you are looking for some exercise with immediate gratification, you are welcome to operate my leaf blower and various mowing implements today. I’ll even let you do some pressure washing for added joy.

I do love you, Mother Nature, and could you please tone it down a bit for this weekend?

The roof inspector is scheduled, the torrential weather knocked the pollen off the trees and seems to have abated the miller moth invasion, and my car is still drivable. Oh – and I can purchase two new cushions for the outdoor furniture as the hail truly ripped one to shreds.

Seriously, it will be nice to spray the yellow coating of pollen off of everything now, and maybe I can put away my vacuum since there was only one insect body for the graveyard today. (I did see those nasty floating cotton seeds begin their journey to my window screens and garage, a new scourge for June weather conditions.)

Sometimes my gardening is given a shorter span of joy than others. I will baby these scraps of growth to see what will become of them. I am not repurchasing and replanting, rather employing “kitsugi.” It is the Japanese art of repairing broken objects but I’m using it for my living plants this year. Somehow it makes this destruction more palatable.

On to some kitsugi time today!

Maybe the pounding hail and relentless rains have washed the moths away? Aside from shredding my plants yesterday and possibly dinging my little car (I’m afraid to look) I do hope it chased every moth out of here. My vacuum sits out for its daily sweep of the dead ones.

Oh, it’s my own fault. I keep the doors open at night for the beautiful breeze and lovely weather, and somehow those little pests sneak in around the screen door. It’s also my fault for going out to the grocery store just to make sure there was food for my spouse’s return to our home. However – I received NO weather alert at all. Nothing. Whose fault is that?

I suppose I’ll move the plants and try to salvage something as we are supposedly having another round today. At least I’ve enjoyed them for two weeks!

P.S. I do have dings.

My children do not enjoy “Wheel of Fortune.” And yet – it was how they learned the alphabet! I loved the show and it was entertainment as I prepared dinner and plopped them in front of the television. Thus, the end of the Pat Sajak era made me reminisce about those early days.

I didn’t see the final episode as I don’t DVR it – that honor is reserved for Jeopardy. However, the recaps on the news were heartfelt. That was a long run for anyone in a career. And I’m just as old!

I’ll try to tune in occasionally, but it really won’t be the same without that Sajak wit and charm. I did make the Jeopardy switch though when Alex left, so I guess it’s possible to teach an old dog? Which reminds me, I have about ten Jeopardy’s in the queue!

That big box in the basement may come in useful. The twins are climbing the stairs.

The good news is that we now have our morning exercise program in play – learning to descend. It becomes a necessary skill as I do not have a good way to put up a baby gate. Thus, we work on the descent.

It’s also good exercise for me. All I need to do is secure some good knee pads!

The Childcraft Encyclopedia had an entire volume entitled, “Make and Do.” This fantastic book in the series nudged me to create and experiment with resources at hand in my formative years. Often the resource was a simple box.

Currently there is a huge cardboard box in my basement awaiting inspiration. Years ago I channeled that early CC volume and created submarines for my own children out of boxes. Do they remember that? I don’t know, but we had fun doing it and they had hours of enjoyment until I couldn’t stand to trip over them anymore. (The boxes, not the kids.) My daughter uses boxes to contain little ones while they paint, use markers, crawl, or sticker-ize them. (The current art medium of choice.) And with the dawn of Amazon shipping everything everywhere there is no lack for creative resources!

While it’s tempting to dissect that monster in the basement it did come in useful as a table for a child’s baby monitor this past weekend. Thus, it’s going nowhere at present and awaiting its reincarnation.

Let’s play Scrabble. It’s an amazing game of engineering and math – really. Some might consider it necessary to have an extended vocabulary, but logistically you just need to be able to do math in some very geometric ways. And draw good letters.

My son deigned to play with me last night. He is a word whiz so to beat him was really quite exciting. He ended up with all of the vowels, which is a statistical downfall, yet he challenged me. I will live off of this game for months. (Until someone else wants to play?)

I do have three Scrabble editions…

We were chatting about new rides last night. I want a Lincoln Navigator. I’ve never driven one, but I like the looks. It’s a dream for another day as my little green Escape is a happy transport for now and easy on the gas. And I like the color.

So, what would be important in a test drive of a new vehicle? Any car I would consider must be driven on the road leading to my house and my daughter’s. Awful streets. The expansion joints are nasty bumps and the potholes patched up so poorly it wasn’t worth the time or effort. The second necessary test – putting on lipstick while driving. It’s a consistent habit I have acquired, usually beginning the process at the bottom of our road.

If a motor vehicle can pass these two exams, it will be in the running!

Let’s keep it simple today…eating healthy and getting in those steps or exercise routine, whichever works best on a dreary, grey day.

Off to chalk up some time pulling weeds in the great outdoor gymnasium of Nature.