I have learned from past seasons of Lent not to get too energetic about my Lenten practices. I have also learned to calm down the activities at the Pancake Supper. One year I had a full line of pancake related activities: eating contest (who could eat the most in two minutes), whistling contest (who could whistle first after eating a pancake, relay race (each team had one big spatula, they had to increase how many pancakes each round), and a pancake toss. The games are a blast but one year I got the kids a little too worked up and one kid vomited (granted he was sick before he came, but still).
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This now brings me to some philosophical ideas #2 has shared with me the past couple of days. 1. #2 is only sacrificing (his word, not mine) food he does not like, which would account for 98% of the available foods. 2. #2 would like one day to be president so he could end all wars, therefore he wants to write President Obama and ask him if he will go ahead and stop all wars so he wont have to do it when he is president - good request. 3. #2 also is fascinated with Thanks-A-Lot cookies, although due to their size he thinks their name should be changed to Giants.
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An observation from the trip to WV. Several weeks ago the NY Times had an interesting article on certain people who have unplugged their refrigerator due to its energy usage (the article reported that most refrigerators do not suck up that much energy). I cannot imagine a summer without cold beer or cold gins-and-tonics, that right there would be enough for me to never give up the benefits of a refrigerator. The article however, did offer a great idea. The folk who unplugged their refrigerators kept their perishables cool with a cooler. Each day they would place a frozen two liter in the cooler. The VOR took this idea and used it for our trip to WV. How many times has the ice fully melted and ruined cheese, sandwiches, and candy bars? How many? to many! But an apple juice container full of frozen water hardly melted and when it did it did not create a puddle in the cooler.
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Finally, yesterday I went to pick up a altered pair of pants at Always-On-Sale. While there I admired the Harris Tweed jacket I have had my eyes on for the past few months. The salesman casually asked if I was interested, yes I was. I then told him it was on sale online for $64.00, he did not believe me. He looked it up and sure enough, $64.00. From $495.00 to $64.00, I had to. The addition of this sports jacket has enabled me to move one of my current jackets to my longed for "smoking-then-drinking-now-reading" jacket.
A few years ago I entertained taking up smoking a pipe but decided not to. Why? First of all "burning" my mouth so that I could enjoy it did not sound like fun. Second, all of the fiddling with it all the time. Finally, after dad died due to tobacco related cancer my desire quickly faded. I then thought perhaps I could have the world's first "designated" drinking jacket. What about a jacket to wear while I sipped a glass of Scotch in the evenings or even some Baptist Bourbon, that's right check out the link if you do not believe me. But then what if I developed a Pavlov's dog behavior? Every time I saw the jacket I would want a drink, that wouldn't be good. Finally I settled on my own designated reading jacket, a jacket with a working eyehole on the lapel for my pocket watch's t-bar and a nice pocket for my reading glasses.
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