Row for Water

I had a good 'driveway moment,'(staying out in the car until the interview/show is over), coming home from work this afternoon. Talk of the Nation on NPR interviewed Katie Spotz, the youngest (22), and only American who will soon attempt to row solo across the Atlantic. What's better, is that she's doing it to provide clean drinking water to at least 1,000 people for life. One awesome girl! Go check out her site and maybe give some consideration to supporting her cause. She'll be leaving on New Year's Day, and will blog and tweet as she rows 10-12 hours a day until she reaches the Americas in March. Awesome awesome awesome.

Moo

Can't Sleep (or don't want to)

A typical night with me and The Rock. (can you guess which one I am?)



The Rock feigned incredulity that he was the "grumpy one." (because, in spite of the fact that I wake him up almost every night with kicks and shoves (and that doesn't even account for the general racket I make before I fall asleep), he always makes the best of the situation).

P.S. I stole the video link from Moo's email to me. She didn't post it fast enough, so I beat her to the punch.

From Sam the Missionary in Mexico

We bought ice cream one night and on the wall it says ''Banana Spleat''

Good Idea / Bad Idea?

Sometimes I get in the So-Super-Cheap-It's-Comical Christmas mode.  (you didn't know that mode even existed, did you?)

The latest thought:  Giving someone library books.  Wrap them up all nice and pretty with a big bow and they can read them and then get rid of 'em.  Very practical for the minimalist on your list.  And also for us tightwad gift givers.

In my family it was (is?) entirely acceptable to give secondhand gifts to someone else.  In fact, because we gave second hand gifts we were contributing to a Greener Earth actually got quite a few Really Good presents on a tight budget.  Garage sales, thrift stores, our own closets (har) are a few sources.  I don't know that anyone's gone for the dumpster dive finds, but it would have been cool if they did.   My favorite example is the year Moo gave me an Uno Card from our very own Sesame Street Uno deck.  (Don't worry, she spiced it up by hiding it in the freezer.)

My friend in Tucson said her kids would often come up with goofy things on their wish lists because their family was so poor.  Things like World Peace and One Bag of Pizza Pockets were not unheard of requests.

What are your tightwad gifting ideas/requests? 
--Lu

The Weather Outside Is Frightful

Living in Arizona, those words have rarely held much meaning for me.  Frightful, eh?  Yah, if you call 60 degrees and sunny "frightful"--then I'm with ya.    But last night, I got a small taste of what those words really mean. The wind moaned and howled around my house, an unusual bumping was heard repeatedly from one side of the house, rain lashed against our windows, and my neighbor's tree gave up the ghost in an amazingly ferocious winter storm.  The storm began yesterday morning with rain, then fog in the late afternoon, and culminated with hurling of water and ice and wind all night long. 

It made me really appreciate my house--no chinks in it and a nice heater plugging away come rain, sleet, or snow.  I remember reading the Little House on the Prairie book The Long Winter.  I hated that book because it made me feel so cold and dark and forlorn.  In contrast, last night, a warm glow filled the house: I had the heater, a few blankets, and my trusty rice bag to keep me warm.  I really do feel blessed.  --Lu