Minutiae

The pot shouldn't call the kettle black. You know who you are and what I mean. 'nuff said.

This is what the skies were looking like on Saturday. I would say they have stepped it up a notch from simply threatening to "I'll do it. Don't think that I won't." Dark skies like this arouse a very visceral fear in me, but I am nearly hypnotized by how white the telephone/hydro wires, seagulls and water towers are against the storm-laden skies. But I made it home safely and played Monopoly with Amanda.
Now, I grew up with the classic Monopoly board but nowadays you can choose from a wide variety of pop culture themed boards. Kyle and Amanda could never agree on the same one until we saw this one. The eyes are made of that plastic that makes the image shift when you tilt the surface - it's kind of creepy on a Monopoly box. As I said, I grew up playing Monopoly (among other board games - not much else to do in the country with no cable; hence also my love of reading). I think that SpongeBob is hilarious and I watch the show but I felt like the village idiot playing this format. I have no idea what the properties are and the Chance/Community Chest cards are different. Amanda was explaining what things were (she's been playing with Kyle for a couple of weeks and is the resident expert). Fortunately Amanda is still honing her Monopoly strategies & I had her bankrupt in no time. Hey, she won't learn if I let her win. I let her know my advice on what she might do and I let her know how & why I played the way I did. We had fun - she's a good sport.

Yesterday I drove up to my dad's to pick up a side of beef. We took the scenic route and just had to stop when we saw these interesting creatures. I tried to give Amanda her motivation but she just wasn't feeling the terror of being scooped up and taken away to the dragon's lair. We also saw a couple of deer run across the road - well ahead of us thank goodness! I love watching real deer - they are just so compellingly graceful! Amanda thought that it would be nice to have one as a pet. "Ummm, no. You'd have to get one very young so that it wouldn't be afraid of you & a very high fence. They jump very well." "But ..." "No." It was a great day for a drive and we enjoyed very pleasant views all the way to Hanover.
We stopped by my sister's to say "hey" while we were in the neighbourhood. I totally forgot to have one of the kids take our picture, but I did get pics of the kids at McDonald's Playland. These are Amanda's cousins, but genetically they are more like half-siblings since Daphne & I are identical twins. Yeah, I know, it freaks Kerwyn out too. But should the need for an organ donor arise, these kids have good odds for a match.
So after all the good times were done (and when I say "done" I mean that Daphne & I said "The good times are done.") Amanda & I headed off to my dad's. Here he is with Sadie & Amanda. He had a small litter of kittens that Amanda discovered - loved goes without saying. I knew what little thoughts were flitting around in her mind; my dad did too and he stoked the fire, "Would you like to take one home?" He winked at me. "Please Mom? They look just like Cheeky Monkey and they could be his friends!" she wheedled. I was resolute. "No way - you're Dad is just tolerant of CM, there's no way I'm pushing our luck. CM has you, Kyle & I for friends and I've forked over enough money making CM a nice, neutered indoor cat and curing his ails. No." So she will have to live with her memories of the little kittens and this picture will help.

I also took Amanda to see my old high school, my old public school (nothing lasts forever) and the Saugeen River where we used to swim in the summer. The falls from the dam were a real draw for Amanda. It's amazing how vivid memories become when you start going back down Memory Lane with someone else.