The Inequity begins

Her: Six pretty highlighter pens

Him: Three ugly ones

Her: Three folders with bright colors and cool designs

Him: Three plain folders that appear to be...brown?

Her: Five cool mini-sharpie pens with rings on the end to hook to a back-pack

Him: None

Her: New pencil sharpener

Him: None

Her: New whiteboard and marker for her locker

Him: None

Okay...both kids got a ton of school supplies (per the school's "list") - nothing like the scant pieces of paper and number 2 pencil we started the school year with. Still, his Dad shopped for "Him" and she shopped for "Herself" and as you can see, things didn't work out. When the inequity was called to account (because siblings can't overlook such injustices), Her only response was "I NEEDED them!" What that really means is that we'll be back at Wally World either returning Her stuff or buying new sharpies, etc. for Him in order to avoid WWIII.

Ever wonder how kids learned anything 100 years ago before solar-powered calculators and washable markers were invented?

Where's the camera when you need it?

I just looked out the window to see our black and white cow cat stalking the bunnies who have moved into our front yard. He revved up his butt, got ready to launch, then leaped at one. The bunny took a hop and then continued to munch on the clover.

Dejected, O'Malley walked away, looking around to make sure nobody witnessed his failed attack. LOL!

Do you ever do anything you hope went unnoticed? I often trip, and then pretend it was just part of my stride. :)

And I thought WE had a lot of pets!

Tonight I went to a book club meeting (we discussed Frank McCourt's Teacher Man, in case you want to weigh in here). Anyway, the woman who hosted the meeting (a sweetheart, btw) took us to meet Cody, her lovable Husky, out in back of the totally charming log cabin home.

There was Cody . . . and 17 other dogs. Yep. Eighteen total. Running in circles, excited to see us, barking their greetings. Unlike the Husky, most of the others looked similar in breed and color - black with white chests.

Me: "Um...so you and your husband breed dogs?"

Very Nice Lady: "No."

Silence.

Me: "Oh."

Silence.

Me (because I can't keep my mouth shut): "It's, well, just that you have so many."

One of the other BCMs (Book Club Members) saved me from utter confusion. "Her husband is a musher."

Yep, he teaches micro-biology by day at a local university, and mushes on his time off. He can run the dogs in the summer with carts for practice. He takes them to a local mountain in the winter. He doesn't do the Iditarod, but does compete in smaller races here and in nearby states.

It was really interesting to learn about mushing. They own two teams (8 per team) plus their older two who no longer run. Most of the dogs are actually Euro-pointers (I think they're German short-hair pointers), and they pull a four-wheeler instead of a sled.

One thing led to another, and the musher husband said he'd bring a team to the local elementary school so the kids can see how it works. Cool, huh?

Can you think of any odd hobbies or occupations that might interest school kids? Or us?

Blog-challenged but Doing Something Sort of

For the last week or so, I haven't blogged because I can't think of a thing to say. I looked at a few quizzes (such as "How dorky am I?" which seemed to suit me) but decided to just go with the truth. I have nothing.

N-o-t-h-i-n-g.

The good news is that I'm writing - on paper, just like good old Shax! It must be that I'm not feeling computer-friendly these days. I'm craving the good old-fashioned-curl-up-on-the-couch-in-utter-silence-and-write. I haven't been in that mode for a long time now, so I suppose you could call it "a phase".

Do you ever get in the mood to toss modern technology out the window and just commune with your pen and paper or sit in silence and enjoy the peace? Quiet time is rare for me. Do you have to fight for it too?