This, That, And The Other Thing

In news you can use, THIS certainly sounds healthy. Nurses LOVE Cinnabon, I'm sure. In the future, I expect to see similar giveaways, such as free Netflix for a week for librarians and maybe complimentary Uber rides for physical trainers.

Also, a new tick disease! And this one only takes 15 minutes to transmit, so, yes, we ARE doomed, thanks for asking. If you're looking for me, I'll be busy inventing an outdoor shower for my front porch that soaks the kids with DEET each time they step outside.

Results may vary

And, it's happening again - I am being lured once more by the siren call of a new lentil recipe. I hate lentil soup. My family hates lentil soup. Yet every once in a while, I'll become convinced I've stumbled across a recipe (sometimes by another blogger, sometimes just in the newspaper) that will change all of our minds about lentils. I'll let you all know how this one goes.

My having to drive Rachel to a late-night cast party on Saturday turned out better than expected. 2 (2!) friends actually contacted me and said, "I'm up late all the time - do you want me to get her for you?" Which offers I declined because, hey, they were above and beyond (one of the friends doesn't even HAVE kids); but this made me recall that a friend of mine lives near where the party was being held and, hey, she tends to stay up late, too. So I ended up going to her house and hanging out with her and her husband and having a great time. It pays to have friends who are night owls, is what I'm trying to say here.

And then I picked up Rachel and she spent the ride home telling me how great the host house was. "It's so BIG! And CLEAN!"

"Hey," I interrupted her. "I'm sure they threw all their belongings upstairs in the bedrooms, just like we do when we host a party."

"Yeah, but they had all these nice paintings on the walls and the furniture looked nice, and..."

The kid just wouldn't stop. She was apparently very impressed by the fact that these people didn't assemble all their furniture themselves and that their wall decor consists of things other than framed pictures their own kids painted in art class. It's frustrating, because I've told the kids over and over that our townhome is larger and nicer than dwellings in most of the rest of the world; I've told them that amenities like central air and on-demand hot water are actually luxuries, and we are lucky to have them; I've TOLD THEM that we live better than most people have lived since the beginning of time. And I want them to appreciate that.

My kids don't know from yurts

But, being human, all they know is what they see; and in our neck of the woods, they see monstrously large houses with, like, 4 people living in them and seriously I do not know what people do with all that space and how they can afford to heat/AC it. You know, a few months ago I took Susie with me while I dropped Brian off at a friend's house for some party and we walked him to the door so I could introduce myself to the parents.

Now, I'm used to this area, I'm used to large houses, some of my best friends LIVE in large houses, but even so...I had to keep my jaw from dropping as I stood in the soaring foyer of this particular abode and chatted with the parents for a few minutes. I sensed Susie at my elbow, however, taking it all in, including - I am guessing - the multiple staircases in the immediate vicinity, the double story family room with a stone fireplace large enough to roast a goat in, etc. On the way back out to the car, Susie said, "Mommy? Standing in that house?" (in a tone of wonder) "I felt like Maria in The Sound of Music."

So, yeah, maybe one kid gets it.



[Lentil soup image: NYT]
[Yurt image: Latitude News]