The Many Faces of Spartacus

Waiting Room Origami

Recently I had the timeless pleasure of sitting in a Dr.'s office waiting room. I perused the usual fare... People, no; Time, no; Sports Illustrated, no; Several self-help pamphlets, no... ah Highlights! There's one I haven't read for a while. I came to this page:
Hmmm. Make a butterfly out of a dollar bill by John Montroll. (rummage through my purse, um pocketbook for those north-east coast readers) Ah, yes - the elusive dollar bill. I can put it to good use while I pass the time. Here is my waiting room attempt. I'm not sure what the ONE other person in the waiting room thought of my antics, but I carefully avoided eye contact so I couldn't tell you what she thought. I was content. I was passing my time anxiously engaged in creativity. Here are my happy results:

Top View

Side View

Front View

Back View

Underside View

I don't know if I can ever bring myself to spend this cute dollar. I don't think I can afford this hobby. I can see it now - dozens of cute animal shaped dollar bills which I am not willing to spend, strewn about the house. It probably leads to more hard core use of $5's, $10's & $20's. I think I'll quite will I'm ahead... or maybe not???

9/11/01 - Where were you?

I was in a meeting at work with several furniture vendors that had arrived from out of town. Everyone's cell phones were ringing as word trickled in about what was happening. The 'important' things we were discussing suddenly became unimportant. I remember going back to my desk and looking at the news in disbelief. Watching the videos replay and play out the events of that day. Having lived near NYC in my youth and visited often, I still can not picture the New York skyline without the twin towers there. They just always were.

Broken Toe

It all started in 1st Grade. My teachers name was Mrs. Porto. I usually emphasized that her name was Mrs."Poor-toe". I imagined in my 6 year old mind that she must have awfully deformed digits & surely she would never wear open toed shoes. Somewhere out there, Mrs. Porto should be laughing at me.

I don't wear open toed shoes, but sometimes I go bare foot in my own home & sometimes I have a pair of jeans on the floor near a laundry basket

(see offending jeans...)

and a chair (see offending chair...)

& sometimes I decide to flick the jeans into the basket with, of course, my foot. ...just sometimes. Well the foot hooked the jeans & intercepted the leg of the chair on the way. I am sure my toe is now broken.

(see offending toe... next to the little toe)

I've never broken a bone before, but here's what I do know about it... My daughter broke her toe last year. After paying the co-pay & the x-ray, we walked away with a recommendation to be careful with that toe until it heals. She thought it was cool to wear the protective boot & crutches. 6 weeks later another visit accompanied by co-pay & x-ray to confirm it was healing and another recommendation to keep being careful, she was on her way.

(see her broken toe)

I can walk without a boot & without crutches although I'd rather not walk at all. I also will save myself 2 trips to the Dr. & maybe buy a new pair of shoes with the $40.00 I'll save.

What have I learned from this?
1. Ew - my toes are ugly. It's sad when I think the close up of the carpet in the background looks better than my toes.
2. Ow - broken toes really hurt.
3. OK, OK Don't kick my jeans into the laundry. :(
4. I hope I don't learn 'you should have gone to the Dr.'
5. Don't make fun of your teachers last name. You'll be sorry someday.

Perhaps you'd like some soothing music to listen to while your toe heals. Check it out!

Worth the Price if you want to play 'cause you still Pay

Another entertaining report from 'Police Beat':

June 4 An adult male and a 15-year-old female were arrested for shoplifting in the Bookstore. They tried to take a package of $7.99 Rook cards. They are both non-students. They were caught by floor walkers and will be charged in court with retail theft. They just wanted to play the game but did not want to pay for cards, police said.

Locked inside her own car...

This news report cracked me up. I'll paraphrase.

A woman in a neighboring town called 911 because she was locked inside her own car. The police reported that when they arrived, she could not understand them through the window. After using hand gestures, she was able to communicate to them her cell phone number. The officer called her and explained to her that even though her battery was dead, the locks could be operated manually (ie pull/push the button with your finger?). He instructed her on how to release the lock manually & she was freed from her vehicle.

Good thing she remembered how to use her cell phone or this comical story could have ended in tragedy.

The Day Only I Watched The Pigeons Fly

Find the pigeons. There are 3 total. (1)above & (2)below

Christmas in Connecticut

Style of house: Cape Cod. OK - So it's probably not really Christmas - but the snow reminded me of christmas anyway. This is the house I grew up in. The window on the side of the house was my bedroom. I always had a fear that the house would catch on fire & I'd have to jump out the window to save myself. Looks like this picture was taken before the raspberry bushes were planted along the side. Yum. Just out of view to the right is the stump of the tree my dad cut down that knocked over my mom & landed on her leg. But that's a story for another day! See the woods behind the house? Many happy hours spent there playing and watching squirrels. We had an albino squirrel back there too. The side yard made a pretty good sledding hill, but the golf course was even better as long as you could avoid the water hazards. It was a great place to grow up. I'd like to go back someday to visit.