I Finally Bought It...A License Plate Frame

I know I'm vain, hopefully, not in all things, but I know I'm vain in some. I think we're all that way, to a certain degree. If you're not at all vain, good for you. But, I am. I held off buying a license plate frame for the car I drove.

Until last week.

For almost a decade, our family had two cars, a Toyota Minivan, and a Pontiac Vibe. The Vibe was the second one we've owned. I got one after my mother passed away in 2007 and it was a great little car. After a few things happened, it became necessary to trade in our little Vibe, and so we did.

After some other things happened, I was in need of another car. I wanted a Vibe. I liked the look, I liked the gas mileage, and I loved the fact Toyota built it. I found one, a few years older and about 10k cheaper than the one I had earlier. I didn't mind the age, or the fact that the paint was peeling, or the fact that after I hit and killed a deer and we eventually had to put on a new driver's side door (that was not the same color...)--no, I didn't mind any of those things, because of one simple fact...

The car was paid for.

When you don't have money for a car loan, a paid-off car--as long as it runs well--is a thing of beauty.

But, whenever I saw a car drive by with a license plate frame from their alma mater, I kind of wished I could get one for the Vibe. Of course, I could have gone out and picked one up, but I didn't want to put a University of Utah frame on a car that I felt, didn't look good. I like the U of U. I like being an alumnus of the institution. I love the time I spent there, and I didn't want to put a U of U frame on my beat-up car.

I know...I'm vain.

Last month, we sold my Vibe to my daughter. I felt good about it--we know most of the car's history and it's been a fantastic, dependable car. I felt better about selling her my car than taking a chance/risk on getting a car from the public, or buying a car (which neither of us could afford...) at a dealer. This created a problem. I'd now be without a car. Last week we rectified that problem and I found a Subaru.

Introducing Donk.

He's a 2010. He's been very well maintained. He's the same color, all the way around. And, Donk is equipped with an anti-theft device--a manual transmission. We've only had Donk less than a week, but we love him already. Donk gave me a reason/excuse to get a new license plate frame.

And I did.

Two Photos...Eleven Years Apart

Years ago--eleven to be exact--my youngest used to love to climb up on our bed when I was working on my laptop. He loved it when I would open up the camera and take pictures of him and me just sitting there. He loved looking at the computer screen, watching himself as if in a mirror, but it wasn't a mirror. I took a lot of pictures of the both of us having fun in front of the laptop camera.

The first picture I ever posted to social media is one of my son and me.

Tonight, as we watched Shark Tank, I asked him if he wanted to take a picture. I showed him the one I posted on January 19th, 2009. He was four at the time.

"I will, if I don't have to hold my hand up to my head," he said.

"No, nothing like that. I just want to see how we look now."

I took the picture. Now, you get to see what eleven years (to the day...) looks like.

As it happens with many families, the youngest child gets the fewest pictures taken of them. It's sad, but true. And what's interesting, at least with our family, when our youngest was born, we used film for the pictures--no digital photography for us twenty-five years ago. Now, everything is digital. I can take a thousand pictures and they're basically free. I can't even imagine what it would cost to develop a thousand pictures back then.

So, instead of a "ten-year photo challenge," here's an eleven-year one. For me, it's just over a decade. For my son, it's a lifetime.

Hanging Out At The U...My Alma Mater

This morning I had the pleasure of participating in a high school script writing workshop at my alma mater, the University of Utah. 

Things have changed.

The interesting part was, the building in which we read the winning short scene scripts was held in a building where I actually took classes. I guess that's not that interesting, except there are buildings where I took classes that are no longer there, and there are so many buildings on campus that didn't exist in 1992.

I first drove to the Union Building--just getting there from the north side of the campus I saw just how much has changed. In the late 1980s there was an actual golf course (nine hole...) on campus, just east and north of the Union Building. It's hard to even imagine that because any place that once was golf course is now building or parking lot for said building.

I needed to drive over to the bookstore and the PAB (Performing Arts Building). No problem, I thought. I drive from the Union north, then turn east, the south, then west. That road will take me to the bookstore. Driving that road gave me a whole new set of never-before-seen-by-me things to see. There's a softball field and a running track that were not there before. They were so foreign, I couldn't remember what was there back in the day. Attending the school from 1987 to 1992, I got to know the campus pretty well. 

The new buildings/sports venues on both side of the street threw me off.

It's okay--I still know how to get to the bookstore. I've attended a U of U football game or two in the past decade so I knew some things had changed, but mostly they were the same. Still, I missed the road going west--I think the Trax light rail tracks confused me.

I eventually made it. The PAB looked the same in many ways, but there were changes in that, too. It's one of the older buildings on campus, not as old as those on President's Circle, but old. One day, I'm sure, they'll tear down the PAB. And when I return in another decade or two, when I look for the PAB, it'll be gone.

Times have...and will continue...to change.

Playing...With Poodles...In The Snow

The storm hit in the morning, but by the afternoon the sun came out and it was an absolutely beautiful day. In short, it was a perfect day to play in the snow with poodles. To be fair, we only had one poodle, but we did play and it was in the snow.

We didn't know anything about poodles when my son rescued his dog a year and a half ago. I could be wrong, but for some reason, I assumed poodles were water dogs, and they might be. We haven't taken the dog to a large body of water, but I don't think he'd jump right in if we did. Like I said, I could be wrong.

But snow is frozen water and I do know the dog loves playing in the snow. Once again, I utilized my favorite video altering function on my phone--slow motion--and had a blast videotaping his joy. I love watching the videos, seeing the dog bounce up and down, his big ears flopping and flapping as he runs. 

It would have been cool to video the dog actually catching the ball (spoiler, if you haven't watched the video...), but seeing him drop it is fun, too.

It's night. The poodle has crashed and he's sleeping off the fun binge he experienced earlier today. I supposed we'll all be a little bit more tired, too. It was worth it...definitely worth it.

Have You Received Your Guilt-O-Gram Yet...?

It arrived in the mail last week, not a bill from the power company, but something else. We've received them before so we knew exactly what it was. And, because I don't see our situation changing any time soon, I'm sure we'll get more of these in the mail in the future. 

What was it, the thing we received that wasn't a bill from the power company?

I call it a Guilt-O-Gram.

Or, Shame Mail.

Since everything is trackable these days, our local power concern monitors how much energy we use. And they're monitoring how much energy everyone else is using, too. The letter we received showed us how much energy we use, vs how much energy our neighbors are using. The point being, if you know how much energy you and others are using, you'll be shamed or guilted into changing your energy habits.

Except, it's not working on us.

There was a time when we had five people living in our house all day, all week, all month, all year. I telecommute so all the energy I would normally be using in a cubicle in a building somewhere, I'm using at home. We also homeschool so all the energy our kids would be using sitting at a desk at a school building (as well as the energy the teacher would be using...), we're using at home. My son works his own business at home, so instead of...well, you get the idea.

This information is not on the letter from the power company. I have no idea if they even know all these things about us (though, with the way personal information is thrown around nilly willy these days, they probably do...). So, their "look how big of energy pigs you are" letter won't really work on us. I do know that by not leaving the house, we don't run the car, thus adding to that problem.

No, we get the letters and just toss them. Maybe they work for some who are unaware of how much energy they're using. For us, we know. And we've known for years.

Frikadeller...The Danish Meatball

Last night my wife made a meal I used to eat several times a week while living in Denmark. Sure, it's been almost thirty-three years since I lived in Denmark, but some things never leave you.

The taste of Frikadeller, Danish meatballs, is one of those things.

I admit, the pictures I took of meatballs cooking in grease isn't the most appetizing photo I've ever taken, but the smells filling the house, the taste of international cuisine, it was worth it. After I posted the picture for yesterday's Pic Of The Day, a fellow American born in the wrong country kindly asked for the recipe.

So, Todd--here you go!

Several years ago our family visited Solvang, a town in the hills east of Santa Barbara, California. It's very Danish, and I love (almost...) all things Danish. We picked up the cookbook, mostly because when I lived in Denmark I didn't bring home any recipes of my own. It's a good cookbook, most likely put together by Solvang residents who were tired of Americans asking them all the time, "How do you make that" and "How do you get your pastry to taste so good?"

Side note--speaking of Danish pastry, I don't know how the do it, but it's very hard to find pastry over here that tastes as good as pastry made in Hans Christian Andersen's homeland.

So, if you're feeling adventurous and you'd like to make a meal more rare (as in scarce...) than Swedish meatballs (there are fewer Danes than Swedes...), whip up a batch of Frikadeller, and you'll also say, "Mmmmm! De er SÅ gode!"

Thank Goodness...For Warm Pants!

One of the presents I got for Christmas from my mother-in-law last year was a pair of bluejeans. These aren't just any pair of jeans...they're special.

In fact, they're winterized.

The pants have a felt lining, all the way down. Why would I need such a pair of enhanced pants? Because I work in an unheated basement, that's why.



Last year was my first year working in the basement. The way my desk was situated, well...it was cold down there. It was so cold at times, I had to wear a coat and fingerless gloves. I didn't complain--I did have a space heater and with all the layers, I was warm enough. Plus, I was working at home, so that was great.

In the summer, we went through and re-organized the basement, and by "re-organized," I mean, threw out a bunch of stuff. We tossed so much stuff that I was able to re-orient my desk against two walls. The reason we did this was more to take advantage of the space, but I found out this winter that because the desk is against the wall, the space heater I have warms up the area so much better. I'm sure engineers or people who know more about these things can explain why. All I know is, it's been a much warmer winter for me. The pants have definitely helped.



My mother-in-law worries about us, and she worries that I'm warm enough in the basement. She found these jeans and they've been so great for me this winter. I don't even think about being warm enough down there (and down there...). I didn't even know pants like this existed. I do now, and I'm glad for that knowledge.

I pretty much wear these everyday. We're in the coldest month of the year, so I won't be wearing them everyday in a few weeks, I'd imagine. And so, they'll go in the closet, and won't be touched again for several months. And when the temperatures drop and Ol' Man Winter comes a calling, I'll be ready. Thank goodness for warm pants!