Donate blood, save a (blood drop's) life.

Amy donated blood for the first time during a Red Cross blood drive at her school. (Yay, Amy!!) To help her feel more "comfortable," the nurse gave her this blood drop baby to keep her company. Amy wasn't really sure she needed to be comforted, but....okay.

After spending some time in Amy's room, it was decided the blood drop baby needed a new home. So....Sienna adopted him. She really seems to have adopted him. Usually, when presented with a new toy, Sienna loves it....to death. She has had blood drop baby for more than three weeks now, and nary a hair has been harmed. She carries him around, chews on him a bit, and sleeps with him, but no tearing limb from limb as would be her usual loving gesture. What we can't figure out...Why is this? Does she know that blood saves lives, so she has saved his? Hmmm....who knows the workings of the canine brain.

Quilting

Two years ago, Mary decided she would like to start a quilt. So she did. No lessons, no instructions really, she just dove in. She's now on her third quilt. All sewing is done by hand - no machine involved. This quilt is being made up of all different fabric blocks. No print is repeated. Her desire is that you could look at this quilt over and over and over again, and each time you do, you will see something new. She does a very nice job with her handwork, and I think it's quite awesome.

Superheroes

Perhaps you are wondering why my blog is named Pack Mule Mama. It's quite simple, really. It's my superhero persona.

A couple-three years ago, there was a TV show on called, "So You Want to be a Superhero." We ended up watching it weekly, drawn to it in that bizarre sort of way....you can't stand to watch it, and yet you can't stand not to watch it. We found it quite entertaining.

Not long after that, we were camping in Pisgah National Forest, sitting around the campfire at night. As often happens around the campfire...we get creative. Sometimes it's Charades, sometimes it's "let's see what cool things we can burn," this time it was....So You Want to be a Superhero. We all had to reveal/adopt our superhero persona.

Because she at times really doesn't want to deal with people, Mary dubbed herself "The Excommunicator." Amy calls herself "Velcro Girl" because of her desire to be near her parents. Wayne became "Bicycle Repairman" for obvious reasons. Since I am always the one who ends up carrying everyone's junk on outings (how does that happen, anyway?), I am known as "Pack Mule Mama." Recently, we have inducted Sienna to hero-dom also. Since she has the capacity to take up much more space on the couch than any dog her size needs, she is now "Expando."

What's funny is how we remember these alter-egos and use them to our advantage. Mary may have a day where she declares herself done with humans...that's OK...she is the Excommunicator after all. Amy starts thinking about leaving home for college and gets nostalgic...no problem...she is Velcro Girl. Right now Sienna is kicking me for still more room on the couch...she is Expando!

My superhero cape is a saddle blanket.

The little things

Little things do add up, I believe. I didn't make any New Year's resolutions this year. Don't remember that I did last year either. One of the things we have tried to do though is be more mindful of the waste we generate here. I can't say that we've done anything unique or monumental, but we have implemented a few things.

Cloth napkins. In keeping with our little-bit-of-everything theme for kitchenware and dishes, I purchased a bunch of cloth napkins. Different patterns, different colors... I don't iron them or fold them fancy. Just wash them and put them back in the basket. They get washed with my towels; no extra load of laundry needed. No more paper napkins being thrown away everyday.

Shopping bags. Plastic bags clutter the earth, they clutter the house...they last forever. I now own a varied collection of shopping bags that live in my trunk. I've found it's really not a big deal to use these when I go shopping. It hasn't totally eliminated the plastic bags, but it has made a drastic difference.

Compost. We have a compost pile in the back yard. We have actually had this for quite awhile. It just doesn't feel right to throw an apple peel in the trash anymore.

Like I said, none of these things is major. There have been weeks though when we didn't even need to put out the garbage for pick up. The little things do make a difference.

Big catch on the way to the big top

We took a road trip last weekend. First stop, Asheville. We dropped off Mary's car and her stuff at school. Then she showed us to the Asiana Grand Buffet for dinner. I've been to all-you-can-eat buffets before, and this one was definitely a cut above many of them. They had all kinds of food. Chow meins, lo meins, soups, sushi bar, frog legs, shrimp oh-so-many ways, squid, fish, sesame balls (?), steak, pork, chicken, salad bar, dessert bar, the ever-popular palm leaves (or palmiers), and so much more. No way could I taste it all...though I did try. After sufficiently stuffing ourselves, we went back to the hotel and crashed. Food babies and food comas all around.

Next stop, Atlanta. After dropping off some antiquated life boats - long story - we checked into our hotel. Good thing we had the GPS to lead us there. Wayne thought he had made reservations at a different hotel. The GPS led us to the right place. At least this hotel did actually exist - another long story. Once we dumped our stuff, we headed out to find lunch. Popeye's. Let's go to Popeye's. We don't have many around home and don't get to go there much. It's one of Wayne's favorites, and Mary was hungry for it, so that was the choice. We again enlisted the GPS to get us there. We found the address alright, but there was no Popeye's. Hmmm...maybe there used to be one here? While we're driving the street, looking for the nonexistent Popeye's, Mary starts making some comments...something about an awesome huge fish - ? I missed it, 'cause I was busy looking for the Popeye's. She was really drawn to this fish, and it was a BIG fish, so we decided to have lunch there instead. Well, Popeye's it wasn't. It was much higher class than that. The valet guy put our big conversion van in the lot with the Mercedes' and BMWs. Uhhh...where are we, anyway? The Atlanta Fish Market. They seated us in the back corner (Amy was sure it was because of her hoodie attire) under the jellyfish. The food was quite good and the service was wonderful. Mary wants to take the big fish home.

Barnes and Noble is a favorite of ours, so we stopped there to browse for awhile. Some of us had holiday gift cards needing to be spent, and browsing there is always enjoyable. Then it was time to head to Atlantic Station for the big show - Cirque du Soleil's Kooza. Once we figured out where to park our monster vehicle, we hoofed over to Target (yes, Target) for snacks - Icee, Frappucino, and chocolate milk. Then we were off to the Grand Chapiteau.

We have been to a number of Cirque du Soleil shows over the years, and this show was awesome, as always. Watching them on TV is good, seeing them is person is so much more. The control these people have over their bodies is mind-boggling. The music, the lights, the action... I actually think their earlier shows have been more creative than this one, but it was good nonetheless.

Our first order of business the next morning was IHOP. Amy was craving their stuffed French toast, and we had promised her a fix. Off we went, GPS in tow. We were once again led to the correct address, but turns out the wrong address was in the GPS. We needed Peachtree STREET and the GPS took us to Peachtree DRIVE. Right number, wrong road. Luckily, we weren't far off and found the IHOP without much hassle. Once we had again stuffed ourselves, it was off for our last stop....

Asheville again. We dropped Mary off at school and helped her schlep stuff to her new room. Her new single room. Being a junior does have it's privileges. It's an awesome space.

By about 6 p.m. Sunday evening we were back home, having retrieved Sienna from the kennel. Boston Market for dinner....then crash and burn. A good time was had by all. :-)

New Year's dance

New Year's Eve...New Year's dance. Not such a unique way to bring in the new year. What I think is unique is that Amy made her own dress for the dance. You know...my mother sewed a lot of our clothes when I was growing up. I didn't think it was odd, but it didn't seem mainstream. I sewed a lot of my clothes through high school and my early adulthood. It was even less mainstream at that point. Now, the number of people that make their own clothes is even smaller. Amy is the only one in her group of friends (that I'm aware of anyway) that does this. I think it is awesome. Not only do you save some money, but you get to choose the fabric you want, in the style you want, with the fit you want. Can sewing be a genetic trait?

It's also important to practice dancing before a big event. What better partner than your own sister?

Oh, by the way, Happy New Year!!

Emergency preparedness

There is always something in the news, it seems, about the importance of emergency preparedness. So, we did a home drill today....with a lifeboat.

Wayne told us all we needed to get on coats and shoes and get to the back yard right away. We complied. What we found was a lifeboat from an aircraft. Mary found the pull-string while Amy and I tread water. Our arms got mighty tired, but finally the raft inflated...

There was actually a lot to be learned here. Who knew all the things they have on these rafts--first aid kit, radar reflector, solar reflector/Morse code signaler, funny knife (that was impossible to close), flashlights, flares, smoke bombs, rainwater collector/dispenser, hole repair cones, desalinator packets, survivor manual (including how to build an igloo), sponges (Sienna loved these), fishing tips (but no hook), and a tow rope. I'm sure I'm missing some things...

An educational family day. :-)

Holiday busy-ness

A lot of our holiday time was spent away from Greensboro. We started with a stop in Indy to see Wayne's sister and her family. We don't get to see them very often, so it's always good to have a chance to visit and catch up. It was a bit of a shock to our bodies though, when we woke up in the morning and it was only 6 degrees. Brrr....

Then it was on to Illinois to see my family. My parents' house was struck by lightning in June, causing an attic fire and resulting in major necessary renovations. They were finally able to move back into their house in early October. Since that time, they have been busy trying to get their "house" back to "home" status. It has been a long and laborious process. With us in North Carolina, we weren't able to be of much help....until now. We started the week by getting busy on the to-do list: Fix pantry light, hang kitchen towel rack, hang curtain rod and curtains, hang pictures,

untangle sink spray hose, organize videos and CDs, organize books, organize pantry storage, connect speakers on stereos, hang calendars and bulletin boards, rearrange computer components, label new fixture switches, convince CD players to work, things to glue back together, and hang stained glass and windchimes--all done.

It was really nice to be able to finally help them out and give them a break, and it did seem to put some of the homey feel back into the house. We ended the week with our traditional family holiday dinner. Even with all that has gone on in that house the last few months, the celebration came off just as planned--true to tradition. It's always fun when we all get together. Conversation topics ran the gamut: An upcoming wedding, spring graduation and college to follow, tree falling on a roof, exotic cockroach pets, tonsil stones, successful cancer-removing surgery, flooding in Watseka, NBC news stories, the Santa Rampage, Toys for Troops, and of course, the house and its renovations.

During all this, we experienced all the weather the Midwest has to offer. The temperatures ranged from 1 to 58, and we saw rain, sleet, snow, fog, wind, and freezing rain. Luckily this all happened during our stay and not during our road travels.

It was a great week...in many ways.

(more pictures on my Flickr: http://www.flickr.com/photos/packmulemama/ )