But It's For the Chickens!

Last night in Dreamland, Anna, Kate, and I traveled to the farm for a tour and a Craft Show. Usually I avoid "crafts" like the  plague, and this place was jam-packed with "crafts". But on the way out, something caught my eye...
It was a blue-glazed piece of exquisite pottery--a small opening on one side with another piece that lead to a large glass "enclosure" (think asthma inhaler that leads to a glass bubble). The opening was lined with beeswax and it was clearly meant to be hung. I just had to find out what it was for!
"Well," the proprietor explained, "have you ever smelled the beak of a chicken? It smells like alcohol, doesn't it? Chickens, through their pecking habits, collect alcohol on their beaks. They need to get rid of it, to stay healthy, so I invented a way for them to do that--they peck the beeswax, and it pulls the alcohol off and up into the glass bubble."
This would be perfect for Marie, I thought. Beautiful and functional! I grabbed one and checked the price. $50!!! Well, Karen does love Marie... I took a photo of this work of functional art and texted it to Karen.
And then I woke up.
Sorry Marie. I think your chickens will just have to find another way to deal with their alcohol problem....

Thank You for Being A Friend

When you're eight months pregnant and have to move from your third floor apartment (to a nice, spacious house!), you are grateful that there are friends who are willing to help. Julie came to help with boxes, and Linda and Sherry CLEANED OUT THE FRIDGE!!! Embarrassing to have them do it (it was really gross), but very much appreciated.
When I woke up, I told Karen:  "We are never moving again." I am pretty sure I'm not up for getting pregnant again either!

How Many Streets?

Last night in Dreamland, Elizabeth and Hannah came to visit. Our first stop was a boring place with tables but no hint of food (because we like to show our guests a good time!). Hannah said she wanted pancakes, so I immediately suggested Town and Gown (a place new to Elizabeth and with the best pancakes by far!). Elizabeth didn't know how to get there, so I offered to ride with her. Karen was off doing something (What? We were in the most boring place in town!), so I said I would text her to meet us there.
We got on our way, and to my dismay, all my phone would do was show "magical shots of Harry Potter". No other option.
We arrived just short of Town and Gown and Elizabeth spotted 9 Irish--she wanted to go there instead. I wanted pancakes by now, as did Hannah, so I convinced her to park and while we walked to Town and Gown I would convince her it was a better choice. We got out of the car and ducked into a nearby alley to escape the rain. The alley looked like this (not really, but also nothing like what is really there, not this): 

I was totally confused, and by this time we were starving, so we sat down in the middle of a courtyard to eat-not-pancakes (sad). Still no cell phone service that wasn't Harry Potteresque, so couldn't tell Karen where we were. Sorry, Karen.

Elizabeth pulled out a bag with three very nice statutes inside. As I opened each one, she said she noticed I had admired them last time we visited, so she bought all of them for me. Spent $150 on them! The statutes, of various sizes were all a variation one the one to the left. Nice, but notice something? All straight couples! I had to laugh. Wow. Nice.
I woke up laughing at the absurdity of the situation. Crazy phone, crazy streets, crazy directions, and beautiful-but-crazy gift.
Sorry Elizabeth and Hannah!

CNN and C-Span Regret...

Live from CNN:  "We regret to inform you that President Grover Cleveland has died. We repeat:  President Grover Cleveland is dead.
We send you now to C-Span, who is standing by with members of the Greg Allman Band...."

"C-Span is live with members of the Greg Allman Band, who are descendants of President Cleveland. They remember their great-grandfather with fondness, and are issuing a statement."

"CNN must interrupt the coverage from C-Span to take you live to the home of Cher, who is speaking now about her warm relationship with President Cleveland. Cher, as you may remember, was married to Greg Allman for a time."

"Again, CNN interrupts its' regularly scheduled programming with this breaking news:  former President Grover Cleveland has died."

Birthday in Iowa

Last night in Dreamland, Linda was celebrating her birthday--at the State Capitol Building in Des Moines, Iowa of course!
I decided to do something really special for her, so I bought, for $150, a Model A Convertible (shown here) that had rainbow-colored stripes painted on the sides. Karen and I drove it to the Capitol Building, and parked on a fairly steep hill (as the Capitol is on high ground). I set the parking brake, turned the wheels to the curb (hey, I lived near San Francisco, so I know my hills), and left the car.
I was so excited to tell Linda about her gift, but she was, of course, busy with other guests, so I didn't interrupt her. When the time came for the great reveal, I rushed to the car, and it was gone!
Despite my best intentions, it had rolled down the hill and into a car driven by an elderly couple. A police officer was going to give me a ticket for all sorts of violations until I explained to him how I had left it parked.
Needless to say, Linda's party was over by the time I got things sorted out. I am sad to say that Linda never got to see her amazing gift.

View from the Back Seat

Evidently, you never appreciate the size of a giraffe until you see them from the back seat of a car. And, there you have it.

Putting the Electricity in...well, Electricity

Last night in Dreamland, we were looking for a source of electricity, which really made no sense at all because there was a wall outlet with everything needed to provide electricity. But, since it's Dreamland, I guess anything goes.
So, here goes...
We were looking for a sources of electricity, so Linda tells me to take the face plate off the wall socket, and pour some Ranch Dressing "down in there". That will let us know where the electricity might be hiding. After the Ranch Dressing did its' magic, I was told to "drop a chain down there" and pull the electricity up.
And that, folks, is how you get electricity in Dreamland.