Yesterday was a tragic day...my deep freeze died. This was one of the very first things that Dan and I bought as a married couple, and it was at least as old as me at the time (I was 22). That old monstrosity lasted and lasted. It was huge on the outside but with walls at least 6" thick the inside wasn't nearly as big. But it kept my food frozen and that was all I cared.
For the first 13 years we owned it, it sat in the front porch of our house. When it came time to move I debated moving the gigantic thing, but decided it was cheaper to move it than to buy a new one. So with a lot of strong backs and weak minds we got the freezer moved to the new house. The new place of residence was in the mud room. I would go into the office or down the hall to the bathroom and hear the humming of my old freezer...keeping my pork chops frozen and my ice cream cold. But yesterday I came home and smelled something funky in the house. Couldn't quite put my finger on what it was, but it wasn't pleasant. Then Becky came home and said she smelled something bad too...that was when Dan broke it to me that the freezer had apparently died and the frozen meat was no longer frozen. Yuck!
Lucky for us there wasn't too much stuff in there, but I really didn't want to open the lid and let the smell out more just so I could clean it out. So Dan came up with an ingenious idea! We used a pry bar to lift the corners of the freezer, put metal pipes under it and just rolled the freezer right out the door onto the tractor loader! Didn't have to clean it out, didn't have to try to lift it...easy as pie...which sadly was also in my dead freezer :(
July 30, 2010
I write this blog more for myself than anyone else. It is completely my opinions and thoughts and I figure a few people read it, but most of them are relatives or friends so no big deal. I read other blogs and sometimes comment on them, even though I have no idea who the person is. Actually I follow several blogs that I have no idea who the writers are and I never will, I just enjoy their writing. If I leave a comment it is always a positive one, I don't find it necessary to put my opinions on someone else's page when I really don't have any idea who they are or how they feel...other than what the chose to share online. I have often read on these other blogs about people who leave mean or derogatory comments...telling the writers their opinion on what was being discussed and how the writer is wrong and the commenter is right. Never in a million years did I think I would have such comments on blog...but now I do!
I wrote MY opinion of our St. Olaf college visit. MY thoughts, MY feelings, MY opinions. Now I have a comment from someone in Pennsylvania who is considering going there and somehow found my blog through a Google search. This person, whose profile is private (chicken), proceeds to tell me how what I wrote is wrong. Ummmm, excuse me, but who asked? I gave my thoughts and told what Kayla and I felt about the visit...didn't ask for anyone else's thoughts on the college or their visit. With all three kids I have gone on a total of 7 college visits and I have never had the experience like I did at St. Olaf. To me this says a lot...I wasn't impressed with the college or the people...my opinion, my blog. Don't like my opinion? Don't read my blog...simple as that.
Went for a college visit today to St. Olaf in Northfield, MN...and neither Kayla nor I were impressed. The campus is huge with lots of old buildings and looks beautiful, but the buildings are old on the inside as well. We got a tour of the campus from a girl that should not be giving tours...she made so many mistakes it was horrible! We were walking to the dorms and she is telling about all the games the students play which included "Spoon Murder"...basically trying to "kill" each other with spoons. She told all about how everyone was paranoid and locking their room doors...doesn't sound like a good way to make friends to me. Then she starts telling about how the dorms are segregated by floor and the opposite sex cannot be on the other sex's floor after midnight. The next thing she says is "but that is never enforced so you can have boys in your room whenever you want to." What?? I know that happens on college campuses everywhere, but you aren't supposed to tell the parents that! Then she starts talking about the campus being a dry campus, but lots of people drink alcohol behind closed doors so you can find it if you want it. Again...what?? Once more, something every parent knows but not something you tell the parent if you want them to think you are trying to "sell" this college.
We toured the science building, which of course Kayla has no interest in and would never take classes in. But we heard all about how it is "green" and got a big award for it and has natural sunlight in every room in the building. It was the only building on campus that was new and modern, and it was beautiful, with awesome views of the town. We then went to the music building, where Kayla would spend 99% of her time and it was horrible. No natural sunlight in that building, just dark halls and big wooden doors that we couldn't open. We walked through that building really fast, the one place she really wanted to see and it was the quickest tour we had.
After the tour, which neither of us were impressed with, we went to the admissions office. This was the first time that the admissions officer talked to just Kayla, I was asked to wait in the lobby while they talked. I found that rather strange since the parents often have questions about admissions and I know Kayla will be asking for help with the admissions process from me. Another set of parents were also waiting in the lobby with me and they too thought it was a little strange that the parents couldn't talk to the admissions counselor. St. Olaf policy I guess!
After admissions we went to talk to the music department admissions counselor (I got to go along with this one) and while she had a lot of good information, it just wasn't impressive at all. The clarinet professor wasn't available as he is touring Taiwan right now, but the music lady did tell us what the admissions requirements for the music department were. She printed out the music that would be required for auditions and Kayla almost laughed...it was so easy she could have played it in 5th grade!
So all in all, neither of us thought much of St. Olaf. I asked Kayla her opinion before I told her mine, but through the whole morning it was pretty obvious to me how she felt about the place! The tour guide was bad, but that wasn't the fault of the college and really had no determination on how we felt. The buildings were old and stuffy (no air conditioning in them) and dark. The campus was spread out and hard to get around. The music department was more focused on vocal than instrumental, which is great, but not for Kayla. St. Olaf just wasn't what we thought it would be.
As I was vacuuming the living room today it suddenly occurred to me that the only sound I was hearing was the vacuum. Used to be when I vacuumed I could hear "stuff" being sucked up, but not anymore. Then I realized that the reason I used to hear it was because I used to have little feet dragging sandbox sand, yard dirt and driveway rocks into the house and the rug collected it all, along with the occasional Barbie shoe or Lego. Now my rug stays cleaner (somewhat!) so the vacuuming is quieter. Not sure which way is better...
In just a few weeks I will be 528 months old...or 44 years. I don't feel that age. Brian is almost 22 and I feel like I am that age too. 44 really isn't old, it is only middle age. But for some reason I don't feel like that much of a grown-up.
Rain. Rain. Rain. Seems to be the only thing that Mother Nature knows how to do lately. Fields are okay, ours anyway. Several places around the area have been replanted with beans, and those replanted beans are now once again under water. Spend money for seed, plant, get drowned out. Repeat. Not good.
So the band nerd has once again gone to band camp for a week...and she is never happier then when she is there! This year she made it into jazz band on the trombone, that was a big deal! But an even bigger deal is that she got to play a bass clarinet with a low C key! Now to some I am sure that means nothing, but to Kayla it is huge. This clarinet is a professional model and costs well over $10,000...so not something just everyone has lying around! She also got to have a lesson with a grad student whose main instrument is the bass clarinet so that helped her with her tone, which is very important to a musician. She likes her roommate, they have a lot in common. Her roommate from last year is there again too so she is having a good time hanging out with her. My little nerd is taking beginning guitar lessons, conducting classes and musicianship classes. Friday night we go to watch the final concert and bring her home. I am guessing she would rather have another week of band camp!
The carpet in my living room was chosen by someone who wasn't thinking when they bought it...namely me! I chose a light beige color...in a house with three kids...on a farm...of pigs. Live and learn on that one I guess. So, because of my momentary lapse in judgement the carpet shows that we live on a farm with dirt and grease and probably some pigs. We have had several people come in and professionally clean the carpet, I have cleaned the carpet, but still the stains come back after a few days. So yesterday I decided it would be a good idea to just get a big rug to put in the middle of the room and cover the stains. A big, dark brown rug that won't show new stains. I brought it home and proceeded to lay it out...that is when Brian decided it was time to help. He got out the tape measures, yes measures, he had two of them, and measured from the walls so we could get an exact placement for the first corner. Then the edge of the rug was measured all the way down the length of the wall to make sure it was square with the room and exactly centered. Took a lot of very small movements of the rug, but it is now directly centered in my living room. Brian is most definitely his father's son :)
While walking through Wal-Mart heard a lady say to the gentleman she was with..."There is no way those can be real, no one has boobs that perfect!" I saw the lady they were talking about...and I agreed!
Best overheard conversation ever!
Yesterday Brian found it helpful to point out to me that I matched...everything on me was matching. I was wearing a dark pink/burgundy skirt and burgundy shirt. My purse is dark pink and the cover on my cell phone (which I was carrying at the time) is pink. None of this was intentional, except for the skirt and shirt matching of course. I laughed at him and said I was all about the color coordination...I was kidding, so I thought.