So you know the tricks about drinking something on takeoff and landing. ... Lessee. When HPF was 2 1/2, we flew 8 hours with an overnight and she woke up in the middle. I'd packed a bag with some "presents" - smallish (not swallowable), individually wrapped things - like bath toys that don't make noise, things to draw with, a new book, a book of photographs - and used about half a roll of tape and a nutty quantity of wrapping paper on each. The upshot was it took her about 20-30 minutes to open each present, another 20 to play with it, then on to the next "present." Eventually, she stuck with the book and then fell back to sleep. We re-wrapped the presents for the return trip and did the whole thing again. Also, if you can get your hands on a kiddie etch-a-sketch, those are gold on a flight.

Oh, I like the wrapping paper trick. We may have to try that.

Math joke of the day: If a pizza has a radius 'z' and a depth 'a' that pizza's volume can be defined Pi*z*z*a.

via undernews: [link]

my stepsister is queen of the collections agents. In her case, I believe you literally don't want her calling twice.

Jesus. Things you do not want to see in a text message: “I see smoke coming out of your house.”

It’s all good, false alarm. But shit. Nearly had a heart attack trying to get home.

Holy crap, Pix! That would totally scare the shit out of me. I always worry that something like that (or an earthquake, or whatever) will happen while I'm out of town.

Yeah. It has kind of been that kind of a week. One crisis after another, real or imagined.

Oh! But yay for Laura’s mom’s procedure going well.

And also yay (in much less important news) because I just realized I have the makings for grilled cheese and tomato soup! WIN.

I hate to post then leave to try and sleep, but there it is . My kayak broke free of its ropes and is missing. There is good, bad, and ugly to the tale. I keep it on the swim platform of the boat because I am not strong enough to pull it up on the dock. Then again, my son used it last, but I sincerely do not blame him for the knots coming loose. We have heavy wave and tide action and stuff happens.

It broke free this afternoon. A neighbor on the other side of the waterway that I have never met saw it floating and called another neighbor on my side that I have never met and they captured it and tied it to their dock. Seriously, how awesome is that? So I see it gone at 6:30 and proceed with DH and son to slowly cruise to search, when said neighbor across waterway tells me other neighbor fetched it. We dock and I run down the street and introduce myself. She is all happy to take me out back to her dock to fetch kayak, and stands stunned holding wet empty ropes that used to hold kayak. Calls other neighbor, who verifies they were just discussing kayak rescue and saw it still secure at 5. So her ropes equally no match for wandering kayak.

We search all round and since tide has been incoming all this time it has to be in our canal structure. No luck. The ugly is me explaining to DH that I don't care that I can buy another one and I get that he wants to be fix it guy, but just let me be bummed for a while, please.

So, high tide has passed and the flow is back out to sea. I can't sit outside the next few hours and there are two exits anyway. So it will come back or not. I will post notices around my island where my neighbors will see and they of course have all seen me out on the kayak.

Don't really need hugs, just needed an ear. With foot surgery in a couple days it was going to be 2 months before I could cruise. If it doesn't find it's way home I'll get another. Sad now.

Oh Laura, I’m sorry.

Ha, and scrolling back I see the contrast of Eeeeep Smoke and the goodness of grilled cheese and tomato soup. I'm at the same time bummed that I lost my current favorite thing, but found two new awesome neighbors.