The ugly truth

It's always interesting to me that you don't realize how much you use a part of your body until it is unavailable for use for awhile. Now, I'm right-handed, so I figured that elbow surgery on my LEFT elbow wouldn't inconvenience me that much...I was wrong.

...and Ike arrives.

Please give a warm welcome to the newest addition to the Wichita Falls Lites clan: Ike, the Betta fish. He was obtained at PetCo, where he was one of the only ones that didn't have fungus growing on him. The last one was procured from WalMart, where none of the fish had fungus growing on them. Discuss.

Klaus Passes

Klaus Lites, our family fish, passed away peacefully last night between 8-9 o'clock. He died as he lived, a quiet reminder of the fragility of life itself. He was buried, with full honors, in the front yard. In lieu of donations to the family, please donate a few minutes of your time to your pet, whoever they be.
Peace.

Kenmore Blues

Okay...so, the refrigerator was making a really loud grinding noise, and the contents were warming considerably. Called "the guy", who came out and said something to the effect of. "Well, it might go out tomorrow, it might keep working for another 14 years" (we've had the unit for 14 years with no problems). It's just a noise, and it does still work...let it lie.
Flash forward to yesterday morning, when I go in and pull out a warm Diet Coke (unpaid endorsement)...from the fridge. Check the freezer: everything's melting. Transfer contents of freezer to deep freeze (in the garage). Transfer contents of fridge to the now-vacant freezer. It's Saturday - "the guy" is not in. Check with another "guy", who is willing to come out, but must bring his kids - no problem. Allison and Sara are good hostesses. That "guy" arrives, opens everything up and pulls everything out, says that the defroster (pronounced, DE-froster, not deFROSter) is not functioning, but that it's probably because the compressor is going out. Fixing it will cost as much as a new one. Recommends buying a new one - recommends buying one at Lowe's.
We go to Lowe's, last night, to purchase said appliance. Locate the one we want and arrange for Monday delivery. $1500 later, we have a new fridge. We go home, satisfied in the knowledge that this week's major crisis will be over soon. The new fridge has the water and ice in the door, which the girls just LOVE! If it doesn't cool, it's under warranty, which I just LOVE!
Sitting at home last night, preparing the girls for bed...go to the fridge for a Diet Coke (another unpaid endorsement), readying myself to drink a warm beverage...but wait - it's cold! The whole fridge is cold! It's working!...wait....oh, no...the freezer. I open the freezer to find frozen milk, orange juice, bologna, frozen cheese, frozen yogurt (NOT the kind you get a Braums).
The lesson here - take time to talk to your appliances. Take stuff out, take stuff apart. Pet them, coo to them - or they may stop working until SOMEone gives them the attention they desire. And it just might cost you $15oo.oo.

Here we go...

Well, I said we'd never do it, but it's done...we have a fish. My experience with fish involves a lot of them being "buried at sea" if you know what I mean. Still, Allison has just been dying for one. We were in Wal-Mart, and I happened to look over at the Betta fish. I asked "the guy" how low-maintenance they were, and it really sounded reasonable. They live in tap water, with some chemicals added, and are only fed every few days. Now, keep in mind that my experience with Betta fish is hearing about guys in college buying two of them and having them fight to the death, in front of a few entertainment-starved slackers on a Friday night. From this, I determined that, if a college guy could keep one alive long enough to fight, maybe we could keep one alive for longer...so I caved and said, "I think we could do this, it doesn't look very complicated...no filters, no pumps, change 1/3 of water every few days...how hard could it be? So Cathy takes Allison to Wal-Mart last night and gets a very pretty maroon-purple-blue looking guy. He's already had two names (which, if you know our family, is really pretty unremarkable): Bill, then Klaus (pronounced, "clouse", rhymes with "mouse"). She keeps talking about wanting to, "play with" Klaus, at which point I have to remind her that fish are pretty much just living decoration for your home. We'll see. He survived the night, so now I only have to wait until Sara wants, "her own" fish. Give them an inch...

A new game for a new generation

...as I may have already told some of you, the girls and I have started a little game that we play, off and on throughout the day. We are an office. I am the boss, Mr. Schmelding. Sara is Johnson (just Johnson). Allison is Eichmann (just Eichmann). Cathy is our secretary/receptionist/office manager, Ms Culpepper. Certain misbehaviors on the part of Johnson and/or Eichmann may cause them to have to work through lunch, work late, and, in extreme cases, on Saturday. The TPS reports must be completed daily, and the figures must add up and please the shareholders. Of special importance are the coversheets for said TPS reports. Of course, there are no real reports, no real shareholders, etc., but we have fun. Teaching them early to work in an office environment may spur them on to greater, more creative things...(I can only hope).
When it started, Sara wanted no part of it, simply because she objected to being called, "Johnson". Similarly, Allison was not pleased with her original designation, "Snodgrass". But when we agreed on a name change for Allison, Sara came on board and I can proudly say that, as of 8:32 pm today, our stock price remains unchanged!