"What is Your Gender?"

I've been donating blood at the American Red Cross for many years now.  Yesterday, they presented me with a little "2 gallon" pin, which I had apparently earned last June.  So after yesterday's bloodletting, I've donated and replenished 34 cups of O Positive.  Never thought I'd keep statistics like that.

I know that they have to be careful when collecting blood. I know they have to ensure that I am really me and not some impostor.  They ask me to say or confirm my name and address 4 times.  Is that because, if I were an impostor, I might be likely to slip up and reveal my scheme?  But my favorite is when they ask, "What is your gender?"  Seriously?  I realize that gender can be ambiguous sometimes, but does it matter?  I mean, it doesn't affect the blood type.  It doesn't affect who draws your blood, or how they draw it, or where they draw it from.  So why do they need to confirm my gender?  They only started asking that question about a year ago, and the 1st time they asked, I was so startled.  It's such an odd question, that now I fear I'll slip up on it...  "Male - I mean female - girl - yes - female."  Well, I'm not offended or even annoyed.  I just find it peculiar.

I like the snacks.  I like the excuse to take it easy for the rest of the day.  Surely, that means a little extra reading followed by a nap.  Yesterday's phlebotomist jokingly told me that I shouldn't cook dinner.

The Big 23

That is, our 23rd anniversary.  Not a noteworthy anniversary by most standards, but for us, it is significant. Why?  Because it's the first we've spent together in about 12 years.  You see, Brent always had a sales meeting in Wisconsin during our anniversary.  The year that Milly was born was one exception, and they happened to hold it earlier than usual.  So I guess we were together for our anniversary 10 years ago, but we were expecting a baby the very next day.  So now, he still goes to these meetings, but he doesn't have to stay as long.  So, we mooched off my sister and borrowed her condominium in Park City.

We enjoyed good entertainment at the Gallivan Center during Craft Lake City 2010

Break dancers

Little tiny kids tried their break dancing skills, too

And belly dancers

Mad Max and the Wild Ones

This cute little band is local from Springville.  It is a father and sons band (but one son is currently touring with another band, so guitar teacher filled in).  This was so much fun.  Little 5th grader playing on a dime store guitar and doing lead vocals.  Dad on the bass, and brother on the drums.  They were amazing and so much fun.

Dinner at a Tibetan restaurant right close to the bike shop

Fabulous bike ride with my sister and her husband

Butt Faces

Mesa Verde National Park

Milly and I took a road trip to attend my niece's wedding.  We listened to two entertaining youth books on CD.  The 1st one was titled Lily's Crossing and the 2nd one was A Corner of the Universe.  The 2nd was definitely for an older crowd, but it caught our attention right away.  At one point in the story, the reader was listing objects on a woman's dresser.  She described several photographs, and listed other items such as perfumes, and bud vases.  Milly looked at me very surprised and exclaimed, "butt faces?!?!?"  I defined "bud vases" for her and then we both laughed and laughed.

Bud Vases

I Got It

Just a normal average trip to Costco, and I impulsively replaced my lost camera.  No research.  No planning.  Just picked it up alongside the grapes and bread.  I love it.  See how happy I am?

Testing out the macro feature...

The most photogenic one in the house...

Always smiling, no wrinkles or bags under her eyes, never a bad hair day, and just look at her natural eye-liner.  However, her dental hygiene is not up to par, and she struggles with her weight, just like the rest of us in this house.  This photo is very slimming to her figure.

No Mistaking That Rattle

The dog needs a little walk in the evenings.  I walk her every morning with my neighbor, but we're on our own in the evenings.  Sunday night Milly and I took Decca out on our usual loop on the "bumpy trail" (named by Xander when he was 3).  When we were almost done, we heard a loud, scary, rattly noise.  It was so loud that Milly screamed without even seeing anything.  I halted and saw the bugger squiggle quickly across our trail.  This guy was dark and resembled this internet photo.  After my heart resumed its normal pace, and I remembered how to breathe again, we turned around and walked the long way home.

I thought that was just a fluke and went out again with the dog at about 8:00pm tonight.  I was even closer to home when I heard that awful rattle again.  I froze.  Mr. Light-Skinned Rattler and I stared at each other.  Decca was barking and pulling hard on the leash.  I called Brent and told him I was having a staring contest with a rattlesnake about 10 feet away from me.  I almost cried.  This guy was not moving except for that awful rattle, and he was posed much like this photo.  Staring.  At me.  Then Mr. Light-Skinned Rattler slowly turned his head and meandered lazily down the field.  I was still frozen until I remembered how to breathe again.  Decca was still agitated.  Brent showed up with a big shovel just in time to see him squiggling further away.  I was glad to have another human witness as well as some company.  I hate snakes.  Decca and I will have to stick to the neighborhood sidewalks for a while.  I might have nightmares tonight.  I really hate snakes.

Letter to my Camera

Dear Camera,

I miss you.  I feel naked without you.  Ever since you fell out somewhere along our bicycle ride to the Stadium of Fire, I've missed you more than I ever imagined.  When I realized you were gone, I skipped the fireworks and rode Oli's bike all the way back home in the dark looking for you.  Early Sunday morning, Brent retraced the whole ride looking for you too.  If you were still around, you would have taken some great photos of July 4 celebrations, of my niece's beautiful wedding reception, of Milly, Maia, and Quinn at sailing camp, of a fun overnighter in Park City, of some fabulous mountain biking on Park City trails.  You had such great battery life and memory capacity.  I placed an ad on Craigslist, but no one has responded.  I'm sure someone has found you.  Too bad they don't have the charger for your battery.  It was great knowing you.  But now I'm afraid I must replace you.

Your Friend,
VaLene

I Think I'll Write a Book...

All I Need to Know About Tiling, I Learned from Sewing, Baking, and Changing Diapers

That's kind of a long title.  How about this?

Tiling for the Domestic Goddess

Or,


Homemakers Can Tile Too
The jacket cover would have to be something like this:

The plumber said we needed new toilets.  (You mean, we shouldn't have to flush 3 times for every toilet deed?)  So we decided that since the master bath toilet was going away, we might as well remove the ugly 17-year-old linoleum and tile the bathroom floor.  We tiled the smaller bathroom a couple of years ago, so we had an idea of what we were getting into.  Brent and I removed the baseboards then painstakingly sliced and scraped away the old linoleum.  Now to the tiling part...

Step 1

Measure and cut the cement board.  This I did using my trusty plastic measuring rectangle that I use for ALL sewing projects.  Measure, draw pencil lines, score, and cut.  Just like sewing.

Step 2
Mix up the thin set mortar in a bucket, spread it on the floor, and lay down the cement board.  This is so much like mixing a homemade frosting, then frosting a cake.  You have to mix it to the right consistency (about like frosting), then push the stuff around with the right about of pressure so that it sticks - just like frosting a cake.  Then you must scrape away the excess.  However, unlike frosting a cake, there is no licking or tasting.  Frequent hand-washing is important for both tiling and baking.

Step 3
Lay out the tiles so see how they'll fit best and see where the cuts will be.  This is much like laying out pieces of a quilt.  A little trial and error, moving pieces around, stand back and squint, adjust your pieces, repeat.

Step 4
Measure and mark the tiles.  Hand them over to Brent for cutting with the rented tile saw.  Again, we're back to 1) measuring, like sewing 2) mixing the mortar, like making frosting 3) spreading the mortar, like frosting a cake.

Step 5
I know you're anxiously awaiting how I'm going to work diaper changing into this.  Sorry, not yet.  Next is the grout.  Again, you have to mix it up like frosting, push it into the cracks, then scrape off the excess.  With a wet sponge, you have to lightly go over and over the tiles, smoothing out the grout lines, and rinsing out the sponge in water.  This takes a huge amount of patience and repetition.  Have you ever watched a pro get the frosting on a cake perfectly smooth?  I'm no pro, but I've used the special frosting spatula, and water, and gently spread and scraped and dipped over and over.  I'm telling you, it's so similar to getting that frosting perfectly smooth.  (I never can get the frosting just right.)

Step 6
The baseboards have to be reinstalled.  Then you have to caulk above and below the baseboards and fill in the nail holes.  This is where the diaper changing experience comes in handy.  You see, you must deliberately wipe away the slimy caulk gunk, trying not to let it spread anywhere it shouldn't, discard it, then start again.   Smearing and rubbing is NOT okay, and you must use just the right amount of pressure for the wipes.  If you've changed a stuck-to-the-skin poopy diaper, then you know exactly what I mean - wiping that stuff takes skill!

And finally, you must fill in the nail holes.  This is much like applying the diaper rash cream.  Squeeze a little out, dab it around just a bit, let it dry.

Step 7
Seal the grout.  I don't have a good comparison for this one.  This is like some ordinary, boring cleaning task.  Takes no skill whatsoever.  It just has to get done.

So you see, you don't need to be the rugged handyman to install a tile floor (although, I do consider myself rather handy with a power drill and a level).  All you need are some basic domestic skills, some YouTube videos, a couple hundred bucks worth of supplies, and several days of hard labor.

By the way, my brand new, perfect-flush toilet is dreamy.