Magnet Monday: Michigan (the other mitten state)

Cheesy Refrigerator Magnet for Monday, May 23, 2016
"Michigan", painted laser-cut wood, circa early 2010's

We spent an extraordinary amount of time outside in the garden this past weekend (outside in general, between gardening and yard work, plant sales, and a round of golf). Oddly enough, despite how much I love to play in the dirt and watch things grow, I have few magnets with any plants on them. 

Huh. 

We picked this one up in Detroit airport on a layover to somewhere. We could have picked up a Detroit magnet, which maybe is a more accurate picture of our visit, but 1) there were no magnets of the Detroit airport, per se, and 2) I'm working on getting one from all 50 states first. Detroit the city will just have to wait. 


Magnet Monday features a selection from our semi-vast and ever growing collection of cheesy refrigerator magnets. Without doubt the perfect souvenir. Only slightly less cheesy than collecting snow globes but a whole lot easier to smuggle in your bra. If need be. Which I hope it never is. Unless it's really worth it.

Weekly Randomness for Friday, May 20, 2016

Finally warm enough to sunbathe outside.

News that made me stop what I was doing to look it up.

• This one falls into my "why is this news" category. We've always known green spaces were healthy. ...sigh.... We're not spending time merely re-inventing the wheel, but actually rediscovering it.
• Let's go there, and there, and maybe there, okay maybe not there, but there...   (see them all here)
• I want to know who paid the reviewers on this one. It should never have been published, not because the results are directly contrary to an enormous amount of data, but because the study was poorly designed. 

Weekly Shits n' Giggles

• When I was a kid (walking to school barefoot in the snow uphill both ways), lego only had two shapes, square and rectangle.
• Because now I need one. No one warned be about having to keep track of numbers in my head... 
• My Pinteresting Randomness

Weekend Aims

• Some people tailgate for sports. Us, we tailgate for this: SEWMGPS - cannot wait!!  
• Last Concord Chamber Orchestra concert of the season
• Golf! My first full 18-hole round, thankfully on an executive par-3 course (don't want to get ahead of myself here...). 
• And if the weather holds, more mulch. And planting! And mulch. (.... so.... much.... mulch....)

Weekly Randomness for Friday, May 13, 2016

Best way to approach a Friday the 13th

News that made me stop what I was doing to look it up.

• Min svävare är full med ål ** (and IKEA is coming!!)
• Sadness
• Only Congress gets to decide their own raises... 

Weekly Shits n' Giggles

• A city growing up
• My Pinteresting Randomness

Weekend Aims

• Brunch and a classic movie at Avalon Theater
• Season opener for the Elkhorn Flea!!!
• Mulch. More mulch. Finishing up planting containers. And mulch. 

** For the Monty Python fans

Bad start to this Friday the 13th for HandyMan.... 

Whole batch of lemon curd-filled lemon cupcakes with lemon-mascarpone icing rendered inedible by pavement and bad luck.... sigh..... 

Magnet Monday: Transit

Cheesy Refrigerator Magnet for Monday, May 9, 2016
"Serial No. 1, c.1903", plastic image, circa 2013

Today the planet Mercury is moving across in front of the sun where we can see it. 

It doesn't actually have anything to do with this magnet, but they're both pretty neat. 

We picked this one up at the Harley-Davidson Museum. Definitely worth the time even if you're not a hog fan.

Magnet Monday features a selection from our semi-vast and ever growing collection of cheesy refrigerator magnets. Without doubt the perfect souvenir. Only slightly less cheesy than collecting snow globes but a whole lot easier to smuggle in your bra. If need be. Which I hope it never is. Unless it's really worth it.

Weekly Randomness for Friday, May 6, 2016

someone is hiding from all that yard work...

News that made me stop what I was doing to look it up.

• Ugh. Why is this even a surprise?! 
• Technology humbled by the mundane. 
• The big NO is nothing new. 

Weekly Shits n' Giggles

• Be Happy advice always in style.  
• Keep swimming!!
• Everything old is new again, and it sounds.... interesting. 
• My Pinteresting Randomness

Weekend Aims

• Somebody dumped 4 cubic yards of mulch in our driveway... 
• More yard work. 
• Sunday brunch in Janesville with family to celebrate all of us who mother in some way. 

44 years ago today was the first breath of air for my favorite husband. 

Happy Birthday babe!

Weekly Randomness for Friday, April 29, 2016

News that made me stop what I was doing to look it up.

• Sounds like I shouldn't feel guilty about donating those super-well worn old t-shirts.
• I've never thought about the idea that it's harder to think like an eighteenth century servant than we realize. 
• Access demands accountability. Food for thought: could it change the way we think about engaging in conflicts? 

Weekly Shits n' Giggles

• As if I needed another reason to visit Japan.
• Philosopher-turned-musician Boethius' "The Consolation of Philosophy"
• My Pinteresting Randomness

Weekend Aims

• hometown Earth Day cleanup and recycling: proceeds from recycling "any electronic item with a plug" will buy trees for the city! 
• More golf, if the weather holds (or at least warms up!)
• Possibly a movie: they're showing Purple Rain for $5 😊

Magnet Monday: Rosalind Franklin

Cheesy Refrigerator Magnet for Monday, April 25, 2016
"disney castle", painted 3D resin, 2011

Work with me on this one. 

This is National Princess Week. Yes, that's apparently a thing. Even Julie Andrews is in on it. We all know at least one Disney princess, so even if you can't tolerate the shameless merchandising that is modern Disney, at least think fondly of your favorite princesses. 

It's also National DNA Day. What do DNA and princesses have in common, you may ask? This magnet! 

In honor of Rosalind Franklin, one of our "rejected princesses*". Without her work in X-ray crystallography, Watson & Crick would never have gotten the credit for determining the molecular structure of DNA. 

This charmer was picked up by our own princess, on a high school choir trip. 

*Rejected Princesses: Women too Awesome, Awful, or Offbeat for Kids' Movies is updated Wednesdays and well worth checking out. 

Magnet Monday features a selection from our semi-vast and ever growing collection of cheesy refrigerator magnets. Without doubt the perfect souvenir. Only slightly less cheesy than collecting snow globes but a whole lot easier to smuggle in your bra. If need be. Which I hope it never is. Unless it's really worth it.

Vegas Baby! Magnet Monday

Cheesy Refrigerator Magnet for Monday, April 18, 2016
"Las Vegas", painted vinyl in relief, circa early 2000's

In honor of friends who were married this past weekend in Vegas, by Elvis. 

Happiness and blessings my friends!

This was one of the first magnets in the collection, received from a friend who moved to Vegas and lived for a time (she's still living, just not there anymore...)


Magnet Monday features a selection from our semi-vast and ever growing collection of cheesy refrigerator magnets. Without doubt the perfect souvenir. Only slightly less cheesy than collecting snow globes but a whole lot easier to smuggle in your bra. If need be. Which I hope it never is. Unless it's really worth it.

Weekly Randomness for Friday, April 15, 2016

News that made me stop what I was doing to look it up.

• Everything old is new again. Again. 
• Beautiful, but you're still not building that by my back door
• We could wonder about a lot of leaders in history

Weekly Shits n' Giggles

• Interpretive jiggery-pokery (in honor of the late great himself. I'm inclined to think he would have found humor in ASSoL) 
• Best combination of fascinating and creepy
• Smell-ements... Clearly the authors never suffered the sulfurous after-effects of cabbage... 😜
• My Pinteresting Randomness

Weekend Aims

• Estate saling - for the thrifter in me
• A wee drive for eats at Oakfire
• Finally warm enough to spend some much-needed time on the yard!

Weekly Randomness for Friday, June 5, 2015

And after a brief hiatus... 

The business of summer is already heating up, even if the weather isn't (what's with that, anyway?!). 

News that made me stop what I was doing to look it up.

• Of course grandma knew best. 
• Great. Now what do we eat?! [everything! omnivores are awesome!]
• Seriously!? Let's try not to escalate the issue by misusing statistics. Per capita rates places us well BELOW Switzerland, Belgium, Canada, even Finland. Shame on you MJ-P!

Weekly Shits n' Giggles

• Sometimes the wee brings a smile.  
• Dumpster diving, old style... 
• Lego? Check! Gummy? Check! DIY? Check! I am so there!! 
• My Pinteresting Randomness

Weekend Aims

• A wee bit o'fishin', and hoping it doesn't storm. 
• More than a wee bit o'workin' in the garden, yet. Lookin' good though!

Magnet Monday: DC in Bloom

Cheesy Refrigerator Magnet for Monday, May 18, 2015
"Washington DC", 3-D cast resin, circa 2010

The National Cherry Blossom Festival in Washington DC is over now, but our cherry tree is just getting started. 

Family on a high school trip to DC picked this up for us. We have them well trained. 


Magnet Monday features a selection from our semi-vast and ever growing collection of cheesy refrigerator magnets. Without doubt the perfect souvenir. Only slightly less cheesy than collecting snow globes but maybe a lot easier to smuggle in your bra. If need be. Which I hope it never is. Unless it's really worth it.

Weekly Randomness for Friday, May 1, 2015

News that made me stop what I was doing to look it up.

• Well done!! And isn't it about frickin' time... 
• Ooohhh.... shiny things!

Weekly Shits n' Giggles

• Butter burgers can be to Wisconsinites what donuts are to Homer...
• That's because those ole' Paleo-folk were fun-guys... (insert groan and facepalm here.... thanguvurrimuch - I'm here all week!)
• My Pinteresting Randomness
• Because everyone needs a new desk toy now and again - thanks Chuck!!

Weekend Aims

• Finally warm enough for some serious yard work and 
• A decent cookout!
• Hopefully dust off the bicycles even!! 
• Birding season is here in the midwest flyway - warbler walks in Grant Park start Sunday. 

Weekly Randomness for Friday, April 3, 2015

Last week snow, this week loungin' outside on the patio.... ah.... Spring in Wisconsin!

News that made me stop what I was doing to look it up (but was it real...).

• Virgin Galactic is Missouri-bound!
• Microsoft introduces MS-DOS Mobile!

Weekly Shits n' Giggles: A Recap of the Week's More Outrageous April Fools 

• Redbox introduces Petbox! Fido can finally play Koala Duty on the XBOX!!
• Do you call them Shelfies? Shoeflees? I don't think I'm limber enough...
• Tiny tiny armholes... or rather, leg holes. 
• My Pinteresting Randomness

Weekend Aims

• Family time - always good! 
• Cooking for family time: Maple-Glazed Ham, Asparagus-Lemon Risotto, Mashed Sweets, and Lavender Pound Cake with Lemon Glaze to finish. 

Weekly Randomness for Friday March 13, 2015

News that made me stop what I was doing to look it up.

• Too bad Neanderthals didn't have Etsy.
• Why sterilizing our homes makes for sick people.  
• Or give you memories you don't have. I wonder if this can partly explain false memories...

Weekly Shits n' Giggles

• Want.
• Upgraded apple pie - just in time for Pi Day!!
• My Pinteresting Randomness

Weekend Aims

• More plumbing... 
• A full backyard de-doodle. I think there may even be a few green things trying to pip out. 
• Catching up on my R programming course - first programming assignment is due!!

Weekly Randomness for Friday, March 6, 2015

News that made me stop what I was doing to look it up.

• First came communicators (i.e. flip-phones), and now food straight out the replicator. Gene Roddenberry is the new Nostradamus (without all the doom). 
• More proof of the coolness of this badass bug.

Weekly Shits n' Giggles

• It's BRAAAAAAAIINS!!!!
• Because, they're spicy... 
• Because, they're scary... and cool.
• My Pinteresting Randomness

Weekend Aims

• Sushi dinner: check! 
• Potluck game night: check!
• Tearing out the old toilet in the basement: gack... 

Weekly Randomness for January 30, 2015

News that made me stop what I was doing to look it up.

• Bye bye flutterby would be inexcusable. 
• Rebar and concrete have a long history.
• Vaccination = training, people. Don't be a turd and put others at risk because of some misguided understanding of physiology. 

Weekly Shits n' Giggles

• Bill Nye is my hero.  
• It's always the simple things. 
• My Pinteresting Randomness

Weekend Aims

• The season of household projects is heating up: time to get my honey-do lists in order.  
• Still have to pickle those beets. 
• I guess there's a football game on, but the contenders leave my enthusiasm a little deflated...  o_O

Weekly Randomness for January 23, 2015

News that made me stop what I was doing to look it up.

• The Rescued Film Project (more here). Someone once thought these were important images to capture. Moving and yet a little voyeuristic. 
• X-rays: not just for breakfast anymore (sciencey stuff here). 
• Hotdog and beer vendors come next. 

Weekly Shits n' Giggles

• Waffle irons aren't just for breakfast anymore either.  
• Gigapixels of Andromeda. Wish I had a bigger screen. Like as big as the sky. 
• Oy - this ace is blinding! Cheers!! 
• My Pinteresting Randomness

Weekend Aims

• Pickled beets!
• The Pro Bowl is this weekend, but... meh. 
• Aaaaand.... more cleaning. I think it may be warm enough to do a pre-emptive post-winter de-doodling of the backyard...

Weekly Randomness for January 16, 2015

News that made me stop what I was doing to look it up.

• All females like a well kept bachelor pad. 
• And this is why it's illegal to lock your car in downtown Churchill, Manitoba (not that cars were an option then...)

Weekly Shits n' Giggles

• Miss Pokey 'tis a wee dragon.  
• Quarters seems so civilized by comparison...
• Waffle iron hack: tofu. Huh.
• My Pinteresting Randomness

Weekend Aims

• Looking into keeping a Meyer Lemon Tree as a container plant.  
• Aaaaand: more cleaning. This will be a nauseatingly recurrent theme.
• GO PACK GO!!! In line to take the NFC (boo hiss to the Seahawks)

Weekly Randomness for January 9, 2015

We're a little late for the holidays, but she insisted. 

News that made me stop what I was doing to look it up.

• Everything old is new again, including how to implode a civilization (water is the new oil we will fight over...)
• Does this count as global confession?
• Oh Phillae, I dearly hope so. 

Weekly Shits n' Giggles

• Talent in the unexpected.  
• New meaning to armchair travel. 
• My Pinteresting Randomness

Weekend Aims

• Spring cleaning starts early here. Kitchen fridge already dismantled and cleaned out. Next come the open dish shelves. 
• Uh... washing dishes. And shelves. 
• Uh.... PACKER FOOTBALL!!!!

Is it just me...

or is there an owl in my butter?!

What a hoot!!

snort o.O