Close Call

 Source: NASA's Hubble telescope. Mars' Hellas Planitia basin, a 3.5-billion-year-old asteroid crater.

STAR GAZING: We made sure to step outside after dark on May 22 and check out the Red Planet. That day, Mars was in opposition to our Earth, meaning the sun and Mars ended were on precisely opposite ends of Earth. 

Opposition is a good time to take a photo of Mars, because it's fully illuminated by the sun from the perspective of Earth. The Image above was taken by the Hubble space telescope just prior to May 22. 

On May 30, Mars and Earth will be 46.8 million miles away, the closest the two planets have been in 11 years.   https://youtu.be/9qkzDcIeRV0

This video tells viewers more about the opposition.

PINNED IN:  So what does one do to kill time when their kids are doing their civic duty, taking the state standardized tests (as flawed as they are)?

In my case, you sit in your car, hold your breath and Mod Podge cute designs (made from strips of scrapbook paper) onto wooden clothespins. 

The product is supposedly water based, and I had all the windows down, but I think I'm slightly more cross-eyed and brain damaged than I was yesterday. 

But they're cute, right?

The clothespins were part of a bulletin board make over. Here's the before. ...

 And here's the after - after as in covered in burlap, bordered in burlap ribbon, and sporting a couple of jute 'clotheslines' for people to hang things from.

 We also made over a smaller, nearby bulletin board. Info about clubs will be posted here. 

POINT, COUNTERPOINT: I honestly don't remember exactly what the kids were debating here, I just knew I wanted to take a photo of it. 

 The looks on their faces are priceless. 

In the end, we always wind up on the same page. 

PINKY: While out and about today, we stopped to admire these nearly neon pink pretties.