Cramming

ORANGE BLOSSOM SPECIAL: We've had four days (!!!!) of blue skies in a row. That is cause for celebration, to be sure. All this sun puts us on serious daffodil watch. We don't have any blooming yet, but many look oh-so-close.

Meanwhile, out out in the garden, these mystery flowers have been blooming all winter, no kidding. We don't know what they are or where they came from. None of us recall them being here our two winters prior that we've lived at this place. Anyone out there know what they are? 

It occurs to me we had some earth moving done last spring in the area where these showed up, so maybe that unearthed these? 

ABSORBED: Seems I have a dearth of things to post about the past couple of days. I blame Japan.

More specifically, Japanese. More accurately, CJ's Japanese class. He's been studying for a big test, and we've been trying to help. (Believe you me, Annabelle is a *lot* more help than I am. She is learning it right along with him. My help comes in the form of implementing various study strategies.)

One of the things we've done to help us remember the new-to-us words is watch some YouTube videos with 'catchy' songs featuring Japanese vocabulary.

Here are a couple of the little ditties that have been rolling round in our heads the past couple of days.

The first one is a Japanese version of "Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes."

Much to Annabelle's chagrin, CJ actually sang during most of our walk yesterday.

And this song helps listeners learn how to count people in Japanese.


JOB FRONT: I mentioned a bit ago that CJ and I applied for (different) jobs. Yesterday, we each had some movement on that front. I had an interview at King County Elections as a temporary helper during election periods. 

It was an interesting interview. There was a timed data entry test, and a proofreading test. After that, an agility test. Yes, really. We had to move boxes of varying sizes in varying ways. Lastly, a group interview, seven applicants and two interviewers. 

Have I mentioned I haven't interviewed for a job since, oh, around 2005, I think?  And have I also mentioned I literally wrote the book (well, training manual) that was used statewide (15 years ago) to teach people how to prepare for a job interview? Needless to say, I had to dust off some cobwebs and remember advice I used to provide. It was funny, the three questions they asked were straight from the book - ones you could almost always expect to be asked, and so you should be ready for them. 

Anyway, I guess it went OK, because I got a call offering me a job this morning. It's funny, the training (5 days) lasts as long as the temp job, I think. Oh well. I am definitely looking forward to learning more about the election process, which is the primary reason I applied to begin with.

Also yesterday, CJ received an email that he'd passed the first screen for the library page position he applied for, so his resume and app are being forwarded to the hiring manager, who will decide whom to interview. That made him feel pretty good to learn he survived at least the first cut. It's the first job he's ever applied for.

Projecting

BIG ADVENTURE: Saturday night we went to a movie. Not just any movie. Not even a new movie. It was a screening of "Pee-Wee's Big Adventure." I first saw the film in 1985. I was pregnant with Rick. I remember laughing so hard, I was afraid I was going to deliver him in the theater that afternoon.

Fast forward 35 years, and this time I'm sitting in The Moore Theatre with Christian, CJ and Annabelle, watching the movie. Would you believe it was a sold out show? Eighteen hundred Pee-Wee Herman fans packed the place. We were in the very last row of the grand old theater.  

The screen wasn't that huge, and the sound wasn't that great, but the movie was wonderful, as always. Hardcore fans (ourselves included) often quoted along with the show, and we laughed as hard as we'd ever laughed at all of the sight and word gags. 

After the movie, Pee-Wee himself, Paul Reubens, came out onto the stage, sat in a chair and shared stories about the movie with the audience. 

It was fun hearing behind-the-scenes stories, including how a then 27-year-old guy named Tim Burton wound up being the director. 

Lots of the audience dressed up for the show, as various characters from the movie or Pee-Wee's Playhouse, a series on CBS back in the day. While our family didn't dress for the movie, Christian and I did dress up as "Pee-Wee's Big Adventure" costumes for Rick's wedding reception. (Christian was the escaped convict from the movie, and I was Pee-Wee dressed as his wife.) 

Funny how that came full circle - me being pregnant with Rick when I first saw the movie, and then wearing a costume inspired by it for his reception. Wow!

FUN WITH FABRIC:  At Christmastime, during a get together with one branch of the family tree, one of the members was wearing a standard button down shirt with a very-not-standard pocket on it. The pocket was a print of cute puppies. The wearer told us that he got it at a fair in Austin, Texas. There was a booth where people would sew a pocket on your boring ol' shirt and make it something special. 

That immediately went on our 'to do' list, and a couple weeks back Annabelle and I spied these fun fat quarters at Wal-Mart. We thought they'd make perfect pockets, and so we bought them. We then set about finding shirts that would work at thrift stores. 

Once we finally found a couple, it was pocket-making time. We watched a couple of videos, and then got busy. 

In no time at all, we had a couple of custom dress shirts. 

What an inexpensive, easy way to upscale a thrift store shirt!

RE-TREAT: On Sunday, midday, there was a knock at our door. My mind immediately went to, "Oh, no, door-to-door evangelicals!" 

Fortunately, it was not that. Instead, it was our across-the-street neighbor, bringing us a big plate of rice and chicken smothered in homemade mole sauce. A Hispanic family, they were having a big party on Sunday, and their get togethers always include a vat of that amazing sauce. They know we love it, and they were so kind to share some.

We four devoured it in no time. Christian had their plate in hand and was heading for the door, ready to return it. I stopped him and said, "We can't send back an empty plate!"

So, while CJ studied Japanese, Annabelle and I set about making cookies. 

Recently a recipe for THE BEST SNICKERDOODLES EVER wound up in my inbox some how, and I wanted to give it a go. I haven't made snickerdoodles since the '70s, I'm pretty sure.

During the process, Annabelle wondered aloud where snickerdoodles got their name. Naturally, that turned into a research assignment for her. Here's what she learned. ...

Snickerdoodle cookies have many different theories and stories surrounding their peculiar name. Some believe they are German in origin, with “snickerdoodle” seeming to be a corruption of the German word Schneckennudeln, meaning “snail dumpling.” However, it is also quite possible that the word is a nonsense name with no specific meaning that stems from a tradition of giving cookies whimsical names to match their sweet nature. The Oxford English Dictionary defines the word’s origin as “uncertain,” so we may never really know where the name snickerdoodle came from.

I don't know that they're THE BEST EVER, but our 'snail dumplings' turned out just fine. And it was much nicer to return the plate full.