The Fun of Futility Is In the Eye of the Beholder

THE FUTILITY GAME:

The Definition of Insanity - Doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result.

 

The Case Subject: 

A dog with an obsession for a rubber squeaky bone.

 

The Repeated Behavior:

An obsessive compulsion to push the beloved sqeaky bone through the doggie gate bars.

The Insanity: 

Immediately regretting your choice and NEEDING to have it back. Every time.

 

Problem Solving Strategies of the Futility Game:



 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

       

       Reach for it with your stubby leg...                                                                   Fail.

 

 

 

            Bark at it.                                                                                         Fail.

 

 

   Attempt to bite it.                                                                                       Fail.

 

 

Bite the bar instead.                                                                                        Fail.

 

 

 

Reach again...                                                                                      ...bite bar again...

 

 

                                                                     FAIL!

 

Push it so far away it's behond hope...                                                    ...appeal for help.

 

 



 

Receive help from a compassionate soul (who has also been laughing at your efforts)...

 



 

 

 

Refuse to learn from your mistakes and repeat the entire process again...and again...and again...

 

And that, my friends, is the Futility Game.

 

 

Photo of the Day:

 

It works with rawhides too...

 

Scripture Verse of the Day:

 

"It is not good to have zeal without knowledge..." Prov. 19:2

Productivity and Random Ordinary Things

For being a Monday, and even though it was very overcast and sprinkly...

...today was a great day! For me it began with a trip to Beaver Dam to see Gma and Gpa N. Today we took all of Jerry's probate paperwork to the courthouse and got Gma appointed personal representative of Jerry's estate. The whole thing went without a hitch and everything is set up for her to do what she needs to do to pay the bills. It looks like we should be able to close everything out in about three months which is a great blessing. The whole process could not have gone more smoothly today.

Gma and Gpa say hi to everyone...

Once we finished with all the probate business I was able to pick up a belated Sweetest Day gift for Jim...

...it's a new desk chair to replace his cruddy, stained old one...

...a nice improvement even if I do say it myself. :) He was happily surprised when he found it (hee, hee).

He's not the only one who got a surprise, when I got home from Beaver Dam I found that Nick's second trunk arrived from Afghanistan!

For some strange reason Natalie (who was here when it arrived) decided to just leave it inside the door rather than carry it to Nick's room. Just because it's a little bit large and heavy, I mean really!

Random and Ordinary Things From Today:

For dinner I made hot tuna sandwiches, which almost no one likes I guess...

...but that's ok because it means more for me and Jim, we DO like them!

I also took this picture of Nick and Frenchie's cars which are parked pointed out of the driveway and ready to head to NC. Don't they look great in the carpet of leaves? I'm getting really excited for our road trip!!!

Then I found that the Gerbera daisy I got as a gift from one of my preschool students months ago (and which still looks very healthy)...

...is beginning to bud for the second time this season! This is an unusual thing and therefore a happy surprise. :)

Now I will spend a little time on the internet finishing this blog post and watching Netflix on my Kindle.

 

 

Currently I'm working my way through the fifth season of Agatha Christie's Poirot...



...I love that show. :) And after that I will probably end the day with a little knitting. I just gotta say that I'm loving my life as ordinary as it is!

Photo of the Day:

 

Scripture Verse of the Day:

 

 "A cheerful look brings joy to the heart,..." Proverbs 15:30

Getting Things in Order

We had a fabulous fall day today. It started out with a pancake breakfast with Liz, Richard, Tiffany, Phil, Jim and I. Then we had a little down time until the football game started. The Packers won again today which was another good thing!

After the game I skyped with Jimmy and we got our lodging arrangements locked in for our vacation next week, we are SO excited about that. Next step will be packing!

At about 4:00 Natalie, Jim and I drove to Hustisford to pick up Natalie and Frenchie's car. We got a little audio of the engine for Frenchie...

We also took a few snapshots of the engine and the trunk...

The car seems to be running very well and we are confident it is going to do well on the trip. Once Jim got the cars all situated in the driveway we had a quick supper of leftovers and kicked back to watch a movie. It was a productive yet very relaxing day!

Photo of the Day:

Frenchie's car just cruisin' down the road...

Scripture Verse of the Day:

"...let us be thankful, and so worship God acceptably with reverence and awe..." Heb. 12:28

A Day of Recreation

Today was a low-key day for me, all I did was laundry and start work on a new knitting project...

 

Since that's not very exciting I will tell you what everyone else did instead.

Jim is the only one who didn't rest. He went to work and put in a full day. They are moving into the new building on Monday and he had lots to do to be ready for that. He got these pictures of the new facility...

View from the outside.

Jim's office :)

One of the new work cubicles (this is what Jim used to work out of...)

Theh other side of the cubicles, a LARGE foyer area.

The shop itself isn't finished yet so those pictures will come later. The shop is where they are going to hang the 10 x 20 ft flag that Nick is sending from Afghanistan. It used to hang in the shop at Camp Leatherneck. The guys at Ideal are very excited about to get the flag. Ideal makes parts for Oshkosh Corp. who builds the MATVs and MRAPs that the military is using over there. Below is a sample of what they would like to hang up with it when it arrives...(do you like the image of the photographer?)

Natalie wasn't home today, she was in Madison visiting a friend so I don't have much to report on her.

Tiffany worked last night so she slept most of the day while Phil went out duck hunting, unfortunately he didn't get anything.

Richard went to Waukesha yesterday but came back home around lunch time today. Liz joined him here later and when Phil got back from hunting they all got ready to take Tiffany out for a drink for the first time to celebrate her 21st birthday.

 

 

Richard sent me this picture of Tiffany enjoying her first drink (it was a margharita.)

 

 

 

Tiffany and the rest of the group did invite Jim and me to join them when they got to Fat Joe's downtown. We stopped in to say hi but didn't stay. Jim and I were on a mission to find Ben and Jerry's icecream to celebrate Sweetest Day. Tiffany was in good hands and didn't need Mom and Dad overseeing her first night out :)

 

I'm told that tomorrow there is a poultry show at the Dodge Co. fairgrounds in Juneau. Jim and I are tempted to go because the people watching is so fun so stay tuned, we may have some interesting pictures to share tomorrow!

 

Photo of the Day:

 

 

 

Scripture Verse of the Day:

 

"We rejoice and delight in you;

we will praise your love more than wine."

Song of Songs 1:4b



Thrift-A-Thon...Score!!!

What an exciting day for me!! It started out as planned with a trip to Gma N's. As always she met me at the door with a big smile even though she hasn't been feeling well.

Melissa joined us shortly after I arrived and we spent a little bit of time visiting, signing probate paperwork for Jerry's estate and discussing a response to a letter Gma had received. It was just a really nice visit time, then the fun began. Gma, Melissa and I began our thrift-a-thon. Our first stop was St. Vinny's. I found three great things there for a grand total of $5 but my favorite is this flask thingy...(doesn't Tiffany make a great model?)

I'm going to use it to hold my Old Fashioned mix. I think it will look very nice next to this cut glass container I use as an ice bucket...

Ever since I learned how to make mixed drinks from the pastor's wife on our summer camping trip :) I've been collecting really cool items for our "bar" which is made up entirely of the four bottles you see in the picture behind the ice bucket.

After the St. Vinny's trip we headed over to Good Will but on the way we had to stop because Melissa saw a sign for a rummage sale at a local church where everything was advertised as HALF OFF! We had to stop and that is the place where we really scored. The had an entire rack of just men's suits all priced at only $2 but since everything was HALF OFF they were only $1. I walked away with three suit coats, a two piece suit and a three piece suit for $5. I also got a pile of men's sweaters, also $1 each.

At the same sale I found four large lace curtains for a total of another dollar. We are going to use them for wedding table decorations.

I walked out of that church basement with a very large pile of stuff for only $12. It was a great stop.

Next we went to Good Will where I found this great little apple shaped bird cage that we can use as a decoration for Tiffany's wedding also.

Our last stop was an indoor rummage sale at an apartment complex, they had a box of free stuff and I scored these cymbals and a book for Natalie's classroom, so in the end everyone got something. I love thrifting, especially when I go with my sister and my mom! There's nothing like finding a great deal.

By the way, for those who are interested, I added the pics of Jim fixing the red car on yesterday's post.

Photo of the Day:

Scripture Verse of the Day:

"...she sees that her trading is profitable..." Prov. 31:18