Dec31

Photo Dump, Part 2

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Photo Dump, Part 2

Happy New Year’s Eve! Maybe if you’re trying to stay up late tonight, this will help. Orrrrr, it might put you to sleep. In which case, lo siento mucho.

Hubby: Oooh, you doing another photo dump post?

Me: I thought I’d sneak one in before the year was out. Why? You like these?

Hubby: I enjoy the randomness.

He knows my middle name.

Anywho, without further ado, random things that made me think of you. (Move over, Dr. Seuss.)

The pinnacle of random. I’ve seen feet hanging out the passenger side, but the driver’s side? And was he always barefoot, or did his shoe fall off a mile back?

Beloved Neighbor struck again before Christmas, dropping off a variety of homemade cookies with a printed label! Who is she?

And this…

“Nativity Christmas Story” Trail Mix, printed, decorated on the sides, in a jar with attached ornament and ribbon.

…

I can’t even.

But she wasn’t done yet.

At Trader Joe’s she snagged a box of my favorite: Boozy Little Chocolate Truffles. The name alone, right?

She’s the reason we can never move.

For her I had bupkis. I said, “Eventually I’ll get my act together.”

“It’s okay,” she said cheerfully. And obligatorily.

I wanted to do something slightly more healthy for the neighbors, figuring everyone was drowning in holiday sweets. I wandered into the kitchen, spotted spotty bananas, and announced, “Girls! Time to make banana bread!”

We (meaning they) made loaves and delivered them down the street–at least to the neighbors close enough to see us delivering food to other neighbors. 😉

Someone (non-neighbor) also gave us chestnuts. We didn’t roast them over an open fire. They came with instructions to bake them in the oven. They pop open when you do, making them easy to peel. Also, the inside of the shells are fuzzy! I hope they were supposed to be.

Various stages of popping. You slice an X into the flat sides before you bake them. Only two of the five of us cared for them. (One family member abstained.)
There’s just something so cheerful about drinking eggnog from a Christmas glass. (Try to ignore the card with spring flowers in the background.)

Since I’ve already gone off seasonal script by mentioning spring, let’s step back into fall for a moment.

This pasta was so pretty, I put it in a jar and made it our centerpiece for awhile. Then we ate it.

Also in fall…

This was in Bearizona, near Grand Canyon, which we visited over Thanksgiving 2022. I’m a little behind on photo dumping. How cute is this, though?

Bearizona is a literal zoo. There was a driving tour to see wolves, bison, goats, other stuff I forget, and, of course, bears. It was pretty cool. The on-foot zoo portion had many more animals. Hubby was on the hunt for all things deer-related, but antlers don’t do anything for me. I like big cats, and I cannot lie. So, imagine my delight when we walked around a corner and it was like one was just waiting for me.

Hello, leopard. I wanted to climb in there and curl up next to it, but I’m pretty sure that’s not allowed.

Why not time travel to last summer now? When I posted this picture, which you’ve already seen, on Twitter (X) in July…

I got this response…

Frasier is one of my all-time favorite shows, primarily for Niles’ witty zingers, so this made me happy.

Also made me happy, seeing myself mentioned kindly on someone else’s blog.

Love you too, Jacqui!!! Thanks again for including me in that book roundup!

I suppose I should mention what book she was talking about. It was this one:

Be a Happier Parent or Laugh Trying* being read by another beloved friend I may sadly never meet. She’s also a CHILDLESS friend! That’s some serious devotion from a relative stranger. [*Yep, that’s an affiliate link. Click it and buy something, anything, from Amazon, so I can earn 30¢.]

I didn’t mean to turn this into a plug, but since we arrived here, I might as well keep going.

Okay, now that that embarrassing part is over…

Plumcots, a cross between plums and apricots. I bought these just for you. Fine, and to let my family try them, too. They tasted like plums. Now you know. You’re welcome.

I also bought stupidly-expensive dragon fruit. For you.

Dragon fruit is wicked cool looking.
On the inside too.

The taste, however. Uuuuuhhhmmm. “Maybe it will be good in a smoothie,” I suggested to Youngest Daughter, aka The Smoothie Queen.

As a smoothie it was, well…

Gloppy. Seriously nasty. Like it had turned into an alien creature, the female version of Venom.

The texture was so off-putting, I couldn’t drink/eat it. I don’t think anyone did. I spent $7.99 so you won’t have to. Again, you’re welcome.

On to better food!

These are called Tassies. Middle Daughter made them for a school picnic. Num.
Youngest Daughter’s birthday cake, which she wanted to decorate herself. Num num.
These flowers looked like they wanted to eat me. I’m not sure where I took this. Zoo, probably. No num num–for me or the plant.

And now, because this is awesome…

Gotta love children.

One wish for the new year is for more people to be like these boys.

Wishing you a blessed 2024!

You know the drill. Tell me your favorite pic from the above.

Oh! And a trivia question!

What is the first item placed on the board to assemble the contraption in the game Mouse Trap?

Place your guesses! The answer will be in the comments, so scan those with caution.

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69 responses »

  2. Gotta go with the Space Needle pic. The first time you posted it, I didn’t even realize you were lying on the ground, ha.

    I’ve never played Mousetrap, though I’ve set out plenty of mousetraps. Peanut butter works like a charm every time.

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  3. I might not have noticed the picture of spring flowers in the background if you had not mentioned it. Since I have never played Mousetrap, I have no idea what would be placed on the board (I have no idea what you are talking about). 🙂 I love the little boys who thought the teacher would not be able to tell them apart. The innocence and lack of prejudice in little children. Oh that we would be the same. Happy New Year. Looking forward to your blog in 2024.

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    • I know–so silly of me to point out the flowers in the background. But! It made for a nice segue. 😉 I never played Mousetrap either, but I know the answer because I have the trivia book! 😛 Yes on the boys. That’s why I saved them for last. Too precious. May they stay that way forever. Blessings on your New Year, Barb. 🙂

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  7. When we played mouse trap as a child, I believe it was base A that is placed first, but we often didn’t really play the game. We just liked building the contraption and making the cage come down over and over again.

    I’ve been to the space needle just last summer. When I first saw your picture I thought that you must be really, really afraid of heights to be laying on the floor like that. Then I thought, maybe she’s just really drunk. Then I realized you’re just being a normal goofball. I bet you kids spend a lot of time saying, “Mommmm …”

    and next year I promise to send you a plate of cookies for Christmas. Yes, I bake cookies too … just shows what an amazing person I really am …

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    • First, already knew you were an amazing person, Andrew.

      But I’ll still take the cookies. 😉

      Second, normally afraid of heights, yes, but lying on a revolving glass floor 500 feet in the air seemed like a great idea.

      My kids say, “Mommmm,” all the time, and I love it! For a while Hubby and I had a contest to see who got their name said that way the most. One daughter even kept track for a while. It was close, but pretty sure I was winning. 😛

      I never played or owned Mousetrap, but according to the trivia book, the correct answer is the crank. {Shrug}

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  8. This is difficult…I like all those pictures. I guess I’ll go with the Space Needle; not only is it an awesome picture of my smashingly gorgeous wife, but you may have missed it…due to the aforementioned wife….that my foot made a surprise appearance in that picture.

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  9. LOVE the randomness! It’s hard to pick my favorite, but I also love it when there’s trouble afoot, so the picture with the foot out the window. I’ve not played Mousetrap in a long, long time–so I cheated and looked at the comments for the answer. And now, I’m wondering why I wouldn’t remember the crank–but oh well. Cheers and Happy New Year!

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  13. Thank goodness your neighbor is not my neighbor – I could never keep up. I put a few cookies in a bag and call it good.
    I once had a run-in with chestnuts. Cutting the X in them was difficult and risky. Peeling them was a nightmare (can’t remember if I roasted them first), but my skin was rubbed raw and cut up all over, and I’m lucky I escaped with all 10 fingers intact. I’m pretty sure there was screaming and crying involved. It was a “never again” moment.
    That last pic is so innocent and precious.
    Happy New Year, Becky!

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    • Wowsa! I’m so sorry about your chestnut battles. I’m glad I didn’t learn of the difficulty BEFORE assigning this task to my 13-year-old. I think there was a bit of grunting, but she managed. I probably would not have. 😉 I’m guessing you must not have roasted yours first. They were fairly easy to peel after.

      Yes, the little boys. I had to end on them. Talk about a high note! Happy New Year, TTA!

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      • You’ll die laughing, but it finally dawned on me what TTA means: it’s me!! 😂 You’ve used it a few times in your comments and I thought it was some new abbreviation like LOL, IMHO, or TMI. I even tried to google it once to see what it meant. Not surprisingly, I couldn’t find an answer. *headslap* 🤣

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      • That is HILARIOUS! I’m so sorry that I had you scratching your head for so long. This may make you feel better: I read this to Hubby, and he admitted that for a long time he didn’t know why some people on here called me PIF.

        My blog name was “Parenting is Funny.” So, yeah. You’re not alone. Thanks for the laugh, friend! 🙂

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  16. Wow, that’s a lot of good food. I’m still laughing about the Dragon Fruit. Miss O keeps wanting one so I’m so glad you tried it out – yikes! And my favorite? You with the leopard! Yowza!! Happy New Year, dear Betsy!

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    • Strangely, Lara on X tells me dragon fruit is her favorite. It’s possible we didn’t get ours at peak ripeness or something. I may need to try again and report back. OR, better yet, wait for a dragon fruit expert to show me the ways before I waste another $8!

      That leopard felt like such a blessing to me at the time, Wynne. Like a little hug from the cosmos. “You want to see a kitty, Betsy? Here you go. I’ve got one ready and waiting for you just around the corner.” 🙂

      Happy New Year, darling friend!!!

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  17. The flow of my comments will be as random as the photos in your post. I hate bananas but love banana bread. I’m hung up on the thought you took random photos at random times without any intention of what to do with them (until now). “Bupkis” is a wonderful word (which I had to look up), made even better by learning it’s derived from “beans” and “goat droppings”. I could go on and on here, but I’ll wrap by choosing the nativity plate photo as my favorite. Wonderfully creative, with way more time invested in the final product than I’d ever have the patience for. I can bake cookies yes, but then they end up on a paper plate with no back story whatsoever. Fine by me.

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    • “I can bake cookies yes, but then they end up on a paper plate with no back story whatsoever. Fine by me.” –My thoughts exactly, Dave. I was never into crafts like some moms, and my neighbor is all about them. It’s cool you like her Nativity Story jar. Creative indeed! She makes little bags up for Halloween too. I don’t even attempt something for Halloween.

      Okay, now *I* have to look up the full meaning behind bupkis. I thought it was just a funny word meaning “nothing,” and I didn’t realize it wasn’t very well known. You’re enlightening me!

      And as far as taking random photos, I did have an intention of what to do with them–show them to my readers! Does that count? Even if I show them over a year later, in some cases. {shrug}

      Thanks for the fun comment, Dave. HNY+1 to you! 🙂

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  18. Ahhh … a lovely surprise to see screenshot of my message on Jacqui’s blog – love how you find so much to share here! The randomness works so well! yikes, the dragon fruit looked scary enough even before you tried to create a drink of it. The birthday cake is beautiful and nearly (😀) too delicious to eat!

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    • Yay! I’m glad you came over and saw yourself featured here. I did have a difficult time cutting into that cake. It felt so wrong, but, well, it’s also cake, so you know, we wanted to eat it. 😛 Blessings on your new year, Annika!

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  19. I hate feet, so that would be the worst picture. I’ve never seen this Nativity Trail Mix idea, but I love it! I’ve not had a plumcot, but I hate apricots, so I will never buy. I’ve had dragonfruit a few times and thought it was ok. Not a lot of flavor, so not worth the price. I don’t remember the pieces to Mousetrap besides the cage. That game never seemed to work all that well for us. Happy New Year!

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    • Bijoux! You’re alive! I checked your blog a couple of days ago to see if I’d gotten behind. Not yet!

      Thanks for the thoughtful and thorough comment. I never owned Mousetrap. Interesting that it didn’t work all that well. (Just for your knowledge, the answer was the crank. Shrug.)

      Sorry for throwing a bare foot at you right off the bat! :/

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      • Yeah, I’m alive . . . Barely! The doctor recommended I buy one of those pulse oxide things for my finger, so that didn’t give me much faith in my vitality! I’ll be back to comment more tomorrow. XO

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  20. Pingback: Yet ANOTHER random pic post! | Motherhood and Martial Arts

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