Monthly Archives: November 2008

My daughter’s dream computer

Humor,

Remember I mentioned that my son and I are going to build a computer? Well, if my daughter were to build a computer it would be made of the following:

  • hair (it is biodegradable and a renewable resource)
  • bones of her ancestors (same reason as above)
  • teeth (see above)
  • vanilla beans (she saw two glass vials of vanilla beans that I bought at Costco today and asked if they were parts for Andrew’s computer)

I’m officially worried about my daughter.

My Favorite Veteran

Events, People

Dad's Navy Photo My dad was in the US Navy during the Korean Conflict. His time in the Navy is what he tends to remember the most and he never tires talking about the places he saw while on his tours of duty.

Things I remember him telling me include:

  • Buying a pair of binoculars to spy on the women at the topless beach
  • Driving to and from Philadelphia in a car with a rumble seat.
  • Eating chipped beef (and liking it!)
  • Seeing the Rock of Gibraltar
  • Being offered a job and the option to inherit the family business if he’d marry someone’s daughter (someone he was not in love with)
  • The time he shook hands with Gary Cooper and gave him a cup of coffee. Cooper was on board my dad’s ship because it was being used in the film, You’re In the Navy Now.

Things I didn’t know, but learned today while going through a packet of his papers and photographs, were:

  • he was an associate member of the Thorland Club — a club in Haiti, if the few sources I found on the Internet can be believed

thorlandclub

  • He crossed the Arctic Circle on November 12, 1949 and thus became a member of the Royal Order of Blue Noses.

bluenoseclub

  • That my dad was among the first crew on the ship when it was commissioned, making him eligible to be a Plank Owner.

plankowner

Looking at the post cards my dad bought while on his various tours of duty makes it look like his time in the Navy was akin to being on a cruise ship, but I’m sure he just told me the good parts. He probably had to work hard at his job and I’m willing to bet he was pretty good at it.

My favorite mug

Things

MugYears ago, when my kids were small, I used a consignment store in Alexandria to unload some gently used children’s clothes. That’s where I picked up a publication, called Mother’s Resource Guide. It gave advice and suggested resources to new mothers (mind you, this was before blogging and the Internet was very young). The publication is no longer around, but one thing that I purchased through the magazine is.

That’s it, in the picture, my “All in a Day’s Work” mug. It illustrates a stay-at-home mother’s day from waking up through falling, exhausted, into bed. I liked that the kids looked like mine and they seemed about the same age difference as my two. Most of the activities depicted on the mug were ones I carried out in a day — all but the bill paying which I left to my husband.

Several years ago I found Priscilla Burris, the artist of the mug, online and sent her an email. Today we became “friends’ on facebook and exchanged a few words.

What’s cool is that I look at this mug every day. I used to drink coffee from it in the morning, but when the handle fell off, I found another use for it — as a pencil holder. It’s fun to look at the mug and remember when the kids were small, especially now that one will be going off to college in 10 months and the youngest is learning how to drive. It reminds me of a different time in my life — a simpler one perhaps.

Anyway — I’d like to publicly thank Ms Burris for her artwork on my mug/pencil holder/icon of memories.