LaurenandLloyd.com

where our wasted time becomes your wasted time

Lauren

Buildin’

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I like making things, and fortunately I’m not too detail-oriented, so the outcome isn’t a big deal.  That’s why it’s great to work with preschoolers! “Process, not product” is our battle cry.  Anyway, you may remember the old view of housekeeping, well, here’s an update.  We spent a couple of weeks learning about tools.  Once they had some basic safety skills down, they measured (23 inches, thank you), sawed, sanded, and helped assemble our new housekeeping wall.  It’s about 87% finished, which mean I’ll get around to completing it in June.

It's perfectly legal child labor!

Happy Birthday, Brad!!

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There’s no getting around it.  You can’t call yourself somebody’s friend if you haven’t built a shrine to them.  (Right now you’re thinking, “Well of course, but where am I going to fit in a shrine?”)  In a spare closet, silly! 

We began our Shrine to Brad awhile ago, and it has grown greatly thanks to Beth providing photos and confirmation bulletins, Brad conveniently forgetting things when he leaves, and also snapping up his stuff off of eBay.  (Thanks, Denis.)  Be sure to notice the driftwood snake – courtesy of Grandpa Hummel -and the larger-than-life portrait of Ned.  I’ll be glad to field any questions, and a free-will basket will be located at the door.

All rise.

Grandpa Ernie

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For those of you unfortunate enough to have never met my Grandpa Ernie, may I offer my sympathy.  He was a very funny guy, and worthy of his own website.  He owned a paper warehouse in Mattoon, Illinois, that I remember was full of every single thing in the world. (They make Lender’s Bagels in Mattoon, y’know.)  We only visited my grandparents – both sets – once a summer, and I remember the trips of being long and hot in the old white station wagon.  Grandpa Ernie would do impossibly wild things with us – like swinging us by our ankles – earning a scowl from Grandma Norie – “Oh, GAWD, Ernie!  Put her down!”  He made me my first screwdriver – at age ten I believe.  A glass of orange juice with a drop of vodka. Ahhhh.

My cousing Heidi wrote a sweet memory of him on her website, and I just thought you should see his picture.

 

A pipe! How awesome!

Pesto Schmesto

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Somebody call Beth, ’cause the jury’s still out on the pesto.  I put it on some fish and baked it, and that was alright.  (I also made some back-up lemon pepper fish just in case fish one was inedible.)  We also had ‘raw’ pesto on pasta, and I really didn’t care for that at all.  (We had back-up pasta as well – with butter, milk and parmesan cheese.  Awesome.)  So, in conclusion, I have cooled mightily on the whole pesto thing.  Although, it’s probably not fair to judge it from something I have made.  Let’s face it, I’m no Rachel Ray.

Not my best work.

To cheer everybody up, let’s look at the wine in my fridge!

Care for some cheese with that wine? No, really.

Presto Pesto

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I made pesto tonight.  I’m always watching people do it on television, and it looks so fun. You need: olive oil, garlic, fresh basil, parmesan cheese, and pine nuts.

Behold: Thy Ingredients!

I toasted the pine nuts.  I’d never tasted them before, and they’re kind of weird.  Like a nut made of gin.

Gin nuts, gin nuts, whatcha gonna do?

 

Throw everything into the blender.  I could have used my food processor, but that would involve finding it, then cleaning it.  The blender’s handier.

Get in there, cheese.

Buzz it up and you’re done!  It has a powerful lot of flavor, I tell you whut.  I’m not sure if I like it yet.  Tomorrow I’m going to put it on some fish, and also pasta.  We’ll see!  How ’bout that for being adventurous!

Looks gross, tastes strange.

Lauren’s Day of Fun

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Every so often I declare that we are going to have “Lauren’s Day of Fun”. That means that we get to do anything I say without Lloyd complaining or balking. Usually it’s just as benign as going to Lincoln, but sometimes it’s going to Omaha. Today it was going to Lincoln to go to the thrift stores, Hobby Lobby, get haircuts, and perhaps a movie. Now that doesn’t sound so terrible, does it? The worst part for Lloyd is Hobby Lobby  He says every minute he spends in there sucks another year of life from his soul. Big baby.

Well, the first stop was actually haircuts. We’ve only had our hair cut together once  Last time Lloyd had a nice lady, but I had a creepy lady who kept whispering lyrics from 80’s hits as she cut.ÂToday was no better. Lloyd’s lady was nice, and he was done in less than ten minutes. In that time, my girl – who turns out to be a trainee – was still combing my hair. She took FOREVER and when I kept asking if she was going to do ‘that choppy thing at an angle’, she assured me she would – then never did. (Turns out I need to ask for a ‘point cut’.) It was a seriously bad cut, so we did the thrift stores and Hobby Lobby quickly, then got out of town – no movie.

How uneven can you get?

Look how uneven that is! (It’s not a triangular shadow – it’s hair.)  Lloyd had to help me try to fix it. (Brad, are you proud of my first haircut post?)

I’ve got to quit calling the day that. It always turns out badly.

Walkin', & Thriftin', & Thriftin', & Walkin'