Nanu Nanu

So my sister stayed with us for the weekend a while back and you just never know what she is going to pull out of her sleeve. 

It’s a Saturday winter morning she comes strolling into the kitchen in these.  Colorful – no?

Then I look again and start laughing.  

I swear Santa brought us these when I was like seven! 

He did, Santa did indeed bring us these very slippers, we each had a pair.  How is it that she STILL has these slippers and is wearing them decades later in my house?  In 2013?

Does anyone remember Mork from Ork?  Anyone??  Guh…  Then here’s your homework assignment, get online and look him up.  He’s actually Robin Williams, when he was younger.  Before he had a movie career of any kind; he was Mork from Ork– in a sitcom called Mork and Mindy.

He said Nanu Nanu – a lot, no one knows why or what it meant.  I don’t really remember the show – but I do remember he started a fashion trend – which involved rainbow suspenders and primary colors.    

And THAT my friends is where these come in.  My older sister enjoyed the show and you know how siblings are, so when one child gets something, the younger child gets the same exact thing or similar in a different color.  That way there is no bickering.   

One of our parents found these lovely’s and apparently they came in both our sizes – so back in the day there were two long haired little girls running around in crazy looking colorful slippers.  Probably saying Nanu Nanu and Shazbot – a lot, again, no idea what they mean.  Hmm, maybe I should do some homework too – what do these two nonsensical words mean?? 

Google?? Suri?? Wikipedia?? Anyone??  Producers of Mork and Mindy, are you still out there, or did you get in the egg and go home??

Or maybe we didn’t wear them at all… could be why they are still intact and my sister is wearing them now.

Then she informed me she has BOTH pair, Really?  What box did you get?  Are there any cool Hot wheel cars in it, how about some of those crazy Rat Fink trading cards that came in the bubble gum packs – some of those must be worth Something, do you have any of those?  You can keep the rainbow suspenders; quite sure I didn’t wear them when they were “popular”.  Pretty positive I won’t wear them now….

Do you think my slippers from when I was seven will fit me now?  There is no way you can’t smile when someone is wearing these crazy looking things… Should help on a bleary winter’s day – that is, if my adult feet can fit into my little girl slippers….  

Maybe I should just hang them on the tree come Christmas – Ohhhh, they can be stockings!!! 

Yeah – that should work, crazy, colorful, fake sheepskin lined stocking slippers – yeah – I’m all over it – great idea!  Santa will be thrilled to see what good care has been taken of them all these years – I should get all kinds of fabulous goodies from him this year!  

Yeah sis – bring me my slippers!!!

The House Band

Little did I know that when we named dog #2, that we would have a famous band – in house, all the time!  

Now I’m not talking about the snoring chorus that occurs almost every night – (you remember the “Snorphony” posted on 1/21/13 and that was BEFORE dog #2 - who can take both of them in a decibel test) so let me fill you in.

Dog #2, you know the dog that didn’t have a name for a full two weeks and is still on shaky ground as a permanent member of the household (ok, ok, she’s not going anywhere – I just like to think there’s an out…)  

The one we should have called Trouble Gluton, Usain Bolt or Red Devil?  Yeah that one.    

Sweet little innocent Rosie (or Rose Mary if I’m hollering across the neighborhood looking for her short little furry behind cruising down the street at warp speed).  Beautiful little Rosie, we’d like her to grow into her delicate name, to match the cute little innocent face she has – one can hope…

And Dog #1.  Now, I don’t think I’ve ever mentioned Dog#1’s name before.  First of all let me tell you she is a girl, dainty and light footed when she walks.  We rescued her from a horrible life over ten years ago, where she was chained to a basement toilet, with her sister, and was a puppy making machine.  Her legs had been broken several times, her ears split, she had wood shoved up her paws and was covered in ticks.  It took many months for all her wounds to heal.  And she is a total treasure….

She came with a name – I like to say we got her “used” and we didn’t name her when people look at me funny and I have to repeat she’s a girl.  She knew her name very well and only answered to it.  I tried to change it something precious – Magnolia, thinking we would call her Maggie, but she would have none of it. 

HER name is Gunner.  Over the years we eventually got her to answers to Gunnie, a little more feminine, but for the first five years it was Gunner and only Gunner.  All of her chained up siblings were named after military ammunition's, boy or girl – nice huh?  

So, Rosie was doing something agitating and I went to correct her – coming across the living room floor I automatically said “Guns” going into the name that first comes to mind when addressing a dog in this house – then I started laughing when I corrected myself and called her Rosie.

Did you guess our house band??? Its Guns and Rosie – we have “Guns and Rosie” in the house – I think that is hilarious!!  Lord knows we couldn't handle two Roses in this house, so a singular Rosie it is.  Hahahahah. Funny huh?  

Now where can I get a dachshund sized bandana? Ohhhohhh, sweet dogs of mine…..

Sailing, Sailing, Over Mack Ave We Go! (re-post)

Allo, allo - good re-post Wednesday day to you! Here's a timely classic for the hot, hot and oh so super hot day we are having to day.  Imagining a little wind through your hair whilst gliding on a sailboat should cool us all down.  See you Friday with a new post! (originally posted 8/22/2012).

Ah, summer in Michigan, the wind in your face, asphalt at your sides!

Sailing through blue skies and green lights at a 35 mph clip - how many knots is that, 30 perhaps?  What a wonder the Grosse Pointes are, now I can see why they have such an elitist attitude, just look at the scenery, sailing behind diesel fifth wheels, with Hyundai's by your side - oh the joy summer can bring when you have a sail boat.

And to think while I was out running some errands, I just happened to sail right up behind, alongside and then eventually pass this lovely land yacht - ha, a term I thought was originally reserved for 1970's American cars, with couches for front seats.

 A little to dreamy maybe?  Not so - I tell you.  If you lived around here you would know how special it is just to be invited inside the private marinas with all the fancy boats.  There's tons of water around here - but you can't use it - it's all gated, guarded and member-shipped. 

No more I say - I have seen the future, it doesn't involve fancy clubs, five thousand dollar yearly dues, wooden docks, or 20 foot sails, no sir, just a big trailer and a street where the traffic lights swing high.  The emergency motor doesn't even need to run, as long as you have towing capacity and a trailer hitch on your vehicle - the world is your oyster!!

Off to the boating junk yards - I hear the recession has been terrible for weekend water warriors, this has to be good for the daily pavement pounders!

Woo hoo - I can be a sailor - Arghh Matey, Arghh!!  Do eye patches block UV rays? Where's my parrot? 

Urban Lions

Grrrrrrr!!

Lions and Tigers and Bears – Oh my!!

Driving up and down 8 Mile Road in Detroit, I kept seeing something out of the corner of my eye in the back of a parking lot of a dilapidated building and thinking one day I have to stop and peek in.  

Of course there are many, many interesting things to find in the city and I just chalked this up in that category.

Then one day went I by and thought – are those Lions? Those look like Lions??  Has someone gotten creative with the scrap from the building and made cool heavy metal art?  I swear those look like lions…

You know, our pro football team is the Lions, maybe they have taken influence from them and have made a pair of lions?  Ah, if you don’t know are football team, we have some great fans.  Unfortunately for the last 20 plus years, a not so great team… but at least we have a pro team!

So one day I’m driving down the road with my niece and tell her – we have to pull over and see what those are, I‘ve been driving by them for months and I swear they look like giant metal art lions.

So we throw on the hazards, pull up the curb and get out of the car – safe – I know, but it was time to do it.  

We stand there and look across the lot at them.  You can’t get in it’s all gated and chained, but now we are not sure they are lions.  I would like them to be lions – you know, coming to life at night for a little cat fight (ha-ha get it) and then turning back into heavy steel in the morning , but really other than the pro team, we don’t usually find  lions in Detroit.

Alas, they are not lions…

They are, we agree, some bucket part of a heavy equipment digger.  But darn it all, don’t they look like lions?  ROOAAARRRRRR!!!!

Childproof and Ticketless

Sometimes you just get yourself in predicaments and you have to wonder, has anyone else ever done this?

Take me for example – last week the husbands Da was in town from Ireland and we had rented a cottage in upper Michigan for the week.  I dropped the boys off at a renowned golf course and thought – I’ll go into town and get a pedicure – that sounds like a great idea!

So, into the cute town I went, got a coffee and started wandering around to find a salon that was 1) open and 2) gave pedicures.

Success on block two, indeed there was an open salon.  Went in and inquired about an opening, sure enough they could get me in at 11:00.  Great, I’ll be back at 11:00!

Now it was not eleven, it was nine something and I already had a coffee and been through the town, so I decided to nap in the truck.  I pumped the parking meter full of quarters, crawled in the backseat, set the alarm on my phone and laid down for a nap.  

I was awoken by the sound of the “meter maid” (who was actually a man) printing out a ticket on his little hand held device.  I tried to let myself out the back door of the truck, but it is childproof – there is no getting out without release from the front driver’s seat.  I was not really near the front driver’s seat and the “meter maid man” was on the sidewalk.  I leaned over, opened the passenger door and the car alarm promptly went off.

I’m hanging out the front passenger door from the back seat with a blaring car alarm while being stared at incredulously by the “meter maid man” who is holding the bright yellow ticket.  I mumbled something about napping and kid proof doors, alarm still roaring, grabbed the ticket and shut the front passenger door to start my dig in my purse for the car keys to shut the alarm off. 

He walked away.

I scanned the ticket, saw if we paid early it would be half off and put it in my purse, with the keys I had finally found to turn off the alarm and checked the clock to see how close it was to pedicure time.  

Knock, knock, knock – on the window, I lean over, open the front door again, alarm goes off, fumble to back seat, find keys and start my spiel about kid proof doors, napping and getting a pedicure, all the while being stared at by the ”meter maid man” like I had three heads.

He said – ‘Could you put some quarters in the meter’? I said ‘Sure’, got to the driver’s door to unlock my childproof back door, grabbed my purse, got out and started to fill the meter – again.  He just stood there looking at me, so I reached in my purse and handed him back the ticket – which to my amazement - he took back!

And there you have it – he has a story about some lady locked in the back seat of her truck, from the inside (I’m sure he has many stories on just about everything…) and I have a new rose colored pedicure and no parking ticket – life is good, isn’t it?!

I Didn't Know Spiders Had Laundry (Re-post)

Hello all, welcome again to summer re-post Wednesday!  I had been cut off from the world without internet for a day there, it's amazing how attached we are - I was beginning to worry about getting this post up (my i-phone won't connect to "Blogger"...)  but the handy dandy cable guys just left and all is right in the world again!

Here's a favorite originally posted 9/9/2012 - enjoy and see you Friday!!

Did you hear the screeching on Sunday around noon, yeah that was me, screaming like a girl! 

Not because there was a whomping spider, that scared me - it was because I walked in to the the whomping spiders web and bounced said spider off my cheek.  Can't really tell in this picture - but she's got fur!  

I was going out to hang the freshly washed sheets.  Per my request, darling hubby put a clothes line up for me.  I figured since it's been 900,000 degrees outside all summer, why not hang out the washing and get the fresh scent of actual air on our laundry - not a chemicalized "fresh air scent"  from a dryer sheet.  

Besides, they dry in no time flat when it's almost a million degrees and they get ironed by the heat of the sun - it's a win - win all around.

But now, the real estate is being squatted on, by someone who actually lives outdoors and really probably has some squatters rights.  Not sure, I'll have to check the legal books on that.  Can spiders live where they want outdoors, if the place they choose to live is attached to the house and they don't make house payments?  Yeah, I'm sure that's in the Regulations somewhere...

She wasn't in the clothes pin when I went out to hang the laundry; she was full in her massive sticky web.   It's only when the shrieking began did she scurry up to the pin, but not before she did some tidying up of the mess I made with my face.  

Really it was fascinating, she grabbed the loose ends, made a few web piles like cocoons and then receded to the safety of the clothes pin.  She probably was scolding me in spider talk the whole time - Damn that little Miss Moffitt - why didn't she stay on her tuffet?