top o' the mornin'®

[earendel]

What is going on up in DC? For the third day in a row we've been bombarded by a "sorry for the short suspense" data call. Someone's looking for a lot of information in a short amount of time.

Anyway, autumn has finally and fully arrived and not a moment too soon. Regrettably it appears that the leaves aren't going to be spectacular. THey seem to have gone from green to brown without any intermediate stages.

[christie1111]

Even though we have not had as bad a drought, our leaves are doing the same thing. And after 2-3 weeks with minimal rain, the rain of last week knocked down alot befor they turned any color.

But at least the weather has turned more seasonal.

[MarleysGh0st]

Anyway, autumn has finally and fully arrived and not a moment too soon. Regrettably it appears that the leaves aren't going to be spectacular. THey seem to have gone from green to brown without any intermediate stages.

I think the heat wave we had at the beginning of the month confused all the trees. Our leaves should be past their peak color already, but they've barely gotten started. And will likely go straight to brown...

[Rexer25]

What is going on up in DC? For the third day in a row we've been bombarded by a "sorry for the short suspense" data call. Someone's looking for a lot of information in a short amount of time.

It's just those NSA guys, practicing their surveillance and data mining techniques before the law gets changed by Congress

Anyway, autumn has finally and fully arrived and not a moment too soon. Regrettably it appears that the leaves aren't going to be spectacular. THey seem to have gone from green to brown without any intermediate stages.

Here, all the trees are still over 90% green. Our Bradford pear tree has a few red leaves here and there. Down here most of us celebrate fall when the ragweed pollen has gone for another season.

[minimetoo26]

Here the trees are green, but one of my neighbors has a totally brown one. I'm guessing it's dead (not being a certified arborist or anything. Just a layman's opinion...)

Hey, Rexer--hope you didn't wait too long to open that package! Still looks good and fresh, though. I don't know why I bother buying presents for the kids. I should just go scavenge empty boxes from the laundry aisle at Wal~*Mart.....

[Rexer25]

I don't know why I bother buying presents for the kids. I should just go scavenge empty boxes from the laundry aisle at Wal~*Mart.....

That is the reality that hits the parent of every small child...why should I spend $80 bucks on this toy I have to put together, when the kids are gonna spend more time playing with the box anyway?

[littlebeast13]

Hey, Rexer--hope you didn't wait too long to open that package! Still looks good and fresh, though. I don't know why I bother buying presents for the kids. I should just go scavenge empty boxes from the laundry aisle at Wal~*Mart.....

You're not gonna find any kid-sized boxes in my aisle. Ask for some Sterilite boxes from the Housewares department... you may even be able to get all of them in one box at the same time for quick taping and shipping convenience....

lb13

[minimetoo26]

Erin is still trial-size.

Another great toy--take a mattress off the bed and put it on the floor. I've got one that needs to go back up in the attic so it's in the hall, and it makes a great trampoline/imaginary boat/place to take a quick rest on your way from being awoken for school all the way down to breakfast (Mini-me is NOT a morning person....)

[littlebeast13]

Erin is still trial-size.

Another great toy--take a mattress off the bed and put it on the floor. I've got one that needs to go back up in the attic so it's in the hall, and it makes a great trampoline/imaginary boat/place to take a quick rest on your way from being awoken for school all the way down to breakfast (Mini-me is NOT a morning person....)

I remember the camper shell we had sitting in our front yard for a year, and how me and my sisters were always playing in it after I fell through the top of it and made an entry hole in the roof....

I think I was born too far north....

lb13

[minimetoo26]

Hoosiers, Rednecks--same difference...

[littlebeast13]

Hoosiers, Rednecks--same difference...

At least we ain't no hillbillies....

lb13

[earendel]

Erin is still trial-size.

Another great toy--take a mattress off the bed and put it on the floor. I've got one that needs to go back up in the attic so it's in the hall, and it makes a great trampoline/imaginary boat/place to take a quick rest on your way from being awoken for school all the way down to breakfast (Mini-me is NOT a morning person....)

When my kids were young they used to use dining room chairs and sofa cushions for a variety of play purposes. Life was so much simpler then...<sigh>.

[minimetoo26]

We had the Redneck Starter Set when I was a kid--a big ol' wooden cable spool my dad thought would make a good picnic table. Only it was too tall. So we turned it sideways and stood on the center part and held onto the edges and rolled that sucker as fast as we could until we crashed into the fence. It was good for developing balancing skills. And first-aid skills....

[Bob Juch]

We had the Redneck Starter Set when I was a kid--a big ol' wooden cable spool my dad thought would make a good picnic table. Only it was too tall. So we turned it sideways and stood on the center part and held onto the edges and rolled that sucker as fast as we could until we crashed into the fence. It was good for developing balancing skills. And first-aid skills....

Ah, but did you have a tire swing?

[minimetoo26]

No trees!

Well, this sad Chinese Maple in the front yard. But the neighborhood boys chopped it down.

We got a lot of attention, what with 4 girls in a predominantly-male neighborhood. I guess that was their way of showing affection. I learned how to change oil-pan gaskets. Perhaps that's why I'm not a girly-girl.....

[earendel]

Ah, but did you have a tire swing?

No. We did have mimosa trees in the yard and they were climbed a lot by my brother and me as well as other neighborhood kids. But the limbs were not configured to allow for a tire swing.

[PlacentiaSoccerMom]

Another great toy--take a mattress off the bed and put it on the floor.

The girls' babysitter taught them how to take their sleeping bags and use it to slide down the stairs. Safety was important though, they had to pile up pillows on the landing before they were allowed to slide.

[tlynn78]

When I was a child, we moved a lot. Moving boxes were our favorite playthings. We took turns riding down the stairs in them. I was the youngest of five. The box was usually somewhat weakened by the time my turn rolled around. The whole thing lost it's allure when once the box stopped on the third step and I shot through the bottom and went the remaining 15 step 'solo'

Another time my oldest brother talked a female acquaintance into standing INSIDE the box to see which of the boys shooting arrows at the box could get closest to her without hitting her. That did not go well, especially as it was big bro's bad luck to choose the colonel's daughter ... although, if I didn't know better, and if one of them had a prominent scar on her forehead, I would suspect that girl grew up to be Jessica or Brittney.


t.