Spring splash

Jim and I went to our first barbecue of the season on Sunday. We were thankful the weather reached a balmy 58 degrees, allowing us some pre-summer fun in the sun. Being the mountains, though, it was still chilly enough that the host lit up the firepit on the deck.

Things were far different in the desert where Bubby lives, where the weather climbed above the 90-degree mark. Huddling around a warm fire was the last place you'd find Bubby in such heat. Instead, he headed to his favorite watering hole:

 

Even in the desert, it gets a little chilly when the water fun is done.

Today's question:

When did you last visit a water park?

My answer: The last time I donned a swimming suit for water park fun was when we went to Disneyworld eight (or was it nine?) years ago.

Tube talk

Jim and I recently started watching the new television series Parenthood, the one by Ron Howard et al., based on the old(er) movie of the same name.

We like it so far. Which doesn't bode well for the show. It'll likely be canceled now that I've given it my stamp of approval.

For whatever reason, Jim and I have never been big TV watchers and -- despite a few attempts -- we never seem to home in on the shows that seem to be most popular with all the other TV watchers in the country. We don't watch the CSI or Law and Order shows. We definitely don't watch reality shows. And, much to the surprise of a few friends, we've never seen an entire episode of The Simpsons.

During our early years of marriage, our favorite shows were Soap, Quantum Leap, St. Elsewhere and MASH reruns. We grew to love Beauty and the Beast and Fame, as well as -- when we could afford cable -- The Hitchhiker and It's the Garry Shandling Show (just typing that one made me smile).

Then the 90s came and we were too busy to watch TV ... or the girls commandeered the only television set we had and Jim and I joined them for precious few shows. (We were willing to sit through Buffy the Vampire Slayer; not so much Saved by the Bell or, later, Dawson's Creek.) When we did watch on our own, it was usually 20/20, 48 Hours, Dateline or some other news show that kept us constantly worried about the safety of our children.

As the girls got older and ownership of the TV returned to us, Jim and I started watching more and more on the tube. Here are a few we watched regularly in the last, say, five years:

• Six Feet Under (HBO)

• Rome (HBO) -- Jim

• 24 -- Jim

• Felicity -- me

• Gilmore Girls

• Medium (although her waking-up-in-a-gasp schtick has grown tiresome and we no longer watch)

• Brothers & Sisters (the silly drama has grown tiresome and we're about done)

• Grey's Anatomy (ditto)

• Men of a Certain Age

• True Blood (we'll be watching this upcoming season at Brianna's, as we've canceled HBO)

• Glee (!)

• Ghost Hunters (thanks, Tammy!)

But here's the kicker. Here are our favorites of the past few years, favorites that apparently very few others favored because they were lured away by Biggest Loser, American Idol, So You Think You Can Dance or any other reality show we simply couldn't stomach. These gems were canceled far too soon for our unpopular taste, which made us question the intelligence of the average TV watcher very sad: Joan of Arcadia, The Riches, Related, Six Degrees, Life on Mars, Eli Stone, Pushing Daisies (thanks for the reminder, Pam!), Flight of the Conchords and Saving Grace (the upcoming season is the final season).

What's up, people?

A friend recently gave us the first season of Lost -- and we love it so far! It'll take us quite some time to get through the seven seasons, but at least we know this series can't be canceled on us.

I wish I could say the same for Parenthood.

Today's question:

What's one of your all-time favorite TV shows?

My answer: I really loved St. Elsewhere ... and Quantum Leap. But that may just be nostalgia talking.

Surprise!

On Saturday, I had what felt like a million chores to do, in preparation for Megan and Bubby's arrival on Sunday.

My list on the fridge:

• color my hair (in hopes of Bubby coming up with a new name for me, to replace Graya)
• mop the floors
• dust
• prepare the guest room, including setting up the Pack 'n' Play for Bubby
• do the catbox
• finish the laundry
• nag at Jim to get all his chores done

The only one I was getting very far on was the nagging at Jim. By noon I'd only knocked out the floors, had passed off the catbox chore to Jim and was getting ready to color my hair then hop in the shower.

I washed the gray right out of my hair and as soon as I stepped out of the shower, Jim was at the bathroom door, letting me know Brianna had stopped by.

"Great," I thought. Now I'll never get my chores done.

Then I heard banging on the piano. Jim likes to bang on play the piano sometimes, even though it's really my instrument while the guitar is his. But sheesh, this time he was banging and banging and banging.

I head out to the living room, where Brianna was standing in the doorway. I couldn't yet see the piano. I gave her the "WTF?", then whispered, "Is he trying to break it?"

I walked around the corner, ready to let loose on Jim for screwing around on my old upright ... then I saw Andrea sitting on the couch, grinning from ear to ear. I was a little confused, but figured she'd come to visit on her day off. Then I looked over at the piano ... and it wasn't Jim. It was BUBBY! Banging away on the ivories! With Megan standing over him, laughing away!

Surprise!

Megan and Bubby had arrived a day earlier than I expected! The entire family had been in on the surprise for months, doing their best to catch Mom off guard.

And they succeeded! Here I was, fresh out of the shower, chores not done, nothing planned for a family dinner that night, the Pack 'n' Play not even out of the closet yet. Completely unprepared (and I like being prepared.)

But makeup and dusting and made-up beds didn't matter. My Bubby was here! My Megan was here! I'd have one more glorious day than I expected with my babies.

I love surprises! And I love my family -- whom I often think of as completely incapable of keeping a secret, yet they're getting so darn good at keeping secrets and surprising me.

Yay for the extra day! The dusting truly can -- and will -- have to wait.

Today's question:

What's one time you were genuinely surprised?

My answer: In addition to this time and last time Megan arrived unannounced, I was very surprised by Jim's gift to me one Christmas. It was a book from the 1800s called "Eloping Angels" and I'd been looking for it for a few years. And Jim miraculously found it, bought it, surprised me with it! Yep, I love surprises!

Blowin' the game

I've always felt like I'm a pretty hip mom, a pretty with-it grandma.

Apparently I've been deluding myself.

Brianna and her boyfriend, David, were visiting recently and we, along with Jim, somehow got on the topic of Facebook, of which I'm a member (see, I'm sorta hip and with it).

Brianna said, "Yeah, I just became a fan of 'When I was your age, we had to blow on our video games.' Did you see that one, Mom?" She and David laughed as if it was the funniest thing on earth.

Jim's face went blank as he's not on Facebook and didn't get any part of the conversation. My face went blank as I tried to figure out what the heck that group could be about. All that came to mind was the old games in which miniature metal football players or hockey players moved across a metal playing field via magnets under the players' feet. I didn't remember those ever having to be blown into position, but then again, I never really played those games.

Brianna quickly realized I saw no humor in the blowing on video games group.

"Don't you get it?" she asked.

Uh, no.

She and David tried to jog my memory -- and Jim's -- with tales of having to blow on the Nintendo cartridges when the game froze up. They laughed and went through the motions of cartridge blowing.

"Everyone did it. Don't you remember?" Brianna asked again, as if maybe it were just a matter of diminished memory.

No, I don't remember. I don't remember because I never did that. And I never saw the girls do it while playing the Nintendo. (Sheesh ... what kind of mother am I to not notice such a weird thing?)

It was a moment of generational differences made oh-so clear. A moment that shattered my Cool Mama/Cool Grandma facade.

A moment that was to bound to come, I guess. Because I'm old. I'm uncool. And I never blew on my video games.

But, ya know what? If there's a Facebook fan group called "When I was your age, our video game was a dash-shaped paddle that volleyed a two-dimensional black ball back and forth across the screen" I am so all over that one.

Because, believe it or not, I am still hip in some circles.

Today's question:

What game do you remember playing most often as a kid?

My answer: I did play PONG as a kid, but more often than not, I was out and about, making up imaginary lives with my BFF, in games that didn't include boards or technology of any sort.

International Creativity Month

January is International Creativity Month. As many of you know, I like to send Bubby a little something each month in recognition of one of the off-the-wall celebrations designated for that month. You can read about some of the past goodies he's gotten from me here and here.

So for International Creativity Month, I'm going to give -- no, I'm going to BRING for Bubby when I go see him next week! -- CORNSTARCH!

Yay for cornstarch!

"That's pretty, ummm, creative, Lisa," you may say, adding, "and, uh, pretty stupid!"

No, no, no, dear reader. It will be fun! And it will be creative!

See, I don't often get to do crafty, messy fun things with my Bubby since he lives in the desert and I live in the mountains. But because I'll be babysitting him -- by myself -- for three whole days, it's the perfect opportunity to have some fun and make some messes while Mom and Dad are away.

Which is where the cornstarch comes in.

When Bubby's mom and her sisters were little girls, I was a stay-at-home mom and we did daily craft activities. One of our favorites when the girls were around Bubby's current age was fingerpainting -- with fingerpaints made out of cornstarch.

And it's high time Bubby gets a taste (literally?) of Grandma's homemade cornstarch fingerpaint.

So I'll arrive in the desert to take care of Bubby with my box of cornstarch in hand, ready for fingerpainting.

But the creative fun ala cornstarch won't stop there! With my box of cornstarch, we can also make cornstarch goop and we can make peanut butter play dough. Messy, creative fun where I don't have to worry that Bubby's going to stick his paint- or goo- or dough-covered hands in his mouth. I won't encourage eating the gooey goodness, but I won't freak out and fear for his life (or at least his digestive system) if he happens to swallow a bit of the fun.

So yes, for International Creativity Month, Bubby gets cornstarch. And here are the recipes I'll be using to turn said cornstarch into something memorable -- at least for me!

Cornstarch Fingerpaint

Ingredients:

3 cups water

1 cup cornstarch

food coloring

Directions: In a medium saucepan, bring water to a boil.  Dissolve cornstarch in a separate bowl with water.   Remove boiling water from heat and add cornstarch mixture.  Return to heat, stirring constantly.  Boil until the mixture is clear and thick (about 1 minute).  Remove from heat.

As the mixture cools, divide into separate bowls and add food coloring; thoroughly mix in coloring.

Peanut Butter Playdough

Ingredients:

Cornstarch

Peanut butter

Directions: Just add equal parts of cornstarch and peanut butter together; knead together til smooth.

Cornstarch Goop

Ingredients:

1 cup cornstarch

a small amount of water

Add water slowly to cornstarch until the goop drips from the spoon. The mixture will seem hard until you try to pick it up then it should slide between your fingers. If it is too liquidy, add a little more cornstarch. For color, add a few drops of food coloring.

Today's question from the Zobmondo "Would You Rather" board game:

Would you rather skydive without a lesson - OR - scuba dive without a lesson?

I'd rather skydive without a lesson. I've gone skydiving before (a tandem jump) and could at least guess at what I should do; if I guessed incorrectly, there's still a chance I may survive. But scuba diving? No way! I barely know how to swim and if you do the wrong thing under water, there's no way to take a deep breath and start all over again. It'd just be OVER. (Sheesh, just writing that kind of took my breath away!) Plus, there's scary underwater monster-like thingees that might just want to take a bite out of you.