What Are You Doing For Excitement Today?

[Diane Amberg]

Yes...some of those are quite toxic to humans too, especially small children.... also cigarette butts in quanity, aspirin, etc.
No, I'm not showing off. Had to know all this to be an EMT... and of course poison control. national number-1-800-222-1222. You are wise to be careful.There is also an animal verion of poison control. 1-800-213-6680. I don't know much about it, but I know there is a cost involved... not free.

[Wilma]

Hi!  I know that you all are just dying to hear what has happened to me since the end of last year.  So, here it is.

New Year's Eve about 11:30, I had a fire.  Just a tiny fire that was out before I could decide what to do about it.  I was making toast in the toaster oven and I noticed that the toast was flaming.  While I was debating what to do, the toaster turned off, the fire went out.  I decided not to open the door as that would release the smoke which would set off the smoke detectors, so I unplugged the oven.  Fortunately, I have a spare toaster.  It is sixty years old, but it works.

A week later, I arose at my usual early morning hour to find that there was no hot coffee in the coffee pot.  In fact, there was no coffee at all in the coffee pot.  There was no heat in the coffee pot.  Now I am not only out a toaster oven, I am also out of a coffee pot.  Fortunately, I have a coffee pot that I had quit using when I moved over here.  It has to be thirty years old, but it still works.  It is progammable to come on, brew the coffee and keep it hot.  But it does not automatically shut off.

So now I can still make toast and still have my cup of hot coffee as soon as I get up.

Two weeks later a dead limb fell on the trailer house that my oldest daughter lives in.  Not unexpected, but I was hoping that it wouldn't fall until I could afford the $2000.00 I had been quoted for removing the tree.  Fortunately, I have insurance on the trailer.  Fortunately, it paid enough to repair the roof and the ceiling inside that the limb broke.  Blessedly, the insurance was enough to also repair the bedroom floor that a previous tenant had busted and not told me about.  While the bedroom floor is being repaired is a good time to paint the walls and we might as well throw out the old carpet and put down new flooring.  This is all just about done now and it only took two months.

Unfortunately, I was still using the old sixty year old toaster and thirty year old coffee pot.  Yesterday while in the big city, I found a toaster oven I liked.  They were out of them.  Then I found a coffee pot that would be all right, but not like the old Black & Decker, mount under the cabinet that I like so well.  So I came home with a new coffee pot.  Hot coffee first thing in the morning and I don't have to remember to turn it off.

And to make things even better, when I got home there were five white and yellow crocuses in bloom and one little snow drop.  Everything is peeking up and if this weather keeps up there will be more blossoms in a few weeks.

The Shockers are 34-0.  Could things be any better?

[Diane Amberg]

Nice to hear from you.I'm glad your little fire wasn't serious and the tree problem didn't do more damage than it did.
Isn't it great to see little spots of color coming up finally? Except for a few places on the north side, our snow has finally gone.The black birds seem to have headed back to the open fields and our "good" birds aren't as frantic for food.

[Wilma]

All has not been quiet on this front.  I just haven't been doing anything exciting enough to talk about.  But that ended the other day when my four daughter and I made a trip to the Tanganyika Wild Life park at Goddard , Ks.  I saw, for the first time in my life, giraffes, a white tiger, a kookaburra, cheetahs, a black rhinoceras.  It was an enjoyable day.  We spent about two hours and Janet took pictures.  I am posting some of them for you to enjoy, too. 

[Wilma]

more

[Wilma]

more, more

[Wilma]

I seem to have forgotten how to post more than one photo at a time.  Bear with me.  There are only eight that I am sharing.

[Wilma]

cheetah.  I didn't realize how powerful they look.

[Wilma]

My favorite.  They followed us around the bank expecting to be fed.

[Wilma]

white tiger.  Just as we were leaving his pen, he decided to get out of the pool.