What makes you feel better?

This will seem crazy, but this can of chicken makes me feel better.

When I was a kid, we had a couple of these cans of whole chicken in our pantry at the cabin. I was very intrigued by the idea of a whole chicken being in there. Mom agreed to open a can one day and cook from it, if just to quiet my begging and curiosity. It was a bit pale, but it definitely tasted like chicken. I can visualize exactly where it was in that pantry, and I'm sure there was a can in there when the cabin burned down.

I hadn't thought about this for many years. Who would? Then, yesterday, while picking up a few things at Market of Choice, my eye was suddenly drawn up to the tippy-top of the shelf in a strange location, caught by the familar red-and-yellow label (which hasn't changed in design in probably 35 years).

Gasp, could it be?!?! OMG, IT IS!!

In my cart it went. Later on, upon studying my receipt, I realized I paid for $6.49 for a 3-lb can of chicken and $22.95 for a 2-lb bag of frozen shrimp. (The shrimp is still a good value, because we only use a little at a time. So I can totally justify it.)

There are earthquakes, tsunamis, windstorms, loss of electrical power, and other emergencies to be prepared for. My canned chicken helps me feel better.


On a somewhat related note about preparedness, purchasing, and abundance-is-comforting-to-me, I found this article illuminating about my own behaviors: http://www.oprah.com/money/How-to-Shop-Smarter-and-Buy-Only-What-You-Need-Martha-Beck/2

Excerpt: "...Men's stress response says "Fight or flee!" Ours says "Fight or flee—and make sure everyone has a nice warm sweater!...Anytime our stress response takes over, we buy the way soldiers fight. "Ours not to reason why," a friend of mine once wrote, "ours but to find and buy." We can't help it. We're victims of our own buy-ology."

Good Times

Aleaha asked if the girls could "drive" one of the little car-carts at the grocery store. So we loaded up and buckled in, with big smiles. (I don't think we'll do it again, because there is too much temptation to lean out, which is not allowed, not safe, and not preventable. Ugh.)


The girls love to listen to The Beatles in the car, and on our CD, a favorite track is one we call "Miri's Song" (I Wanna Hold Your Hand). Aleaha and Miri hold hands in the car every trip.

Snow Days and Play Days

We had a bit of snow back in February, and school schedules were affected. Which means ALL schedules were affected, as Mom & Dad had to tag-team for coverage of critical business calls. But we couldn't let the day go by without some playing in the snow. I feebily attempted to get some pics of the girls playing. Between my lame camera and its lamer user, I basically gave up. Here's proof there was snow and the girls were out in it.

We took a short field trip to the OSU Lambing Barns to check out the ewes and their lambs. Aleaha has been there many times, but this was Miri's first experience this close to the sheep (anything that happened in a child's life while they were small enough to be toted about in a Bjorn doesn't count). She was fixated on them, and when I finally got her to look at me....


...this is what she did. That's a shriek coming out of her mouth. Aleaha is still posing nicely for the camera, but Miri-Yell is in her natural state.


Ah, but there is a way to get her to open her mouth and NOT be yelling. You just give her something yummy to put in it, such as red licorice.



I don't know exactly what Miri was trying to signal here, but it reminded me of a sonogram we have of her doing the same thing, a la "The Thinker." (I think she was really saying, "Ay-Yi-Yi, where have I landed?!")


Playing outside together.


The Miller Fam took a nice stroll by the river one recent Sunday. It was good recon for a place where Aleaha can practice riding her bike. As ruralite, she doesn't have much exposure to the finer city luxuries, like paved bike paths. Of course, we prefer the focus we have on life in the country, with dirt, chickens, horses, etc. But it reminded me that it is a parent's role to expose their children to more of the world than merely their own backyard. For this reason, I intentionally drove the kids the following weekend into the city of Corvallis, so that we could go on a walk/Bob-stroll. (Yes, I see the irony there, of driving to town to go for a walk.) It was eye-opening, for sure, as Aleaha soaked in all the sights and wondered out loud at everything she saw -- this child was in awe of municipalities such as city water fixtures for the buildings. Yes, there is value in a little controlled amount of exposure to other cultures -- even like dem people livin' in town!

After some harrowing, windy nights, the backyard was littered with branches. The girls helped pick it up a bit, then they enjoyed a wheelbarrow ride around the house. (Aleaha clearly enjoyed it, while Miri appeared to merely tolerate it. This is just her camera-posing face - she delighted in the ride, but not the picture-taking.)