Falling in the Fall

           I was talking on the phone with a friend I’ll call Viola. I chose a fake name from a list of gangsters, and I’ll call her husband Frankie, because their real names honestly do sound like crime family names to the point that our daughter, Nicole, once asked, “How come your friends sound like Mafia hit men?”

          But they’re not. They’re a lovely couple from India who live down the street. And it seems Frankie took a spill this week and fell off a ladder while cutting tree branches with an electric trimmer.

          Yikes! Luckily the saw didn’t cut him and he didn’t break any bones. But he’s elderly (though feisty) and did bruise his ribs badly. 

          He tends to grab the phone while Viola and I are talking, and he did so now, to report that he hadn’t told his daughter yet, because she’s a doctor and would be furious with him. At his age he is not supposed to climb ladders.

          “I tell him all the time,” Viola shouted, in the background. Now Frankie gave her the phone back.

          “I told him just to lie still and don’t move for awhile,” she continued. She didn’t want him hopping up, staggering about, and falling again.

          “That sounds good,” I told her, “but then, while he's still on the ground, you should have walked away and turned on the sprinklers.”

          Well, she laughed so hard she snorted, at which point Frankie grabbed the phone again and said, “What are you saying to her? What are you saying to her?”

          She was wheezing too hard to explain, so I told him about the sprinkler plan. I still stand by this excellent idea.

          “Augh,” he scoffed. Then immediately he wanted us all to get together. And those are the friendships we all love to have.

Stay off ladders and sit at your computer to watch my Youtube Mom channel, filled with clever life hacks.

Beat This Heat

           This is the hottest California summer any of us can recall. So I’m going to take you on a virtual visit to the coldest spot on the map, where I lived for three years: Iowa. When you finish reading, I hope you’ll feel at least ten degrees cooler.

          Now, you may think Antarctica is the coldest, but the average temperature there is only -36 F.  In Iowa, it would hit -40, but really -70 with the wind chill. I kid you not. And remember, this is 102 degrees BELOW FREEZING, which is 32.

         Apparently a jet stream passes over Minnesota, then swoops down over Iowa to dump a fresh load of snow and ice before rising again and heading out over Illinois. 

          You can literally freeze to death as you’re walking along. Seriously, a woman did this coming home from a high school football game. They routinely cancel Winterfest, hockey games, ice skating, basically everything outdoors. TV newscasts show piles of dead livestock, and they tell you how long it’s safe to be outside before flesh freezes.  Why the penguin is not the Iowa state bird escapes me.

          Our dog’s water bowl, inside the house, would freeze solid because icy wind blew through the doggie door. Snow plows would pile up all our freshly shoveled snow into a mountain blocking our driveway, big enough to go sledding on. I began wearing thermals in September and kept wearing them into May.

          So now, when you see temperatures in the 90s—and higher—just sit down, close your eyes, meditate, and repeat this mantra: Iowa, Iowa, Iowa…

Or, you can sit and watch my Youtube Mom videos, full of clever life hacks, including ones about how to cool off!

 

A True Disney Hero

            Yep, I’m a true Disney hero. Okay, Disneyland. Okay, heroine, if we want to get technical. Okay, true only if you don’t think about their movie heroes.

          Here’s what happened a few years ago. I was standing by the water’s edge near Tom Sawyer Island when I noticed a baby duckling all by itself. Where was the mother? I couldn’t see her anywhere around.

But what I did see were three drakes swimming over to cause trouble. Harsh reality nature show info: Male ducks sometimes try to mate with female ducklings, or peck so aggressively that they can kill a duckling.

          Now, this is unlikely to become a Disney attraction, so I reached into the water and scooped up the baby. The drakes swam about in confusion. I still couldn’t see Mama Duck, so I did what any sensible person would do. I began to quack.

It worked! The mother duck came swimming over. Fiercely, if you want to know the truth. The drakes scattered, I returned the baby to its mother, and the two of them swam away together.

          Whew!  Just another day in a superhero’s life, I guess. All is well. You’re welcome, Anaheim.

Be sure to watch life hacks on my Youtube Mom videos. Might even save you!

Radiohead?

           I’ll just say it: The fillings in my teeth are receiving radio signals. Yes, I know that sounds crazy, but crazy seems to be what I do.

          So it isn’t these band members:

           In fact, it’s Lucy Ricardo.

          She had the same problem. Like I need one more thing in common with Lucille Ball. You may recall my blog about that here.

          Anyway, it happens mostly when I’m trying to sleep. The second my head hits the pillow I hear voices. No, not paranormal voices—that would actually be kind of cool.  I hear commentators and commercials.

          I raise my head up, and the sound disappears. It’s not very clear in the first place and has lots of static. But it’s just enough to keep you awake.  Last night I heard, “For just a dollar a day,” then muffled news.

          The Mythbuster guys say it’s nonsense, but scientists think metal tooth fillings can act as antennas and detectors, and pick up strong radio waves. Then the fillings vibrate and that vibration passes through the skull, creating sound in the head. Lucy had crowns on most of her teeth, and I recently got a crown. So…

 

          Tonight I’m hoping the station plays some sleep-inducing music.

          If you’re ever unable to sleep, watch a few life hacks on my Youtube Mom videos. Wait—not that I’ll put you to sleep, just, you know, for something to do.

Oh, You Artists!

           For some inexplicable reason, I have many artists in my life. They’re in my family, they’re among my buddies, and they’re even sprinkled heavily among my Facebook Friends. So let me tell you what they’re like.

          They have no idea that they are particularly talented. They tear up sketches I would save forever as evidence of miraculous talent. When they paint something amazing, they secretly think anyone could do it, if only they tried.

          This is not so. Trust me; I’ve tried. I hurry, I use too much paint, and what I see with my eyes never comes out my fingers. Artists can make a sweeping curve and it will look exactly like someone’s face.  I make a sweeping curve and it looks like a wrinkle in the paper.

          They are also too self-critical. They will make something or draw something and find a zillion flaws with it. Meanwhile, the rest of the world is gasping in awe at what they’ve done.

If I could go back in time, I’d be Michelangelo’s garbage man, and save everything he threw away. Today these items would sell for millions.

          Oddly enough, all my children and my daughter-in-law are gifted artists! It's their drawings (when they were tiny children! )that I have posted here. None of them are doing it professionally, but every time one of them dabbles with it, I am astounded. I wish I could get my brain to work like theirs, and be able to reproduce some amazing thing I’ve seen—or imagined.

          So, if you are an artist, be glad in the gift. Save your doodles. Stop second-guessing your work (or send it to me). And know that the rest of us think you’re pretty incredible.

No art instruction on my YoutubeMom channel. But lots of fun life hacks—check ‘em out!

Snake it Up, Baby!

           Well, here’s some cheery news for you: We are selectively breeding rattlesnakes that don’t rattle.

Yessiree. Why would someone do this? Aha. Someone wouldn’t. But it’s happening because we kill the ones that rattle. That increases the ratio of non-rattling ones, and voila! You get sneakier snakes.

You may recall that I wrote about rattlesnakes in a hilarious blog five years ago. Yes, snakes can be hilarious.

 But they have clearly forgotten that we signed an agreement with them: They would rattle, and we would scream like a little girl and run away. We had a deal.

          The rattlesnakes on Catalina Island have evolved not to rattle at all. Scientists think it’s because they don’t want to warn their prey (which is rather smart, if you think about it). In other areas, some have withered tails, thus they don't rattle, either.

          So now, when you’re hiking or farming or just living your life, you must look for the triangular head, made so by big venom glands. That’s if you can see it against the camouflage they live in.

          In all, it’s discouraging news. But, one little beam of hope is this: Rattlers don’t like to strike if they can avoid it, because they need their venom to kill prey and survive.  That means about a third of all their bites are dry. See? I told you I had cheery news.

And I have hundreds of life hacks on my YoutubeMom channel. Check it out!

 

The Frog Blog

           Well, they’re back. The Peep Toads. Of course, this is not their scientific name.  They’ve been called Tree Frogs, though I have yet to see one in a tree.  I can’t identify them because each one looks different.

          They’re about an inch long, and like to hide under the pillows on my porch furniture. They could use a little work on their camouflage:

          They also hide in a geranium pot that I have on a plant stand.

I blogged about them here, and it was a very funny post, if I must say so myself. But I failed to give them credit for being not only adorable, but top-notch helpers in my garden. They eat slugs, snails, beetles, and flies— though at the moment, the insects are larger than these tiny amphibians.

They’ve also managed to survive a blistering heat wave, so kudos to you cold-blooded smarty pants who match the outside temperature. Long may you ribbit.

Hey, check out my Youtube Momvideos for hundreds of life hacks, including summertime tips!