Better to Laugh

We just got back from Niagara Falls:  two days travel time and two days at the falls.  The falls were phenomenal!  The power of the rushing water left me breathless.  The weather was cold; there were snow flurries on Friday.  Saturday was sunny, but the wind was still cold.  Despite the cold weather, we walked and hiked a lot, and we took the Maid of the Mist boat ride up to the base of the falls.  Needless to say, we enjoyed lots of hot foods:  soup, coffee, hot chocolate, etc.  I could have stayed longer, but reality is never far away.  Tomorrow, it is back to school.  Of course, there isn’t much time left before Summer Break, so that makes the end of Spring Break not seem so sad.

Side note:  In the car on the way back, I started knitting a scarf for the 2012 Super Bowl volunteers.  I haven’t knitted in a while, so there were a lot of mistakes to fix in the beginning.  They say if you can correct your mistakes you have become a true knitter.  I must be a knitting genius, as many mistakes as I fixed!  I am back on track, though.  I’m pretty sure I can have it done by the deadline of November 2011.

You may think I am weird, but I LOVE to grill.  I don’t know if it is the reduced mess and clean-up or the actual grilling itself that enthralls me so much.  Actually, it is a combination of both.  And you can’t beat a fresh grilled hamburger for taste.  So, I was really bummed the other night when I tried to grill hamburgers and all I had were a little flame and little heat.  I had to finish the hamburgers in the microwave, because it was taking so long on the grill. 

My wonderful husband stayed up late last night and took apart the grill, cleaned out the burners, put it back together, and put in fresh ceramic briquettes.  I was so excited!  “Thank you, thank you,” I gushed.  He smiled and said, “Your welcome, Honey.  Now you can grill to your heart’s content.”  Tonight’s menu:  grilled chicken salad with cheese, walnuts, and cranberries.

I am cheering on my Butler Bulldogs from the safety of my computer.  I was watching the game on television, but after a Butler player was called for a charge when the Duke player was moving his feet, a Duke player travelled and no call was made, and Duke was not being called for the body when Butler was, I had to distract myself and let my husband keep me posted.  I have now survived the first half without a stroke or heart attack, so I am feeling pretty good, even though Butler is down by one point at the half.

We are visiting my in-laws in Wisconsin.  They live in a rural area (retired dairy farmers) with a lot of open fields.  The wind was blowing with gusts of 60 MPH+, which made my run quite a challenge.  I didn’t care about my pace; I was just excited to stay vertical!  Luckily the temperature was in the 70’s; that is highly unusual for the second day of April in Wisconsin.

The best thing so far about the trip was spending the afternoon with Terry’s niece’s little girls.  The oldest (3 years old) was playing with Terry’s dad (Great Papa).  They were telling her that she had to brush her teeth or they would fall out.  Terry’s dad took his teeth out…the frozen look on her face was priceless!  She then proceeded to try to take out her own teeth!