I miss you. See you soon.PRH
Sunday, April 26, 2009
Thursday, April 23, 2009
Happy Birthday, Sugar
Beet.
We are thinking of you out here in Chicago.
~Dad and Mom H
By the way, did you know that the French grow more beets than we do? We must do something about that.
Monday, April 13, 2009
"Heaton Home Evening"
4/13/09
We had a fun and interesting evening that perhaps I can recount somewhat here. I know, shocker that I would ever put up a post again...
Doug and I decided that he really needed a haircut, so we got that all set up and I began clipping. The air rang with my fine rendition of the first line of Michael Jackson’s “Beat It!” as I trimmed and did a little (very little…) Moonwalk behind the chair. As I worked my way through a couple of other favorites including “If I Only Had a Brain,” I asked Doug if he had any song requests.
“Do you know any Simon and Garfunkel?” he asked. I paused to think. He continued, “I would like to hear “The Sound of Silence” if you don’t mind.” Oh funny, that was a LOT of funniness. By then I was working on trimming his ear hairs and offered to pluck them instead.
I asked him what he thought I should do the for FHE lesson. “THIS is the lesson,” he said, meaning the haircut. “THAT’S not a lesson,” I retorted, “it’s the game.” “No, he said, “It’s the musical number.” Clearly we were at a stalemate. Or is that a stale mate.
With an artful swish and to the strains of the old “Batman” theme, I removed the haircutting cape and shook it. Looking at the floor I commented that there was enough hair there to make a wig. “Oh, that must be for the ‘Whiskers of Love’ program," Doug declared as he swept the last of it into the dustpan. More funniness.
Then it turned out that Clarissa needed a ride to the single adult FHE, so we piled into the Taurus and headed east. Doug asked if I was going to give the lesson on the way. Clarissa groaned. I pulled through by suggesting that all of us look for object lessons along the way that relate to our life’s experiences.
Doug was the first to be inspired as he told the Parable of the Guardrail. He said it looks a little like an Iron Rod, but isn’t. He said that most people know what it is for and are careful to not get too close because they know it is protecting them from falling into a big ditch or something. And people who plow through the guardrail and land in a ditch wish they had paid more attention to the guardrails because sometimes it’s really hard to get out of there. And they wish they had brought along their lunch to eat while they wait for help to arrive. Or something like that.
Then it was my turn. I told the Parable of the Windshield Wipers (since it was raining). I said that when it starts raining, the windshield gets more and more drops on it and it gets harder and harder to see your way ahead. But all you have to do is recognize what is happening and make the effort to reach over and turn on the windshield wipers and you can see much better right away. Some people in life seem to just ignore their increasing blindness as drop by drop their vision is obscured and they plow ahead anyway. They know about the existence of the windshield wiper switch but simply don’t make the effort to use it. This could be similar to those who are aware of gospel principles that can give them light and improve their "sight" but choose instead to go blindly forward. An accident waiting to happen.
Finally it was Clarissa’s turn but she stated that she thought that our object lessons were plenty for one evening, or something like that.
Anyway, like most things, all of this was a lot funnier at the time and I can’t remember half of what went on, but it was a great evening anyway. I love my family! SH
We had a fun and interesting evening that perhaps I can recount somewhat here. I know, shocker that I would ever put up a post again...
Doug and I decided that he really needed a haircut, so we got that all set up and I began clipping. The air rang with my fine rendition of the first line of Michael Jackson’s “Beat It!” as I trimmed and did a little (very little…) Moonwalk behind the chair. As I worked my way through a couple of other favorites including “If I Only Had a Brain,” I asked Doug if he had any song requests.
“Do you know any Simon and Garfunkel?” he asked. I paused to think. He continued, “I would like to hear “The Sound of Silence” if you don’t mind.” Oh funny, that was a LOT of funniness. By then I was working on trimming his ear hairs and offered to pluck them instead.
I asked him what he thought I should do the for FHE lesson. “THIS is the lesson,” he said, meaning the haircut. “THAT’S not a lesson,” I retorted, “it’s the game.” “No, he said, “It’s the musical number.” Clearly we were at a stalemate. Or is that a stale mate.
With an artful swish and to the strains of the old “Batman” theme, I removed the haircutting cape and shook it. Looking at the floor I commented that there was enough hair there to make a wig. “Oh, that must be for the ‘Whiskers of Love’ program," Doug declared as he swept the last of it into the dustpan. More funniness.
Then it turned out that Clarissa needed a ride to the single adult FHE, so we piled into the Taurus and headed east. Doug asked if I was going to give the lesson on the way. Clarissa groaned. I pulled through by suggesting that all of us look for object lessons along the way that relate to our life’s experiences.
Doug was the first to be inspired as he told the Parable of the Guardrail. He said it looks a little like an Iron Rod, but isn’t. He said that most people know what it is for and are careful to not get too close because they know it is protecting them from falling into a big ditch or something. And people who plow through the guardrail and land in a ditch wish they had paid more attention to the guardrails because sometimes it’s really hard to get out of there. And they wish they had brought along their lunch to eat while they wait for help to arrive. Or something like that.
Then it was my turn. I told the Parable of the Windshield Wipers (since it was raining). I said that when it starts raining, the windshield gets more and more drops on it and it gets harder and harder to see your way ahead. But all you have to do is recognize what is happening and make the effort to reach over and turn on the windshield wipers and you can see much better right away. Some people in life seem to just ignore their increasing blindness as drop by drop their vision is obscured and they plow ahead anyway. They know about the existence of the windshield wiper switch but simply don’t make the effort to use it. This could be similar to those who are aware of gospel principles that can give them light and improve their "sight" but choose instead to go blindly forward. An accident waiting to happen.
Finally it was Clarissa’s turn but she stated that she thought that our object lessons were plenty for one evening, or something like that.
Anyway, like most things, all of this was a lot funnier at the time and I can’t remember half of what went on, but it was a great evening anyway. I love my family! SH
Saturday, March 28, 2009
Back again this year
The Chicago Tribune's annual Peeps diorama contest.
Keep up with the submissions here:
http://www.chicagotribune.com/features/lifestyle/chi-peeps-2009-ugcpg,0,4270464.ugcphotogallery
Keep up with the submissions here:http://www.chicagotribune.com/features/lifestyle/chi-peeps-2009-ugcpg,0,4270464.ugcphotogallery
Saturday, March 14, 2009
Robert's "Clinic"
They had all sorts of fire equipment at the animal hospital Friday. No major damage, mostly smoke.
Monday, March 9, 2009
Asparagus
News you can use:"Asparagus, a green vegetable belonging to the lily family, has one notorious side effect for some diners who eat enough of it. Within a half-hour of asparagus consumption, some people notice their urine has acquired a very pungent odor, often compared to rotting cabbage, ammonia or rotten eggs. The effects of asparagus on urine are generally fleeting and harmless, but it's not necessarily the consumer's finest hour, bodily excretion-wise.
"The good news is that asparagus does not affect everyone. Studies conducted on the "asparagus urine" phenomenon (aren't you glad you didn't volunteer!) indicate that roughly 40 to 50 percent of those tested developed the distinctive odor. Surprisingly enough, there is also a segment of the population who cannot smell the sulphurous fumes of asparagus-laced urine. It is believed that both the generation of the odoriferous urine and the ability to smell it are based on genetics. Only those with a certain gene can break down the chemicals inside the asparagus into their smelly components, and only those with the proper gene can smell the results of that chemical breakdown."
OK all you relatives, there is a genetic component to this problem...you should know that Dad is in the 40-50% of people that has this symptom (and also can detect the odor).
It was weird. I bought some fresh asparagus Friday and we steamed it and ate it for dinner. Sure enough, within an hour my urine smelled like I had eaten my VISA card. I thought it was diabetes or liver failure. Freaky feeling. I had experienced it before but never made the connection to asparagus.
So, it's no big deal. In fact, it proves that the kidneys are working.
For any microbiologists with the initials REM, here's a paper with all the $3 words that no one can pronounce:
PS- This information in no way explains Joe.
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