Odds & Ends

Some random thoughts on this Wednesday morning afternoon. . . .

1. I realize that I am so spoiled, but tears almost sprang to my eyes when I got my van back yesterday from getting the hail dings repaired. The rental car I had for a week could be used as an example of How Not To Design A Car:

• Making the entire instrument panel light up red at all times makes the driver worry something is wrong with the car. And makes it difficult to see if a true emergency light has come on.
  
• By the same token, placing the "Door Ajar" notice way over on the radio panel doesn't make a lot of sense either. If I'm starting the car, I'm looking at the main panel right in front of me.
  
• Pulling up to get gas only to discover that the tank is on the right side of the car is beyond annoying. I don't remember the last car I had that was like that.
  
• Making the radio change volume with the speed of the car sounds good in theory if the result is keeping it at a relatively steady volume. But getting really loud at higher speeds and lowering to the point I can barely hear it when I stop at a light doesn't do much good.
  
• Bucket seats are fine. But bucket should not mean the sides of the seats slope so much that it's hard to climb over it to get out of the car!

And we wonder why the car industry is in such a mess. . .

2. Kudos to you brave gals who answered the limerick challenge yesterday! It was fun to see what you came up with. I know there's all sorts of creativity lurking out there, even if you don't think so! One sweet blogger enjoyed it so much she sent me a button with a suggestion for a weekly meme to sharpen our skills:


I dunno. I 'm afraid some of you might launch my blog into the Never Read pile! BTW, that gorgeous picture is Limerick, Ireland!

3. For those of you who claim you can't rhyme, here's a handy dandy, super duper website to keep in mind. As my kids have gotten older, I've let them use it some, too, although not in elementary school when they were learning about rhymes and homonyms. (I know; they call them homophones now!) It's Rhymezone, and all you do is type in a word and it gives you every possible word that rhymes with it. It used to take me a while mentally scroll through the alphabet interchanging the first letter(s) on the word, and this makes it a breeze!

4. I have to brag on my girl. When I got opened up my email this morning, this was what I found:
I do not know what to say
About this Limerick day
I had fun at school;
Follies practice was cool
For our show at the end of May!
5. One thing I learned from yesterday's experience: I won't be so quick to start responding to comments with limericks! I was limerick-loony by the end of the day (as opposed to just loony). I could hardly think a sentence without making it metered! I guess it's a good thing I don't get dozens of comments!

6. And in the category "Mom Was Right" don't let your child put a pencil in his mouth. Or at least be sure it isn't well-sharpened. Shiver.

Have a great day!