Dear Heloise: I was making some pie dough that called for ice water, and I didn’t have any. I thought of a great hint.

I took several ice cubes from the freezer, put them into my measuring cup and used my blow-dryer to melt them. It was instant ice-cold water. — Suzy, via e-mail

Tuck that one away.  And then there’s this letter to the editor, entitled Use some common sense regarding energy:

I would like to offer some commonsense solutions to our energy crisis.

I have always thought it was stupid to have to sit at a red light when there are no other cars for miles. A red light could be treated as a stop sign.

There should also be a stop put to the sporting events and other functions that cause people to drive. I am sure Redskins owner Dan Snyder and others like him couldn’t care less about what is spent on gas.

I also think that if an ambulance is required, there should not be a huge firetruck sent. They say that is in case the rescue personnel need help in picking up the person. I think it would be better to send a pickup with extra personnel to help pick up someone who is sick or injured.

There should be no half-day school sessions.

I think it is also a shame to see all the downed trees in the parks and on private land that could be cut up and used for firewood instead of lying there rotting.

The lights on the sports fields in the area should not be used, and stores should cut the lights out in some areas.

Though it’s great that Cal Ripken and others want to teach kids sports, someone had better teach them how to survive, as times are going to get worse.

Leo
Spotsylvania

And you were worried about the future of our country.

At first I assumed this must have something to do with the person who had the number before me. But this weekend one of the callers offered a very helpful explanation. After calling for the third time, he said (in English) that he was trying to call Columbia. I looked up the international dialing code for Columbia, and sure enough, the first 2 numbers of my area code are the international dialing code for Columbia.

If only I knew Spanish, surely there’s some fun to be had here …

1. drink the remainder of the milk after your first bowl, starting with fresh milk for the second bowl, or,

2. be sure you have the Cheerios in your first bowl.

If you’re going to have the sugary cereal first, not even cleansing your palate between bowls (with a Pop Tart, or swig of coffee or something) will help if you don’t allow the Cheerios their fair chance at providing breakfast happiness with a fresh bowl of milk. I should have known better; leason learned.

I always thought parents required eating the “healthy” cereal first to ensure their kids didn’t fill up on the “candy” cereals. I’m now rethinking that, and wondering if the parents knew the kids would never drink the milk between bowls, and therefore merely wanted to protect their kids from the perils that await those who don’t start Cheerios with a fresh bowl.

At my new place of employment it seems the Brian theme is continuing. There are at least 5 Brians in my immediate area. I don’t have a good grasp of where that lies percentage-wise.

When being introduced to people, the response is generally a comment about “not another Brian,” or the fact that I am part of the ever-growing Michigan contingent. I wear both labels proudly.

Thought #1: I’ve often dreamed of owning a house and paying someone to do all the yard work. Life would be so carefree without having the lawn mowing hanging over your head all week. Well, I realized today I’ve achieved that dream, and it’s nothing like I anticipated. We still own our house in G.R. and get to pay someone to do all the yard work. The problem is we’re not there to enjoy it. Hmmm. Did I mention we’re trying to sell our house?

Thought #2: I’ve heard it said you know you have a good grasp of a foreign language when you start dreaming in that language. A year of German at Calvin was enough to convince me that something like that’s possible. I don’t always remember my dreams, but this morning I woke up remembering dreaming in Perl and PHP. I’m not sure what that means, other than the weekend came just in time.

Thought #3: Rachel and I both have a green thumb gene somewhere in our families (e.g., her Dekker grandparents, my Grandma Vugteveen). However, we’re fairly certain that gene skipped over us. We have a very difficult time keeping any plants alive, let alone anything one might consider a garden. Rhubarb seems to be something that grows in spite of us, and for that we’re thankful. We have some rhubarb we transplanted from my Grandma Vugteveen that has now moved with us three times, and it keeps on growing. I tell you all that only to share that Rachel was able to find enough time to bake a rhubarb pie this week. Delicious.

Thought #4: I enjoy the season of fall. I’m pleased that Virginia has this season, too. The trees (and there are a ton of them around here) have been turning colors very gradually over the last several weeks. This is a picture in the neighborhood where we’re currently living. I also enjoy pumpkin-flavored things, such as a Pumpkin Spice Latte at Starbucks. Mmmm. Speaking of pumpkins, Lori (my sister-in-law) carved up this jack-o-lantern in about 2 minutes. (She’s good at art stuff.)

What a waste. And yet, I didn’t dare try to scrape any of it off for reuse. I hope this isn’t a sign of how the rest of the day will go. Then again, it didn’t land on my shirt or pants, and for that I’m grateful. I’ll take it as a sign that today’s going to be just great.

Here ends my longest post thus far with no real substance.