NITPICK: Berber carpet... who needs it?? Wickipedia says it was first invented by the Berber tribe in North Africa, using natural fibers (insert picture of beautiful, colorful rug). Today the carpets are more commonly made of nylon, olefin or wool. I don't have a clue what "olefin" is, but if it is a material that, once woven into a rug, is the color of dust, hurts your feet to walk on and is just plain U-G-L-Y... then that is what is in the house here in Vegas. It is difficult to keep clean and sooner or later, we will need to replace it (emphasis on sooner). 'Traffic areas' are beginning to show; and I'm not bothering to go after spots with a bottle of Resolve. I'm keeping an eye on carpet sales in the area... and seriously thinking of inviting all of the grandchildren over for a spaghetti dinner and setting up the kiddie table in the middle of the living room.
TIDBIT: Speaking of carpet, many years ago we bought a house in Texas with 'off white' carpet. That was OK because it was only the two of us. Then, along came John... and along came Ginger... and David was on his way, so by that time we really needed to replace the carpet. So, with trusty Sears card in hand, new carpet was purchased and installed in every room. I was ever s0 protective of it... admonishing the children (yelling at the kids)... "don't walk on that carpet with your shoes on".. don't you dare eat that cracker in the living room"... etc. One day when John was just over 3 years old and Ginger was about 1-1/2, I walked into John's room & he was standing there with a Dixie cup full of water. I said to him (nicely) "you mustn't bring water into your room... you might spill it and ruin your new carpet". He drank it very carefully... I turned and there was Ginger with a Dixie cup of water in her (tiny, shaky) hand. Thinking fast, I said "can Mommy have a drink?" She happily complied, handed me the cup and Mommy drank it all down in one gulp. Then John said "Ginner got hers out of the potty".
TIDBIT: One evening recently, we discovered a baby bird in our front yard. He probably tried to fly too soon and was on the ground in the blazing Las Vegas heat. We filled a bottle cap with water & watched as he drank, and drank, and drank. We then filled it with sugar water and (reluctantly) left him to his fate. After all, we're not exactly a bird sanctuary, and if we had brought him inside, Smokey the cat would have thought we had just expanded the menu. Next morning, the bottle cap was completely empty and the bird was nowhere to be seen. Although I am well aware of the many scenarios which might have happened overnight, I prefer to think that Baby Bird was so filled with strength and energy by our ministrations that he flew away to begin a better life.
BYE BYE, BIRDIE
