Best Career In The World

Last night I dropped Christine off at the school for the Thursday performance. She wasn't talking to me. Not even much this morning. 14 is such an interesting year, isn't it? She wanted to stay at the school after hours and then go to the Taco Bell on the corner for dinner for a couple of hours with friends until call time for play set up. We told her we didn't think it was the greatest idea. Big, busy corner. Car wash and gas station all right in the same location. Perfect spot for a quick shove into a car and onto the freeway. I mean, what do you do for 2 hours at a Taco Bell? Maybe next year. As it was, one of the girls (who has cancer), collapsed on the corner and had to be taken to the hospital, leaving the lone other friend by herself.

Anyway--then I hopped on the freeway and went to the dry pack cannery. Our ward had a time slot there and we had signed up to go. Of course, with Duff helping the Utah kids moving, and Mike and Adrianne doing their cub scouts, I couldn't use the carpool lane and it took double the time to get there in the after work/going home traffic. It was fun. NEXT TIME I HAVE TO BRING A CAMERA! Why didn't I think of that before I left. (Oh yeah-- I was dealing with the silent treatment.) All of us in those lovely hair net covers, plastic aprons, blue gloves. They have a really nice setup. We each had our jobs to do and we cranked all that stuff out in a couple of hours. Since I arrived late, I was a gopher. I kept supplying each filling station with empty cans so one of the two partners didn't have to leave to get them. I labeled, added oxygen packets, and got cans to the canner and canning team. I fixed cans that were bent at the rim. What a cool tool they have for that, and since each can is 71 cents, that can add up to a lot.

There is a 36 can limit per person, so since we were down to just me, I divided up my allotment into hard white wheat and sugar. I took home an already packaged case of rice as well and 1 starter kit, which I won't do again. The rice yes, but not the starter kit. I was hoping it was what they had offered a few years ago--a 1 month food storage kit for 1 person. Everything in it has a 20+ year shelf life except for the oil, which would be easy to rotate. We got 5 of those before (that was the limit at the time) and I wanted to add to it. We've used those to send with college kids for emergency prep and now it's nice for the newlywed couples to have. I have hard red wheat already and I want to add the white wheat for a little lighter texture and taste. Sugar might not sound like a healthy food storage necessity, but it is surprising how many recipes call for a bit of sugar, and if I think it would be a nice touch to have a batch of cookies or brownies every once in a while to boost ones spirits in hard times! What if you have berries in your garden and want to make some jam for your whole wheat toast?????

We were hummin' along and then it just had to happen! Lisa and Victoria. That naturally explains it. 'It' being a little food fight! Too hilarious. With the powdered milk no less! This is really when I wished I had my camera. Lisa and Victoria. Like Lucy and Ethel--dear friends always there for each other. And may I add with a flair for humor! It was warm in there and we all had that dewey glow going on, so the milk stuck well. It was just a very few flicks of powder, but enough to provide some comedy. Thanks, gals.

Dave D. loaded up my car for me which I really appreciated. Just didn't want to take any chances with my back right now. Got home with enough time to clean up the kitchen from dinner and get Christine's call to come and get her. She was really tired and ended up falling asleep upstairs on the couch. I couldn't even rouse her to go to her bed, so I tucked the quilt all around her, gave her a kiss (which she won't remember), and went to bed. When all is said and done, I really do love being a mother. Probably the best career in the world.