Monday Stuff on the Way to Other Stuff: Thank you, Grand Forks!

Came home late last night, in the middle of a messy fat-snowflake storm, to a dark house and ecstatic dogs. I was so tired I forgot my keys in the door, but a hot bath and the first deep sleep in weeks helped a lot. It's lonesome around here...the Brick is still in Michigan at a transportation conference.

    Note to self: when you buy a new car, make sure you know what it looks like in the dark. The Brick left the car in the long-term lot, and I was supposed to pick it up. Late at night, dead tired, and with sloppy rain coming down. The Brick said 'LL3.' I got to 'L3,' and sure enough, there was a gray Subaru Outback in the line... but the keys didn't work. Over and over I tried, with the rain dripping down -- nothing. 
     A very nice man stopped, about the time I got the Brick on the phone, and drove me over to the real 'LL3'...where (miracle of all miracles!) the keys actually worked. (Thank you so much, Kind Stranger. May the 'deers' stay away from your lawn for all time.)
    I was just glad L3's Outback owner didn't stop by while I was trying to break into his/her car.

    North Dakota was wonderful. Some of the friendliest, kindest people live in that place of wide-open spaces. I had a great time! (Thank you, North Star Quilters Guild.) Met Mary Fons, the other speaker, Saturday night. She's the guiding force behind QUILTY magazine, one of the co-hosts for Love of Quilting...and an intriguing person in herself. We had an interesting conversation about books and parents and growing up in the business. 
     Mary writes a thoughtful blog on quilts and plenty of other stuff -- take a look at her revery on spiced nuts-- and North Dakota.  
    Oh...and Mary? I thought I was smelling cinnamon rolls....

     Time to go out and check on the chickies' latest productions. (They're averaging 9 eggs or so a day.) Meanwhile:

'Foolproof' Numbers: Can You Trust Them? Another Midlife Finance post from yours truly.

Malcolm Gladwell, on underdogs.  I've been a big fan of this guy's writing, ever since The Tipping Point. 

A 72-year-old hunter from California gets lost for 19 days...and lives. Amazing. Speaking of that:

Five celebrities who say they've seen a (or several) UFO(s). 

Ways to save money while you're traveling for business.   

This is a great tutorial -- learn, step by step, how to make tight jeans just a bit looser around the waistband...with little effort. Thanks much, Cotton and Curls.  (Not that none of us reading this ever would need it. Ahem.)

Spooky Eyes in the Bushes...with just a couple of glowsticks and toilet paper tubes! From Frugal Upstate...creepy, huh?

More clever Halloween costumes, done the frugal way.  (These got mentioned earlier...)

Nine people who were finally found dead...some literally decades after it happened!

Spider cupcakes...a little creepy, but easy to make. (They're calling them 'adorable.' I'm not sure I'd go that far -- but they are interesting-looking. Or if you really want to freak someone out, make 'witch finger' cookies!

Nine cursed treasures. Or so they say.

Nine hidden treasures which were found in recent years.


No target's too big or too small, where fraudsters are concerned. (From Get Rich Slowly)

 Bully a gorilla, and guess what you get...

Serves them right, the little brats. Where were the teacher and chaperones? (Filmed at the Dallas Zoo, by the way.)


Have a great week...and if you live in colder areas, get lots of stuff done. Winter's coming!