Confession

Okay, okay, I'll admit it. I like the Twilight series. To date, I've read Twilight and New Moon; I expect to get Eclipse and Breaking Dawn in the mail tomorrow, or Monday at the latest. I'm embarrassed to admit that I pre-ordered Stephenie Meyer's fourth and concluding book to the Twilight series (it debuts on August 2), and of course I had to order Eclipse so I could catch up. Thanks to Kris's patient nagging, we read Twilight several months ago for our book group.

Kris: "I'd really like us to read the book Twilight. A girlfriend recommended it and she says it's great."

The rest of us: "What's it about, Kris?"

Kris: "Vampires."

Us: "Ha ha ha. Maybe some other time."

This went on for a couple of months, and finally we gave in to Kris's threats. Er, to her wishes. Kris and Mary are waiting for #4, and I think Deb has #3 to read yet, too. The characters are intriguing and Meyer writes well. Yet, I don't know what compels me to read these books! Readers are in their teens, 20's, and 30's. And then there are four 50-something women who have fun discussing books about "good" vampires who go to high school and resist sucking blood from humans. Did I mention the werewolves?
Oh dear. There's a movie coming out in November...

Flip and bounce

I took a little trip to O-Town today to learn how Miles is faring now that his mommy gets done with work earlier in the day. He seems to be doing fine, other than exhibiting some crazy behaviors. Too much time with Annie, perhaps? Ha ha!

Some videos of a cute kid

These are videos from last weekend of (1) Annie torturing Miles, and (2) Tanner torturing Miles...enjoy!

Another "last"

Here's another "last" to add to the Potts list. Larry/Dad/Paco/Grampa may very well be the last man on earth to become a cell phone user. Beginning later this afternoon after a visit to T-mobile in Mankato, he'll have his very own cell phone number (available upon request).

Thanks to TechnoAngie, I'm upgraded and Larry/Dad is getting started. Angie is a wizard. We met her this morning at a Panera not too far from the infamous Ashley Furniture store outside of Shakopee for some technology training this morning. Here she is, surrounded by cell phones, phone chargers, and SIM cards.
And here's Larry/Dad/Paco/Grampa, practicing talking on his soon-to-be-usable cell phone, courtesy of Angie. Thanks, Angie!

"I've got you on speed dial."

The toes have it

I've been last at many things in my life, most of which don't make a bit of difference. I was the last person in St. Peter to own a microwave oven, for example. And, I was the last adult female of all of my friends, relatives, and acquaintances to get a professional pedicure. Unfortunately, bunions, hammer toes, dry skin, and callouses plagued (and still plague) both sides of my family tree (sorry kids). When I finally got my first pedicure, I thought I'd witnessed a miracle: soft skin, no callouses, polished toenails, and no raggedy edges. What I didn't know at the time is that the miracle needs to be repeated every couple of weeks, or my feet return to their original crustiness. It seems rather self-centered to spend time and money on foot vanity that often, so I don't.

Last Saturday Annie and I went to the nail salon in River Hills Mall for much-needed pedicures and our general amusement. Customers and clients alike provide good entertainment. We were assigned to pedicure chairs right away--no waiting. As I watched the foot tub filling with swirling warm water, I noticed bits and pieces of something spinning around. When I put my feet in the tub, I could feel those bits and pieces on my skin. I don't know what they were, but if you've ever had a pedicure, you've seen the stuff the pedicurist shaves off people's feet. I decided to go into a trance and not think about it.

Annie had a design painted on her big toes by the talented person working on her feet. It turned out great, as you can see in the photo.
After polishing my toenails a pale pink color, my pedicurist asked me if I also wanted a design. Once before I'd had a flower design painted on my toenails. Although I'd asked for a flower on ONE of my big toes only, I was quickly told, "No, no, that not look good," and the pedicurist proceeded to paint both, all the while acting disgusted that I'd made such a crass request. This time I didn't even go there, but did say that I wanted a SMALL swirl or flower; something subtle. The woman nodded, double-checked with a co-worker who spoke English better, and then nodded again.

The first clue that this would not turn out as anticipated was, of course, the foot bath with floaty things in it; the second clue was the fluorescent orange polish the pedicurist opened. By the time she'd covered the two toenails in flowers that nearly flowed over onto my skin, added accent colors and five teeny, glittery jewels on each big toenail, I was back in a trance again. Annie was biting her tongue to keep from laughing. She treated me to the pedicure, perhaps out of pity. That was my last pedicure experience for a while. We're ready for a new microwave, anyway.

PS: To respond to Annie and Teresa, here's the toe-- although the photo makes it look better than in reality. The orange color was truly psychedelic. The left nail was worse. Hard to see all the jewels, but you can see the glitter, which I'd put out of my mind, no doubt when I was in one of those trances.

You be the judge

While browsing through a file of miscellaneous "old" pictures, I came across this one, which I believe was taken in Oberlin, Ohio, shortly before we returned to St. Peter after Dad/Larry/Paco's sabbatical leave, which would make it 1982. Dad will correct me if I'm wrong, you can be sure! Annie, it appears as if Charlie is crossing the line between affection and torture. Elisabeth, are you encouraging your brother by squeezing his arms tighter around Annie? Interesting how a photo can be interpreted so many years later!

New wave length

Miles came over today to show off the new skill he learned by carefully observing his Grandpa Dave. Unfortunately, Miles wouldn't let Cousin Hannah see him wave when we Skyped today. Hannah showed us her ever-improving walking skills, and how she climbs the winding stairs in her house. She's a mountain goat!