Fungus Among Us Friday

Walter gave me a call this morning he was heading out to Ladysmith to work. His crew was heading out to do a topo (topographical mapping). I hope that they are able to get this done without getting their feet too wet. He then said that he is going to drop by this evening to visit for a short while before heading out to the first high school game of the season. He is such a supporter of his alma mater.


Alice sent me these two three-panel cartoon that she drew entitled The SMS Kid. It is a humorous look at what goes on with their youngest. It may become a regular fixture here.

I started off the morning by taking Sean and his friend Andy to school. When I arrived back home I noticed several types of fungus/mushrooms in the yard and that sort of set off a chain reaction of events. I went out and photographed 16 different mushrooms in our yard; and then just for good measure I went out to Mom & Dad's and photographed about 28 different mushrooms or types of fungus. Alice said that I was a "Friend of Fungus" today.

Here are the photos in single sheet formats. Click on them to enlarge. If you should want to see any particular one in its full-size glory, just let me know.

Sean had a big afternoon out on the deck with several of the guys from the neighborhood. They played Apples to Apples, you could tell by all the laughter coming from outside that they were having a great time.

Walter came by this afternoon on his way to the Manchester vs. Thomas Dale football game. We had a really nice visit. As he was leaving it has begun to sprinkle some, perhaps it will hold off on really raining until after the game.

Sean has skated off to Skate-Away for the evening, leaving Dean & I home to find something good here to watch on television. He'll have a long evening and be ready to fall into bed when he gets home later tonight.

Thoughts for the Day:

• Be kinder than necessary, for everyone you meet is fighting some kind of battle.
• Live simply. Love generously. Care deeply. Speak kindly.......

From the Email:

Attitude Is Everything

There once was a woman who woke up one morning, looked in the mirror, and noticed she had only three hairs on her head. "Well," she said, "I think I'll braid my hair today." So she did and had a wonderful day.

The next day she woke up, looked in the mirror and saw that she had only two hairs on her head. "H-m-m," she said, "I think I'll part my hair down the middle today." So she did and she had a wonderful day.

The next day woke up, looked in the mirror and noticed that she had only one hair on her head. "Well," she said, "Today I'm going to wear my hair in a pony tail." So she did and she had a fun, fun day.

The next day she woke up, looked in the mirror and noticed that there wasn't a single hair on her head. "YEAH!" she exclaimed, "I don't have to fix my hair today!" Attitude is everything.

The "Forwarder's" 12-Step Program

Sometimes friends have to tell you things you might not like to hear, but need to. If you are one of those people who like to forward every e-mail you get, please repeat the following ...

1. I will NOT get bad luck, lose my friends, or lose my mailing lists if I DON'T forward an e-mail!
2. I will NOT hear any music or see a taco dog, if I do forward an e-mail.
3. Bill Gates is NOT going to send me money. Victoria Secret doesn't know anything about a gift certificate they're supposed to send me.
4. Ford will NOT give me a 50% discount even if I forward my e-mail to more than 50 people!
5. I will NEVER receive gift certificates, coupons, or freebies from Coca Cola, Cracker Barrel, Old Navy, or anyone else if I send an e-mail to 10 people.
6. I will NEVER see a pop-up window if I forward an e-mail! (If you do, you have a virus or Trojan.)
7. There is NO SUCH THING as an e-mail tracking program and I am not STUPID enough to think that someone will send me $100 for forwarding an e-mail to 10 or more people!
8. There is NO kid with cancer through the Make-a-Wish program in England collecting anything! He did when he was 7 years old. He is now cancer free and 35 years old and DOESN'T WANT ANY MORE POST CARDS, or GET-WELL CARDS!
9. The government does not have a bill in Congress called 901B (or whatever they named it this week) that, if passed, will enable them to charge us 5 cents for every e-mail we send.
10. There will be NO cool dancing, singing, waving, colorful flowers, characters, or program that I will receive immediately after I forward an e-mail. NONE, ZIP, ZERO, NADA!!
11. The American Red Cross will NOT donate 50 cents to certain individuals dying of some never-heard-of disease for every e-mail address I send this to. The American Red Cross RECEIVES donations.
12. And finally, I WILL NOT let others guilt me into forwarding at email by telling me if I don't I am not their friend or that I'm a bad person.

Now, repeat this to yourself until you have it memorized, and send it along to at least 5 of your friends before the next full moon or you will gain twenty pounds in the next three months! (No, not really! If you believe that last statement, go back and read this message again!)

Newsletter Gleanings:

Sad News About Beer

You have to hope that this study is flawed, but the evidence seems irrefutable. Yesterday scientists for Health Canada suggested that, considering the results of a recent analysis that revealed the presence of female hormones in beer, men should take a long hard look at their beer consumption. The theory is that drinking beer makes men turn into women.

To test the theory, 100 men were fed 6 pints of beer each within a one hour period. It was then observed that 100% of the men gained weight, talked excessively without making sense, became overly emotional, couldn't drive, failed to think rationally, argued over nothing, had to sit down while urinating, couldn't perform sexually, and refused to apologize when wrong.

No further testing is planned.