Christmas Eve Magic....by Sunshine

🎄

 

She says she heard of a story that the animals can talk at the stroke of midnight on Christmas Eve. The animals are able to rejoice at the miracle that happened on that night long ago. Her Grandmother used to tell the story about the hen who talked to the rest of the animals in the barn....

Or...was it is simply Christmas Magic.

Her Grandmother was right you know. We can talk for a moment at the stroke of midnight. But we can talk at other times if our humans care to listen carefully.

She came to us all bundled against the chill and the damp air this night. She opened that gate and stood quietly under the moonlight. 

I walked up.

She pulled her mitten off and reached for my neck. I moved in close and breathed softly on her shoulder and then put my muzzle next to her ear.

"Believe," I whispered, "Believe." She sighed and slowly put her arms around my neck and gave me a long endearing hug.

She may have murmured something into my fur. It sounded like, "I do." 

We stood like that in the silver light for a few minutes. Clouds moved across the sky and the silver light blinked out. I heard her catch her breath and then she stood back.

The spell was broken and I blinked and snorted. 

But she KNEW. She knew. I saw tears of joy in her eye and I know at that moment our souls had touched and we'd always know.

The Animals’ Christmas Eve

In the barn on Christmas Eve, after all the people leave,

The animals in voices low, remember Christmas long ago.

One small hen, upon her nest, softly clucks to all the rest:

“Little chicks, come gather near. A wondrous story you will hear.”

The Animals’ Christmas Eve, a Little Golden Book, by Gale Wiersum and illustrated by Jim Robison.

Just some stuff.

I've been stacking up the miles in hiking without even thinking about it. I do hit the 'walk' button on the smart watch and go on my merry way hiking around here or along groomed trails.

I checked my stats and was really surprised by them. If I hike 27 more miles by the 31st, I will have hiked 1,000 miles in one year.

Well damn. That is a lot of miles! I mean I could have walked the nearly the whole WI Ice Age Trail in this year. I did not hike every day and skipped those hot/humid days and of course many below zero days that had dangerous wind chills.

So that is something interesting.

Cool things found when hiking the other day.

The boulder below is probably a ton or so in weight. It stands about 4 feet tall. According to my geologist friend it is a huge fossil from 470 million years ago. A Stromatolite fossil. You can read about them here at Stromatolites at the UW site. These were algae mounds that grew before multicellular organisms.

In the next dry run ravine over, I found this curious root system holding on to the side of the steep bank. The tree is an old oak which has survived many flash floods in this spot. I just find that the root system is simply amazing.

Nature sure can surprise one.

My Geologist friend came out on Monday to explore a formation I've known about for nearly 30 years.

I'd told him about a 'hole' in the field that was a rock like entrance. He wanted to go see it and maybe go down into it.

Finally Rich and Jason got to meet and it actually went very well. Jason is a chatterbox and will pick up any gaps in a lagging conversation.
They discussed the history of the area, rocks, sinkholes, caves, rock shelters, lay of the land, and whatnot. Jason was inquiring about the land around us and Rich was enjoying the company.

Jason wanted to see the 'hole'. And. He wanted to go down it.

Nope. Not my cup of tea. Hubby had a hound dog go down that hole years ago and spend a long time getting the dog out. The amount of scat around the hole said 'Disgusting Gross Poo' to me. I avoid the hole, it gives me the creeps.

After Jason climbed down in, the dogs and I chilled out in the warm sun.
Charlie was more nervous than Felix and Piper. He really adores our friend, the treat man!

Sleepy Hairy Dogs
Happy in the  Warm Sun

What did my friend find? He found a 40 to 60 foot 'room' with a ceiling of 2-4 feet tall. It was full of wet mud, and bottles that looked like liquor bottles that had been set there. Most of the items were not broken. He commented that there were hundreds of bottles and jars.

To him it seemed that at one point people used to come down and drink in the 'cave' perhaps. I do know that the previous owner had said that they had a ladder to go in and out of the cave when they were quite young.

That was over 70+ years ago.

Since then the hole has had tires, a window, and even barbed wire tossed down into it. Last year, it was covered in a brush pile to mark it so those working the field wouldn't drive into the hole.

The look on his face when he came back up was priceless. He was incredibly happy.

And...the dogs were happy to see him, despite the fact he was covered in mud.

We hiked through the forest so he could see the Grumpy Face Rock and then headed back to the house so we could share with Rich what he'd discovered.

The huge tract of land next door has a fairly interesting history. There was a Speak-Easy on the land during prohibition. It was located in such a way that anyone visiting there had to walk nearly a mile through the woods to visit it.

The original settler that acquired most of the land was a migrant from Norway. He changed his name when he came to the US as he was 'wanted' back home for something. He built a huge farm, purchased a local bride, and had two boys and a girl.  During the Depression, he paid back taxes on farms around him and extended his farm land. 

There are many local stories about the original owner. He was considered ruthless.

When the milk man drove his team of horses there to pick up the milk, he'd bring the owner two large jugs of liquor once a week. It was rumored that the husband and wife were not the 'cleanest' folks around. They allowed chickens and other animals to wander in and out of the house.

The land is now in the hands of the third generation. The farmland is rented out, the forest is leased to some hunters, and starting soon a logging company will be coming in to harvest trees.

What an interesting start to the week.

Piper and I.
Photo by Jason.
She is sitting on top of the huge fossil in that
first photo.

Princess Sara, the Dragon Quest

I'm thoroughly enjoying the process of following my toys and conjuring up a quest for Princess Sara. 

The greatest part is the absence of rules, allowing me to invent as I proceed. Do you recall the freedom of play as a child? We would take our toys and spontaneously craft stories without needing a structured plot.

I remember the trolls my sister and I cherished in our youth. We'd bring them outdoors, where they might be found constructing sandcastles one day or aboard my grandmother's boat the next, leaping from one escapade to another without a final destination.

The narratives didn't need to be logical; we were immersed in the play of the moment.

Adults always want a definitive beginning and a logical outline for a story. But the child's play is more inventive and creative with no bounds.

I find this holds true for Princess Sara's Quest. The Quest can veer in any direction, entwining countless subplots. I certainly didn't intend for it to be that way. But I follow where inspiration and imagination takes me without constraints.

The concept is to not dwell on the little details, but to relish the journey.

Below, the Rock Monsters have absconded with the Magical Dragon Egg and are concealing it.

Emerald, the Forest Dragon, confers with a clan member, stressing the imperative to retrieve the Dragon Egg at all costs. The egg is believed to contain a dragon destined to bring peace to their kind and ensure their survival. However, not all clan members are persuaded.

Emerald is aware of the Rock Monsters' formidable magic and their merciless leader. Rumors suggest that the Little People hold the key to vanquishing the Rock Monsters.

Yet, trust in the Little People is scarce among Dragons, who have been hunted by them for ages.

Despite this, Emerald is certain of the legend's authenticity and thus seeks counsel from the wise ancient Dragon sage, Sago. [LOL, think Yoda??]

Sago summons the Wise Old Frog.

Together they will find the Little People and speak to them.

And so the Quest goes....

why not?

The magic of a child...

This was originally published in 2008. 

I was curious as to when exactly I started messing around with Toy Photography. This may have been the first time I picked up my Point and Shoot camera to take my dog's toys and create a story for my Grandchildren.

It eventually morphed into 5 books that I wrote and photographed for the kids. When Morris died I  put his story away and looked for other things.

If there is a toy....it can have a story in it.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

My father always impressed upon me the fact that having an imagination was a very important thing...he said, *Don't ever lose your imagination.*
Of course at the time I had no idea what he was talking about. I was a kid, of course I had an imagination.
Probably one that was a bit large anyway.

I recall laying in bed at night and wondering what my collection of stuffed animals did during the day while I was at school.
Of course any adult in their right minds would tell you that stuffed animals didn't do anything, after all they were stuffed right?
Well not in my imagination.
Stuffed animals could talk, walk, and have adventures.
I mean I knew that for a fact because sometimes I'd come home from school and go change into my 'everyday' clothes and notice that the six foot long orange snake on my bed wasn't in the exact place I'd left it.
Kanga and Roo were a bit lopsided.
I swear Winnie the Pooh had a smirk on his face.
My sister's stuffed horse looked wind blown, as if it had been running.
Sure, I knew it.
Stuffed animals led an adventurous life while I was at school or sleeping.
I tried often to pretend to be asleep and catch them in the act.
No such luck.

So then I began to *imagine* what they were doing while I was unaware. That was fun. The animals [stuffed] could go on grand adventures and never leave my bedroom. And I could go with them.

Now I am a grown up.
When my husband caught me outside with a camera and my dog's stuffed animals, he raised a brow.
I said, *Gosh, wouldn't it be such fun to create some books with a story for our grandkids?*
He guessed so.
I held the stuffed animals and tried to explain how they could go on 'farm adventures' and that I could write about it and make it into a little story book the grandkids could relate to~~~ using things they were familiar with to make it fun.
He guessed so.

So I put a photo-story book together and read it out loud to him.
He gave me a huge smile and said the grandkids would love it.

See, I'm not so crazy after all.

I recall one more thing Dad told me about writing and his characters he used. He said sometimes they took on a life of their own. Yeah, I see that.
Crazy Squirrel and Happy HedgeHog take on a life of their own while I'm writing about them.
Sometimes their story takes an unexpected turn when I'm not expecting it.

I guess that is the Magic. I still have the magic of a child, an imagination.
Or maybe I'm just crazy.

Joe finds...

 We are back with Joe. Do you recall Joe?

I started telling his story earlier this year: Joe

~~~~~~~

He heard about some metal relics in a ditch so he thought he'd go check that out. He may find some useful shelter. The ditch did indeed have a relic. So perhaps the fables and legends about Humans were true after all?

Joe climbs onto the relic and begins to look around when something taps his leg.

It then sits quietly and stares up at Joe.

What the?

Joe reaches down and feels an instant connection. Something in his body suddenly feels quite warm. He isn't sure what it is.

He starts to walk back towards the forest and....

well....

Hmmm.

He feels more warmth in his body. It seems to spread as the little...um, dog seems to be following him.
Maybe this world won't be so bad after all? This warmth under his coat isn't just from his coat.
He isn't sure what it is, however it feels pretty good.

Joe and Dog wake up to the world turning white and snow falling down. Joe grabs his pack and thinks perhaps he and Dog need some better shelter.

Dog walks up and drops a stick.

Joe stares at it.

Dog hops up and down.

Joe picks up the stick. He heads to the woods.

He sighs as Dog brings him more and more sticks.

Dog seems to make his lonely life more bearable. Dog seems to know what he wants without him having to say a word.

Is this what caused the  warmth under his skin? This odd feeling he has never had before?

~~~~~~~ 
I was going to work more on this but have kept putting it off with the snowstorms and extreme cold weather.

I had an inkling that Joe and Dog were on the track to become great friends. I bet they've holed up right now and are keeping warm someplace....

More Joe and Dog adventures coming along soon enough....

Rudolph and Christmas Eve

Rudolph: Well, the deer said I should go into the dark woods and look for magic mushrooms. 

These look pretty magical, do I eat them 
all?

Whoops....
 

The Reindeer King:  Awaken Rudolph! You have been transformed 

and can now do your duty on 

Santa's Sleigh!

Rudolph: Wait, wow! What? Hey look at my big red glowing nose! It worked! It worked

                 But I feel like I am in a dream!

The Reindeer King: No dream, but you didn't have to have so many mushrooms.

Rudolph: Wow, I feel magnificent. I can see things too. Wow Dude!

King: It's Christmas eve my son. Time to get back to Santa and the other Reindeer. So many have
been searching for you.
Go now!
No time to lose!

Lego Land Fun

Ol' Rich in his Champion car drives through
Lego Main Street

to announce its opening!
Of course chicken goes

everywhere with Ol' Rich!

 The Band plays music before the parade comes along....

Meanwhile at Santa's house.....

Santa: My dear, could you give me a quick hair trim before the parade and opening of Main Street?

Mrs. C: Oh yes of course I can. Just let me finish my wine first!

Well....

Santa:  Woman, #!@@#$%&##@ what have you done!

Mrs C; [sipping the last of her wine] Oh honey, don't worry, it's a great look! Besides, you wear a hat!

They start getting ready for the parade. Santa decides to take the Big Red Truck as he doesn't want anyone to know yet that Rudolph is still missing.

Batman is on the loose looking for the Rudolph who he thinks has gone over to the

Dark Side.

Perhaps a snowmobile wasn't the best idea since the snow in the area was really melting fast....

Ufff Wham Bam Pow!

[I can't repeat what he really said...]

Meanwhile back at Main Street, the parade goes on. 

Where is Rudolph? It appears he has gone on a quest or some such thing....

More on Rudolph soon......

~~~~~

Wow, I cannot believe that we have no snow and rain is predicted for this weekend. Looks like an non white Christmas is coming!

More wooden model fun

Well, I had so much fun with the mannequin, I thought I'd sit down and try to think up another scenario or two. I had more phone calls to wait on. 

My cell phone does work, it doesn't get voice service inside the north portion of the house and rarely gets any service in the kitchen. It does receive texts and all the other good stuff. Just no voice service most of the time inside the house. We attribute that to living with hills surrounding our place and the steel roof.

I really had to work at thinking of things. I tried making paper flowers that would be tiny enough for the mannequin to hold. Boy was that ever a failure. Meanwhile, apparently little wooden dog got hungry and mannequin fed him.

I tried to get the mannequin in a nice sitting position, but it kept falling over. I wanted the tiny dog in his lap. That didn't work. Then I tried making a blanket and a pillow. 

That worked but I didn't like how the shot turned out. The color of the material I used took away from the feel I was trying to get.

I went to all white and tried this.

Bad dog. What happens when you let wooden fido get the mail!

I tried several positions and the light from the back door kept changing.

This was much harder than it looks! Light, shadows, and no distractions to take away from the subject matter. 
But it was a great mind exercise.

Girry's Adventures begin...

I stopped tumbling around and suddenly it was terribly quiet. I could just barely see out the little air hole in the box. All movement had stopped and I was in a plastic bag of some sort, swinging from a mailbox door.

I wondered what would happen next. I had been told that I was being sent to somewhere where I would be loved. I was a bit curious. The night sounds came to me as dusk settled in. Something  walked past me and I heard a snuffling sound. Off in the distance coyotes called.

I wasn’t afraid. I would be loved and I felt safe inside the box even if it was scary outside the box.

Slowly the night turned into the morning. Just after the sun rose I heard footsteps and the jingle of a little bell. I heard a human exclaim something and then the plastic bag was pulled off.

The box was quickly opened as the voice outside the box read the following:

If you can read this,

then you are under the box

or the box is upside down

and the bear inside is

getting a headache.

I heard laughter that sounded very pleasant as the box was opened. “Oh hello there!” the voice said as I was pulled from the box and set on the ground.

The human person scooped me up and we headed towards the forest.

She set me down and stepped back to look at me.

“Well, well,” she said, “Aren’t you a surprise! And you are not a Bear!”

Behind me a huge black dog approached. I froze in place. I mean what could I do? Was the dog going to rip me apart?

The dog spoke. “Hey, I’m Charlie, who are you?”

“I am Girry. Are you the one that is going to love me?”

Charlie winked and said, “Oh heck no! I chew up toys like you!” He looked towards the human and nodded.
“I think She is the one that will love you.”

I looked up at the human with interest. 

“But She is a grown woman!”

Charlie wagged his tail and replied, “Oh that. Well, you will get used to her. At least you will have a lot of friends. And, she will keep me from chewing you to bits and pieces.”

Should I be afraid or happy? I didn’t know. As She picked me up and stuffed me back inside the box I was curious. What had I gotten into?

A dog that would chew me to bits, a human that wasn't a child, and a huge foresty type place that looked amazing and very wild.

Note: I had a very long dry spell after the Morris Stories. When I opened this box and saw this Giraffe from Vermont Teddy Bear Company, I was sideswiped by a story idea in my head. We will see if it pans out or not.

Anyone who knows me well also knows that I love the act of imaginative playing along with combining a story line.

Who knows where this will lead?

Here is Charlie supervising my play time:

I Got This Deal!

Many years ago I worked in an office and often I would be working on files when an old fella would walk in with his son who was in High School.

Sev couldn't read or write, he was one of those old timers that grew up on a farm and probably left school to stay and work on the family farm. I was a captive audience when he came in as I was stuck behind a desk and had to stay there and answer the phone for the Chiropractor I worked for.

Sev rarely washed up either. He'd lost all of his teeth at some point in his life. He'd bring in his son Sy and they'd sit and wait for doc to have an opening. They usually smelled of oil, gas, and diesel with a faint under odor of sweat. The lines in the father's hands were always dark from grime or grease I think.
However, he was a rather pleasant fellow and had some of the most unbelievable stories ever.
These stories were not made up.

"I got me a good deal," he told me one day when he and Sy came in.
"Oh yeah? What's that?" I kept typing and would glance up at him as he leaned on the counter.
"Well the landlord was gonna sell our farm we was rentin'. We only rent the house yah see, he got the land. But the well it's bad and it don't pass. Says it has oil in it." Sev paused and smiled his toothless smile.
"So there ain't no workin' septic neither."

I stopped typing and listened, giving him my full attention.
"Oh?" I asked.

"Yep so the landlord he asks if me and The Boy want the place for our own! And I tell him sure! But I can't afford no mortgage and bank payments as...we are on ..." Sev waved a hand in the air ... "You know government help."

I wait.

"So the landlord he says he'll sell me the place with the acre on it if I pay him in payments I can afford."
Sev stood back and put his hands in his pockets. "So I am buyin' the place for a thousand dollars in payments. And that's a good deal!"

"What do you do for water then if the well is bad?" I asked.

"Oh we just use it to flush the toilet. I'm using the cistern when it gets water in it for things like dishes when it rains. The septic just leaks out on the corner down by the junk pile where we have cars for parts."  Sev smiled with his toothless grin. "Once in a while we git enough water in the cistern for Sy's half brother to come up with the kids and they get a bath!"

Sev's wife had passed away a few years ago. So it was just him and his son Sy. His wife's son from a previous marriage The Half Brother, had moved a trailer onto their land with extension cords to the bigger house that had electricity.

Sev was tickled pink that he was now going to become a home owner. I mulled the situation over a bit and didn't want to burst his bubble. He'd own a condemned well and septic. No doubt that the house should be condemned also.

He and his son were so happy to finally 'own' their own place.

I actually drove by the place that year. There it was a dilapidated house with a trailer parked down the hill from it. Dead vehicles of the same make and general model were in parts here and there. Neat piles of stacked wood were near the house. Some windows were covered with plastic, some with boards.
There were kids toys spread out around the yard and a broken 4 wheeler.

Last year I went down the same road. The house is gone as are the vehicles. Looks like a bulldozer came through and rearranged the land so it could become part of a crop field.

So I wonder what ever happened to Sev and his son Sy.
I don't think Sev ever thought he was really poor. He'd grown up dirt poor and his family had their farm taken by the Government in the 1960's. Sev said taken the Government says purchased. This was for the La Farge Dam Project that never happened.  Well, the project was stopped in 1975.

The area is now known as the Kickapoo Valley Reserve. I'm grateful to be able to use this land but never forget the history and heartache behind it.

As I will never forget Sev and his wild and crazy stories.

More UnTree

What on earth are YOU talking about? NO one does Christmas without a Christmas tree right?

Well I'm sure there are folks who do!

I'm just looking for something different and fun.

I don't know exactly where to start, so I'll just start with what caught my eye as I was twiddling my thumbs.

Last year I took some time to wander around the Walmart clearance section. I saw a lot of Teddy Bears lined up on shelves. One had only one eye.

It wasn't something I was looking for. But I drove home with my list filled up and the thought of that Pink One Eyed Teddy Bear kept coming back to me.

I have no idea why.
I needed to pick something up the next day. Most of the Bears were gone. The one eyed bear was pushed to the side. I was so relieved for some reason and stuck it in my basket. At the check out one of the lady's pointed out that this Teddy was defective, did I really want it?
I smiled and said that I was positive I wanted just as it was.

Welcome Pink Teddy with one eye in one of my crates. She has gold ribbons, beads, and a very festive and vintage handkerchief around her neck. She looks happy. The kerchief is actually one of my Grandmother Pearl's fancy handkerchiefs.  I put this together and sat back. Grandma's 'kerchief' and the Teddy Bear no one wanted. Beautiful. I knew this Bear had some sort of purpose!

The next box has some of my 'toys' that I like to take on hikes. I know, but it is fun to find odd places to put Teddy Bears and other toys.

These were Thrift Shop toys. Toys from the back room that had fallen between other toy piles.
I had picked them up and held on to them for a long time. They appealed to me in a way so I brought them home.

Oh look. 3 little bears! And then there is Rabbit and Bear! I bet you are wondering how I got those two beany bears to stand. Hah. Not telling my secrets.

Another item under construction. These are... twig trees with little red light up ornaments. They are not super bright. I used floral foam blocks inside the old sewing drawer to stick them in and then a bag of glass marble like fillers to hold it all in place. The checker board is topping a crate. It was an old handpainted checkerboard piece that hung in my MIL's apartment.

Hopefully this isn't boring anyone.

Here is a look at the whole 'display'...which has already been changed up a bit since I took the photo yesterday.

Note the Gnome with the Skunk Hat! A wonderful young lady who is the DIL of my MIL's sister...okay yeah...that was an odd way of describing her....

...she makes these! She calls them Nisse.
Pretty neat right?

Stay tuned. More to come from the boxes and then I move on to some other fun items.
A story behind most every one with a beautiful memory.

Don't look it up!

But we can't help it can we?
Google your symptoms and you will know what is wrong with you.

Ugh.
Well.

True story.

Many years ago my [then] father in law proudly handed me a book and told me that it 'told' him what was wrong with him so he could tell his doctor.

Think of it as pre Google or pre WebMD.
You could look up your symptoms and the book would tell you what could be wrong with you.
It was a perfect book for Hypochondriacs.

At the time I was having some pain and cramps and was a bit under the weather. I reached over our coffee cups and paged through the symptoms.
My father in law eagerly watched as I studied the book.

What did you find? He asked me.

I looked up at him and deadpanned:
I'm either going to give birth or I am going to have my period.

He snatched the book away from me and wouldn't let me look at it anymore.

Him and Me: A Dialogue for Crazy

So when the 'new' basement was put in, I moved some things down there to store them.

I quickly realized that the basement was going to need a dehumidifier. On warm days moisture would show up enough to make those items I stored for the duration of construction smell musty.

Me: "Honey,we are going to need a dehumidifier down here."

Him: "No, let's just see how things work out after they insulate."

So a month passed. On days that got warm the concrete floor would dampen in certain areas. The plastic milk crate of items I'd stored on the floor under the steps that contained items such as Murphy's Oil Soap and other cleaners all had moisture on them.

Me: "Look honey, we need a dehumidifier!"
Him: "It just needs to get used to the temperature, then it will be fine."

I brought up some items I'd stored. Potholders. They had mildew on them. 
I took them over to the trash can and said:

"Honey, I THINK we need a dehumidifier in the basement!"

Him: "Oh just wash them up and they will be fine."

I dumped them in the trash.

Then came some extremely humid and hot days. The humidity outside went up into the 80's and maybe 90%.

Oh you guessed it.

Me: "Honey. We. Need. To. Dehumidify the basement or what we have down there will be ruined. Ruint!"

Him: "We looked at dehumidifiers while we were at Menards and they are expensive!"

Me [smacking forehead]: "Yes they may cost a bit of money but I guess it is cheaper to use a dehumidifier than to replace everything I plan on putting in the basement. Or have stored already in the basement."

Him [going down the basement stairs to stare at the damp floor]: "I dunno."

Me: "I do. I'll pick one up today."

Fast forward. 
We take the new dehumidifier down the stairs and he opens the box.
Him: "Looks kinda small."
Me: "Want me to return it and buy the really expensive one?"
Him: "No."

He struggles to put the caster wheels on and then mutters some curses. I walk over to the box and take out the instructions and read them to him.

Him: "Go get my glasses."
I return with his glasses and he peers at the casters and then snaps them in place.
I refrain from saying. "Perhaps you should use your glasses more often!"

He plugs it in. The digital read out blips and then goes dark.
A bit of cursing.

I point to the Power Button.
He pushes it.
It turns on and the read out says 76.

Him: "What does that mean?"
Me [I read from the manual]: "The digital read out tells you the current humidity in the room. You can use a timer, a delayed timer, or if you wish you can leave it run with a hose attached so you will not have to empty the tray."

Him: "Timer what? I don't want it timed!"

I think calmly about ripping out my hair. Instead I reach for the broom nearby and sweep up some sawdust that the contractors left behind.

Me: "Hmmm, looks too damp yet to sweep up."

Him: "But I don't want it to run on a Timer, how much time is it on?"
Me: "There is the Timer Button, is it off or on?"
Him: "I don't know, where are my glasses?"

Me: "In your pocket. And..." [I hand him the manual] "here are the instructions."

I leave him to stare at the Mystical New Machine that we now have in our little basement addition.
It hums quietly and sucks mildewy moisture out of the room.
It befuddles my husband who stands for about 20 more minutes watching it.

I'm not sure what he expected it to do.
Run off?
Spew water?
Make Magical Unicorn Dust?

As I get to the top of the new stairs the urge is just too much.
I flip off the lights.

Him: "Hey!"
Me: "Oh. Sorry!"
I flip the lights back on and walk into the kitchen with a big smirk on my face.