Floating Head

In elementary school, my "best cousin" Katie would often come over on Friday and spend the night at my house. One of our favorite things to do was look through the school "yearbooks." We would point out boys we liked, see who had the most pictures in the yearbook, and try and find pictures of ourselves. One night, we noticed a funny trend which we now refer to as "the floating head."

The "floating head" is achieved only when several things come together. First, you generally need a person with pale skin...the paler, the better. Then, for the ultimate outcome, they should probably be wearing a turtleneck. And finally, they must be standing on the top row of the risers in the class picture. When all these things happen to occur simultaneously, it looks like the person's head is not attached to their body, but rather is floating above everyone else.

The other night, Mitch had hopped into bed to get warm while I was going through my usual bedtime routine. When I came to jump in beside him, I started laughing so hard, yelled out "Stay right there!" and grabbed my camera.

This is what I saw:




All these years I had believed that the "floating head" could only occur in black-and-white photos. But now I know, that not only can they occur in color...but in person as well!

Blueberries by the Gallon

This summer we also went blueberry picking with my family. Blueberry picking has been an annual tradition in my family as long as I can remember, so I was very excited to teach Mitch the ways:


Rule #1

Berry-holding device must be hands-free, in order to provide maximum picking capacity and to prevent accidental spillage (the terrain can be a bit rough and require both hands to maneuver).

Snacks are optional, but an excellent way to prevent pickers from
dipping into their berry supply.

Rule #2

If rainy or wet, proper attire must be worn making it possible to reach every berry in sight, whether requiring the picker to sit, slide, or lay prostrate on top of bushes to reach the desired berries.

I found Rebecca laying against these bushes to reach her arm through the tangle to snatch the targeted blueberries...perfectly complying with Rule #2.

Rule #3

Leila will always manage to pick the most berries...no matter how hard you try to keep up. Unless! she happens to be carrying her not-yet-one-year-old daughter. THEN you just might be able to beat her! But only if you are very determined.


Rule #4

You must make a fresh blueberry sour cream pie. As. Soon. As. Possible!