Sparky Opens Up a Can of Worms

Or in this case, a storage shed that hasn't been looked at in two years....Sparky decided to go take a look while Eldy was playing golf with his son....YIKES!

Problem---our stuff was so loaded all the way to the ceiling that over time, the weight gradually shifted towards the front of the shed, with stuff sliding forward, jamming the door so you couldn't open it more than one third of the way. So Sparky gradually removed stuff from the BOTTOM, which caused some stuff at the top to fall to the bottom, which caused a ceramic bird feeder to break, and some storage drawers full of beads to break loose and crash all over the place....YIKES!

Three carloads later, schlepping boxes to Goodwill, there was scarcely a dent in the contents of the storage shed. But we'll have at it another day.....Surprising to see how much STUFF there is, and how much Sparky has missed it. (But if you asked her what was in there, she'd wouldn't have been able to tell you other than a lot of craft STUFF! says E.) Some great stuff for the house, though...a couple of pretty mirrors that my mom had, a couple of small pieces of furniture, and some patio furniture that has been missed... A two seater glider, that Sparky and Eldy used to sit on when they were first getting to know each other, when they were "a courtin'. " We gotta get THAT down to the Florida house, but it won't be till October....This time around we just decided to pare down as much as possible to have to be able to rent a smaller truck to take the rest of it down when we come back to get it later, a good excuse to come back and see family once again.  :-) We still have a storage shed in Florida that we temporarily stored stuff in, so there's THAT storage locker to move into the house, too! Holy cow! Where in the world is all this stuff going to go with no basement!?   It's gonna be a challenge...("THROW IT OUT, THROW IT OUT, THROW IT OUT!" E. is chanting.) Don't think so......

A special day today....It's Sparky's 63rd birthday! Time to celebrate with a really great friend, whose name happens to be Jeannie also...This is Jeannie G., on the right, Sparky's friend of over 33 years....

Jeannie met us for dinner at Hanayori of Japan, Sparky's absolute favorite place to celebrate birthdays over the years--MANY years, like over 25. It's a Japanese restaurant in Mishawaka, IN, on Grape Road, where they cook at your table, crack corny jokes and feed you sinfully delicious shrimp with egg yolk sauce.

The egg yolk sauce is simply vegetable oil, and egg yolks and garlic. Sparky tried to make it at home years ago, but it was a disaster, which is probably a good thing. Besides, they sprinkle some kind of oil or alcohol over it which they then light it on fire, cover it and let it simmer a bit. Sparky has decided only the chefs at Hanayori know how to do it right, so she never tried again. Her heart thanks her for that. :-)

That's got to be a heart attack on a plate, but Sparky doesn't eat that very often....About every two years for a special occasion, is not too bad for you....You get LOTS of fried rice with veggies, and a meat of your choice cooked how you like it, if you get the Hanayori dinner, which is what Sparky gets. And lots of FIRE! A volcano made out of onions with fire....a smiley face which they trace in oil and they set on fire, and so on...It's fun and they tease you if you are having a birthday....The chef said anybody with a birthday had to give him a kiss. Ladies had to kiss him on the cheek, and then he said guys had to kiss him (and he pointed to his butt, like "kiss my a**.")  Mostly, the humor was much more on the side of being corny.

It was wonderful to see Jeannie, and we had a terrific time...So important to stay in touch with good, good friends. Jeannie had a heart attack earlier this year, so Sparky is especially grateful that Jeannie is still here, taking good care of herself, and healing well. It was a great birthday...and, oh! Can't forget the cake. Sparky didn't know Eldy's family was making her a cake, so she had a little one from a bakery, too. Unfortunately, it slid around in the car on the way home, so it ended up sort of what Charlie Brown's cake might have looked like---a little smooshed and lopsided!

Bye-bye for now!