Friday, June 8, 2012

A Little Ingenuity and a Bit of Strength

It had been a rainy day; the parking lot was wet.  The sky was cloudy, but what could be better than to go outside and play soccer with my sister and her friend?   Well, actually there is probably many other things that I could have done.  But anyway, back on topic.  While kicking the ball around, I foot-launched it as high as I could.  Unfortunately, it got stuck on the top of the garage behind the snow rail.
This is taken from my parents' bathroom window (I know, a very weird place to take a photo from)
and gives you a picture of the size of the garage. 

That golden thing is my soccer ball.  How in the world am I going to get it down from there?

First Attempt
So, with three people out there, this shouldn't be too hard to get down, right?  Wrong.  Well, not at first.  Abi and I first used a somewhat wobbly ladder.   I definitely was not comfortable standing on that ladder, waving a large stick in an attempt to jab the ball loose.  So, first attack on the Walls of Troy failed epicly.

Second Attempt
My second attempt on the wall was to ascend into the garage  and stretch out through the window you see below and to the left of my soccer ball.  Hanging half your body out of a window and crooking your arm so as to get past the gutter in order to poke at the ball is not fun.  And it failed.

Third Attempt
Let's see.  What can we do now?  Ahhh.  Throw rocks at it, and hope that they won't fly over the roof and hit some old lady walking down the street!  Sounds like a great idea.  Finally, I had to call a halt to the throwing of rocks because I just couldn't risk it any more.   Our next idea was to try my sling shot with hopes of a more precise hit.  But, apparently, after years of inactivity, I slung about as accurately as I threw. 

Fourth and Final Attempt
I was desperate now.  It was now about 9:15 in the evening, and we had lost a third of our forces (Abi's friend had to go inside.  Apparently, some people still have school!)  Abi and I finally concocted a plan that left every other attempt in the dust.  We remembered that we  had about twenty-five feet of rope in the garage.  We decided to tie a stick to it and toss the stick up onto the roof.  Once we had it up there, we would pull it along the roof until it made contact with the ball, knocking it off the roof.  Finally, with much difficulty, we had the stick in place ... and we pulled.  Crrrraaaack ...the stick split on the snow rail.  Though fearful of damaging the rail, I gave it one more big tug and brought the ball down.  Happy in our success, we didn't notice that the stick was still up there.


A few more minutes of tugging brought the stick to the ground.  It worked.  But, alas, the stick did not survive.

But, hey look on the bright side.  With a little ingenuity and strength,
you can get any soccer ball down from your garage!

Driver v. Passenger Seat

I'm sitting in the in-between weekend.  In-between last weekend's adventure sans Husband and next weekend's bigger adventure with Husband.

Last weekend the children and I packed the van (sans Husband), plugged in the GPS (double-checking and then asking Micaiah to punch in the address again), and arrived at the designated meeting place with two minutes to spare (everyone used those two minutes to readjust and find their happy place/face!).  Not only were we traveling sans Husband, we were also leading a small caravan to a place we had never visited near the Austrian border in the Alps.  Berchtesgaden, Germany.  Absolutely beautiful once the cloud bank lifted!

Hinterbrand Lodge
Our home-away-from-home for the weekend

I must share with you that I much prefer being a passenger (albeit, one with opinions that may not always be beneficial to the overall traveling experience) to being the one in the driver's seat.  In that seat there is a lot of pressure, many decisions, and most often times not enough "rest" areas along the route.  Add to the list -- GPS does not recognize detour signs (and also does NOT translate those written in a different language).

After this past adventure, I really giggle when that bumper-sticker-slogan pops into my mind:  "God is my co-pilot."  I am confident that there needs to be a seat-exchange in that vehicle.  And, I will strive to yield to and support the driver in the next big adventure ... from the comforts of my passenger seat.

Pride and Prejudice

Recently I watched Pride and Prejudice, the six hour one.  I love that movie, and for those of you who haven't see it, I feel sorry for you.   Why?  The acting is very good, and it is such a classic.
Colin Firth is the best Darcy EVER!! I also like Jennifer Ehle, who plays Elizabeth Bennet; we mustn't forget her!  However much "Mr. Bingley" talks, he almost never stops smiling which makes him the BEST Bingley there is!  If I had to rate the characters, it would be difficult to choose a favorite.  I would most likely go with Darcy because he never smiles and has a witty remark for just about everything.

But then again, I also enjoy the "relationship" between Mr. and Mrs. Bennet.  For example:
Mrs. Bennet: "Oh my dear Mr. Bennet! Nothing you say shall ever vex me again!"
Mr. Bennet: "I am very sorry to hear it."

Darcy and Lizzie at the Netherfield Ball
Bingley.
Smile :)

Sorry about the photo quality. :(
~Abigail