The Incredible Versatility of a Croquet Mallet

Summer is a time when my family loves to play games together outdoors.  Friday evening, after a lazy dinner (Chipotle) on the patio, we decided to play a calm game of croquet.  Now, anyone who has ever played croquet, knows that there can sometimes be a bit of waiting involved.  My siblings and I, while waiting our turns, began to discover other uses for our mallets.  Some of them involve a little imagination, but try your best to see what we were getting at....

1)  A guitar (or banjo) - this is (by far) the most obvious and popular thing to do with anything that has a handle (broom, shovel, croquet mallet, etc.)

2) A jackhammer - I was really impressed when my sister came up with this use.  I never would have thought of that.

3) An umbrella - "The weather is looking pretty bad today, isn't it?"  *said with a British accent*

4) The pendulum on a grandfather clock - tick tock tick tock

5) A crutch (or a cane)

6) A grappling hook - I didn't even know what a grappling hook was...my family had to explain it to me.  Basically, it is a 4 pronged hook attached to a rope.  You throw it and it hooks onto things like walls and mountains.  Then you can climb up them.

7)  An anchor

8)  An oar - or as my brother G said, "It's a row!"  Hehe

9)  A hammer - not a very creative use of a mallet

10) A hitching post - picture the mallet with the handle side stuck into the ground and a horse and buggy tied up to the mallet part

11) A machine gun - well duh.  Boys always turn things into guns.  It's no different with my three brothers.

12) An axe - "TIMBER!"

13) A wagon handle

14) A bicycle handlebar

15) A pump trolley - one of those railroad cars that has two pump handles that propel it down the track

16) A jet ski - specifically the handle bars.  This is similar to the bicycle concept

17) A car shift, a train lever, or an airplane throttle

I think we had more fun imagining what our croquet mallets could be than we did actually playing the game!  Go figure!

My brother and I playing our croquet mallet instruments.  

Photo by my sister.

Worth It

One of my summer jobs is to get one of my uncle's buildings ready for new renters.  Now, this place used to be a greasy pizza joint, and hasn't been cleaned in.....a really long time.  Needless to say, this job has been an experience (for lack of a better word).  The past eight business days have held tasks such as: power washing the floors, scrubbing the walls and ceiling (in preparation to paint) and scraping wall paper.  I will spare you, gentle reader, the gory details.  :)

You may be wondering: do I like this job?  The answer is no, not especially.  But it is worth it.  Why?  Because I want to study abroad next year and this job is helping me make that dream a reality.  The tediousness and grossness of this job are going to pay off.  All of that will be forgotten when I am able to visit the heart of Christendom in the Vatican, the early martyrs in the catacombs, the places Our Lady appeared at Fatima and Lourdes, the shrine of St. Philomena, the green shores of Ireland, and so many other places that I have dreamed of seeing.  Yes, it will be worth it.

Mother's Day Cards

Here are pictures of the Mother's Day cards that I made for my aunt (who is also my godmother) and grandmothers.  I used several different sizes of scrapbooking punches (in a flower shape), scrapbooking paper, and card stock.  

In the two blue ones, I put heart and flower shaped confetti and wrote "A shower of flowers and love on Mother's Day!"  (That idea came from my mom.)

Don't worry, this isn't going to become the internet's next most popular craft blog.  But, that being said, I DO like arts and crafts....so this probably will not be the last time you see something like this on my blog. Warning given.

Summertime

The past few days have been full of cleaning and organizing.  I think I finally have all my college paraphernalia in storage.  However, it was a bit of a depressing thought to think that I will have to undo everything I just spent the past three days putting away come fall.  Still, it is a good feeling to be home for the summer with one year of college under my belt.

I always make big plans for the summer...and end up doing very little of my list.  Here are some of the things I have on my list for this summer:

1. Earn $$$$  - I am hoping to study abroad next spring, so I need to earn money for that trip.
2. Learn one new piano piece a week - It has been a while since I have seriously practiced piano and my skills are beginning to atrophy.
3. Try not to forget Latin - This semester of Latin was challenging and I know I will forget vocabulary and grammar if I don't practice.  When I will practice is a good question....
4. Teacher Education Application - In order to take upper level classes in the Education program at my university, I need to complete and submit this application when I return in the fall.
5. Read lots of books - My list grows everyday.
6. Sew - One of my favorite hobbies is sewing.  I am blessed to have a campus job where I can use my sewing skills, but I need to make sure I keep getting better!
7. Bake bread - Doesn't fresh bread sound really good right now?
8. Relax - end of story.

AND.... blog!  :)

In case you don't know me very well, or you haven't figured it out by the end of this post, I like to make lists.  I make lists all the time.  It is an obsession or a compulsion, whichever way you would prefer to see it.  :)

To end this post, I thought I would remind you (as my mom has been reminding us all week long):

 SUNDAY IS MOTHER'S DAY!!!!!!!!!

Don't forget to do something special for your mom!

Ciao for now!

A very good place to start...

...is at the very beginning!

Hello Blogosphere!

This is Stasia speaking (writing), and this is my brand new blog that you are reading.  It's hot off the printing press, squeaky clean, a page with no scribbles on it!  (Well, maybe now there are...)

I don't know yet what this blog will include, but I can promise that it will be about life.

Yes, I am aware that life is a rather broad topic, but I intend to tackle it anyways.

Till next time (and a real post)...