Jeanette's Quirky World: May 2006

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Wednesday, May 31, 2006

Trips are Fun!

We went to Ashland, Oregon for the Oregon Shakespeare Festival. They have wonderful performances and are only five hours away, so we go every year for a couple of days. This year we took both "boys" and their girlfriends, and rented a house. It's cheaper than three hotel rooms, and is more fun to share. At least, --it's more fun for me!

The first morning, when we all got up, I was on a bouncy sort of high, and kept springing around to hug people and say chirpy things. My family is inured to this, and Melissa's traveled with us before, but it occurred to me that Lara hadn't.

So I said, "Really, Lara, I'm not always like this when we travel."

And my eldest son piped up, "That's true. Sometimes she's asleep."

posted by Jeanette Cottrell @ 8:21 PM 0 comments

Saturday, May 13, 2006

What would YOU do with a caricature?

I've had a great time lately entering a contest on a website for a trio of caricature artists. http://www.caricatureking.com/competition.php They ask "Why do you want to win a caricature?" The "most witty answer" will win a free caricature.

I haven't won, of course, but it's been a lot of fun dreaming up answers. Mine are too far out, and a lot are just plain silly, but they were fun to write. A few of my contest entries (remember, they've already seen these):

**So I can finally honor my fans by having a decent picture on my pro baseball cards

**I've heard that Egypt is giving their Sphinx a face-lift. As a helpful gesture, I thought I'd give them a model of me to go by.

**I need a caricature as a replacement for my mirror. Every one I've had cracks when I walk by.

**Because it's the only possible way for me to experience life as a flying monkey!

**Because getting a caricature is the fastest weight loss program around. You're almost two-dimensional in no time!

posted by Jeanette Cottrell @ 10:29 AM 0 comments

Wednesday, May 03, 2006

Snoop Management 101

My father had a wonderful secretary. He was quite pleased with Sally except for one thing. He suspected--couldn't prove it, mind you--but he suspected that she snooped. It wasn't so much that he was trying to keep secrets from her, but it's awkward to discover that your cache of candy bars has been alphabetized, especially as you'd hidden them so your wife wouldn't know you were eating them, and of course your wife is a very good friend of Sally's.

One day, my dad had a great idea. He didn't want to confront Sally, but he did want to know if the disarrangements were due to his carelessness or her interest in his private life. So he wrote a list in his beautiful long-hand, headed "Ten Reasons I Admire Sally" 1) She is always cheerful. 2) She genuinely cares about other people. 3)--well, you get my drift. Every statement was true, and even my mother wouldn't have objected to any of them. He hid the list in his desk drawer.

For several days, nothing happened out of the usual. But on day four, Sally came into his office positively glowing. "Oh Bob, would you like some more coffee? What about a newspaper? There are some very nice doughnuts down the hall. Would you...?"

Her lovely, bouncy mood lasted for days. My dad just smiled to himself and hid his candy bars somewhere else. All he'd wanted was the answer to a simple question, and he'd gotten it.

posted by Jeanette Cottrell @ 5:59 PM 0 comments

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Name: Jeanette Cottrell
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