Oh Danny boy, the pipes, the pipes are calling, From glen to glen, and down the mountain side...

Friday, March 17, 2006
Top of the Mornin’ to ya!  No, I am not wearing green.  I don’t think I’ve worn green on St. Patrick’s Day ever.  I don’t really know why, I just don’t think of it.  Val, the office Leprechaun, pinched me on the arm.

Strange focus group.  I don’t even really know how to describe it.  I was a little irritated with a couple of the participants.  The ‘leader’ looked just enough like the Peter Funt that I kept suspecting, “Smile, your on Candid Camera!”  There were four ‘super birders’ there who were almost like binocular snobs.  One particular guy had a $4,800 pair of Zeiss binoculars.  I mentioned how many of my family are birders and have been on extensive bird watching excursions.  I explained that I enjoyed bird watching, but I use my binoculars for hiking, camping, animal watching, etc.  This must have escaped him because towards the end of the meeting, the ‘leader’ decided to question my devotion by asking if I married into the birding family since I kept saying I wasn’t familiar with the top of the line binoculars and how much they would cost.  I looked him square in the eye and told him that I didn’t have the cash to throw around at hardware and I was used to mine.  Another lady barely spoke, and new even less than me about binoculars, which was fine.  She said she used them to watch the squirrels in her yard.  She has squirrels that she has named, they come into the house, and come when called.  Again, this is just fine.  But Teresa…Just couldn’t stop talking, about bizarre stuff.  Made me uncomfortable.  Martin (aka Mr. Funt) asked all to close are eyes and he would say a word, we were to describe to him what we envisioned.  He gave the example that he was an avid scuba diver, and if he closed his eyes and someone said ocean, he would picture himself and his buddy 120 feet below the surface looking at some wolf eel around a shipwreck.  So, of course the word he says is binoculars (duh).  He asked me first, so I say that I see my family and I ¾ of the way up Saddle Mountain on a beautiful spring day, we climb to the top and sit enjoying a snack and the view.  So…then he asks Teresa and she rambles with much hand gesturing about time slowing down and everything moving slower.  Two hours of this crap. That and I felt bad about leaving my housebound family stranded while I went off to do something by myself.  I am going to seriously re-consider the next offer for a focus group.

Word(s) of the day:  MANIACAL LEPRECHAUN

Lexie log:  She is still a decent little angel when she is fully rested.  When I left for the binocular focus group, she was beat tired, cranky, demanding, crying.  While I was gone she took a nap.  When I came home, she was a sweet, happy, considerate, angel again.  Oh, when I left, she had such a fit that as I was closing the front door she came screaming toward me, yelling, “Don’t go Momma!”  She was barefoot and I hit her foot with the corner of the door.  Ouch!  She started wailing as I scooped her up and carried her to the bathroom.  I ran cold water on her foot while I assessed the damage.  It scraped her, but no excessive bleeding, I carted her to the kitchen, sat her on the edge of the table, dried her foot, kissed it, applied Neosporin and a Sponge Bob band-aid.  I gave her a huge hug and was much more careful this time when I left.  She was still upset at me leaving.  She sure was as pleasant as could be when I came home.  I definitely prefer her and Daddy’s company to a roomful of strange strangers.

Today I’m grateful for Frank and Lexie, Mom and Dad, Betty, Thumper, Tiki, Miadda, Chikita, Turkey Swoop, Felix, Blackberry, Ray, Bob, Shasta, Kiwi, Strawberry, Meridian, weekends, strange little experiences like binocular focus groups, the color green, the color red, clovers, laughter, joy, and life.