2007 December | Hole In The Donut Cultural Travel

Monthly Archives: December 2007

Mouse 2; Dad Zip

Published December 29, 2007 | By Barbara Weibel

Morning dawned to an empty mousetrap. I was still rubbing the sleep from my eyes when Dad again expressed his doubts about my sanity:

“If there was a mouse in this house, I’d have already caught him. You didn’t see any mouse. It was all in your imagination.”

“You think?” I asked, figuring that if I played along he’d abandon any attempt to catch the little guy.

“There’s not even any signs of a mouse,” Dad said. “If we had a mouse there’d be droppings all over.”

“You’re probably right.”

After breakfast, I settled down in the recliner with my laptop and Dad plunked on the couch to watch his favorite talking heads. A little while later I heard a strange noise and looked around to find the source. Continue reading →

You might also like:

A Wonderful Christmas

An Insider's View Of Opera

No Such Thing As A Temporary Tax

Sarasota Is A Sports Town, Too

What Kiwis Think Of Mr. Bush

Posted in Humor |

Tagged Humor, Mice, Mouse, Mousetrap |

Leave a comment

Mouse, 1; Dad, 0

Published December 28, 2007 | By Barbara Weibel

Dad set the mousetrap around 9 AM this morning. I was lazily lounging in the living room recliner with a book in my lap, half asleep and still in my PJ’s (at 3:50 PM), when I heard it. Craaack! The mousetrap had been sprung. I made Dad go and check it – I couldn’t bring myself to look. Sometime during the day Dad had moved the trap from the kitchen counter top to the floor under the kitchen credenza, where I first spotted the furry little guy. Continue reading →

You might also like:

I Ate Cheese Food Today

Another Fish Out Of Water

Adventures With Animals

Rain Puts No Damper On Greek Glendi

Gettting Around On Public Transportation in New York Is About To Get A Little More Complicated

Posted in Humor |

Tagged Humor, Mice, Mouse, Mousetrap |

Leave a comment

Of Mice And Men

Published December 28, 2007 | By Barbara Weibel

At 2 AM this morning, unable to sleep, I was sitting in the recliner in my Dad’s living room. The darkened room was illuminated only by the flickering TV. Suddenly, I caught a movement out of the corner of my eye. A mouse! mouse He came around the corner from the kitchen and crawled along the baseboard into the living room. A foot into the living room, the mouse sensed it wasn’t alone. It stopped, looked up at me, reversed direction, and scurried back into the kitchen.

Dad lives out in the country and he gets at least one mouse in the house every year, usually when the milder autumn temperatures begin to transition to winter’s chill. He is convinced they get in through the door between the foyer and the attached garage and he’s always reminding me to close the door, but it’s not always that easy. For instance, yesterday we went shopping for a new microwave, and the door had to remain open as we carried the box from the garage to the kitchen. Most likely, that’s when the furry little critter got in. I can’t say I blame him. It’s 35 degrees out and snowing. I’d be trying to get warm, too.
Continue reading →

You might also like:

Me And My Harebrained Ideas

The New Car Buying Game

I Ate Cheese Food Today

This Is Why I Don't Cruise

What Is Up With All This Crazy Winter Weather?

Posted in Humor |

Tagged Buddhism, Humor, Mice, Mouse, Mousetrap |

Leave a comment

Christmas Gratitude

Published December 25, 2007 | By Barbara Weibel

For days I’ve been unsuccessfully searching for an appropriate message or video to post here on Christmas Day, but nothing seemed quite right. Then, this morning I stopped by the web site “WhereTheHellIsMatt.com.” According to Matt’s website, he is a “30-year-old deadbeat from Connecticut who used to think that all he ever wanted to do in life was make and play video games.” He embarked upon a successful career designing video games but soon realized there was more to life than making money. In 2003 he quit his job and used his savings to wander around the world until the money ran out. Along the way he came up with the idea of dancing everywhere he went and recording it on his video camera. He posted the video on his website and soon became known as “the guy who dances.” Matt dances very badly, but most people don’t seem to mind.

Now Matt and his buddies have made a video named the “Gratitude Dance,” which begins by stating that we spend so much time focusing on what’s missing in our lives that we lose sight of the many amazing things that are already in our lives. Continue reading →

You might also like:

Holding On To The Lightness

Resolution Test

The Language Of Hurricanes

Fascinating Japanese Water Writer

Never Miss Another Hole In The Donut Post

Posted in Uncategorized |

Tagged Christmas, Gratitude, Spirituality, videos, Where The Hell Is Matt |

4 Comments

How Do You Define COLD?

Published December 23, 2007 | By Barbara Weibel

In the dictionary, next to the word cold, there is a picture of Illinois. At the moment, it’s 14 degrees, with winds gusting to 60 mile per hour, making the wind chill temp well below zero. Brrrr. I actually went outside in this because Dad and I had to go shopping. We actually saw people walking from the parking lot to the mall, wearing lighweight jackets that were unzipped and flapping in the wind. People here are crazy. Hearty…….but crazy.

You might also like:

Illinois Is Such A Delightful Place In the Winter

Born And Bred Chicago Girl Rediscovers Her Roots

Italian Village Restaurant in Downtown Chicago - Without It I Might Never Have Been Born

Summer On The Kankakee River

In an Era of Civil Unrest, Chicago's Maxwell Street Welcomed Everyone

Posted in Midwest US travel |

Tagged Cold, Illinois, Weather |

Leave a comment

Random Acts Of Kindness

Published December 22, 2007 | By Barbara Weibel

Ask anyone if they think Christmas has become too commercial and they will most likely answer with an unequivocal “YES!” Stores bring out the Christmas decorations earlier every year. Kids’ wish lists get longer and pricier. Parents go deeper into debt each year. Christmas morning dawns to frenzied ripping of gift wrapping, with the contents of each package barely examined before being discarded in favor of the next package. By noon the gifts have been abandoned, and the kids head for the hills as soon as Christmas dinner is finished. Not unexpectedly, the true spirit of Christmas is often lost in all this.

The message of Christmas – love – is one that everyone should be able to appreciate, regardless of his or her religion, but each year I find it more difficult to feel the spirit. Fortunately, I always travel home to Illinois to spend this holiday with my family and the impending visit gets me excited. This year is no different. Continue reading →