has it stopped being funny yet?

i'm sure that you've seen all the hilarious bernie sanders memes out there.  i was super amused when i saw this one:

and then there was the NYU guy who created a website that would let you put bernie anywhere, just by typing in an address.  i also started seeing people photoshopping him into all kinds of hilarious places, like in the millennium falcon or on the "friends" couch, plus a bunch of folks who figured out how to insert him into their family photos.

after downloading a free version of the photoshop app onto my phone and doing a little playing around, i made it work here:

and here:

this one was the hub's favorite - the bean's cheer team but with a special guest.

and by now, i'm sure you'll have seen the crocheted version of grumpy, masked bernie.  the photo has been posted everywhere, and the lady who created him wrote up the pattern and instructions and listed it on etsy.  so far she's made about 30,000 sales - which is amazing and awesome.  so many people begged her to sell the finished product, so she decided to put that bad boy on ebay to donate all of the proceeds to meals on wheels.  of course, that's the same charity that is benefiting from the sweatshirt that bernie himself put on his own website to raise money.  it's so great.  and last time i checked the bids were up to over $12,000!  

i have a few people who've asked if i can crochet the famous bernie doll, so i bought that pattern and i'm going to give it a shot.  but in the meantime, i found something else that i stitched up immediately:

i can't stop giggling.  and i love that this is what has so many people's attention right now.  it's just so nice to have something silly for people all across the country to giggle together about.

have we finally returned to a place where politics might just be boring again?  if not quite yet, i sure hope that day comes soon.  

first photo dump of 2021

life since the holidays ended has been pretty quiet.  the bean is back to school (virtually, of course), the hub is back to work and i'm still puttering around the house, working on this and that, doing all the mundane stuff that i always do.

after new year's day, taking down the tree was job one:

it's always a bummer to put all the christmas decor away, but at least the tree isn't a pain anymore.  no more watering, no more needles littering the floor, no more unwinding lights from every branch - just a few pieces to take apart and place in the storage bag.  i'm so happy we switched to an artificial tree.

after months of waiting for our fridge to arrive, we finally settled on a different brand and model that was available immediately.  the first one should've been so cool, with a built-in keurig machine and hot water dispenser.  too bad those things never worked since the first day it was installed.  this one doesn't have all of those bells and whistles, but it sure is pretty.

my much-coveted treadmill is living up to all my expectations.  the built-in iFit system offers all sorts of great workouts, with runs/walks/hikes all over the world.  i started a program that's supposed to get me back up to running a 5K, twelve sessions that take place in beautiful, picturesque oregon.

the bean finally gave it a shot too, and maybe she'll like it enough to do it on a regular basis.

we gave the pizza oven another try, and this time we tried using an actual pan and bought a small pizza peel.  it was more of a success the second time around, nothing burned and everyone's pizza was edible.  yay!

the bean got to celebrate another friend's birthday at a drive-by parade with a super sweet party favor.

i started a new crochet project and was super amused at the yarn i was using.  it's a pound of looooooove:

although every time i try to pick it up and work on it, someone comes over and does his best to distract me (which usually works).

i suppose it's payback for the haircut i took him to get.

his friend stevie did his best to console him.  "the hair looks good, man, really."

cocoa got a new 'do too, and stevie came over to cuddle with her too, so she wouldn't feel left out.

and the bean made sure that stevie got love too.

i get to give the dogs hugs regularly too.

during a girl scout zoom meeting, the troop worked on earning a badge that somehow involved a taste test:

and since i hate dr. pepper and the bean hates all soda, we poured it all into a measuring cup and used it to make a cake.

ooh - we were pretty excited to discover a local spot for take-out dim sum that is pretty decent.

i had my last mcrib of the season:

and i managed to satisfy the bean's poutine craving using jarred gravy, frozen fries and a bag of cheese curds from target.  totally not authentic, but tasted pretty damn good.

pretty exciting shit, huh? 

palm springs to...big bear?

it'd been awhile since we'd gone on one of our day-long road trips, and with the bean's winter break coming to an end we all hopped in the truck for a fun drive.  with the rain we'd gotten a few days before, there was a ton of snow on the local mountains.  tempting, but we knew that meant that everyone and their mother would be heading up there for some snow play.  instead, the hub decided to take us on a different route - one that started with a drive out towards palm springs.

and then we veered off onto a dirt trail that led us here - pioneertown, built by a group of actors in the 40s who wanted a permanent set for filming western movies.  we stopped at pappy & harriet's to order a takeout lunch, and on that gorgeous day we were definitely not the only ones.  the wait for food was about an hour, which was okay because there was plenty to see within walking distance.

in non-covid times, they put on a stunt show here.

we passed the entrance to the local motel as we headed towards town.

and while there were a good number of people out and about, it wasn't hard to keep our distance and still be able to see everything.  all of the buildings seemed to be functional, with real businesses operating inside.

the hub made a new friend here.

it was interesting to walk down the street and look at all the buildings.  and people actually do live here, too.  

at the far end of town, we came across this sign.

and then beyond it, a plaque that gave a brief history of the town in front of what's billed as "the most photographed post office in the u.s."

as we ambled back through town towards pappy & harriet's, we passed the local newspaper office.

and even a bowling alley.

we finally picked up our lunch and got back in the truck to continue the day's adventure.  the original plan was to taken an off-road trail that would drop us off in big bear, so we could play in the snow.  but we'd gotten a later start than we'd planned, and by the time we were done with lunch the sun was already going down.

as we bounced along on the bumpy, rocky road we rounded a corner and came across these guys:

it was a fun road, and while the hub had a blast driving it the rest of us just held on for the ride.

eventually we were rewarded with a snowy view of the setting sun.

and then we finally made it to big bear.  we got lucky and found a parking spot in town right by the coffee shop we love to visit and then found some dinner before heading back home.

we never did get to play in the snow, but it made for one really fun day.  and one that we'd like to do over one of these days.  i don't know if there's any snow right now, but there's some pretty nice, cool and possibly wet weather coming our way.  i'm crossing my fingers.