Ice, Oddities, Laughter, and its opposite

And here's what Keith does with those buckets of ice, when he gets a chance. The top is more solid than the bottom. They have hollow insides, so they're bucket shaped, but the bottom is the least frozen part. Each of those clear ones is over a solar-charged light, so at night they light up faintly. It's really pretty. The other two are pretty for having a bunch of leaves in them..





Here are some other images of the past few days, clickable in case one interests you:





December 29 Laugh. What was your biggest belly laugh of the year?

Marty made me laugh several times because he's clever and surprising. This year hasn't been hilarious, and most laughter was surprised sputter, or "I can't believe he said that" hoot, or nervous embarrassed laughter. I'm not wanting to laugh at people who are going about their everyday lives. I think the most fun laughing I've had lately involved watching The Big Bang Theory. Tonight I missed it, to talk to my sister on the phone. Then I cried. I didn't cry because I missed the funniest stupid show I ever watch. I cried because she told me the story of when my parents announced they were getting a divorce. She thought I had been there, because the "family meeting" was in my bedroom. But I was at college. She said she could picture where everyone was sitting, in my room, on the floor or on the bed, and sure enough I wasn't there. She thought maybe they chose that room because it would be most like I was there, or they needed my influence.

The other day I asked Keith and Marty if we could open Christmas gifts in the room that was Kirby's for many years, and Holly's for a year and some, because it would seem they were closer than Texas and England.

Those stories are very similar. I didn't know until today, in 2009, that in 1970 the family meeting at which my parents told the other kids it was over was held in my bedroom.

I found out about the divorce in a wet letter from my mom. She didn't mention that meeting. Each week they sent me $5, to the dorm 90 miles away. The letters never said much. I didn't open it at first, because I was talking to my roommate and some other friends. Then we rushed to leave, and the letter was on the tray when I slid it down to the dishwashing room. I realized it and called back that there was a letter with a check in it! That was the last year they used the dining hall in Hokona. The last year it was an all girls' dorm, and the last year its dining room operated. The dishwasher kid pulled the wet letter out of the deep, soapy sink and handed it to me. My only concern was whether the check could be salvaged. But there with my friends looking on, and a stranger, I opened it and saw that my parents were getting a divorce and my mom had already moved out. I cried.