Cognizant

As yesterday's post proves, Charlotte has become cognizant of this blog. That is going to make it more difficult for me to create posts. How? Charlotte is now trying to control the content. 

For example, Daphne and Char made and decorated sugar cookies on Sunday.

I thought that this would be a fun event to record, but I couldn't get a nice picture for the blog. Char now knows that I post pics here, so she made a weird face every time I held up the camera.

The same thing happened when Aunt Phaedra stopped by in the evening. Char set up a "bake sale" for Phaedra in the kitchen. 

The whole thing was so cute, but I couldn't get a decent picture. Charlotte kept trying make a "funny" face. I thought a tip jar seeded with change was funny enough.

I won't have any fun if this blog becomes the equivalent of a duck-face selfie.

Best Sleeping Buddies

Disclaimer: I didn't take this picture, and Charlotte isn't sleeping. Char spotted Bo snoozing on the couch, and she posed for Daphne's camera. Charlotte had Daph text me the picture, so I could post it here on the blog. The title for this blog post was also Char's idea.

This is blog post #900, and in her own way, Charlotte wrote it.

Ghost of Christmas Past

I was clearing out old emails on my school computer, and I came across these pictures and video from December 2013. I had saved them, but for some reason I didn't put them on the blog. Well, better late than never.

Here's the backstory: I was lamenting at lunch that I hadn't seen the "paint with water" coloring books at stores any more. I loved those as a kid. My friend Tim spotted one of these books while he was shopping in Polk City, and he bought Charlotte one for Christmas. Tim is a great guy, by the way.

Three-year-old Char immediately understood what to do, and painting even inspired her to write a song.

I don't miss three-year-old Charlotte, but it is fun to revisit her. That's one of the reasons I keep posting on this blog.

That's No Moon!

Before I begin the actual post, I'd like to take a moment to write about the fine line between "showing" and "showing off". 

I spotted a coworker at a public event a few weeks ago. I introduced him to Daphne and Charlotte, and he told Char that her dad brags about her all the time at school. He was giving my daughter a compliment, I think, but later I thought more about the word "brag". 

Charlotte, I love talking about you and Mom, but I don't do it because I want other people to feel jealous. I don't brag about you two or your accomplishments. I talk about you because you are two of the most important people in my life, and you are never far from my thoughts. Some guys have sports, some guys have politics, some guys have work or something else to talk about. I have you. How could I not talk about that?

Also, I don't write this blog because I want to show off. I blog about my interests, and I have fun writing about them. I really enjoy fitting the puzzle pieces (pictures, events, reflections, and videos) into a small story. Writing about my life, family, friends, and hobbies is also a hobby. Writing a blog post can be as satisfying for me as fixing a pinball machine, or a car, or bicycle, or a scratchy, vinyl record.

So, on with the blog. Let me show you what I have been doing.

Back in the early 90's, I found eight Pink Floyd albums on vinyl at the DAV. Ummagumma, Meddle, A Nice Pair, Atomic Heart Mother, Relics, Wish You Were Here, Animals, and The Wall were all for sale for a quarter each. The problem was that there was no artwork. The records were only in clear, plastic sleeves.

That was strange, but the LPs were in nice shape, and even my new teacher's salary could afford a $2.75 price tag. I've been hauling these "naked" records from apartment to apartment to house to house ever since.

Because of my renewed interest in playing and collecting records, I've decided to find the correct covers and sleeves for the Pink Floyd albums. That isn't anything I have to do, but it will be fun. To save money, my strategy is to find decent LP covers with junky records inside them. I'll toss the poor record and replace it with the nicer one from DAV. 

I suppose this eBay seller thought I was a chump for paying $10.63 for a warped and heavily scratched record. 

But the cover art was in pretty nice shape, and that is what I wanted.

$10.88 is not bad for a now complete Wish You Were Here.  

It is too bad that the DAV didn't have a Dark Side of the Moon for sale back in the day. I had the CD, so I didn't take the opportunity to buy a nice LP when they were cheap. Now it is easy to spend $100 up to $1500 for an original pressing of DSOTM. 

I finally bit the bullet and bought a "players copy" that was pressed in Canada. 

The condition of my copy isn't too bad, but cleaning side one with a wood glue treatment removed a lot of the pops and surface noise. 

While the glue was drying on side two, I noticed that the record had a lunar look to it. That kind of looks like the moon.

But once the glue completely dries, the surface goes "dark".

That matches the record's title pretty well.