Kenzie has a tooth hanging by a thread. He's much like I was as a child - trying to leave it alone if at all possible, dreading the certainty of blood, keeping a washcloth handy. He won't eat anything but applesauce because his last tooth came out while munching on pretzels.
This will be the first top tooth to come out. He's lost four bottom teeth in the last two years, but no top teeth. I'll have to get some good snaggletooth pictures.
Yesterday, I found several canister sets at a local thrift store, and I've been busy switching over all of our staples - pastas, dried beans, rice, oats, popcorn, split peas, flour, etc. The pantry looks so much better, now. I also found a spice rack - something I've never had before. With as much baking and cooking as I've been doing recently, it's probably high time I had one.
We've finally made the switch from pre-packaged bread to using homemade breads. Because Kenzie is allergic to soy (and soy is in all pre-packaged breads), this is definitely a good thing. I've been experimenting with different recipes recently, and am slowly figuring out what works best for us. For the record, warm oatmeal honey bread is heavenly.
Kenzie and I, along with my mother and brother, went to visit family and attend my brother's wife's college graduation in Wichita Falls last weekend. For Mother's Day, my mother and I decided to go gambling across the border in Oklahoma. We got to the reservation casino at about 11:30 Saturday night and left at 3:30 Sunday morning. Four hours of slots (I stayed away from the table games). I'd never been to a casino before and had a blast watching others play. I used the cheapo machines so that I'd be able to play longer, eventually spending $41 and winning $55.
Winning, though, wasn't really my goal. Mostly, I watched others - people shoving twenties into $5 machines over and over and over. By 3 AM, there were really only die hards left. No one looked like he was enjoying himself. There were no smiles, no laughs, no leisurely meanderings through the aisles. Just the compulsive need to win. These people were fast - leaving no time between plays. Their eyes never left their screens. One hand repetitively pushed the buttons, the other held a cigarette or coffee cup or both. I felt like a social anthropologist who'd stumbled upon a new culture.
We had fun, though, my mother and I, trying to figure out each sort of machine (even at the end of the night, most still didn't make much sense), watching the people, seeing how long we could play on a given amount.... It was certainly the most interesting Mother's Day excursion I've ever had!
I realized a couple of years ago that casinos are a great stress release tool for me. I play the penny slots and budget $20 for the trip, and when it's gone or doubled I leave. I like not having to think, just pushing the button and maybe getting something nice back. Even if I lose, $20 for a couple hours' entertainment isn't bad.
I can't imagine gambling big money, though....
Posted by: Dar | May 21, 2006 at 12:22 PM