Deer Eating Shrubberies

This morning I was upstairs "working" on the computer when I noticed that my coffee cup was empty. So I ran downstairs to the kitchen to get a cup. And what do I see? Four deer directly behind the house, maybe ten feet away, happily munching down on my shrubberies. I ran upstairs and got the camera, took a few pictures, then went outside and shot at them with the BB gun as they were scurrying away. Here's a couple chewing up an azalea. The other two were even closer to the house dining on a camellia.

Something Not Seen in a While

My wife and I jumped in the car today and rode over to visit my sister in Raleigh at her work place. We bought my sister some chocolates in Garmish-Partenkirchen when we were in Europe a few weeks ago as a token of our appreciation for taking care of our daughter for a night while we were gone and it was past time to deliver them. As we left our house, I noticed that the gas was low. My wife said let's wait till Raleigh and see if their gas prices are better than Chapel Hill (ave. 2.0899/gal.). Soon after we got off I-540 and headed into Raleigh on Fall of the Neuse Road, we saw prices a bit lower and then we saw this place with gas for 1.9699/gal. We turned in and I filled up (and took a picture) while my wife went in and bought some chicken salad at Tookies.


After that we went by my sister's place of work and visited for a while. Then we left and went by Costco on the way home. And guess what. Costco had regular for 1.8599/gal. Crap!

Mormon Coke

A few weeks ago a case of cokes in the can showed up in the kitchen on the floor over in a corner. It just sat there. I looked at it and maybe noticed that it had a different color than normal cokes, but I mostly just ignored it. I guess I figured that my wife bought them for some school or church function.

After a number of weeks, the case was still there so I asked my wife where they were going. "Oh, I bought the wrong thing. I guess it's been too long to take it back," she said. So it looks like the case of cokes is ours. It was then that I actually looked at the case. They were regular cokes without the caffeine. "What's the point?" I wondered. Then it hit me. They're cokes for Mormons. So I call it "Mormon Coke." Given that they contain sugar and not an artificial sweetener means that I have to drink them and not my wife. I've been working on them slowly for a couple of weeks and they're about gone. They're not bad, about the same as regular, or should I say, Classic coke.


I wonder if the Mormons are aware of these things.

ps As it turns out, the Mormon view on coffee is not universally held to be about caffeine. Type "Mormon Coke" into Google and have a read (or just hit the link).