Missed it by that much

I have a lot of random thoughts to share today, so please, just bear with me:
Another fine mess
Adam has a passion for potions. For many months now he has been using Pixie Sticks and Kool Aid to make potions in a tiny little caldron we bought at the dollar store.
So long about August I started looking for a bigger caldron he could use for his potion making.
Yesterday was the day. Finally the Halloween caldrons are on store shelves. I left it on the counter and as soon as he came home from school he was mixing himself a potion.
The results have been a sticky floor, sticky table and sticky cups. But Adam has been keeping himself occupied, so it’s all good.
Don’t forget to stir the noodles
It took less then 10 minutes to ruin dinner, which in turn ruined the entire evening. I started out with great plans. I went shopping early in the morning, bought fresh mushrooms and sour cream for the stroganoff I planned to cook for supper.
I had the meat stewing for an hour before I mixed it all together and threw in the noodles for the final 10 minutes. Then I sat down.
!0 minutes later the noodles were stuck to the bottom of the pan and the house smelled rather smoky. I asked David if we should dump it and just order pizza, but he said no. So we glumly sat down and tried to eat the mess.
After two bites Adam announced, “I’m done.”
David told him he had to keep eating or go to bed. Adam is plenty stubborn, so he chose to go to bed and wailed while we all tried to choke down dinner. Eventually Adam went to sleep, waking up at about 8 p.m.
Yep, you guessed it, he couldn’t go back to sleep again, so at 11:15 I sent him to bed for the final time and felt like a total crumb because I caused all this by sitting down instead of stirring the dinner.
Now I know why my mom always came unglued whenever she burned the potatoes.
Aggie Van Crash
All I can feel is sorrow about the Monday night crash of a Utah State University van carrying 10 agriculture students and their instructor. Nine men were killed in the crash; two more are in critical condition at local hospitals.
The magnitude of the crash is hard enough, but as an Aggie Alum and the sister of a former USU agriculture student it is just a little too close to home.
The instructor was about my age, a father of several children. The rest were young men in their 20s, some married, most sons of farmers and ranchers who were depending on these men to continue on the family business.
I don’t have any thoughts beyond sadness and prayers for the families of the men who died.
That’s right, Chief!
The death of Don Adams, a.k.a. Maxwell Smart, (I can hear his voice in my head). Didn’t make me sad, it made me smile.
I’ve been reminded of his goofy legacy, the cone of silence, shoe phones and of course his “missed it by that much.”
When we think of a simpler time, we usually hope for a world of picket fences and country stores. But my simpler time included Maxwell Smart, Agent 99 and Control.
Humor is a large part of my personality. My sense of humor was formed by the likes of Maxwell Smart, Rocky and Bullwinkle and later on the Muppet show. It was gentle humor, but not mindless.
Because of Maxwell Smart and all of his colleagues, I love puns, and the clever use of the English language.
Thanks Max!