fun puzzle

my father purchased a toy for my oldest daughter some years ago. she has since grown and moved out, but my younger children still enjoy playing with this wonderful find. i've had to repair one of the pieces multiple times and as i was making the most recent repair the other day, i just sat and wondered at how remarkable this toy really is. it has provided many hours of entertainment for the kids and the 'grownups' in the house.

i thought i would share. i have no idea what it's called, but my dad bought it on amazon.com about 6 or 7 years ago (maybe more).

the pieces all have a stick with a magnet in the end and the ball you see is also a magnet and serves as the hub which holds all the other pieces in place. the puzzle can be put together in many combinations, but the real challenge is to put it together without having any two pieces of the same color touching one another.



it also comes with a small black cup/saucer-shaped base to hold the ball up for assembly and display.

click to enlarge any of the above photos.

more birthday - yay!

friends stopped by and got me something belated and very cool. i'm making out like a bandit this year. this thing is waaaay too cool.

sunbeam 18-pc kitchen assistant.

magic bullet, eat your heart out.

birthday baby

got a late birthday gift today from my sis-in-law. got a 15.5 quart enamel ware over steel stockpot. comes with a steamer and i have no idea how to use it (the steamer) hahaha. the biggest pot i had before today was 3 quarts. talk about doing the happy dance. love love love her (and my new pot). sis is so generous and thoughtful.

zzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

the kids and i made 8 quarts of grape juice today which we will later turn into jelly and 1.5 quarts of tomato juice (it was all the tomatoes we had :). we rendered more lard (10 quarts). that was enough to fill up my large crock pot (5 quarts) and my big 8 quart roasting pan in the oven. canned 4.5 quarts of applesauce and made up 4 more quarts to cook down into butter. doesn't seem like much, but when you're working on an electric stove and two of the burners (the large ones) don't work...well...you get the picture.

thanks to the gift i so generously bought myself (i really had to talk myself into it - LOL) my grape juice and applesauce was a breeze. I think if you do applesauce, tomato sauce of any shape or form and/or grape juice/jelly and a number of other veggie keeping, you would be in heaven using this little gadget if you've never had one before. BEST $45 i ever spent.

i'm wore slick. my muscles ache and my feet hurt and i tried to cut my big toe off by dropping my butcher knife, but i had a terrific day and feel so accomplished (i've never made apple sauce/butter or tomato juice before).

blessings to all this night.

~hb