The Color of Eureka

The other day I read about a new color that has been "discovered." It's called YInMn Blue, and it was discovered by accident when chemists were heating some manganese oxide, along with some other chemicals, to over 2000 degrees Fahrenheit. I think they should call it Eureka Blue.

What's really cool is that this color is being described as a "nearly perfect" shade of blue. It's rich, it's vibrant, and it's stunningly electric in all it's flawless blue glory. Artists are nearly peeing themselves in excitement, because it's being manufactured for paint.

It is a very pretty shade of blue, and blue is my favorite color. But isn't it fascinating that there's so much left to discover? I would have never thought that a color we've never seen before could still be discovered. I thought Crayola had done a pretty good job with their box of 133 colors.

But discoveries are still being made every day, from new and amazing stuff from the depths of outer space to new species of animals on our own planet.

Speaking of colors and outer space...when I was a kid, I colored outer space with a black crayon. Crayola didn't think that was quite accurate or exciting enough, so they created a crayon that probably has made little nerdy kids everywhere wear this particular stick of wax down to a stub:

But with all the new discoveries being discovered, one discovery this week out-colors them all. James found out he has the 4th of July off, and he's coming to see me this weekend! A whole 3 day weekend! That has me tickled pink, and believe it or not, Crayola has a color for that, too!

So, I pick him up from the airport Saturday morning, and we'll have lunch at Volusia Top Gun, where we'll also test our shooting skills in an epic shootout for high stakes. He asked me what kind of gun I wanted to shoot for our contest, and I said I'd let him pick, because if I can still shoot like I used to, I have no worries. It's good to try to intimidate an opponent before a high stakes contest. Lol.

Then the rest of the weekend, we'll play house, go to the pool, watch movies and I'll make him delicious dinners and cookies.

Maybe I'll pull out this crayon and draw him a dinner as a joke:

I'm not sure what the red rimmed black blob is in that kid's mac n cheese. Maybe his mother's heart after she cooks the mac n cheese Junior begged for over the course of a couple hours and then only ate a bite before declaring he's all done. Or even worse, declares he's all done and then starts smearing it on his face:

Hey, at least it's not peanut butter, right Mom of this Kid?

Anyway, I'm looking forward to the weekend, and soooo excited to make even more new discoveries with James!

Last Rites

My iPad died last night. It was approximately 8 years old, has probably never been turned off, and has survived three kids and more than two slip and falls into the bathtub.

I'm so sad I think I might bury it in the backyard like a beloved pet, unless anyone knows how to fix this apparent "black screen of death."

Anyway, I went ahead and bought a new (well, certified refurbished) iPad last night for a really good price. It'll get here tomorrow, so tonight I have to take a bath without an iPad. Oh well, it'll give me a chance to read that really old book I got awhile back, Rocky Mountain Tales, with the notes scrawled inside it...

I don't know if I mentioned this, but about a month ago, Aidan bought her very first new car with her own money. Well, mostly her money...my ex helped a little. And the trade-in which I bought for her a couple years ago helped, too. She got a 2016 Ford Focus, and was at the car dealership all day long. I think it taught her a valuable lesson that buying a new car is not all fun and rainbows.

Anyway, she hit a curb the other day and popped a tire, then decided she need four new rims while she was back at the dealer getting a new tire. It sorta makes me sick that she makes more money than I do. It might be time to look for a new job, even though I love the one I have now.

Yesterday at work was chaos from the very start. One of my coworkers came in looking like death, and saying she was throwing up. We sent her home, and my boss went up front to fill in for her while I worked strictly surgeries, as the doctor has been on call all week, and it's been a busy week of broken bones, such as this ouchie looking broken humerus.

One of the first appointments of the day was a broken calcaneus, immediately followed by a broken ankle, and both guys needed surgery, and they both looked similar and had similar names, and both brought their similar looking wives with them, and both said they'd stop by a little later to pick up their surgery instructions and signed prescriptions. It was only by some miracle that I didn't confuse the two and give the wives the wrong prescriptions and instructions. At first, I thought I had, and I had to go through every step in my mind, remembering who was wearing what, and after a few stressful minutes, I realized I'd done it right. Big relief!

Then, a guy came in who had popped the prosthesis out of the ball of his shoulder, and he needed a big surgery to fix it, pronto. And the doctor already had a full schedule for today after I added the ankle and heel. So, I had to open up a day on Friday, and the OR doesn't like when I do that, but thankfully, they didn't give me too much grief. And that was all before 11:00 am.

Here's what it looks like when the prosthesis separates:

Anyway, I got it all done, and the afternoon slowed down a bit until another orthopedic surgeon called our doctor from the OR, saying he was having a medical event and needed Dr. K to come fill in for him right away. And we still had four or five patients left to see. So Dr. K booked it out of there, and the PA's saw his patients. But that wasn't so bad. I stayed late to help my boss finish her own work after patients left.

A couple of nice things made the day brighter, though. A surgery rep brought the works from Chipoltle for lunch. I just had a soft chicken and cheese fajita.

And a patient who was here for her last appointment before going home up North for the summer brought me flowers:

And of course, James's fun and loving texts kept coming throughout the day. :)

Today should be much easier, and with luck, I'll be out of there by 3:00. Well, I sorta have to be, cause I just remembered I have a doctor's appointment in Ormond Beach at 4:00. Blah.

Crappy is still here, but I only see it on the weekends, when it likes to torment me with cuteness and claws. Aidan still says she's moving in a month, but she's been moving in a month for a couple months now. We'll see...anyway, she's paying me $100 a month rent for Crappy, so it's okay for now.

And here she, I mean it, is, asleep on James's pillow:

I'll wash it before you get here, James. :)

The Power of Three

Just like bad things happen in threes, good things happen in threes too. James won First Place in the "Essence of Fennboree" photo contest on Dal's blog with his picture of the map everyone signed at the 'boree. Here it is:

My "X" is south of the bottom border of the pic. Lol. But you can see my little bunny drawing in the lower right corner. :)

James also got some good news about his story featured in Matt Maisano's "Fenn's Searchers" documentary. I can't wait for the documentary to be finished so everyone can see it in entirety. The preview was really, really good at Fennboree.

So, James, if the Rule of 3's is right, you should have one more bit of good news! Hopefully today!

Today is Tuesday, one of the busiest days of the week, and also the dreaded "Purple Day," when we all have to wear matching purple scrubs. I would burn all the purple scrubs in the world if I could. Just pile em all in a giant heap in a hospital parking lot somewhere and set em on fire. And then burn down the factory that makes them, or at least the part of the factory that makes the purple ones, and the yellow ones, while I'm at it.

In case anyone in law enforcement is reading this, I said the above paragraph IN JEST. The only thing I've ever set on fire on purpose is The Thrill of the Chase. Lol. And that doesn't even count, cause that book is VERY HARD to set on fire. It's like it's made of bricks or something. It just sort of smolders.

In fact, I need to order another copy for another experiment. I should get a frequent customer discount at Collected Works!

Not much else is going on...just trying to coast until James comes on the 8th...

Joe will be 15 years old on the 1st of July. He wants a $450 part for his computer...yikes. I'm trying to get his dad to go half, but that's like pulling teeth...I may have to combine birthday and Christmas to make this one happen. But he's such a great kid and never asks for anything, and never complains, and is an all around super great kid...he deserves something special that he really wants. I'll make it happen. :)

He wants this thing, whatever it is...

Apparently, it's important.

Anyway, it's time to do a morning workout, then get ready for work...

The Little Girl in India

There has been way too much arguing over the hypothetical little girl in India comment that appeared on Jenny Kile's Mysterious Writings.

​​

I would like to put that little girl to rest once and for all, but I know people will think what they think what they will think, and nothing anyone says (even Forrest) will change that. I've kept pretty quiet on the subject because I thought some things Forrest said were pretty obvious. 

So, let's try to look both logically and imaginatively at this problem, okay? 

First, let's look at what was said:

Jenny: Your treasure hunt has inspired people worldwide to discover history, culture and nature, but many people, (even in the US) might be deterred because they don’t live near the Rockies or can’t afford to travel. Should they be deterred? Can a little girl in India, who speaks good English, but only has your poem and a map of the US Rocky Mountains, work out where the treasure is? And would she be confident as she solves each clue, or only confident when she has solved them all?

Forrest: I wish I had another treasure to hide in the Appalachians. The little girl in India cannot get closer than the first two clues. There are many disabled people who are deeply into maps and geography, and they are having a lot of fun.

​​SMLXL

First of all, Forrest doesn't really answer Jenny's question. He does infer that there are barriers that will prevent many people from actually getting to the Rocky Mountains to RETRIEVE the chest. 

People on my side of the country are deterred by finances, transportation, responsibilities at home, and the time it would take to journey across the country to pick up a treasure even AFTER they had solved the poem. For some people, even after they've solved the poem, going to retrieve it may be nearly as impossible as it would be for the little girl in India to make an ocean voyage to the US to pick it up. Maybe that's why Forrest said he wished he had another treasure to hide in the Appalachians. 

A little girl in India would have a much harder time finding the resources (money, time, a parent that believed her) needed to MAKE A TRIP to the US to RETRIEVE the treasure. 

And dang it, this little girl was READY with her pail, UGGS, and bucket. Stupid ocean.

​​

The key words in Forrest's response are "GET CLOSER." Notice he did not say the little girl couldn't solve the clues. He said she couldn't GET CLOSER to them. 

If the first two clues are non-physical places or ideas, and the rest of the clues are physical spots in the Rocky Mountains, of course she can't get closer. 

For example, if the first two clues are Forrest's memories (alone in there), and "mother," (I'm not saying these are the first two clues, but using them as examples), and the next clues are all physical locations you can actually travel to, a little girl in India can't get any closer than the first two non-physical clues. 

Just like if the clues in the poem were in a grocery store. Oh, how ridiculous, right? However, say you're on a treasure hunt in a grocery store. You've solved the first two clues. You've made it to the candy isle, and the prize is the eggplant in the produce section. So, when you come out of the candy isle...wait, what?! There's a GIANT FREAKING OCEAN blocking you from the produce isle, and you can't get any closer to laying your hands on that golden eggplant. DARN IT!

​​

Forrest further reiterates the problem of barriers by mentioning the disabled people. He didn't say disabled people can't SOLVE the poem. He didn't say the little girl can't SOLVE the poem. He's implying that disabled people and the little girl in India may not be able to GET CLOSE to the chest, due to terrain, or whatever. But they can certainly enjoy the fun the chase presents by SOLVING the poem. Solving a clue is not synonymous with getting closer to a clue!

​​

Everyone seems to ignore Forrest's specific, and often literal, way of speaking. Maybe that's where my Asperger's gives me an advantage. Get closer means to physically get closer. It doesn't mean I need BOTG to SOLVE the poem, but of course, everyone needs BOTG to RETRIEVE it. That's how seemingly conflicting statements are resolved.

Forrest didn't contradict himself with the little girl in India, going with confidence, and saying "No, no you can't," when asked if you can get the treasure chest from home (I couldn't find this exact quote, so if someone knows the exact quote where F answers "No, no you can't," please leave it in the comments). Of course you can't, because you're home, and the treasure is in the Rocky Mountains! Never does he say the poem can't be SOLVED at home. The problem is you can't RETRIEVE it from home. You have to get in your car and physically go to the location of the treasure, put your hands on it, lift it, and carry it away.

Secondly, remember this question and answer from Jenny's site? It's from ChaseChat's very own know-it-all, mdavis19! Which is funny, because he mentioned this quote just yesterday, that no specialized knowledge is needed. What he failed to mention is the second part of Forrest's answer!

mdavis19: Is any specialized knowledge required to find the treasure? For instance, something learned during your time in the military, or from a lifetime of fly fishing? Or do you really expect any ordinary average person without your background to be able to correctly interpret the clues in the poem?

Forrest: No specialized knowledge is required mdavis19, and I have no expectations. My Thrill of the Chase book is enough to lead an average person to the treasure.f

So, the little girl in India, besides having the barrier of a giant ocean preventing her from laying her hands on the chest, is also missing one key material: FORREST'S MEMOIR, THE THRILL OF THE CHASE. Remember, all she has is the poem and a map of the Rocky Mountains, which we don't really know if that's what constitutes a "good" map or the "right" map. In the above answer, Forrest pretty clearly says the BOOK IS ENOUGH to lead the average person to the treasure. 

​​

So, to me, there's no confusion regarding the little girl in India. Logic and a little imagination make Forrest's words pretty clear and straightforward. Like he's said all along. 

In other news, James is coming for another weekend on June 8th! Woohoo!! :)

The Most Perfect Weekend

I had a great weekend with James. Since I had some decent comp dollars and a comped room at the Hard Rock, we thought we'd head over there for a night. But first, we went to visit my mom, and stopped by my house to pack a few things. There was a contest starting at 5:00, so instead of checking in right when we got there, we went to play the slots for a little bit so we wouldn't miss the 5:00 drawing. Almost immediately, I had a pretty decent win on a Top Dollar machine:

We didn't win the 5:00 drawing, so we went and checked in, and learned we had been upgraded to a Spa King Suite, which was extremely sweet!

We actually didn't win any of the drawings that night, but we had a lot of fun and won a few more small jackpots. It was exciting, but the best thing was that James and I were together.

I'm planning on flying him out in the next few weeks, and that weekend, we're going to just relax at home, make cookies and lie in bed and watch TV all weekend.

Here's a few selfies we took. I may not be Suzanne Sommers, but James is perfect and just an all around normal, handsome prince.

I thought this pig looked just like a Nug from Dragon Age, so I had to have a picture with it on Sunday morning after breakfast.

As for today, it's back to work. My mom is going to rehab today, and I've got to get a bag ready for her to take there. 

Fennboree Day Two

This post is a hard one to write, not because it's painful, but because James and I realized just how CLOSE we were on our last search on this trip. That would be on Day 4, so I'm safe to post about Day 2, which was just as awesome as Day 4, but not so revelational. Lol. I want to post the info we've discovered, but I realize now is truly the time to keep my mouth shut.

Okay, so Day Two was the potluck at Fennboree in Hyde Park. There was SOOO much food. I didn't have the time to make mac n cheese and cookies, so I made two pans of the good ole standby--rice krispy treats.

Upon arrival, I saw WiseOne carrying some heavy loads (a cooler and something else) up the hill, so I jogged up and took the cooler from her, and that thing was heavy. It might have been filled with bricks. Lol.

After I set down the treats, I helped myself to a hot dog and spotted Spallies and went to chat with her. James took longer to get his food--I guess cause he's a man and can eat like a horse. He joined us with a plate full of fried chicken. Like maybe ten pieces. He must've built up quite an appetite that morning.

It was a really fun day. There was a little boy who ran up to me as I was setting down the rice krispies to show me a little golden treasure box and a prize box that held a cool little telescope in it. I showed him how to use the telescope, and he wanted me to open the little plastic gold chest, which didn't open, although I pretended to try and he liked that. I later saw him standing under a tree peering through the telescope. I wish I had a picture of that.

Later, I found out Sacha had hidden the treasure chests in an area around the pavilion for the kids to find. If they returned a treasure chest, they got a prize. When the kids were done searching, Forrest and I were going to go search for one of the few that were left, but as we were walking up to do that, Sacha announced the trivia contest. So I had a dilemma...search for treasure with Forrest, or play the trivia game? I noticed Forrest was getting distracted with attention, so I joined the trivia contest. The first round was easy. I knew almost all the answers, except the ones with numbers for answers. I'm not good at math. At all. Or remembering numbers.

Here I am sitting in the blue sweatshirt as Sacha conducted the contest.

I was the first in the second round to answer a question, and it was a number question. "When did Forrest sell his gallery?" Immediately, a couple dates came to mind--1979 and 1986. But both were wrong...it was 1988. So, I was out of the competition. I got a nice coffee cup consolation prize, but I made the mistake of setting it down, and when I returned for it, it was gone. Lol.

So, I went to search for the little treasure chests, but couldn't find any. Heck, if I couldn't find a treasure chest hidden for kids, how could I find the treasure chest? Lol...

I also got a chance to hand out some beautiful bracelets that NTMI from ChaseChat made. They represent the turquoise bracelet that's in the bronze chest. I gave one to Cynthia and Sacha and a few other people that made an impression on me. I also brought one to Forrest, but it was too small.

James was kind enough to give his bracelet to Forrest.

Then, James and I went on the short hike to the waterfall. It was a nice hike, very private and peaceful and you could hear the water trickling down the stream, and the wind whispering through the trees.

Forrest also spent a lot of time autographing things, like Spallie's tee shirt:

And mine, too:

After that, I remembered an old video Dal did a long time ago about an old pueblo where pottery shards littered the ground. We talked to him about it, and decided to go check it out.

So, we were on our way to Ojo Caliente. When we got to the resort where we were supposed to park, we noticed it was about to storm. The sky was dark in the distance, the wind was picking up, and the thunder was getting unnervingly louder. I don't think James really understands the danger of lightning, since he's from Seattle, since he was like "La la la, let's go on a hike!"

Thankfully, the storm passed without killing us. We weren't sure which way to go, so we just started up the path, then decided to take a short cut by climbing up the side of the rocky mountain. It was a little strenuous, but I'm glad we did, because we found a cool medicine wheel at the top made with chunks of quartz. People had left little offerings of pottery shards and beads and other stuff. You can also see this medicine wheel from Google Earth.

Shortly after that, we were scanning the ground for anything cool, and I stooped down and got a butt full of cactus. And when I tried to pull them out, they got stuck in my thumb, index finger, palm, and wrist. So, the remainder of the four hour hike, I had to be careful of how I bent over or picked anything up. Lol. I'm thankful the cactus thorns were more like wiry hairs than like this one.

Anyway, we finally arrived at the Posi Pueblo ruins, and had so much fun looking at all the painted pottery littered among the ground. We had collected a few pieces prior to entering the fenced area.

Anyway, we finally were getting tired, so we headed back to the car, then back to our "Wonderland Villa." It was a great day, and the ride home was amazing. The storms kept brewing, but then there was a break, and we saw a couple rainbows, and this spectacular sunset:

Anyway, I can honestly say that was one of the best days of my life. I love creating new memories with James, who is just the most awesome guy I've ever met. We truly found the enchantment in the Land of Enchantment. :)

Heading to 'Boree TOMORROW!

Well, this week so far has been absolutely the BEST EVER, and holy cow, the next week can only be better, although it's hard to see how it could be any better than the last several days.

James arrived safely and on time Saturday, and we had a great, very busy week, even though I had to work Tuesday. Saturday, we had lunch at Outback, then went to visit my mom and James got to meet my mom, brother and sister-in-law. He passed inspection with flying colors because he is awesome. Then we went to Tampa and won some money. We made the mistake of staying overnight at the Hard Rock and losing what we won the next day. Lol. Oh well. SO much fun, though!

We came home Monday and took Joe, Aidan, and Joe's friend, Jackson, to Escapeology. We played Arizona shootout and it was so much fun. Aidan very much impressed me with her clue solving ability. We escaped the room with 10 minutes to spare. Then, most of us wanted to eat at Dennys, but Aidan the Tattooed Diva said, "I don't eat at Denny's."

So we ate at iHop, which seemed grosser than Denny's to me at first, until I saw they had Swedish crepes, which were delicious and yummy and I ate every bite. Lol.

Tuesday, I had to work, but James dropped me off, then came to get me for lunch. It was a slow day, so my boss said to take our time, so we went to McKenna's, and afterward, browsed a thrift shop/antique store next door. I found a very old book that I want to really inspect. It's called Rocky Mountain Tales and was printed in 1885, and has notes written inside it by someone that appears to have some kind of first hand knowledge of the story. I think James and I will read it on the plane tomorrow maybe.

Then James dropped me back at work and proceeded to fix all my doorknobs and change all the burnt out light bulbs. He's so awesome. Then he picked me up at work, and we just relaxed that night and watched TV.

I took yesterday off so I could show James some local attractions, and we really wanted to see Captain America. So, we got up early and went and explored Turtle Mound for a while, then went to the beach to metal detect, and tackle each other in the ocean for a while. I taught James how to body surf. Then, we came home and jumped in the pool and I beat James in an impromptu game of pool basketball.

But, I have to say, James can kick my butt in Othello. Lol. Not for long, though, cause I'm learning fast.

Then we to see Captain America and I think it was good. :)

Oh yeah, we also baked cookies together! Everything was delicious...

And tomorrow we head to Santa Fe and 'boree. We should be at the campground in time for S'mores. Oh man, it's gonna be so much fun. James rented us a little (well, it's really pretty big on seven private acres) wonderland villa, and it'll be amazing. While in NM, we'll probably search a spot I've been looking at for a while, and attend the 'boree in between searches and other fun.

Anyway, we're engaged now in theory because there's no formal proposal or ring yet, but that's coming soon enough, I have a feeling. I've never met anyone so compatible with me. He's generous, kind, and hilarious. We laugh ALL THE TIME and it's just so nice to have such an adorable and huggable robot. And he's so lifelike I can't even feel his robot parts whirring when I snuggle him.

We're looking forward to meeting our friends at 'boree, so look for us tomorrow at the campfire!