Robot Vacuums Are Awesome

I decided to be more selective as to what I write about.  Looking back at my books, I wrote about plenty of silly things just so I could write.  I wrote about some things that I thought were so great that ended up being not so great.  I made a decision not to write about this next topic.  I thought it would seem a topic of little interest, frivolous and extravagant, but then I reconsidered.  How comical will it be thirty years from now to see what I considered frivolous in 2021.  Even today I imagine some people are shaking their heads thinking since when is a vacuum cleaner frivolous.  After all it isn't a fur coat or a fancy car.

It all started after Christmas of 2020.  My good friend Connie mentioned that she received her all time favorite Christmas gift from her daughter.  It was a robot vacuum cleaner.  She explained how much she loved it and even named it Robbie.  I asked a few questions about it including the brand.  At that point I had no intention of getting one.  I thought the price would be out of range.  I had seen demos on QVC and just didn't believe it was something I would need or want.

I have to preface this with the fact I love to buy vacuum cleaners.  My daughter loves shoes, my mother had a big collection of coffee pots,  my husband buys tools and I like crafting supplies.  Ha, ha I bet you thought I was going to say vacuum cleaners, but I have always liked to find the easiest most efficient way to clean my house.  I remember back in the 1970's when I purchased a Sears canister vacuum cleaner with a super long retractable cord and an upright powerhead that plugged into the canister unit.  I thought it was the best thing ever, and it was for its time.  I did sit through demonstrations by the Rainbow company and a Kirby vacuum cleaner salesperson.  It was tempting but the salespeople were so high pressure, I would get very annoyed with them.  No matter the quality of the machine, I just couldn't buy from them even though they were just trying to make a living.  I went through several Hoovers, Eurekas,  etc. but they never lasted more than a couple years.  You do get what you pay for in vacuum cleaners.  Fast forward to ten or twelve years ago.  I had heard nothing but praise for Dyson products.  I decided to go for it.  I had a big Kohl's coupon plus the machine I wanted was on sale.  I bought it, and it really is the best.  I still have it and have never had a minutes trouble.  Then my daughter purchased a Dyson cordless cleaner which has a battery.  You keep it plugged into the wall and grab it for quick jobs like the kitchen floor or by the front door.  I bought my own when they were closing out the V7 model.  I loved it and started to use it all the time.  I rarely took out my "big Dyson".  

So how could I possibly need another vacuum?  Obviously I didn't need it, but I thought I would research it a little just to see.  The demos fascinated me, and the cost was affordable.  I opted for a basic model which wasn't compatible with Alexa.  That wasn't a problem because most people and things don't get along with Alexa.  Although her and I are good friends.  She reads to me, plays the music I like and spells words.  Buying the robot vacuum was the best decision.  I just love it.  We named her Hazel after the 1960's sitcom character.  Unless you're my age, that name will mean nothing but in the TV show she was a live-in maid.  

Hazel is awesome.  It comes with a remote control and a docking station.  I put the docking station in my bedroom out of the way, but she can always find her way back.  

My first use for her was in my bedroom.  I picked up anything off the floor that I thought she may get tangled in and set her to clean.  She went under the bed and under the dressers.  I am embarrassed to say, those are spaces that very rarely get cleaned, and I won't be sharing the picture of the dust bin.  Thankfully each cleaning since has produced a lot less dust and dirt.  Hazel is a better worker than me.   I learned quickly the places where she could get hung up and now block them off.  She almost always backs up and changes her route on her own.  When she does get herself in a situation, she just beeps until I check on her.  She can go to the edge of steps and won't topple over, but just turns herself around.  I like that she can go from carpet to hardwood floors and back without any problem.  

It can be set to go in circles for spot cleaning, do the edge of the room or randomly work it's way around to all the surfaces.  You can even buy a water tank and cleaning mop cloth that is sold separately to mop your floor.  I haven't looked into that yet.  Amazingly it hits all the spots if you just let her do her thing.  Although when I first got Hazel, she decided to start cleaning one night at midnight.  Luckily I had just settled into bed, so I grabbed the remote, pressed home and told her to go back to bed.  Come to find out, she was in automatic mode and the time was set for midnight.  She was just following instructions.  Although I would never leave her alone to clean, I did learn quickly about that feature.

I used to just sit and watch amazed, but now I do other things while she works.  Talk about multi tasking.  Almost everyday, I set Hazel to vacuum a different room.  

I should be set for vacuum cleaners for a very long time.  Connie got us hooked on Alexa and now Hazel, so who knows what she will find in the future that we can't live without.  I have a lot of favorite things that I may have to write about just so my grandchildren can have a good laugh many years from now.

Education Doesn't Always Come From School

Yes, I know I have five amazing grandchildren.  They are all individuals in their own right, and I love each of them.  It appears that I write most of my grandchild blogs these days about ten year old Ewan.  I have written about the others over the years, but now they are older and because of the quarantine,  I just don't have access to all the wonderful things they do.  Ewan is the youngest, and it won't be long before he will reach the older group so I have to write about him for as long as I can although I have a feeling he will always be trying new things.

Last week he had a four day weekend.  On Monday, he decided he wanted to sew.  Since we haven't seen them for quite a while, I want to thank our daughter Heather for sending us pictures and keeping us up to date.  Ewan's dad sews a lot of functional items like bags, tarps and workshop aprons so he's a good teacher.  Ewan wanted to make an apron.  His dad had made an apron when he was in middle school and still had the pattern.  Ewan practiced for a while with the sewing machine.  He sewed through paper without thread just to get the feel of the machine.  Then he found some material he liked and started sewing for real.

He stuck with it and soon he had accomplished his first big sewing project.  He has made small little items with a needle and thread, but I think this was his first with the sewing machine.  It isn't a treadle sewing machine that he would use for his old time skills, but knowing him that will come at some point.  He now has a great looking apron complete with pockets. 

Since he was dressed for it, he decided to do some baking.  He has mastered making cookies, Nana's special dumplings and attempted bread a week ago.  On this day, he decided on a new bread recipe. Since a picture or in this case five pictures are worth a thousand words, here they are.

It looks good.  He modified his recipe a bit.  He substituted almond milk for dairy milk because he wanted his mom to be able to eat it.  Notice the kitchen, it's all cleaned up.  He even cleaned up his baking mess.  Ewan may not have had school this day, but he learned a lot of valuable skills.

The Secret Room

As I write the stories of my everyday life, my husband compiles the blog stories and formats them to be made into hard covered books for future generations.  He has completed seven books but lately the number of blogs I have written has come to a screeching halt.  I will have to reach deep into my memory to complete the next couple of books.  I don't want to stop writing but the pandemic and age has put an end to any great adventures.  I have written about deer, bluebirds, other wildlife around our home and the weather way too much, so any new ideas I have are few and far between. 

My daughter mentioned a while ago that her ten year old son Ewan is reading at an advanced high school level.  She said it was hard to find age appropriate books at a reading level that would challenge him.  That got me thinking of how and when he became such an avid reader.  I think it was before he was born.  His brother Dylan almost always has a book along with him.  His mother has read to him every night before bed since birth.  Both his parents have an extensive library.  I read quite a bit in my older years but I admit I never was much of a reader.  I like to make things, but Ewan's other grandparents attend every book sale in the area.  This is my daughter and son in law's family room/library. 

This is Ewan's room.

 

If you look carefully there are several interesting elements in this bookcase.  I am not talking about the massive numbers of books.  I am talking about some details that aren't apparent.  One of details is the little blocks put in the bookshelf frame with hints.

When she was young, our daughter wrote a book about going into her closet and finding a secret room.  I imagine I had read her the Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, but the details were totally her idea.  I should look in my memories box to see if I still have that book.  My son-in-law also always wished for a hidden room to go to.  Maybe this was foreshadowing because that's exactly what he built for his son.  

Ewan has a playroom off his bedroom.  It is where his toys are kept, and it has an open space to play.  One day he came home and went to his room.  The doorway to his playroom was covered with bookshelves.  Can you see the plywood showing on the right side?  It only took him a moment to realize what had happened.  His dad had built a magic door. 

   Inside the door was his playroom, all intact but hidden.

I would say Ewan is a lucky boy.  Even as an adult, it might be fun to have a hidden space to think, meditate or to hide things when company is coming.  Oh wait, no one comes to our house anymore so I guess I don't need that right now.  This secret room is something he will always remember and will most likely tell his kids and grandkids about.

Our February 2021 Menu Plan

In my last blog post I talked about occupying myself during this year of quarantine.  I also mentioned how easily my husband entertains himself.  He is working on my eighth blog book.  That is what I thought he was doing on his computer.  Apparently he was working on something else.  I guess he was tired of me asking him what he wanted for dinner.  This is what he came up with.

He even made a grocery list to correspond.  This is his 2nd month doing this.  I guess it's my fault.  I told him if he chose the meals, I would clean up.  Coming up with meals everyday has gotten very old after 53 years.  The part of the contract which was vague was who would cook.  I guess that was one of those unwritten things.  He did make up some meatballs and meatloaf for the freezer.  He has also cooked a few of these recipes, and I do appreciate that.  The hard part is the planning ahead part so meat is not still frozen and any thing else which needs to be prepared ahead of time.

Looking at this menu reminds me of a story.  When we had our first child, I knew less than a little about babies.  She turned out awesome, no thanks to me.  When she cried, I would feed her.  The more she cried, the more I fed her.  On one of her doctor appointments we discussed the fact that she cried a lot.  He asked me how I would feel if I ate Thanksgiving dinner for every meal.  He said she was crying because she was too full.  I think following this menu exactly will make us both cry from being too full, it will be a lot of cooking everyday and also will provide a lot of leftovers.  I also noticed there is no Culvers or Dominoes built into this menu.  

So, I appreciate the effort but perhaps a little modification is in order.  We aren't royalty.  Oh yes, I forgot.  He is royalty.  His 23andme account says he is a descendant of King Louis XVI.  The guy who got beheaded.  Hopefully it wasn't for working his cook staff too hard.

Ramblings of an Eleven Month Quarantine Survivor

We are inching up to eleven months of quarantine.  Originally we knew it was a terrible virus but mistakenly thought if everyone was careful, we would get back to normal life in a few weeks.  We had no idea it would become so political and turn into a big fat mess.  In April of 2020, I wrote about it.  I thought it would make families closer and I said my husband and myself took to it very well.  It turns out what I wrote was pure bologna.  I was very wrong.  Although temporarily families bonded and enjoyed each other, it basically fell apart when the stresses of working at home and virtual schooling became an everyday thing.  Fortunately the only things I actually miss are running to the grocery store if I am out of something or going out for breakfast.  I also miss going on day trips either alone or with friends.  My husband and I could safely go somewhere in the car, but at our age we need bathroom breaks and a public bathroom is the last place I want to go. 

Mike, my husband, is still doing well.  He is content just doing his thing.  He has a much better handle on our situation.  He has a very level personality.  I guess I don't.  Today he told me not to break the law in any way because I would die in prison in one day.   He watches a lot of You Tube videos on building things so I told him not to build a tiny house or he would have to live in it alone.  The upside is that I get a lot of steps each day just wandering around my house.

In an attempt to occupy myself, I decided to research shampoo bars.  This isn't the first time.  http://www.thecabincountess.com/2018/02/shampoo-bar.html I know I am scraping the bottom of the barrel of activities with this one, but a pet peeve of mine is a shower full of shampoo and conditioner bottles.  It's all on me.  Anyone who knows me will know my husband does not need anything but a bar of soap and a washcloth to wash his head.  A few years ago, I attempted to make soap.  It worked out well and at that time I used that homemade soap to wash my hair.  It was wonderful but as the time went on, it dried out my hair even more.  I ended up going back to the bottles.  I bought the purple shampoo for blonde (or in my case white) hair.  It was good but when I checked it out on the Think Dirty app, it turned out those shampoos are full of junk.  On a scale of 0 to 10, 10 being the worst, most of them scored an 8 or more.   

I found several shampoo bar options but settled on J.R. Liggetts Shampoo Bar.  I found their Tea Tree and Hemp Oil third on a top ten list although some of the Amazon reviews are terrible.  There were also some good reviews.  As with everything in life, not everyone sees things exactly the same.  Excuse the picture.  I ripped it apart before I realized I should have taken a photo. 

When I got this bar of soap, I was disappointed.  It was so tiny.  The picture online made it look like a normal sized bar or soap.  When I saw how small it was, I thought I got ripped off.  The bar itself is only 2" by 2.5" by 1.25" thick.  It was not cheap.  The cost ranges from $9 to $12 per bar.  It can be purchased online or some specialty stores.  I noticed a local Amish store carries it, but I have no idea the cost.  It comes in several varieties.  Since my hair is dry and hasn't been cut for almost a year, I chose the moisturizing bar. 

I have little mesh bags and some crocheted bags.  These work great for bars of soap and can be hung up to dry.  A slippery soggy bar of soap isn't much better than having shampoo bottles, so hanging to dry is the best solution.   

Now for the results of my first shampoo with this little bar of soap.  I have never had so many suds.  It was so sudsy that I was certain I would never be able to rinse them all out.  I was wrong.  It rinsed out very well, and my hair actually squeaked which hasn't happened for a long time.  The information about this product says you don't have to use conditioner so I didn't.  It was true.  My hair combed out easily.  At first look, it seems smoother but that can be deceiving.  It reminds me of my last experience with a dry hair treatment.  I decided to put coconut oil on my hair.  I was told to apply the coconut oil, wrap my head in a towel and allow the oil to penetrate the hair for a while, then shampoo and rinse.  I followed instructions.  My hair combed out nicely and I thought I had found the answer to my static hair.  What I didn't know was that my hair was smooth because it was greasy.  I am not familiar with oily hair because my hair is so dry but when I got up in the morning, my neck felt greasy. I went outside to feed the birds and my hair turned hard.  I then realized that the coconut oil left in my hair had hardened and my oily neck was actually the warmed up oil.  I hope to have better luck with this shampoo.

It looks better right at this moment, and hopefully in the morning that will continue but I suspect I will look like I got my finger caught in a light socket.  After this photo, I put a sweater on over my head and I briefly looked like a chia pet.  Maybe things will improve after a few more washings or maybe they won't.

Once in a Lifetime Bobcat Experience

I have been holding back on writing this blog in hopes of getting a better view of our latest wildlife excitement, but our temperatures have been mild and having open water instead of solid ice has impacted the experience.  

A few days ago, I was looking out the windows.  I scan the landscape several times a day just in case something interesting comes into sight.  I imagine I miss a lot because it isn't feasible to watch every minute of the day.  For some reason this year we have seen more wildlife than ever before.  It could be that we are home so much more or even the wildlife are confused about the energy of the universe.  We have been seeing owls on a regular basis, we saw our first bear last summer, there are coyotes which we sometimes see in the winter in addition to the usual eagles, hawks, rabbits, squirrels, possum, skunks, raccoons and the random woodchuck who insisted on living under our deck.  However, I had never seen a bobcat up close.

My story started last week.  We live on the edge of a marsh that connects to the Fox River in south central Wisconsin.  Looking out the window, I notice a hole in the ice close to the bank.  We were having a cold spell and our pond was frozen solid, so seeing this hole lead me to believe there were otters in the area.

 

This isn't the first time this has happened so I knew right away it was an exit or entrance hole for otters.  We see them swimming occasionally in the summer and sometimes we see them sliding and playing on the ice during winter.  I would check several times a day to see if they would appear through this hole.  There was nothing for a few days.  They like to get active later in the day so I would always check around 4:00pm.  One day, low and behold, two of them appeared.  One came completely out of the hole and was nosing around.  I thought it was alone, when another nose poked out.  The second one was a little skittish but eventually came out too.  

They played a bit and then as quickly as they appeared, they were gone.  It was getting dark and I had trouble getting really good photos.  Looking from our window there were several branches and grasses blocking the way. After they disappeared, I proceeded to make supper.  While that was happening I decided to take another peek to see if the otters had returned.  They hadn't, but standing about three feet from the ice hole was a BOBCAT.  I had never seen one so close up.  I grabbed the camera and did the best I could.  It was partially hidden in the brush, and it was almost dark out.  

I believe the otters sensed something was amiss and maybe that is why the one was so nervous and they disappeared so quickly.  I don't know where the bobcat came from (he just appeared) or where he went (pouf he was gone).  Although the next night, I saw bigger cat tracks in the snow next to our house.  I put a ruler next to the prints to see the size.  This was not a normal house cat.

My son in law offered to come and clear the view.  He got rid of the dried grasses and some branches impeding my view.  Of course, since he did that the otters have not returned.  I haven't seen them if they have.  The ice hole looks like there has been a lot of action near it, so something has been in the area.  Whether its otters or the bobcat, I have no way of telling. With all the open water there is no need for the otters to use the hole.  They can get in and out of the water wherever they choose.

I am sure I will never see the bobcat again, but just in case....I'm ready. 

Happy New Year

A year ago when we were all wishing each other a Happy New Year, little did we know what was ahead.  It was a year to remember for the entire world.  It has been hard at times and there are still people who believe this virus doesn't even exist.  They believe it is a huge scam that the whole world is in on.  If you have ten people together, chances are all them won't agree on a certain topic let alone the entire world.  I for one believe it is real and our family and friends have done everything we can to be safe.  Even with that, some family members who are essential have gotten the virus so don't tell me it isn't real. 

Doing the best we can is a bit lonely at times.  My husband and I spent St. Patrick's Day, Easter, Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Years eve and birthdays alone.  I am grateful to at least have a partner to spend time with.  Being truly alone would be harder.  It is no wonder some people push the envelope, but we are getting too close to the end to take a chance now.  

 

In an attempt to safely interact with our family but still see each other, my daughter Heather and her son Ewan asked to come out to our house today to snowshoe on our trail.  We could be outside, not get too close and be safe.  We had some snow last week, but not enough to snowshoe on.  They walked the trail a little bit but the trail is a little hard to walk on right now.  It is bumpy and a little slippery.  We decided to start a fire in the fire pit, and we sat outside.  It was a fairly mild day for January, and we were bundled up.  Ewan is our little outdoor guy so he busied himself finding "fat wood".  Fat wood is from the heartwood of certain pine trees, and it has a lot of pitch in the wood.  The wood smells awesome and it is a great fire starter.  He melted snow to make his famous pine needle tea.  I have not tried it, but he says it's delicious.  

 

As long as we had a fire going, we tried to think what we could do with it.  I had some hot dogs and beans in the house, so I asked Ewan if he wanted a little outdoor meal.  I brought out some hot Russian Tea to drink and keep warm with, since it takes a special palate to enjoy pine needle tea.

Then I found an old kettle, and we heated the beans and franks over the outdoor fire.  

It didn't take long for them to heat up.  I brought out an aluminum pie plate so it felt more like roughing it.  I think he liked them.

I can't believe how fast the day went.  Getting dark at 4:30 doesn't help the situation.  We had a lot of relaxing fun.  It was so nice to do something normal for a change.  Even Piper got to run around.  She nosed around in the snow.  We certainly had plenty of wildlife scents in the yard to keep her busy.

Before Ewan, Heather and Piper left for home, Ewan had something to show me. A while ago I had taught him to knit.  He made his dad a scarf for Christmas, but he wanted to show me what he was working on now.  He does a great job, and has really caught on.  He came in the house briefly and pulled his mask down so I could take his picture.  He is very concerned about both sets of grandparents, and he doesn't want us to get sick. At bedtime, his mom reads to him and he knits.  I think it is the sweetest thing and a routine he will always remember.  

It was a great day.  Even Papa came outside to join the fun.  

 

Hopefully we can get back to our normal life before too long.  My husband and I are too old to waste a whole year of fairly good health doing nothing.  We knew the time would come when we couldn't get out and about like we used to, but not this way.  We can only hope in 2021 we will be free of all the nonsense that happened in 2020.

On Winters Night When Stars Come Out

As we age, our past memories come forward.  I am starting to remember events in my life that were long forgotten.  It could be that we are staying safe at home, therefore we aren't making a lot of new memories and we are relying on days gone by.  It could be what naturally happens with the aging brain.  I remember my parents, particularly my mom, recalling story after story of her young life.  My regret is that we didn't record her stories or at least write them down.  At times we tried to bring out the tape recorder, but she wasn't comfortable doing that.  It's hard to be spontaneous with a microphone in your face. 

I recently saw on Facebook that the Christmas Star or the Star of Bethlehem would appear in the night sky for the first time since 1226.  I decided to research it a little bit.  On December 21, which is the beginning of the winter solstice, two of the largest planets in our solar system will align.  These two planets are Saturn and Jupiter.  This will give the appearance of a very bright star.  In the middle ages the idea of planets hadn't been formulated yet so all bright spots in the sky were considered stars.  This is a very simplified version of this rare occurrence, and there are many theories surrounding it.  During the past two nights I tried to get a photo, but we had a cloud cover in our part of Wisconsin and it couldn't be seen. 

The appearance of the Star of Bethlehem sparked a memory from about 1956 when I was nine years old and my sister had just turned six.  We lived in Black River Falls Wisconsin and attended a little one room church.  

 

My sister and I were part of the Christmas Eve service.  I presume there were many other children involved but my memory only includes my little sister and me.  I remember my parents dressing up and of course my sister and I had matching outfits.  I'm not sure, but I think we had a type of choir robe to wear over our clothing to look more angelic.  We practiced so hard that I remember my sister and my recitation to this day.

She went first.  She stood in front of the congregation and said:

Welcome everybody,

Bells sound sweet and clear.

Christmas is so lovely,

May God Bless us Here

I don't know where I was in the program.  All that is lost.  I imagine I was full of anxiety.  I think you are born with a fear of public speaking or you're not.  I was probably scared to death and over prepared because I remember what I recited as well.

On winters night

when stars come out and shine upon the snow,

I think of how the Bethlehem star shown out

long years ago.

The star God sent to to lead wise men 

to where the Christ child lay,

Born in lowly manger bed

on that first Christmas day.

Then thankfully I lay my head

upon my pillow white,

and pray that God his children

lead us to the morning light.

 

It is crazy what we remember.  I also remember the question I was asked when I was confirmed, yet I don't remember the name of my third grade teacher.  I hardly remember much of anything about that year except that it may have been the year I had a pipe thrown at me by an unruly boy and chipped my front tooth.  I also had to have my lip stitched up from the experience.  Maybe I had temporary amnesia.  Don't ask me today's date either.  Thank goodness I have a watch that tells me such things. I had an appointment with the orthopedic doctor to make sure my leg was totally healed.  Thank goodness they called, or I would have totally missed it.  I am also following in my mothers footsteps because I tell my family and friends the same story more than once.  People are usually kind enough to just let me go, but I can tell by the response that they have heard it before.  I don't talk to that many people anymore so you would think I could remember who I told what.  

The year 2020 has been a true challenge from the COVID 19 pandemic to the Presidential election.  Things happened we couldn't even imagine.  The message is to live each day to it's fullest because you never know what lies ahead.

MERRY CHRISTMAS TO ALL

AND

A HAPPY NEW YEAR

(doubt if 2021 could be worse, but who knows)

A Unique Advent Calendar

For Christians the Advent season began on Sunday November 29, 2020.  It is all about preparing for the birth of Jesus.  Advent actually means Coming in Latin.  The true Christian meaning is probably lost for some,  and it has become a countdown to Santa Claus. I am not about to debate this, because your beliefs are a personal thing.  Every year since my daughter gave birth to her children, they would have an advent calendar.  It was a visual countdown to Christmas.  I had them for my kids too, but they were made of cheap cardboard with perforated numbered doors.  Behind each door was a piece of low quality chocolate candy nearly not edible.  It never occurred to me to be creative with the process.  My daughter has taken it to a new extreme.  Each year she betters herself.  She makes it so much fun, her boys will want her to do it forever.  

This year was no exception.  She has been collecting the small Altoid tins for a long time.  I'm not sure if she had this in mind or if it's just hard to throw away these cute little tins.  For anyone who watches our grandson Ewan's Youtube channel, Old Time Skills, you will see he likes them too.  

She started out with her Cricuit machine or something similar.  She cut out different patterns to cover the top of the tins and numbers 1 to 24.

 

After the tins are decorated, they are positioned on a board.  In this case, she used a distressed barn board.  Her husband drilled a hole through the back and secured them to the board.

 

They chose to position the tins in the shape of a Christmas Tree.  With some imagination, the shape could be of anything.

Now the fun begins.  Everyday that corresponds to the date, the tin is opened.  Inside is a clue with an initial on for each child if there are more than one.  She saved clues from previous years, but found out her son remembers every single one so she has to create new clues for him.  Of course the clues have to rhyme and done quickly and secretly.  That is a challenge with a ten year old who has exceptional hearing, sight and memory. 

  

A treat or small gift is hidden.  The clue is used to find it.  It isn't always easy to find.  This morning Ewan was up bright and early to head downstairs to open the first one.  It was reminiscent of Christmas morning.  

 

Oh where could it be.  It looks like this one is hidden in or around something blue.  There it is, behind the goldfish tank.  Today it is a big piece of Lindt chocolate.  There are many days I would get up early to find a large piece of chocolate.  I wonder what tomorrow will bring.

 

My daughter's college son still participates in this.  Since he can't be home to open the tins everyday, he will do it over the holiday break.  Last year, she bought a big Lego kit that contained several bags of pieces.  He would find each bag but didn't really know what it would make until the last clue.  Really good memories are being made.