Author: Kris Baker

Together, we make a beautiful family!

This furry little blue and orange monster loves his family!

Mr. Guy was busy with construction stuff today and The Lady went to school to do some work today.  I understand about Mr. Guy and the construction, but I thought The Lady got tired retired and stopped going to school.  Now she is going again.  I guess this makes her unretired.  When she got home, though, she said she was just tired.  Mr. Guy suggested that we go out for dinner since The Lady was tired.  She decided that she wanted to go to the loo bees.  Mr. Guy thought that sounded good to him and he told me that he thought that I would like it too.

Loo bees?  I have been to England so I know about loos.  And, I have been to lots of gardens so I also know about bees.  I don’t want to do anything at a loo where there are bees and I especially don’t want to eat bees in a loo.  The Lady must be very tired to suggest this for our dinner!  This was the best we could do for my first meal out in two years?

I didn’t say anything.  I kept my little monster mouth closed and hoped for something better than this sounded right then.

We hopped in the car and headed for the loo bees.

When Mr. Guy parked the car and said we were there, I didn’t see anything that looked like the loos that I remembered from England…or any bees flying around.  Things were looking up.

Mr. Guy carried me in the front door.  Still no bees.  Just a long line of people.  He explained that I had never been here before and that this is a different kind of place to eat called a cafeteria.  That is a funny sounding word…it sort of sounds like bacteria, which reminds of the loo because The Lady always told me to wash my monster mitts very well after visiting the loo so I wouldnt get germs.  It also sounds like wisteria, a plant that I’ve seen while visiting gardens, one that attracts bees.  Maybe this is all starting to make sense.  

We joined the line and walked  until we saw this sign that explained how we would get our food.  Oh, and I saw another sign that said Luby’s instead of loo bees.  I felt a whole lot better then.

But, still unsure how this all was going to work.  Mr. Guy explained that we would keep walking through the line and I could see all of the food choices.  I would just tell the servers what I wanted to eat and they would dish it up for me.

There was SO much food!  So much food that it looked like a grocery store where they had already recycled all of the packaging before you even bought the food!

I thought I would have a hard time figuring out what I would eat, but since orange food is my favorite, and there weren’t many orange choices, it wasn’t too hard to choose my dinner.

I ordered sweet potatoes!

They are one of my favorite orange foods…second maybe only to Cheetos.

I wasn’t sure tonight’s adventure was going to be a good one, but in the end, this furry little blue and orange monster ended up with a full belly and a happy heart!

Mr. Guy took me shopping for new shirts.  Yay!  We went to the store where I always go, the red store with the white circles everywhere.   We walked back to the section where the have little monster sized clothes.   Usually there are so many shirts in my size that I have a hard time choosing which one to get.  Today they didn’t have many at all.   In fact, there was only one that I liked.  But you know what?  if you only have one choice and that choice is peace, things aren’t so bad!  Even better when peace comes on an orange and blue shirt for this furry little blue and orange monster!

It was a good day!

I started today with the words that The Lady told me to think about yesterday buncing around in my little head…

Without water drops, there can be no oceans; without steps, there can be no stairs; without little things, there can be no big things! – Mehmet Murat Ildan.

When I woke up, I was still sad  about all of my shirts being packed in a box while the new part of my house is being destructed.

Then I thought that is such a small thing.  I am getting a new room.  Soon all of my shirts will be neatly hung in my new room.  And, Mr. Guy, The Lady, and I will have lots more space to play and have fun.  

The Lady told me that when the destruction is done, our good friend Ms. Joni will come visit us and we can all play together and make stuff in our new craft room.  All of the sudden, what I felt was a big thing began to feel smaller and smaller.  Then I wasn’t sad anymore!

There were people working at our house early this morning.  Mr. Guy said that they were putting stuff in the walls and the ceiling so that we would stay warm in the winter and cool in the summer.

The same thing is going to keep us both warm and cool?  I guess that is like the something seeming like big deal at one time and then small at another.  

When the workers left, I asked if I could go see what they did today.

The first thing I saw was a ladder.

I wanted to climb up.  I took the first step.

It felt like a big step, but then I looked up and realized it was a long way to the top.  I kept taking one step at a time until I made it all the way up that ladder!

…without steps, there can be no stairs…

I guess I was still thinking about yesterday.

Then I saw Mr. Paul.  He is our most important worker.  He knows everything about making new rooms.  I asked him if he would show me his tools of destruction.  He looked at me funny and said, “Tools of Destruction?! Don’t you mean tools of Construction ?”

Hmmm…I don’t know.  Do I?

Mr. Paul explained that construction means that you are putting things together, that you are making things.  Destruction means that you are taking them apart or tearing them down.   The Lady gave me an easy way to remember which word was the right word to use.   She pointed out that something had to be built before it could be torn down.  So construction has to happen before destruction. She then told me to think about the alphabet.  I started singing “A B C D…”  She stopped me right there.  “C comes before D just like construction comes before destruction.”

Well that’s handy, I thought to myself.  

“Oh!  I get it!  Like clean comes before dirty and chicken comes before dumplings.  Does it also mean that cookies come before dinner?”

The Lady told me that remembering the difference between construction and destruction by thinking about the alphabet was just one step…that did not lead to an entire staircase.  I think I understand what she was saying.

Mr. Paul knew that I was sort of confused by this whole conversation so he stepped in, more than one step but not a whole flight of stairs, and showed me some of his construction tools.

First, a hammer and a tape measure.  Mr. Paul said that a hammer could be used for both construction and destruction.  Right now he was only using it for construction.  His tape measure has lots of lines and numbers.  I think it is used for con-fusion rather than construction.

Then Mr. Paul showed me the tool that he uses to cut wood.  It was big, loud, and kind of scary with all of those sharp pointy parts.

Ah!  You cut the wood to destruct it! C before D.

The Lady explained that cutting the wood did not “destruct” or destroy it.  She went on to say that if I had not been confused by the measuring tape I would know that sometimes you have to cut wood so that it is the right size to be used for construction.

Now it’s D before C…Divide and then Conquer.  This furry little blue and orange monster is never going to be able to keep all of these rules straight!

Once Mr. Paul divides and conquers the wood, he uses a fancy nail gun to make walls and doors and ceilings.

Oh wait.  C before D.  Maybe the ceilings come before the doors.

However it works, I had fun learning about all of the tools Mr. Paul is using to construct the new part of our house.  But all the C and D rules exhausted me.

C before D.  Curiosity before Drained.

Happy Monday, everyone!

I am happy because today I got to think about big little things and little big things while helping The Lady with her picture.  She was supposed to take a macro photography picture.  This morning I didn’t know what that means.  Now I do!  Macro photography is taking a photo of something little and making it feel great big .  At least that’s the big picture that this little monster got when The Lady tried to explain this to me.  That sounded like fun!  I thought that The Lady might take a picture of this little blue and orange furry monster and make me look as big as a T-Rex, or maybe an elephant.   She said that we needed to find something smaller than me.

Smaller than me?  I am very small.  How would something smaller than me look great big?

We went outside to see what we could find.  I spotted a bright yellow flower and asked The Lady if it was small enough.  She said that it would work nicely for today’s photo.  I gently held the flower’s stem in my claws.  It didn’t look big at all.

The Lady suggested that I look at the flower very closely.  Look at its petals, their shape and color.  Look at its stem.  Look at the place where the stem and the petals meet.

I don’t think I’ve ever looked at a flower so carefully.  All of the sudden this little coreopsis looked as big as a triceratopsis.   It filled my little monster eyes with big amounts of yellow beauty.  This little flower made a big impression on me.

I started wondering if I, a little monster, could make as big an impression on others as this little flower made on me.  The Lady told me that she was sure that I could and  that I likely already had.  She said that I have lots of friends and that I make them smile.  And, making people smile and feel happy, even for just minute, makes a big impression.

I wish that I could make all of the people and monsters and animals happy and smiley all of the time.  It makes me sad when others are sad.  The Lady reminded me that just like with the flower that first looked small and then big to me, one little smile can grow in to many smiles.  That made my little smile grow bigger.

The Lady gave me something else to think about:

Without water drops, there can be no oceans; without steps, there can be no stairs; without little things, there can be no big things! – Mehmet Murat Ildan.

That is a big thought for a little monster, but I will think about it.

Let’s try this again!

It is May and time for another Month of Me.  The Lady and I didn’t do well last year with our May posts.  Actually, we didn’t do well with any posts over the last year.  It’s funny to me how that happens.  Sometimes we are excited to write and other times we are not.  The Lady says that it is normal for creative people to go in spits and farts fits and starts when it comes to doing creative things.  Over these last couple years, we’ve had some starts, but I don’t think we’ve had any fits.  We made a deal with each other to do better this year!

I’m a little confused because The Lady said that this is a good week to get back to regular photos and writing because she is supposed to take poor trait pictures all week long.  Hmmm…it seems to me that our not writing this last year is a pretty poor trait.  Why do we want to take pictures of that?  Those would be very sad pictures!  I’m ready to take some happy pictures of me, Mr. Guy, and The Lady doing happy things together.  I asked The Lady why we had to take poor sad pictures.  She explained that it is not  poor traits but that it is only one word with only one “O”…portraits, which are “an artistic representation of a person, in which the face and its expressions are predominant. The intent is to display the likeness, personality, and even the mood of the person.”  “Person?  What about furry little blue and orange monsters?” I asked.  “Monsters, too,” she said.  Well, that’s good.  And, I’m glad to know that we don’t have to waste an “O” and be sad!

I told her that I wanted her to portrait me as a happy little blue and orange furry monster.  That is my personality and my mood…most of the time.  I’m not sure about my likeness.  Does that mean that I like to be happy or that others are happy to like me?  Oh well.  I’m not going to think about that right now.  I guess that is really The Lady’s concern since she is the one portraiting me.

I was excited to have my picture taken until I realized that our house is under destruction and all of my shirts are packed away because I am getting a new room.  I tried very hard to stay a happy little monster on the outside, but my insides were sad without my shirts.  The Lady could tell.  She told me that my orange belly fur is part of my likeness so it would be OK for her to take a picture of me without a shirt.  She also said that we can go shopping for some new shirts that won’t be lost in the destruction zone of our house.  That makes me happy.  I like getting new shirts and it feels funny for all of my fur to show in every picture during my Month of Me.

Yay!  We got one day done!  The Lady told me that the first step is the hardest.  I don’t know if I believe that or not.  It seems to me like the next thirty steps through this month might be harder.  I hope not.  I hope we prevail.  Prevail…that is a new word I learned today.  It means “prove more powerful than opposing forces.”  Opposing forces?  The Lady says that opposing forces are things that make it hard for you to do something.  “Oh!  I understand.  Like laziness and boredom were our opposing forces last year during our May Month of Me and they prevailed so that is why we didn’t write much.”

The Lady rolled her eyes and said, “Somethng like that.”  She also said that it was a good thing that she had already potraited me as happy because right now she said my personality was being precoatish…or something like that.

I didn’t even ask.

A  furry little blue and orange monster gets VERY tired playing with a little human monster all day!

Good night!

I’m going to sleep.

Today I learned about generosity.  I helped The Lady take care of the plants in the yard  and in the greenhouse.  She thanked me for being generous with my time and effort.  I said, “thank you” but really I didn’t know exactly what I was being thankful for.  I thought I should be thanking The Lady for letting me enjoy the plants and flowers with her.

We then had to have a talk about what being generous means.

“Being generous often consists of simply extending a hand. That’s hard to do if you are grasping tightly to your righteousness, your belief system, your superiority, your assumptions about others, your definition of normal.” – Patti Digh

That made sense to me, especially the part about assumptions made about others and what normal means.  When I extend my hand to help Mr. Guy and The Lady, my hand looks very different from theirs.  I have furry blue hands with big orange claws.  Many would say that that this not normal.  But, my furry little monster hands help others just like human hands do even though our hands are not the same.

It makes this furry little blue and orange monster very sad when others are mean because of the way someone is different from them.   I have never met another monster that looks like me.  Most of the time, I like being different.   If the world was filled with all furry little blue and orange monsters or all tall people, or all skinny people, or all white people, or all green people, our surroundings would be very boring…and I wouldn’t be able to find Mr. Guy and The Lady in a crowd because they would look like everyone else!

I wonder if that would really matter.  If Mr. Guy and The Lady looked like everyone else and thought like everyone else and believed exactly the same as everyone else, they wouldn’t be Mr. Guy and The Lady.  They would be Everyone Else.  That would be very sad for this little monster!  I need them to stay special.

The Lady said that our discussion was turning away from generosity to something called being uni-Q.

Hmmm….uni means one.  What does one Q have to do with being generous?

How did we get from five Ks yesterday to one Q today?

And where did the pair of LLs and the Emandenopee go?  I am now more confused than ever!  I’ll be glad when we stop talking about all of these letters and numbers!

Anyone want to play Pictionary with a little monster?

Our days are all different because of trying to stay healthy during the pandemic.   Mr. Guy and The Lady don’t get up on Sunday mornings and go to church.  They have been watching it on TV.   I kind of like having them home!

The Lady has been getting up on Sundays and going for a run by herself or sometimes for a walk with a friend.  She says that being outside in the fresh air is as good for her spirit as is going to church.  Don’t tell the preacher people that, though!

This morning, The Lady told Mr. Guy and me that she was going to go run a quick 5K before breakfast.  Here we go again with those K’s and fives from yesterday.  I asked her if today’s Ks were dented too.  And , how did we get from a pair of Ls yesterday to five Ks today?  This alphabet stuff is getting very confusing to this little blue and orange furry monster!

The Lady explained to me that Ks are like miles but shorter.  5Ks is the same as 3.1 miles.  None of this makes sense to me, but that is OK.  I don’t run so Ks and miles are just a bunch of letters and numbers to me.

The run that The Lady did today was to benefit an organization called Girls on the Run.  She said that it is a group that helps girls become strong inside and out and to feel good about themselves.  That sounds like a good thing to me!  I think everyone should feel good about themselves.  I know that is hard sometimes so it is great to have people and organizations to help you along the way!

Continue reading “May 2 – Sunday Runday”

Hi!  Remember me?  I’m still here, but life has not been very exciting for a furry little blue and orange monster over the last year.  I have not been on any fun adventures and I have not met any new people.  I understand that we have had to stay at home because of COVID.  Today, though, I finally got to go on a little adventure!

It is the first day of May.  May has always been my Month of Me, so I am going to try to make May 2021 better than May 2020…well, I’m going to try to make May 2021 better than almost any month of 2020!  I’m hoping to have some fun so that I have something to write about.

Today I got to go with The Lady and Mr. Guy to meet one of The Lady’s friends who is also a former  student.  The Lady was going to help Mr. Johnny study for an important test that he has to take in a week or so.  Since it has been so long since I have been anywhere, I have not been shopping for new t-shirts.  I looked through my closet hoping to find a perfect shirt for today’s adventure.  Because Mr. Johnny is studying for his important test, I wanted to share good vibes with him!

The Lady said that Mr. Johnny’s test was about music stuff.  I thought we were going to go listen to some fun songs and maybe even get to dance a little.  Boy was I wrong!  All they did was talk about music in some foreign language.   Mr. Johnny asked about K dents.  I thought that was a weird question.  How does music dent your K’s?  And for that matter, what do K’s, dented or not,  even have to do with music?  The Lady told me once that music only has the letters A, B, C, D, E, F, and G.  To this little monster, dented K’s don’t seem like they should be a problem in music, but what do I know?  Then they talked about a pair of L’s that come in fives and eights.  No wonder Mr. Johnny was confused!  Even I know that pairs are groups of twos, not fives and eights!  And if the musical alphabet doesn’r go as far as K, it sure doesn’t go all the way to L or LL!  Don’t worry if you don’t understand any of this.  It has to do with the secret language of music theory.  Normal people don’t need to know this language!

They covered all of this in the first few minutes.  I was already so confused that while they continued discussing the rest of Mr. Johnny’s test stuff, I watched the birds and airplanes fly by and helped The Lady drink her coffee.

I’m glad that I am a little monster that does not have to worry about taking tests!  It seems like tests are just something to see how much stuff you can jam into your brain before your head explodes.  My head would explode quickly!  And after the explosion,  all the pieces of my brain would be scattered all around the ground like jigsaw puzzle pieces mixed with blue and orange fur.  I think any person who ever gives me this kind of test should have to put my exploded brain back together to figure out exactly what I knew.   That would be a good test for them, don’t you think?!  Hopefully they would do better than all the kings horses and all the king’s men did with Humpty Dumpty!

Once The Lady and Mr. Johnny finished talking about music, we finally talked about normal stuff like friendship and coffee.

I sure hope that Mr. Johnny does well on his music theory test so that next time we get together we can talk about something that this little  monster understands.