Three Doors Down

Recently discovered that "Three Doors Down" isn't just the name of a band... it's also the worst possible way to move.

My brother, his fiancee and her kids are moving down the street from one home to another. In general, you might expect a short move to be an easier move for the hired guns, such as myself, to move items.

In general, that might be true. But there are some things you might not think about relocating unless you were only moving a few doors down. Take, for instance, a treated-lumber jungle gym for the kids.

It was a thing of beauty, and I'm sure the children loved it. But that puppy was heavy. We tore it down into several pieces, yet it still wore us down.

I have a feeling my arms are going to be sore for a number of days from when we tried to detach the wood holding the swings from the remainder of this piece of playground equipment. It was easy to hold it up... until it became detached, at which point you realize just how heavy-duty this thing must've been.

But, to put a smiley face on the whole day, everything that needed moved got moved... I fulfilled my brotherly duty of helping out... and I got a free sandwich out of the deal. All in all, not a horrible way to spend a Saturday.

Ice cream topping

Here's the culinary tip of the day...

Try putting granola on top of your ice cream. Especially if you have a plainer ice cream, such as vanilla or butter pecan or something down that line, the granola really adds something. You get that crunchiness, plus some great flavor from the honey-toasted oats, crunch from the nuts and the added benefit of some raisins.

I decline to answer how many other bizarre foods I've poured on top of ice cream before discovering one that tastes great.

Silly site of the day

In the course of perfectly legitimate work travels on the Internet, sometimes I find amusing little Web sites I believe the world must enjoy.

Click on Make-A-Flake to discover one such site.

On this site, you take an ordinary piece of fictitious paper and cut out chunks to make your very own snowflake. It's pretty cool for those of us who could never cut straight enough to do a good job or unfold ours.

You can see my offering on there. According to the Web site, "You're flake #7637172." I try not to take that as a personal insult, that the Web called me a flake...

I'm a pony

Sometimes simple wordplay makes me say and do amazingly silly things.

I'm suffering from a bit of laryngitis today. I'm generally feeling OK, just my voice is considerably softer and occasionally higher pitched than usual.

I went to the grocery store today. As I checked out, the cashier asked me how I was today.

"I'm a pony today," I responded in a gravely voice punctuated by its softness.

She gave me the strangest look a Wal-Mart cashier probably ever gave a customer. To answer her baffled look, I smiled.

"I'm a little hoarse today."

She just rolled her eyes.