looking back again ...

so after we returned from wisconsin
things got back to normal
the hustle & bustle of the holidays
were in the rear-view
and i eased back into my routine ...

i played some trains,
supported the hawks,
helped dad study,
read a great book,
personified a great shirt,
and got my play-dough on

feel free to use the comments field to caption this gem

so yeah, life was good until ...
something changed

i couldn't put my finger on it at the time
but i felt like the walls were closing in [sorry]
soon ... i was a basket-case [sorry again]

for extra credit ... can you find

the three earth/budget friendly things going on in the picture above ?

after some critical reflection i thought
maybe this was seasonal depression

i turned my thoughts to toastier times
the wild rides & agricultural adventures

i wonder where big al is now ?

but this strategy did little

to clear my blues

and then finally it hit me ...
it had been days since i unwrapped a present !
lucky for me, mom had an event in the works

the local crew was assembled,
there was a balloon,
that grandpa eventually let me play with
we tasted some icing,
then after a few pleasantries ...


... we got down to business !

there were big boxes,
familiar friends,
funky wraps,
and classic games

and the rest, my friends
is history