These days, Mason is constantly playing with language—sometimes even teaching his dad a thing or two. This morning I got him up and was taking him down to have breakfast. Before going down stairs we stopped to say “good morning” to Mom who was curling her hair. I asked Christi if I had left my coffee next to her on the counter. She handed it to me, Mason and I started toward the stairs and Mason called out, “Thank you, Coffee, Mommy”—pointing out that I hadn’t said “thank you.”
His big thing right now is to tease us. Today Christi pointed to a cat they saw in our neighborhood and asked him what it was. He looked at it and said, “Dog.” Christi said, “No, that’s not a cat. What is it?” He looked up in the sky and said, “Bird?” Then, just when Christi was giving up, he said, “CAT!” and threw his head back and laughed.
He has done the same thing to me when I have been putting him down for a nap. He will have just had a snack, but as I’m getting him ready for his nap, he’ll say, “Eat? Cookie? Sauce?” And then he’ll just laugh. Sauce, by the way, is short for applesauce.
I don’t know anything about the developmental stage he’s in right now, but teasing is the big thing.
At breakfast this morning the top to his milk was not on tight and it spilled into his tray. I had my back turned getting his toast ready but he immediately let me know by saying, “Mess! Mess! Mess!” As I was cleaning up the milk with paper towels he kept pointing to places I had already cleaned and saying, “MESS.” Then he would look at me and just grin.
(Lincoln, Neb.) Art experts at daycare facilities across the nation were stunned yesterday when a relatively unknown painter refused to employ the universally accepted technique of finger-painting. Mason Keim eschewed the practice as provincial—preferring, instead, his personally developed sponge and paint technique.
The incident caused quite a stir. First, the artist refused to participate in the painting workshop until he acquired the proper tools. Then, the artist’s contemporaries began realizing the benefits of this new technique. Experts agree that the sponge technique offers greater control over volume and texture than finger-painting alone. The artist, himself, acknowledges that the sponge technique is central to conveying the evanescent quality he terms “daa-doo.”
While Mason enjoys discussing his art, he leaves the interpretation of his works to the observer. Refusing to comment formally on the subject of future works, Mason did strongly hint of an “Elmo Series.” Examples of yesterday’s work can be found in the Keim-web.com galleries.
Well, I am getting excited about an opportunity that has just recently presented itself. Christi and I are going to Seattle in a little over a week—she has a conference. These conferences are a good way for the two of us to spend some time together. However, I am left alone looking for something to do while Christi attends the required sessions. When talking about it to a friend of mine, she reminded me that she has a sister that works at Microsoft. So, if everything works out, I may have the opportunity to visit and tour parts of the Microsoft campus.
I have a hot/cold affinity for Microsoft. At times, I enjoy extolling the virtues of its integrated Office software. Other times, I enjoy warning others of the platform’s vulnerability to viruses and the company’s tendency toward anti-competitive practices. So, for the time being, I’m going to call it a wash and be really excited about visiting a company that is also redefining corporate culture. I’ve been told that in order not to stick out, I should dress like the rest of the employees—in jeans and a sweatshirt.
Should be fun.
Lincoln (not to mention the rest of Nebraska) is bracing for what some are saying will be our worst snowstorm of the year. Our local weather forecasters are saying anywhere from 8 to 14 inches in Lincoln. Public schools are still open. We got word this morning that the Foundation’s Kearney office would be closing at noon today.
In light of the current conditions, I decided to put the weather link back up on the site. We are starting to see some good flurries hear but a quick check of the radar suggests that the bulk of the storm is still to our west. If it keeps moving this slowly, the snowfall could certainly be at the higher end of those predictions.
Note: The storm didn’t every really amount to much. Maybe 2 inches in Davenport and Lincoln. Some places—like Central City—did get around 11 inches. Christi was appalled that the weather reports could be so wrong. Lincoln didn’t cancel school but several towns around did—including Omaha. People left the girls state basketball tournament in Lincoln early because of the “winter’s worst storm.” We decided that if it were like medicine—where people tend to die if you make a mistake—weather forecasters would probably make far fewer mistakes.