The ArmyMan is Gone but Not Forgotten

I thought all of you would like to hear about how life was at our house during ArmyMan's Visit. This is the second year that ArmyMan (my uncle) has come to live with us during the summer months. ArmyMan normally resides in Florida, but escapes to MN in the summer to escape Florida's heat. I will just comment on a few wonderful aspects that ArmyMan brings to our household.

1. ArmyMan idolizes FriendlyKitty. I have included a picture of FriendlyKitty to give you a visual. ArmyMan thinks that FriendlyKitty should have full reign in the house. All the training that Motorider and I have done is now down the drain. FriendlyKitty now thinks he can freely roam the counters in the kitchen, go outside on the deck (previously an indoor cat, he now meows to go outside), and sleeps with us at night. When ArmyMan was here, I would scold FriendlyKitty and ArmyMan would run over and pick up FriendlyKitty and say "It's Okay!" So, now we are starting from scratch on training Thomas.

2. The Honda - ArmyMan has taken ownership of my Grandmothers car. It is 1997 Honda Civic. You would think this car was a Ferrari on the way ArmyMan treats it. He has stated that he is unable to help my relatives if he can't keep his car in their garage. (So, they need to keep one of their own cars in the driveway, so the civic can stay in the garage away from the weather.) ArmyMan has also found the sweet spot for gas mileage in this car. ArmyMan could be found driving on Interstate 94 where the speed limit is 70 mph but only traveling at a pace of 55 mph because that is the speed he gets the best gas mileage. (The time I save by driving the speed limit is worth more than the money I would save in gas mileage.) Now, that ArmyMan is driving back to Florida (in his 1969 Impala convertible - I wonder what kind of gas mileage that gets?????) his precious Civic is sitting in our garage.

3. Last but not least. ArmyMan offered to paint the entire basement. The only problem... Motorider and I did not have much say on the color. What??? Who's house is this? That is what I thought. In the end the basement was painted in a color not completely agreed upon.

On a side note... ArmyMan is a unique character. I have learned to accept ArmyMan for who he is and all his strange actions and behaviors. It doesn't bother me that he has re-arranged our garage 4 times (um, I wonder where he put that?), only uses plastic silverware, plates, and cups,(Fewer dishes for me to wash) or sits at the kitchen table clipping newspaper articles for everyone he knows. I do have to apologize that I don't have a picture of ArmyMan. I do hope that you are still able to visualize him through these stories.