BenSpark Family Adventures

Photo-A-Day #02664 Today was Free comic Book Day. I made sure that I got over to The Laughing Shield comics to pick up my subscriptions but also some of the free comics. I had intended only o get two free comics, the Energon Universe special and the Dungeon Crawler Carl comic. However, a few other ones caught my eye and I grabbed those, too. We had a limit of 10 comics per person and so I got 8 total. There was a Supernatural one as well as The Greatest American Hero which actually looks very interesting and a fun one to continue with. I have been watching the old episodes on Amazon Prime from time to time. I also picked up a set of comic books because they had special covers. I had been eyeing them for months and today they were 20% off so I pulled the trigger on those. They were special covers of G.I. JOE featuring 5 of the Dreadnoks. I thought that they would be nice additions to my collection.

Photo-A-Day #02663 Today was Eva's Senior Prom. She's been working on her outfit for a very long time and she and her friend Aviva matched up with each other perfectly. They were so excited for the event. I picked Eva up from school today and took her to lunch at K.C.'s Burger Bar for lunch before taking her to get her hair cut. I then took her home so she could get ready. Eva even put on some very pretty fake nails for the event. Everything she did with her outfit matched up so well from makeup to nails and also wearing Allison's wedding jewelry (necklace and earrings). Aviva arrived around 5 O'Clock. She had made special bouquets for she and Eva.  They were very beautiful and Eva was thrilled. The two young ladies looked fantastic in their outfits. We took photos in the backyard and also some under the trellises. We also took some by the Rhododendron bush. I wish that it had been in bloom but there was nothing in bloom around. The nice tree int eh backyard bloomed...

Photo-A-Day #02662 At the PRetzel Factory they are getting ready for Mother's Day! There are a couple of things that they are doing for this. One item they are making are heart shaped pretzels and the other are these giant flower shaped pretzels. Today Tim and I were experimenting with how to bake them properly without over cooking them and also not burning the outsides.The other challenge is keeping them together. We were able to solve the problem of baking them but the next was getting them off the parchment paper and keeping them intact. I had a bunch of pretzels tonight after work and so I messaged my friend Aaron. We had gone out for dinner last week and I had mentioned the pretzels. I said I had a bunch and I'd stop by on the way home so I did and gave him some of the cinnamon sugar rivets and regular rivets and a 5 of pretzels. I still had the whole flower and another 5 of pretzels and a giant bag of rivets to bring home. I'm going to bring them in to work tomorrow n...

Photo-A-Day #02661 Eva's getting the shirt that she's wearing to prom ready. She's been working on it for weeks and is down to the finishing touches. I can't tell exactly how much work she has to do on it but it seems like a good amount to get it to where she is very happy with it. I know that she'll get it done, however, we are getting close since Prom is in two days. She takes after her Aunt in this way. so much going on and coming down to the wire on things. I'm reminded of Tara finishing her wedding dress on the wedding day. We'll see if Eva is still sewing on Friday.

Photo-A-Day #02660 It was another one of the days where I forgot to take a photo. I was a both thrown off today because I was scheduled to work at the Pretzel Factory but when I got here I got a message from the boss (I have 2 there), letting me know that they had kept me on the schedule accidentally and that they were on their way in and I can go home.  My dad was up from the Cape today and he stopped in to see the place. Of course I was running all over the place baking multiple items because when I get in I just get to work and try not to stop the entire shift. I ended up leaving a bout 10 minutes after dad left and he was already back to the Cape. I was a bit annoyed that I was scheduled and then sent home especially after having no hours last week. I was looking forward to having 18 hours this week especially after having been paid recently. The money will certainly help. It isn't a ton but it helps. I can understand that they have a business to run and if it is slow and they ...

Photo-A-Day #02659 Tonight Eva and I participated in a podcast that my friend Chris produces called The Dad and Daughter Connection. He doesn't often have both the father and daughter on the show but we were both available so we did the show together. It was a lot of fun. I am looking forward to it being posted so I can share it. We talked about our relationship and how we cultivate it to be connected. We talked about the things that we both enjoy and things that we've learned. Setting up for the show I realized that I had no way to hear the show so I went through my ziplock bag of wires to find a headphone splitter. I did not have one. Eva had one so we used that. I have way too many wires and have no idea why I am still keeping them.

Photo-A-Day #02658 On Friday Allison and I went over to Briggs Nursery because she had a bunch of gift cards that she had gotten from her kids at the end of the school year. We decided to get these little Candy Corn Shrubs. They are called Double Play Candy Corn and have a nice color. We are going to use these at the corner of the house to surround the stump from the tree that was taken down. I'll have to go and get the bag of compost that we get this year before I plant these. Maybe get that done sometime this week.

Photo-A-Day #02657 I made a random Temu purchase of an Omega Supreme figure. It is a third party figure and so it came with a different name other than Omega Supreme. It was called Miracle God Robot. I did not try to transform it I'd rather keep it in robot mode for display. It isn't huge but it is decent sized.

Photo-A-Day #02656 Tonight we went to Providence for a comedy show at The Vets. It was Ronny Cheing and Hasan Minhaj for their comedy tour called "HASAN HATES RONNY | RONNY HATES HASAN". It was something a bit different than any comedy show we'd ever seen. The two of them came out to have "debates" with each other and battle on many topics. It was funny. Different, but funny. We had dinner at 579 Benefit before we went to the show. A good meal all around.

Photo-A-Day #02655 Today was the opening day of Snappy Dogs. We decided to run there on our way home from The Cape. We had another errand to run and then headed to Snappy Dogs. there were a bunch of people there including a motorcycle club that was probably on their first run of the season, too. Lisa and Teresa were thrilled to see us there for their opening day. Andy and I got Great Dane hot dogs, Allison got a Big dog and Eva a chicken sausage.

Photo-A-Day #02654 Because I did not have work at the Pretzel Factory we had time to head to the Cape for a quick overnight. I had a quick eye exam in the morning and then we headed to the Cape. We had lunch with Mem and Grandfather and then headed downtown to go to Eugene Henry's Gastronomical Delights. Andy had wanted to go there over Easter but we didn't get a chance.  We had dinner that night of meatballs and pasta. It was very good. We stayed overnight.

Photo-A-Day #02653 Allison and I went for a long walk today around Attleboro. At the Balfour River Walk we came across this interesting bench that was made from a bunch of guard rails. We are on April break this week and I am not working at the pretzel place this week.

Photo-A-Day #02652 Tonight I went out for dinner with my friend Aaron. He is a much more adventurous eater and I am and he took me to Pho Horn in East Providence. He ordered our appetizer which was a shrimp item with raw sugar cane. For dinner I got a beef bowl that included brisket, meat , tendon and tripe. I tried it all and bypassed more of the chewy stuff but the brisket was incredible and the flavor was excellent. It was so much fun to hang out with Aaron. It had been far too long.

Photo-A-Day #02651 Andy made three Focaccia breads today. One was plain with salt on top, the second was Garlic and the third was tomato and onion. These were excellent. Andy is getting better and better at making this bread, too. 

Photo-A-Day #02650 Andy made this clay bowl at school. They added a little face  to it but part of the face is covered by a handle. I do like when the kids go and make cool things like this. Quirky fun things. Both kids are artistic in their own ways. Andy with foods and Eva with all sorts of textiles and fibers. I can't wait to see what they come up with next year as they both go on their own ways into new adventures.

Photo-A-Day #02649 Today Allison, Eva and I went into Boston for Accepted Students Day at Massachusetts College of Art and Design. We were there early for a special breakfast for scholarship students. Those students who had received presidential, provost and other scholarships. Eva received one and so was honored at the event. We walked in and got registered. Eva was given a tote bag with a water bottle and a few other items. We went to the smaller auditorium which must have been an old gymnasium for breakfast with the college president. I guess she came over to chat with our table when I went out and got more bacon.  At the breakfast they had a presentation and showed artwork from each student present and give them each a certificate and a pretty nice coffee mug. We sat wit a family from Vermont and a young man from Newton.  After the breakfast there was a presentation in another, larger auditorium. There we also had an address by the president but also from other members of ...

Photo-A-Day #02648 Eva made her own tension loom for weaving. I had no idea what this way but it is a contraption that she made using online tutorials to make a mini weaving loom using playing cards and other things. She's been able to make that weaved pattern that is about an inch in width. This is a similar weaving technique that she learned recently and made on a much smaller scale. She's planning on using something like this for a future costume idea.

Photo-A-Day #02647 Work this week for The Pretzel Factory has been interesting. Last week I worked mornings so I twisted pretzels and cleaned the stringer. This week I did clean the stringer once but doing a closing shift. This means cleaning the whole place at the end of the shift. I'm starting to get everything down. I've learned that there are two ways of doing things. This place is run by a husband and wife. The husband does things a specific way that is more loosey goosey and the wife wants things a very particular way. Since I'm being trained mostly by the husband I find myself being re-trained by the wife.  I'm fine with either way, whatever way they want it done is the way I'm going to do it. So, with that being said I'm making sure to do things the wife's way since if I do it her way I'll get no complaints. I know that much is true.  I photo graphed my work shirt and pants since I only have two work shirts and I work 3 days in a row. This means ...

Photo-A-Day #02646 Had a regular day at work with my new schedule. I'm doing 1:30-6:30pm Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. that means closing up and that means taking pretzels home. I can't be eating these and there are only so many that the family can eat. Allison took two bags to school and I tossed the rivets into the compost. Eva took a few for her friends as well.  Today at the end of work we had a bunch of stuff that had been baked and Tim, my boss, had me take a bunch home. I was planning on having one of the pepperoni pretzel items, it was baked almost right before we left for the night. I had it in the bag of all the big pretzels. On the way to the car I saw a UPS driver eyeing me and my big bags of pretzels. I asked him if he wanted one. I said, take whatever you'd like and he saw the pepperoni and grabbed that. I had not specified that I had wanted that but it is probably for the best since that has a lot of carbs. He was very grateful and happy so that is good.

Photo-A-Day #02645 They really do an amazing job photographing items on Temu. I thought I was getting a much bigger Optimus Prime in toxic colors. It is super tiny but really well detailed. It does come with some attachments like additional hands for posing and also the energon axe from the first episode of the show. I have not transformerd it yet but it is a bit loose. For now it is just in there for display.