This week's artist is Max.
Max is a funny, quirky little guy. Certain subjects such as zombies and vampires are off limits, but he loves all of the Star Wars movies, freaky aliens and all.
He also loves to draw pictures, the figures still remain in the stick figure stage, but are elaborate with some sort of tale to tell. Max really dislikes coloring pages and unless the subject matter interests him, it is done in a slap dash fashion.
So it's always interesting to see what happens when he is directed to create something for school.
For Valentines day all the students had to create a mailbox. A shoe box wrapped in plain paper was to be used. After a huge struggle to find boxes during Jake's first year in school, I have learned to stock pile all the shoe boxes that come into the house
So it wasn't a problem for me to conjure up a few for Max to make his selection. He settled on a bright red one that I carefully wrapped in white paper, only exposing the edge of the lid. I though the bright red color contrasted nicely with the stark white paper. I even cut out a hole (with a big protest from Max) for the kids to use as a mail slot for the valentines.
I then sent Max off to school with his box to decorate while in the classroom.
And this is what he did.
There are all sorts of wild animals , trees and a building. The one concession to Valentines Day is the single heart that I'm sure was added as an after thought. Jake and Nate had produced far more Valentines thematic boxes in kindergarten. But that's Max, a boy that marches to his own tune.
Wednesday, April 16, 2008
Tuesday, April 15, 2008
Flat Stanely Has Been Everywhere
The now essentially dormant Terry of Possumblog briefly popped out of hibernation to post what is possibly the best Flat Stanley slide show ever.
So mosey on over to here and see just what Flat Stanley has been up too. Just hit play and enjoy the show and for the back ground story head on over to here. Oh and the music, it is just plain perfect. There is nobody like the Man in Black.
So mosey on over to here and see just what Flat Stanley has been up too. Just hit play and enjoy the show and for the back ground story head on over to here. Oh and the music, it is just plain perfect. There is nobody like the Man in Black.
Monday, April 14, 2008
Spring is Here
Spring is firmly entrenched around here and here are a few signs.
The flowers have been blooming for quite awhile, but I don't take anything seriously until the lilacs start doing their thing. Ours started a week ago and are featured in my new header.
Opening day for baseball has come and gone. Now I 'm not talking about this, but rather the local Little League's opening day. Last year was a dismal rainy affair. This year it was much colder, but was mercifully brief because it was postponed to yesterday and started at 1:00 pm instead of 8:00 am. The best part was the reduction in speechifying. I suspect the original mucky-muck couldn't reschedule and the league decided to just stick with just the board of directors and the ceremonial first pitch.
But for me the biggest sign that spring is here to stay is when I break out the shop-vac. Yes, it's time to vacuum the tree.
The flowers have been blooming for quite awhile, but I don't take anything seriously until the lilacs start doing their thing. Ours started a week ago and are featured in my new header.
Opening day for baseball has come and gone. Now I 'm not talking about this, but rather the local Little League's opening day. Last year was a dismal rainy affair. This year it was much colder, but was mercifully brief because it was postponed to yesterday and started at 1:00 pm instead of 8:00 am. The best part was the reduction in speechifying. I suspect the original mucky-muck couldn't reschedule and the league decided to just stick with just the board of directors and the ceremonial first pitch.
But for me the biggest sign that spring is here to stay is when I break out the shop-vac. Yes, it's time to vacuum the tree.
Sunday, April 13, 2008
A Bag Full of Plagues
Today was the last day of Sunday school before Passover, there were Seders galore and all sorts of fun things going on.
Jake's grade and older had silly songs such as "There's No Seder Like Our Seder", "I've Been Cooking For This Seder" and my favorite: "Gilligan's Exodus" which featured this great line -a three hour meal. I could overhear them while I was reading in the library just down the hall.
Nate's group 3rd through 5th had their own Seder in another building so I don't know what was going on, but I'm sure it was fun.
The remaining lower grades had their own individual Seders in their respective classrooms. I brought in some caramel matzah crunch for Max and Rebecca's classroom and get to see the kids all dressed up in the robes they made last week. It was all very cute, but the best part was the bag they brought home.
Each child was given a plain white paper gift bag and told to decorate it so it looks like matzah. Then the bags were filled with the ten plagues.
They have blood, frogs, lice/biting insects, wild animals in the form of a mask (Rebecca got a lion and Max got a bear), pestilence (in the form of a googly eyed cow), boils (bubble wrap), hail (super balls), locusts (I know they're butterflies, work with me people), darkness (created via sunglasses) and a wee plastic baby for death of the first born.
I love the bubble wrap for boils, I think that is such a cool solution. But I think my favorite is the cow. It is such a pathetic and awful looking thing. It's grossly over sized googly eyes really do make it look as though it is suffering from some horrible, eye popping disease. I've always like Mrs. L and the cow shows she has the sort of twisted sense of humor I love.
Jake's grade and older had silly songs such as "There's No Seder Like Our Seder", "I've Been Cooking For This Seder" and my favorite: "Gilligan's Exodus" which featured this great line -a three hour meal. I could overhear them while I was reading in the library just down the hall.
Nate's group 3rd through 5th had their own Seder in another building so I don't know what was going on, but I'm sure it was fun.
The remaining lower grades had their own individual Seders in their respective classrooms. I brought in some caramel matzah crunch for Max and Rebecca's classroom and get to see the kids all dressed up in the robes they made last week. It was all very cute, but the best part was the bag they brought home.
Each child was given a plain white paper gift bag and told to decorate it so it looks like matzah. Then the bags were filled with the ten plagues.
They have blood, frogs, lice/biting insects, wild animals in the form of a mask (Rebecca got a lion and Max got a bear), pestilence (in the form of a googly eyed cow), boils (bubble wrap), hail (super balls), locusts (I know they're butterflies, work with me people), darkness (created via sunglasses) and a wee plastic baby for death of the first born.
I love the bubble wrap for boils, I think that is such a cool solution. But I think my favorite is the cow. It is such a pathetic and awful looking thing. It's grossly over sized googly eyes really do make it look as though it is suffering from some horrible, eye popping disease. I've always like Mrs. L and the cow shows she has the sort of twisted sense of humor I love.
Friday, April 11, 2008
A good Friend
I have the bestest friend ever.
I was talking to Larry on the phone Wednesday (he's out of town at a conference) when it suddenly hit me that yes the two games the kids have on Thursday don't conflict and are at the same field, but I'm going to be stuck there from 5:30 to at least 9:30 and maybe as late as 10:00. The late hour isn't too big a deal for the older two boys, Max and Rebecca, however are another story.
So I called up Meryl and asked her if she was busy Thursday night. And it just so turned out that she wasn't.
Whoot!
I gave her a choice she could watch Jake's major-minor game or shuttle the rest home and stuff them into bed. Since the pollen counts are up Meryl elected to take the younger set home, which made Max and Rebecca *very* happy. Of course they completely forgot on Thursday and Max started to grouse about how he never gets to ride in Aunt Meryl's car. I stopped him cold when I said "Well you do tonight, Aunt Meryl is driving you home."
Nate also decided to head back home, he had his fill of the park and he wanted to ride in the Jeep. From what I understand he was quite a stickler about the speed limit. Meryl asked me later how I can stand driving him about. I simply pointed out that in the van he's in the back row, far. far away from the dashboard. In the Jeep... well he got to ride up front and got an unobstructed view of all the dials. And yes the front is not ideal for a nine year old, but I trust Meryl and she has the ability to shut off the front passenger airbag.
Anyway, the younger crowd got home safely and I got to watch Jake's team pretty much annihilate their opponent. The game got called at 9:15, Jake's team was up by more than10 runs and the other team had no hope of coming back in one more inning.
We got home at an almost decent hour and Jake even got to visit for a bit with Meryl. It's a nice having a good friend that can pitch in when you need a little help.
I was talking to Larry on the phone Wednesday (he's out of town at a conference) when it suddenly hit me that yes the two games the kids have on Thursday don't conflict and are at the same field, but I'm going to be stuck there from 5:30 to at least 9:30 and maybe as late as 10:00. The late hour isn't too big a deal for the older two boys, Max and Rebecca, however are another story.
So I called up Meryl and asked her if she was busy Thursday night. And it just so turned out that she wasn't.
Whoot!
I gave her a choice she could watch Jake's major-minor game or shuttle the rest home and stuff them into bed. Since the pollen counts are up Meryl elected to take the younger set home, which made Max and Rebecca *very* happy. Of course they completely forgot on Thursday and Max started to grouse about how he never gets to ride in Aunt Meryl's car. I stopped him cold when I said "Well you do tonight, Aunt Meryl is driving you home."
Nate also decided to head back home, he had his fill of the park and he wanted to ride in the Jeep. From what I understand he was quite a stickler about the speed limit. Meryl asked me later how I can stand driving him about. I simply pointed out that in the van he's in the back row, far. far away from the dashboard. In the Jeep... well he got to ride up front and got an unobstructed view of all the dials. And yes the front is not ideal for a nine year old, but I trust Meryl and she has the ability to shut off the front passenger airbag.
Anyway, the younger crowd got home safely and I got to watch Jake's team pretty much annihilate their opponent. The game got called at 9:15, Jake's team was up by more than10 runs and the other team had no hope of coming back in one more inning.
We got home at an almost decent hour and Jake even got to visit for a bit with Meryl. It's a nice having a good friend that can pitch in when you need a little help.
Thursday, April 10, 2008
Trudy's Ice Cream
A lot of dog breeders name dogs along some sort of theme. The themes can run by the litter or the breeding line.
For example: John's litter had a Beatles theme. There were only four boys and their puppy names were: John, Paul George and Ringo. Puppy names are not always kept, but as you can tell John got to keep his. It's a nice plain, honest name and so is John.
Dell's litter is a good example of a thematic line. His Great Granddam was Candy Cane. Candy Cane produced Godiva who in turn had (Nestlé) Crunch and Hershey. Crunch in turn begot Dell (Ghirardelli), Brad (Five Star) and Trudy (Gertrude Hawk). There are a few more in the litter, but those are the ones I know.
Anyhoo I was checking out the ice cream at Food Lion the other day when a new limited edition ice cream caught my eye. Turkey Hill has something called Gertrude Hawk Box of Chocolates. I'm a huge fan of Turkey Hill, I love chocolate and it's Dell's sister Trudy! I had to buy it. I really had no choice in the matter.
I brought it home and eagerly scooped out a small bowl to give it a taste. Oh my, is it good. It has the scrumptious Turkey Hill chocolate ice cream as a base and chocolate miniatures from Gertrude Hawk sprinkled liberally throughout.
I love it and so does my husband. The whole thing was gone in less than three days. I told Trudy's owner about it and she is now trying to find it around her.
So now we have a new favorite ice cream, Trudy's Box of Chocolates
For example: John's litter had a Beatles theme. There were only four boys and their puppy names were: John, Paul George and Ringo. Puppy names are not always kept, but as you can tell John got to keep his. It's a nice plain, honest name and so is John.
Dell's litter is a good example of a thematic line. His Great Granddam was Candy Cane. Candy Cane produced Godiva who in turn had (Nestlé) Crunch and Hershey. Crunch in turn begot Dell (Ghirardelli), Brad (Five Star) and Trudy (Gertrude Hawk). There are a few more in the litter, but those are the ones I know.
Anyhoo I was checking out the ice cream at Food Lion the other day when a new limited edition ice cream caught my eye. Turkey Hill has something called Gertrude Hawk Box of Chocolates. I'm a huge fan of Turkey Hill, I love chocolate and it's Dell's sister Trudy! I had to buy it. I really had no choice in the matter.
I brought it home and eagerly scooped out a small bowl to give it a taste. Oh my, is it good. It has the scrumptious Turkey Hill chocolate ice cream as a base and chocolate miniatures from Gertrude Hawk sprinkled liberally throughout.
I love it and so does my husband. The whole thing was gone in less than three days. I told Trudy's owner about it and she is now trying to find it around her.
So now we have a new favorite ice cream, Trudy's Box of Chocolates
Wednesday, April 09, 2008
Artist of the Week: Collage
This week's artist is Nate.
He has quite a mop of hair now and that's the way he likes it. He still looks very cute, but I keep wanting to just neaten up his hair.
Anyhoo, this is him by one of the outdoor panda enclosures at the National Zoo. He actually requested this photo. He plans on bringing it in for his "share day" at school, the theme this month is interesting places/travel. He had a great time at the zoo and he wants to tell his class all about it.
Not so coincidentally, his art project is from school. He brought it home a while ago and I was immediately struck by the vibrancy of the colors. I like how the ocean's waves were formed by tearing the paper at such an oblique angle that the raw white center of the paper is exposed and thus creating the foamy white-caps of the waves. The green bits are a sea serpent that (sadly) lost its head in transit. I think this is my favorite work of his so far this school year.
He has quite a mop of hair now and that's the way he likes it. He still looks very cute, but I keep wanting to just neaten up his hair.
Anyhoo, this is him by one of the outdoor panda enclosures at the National Zoo. He actually requested this photo. He plans on bringing it in for his "share day" at school, the theme this month is interesting places/travel. He had a great time at the zoo and he wants to tell his class all about it.
Not so coincidentally, his art project is from school. He brought it home a while ago and I was immediately struck by the vibrancy of the colors. I like how the ocean's waves were formed by tearing the paper at such an oblique angle that the raw white center of the paper is exposed and thus creating the foamy white-caps of the waves. The green bits are a sea serpent that (sadly) lost its head in transit. I think this is my favorite work of his so far this school year.
Tuesday, April 08, 2008
Science is Fun
I love this.
I saw it over on Improbable Research blog and I just had to share it. I thought the swim noodles as spindle fibers was a brillant idea and the cell membrane formation at the end puts it over the top.
Monday, April 07, 2008
Fly Like an Eagle
Yesterday, just as I crossed the border from Maryland into Virginia, a bald eagle flew overhead.
They are beautiful birds and can be found in every state except Hawaii. All they need is access to large bodies of water with tall trees nearby to roost in them, Maryland and Virginia have both in abundance.
This was a far more stirring sighting than the one I had a few years ago.
I was driving along the highway not far from home when I spotted our Nation's Symbol. It was on the median (which is about 20 feet wide at that point) picking at some road kill. Such a lovely image. I'm so glad that I now have a far more regal memory.
They are beautiful birds and can be found in every state except Hawaii. All they need is access to large bodies of water with tall trees nearby to roost in them, Maryland and Virginia have both in abundance.
This was a far more stirring sighting than the one I had a few years ago.
I was driving along the highway not far from home when I spotted our Nation's Symbol. It was on the median (which is about 20 feet wide at that point) picking at some road kill. Such a lovely image. I'm so glad that I now have a far more regal memory.
Sunday, April 06, 2008
Rain, Rain, Go Away
We've been getting a lot of rain the past few days and we're getting pretty sick of it.
Thursday Nate's scrimmage was canceled when about half of the other team bailed out on the coach. This resulted in a great deal of whining and pouting from Nate.
Friday was just gloomy and overcast, but the ground was soaked which made the dog show I was at that much more exciting. It was an outdoor show and it meant that I got to run around and kneel in the mud. John was a trooper, but Dell was another story. He was a little fool, rolling around on his back and keeping his nose glued to the ground. Too bad, because the judge did like him, but he wouldn't let me show him off.
Saturday was supposed to be opening day for Little League, but the whole thing got postponed. They wanted to avoid last year's debacle with the photographers (the pictures were so awful the coach demanded a re-shoot). Rebecca, surprisingly, was the most upset and literally burst into tears when I told her that she wasn't playing that day.
Today I schlepped off to another dog show up in Maryland. It was absolutely wretched out, a cold biting rain with an occasional blast of wind to liven things up and again it was an outdoor show. The rings were set up as normal, six rings in two parallel rows with a large central aisle dividing the rows. A large tent was erected over the central aisle with only a small portion of the individual rings covered. Just enough to cover the stewards table. Outdoor dog shows are almost never canceled due to rain, it takes extreme conditions are force a cancellation. So show dogs may have a fru-fru and pampered reputation, but they are shown outside in the rain and the mud.
Both of the dogs were rock solid in the rain, only flapping their ears when the rain lashed harder. They weren't what the judge was looking for, but I was happy with how they performed. Neither of the red boys are the natural that their sire (Crunch) was, but they are coming along.
Nate's team had practice today, but only a few kids showed up. I guess some of the parents got scared off by the drizzle, but that doesn't stop my crew. The ones that did show had a great time playing in the mud. But I'm tired of all this rain.
Thursday Nate's scrimmage was canceled when about half of the other team bailed out on the coach. This resulted in a great deal of whining and pouting from Nate.
Friday was just gloomy and overcast, but the ground was soaked which made the dog show I was at that much more exciting. It was an outdoor show and it meant that I got to run around and kneel in the mud. John was a trooper, but Dell was another story. He was a little fool, rolling around on his back and keeping his nose glued to the ground. Too bad, because the judge did like him, but he wouldn't let me show him off.
Saturday was supposed to be opening day for Little League, but the whole thing got postponed. They wanted to avoid last year's debacle with the photographers (the pictures were so awful the coach demanded a re-shoot). Rebecca, surprisingly, was the most upset and literally burst into tears when I told her that she wasn't playing that day.
Today I schlepped off to another dog show up in Maryland. It was absolutely wretched out, a cold biting rain with an occasional blast of wind to liven things up and again it was an outdoor show. The rings were set up as normal, six rings in two parallel rows with a large central aisle dividing the rows. A large tent was erected over the central aisle with only a small portion of the individual rings covered. Just enough to cover the stewards table. Outdoor dog shows are almost never canceled due to rain, it takes extreme conditions are force a cancellation. So show dogs may have a fru-fru and pampered reputation, but they are shown outside in the rain and the mud.
Both of the dogs were rock solid in the rain, only flapping their ears when the rain lashed harder. They weren't what the judge was looking for, but I was happy with how they performed. Neither of the red boys are the natural that their sire (Crunch) was, but they are coming along.
Nate's team had practice today, but only a few kids showed up. I guess some of the parents got scared off by the drizzle, but that doesn't stop my crew. The ones that did show had a great time playing in the mud. But I'm tired of all this rain.
Friday, April 04, 2008
Fun Times
Last weekend we drove up North for a very big event. The daughter of close family friends was turning 13 and having her Bat Mitzvah.
She did a wonderful job leading services, reading her Torah portion and Haftorah with confidence. It was a moving experiance when he parents went up during the service. Her mother choking back tears of joy and pride and her father beaming throughout.
Then it was time to eat and make merry. The kids all had a great time and Larry and I got to catch up with friends we hadn't seen in years. We also got to play "pass the baby" with little Ethan. He was born last December and we got to see him when he was just over a week old. Now he's a very sturdy three month old that was happy to be any body's arms. It was fun playing with him and it was great for his parents to get a bit of a respite.
I too got a respite. Rebecca joined in with all the older girls that happily took her under their collective wing. The birthday/ Bat Mitzvah girl sought us out and told us that she assigned one of her friends to be in charge of Rebecca and make sure she got some lunch. Jake and Nate also escaped to the kids table, just leaving Mr. Max.
The cutest moment, for me at least, was when Rebecca danced with her Daddy. The DJ played "Unforgettable" and fathers started dancing with their daughters. Rebecca wanted to dance too and searched out her Daddy. Her smile was practically incandescent when she started to dance with him.
It was according to Max "the best place and the best party ever."
I gotta agree with him.
She did a wonderful job leading services, reading her Torah portion and Haftorah with confidence. It was a moving experiance when he parents went up during the service. Her mother choking back tears of joy and pride and her father beaming throughout.
Then it was time to eat and make merry. The kids all had a great time and Larry and I got to catch up with friends we hadn't seen in years. We also got to play "pass the baby" with little Ethan. He was born last December and we got to see him when he was just over a week old. Now he's a very sturdy three month old that was happy to be any body's arms. It was fun playing with him and it was great for his parents to get a bit of a respite.
I too got a respite. Rebecca joined in with all the older girls that happily took her under their collective wing. The birthday/ Bat Mitzvah girl sought us out and told us that she assigned one of her friends to be in charge of Rebecca and make sure she got some lunch. Jake and Nate also escaped to the kids table, just leaving Mr. Max.
The cutest moment, for me at least, was when Rebecca danced with her Daddy. The DJ played "Unforgettable" and fathers started dancing with their daughters. Rebecca wanted to dance too and searched out her Daddy. Her smile was practically incandescent when she started to dance with him.
It was according to Max "the best place and the best party ever."
I gotta agree with him.
Thursday, April 03, 2008
Best Slayer Video Ever
I like a variety of music, though I will admit hardcore metal is pretty darn low on the list. I'm more of a punk rock girl.
But this is absolutely perfect. It is the result of the combined madness of Amazon, Instapundit and FARK. My husband found it and I'm deeply indebted to him for this masterpiece.
Wednesday, April 02, 2008
Artist of the Week: Lego X-Wing
This week's artist is Max.
Max is a huge Star wars fan, if fact I think you would be hard pressed to find a bigger fan in his age group. He would watch Star Wars movies all day long if we would let him. A close second would be playing Star Wars Galactic Battleground (He is not allowed right now because a fair amount of reading is involved and he is not ready.)
As a result most of his creative play centers around Star Wars. Nothing makes him happier than a rousing (plastic) light saber battle in the backyard. Most of his buildings in some small way relate to George Lucas's epic. One of his favorite books at the library is the "Incredible Cross-Sections of Star Wars, Episodes IV, V & VI: The Ultimate Guide to Star Wars Vehicles and Spacecraft." He can't read yet, but he will spend hours poring over the illustrations in the book.
So of course his Lego creations reflect his passion.
Max made this particular space craft at the end of last February. It is an X-Wing Fighter that was completely his own design.
In the first two pictures the ship has its s-foils or wings in the open/ attack position. In the last frame the wings are in the closed position.
I thought this simple little craft was utterly amazing. At age six he was able to figure out a way to make the wings change position. I think most kids his age wouldn't have even bothered.
Even Jake and Nate were impressed by his resourceful solution.
I have a drawer full of sharp knives and not a single butter knife in the whole lot.
Max is a huge Star wars fan, if fact I think you would be hard pressed to find a bigger fan in his age group. He would watch Star Wars movies all day long if we would let him. A close second would be playing Star Wars Galactic Battleground (He is not allowed right now because a fair amount of reading is involved and he is not ready.)
As a result most of his creative play centers around Star Wars. Nothing makes him happier than a rousing (plastic) light saber battle in the backyard. Most of his buildings in some small way relate to George Lucas's epic. One of his favorite books at the library is the "Incredible Cross-Sections of Star Wars, Episodes IV, V & VI: The Ultimate Guide to Star Wars Vehicles and Spacecraft." He can't read yet, but he will spend hours poring over the illustrations in the book.
So of course his Lego creations reflect his passion.
Max made this particular space craft at the end of last February. It is an X-Wing Fighter that was completely his own design.
In the first two pictures the ship has its s-foils or wings in the open/ attack position. In the last frame the wings are in the closed position.
I thought this simple little craft was utterly amazing. At age six he was able to figure out a way to make the wings change position. I think most kids his age wouldn't have even bothered.
Even Jake and Nate were impressed by his resourceful solution.
I have a drawer full of sharp knives and not a single butter knife in the whole lot.
Tuesday, April 01, 2008
It's Not Just Any Zoo
It's the National Zoo.
So here are a few pictures from last week's trip to the National Zoo.
We all love going to the zoo and I thought it would be a good spring break diversion. It is a reasonable driving distance, the zoo itself is free (parking is another story) and the weather promised to be fairly good (especially compared to the truly awful heat and humidity DC experiences in the summer).
Originally I planned for us to leave by 9, quarter to 10 was closer to the truth. The Zoo's website recommends that you arrive before 10, but that's just crazy talk for this crowd. I was a little concerned about parking, but driving was really our best option. Paying for public transportation and parking would be prohibitively expensive for the five of us. I figured that even with the cost of gas it was better for us to risk the parking. Plus then we could have a picnic and be able to stash our stuff in the car when we were done.
We got up there at about 12:30 and the parking lots were full. We did a slow tour of the lots and were waved on by the parking attendants. I briefly contemplated parking on one of the residential streets nearby, but I was leery of the 2 hour time limit. I would have been happier with a three hour limit, that struck me as about the right amount of time. So I turned the van back towards the zoo's lots and tried to remain hopeful. After one slow lap I saw a lot open up for the car ahead of us. I was allowed in and at that point the lot was closed off again. Talk about lucky! We had to wait for the family of 10 (!) load up their van, but I was fine with that. We were going to have a legitimate parking space.
Then it was off to the zoo.
We entered the grounds by the maned wolf. One of them was out and checking out the antelopes housed next door. The wolves are visually striking and possibly one of the stinkiest animals (short of a skunk) that I have ever smelt. You do not want to eat your lunch by them. We did, however, enjoy watching it before the wolf retreated to it's little den. Then it was time to move on to what we really wanted to see, Pandas.
Two of the of the pandas were outside in their yards. The third (and I have no idea which one it was) was lolling about on some rocks indoors. I got one rather grainy shot of the panda scratching it's belly, but I like this one more of my boys.
As you can see they have decided to grow their hair out. Both of them have mop tops with Nate looking positively Beatlesque.
Anyhoo, after the pandas we ended up going to the birds.
The indoor exhibits were very nicely done, I liked the large indoor aviary, but the outdoor exhibits wee better. We were all fascinated by the Double-wattled Cassowary. The combination of the horny protuberance on it's head and the vivid coloration of it's neck and wattles gave it a rather Jurassic appearance. But, they were not my favorite bird. That honor went to the flamingos. I love their brillant pink plumage. We have them at our local zoo, but they never get as close to the fence as this flock. From the birds we strolled back through panda world and eventually ended up in the Small Mammal House.
We got to see tree shrews (very cute), tamarins (also very cute), meerkats (cute) and naked mole-rats (freakishly ugly).
You know how sometimes something is so ugly it's cute? Naked mole-rats are not like that. Their little tunnel exhibit looked like some sort of post apocalyptic hamster habitat gone horribly wrong. Excessive nuclear radiation gone wrong. They are nothing like Rufus from Kim Possible. So I won't show you them, instead you'll have to settle for a picture of Rebecca (extremely cute) under a palm frond. (Note: the line across her face is a stray hair that was not nearly as noticeable in the dimly lit building).
After the small mammals we by passed the great Apes because nobody was interested. However we did like the Orangutan highway above our heads. From April to October at certain times the Orangs are free to move from on part of the zoo to another via overhead cables. The Orangs weren't out yet, but it was still fun to imagine them swinging overhead. We also gave a pass on the reptile House (too crowded, there was a line just to get inside.)
However we did see the Komodo Dragon, which was on Jake's must see list. It was terribly active, but we did find it. At this point everybody was getting anxious and ready to go. We paid a quick visit to the big cats, had a quick potty break and headed over to the all important gift shop.
On the way we passed a life sized sculpture of a triceratops. This is Max's all time favorite dinosaur. I asked him if he wanted a picture and he zoomed on over. His smile is a bit odd because he is showing off the little gap in his smile. He had just lost that tooth just a few days ago.
Rebecca than dragged us on to go shopping. She had been dying to buy something from the get go. Quite honestly she would have been happy with just going to a gift shop and blowing her allowance. But instead her mean mommy dragged her through out the zoo before letting her shop. The first shop was a bust (she only had $7 and it really wasn't enough to get what she wanted), but the next one we stopped at was the clearance tent and she got a cute little camel. Max got a triceratops, Jake got a panda and Nate got bupkis. He didn't bring his money and confided to me it was probably best that he left his money at home. That way he would save it for something good. Such a smart boy. We then headed back to the van and home.
So here are a few pictures from last week's trip to the National Zoo.
We all love going to the zoo and I thought it would be a good spring break diversion. It is a reasonable driving distance, the zoo itself is free (parking is another story) and the weather promised to be fairly good (especially compared to the truly awful heat and humidity DC experiences in the summer).
Originally I planned for us to leave by 9, quarter to 10 was closer to the truth. The Zoo's website recommends that you arrive before 10, but that's just crazy talk for this crowd. I was a little concerned about parking, but driving was really our best option. Paying for public transportation and parking would be prohibitively expensive for the five of us. I figured that even with the cost of gas it was better for us to risk the parking. Plus then we could have a picnic and be able to stash our stuff in the car when we were done.
We got up there at about 12:30 and the parking lots were full. We did a slow tour of the lots and were waved on by the parking attendants. I briefly contemplated parking on one of the residential streets nearby, but I was leery of the 2 hour time limit. I would have been happier with a three hour limit, that struck me as about the right amount of time. So I turned the van back towards the zoo's lots and tried to remain hopeful. After one slow lap I saw a lot open up for the car ahead of us. I was allowed in and at that point the lot was closed off again. Talk about lucky! We had to wait for the family of 10 (!) load up their van, but I was fine with that. We were going to have a legitimate parking space.
Then it was off to the zoo.
We entered the grounds by the maned wolf. One of them was out and checking out the antelopes housed next door. The wolves are visually striking and possibly one of the stinkiest animals (short of a skunk) that I have ever smelt. You do not want to eat your lunch by them. We did, however, enjoy watching it before the wolf retreated to it's little den. Then it was time to move on to what we really wanted to see, Pandas.
Two of the of the pandas were outside in their yards. The third (and I have no idea which one it was) was lolling about on some rocks indoors. I got one rather grainy shot of the panda scratching it's belly, but I like this one more of my boys.
As you can see they have decided to grow their hair out. Both of them have mop tops with Nate looking positively Beatlesque.
Anyhoo, after the pandas we ended up going to the birds.
The indoor exhibits were very nicely done, I liked the large indoor aviary, but the outdoor exhibits wee better. We were all fascinated by the Double-wattled Cassowary. The combination of the horny protuberance on it's head and the vivid coloration of it's neck and wattles gave it a rather Jurassic appearance. But, they were not my favorite bird. That honor went to the flamingos. I love their brillant pink plumage. We have them at our local zoo, but they never get as close to the fence as this flock. From the birds we strolled back through panda world and eventually ended up in the Small Mammal House.
We got to see tree shrews (very cute), tamarins (also very cute), meerkats (cute) and naked mole-rats (freakishly ugly).
You know how sometimes something is so ugly it's cute? Naked mole-rats are not like that. Their little tunnel exhibit looked like some sort of post apocalyptic hamster habitat gone horribly wrong. Excessive nuclear radiation gone wrong. They are nothing like Rufus from Kim Possible. So I won't show you them, instead you'll have to settle for a picture of Rebecca (extremely cute) under a palm frond. (Note: the line across her face is a stray hair that was not nearly as noticeable in the dimly lit building).
After the small mammals we by passed the great Apes because nobody was interested. However we did like the Orangutan highway above our heads. From April to October at certain times the Orangs are free to move from on part of the zoo to another via overhead cables. The Orangs weren't out yet, but it was still fun to imagine them swinging overhead. We also gave a pass on the reptile House (too crowded, there was a line just to get inside.)
However we did see the Komodo Dragon, which was on Jake's must see list. It was terribly active, but we did find it. At this point everybody was getting anxious and ready to go. We paid a quick visit to the big cats, had a quick potty break and headed over to the all important gift shop.
On the way we passed a life sized sculpture of a triceratops. This is Max's all time favorite dinosaur. I asked him if he wanted a picture and he zoomed on over. His smile is a bit odd because he is showing off the little gap in his smile. He had just lost that tooth just a few days ago.
Rebecca than dragged us on to go shopping. She had been dying to buy something from the get go. Quite honestly she would have been happy with just going to a gift shop and blowing her allowance. But instead her mean mommy dragged her through out the zoo before letting her shop. The first shop was a bust (she only had $7 and it really wasn't enough to get what she wanted), but the next one we stopped at was the clearance tent and she got a cute little camel. Max got a triceratops, Jake got a panda and Nate got bupkis. He didn't bring his money and confided to me it was probably best that he left his money at home. That way he would save it for something good. Such a smart boy. We then headed back to the van and home.
Monday, March 31, 2008
Back to the Salt Mines
Spring break is over and the kids are back in school.
We had a pretty good week. We got to sleep in, go to the National Zoo and went up north for a Bat Mitzvah. And when I say up North, I mean all the waaaaay up to the Connecticut/New York suburbs of NYC.
The drive was not to bad, 7 1/2 hours on the way up which is warp speed compared top some of our epic 12 hour slogs. Coming back was an hour longer due to stopping for both lunch and dinner and a massive jam around Fredericksburg on I95. I have no idea what was going on, but when we saw an exit just before traffic ground to a halt, we bailed out and threaded our way through Freddysburg on route 1. When 1 crossed under 95 just South of Fredericksburg we popped back on and were treated to smooth sailing. Northbound wasn't so lucky and had at least a 10 mile backup.
I'll share pictures of all our adventures after I get the film developed. It stinks not having a digital camera anymore. I hope it turns up this weekend when Hebrew schools resumes. I'm pretty sure that's where I left it.
We had a pretty good week. We got to sleep in, go to the National Zoo and went up north for a Bat Mitzvah. And when I say up North, I mean all the waaaaay up to the Connecticut/New York suburbs of NYC.
The drive was not to bad, 7 1/2 hours on the way up which is warp speed compared top some of our epic 12 hour slogs. Coming back was an hour longer due to stopping for both lunch and dinner and a massive jam around Fredericksburg on I95. I have no idea what was going on, but when we saw an exit just before traffic ground to a halt, we bailed out and threaded our way through Freddysburg on route 1. When 1 crossed under 95 just South of Fredericksburg we popped back on and were treated to smooth sailing. Northbound wasn't so lucky and had at least a 10 mile backup.
I'll share pictures of all our adventures after I get the film developed. It stinks not having a digital camera anymore. I hope it turns up this weekend when Hebrew schools resumes. I'm pretty sure that's where I left it.
Wednesday, March 26, 2008
Artist of the Week: Snowmen
This week's artist is Rebecca. The picture of her is from last summer. We had forgotten the camera when we went on vacation and ended up buying a bunch of disposables. I finally got around to developing these cameras last week (it only took me seven months) .
She looks so cute all bundled up in her beach towel and I thought it was fitting for this week since it's warm, but I'm featuring her snowmen.
Just after winter break Rebecca brought home a charming project that demonstrated the concept of first , next and last. She had to draw a series of pictures showing how to build a snowman from start to finish.
It is a fairly ordinary progression from one snowball, to two stacked snowballs and finally the completed snowman.
Nothing very earth shaking here.
But... when you turn over the project you get to see the whimsy that is Rebecca.
On her own she decided to draw what happens when a snowman melts.
I love how the snowman starts out so very tall and proper.
Then it starts to shrink. All the details are still there, from the classic top hat, the eyes made of coal and the stick arms. It's just smaller. In the last panel all that is left is just a smudge of snow sitting in a puddle of snow melt, surrounded by two sticks and a scarf.
Another snowman she brought home was an in class project that was to be given as a gift. It's book loosely based on "Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What do You See?"
She had help with the binding and such, but the illustrations are all hers. If you are interesting in getting the whole story, just click on the cover and it will lead you to the photo-set of the whole book. There is even a little surprise at the very end of the book.
She looks so cute all bundled up in her beach towel and I thought it was fitting for this week since it's warm, but I'm featuring her snowmen.
Just after winter break Rebecca brought home a charming project that demonstrated the concept of first , next and last. She had to draw a series of pictures showing how to build a snowman from start to finish.
It is a fairly ordinary progression from one snowball, to two stacked snowballs and finally the completed snowman.
Nothing very earth shaking here.
But... when you turn over the project you get to see the whimsy that is Rebecca.
On her own she decided to draw what happens when a snowman melts.
I love how the snowman starts out so very tall and proper.
Then it starts to shrink. All the details are still there, from the classic top hat, the eyes made of coal and the stick arms. It's just smaller. In the last panel all that is left is just a smudge of snow sitting in a puddle of snow melt, surrounded by two sticks and a scarf.
Another snowman she brought home was an in class project that was to be given as a gift. It's book loosely based on "Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What do You See?"
She had help with the binding and such, but the illustrations are all hers. If you are interesting in getting the whole story, just click on the cover and it will lead you to the photo-set of the whole book. There is even a little surprise at the very end of the book.
Tuesday, March 25, 2008
Tired
I took the crew up to DC today. We went to the National Zoo, which was great fun, but tiring.
We didn't see the whole thing since we left home a bit late and I needed to get Jake home in time for a bit of dinner before his 7:30 base ball practice. I took a bunch of pictures and I'll post them as soon as I get them developed.
We didn't see the whole thing since we left home a bit late and I needed to get Jake home in time for a bit of dinner before his 7:30 base ball practice. I took a bunch of pictures and I'll post them as soon as I get them developed.
Monday, March 24, 2008
Star Wars on the Cheap
For your viewing pleasure, one of the best remakes of Star Wars.
Now that's some high quality, low budget video.
Now that's some high quality, low budget video.
Sunday, March 23, 2008
Curaçao Honeymoon
Over at Meryl's Soccer Dad posted about the oldest synagogues in the western hemisphere. Well it turns out that Larry and I visited the oldest, Mikvé Israel-Emanuel, while we were on our honeymoon in Curaçao.We were there in June of 1992 and it was absolutely gorgeous.
After a bit of digging I found a roll from our trip and I'll share a few of the pictures we took of the synagogue and the Jewish Cultural Museum. First up is a picture of the organ and some of the chandeliers inside the sanctuary.
It was beautiful inside the building. My pictures really don't do it justice, the dark mahogany wood, the bright sunlight streaming in and the white paint conspired to confound my film. But I did get a few good shots and if you click through the picture it will lead you to the picture set. I don't remember much, other than the building being very cool and airy inside.
We then ventured forth through the courtyard connecting the museum to the synagogue. Larry is standing the gateway separating the two. Inside the museum were a few artifacts from the Jewish community of Curaçao.
I remember the museum was quite small and we had to go up a flight of stairs. Inside the first thing that caught your eye was the fully set Seder table safely contained by plexi-glass. Nearby was a display of scrolls and judging by the illumination on the bottom one, I think there was at least one megillah. Which is rather ironic. The two things I photographed are about the holiday we just had (Purim) and the one that we are preparing for (Passover).
At the very end of the picture set is the street entrance to the building. It is a rather plain door set in the wall outside the Synagogue. For whatever reason that is the only external picture I have. For a souvenir we picked up a couple of copies of the sisterhood's cookbook in the museum. I'm going to try out a few recipes and post the results at a later date.
After a bit of digging I found a roll from our trip and I'll share a few of the pictures we took of the synagogue and the Jewish Cultural Museum. First up is a picture of the organ and some of the chandeliers inside the sanctuary.
It was beautiful inside the building. My pictures really don't do it justice, the dark mahogany wood, the bright sunlight streaming in and the white paint conspired to confound my film. But I did get a few good shots and if you click through the picture it will lead you to the picture set. I don't remember much, other than the building being very cool and airy inside.
We then ventured forth through the courtyard connecting the museum to the synagogue. Larry is standing the gateway separating the two. Inside the museum were a few artifacts from the Jewish community of Curaçao.
I remember the museum was quite small and we had to go up a flight of stairs. Inside the first thing that caught your eye was the fully set Seder table safely contained by plexi-glass. Nearby was a display of scrolls and judging by the illumination on the bottom one, I think there was at least one megillah. Which is rather ironic. The two things I photographed are about the holiday we just had (Purim) and the one that we are preparing for (Passover).
At the very end of the picture set is the street entrance to the building. It is a rather plain door set in the wall outside the Synagogue. For whatever reason that is the only external picture I have. For a souvenir we picked up a couple of copies of the sisterhood's cookbook in the museum. I'm going to try out a few recipes and post the results at a later date.
Friday, March 21, 2008
I Haz Bucket!
moar funny pictures
I took this picture last summer at my cousins house. After a few days of passing by it I suddenly realized that the sculpture and the buckets we had were just the right size for each other. The kids immeadetely got the joke.
Thursday, March 20, 2008
Red Boys
Dell, the new dog, is settling in nicely. He is so very, very HAPPY to be in a family situation. I swear his tail is just going get wagged off of his body. He loves being able to roam about the house downstairs and having kids to play with him is the cherry on top.
He and John also wrestle and chase each other through out the house. The funniest is when they are outside. They tear across the lawn shoulder to shoulder, bumping each other. It's kind of like a roller derby out there. John gets so excited that he starts barking at Dell. When they stop Dell gives him a look along the lines of "Dude, why the barking?" and then they take off again.
I've seem to have lost my camera, but I'll try to shoot some video of the two of them this weekend and post it.
He and John also wrestle and chase each other through out the house. The funniest is when they are outside. They tear across the lawn shoulder to shoulder, bumping each other. It's kind of like a roller derby out there. John gets so excited that he starts barking at Dell. When they stop Dell gives him a look along the lines of "Dude, why the barking?" and then they take off again.
I've seem to have lost my camera, but I'll try to shoot some video of the two of them this weekend and post it.
Wednesday, March 19, 2008
Artist of the Week: Science Fair
This week's artist is Jake for his massive science fair project.
His project was to determine which fertilizer worked the best. We got off to a late start, what with all the hospital madness at the end of January and the beginning of February, but we did get started and the plants cooperated.
He ended up with six different conditions: plain topsoil, topsoil with Chesapeake Bay Blue Crab soil enhancer, compost from a local organic farm, composted cow manure, organic compost from Ukrops (a local supermarket chain that composts trimmings from the produce section) and Sta-Green (a chemically based product). As for the plants, he went for green beans. I found some nifty germination trays and he planted 36 seeds (half a tray for a total of 3 trays) for each of the conditions. The dining room table became a greenhouse and he waited for the plants to start growing.
As I stated earlier the plants were cooperative. I was afraid we started a bit late, but after 3 days a few plants were already poking out of the soil. 11 days later we had a veritable forest of green beans. I practically did a double take every time I went by the doorway to the dining room. You could practically see the plants grow.
Two weeks later he took his final data and I helped him put it together. I had never done a science fair project in school, but I had helped all sorts of grad students and post docs put together poster of biological conferences. With my limited background and an extensive instruction packet he was able to put together a fairly good poster.
Today I stopped by the school to check out the science fair. Literally every available surface was covered in the library. I found out from the librarian that there were over 200 submissions. From what I understand the posters will be judged and the winning entries will go on to compete in the county wide science fair.
I don't envy the judges. There were a lot of outstanding and informative presentations. Everything from chilling sodas, to what batteries work best, roof trusses and the very popular mentos fountains.
His project was to determine which fertilizer worked the best. We got off to a late start, what with all the hospital madness at the end of January and the beginning of February, but we did get started and the plants cooperated.
He ended up with six different conditions: plain topsoil, topsoil with Chesapeake Bay Blue Crab soil enhancer, compost from a local organic farm, composted cow manure, organic compost from Ukrops (a local supermarket chain that composts trimmings from the produce section) and Sta-Green (a chemically based product). As for the plants, he went for green beans. I found some nifty germination trays and he planted 36 seeds (half a tray for a total of 3 trays) for each of the conditions. The dining room table became a greenhouse and he waited for the plants to start growing.
As I stated earlier the plants were cooperative. I was afraid we started a bit late, but after 3 days a few plants were already poking out of the soil. 11 days later we had a veritable forest of green beans. I practically did a double take every time I went by the doorway to the dining room. You could practically see the plants grow.
Two weeks later he took his final data and I helped him put it together. I had never done a science fair project in school, but I had helped all sorts of grad students and post docs put together poster of biological conferences. With my limited background and an extensive instruction packet he was able to put together a fairly good poster.
Today I stopped by the school to check out the science fair. Literally every available surface was covered in the library. I found out from the librarian that there were over 200 submissions. From what I understand the posters will be judged and the winning entries will go on to compete in the county wide science fair.
I don't envy the judges. There were a lot of outstanding and informative presentations. Everything from chilling sodas, to what batteries work best, roof trusses and the very popular mentos fountains.
Tuesday, March 18, 2008
One Happy Dog
My friend Dianne found this video over at StumbleUpon Video and sent me the following note:
As I watched this video, I couldn't help think of Crunch and the boys. Thought you would enjoy this.
Dianne
Jerry, with his white face, looks so much like Crunch. Crunch was also tennis ball crazy, but he never got his own ball throwing machine. I think the whole thing is fantastic.
Monday, March 17, 2008
IEATAPETA and More
Saturday was IEATAPETA and we celebrated in style. We had all sorts of meat products and rounded off the day by having dinner with Meryl at our favorite local BBQ joint.
Meat, it's what's for dinner.
I'm a big fan of IEATAPETA, not only do I get to indulge my carnivorous tendencies but I also get to thumb my nose at peta, an organization I utterly loathe.
Then on Sunday was Hebrew school's Purim Parade. Jake and Nate didn't dress up, but the dynamic duo did. Max wanted to be a guard and wanted to bring a spear to school. I was able to cobble together something from a short mop handle and construction paper. Max was very pleased with the end result. Rebecca opted to be Queen Ester (as did every other girl) and wear her big princess dress along with a matching wand and tiara set. Thankfully she decided to wear her sneakers and not her dress up shoes. Her "fancy shoes" are very slippery and would have been nightmare for her to walk in when we cut through the side streets after parking the car.
Neither won any prizes, but they did have a great time.
Meat, it's what's for dinner.
I'm a big fan of IEATAPETA, not only do I get to indulge my carnivorous tendencies but I also get to thumb my nose at peta, an organization I utterly loathe.
Then on Sunday was Hebrew school's Purim Parade. Jake and Nate didn't dress up, but the dynamic duo did. Max wanted to be a guard and wanted to bring a spear to school. I was able to cobble together something from a short mop handle and construction paper. Max was very pleased with the end result. Rebecca opted to be Queen Ester (as did every other girl) and wear her big princess dress along with a matching wand and tiara set. Thankfully she decided to wear her sneakers and not her dress up shoes. Her "fancy shoes" are very slippery and would have been nightmare for her to walk in when we cut through the side streets after parking the car.
Neither won any prizes, but they did have a great time.
Friday, March 14, 2008
Thursday, March 13, 2008
Small World, Blogger Edition
It turns out that oh about 20 odd years ago I partied with Steve-O from over at The Llama Butchers.
A few days ago he posted up a few REM videos. The following day I dropped by and mentioned that I had seen them at my college. Turns out that he had been there too.
It really is a small, small world.
A few days ago he posted up a few REM videos. The following day I dropped by and mentioned that I had seen them at my college. Turns out that he had been there too.
It really is a small, small world.
Wednesday, March 12, 2008
Artist of the Week: Stump
John is this week's artist.
He has been very industriously digging around the roots of stump in our yard. The stump is a left over from Hurricane Isabel in 2003.
We lost quite a few trees and we have a couple of stumps on our property. We were lucky that the trees fell into the woods and not onto our lawn or our house. Since the stumps were not actually in the way we decided to let them be. The kids and dogs all think this is a great idea and I'll often see them playing on or around the stumps.
Yesterday John got a real bee in his bonnet over one of the stumps and decided to really clear out the soil around the roots.
I went out to take a look and I was impressed with his work. It is amazing how much dirt a dachshund can move when they want to. I don't know what motivated him, maybe there were some mice living in and around the roots. John certainly not going to tell me.
He has been very industriously digging around the roots of stump in our yard. The stump is a left over from Hurricane Isabel in 2003.
We lost quite a few trees and we have a couple of stumps on our property. We were lucky that the trees fell into the woods and not onto our lawn or our house. Since the stumps were not actually in the way we decided to let them be. The kids and dogs all think this is a great idea and I'll often see them playing on or around the stumps.
Yesterday John got a real bee in his bonnet over one of the stumps and decided to really clear out the soil around the roots.
I went out to take a look and I was impressed with his work. It is amazing how much dirt a dachshund can move when they want to. I don't know what motivated him, maybe there were some mice living in and around the roots. John certainly not going to tell me.
Tuesday, March 11, 2008
Just a Little Bird
I love this song and the video. I remember when it first came out and I completely fell for it. I had so much fun identifying all the different personas and remembering the songs they are associated with.
I think Annie Lennox has the most gorgeous voice. And she is not afraid to use it. She is utterly amazing.
I think Annie Lennox has the most gorgeous voice. And she is not afraid to use it. She is utterly amazing.
Monday, March 10, 2008
Another Red Torpedo
Sunday was spent on the road. After Hebrew school I took the kids out to IHOP and then onto Northern Virginia to pick up John's half-brother, Dell. (Larry was stuck home, he had to attend a t-ball coaches meeting.)
IHOP was quite an experience. We had a long wait since we arrived at the tail end of the post church rush and the start of the college crowd's "I just rolled out of bed and I want pancakes" invasion. The kids didn't notice it, but I found it funny to see tables of people in their Sunday best next to those that hadn't even bothered to change out of their jammies. I'm proud to say that I never went anywhere in my pajamas, except to bed.
Anyway, this is about a dog. My dear friend Dianne and her husband Andy offered Dell to us after Crunch passed. Dell needed a family of his own and John needed another dog to play with (playing with Nate is fun, but it's not quite the same.) We said yes and I went to go get Dell when we were ready.
Dell is a sweetie and John was ecstatic when he met Dell. I swear John has been going "OMG! OMG! OMG! ANOTHER DOG TO PLAY WITH ME!" So far there has only been one mild altercation after John bugged Dell a little too much. I only let them out together in short bursts and only if I can keep a close eye on them. Things will settle down with time and I won't have to watch them whenever they are together.
So now we are back to having a couple of red boys in the house, torpedoing around and crashing to each other.
IHOP was quite an experience. We had a long wait since we arrived at the tail end of the post church rush and the start of the college crowd's "I just rolled out of bed and I want pancakes" invasion. The kids didn't notice it, but I found it funny to see tables of people in their Sunday best next to those that hadn't even bothered to change out of their jammies. I'm proud to say that I never went anywhere in my pajamas, except to bed.
Anyway, this is about a dog. My dear friend Dianne and her husband Andy offered Dell to us after Crunch passed. Dell needed a family of his own and John needed another dog to play with (playing with Nate is fun, but it's not quite the same.) We said yes and I went to go get Dell when we were ready.
Dell is a sweetie and John was ecstatic when he met Dell. I swear John has been going "OMG! OMG! OMG! ANOTHER DOG TO PLAY WITH ME!" So far there has only been one mild altercation after John bugged Dell a little too much. I only let them out together in short bursts and only if I can keep a close eye on them. Things will settle down with time and I won't have to watch them whenever they are together.
So now we are back to having a couple of red boys in the house, torpedoing around and crashing to each other.
Sunday, March 09, 2008
Time Rant
I hate the whole "spring forward, fall back" time change thing. This year it was particularly brutal because I didn't realize it until about midnight last night. Then there was much frantic changing of a few critical clocks before crashing into bed at far too late an hour.
At 6:30 am the alarm clock sounded and Larry voiced his disbelief about the hour (it was still dark) before shutting it off. I staggered out of bed and got Max started on his therapies. He needs to be nebulized (albuterol and Tobi)and have chest PTs before we head off to Hebrew school. The Tobi is especially onerous because it takes at least half an hour to fully nebulize. At least Max can sleep through that part. I was dragging the whole time and poor Nate was so confused, I had only reset some of the clocks and he thought it was much earlier than it was. We left late for Hebrew school and I had a hard time parking, but we were only a minute or two late. Which is pretty darn good considering. Normally we are on time, so I don't think the teachers will hold it against them. I know the kindergarten teacher was as out of sorts as we were.
At 6:30 am the alarm clock sounded and Larry voiced his disbelief about the hour (it was still dark) before shutting it off. I staggered out of bed and got Max started on his therapies. He needs to be nebulized (albuterol and Tobi)and have chest PTs before we head off to Hebrew school. The Tobi is especially onerous because it takes at least half an hour to fully nebulize. At least Max can sleep through that part. I was dragging the whole time and poor Nate was so confused, I had only reset some of the clocks and he thought it was much earlier than it was. We left late for Hebrew school and I had a hard time parking, but we were only a minute or two late. Which is pretty darn good considering. Normally we are on time, so I don't think the teachers will hold it against them. I know the kindergarten teacher was as out of sorts as we were.
Friday, March 07, 2008
Just a Little Bit More
Nate's show and tell with the megilla went well. I did my best not to hijack it, but I did prompt him a bit.
I decided that the megillah itself was off limits, but the smaller square could be passed around. I think the kids really liked being about to actually hold the smaller parchment. They also got a kick out of seeing the whole megillah unfurled. Nate's teacher at that moment pointed out that the whole thing was hand lettered and this was how "books" where originally written. Painstakingly printed by hand on a scroll.
Nate told the class it was the story of Esther. about two thirds of the class understood what he meant. Of the remaining third one girl asked who was Esther. Before Nate could answer another girl answered "It's a Christian story." Nate then corrected her and said that actually it's a Jewish story. The girl was a bit surprised, but accepted this idea fairly easily. Nate then answered a few more questions and then it was time for the class to move on.
I had a lot of fun and I know Nate loved having me there. And once again I've become the go to person for all things Jewish in our school system
I decided that the megillah itself was off limits, but the smaller square could be passed around. I think the kids really liked being about to actually hold the smaller parchment. They also got a kick out of seeing the whole megillah unfurled. Nate's teacher at that moment pointed out that the whole thing was hand lettered and this was how "books" where originally written. Painstakingly printed by hand on a scroll.
Nate told the class it was the story of Esther. about two thirds of the class understood what he meant. Of the remaining third one girl asked who was Esther. Before Nate could answer another girl answered "It's a Christian story." Nate then corrected her and said that actually it's a Jewish story. The girl was a bit surprised, but accepted this idea fairly easily. Nate then answered a few more questions and then it was time for the class to move on.
I had a lot of fun and I know Nate loved having me there. And once again I've become the go to person for all things Jewish in our school system
Thursday, March 06, 2008
Dangerous Chemical
This has been around for a while, but it's still funny.
The best part was all the negative side effects and where it is found. However they did miss one of the biggies, water is often refered to in biology as "the universal solvent." Makes it sound pretty dangerous.
In fact here are some excerpts from the Material Safety Data Sheet:
===================== Hazards Identification =====================
Routes of Entry: Inhalation:NO Skin:NO Ingestion:NO
Reports of Carcinogenicity:NTP:NO IARC:NO OSHA:NO
Health Hazards Acute and Chronic:NONE
Explanation of Carcinogenicity:WATER IS NOT LISTED BY IARC, NTP OR OSHA
AS A CARCINOGEN, MUTAGEN, TERATOGEN OR NEUROTOXIN.
Effects of Overexposure:WATER MAY CAUSE DEATH BY DROWNING.
Medical Cond Aggravated by Exposure:NONE KNOWN
================== Accidental Release Measures ==================
Spill Release Procedures:IF UNUSED WATER IS SPILLED, MOP UP OR FLUSH TO
SEWER.
Neutralizing Agent:NONE
I like the death by drowning and the lack of neutralizing agents.
What makes it even funnier is that my nine year old and my eleven year old were joking around about this dangerous chemical not too long ago.
The best part was all the negative side effects and where it is found. However they did miss one of the biggies, water is often refered to in biology as "the universal solvent." Makes it sound pretty dangerous.
In fact here are some excerpts from the Material Safety Data Sheet:
===================== Hazards Identification =====================
Routes of Entry: Inhalation:NO Skin:NO Ingestion:NO
Reports of Carcinogenicity:NTP:NO IARC:NO OSHA:NO
Health Hazards Acute and Chronic:NONE
Explanation of Carcinogenicity:WATER IS NOT LISTED BY IARC, NTP OR OSHA
AS A CARCINOGEN, MUTAGEN, TERATOGEN OR NEUROTOXIN.
Effects of Overexposure:WATER MAY CAUSE DEATH BY DROWNING.
Medical Cond Aggravated by Exposure:NONE KNOWN
================== Accidental Release Measures ==================
Spill Release Procedures:IF UNUSED WATER IS SPILLED, MOP UP OR FLUSH TO
SEWER.
Neutralizing Agent:NONE
I like the death by drowning and the lack of neutralizing agents.
What makes it even funnier is that my nine year old and my eleven year old were joking around about this dangerous chemical not too long ago.
Wednesday, March 05, 2008
Artist of the Week: Decorative Paper
This week's artist is Carl Gydesen (aka Guy de Sen) of Denmark. He was a member of a decorative paper guild and a friend of my Grandmother. He made this picture for her during her visit in 1938.
My Grandmother had been wanting to go to Europe for years to do research on her book about decorative papers. 1938 my Grandfather (at least according to my mother) said "Put up or shut up." So off she went, by herself, to visit all the makers of decorative papers in Europe.
It was an interesting time to be in Europe. Hitler and Nazism were making life very difficult for Jews and since many if not all of the decorative paper makers were Jewish my Grandmother had a hard time. She went to a central office to look up various names she had been given and she was told that the office was closed. A man seeing her plight pulled her aside and offered to meet her later, away from the office. When they met again he explained to her that it was dangerous for her and the particular people she was looking for to pursue that line of inquiry. In the end she did find some of the people she was looking for and one of them was Carl Gydesen.
I'm not sure where they met, but they did become friends. He made this beautiful picture for her on plain brown paper. She tried to keep in touch with him after her return stateside, but sadly he disappeared. She never knew his exact fate and that of the other people she met. However she was certain that he was one of the many victims of the Holocaust.
My Grandmother had been wanting to go to Europe for years to do research on her book about decorative papers. 1938 my Grandfather (at least according to my mother) said "Put up or shut up." So off she went, by herself, to visit all the makers of decorative papers in Europe.
It was an interesting time to be in Europe. Hitler and Nazism were making life very difficult for Jews and since many if not all of the decorative paper makers were Jewish my Grandmother had a hard time. She went to a central office to look up various names she had been given and she was told that the office was closed. A man seeing her plight pulled her aside and offered to meet her later, away from the office. When they met again he explained to her that it was dangerous for her and the particular people she was looking for to pursue that line of inquiry. In the end she did find some of the people she was looking for and one of them was Carl Gydesen.
I'm not sure where they met, but they did become friends. He made this beautiful picture for her on plain brown paper. She tried to keep in touch with him after her return stateside, but sadly he disappeared. She never knew his exact fate and that of the other people she met. However she was certain that he was one of the many victims of the Holocaust.
Tuesday, March 04, 2008
The Whole Megillah
In case y'all were wondering here is what our megillah looks like. I used Jake's rose to hold it open so you can get a glimpse of the text and the pretty illumination at the beginning of the scroll.
The text is quite faded at the start of the scroll, but as you unwind it the inks brighten up and are no longer faded. There is only one other illustration and it appears at the very end of the scroll. It is similar to the one at the start, which is to be expected.
For those who are interested this site gives a good run down on what a megillah is and how it is made. I love the pictures of the illuminated scrolls on the opening page. My Grandmother would have liked them as well.
In addition to the main scroll is a smaller square of parchment wrapped around the scroll.
I've included it as well. It's writing has held up better than the start of the main megillah, probably because it has edges you can hold without touching the text. It's small size also means that you needn't run your finger along the text to keep your place. I have a feeling that the scroll has been handled a great deal which caused the fading. Ideally a pointer or yad should be used to prevent fingers from coming in contact with the parchment. The oils on fingers can wreak havoc on the scroll itself.
At some point I need to bring this in to a scholar and try to figure out it's age and probable land of origin. But for now I'll keep it safe. It's interesting how it was rescued, unwittingly, by a gentile (my Grandmother) to only end up back in a Jewish home.
The text is quite faded at the start of the scroll, but as you unwind it the inks brighten up and are no longer faded. There is only one other illustration and it appears at the very end of the scroll. It is similar to the one at the start, which is to be expected.
For those who are interested this site gives a good run down on what a megillah is and how it is made. I love the pictures of the illuminated scrolls on the opening page. My Grandmother would have liked them as well.
In addition to the main scroll is a smaller square of parchment wrapped around the scroll.
I've included it as well. It's writing has held up better than the start of the main megillah, probably because it has edges you can hold without touching the text. It's small size also means that you needn't run your finger along the text to keep your place. I have a feeling that the scroll has been handled a great deal which caused the fading. Ideally a pointer or yad should be used to prevent fingers from coming in contact with the parchment. The oils on fingers can wreak havoc on the scroll itself.
At some point I need to bring this in to a scholar and try to figure out it's age and probable land of origin. But for now I'll keep it safe. It's interesting how it was rescued, unwittingly, by a gentile (my Grandmother) to only end up back in a Jewish home.
Monday, March 03, 2008
My New Mission and More
I have a new mission in life, to get as many valid library cards as possible.
I started out with just our local system. The library closest to us is great. The librarians are helpful, the story times are well run and the catalog is online with the added bonus of online renewals. I average about three books every other week.
Then last summer I was stuck in Richmond with three bored kids (Jake was in Art class) and the temps were in the upper nineties. We found a branch of the city library system just a few blocks down the road. We perused the shelves in air conditioned comfort and I ended up getting a card so we could bring our treasures home.
Today I headed up to Richmond in search of semi-obscure books at the Library of Virginia. Nate has his monthly "share" (ie show and tell) this week and the theme is family heirlooms. He settled on a megillah that my Grandmother was given when she was in Germany just before the start of WWII. She was traveling through Europe meeting various makers of decorative end papers. Many of the guild members were Jewish and knew something terrible was going to happen. They pressed upon my non-Jewish grandmother all sorts of artifacts to bring back to the US, one of which is a megillah. The books I needed from the library tell a little bit about decorative end papers and one has a picture of my Grandmother. (I don't have any pictures of my Grandmother. She died when my mother was 21, a good fifteen years before I was born.)
So anyway, I now have three library cards. Maybe I should try to get a few more.
I started out with just our local system. The library closest to us is great. The librarians are helpful, the story times are well run and the catalog is online with the added bonus of online renewals. I average about three books every other week.
Then last summer I was stuck in Richmond with three bored kids (Jake was in Art class) and the temps were in the upper nineties. We found a branch of the city library system just a few blocks down the road. We perused the shelves in air conditioned comfort and I ended up getting a card so we could bring our treasures home.
Today I headed up to Richmond in search of semi-obscure books at the Library of Virginia. Nate has his monthly "share" (ie show and tell) this week and the theme is family heirlooms. He settled on a megillah that my Grandmother was given when she was in Germany just before the start of WWII. She was traveling through Europe meeting various makers of decorative end papers. Many of the guild members were Jewish and knew something terrible was going to happen. They pressed upon my non-Jewish grandmother all sorts of artifacts to bring back to the US, one of which is a megillah. The books I needed from the library tell a little bit about decorative end papers and one has a picture of my Grandmother. (I don't have any pictures of my Grandmother. She died when my mother was 21, a good fifteen years before I was born.)
So anyway, I now have three library cards. Maybe I should try to get a few more.
Sunday, March 02, 2008
Movie Meme
I love movies. I love going to a movie theater with a friend or two and settling in the dark with a big bucket of popcorn. I love them so much I joined my college's film society. It was great fun picking out the new movies each semester, pouring over the film catalogs and looking up interesting film titles in Pauline Kael's 5001 Nights at the Movies. I like all sorts of movies and I'm willing to give most a shot with three notable exceptions: anything by Jean-Luc Godard (pretentious twaddle), most movies by Jerry Lewis (he grates on me) and movies with over the top violence. A movie can be gory, but it has to have plot or at the very least a sense of humor (I love both From Dusk Till Dawn and The Evil Dead series.) So it put it in a nutshell I'm a film geek.
Anyway, over at the Llama butchers there is a meme I could really get into and here is my take on it.
Here are the rules:
Bold movies you have watched and liked.
Turn red movies you have watched and loved.
Italicize movies you saw and didn’t like.
Leave as is movies you haven’t seen.
The Godfather (1972)
The Shawshank Redemption (1994)
The Godfather: Part II (1974)
The Good, the Bad and the Ugly (1966)
Pulp Fiction (1994)
Schindler’s List (1993)
Star Wars: Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back (1980)
One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest (1975)
Casablanca (1942)
The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003)
Star Wars (1977)
12 Angry Men (1957)
Rear Window (1954)
No Country for Old Men (2007)
Goodfellas (1990)
Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981)
The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001)
City of God (2002)
Once Upon a Time in the West (1968)
The Usual Suspects (1995)
Psycho (1960)
Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb (1964)
Citizen Kane (1941)
The Silence of the Lambs (1991)
North by Northwest (1959)
The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (2002)
Fight Club (1999)
Memento (2000)
Sunset Blvd. (1950)
Lawrence of Arabia (1962)(First DVD I ever bought and I got to see it at Radio City Music Hall, it was awesome)
It’s a Wonderful Life (1946)
The Matrix (1999)
Taxi Driver (1976)
Se7en (1995)
Apocalypse Now (1979)
American Beauty (1999)
Vertigo (1958)
Amélie (2001)
The Departed (2006)
Paths of Glory (1957)
American History X (1998)
To Kill a Mockingbird (1962)
Chinatown (1974)
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004)
The Third Man (1949)
A Clockwork Orange (1971)
Pan’s Labyrinth (2006)
The Treasure of the Sierra Madre (1948)
Alien (1979)
The Pianist (2002)
The Shining (1980)
Double Indemnity (1944)
L.A. Confidential (1997)
Leben der Anderen, Das [The Lives of Others] (2006)
The Bridge on the River Kwai (1957)
Boot, Das (1981)
The Maltese Falcon (1941)
Saving Private Ryan (1998)
Reservoir Dogs (1992)
Forrest Gump (1994)
Metropolis (1927)(haven’t seen it, but I want to)
Aliens (1986)
Raging Bull (1980)
Rashômon (1950)
Singin’ in the Rain (1952)
Rebecca (1940)
Hotel Rwanda (2004)
Sin City (2005)
Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991)
All About Eve (1950)
Modern Times (1936)
Some Like It Hot (1959)(Love, love, love the ending- “Well, nobody's perfect”)
2001: A Space Odyssey (1968) (I remember seeing it in the movie theater with my father)
The Seventh Seal (1957)
The Great Escape (1963)
Amadeus (1984)
On the Waterfront (1954)
Touch of Evil (1958)
The Elephant Man (1980)
The Prestige (2006)
Vita è bella, La [Life Is Beautiful] (1997)
Jaws (1975)
The Manchurian Candidate (1962)
The Sting (1973)
Strangers on a Train (1951)
Full Metal Jacket (1987)
The Apartment (1960)(very depressing)
City Lights (1931)
Braveheart (1995)
Cinema Paradiso (1988)
Batman Begins (2005)
The Big Sleep (1946)
Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (1939)
Once Upon a Time in America (1984)
Blade Runner (1982) (I’ve seen both the original and director’s cut, but not the Final Cut from 2007)
The Great Dictator (1940)
The Wizard of Oz (1939)
Notorious (1946)
Salaire de la peur, Le [The Wages of Fear](1953) (I wanted to get my college film society to show it, but no dice)
High Noon (1952)
Star Wars: Episode VI - Return of the Jedi (1983)
Fargo (1996) (Saw it when we were in Wisconsin, which added so much to the film)
The Bourne Ultimatum (2007)
Unforgiven (1992)
Back to the Future (1985)
Ran (1985)
Oldboy (2003)
Million Dollar Baby (2004)
Cool Hand Luke (1967)
Kill Bill: Vol. 1 (2003)
Donnie Darko (2001)
Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (1989)
The Green Mile (1999)
Annie Hall (1977)
Kind Hearts and Coronets (1949)
Gladiator (2000)
The Sixth Sense (1999)
Diaboliques, Les [The Devils] (1955) (very freaky movie)
Ben-Hur (1959)
It Happened One Night (1934)
The Deer Hunter (1978)
Life of Brian (1979)
Die Hard (1988)
The General (1927)
American Gangster (2007)
Platoon (1986)
V for Vendetta (2005)
Judgment at Nuremberg (1961)
The Graduate (1967)
The Princess Bride (1987)
Crash (2004)
The Wild Bunch (1969)
Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (1969)
Letters from Iwo Jima (2006)
Heat (1995)
Gandhi (1982)
Harvey (1950) (First movie I ever bought, still have it on VHS)
The Night of the Hunter (1955)
The African Queen (1951) (Katherine Hepburn and Bogey, what more could I ask for)
Stand by Me (1986)
Kill Bill: Vol. 2 (2004)
Witness for the Prosecution (1957)
The Big Lebowski (1998)
The Conversation (1974)
Little Miss Sunshine (2006)
Wo hu cang long [Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon ] (2000)
The Grapes of Wrath (1940)
Gone with the Wind (1939)
3:10 to Yuma (2007)
Cabinet des Dr. Caligari., Das [The Cabinet of Dr Caligari] (1920)
The Thing (1982)
Groundhog Day (1993)
The Best Years of Our Lives (1946) (didn’t care for it, but I might have been too young)
Sleuth (1972)
Patton (1970)
Toy Story (1995)
Glory (1989)
Out of the Past (1947)
Twelve Monkeys (1995)
Ed Wood (1994)
Spartacus (1960)
The Terminator (1984)
In the Heat of the Night (1967)
The Philadelphia Story (1940)(Awesome cast, fabulous movie)
The Exorcist (1973)
Frankenstein (1931)
Anatomy of a Murder (1959)
The Hustler (1961)
Toy Story 2 (1999)
The Lion King (1994)
Big Fish (2003)
Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels (1998)
Bonnie and Clyde (1967)
Young Frankenstein (1974)
Magnolia (1999)
A Streetcar Named Desire (1951)(It’s a good movie, but not my thing)
In Cold Blood (1967)
Rosemary’s Baby (1968)
Dial M for Murder (1954)
All Quiet on the Western Front (1930)
Roman Holiday (1953) (Audrey Hepburn!)
A Christmas Story (1983)
Casino (1995)
Manhattan (1979)
Ying xiong [Hero] (2002)
Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl (2003)
Rope (1948)
Cinderella Man (2005)
The Searchers (1956)
Finding Neverland (2004)
Inherit the Wind (1960)
His Girl Friday (1940)
A Man for All Seasons (1966)
Arsenic and Old Lace (1944)
The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance (1962)
Whew that's a whole lotta movies.
Friday, February 29, 2008
Key Lime Cheesecake
Cooking school was a bust last weekend, all that enthusiasm evaporated on Saturday and Sunday. Which is fine they are only 9 and 11 years old. I'm just happy that they might be interested in the future.
Meanwhile I had picked up a bag of Key Limes at the store and I needed to do something with them. Jake noticed them yesterday and hopefully said "cheesecake?" I was thinking of a pie, but cheesecake sounded like a good idea to me. Conveniently the the bag of limes had a small laminated slip of paper nestled among the fruit with two recipes, one for Key Lime pie and the other for Key Lime Cheesecake. The cheesecake seemed to be along the same lines of what I normally bake so I decided to give it a shot.
Key Lime Cheesecake from C-Brand Tropicals
*I don't know why it needs to be cooled, I didn't worry about that part.
**Buttered? I just read that part now, obviously I skipped it. I did, however, line the bottom with parchment paper. This makes it super easy to get the bottom of the springform pan off of the cake. That is my SOP.
***Which worked out to be the entire 1 lb bag or about 20 Key Limes (I lost count after a while, they are tiny little buggers and a pain to juice).
****I then broiled it a bit to get the nice brown spots on top, I think that makes it look nicer.
The recipe doesn't mention this, but... after the cake cooled a bit I stuck it in the fridge for a 6+ hours. Longer would have been better. The cheesecake is very good. There is a strong snap of flavor from the limes and the texture is silky smooth. It wasn't quite as dense as I would have liked, but a little aging in the fridge might fix that. This one is definitely a keeper.
Meanwhile I had picked up a bag of Key Limes at the store and I needed to do something with them. Jake noticed them yesterday and hopefully said "cheesecake?" I was thinking of a pie, but cheesecake sounded like a good idea to me. Conveniently the the bag of limes had a small laminated slip of paper nestled among the fruit with two recipes, one for Key Lime pie and the other for Key Lime Cheesecake. The cheesecake seemed to be along the same lines of what I normally bake so I decided to give it a shot.
Key Lime Cheesecake from C-Brand Tropicals
Crust:
1 1/2 cups fine graham cracker crumbs
2 tbl sugar
1/2 stick unsalted butter, melted and cooled*
Stir together the graham cracker crumbs and sugar. Add the butter and pat on the bottom and sides of buttered 9-inch springform pan.** Bake crust for 8 minutes at 375.
Filling:
20 ounces packaged cream cheese, softened
3/4 cup sugar
1 cup sour cream
3 tbl flour
3 eggs
3/4 cup Key Lime juice***
1 tsp vanilla
Beat cream cheese and sugar until smooth. Beat in the sour cream, flour, eggs (one at a time) the Key Lime juice, and the vanilla. Pour filling over the crust. Bake at 375 for 15 minutes. reduce the temperature to 250 and bake 50-55 minutes more or until the center is barely set.****
*I don't know why it needs to be cooled, I didn't worry about that part.
**Buttered? I just read that part now, obviously I skipped it. I did, however, line the bottom with parchment paper. This makes it super easy to get the bottom of the springform pan off of the cake. That is my SOP.
***Which worked out to be the entire 1 lb bag or about 20 Key Limes (I lost count after a while, they are tiny little buggers and a pain to juice).
****I then broiled it a bit to get the nice brown spots on top, I think that makes it look nicer.
The recipe doesn't mention this, but... after the cake cooled a bit I stuck it in the fridge for a 6+ hours. Longer would have been better. The cheesecake is very good. There is a strong snap of flavor from the limes and the texture is silky smooth. It wasn't quite as dense as I would have liked, but a little aging in the fridge might fix that. This one is definitely a keeper.
Thursday, February 28, 2008
Stupid Cable
Yesterday I was all set to do a lovely Artist of the Week post and then my less than fabulous internet provider decided to no longer provide anything.
Our cable TV was all wonky, it was actually worse than no picture. Strange ghost images of what was on would flicker and jump, the most disturbing being on public television. It was a weird hybrid of Buckaroo Banzai's 8th dimension and fractals that would pulse across the screen in a haze of static. Heaven knows what was truly on, and I really don't want to know. Meanwhile, our high speed internet was toast.
Anyway it wasn't working until this afternoon when it all magically resolved itself. Whether it was the three calls, the impending repair appointment or the cable company just getting off it's collective tuckus I can't say. But... I'm back.
Our cable TV was all wonky, it was actually worse than no picture. Strange ghost images of what was on would flicker and jump, the most disturbing being on public television. It was a weird hybrid of Buckaroo Banzai's 8th dimension and fractals that would pulse across the screen in a haze of static. Heaven knows what was truly on, and I really don't want to know. Meanwhile, our high speed internet was toast.
Anyway it wasn't working until this afternoon when it all magically resolved itself. Whether it was the three calls, the impending repair appointment or the cable company just getting off it's collective tuckus I can't say. But... I'm back.
Tuesday, February 26, 2008
One More Thing I'm Not Going to Do
After last week's post about the Devil's Pool I got directed to a great site about some truly unique spots. This video shows, for me, one of the most frightening. As I watch this video my body tenses up and I can feel my palms start to sweat, all from the safety of my seat at home. I'd be a basket case up on the mountain.
The article featuring the Huashan hiking trail has some absolutely stunning photographs. The landscape of China is very distinctive and I would love to see it first hand, but not on this particular trail. I find it unbelievable that people are wiling to shuffle along on wooden boards pegged onto the side of a cliff face.
Monday, February 25, 2008
Getting Political
Today I exercised my right as Virginia citizen and hied myself on over to Richmond to voice my opinion on a bill.
The bill in question, HB538, concerns commercial dog breeding. It is basically being touted as the anti-puppy mill law.
So as an ethical member of the dog showing fancy I should be for it, right?
Wrong, it is just the first step in limiting dog breeding in Virginia. However my biggest objection is that it is a classic knee jerk reaction to a recent horrific situation at a puppy mill. So a new bill was written and put before the house. Originally written it specified that state and federal guidelines for animal care must be met (a 60 page document). The federal provision was struck, but the bill still remains an unfunded mandate for the counties. Counties that are already strapped for funds and are not able to enforce the laws already in existence. The same laws, mind you, that are more than sufficient to shut down any breeder that does not maintain their animals and/or kennel.
If HB538 passes and goes into law ethical commercial breeders will be stuck with an onerous law that will very well force them out of Virginia. I do not care for commercial kennels, but the good ones have clean facilities with healthy and well cared for dogs. When they pull out where will the pet stores get their puppies? From out of state kennels. Some of this kennels might be well run, but I'm sure a few will not. Puppies will be shipped long distances at a very young age to fulfill the needs of the pet stores. I hate pet stores, they are some of the worst places to buy a dog. But they exist, that is reality.
Meanwhile the seamy underside of commercial kennels, the puppy mills, will just move underground. They will no longer inoculate against rabies to avoid the "gotcha rabies database," they will no longer get kennel licenses and will avoid the vet. The dogs will most likely end up in crude shelters hidden off the beaten path, thus making their horrible existence even harder to find. These puppies will be sold in flea markets and in parking lots. They will be cheap to buy, but expensive to own. I won't be surprised if a few end up rabid and infect their new owners.
Virgina doesn't need this new law, it needs to enforce the ones it already has.
The bill in question, HB538, concerns commercial dog breeding. It is basically being touted as the anti-puppy mill law.
So as an ethical member of the dog showing fancy I should be for it, right?
Wrong, it is just the first step in limiting dog breeding in Virginia. However my biggest objection is that it is a classic knee jerk reaction to a recent horrific situation at a puppy mill. So a new bill was written and put before the house. Originally written it specified that state and federal guidelines for animal care must be met (a 60 page document). The federal provision was struck, but the bill still remains an unfunded mandate for the counties. Counties that are already strapped for funds and are not able to enforce the laws already in existence. The same laws, mind you, that are more than sufficient to shut down any breeder that does not maintain their animals and/or kennel.
If HB538 passes and goes into law ethical commercial breeders will be stuck with an onerous law that will very well force them out of Virginia. I do not care for commercial kennels, but the good ones have clean facilities with healthy and well cared for dogs. When they pull out where will the pet stores get their puppies? From out of state kennels. Some of this kennels might be well run, but I'm sure a few will not. Puppies will be shipped long distances at a very young age to fulfill the needs of the pet stores. I hate pet stores, they are some of the worst places to buy a dog. But they exist, that is reality.
Meanwhile the seamy underside of commercial kennels, the puppy mills, will just move underground. They will no longer inoculate against rabies to avoid the "gotcha rabies database," they will no longer get kennel licenses and will avoid the vet. The dogs will most likely end up in crude shelters hidden off the beaten path, thus making their horrible existence even harder to find. These puppies will be sold in flea markets and in parking lots. They will be cheap to buy, but expensive to own. I won't be surprised if a few end up rabid and infect their new owners.
Virgina doesn't need this new law, it needs to enforce the ones it already has.
Sunday, February 24, 2008
Smart Dog
I like Dachshunds because they are fairly intelligent and independent dogs.
Rally was brilliant and would regularly bamboozle Crunch and the occasional human. John is proving himself to be a fairly sharp as well.
When he is playing the chase game with Nate in the house (basically Nate careens around the central core of the house with John in hot pursuit), John has learned to stop and turn around in anticipation of Nate reappearing on the other side. He then leaps up and pounces on Nate.
This week John really outdid himself.
There has been some valentine's day candy left on bench. John ignored it until a few days ago. This in itself was remarkable since every other dachshund I've known would have hoovered it all up from the get go. When John did decide to eat the candy he would only take one piece a day.
It took me three days to realize what was happening. I would find a shredded wrapper left on the floor, in another room. Since it was one piece I thought a child had dropped it on the floor and John had nailed it.
Then a couple of days ago I saw John in action. He went up to the bench, carefully reared up and placed his forepaws on top, examined the candy, selected one piece and retreated to the other room to eat his prize.
I was stunned, I had never seen a dog exhibit such self control. In fact he was better than the kids. I told him to drop it, I took away the candy and then cleaned up the remainder on the bench.
It's almost like he figured out that if he was discrete and took only a little at a time it would not be noticed and he would be free to eat all the candy.
Good thing he's a sweetheart and doesn't have opposable thumbs. I think I need to channel this dog's mind and energy and get him started in obedience.
Rally was brilliant and would regularly bamboozle Crunch and the occasional human. John is proving himself to be a fairly sharp as well.
When he is playing the chase game with Nate in the house (basically Nate careens around the central core of the house with John in hot pursuit), John has learned to stop and turn around in anticipation of Nate reappearing on the other side. He then leaps up and pounces on Nate.
This week John really outdid himself.
There has been some valentine's day candy left on bench. John ignored it until a few days ago. This in itself was remarkable since every other dachshund I've known would have hoovered it all up from the get go. When John did decide to eat the candy he would only take one piece a day.
It took me three days to realize what was happening. I would find a shredded wrapper left on the floor, in another room. Since it was one piece I thought a child had dropped it on the floor and John had nailed it.
Then a couple of days ago I saw John in action. He went up to the bench, carefully reared up and placed his forepaws on top, examined the candy, selected one piece and retreated to the other room to eat his prize.
I was stunned, I had never seen a dog exhibit such self control. In fact he was better than the kids. I told him to drop it, I took away the candy and then cleaned up the remainder on the bench.
It's almost like he figured out that if he was discrete and took only a little at a time it would not be noticed and he would be free to eat all the candy.
Good thing he's a sweetheart and doesn't have opposable thumbs. I think I need to channel this dog's mind and energy and get him started in obedience.
Friday, February 22, 2008
Bragging Rights
This week the two older boys have brought home their interim report cards. The lower grades, K-2, don't have interims much less letter grades, so max and Rebecca are off the hook.
Nate is doing well and is holding steady with A's and B's. Jake too has been doing well in Middle School so far, his past two report cards were also A's and B's. But this time he really shined, so far he is getting straight A's, including PE.
What is particularly remarkable about this feat is that Jake is in all Honors level classes. He has always been very bright, but up until now he has not been very focused. I think the Honors level classes are to his liking and engage him far more than the classes he has taken before.
This is the first time any of our kids have done this and Larry and I are thinking of giving Jake some sort of treat. Maybe a a little one on one time with the parent of his choice. I don't know what it'll be, but he deserves something.
Nate is doing well and is holding steady with A's and B's. Jake too has been doing well in Middle School so far, his past two report cards were also A's and B's. But this time he really shined, so far he is getting straight A's, including PE.
What is particularly remarkable about this feat is that Jake is in all Honors level classes. He has always been very bright, but up until now he has not been very focused. I think the Honors level classes are to his liking and engage him far more than the classes he has taken before.
This is the first time any of our kids have done this and Larry and I are thinking of giving Jake some sort of treat. Maybe a a little one on one time with the parent of his choice. I don't know what it'll be, but he deserves something.
Thursday, February 21, 2008
Cooking School
The past couple of nights Nate and Jake have asked me about learning how to cook. Rebecca has always shadowed me in the kitchen and loves to help out by mixing, adding ingredients and trying to crack an egg or two, Nate and Jake's interest is a new thing. Nate asked if he could cook something the past two nights and I told him he could do it this weekend. Jake, listening in, piped up that he wanted to learn too.
So it looks like I'll have a little cooking school this weekend. I found some key limes at the store so I'll have Jake make a key lime pie. It is one of his favorite desserts and I think he'll get a kick learning how to make it. Nate I haven't figured out yet. He said he wants to make dinner, maybe I'll teach him how to make a nice pasta sauce or we could make matzo ball soup. I'm not sure, I'll have to talk it over with him.
So it looks like I'll have a little cooking school this weekend. I found some key limes at the store so I'll have Jake make a key lime pie. It is one of his favorite desserts and I think he'll get a kick learning how to make it. Nate I haven't figured out yet. He said he wants to make dinner, maybe I'll teach him how to make a nice pasta sauce or we could make matzo ball soup. I'm not sure, I'll have to talk it over with him.
Wednesday, February 20, 2008
Artist of the Week: Lunacy
This week's artist is the Moon, with a little bit of help from the Earth and the Sun.
It was quite a struggle to watch the eclipse. Last night was a wondrously clear night with the moon filling the night with a bright silvery light. It was so bright that I thought I'd left a few lights on when I went up to bed. But tonight was another story. It was cloudy and a brief snow shower began along with the start of the eclipse.
The kids got to catch a brief glimpse of the start when a small break in the cloud cover appeared. Since the weather was uncooperative I then sent them off to bed. Once they were all tucked into bed, I set up the tripod out on the deck and was able to snag a few good shots when the clouds would lift and provide a quick peek at the show.
I'm really pleased with the above picture of the totality. I was able to get the surface of the moon with a fair amount of detail. There is a fair bit of light on the bottom, but contrast that with the next picture and you can see it is the full eclipse.
In the second picture the brightness of the moon as it emerges from the shadow is incredible. I love the bit of light flair captured in the picture.
The clouds have thinned out a bit more, but the show is over.
It was quite a struggle to watch the eclipse. Last night was a wondrously clear night with the moon filling the night with a bright silvery light. It was so bright that I thought I'd left a few lights on when I went up to bed. But tonight was another story. It was cloudy and a brief snow shower began along with the start of the eclipse.
The kids got to catch a brief glimpse of the start when a small break in the cloud cover appeared. Since the weather was uncooperative I then sent them off to bed. Once they were all tucked into bed, I set up the tripod out on the deck and was able to snag a few good shots when the clouds would lift and provide a quick peek at the show.
I'm really pleased with the above picture of the totality. I was able to get the surface of the moon with a fair amount of detail. There is a fair bit of light on the bottom, but contrast that with the next picture and you can see it is the full eclipse.
In the second picture the brightness of the moon as it emerges from the shadow is incredible. I love the bit of light flair captured in the picture.
The clouds have thinned out a bit more, but the show is over.
Tuesday, February 19, 2008
Late Night Fun
I just found out from over at the Angry Professor that we're going to get a total lunar eclipse Wednesday night.
I hope we have a reasonably clear night so I can share this with the crew. I know Jake and Nate will get a kick out of it and I think I can get the dynamic duo enthused as well.
I hope we have a reasonably clear night so I can share this with the crew. I know Jake and Nate will get a kick out of it and I think I can get the dynamic duo enthused as well.
Monday, February 18, 2008
Attack of the Bulgarians
Today I was inside my house while a Bulgarian attacked.
Which wasn't such a bad thing.
Last week during the wind storm some of the siding got blown off. We were planning on getting the house repainted this summer, this just pushed things up a bit. Last week we got a couple of bids on having the house painted and the associated carpentry work necessary (the house has this awful pressboard siding that crumbles when wet, ideal for such a humid area).
Anyway we picked our contractor yesterday (Sunday) and they told us they could start immediately, as in "we're sending a guy out Monday afternoon to power wash." This resulted in a panicked clearing of the deck and pruning of the bushes around the selfsame deck. The guy showed up and spent the whole afternoon spraying bleach and water all over the house.
We think the guy is from Bulgaria, since the head honcho is from there. While speaking with him last week I noticed his strong accent. I couldn't place it and in the end I asked him point blank. I told him that I truly enjoyed listening to his voice and I just wanted to know (I can be very bold when the mood strikes me). So of course when we met today's crew member and he clearly did not speak English we figured he was a Bulgarian too.
I can't wait to meet the rest of the crew.
Which wasn't such a bad thing.
Last week during the wind storm some of the siding got blown off. We were planning on getting the house repainted this summer, this just pushed things up a bit. Last week we got a couple of bids on having the house painted and the associated carpentry work necessary (the house has this awful pressboard siding that crumbles when wet, ideal for such a humid area).
Anyway we picked our contractor yesterday (Sunday) and they told us they could start immediately, as in "we're sending a guy out Monday afternoon to power wash." This resulted in a panicked clearing of the deck and pruning of the bushes around the selfsame deck. The guy showed up and spent the whole afternoon spraying bleach and water all over the house.
We think the guy is from Bulgaria, since the head honcho is from there. While speaking with him last week I noticed his strong accent. I couldn't place it and in the end I asked him point blank. I told him that I truly enjoyed listening to his voice and I just wanted to know (I can be very bold when the mood strikes me). So of course when we met today's crew member and he clearly did not speak English we figured he was a Bulgarian too.
I can't wait to meet the rest of the crew.
Sunday, February 17, 2008
Yet Another Thing I Will Never Do
Like most people, I have a mental list of things I would like to do before I shuffle off this mortal coil. Things like go to Australia, visit all 50 states, get a wholly impractical car (something sporty and not mom-like) and other such stuff.
Then there are the things I will never, ever do.
That is totally insane. My mind can't grasp the idea of willingly swimming to the edge of a 360 foot high cliff. I don't do heights and I found this out when My husband and I drove up the "Going-to-the-Sun-Road" in Glacier National Park. It was the most harrowing car ride in my life. I made my husband do it and kept my eyes shut when we drove along the cliff face. Every fiber in my being was straining away from the cliff's edge. The funny part was that it was a gloriously sunny, summer day.
So yeah, I don't do heights.
Then there are the things I will never, ever do.
That is totally insane. My mind can't grasp the idea of willingly swimming to the edge of a 360 foot high cliff. I don't do heights and I found this out when My husband and I drove up the "Going-to-the-Sun-Road" in Glacier National Park. It was the most harrowing car ride in my life. I made my husband do it and kept my eyes shut when we drove along the cliff face. Every fiber in my being was straining away from the cliff's edge. The funny part was that it was a gloriously sunny, summer day.
So yeah, I don't do heights.
Friday, February 15, 2008
Active Children
Sometimes the best photos are the ones that don't turn out.
I have four very active children. Oh they can be sedentary and zone out to the TV, but normally they are tearing about the house. The first few days of vacation, when they are at home with me, are the most physically exhausting for me. The nonstop noise, chatter and activity wears me out. Then I adjust and remember that this is what having four children in the house is like.
I took this photo just the other day. I was trying to get Max, but at the last second he bolted as Jake reached out towards him. I think it neatly sums up what life can be with my rambunctious crew.
I have four very active children. Oh they can be sedentary and zone out to the TV, but normally they are tearing about the house. The first few days of vacation, when they are at home with me, are the most physically exhausting for me. The nonstop noise, chatter and activity wears me out. Then I adjust and remember that this is what having four children in the house is like.
I took this photo just the other day. I was trying to get Max, but at the last second he bolted as Jake reached out towards him. I think it neatly sums up what life can be with my rambunctious crew.
Thursday, February 14, 2008
Three is a Magic Number
In honor of my blog's third anniversary I present the best song ever written about the number three.
Wednesday, February 13, 2008
Artist of the Week: Snowman
This week's artist is Max and you can see he is in fine fettle after his short stint in the hospital.
If fact his stay was so short it was deemed by the nurses to be the shortest CF "tune-up" they have ever seen. Well he is a speedy child.
Anyway before our adventures in health care Max made a paper snowman for school. A white paper snowman blank was sent home with the instructions stating that the child has to create his or her own snowman anyway they like with the only restriction being that no food items can be incorporated into the design. Which struck me as fair enough, the snowmen will be up on the classroom wall and the school does not need any vermin attractants.
Max immediately wanted to get started when he first brought it home, but I wasn't and told him we would do it later. Of course I totally forgot about it until the day it was due. So that night night we got cracking. He wanted to make a very traditional snowman from the black top hat to the broom held in the stick arms.
Max cut out the hat from some construction paper we have in the house and fetched the sticks from the great outdoors. The broom was a bit trickier, I didn't want to buy one. Then I had the great idea that I could make one. Max got yet another stick and we both collected dried grass from the woods for the bristles. A little glue and a piece of string and we had one mighty fine broom. Max drew the face (there is even some hair peeking pout from under the hat) and the buttons. Then glued on the arms, the hat, the mysterious green square (even he doesn't remember why he did it) and used both glue and tape to attach the broom. The scarf was a last minute addition. I had him sort through my sewing scraps and he picked out the red flannel. I cut off along the edge with the contrasting binding and tied it onto the snowman and tacked it down with a spot of glue.
I think it's rather cute. The eyes and nose are a bit hard to see, Max can be a bit of a minimalist in his drawings, but it's all there.
If fact his stay was so short it was deemed by the nurses to be the shortest CF "tune-up" they have ever seen. Well he is a speedy child.
Anyway before our adventures in health care Max made a paper snowman for school. A white paper snowman blank was sent home with the instructions stating that the child has to create his or her own snowman anyway they like with the only restriction being that no food items can be incorporated into the design. Which struck me as fair enough, the snowmen will be up on the classroom wall and the school does not need any vermin attractants.
Max immediately wanted to get started when he first brought it home, but I wasn't and told him we would do it later. Of course I totally forgot about it until the day it was due. So that night night we got cracking. He wanted to make a very traditional snowman from the black top hat to the broom held in the stick arms.
Max cut out the hat from some construction paper we have in the house and fetched the sticks from the great outdoors. The broom was a bit trickier, I didn't want to buy one. Then I had the great idea that I could make one. Max got yet another stick and we both collected dried grass from the woods for the bristles. A little glue and a piece of string and we had one mighty fine broom. Max drew the face (there is even some hair peeking pout from under the hat) and the buttons. Then glued on the arms, the hat, the mysterious green square (even he doesn't remember why he did it) and used both glue and tape to attach the broom. The scarf was a last minute addition. I had him sort through my sewing scraps and he picked out the red flannel. I cut off along the edge with the contrasting binding and tied it onto the snowman and tacked it down with a spot of glue.
I think it's rather cute. The eyes and nose are a bit hard to see, Max can be a bit of a minimalist in his drawings, but it's all there.
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