We are back, tan, rested and ready to rock.
This week's artist is Rebecca, who is now all arms and legs. It's amazing watching her grow up. She still is the feral princess (and always will be), but she has changed so much this year. I think of her being my little girl then I remember that she'll be in second grade next week.
She is very independent, which is no surprise considering her maternal line. She descended from a long line of independent women. She'll insist on doing things herself and will keep at it until her age catches up with her and she melts down in a rather dramatic fashion. But slowly she is learning to regroup herself and make a small attempt at reigning in those storms.
Sort of, because she is feral and she is a princess.
Anyhoo, this week the spotlight is on a little clay bird she brought home at the end of first grade. It's just the cutest little thing and is the mate to Max's little bird featured here.
Rebecca's cardinal is a jaunty little fellow that also fits snugly in the palm of your hand. He actually suffered quite a bit during the journey home, his tail is bent, a wing fell off, and as did the end of his beak Both were quickly reglued and he seems none the worse for wear.
Right now he sits by my computer and I find his cheery presence and nice bright spot amidst the clutter.
Wednesday, September 02, 2009
Tuesday, September 01, 2009
All Lined Up
Here is one more picture from our vacation on the Outer Banks.
I was sitting on the deck reading a book and enjoying the sun and ocean breezes. While looking out at the horizon and admiring the view I noticed a little quirk of the shadows.
If I positioned myself just so I could line up the shadow of the crossbar of the railing with the horizon. I thought it was a neat little trick and grabbed my camera. Sometimes to get an interesting photo you just need to notice the little things.
I was sitting on the deck reading a book and enjoying the sun and ocean breezes. While looking out at the horizon and admiring the view I noticed a little quirk of the shadows.
If I positioned myself just so I could line up the shadow of the crossbar of the railing with the horizon. I thought it was a neat little trick and grabbed my camera. Sometimes to get an interesting photo you just need to notice the little things.
Monday, August 31, 2009
Sunrise Walk
I consider myself a decent photographer. I took a class many, many moons ago in high school and learned the basics, from f-stops to black and white film developing.
I loved it.
The whole process of composing a shot, developing the film, making a contact sheet and deciding how to crop and pint the photo was like a wonderful form of alchemy to me. The acrid smell of the chemicals, the mysteries of the film bag it was all great fun for me.
But after the class that was it. I had no dark room so I had to be content with what I could do through the view finder.
After I got married my husband got a digital camera fairly early on, it was a fairly nice Kodak, but I resisted it. The shutter speed was annoyingly slow. When I hit the button I want the picture taken now, not a fraction or so of a second later. Then I started using it more as I started to appreciate the amount of control I had with the pictures afterward.
With my current camera I have found happiness. It has an acceptable shutter speed and I have a fair amount of control in how it takes pictures. Most of the time I happy with the full automatic mode, but there are times I use the natural light setting. I love how I can instantly check and see if I got shot I was hoping for. Then I get to upload my pictures onto my computer and futz with them to my heart's content.
Usually all I'm doing is cropping and adjusting the brightness. Occasionally I venture into tint and and a few other tricks like sharpness. I still like to compose my pictures in the veiwfinder.
And then every now and then I get one that is perfect straight out of the camera. This is one of them, all I had to do was rotate it 90 degrees and hit save.
The reflections on the water and the sun flare came out just right. I was able to shoot it just so I got the right amount of flare to make everything sparkle. The image is crisp and balanced. This is one of those times I think of myself as a very good photographer.
I loved it.
The whole process of composing a shot, developing the film, making a contact sheet and deciding how to crop and pint the photo was like a wonderful form of alchemy to me. The acrid smell of the chemicals, the mysteries of the film bag it was all great fun for me.
But after the class that was it. I had no dark room so I had to be content with what I could do through the view finder.
After I got married my husband got a digital camera fairly early on, it was a fairly nice Kodak, but I resisted it. The shutter speed was annoyingly slow. When I hit the button I want the picture taken now, not a fraction or so of a second later. Then I started using it more as I started to appreciate the amount of control I had with the pictures afterward.
With my current camera I have found happiness. It has an acceptable shutter speed and I have a fair amount of control in how it takes pictures. Most of the time I happy with the full automatic mode, but there are times I use the natural light setting. I love how I can instantly check and see if I got shot I was hoping for. Then I get to upload my pictures onto my computer and futz with them to my heart's content.
Usually all I'm doing is cropping and adjusting the brightness. Occasionally I venture into tint and and a few other tricks like sharpness. I still like to compose my pictures in the veiwfinder.
And then every now and then I get one that is perfect straight out of the camera. This is one of them, all I had to do was rotate it 90 degrees and hit save.
The reflections on the water and the sun flare came out just right. I was able to shoot it just so I got the right amount of flare to make everything sparkle. The image is crisp and balanced. This is one of those times I think of myself as a very good photographer.
Tuesday, August 25, 2009
On the Beach
It's not all sunrises here.
I got this picture yesterday morning. The beach is at its best that time of day. The sand is still fresh and unsullied from the previous high tide and the tide is coming in, providing the optimal conditions for body boarding.
We are having a great time just messing about. It really is nice having a private boardwalk from the deck straight to the beach. The best part is the little deck at the top of the stairs. I think its intended to be a spot to relax and enjoy the view, but we have found it to be a great place to leave all our beach toys. They are tucked out of sight from the beach and are easy to reach when we want them. This house is proving to be a great find.
I got this picture yesterday morning. The beach is at its best that time of day. The sand is still fresh and unsullied from the previous high tide and the tide is coming in, providing the optimal conditions for body boarding.
We are having a great time just messing about. It really is nice having a private boardwalk from the deck straight to the beach. The best part is the little deck at the top of the stairs. I think its intended to be a spot to relax and enjoy the view, but we have found it to be a great place to leave all our beach toys. They are tucked out of sight from the beach and are easy to reach when we want them. This house is proving to be a great find.
Monday, August 24, 2009
Another Glorious Morning
I just can't help myself.
I am waking up at the crack of dawn and I just feel compelled to photograph it as it unfolds. The colors are so vivid and with the wide open horizon I can see the full beauty of the sun rising.
This morning I even woke up Larry and asked him to join me for a walk on the beach with the dogs. It was so quietand serene, I thought it would be a nice way to start the day. Larry agreed and we headed on out.
It was still a bit overcast, but the beach was nearly empty and we had no children trailing after us wanted our attention, all we had was each other and a couple of eager dogs pulling on their leashes. It was nice being able to go out on our own, secure in the knowledge that another set of parents were back out the house. Sharing the house with another family does have a great deal of advantages, especially when the two families mesh as well as we do.
Later on, after lunch, I headed back down to the beach with the kids, including one that is not my own.
The youngest child of the other family is bit older than Rebecca, but the two of them have really hit it off. They spent the bulk of their time on the beach as thick as thieves. It is such a pleasure being able to sit back and watch without having to mediate minor disputes every 15 minutes.
I am waking up at the crack of dawn and I just feel compelled to photograph it as it unfolds. The colors are so vivid and with the wide open horizon I can see the full beauty of the sun rising.
This morning I even woke up Larry and asked him to join me for a walk on the beach with the dogs. It was so quietand serene, I thought it would be a nice way to start the day. Larry agreed and we headed on out.
It was still a bit overcast, but the beach was nearly empty and we had no children trailing after us wanted our attention, all we had was each other and a couple of eager dogs pulling on their leashes. It was nice being able to go out on our own, secure in the knowledge that another set of parents were back out the house. Sharing the house with another family does have a great deal of advantages, especially when the two families mesh as well as we do.
Later on, after lunch, I headed back down to the beach with the kids, including one that is not my own.
The youngest child of the other family is bit older than Rebecca, but the two of them have really hit it off. They spent the bulk of their time on the beach as thick as thieves. It is such a pleasure being able to sit back and watch without having to mediate minor disputes every 15 minutes.
Sunday, August 23, 2009
Greetings From The Beach
We're in the Outer Banks of North Carolina and this was the view this morning.
Friday, August 21, 2009
Avalon
I love Roxy Music and I have Larry to thank for introducing them to me. The album Avalon is utterly gorgeous and this is the title track.
Thursday, August 20, 2009
Overheard at Lunch
"Max you have a violent mind" said Jake upon listening to Max go on about bazookas.
"Yes! Yes I do" cheerfully replied Max.
"Max that's not something to be proud of, unless you are a warlord."
I think that's the funniest exchange yet.
"Yes! Yes I do" cheerfully replied Max.
"Max that's not something to be proud of, unless you are a warlord."
I think that's the funniest exchange yet.
Wednesday, August 19, 2009
Artist of the Week: Inventors
This one has been a long time in coming, well over a month after the fact, but without further ado I present this week's artist (or rather artists) the inventors of the TADPOLE: Logan, Jake, Chris and Paul.
This fine group of intelligent young men were assigned the task at the Regional Governor's School for Middle School Youth to develop an underwater vehicle that could be controlled remotely. It needed to be able to go up, down, turn, and land on a target. They had less than two weeks to design and build with a limited amount of supplies. There was one other underwater team and the two teams would face off on the last day.
There were also two other vehicle types being created, solar cars and rockets, but the underwater vehicles were by far the most interesting.
Before the demonstration and competitions on the last day of class, each group had to do a brief presentation about their vehicle. Pictured here is the poster that the boys created. On it details what materials they used and what their design limitations were. They also included a nice schematic and and explanation of exactly what TADPOLE stands for: Turbo Aquatic Diving Probe Of Liquid Exploration (and yes they named it first and then came up with what it meant). It was nice to see that they all contributed to both the presentation and the design.
Jake in fact had a lot of fun designing and refining the vehicle. Their vehicle was the far more elegant of the two and turned out to be the much better design. It easily completed all its assigned tasks in the small above ground pool set up outside the building. The other one immediately fouled in its control wires and was not very maneuverable, it spent a fair amount of time just churning water. I think our team did a bang up job and they were gracious winners to boot.
This fine group of intelligent young men were assigned the task at the Regional Governor's School for Middle School Youth to develop an underwater vehicle that could be controlled remotely. It needed to be able to go up, down, turn, and land on a target. They had less than two weeks to design and build with a limited amount of supplies. There was one other underwater team and the two teams would face off on the last day.
There were also two other vehicle types being created, solar cars and rockets, but the underwater vehicles were by far the most interesting.
Before the demonstration and competitions on the last day of class, each group had to do a brief presentation about their vehicle. Pictured here is the poster that the boys created. On it details what materials they used and what their design limitations were. They also included a nice schematic and and explanation of exactly what TADPOLE stands for: Turbo Aquatic Diving Probe Of Liquid Exploration (and yes they named it first and then came up with what it meant). It was nice to see that they all contributed to both the presentation and the design.
Jake in fact had a lot of fun designing and refining the vehicle. Their vehicle was the far more elegant of the two and turned out to be the much better design. It easily completed all its assigned tasks in the small above ground pool set up outside the building. The other one immediately fouled in its control wires and was not very maneuverable, it spent a fair amount of time just churning water. I think our team did a bang up job and they were gracious winners to boot.
Tuesday, August 18, 2009
Visitors and Music
I'm very fortunate in the in-law department. My husband's mother and her husband are truly wonderful people.
They are down here visiting for a few days and we are busy, busy, busy. Today we went to the Science Museum of Virginia and petted sharks, specifically a white spotted bamboo shark. Well most of us did, Max has a thing about touching odd things, which is fine by me and possibly the shark. The shark itself was comatose, it's a nocturnal species and thus fast asleep- an ideal candidate for people to briefly stroke as it lay quietly in the tank. I joked with the volunteers at the museum how it must be odd for the shark being touched while its asleep and they ended up riffing on how the shark was going to have dreams of being handled by aliens (alien abductions solved- we are just in a giant touch tank!). Unfortunately I forgot my camera and I can not properly share the visit with y'all.
Then we scampered back home for the last piano lesson for the summer. Which was a bittersweet affair. Nate and Rebecca are going to continue on in the fall, but Max is done. He has been crabbing all year about my signing him up for a second year of lessons. The teacher and I both agreed that he was a lost cause. Maybe in a few years he'll pick it up again, he actually can do a decent job when he is not up in arms about the horrible injustice of piano lessons.
Tomorrow we might catch a movie, who knows what our next exciting adventure with Grandma and Grandpa will be.
They are down here visiting for a few days and we are busy, busy, busy. Today we went to the Science Museum of Virginia and petted sharks, specifically a white spotted bamboo shark. Well most of us did, Max has a thing about touching odd things, which is fine by me and possibly the shark. The shark itself was comatose, it's a nocturnal species and thus fast asleep- an ideal candidate for people to briefly stroke as it lay quietly in the tank. I joked with the volunteers at the museum how it must be odd for the shark being touched while its asleep and they ended up riffing on how the shark was going to have dreams of being handled by aliens (alien abductions solved- we are just in a giant touch tank!). Unfortunately I forgot my camera and I can not properly share the visit with y'all.
Then we scampered back home for the last piano lesson for the summer. Which was a bittersweet affair. Nate and Rebecca are going to continue on in the fall, but Max is done. He has been crabbing all year about my signing him up for a second year of lessons. The teacher and I both agreed that he was a lost cause. Maybe in a few years he'll pick it up again, he actually can do a decent job when he is not up in arms about the horrible injustice of piano lessons.
Tomorrow we might catch a movie, who knows what our next exciting adventure with Grandma and Grandpa will be.
Monday, August 17, 2009
Surprises in the Mail
It has been two months since Jake's Bar Mitzvah and I thought we were pretty much done with it. Then I got I lovely surprise in the mail just the other day.
My cousin Kay had taken pictures and had sent me a disk of them. She was even so kind as to send all of her originals along with the ones she deemed best.
This picture had not made the cut, it was horribly grainy from the poor lighting conditions.
But, I love it.
I cropped it down and futzed with a few filters and did a bit of tweaking with the levels. It's far from perfect, but I so clearly remember the moment and I'm so glad my cousin captured it.
My cousin Kay had taken pictures and had sent me a disk of them. She was even so kind as to send all of her originals along with the ones she deemed best.
This picture had not made the cut, it was horribly grainy from the poor lighting conditions.
But, I love it.
I cropped it down and futzed with a few filters and did a bit of tweaking with the levels. It's far from perfect, but I so clearly remember the moment and I'm so glad my cousin captured it.
Sunday, August 16, 2009
Crape Myrtle Bokeh
I learned a new word recently, bokeh.
Ree over at Pioneer Woman has a section dedicated to photography. In it there is a wealth of information for the digital camera enthusiast. Everything from cameras to photoshop. It was over there that I learned all about bokeh.
Bokeh is a very useful thing. I like how the flowers are crisply beautiful in focus, you can almost see the pollen grains on the stamens while the background is a nice soft blur. I got this effect from using the macro setting on my camera. I was primarily interested in just getting the flowers in perfect focus, the bokeh was a nice bonus.
Ree over at Pioneer Woman has a section dedicated to photography. In it there is a wealth of information for the digital camera enthusiast. Everything from cameras to photoshop. It was over there that I learned all about bokeh.
Bokeh is a very useful thing. I like how the flowers are crisply beautiful in focus, you can almost see the pollen grains on the stamens while the background is a nice soft blur. I got this effect from using the macro setting on my camera. I was primarily interested in just getting the flowers in perfect focus, the bokeh was a nice bonus.
Friday, August 14, 2009
End of Season
Summer really is drawing to an end around here. Football has started, the schools are announcing their "Welcome Back" nights, and tennis has come to an end.
Today was the big end of tennis party. Lessons ended last week and this week was the optional tennis tournament. Nate, was not the big winner and we are just fine with that. It was requested by several (!) moms and Dan the instructor that I make my famous tennis ball cupcakes.
I was more than happy to comply and set about making them last night. I first cranked out a batch of cupcakes using my 1-2-3 cake batter. When they were done and cooling I turned the page to orange cake. As I gathered my ingredients I realized I had a little problem, I had no oranges.I ended up heading out early to store and made them this morning. They came out very tasty.
As for the party, the kids had a great time. Dan passed out the annual t-shirts he designed. This year on the back was the most commonly expressed sentiment this summer "Don't mind me, I'm just here for the ice pops." There is a tradition that after lessons the kids all get an ice pop. It gets pretty darn hot and its a nice refreshing treat after running around on the courts.
I thought they were pretty dang funny.
Today was the big end of tennis party. Lessons ended last week and this week was the optional tennis tournament. Nate, was not the big winner and we are just fine with that. It was requested by several (!) moms and Dan the instructor that I make my famous tennis ball cupcakes.
I was more than happy to comply and set about making them last night. I first cranked out a batch of cupcakes using my 1-2-3 cake batter. When they were done and cooling I turned the page to orange cake. As I gathered my ingredients I realized I had a little problem, I had no oranges.I ended up heading out early to store and made them this morning. They came out very tasty.
As for the party, the kids had a great time. Dan passed out the annual t-shirts he designed. This year on the back was the most commonly expressed sentiment this summer "Don't mind me, I'm just here for the ice pops." There is a tradition that after lessons the kids all get an ice pop. It gets pretty darn hot and its a nice refreshing treat after running around on the courts.
I thought they were pretty dang funny.
Thursday, August 13, 2009
Flyaway Hair
This is my middle son, Nate.
He has reached that point in life where he does not want me to take his picture ever again. He scowls, he mopes, he turns away.
Sometimes he does a little jump as he turns, causing his hair to fly about. And that is just what happened the other day.
I snapped the picture at just the right moment and caught the full glory of his hair being tossed about. I showed him the photo and his eyes grew wide as did his smile. This was an acceptable picture.
Yes my boy has long hair, but he's rockin' it.
He has reached that point in life where he does not want me to take his picture ever again. He scowls, he mopes, he turns away.
Sometimes he does a little jump as he turns, causing his hair to fly about. And that is just what happened the other day.
I snapped the picture at just the right moment and caught the full glory of his hair being tossed about. I showed him the photo and his eyes grew wide as did his smile. This was an acceptable picture.
Yes my boy has long hair, but he's rockin' it.
Wednesday, August 12, 2009
Artist of The Week: Building Blocks
This week's artist is the perpetually bouncy Max. He is a very active boy and as a result is hard to photograph in any sort of natural pose. It's not that he doesn't want to be photographed, he'll happily drop whatever he is doing and mug for the camera. But that's the crux of the problem his picture face is always a very forced closed mouth smile. It doesn't suit him and is not what I want when I take a picture. However, when he is not posing he is in an almost constant state of motion. There are times when he is literally bouncing on and off the furniture.
So yes, he isn't facing the camera and you can not see most of his face, but I love this picture. It is Max being just Max and not "picture Max."
Anyhoodle, this is about one of his many, many buildings.
He, like his brothers, loves to create things with their building blocks. Max is always calling me up to his room to photograph his latest creation. He proudly stands there as I shoot pictures from various angles, showing him the last few frames on the camera's display. Satisfied that his creation has been preserved in pixels he happily plays with his structure and is not at all disturbed when it is invarably destroyed, either by himself or his siblings.
As I recall this building lasted for quite some time. It was a sturdy structure that withstood all sorts of military attacks. If fact Nate even sat on top of it a couple of times.
I like how the building is serviced by an elevator located on the front of the building. It is represented by the slim column on the front. The arch blocks are a nice touch and allow you to peek inside.
The buiding blocks, along with the Legos and Brio train tracks have been by far the most successful toys they have received. They are in constant use and it is amazing to see all the things the kids make with them.
So yes, he isn't facing the camera and you can not see most of his face, but I love this picture. It is Max being just Max and not "picture Max."
Anyhoodle, this is about one of his many, many buildings.
He, like his brothers, loves to create things with their building blocks. Max is always calling me up to his room to photograph his latest creation. He proudly stands there as I shoot pictures from various angles, showing him the last few frames on the camera's display. Satisfied that his creation has been preserved in pixels he happily plays with his structure and is not at all disturbed when it is invarably destroyed, either by himself or his siblings.
As I recall this building lasted for quite some time. It was a sturdy structure that withstood all sorts of military attacks. If fact Nate even sat on top of it a couple of times.
I like how the building is serviced by an elevator located on the front of the building. It is represented by the slim column on the front. The arch blocks are a nice touch and allow you to peek inside.
The buiding blocks, along with the Legos and Brio train tracks have been by far the most successful toys they have received. They are in constant use and it is amazing to see all the things the kids make with them.
Tuesday, August 11, 2009
Almost Unobtainable
A few months ago the air conditioning in the van developed a truly awful rattle.
At first it was intermittent, sometimes you would hear the whockity, whockity noise, sometimes you wouldn't. And when it happened it would just be for a brief staccato burst of sound. There was no real rhyme or reason to it.
Then it changed, it would happened at the higher blower speeds and would linger on for longer and longer periods. It got to the point that I would avoid the higher fan blower speeds, because I really didn't want to hear something akin to my car's a/c death rattle.
I developed a theory that something was getting bound up in the blower fan. I asked the kids to help pinpoint the sound and we settled on an area located up front, just behind the glove box. At this point the noise was pretty much continuous. Feeling bold, I took a peek and saw what could a blower motor.
And that's exactly what it was. After a bit of unplugging wires and unscrewing the motor from it's mounting I looked inside the and found nothing out of the ordinary.
Nuts.
Then a few weeks later the noise stopped. Unfortunately the lovely cool air from the a/c also stopped coming out of the front vents. This is unacceptable this time of year in the south.
So I once again pulled the blower motor out to try to puzzle out the mystery.
And there it was, a big old crack across the top of the blower wheel, radiating out from where it is pierced by the spindle of the motor. The rattle was the sound of it working loose and when the crack was big enough, it no longer worked. This was something I could do. All I had to do was to get a new blower wheel.
Easier said than done. I scoured the net for a replacement, but I could not find it. I could find the motor, but never the wheel. Which is pretty stupid considering the wheel is made of plastic. I even took it in to three different car parts stores and got the same story, no can do. I ended up going to the dealership and had then order it for me. Once it came in. it took all of 5 minutes for me to install it with just a bit of help from the nice guys in parts- they got the old wheel off, saved the retaining clip, and put the new wheel on- chivalry is not dead in the parts department.
Now sweet, sweet cool air fills the front of the van.
At first it was intermittent, sometimes you would hear the whockity, whockity noise, sometimes you wouldn't. And when it happened it would just be for a brief staccato burst of sound. There was no real rhyme or reason to it.
Then it changed, it would happened at the higher blower speeds and would linger on for longer and longer periods. It got to the point that I would avoid the higher fan blower speeds, because I really didn't want to hear something akin to my car's a/c death rattle.
I developed a theory that something was getting bound up in the blower fan. I asked the kids to help pinpoint the sound and we settled on an area located up front, just behind the glove box. At this point the noise was pretty much continuous. Feeling bold, I took a peek and saw what could a blower motor.
And that's exactly what it was. After a bit of unplugging wires and unscrewing the motor from it's mounting I looked inside the and found nothing out of the ordinary.
Nuts.
Then a few weeks later the noise stopped. Unfortunately the lovely cool air from the a/c also stopped coming out of the front vents. This is unacceptable this time of year in the south.
So I once again pulled the blower motor out to try to puzzle out the mystery.
And there it was, a big old crack across the top of the blower wheel, radiating out from where it is pierced by the spindle of the motor. The rattle was the sound of it working loose and when the crack was big enough, it no longer worked. This was something I could do. All I had to do was to get a new blower wheel.
Easier said than done. I scoured the net for a replacement, but I could not find it. I could find the motor, but never the wheel. Which is pretty stupid considering the wheel is made of plastic. I even took it in to three different car parts stores and got the same story, no can do. I ended up going to the dealership and had then order it for me. Once it came in. it took all of 5 minutes for me to install it with just a bit of help from the nice guys in parts- they got the old wheel off, saved the retaining clip, and put the new wheel on- chivalry is not dead in the parts department.
Now sweet, sweet cool air fills the front of the van.
Monday, August 10, 2009
Face in What?
Create your own FACEinHOLE
I've just blown a serious chunk of time playing with pictures over at Face in Hole.
It's seriously addicting and a hoot. So far I have been Audrey Hepburn, Princess Leia (in that awful bronze bikini- it was too good to pass up), Xena/Lucy Lawless, Scarlett O'Hara/Vivien Leigh, Lucy Liu in Kill Bill, and June Carter/Reese Witherspoon. I'm having great fun going back and forth with my Sister in Law, who finds it equally addicting.
The hardest part for me is finding brunettes that won't look dorky with bangs. Oh, and no Twilight please, that really doesn't interest me.
Sunday, August 09, 2009
Decadence Without Chocolate
I had a couple of bananas that were way past their prime, but I didn't want to make banana bread. I've been jonesing for Bananas Foster lately, but I didn't have vanilla ice cream.
So instead this morning I made a homemade caramel sauce with bananas and used it on my pancakes.
It was sinfully delicious.
It dripped a oozed all over my short stack of pancakes. It's sweet buttery goodness was nicely sopped up by the pancakes. I even plopped a dollop of whipped cream on top, which was completely unnecessary. It was an extremely decadent breakfast and with nary a bite of chocolate in site.
And here it is:
4 Tbl butter (1/2 a stick)
1/2 cup of confectioners sugar
3/4 heavy cream
2 bananas peeled and sliced
Melt the butter in heavy sauce pan, add sugar. Stir the mixture over med high heat until it reaches a lovely golden brown shade. Slowly add the cream and keep stirring. To reduce spattering when you add the cream first add just a tiny amount at a time. Allow the mixture to boil for one minute, then add in banana slices. Heat thoroughly on low and serve hot.
I actually let the final mix simmer for quite some time while I made my pancakes. The bananas were a bit mushy to start with and had beautifully melded into the caramel.
Only Jake was interested in trying it and he did not care for it, but I thought it was terrific.
So instead this morning I made a homemade caramel sauce with bananas and used it on my pancakes.
It was sinfully delicious.
It dripped a oozed all over my short stack of pancakes. It's sweet buttery goodness was nicely sopped up by the pancakes. I even plopped a dollop of whipped cream on top, which was completely unnecessary. It was an extremely decadent breakfast and with nary a bite of chocolate in site.
And here it is:
4 Tbl butter (1/2 a stick)
1/2 cup of confectioners sugar
3/4 heavy cream
2 bananas peeled and sliced
Melt the butter in heavy sauce pan, add sugar. Stir the mixture over med high heat until it reaches a lovely golden brown shade. Slowly add the cream and keep stirring. To reduce spattering when you add the cream first add just a tiny amount at a time. Allow the mixture to boil for one minute, then add in banana slices. Heat thoroughly on low and serve hot.
I actually let the final mix simmer for quite some time while I made my pancakes. The bananas were a bit mushy to start with and had beautifully melded into the caramel.
Only Jake was interested in trying it and he did not care for it, but I thought it was terrific.
Friday, August 07, 2009
One of My Favorites
I was so sad to see last night that John Hughes had passed away. He was a wonderful director and much too young. Of his films, Ferris Bueller's Day Off is my favorite.
Larry and I saw it in, of all places, Montreal. We had driven up there for the day from my mom's house on a whim. We were just knocking about the city and decided to go to the movies. We loved it.
And I swear my brother is Ferris Bueller.
Larry and I saw it in, of all places, Montreal. We had driven up there for the day from my mom's house on a whim. We were just knocking about the city and decided to go to the movies. We loved it.
And I swear my brother is Ferris Bueller.
Thursday, August 06, 2009
A Bit of Rain
Yesterday we had our sprinkler system resurrected. It has been off all year because honestly I've been too busy. Normally I just flip the system on in late spring, but I knew I had a bunch of bum sprinkler heads and it has been fairly cool and damp.
So I waited.
Then summer hit in all its glory last week and it was time to start up the system. The sprinkler dudes came out yesterday and it turned out I had ten sprinkler heads that were just not up to snuff. The one I liked the most had a blade of grass poking out of the head. This morning the lawn got its scheduled soaking and then some. Mother nature decided she wasn't going to be one upped by a silly sprinkler system. We got a good soaking rain last night and this afternoon.
I stepped outside with my camera to see what I could find after the last storm passed by. I love how fresh everything looks with a a bit of rain and I was not disappointed. I found this little lovely down by our so-called creek (really it's just a glorified drainage ditch).
So I waited.
Then summer hit in all its glory last week and it was time to start up the system. The sprinkler dudes came out yesterday and it turned out I had ten sprinkler heads that were just not up to snuff. The one I liked the most had a blade of grass poking out of the head. This morning the lawn got its scheduled soaking and then some. Mother nature decided she wasn't going to be one upped by a silly sprinkler system. We got a good soaking rain last night and this afternoon.
I stepped outside with my camera to see what I could find after the last storm passed by. I love how fresh everything looks with a a bit of rain and I was not disappointed. I found this little lovely down by our so-called creek (really it's just a glorified drainage ditch).
Wednesday, August 05, 2009
Artist of the Week: Origami
Rebecca asked me the other day about where origami originated. She thought China and I said Japan. We were out and about, so when we got home I looked up origami on the web and this striking figure popped up.I was stunned, my jaw dropped. I have never seen such an intricate example of origami in my life.
I had to find out more about the dragon and its creator. This was definetly a candidate for Artist of the Week.
It was over at Neatorama where I first found the image. The blurb named the artist, Satoshi Kamiya, and how it took 40 hours over several months to create. And yes it really is just one sheet of paper (2 meters square). The most amazing thing, however, was he did this on his own without the aid of a computer.
From there I found his Wiki page and his own web site (which is, understandably, in Japanese and thus unintelligible to me). There were a few videos of him in action, but I found then to be on the whole annoying and the ones of him creating the above were all deleted. So instead I'll point you over to a Flickr fan site.
Satoshi Kamiya is truly a master of origami.
Tuesday, August 04, 2009
Just a Bit Obsessed
We have a squirrel, or rather, a family of squirrels and Dell is just a wee bit obsessed about them. And not in a friendly how-do-you-do sort of way, but rather dang-I-almost-nailed-the-little-beastie way.
The accursed critters dance upon the bird feeder and mock the red boys. I'll let Dell out and watch him hurtle towards the feeder while the squirrel neatly jumps into the tree and scoots onto the roof. Dell will then stand watch for seemly hours until the heat drives him back inside.
I think what really drives Dell is the fact that once big brother John actually nabbed one of the little buggers and ate it. Dell worshiped John for about a week, following him around and licking John's muzzle. It was a very big day when John killed a squirrel.
So I think it's now Dell's main mission in life to equal his brother's achievement.
The accursed critters dance upon the bird feeder and mock the red boys. I'll let Dell out and watch him hurtle towards the feeder while the squirrel neatly jumps into the tree and scoots onto the roof. Dell will then stand watch for seemly hours until the heat drives him back inside.
I think what really drives Dell is the fact that once big brother John actually nabbed one of the little buggers and ate it. Dell worshiped John for about a week, following him around and licking John's muzzle. It was a very big day when John killed a squirrel.
So I think it's now Dell's main mission in life to equal his brother's achievement.
Monday, August 03, 2009
Where The Wild Things Are
This weekend Larry and I went to see the latest installment in the Harry Potter opus. It was good, but as Larry so correctly observed it was rushed. Which is understandable considering the size of the book in question.
Anyhoo, this is not about the Half-Blood Prince, but is about another movie that is coming out in October.
Where the Wild Things Are
Anyhoo, this is not about the Half-Blood Prince, but is about another movie that is coming out in October.
Where the Wild Things Are
This is one of my favorite books by one of my favorite authors. I first learned about this production months and months ago and I was thrilled by the stills I saw. Then this weekend I got to see the trailer for the very first time during the previews before The Half-Blood Prince.
I love it. I can't wait for the movie, which opens the day after Max and Rebecca's birthday. Maybe I can take my Max to see another Max.
Sunday, August 02, 2009
By a Nose
For the first time this year I was finally able to make my way over the the 17th Street Farmers Market. It was last Thursday, which is when there is the grower's market, and my favorite grower (Amy of Amy's Garden) would be there.
I love Amy's produce. She has the best tomatoes and it was her that introduced us to the Sun Gold variety of cherry tomatoes and for that alone I'm eternally thankful. She always remembers me and pads out my pint of Sun Golds with just a bit more.
We got some luscious raspberries, the aforementioned Sun Golds, slicing tomatoes and a couple of Asian Melons (Jake really wanted them and how could I say no). As I was selecting our tomatoes I found this nosy little fellow. I just had to bring him home. All I had to do was perch two little pepper corns on him to make him complete. Then he got sliced up and made our salad all the more delicious.
I love Amy's produce. She has the best tomatoes and it was her that introduced us to the Sun Gold variety of cherry tomatoes and for that alone I'm eternally thankful. She always remembers me and pads out my pint of Sun Golds with just a bit more.
We got some luscious raspberries, the aforementioned Sun Golds, slicing tomatoes and a couple of Asian Melons (Jake really wanted them and how could I say no). As I was selecting our tomatoes I found this nosy little fellow. I just had to bring him home. All I had to do was perch two little pepper corns on him to make him complete. Then he got sliced up and made our salad all the more delicious.
Friday, July 31, 2009
In Praise of the Moss Rose
Remember these plants from way back in June?
These were the centerpieces from Jake's Bar Mitzvah. Here is brief rundown on their story.
I decided that I would make the centerpieces, Jake wanted living plants and it would save a bit of money that we could then redirect towards food. All in all a good decision.
Jake was fairly easy to please, he likes the colors orange, yellow and blue. Fortunately those are colors that are not too hard to find and they look pretty good together. I picked out vinca for the blue and Meryl and I found two candidates for the yellow and orange; lantana and moss rose.
Unfortunately it turned out that the lantana was not the best choice, Meryl had a very nasty reaction to it. But the moss rose, oh what a wonderful plant it turned out to be.
The tag on the plants said it was water wise and they were not kidding. After the Bar Mitzvah I repotted the remainders in my deck boxes and promptly ignored them and they have thrived under some very challenging conditions.
I think I have watered them two *maybe* three times and they keep on blooming. They look as good as they did on the day I bought them which is utterly amazing to me.
These were the centerpieces from Jake's Bar Mitzvah. Here is brief rundown on their story.
I decided that I would make the centerpieces, Jake wanted living plants and it would save a bit of money that we could then redirect towards food. All in all a good decision.
Jake was fairly easy to please, he likes the colors orange, yellow and blue. Fortunately those are colors that are not too hard to find and they look pretty good together. I picked out vinca for the blue and Meryl and I found two candidates for the yellow and orange; lantana and moss rose.
Unfortunately it turned out that the lantana was not the best choice, Meryl had a very nasty reaction to it. But the moss rose, oh what a wonderful plant it turned out to be.
The tag on the plants said it was water wise and they were not kidding. After the Bar Mitzvah I repotted the remainders in my deck boxes and promptly ignored them and they have thrived under some very challenging conditions.
I think I have watered them two *maybe* three times and they keep on blooming. They look as good as they did on the day I bought them which is utterly amazing to me.
Thursday, July 30, 2009
Lookie Here
Today we hauled our collective butts up to Richmond at the early (at least for us in the summer) at 8:45 am so that Nate could join his brother in the metal-in-the-mouth club.
An hour an half later Nate had a brand new smile.
An hour an half later Nate had a brand new smile.
Wednesday, July 29, 2009
Artist of the Week: Parrot
This weeks artist is the far from camera shy Rebecca. She and her twin are always up for a photo session as opposed to her older brothers. It's not that I can't photograph them, although for about a year and half Jake flat out refused. Then when when it can to make my annual photo calendar for the family, he felt a bit left out when he saw how few pictures of him there were for me to chose from. That cured him right quick.
No, it's more of endless procrastination. Later mom, I'm busy.
With Max and Rebecca I might get a why now as they follow me along, but in the end they are happy to indulge me and my camera.
Anyhoodle, Rebecca brought home this picture sometime near the end of the school year. It's a lovely picture of a bird on the flowering tree. My first thought was that the bird looks very much like Janis's Lucy over on Gone South. I know Eclectus does not have the band of yellow, but that was the first bird that sprang to mind.
It's a nicely composed picture that fills the page. The bird is perched on a branch in a fairly realistic pose, which I'm sure is from all the bird watching we do at the breakfast table. She is a very observant person (as are her brothers) and she is developing quite a talent in translating what she sees onto paper.
As I'm sure I have mentioned before, I love how she is not afraid to fill the page. She can make teeny tiny little drawings, but those are more of a result of the size of the paper. It's always fun to she what she'll draw next.
No, it's more of endless procrastination. Later mom, I'm busy.
With Max and Rebecca I might get a why now as they follow me along, but in the end they are happy to indulge me and my camera.
Anyhoodle, Rebecca brought home this picture sometime near the end of the school year. It's a lovely picture of a bird on the flowering tree. My first thought was that the bird looks very much like Janis's Lucy over on Gone South. I know Eclectus does not have the band of yellow, but that was the first bird that sprang to mind.
It's a nicely composed picture that fills the page. The bird is perched on a branch in a fairly realistic pose, which I'm sure is from all the bird watching we do at the breakfast table. She is a very observant person (as are her brothers) and she is developing quite a talent in translating what she sees onto paper.
As I'm sure I have mentioned before, I love how she is not afraid to fill the page. She can make teeny tiny little drawings, but those are more of a result of the size of the paper. It's always fun to she what she'll draw next.
Tuesday, July 28, 2009
Quiet
It's nice now.
No more picking up Jake in Richmond.
No more nightly baseball practices for Larry and Nate.
Just an hour in the morning down at the tennis courts and the rest of the day is spent puddling about. The big event of the day was Nate going to the dentist and my starting to paint our new patio door.
This is what summer is all about.
No more picking up Jake in Richmond.
No more nightly baseball practices for Larry and Nate.
Just an hour in the morning down at the tennis courts and the rest of the day is spent puddling about. The big event of the day was Nate going to the dentist and my starting to paint our new patio door.
This is what summer is all about.
Monday, July 27, 2009
Can't Trick Public on Health Costs
If you are a supporter of the great health care boondoggle, please read this article.
Can't trick public on health costs | detnews.com | The Detroit News
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Approximately just 30,000 adults and children suffer from CF in the USA which works out to about 0.01 % of the population of the United States. Max's drug expenses alone come to just over $42,000 a year, our health insurance covers the vast majority. Honestly I think CF patients, with an average lifespan of approximately 35 years, are going to get short shrift. It is an expensive disease and the so called universal healthcare coverage will result in reduced access to therapies and drugs in the interest in saving the bottom line. The system right now is not perfect, but works for families such as mine.
Can't trick public on health costs | detnews.com | The Detroit News
Shared via AddThis
Approximately just 30,000 adults and children suffer from CF in the USA which works out to about 0.01 % of the population of the United States. Max's drug expenses alone come to just over $42,000 a year, our health insurance covers the vast majority. Honestly I think CF patients, with an average lifespan of approximately 35 years, are going to get short shrift. It is an expensive disease and the so called universal healthcare coverage will result in reduced access to therapies and drugs in the interest in saving the bottom line. The system right now is not perfect, but works for families such as mine.
Sunday, July 26, 2009
Fun With Sheep
I saw this courtesy of Scott over at AMCGLTD.
I've been on a whole border collie/sheep herding book kick (Donald McCaig is a wonderful author) and the whole thing is a hoot. They had me when with a bit of stop motion animation they had a giant sheep walk across the field.
I've been on a whole border collie/sheep herding book kick (Donald McCaig is a wonderful author) and the whole thing is a hoot. They had me when with a bit of stop motion animation they had a giant sheep walk across the field.
Friday, July 24, 2009
A Lovely Lunch
The other day the boys had penne (or as we call it tubes) for lunch. Since they are a bunch of gastronomic heathens I gave them jarred sauce for their pasta. They were perfectly happy and together they ate about 1/2 pound of pasta.
I however decided to use up some grape tomatoes we had hanging about. A little butter and some olive oil was heated up. I chopped up some garlic and tossed it into the butter and oil mixture. In the meantime I roughly chopped the tomatoes and fresh basil. When the garlic was all brown and lovely I tossed in what I had just cut up. A minute or so later I finished it off with a splash of balsamic vinegar, a dash of salt and freshly ground pepper.
It smelled heavenly and tasted divine.
I however decided to use up some grape tomatoes we had hanging about. A little butter and some olive oil was heated up. I chopped up some garlic and tossed it into the butter and oil mixture. In the meantime I roughly chopped the tomatoes and fresh basil. When the garlic was all brown and lovely I tossed in what I had just cut up. A minute or so later I finished it off with a splash of balsamic vinegar, a dash of salt and freshly ground pepper.
It smelled heavenly and tasted divine.
Thursday, July 23, 2009
Because That's the Way I Roll
Today for the first time in a long while I went for a bike ride. We have been kind of busy in the mornings and I've had a hard time being able to get out of the house and shower before having to go somewhere.
So I fell out of the habit.
Which was really a shame since we have been having one of the nicest summers ever. The temperatures have been moderate and humidity really hasn't been a factor. Basically I've been a bum.
But today I got off my tush, dragged out my bike and did it.
I have two different routes. Most of the time I just keep making right hand turns and end up on a road that doubles back almost to my road. It's a nice route with 5 good sized uphill climbs. Today, however, I went on my secondary route. Max wanted a different hat for tennis, so my plan was to swing by the courts and drop it off.
This route (obviously) goes by the pool and tennis courts and it too has 5 uphills climbs. It's a wee be shorter, but a nice ride all the same. It also has my two favorite hills.
The first picture shows the crest of the hill before the road plunges down and then shoots back up to a turn about. This is the best part. I get so much speed going down I can almost coast to the top of the other side.
I then get to turn around and do the whole thing over again.
The return ride isn't quite so easy. The hill at the end of the road is a bit shorter so I don't get quite the same amount of speed and I actually have to some work to get to the top. It is still a blast.
Riding about on flat roads is fine and dandy, but a bit boring. I love the fact that I have a nice bit of hilliness in my neighborhood.
So I fell out of the habit.
Which was really a shame since we have been having one of the nicest summers ever. The temperatures have been moderate and humidity really hasn't been a factor. Basically I've been a bum.
But today I got off my tush, dragged out my bike and did it.
I have two different routes. Most of the time I just keep making right hand turns and end up on a road that doubles back almost to my road. It's a nice route with 5 good sized uphill climbs. Today, however, I went on my secondary route. Max wanted a different hat for tennis, so my plan was to swing by the courts and drop it off.
This route (obviously) goes by the pool and tennis courts and it too has 5 uphills climbs. It's a wee be shorter, but a nice ride all the same. It also has my two favorite hills.
The first picture shows the crest of the hill before the road plunges down and then shoots back up to a turn about. This is the best part. I get so much speed going down I can almost coast to the top of the other side.
I then get to turn around and do the whole thing over again.
The return ride isn't quite so easy. The hill at the end of the road is a bit shorter so I don't get quite the same amount of speed and I actually have to some work to get to the top. It is still a blast.
Riding about on flat roads is fine and dandy, but a bit boring. I love the fact that I have a nice bit of hilliness in my neighborhood.
Wednesday, July 22, 2009
Artist of the Week: Baseball
In honor of the ongoing baseball tourney, Nate is the artist of the week.
So far it has been an exciting tournament. The first four games are pool play, then the top two teams in each pool play in the semifinals with the pool winners playing the championship.
The first two games Nate's team pretty much pounded the other team. They would start off down a few runs, but would come roaring back and soundly defeat them. The final scores were 20 to 10 and 22 to 4. The games are supposed to run to six innings, but in both of those games the slaughter rule was invoked in the fourth to end the other teams misery.
Yesterday's game promised to be a good one. We were up against the other undefeated team in our pool.
The other team was very good. They started off with three runs and maintained their lead for most of the game, but our boys kept plugging along. We have an amazing depth in our pitching, we have four really good pitchers while most teams have two maybe three. The rest of the fielders are not too shabby, they are alert and responsive to whatever comes their way. Nate has been switching between second and center field. I'm always amazed at how he can just fire the ball back to the pitcher when he is way out in center field.
Then there is our offense, these boys can really hit. They have learned to wait for the right pitch. There are no easy outs on our team when they are at bat.
Anyway back to last night's game.
In the fifth inning we had finally tied up the score. We had two outs and I think two on base. It was Nate's turn to step up to the plate, he was focused and ready to go. He has some outstanding statistics during this tournament, 6 hits in 7 at bats with two walks. In the stands we all started chanting Nate's name.
Jake asked if I was going to take pictures and I said no, I wanted to see what was happening and not through the viewfinder. I honestly don't remember the exact pitch count, it was a couple of balls and at least one strike. And then he got the pitch he was looking for. He drove a nice hit out towards center field. The ball hit the ground before anybody to get to it and Nate was off.
He ended up knocking in the winning run, by the end of the inning the score was 11 to 8, all they had to do was block the other team during the top of the sixth and they did it.
I asked Nate later if he knew he had batting in the winning run. He was genuinely surprised, he told me that he hit the ball and started running to first. He only knew it was a good hit because the first base coach (one of his team mates) was jumping up and down.
That's the kind of player Nate is. He was so focused in hitting the ball and getting on base he didn't even see where the ball went or what else was happening on the field. He really is a true athlete and not a show boat on the field.
So far it has been an exciting tournament. The first four games are pool play, then the top two teams in each pool play in the semifinals with the pool winners playing the championship.
The first two games Nate's team pretty much pounded the other team. They would start off down a few runs, but would come roaring back and soundly defeat them. The final scores were 20 to 10 and 22 to 4. The games are supposed to run to six innings, but in both of those games the slaughter rule was invoked in the fourth to end the other teams misery.
Yesterday's game promised to be a good one. We were up against the other undefeated team in our pool.
The other team was very good. They started off with three runs and maintained their lead for most of the game, but our boys kept plugging along. We have an amazing depth in our pitching, we have four really good pitchers while most teams have two maybe three. The rest of the fielders are not too shabby, they are alert and responsive to whatever comes their way. Nate has been switching between second and center field. I'm always amazed at how he can just fire the ball back to the pitcher when he is way out in center field.
Then there is our offense, these boys can really hit. They have learned to wait for the right pitch. There are no easy outs on our team when they are at bat.
Anyway back to last night's game.
In the fifth inning we had finally tied up the score. We had two outs and I think two on base. It was Nate's turn to step up to the plate, he was focused and ready to go. He has some outstanding statistics during this tournament, 6 hits in 7 at bats with two walks. In the stands we all started chanting Nate's name.
Jake asked if I was going to take pictures and I said no, I wanted to see what was happening and not through the viewfinder. I honestly don't remember the exact pitch count, it was a couple of balls and at least one strike. And then he got the pitch he was looking for. He drove a nice hit out towards center field. The ball hit the ground before anybody to get to it and Nate was off.
He ended up knocking in the winning run, by the end of the inning the score was 11 to 8, all they had to do was block the other team during the top of the sixth and they did it.
I asked Nate later if he knew he had batting in the winning run. He was genuinely surprised, he told me that he hit the ball and started running to first. He only knew it was a good hit because the first base coach (one of his team mates) was jumping up and down.
That's the kind of player Nate is. He was so focused in hitting the ball and getting on base he didn't even see where the ball went or what else was happening on the field. He really is a true athlete and not a show boat on the field.
Tuesday, July 21, 2009
Where's the Bunny?
The red boys love all of the suburban wildlife running around in our backyard. As you can see by the grubby nose prints on the window, they enjoy surveying their domain.
Fairly often you can find one or both of the dogs staring out the windows with their noses pressed against the glass. When it is a particularly offensive animal (like oh say deer or squirrels) they let loose with a barrage of barks. For some reason rabbits only elicit a low level whine. Which is ironic considering that they are run, sporadically, in field trials on RABBIT.
If you click on this picture it will lead you to the picture in my Flickr photostream and you can see what they are looking at a little bit better.
Why there's the bunny!
This little guy was happily munching away on our lawn just below the window the red boys like to stare out of. It's a cute little bunny and for whatever reason I have less of an issue with the rabbits in my backyard than the deer. Maybe because I have far fewer rabbits in my yard and they far less destructive than the tall rats.
However they still have to watch out for the red boys, they would like to have some fresh free-range rabbit for dinner.
Fairly often you can find one or both of the dogs staring out the windows with their noses pressed against the glass. When it is a particularly offensive animal (like oh say deer or squirrels) they let loose with a barrage of barks. For some reason rabbits only elicit a low level whine. Which is ironic considering that they are run, sporadically, in field trials on RABBIT.
If you click on this picture it will lead you to the picture in my Flickr photostream and you can see what they are looking at a little bit better.
Why there's the bunny!
This little guy was happily munching away on our lawn just below the window the red boys like to stare out of. It's a cute little bunny and for whatever reason I have less of an issue with the rabbits in my backyard than the deer. Maybe because I have far fewer rabbits in my yard and they far less destructive than the tall rats.
However they still have to watch out for the red boys, they would like to have some fresh free-range rabbit for dinner.
Monday, July 20, 2009
Sunday, July 19, 2009
All Star Baby
Nate did it again and was selected to be on the invitation All-Star team with the added bonus of Larry being the coach. This time around Nate has been mostly out in the field, but I love this picture I got of him all geared up behind the plate. Today was the first time he got to be catcher. The pitcher, one of Nate's regular season teammates, prefers to have my boy behind the plate. Larry told me that the kid said "I like Nate because he's so small, all I see is the glove."
Yesterday and today were the first two days of the tournament. We have a very good team, loaded with talent in both defense and offense. So far we have won first two games with the respective scores of 20 to 10 and 22 to 4. They are just rolling along in pool play. There are two more games left, then the top teams go on to the semi-finals.
I'll be missing tomorrow's game, it's at 8:15, which is too late for a couple of seven year olds I know and I have to pick up Jake at the train at 8:00. But I'll be there Tuesday, rooting for our boys.
Yesterday and today were the first two days of the tournament. We have a very good team, loaded with talent in both defense and offense. So far we have won first two games with the respective scores of 20 to 10 and 22 to 4. They are just rolling along in pool play. There are two more games left, then the top teams go on to the semi-finals.
I'll be missing tomorrow's game, it's at 8:15, which is too late for a couple of seven year olds I know and I have to pick up Jake at the train at 8:00. But I'll be there Tuesday, rooting for our boys.
Friday, July 17, 2009
Thursday, July 16, 2009
Honest Parenting
One of the rules we have around here is that if you are sick and/or have to take medicine you get to have ice cream before going to bed. This came about from our on going quest to add extra calories to Max's diet. He gets to have ice cream three times a day- breakfast, snack and before bed. His siblings started to get a bit miffed with all this ice cream passing them by (they only get it at snack time) and wanted to know why Max could have it all the time and not them. Larry and I settled on the two part explanation that Max 1) needs to be rewarded for all the nasty medicines and treatments he takes and 2) he needs the extra calories.
This was deemed acceptable when we added the aforementioned ice cream rule. Life is not fair, but we do need to make a reasonable rules.
So anywho, Miss Rebecca has a bit of a cough ( all right, a really annoying and persistent cough) and I dragged her in to see the doctor today. It turns out there is a bit of a wheeze in her lungs so she was prescribed a course of steroids for five days and albuterol nebulizations for three. (note: When the doctor mentioned nebulization as a possible treatment we told her it was no problem, we have the pump- two in fact- and enough albuterol on hand to sink a ship. She was a bit surprised until I explained that Max has CF. For once having an extensive pharmacy at home paid off.)
Tonight Rebecca asked about the ice cream and after a bit of thought I remembered the rule and said yes. I gave her a small bowl of chocolate ice cream shortly before bed. Rebecca was a bit disappointed with the quantity and needled me for more. I flatly said no. When pressed why I wouldn't give her more I explained "Because I'm mean." Oddly enough that seemed to satisfy her and ended her search for more ice cream.
This was deemed acceptable when we added the aforementioned ice cream rule. Life is not fair, but we do need to make a reasonable rules.
So anywho, Miss Rebecca has a bit of a cough ( all right, a really annoying and persistent cough) and I dragged her in to see the doctor today. It turns out there is a bit of a wheeze in her lungs so she was prescribed a course of steroids for five days and albuterol nebulizations for three. (note: When the doctor mentioned nebulization as a possible treatment we told her it was no problem, we have the pump- two in fact- and enough albuterol on hand to sink a ship. She was a bit surprised until I explained that Max has CF. For once having an extensive pharmacy at home paid off.)
Tonight Rebecca asked about the ice cream and after a bit of thought I remembered the rule and said yes. I gave her a small bowl of chocolate ice cream shortly before bed. Rebecca was a bit disappointed with the quantity and needled me for more. I flatly said no. When pressed why I wouldn't give her more I explained "Because I'm mean." Oddly enough that seemed to satisfy her and ended her search for more ice cream.
Wednesday, July 15, 2009
Artist of the Week: Blowin' His Horn
This week's artist is Jake and he's pictured here blowing his trumpet. Technically he is not the one bragging about himself, but I couldn't resist.
This has been a very big summer for Jake and we are barely halfway through. He applied to and successfully garnered a slot at the summer Governor's School, had his Bar Mitzvah, turned thirteen, entered an essay competition at the Governor's School and won, and completely nailed the placement exam for the Gifted program.
The last two items I haven't mentioned before because we had just found out about them this past week.
The essay competition was open to his class at school and was for a chance to attend an event at the Newseum in DC commemorating the 40 th anniversary of Apollo 11. This is part of the press release from the Newseum website:
Now how cool is that. He gets to attend an event with the very first two men that have walked on the moon and, hopefully, ask them questions about their experience. I so wish I could be there too, but it is just not possible. The best part was that he really did write the essay himself. He did get some coaching from his Aunt Meryl, but she made sure it was his own words.
We got word of his winning a slot on Friday. That morning I was very busy getting his train ticket and making sure it was coordinated with the teachers that were chaperoning the six winners.
On Monday Jake had an appointment to be retested for both Math and Verbal skills. Last February was the official testing period for the Gifted program. He nailed the History, Science, and Reading Comprehension portions, with scores of 99%. Math and Vocabulary were another story. He pretty much bombed both with the respective scores of 74% and 79%. This precluded him from the Gifted program and dumped him from honor's math.
My reaction to this was Heck No!
He has been pulling down A's and B's in Math with a final grade of A. There was no way he was getting dropped from accelerated math. I called up and found out that he had missed answering 10 of the thirty odd questions. They had been duly marked as wrong and had torpedoed his score. The guidance consular then told me that there was an appeal process and that we had a very good case.
Larry and I wrote a letter and faxed it off to the central testing office appealing the decision. Initially we were told that the period for appeals was long over, but Larry informed them that we had just found out about his denial. So instead we had to wait another week until the person that handled appeals was back from vacation.
The following Monday, just as Larry was about to do a follow up phone call, the person handling our appeal called Larry. She agreed that the test scores really didn't match the data they had on Jake. She asked if they could retest him in both Math and Vocabulary. We were all for it. After a bit of calling back and forth and consulting schedules we settled on 11:30 am on Monday the 13th.
Jake was in fine form that day. I made sure he was well rested and had a big breakfast. He went in with confidence and totally kicked some testing butt. He got a 97% on Vocab and, drum roll please... 100% on Math.
When he was brought back to the front of the office he was chatting with the woman in charge of his appeal. She informed me of his scores and told us right then and there that he clearly qualified for the Gifted program. She would start the paper work immediately. She them commented to me privately that Jake had some amazing math skills.
Well yes, that is what we have been saying all along.
This has been a very big summer for Jake and we are barely halfway through. He applied to and successfully garnered a slot at the summer Governor's School, had his Bar Mitzvah, turned thirteen, entered an essay competition at the Governor's School and won, and completely nailed the placement exam for the Gifted program.
The last two items I haven't mentioned before because we had just found out about them this past week.
The essay competition was open to his class at school and was for a chance to attend an event at the Newseum in DC commemorating the 40 th anniversary of Apollo 11. This is part of the press release from the Newseum website:
To commemorate the 40th anniversary of this historic flight, the Newseum will host a special program on the future of space discovery. The July 20 program is a public event honoring Apollo 11’s anniversary and NASA’s ongoing exploration of space.
Veteran journalist Nick Clooney moderates a panel discussion with Aldrin, Charlie Duke of Apollo 16, John Grunsfeld, of the recent Hubble mission, and Goddard Space Flight Center deputy director Laurie Leshin.
The discussion will air on NASA TV and will be simulcast to science centers across the United States. A question-and-answer session will follow the program.
Now how cool is that. He gets to attend an event with the very first two men that have walked on the moon and, hopefully, ask them questions about their experience. I so wish I could be there too, but it is just not possible. The best part was that he really did write the essay himself. He did get some coaching from his Aunt Meryl, but she made sure it was his own words.
We got word of his winning a slot on Friday. That morning I was very busy getting his train ticket and making sure it was coordinated with the teachers that were chaperoning the six winners.
On Monday Jake had an appointment to be retested for both Math and Verbal skills. Last February was the official testing period for the Gifted program. He nailed the History, Science, and Reading Comprehension portions, with scores of 99%. Math and Vocabulary were another story. He pretty much bombed both with the respective scores of 74% and 79%. This precluded him from the Gifted program and dumped him from honor's math.
My reaction to this was Heck No!
He has been pulling down A's and B's in Math with a final grade of A. There was no way he was getting dropped from accelerated math. I called up and found out that he had missed answering 10 of the thirty odd questions. They had been duly marked as wrong and had torpedoed his score. The guidance consular then told me that there was an appeal process and that we had a very good case.
Larry and I wrote a letter and faxed it off to the central testing office appealing the decision. Initially we were told that the period for appeals was long over, but Larry informed them that we had just found out about his denial. So instead we had to wait another week until the person that handled appeals was back from vacation.
The following Monday, just as Larry was about to do a follow up phone call, the person handling our appeal called Larry. She agreed that the test scores really didn't match the data they had on Jake. She asked if they could retest him in both Math and Vocabulary. We were all for it. After a bit of calling back and forth and consulting schedules we settled on 11:30 am on Monday the 13th.
Jake was in fine form that day. I made sure he was well rested and had a big breakfast. He went in with confidence and totally kicked some testing butt. He got a 97% on Vocab and, drum roll please... 100% on Math.
When he was brought back to the front of the office he was chatting with the woman in charge of his appeal. She informed me of his scores and told us right then and there that he clearly qualified for the Gifted program. She would start the paper work immediately. She them commented to me privately that Jake had some amazing math skills.
Well yes, that is what we have been saying all along.
Tuesday, July 14, 2009
Government
With all the idiotic spending and what not going on now, I'm in complete agreement with the Tick.
Monday, July 13, 2009
Max's Words For Max
We have been spending a fair amount of time at the library this summer (currently we have over 30 books checked out). Max needs a bit of a boost in his reading skills so he is meeting a reading specialist from the school for a couple half hour sessions a week. She signs out one of the study rooms and Max gets some good one on one tutoring.
The best part is that she was recommended by Max's teacher and the two of them were able to map out a good strategy on what Max needs to get up the speed. Max's teacher even passed along a reading list with the books grouped by reading levels. Finally I had something to work with. I am now able to pick books for Max at his level or just a bit above. I'm getting a feel for what is appropriate for him and I can branch out and get other books off the shelf.
A few weeks ago I spotted a book at the library that first caught my eye because of the title, Max's Words. I cracked it opened and discovered a marvelous book within. The Max in the story has two older brothers that collect things, namely stamps and coins. Max decides he'll collect words. His brothers scoff and refuse to share their collections until Max's collection grows and he discovers he can make stories.
My Max at first wanted nothing to do with the book, but in the end I got him to sit down with me. As Max started to read he was drawn into the story. He discovered the importance of word order and just how much fun words can be. The illustrations are delightful with the words Max has collected in someway reflecting their meaning in their form. By the end of the book my Max thought is was a terrific read.
I think Max's Words is a wonderful addition to a young child's library. Get it, borrow it, read it.
The best part is that she was recommended by Max's teacher and the two of them were able to map out a good strategy on what Max needs to get up the speed. Max's teacher even passed along a reading list with the books grouped by reading levels. Finally I had something to work with. I am now able to pick books for Max at his level or just a bit above. I'm getting a feel for what is appropriate for him and I can branch out and get other books off the shelf.
A few weeks ago I spotted a book at the library that first caught my eye because of the title, Max's Words. I cracked it opened and discovered a marvelous book within. The Max in the story has two older brothers that collect things, namely stamps and coins. Max decides he'll collect words. His brothers scoff and refuse to share their collections until Max's collection grows and he discovers he can make stories.
My Max at first wanted nothing to do with the book, but in the end I got him to sit down with me. As Max started to read he was drawn into the story. He discovered the importance of word order and just how much fun words can be. The illustrations are delightful with the words Max has collected in someway reflecting their meaning in their form. By the end of the book my Max thought is was a terrific read.
I think Max's Words is a wonderful addition to a young child's library. Get it, borrow it, read it.
Sunday, July 12, 2009
Pied Piper
That's me, on the floor with not one, but two red oafs on my lap.
Wherever I go in the house the dogs will often trail after me, Dell's chin often bumping my heels. To say they want to be with me is an understatement.
Oh they love the rest of the family. The red boys are always up for a romp outside with Nate, but... I'm the Pied Piper. I just call out to them and they come a runnin' unless there is something far more important like a chipmunk trapped just out of reach. If I sit on the floor they swarm over me, desperate for my attention.
Even after I trim their nails they still want to be with me. Quite the opposite of Ms. Rally, she would disappear when the clippers came out. I had to be quick and snag her before she sequestered herself in her crate. The red boys are just a couple of big lovable goofs that want to be with Mom.
It's nice to be wanted, but 50 plus pounds of dog in your lap can be a bit much. So don't spend too much time on the floor with them in my lap.
Wherever I go in the house the dogs will often trail after me, Dell's chin often bumping my heels. To say they want to be with me is an understatement.
Oh they love the rest of the family. The red boys are always up for a romp outside with Nate, but... I'm the Pied Piper. I just call out to them and they come a runnin' unless there is something far more important like a chipmunk trapped just out of reach. If I sit on the floor they swarm over me, desperate for my attention.
Even after I trim their nails they still want to be with me. Quite the opposite of Ms. Rally, she would disappear when the clippers came out. I had to be quick and snag her before she sequestered herself in her crate. The red boys are just a couple of big lovable goofs that want to be with Mom.
It's nice to be wanted, but 50 plus pounds of dog in your lap can be a bit much. So don't spend too much time on the floor with them in my lap.
Friday, July 10, 2009
Capitalistic Parenting
I love Rebecca very much. She is a fiercely independent child and very passionate, but that independence and passion comes with a price.
She wants to do things for herself all the time and she wants to help me at the same time. As a result I have a seven year old sous chef. She happily chops peppers at dinner time and will stir the pots on the stove. This part of her is a delight.
However if I pick something out for her in a catalog, in a store or even a book in a library she flies off the handle. Shouts, tears and an angry stomping child soon follow theses imagined transgressions. I find this behavior to be truly appalling and for the most part, downright rude.
So now we have instituted a new policy. If she has been deemed to be significantly rude a dollar is deducted from the running tally on the allowance chart. A new category has been added to the sheet titled Rudeness.
Today she has already lost $2. She was rude to Max this morning. He wanted to sing along with his favorite song, she did not want him to and showed her displeasure not with words, but by shoving him. At the library she blew up at me for touching a book when we found the section (horses) we were looking for. I hauled her aside and told her that her behavior was unacceptable and she had now lost another dollar. She was sat sullenly for the rest of our visit and the ride home.
When I wrote up the deductions on the sheet she was horrified to see the new category. She thought that the money was to be discretely deducted, not publicly tallied. She begged and pleaded for me to not write it all up. My response was tough, you were rude and now you have to live with the consequences.
It'll be intrersting to see if this teaches her to hold her temper and to use her manners. I know she hates losing the money (at best she earns $3 to $4 a week), but the fact that it is writen plainly for all to see might be the bigger incentive to straighten up.
She wants to do things for herself all the time and she wants to help me at the same time. As a result I have a seven year old sous chef. She happily chops peppers at dinner time and will stir the pots on the stove. This part of her is a delight.
However if I pick something out for her in a catalog, in a store or even a book in a library she flies off the handle. Shouts, tears and an angry stomping child soon follow theses imagined transgressions. I find this behavior to be truly appalling and for the most part, downright rude.
So now we have instituted a new policy. If she has been deemed to be significantly rude a dollar is deducted from the running tally on the allowance chart. A new category has been added to the sheet titled Rudeness.
Today she has already lost $2. She was rude to Max this morning. He wanted to sing along with his favorite song, she did not want him to and showed her displeasure not with words, but by shoving him. At the library she blew up at me for touching a book when we found the section (horses) we were looking for. I hauled her aside and told her that her behavior was unacceptable and she had now lost another dollar. She was sat sullenly for the rest of our visit and the ride home.
When I wrote up the deductions on the sheet she was horrified to see the new category. She thought that the money was to be discretely deducted, not publicly tallied. She begged and pleaded for me to not write it all up. My response was tough, you were rude and now you have to live with the consequences.
It'll be intrersting to see if this teaches her to hold her temper and to use her manners. I know she hates losing the money (at best she earns $3 to $4 a week), but the fact that it is writen plainly for all to see might be the bigger incentive to straighten up.
Thursday, July 09, 2009
Skink A Dinka Doo
I'm a county girl at heart. I grew up in an extremely rural area, surrounded by woods and cow pastures.
I once rented a house in the middle of the woods and the owners asked me point blank if I could handle being up on a hill with deer and raccoons as my closest neighbors, a previous tenant had freaked out when raccoons tipped the garbage and deer would peek in the windows. I assured then I was an old hand at all that. Which, was born out when a raccoon came into the house through the cat door. Luckily it was a room shut off from the house and I was able to shoo it out with a broom.
However, I just can't get used to the lizards around here.
I have seen both the Eastern Fence Lizard and the tiny Little Brown Skink (which was really cute once I got over the initial shock of finding it under the wading pool). Mostly we have five lined skinks. They are down right pretty in their juvenile form with their electric blue tails. But, and there is always a but, they grow up and get rather large. Well maybe not huge, but they are a heck of a lot bigger than any other non-mammal I've encountered in the wild short of a snake.
The one pictured here is at a fairly good size and that's with most of its tail missing. These babies decidedly do not creep quietly about. They plunge into the underbrush with a large rattle of leaves and scare me half to death. every. single. time. Of course it doesn't help when a gamy dog decides it must follow it.
At least the deer are quiet.
I once rented a house in the middle of the woods and the owners asked me point blank if I could handle being up on a hill with deer and raccoons as my closest neighbors, a previous tenant had freaked out when raccoons tipped the garbage and deer would peek in the windows. I assured then I was an old hand at all that. Which, was born out when a raccoon came into the house through the cat door. Luckily it was a room shut off from the house and I was able to shoo it out with a broom.
However, I just can't get used to the lizards around here.
I have seen both the Eastern Fence Lizard and the tiny Little Brown Skink (which was really cute once I got over the initial shock of finding it under the wading pool). Mostly we have five lined skinks. They are down right pretty in their juvenile form with their electric blue tails. But, and there is always a but, they grow up and get rather large. Well maybe not huge, but they are a heck of a lot bigger than any other non-mammal I've encountered in the wild short of a snake.
The one pictured here is at a fairly good size and that's with most of its tail missing. These babies decidedly do not creep quietly about. They plunge into the underbrush with a large rattle of leaves and scare me half to death. every. single. time. Of course it doesn't help when a gamy dog decides it must follow it.
At least the deer are quiet.
Wednesday, July 08, 2009
Artist of the Week: Clay
A very dapper Max is this week's artist.
I love how he looks when he has his coat and tie on. The little blue and yellow striped tie just sets the whole look off. Max likes how he looks too and is more than happy to dress up for any occasion. Which is quite a contrast with Nate, who has to be badgered into his bettered clothes.
We picked up this outfit for Jake's Bar Mitzvah. I had spent an afternoon shopping with him and he spotted this on the rack. They had just one left in his size and as I held it up he asked if he could have it, he thought it looked terrific. How could I say no.
On the day of his last piano recital he asked if he could wear his suit (the jacket came with not only a shirt and tie, but a nice pair of blue slacks as well). When he donned his clothes he announced that he looked like a miniature business man. I told him he looked even better than that. He is a handsome little devil and was the best dressed and cutest little boy at the recital. Just look at that smile, I think Larry snagged this photo of him just afterward.
Another little dapper fellow is this little blue jay Max made at school. It fits snugly in the palm of your hand and has a quite and self assured air about it. It is a pleasure to hold. The little tail feathers got a bit bent from the trip home on the bus, but otherwise it's perfect.
I think it may have been intended by the teacher as some sort of end of the year gift for the parents, but Max loves his little bird too much to give it up. In fact, it has been buried in his room for the past month. I had to do a bit of searching to find it for today. He'll be pleased to see it here, but I know he'll want it back. And honestly, I completely understand
I love how he looks when he has his coat and tie on. The little blue and yellow striped tie just sets the whole look off. Max likes how he looks too and is more than happy to dress up for any occasion. Which is quite a contrast with Nate, who has to be badgered into his bettered clothes.
We picked up this outfit for Jake's Bar Mitzvah. I had spent an afternoon shopping with him and he spotted this on the rack. They had just one left in his size and as I held it up he asked if he could have it, he thought it looked terrific. How could I say no.
On the day of his last piano recital he asked if he could wear his suit (the jacket came with not only a shirt and tie, but a nice pair of blue slacks as well). When he donned his clothes he announced that he looked like a miniature business man. I told him he looked even better than that. He is a handsome little devil and was the best dressed and cutest little boy at the recital. Just look at that smile, I think Larry snagged this photo of him just afterward.
Another little dapper fellow is this little blue jay Max made at school. It fits snugly in the palm of your hand and has a quite and self assured air about it. It is a pleasure to hold. The little tail feathers got a bit bent from the trip home on the bus, but otherwise it's perfect.
I think it may have been intended by the teacher as some sort of end of the year gift for the parents, but Max loves his little bird too much to give it up. In fact, it has been buried in his room for the past month. I had to do a bit of searching to find it for today. He'll be pleased to see it here, but I know he'll want it back. And honestly, I completely understand
Tuesday, July 07, 2009
Doe, A Deer, A Female Deer
I don't think people ever really believe me when I tell them that I view deer as a nuisance in my back yard. Oh, they are pretty to look at, but in the end they are just tall rats.
Let's take this doe for example. She was less than five feet from the house during the middle of the day. It took the combined excitement of at least two kids and a dog right over her head to finally shift her to the woods. Even then, you can see by her body language she wasn't in that much of a hurry.
I've had a doe actually step towards me as I rattled a bowl of dog food to get the dogs to stop barking at her and come inside. Talk about nervy. Obviously somebody in the neighborhood has been feeding the deer.
Heck I've even found hoof prints under the deck and my husband has had to beep the horn to shift them off the driveway.
So yeah, they have become tall rats in my eyes. Very pretty, but annoying nonetheless.
Let's take this doe for example. She was less than five feet from the house during the middle of the day. It took the combined excitement of at least two kids and a dog right over her head to finally shift her to the woods. Even then, you can see by her body language she wasn't in that much of a hurry.
I've had a doe actually step towards me as I rattled a bowl of dog food to get the dogs to stop barking at her and come inside. Talk about nervy. Obviously somebody in the neighborhood has been feeding the deer.
Heck I've even found hoof prints under the deck and my husband has had to beep the horn to shift them off the driveway.
So yeah, they have become tall rats in my eyes. Very pretty, but annoying nonetheless.
Monday, July 06, 2009
Sunday, July 05, 2009
Bang!
I hope everyone out there had a happy and healthy Fourth of July.
We went to the county's firework display last night. It was the first time we had ever taken the kids to an official fireworks event. Before we had hung out in a local parking lot about a mile or so from the staging grounds. It was a lot easier and far less congested than going to the big show itself. With small children you never really know how much they'll like seeing fireworks up close and all the loud noises associated with them.
Meryl came along with us. She picked up green beans and tomatoes and came over before dinner. At our house we had a fine repast of home made bbq beef ribs, mashed potato, fresh green beans, marinated sliced tomatoes, and mashed sweet potato. It was one of those great happy tummy meals. The huge spread almost made it feel like a summer version of Thanksgiving.
At around seven we headed out to the fairgrounds where the fireworks were going to happen. Larry, sensibly parked on the road to the event, pointing the car towards home, and avoided the whole parking lot nightmare (he's so smart). We trooped up the road and found a nice spot on the grass not too far from the entrance.
There were a whole slew of things going on before the main event, from bouncey tents in the kid's zone, freebies from area businesses, to fair food classics. Meryl, being a very indulgent person, took the kids off to get funnel cakes. Unfortunately the line was huge, it looked like over a half an hour long for funnel cakes, so they passed. Instead, the kids got glasses made from glow sticks. I love this picture I got of the three boys. Rebecca, for whatever reason, got in a real snit and was appalled over the idea of being photographed with her glasses.
As twilet deepened a few stray firecrackers went up, causing a cheer from the crowd. The music changed to a more patriotic vein with America the Beautiful hearalding the start. All four were entranced. The county had a very nice display, my only complaint was that I would have like a few more of the noisier ones. I love it when there is a huge bang and the rockets go screaming off. Overall we had a great time and I think we'll be doing it again next year.
We went to the county's firework display last night. It was the first time we had ever taken the kids to an official fireworks event. Before we had hung out in a local parking lot about a mile or so from the staging grounds. It was a lot easier and far less congested than going to the big show itself. With small children you never really know how much they'll like seeing fireworks up close and all the loud noises associated with them.
Meryl came along with us. She picked up green beans and tomatoes and came over before dinner. At our house we had a fine repast of home made bbq beef ribs, mashed potato, fresh green beans, marinated sliced tomatoes, and mashed sweet potato. It was one of those great happy tummy meals. The huge spread almost made it feel like a summer version of Thanksgiving.
At around seven we headed out to the fairgrounds where the fireworks were going to happen. Larry, sensibly parked on the road to the event, pointing the car towards home, and avoided the whole parking lot nightmare (he's so smart). We trooped up the road and found a nice spot on the grass not too far from the entrance.
There were a whole slew of things going on before the main event, from bouncey tents in the kid's zone, freebies from area businesses, to fair food classics. Meryl, being a very indulgent person, took the kids off to get funnel cakes. Unfortunately the line was huge, it looked like over a half an hour long for funnel cakes, so they passed. Instead, the kids got glasses made from glow sticks. I love this picture I got of the three boys. Rebecca, for whatever reason, got in a real snit and was appalled over the idea of being photographed with her glasses.
As twilet deepened a few stray firecrackers went up, causing a cheer from the crowd. The music changed to a more patriotic vein with America the Beautiful hearalding the start. All four were entranced. The county had a very nice display, my only complaint was that I would have like a few more of the noisier ones. I love it when there is a huge bang and the rockets go screaming off. Overall we had a great time and I think we'll be doing it again next year.
Friday, July 03, 2009
Still Lovin' Bunny Hop with Kung-Fu Fightin' Bike Action
Yesterday I stopped by our favorite bike shop, Bunny Hop, to get Jake's bike fixed up. His bike has a loose chain and the shifting in his opinion was wonky.
As always I got fantastic service. Not only did the bike fixed while I waited, they turned on the arcade game just for my kids to play with while we were there. They have the old arcade classic Paperboy and have it set for unlimited free play. In less than fifteen minutes we were good to go, with any charges waved off.
Before heading over to Bunny Hop I checked out their website. I wanted to make sure they were still around and open. It's now a blog and had a hilarious Kungfu bike fight clip as the most recent post. It was too funny not to share.
As always I got fantastic service. Not only did the bike fixed while I waited, they turned on the arcade game just for my kids to play with while we were there. They have the old arcade classic Paperboy and have it set for unlimited free play. In less than fifteen minutes we were good to go, with any charges waved off.
Before heading over to Bunny Hop I checked out their website. I wanted to make sure they were still around and open. It's now a blog and had a hilarious Kungfu bike fight clip as the most recent post. It was too funny not to share.
Thursday, July 02, 2009
Chipmunk Cuteness
This morning I found out that chipmunks climb trees. Rebecca was the one to notice this little cutey in the tree that grows near the window by the kitchen table.
We got to watch it nibbling away on the fruit of our crab apple tree. It would poke its head out of the leaves and grab a crab apple and stuff it into its mouth.
Originally it was on the end of the branch near the window, but by the time I got the camera out it had moved. You can just make it out in its leafy bower. Another chipmunk was rooting about in the leaf litter at the base of the tree.
It was a very nice way to start off the day.
We got to watch it nibbling away on the fruit of our crab apple tree. It would poke its head out of the leaves and grab a crab apple and stuff it into its mouth.
Originally it was on the end of the branch near the window, but by the time I got the camera out it had moved. You can just make it out in its leafy bower. Another chipmunk was rooting about in the leaf litter at the base of the tree.
It was a very nice way to start off the day.
Wednesday, July 01, 2009
Artist of the Week: When I Grow Up
This week's artist is Rebecca. She was feeling a bit poorly today, unfortunately she is one of those people who are weather sensitive. Impending storm fronts make, as she puts it, her forehead hurt and sometimes even her tummy. She spent most the the morning asleep, rallying as the day drew to a close and the front started to break.
In this picture, however, the weather was bit kinder to her. It was the day before Jake's Bar Mitzvah when we were at the temple for a final dress rehearsal and a chance to take some pictures. Rebecca and Max had the very important job of handing out the candy to be tossed at Jake. A job that Rebecca took very seriously. Passing out candy, as any child will tell you, is serious business.
Anyway, if it was possible Rebecca would love to be a professional candy server when she grows up. However she does recognize that it is not a viable career path and settled on something a bit more plausable when she was asked in class.
I found this sheet tucked among her papers she dragged home during the last few days of school. It has a charming collection of animals at the top, a mama goose with her goslings, a dog (which of course is a dachshund), a large fox, a parrot, and a nice stripy cat. On the lower half she answers the age old question of what she will be when she grows up.
Here is the text complete and unedited, spelling clarifications are in parenthesis :
May 12, 2009
When I grow up I want to be a vechern (veterinarian). I like babys anmls. Some anmls are nice and some are sml (small). I like anmls. Some are big. Some are fun to play with. Some are mesee (messy).
In this picture, however, the weather was bit kinder to her. It was the day before Jake's Bar Mitzvah when we were at the temple for a final dress rehearsal and a chance to take some pictures. Rebecca and Max had the very important job of handing out the candy to be tossed at Jake. A job that Rebecca took very seriously. Passing out candy, as any child will tell you, is serious business.
Anyway, if it was possible Rebecca would love to be a professional candy server when she grows up. However she does recognize that it is not a viable career path and settled on something a bit more plausable when she was asked in class.
I found this sheet tucked among her papers she dragged home during the last few days of school. It has a charming collection of animals at the top, a mama goose with her goslings, a dog (which of course is a dachshund), a large fox, a parrot, and a nice stripy cat. On the lower half she answers the age old question of what she will be when she grows up.
Here is the text complete and unedited, spelling clarifications are in parenthesis :
May 12, 2009
When I grow up I want to be a vechern (veterinarian). I like babys anmls. Some anmls are nice and some are sml (small). I like anmls. Some are big. Some are fun to play with. Some are mesee (messy).
I love anmls.
The whole thing is so cute and adorable. She really does love animals and I think this is one of the sweetest assignments she has brought home to date.
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