Adventures in Fredericksburg

As y'all probably guessed we went on vacation. Part of the deal when we go away is that the dogs are kenneled. We found a nice kennel that is small with a staff that really loves dogs. The red boys love going and it's not a big deal.

Except... this time.

For whatever reason Crunch didn't get his bordetella vaccination the last time he went in for his shots last June. I realized this 6 days before the dogs were due to be dropped off at the kennel. And there's the rub, the kennel requires at all dogs being bordered must be fully vaccinated at least one week before hand. The earliest I could get Crunch in for his shot was three days before he was to be dropped off.

Unfortunately bringing Crunch along wasn't an option. Our trip involved stays at three places, my in-laws' condo (pet free), my cousin's (numerous standard poodles) and my Mom's (one dachshund). There was also a ballgame at the Shea stadium. They would all let us bring (except Shea), but it would be hard on the old guy. He'll be 15 the end of next month and this particular trip would be a bit much.

Luckily I have an ace in the hole. Crunch's breeder, a fear friend of mine, lives in Culpepper, Va. One quick phone call later, Crunch was all set, they would be happy to take him. So the weekend before we left Mr. Crunch got driven up to Fredericksburg. Diane met me at Costco and we were all set.

Rebecca Trolley
Originally uploaded by Teckelcar

Last Sunday we got home, but it wasn't until Tuesday that we could get Crunch home. Once again I drove up to Freddysburg and met Diane at the train station (she was picking up her daughter there). While we waited we walked to the visitor's center to us the public restrooms and got a little surprise.

We saw a bus/trolley parked on the side that was used for tours of the historic district, but that was not the surprise. As we walked by I noticed that the trolley had the name Rebecca written on the front. So of course I had to take a picture of the two Rebeccas together.

I think we need to go up again and maybe do a little site seeing with Rebecca.

Best Spam Ever!

Everybody gets spam and we all know about the Nigerian 419 scam.

Yesterday I accidentally opened one and found the best ploy yet.

ROBERT MUELLER III
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR FBI
EMAIL:info@fedbureauofinvestigations.org
FEDERAL BUREAU OF INVESTIGATION FBI.WASHINGTON DC.

Well they got the name right, but that’s not his email.

FEDERAL BUREAU OF INVESTIGATION SEEKING TO WIRETAP THE INTERNET

We believe that this notification meets you in a very good present
state of mind and health.

Honestly, I think the FBI couldn’t give two beans about my health and already I can tell this was written by a non-native English speaker.

We the Federal bureau of investigation (FBI)
Washington, DC in conjunction with some other relevant Investigation
Agencies here in the United states of America have recently been informed
through our Global intelligence monitoring network that you presently
have a transaction going on with the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) as
regards to your over-due contract payment which was fully endorsed in
your favour accordingly.

Really? That’s news to me.

It might interest you to know that we have taken out time in screening
through this project as stipulated on our protocol of operation and
have finally confirmed that your contract payment is 100% genuine and
hitch free from all facet and of which you have the lawful right to
claim your fund without any further delay.Having said all this, we will
further advise that you go ahead in dealing with the Central Bank office
accordingly as we will be monitoring all their services with you as
well as your correspondence at all level.

All right! We’ve got the FBI stamp of approval! But...the FBI website notes that this is the latest permutation of the 419 scam and once again it’s clearly English as a second language.

In addendum, also be informed that we recently had a meeting with the
Executive Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, in the person of
Prof. Chukwuma Soludo along with some of the top officials of the Ministry
regarding your case and they made us to understand that your file has
been held in abase depending on when you personally come for the claim.
They also told us that the only problem they are facing right now is
that some unscrupulous element are using this project as an avenue to
scam innocent people off their hard earned money by impersonating the
Executive Governor and the Central Bank office.

Oh no evil scammers are messing this up.

We were also made to understand that a lady with name Mrs. Joan C.
Bailey from OHIO has already contacted them and also presented to them all
the necessary documentations evidencing your claim purported to have
been signed personally by you prior to the release of your contract fund
valued at about US$8,000,000.00 (Eight million united states dollars),
but the Central Bank office did the wise thing by insisting on hearing
from you personally before the go ahead on wiring your fund to the
Bank
informations which was forwarded to them by the above named Lady so
that was the main reason why they contacted us so as to assist them in
making the investigations.

Nice touch, someone else is trying to impersonate me and get my money.

They further informed us that we should warn our dear citizens who must
have been informed of the contract payment which was awarded to them
from the Central Bank of Nigeria, to be very careful prior to this
irregularities so that they don't fall victim to this ugly circumstance.

Dear citizens? Sounds a lot like North Korea’s Dear Leader.

And should incase you are already dealing with anybody or office claiming
to be from the Central Bank of Nigeria, you are further advised to STOP
further contact with them in your best interest and then contact
immediately the real office of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) only
withthe below informations accordingly:

NAME: PROF. CHUKWUMA SOLUDO

OFFICE ADDRESS: Central Bank of Nigeria,
Central Business District,
Cadastral Zone, Abuja,
Federal Capital Territory,
Nigeria.

TEL: +234-808-089-7326

Email: admin@centralbankpaymentdepartment.com

NOTE:

In your best interest, any message that doesn't come from the above
official email address and phone numbers should not be replied to and
should be disregarded accordingly for security reasons. Meanwhile, we will
advise that you contact the Central Bank office immediately with the
above email address and request that they attend to you payment file as directed so as to enable you receive your contract fund accordingly.

Well that’s nice. They are looking out for my best interests and warning me to stay away from all the other Nigerian scams.

Ensure you follow all their procedure as may be required by them as
that will further help hasten up the whole procedures as regards to the
transfer of your fund to you as designated. Also have in mind that the
Central Bank of Nigeria equally have their own protocol of operation
as stipulated on their banking terms, so delay could be very dangerous.
Once again, we will advise that you contact them with the above email
address and make sure you forward to them all the necessary
informations which they may require from you prior to the release of your fund to
you accordingly.

More English as a second language, just what I would expect from the FBI. Mr. Mueller was born in NYC and grew up around Philly, but apparently he can not write grammatically correct English.

All modalities has already been worked out even before you were
contacted and note that we will be monitoring all your dealings with them as
you proceed so you don't have anything to worry about. All we require
from you henceforth is an update so as to enable us be on track with you
and the Central Bank of Nigeria. Without wasting much time, will want
you to contact them immediately with the above email address so as to
enable them attend to your case accordingly without any further delay as
time is already running out.

Hurry! Act now before time is up. I feel like I’m watching a late night infomercial.

Should in case you need any more informations in regards to this
notification, feel free to get back to us so that we can brief you more as we
are here to guide you during and after this project has been
completely perfected and you have received your contract fund as stated.Thank
you very much for your anticipated co-operation in advance as we
earnestly await your urgent response to this matter.

BEST REGARDS
ROBERT SWAN MUELLER III
WASHINGTON D.C ROOM,7367
J. EDGAR HOOVER FBI BUILDING
935 PENNSYLVANIA AVENUE,
NW WASHINGTON, DC 20535,USA.
EMAIL: info@fedbureauofinvestigations.org

Sorry dudes, I’m not falling for this. Instead, I’ll forward this baby to the real FBI.

Lunch Time

Saw this over at The Llamas and I thought I'd give it a go.

Turns out I'm one of my favorite sandwiches, all it needs is a nice slice of tomato tucked inside.

You Are a Grilled Cheese Sandwich

You are a traditional person with very simple tastes. In your opinion, the best things in life are free, easy, and fun. You totally go with the flow. And you enjoy every minute of it! Your best friend: The Peanut Butter and Jelly Sandwich Your mortal enemy: The Ham Sandwich

What Kind of Sandwich Are You?

I wouldn't call a ham sandwich my *mortal enemy*, but it is oddly appropriate considering I'm Jewish.

Artist of the Week: Toys

big bubble
Originally uploaded by Teckelcar

My mother, Nana to he kids, has a real knack for picking out toys. She keeps her eyes open and finds them in all sorts of places.

We just saw her last week and her surprise for the kids were bubble wands. And just your ordinary ones, but monster bubble wands.

She was once again, spot on.

She bought two wands and we decided that one would stay with her and the second one would come home with us.

bubble wall
Originally uploaded by Teckelcar

Today we broke out the second wand. Meryl had stopped by and the kids wanted to show it off.

The beauty of this particular wand is that anybody can use it to good effect. Jake and Nate had a great time making, capturing and breaking bubbles. Max and Rebecca were able to make some monstrous bubbles all by themselves. All I did was hold onto the reservoir, a long sheath that you stick the wand in. It can't stand alone, but it is far better than a big pan of bubble solution.

I love the bubble wall Max was able to make with almost no effort. I have tried other monster bubble wands, but none were as easy to use as this one.

bubble wand
Originally uploaded by Teckelcar

Thank you Nana for once again finding a great toy.

We are all having great fun with it.

Slacker

DCP_0621
Originally uploaded by Teckelcar

It's summertime and it's time to kick back. Mind you I've still got my endless mom duties, but posting will be a bit irregular this week.

I've decided to cut back my online time this week and be a bit more like this fellow, blinking in the sun and just enjoying the moment.

I do recommend that y'all go over to Terry's and check him out before he closes shop. Rumor has it that this is his last week.

See ya later!

Because It's Too Hot

Thursday Three: End of an Era

Summer,at least for the younger members of the possum clan who got to go back to school this week, is over and the great Axis of Weevil Thursday Three springs to life.

Well maybe not springs, lurches forward for one last dying gasp is a little closer to the truth, because... Terry has up an gone and gotten a job that will actually make him work while at work. So without further ado

It's....

"The Von Trapp Family Singing 'So Long, Farewell, Auf Wiedersehen, Good Night'" Version of the Axis of Weevil Thursday Three!

Except without the Nazis. Or singing. Or nuns. Okay, it's not at all like anything in the movie. SO SUE ME!! (Not really.)

Anyway, as you all know, The Axis of Weevil Thursday Three has been one of the more popular recurring features of Possumblog over the years, dating back to April 8, 2004. It has been on summer hiatus to allow it to be properly aired-out and disinfected, but when we sent it out, we had no idea that we'd be making our big exit before resuming production for the Exciting New Fall Season.

SO, in the spirit of the times, and to cap off the most drawn-out, insufferably melodramatic blogdeath sequences ever recorded, we herewith assault you one last time with The Completely Self-Centered Good-bye Edition of the Axis of Weevil Thursday Three! Since the original idea was posited by none other than Jim Smith, PhD, he has graciously written out the final question set for us.

As has always been both rule and custom, anyone may play along by either leaving a comment below, or by leaving a link to the answers on your own blog. Answer us now these things:

1. What was your favorite Possumblog post over the years? (With archive link, please, if you can find it.)

2. What will you miss most about Possumblog?

3. Do you have any final words? (And it better not be "Rosebud"!)

And, the exciting bonus question!

4. What will you not miss at all about Possumblog?

Hey I got plenty of singing today and I even saw a Nun in her habit, but this isn't about me. Well only the bits here are, otherwise it's all about Terry.

1)Favorite post, gee I didn't expect a test. I'm all ready pushing midnight so I'll cop out and say the ones about meeting and courting Reba, the bizarro soon to be ex-co-workers and the always exciting weekend wrap ups.

2)I'll miss the wonderful active community in the comments. I'm so glad I decided to join in.

3)My final words would be to Possumblog are It has been great while it lasted, I hope that Terry doesn't entirely let it die and you can never go wrong with ponies and ice cream.

And for the exciting bonus question, the bits about American Idol. My family doesn't watch it and we have no interest in it.

I don't know what I'll do on Thursday's now or who I'll get to photoshop.

So in honor of of the end of an era I'll end with a final photoshop of Terry. It's not the Sound of Music, but the outfit comes close.

Artist of the Week: Photography

Baby_Abby
Originally uploaded by Teckelcar

This week's artist is Larry's sister Abby. Since the most recent photo I have of her either has one of my kids in the way or is a few years out of date I decided to go whole hog and post this cute snapshot from her toddler years. She is utterle adorable and her being at the beach fits in with the theme of the pictures she took.

Afew days ago Abby sent us a few pictures she had taken a couple of years ago when we went to the Outer Banks in North Carolina. The reason that she was sending them now was that she had just taken a photography course and these were a few of the pictures she used for her final project.

beach Nate
Originally uploaded by Teckelcar

The two I'm posting her are both of Nate. He was in that sweet chubby cheek phase. He is so happy to be on the beach running around and getting covered in sand and mud. He loved going down to the beach every day. He would be bouncing around the house as we got ready to head on down. I love that little gap tooth smile of his.

I think the second picture was taken at twilight. I'm basing this guess on the almost molten quality of the light reflected in the tide pool. After dinner we would head back to the beach for a stoll and a quiet splash in the tide pools. The beach was never very crowded during the day and was even less so at the days end.

tidepoolNate
Originally uploaded by Teckelcar

I think this was my favorite time of day at the beach. I love the beach during a hot summer day, but I think it is even better during the off times. Then it can be quiet, almost secluded. Summer is best for splashing in the waves, but the rest of the year has its own appeal as well.

It's Too Hot

Today was dreadful.

Summer has hit Virginia with full force today. The pool is starting to feel like a giant bathtub and sweat pours off your all ready sticky body from the high humidity.

So of course I had a ton of errands to do today, the dump, the bank, the post office and the oil change place for the van.

The dump wasn't too bad, it was largely deserted and I was able to tip out my garbage in short order. The bank and the PO were also a snap, at 4:30 pm both places were empty. I guess more sensible people were staying home to escape the heat. All that was left was getting the van's oil changed.

I pulled up to the Jiffy Lube and was able to get my van straight into one of the bays. I noticed a man loitering near the garage, but thought nothing of him. That is until I entered the waiting room. Apparently the air conditioning was out. The heat hit me like brick. It was stifling inside the building. I then understood why the guy was outside. It was much nicer in the garage than in the waiting room.

After a few minutes one of the techs called me over and we discussed my service options. He recommended a fuel filter change (which I declined, I had just down that a few months ago elsewhere) and a transmission flush (which struck me as a good idea since it has been awhile) along with the oil change. The whole thing would take about a half hour.

Gee 30 minutes with two five year olds in the sweat box waiting room, that sounds just peachy. Then I remembered the Dairy Queen just next door. We could have a nice frozen treat in air conditioned comfort with a direct view of the van. Now that was an option. I told the tech where we would be and then hustled off for ice cream.

Max, Rebecca and i settled down at the window opposite the van and enjoyed our ice cream. Just as I finished my cone I saw the van pulling out of the service bay. There is no way that was half an hour. We walked back to the van and into the sweat bax. a moment later the tech came in so that we could pay up. I said that was fast and he replied that they couldn't do the transmission flush and kid of spend things up. I'll say.

Anyhow, that was fine with me, I could do it later. It wasn't that critical.

Maybe on a day when the ac works.

Telegram From the Past

telegram
Originally uploaded by Teckelcar

My cousin has been going through her mother's personal effects and found a few little gems that she has sent my way.

The best was the telegram that my parents sent to her parents on the announcement of my birth.

How neat is that? How many people have the actual telegram announcing their birth? The mailed ones are a dime a dozen, but telegrams are a thing of the past. When I told Meryl about it she said I had to post it. Indeed, because in a small way it marks an era that is no more.

With the advent of cheap phone calls and the internet, telegrams are a thing of the past. In fact Western Union sent its last telegram on January 27, 2006. I can’t wait to show it to the boys on Wednesday.

Life at Half Volume

Half of my children are gone. Whisked far, far away to Grandma's house.

They left early this morning and we won't see them again until Wednesday and Max is already missing his brothers.

I caught Max staring dolefully off the deck at the empty backyard. He sighed, turned around and when he spied me, announced "I miss Jake and Nate." Bedtime was hard for him tonight. He wandered out after I tucked him in and said that he can't sleep by himself. I ended up laying in Nate's empty bed for about 15 minutes so that Max could settle down. Just before he drifted off to sleep I quietly got of of bed, gave him a little hug and left the room.

It will be interesting to see how he copes for the next few days.

I've Been Simpsonized

simpsonized
Originally uploaded by Teckelcar

It's been years since I've regularly watched the show and I don't plan on seeing the movie, but I still have a fondness for the show. The early years were amazing and it really was the best thing going at the time.

So hey, it's Friday (or what's left of it). Let's get Simpsonized.

Post Harry Potter Letdown

This week has been a bit of a blur, hence artist of the week on Tuesday instead of Wednesday. I realized afterwards it was indeed Tuesday and not Wednesday, it just felt like Wednesday.

I finished reading Deathly Hallows in the wee hours, 3:00 am to be exact, of the morning on Tuesday. I started Monday morning and kept dipping into it throughout the day. Once the little ones were tucked in I dove into the book. I just could not put it down until I finished the whole dang thing.

It was a great read and I found myself rereading the end bits of the previous book, Half-Blood Prince, and the ending chapters of Deathly Hallows Tuesday night.

Wednesday I spent drifting along, at loss what to read. I had been immersed in the world of Harry Potter for the past two weeks. Two weeks ago I had been seized by the idea of rereading the entire series. My plan was to reread up to the Goblet of Fire, see the movie Order of the Phoenix, then reread Order of the Phoenix and Half-Blood Prince. Then I would cap it all off with Deathly Hallows.

The timing of the movie is important to me, because I can not truly enjoy a movie if I have just read the book it is based on, the omissions and inconsistencies are too glaring. But if it has been a few years, the details are blurred and I can sit back and relax. For whatever reason rereading a book afterwards is not a problem. I have seen the movie and it can stand on its own.

So that is what I have been doing. This has worked out well in our household, because it gave Jake first crack at the book without my breathing down his neck to finish. His only challenge was to not talk about any aspect of the book. He is old enough now that he was just able to pull it off. It took him until Saturday night, very late Saturday night, to finish the book. I was just nearing the end of Half-Blood Prince and I was ready to read Monday morning.

Larry too has been doing a little rereading, just not on the same scale as me. He just opted for the Half-Blood Prince. It has taken him a little longer than me to reread it, what with having to go to work and all. He’ll be starting Deathly Hallows either tonight or tomorrow. I really enjoyed reading side by side with him. Meryl was very kind and lent me her copy H-BP and made it all possible.

Now I have to find something else to read. I have been tackling Beowulf this summer, but I also want something a bit lighter.

Artist of the Week: Happy

Rebecca
Originally uploaded by Teckelcar

This week's artist is little Miss Rebecca. Of course you shouldn't call her little, because then she gets mad and when she is mad, oh boy.

Anyway she loves to draw pictures and the house is littered with her efforts. Mind you each one tells a story and she will happily tell you it if you ask her. The stories are unique to each picture and they remain the same even after multiple retellings.

This week's artistic offering was made last week and was presented to me as I was puttering about the kitchen.

Man and dog
Originally uploaded by Teckelcar

It is a picture of a man with his dog. The man has a present in one hand and the dog's leash in another. The present is for the dog and the cartoon bubble above the dog's head is the dog's thoughts. It's hoping to get a bone which will make it so happy.

All I can say is that this picture makes me happy too.

For My little Rebecca

Rebecca
Originally uploaded by Teckelcar

Rebecca is a very girly girl and loves all things pink and purple. Her all time favorites are Barbie, My Little Pony and Hello Kitty. Her love of all things feminine is quite a feat considering she lives in a household full of boys. It is particularly mystifying for me because I was quite a tom boy.

I hated Barbie and I don't get Hello Kitty, but I understand the pony thing. Admittedly I liked real ponies, but My Little Pony is close enough.

Two weeks ago we caught a commercial advertising a Live action show featuring My Little Ponies. Rebecca immediately started bouncing about, she wanted to go. That night I ended up buying tickets for the two us. It would not be my first choice of entertainment, but I knew it would make my little girl very happy.

invite
Originally uploaded by Teckelcar

The following two weeks were filled with anticipation. Each morning she would ask me how many days until the pony show. As the days counted down she grew more and more excited.

Sunday morning she couldn't wait to leave. She dressed up in a dress and got her dress shoes out. She was delighted that I too wore a dress, but wondered why. I explained since we were going to a show and it was about a tea party I felt I should dress up. Just before we left I told her to go fetch one of her ponies, I guessed (correctly) that most of the younger set at the show would have a pony in hand.

teapot
Originally uploaded by Teckelcar

The car ride was a bit long, an hour and a half, and Rebecca ended up sleeping for part of the ride. It probably was too long, but Charlottesville was the closest performance to our house. Otherwise it was a good trip and the arena was a snap to find. I had one funny moment when I pulled into the parking lot and showed my prepaid pass. He was pleased to scan the pass and not deal with money and then told me about the previous driver. All she had was a $100 bill and expected him to make change. I was flabbergasted. Who drives around with a $100 bill and expects parking attendants to make change? There are some odd people out there.

The rest of the afternoon unfolded as I expected. Rebecca was delighted with the show and had a wonderful time.

Yummy Cow Festival

beef fest
Originally uploaded by Teckelcar

Yesterday we went to the Amelia County Beef Festival, or as Meryl pointed out to Rebecca, The Yummy Beef Festival.

Originally we were not able to go, Nate's team was having its end of the season party at roughly the same time. It was very disappointing to us all as this was the first year Meryl was actually free to come along with us. Then Friday night we found out that the party was postponed, the youngest child of the party's host family was just home from the hospital. Recovering sick babies and baseball/pool parties do not mix.

When I got the news my first reaction was "Hey, now we can go to beef fest!" The tricky part was getting tickets. I know the first time we went (seven years ago) we paid at the gate, but in subsequent years this has no longer been an option. Of course we got the news while we were at a ball game, so I gave Meryl a call to tell her the news and get the ball rolling for tickets. Unfortunately it was too late, none of the listed ticket sellers were still open. That left us Saturday morning to see what we could get.

Meryl called the Chesterfield Berry Farm first thing Saturday morning, all she got was a weird fast busy signal. At about half past nine I gave it a shot and got through. After wading through the voice mail options a bright cheerful voice answered the line and yes, they had tickets. I hung up the phone, turned to Larry and told him I was going to the berry farm right now to get tickets. He responded with "go, go now."

wet Max
Originally uploaded by Teckelcar

An hour later I had a dozen ears of corn and seven tickets.

Meryl came over later that afternoon and we all headed off together with folding chairs and a shelter piled in the back of the van. It was a brilliantly sunny day when we left home, but as we drew closer to the park the skies grew darker and darker. I t looked like it might be yet another wet beef fest.

We showed up just at four and parked on the field with all the other cars and trucks. Everybody piled out of the van and we schlepped all our chairs and the shelter inside the park. We made camp and about half an hour later it started to rain.

The kids didn't mind, as you can see by Max's grin and we were relatively dry under the shelter. It's not really meant for rain, being a sun shelter, but it did help keep the worst off of us. Next time we'll have a proper water proof tent.

table guy
Originally uploaded by Teckelcar

When I took that picture of Max Jake and I noticed a peculiar figure in the distance.

There was a guy standing in the rain with a table on his head.

It was an interesting solution to the rain. Amazingly he kept the table on his head all throughout the rainstorm, and even went so far as to sit in a chair with the table on his head. I walked by him at one point during a potty run for Rebecca and noticed he had procured a cushion for his head.

The tickets do say rain of shine and they are not kidding. The festival attendants know this and are not going to bail out because of some rain.

roast corn
Originally uploaded by Teckelcar

Both of the times we previously went it rained at least part of the time and the only thing that would change is that the bands would tarp their amps and maybe go on break when it really poured. Meanwhile the beef kept getting served along with the beer, soda and corn.

And speaking of corn, this year it was outstanding. The organizers roasted up boxes and boxes of corn and it was all delicious. The other two times we went the corn was not very good. We would have an ear apiece and that was it. This year I lost count. I now understand the appeal of roasted ears of corn.

The picture over there on the right shows the unique way the corn is served up. Old refrigerators are laid down on their backs and the doors are flipped open. A stick props up the door so that it can act as a sort of impromptu counter. The freshly roasted ears are piled into the main compartment and a few ears are piled up onto the door for people to grab. The insulation in the fridge keeps the ears nice and toasty.

The beef (barbecue, steamship round and ribs) was all very good. The band we parked ourselves was excellent and so was the company. It's a truly southern crowd, much more so than around Richmond. The kids have a great time running around and Larry and I got eat, drink, be merry and do a little dancing.

Fried Tomato

fried tomato
Originally uploaded by Teckelcar

Today at lunch I decided to try something new, at least new to me, fried tomatoes. I've never had them before, but I've always wanted to give them a try. I really like tomatoes and pretty much everything is better fried.

S today was the day, I had a yellow tomato that wasn't quite ripe on the vine on the deck. After a bit of searching I settled on the recipe below, mostly because I don't have cornmeal.

I not ripe tomato
1 egg, beaten
flour
breadcrumbs
salt
black pepper

Cut the tomato into 1/4 slices. Lightly dust the tomato slices with flour with a little salt and pepper. Dip the slices in the beaten egg then coat with breadcrumbs. Fry up the slices until golden brown, about 3 minutes per side.

All I can say is that is was absolutely delicious. I will definitely repeat this in the future. This might be a good way to use up those end of season tomatoes that don't fully ripen before the first frost.

Hippity hoppity

Yesterday we went to Target to buy birthday presents for a birthday party and give Nate an opportunity to spend his money. Nate was been a bit of a pain lately, continually begging us to take him to Walmart, Target... anywhere just to go shopping.

Anyway, while prowling the toy aisle, I found a little bit of my childhood up on a shelf.

Hopper Balls

My brother and I had them when we were little and I remembered how much fun they were. We would bounce around in the yard, race each other and once in while joust with them. I had seen them before in stores, but until this time they were only in the smaller sizes.

I snagged two small ones for Max and Rebecca and two big ones for Jake and Nate. When we got home I began to pump them up. At first I used our bicycle pump until I remembered the air pump up on the shelf. Hooray for air pumps! What would have taken over an hour was done in fifteen minutes. I tossed the balls out into the yard and this was what I got:

The hopper balls are a hit, the kids love doing races and crashing into each other.

Oh and Rebecca, she was delaying because she was eating a cheese wheel, silly girl.

Artist of the Week: Tower

Nate
Originally uploaded by Teckelcar

This week's artist is Nate. Now that baseball is over he can concentrate on such things as tennis, running around, bicycling, bugging Jake and building elaborate structures with his siblings.

Most of their structures are some sort of army base. Right now there is a huge one in the room he shares with Max. All of them have contributed to that particular structure, but this week it's all about Nate.

A couple of days ago Nate was playing with the wooden train track we have downstairs. WE have a big box full of track, tunnels, bridges, what have you. And then there is the big basket with trains and a castle. The stuff was not cheap, but it is holding up very well after six years of hard use.

tower
Originally uploaded by Teckelcar

Anyway, Nate made this tower out of train track. It so impressed his siblings that they all asked me to take a picture. You can see a little peek of solider on the ground floor of the tower.

What was really impressive about it was its stability, people thundered about and it stayed up. I *almost* felt bad when it got taken down.

So that is how he is spending his summer when he is not outside.

Walking With Dinosaurs

I favorited this video quite a while ago. I like seeing the whole process in making the dinosaurs "come to life."

The excerpts of the show don't really interest me, but the kids would probably like it. I know Max would go crazy over the triceratops.