To All Who Have Served

I want to say thank you.

Both my father and my husband’s stepfather fought in World War 2. Oddly enough they both served in the Navy. My father was on a minesweeper, one of the most boring and the most dangerous assignments.

The funny thing is if my father had not served he would not have qualified for the GI Bill and he would have never gone to College. As a result he would not have met my mother and I would never have been born.

So I really can say I owe my existence to a Veteran. I would like to thank all of you for what you do to keep us safe and to protect all that we value: life and liberty.

Thursday Three: Work

This week’s Axis of Weevil Thursday Three is all about work. Terry posts the following:

And entirely appropriate to the occasion, given the amount of stuff I have to do, it this week's questions are both supplied by our intrepid University Research Cadre AND deal with work! Hard to beat that, my friends.

SO, to get right into it:

1. What is the thing you like best about your job?
2. What one thing--mind you THING (i.e., not people)--that you would like most to change about your job?
3. What do you wish people knew about your job that you think they don’t?

Now, just because you don’t get a paycheck DOESN’T mean you can’t play along--working at home with kids is just as much a job as coming to work in a dead gray civil-service job of never-ending meaninglessness.

Not that I know anyone with a job like that.

Well I guess first off I should give a brief job description. I am the primary caregiver to four, yes four, rambunctious, loud and loving children ranging from 9 years old on down to four. I cook, shop and theoretically maintain this household. A portion of my time is also sent ferrying the said children about. We also have dogs, but they are not so much as a job, but rather a hobby.

1. I like the unlimited hugs and kisses with the occasional “I wuv you.” Basically I like the fact that I am here for my children and I get to be apart of all that happens and affects their lives. I’m molding tomorrow’s citizens and it is an monumental task. On a more prosaic level I like how I can stretch out on the couch mid-day and “rest my eyes.” Full access to the refrigerator and pantry are also a plus.


2. I would like it if someone could come in and do all the cleaning every day. I guess what I want is a full janitorial staff that follows the kids around. It would also be nice to be paid, but for that to happen we would all have to pay more taxes and I don’t want the government poking its nose into my family. So I am happy to skip the paycheck.


3. I would like it if people would acknowledge the fact that I do have a brain. My children are fairly smart and I really do have to do a fair amount of mental work to keep on top of things. Also it would be nice if people were aware that this job can be at times a never ending grind. Sometimes I’m not at my best and we all get a bit frayed around the edges at times. I try my best and generally I can take my children to public places without too much embarrassment on my part. Though there have been times when I have to do something and I have to carry a screaming small person and finish my mission. The only reason I stay up late at night is so I can have some time for myself.

Just Call Me Misty

I just got some FluMist squirted up my nose today, so excuse the odd faces I make as I struggle not to sneeze.

The flu is a serious thing in our household. It could be lethal for Max. As a result we have all been getting vaccinated against the flu for the past three years. Before Max’s diagnosis of CF I had a rather indifferent attitude towards the flu.

I don’t recall ever getting the flu shot before I moved to Wisconsin. The only reason I got the flu shot was that I was paid to do so. It was a very sweet deal. At some point in the summer paid volunteers were needed to test the new vaccine. A bunch of us from the lab would go in, fill out the paperwork, get a shot and then come back two weeks later for a blood draw to have our titers checked. It usually worked out to be five bucks for each visit, so you would end up being paid a grand total of $10. The nifty part was in addition to getting the shot you would also get to know how well your immune system responded to the shot from the results of the titer.

After we moved away I stopped getting an annual flu shot. I was spoiled by getting paid and it felt wrong for me to pay someone to give me the shot. All this changed in 2003. Now it is my yearly obsession to get my family immunized. 2003 was not a big deal. Larry got his a work, I got it at a supermarket flu shot clinic and the kids were done by our pediatrician. The only bad part was that since it was the first time for the kids they had to have two shots. At least in future years they would only have to have one.

Then there was 2004, as y’all remember it was a disaster. One of the manufacturers had a major problem and as a result there were shortages. Before it all hit the fan I had scheduled an appointment for the boys through their pediatrician. Max and Rebecca would get theirs at their 3 year check up in October. Unfortunately the pediatrician did not get theirs in time for Max and Rebecca and their shot clinics were already overbooked.  If fact there was no guaranteeing that these who had scheduled would get any at all. I tried to get one through the CF clinic for Max, but I was initially rebuffed. As I obsessed over what to do, I remembered that there was FluMist. It was available for ages 5 through 49, I could at least get Larry, myself, Jake and Nate inoculated. All I had to do was get a prescription for Jake and Nate. Even if I couldn’t get Max done I could get all the people in our family who were most likely to bring it home. Our pediatrician was game, but wanted me to clear it with the CF clinic. As I dutifully called the CF clinic I was informed that they now had the flu shot and I could bring Max in if I wanted. I practically tossed Max into the car and flew up to Richmond. I inquired if they could do Rebecca too, but their stocks were only for CF patients.  At this point I had everybody in our family covered except for Rebecca. Admittedly she was not a likely source for Max, but it would be nice to have her done as well. A few weeks later the pediatrician’s office called about Jake and Nate’s appointment. They now had the vaccine, but they wanted to limit to only those who truly needed it. Ah-ha! I now had an ace in the hole for Rebecca. I could turn the two shots into just one for Rebecca. She easily fell into the category of those needing it and I had two reserved. It all worked out and in the end we were all covered.

This year it is more of a distribution problem. I booked all four children this for a shot clinic in early December. In the meantime the CF clinic got its act together and actually offered to inoculate Max at his last CF appointment. I jumped on it and got Max squared away. It is much easier for me to wrangle three kids at a shot clinic than to deal with all four. Then, while discussing the whole flu shot thing with Larry, Jake and Nate informed us that they would rather have FluMist than a shot. OK, FluMist it is. I understand how much more appealing a squirt is over a shot and I think it is an overall better option than the shot. So I called the pediatrician’s office for a prescription for the boys. It turns out that this year they are offering FluMist. We could come in and skip the whole shot clinic thing. Woo-Hoo!  Three kids are done. Larry got his at work so it’s just the female portion of the family left. All throughout this I have been trying to go to a flu clinic, but I was either prevented by other stuff or it got cancelled. Finally I pulled up my socks and got all misty this morning. Once again little Miss Rebecca will be the last one done. I just wish it didn’t take so much effort.

Well I’m Glad That’s Over

The polls are closed so now I can answer the phone without trepidation. This past week we have had canned phone calls from Al Gore, Rudolf Giuliani, George W. Bush and Bill Clinton. I have decided that it is a very bad thing to live in one of the only two states that are having a gubernatorial election, but it is entertaining.

Normally if I answer the phone and I get the telltale long pause with a series of clicks I hang up. But after Al and Rudy left messages on our voice mail last week I decided to hang in there and see who else would call. Sadly, I personally did not answer the phone for George and Bill, but I do like the fact that they are both in my voice mail.

So you ask why are both parties harassing us.

For various reasons Larry has ended up on the Republican mailing list. I, meanwhile, have ended up on the bleeding heart liberal list due to the charities I contribute to. In reality we are neither. We actually vote on the issues and not just the party. I guess we are just special.

But for now the phone calls and mailings are over. That is, until the next election cycle.

I Did

Did you?

And You Want Me To Buy That?

Have you seen one of the new Passat ads? Namely the one titled “Checkpoint.”

It is possible one of the most idiotic ads I have ever seen. The message I get is that the car has so many nonstandard features it will attract the unwanted attentions of customs agents and it will get your car pulled out for an extensive search. The kind of search that results in your car getting completely disassembled and left for you to try to piece together.

Now I do have to admit that some of the new features are rather nifty. I like the idea of a cooled glovebox. The folding umbrella storage inside the driver’s door is ingenious. But the ad for the car, oh my, what were they thinking.

Yeah, I really want a car like that.

So Close

fallclassic2
Originally uploaded by Teckelcar.

This weekend Jake’s team participated in a local soccer tournament. In his age division there were eight teams entered. The teams were divided into two groups. Each team would play three games, two on Saturday and one on Sunday. Then the two group winners would play against each other for the championship.

Jake’s team dominated in their first two games. They played as a team and handily won both games. This was despite the abysmal officiating in the second game. We experienced random and capricious calls against our team. The most aggravating were the two disallowed goals. One goal was saved just inside the net. The goalie nabbed it and lay just inside for quite awhile until the ref decided it was not a goal. The other one occurred after their goalie did a very nice save. He scanned the field and threw the ball and it ended up just falling about four feet away from him and slowly rolled on the grass. It was a truly horrible throw. Most of the players on the field stood there, stunned when suddenly one of our players seized the moment, ran up and stuffed the ball in the net. In the end we won 4 to 1.

On Sunday our team’s record was 2-0 and our opponent was also 2-0. It was a tough team and they had soundly defeated us during regular season play. But I was hopeful. As I helped Jake with his cleats I told him he was going to be playing a tough team, but I thought his team had a very good chance in advancing to the finials. His team was playing very well together and the players had all shown improvement and had gained new skills. It was not the same team that had been beaten earlier in the season.

Larry then took Jake and Rebecca to the game. I was not going. Nate had Sunday school (so did Jake, but we decided he could miss it this time for his game) and I would be ferrying him up to Richmond with Max in tow. The game was scheduled for 8:00 am and would be over by 9:00. As I sat in with Max while waiting for Nate I called up Larry to get the news at around 9:30. They had tied! Unfortunately due to the formula to determine which team would advance the other team ended up going to the finials. The formula is based on total number of goals versus goals allowed and a few other factors. It turns out that if Jake’s team had gotten one more goal they would have been the team to advance to the finials. So close! In the end I was very proud of what the team had accomplished.

fallclassic1
Originally uploaded by Teckelcar.

Yummy Pumpkin Pie

At Jake’s request I made a pumpkin pie on Wednesday. It has been awhile and all that pumpkin carving had put me in the mood. The first task was to get my pumpkin pie plate out.

pumpkinplate
Originally uploaded by Teckelcar.

Isn’t it lovely? It just begs to be filled with a pumpkin pie. The pan’s fluted edges make it so easy to finish off the crust to make it pretty.

The pie itself is easy to make. It is a combination of three different recipes, one of them being off of the label of Libby packed pumpkin.

Sarah’s Pumpkin Pie:
2 eggs slightly beaten
1 can (1 ½ cups) of canned pumpkin*
¾ cup sugar
½ teaspoon of salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon
½ teaspoon ginger
¼ teaspoon ground cloves
¼ teaspoon nutmeg
¼ teaspoon mace**
1 ½ cups of undiluted evaporated milk
1 9 inch uncooked pie crust***

Preheat the oven to 425. Combine the filling ingredients in the above order. Mix well. Place the crust in the pie plate and trim the excess crust from the edges and set aside. Pour the mixture into the pie crust. I like to decorate the top of the pie with the excess pie crust. I roll out the extra dough and cut out shapes that I place on top of the filling. Bake the pie at 425 for 15 minutes then reduce the heat to 350 and bake an addition 40-50 minutes. The pie is done when a knife inserted in it comes out clean. The pie is best after it has completely cooled.

*Oddly the original Libby recipe called for one can, 16 oz. At some point during the past decade the can became only 15 oz and the recipe on the label was changed to reflect this. DON”T use the pumpkin pie filling, you want plain solid packed pumpkin.

** This can be optional.

***I use a Pillsbury rolled up pie crust. It is much easier than making it from scratch and they are always going on sale this time of year.

And here is the finished product.

pumpkinpie
Originally uploaded by Teckelcar.

Normally I cut out a little pumpkin shape and some leaves to put on top of the pie. But this time Jake wanted me to make the pie look like a jack-o’-lantern.

On Safari

I have a new horrible online addiction now and I want to share it with you. It is a live Wildcam of Pete’s pond in Botswana courtesy of National Geographic.

So far I have seen elephants (with babies!), ostriches, some other large bird, antelope, jackals and I think a warthog. This is from only two viewings totaling 30 minutes.

The Wildcam has an audio feed too and that alone is fun to listen to.

All you need the latest version of RealPlayer plugin and then you are good to go.

Thursday Three: Deep Ponderings!

Since Terry has gotten himself roped into this today he has gotten a wee bit philosophical about this whole blogging thing. To wit:
Today, since I have to get all practiced up for representing the ‘Stupid-Pointless’ branch of bloggerdom in front of a bunch of computer guys, I thought it might be good to do a little introspection to help me get my thoughts together about the topic. In doing so, I figured you could play along as well.
TO THAT END, we now present this week’s Axis of Weevil Thursday Three--Deeply Ponderful Edition!
Now then, answer the following questions either in your own blog and leave a link in the comments below, or use the comments as your substitute blog in case you don’t have one. As usual, anyone is welcome to play along.
SO--
1) If you have a blog, why did you start it? If you don’t have one, do you think you might start one? Why or why not?
2) What blogs do you read most often?
3) Finally, what do you consider to be the greatest strength(s) and most profound weakness(es) of blogging?
Okay, folks--go forth and cogitate, and tell us what you think.

1. Obviously, since y’all are over here reading this mess, I do indeed have a blog. I started this because... umm, because I’m good friends with Meryl and I had been spending waaaay too much time over in Terry’s comments. Being a stay at home mother of four children I enjoy the pseudo-contact with other adults and I like telling people of some of the absurd things going on here. I also like to share pictures of the things I do and see. One of the nicest side effects is that my mother (Hi Mom!) really loves reading about our goings on and she feels like she is much more a part of her grandchildren’s lives. This is primarily a mommy-blog with forays into food and dog shows. And cakes! I can’t forget about cakes!


2. Well I read my little link list every day with repeat stops at Terry’s to drop my so-called pearls of wisdom throughout the day. I generally gravitate towards the more humorous and/or parenting end of the spectrum. I avoid the hardcore political blogs, because they generally bore me. A few times a week I check on the CFF website (warning it takes forever to load) to see what is happening in research and drug development.


3. The greatest strength and weakness is that anybody can have a blog. I love the immediacy, but you have to also be willing to wait and see what develops.  Blogs are truly a yin yang state. I think overall blogging is a positive and is a great tool for freedom of expression. If you don’t like what you see you don’t have to sit there and read it. You are free to go elsewhere and maybe in the process you expand your horizons a little bit.

Artist of the Week: Sweater

This week’s artist is a long time friend of my mother’s. Annie was, in my eyes, a real New Yorker. She used to live on the Upper East Side with her mother. Their apartment always struck me as a huge place in such an exotic and exciting location. We would occasionally visit her in the city and she in turn would come see us in the wilds of Connecticut and later in Vermont. Not long after her mother passed away she packed up and moved to Vermont. She lives not far from my Mother’s new house and we try to stop by when we are in town.

This is a picture, from left to right, of Annie with my Brother’s Mother-in-Law and his wife. It was taken around the time of the wedding at my Mother’s old house.

Annie
Originally uploaded by Teckelcar.

Growing up Annie would be always giving my brother and me small gifts. After the birth of Jake she continued her generosity with my children. For Jake she knitted a lovely sweater. Both he and Nate have worn it and now it has been passed down to Rebecca.

sweatergirl1
Originally uploaded by Teckelcar.

It is a wonderful teally blue color and it has held up well over the years. I was going through a box of Nate’s cast offs a few weeks ago, sorting out what could be used for Max and Rebecca this winter when Rebecca spied it. She snatched it up and claimed it for her own. I think the color suits her. Her dark hair and eyes look beautiful with the vivid color of the sweater.

Hey! What's That in the Woods?

Remember that shed we are building?

When I last left off we had built the floor, roughly leveled it and constructed three of the four sides. Then our building project went on hiatus due to menacing hurricanes and seemingly endless rain.

Well last Sunday we finally built the forth wall and got them all erected!



It was not an easy task. The walls had to fit together just so and they were a bit heavier than I could manage even with Larry doing the bulk of the lifting. But we persevered and now we have something that looks almost shed like on our property. No children were squashed, but it was a close thing. They insisted on being right with us when we were putting the walls up.

I’ll be assembling the roof supports this week and *maybe* we will get them up next Sunday along with the roof deck. Larry is even thinking of taking a day off from work to do the shingling. Then we will only have two loose canons to fend off. Our goal is to have it built before winter.

Happy Halloween!

Halloween2005
Originally uploaded by Teckelcar.

Today was a busy day. I had a bunch of errands to run this morning and a dozen pumpkins to deal with before nightfall.

After the boys got on the bus Max, Rebecca and I headed back to the house. As the dynamic duo entertained them selves I paid bills and gathered the recyclables together to drop off at the curb. Once I was done we first went to supermarket where Max and Rebecca scored some lollipops. Then we went to the bank, where we got more lollipops. Our last stop was the Post Office, where there were no lollipops (a good thing in my eyes a very sad thing for the under 5 set). Then we headed home for some sort of lunch that did not involve candy.

After lunch I finally sat down and cleaned out our 12 pumpkins. Yes, that’s right, 12 pumpkins. I love Halloween and I love carving pumpkins. This is the only holiday that I do any decorating and I go whole hog. I am however not a complete nut and the kids are encouraged to design the pumpkins. Before the boys headed to school I had all four pick out three pumpkins apiece. I would clean out the pumpkins during the day; help Max and Rebecca with their pumpkins and then aid Nate and Jake when they get home from school.

Once the pumpkins were all clean and ready to be carved we headed out on a dump run. I really need to get rid of our garbage and our pile of cardboard was getting out of control. I could do curbside recycling of the cardboard, but then I would have to cut it all up. It is much easier to flatten it and take it to the dump. Max and Rebecca were more than happy to go along since the dump always results in lollipops. On the way home Rebecca fell asleep in the car.

Back home I placed Rebecca on the sofa. I then headed outside to string the pumpkin lights along our front walkway. When they were all plugged in I went back inside. Max and I then settled at the table and he directed me on how to carve the pumpkins. One of his pumpkins was unable to stand upright so we improvised and carved it with the pumpkin lying on its side. It was a nice quiet moment with the two of us working on a project together. Then it was Rebecca’s turn. I tried rousing her from her nap, but I wasn’t very successful. She was only half awake and she was not interested in pumpkin carving. So I decided that I would carve two without her input, I would save the third one for when she was a bit more alert. Just as I had finished the second pumpkin it was time to meet the boys at the bus stop.

Jake and Nate were very excited. As an added bonus they had no homework, a sensible decision from their respective teachers. I first corralled Jake and gave him a sharpie to draw his designs on his pumpkins. I then headed up to the attic to fetch out pumpkin cutters set. Pumpkin cutters are essentially like cookie cutters, but using traditional pumpkin carving shapes. They are much safer than knives and Nate loves whacking on them with the world’s smelliest rubber mallet (it came with the kit and it reeks). I then alternated with Jake and Nate, either carving or steadying the pumpkins. We were done in short order and took all of the carved pumpkins outside to the front of the house.

At this point I tried to awaken Rebecca again and I was much more successful. She was much more alert and was willing to help with the carving of the final pumpkin. After a small discussion we settled on a kitty cat. If you click on the picture of Jake below it will take you to a whole set of photos of the kids and each of their pumpkins.

Jake1
Originally uploaded by Teckelcar.

Next is a picture of the front of the house with the pumpkin lights on and the pumpkins all lit. If you look carefully (click the picture then “all sizes”) at the second floor window with a light in it, you can just make out a white blob that is Eek the fish.

pumpkinlights
Originally uploaded by Teckelcar.

Then it was time to make dinner. It was a quick affair of hot dogs for the kids and steak kabobs for the adults. Finally it was trick or treat time. This year I ended up taking the kids and Larry manned the candy bowl at home. It was perfect weather, the velvet black sky was filled with brilliant stars and not a single cloud to obscure them from sight. With glow sticks and buckets in hand we headed out with our wagon. We went to a fair number of houses and Max, Rebecca and Nate alternated between walking and riding in the wagon. It was a very happy crowd when we headed back home.

Funeral for a Fish

funeral
Originally uploaded by Teckelcar.

Last weekend I had to do something about one of our goldfish. For the past five years we have had two goldfish that we inherited when our friends down the street moved. One fish is a Red-Capped Orada (bottom picture) that was renamed Eek and the other was a Calico, renamed Cart, that later turned pure white. They were normal sized goldfish when we first got them. Since then they have grown enormously. Their bodies alone are the size of a little league baseball. I had positioned their tank in front of one of the windows in Jake and Nate’s room and you can actually see them when standing outside and looking up at the their second floor window.

Cart had always been the more sensitive of the two fish. When we were without power for several days post hurricane Isabel, Cart was the first one to feel the affects of low oxygen levels (the tanks pump wasn’t working, so the tank was no longer getting re-oxygenated). Cart would listlessly float about the tank until I manually agitated the water. After the first day I tracked down a battery operated pump and Cart slowly recovered.

For about a week Cart had been floating oddly in the tank sometimes sideways and occasionally upside-down. In the end Cart settled on the bottom of the tank, lying on his side jammed in the corner. At first I keep freeing Cart, but I knew my handling of him was just furthering his stress. He was still eating, but his quality of life was close to nil. It did not look like Cart was going to get any better.

I ended up having some very serious conversions with Jake and Nate over what would be best for Cart. I broached the subject with Jake first, when I was alone with him in the car. I knew he would need more time than Nate to come to terms with the whole idea of euthanizing Cart. He was very upset at first, but he did agree with me that now life was not much fun for Cart. With Nate I waited for a moment when everybody else was outside. He too was upset, but he quickly understood what needed to be done. I had to talk to the boys about what I was going to do, because I will not lie to them and say Cart just died. It would not be right. That Sunday I brought an end to Cart’s suffering.

So for the past week I have had a fish in the freezer. Between soccer, rain and homework we have been too busy for Cart’s final arrangements. The first time I opened the freezer door I was unnerved by the site of the frozen fish staring at me. Subsequent times I was less and less startled by it. Finally on Saturday it was clear and dry and I decided it was time. I wrapped Cart (still in his baggy) in tissue and placed him in an old check box. We went to the edge of our property and chose a spot for him. Max and Rebecca came along with Jake, Nate and I. Up until this point Max and Rebecca had been unaware of what was going on. I carefully explained to them that Cart was dead and we were going to bury him. They were fine until I placed the box in the hole. Rebecca promptly burst into tears and pleaded with me not to bury him. Max meanwhile kept asking me if there was more water down there and would it make him better. In the end Rebecca got over it, but I really don’t think Max grasped the whole concept of death. I really dread the day when we lose one of our dogs.

Fairy Tale Parade

Today Nate’s class had its Fairy Tale Parade. All of the first graders were ask to select their favorite fairy tale character and bring a simple costume to wear this afternoon at school.

After a great deal of thought Nate settled on the Baby Bear from Dusty Locks and the Three Bears. On the sheet provided he drew a nice picture of a bear and finished the statement “The character I choose is baby bear. I want to be this character because he is funny and he has the best lines in Dusty Locks and the three Bears.” All that was left was the costume. We ended up getting a new oatmeal color sweater last night and a brown hat. My idea was that I could attach little ears to the hat and we could use some Halloween make up on his face to make him look a bit more ursine. When we got home I remembered that Max and Rebecca had some very cute teddy bear hats from when they were younger. After some digging I found one and wonder of wonders I could jam it on his head. The costume was complete.

The parade was scheduled for 2:00 pm and I showed up with Max and Rebecca in tow. Here is Nate as his class wound its way through the school.

fairytale
Originally uploaded by Teckelcar.
From left to right we have:
The Gingerbread man, the Fairy Godmother, Nate, Cinderella (before), Rapunzel and the sleeve of Cinderella (after).

After the parade each child sat in the story chair and described who they were and why. There were numerous Cinderellas, two Fairy Godmothers, Peter Pan, Captain Hook, Puss in Boots and a slew of others. The Puss in Boots was very interesting. When the boy was asked from what fairytale did the character come from he replied Shrek. It was not completely unexpected answer, but not quite keeping with the book idea. Well, at least it’s a good movie.

When it was Nate’s turn he gave me a little surprise. He told the class that he was the Wolf and he picked the Wolf because he likes wolves. So much for his original choice of being Baby Bear, it turns out his teacher thought he was a wolf when she first saw him. Nate liked that idea so much he switched over to being a wolf instead.

Then we all had cupcakes and cookies for snack.

Thursday Three: Weather!

Oh, sure--laugh at the weather guy get blowed away real good…
But don’t tell me YOU’VE never done stuff just as dumb!
Boy, I sure hope you have.
BECAUSE, today just happens to be Thursday, and after a long e-mail exchange with the always engaging, self-proclaimed weather junkie Sarah G., she just happened to hit upon an idea for a certain every-Thursday game we play around here. After witnessing Mr. Al Roker’s foolhardiness and subsequent fall-down-go-boomage during the late passing of Hurricane Wilma, Sarah said: “The Thursday Three should be about the most idiotic things you have done in bad weather.”NOT BEING ONE TO TURN DOWN A REQUEST FROM A BRUNETTE WITH FOUR CHILDREN--we herewith offer you
The Axis of Weevil “Great Big Moron Against the Elements” Edition of the Thursday Three!
[polite applause]
Now then, we want you to name the THREE most idiotic things you’ve ever done to prove yourself against the forces of Mother Nature. This doesn’t have to be just weather, though, even though Sarah would probably like it that way, but can be any of the forces of Nature--gravity, weather, earthquakes, electromagnetism…

Why thank you Terry. Now on to my own personal moments of weather related brilliance. For some reason they are all car related. I guess getting behind the wheel of a car somehow grants me greater self confidence in my abilities than they really merit. I will note however two occurred during college and shortly afterwards, so age may have been a factor.

1. Driving home for Thanksgiving in a snowstorm. Sounds relatively innocent, but you have to realize that I was driving from Connecticut to Vermont right along with the storm. The truly brilliant part was that I was driving my Super Beetle, a car notorious for no heat and essentially no defrost for the front windshield (all it could do was generate two half dollar sized clear spots). I remember the car effortlessly plowing through the few small drifts of snow in the underclassmen parking lot and chuckling at the more expensive cars trapped within those same drifts. Connecticut and the first half of Massachusetts were not too bad. The snow was getting heavier, but it was doable, then I hit the leading edge of the storm. It was a wet slushy mix falling from the sky and sticking to the windshield. My wiper blades could just barely keep up until a truck would pass me. A great spray of muck would be slapped against my windshield; freeze and I would be almost blinded. I would then pull over and scrape the window and then drive on. I don’t know why I didn’t pull over and call home. My mom would have happily come down to rescue me. I had a phone card and there were plenty of exits. In the end I did make it home in one piece.


2. My next incident happened when I was living in Wisconsin, but before Larry and I got married. It was wintertime, almost spring and a Friday night. The roads were slippery with isolated patches of ice. I had gone out to meet some friends in a bar. The drive was fine until I reached the restaurant where the bar was located. To get to the bar you had to turn into a largish parking lot travel down a small dip and up a short but steep hill to the bar’s section of the lot. The hill was a sheet of ice. The first time I got a third of the way up it until my car slid back down. I kept gunning the car up the hill until I made it. The lot was nearly empty so I was never in actual danger of hitting another car, but it was still stupid. I should have parked in the lower section and walked up. I guess it was a little bit fun and a challenge to my driving abilities.


3. My third weather related stupidity also occurred in Wisconsin, but after Larry and I had married and I was pregnant with our first child. The Midwest was experiencing an extreme cold snap. For a week the highs never climbed above -20 (that’s right 20 degrees BELOW zero) and the lows hovered around 40 below. As a result AAA was slammed and it was almost impossible to get a tow or a jumpstart. We were fortunate in that one of our cars would still start in the extreme cold. One night had gone out to dinner to celebrate a friend’s birthday. We found a parking spot just outside of the restaurant, but we had to park ontop of some large lumps of ice/snow. When we were done with dinner went outside to discover our car’s left front tire was flat as a pancake. We tried calling AAA and we could get was a busy signal. So we decided to change the tire ourselves (remember it was extremely cold and dark, not the best situation to change a tire and I was quite pregnant and somewhat useless). We got the car jacked up and the lug nuts off, but the tire was frozen onto the car. We could not get it off. I called the police for assistance, but no luck. For some strange reason I was convinced that the restaurant had a sledge hammer and I went inside to ask if they had one and if we could borrow it. I went in and the owner was right there so I asked him. He then stared at me for a few seconds and then said yes we could. Talk about luck! It was amazing he had one and even more so that he loaned it to us. I think that I was a harmless looking and obviously pregnant aided my case. With a couple of mighty whacks to the tire Larry got it off and put on the spare. I then returned the sledge hammer with profuse thanks. We should have paid for a nice level space in a parking garage or gotten a friend to take us home. We were lucky that it all worked out and that we did not get frost bitten.

Can I Fix It?

Yes I can!

Last week the flush lever to the upstairs’ toilet broke off. Since then we have resorted to a piece of string.

See the sad busted lever and the pathetic piece of string?

As I stood surveying my options at Lowe’s I decided to go whole hog and replace everything in the tank. It had been making a god awful racket when it was refilling and I was pretty sure that in its 17 years nothing had been replaced in the tank. I figured it was only a matter of time before other parts failed and it would be nice to only have to empty the tank once. Ironically that night while surfing the web I discovered that October is National Toilet Repair Month. Obviously I was fated to do this home repair project. Once home I realized I forgot to get a new lever, thus delaying the project for a few more days.

Last night, after the kids were put to bed I gathered my supplies and started in on my project. Having replaced a fill valve before, I understood the importance of a bucket and a sponge. Off went the water and I did a final flush with the piece of string. The fill valve was a snap and was easy to unscrew. The tank bolts were a bit more problematic. After five minutes spinning a nut and its screw I finally realized that I needed to use my screwdriver and the vise grips at the same time (Duh). Then it was just a few minutes later that I got to lift off the tank. I was then confronted with the flush valve in all its plastic glory. I attempted to unscrew it and it snapped right off. The monstrous fastener on the underside was too big for my pliers and I couldn’t get a decent grip on it. While messing about with my screwdriver I discovered that the plastic was very brittle and chipped easily. Ah-ha! I’ll just break it out. It was busted and I was going to chuck so it was a good solution. With careful use of my pliers I got it out without harming the tank. I quickly wiped out the tank and here it is in all its empty glory.

Now for the fun part, I get to put it all back together. It actually went pretty well. It was much better (and faster) than if I had any of my assistants with me. I ended up putting the tank back on three times. The first time as I was halfway done with the screws when I realized I forgot to put a gasket on. The second time I decided that I needed to reposition the flush valve. The third time was the charm. Fortunately I realized beforehand it would be easier to put the new fittings on the supply line before all of my tank shenanigans. The rest went very smoothly and I had it all together in short order. Then it was time to put it to the test. I opened up the supply valve and... No leaks! Hooray! Then I did the inaugural flush and it worked! As an added bonus the horrible sound is gone.

Here it is with its shiny, shiny handle.

Now all it needs is a new seat. But that can wait for another day.

It Pays To Be Cute

M&Rflowers
Originally uploaded by Teckelcar.

Years ago when we had just Jake we would occasionally go out to eat as a family. Jake was always very cute and a big hit with the waitstaff. Inevitably he would end up with a cookie or a piece of candy by the end of the meal. When we had Nate the cuteness quotient doubled. There was a diner we would go to when we were living in PA and they would give the boys little stuffed animals (pretty neat considering Nate was only a few months old). Now with four children in tow we don’t get as many treats as when we had just two. However, when I’m out with just Max and Rebecca they do score some tasty items.

Today I went to Costco with the dynamic duo. Whenever we go to Costco we stop at the bakery to watch the Cake Decorating Lady. It is fascinating watching her manipulate the huge tubs of frosting and effortlessly frost the sheet cakes. Today she was making roses for two cakes as the person who ordered them also watched. I chatted with the other customer and we agreed that we were very impressed with the Lady’s rose making skills. I confessed that every time we come to Costco we have to stop and watch. Max and Rebecca are huge fans of the bakery staff in general and the CDL in particular. When the cakes were done they were sent through the plastic wrap machine, a very cool thing to watch by the way, and the other customer went away with her two cakes.

As we were preparing to leave the CDL asked us to wait one moment, she wanted to give us something. She then proceeded to make Max and Rebecca their very own roses. The finished roses were placed into to muffin papers and leaves were then added. When she was all done she presented her creations to us and said these were for her biggest fans. Max and Rebecca’s faces lit up. I was amazed at her kindness and generosity. The CDL got big smiles, profuse thank yous and a cheery wave as we moved on.

So for lunch today Max and Rebecca had a banana, some frosting, a little soup and a sandwich. Cuteness has its advantages.

Man vs Hurricane

Found this rather amusing series of photos of Al Roker vs Wilma.

If you are running Windows Media Player 9 and Internet Explorer you can see the accompanying video.

How Do I Love My Pediatricians...

Let me Count The Ways.

I have two more reasons to love the pediatric practice we use.

Last Monday I hauled Nate in to be checked out. He had been dragging around for over a week and had developed a nasty cough. The Doctor quickly determined it was strep based on his cough and the rawness of Nate’s throat. I was surprised, but not shocked. This time he did not have the classic lethargy or high fever, but it did fit in with the rest of the symptoms. The Doctor then told me that he decided to forgo the throat swab since Nate had a double ear infection (I would like to note here that Nate almost never complains of a sore throat or his ears hurting, he is a tough little guy. However, this makes my job much harder to tell if he is ailing or not.) The Doctor saw no sense in torturing the child any further since the antibiotics for his ear infection would knock out strep as well. I liked his sensible approach.

Today I had to bring Jake in for a recheck and to get him cleared for school. On Saturday the walk-in clinic performed a blood count and his white blood cell count was a bit more elevated that the Doctor expected. He wanted us to check base with Jake’s regular physician on Monday to make sure that he was getting better. Jake after two days of antibiotics was much improved and was, in my opinion, ready for school. Today’s Doctor agreed and sent us on our way. The nice thing was since this was a recheck we were not charged for the visit. I thought this was outstanding since the original examination was at another practice.

I really love our pediatricians. It is a group practice and I haven’t met a dud yet. They are sensible people that practice good medicine. Another plus is that they treat me as a rational and intelligent person, a nice break from some Doctors that I have dealt with in the past.