Memorial Day Weekend

It was a rough work week after the long holiday. I'm just now getting to catch up on our weekend activites. The kids attended a birthday party at the Natatorium Friday night. Sunday we all went ice skating. This was a lot harder than it usually is, the ice was actually frozen. Monday I took the kids roller skating with the cub scouts. Sunil wore his own rollerblades (with training wheels) half the time and traditional skates half the timeSheela, Sunil and Zack (from up the street) sanded the shoe rack/bench that Sid built. We didn't get as far as painting it but it should be done tomorrow.

My Wolf Cub Turns Seven

Yesterday the cub scouts had their graduation ceremony. Sunil has achieved the rank of Wolf Cub. Typically this is when we get to start over with a whole new uniform. Actually, the shirt and belt are the same, the new neckerchief and slide were gifts from the pack. All I have to buy is a new belt buckle. I did buy him the wolf "baseball" cap too. As part of the ceremony his akela gets to change the neckerchief and present his awards. Here Sid does the honors.

This morning the little wolf was treated to donuts in bed in honor of his seventh birthday. The day should be more a less a party from the beginning. Today is Field Day at school. There are 36 different game stations about a third of which involve getting wet. We will go out to dinner tonight too.

Nonlinear time

I haven't mentioned it lately but I love my stackable, energy efficient washer and dryer.  I appreciate them every week but I've noticed that time doesn't work in the same straight forward fashion where they are concerned.  I first noticed it with the washer.  A typical wash cycle is 35 minutes.  It even tells you this when you turn the cycle on plus there is a handy digital display so you can keep track of the time remaining.  Theoretically then 36 minutes after starting a load it should be ready for the next load.  But instead it will get down to two minutes remaining and stay there for 2-5 minutes.  Which isn't too bad, when you get down to one minute remaining it can take as long as 10 minutes to stop.  Actually at that stage of the game it stops frequently according to all outward appearance and sounds but after resting for a minute or two it will rotate one more time before returning to hibernation.

 

What I didn't notice until yesterday is that the dryer has a strange sense of time too.  Again a typical drying cycle, according to the display, is 35 minuntes.  But by throwing a dry towel in with a wet load you should be able to cut the srying time roughly in half.  When I try this the timer cuts off about 15 minutes, this didn't seem strange.  My understanding is that it calculates drying time by humidity levels in the drum.  But after another five minutes or so it will add back ten minutes.  In the end I'm always surprised to find that the machine is still running when I think it should be done or that it is done when I think it should have stopped.

 

On a vaugely related note it does appear that adding the dry towel really does cut the drying time.

 

 

 

Home again again

Daddy is back! He even walked in under his own steam, much better than the paramedics carrying him out. His first question upon returning was about the health and welfare of his plants... he must be better.

Sprinklers for barter

In lieu of repairing the damage to Sid's car, the guy that hit him put in a sprinkler system for us which we wanted but weren't ready to pay for.  Of course now have to fix the car... Of course Sid's got a guy....

Any how the new system took 15 guys less than four hours to set up from start to finish.  It has 8 zones and a rain guage.

What a differance a day makes

Daddy looks great today!  He feels 100% better and looks even better than that. 

Hospital Again

Daddy dehydrated yesterday and then fainted.  He ended up back in the ER for the night, once again there weren't any available rooms for the night.  He's absorbed plenty of IV liquids and is much better this morning.  He moved to a room was given his breakfast.  He may stay another day or two but we expect him back home before much longer.

It's less about willpower and more about reputation

I just ate a huge, and unnecessary, slice of lemon cake topped with 1" of buttercream icing and lemon gel.  I wasn't hungry.  I wasn't craving sweets.  I was not being pressured by anyone in particular to fatten up.  But I'm well known around here for always trying the cakes, pies, cookies, etc.  As soon as someone spots a "food" celebration of any kind, but particularly the sweets I start getting phone calls.  As I love being kept informed of everything large and small I make it appoint to never pass up the eats when the communication network kicks in.  On the other hand when a get calls number 2-10 I tell them I've already had my piece…. Maybe I could tell that to caller number one as well. 

 

Home

Daddy came home from the hospital last night.  I think that he is pleased to be back.  He's not entirely back to normal but he is well on his way.

 

Hospital Update

Daddy is still in the hospital but feeling a little bit better and being allowed to drink clear liquids.  He will graduate to soft foods by the end of the day and may come home tomorrow.  We bought him plain yogurt to start off, the hospital would gladly supply fruit flavored yogurt but they don't carry plain and he's always eaten it plain.  In general my high opinion of the hospital is slipping a bit here and there.  The waiting 22 hours to get out of the ER and in to a room seemed to be excessive, the cafeteria closing at 2:00PM so Mommy has to by dinner at lunch time and hold on to it was a stretch but apparently the cafeteria isn't open at all on Sundays.  I didn't find this out until this afternoon.  We've been taking turns bringing Mommy home every day for an hour or two to get cleaned up and eat at least one meal.  She has been taking stuff back for in the evenings to supplement what she can get out of the cafeteria.  I would have made more of an effort to go out there last night if I'd known she only had one portion of Ramen noodles.

What a weekend!!

Sunil and I camped up at Lake Texoma with the Cub Scouts on both Friday and Saturday. There wasn't much expected of us in the way of organized activities so the kids spent their down time climbing all over these two stacks of felled trees. They were stacked up to about nine feet high at the highest point.

We also hiked to the lake twice, once off trail and once along the jeep road as part of a scavenger hunt.

The weather was nearly perfect. It was in the upper 60s at night and upper 80s during the day. Cool enough for a campfire but warm enough to be comfortable. We told the boys they could start the fire at anytime as long as they used only sticks, twigs and pine needles. But we'd light a fire with a match around dinner time. They rubbed those sticks together for over an hour.

While we camped and hiked Sid and Sheela went with the HATs crew on a multi-age mountain bike trip at Lake Ray Hubbard. They did some paved path, some jeep road and a little bit of trail, then ended it with a swim in the lake. In the evening they went to a crawfish boil.

Sunday we managed to surprise Sunil with a birthday party in our own backyard. I think there were 12 kids there, mostly from the neighborhood. We borrowed the nine foot tall inflatable waterfall, and gave all the kids serious squirt guns. The kids that lived close then ran home and came back with their super-serious water arsenals and it was a free for all followed by cake. A good time was had by all.


By the end of the night I was wiped out. Sid managed to convince the kids to cook dinner for us (well, reheat all of the leftovers) and serve us while we lay on the couch in front of a movie. It was approximately our millionth viewing of The Incredibles.

Camp James Ray

Sunil and I have gone camping for the weekend with his cub scout pack.  It is a two night event but we are the only ones here form his den.  Some of the others will come for the day tomorrow and almost everyone will stay the night. 

It was after 9PM and already dark when we arrived so we haven't really seen the place but it seems nice.  Our tent is snug and comfortable.  Sunil is sprawled out next to me on the air mattress sound asleep.  I can't seem to fall asleep though I'm pretty relaxed.  I think the problem is that I miss my pillow, I don't rough it as well as I used to.

F-I-L

It looks like my father-in-law is in the hospital for a few days.  He has pancreatitis so he is really appreciating that morphine drip right about now.  The normal causes have been ruled out (gallstones and heavy drinking) so they still have some work to do before they can really determine a treatment plan (aside from the standard 3-4 days without food).  At least they have addressed the pain.

A quiet celebration

My 40^th birthday has come and gone.  It was low key and perfect.  I was taken to lunch by a huge group of friends from work and had a quiet dinner at home with the family.  I've received two cakes, a ton of chocolate, a bouquet of flowers, a few gifts, many cards and emails.  Life is good!

The cat genie saga continues....

Gina loved the Genie but she wasn't ever very clear on the dig and bury concept. She figured if her front feet were in she was good to go.... so she peed over the side many times ever day. Maya being much smaller can at least get all the way in and seems to have the basics down but she hasn't adjusted to the washable granules. SO she is back using clay litter in a metal tray. They tray is slowly migrating across the room to be in the vicinity of the Genie. The we will start the conversion process from one to the other. We are following a very detailed (usually successful) method and I have high hopes for our eventual success.

Scouting

I attended my first scout meeting last week. The cubs made birdfeeders and we planned for next weekend's two night camping trip.

Happy Mother's Day to us all

Here Sunil and his best friend put on a Mother's Day show.

Hello Summer

We jumped up into the upper 90s yesterday and it looks like summer is here to stay.  Apparently I napped through the heat yesterday (I took the afternoon off from work) and was totally unprepared to sweat through today's t-ball game.  Sunil and I have each finished a water bottle and they haven't even finished warming up yet.  I'm off to the snack bar to blow our hot dog money on sport drinks.  Have I mentioned how wonderful the shade structures are lately?

We are pleased to introduce.... Maya

She is roughly seven weeks old and very sweet. Today she was allowed access to only the master bathroom. Tonight she and the children will also be allowed in the master bedroom (while Sid and I sleep somewhere else). Tomorrow she will get to spend some time in the rest of the house.

Gina

It was a sad day here today. I had to have Gina put to sleep. She was not feeling quite the thing this morning. Her kidneys had failed as a result of what was probably cancer in her stomach. I was with her at the end and had a chance to say goodbye myself. I've told already told Sid and Sheela and will tell Sunil when he gets home from his friend's house.

I picked Gina out as a kitten 14 years ago while Sid's ship was deployed. At that time she weighed less than a pound. It was just the two of us for the first few months and then again when Sid was off in Indianapolis (changing his name to Sid). She lived with me in eight different houses/apartments over three states. She weighed as much as 18 pounds but still managed to jump up on the bed, chairs and counters. She slept beside me part of the night almost every night. I'm really going to miss her.

You might be from Texas if

The birdbath in your front yard was purchased at the local grocery store, is shaped like the "Great State", displays boots, longhorns and/or the state seal. You are from somewhere else but have lived here too long if you see it and even for a minute think "hey, that's cool!"

I need to leave.