April 26, 2008
Saturday School
We went to Michaels today to buy supplies for a Cell project Ashley needed to make for science class.
She painted her Styrofoam Cell red:
She used modeling clay to form the Cell organelles:
Here, she cut out labels to mark each Cell organelle:
This is the completed Cell:
Can you tell we spent $40? Yep. That’s right. $40 and we had our own paint! Kevin helped her cut the Styrofoam, but other than that she did the entire project herself. I think she deserves an A.
Posted by tami at 11:18 PM Comments (4)
April 25, 2008
Glow
I spent the greater part of the day cleaning and then Kevin and I shopped for cook-out food.
He grilled hamburgers (which later became cheeseburgers):
I found some potato salad that tastes just like what I make. It’s called Egg Mustard Potato Salad and it is delicious! I may never make my own again!
*****
For many years, our front porch light has needed replacing. In fact, we never replaced the bulbs when they blew in this old one:
That fact doesn’t sound bad until you find out we have lived here twelve years at the end of May!
We replaced the old fixture because it was rusted and looked cruddy.
This is the new fixture complete with energy efficient bulbs:
The neighbors won’t know what to think of our new glow!
Posted by tami at 10:18 PM Comments (1)
April 24, 2008
Tabitha
I am currently reading a book written by Stephen King. He never fails to surprise and amaze me. His imagination and depth are endless.
When I read him, I ask myself the theoretical question, what would it be like to be his wife, Tabitha? Is she just as amazed as I am that he has such a wonderful gift for writing? Would she ever want to be the main character in one of his stories? If I were married to him, I would ask him if he would write me into one of his stories. It would be very interesting to see what he would do with my character if he had the chance.
I also wonder if he has ever written anything that truly disturbed her and made her wonder if she wants to share the same bed with him at night. In other words, has he ever really freaked her out with the thoughts that run through his head?
Posted by tami at 2:39 PM Comments (6)
April 23, 2008
Another Sign of Spring
On August 22, 2007 I shared this photo with you of two tobacco worms:
Since August, these worms have been in their cocoons; that is, until this morning.
At 6:30 AM, Ashley was awakened by scratching inside the shoebox which held the cocoons. From previous experience, she immediately knew what that scratching meant.
One of the cocoons had opened:
This is the moth which had emerged and was frantically scratching to get out:
Pay close attention to those antennae. They look like miniature feathers and are simply marvelous!
You don’t know how many times I was tempted to throw this shoebox away. Even having gone through this before, I still find it hard to envision something happening inside the dried-up cocoons after all these months. It’s almost as long as a woman is pregnant!
Now, we have one more to go!
Posted by tami at 11:32 AM Comments (1)
April 22, 2008
Sound Observations
Spring is here. I want to say summer, but then correct myself quickly. It’s not summer yet; but it will be soon enough.
It is time, however for the sounds of summer; the sounds you hear while the screen door is all that keeps the cat between here and the green, green grass outdoors. The birds twitter their little heads off as they mate or prepare their nests and all along the street you can either hear a lawn mower or weed eater; usually both at the same time.
After school hours, you hear screen doors slam again and again as children’s voices call to each other. You also frequently hear a female voice; this would be one of the children’s mothers.
I venture outside longing for the sun to shine on my face. The bees buzz loudly around my head as I sit and read.
There is a cobweb in the corner of our swing which I didn’t even notice until Ashley pointed it out. It doesn’t bother me and I continue to sit and read. The bees are too much for her liking, even though I have only seen two; I can ignore them, but she can’t.
After she returns to the safe haven of our house, I see something move out of the corner of my eye. It is a smallish, black and white, and plump-looking spider. Since it heads towards the web Ashley alerted me to earlier, I assume it “lives” here.
I sit in the swing a little longer, but think it would be wiser to head for the house. I have been outside long enough anyway. My body is warm from the sun and it is dinnertime.
Posted by tami at 3:33 PM Comments (2)
April 18, 2008
A Bloomin' Update
The Bleeding Heart is on its way! It will get much bigger than this and become almost bush-like:
The Phlox is in full bloom by the mailbox:
This is as far as the Dogwood tree has gotten:
Posted by tami at 8:47 PM Comments (2)
April 17, 2008
Green Means Good
We cooked out for the first time this year:
Yes, it was as good as it looks.
Since we eat out in Lexington every weekend, THIS news thrills me to no end. I cannot wait to see what some of these places score. What do you think; is this something you will pay attention to?
Posted by tami at 9:17 PM Comments (5)
April 16, 2008
Save Your Yarn!
This is totally serious:
Photo submitted by: Mr.Gadget.
It’s a sweater that provides privacy for a person using a laptop while in public.
You can see more photos HERE.
Read about it at Engadget.
This isn’t even safe. Can you imagine having this on and someone coming up and stealing your purse or doing something to you … not to mention how moronic you would look?
Posted by tami at 11:00 PM Comments (2)
April 15, 2008
Groomers
I took Guido to the vet today to get his yearly heartworm test. (It was fine.) While we were there, I also had his nails clipped and his anal glands “expressed”. Unfortunately, we do have an anal gland issue.
Upon returning home, I looked at my bill and saw that I paid $10 for the nail clipping and another $10 to have his anal glands expressed. I know this isn’t a bad price, so don’t think I am complaining. I am curious though how much other people pay for these same services.
I know some of you take your pet to a groomer and they get a bath while there. How much is this service? If you live in the Lexington/Winchester area, do you have any recommendations where I could take Guido for a bath, clipping, and so on? The place needs to be clean and the people need to be friendly. Guido doesn’t need to deal with a frustrated groomer ;)
Another question I have for anyone out there is: how much do you trust your groomer? Is the groomer going to clip their nails as well as the vet does? Or, do you feel the groomer is more qualified to do this? Do groomers have to be licensed or have special schooling?
As you can tell, I am ignorant when it comes to groomers. Please, enlighten me!
Posted by tami at 3:28 PM Comments (2)
April 14, 2008
Horses
I want to share a tiny bit of the Bluegrass State with you:
Beauty is all around if you just take a moment to look:
Posted by tami at 7:44 PM Comments (2)
April 10, 2008
No! Church! No!
This is Guido:
He is a Pug.
He is outside.
He is very happy.
This is Church:
He is a cat.
He is inside.
He is ticked.
He wants to squeeze Guido.
Posted by tami at 10:26 PM Comments (4)
April 9, 2008
Kim & Aggie
I love the British television show How Clean is Your House?. More than a few years ago, we had BBC America. I have missed this show immensely, so imagine my surprise when I searched for it on YouTube and found many, many episodes! Below, I have given three links, parts 1-3. It is actually only one episode; however YouTube only allows 10-minute videos, so people have to sort them into parts. I hope you enjoy it as much as I do.
Filthy Couple of Beggars part 1
Filthy Couple of Beggars part 2
Filthy Couple of Beggars part 3
After getting the links above, I hit the jackpot with RIPLeuchtenberg's Channel on YouTube. This person has a TON of these shows posted! Hopefully you have watched the episode I linked to at the beginning and are now hooked. This show will make you want to clean and sort! What could be bad about that?
** I will say that anyone with pets is challenged as far as keeping things hair free is concerned. I can look on the floor five minutes after I’ve swept and there is already Guido hair. Since it is never-ending, I have learned to not worry about it so much. I only sweep about three days a week and I’m not ashamed of it. We live in our house; it is not a museum; it is not perfect.
Posted by tami at 11:31 AM Comments (4)
April 8, 2008
A Great Place To Read
Today I spent some time picking up sticks from our Weeping Willow tree and removing old leaves from the front garden. There is much work to be done for instance; trimming the bushes, but that will wait for a day when Kevin is home to help.
I did manage to get the umbrella out by myself and move the furniture to the patio:
This may not be its home for the entire summer, but for right now, it will do.
While I worked, Guido romped through the jungle:
Yes, we need to mow. That will be a weekend job; maybe this weekend if we don’t get too much rain the next few days.
Posted by tami at 3:04 PM Comments (3)
April 7, 2008
Let The Sunshine In
Kevin and I saw this little guy right off the bat on our walk:
He never paid any attention to us and enjoyed his venture out in the green grass and sun:
The pink blossoms on this tree are stunning:
There’s no telling when this brick sidewalk was laid. I love seeing the purple flowers on the hillside:
I have no idea what kind of tree this is, but I enjoyed seeing the flowers. I am wondering what it will look like once the flowers are gone:
This was a bush, but I couldn’t tell you the name. I am definitely not schooled in the ways of gardening like Gardenwife and Tammy. You can tell me the name of a plant or flower and I won’t remember it the next day!
These are only a few of the pretty sights we saw. I enjoyed the day immensely and the sunshine did me good :)
Posted by tami at 9:08 AM Comments (2)
April 6, 2008
Trashy
I have wanted to post about a trash problem for some time now, but I have avoided it because it sounds as if I am always moaning about something. I can’t help it though. I have to say something because this is an issue which disturbs me.
A short walk down from one of our middle schools is a Dairy Queen. Many middle school kids are dropped off by their parents at this Dairy Queen in the morning. This way, the kids can grab something to eat or drink and then walk the rest of the way to school.
The problem is that these kids are throwing their trash everywhere; specifically in this ditch:
This is what it looks like upon closer inspection:
They also let it fly through the air and it ends up here:
And here:
Since this land is not owned by Dairy Queen and it is not on school grounds, I don’t believe either place is responsible for maintaining it and they shouldn’t have to. I know trash comes from other sources and lands where it wants. We occasionally have an odd piece of trash land in our yard and I have to take care of it, however I know the middle school kids are responsible for this mess. No other kids walk in large groups along this sidewalk from Dairy Queen to the school.
They have absolutely no respect for the land. It is discouraging to see such insolence from kids around the age of 12. GGGRRRRR!
Thank you for allowing me to vent. I feel better. Tomorrow, I will show you some of the pretty photos I took this afternoon.
Posted by tami at 7:10 PM Comments (4)
April 3, 2008
There's Still Time
This is an update from Gardenwife regarding Mutt Madness:
I learned there was an error in the e-mail regarding the Furry Four and the final round of voting in Mutt Madness. Voting’s open through April 6. The Champion will be announced April 7. So, there’s plenty of time to tell people about the contest and ask them to vote!
This is the link:
Please vote; it only takes a second to click and it’s free :)
Posted by tami at 5:39 PM Comments (2)
"What if this is as good as it gets?"
I almost forgot to list the movies I watched in March!
3-2-08 Boogie Nights
3-3-08 Grumpy Old Men
3-4-08 Labyrinth
3-5-08 Interview with the Vampire
3-6-08 Mr. & Mrs. Smith
3-7-08 The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring
3-7-08 The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers
3-8-08 The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King
3-9-08 Girl, Interrupted
3-10-08 Cast Away
3-11-08 Mrs. Doubtfire
3-12-08 Stomp the Yard
3-16-08 Death Becomes Her
3-17-08 The Burbs
3-18-08 As Good as It Gets
3-28-08 Jeff Dunham: Spark of Insanity
Least enjoyed movie: Stomp the Yard - This was just not my kind of movie, although I believe a younger person might enjoy it.
I really enjoyed all the other movies this month. I had not watched As Good as It Gets in years and had forgotten how funny it was. Jack Nicholson is too much for words!
Posted by tami at 11:35 AM Comments (1)
April 2, 2008
The Cat
From an email:
You don't have to own a cat to appreciate this one. You don't even have to like 'em!
We were dressed and ready to go out for the New Years Eve Party. We turned on a night light, turned the answering machine on, covered our pet parakeet and put the cat in the backyard. We phoned the local cab company and requested a taxi.
The taxi arrived and we opened the front door to leave the house.
The cat we put out in the yard, scoots back into the house. We didn't want the cat shut in the house because she always tries to eat the bird.
I go out to the taxi, while my husband went inside to get the cat.
The cat runs upstairs, with my husband in hot pursuit. Waiting in the cab, I don't want the driver to know that the house will be empty for the night. So, I explain to the taxi driver that he will be out soon, "He's just going upstairs to say goodbye to my mother."
A few minutes later, my husband gets into the cab. "Sorry I took so long,"
he said, as we drove away. "That stupid bitch was hiding under the bed. I had to poke her with a coat hanger to get her to come out! She tried to take off, so I grabbed her by the neck. Then, I had to wrap her in a blanket to keep her from scratching me. But it worked! I hauled her fat ass downstairs and threw her out into the back yard!"
The cab driver hit a parked car...
Posted by tami at 9:58 PM Comments (1)
April 1, 2008
I Thrive On Colors
I feel blessed to have these trees right across the street:
The reason I feel blessed is they make me happy when they’re in bloom or just green. I open the front door and there they are in their full glory and I think to myself, “Oh, it is spring and those trees are pretty!”
It’s hard to look at them and have a negative thought.
I also love these daffodils:
Each time I drive by this woman’s house, her daffodils make me cheerful. Every time I see them I think to myself, “How pretty.” In a month or so, all of those daffodils will be gone and tulips will be in their place; lots of colorful tulips.
Some people will read this and think it’s silly, but some of you will understand. You will understand how nature has a way of making us glad to be alive, glad to be here in this moment to enjoy the beauty of color.
It's official: the grey has left Kentucky and the colors have arrived. We may have rain, but now we can look around and spot some color :)
Posted by tami at 4:47 PM Comments (4)