RATS!!!

We have a pear tree in the back yard. It bears so many pears that I think the branches will break off. The pears aren’t edible, though. They are covered with black spots. Yuck. Since the branches are so heavy and the tree is touching the house, I asked the trustees to have the tree pruned this fall. I also want it off the house because when we moved in, there was a rat in the attic. The exterminator said it probably got into the house by climbing the tree and accessing the attic that way. Nasty, nasty. The good news is that they caught the critter. The trustees decided that the problem was solved and asked the exterminator to remove the traps. I can’t confess to being ecstatic about that decision.

Joshua had a panic attack the other night after bedtime and said a rat ran across his room. I pretty much thought it was his imagination and said so. But then I decided it would be the perfect opportunity to nag – I mean – enlighten him on the evils of sneaking food into his room and hiding the leftovers because he was to lazy to dispose of them properly. Naturally, Mike, being a typical male, piped up and said he’d been hearing the pitter-patter of little feet in the walls and attic. Gee thanks. That’ll get Josh back to sleep right away!

Yesterday Caleb darted out into the garage after me. I was just getting something from the car, but Caleb had great hopes for a car ride. His hopes were dashed, but not for long. He found a tasty morsel to eat in the garage. I had no idea what he found, and he wasn’t going to give me a chance to find out what it was. That was really strange because he will generally let me take food from him. (The only other time he ever acted that way with me was when he caught a bird in the yard and had a tasty snack.) I came to the conclusion that he would just have to suffer the consequences of his gluttony. Or rather, I would when he got sick on my cream colored carpet. He dropped whatever it was on the floor ever so briefly. It looked like raw meat. I didn’t want to think about it. So I didn’t.

When I got up this morning, I decided to eat some breakfast. I went to the pantry to get some cereal. I glanced down on the floor and saw something that looked really nasty. No – it couldn’t be!!! A rodent dropping!!!!!!!!!!! Just one. Time to call the exterminator.

Whew!

Well, both boys have finally been enrolled in the virtual academy. No more having to make up math and writing assignments! We still haven't received their books, but we can do some of the courses online. We have been doing that in attempt to catch up a bit to where they should be. Jeremy did two week's worth of math in one day. He wanted to -- I wasn't being mean. It was all review for him. I finally had to force him to quit! I didn't have that issue with Josh! ;^)

From One Kid to Another....

The boys did the summer reading program at the library this year. When they complete 25 hours of readying, they earn several prizes. The big prize is a trip to the zoo. Joshua was determined to be bored, but when we got to the petting zoo at the end, he actually enjoyed it!!

Old Growth Tree

This is a section of Douglas fir at the Pacific Science Center. If you click on the picture, you can see a larger view of it. The middle of the log dates it’s beginnings to 1331 A.D. The other makers point out:
1492 – Discovery of America
1776 -- Independence Day
1851 – Founding of Seattle
1901 – First Water from Cedar River delivered to
Tree Cut in 1962

Why Don't Grandmas Look Like Grandmas?

Grandma 

My cousin Jenny just sent me pictures of her oldest child’s first day of school. Among those photos was a picture of Isabel with both of her grandmothers. Have you ever noticed that grandmas don’t look like grandmas anymore? Where has all the gray hair gone? Did their children not give them gray hair? How about those wrinkles derived through years of character development? And my goodness! I can’t imagine either of my grandmas donning a pair of blue jeans. I wonder, do they still make oatmeal-raisin cookies?

Boys Will Be Boys

The boys had a friend spend the night last night. Because his parents both work, he will be here until suppertime. The friend is a very nice boy. However last night, after spending a few minutes on the computer in the dining room while they were in the living room, I decided it was in my best interests to go down stairs – as far away from the noise as I could get. It wasn’t much better this morning. I’m trying my best to be on a different floor than they are. I also decided that it was in my best interests to be nowhere near them while they were eating. If you could call it eating. I think inhaling is a better word for how they consume food. In order to pry them off the GameCube, I told them they could have a cupcake or two. They decided to have a contest to see which of them could shove them in their mouths the first. Let your imagination run wild. It was even worse.

Hot, Hot, Hot, Hot, Hot!!

It is just WAY to hot!!!

Oh, the Places I've Gone!

I was browsing around some other blogs and found this cool site that will show you on a map all the states you’ve gone to. This is my map. I've been to the states in red. Ok -- so the only time I went to New York was to fly into JFK and take a bus to LaGuardia. (It was totally boring and I never even had a glimpse of the Statue of Liberty.) And the only time I was in Florida was to fly into Jacksonville and drive up to Georgia. I was there!

I would really love to go out East and see some of the Revolutionary War and Civil War sites. One day….

If you want to see where you have been, click on the title above.

Mount St. Helens

Sam has business in Seattle next week so he decided to come up and visit for a few days this week. On Saturday we went to Mount St. Helens with one of co-workers. Unfortunately, while we were able to see most of the mountain, clouds covered most of the crater. It was fun to go through the information centers again, but it was much more exciting the first time I went up and saw the steam plume!

(Click on the title above to see a live picture of the volcano!)

The Finch Saga Continues

I never realized how smart birds are. The finches had two more babies a while back. About three weeks ago I decided it was time for the babies to live in their own cage because they were in the teenage phase of their lives. I always know when this happens because it sounds like WWIII broke out. The babies and parents constantly fight and make a horrible racket.

In order to separate the birds, I always put two cages together so they can go back and forth for a couple of days and get accustomed to their new home. However this time was different than before. The parents, especially the dad, got extremely agitated. Then I noticed that the parents NEVER let the babies enter the second cage alone. They could be alone in the main cage, but not the second cage where I have always put the babies. The mother also abandoned her nest full of new eggs to help protect her babies. One day I saw the babies in the second cage and got up to see if I could separate them before they started moving around. The father saw me get up and sped into the second cage faster than I have ever seen him fly. He deliberately kept me from separating them. So much for being a bird brain – mine are smart!

A Taxing Week

Well, it is that time of year again. Taxes. Sigh. On Monday I decided I’d better get with it and get them done. The boys were in school and I wasn’t working, so it should have been a simple. But naturally it wasn’t. After working on it for eight hours and visiting the online help section of my tax program, I had to throw in the towel. The next day I found a tax preparation place that claimed to know how to do clergy taxes. Although doubtful, I made an appointment for Wednesday.

Mike was suffering from the delusion that I would go to the appointment on my own. Silly man. My taxes are easy. His are hard. He could just go suffer along with me. It wasn’t MY fault it was Holy Week! Ok, maybe it was at least in part because I left them for so long. It took both tax workers and me to figure it out, but we finally did it. Whew!

I’m all for a flat tax. If 10% is good enough for God, it should be good enough for Congress!

The New Babies Have Flown the Coop!

Here is one of the two new babies. This is the first batch since the seven that hatched in December. Both came out today and were traumatized by the camera. (Josh is peeking in on the other side of the cage.)