We've Leo-proofed the house, but it's surprising how much trouble something so small can get into.
The little squirt's been investigating every single corner of the house. Bouncing. He doesn't toddle anymore, just runs full speed or bounces.
If there's the smallest crevice anywhere, he'll try to stick his head in it. 10 points if it's got wires.
He even managed to scoot under my desk sideboard, a space of about 3 inches high. There's now a fat Linux book jammed there now. I knew I'd find a good use for that old manual.
In other news....
Yesterday, I finally bought some veggies for the garden. Normally, I plant them in late April or early May, but we've had such late frost (I had to scrape my car windows just last week), and if it's not freezing, it's pouring down rain.
I planted 2 tomatoes, a jalapeno, chili pepper, basil and rosemary. And it dropped to freezing temps again last night. It's June 1st for criminy's sake!! We shouldn't have any temperatures below 50!
Still, the plants look okay this morning. Thankfully it's sunny, and the high should be around 72.
I'll have to wait for the end of August for those delicious, home grown tomato sandwiches!
Monday, June 1, 2009
Saturday, May 30, 2009
This Is Spartaaaaaaah!
We have a new member of the family. He is named Leonidas, after the King of Sparta.
"Leo", for short.
He's 9 weeks old, and as feisty as a little lion:
We've wanted a kitten for a while now, but found it nearly impossible to find one with "no strings attached". Apparently in our area of Pennsylvania, the only place you can get a kitten is through a breeder or a rescue shelter. We ended up driving out of the area to a reputable, old-style pet shop.
The local chain pet stores only sold kittens from the rescue shelters. As I've mentioned in an earlier post, they require you to fill out an application, which asks for information that is, quite frankly, none of their business. For example:
Do you rent or own your home?
Name of landlord?
Name and phone number of a reference who does not live with you.
Do you allow (shelter name) to visit your home after adoption?
How many children and adults live in your home, and what are their ages?
Do you plan to declaw the cat (I know from someone who adopted one of these cats, they do not allow you to declaw anyway).
Please list all your current pets, and include age and sex of pet.
List all pets owned in the last 5 years.
There's more, but I think you get the idea. On top of that, the kittens come pre-named, and they reserve the right to remove the kitten from your household if they're not satisfied with their "inspection" of your house. As I said before, it feels like your "borrowing" their personal pet.
I realize there's a lot of arseholes out there that abandon cats, and this application process probably began as a means to weed out people who tend to do this. I really can sympathize with that. But in some cases, the list of requirements for kitten adoption is getting a bit weird.
As a side note, I read an interesting story about 2 weeks ago. An elderly couple was denied adopting a puppy.
"Leo", for short.
He's 9 weeks old, and as feisty as a little lion:
We've wanted a kitten for a while now, but found it nearly impossible to find one with "no strings attached". Apparently in our area of Pennsylvania, the only place you can get a kitten is through a breeder or a rescue shelter. We ended up driving out of the area to a reputable, old-style pet shop.
The local chain pet stores only sold kittens from the rescue shelters. As I've mentioned in an earlier post, they require you to fill out an application, which asks for information that is, quite frankly, none of their business. For example:
Do you rent or own your home?
Name of landlord?
Name and phone number of a reference who does not live with you.
Do you allow (shelter name) to visit your home after adoption?
How many children and adults live in your home, and what are their ages?
Do you plan to declaw the cat (I know from someone who adopted one of these cats, they do not allow you to declaw anyway).
Please list all your current pets, and include age and sex of pet.
List all pets owned in the last 5 years.
There's more, but I think you get the idea. On top of that, the kittens come pre-named, and they reserve the right to remove the kitten from your household if they're not satisfied with their "inspection" of your house. As I said before, it feels like your "borrowing" their personal pet.
I realize there's a lot of arseholes out there that abandon cats, and this application process probably began as a means to weed out people who tend to do this. I really can sympathize with that. But in some cases, the list of requirements for kitten adoption is getting a bit weird.
As a side note, I read an interesting story about 2 weeks ago. An elderly couple was denied adopting a puppy.
Saturday, May 23, 2009
Friday, May 22, 2009
Gorgeous
They're predicting a gorgeous Memorial Day weekend here in Northeast Pennsylvania.
85 degrees this afternoon! Refreshing, considering it was 31 on Monday, and I was forced to scrape the frost from the windshield of my car.
Found some baby chipmunks living under the shed steps:
Both were about the size of a golf ball. I was able to get pretty close before they took cover under the step.
This guy's been foraging around the yard for a few weeks now, and I'm sure is responsible for matting down my Snow-In-Summer. I'll allow it though - due to excessive cuteness:
Looks like my Double Mock Orange will finally bloom this summer. I started these from 6 inch shoots 3 years ago. Now I'm going to have to find a permanent home in the yard for them:
Of course, it's also tent caterpillar season as well. Bastards:
Time to put the potted Plumeria outside for some sun. Poor thing goes dormant every winter when we bring it inside, and loses all it's leaves. About a week ago, it sprouted this cauliflower-like growth on top. Google tells me it's called an "inflo", and means we'll have flowers soon!
Once outside, by July it should have a few robust leaves. For now, it looks more like an alien ovipositor, or a giant, green hoo-ha:
Have a great weekend everyone!
85 degrees this afternoon! Refreshing, considering it was 31 on Monday, and I was forced to scrape the frost from the windshield of my car.
Found some baby chipmunks living under the shed steps:
Both were about the size of a golf ball. I was able to get pretty close before they took cover under the step.
This guy's been foraging around the yard for a few weeks now, and I'm sure is responsible for matting down my Snow-In-Summer. I'll allow it though - due to excessive cuteness:
Looks like my Double Mock Orange will finally bloom this summer. I started these from 6 inch shoots 3 years ago. Now I'm going to have to find a permanent home in the yard for them:
Of course, it's also tent caterpillar season as well. Bastards:
Time to put the potted Plumeria outside for some sun. Poor thing goes dormant every winter when we bring it inside, and loses all it's leaves. About a week ago, it sprouted this cauliflower-like growth on top. Google tells me it's called an "inflo", and means we'll have flowers soon!
Once outside, by July it should have a few robust leaves. For now, it looks more like an alien ovipositor, or a giant, green hoo-ha:
Have a great weekend everyone!
Thursday, May 21, 2009
Ant Deo
Yesterday, my mailbox was filled with ants and ant-eggs. Nesting in my mail.
I heard the mail truck around noon, and I retrieved the mail about a half hour later. I opened the box to find several envelopes covered with swarming ants clutching their eggs in hysteria.
I've found all kinds of things in my mailbox, from bees to frighteningly large spiders. This was a first for ants.
It's also very strange that all of the ants were on top of the mail.
As I said, I went to get the mail about a half hour after the mailman delivered it. Somehow, in that short time frame, a nest of ants appeared. If they were there prior to the mailman showing up, the ants would, at least mostly, be UNDER the mail. I think.
After being completely icked out, I whipped out the Raid Ant Spray and coated the mailbox inside and out. And myself. The wind blew back the spray and I got hit as well. Has anyone else noticed that Raid smells perfumey? In an overpowering, gagging, kinda way?
Took a shower. I still couldn't get the Raid smell out of my head. It seemed to be everywhere. Then I realized it was my deodorant.
Lessons learned:
1) My mailman apparently delivers ants, along with the mail
2) Degree deodorant “shower clean” scent smells just like Raid Ant Spray.
I heard the mail truck around noon, and I retrieved the mail about a half hour later. I opened the box to find several envelopes covered with swarming ants clutching their eggs in hysteria.
I've found all kinds of things in my mailbox, from bees to frighteningly large spiders. This was a first for ants.
It's also very strange that all of the ants were on top of the mail.
As I said, I went to get the mail about a half hour after the mailman delivered it. Somehow, in that short time frame, a nest of ants appeared. If they were there prior to the mailman showing up, the ants would, at least mostly, be UNDER the mail. I think.
After being completely icked out, I whipped out the Raid Ant Spray and coated the mailbox inside and out. And myself. The wind blew back the spray and I got hit as well. Has anyone else noticed that Raid smells perfumey? In an overpowering, gagging, kinda way?
Took a shower. I still couldn't get the Raid smell out of my head. It seemed to be everywhere. Then I realized it was my deodorant.
Lessons learned:
1) My mailman apparently delivers ants, along with the mail
2) Degree deodorant “shower clean” scent smells just like Raid Ant Spray.
Tuesday, May 19, 2009
Style Over Substance
Spent part of last night helping my daughter cut out pieces of foam board for a “book report mobile”. “Mobile”, as in what hangs over a baby's crib.
When I was in junior high school, a book report consisted of :
a) choosing a book, or having it assigned to you by the teacher
b) reading book
c) writing several pages about the book, by hand or by typewriter.
Book reports are no longer a composition, in the usual 1000-words-or-less style, but arts and crafts projects in the form of collages, hanging mobiles, and papier mache models.
I'm all for inspiring creativity and keeping the kids interested, but this really doesn't prepare them for the real world. What happens when our little darlings have to do college entry essays? I'm pretty sure they don't accept them in papier mache form.
Then again, we stopped preparing our kids for the future when we stopped having winners and losers. Everyone's a winner, right? Try telling that to their future employers when yearly performance reviews come around. Or better yet, when little Johnny is trying to compete with 50 other people for his first job.
When I was in junior high school, a book report consisted of :
a) choosing a book, or having it assigned to you by the teacher
b) reading book
c) writing several pages about the book, by hand or by typewriter.
Book reports are no longer a composition, in the usual 1000-words-or-less style, but arts and crafts projects in the form of collages, hanging mobiles, and papier mache models.
I'm all for inspiring creativity and keeping the kids interested, but this really doesn't prepare them for the real world. What happens when our little darlings have to do college entry essays? I'm pretty sure they don't accept them in papier mache form.
Then again, we stopped preparing our kids for the future when we stopped having winners and losers. Everyone's a winner, right? Try telling that to their future employers when yearly performance reviews come around. Or better yet, when little Johnny is trying to compete with 50 other people for his first job.
Stupid News Part 3
Yay. ABC is resurrecting the 80's sci-fi TV show, “V” for the 2009-2010 season.
This, along with the original Battlestar Galactica are fond memories from my childhood. These are excellent examples of 80's TV cheese that my generation loved so much.
Can't wait to see if the new “V” will equal the travesty that the new Battlestar became.
And also -
Random observation: It's really icky the way the press is hovering over Farrah Fawcett like a bunch of vultures, waiting for her to kick the bucket. Just my opinion though.
This, along with the original Battlestar Galactica are fond memories from my childhood. These are excellent examples of 80's TV cheese that my generation loved so much.
Can't wait to see if the new “V” will equal the travesty that the new Battlestar became.
And also -
Random observation: It's really icky the way the press is hovering over Farrah Fawcett like a bunch of vultures, waiting for her to kick the bucket. Just my opinion though.
Monday, May 18, 2009
Friday, May 15, 2009
Stupid News Part 2
Marriage of Reality TV Couple Jon and Kate Gosselin on the Rocks
These people weren't even on my radar until they showed up in the news recently.
According to IMDB, this is a reality show on TLC, about a family raising 8 children. Twins and sextuplets. I think we can safely say this is a stressful household.
As a parent, the first thing that popped into my mind was, why subject your kids to that kind of exposure?
Honestly, why would you even put yourself in that position? For the money?
And if you ARE going to put yourself on display for all the world to see, why not behave yourself until your free ride is over?
Not sure I understand why this show is interesting, except to see if Jon and Kate make it through another day without losing their minds. I suppose that's the point of reality TV – to see how others react, given certain conditions. However, if TLC really wants a nerve-wracking reality soap opera, just wait til the sextuplets become teenagers.
These people weren't even on my radar until they showed up in the news recently.
According to IMDB, this is a reality show on TLC, about a family raising 8 children. Twins and sextuplets. I think we can safely say this is a stressful household.
As a parent, the first thing that popped into my mind was, why subject your kids to that kind of exposure?
Honestly, why would you even put yourself in that position? For the money?
And if you ARE going to put yourself on display for all the world to see, why not behave yourself until your free ride is over?
Not sure I understand why this show is interesting, except to see if Jon and Kate make it through another day without losing their minds. I suppose that's the point of reality TV – to see how others react, given certain conditions. However, if TLC really wants a nerve-wracking reality soap opera, just wait til the sextuplets become teenagers.
Thursday, May 14, 2009
Fossil
Whale Fossil Found in Kitchen Counter
I read this headline on National Geographic and thought, “Cool.....how do I get one?”.
I imagined someone doing a little kitchen DIY; the local Home Depot shows up to install a stone counter top, then: WOOHOO.....fossils! In my kitchen!
But the title is misleading. It was actually the factory cutting the kitchen counter tops that found the fossils in the stone, then called in some archaeologists.
Oh well. I'll have to settle for the shells and trilobites in my stone row.
I read this headline on National Geographic and thought, “Cool.....how do I get one?”.
I imagined someone doing a little kitchen DIY; the local Home Depot shows up to install a stone counter top, then: WOOHOO.....fossils! In my kitchen!
But the title is misleading. It was actually the factory cutting the kitchen counter tops that found the fossils in the stone, then called in some archaeologists.
Oh well. I'll have to settle for the shells and trilobites in my stone row.
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