H.D.'s Homework

Tonight H.D.'s homework included reading for 25 minutes and writing a summary. This is nothing new, but his choice of reading was. This Christmas, Scott gave H.D. a beautiful hardbound copy of C.S. Lewis' The Chronicles of Narnia. H.D. chose to start reading that this evening. I worried about the realization that this was not a picture book, and the whining that would follow. There was absolutely no whining and he really enjoyed himself. He read 2 full pages of The Magician's Nephew.

We had to have a discussion about what it means to be "mad" not angry mad, but crazy "mad." We also talked about rafters and attic spaces. It was enlightening for an 8 year old who has never really explored an attic before. I am going to have to explain a lot of British vernacular but it is worth it.

H.D. was really proud of his summary, and as I watched him tonight I got a little misty. He is certainly growing up fast. Those adult teeth that were barely showing just a few months ago are a little more than half way in. As I talked to him and observed him it dawned on me how much he reminds me of my little brother. (That is such an oxymoron as adults but I like it.) H.D. shares a lot of things with my little brother, and especially reminds me of Dan as a little kid. Gap Tooth Grins, sensitive and loving nature (except for when my brother was beating on me or sitting on my head), musical arm farts, laughing at silly silly boy jokes, a creative thinker, and an all around fun guy.

Wow, my Monday turned out pretty amazing.

d

Friday Night Excitement

Last night Harrison and I did nothing special. We did a bit of relaxing. Harrison played computer games and I watched Friday night programs. Harrison likes Ghost Whisperer, so weird that a kid would like a show like that, so we watched it. Then I watched Doll House. It is a new Joss Whedon show, and last night was much better than the first episode. It is starting to get interesting, I am so excited. I love Joss Whedon shows. First I loved Dark Angel, then FireFly.

So Harrison was off to bed and I was left to my own devices. I should have been grading papers, but my Friday's are the longest days of the week at school. I see every single class of students I have on Friday. I decided I could relax. I watched The Incredible Shrinking Woman on HBO family.

It was a throw back to my childhood.

I am still singing Galaxy Glue, Galaxy Glue, What would you do without your Galaxy Glue.

:o) Oh the memories.

d

Bijou Update

So I have had people ask recently how our dog is doing. She is great. A little history for those of you that do not know.

Bijou is our 9 1/2 year old Dalmatian (Papa calls her a Damnation).

She is a good girl, a bit stubborn and some people equate stubborn with dumb.

She had a lump on her back the size of a golf ball last year and we took her to the vet. Vet said it was a fatty tumor, after a needle "bibliopsy" (sorry could not resist a My Big Fat Greek Wedding reference) ahem...a needle biopsy.

So what do you do with a fatty tumor in the middle of a Dalmatian's back? A big fat nothing. Pun intended.

Until it grows...and grows...and grows. I think you get the picture.

October came and for Halloween Bijou went as a camel. She looked horrible. Here is where I would insert a picture if I had one. (I do I just have to wait till I get back to school to scan it in.)

November came and the hump started applying for its own zip code. I got worried one day when I was letting Bijou in from outside and it looked like she tripped (over nothing) and was dragging her back legs for a few seconds.

Off to the vet!!!

The vet was ASTOUNDED at the size of the hump...(lets call it Horace from here forward). She had one look at Horace and Bijou and decided that although they typically leave fatty tumors alone, Horace needed to be excised and quick because of his rapid growth.

December 11, 2008--- Papa's birthday (my dad) and eviction day for Horace.

I was so worried since it was so close to Christmas and H.D. has already had to deal with the loss of a pet when Caesar died 2 years ago on MLK day suddenly. He still talks about that day, still talks about the loss, and still cries from time to time when he gets nostalgic.

Bijou came out of the surgery doing fine, but did spend the night with them because the surgery was much more evasive than they first thought.

Now is where the gruesome post op pictures come in followed by some awesome 2 month post op pics.

She wore a T-shirt to cover that nastiness up and to keep her back warm...poor baby.















Here she is today.

Hair is still slowly filling in, and she and H.D. are rough housing around as I type with her chewy bone. She is happy as ever, eating cat turd tootsie rolls out of the cat box, and befouling the air of her humans so much so that we have to leave the room.

YAY!...the miracle of Horace's removal.

P.S. Horace was a giant fatty tumor inside which cancer was contained. Bijou requires no additional treatment, she does not have the cancer anywhere else. It was evidentally a type (myosarcoma I think) that does not spread and is not a nasty nasty cancer. I supposed then that means that the fat of Horace was a blessing...he encapsulated the nasty cancer beasties and saved our Bij for a couple more years of time with us!

HUZZAH HORACE.

d

p.p.s. I cracked myself up a couple of times on this one. :o)

Snow Day

Friday we did not have school because of snow. It wasn't massive snow but was enough to make people nervous and cause accidents. H.D. wanted something to do yesterday, so I sent him out to scoop the walk again.


Doesn't look like he got much scooping done. He wanted to know if he could have hot chocolate when he came in and he wants to know when it will be Spring. Any ideas?

D

p.s. Happy Birthday Aunt B

A fluffy dream...

I was sitting on the couch last night, so tired that I could hardly lift a finger, literally. I am not sure why.

I was having a dream...an awake dream. It wasn't technically day so I don't know if I can call it a day dream. I was thinking about how beautiful it would be to check into a hotel. A really quiet hotel, with no TV, no phone, no computer, and big, really big fluffy pillows and covers. In my dream I sink into the bed...and SLEEP...and SLEEP...and order room service and SLEEP.

The only thing is in my dream there are windows open and a nice 68 degree breeze, a really light spring rain, and birds chirping in the background.

Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh my dream...

d

Interesting Nebraska History

This is from one of my favorite blogs. Shorpy Photo Archive-- http://www.shorpy.com/

My friend Steph is from North Platte, and I thought the note (below) written by the photographer was amazing. I wish we still talked that way...

You are the bees knees. d

October 1938 at the Alamo. "Mildred Irwin, saloon singer at North Platte, Nebraska. She entertained for 20 years in Omaha before coming to North Platte." Medium-format safety negative by John Vachon. View full size.

Letter from John Vachon to his wife, Penny:

October 29, 1938

Last night I had an adventure. Of the 1st water. To have it I had to get kind of stiff. And I did, dear. Pretty plastered. But it was all in the line of duty, eminently legitimate and justifiable. About eight o'clock I went into a corner saloon. It was a saloon in the grand tradition. I drank only beer, but great gobs of it. At the piano was a big huge large fat blonde woman of 45 to 50 yrs. With beautiful smeary red makeup on her puss, and huge mammy type bosoms. And her voice, O that you could hear her voice. She has Sophie Tucker in the wastebasket . . .

A real Wednesday...

It cracks me up that people call Wednesday "hump day" and that Flight of the Conchords have a song called "Business Time" coincidentally about Wednesdays.


Just saying.




So I was thinking today of my blessings. I think that this year I have had more than I first recognized. I was stressed at the beginning of the year...a husband with torn quad and surgery, a son with broken arms, a grad class that was kicking my arse, but it is not in my nature to be negative or let stuff get me down. I started thinking this fine Wednesday about all of the things I am lucky to have and thankful for.

1. A great kid.
2. A loving husband.
2. Amazing parents, siblings, nieces, grandmothers, aunts, uncle, cousins.
3. A gummy bear. (My brother and sis-in-laws term for their wee baby...in utero)
4. My friend Adam, wise sage that he is. He is such an incredible addition to my life, and the kind of friend you have your whole life and grow old enjoying wine and life with.
5. Steph's grounding influence in my life and her friendship. Another keeper...
6. The chance to get to know some amazing kids.
7. Influencing people, one hippie statement at a time.
8. A compassionate heart and mind.
9. My Emily...(not the niece, the "good daughter" my friend since forever) being close in body now not just spirit.
10. Karen and her great work with H.D., she makes such a difference in his life.

I am sure I could continue the list, but the point here is there is a lot to be thankful for, a lot to remember when the weight of negativity attacks me...when the outsiders in my life start to bring me down.


d

The Unveiling of...The Cake!!!

Ok so the cake was not as bad as I thought it would be. It was definitely a challenge though.

Take a look for yourself! It was a hit with the b-day girl...and that was a relief! It was tasty too. I am kind of hoping that she gets into horses or something someday...I am getting tired of purple and pink icing. Hardy Har HAR. It was my first ever attempt at icing roses and frankly I impressed myself on those.

Happy 5th Birthday to "My Girl"...

New Email

Cox internet and cable was just too pricey so we have changed. The cox.net email address that you have for me does not work. I will not post my email here for all, but if you are one of my admirers and want my new email...leave me a post and I will email you from my new account.

Cake!?!

Getting ready to make my niece's birthday cake. I have myself worked into a tizzy.

This is the cake from the website that my sis bought the pieces from....I am going to practice icing roses tomorrow night. Wish me luck. I will take a pic of the finished product if it is ok to show here.

I decided since I was showing off a cake I had not made yet that I would show off some I did make.

This was E's 4th b-day.

This was 3rd...

Her 2nd birthday was the first time I had ever worked with fondant.
I will post her first cake later. It was an experiment and was not my best work, but not my worst either. I have it on the home PC and am to tired to get it at the moment.

I have to find the picks of H.D's cakes, He has had Spiderman, a Flag, and I can't remember the rest. I am going to have to look back at old pics and scan some film in to the computer so I can post a montage of cakes I have made.

D