Good Day With Bad Parts

I know, most days could be summed up like that. Today's bad parts, though, were really icky.

Lovely morning, plenty accomplished.

Icky meeting with Property Management Co. about terminating the lease early. (Shyah, like most of their ideas are even feasible!) It's okay, though, they don't have a key to the house so if they do decide to try to show it w/o us being home, HA! Good luck. Cretins.

We lunched with Zorak (always fun), except that as I pulled into the parking lot, I suddenly felt as if I'd been hit by a Mack truck. Full-on, no brakes. Every pore of my body hurt - not ached - hurt. Out of nowhere, I was exhausted, painfully exhausted. To give you a comparison, I have dragged my sick and severely dehydrated body from the bottom of the Grand Canyon on sheer willpower alone, and did not feel this bad. Came home and napped with the Smidge. I think the boys watched The Incredibles. Serious lack of parenting this afternoon, but thankfully I do my job 98% of the time so when this happens, nothing gets set on fire or severed.

We missed our Bible Study potluck tonight. It was for the best. Zorak came dragging in at 5:45 this afternoon, bathed in sweat, and pissed, er grouchy. Seems The Mistress is gettin' uppity and she made him walk her home... the last mile. So I asked what everyone would ask, "Why didn't you call?" This is not the question to pose to a man who has just had to push a motorcycle a mile uphill. His phone was in the Suburban, not with him.

Oh.

So, we got him rehydrated and he walked back to the corner gas station (where he'd left the ungrateful wench) to try to get her started and home. She made it 100 feet before dying again and he had to push her the other 500 feet home. *sigh* Evening of tinkering. Probably a week of tinkering.

Fortunately, since tomorrow's weather is "not guaranteed", the communal pot luck, hang-out-on-the-grass-and-eat-each-other's-food get-together with all the neighbors in our corner was moved to today. So the boys played. We ate. The boys went to bed late. Zorak relaxed a bit and hit the hay early. I'm going to join him.

Thank you for all the good wishes on the move. It will be another wonderful chapter in Our Adventures. It's going to go more quickly than I'd originally anticipated, but shouldn't be too bad. (This will be my mantra.) Anyone know if Rescue Remedy is addictive?

Kiss those babies!
~Dy

3... 2... 1...

BLASTOFF!!!

Zorak and the boys launched the rocket yesterday. The mere vibe of "something happening" brought every child within a one-mile radius. The crowd was good-sized by the time they had it all set up. The anticipation was high on the maiden voyage. Pump it up. Pull the release. And the launch response was delayed by about 5 seconds... then...

WHOOSH!

The little soda bottle with the bright yellow paper fins and nose cone shot straight into the air, cleared the peak of the townhouses as quick as quick, and landed gently on the grass, all to the delighted squeals of children.

Followed by the delighted, but somewhat stunned, squeals of a few children who happened to be in what was quickly deemed "The Wet Zone".

Oh. Yes, if you fill a 2 liter bottle half-full with water, pressurize it, and shoot it into the air, well, the water does come spraying out, drenching the bystanders. I can't believe none of us thought of that ahead of time. Unexpected bonus.

Every child who showed up had a turn to use the pump, yank the cord, and re-fill the bottle. Everybody took turns and there were no incidents. It was a good hour's worth of clean, fun, supervised activity. The children had a great time. The adults had a great time (we hung out, visiting and laughing with/at the children - they were so cute!)

I'll see if I can get the directions from Zorak if anyone would like to wow their neighborhood children with a relatively inexpensive, fun "science project". (I thoroughly appreciate not being involved in the crafty end of science. I'll read it with them, but Zorak can build it with them. This, my friends, is symbiosis at its best!)

Today we're planting grass, packing linens, and enjoying a pot luck at Bible Study. Should be another lovely day.

Kiss those babies!
~Dy

It's Official!

We're moving to Alabama! Zorak finally got "the call" today. The offer was better than we had dared to hope, and we've both been bubbling over all afternoon.

So, um, I have about three weeks to get packed and moved. Guess my next stop ought to be Flylady's Moving Tips, eh?

Yeah, that's about it. I can't think of a single witty thing to say. So kiss those babies, and we'll talk to you again soon.

Dy

One Grass Seed?

Will just one grass seed grow only one blade of grass? A cluster?

I don't know. There's a lot I don't know, and God has given me this child just to keep reminding me of that fact. It's beautiful, really. My Mom would say it's payback, but I prefer to think of it as beautiful.

I will, however, know the answer to this, and probably many other cosmic questions, before he leaves the nest. (Should know about the individual grass seeds in about a week.) How wonderful is that?

Kiss those babies!
Dy

Self-Educating, a Few Things

Some folks feel self-educating is akin to self-medicating; to be avoided at all costs. Some things should be administered only by a trained professional.

What a shame.

I'm not saying that if you've never known the pain-free, loopy bliss of overdosing, ever-so-slightly, on codeine, you're missing out...

I am suggesting, however, that if you haven't quit saying, "Oh, I've always wanted to read/write/study/learn *insert object of star-crossed didactic desire here*," and taken up said desire, well, yeah, you're missing out. Get on it. It's better than codeine, in any dosage. Contrary to popular belief, it's also much more beneficial.

That said, there are a few pointers I'd like to share with you. These are things I've gleaned as I've begun to lay a better foundation for my own educational experiences throughout life. (Yep, "throughout". It's an ongoing process now, Baby! WOOHOO!) *ahem*

Ok, well, anyhow, just a few things I've noticed...

Thing 1
There is a general bulk of work that is recognized as the "basics" for developing a firm understanding of your cultural heritage in Western Civilization. If you were publicly educated in the US, odds are good that you either (A) have never heard of some of these books, (B) vaguely remember some teacher suggesting you read them, but you aced the test anyway so never bothered, or (C) stumbled through an in-class read-aloud of something similar by somebody with a name that sounded like that but you don't remember much except that Jason Q. in the third row couldn't pronounce half the words and you fell asleep by the second paragraph.

Do you know what that means? It means that many of the books you are going to start reading now are not going to be found in the grown-up section of the library. They're "juvenile fiction", and they're over there in the kids' section of the library.

This might bother you. It might not. I've had to get so many from there already that the teens in that corner no longer give me a look that says, "You look so young to have a teenager!" (Or perhaps they were thinking, "I haven't seen her in English class. What's up with that?" I don't know.) If it does bother you, though, you can always just put the book on hold and pick it up at the desk. Or better yet, mumble to yourself as you browse the titles, "What was that book she wanted me to pick up for her?" Eh. Either way, don't miss out on some of those titles. There's a reason we should have read them in jr. high and high school, but there's no reason not to read them now!

Thing 2
Some of the subject matter of these books you'll be reading will really wow you, and leave you thinking, "Why didn't they let us read this in high school?" My guess is that either there's a furiously stringent censorship committee at work where you went to school, or there are very few English teachers who want to spend half their time stifling the fits of giggles that ensue from some of the older vocabulary. Nonetheless, the themes, the topics, and the phenomenal writing are well, well worth the read.

Thing 3
Your spouse may, or may not, become as enamored with this journey of self-education as you will. That's ok. You can either find some like-minded individual with whom to engage in detailed analysis and discourse over your recent reading, or you can follow your spouse around, shouting excerpts through the bathroom door and demanding commentary from him/her on whatever you've just shared before you will allow said loved one out of the bathroom.

How you handle this is, obviously, entirely your call.

Thing 4
Vocabulary. Vocabulary. Vocabulary. Get a dictionary. Use Dictionary.com. Don't be shy. Ask for pronunciations. You are not alone. Most of us don't know, either, but we can find out. The point is to rectify the Not Knowing.

I hope this comes across as the encouragement I mean it to be. This isn't preaching. This is just a booster shot of, "YAY YOU! Come on! Raise that bar! RAH RAH RAH!"
Don't lose your sense of humor.
Don't take yourself too seriously.
And don't be too hard on yourself.
If you are moving, that's good, If you're moving forward, so much the better. You can break free of the "I've always wanted to, BUT" syndrome. It's not as difficult as it may seem. (And if you spent the 80's in anything near the self-effacing denial of intellect that I did, I believe you'll be pleasantly surprised to find that it's not nearly as difficult or "dumb" as you convinced yourself it was in sophomore humanities class.)

Anyhow, Zorak has a chile cookoff tomorrow, so he's making the kitchen smell yummy. The boys are crashed in their room (Smidge happily spread out on his teeny-tiny big-boy bed). I'm going to curl up with a good book and enjoy a quiet evening.

Kiss those babies!
~Dy

A Day of History

Yesterday was a momentous occasion for our clan. We had a to-the-city field trip, with Zorak, and no stress! It was lovely. Zorak has agreed that he will go with us, if I don't include him in the planning process, which I can appreciate. He spends his days at work making decisions, developing plans, and troubleshooting. When it comes to time with his family, he would like to be allowed to just come and enjoy the boys. OK.

This is only a problem because I am "the idea guy". I don't do execution well. But that's ok. Sometimes you've got to step outside your comfort zone and grow, right?

I learned a few things on this trip:

1- Mapquest LIES! You cannot get home using their directions. Or, at least, not to our home. I thought, the first two times I found myself painfully lost, that I had somehow not followed the directions. Yesterday, I had an engineer with me to verify the results, and no, it turns out that I was doing everything as directed, but the road Mapquest tells you to take ENDS, promptly and without much warning.

2- It's okay to be painfully lost if you've been there before. And it's a funny feeling to look around and say, "Oh! We're lost! Wait, it's ok! I know how to get out of from here!"

3- Zorak isn't any more comfortable with me heading into the Cities without him. This may be due to my absolute lack of fear of being lost. (You do get desensitized after a while...)

4- The volunteers at the Museum of Natural History know what little boys want to see. Little boys want to see Dinosaurs!

5- When you have been gripped by shyness and can't bring yourself to ask for the dinosaurs, it's pretty amazing to have a total stranger lean over, look you in the eye, and tell you exactly what you wanted to know!

6- Museums are so much fun with children when you let the children take the lead. You won't see everything. You won't see half of what you hoped to see. But what you see will be more fulfilling and enjoyable than anything else.

7- Even an 18 month-old baby can hang with the big boys if you're going at the children's pace. He may pass out before you pull out of your parking spot when you leave, but he can hang.

8- Go ahead and eat at one of the painfully expensive restaurants downtown before you go in. It will cost the same as eating at the McDonald's in one of the museums, but the food, atmosphere and service will be much better.

9- DC is a great visit to make when the weather is really, really bad. Parking is great and the streets are almost empty. This makes for a wonderful trip if you're not big on the whole "city-crowd" thing.

Anyhow, we had a lovely time. The boys were in heaven. Zorak and I glided along, holding hands, grinning at the boys, enjoying the day.

Today, *sniff, sniff* Smidge's crib comes down and we're putting up the toddler bed. This was wholly Zorak's idea (he doesn't want to move the crib, and would like Smidge to have a chance to get accustomed to the new bed before we turn everything upside down). I can see the logic. I can appreciate the logic. That doesn't mean I'm ready to be logical. *wink*

Kiss those babies!
Dy

The Upswing of the Cycle

I know that life is cyclical, as are emotions, hormones, and circumstances. I am also well aware that these factors impact how well everyone in a specific environment will mesh. When I think of the five very distinct personalities in our home, I'm often amazed that there's as much peace as there is.

So when it comes, I cherish it. When it comes in wave after wave, as it has lately, I just let it wash over me and coat me in a protective layer of joy to keep with me on the ebbing of the tide.

We ran errands and then took a walk through the woods. The boys protected me from "Wild Beasts". Granted, I could see one building just ahead and the building from which we'd left, looming behind us, but that didn't matter to them. No, sir, this is prime Wild Beast territory! Just ask the boys. (They did a fine job and we returned unscathed! My Heroes!)

We bought sketch pads for the boys today at Bay Books. I can't afford to shop there often, but try to shop there when I can, simply because the folks there are wonderful. They're nice to my kids, and they'll order things for us without making me cough up a kidney as a deposit. They aren't a chain, and while I do think chains and franchises are wonderful things, I also like the local shops. I don't mind paying more at a local shop when it provides the service, attention, and personalized care for which it is supposed to be superior to the larger stores. It's seldom that I find such service, but when I do, I return as often as I can. At Bay Books, it's worth the extra money. We bought a few bookplates for the scads of books we picked up at the library sale (85 at last count, and it's driving James nutty wondering which library books are ours and which need to go back, hence, the bookplates), and a couple of Dover Thrift books (because there's just no excuse for passing up an unabridged version of something wonderful for under $4!)

We played and read, we snuggled and talked. We enjoyed a splendid lunch together at Taco Bell (I love our Taco Bell! Not only is it the only decent Mexican food in the county, but they'll make the Mexican Pizza out of corn tortillas for John. I love them!)

Now, I had a very pastoral, 1950's style homecoming prepared for Zorak. He's been slaying dragons all day, and I've been, well, wallowing in my wonderful, incredible life. So, fresh coffee brewed and ready? Check. Mutton roasting in the oven long enough to make the house smell yummy? Check! House tidy and welcoming? Check. Clean undies folded and put away? Check. The boys were playing out back, in the mud, and I had just planned to bring them in, wash them, put them in soft, fuzzy sweats and be snuggled on the couch, reading them something exciting when he arrived. Check? Uh, no.

Not even close.

When he got home, John was running about upstairs, partially ready for a bath. James was covered head-to-toe (including his head under the hood of his sweatshirt) in mud and clay, trying to undress inside on the white carpet. I was nudging him back with my knee, wrangling a large pile of mud off of the baby. The baby was screaming violently, and had gone Vietnam-protestor-limp. He did not want to come in yet. I had no idea Zorak was due home just then, and was laughing myself silly trying to get the situation sorted out. (It was, really, quite funny. You know, in a "had to be there" kind of way.) When what do you know, the door opens and there is my Dragon-Slayer. *sigh*

It was another 15 minutes before we could get enough mud out of the way to reach one another for a welcome home kiss. Poor guy. But at least the house smelled yummy!

Kiss those babies!
~Dy

Depressing Book, Great Read

The Language Police, by Diane Ravitch. I know there are perhaps ten other people out there who haven't yet read this book. You must rectify that situation shortly. This book is well-written, and while she does have a certain personal bias which comes through, it's faint. She does a very good job of showing how both sides of the political spectrum have sacrificed our children's educational quality in a wrestling match for control of the children's minds. Egads. What a scary bit of knowledge.

Read, read, read. Whether you like it. Or agree with it. Or enjoy it. Or not. Read all you can and infuse your mind with all the knowledge you can possibly absorb. Then start the process of sorting and sifting, of making judgements and mulling over. Then, since you'll have more room (and an ever-improving filing system) read some more!

Don't let the world of learning become a lethargic exercize in uselessness in your home, or for your children!

And while you're reading to those babies, give 'em kisses!
~Dy

Divers, the adjective

The unseen dangers of reading "too much"...

You know you're reading far too much historical fiction and biography, circa 1800's, when you automatically say, "diverse" when you read "divers".

Dy

*Note: as if there's such a thing as reading "too much"!

Happy Easter!

Well, it's difficult to get good pictures of my children. Most are taken as the children fly past us, always in motion. To be honest, most look like this:

We can, on occasion (thanks to the agility of highspeed photography!) catch one like this:

When we herd them together and cause them to be still, their constant activity is still evident in their creative poses...



Or when something else catches their attention...

James is trying his best not to make a silly face in this picture, and Jacob has learned to say "cheese". As you can see, it's a very Elvis-like smile.

And this is, perhaps, my favorite picture of the weekend. Did anyone see The War of the Buttons? This picture just screams Little Irish Lad, to me. I love it.



So, until we can get the glitches figured out, these are the only pictures we have. The rest, between the red rimmed eyes and the green skin, look like stills from B-grade horror flicks.

Happy Easter! And thank you for sharing it, both by coming here and letting me share our family, and by sharing yours, too.

Kiss those babies!
Dy

How do y'all do it?

Everyone had lovely, wonderful Easter pictures posted on their blogs! They are such fun to see! But, but, y'all did this LAST NIGHT. As in THE SAME DAY.

???

I get excited if I can get photos edited and uploaded before the boys have outgrown the outfits they wore in the pictures!

Wow, well, there's the goal for today- I'll try to get pictures uploaded. I owe Em and Melissa some, too, you know, from a month ago. *cringe* Sorry 'bout that. And in the meantime, thanks so much for sharing your families with all your invisible friends. It's such fun!

Kiss those babies!
~Dy

Truly Lovely

My brother, having survived some harrowing experiences in the military, holds to the belief that "any day above ground is a good one". While that's a little on the morbid side for me (of course, I haven't eaten the things he's eaten just to stay alive, either, so "morbid" is, I know, wholly subjective, here), I'd agree.

Some days, though, are truly lovely. Their feel is different, richer, deeper, more vibrant, than other days. They are days that leave a delicate shade of difference on your heart and on your soul.

Today was one of those days. I've typed and re-typed, trying to wrap my mind around the day so I can share it with you, but my meager vocabulary fails me tonight. The boys were so thoroughly enjoyable. Zorak was so very "in" the day, with us, near us. I felt the tangible expression today of all I feel for my family every day, and it was a powerful, comforting day.

The HOA Easter Egg hunt was a stunning success. There were, perhaps, a dozen children. As the children gathered in the commons, one little girl noticed that the boys had Easter grass. She said, quietly, and not to anyone in particular, "I don't have grass." Without prompting from us, John pulled out a handful of his grass to give to her. He looked at us. Zorak and I smiled and nodded. "Here," he said quietly, as he gently laid some grass in her basket. Such a generous heart he has! We were both so warmed by this. During the hunt, John found perhaps six eggs. He wasn't firing on all four cylinders (translation: needed a nap), and wasn't terribly focused. Can't say it wasn't for effort, though. That kid ran around like a madman, running right past countless eggs, but very caught up in the whole running aspect of it. When all the eggs has been found, and his basket was so very empty compared to the other children, we cringed in anticipation of the meltdown we knew would come. ...it never came! He took it all in stride, congratulated the other children on finding so many eggs, and then (as if he was trying to make me cry), he offered to share his eggs with the adults once he heard the Easter Bunny doesn't bring baskets for grown-ups. Now, don't think that, at four (and a half!), he has this kind of self-restraint all the time. He doesn't. At 31 (erm, and a half...), I don't, either. But he's learning grace and fellowship and joy. Wow. Talk about humbling.

James got to be "the big kid" today, which is new for him. He is generally among the younger of the group. He voluntarily joined John in sharing his grass with the little girl, and he encouraged the little guys as they went around in circles, laughing. As we watched him help John look for eggs and direct the littlun's to the eggs down low, Zorak and I realized (well, were reminded, is a better expression) that James is just a Very Neat Kid. He laid a few of his own eggs into John's basket ~ a sweet, quiet moment when they thought the adults weren't looking. He's six and squirrelly as can be, yes, but he has a heart the size of Texas and possibly the surrounding Territories, as well. It's vulnerable, and gets bruised quite easily, but he doesn't let that stop him from caring and helping. He's teaching us a lot as we go along.

And Smidge? Smidge just had a beautiful day. First, he got a basket to carry around and swing about. WOOHOO, FUN STUFF! Then we put plastic strings in it! OH JOY! But, look! What's this? What are these colorful things on the ground? Ooo, put them in the stringy basket! This is GREAT, GUYS! But wait! There's more! They rattle! ~ OMGosh, they OPEN! At this point, we became concerned that he'd have a seizure or possibly an aneurysm. I don't think we've ever seen him so enthralled with a process.

Tomorrow, along with many other families around the world, we will gather together to celebrate the resurrection of our Lord. The boys look forward to tomorrow with the same excitement that they enjoyed today. We'll spend time with our wonderful congregation and then retire home for a Mediterranean-style feast and a time of sharing our blessings and our hopes for tomorrow. It will be a time well spent.

Kiss those babies!
~Dy

Because They Dared Ask,

"What if..."

What a wonderful gift to the world that there have always been men and women standing at the ready, unconcerned about looking the fool, or the eccentric, willing to ask, "What if...?"

We pushed back bathtime tonight for that very reason, and had one whompin' great discussion with the boys. It was about many things: the value of being willing to follow your questions, the importance of being able to keep going, the strength in adaptability and the willingness to accept new evidence, the fantasies of yesterday which are the truths of today, and what tomorrow may hold for them. In short, it was about the wonderful world possible as long as the next generation is willing to take stock of what we know and then ask, loud and clear, "What if...?"

It all started with a discussion of Absolute Zero (guess who started that one!), which brought us into the model aspect of mathematics, language, fish, The Universe, and Everything. The main point tonight centered on the mind - as encompassed by curiosity, ability, motivation, and imagination - and how it reaches farther than the boundaries of the physical world allow. Or, as James paraphrased, "Our brains can think of going places beyond our Playplace in the Universe." Yup.

On to pattern recognition, theories, proofs and suddenly (as everyone with a child who is six or four knows), you're landing on Mars, curing diseases, and saving the world - one splendid idea at a time. The boys headed up the stairs, trying to figure ways to get oxygen to Mars and convert methane to a fuel vehicles can run on. They're jazzed. It's all possible, and they could do it.

Our children can do anything. They can make a difference, and we try to keep positive ideals and noble goals in front of them. If you read the news, or listen to the talking heads, you're going to get a dreary picture of the future. If you talk to your children, you can help shape that future. The news is much more encouraging on that front. And you know, the more wonderful families I come in contact with, the more convinced I am that we aren't far from the norm. Don't let naysayers make you feel elitist or inadequate. Just smile and say, "What if...?"

Kiss those babies!
~Dy

Good Friday Morning!

A little morning blog just because I'm feeling particularly motivated. (lucky you, eh?)

What are you reading these days? James has decided he'd rather not tell me about what he's reading, as he thinks that'll discourage me from reading the book myself. Hmmm. OK. Well, Kiddo, this is going to call for drastic measures... so I have to completely mangle the story as I narrate to him, leaving him in stitches and correcting all my bizarre inventions. It is, really, a great way to see if your child grasped what he read. (It's also just a lot of fun!)

If we can find some Mommy 'n James time, I'd like to start reading The Eagle of the Ninth, by Rosemary Sutcliff, together. It's not quite on a level where John would enjoy it so much, but I do think James would enjoy it tremendously if we read it together, the way we read The Hobbit. The difficult part is finding time alone to read together. Who'd have thought that would be one of the big "issues" in a home?

Seriously, it is. I don't know about you guys, but there's no way I'm going to tell any child that he can't read with us, can't be a part of that effervescent magic that comes of reading together on quiet nights. I'm not going to deny him the mystery of pure imagination as it comes to life on each page. Just not gonna happen. Literature is too precious a gift to refuse to someone on the premise that he "might not get it". If he enjoys it and craves it, then he'll benefit from it, even if it goes straight over his head. The time spent together, sharing something delicious is a worthy endeavor. So, if John wants to read with us, then naturally, we'll do it together. But I do need to find a way to make room for that equally magical "one on one" time that James, in particular, craves with all he has.

Today's our day off, but seeing that we all have a pretty nasty dose of cabin fever and no transportation, I think we may do light lessons, just to offer up a little routine to the day. Like an extra day of math is going to kill 'em, anyway, right? Then maybe a walk out back to look for nests. We'll bake a little banana rice bread later on this morning and hopefully Zorak will bring us the Suburban at lunch so we can head over the Big, Scary Bridge to do some shopping and go stare at the otters.

Kiss those babies!
~Dy

Commenting Woes

Hey all, just a quick note from the editorial staff, here- I've received quite a few emails conveying the message that you can't leave comments. And when Kim can comment, she's usually just so excited that all she can say is, "It worked! Hi!" It seems silly to ask you to leave a comment asking what specific problem you're running into, doesn't it?

According to Blogger's stuff we should read but never do because it doesn't dawn on us to do so page, they're doing a lot of work on their servers (increasing number, size, efficiency, and a few other computer-related terms that meant nada to me). They'll be down tonight, so we'll see if tomorrow looks better for comments.

If not, then I'm thinking I'll set up an email feature on the blog somewhere.

On the plus side, for those who have my email and have taken the time to drop me a note and let me know you're having trouble posting comments, Thank You! I'd begun thinking everyone had stopped talking to me. (Which, yeah, I know is possible. I'm just glad that wasn't the case.)

Kiss those babies!
~Dy

Applied Physics

Science Nerd-dom has taken over my home. *sigh*

I'd like to blame Bill Nye. But I can't. I married an engineer. He comes from a whole nest of science-oriented souls. It's ingrained. There is nowhere to hide.

It seems our next project will be rockets. Homemade, of course, and if the amount of research Zorak has done just to determine the best release to use is any indication of the, well, the mess we're going to have when this is over, it's going to be a lot of fun. And, thanks to Zorak, I don't think anybody will put an eye out with this thing, either!

WOOHOO!

Kiss those babies and clear the launch area!
~Dy

I forget about Wednesdays

Our weekly schedule doesn't allow for much differentiation, and it's common to find that the days sometimes blend. (That's a much better way of saying, "I seldom know what day it is.")

Wednesday nights are just killing me. We joined a Wed. night Bible study. Um, a month ago? (I don't know, Zorak signed us up. The poor guy thought it was a one-time get-together and thought he'd be gettin' surf 'n turf points by volunteering us to go, I think. At any rate, we're in for a 13 week study of Psalms, now.) And it's on Wednesdays. Once we got the child-care ironed out (and that's working well, now that the boys know they can come to me and the adults know my children can come to me!), it's been such a great experience.

Still, I forget when it's Wednesday. It looks surprisingly like Tuesdays and Thursdays. It's been so long since we've had a regular Wed. night activity, as well. Last night, we had an early supper, snuggled in to enjoy popcorn and a family movie, when I realized "ACK! We have to be at the T's house in ten minutes!" The chaos that ensued would have done Barnum (or at least Bailey) proud. The only thing missing was the small car (thankfully!) We made it. It was great. Even Zorak enjoyed himself and the company.

Wouldn't you know this week would be cold and wet? So, of course, the Mistress is parked on the porch, and Zorak has the Suburban, so we're stuck. We desperately need fruit, and I'm out of creamer. It's going to be a long, long day. *sigh* Maybe we'll see a robin this morning, though, and that's always exciting!

I'll talk to you later, when I've had some coffee.

Kiss those babies!
~Dy

D*oh! Read the jacket cover... first!

So, I picked up The Hiram Key, thinking it was... I don't remember, anymore. I think I thought it was something to do with the Knights Templar (though don't ask me why I thought that- those words do not appear anywhere on the cover!) Turns out to be a couple of Master Masons who hooked up, travelled the world, and have managed, using their razor sharp Hardy Boys detective skills, to piece together all manner of astounding connections that hundreds of scholars, over thousands of years, have been too dull-witted (or dirty, as implied in the book) to ever notice.

Ah, yes, the esoteric diamond of Truth shining in the bleak and filthy mire of...

Christianity.

Yep, folks, over a third of the way into the book and it's nothing but a poorly laid out attack on Christianity. That's. About. It. The logic flaws have had me literally laughing out loud (at one point, spewing coffee all over the couch). I will give The Hiram Key a nod in that, as fiction, it's a better read than The DaVinci Code. As non-fiction, though, it smacks of agendaagendaagenda.

All humor aside, it is sad to know we've sunk to such a poor grasp of logic. That some folks have read this book and have not noticed the blatant fictionalization of most of it, from white glossings-over, to allout "where'd you get that", makes me a titch uneasy. From the claim that "color, race, creed or politics have always been irrelevant to membership" in The Lodge (riiiiiight), to the lack of sources to back up comments, such as, "it's a proven fact that *insert bizarre connection here*" (this thing goes pages w/o a single footnote, particularly when they're revving up on the soapbox), it's clear that the authors have somewhere to go and they intend to drag the reader, kicking, screaming, and asking unanswered questions, with them. One of my personal favorites has been the oh-so critical eye for detail and deep understanding of the original entymology of every. single. word. in the Bible (and, naturally, being big on esoteric knowledge, nothing is what it seems, at least not in the Bible) that suddenly develops astigmatic symptoms when "delving" and "researching" the "facts" on... just about every other religious group known to the history of man. (Sure, a rough translation is perfectly useful and without need of examination. Apples to oranges will always give you fruit salad, and that goes down far easier than the facts.)

*sigh*

I know The Lodge is not a Christian organization. OK. Fine. It doesn't claim to be, and I knew that when I picked up the book. I'll admit it, I'm a huge KT fan, though. And there is a lot of history to be learned. (And this book does touch on the history of the KT, in so much as it's trying to make connections. Some actually exist, some, eh, I'm not ready to return to grad school just yet to figure out where the truth leaves off.) So far, this book has gone so deeply over the edge on so many specific occasions that it's blown any and all credibility it may have had at first.

And no, for the record, the photos of the sacred garments didn't convince me that the authors are necessarily bright, or honest, or above board. Please. Anyone who grew up in The Lodge has, at one point or another, witnessed a number of "secret" things when the grown ups have had just a few too many drinks. Plus, with the exception of the "secret work" of the Order, it's all on record with the Library of Congress. Way to break new ground, guys!

On the postivie side, The Hiram Key does provide a nifty timeline by which you can follow their journey, some lovely maps of the Sumerian region, and 16 pages of B&W photos. Some of the claims are truly interesting and feasible, but they're buried in leaps of faith of such huge proportion that nobody seems to have seen except the authors and, perhaps, their editorial team.

So, the moral of this story: read the jacket cover before you check out the book!

Kiss those babies!
~Dy

Well Worth It

So it is now nearly three AM. I just rebooted the computer (because we couldn't just update and go, now, could we?)

You must listen to Snell's Law Song. It's great!

See the link in the entry below, if you don't already have the page bookmarked.

Seriously, even if you need to update your music-like software,

even if you have to figure out how to get your speakers to work,

even if you have dial-up.

It's worth it.

OK, tomorrow's going to be a little more difficult to enjoy, due to the lack of sleep, but that's what naps are for, right?

Kiss those babies!
~Dy

General... Stuff

Do you think I need to start being good now to get high-speed internet access for Christmas? Hey, does Huntsville has high-speed internet access? I may still be downloading the update for "Real Player (registered trademark here) with Harmony Technology (no trademark here - go figure)" by the time we get there. And, you know, I'm feeling particularly whiny about it at the moment! Someone posted a great link to physics songs, which, honestly, how can you resist checking that out? So, we did, and Zorak (while not as enthusiastic as I expected him to be, *snort*) picked a song to listen to, but the aforementioned Real Player needed to be updated and... well, he gave up half an hour ago and went to bed. Curse this slow connection!!

We had so much fun today. We played all the songs from Chitty-Chitty Bang Bang! and danced in the living room. I. am. out. of. shape. (And Dick Van Dyke's physical agility blows me away!) We need to buy the soundtrack, because it takes a long, long time to dance to the songs using the menu feature on the DVD. The boys loved it, though (and it did give me a chance to gasp and rest my quivering limbs between songs).

It was a laid-back, Classical day. Typical around here, really. We did our Latin, then blew bubbles in the back yard. We did math, then played in the mud. We worked in the rest of our work throughout the day. Smidge is either sick or teething. The result is the same: he's covered in snot and miserable. The boys were wonderfully tender toward him and only knocked him over twice while trying to wipe his nose (by the third lap, chasing him around with a tissue, they changed directions and caught him head-on).

I made an unknown concoction for supper. Zorak hates that. Not so much the food that comes of it, but I think it's just that he lacks faith in my culinary abilities. If what I'm fixing does not have a readily known name, or come from a cookbook we actually own, he gets twitchy. (Wonder where he got that from?) I think I'm getting fairly good at it, but who knows? The boys eat it because that's what's on the table, and Zorak eats it... then gets something else from the fridge. Ah, well, nobody's starving or suffering from food poisoning, so I consider it a job well done!

Tomorrow we must forage (ok, hit the market, but "forage" sounds much more interesting!) We must vacuum and continue our decluttering process. We must enjoy one another and be sure to soak up every single precious moment we can, never forgetting that the errands and chores are but the backdrops to the real memories. Should be a good day.

Kiss those babies!
~Dy