07.19.08
Leather Mug
Watch ‘cha think?
The tupperware cup wasn’t meant to be used, but I didn’t want to do bee’s wax (what you see at most Renaissance Fairs) and it’ fits - perfectly!
Boy wants it and he’ll have a liner he can pull and wash.
5 Places that I have lived
This meme comes via Sandra Dodd. I saw it over there ages ago, but then got sidetracked and never did it.
The fine print:
Name 5 places you’ve lived. Be as specific or generic as you like.
List 5 memories associated with each of those places.
Tag 5 others.
I’m not going to tag anyone, but let me know if you decide to do it.
So, I’ve already given out a list of the 26ish places I’ve lived and so now I need to decide on which 5 to focus on. Read the rest of this entry »
07.18.08
Biology Lab Schedule for next year
My livingroom is full of kids playing D&D, so I’ve been spending most of the afternoon planning out the bio labs for this coming year. Like I said yesterday, this is both easier and harder than the last time I did this. We are certainly going to do some labs that I judged too much last time and dropping some of the busy work labs that we did last time.
I still need to price out supplies and availabilities, but this should get us through the year. (D) means it’s a dissection.
Sampling a Plant Community
Observing the Uncertainty of Measurements
Identifying Organic Compounds
Investigating Chemical Cycles in the Biosphere
Investigating Air and Water Pollution
Observing Osmosis
Measuring the Effect of Light Intensity on Photosynthesis
Observing Respiration
Observing Specialized Cells
Investigating Inherited Traits
Making Karyotypes
DNA Extraction
Comparing Adaptations of Birds
Modeling a Gene Pool
Making Coacervates
Using and Constructing a Dichotomous Key
Comparing the Characteristics of Molds
Observing Root and Stem Structures
Investigating Germination and Seedling Development
Investigating Germination Inhibitors
Comparing Sponges and Hydras
Observing the Structure of a Squid and a Clam (D)
Observing the Structure of a Starfish and Grasshopper (D)
Observing the Structure of an Earthworm (D)
Comparing Invertebrate Body Plans
Investigating Frog Anatomy (D)
Observing the Structure of a Perch (D)
Observing the Structure of a Lizard and a Snake (D)
Comparing Primates
Observing the Structure of a Fetal Pig (D)
Observing Vertebrate Skeletons
Observing Nervous Responses
Observing Bone Composition and Structure
Measuring Lung Capacity
Simulating Urinalysis
07.17.08
Midnight movie
LOL - yep, we’re are going to the midnight showing of Batman. I’m looking forward to seeing it, but the crush of people I could do without.
In the meantime, I figured I’d chat about what the week has been like.
Hot, dry (for a change), and full of mid-summer lull.
For Girl (who likes to claim that I always mention her last!) it’s been a slow week with me mostly pushing her to start cleaning up her mess in both her room and the stuff she’s stored in the spare room’s closest. I need her to get the stuff out of the spare room before next weekend because she’s taking off for a week to North Carolina with a friend and Datter will arrive before she gets home.
Yep, 14 and off to spend 9 days with a friend and her mom. In a community on a lake with a pool. My main concern is that she’s going to forget to use suntan lotion the first day and fry. She is very excited about going and has been counting down the days.
And for Boy, it’s been a week of trying to clean up his messy room and start to organize himself for leaving. One part of organizing was needing to get a school physical - no problem - and looking into transferring his medical care to a doctor in San Antonio - big problem.
You see his miracle drug still needs him to visit a hospital every 8 weeks for about 4 hours. Our doctor here can’t set that up in another state, so she suggested that we find a local doctor and through her contacts came up with a few suggestions.
So, I tracked them down and was all ready to call to set up a “first” appointment - hopefully while we are down there dropping Boy off at college. But before I called, I checked with our insurance to make sure we had all the Ts crossed.
WAIT - they don’t have any PPOs in Texas - so going to anyone there is out of network. And….that’s going to cost us from $3000 to $4000 dollars each year. Now I realize for anyone struggling with uninsured health issues, that’s a drop in the bucket, but we have insurance.
So, the new solution is going to be flying Boy back home every 8 or 9 weeks (when it falls on a break) to continue getting treatment with his current doctor. That was a fun afternoon of talking to insurance agents and PPO network people (they are separate).
Next on his list to taking a math placement test (you do it online before you get there), finish reading Three Cups of Tea (all incoming freshman read the same book), settle on which freshman seminar he wants to take (you request 3 or 4 possibilities ahead of time), and getting his first suit (lol - yep, he’s never had one before). It ought to be a busy two weeks before he leaves for his second big 4H trip.
And I spent last weekend trudging through The Book Thief - yes, I hated it. Just couldn’t get into the story - though I did enjoy the view of the “common” Germans during WWII. Blah.
Everyone else in my book group LOVED it, so I guess I’m a weird duck.
Beyond that, I’ve been putting together the biology labs for the fall - I have my notes from when Boy did it 4 years ago, but it still seems like starting from scratch. Except for one thing - when Boy did bio, we didn’t have much in the way of supplies, so I knew I was buying almost everything. This time, I have both what’s left from his bio and the stuff from doing chemistry. Which means before I order anything, I need to survey all my (disorganized at this point) supplies and figure out what I do and don’t need - definitely will keep me busy.
I’ve also been organizing getting catalog samples for my talk next month - which means my floor is covered with catalogs - if you have any favorites, please let me know and I’ll add them to the piles.
and lastly, I’ve been working on a leather mug - like they sell at the Renaissance Fairs. I’ll post a pic when it’s done. Boy has already requested that he can keep the mug when it’s finished.
And I better get my contacts out and get ready to go!
07.12.08
So fair is over..
And all that’s left is picking up projects tomorrow afternoon.
And I guess I didn’t get around to telling you how they did.
Boy got a honor ribbon on his bracers, and a division championship on one of his photography exhibits (gads, I’m blanking on which one, I’ll have to figure that out tomorrow.) He also got a couple of place ribbons in the open show photography (again, I’m drawing a blank). We think two of his photography exhibits will be going to state, but again, we’re waiting for pick up tomorrow to be sure.
But his big news is that at the Achievement program tonight, he was awarded one of four 4H Council Scholarships!
Girl got a reserve championship ribbon for her gift wrapping, achampionship ribbon for her CD case (and it’s going to state), and the reserve Grand Championship for photography (we think 2 of her exhibits are going to state, but not the one that got the 2nd top prize, which is kind of confusing - though allowable in photography). oh, the picture is the one of the sunset, btw. Her weather poster also took a reserve grand championship (and it’s going), but the surprise of the week is that her bread won the Grand Championship for foods. It’s a very hard project to do well in, let alone beat out everyone else. She is quite tied up with trying to figure out how to have it at it’s freshest for sending it to Indy next month.
And I guess to make it complete, I should say that Girl’s costume won the open show costume division of sewing, while Boy’s took second in historical garb. My leather bowl had no competition, so it will have to wait until the open show at State Fair to be really judged. And I also had a handful of photographs win.
Not bad at all.
And before I run off for the night, I want to say that Girl and I went to see Love Guru this afternoon - what a waste of 2 hours.
But there was one thing from the movie that I wanted to share:
B - Basic
I - Instructions
B - Before
L - Leaving
E - Earth
I got a kick out of it - at least I’ve never heard of it before.
07.10.08
A to Z meme
For some odd reason, nobody tags me for a meme - and I enjoy doing them occasionally!
So, I have to go find them for myself. Since Jo has been so quiet this year, I figured I had to pick up the one she did.
Accent: I’m one of those people that tends to talk like the people around her (Except that I have this mid-western thing about my r’s in some words, and I’ve had it my whole like. For example: wash comes out like it has an r in it.) When Hubby and I got married he was finishing up grad school at Brown, which meant he was interacting with a wide selection of people from all over the world. I was working in a small engineering office just over the state line in Massachusetts. I shared my office with another engineer from Lowell, MA. She had a very, very strong Boston accent. We got married in Buffalo, and people kept coming up to Hubby asking him why he was talking normal and I sounded like I had been living in Boston.
Breakfast or no breakfast: BREAKFAST - definitely. Most often it’s a large glass of OJ and a bagel, though I won’t complain about eggs or pancakes, or even donuts. I can’t stand milk in the morning - it makes me feel sick to my stomach, and I don’t drink coffee.
Chore I don’t care for: CLEANING THE HOUSE - can I lump it all into one chore?
Dog or Cat: We have 1 dog and 2 cats, but I could live without the cats. I’d miss the beast.
Essential Electronics: Computer, cell phone, stereo, pda….I probably have too many
Favorite Cologne: Don’t have any, don’t wear any
Gold or Silver: White gold?
Handbag I carry most often: My leather purse - no big surprise
Insomnia: rarely. I’m the one whose head hits the pillow and I’m gone. Of course if I got more sleep, I’d probably take longer.
Job Title: Jack of all trades?
Kids: For sale - cheap. - oh, yes, two, one of each.
Living Arrangements: well, let’s see. I set up the house the way I want and Hubby tells me how he wants it arranged. Then we find a middle ground that works.
Most Admirable Trait: Obsession?
Naughtiest Childhood Behavior: Where should I start? I guess the one that I find ironic is from my high school public speaking class…..or maybe the time when I was 17 and on a junior drivers license (meaning that you needed to be off the roads at 9 PM) and went nearly 100 mph down the Vestal Parkway at 1 AM… or maybe…
Overnight hospital stays: Boy’s birth - a c-section - 3 days, Girl’s birth - a v-bac - 2 days, Repairing the damage from Girl’s birth - I don’t remember anymore.
Phobias: falling uncontrolled, high narrow bridges (especially driving over ones with no real shoulders - the I90 bridge north of Buffalo unto Grand Island is the worst and I’ll go out of my way to avoid it.)
Quote: “oh shot” or “fair enough”
Reason to smile: My family
Siblings: 2 older half-sisters (though we grew up together and Dad adopted them), 1 older brother, 1 younger step-brother (don’t really know him), and 1 younger step-sister (got to know her as adults)
Time I wake up: When the alarm goes off - anything from 6 to 10 AM
Unusual Talent or Skill: I guess my leatherwork?
Vegetable I Refuse to Eat: Sweet Potatoes - can I say UGH?
Worst Habit: I’m not telling, though I bet Hubby could name a few.
X-rays: I’m not sure any more. I had a chest x-ray in high school when I considering going ROTC, I’ve had my ankle’s xrayed at least once, and don’t forget about teeth.
Yummy Stuff: Chocolate, Cheesecake….
Zoo Animal I Like Most: Yeah, right. I guess a lion. I’ve always been partial to the big cats.
Let me know if you decide to play along.
07.08.08
Lightbulbs and the Clean Energy Act of 2007
There’s more to it than meets the eye.
HT Jane.
I know that I’m not the only one who uses those twisty light bulbs. I use them where I can (this house uses 7 different sizes of lightbulbs - it drives me crazy). I may start rethinking that after watching this video.
Whee!!
Can you tell I’m excited? - NOT
I don’t know why, but I’ve always had trouble dealing with my birthday on the years that end in 5. Not sure why. And this year is running true to form.
Just kind of feeling like I should be doing more. I guess I’m looking ahead to the idea that Girl will be done in 4 years and I have no idea what I want to be doing with myself. And with no real ‘goal,’ I’m not sure how to get there.
For joy.
I’m 45; and unlike when I was 18 - I have no idea what I want to do when I grow up!
