Take me out to the ballgame!

Danjo the Magnificent took mid-Adventurer to the ballgame tonight, where they got to parade on the field (thank you soccer club and b-Ball team!) and enjoy fireworks after the home team won the game. 

The rest of us watched Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark. The staff of Ra seems to be entirely fictitious. Venom was wondering.  Adventure boy was made nervous at bedtime. Not suprising. PG meant something different then than it does now. Or maybe we parents just didn't remember this movie all that well. Lots of killing (Indiana Jones is fairly cold-blooded). Lots of drinking. Lots of not-child-appropriate language. Oops. Adventure boy was comforted by remembering who God really is and fell asleep without any trouble. Venom (A1) commented than it was better than the selection for school movie night, which was her other entertainment option for the evening.

While I wait

I kind of like the Honda CRV. It looks comfortable. And sporty.

I really just want my minivan back. With a new battery

The Rest of the Story

Venom, A.K.A. Adventurer One, has made several observations about "The Sting":

• "Once I calmed down, I remembered that I should have elevated my leg"--she has been certified in First Aid and CPR since mid-August. 
• She woke up in the middle of the night with most of her face numb and with double vision. The end of her nose has been the most numb, but the numbness in the back of her throat felt "weird" at lunchtime.
• She had no frame of reference for the initial pain of the sting. Nothing with which to compare.
• Her hands have been quite numb. She says it feels like they are tingly like they have been asleep and need to be shaken to wake them up, but exercise seems to make the numbness and tingling worse. The hour-long orchestra rehearsal this evening definitely made things worse. At 24 hours post-sting, her fingertips were still numb.
• The area of the bite (near her knee) is completely numb in an area about the size of her hand.
• Her little sister is good to have around in an emergency.  She made several phone calls in an effort to track down mom and dad, while Amazing Sitter tried to calm the hysteria of the moment; and she googled what to do when bitten by a scorpion (first on the list was "stay calm" and it was already too late for that). Her brother is good to have around also. He and Amazing Sitter were the Search and Destroy team.
• She thinks we should step up our scorpion-eradication program. The rest of the family agrees. 
• She blames the laptop keyboard for the attack. She thinks it is retaliating for supposed abuse poured out upon it. She thinks the scorpion is in league with it.

Potatoes, Oil, Special Seasonings, and a little creativity over lunch

May we have your mantis, please?

This video is rather alarming (I don't know how to imbed it or I would). Don't watch if you are afraid of mantises. However, Adventurer would like to have Booyor's mantis as a pet. She will keep it as a house-mantis in her room. 

Adventurer One encountered the  Bark Scorpion at (too) close range last night. The symptoms of a sting (on the knee) are lots of pain (and screaming), and some other fun stuff, such as numbness (in the foot, knee, arms and hands, and face, as well as some funny vision stuff (in the middle of the night)). All that numbness continues as of this morning. Adventurer needed help with her earrings due to this bizarre numbness. The poison control people said it can last up to a month. (I apologize for the heavy use of parentheses in this paragraph).

Said of the scorpion:

"As with all animals, these creatures are a normal and desired part of the ecosystem.  Seeing one should be considered a real treat and not an opportunity to molest it or kill it." 

Umm, no. I don't think so. It is dead. The people responsible for that quote also have a skull and crossbones posted next to this same creature. Whatever.

This has been wildlife week at our house. We have toads, a snake, a goldfinch, and now, the scorpion. Everything can stay except the scorpions. Danjo the Magnificent sprayed for bugs again this morning. 

Here's the snake and the toads (I don't photograph scorpions):

It is a Ground Snake. They eat scorpions, but not people. Welcome to our yard, little friend.

These are some sort of toad. They eat bugs. They are cute. 

For Booyor

Boo!

No Black Holes Again Today.

Since the supercollider has been such a big disappointment, we'll move on for a while. At least until the threat of black holes looms again.

Take a look at Ray Moon. This guy is really something special. 

Grandpa Joe could have done this, but he chose to run marathons instead. 

Thank you Grandpa.

Lament over the destruction of something beautiful

Some things just don't need updating. The Mona Lisa doesn't need more modern clothing. Graffiti looks not so good on the Statue of Liberty. Just as the oceans are destroyed by the trash thrown overboard from cruise ships, beautiful hymns are destroyed by the removal of integral verses and the addition of repetitive, simplistic, unmusical worship choruses. It's like inserting the diet Coke jingle into the middle of Handel's Messiah. 

O For A Thousand Tongues is my most favorite hymn. It makes me cry.  The David Crowder band version makes me cry too-- in agony over the destruction of something beautiful. 

Added:

So come on and sing out

Let our anthem grow loud

There is one great love

There is one great love, Jesus.

Removed:

Hear Him, ye deaf

His praise, ye dumb

your loosened tongues employ;

ye blind, behold your savior come

and leap, ye lame, for joy.

Luke 7:19-23:

Summoning two of his disciples, John sent them to the Lord, saying, "Are You the Expected One, or do we look for someone else?"

When the men came to Him, they said, "John the Baptist has sent us to You, to ask, 'Are You the Expected One, or do we look for someone else?'"

At that very time He cured many people of diseases and afflictions and evil spirits; and He gave sight to many who were blind.

 And He answered and said to them, "Go and report to John what you have seen and heard: the BLIND RECEIVE SIGHT, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, and the deaf hear, the dead are raised up, the POOR HAVE THE GOSPEL PREACHED TO THEM.

"Blessed is he who does not take offense at Me."

Isaiah 29:18-19

On that day the deaf will hear words of a book,

         And out of their gloom and darkness the eyes of the blind will see. 

    The afflicted also will increase their gladness in the LORD,

         And the needy of mankind will rejoice in the Holy One of Israel.

Isaiah 35

The wilderness and the desert will be glad,

         And the Arabah will rejoice and blossom;

         Like the crocus 

    It will blossom profusely

         And rejoice with rejoicing and shout of joy 

         The glory of Lebanon will be given to it,

         The majesty of Carmel and Sharon 

         They will see the glory of the LORD,

         The majesty of our God. 

    Encourage the exhausted, and strengthen the feeble. 

    Say to those with anxious heart,

         "Take courage, fear not 

         Behold, your God will come with vengeance;

         The recompense of God will come,

         But He will save you." 

    Then the eyes of the blind will be opened

         And the ears of the deaf will be unstopped. 

    Then the lame will leap like a deer,

         And the tongue of the mute will shout for joy 

         For waters will break forth in the wilderness

         And streams in the Arabah. 

    The scorched land will become a pool

         And the thirsty ground springs of water;

         In the haunt of jackals, its resting place,

         Grass becomes reeds and rushes. 

    A highway will be there, a roadway,

         And it will be called the Highway of Holiness 

         The unclean will not travel on it,

         But it will be for him who walks that way,

         And fools will not wander on it. 

    No lion will be there,

         Nor will any vicious beast go up on it;

         These will not be found there 

         But the redeemed will walk there, 

    And the ransomed of the LORD will return

         And come with joyful shouting to Zion,

         With everlasting joy upon their heads 

         They will find gladness and joy,

         And sorrow and sighing will flee away.

Charles Wesley and Carl G. Glaser and Lowell Mason got O For A Thousand Tongues exactly right back in the 1700s. 

What do I know? Not much, but I am a good guesser!

 BBC "This Week's News" Quiz proves that you don't have to actually follow the news to know what is going on. 

I only missed one question. Ironically, it's the question about the one news story I was actually following this week.

Mystery Vine Reveals It's Identity

It is a Morning Glory! I love these things! They grew in our yard when I was a kid. We had them in Omaha as well. I don't think they usually grow here. I never see the seeds in the garden stores. I think I picked up a packet of seeds in CA. Danjo the MAGNIFICENT says he remembers throwing them out in the yard. With all the recent rain, they must have decided it was a good time to sprout. Horray!!

Victory!!

Team Adventurer Soccer beat the big power team from across the street. 

Wahoo!! 

After the frustration of yesterday, today's win is very sweet.

Yes, they were girls this time.

iPod Touch

Even cooler now!

Cheaper, too.

I want one! I want one!

Santa?

There's boys on the other team!

Adventurer #1 had her first soccer game yesterday. The girls were shocked to discover that the other team was co-ed. That meant eight boys and two girls on the field. There were three girls on the team but there was always at least one on the sidelines at any given time. Team Adventurer scored a goal or two, and the other team kept TA goalies very busy. They stopped many shots. They missed many shots. Ouch. Bruised knees.

"What's the black stuff under my eyes for, mom?"

Um, yes, it rained right before the game. 

That's a rainbow. 

Hopefully it means the team will never be destroyed like this again. 

Adventurer had fun anyway. Yesterday in practice she scored her first goal ever!

Another game today. We are fairly confident the competition is an all-girls team...

Switzerland is still here.

Well, they ran that super collider thingy last night. They sent one beam around clockwise and another around counterclockwise. They knew it worked when two white dots appeared on the computer screen. That's lame. 

What happened to the black hole? 

The Big Bang? 

Two white dots? 

You have got to be kidding.

 (Why are we wanting to replicate a supposed Big Bang anyway? Seems a little foolhardy to me.)

You know, this whole thing reminds me of the Fisher Price Speedstar Raceway.

One can smash things together for a lot less money.

One more thing. Stephen Hawking has declared the super collider safe. 

No need to worry anymore.

Shucks.

I needed something to worry about. 

Farmers vs. Barbarian Knights

The young adventurer has missed a some school due to illness (and and extra day off because this is second grade and one more day of rest can only be a good thing). We needed some entertainment that was not Wii, movies, Tamagotchi, or Webkins world. Out came the Playmobil sets.

He was the farmers. I was the Barbarians. The farmers were a motley crew. The barbarians were highly organized and well armed. They launched a raid, taking a pig and a little girl. They roasted and ate the pig, but before they could harm the little girl, they were attacked by the farmers. The barbarians fired cannons, and trebuchet, and attacked on foot and on horseback, but they were no match for the farmers. 

The barbarians were slaughtered.

The farmers heaped their bodies in a pile.

The farmer, armed with a rake, celebrates victory. Youth and farming implements trumps barbarianism and treachery once again.

The girl who had been kidnapped by the barbarians now plays happily in a tree with the little boy. The farmer's army did not escape unscathed, however. Observe the dead pirate. 

It's a good thing adventurer went back to school today, or the farm may have been attacked by dinosaurs and arctic scientists. Mom doesn't like to lose.

See you tomorrow. Maybe

By tomorrow morning we should know whether this Super collider  will create a black hole that will swallow the earth. That is, if we can measure that properly. And if we wake up in the morning. What might it be like to be swallowed by a black hole?

Dad once tried to launch a citrus fruit from a large slingshot made of surgical tubing. The whole thing backfired and the citrus supercollided with the wall of the house. His dad was mad, and the house bore the "black hole" for years to come. 

What if the super collider only makes a little black hole? What would the world be like with a black hole where switzerland used to be?

What? You have got to be kidding

This visit to the Wienerschnitzel did not win me over. Ugh. The corn dogs are made of chicken. Danjo the MAGNIFICENT, however, wants to join the Wiener Lover's Club.  

Belatedly...Orchids

So far, none are dead.

Meet Ziggy, the zygopelatum. Formerly of Trader Joe's. Check the previous post for what it looked like when it arrived at my house. Note the dead flowers and three dead leaves. Can you see the black spots on several other leaves. I don't think those are good.

And yet, a ray of hope appears. There is a new stem, with three new flowers. Prognosis for Ziggy. Uncertain. 

This is the dendrobium. It also had four blossoms when it arrived. They all died and fell off. No leaves have died. No new flower shoots.

Note the presence of a tiny new root. At least I think it is a root. I am a novice orchideer.

Prognosis. Guardedly good.

This is my other interesting houseplant. It has remained alive in the kitchen window for nearly a year. The plant in the front of the pot looks like a monster. This plant is alive because it needs infrequent watering. 

All my other house plants have been dismissed to the front porch to make room for the orchids. 

This is not a houseplant. It sprouted up in the front yard and is taking over. I probably need to pull it up before it kills the daylilies. Does anyone know what it is?

Little adventurer is sick. He has lost his voice. Booyor suggests some may consider this a good thing. Maybe Adventurer can help me update the blog tomorrow when he is missing the class field trip. 

Danjo the MAGNIFICENT, who brought me flowers today, says that Stihl electric trimmers are amazing. Especially when used with the Stihl trimmer line and the Stihl safety goggles. There are many Stihl yard tools available. There is also a toy chain saw. We did not buy this, as Danjo the Magnificent remembers being poked in the eye with one once. 

Danjo still prefers the banjo to the trimmer.

Adventuring adventurers and their faithful companions

This photo has been added because there were not enough photos on my blog anymore. And this is cute.

Coming tomorrow (maybe): An orchid update. 

As written in the Jerusalem Bible

Elijah himself went on into the wilderness, a day’s journey, and sitting under a furze bush wished he were dead. ‘Yahweh,’ he said, ‘I have had enough. Take my life; I am no better than my ancestors.’ Then he lay down and went to sleep. But an angel touched him and said, ‘Get up and eat.’ He looked round, and there at his head was a scone baked on hot stones, and a jar of water.

1Kings 19:4-6, approximately.

I like the angel of the Lord better after reading this translation.

Fitter today

Wii Fit age: 33!! 

I did better on the Agility test today.

Heard on the "Best" nightly news station

regarding hurricane Gustav (the disappointing news event):

 "Rain pelted the streets and winds caused bushes to rock wildly."

Now, I don't think any of the people in the path of this hurricane are likely to be disappointed with the ferocity of the storm. Only the news media.