Saturday Sitting

Thanksgiving was a success. Everyone was fed and no one got food poisoning (Because I wasn't involved in the food prep). below are a few pictures.

Above we see Scott performing resuscitation and last rights to my beloved Toshi. Note the 2X4 holding it together? also note the bottom corner opposite: the plastic just came off!

Above you can see how good of a kid dog Gypsy is...she came over and sprawled out next to Emma. When Eli came over and lay down next to her, she was in kid heaven!

Below is my kid sister and me. Note how slim she is and how I have filled out... I don't see any resemblance.

Below Cora is setting out her home-made rolls...err, what's that? The bag? Oh, well, she always puts UPC labels and plastic bags on everything she makes...yeah, that's it.

I did help...a little.

Below are the kids, with Gypsy looking on, apparently bored.

my other nephew, David, who seems to shun cameras was taking a nap...he is as charming as ever...unless Uncle Jim has squeezed him too tight or scared him...

I think everyone had fun! Cora seemed to have overdone it and felt worse the next day.

And Friday we relaxed. Lots of sitting, some laying, small, small amounts of standing, and lots of snacking. Thats what we did Yesterday...Well, Cora did not do as much snacking as I did. In all it was a very good day. I spent a lot of time moving things into my new computer.

My new computer is like a rocket ship compared to my old computer. I discovered this morning that you can play music in the background while working on something else, like the internet. That is just crazy! If I wanted to listen to music on the old one, I had to turn everything else off, and even then the sound would skip or stop for a second. So, most of the time, I didn't. If I watched You-Tube I turned the sound off. Now, I suffer no such things! I shall endeavor to keep my spy-ware killers up to date and the anti-virus software smoking hot on this one!

We have had some minor changes in our fish tanks lately. I have mentioned a few. We moved Marvin our Maroon clown from his large 30 gallon FOWLR(Fish Only With Live-Rock) tank to our 16 gallon reef. Most of the books say a Maroon needs at least a 30 gallon, but Marvin seems quite content, and even happier in this new tank. The skunk clown we have in there, Flower, is much smaller than Marvin, but took no time establishing his ownership of the tank. Now, their relationship seems to be one of friendship. This morning I saw Marvin taking a length of macro algae from the corner he has been given and pulling it out to the front of the tank. I think it was his way of telling me I should clean some of it out...so I did.

So, here are a few pictures I took of our tank yesterday. I think I did pretty good.

Today, Cora felt particularly bad and finally decided to go see the Doctor. She has Bronchitis...a precursor to pneumonia in Cora's case...last time she let it go too far and caught pneumonia. This time she realized what was going on and now she is on some anti-biotics. That should help. I made her turkey soup and she is resting under a blanket and my watchful eye.

She has lost her voice again. I usually joke about how quiet it is when she loses her voice, but I really hope she begins to feel better.

Happy Thanksgiving!

This will be short, as I am exhaustipated.

We had my family over for the big T-day and the food was excellent. We made too much (That should read Cora made too much, but occasionally I carried something to the table or handed her a utensil, so I am totally taking some credit!). We are both stuffed and tired. My niece and nephews were all over the house. Never in one spot for more than a few seconds. It was great catching up with my Sister and Bro-in-Law. The latter took my computer and proceeded to administer last rights. He did mange to dig some malware off that my usual program was apparently overlooking. That's why he is a genius! It is acting better, but I am still going to attempt to take advantage of the Black Friday deals and get something better. Actually, his ministrations may make it possible for me to get stuff off this computer that previously was not possible!

My computer currently operates with 512MB memory(RAM) and 40GB of hard drive. The ones that are bottom wrung out there today have 3GB memory (RAM) and between 160 and 250GB of hard drive! Their processors doubtlessly make mine look like a chariot does next to a jet fighter. I thought about netbook, but I want the capability of running CDs, DVDs and burning the same. I hope I can get lucky!

Since this is Thanksgiving, and I rarely say so specifically, I am thankful that I have such a great family, so many great friends, and such a wonderful wife! Thanks you folks for following my blog and being a part of my life!

OK, that's enough mushiness. Go eat some leftovers!

Weekend Work

We worked on the house this weekend! There was some fun, too, though. We cleaned the house but we also watched some movies. Starting Friday, we went to New Moon. Saturday, while we were cleaning we watched a few movies, too. We watched Star Trek, the new movie, for the second time in a week. We also watched some other movies, but the main thing is, I think the new Star Trek has taken its place amongst its brethren.

The house is almost there. I think we will be ready for Thanksgiving Day and a whole mess of family. Cora did some cooking and food prep and I helped. We cleaned at the house, floors and more.

I rearranged one of the fish tanks a bit, in hopes of getting the smaller Skunk Clown to stop picking on my Maroon Clown. Most sources say that Maroons are pretty plucky, but mine must be a pacifist.

I managed to contact the son of a pilot that died in an aircraft crash. I am hoping to get more information from this man concerning his father. His father was a highly decorated pilot in Vietnam. I hope to write the article in the coming weeks.

I work in EV twice this week. I am looking forward to it! Hopefully, I can pick up another job this week.

Gypsy began limping around on Saturday morning. She won't put weight on her right back leg. She did not move much Saturday, but Sunday she began to move around a bit more. Still, Cora plans to take her in to the vet to figure out what's wrong. We all hope it will be something simple (and let me honest, CHEAP).

Animal Kingdom

I took a few pictures these past few days. Our animals rule the house. I thought I'd try to show how "in-your-face" they get.

Due to the fact that our camera is less than a photographer' dream, they may be a bit grainy, however, I believe it possible to make do. Weston made wonderful shots with what he had. Ansel Adams...well, he had a pretty good camera, we'll just ignore him, shall we? How about the guy who made those wonderful shots during the Spanish Civil War? So, really, it doesn't matter what camera you have, it's how you use it.

Our animals have a lot of personality. Above, you can see Toby very interested to have me refill his food dish. They cat had a similar task in mind. Below is Gypsy, and she was more intent in playing.

Today, for some reason, Gypsy came in with a sore leg. We have been giving her aspirin since. There appears to be nothing in her foot, and a careful examination of her leg showed no tender spots and nothing obviously out of place. She just won't use her right rear leg. We are both a little worried about our girl's discomfort. If it isn't better by Monday, we will be forced to take her in and see if the vet can see what's wrong. She hasn't moved much at all today...a worrisome turn of events.

We have been cleaning. The house is well on its way to being ready to welcome visitors. We are looking forward to Thursday!!

GOT IT!!

YAYYYY!!!!!!!! The fish (Fish, Corals, Cora, and I) will be happy! The ballast for the light in our fish tank came last night! I will install it later today and the corals in our tank will no longer be light starved.

Since the light went out I have been using a hokey little contraption to light the tank. I have been using two florescent reading lamps and our tall lamp. It has worked ok, but the whole thing is ugly.

We got two extra fish, and a third that died upon entry. These were from a good friend whom I work with during the summer. He was taking down a tank and these fish needed a home. The one that died was a lawnmower blenny...for some weird reason, our tanks seem set on NOT housing this fish species. The other two are Ocellaris clown fish, who seem to have moved in and forced my beautiful Maroon Clown into hiding...We are probably going to have to do some fish juggling to make this work. Still, the two new clowns seem to have made the move nicely.

I have been cleaning house when I get home at night. I have shampooed most of the carpet and have a few final touches to make. Now we need to finalize the menu and assign dishes and then we'll be ready for a fun Thanksgiving! I can't wait!

The Advance of Twilight Brings Shadows.

Cora and I began the day as we have the past few days, that is, with extreme laziness. It was nice. Finally we got moving. I wanted to leave a treasure hunt for my family and Cora came along to aid me in my endeavor. We put one out for my dad and then stopped by to say hi and drop off the coordinates. I also wanted to leave one for my sister there. Worked out perfectly.

While we were there talking with my mom, my dad called...he had been out setting up a treasure hunt for us...figures. So, we waited around and then went off on our treasure hunt after he got back.

Here are some pictures I took whilst attempting his. (It was cut short by accute darkness) I uploaded them to my photo editor program, which took FOREVER. I adjusted and prodded and, I think, improved them a bit.

This snag was apparently a VERY LARGE tree at one time...but it got burnt out...and I very nearly had a hear attack at the time. I crossed a field and was pressing through some very deep weeds when I felt the ground cave beneath me, I glanced down and saw a badger hole...my heart raced when I imagined the welcome a badger might extend to an uninvited guest. Then I realized it had not been inhabited for probably a year...phwew!! (Who knows what kinds of tea a badger would serve...and would he keep sugar on hand?)

It was in a semi-grotesque shape, apparently frozen in a moment of agony. That or it is a sculpture of a Dr. Suess fish jumping...Quite a play of positive an negative.

Then I took this one in the rapidly advancing twilight (no relation to the book that Cora is, as I write, buried in). By the time I had arrived at the next leg of the hunt, shadows had advanced across our great valley, and I retreated.

When I got home, I realized I need a bigger zoom, since the really interesting part of the photo was this:

But, our tiny camera is no low-light goddess, and I am not the steadiest bipod (you thought I would say tripod, but I am no Patrick). I think it looks better as a painting.

This has been a very relaxing holiday weekend...and I got to spend it with my favorite person...Cora!

Black Friday Avoided

Yesterday was nice. We had tons of snacks, some good wine, and an excellent dinner. Eating was interrupted at regular intervals to play Wii. I am still fairly decent at the bowling, but Cora wipes the fairway with my twitching remains when we golf. Molly now seems to be a Wii convert, too!

This morning Cora woke me with a kiss and we went over to her parents' house for breakfast. Then we went to town to brave the shoppers...we lost our resolve when we dropped by Walmart. Oh, the humanity! I must not be very good at shopping, since none of the deals were worth the crowds. We finally ended up going to the pet store. We bought a piece of bubble coral and a couple snails.

The rest of the day promises to be relaxing. Ahhh, just like any other weekend! Except more food!

I hope you all had a great Thanksgiving, and I am sorry yesterday's post was so sappy...I get that way once in a while.

Hey, Thanks!

Thanksgiving.

It's one of my favorite holidays. No, that's incorrect. Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday. Yeah, I love gorging myself and I love good food (more than I should, I fear, especially given my desire to avoid exercise). Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday for different reasons than that, though. I think I narrowed it down a few years ago. It's because Thanksgiving brings up all of those very old memories and is a time we set aside for family.

Admittedly, these past few years, many of our Thanksgivings have been spent mainly with my in-laws, but that is how things have turned out, and let's just be honest, I consider them just as much family as I do anyone else. Thanksgiving is the day we get to spend with our loved ones and, even if we don't come out and say it, we know that we are loved.

I remember the Thanksgivings spent in my youth with cousins and aunts and uncles and grandparents. My dad's mother was never, now that I trully appreciate cooking I know this, a very good cook. At least, not when I was a kid. I did not know any better then, but I do now, and having had her cooking, appreciate good food even more. Do not get me wrong, My Grandma H. was a great lady, with a soft spot for me, and I for her, but her cooking was halfhearted by the time I was of an age to remember it clearly.

My other Grandma, though...well, lets just say she was a very good cook. I can't get into the semantics and the differences in kitchens or cooking techniques, because I was a boy and, quite honestly, did not spend more than the required time in the kitchen to gulp down the turkey and rush off to play with the cousins...as soon as I was permitted, in any case. The Turkey was always great, but, I think it was Grandma's Turkey Gravy that made Thanksgiving Dinner SOOOO good.

Beyond the cooking, though, there was relaxation and family. After every dinner, there was a period where the triptofan kicked in and everyone just sort of laid about the house wherever there was room. I like that lounging part.

And, as for family? At my Grandma H.'s the grown-ups sat around and talked and we kids did not get out for awhile. Still, there was inevitably going to be a wrestling match between my dad and my uncle or one of the others...my dad's chest hair seemed to always come out the loser...ok, TMI.

At my Grandma C.'s, the kids could go out in the acre of evergreens that my grandfather had planted. He had passed away in 1976, and so any plans he had for them were long gone. Still, it made a great playground for playing army or hide-and-seek or any other games we came up with. Sometimes, I would just go out and try and imagine my Grandad alive.

I think the strongest memories I have of Thanksgiving, though, are after my Grandma H. had passed and just before we lost my Grandma C. My mom's sister and her husband had bought a place in Cle Elum...up in the Cascades. It was a three or four bedroom house that they got as a place to get away from the hassles of Seattle...or that's what the story was. It was old, a veterinarian had originally owned it. I was driving and had my own car. I also had my camera, a Pentax P3N SLR.

It was, as it turned out, the final Thanksgiving we would have with my Grandma C. Just about all of the local family was there. When it got too hot in the house, or just too crowded, we could go for walks, or for me, I could sometimes go for a short exploratory drive. I took my camera. I now wish I had been more generous with film and had taken more of the family, but at that age you simply know that family members have always been there and they always will. I still have warm memories of a simply furnished home with, then new (to us), halogen lighting. We then might play games, usually Uno. Ahh, what memories can do.

So, Thanksgiving. I want to give my thanks for my family, both on my side and my wife's. I am always glad to see my niece and nephews. I think know they are the best kids around. I am glad that my sister and her husband, Scott, are nearby, and doubly glad they like the GPS as much as I do...if not more. I am glad that my parents remain, by and large, healthy and alive. I am glad that I have gotten the chance to become as close as I am with my Father-in-Law and Mother-in-Law, they are really great people who seem to accept me for what I am (A wonderful guy, if there is any doubt out there). I am thankful that I can consider my sister-in-law and her husband, Ryan, friends. I am thankful for my other Sis-in-Law and Brother-in-Law, too. I am also thankful that I have been able to call Cora's Grandmother my own, too. It's always good to have a grandmother around, not only are they useful, but they are always good for a hug, too!

Mostly, though, I am thankful that I have been able to spend so many Thanksgivings with Cora. I doubt I could love anyone as much as I do her.

I have a job that I enjoy. Friends and family (mostly family who double as friends). Good food and fine pets. So, yeah, I have much to be thankful for. Happy Thanksgiving to you all!

Teaching Post That May Bore Most Humans

I love sixth graders. I taught at the intermediate today. An entirely different batch of sixth graders than before, but nevertheless, I enjoyed being around them. Sixth graders seem to be such a different animal than the others.

I have now taught each grade level. I appreciate the Seniors in their advanced classes, and the kinders are the cutest to be seen. I like third graders, but fourth graders seem to be a bit more effort. I like Fifth graders, but Sixth graders just seem SO THERE in the learning. Seventh and Eighth graders are in between being children and becoming young adults who basically don't know who they are anyway, and so take everything so seriously, unless it's learning...and then it's full-hearted-half-heartedness.

We had a read-in today. It was the last day of the quarter. They have a program in-which they read a book, answer questions related to thtbook on computer, print it out and gain points according to how well they do. It seems pretty simple. The kids do well. We spent most of the day reading. It was fun.

What made it better was the other sixth graders in the hallways calling out to Mr. H. asking when I would sub again for them. Then, earlier, at the beginning of the day, I was walking through the teacher's lounge and one of the teachers was talking to some others. She looked at me and asked my name. I said, "Jim." She said, "No, Your last name." I told her. She said, "you're the one!" Apparently she and her daughter had been talking about subs. One of the subs at the intermediate had fallen asleep yesterday, and she had brought this up to her daughter. Her daughter said the best sub of all was...me.

I later found out who her daughter was. It was a girl whom I thought did not think alot of me. It is always interesting to find out who likes you...often it ends up being the person you think does not care much for you. Weird.

Good Lord, this post make me sound like some sort of ultra-awesome guy, but the truth is I am not ultra-awesome, I simply tell the kids the way it is and have fun doing it. That last part, having fun, is, I think, the part that makes me a good sub.

I am sorry this post is not more interesting. I guess it might be interesting to teachers...but even then, well, it's a close call.

On a more happy note, far from me boasting, Thanksgiving is creeping nearer! One more day, as Cora's clock indicates. See her site for the cool countdown she has on her site.

Oh, that's another thing: Teaching sixth graders makes me want to be a Dad THAT much more.

Did I mention my beer is done? It tastes more like Cider than beer.