Kayla’s Conundrum

Posted on August 8, 2011 | 2 comments

Good morning everyone!

In case you haven’t noticed, it has gotten hot again.  That ugly two word phrase “heat index” which usually comes with the equally ugly “heat advisory” has slipped back into my weatherman’s vocabulary.  I think our heat index was somewhere between 106 and 108 the other day.   When that happens, our house gets a little warm; our poor air conditioner does the best that it can, but only manages about a 20 – 25 degree temperature differential during the day.  At night the house cools down, but when the heat index is over 100, it is still several hours after sundown before the air conditioner gets to rest. 

The other night, we put Kayla to bed at her usual bedtime.  An hour later Kayla started crying, so I went into her bedroom to see what the fuss was about.  She told me, “Mommy, I’m hot.”  I gently pointed out to her that the fact that she had her bedspread,  a thick blanket and a sheet tightly cocooned around her might have something to do with it.  She emphatically disagreed. 

Rather than teach her elementary thermodynamics at 9 p.m. on a Tuesday night, I decided to make another gentle suggestion.  Perhaps, I urged politely, the room might feel cooler if she used her ceiling fan?  As I did so, I turned the fan on for illustrative effect.  I was told that solution, too, was unacceptable because it meant that the fan would be rotating while she was asleep.  A little less gently and politely, I mentioned that the fan rotating was the whole point of the exercise.  She remained unimpressed.

At that point, the tired parent part of me kicked in.  I told her that I was sorry she was hot, but she had to stay in bed.  As she crawled back under her comforter, the blanket and the sheet, I had one last idea.  I told her that I would bump the air down another two degrees, but that it would take a while for her to feel any effect because the air conditioner hadn’t even gotten below 76 yet.  A little teary-eyed, she sniffled her way to sleep as I closed the door. 

Kayla managed to find her way to sleep and out of her conundrum.  When she got up the next morning, she showed me that she had turned on her fan.  She also conceded that having it on did make her feel better.  Whether this was sans bedspread and blanket, she failed to share. 

Have a great day everyone!

Nancy

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Ten Reflections on Hot Green Tea in the Morning

Posted on August 5, 2011 | 4 comments

Good morning!

Having noticed that my caffeine of choice, Diet Coke, is rapidly increasing in price to the point where I will have to get a second mortgage to continue to indulge my current habit, I have instead been trying to drink a little bit of hot green tea in the morning.  After about four days, I have come up with a number of observations:

Green Tea Lid

1) Hot tea is, well, hot.  Once I get the tea past the scalding point where I can drink it, the first sip sends a wave of warmth through my whole body.  I can see this would be a good thing in the winter; in the summer, not so much! 

2) The green teas flavored with fruits are not bad tasting at all, especially when you add 1 teaspoon of sugar to the cup with the tea bag and then let the hot water flow over both.  I like the pomegranate flavored green tea and a blend called “raspberry soiree.”  The only problem with “raspberry soiree” is that I spend the next 60 minutes humming “Raspberry Beret” by the Artist Formerly Known As Prince.

3) Herb tea and green tea are not equivalent!

4)  The poor lonely coffee cups in the pantry that until now have only been used for ice cream (on occasion) and the caffeination of visiting parents and other guests are now seeing the light of day more regularly.

Lonely Coffee Cups

5) This is supposed to be doing something good for my health, although the idea that an anti-oxidant is a good thing is counter-intuitive to an oxygen/air-breathing life form, and the elimination of free radicals makes me feel a little bit like I am violating someone’s freedom of speech. 

6)  I have something else I need to remember to throw away as soon as I use it and not leave it lying around.  Dried, used tea bags are definitely not attractive!

7) I finally have something I can sit down at the table with and not be immediately surrounded by a pack of dogs begging for it.

8 )  The daughter still comes over to view the tea when she’s up, but it’s summer and she’s not been up often enough this week for it to really be a factor.  I let her try some peppermint herbal tea one morning, and it was not a hit! 

9 )    While not as many as for coffee drinkers, there are lots of cool accessories you can gather with tea drinking.  My collection currently includes a Keurig mini-brewer (off-limits to anything but pouring water in it to make tea with) and a ceramic tea pot. 

10)  The teaspoon of sugar (and possibly the heat of the tea) makes me crave a glass of ice water immediately after I drink the tea.  Drinking more water is always a good thing, right?  

Have a good day everyone!

Nancy

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Posted in Reflection, working mom

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Shadow’s Spread

Posted on August 4, 2011 | 2 comments

Good morning everyone!

This Summer's Bedspread

Usually, Mark and I keep the same bedspread on our bed year round, only changing it out periodically to get it cleaned, but this summer, we decided to switch the regular comforter out for a lighter bedspread.  The bedspread  is  lighter and more comfortable than the regular comforter for summer, but there is another reason I like the bedspread, aged though it is.

 
 

Quilting that remains on bedspread

Shadow loved this bedspread.  It was originally quilted.  Stitch by careful stitch, night after night, without messing up one single square of fabric or alerting us to what she was doing, over the course of her 16 years, Shadow managed to pull out every one of the quilting threads in the bedspread, leaving only a few on the side.

Before and After

We have been without Shadow for over nine years now, but I still won’t get rid of her bedspread.  20 years from now, in whatever condition it is, I still will be carrying it around.  I can’t touch Shadow any more, but I can touch the bed spread she worked so hard on, and smile at the memory.

Shadow and I at Calloway Gardens

Have a great day everyone!

Nancy

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Posted in dogs, On the Home Front, Pets, Reflection, working mom

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Handkerchiefs

Posted on August 3, 2011 | 6 comments

Good morning everyone!

Regular followers of this blog will remember that Mandy and Darwin’s favorite pastime, after playing tug of war with one of my elastic headbands, is to snatch a handkerchief from wherever they can find one and chew it. 

 They are beginning to be quite gifted in this regard, and have now been caught snatching handkerchiefs from bedside tables, under pillows, bureau and sofa tops, and just about anywhere except the pocket of someone carrying one (and that’s only because they haven’t figured out how to be pickpockets yet.)

Not unexpectedly, this activity of theirs has taken a severe toll on the number of handkerchiefs available for Mark’s use.  We have decided, as a general rule, that if the washed handkerchief resembles a Rorschach blot more than a square, it should be thrown out.  This rule means that Mark is almost out of handkerchiefs, so we have been keeping an eye out for some but with no luck. 

From Print Shop Professional 2.0

On those rare occasions when he goes out of town overnight, Mark usually stops on his way home and buys something for Kayla and I.  On his last trip a few days ago, though, I knew he wouldn’t have time to stop, so I told Kayla that it was our turn to buy  him something, and we set out towards the nearest city to hunt for handkerchiefs. 

 I lucked out and found some at Target, so bought the store out of their entire five box stock.  Kayla asked if we should leave some for somebody else, and I told her no, they would have to do without for now since we had been looking so long! 

Payphone

When we got home with our treasure, Mark called.  He had just reached his hotel room.  I let him talk to Kayla first, and she told him that we had bought him something.  He apparently asked what, because she held the phone out from her head, without covering the receiver, and asked me, “Can I tell him about the handkerchiefs?”  I told her she already had.

Have a great day everyone!

Nancy

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Bird Watching, Twinkle and Dog Rules, the Sequel

Posted on August 1, 2011 | 2 comments

Good morning everyone!

  • Bird Watching

    From Print Shop Professional 2.0

I am writing this post today with a copy of Bird Watcher’s magazine sitting next to me. Why have I subscribed to Bird Watcher’s magazine when my experience with bird watching is limited to the birds I see at zoos, the birds that sit on my fence, and the birds that sit on lamp posts, electrical wires, and the huge flocks of sparrows that wheel through this area in the fall?  Am I eagerly starting a new hobby that would require me to tramp through wilderness at the crack of dawn armed with a binocular and the ability to sit still and silent long enough to see something worthwhile? 

No.  The truth is that I just don’t believe Publisher’s Clearing House when they say that a purchase is not necessary to win their grand prize of $5000 a week for life, and Bird Watcher’s Magazine was one of the best choices available to me. 

  • Twinkle

    From Wikimedia Commons, by the European Southern Observatory

We went and saw Cowboys and Aliens Friday night, and riding home Kayla got kind of sleepy.  Mark felt like singing, so, joking around, he started to sing “Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star.”  That woke Kayla up enough for her to say, “The stars are beautiful, but they don’t really twinkle, do they?”  Score again for the 9-year-old!

  • Dog Rules, the Sequel

    Mandy's close-up

A while ago, I wrote a post about the hierarchy my dogs use, Dog Rules.  While I retain the sobriquet of She-Who-Feeds-Us-Every-Morning, Mandy has also awarded me with the title of She-Whom-I-Must-Ask-To-Let-Me-Out-Immediately-After-She-Settles-Down-On-The-Couch-For-The-Evening.  Her timing is always impeccable.  No matter how late it is, (The term late is relative; I need to be on the couch by 8 to start settling down for bed at 9, so I am referring to whether I sit down at 8, 8:30 or 8:45), and how long Mark and Kayla have been on the couch already, the minute I sit down and pull out my cross-stitch, she comes up to me to tell me that she needs to go out.  Darwin, never wishing to be left behind, joins in.  Tyra usually skips this mid-evening excursion, because she has already staked out her spot on the sofa so she can sit by Mark. 

Tyra on the couch

Mark thinks it’s funny.

Have a great day everyone!

Nancy

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Legal Laughs

Posted on July 29, 2011 | 2 comments

Good morning Everyone!

Every experienced attorney and judge has had one or two cases that they couldn’t wait to get rid of.  When it is over, we are immensely relieved.  One judge’s relief boiled over into the following order which is making the e-mail rounds in legal land:

The herein matter having been scheduled for a trial by jury commencing July 13, 2011, and numerous pre-trial motions having yet to be decided and remaining under submission;

And the parties having informed the Court that the herein matter has been settlement amicably,  FN.  [The Court uses the word ‘amicably’ loosely.], and that there is no need for a Court ruling on the remaining motions and also that there is no need for a trial;

And such news of an amicable settlement having made this Court happier than a tick on a fat dog because it is otherwise busier than a one-legged cat in a sand box and, quite frankly, would have rather jumped naked off a twelve-foot stepladder into a five gallon bucket of porcupines than have presided over a two week trial of the herein dispute, a trial which, no doubt, would have the jury more confused than a hungry baby in a topless bar, and made the parties and their attorneys madder than mosquitoes in a mannequin factory;

IT IS THEREFORE ORDERED AND ADJUDGED by the Court as follows:

1.  The jury trial scheduled herein for July 13, 2011 is hereby CANCELED;

2.  Any and all pending motions will remain under submission pending the filing of an Agreed Judgment, Agreed Entry of Dismissal or other pleadings consistent with the parties’ settlement;

3.  The Clerk shall engage the services of a structural engineer to ascertain if the return of this file to the Clerk’s office will exceed the maximum structural load of the floors of said office. 

Have a great weekend everyone!

Nancy

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Posted in Just stuff..., working mom

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Acronyms and Adobe

Posted on July 28, 2011 | 2 comments

Good evening everyone! 

I’ve just been through one of those few times when my day job takes over my entire life for a short period of time.  Mark and Kayla are always wonderful in their support for me when I have to do that; the dogs are okay with it as long as they get fed every morning.  However,  now that it’s all over and I have taken a deep breath, everything shimmers back to normal. 

Shimmer

Still, even in high pressure situations, there is humor to be found.

In Alabama and most federal courts, e-filing is now required; this lets you file briefs and exhibits electronically and gives you until 11:59 the day something is due for it to be timely filed, but, as one district court clerk’s office has politely explained  in their e-filing rules, “While a filing is timely as long as it is filed prior to 11:59 a.m. the day it is due, the clerk’s office strongly recommends that attorneys e-file during working hours, when someone will be able to help them if a problem should arise.”  Unfortunately, I was not able to heed their advice this time, but it all came out right in the end.

The briefs I were working on were in an area of the law that uses a lot of acronyms.  Because it is easier to refer to NHTSA rather than the National Highway Safety Transportation Agency, and to the FHSA rather than the Federal Highway Safety Act, and the  STATSER rather than the Smith-Thomas Act To Support Edamame Research  (all right, I made that one up), in certain areas of the law you just have to resign yourself to the acronyms and try to keep up with the scorecard as best you can.  So Monday night, while I was studying  notes someone had made for me to help with these responses, I came across the following phrase:   “since then a LOT has been done to change the design.”  I spent five minutes trying to figure what on earth LOT stood for, only to realize that LOT stood for, strangely enough, the word “lot”, with emphasis.  Things started to fall into place then.

For technical reasons I have tried to understand, but decided that it is simply better to accept, the documents that we file, as well as the exhibits, need to be filed in .pdf format, the kind of file that you use Adobe Acrobat to read.  When we need to refer to deposition testimony [FN]  in a response, we have to find the deposition, print out the pertinent pages, then scan them in to convert the group of pages  into a single file in .pdf format.  (Most courts do not permit you to file the entire deposition; only the pages you are referring to.  A few courts are different.)  Many of the court reporting services now automatically send you depositions in electronic format, which makes this process a lot easier. 

I had called the Birmingham office yesterday afternoon to check that all the depositions were available electronically.  (The original office, where I work, is about 65 miles away from the Birmingham office.)  After I was assured that they were, and got a mobile phone number from Christine in the Birmingham office staff in case there was a hiccup, I turned back to proof-reading and finishing my writing. 

 Fast forward three hours, to when I was finally ready to start putting the exhibits together for filing.  I opened my Adobe Acrobat Reader and plunged into the correct file on the server – only to discover that nary a deposition was to be found!  After a heart attack and a round of adrenaline that didn’t go amiss anyhow since I needed a pick-me-up, I started looking around a little bit to  figure out what was going on so I wouldn’t have to call Christine at 8:00 p.m. and have her return to the office.  After another five minutes, I realized what the problem was.  I had the Adobe Reader program set to where it would only show me Adobe files in the file directories.  Once I changed that setting to “all files,” the depositions I needed magically appeared.  I gave a sigh of relief, and the gathering of exhibits could continue.

Relief!

Technology:  can’t live with it, but sure can’t live without it!

Have a great evening everyone!

Nancy

FN.  For those who don’t know, a deposition is an out of court questioning session where the questionee is under oath.

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Of Kongs and Water Squirting Implements

Posted on July 26, 2011 | 2 comments

Good morning everyone! 

So far No-No is off to a rousing start this morning – I have had to rescue one sandal, one pillow cushion, one yellow plastic container of some kind of silly putty and one dustrag from his clutches so far.   It got bad enough that I spent a considerable amount of time searching the house for a chew toy of his called “Kong.”  Once I found it, I gave  it to him.  Now he is a crazed, but happy, camper, and our belongings are temporarily safe, since Bad Dog has restricted herself to chewing  on the blankets in No-no’s carrier. 

Darwin (No-No) With His Chew Toy

I also have new rules to add to the list of Rules I Never Thought I’d Need:

Do not sneak a medicine measuring syringe into the bathtub.

Do not squirt the dog, the ceiling or the floor with water using said syringe.

Kayla called out from the bathroom last night as she was taking her bath, “Mom, I need you!”  Mark called back, “What do you want?”  and she answered “Never mind.” 

After about 15 or 20 minutes though, once she was sure Mark was in our bedroom, she came out and told me she needed me.  I went in to the bathroom with her.  As soon as I opened the bathroom door, Mandy scooted out. Kayla crooned at Mandy, “It’s okay for you to go out, since you’ve already been squirted.”  (I’m sure Mandy appreciated that sentiment!)

Kayla then held up a plastic medicine measuring syringe and announced that she had been filling it with water and squirting Mandy and herself with it, but then she had tried to squirt the ceiling with it, and all that had accomplished was a track of water across the ceiling.  She wanted to know how to fix it. 

I told her a) let the ceiling dry; if it messed up as a result, she would just have to paint it later;  b) dry the floor, which was soaking wet, c) (between gritted teeth) get in the bathtub, take a bath with soap and the use of shampoo on her hair, along with a good rinse for everything and d) don’t squirt anybody or anything else with the medicine syringe, which is not meant to be used as a bathroom toy. 

Have a great day everyone!

Nancy

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Posted in dogs, On the Home Front, When things don't go as expected, working mom

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The Beeping Fridge, The Momentary Absence of Clutter and Child’s Play

Posted on July 25, 2011 | 4 comments

Good morning Everyone!

It mattered not, after all, whether the Weather Channel gave us a 90% chance of rain, or a 30% chance of rain, because, at our house, we ended up with 0″ of rain.  So either way, I guess, it was right! 

  • The Beeping Refrigerator

    From Print Shop Professional 2.0

The refrigerator in the garage keeps beeping at us.  It has never done so before, so naturally we are a little curious as to why.  We have checked the temperature in the refrigerator and freezer, and they appear to be fine.  I have reset the water filter status, and that didn’t work.  I turned the compressor off for about 10 minutes, then turned it back on.  I have read the 23 page refrigerator manual cover-to-cover and in doing so have learned how to set up the refrigerator, install/hook up the ice maker and water supply if I so choose, how to fix various and sundry problems, none of which apply to our current situation, and even the proper way to dispose of a refrigerator (yes, they spent 2 out of 23 pages on that one), but nowhere does it even mention beeping.  Anywhere.  I even downloaded a version of the manual from the Frigidaire web site to electronically search it for “alarm” or “beep”, and didn’t get anything.  So, basically, I am back where I started, with a refrigerator beeping at me and no information to go on.   It is worse than arguing with the computer, because at least the computer, when it beeps, gives me a crumb of information (usually incomprehensible, but a crumb nonetheless) to go by.  Stay tuned; if I ever find out how to fix it, I will let you know.  At least the refrigerator is only six months old, so it is still under warranty. 

  • The Momentary Absence of Clutter

From Print Shop Professional 2.0

We had company for supper this weekend, an old friend we hadn’t seen in quite a while.  Not only did we have a fantastic visit, but as a side benefit, the clutter throughout the den/kitchen/study/dining room part of our house was completely swept away.  I may not be able to find any of the stuff again, but it is safely tucked away somewhere.  Kayla wasn’t as keen on the picking up part, although she did make a valiant effort on her bathroom and bedroom, but she always enjoys the company part.  We not only visited, but towards the end of the evening we played UNO, one of Kayla’s favorite card games.  The first two games went fairly quickly, but the third game lasted about an hour and a half and was a lot of fun.  To her great delight, and with an assist from Dad, Kayla ended up winning that last round.

The dogs enjoyed my friend being over, and my friend was able to enjoy them once we got the three of them to settle down and stop sniffing.  (Cindy has a bischon frise at her house, and my three were intent on gathering all the information about the bischon that they could.) 

      • Child’s Play

Kayla played Harry Potter Sunday afternoon.  She came out of her bedroom with her purple dance bag packed and a little cosmetics case (for just a minute, it looked like she was running away!)  and informed us that the bedroom was the Forbidden Forest, Harry wanted them to stay there (in this game, she is Harry Potter’s sister) but that she didn’t think that was a good idea, so she was moving on.  She set up camp in the middle of the great room, and was busily setting up file folders.  I guess if you are on the run, file folders are indispensable.  She and Harry must have finally agreed on where they were going , because she eventually broke camp and went back into her bedr…. I mean the Forbidden Forest.  I love my child’s imagination!

Have a great day everyone!

Nancy

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Posted in On the Home Front, working mom

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Curious Weather Forecast

Posted on July 24, 2011 | 2 comments

Hi Everyone!

Isn’t it curious thatwhen I checked the forecast a minute ago, the Weather Channel informed me  under the “Right Now” forecast that we have a 90% chance of rain today, while in the 36 hour forecast, on the same page at the same time, our chance of rain is only 30%.  Shouldn’t it have to choose one or the other?

We are getting a late start this morning; none of us felt that great when we first woke up; at least Kayla and Mark are feeling some better now, and Mark and I picked up an extra 3 hours of sleep we didn’t realize we needed.  We missed being with our church family this morning, though.

Have a great Sunday!

Nancy

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Posted in On the Home Front

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