One of my kids’ favorite activities when we have new visitors over for dinner is to try and get me telling stories. I’ve told many of these stories so many times that the kids like to start to tell them on their own if I don’t comply with their requests. I imagine some of these stories are among the things they will take with them long after I am gone, but to ensure that they are correct (according to my flawed memory), I’ve decided to write several of the more popular ones down. These stories are true to the best … Read the rest
Category Archives: Family Stuff
General-interest stuff about our family
Story Telling – Alaskan Rescue
One of my kids’ favorite activities when we have new visitors over for dinner is to try and get me telling stories. I’ve told many of these stories so many times that the kids like to start to tell them on their own if I don’t comply with their requests. I imagine some of these stories are among the things they will take with them long after I am gone, but to ensure that they are correct (according to my flawed memory), I’ve decided to write several of the more popular ones down. These stories are true to the best … Read the rest
Book Burning
For most of the world, there is little thought that goes into disposing of something. You simply put it in the trash bin, set that bin on the curb roughly once a week, and it magically disappears. When you live where we do, though, there is more to it than that. For those in our “neighborhood” who elect to pay for regular trash service, they pay roughly ten times what it costs in the city for the privilege. As an alternative, we have the option of bagging our trash and hauling it off to the local dumpster once a week … Read the rest
Step One
It seems there is someone willing to create an enumerated list or process for tackling any problem we face in life. One such process, applied to addiction and frequently touted, contains twelve steps. What the full list of those twelve directives are, I don’t know and am content to never find out. However, I am sure of the first step: admit you have a problem. I believe our household completed that step today.
For years, Liz has struggled with something short of an addiction. I’ve known about it for a long time, but let it be. On the other hand, … Read the rest
Thirsty Dirt and Rainmageddon
Earlier this spring south Texas was the happy recipient of record rainfall, ending several years of pretty severe drought almost overnight. Reservoirs went from completely empty to spilling over the flood-gates in a matter of a few days. During that time, we had the pleasure of dealing with up to two feet of running water flowing down our road, up to three inches of standing water in the yard, a flooded septic system, and a whole host of other flood and rain-related things. We mostly celebrated, though, because it had been so long since we’d had good rain.
Almost as … Read the rest
Unwanted
Life can be funny sometimes. Things we often tend to view in absolutes can become quite fuzzy or even inverted when the context is right. One example I’ve experienced very recently is an inversion of the concept that it’s bad to be unwanted.
Most of us spend a good portion of our lives trying to be something or someone who is wanted. We develop skills that are wanted by employers. We seek to be wanted by friends and love interests. We often find ourselves trying to acquire stuff and abilities that place us in a position to be envied. I … Read the rest
A Day on the Farm with Michael
Editor’s Note: Liz started this with Michael a while ago, but hasn’t been able to convince him to finish it. Rather than wait for what will probably never happen, I’ve decided to post what he’s done so far for the benefit of people who want a view of our world through the eyes of Michael. Who knows what this would have looked like had Michael finished it, but for now, enjoy the sneak peak. –Peter
Today Michael and I decided to make a book. He asked me to take pictures of “bugs, animals, chickens, Thornton, and cracks in the dirt.”… Read the rest
A Crappy Week (Or Month… Or More…)
We’ve been going through the gyrations associated with the incomprehensible system that determines when and where I move. First, they tell you you are hot to move, then tease you with a list of possible assignments, only to withdraw that list a few days later and replace it with one that is dense with substantially worse options. A few days after that, they tell you that there aren’t enough people to fill all the positions, and that the positions that must be filled are all the sorts of jobs that make my skin crawl. Once this drill is complete, they … Read the rest
Downtown with Grandparents
Larry and Susan came to visit this weekend. Larry had some training downtown, so they took advantage of the situation by delaying his flight home and flying Susan down for a long weekend with us. As part of the fun, we decided to check out a renaissance fair that was going on nearby.
Sydney was ecstatic when she came across a group who do illumination and calligraphy (her current art-interest, and one that she’s getting quite good at). Turns out there are several people who are happy to help her learn new techniques for free. She also was excited to … Read the rest
Siege Weapons Part 2
Mangonel: a type of catapult. It’s name comes from a Greek-Latin word for war machine.
The mangonel was a siege weapon used to launch rocks, dung, bales of hay (set on fire), dead bodies, wooden spikes, and hostages (very few hostages survived) over or at a walled fortress. Hostages were launched from mangonels to scare the people inside the wall. The dead bodies and dung were launched to spread diseases to the people in the fortress or castle.
Mangonels work by a mechanism called torsion. Torsion is when you take ropes and twist them and stick the throwing arm in … Read the rest