Spiders

I don't really like spiders, but I do have a grudging respect for them. I mean, how can such a little creature build such an amazing web?

This morning was the first cool morning we've had in months, but it was also foggy from yesterday's rain. The weather conditions were just perfect for leaving tiny droplets on all the spiderwebs around.

Can you believe a spider made this single thread from one tree to another? How did he do that?

Watching Over You, Part 2

Well, it might in fact be more than part 2!

Yesterday my daughter called me at work, in a panic, saying her work computer wouldn't boot up. She described a computer that had power, but sounded like it was about to die. I went there and tried the hard reboot. No luck. I tried the safe mode boot, and the other types listed on that opening screen. No luck with any of them. I tried about 7 or 8 times. On the 8th time, it booted. In safe mode.

I immediately starting making a back up--you know, the back up she was going to do, oh, 6 weeks ago. Then I went and downloaded the anti-spam software that the IT help desk suggested and let it run. For 1 hour and 7 minutes. It found two items which I said to remove. It said "reboot to complete the process." So I did, or at least I tried to. The next thing was a single beep saying "Fan error." It took its last gasp and died.

So she's still stressed and frustrated and getting further behind with her job, but, on the other hand, she has a backup.

Got Him!

The ruby-throated hummingbird finally stood still long enough for me to take his photo. The male seemed a bit less skittish than the female who is usually at this feeder right outside my computer window.

In other news, if you want to see me when I was skinny and my husband had hair, go take a look at some of the slides I've been scanning:
http://picasaweb.google.com/linda.simons/1976POCPacificOrientationCourseAkaJungleCamp#

Shopping at Aldi's

They have recently opened an Aldi's grocery store nearby. I think there was a need for such a type of store and it appears to be doing a pretty good business. I had never heard of this grocery chain, but I like it. It is the opposite of an upscale place like Whole Foods--it is just a no-nonsense store with lots of items, but way fewer options with those items. For instance, there will be one brand in one size, rather than multiple brands in multiple sizes. There are some brand name items, but even more of their own store brand. The shelves are stocked with boxes of items, not items lined up nicely by a stocker. Another good thing is how fast the checkers work.

The prices are great. I've been surprised how little I've spent each time I've gone there. A gallon of milk is $1.50 and a dozen eggs went up to $.59 after the come-on price of $.49.

They have some reduced-calorie versions of items, but not all I've come to buy from Tom Thumb. The worst part of the store is their sad produce section. The fruits and veggies that are there are very cheap, but not very fresh looking. I am likely to keep making my weekly trip to Cox Farms Market.

And did I mention how cheap the prices are? That is the best part.

No, I spoke too soon. The best part is how much less time it takes to go shopping when you don't have to decide between so many choices! I know that is not really the American Way, but I'm not so fussy and I like having fewer choices if it means lower prices.

This chain also saves money by making you put a quarter deposit in the shopping cart which you get back when you return it--that saves hiring a cart wrangler. And they make you pay for your grocery bags, so that encourages people like me to use their reusable bags. And it also gives people like me a chance to show off the gifts they got while in the DR recently.

The Nest is Even Emptier

White Kitty showed up at our door as a stray the night our oldest child graduated from HS. It took three days of the kids begging before Gary would agree to take her in, and as soon as she came in the house she jumped up on the table and said, "Well, it's about time!"

We knew she was soon to die, but we didn't really think she'd be carried off by a coyote. I thought she'd just die of old age. Sigh.

See more details and photos on my family blog, if you're interested (link is on the right). I'm not overly sentimental, but White Kitty was part of the family.

One-Tenth Grateful

My personality makes me jump whenever someone personally asks me for help. I just naturally say yes to a live human who has the notion to look me in the eye and ask for something. (On the other hand, I'm quite able to ignore all those impersonal pleas that come from billboards, tv, junk mail and pulpits.) But if a friend or relative directly and personally asks for help, I rarely say no.

I think this is because my love language is Acts of Service:

Acts of Service

Can vacuuming the floors really be an expression of love? Absolutely! Anything you do to ease the burden of responsibilities weighing on an “Acts of Service” person will speak volumes. The words he or she most want to hear: “Let me do that for you.” Laziness, broken commitments, and making more work for them tell speakers of this language their feelings don’t matter

So if it is so natural for me to say yes, why do I so often feel taken advantage of? I crave to be appreciated, and to hear that the recipient of my service really understands what I've done and really is grateful. I may intellectually know that they are happy for my help, but yet I want to hear them carefully and specifically acknowledge my work and thank me.

Jesus might have noticed the same thing with the people he helped, but, being sinless, he didn't let it bother him :-) The ten lepers personally asked for help, and Jesus quickly and gladly gave it. But only one recipient of healing expressed his gratitude:

11 Now on his way to Jerusalem, Jesus traveled along the border between Samaria and Galilee. 12 As he was going into a village, ten men who had leprosy met him. They stood at a distance 13 and called out in a loud voice, "Jesus, Master, have pity on us!" 14 When he saw them, he said, "Go, show yourselves to the priests." And as they went, they were cleansed. 15 One of them, when he saw he was healed, came back, praising God in a loud voice. 16 He threw himself at Jesus' feet and thanked him--and he was a Samaritan. 17 Jesus asked, "Were not all ten cleansed? Where are the other nine? 18 Was no one found to return and give praise to God except this foreigner?" 19 Then he said to him, "Rise and go; your faith has made you well."
Luke 17:11-19 NIV

So, if Jesus only got one-tenth of the thanks that he deserved, perhaps I shouldn't expect more.

Farewell

We had coworkers staying in our apartment this past week as they prepared to leave for Africa with their two teenage daughters. A friend with a pickup came to haul boxes to the airport. May the Lord take them safely and may Kenya be cooler than the 100+ degrees it is here.


While I was waving goodbye to our friends, a big wasp flew up my skirt and stung me on the inside leg--it still hurts!

I have to go to the airport tonight too, to pick up Gary coming in from Holland.

I Will...

Have you ever had someone say to you "I will do XYZ" and then he/she/they never does XYZ? Does that annoy you, or do you receive what they say with a grain of salt, not necessarily actually expecting them to do XYZ?

I've observed this so often that I'm beginning to wonder if the phrase "I will X" has joined the category of other polite-(or expected)- speech-that-shouldn't-be-taken-literally? You know what I mean--when I say "how are you?" and you reply "fine, thanks" but really you're not fine at all--you're sick, hungry, and wish I'd leave you alone. And really, I didn't want to know how you are, I was just greeting you in the culturally acceptable way. Has the phrase "I"ll do such-and-such" come to be polite speech only, not to be taken literally?

A couple examples: On Facebook I reconnected with an old college friend of 35 years ago. Turns out, we only live a few miles from each other. We started to make plans to get together for lunch. Then she said, "Oh, I can't do it this week because of XYZ, but I'll call you next week." A year later, she hasn't called and we haven't met for lunch.

What happened there? Did she actually lie to me? Did she change her mind about wanting to see me? Did an emergency come up? Did she forget? Did she get too busy?

I don't think she lied to me, and I think she'd still like to see me. I doubt an emergency came up. More likely, life just got in the way and calling me never got high enough on her to-do list. Given that conclusion, how do I think about her words "I'll call you"?

OK, you are probably thinking of other examples:

• the guy just met the girl at a party and says "I'll call you."
  
• the prospective employer saying to the interviewee, "We'll get back to you."
  

And then we can broaden it a bit to some related examples:

• If you need any help, just call me.
• I'm available anytime you need a ride.
• I'll pray for you.
• If you need a place to stay, let me know.
• I'm here for you.
  

I like it when people actually mean what they say and consider their own words to be binding unless something akin to an emergency intervenes. But, I'm beginning to wonder if the words "I will do X" have subtly changed in meaning from originally meaning "I fully intend and promise to do X unless something major stops me" to mean something more like "I might do X, I hope to do X if I can, but I certainly haven't made a commitment to do X and you shouldn't think that I have."

Conclusion: I personally wish people would instead say "I hope to do X" or "I'd like to do X if I can" rather than "I will do X"--that just seems more truthful, let alone more polite and kind to the hearer. But maybe the language "I will do X" has changed its meaning in the area of purport. As an armchair linguist I know language (sounds, grammar, meanings) does change over time--am I just observing that change?

Handprints

Yesterday we temporarily moved the TV to the living room to accommodate our All-Star game watching party. This afternoon I spied a handprint on the bottom of the TV, now noticeable due to the TV's new location and the glare coming from a different window. That handprint almost made me cry--it was Isabella's.

So, that tells you a couple things:

• I miss my grandbaby.
• I haven't cleaned the TV since January.

Hard to Forgive

Today I was at a party and someone walked in that I had not seen in many years. As soon as I recognized him, I felt a little ill. Many years ago he had treated one of my children in an inappropriate way. I still, apparently, have not forgiven him.

Point Of View

When you look at something from another's point of view, not only do you see things differently, you see different things.

Namesake

About a month ago I went to Michigan to both visit my mom and to attend my college reunion. (See my other blog if you actually want to know any more about it or see photos.) Actually "college" isn't really the right word--it was a 3-year Bible institute which I attended straight after HS and after which I transferred to a Christian college to finish getting a bachelor's degree.

Anyway, while at my reunion, I met a woman whose married name is the same as my maiden name. She told me that she had written to our Bible institute to request a transcript so she could go on to further studies and when she got the transcript she looked at it and said, "Wow, I don't remember getting grades this good!" :-)

How To Be a Guest and How to Be a Host

Some days I'm such a bossy know-it-all that I think I should have been Miss Manners' understudy. Aside from that, someone recently remarked that not everybody in fact actually knows all the societal rules of etiquette. Therefore, these guidelines might bear repeating for any who have ears to hear, or occasion to read, as a way to make overnight visits more comfortable for both sides.

Responsibilities of the Guest:

• Make plans well ahead of time and remember the arrangements (write them down).
• Stick to the plan or advise the host immediately of the plan changes.
• Clean up your mess before leaving and don't make unnecessary work for the host.
• Offer to help with food costs or take the host out to eat.
• If in doubt about your boundaries, ask the host first.
  
• Ask the host if they have clean sheets in order to make up the bed before leaving.
• Carefully remove all belongings so the host doesn’t have to deal with them later.
• Thank the host.

Responsibilities of the Host:

• Make note of the plans and don't forget them (write them down) .
• Make physical preparations before the guest arrives for sleeping, eating, and a place for the guest to put their belongings.
• Ask the guest if they need anything, knowing that the guest may not feel comfortable to ask.
• Tell the guest directly to help themselves to X or Y (like the frig, the TV, etc), realizing they may not feel comfortable to really“make themselves at home” without being specifically told.
• Tell the guest where you are if you leave and the best way to contact you if needed.

Another New Bird

Today I had to get up early to drive Rachel to Ft. Worth. I had about 3-4 hours to kill, so I found a parking spot at the nearby Trinity Park. Lots of joggers and bicyclists about, and it was a nice day for them since the recent rains have cooled it down to the mid 80s.

I forgot my hat, camera and birdbook, but I did have my binoculars so I spent an hour birdwatching along a little tributary of the river between 8 and 9am. It seemed to be the perfect hangout for herons/egrets--I saw 6 different ones as I walked along a quarter-mile stretch: great blue heron, little blue heron, great egret, snowy egret, green heron, and--a new one for my life list--a pair of yellow-crowned night herons. (photo below stolen from the internet)



I observed 17 species at the park today. My Birdstack Life List is up to 238. It seems like I added two new life birds today, but that is due to the split in Mallards to include Mexican Ducks. I decided these were Mexican Ducks because they were speaking Spanish.

Another DIY

Replacing the cane seat on our old rocker was this time's Do-It-Yourself. Click here to see the detailed process. I like the way it turned out. Removing the old seat was the hardest part of the project.

Ice Water for White Kitty

My cat prefers water straight out of the running tap, but can sometimes be persuaded to drink ice water these hot days.

Interesting/Funny Photos from Our Trip, part 2

The tiny town of Tofino was busy with our conference, but they were also shooting a major motion picture with real movie stars.


The Canadians take their dogs very seriously, as well as their ecology. Every little park had a supply of plastic bags to encourage owners to clean up after their dogs. And there were a lot of people who had dogs.

My what big teeth you have! I think this was a gray whale, or maybe a killer whale.

No offense, but syncretism is alive and well. Or, in this case, not alive.

It's Been a 3-Cake Weekend

17 New Birds

I identified 35 bird species on our trip, 17 of which were lifers for me, and only a few of which I got decent photos. I keep track of my birding on a free website called Birdstack. Here is the link to my Birdstack Vancouver list.

Whimbrel

Steller's Jay

Semipalmated plover

Northwest crow harassing Northern Raven

Bonaparte's Gull

Interesting/Funny Photos from Our Trip, part 1

I'm in the process of posting travelogue photos on my other blog, but I thought I'd post a few photos of some things here.

Telephone booth for tree huggers

Barf bags on the tour bus--tells you what the roads are like

The underbelly of a plane that flew over our heads on its way to Victoria airport

Big Trees

One thing nice about big trees is that they make you feel little.

Bald Eagle

Yay, I've seen my first wild bald eagle. I saw them three times before I could believe it was the correct ID. They are very cool!
My husband said, "It shouldn't count since you're in Canada--it isn't their national bird!" but I didn't let him spoil my joy!

I'm on Vancouver Island for a week and adding lots of new birds to my life list. We're in a small town on the west side called Tofino for a conference. So far I've added 15 new species to my life list.

I'm not the only one here in Tofino birdwatching--Steve Martin, Jack Black, and Owen Wilson are here filming a birdwatching comedy called "The Big Year."

Now I Can Leave

OK, now that my two new books have arrived, I can pack for British Columbia.

Flowery Day

I had a rough week with an emergency dental problem, but I went back to work this morning. And this afternoon I felt well enough to dig in the compost pile and then plant some flowers. I've posted some photos on my family blog.

I'm not having so many birds in the back yard these days, but today I had this assortment in one lensfu;. Click on the photo to get a bigger image so you can actually read it.

An Answer to Prayer

No, not my prayer--someone else's. Two someone elses, in fact.

About 20 years ago we bought a used bunk bed set. It was Cargo furniture--very heavy and nearly indestructible. The set included a lower single bed, a loft bed, a little closet thing, a big chest of drawers, and a ladder. We used this furniture for our kids, and Gary always grumbled when he had to move it, but I insisted keeping it. You know, for grand kids. Actually, at the moment, Rachel is using the single bed at her house, so we have the futon frame as the lower bed for the bunk set, sitting at a 90 degree angle.

Well, this week it came to my attention that some friends needed a set of bunk beds for their boys. There was no handwriting on the wall nor plane writing cursive in the sky, but I just kept thinking I should donate the bunks to this family. I ran the idea past Gary, but he didn't have much to say. Finally, I decided to call them this afternoon, and they were happy to have the beds so they came over.

When the mom saw the beds she started crying and told us how her boys had specifically asked for the kind of bunks that you can put at 90 degrees to each other and, in fact, had been praying for that specific kind of bed but the boutique (aka missionary barrel) didn't have any bunk beds, let alone this kind.

After they left, Gary said to me, "Well, that explains why you gave up those beds. I never thought you would get rid of them."

Not Quite Digiscoping

If I were rich, I'd buy myself some good optics to watch birds. Like a spotting scope. And then I'd hook my camera to the scope and take bird pictures like the pros. They call it digiscoping.

In the meantime, I'm trying to take photos through one side of my binoculars. Here's the photo without the binoculars:


Here's the same photo through the binocular lens:


Of course, trees stand stiller than birds, and trying to make this technique work with a real bird is quite a bit harder! If you look hard, you'll see a chipping sparrow.

A Full Nest (but Abandoned)

I hope this post doesn't gross any of my readers out. I have a fairly strong stomach and also a strong curiosity, so I'm posting these photos of the abandoned bird nest.

You may remember that not too long ago I posted a video of two wrens madly building a nest. Shortly after that video was taken I noticed there were no birds around anymore--apparently the nest was abandoned. I wasn't too surprised, actually, because at the time it didn't seem like the best place for a nest. Yes, it was well protected, but I knew it would be very HOT inside there once the weather warmed even a little.

I still waited two weeks before I peeked, but today I opened up the cover to the gas tank. I found a huge and messy nest with 5 eggs inside.




I'm pretty sure these eggs overheated, but another problem was obvious too--there was a smell of gas when I opened it up. That can't be good for baby birds, and not good for my gas bill, either!



I looked up photos of Carolina Wren and Bewick's Wren eggs, and I'm wondering if these are Bewick's? I think both wrens are in my area, and they look pretty similar.

The babies inside were about an inch long:

Birdwatching on My Way to Chruch

There were a pair of scissor-tailed flycatchers just in the church yard this morning. First I've seen this season.

How to Fix a Toilet in Three Days

I've been at it again--fixing toilets. Why do I do these things? I guess because people ask me to!

On Day 0, my coworker described a puddle of water behind her toilet which sounded like a little thing to fix.

On Day 1 I went to her house to examine the situation. It didn't take long to realize that at least two things were wrong with her toilet. I removed two faulty parts and headed for Home Depot. This is trip number one, if you're counting.

At Home Depot I let that cute young salesman talk me into buying the whole repair kit. Which really was the right thing to do, but it wasn't my original plan. "Oh, it's easy!" he said. This video claimed the same thing. Yeah. Right.

On Day 2 I took the tank off the toilet. From past experience, I expected this to be difficult, but the nuts weren't actually rusted onto the bolts, so it came apart pretty easily. The perishing rubber parts assured me that the entire guts DID need to be replaced. I followed the instructions carefully, as best as I could. I hit a small snag when one of the new bolts was too big to go thru the premade hole in the bottom of the porcelain tank--odd that one went through but the other wouldn't. That meant I had to reuse one of the old bolts and hope that the old washer had enough life in it to do the job.

I got to the point to hook the water supply back up and discovered that I had broken the plastic coupler the day before when I removed it. I removed the faulty part and headed to Home Depot. This is trip number two, if you're counting.

I must have looked like a true oaf, standing there with my faded kerchief and ragged jeans, there in the toilet parts aisle, because some other customer took pity and "helped" me decide which braided pipe was the right one. I smiled charmingly and said, "OK, if this is the wrong one, I'm going to blame you."

On Day 3 I installed the braided pipe to the inlet using that white tape stuff. Took all my muscles (and two pipe wrenches) to attach it firmly, but I finally got it. Then I went to attach it to the toilet flush valve, and, of course, it didn't fit. It was the wrong size. I removed the non-fitting part and headed to Home Depot. This is trip number three, if you're counting.

This time I found the one that said "For Toilets." Now why didn't I see that sign the first time??

I managed to get through all 27 number instructions and turned the water back on. Yes, there was a leak. Of course there was. I tightened the braided inlet hose even tighter, and it quit leaking. At least I think it did. I made a few more adjustments and left.

My friend will have to use this toilet for a few days and let me know if it leaks or if it doesn't flush well. Then, I'll start over again. Or, I'll call a plumber.

Fail. Or is it Epic Fail?

I'm an oaf. Here is a list of my recent failures:

1. I tried to file our income tax form tonight using the Free Fillable Forms process. Not only was it too much work, one of the forms didn't work right and stalled the process. I sent an email to IRS. Yeah, like they're going to read it.

2. Speaking of the government, I can't believe I put the WRONG AGE for both myself AND my spouse on the recent census form. (I did put the correct DOB.) Besides my failing memory due to this extra large number, I blame this on the fact that I use my age as part of one of my miserable passwords (ihatepasswords) and when the website forced me to update my password, in response to my griping my HELPFUL friends told me to just add one to the number. So I did, and then after months of using this new password, I just assumed X was my age, instead of X + 1. AAAAAARRRRRGGG!

3. My Easter dinner. I decided to be cool and buy goat to roast for Easter dinner. You know, just like the Israelites at Passover. It turned out the texture of kid leather! Impossible to chew. Only good thing--I DIDN'T invite anyone over for dinner! After dinner I boiled it for 3 hours, and then at least the meat was soft enough to remove from the bones.

Let's see. Is that all? Well, it is enough for now.

Ducks and Turtles

I made a quick trip to Lakeside Park today on my way to the Mexican grocery store. The weather was perfect for a little stroll around the lake.

Missing

Some day, near the end of time, some mother is going to find all those unmated socks, missing pen tops, and single earrings.

Building a Nest

This is the world's greatest video, but it was fun watching these two Carolina wrens start a nest inside my propane tank. I hope the truck doesn't come until after the birds have fledged. And I hope it doesn't get too hot inside there.

Sandwiches

Once a month our an elderly gentleman in our church drives the many dozen sandwiches that church folks make to a homeless shelter in Dallas. I hope none of the recipients is allergic to peanut butter.