Spider and Bat

Photo credits to David with his nice camera.

Preparing to Leave

Hmm, I thought my last post was funny, but judging from the dearth of comments, I guess I'm just laughting to myself. Or by myself. Or maybe at myself would be more correct.

Today David leaves to fly back to Houston at 3pm. We're on the same flight out tomorrow, but of course we go to Dallas from Miami, not Houston. So I'm busy this morning using David's computer to make CDs of all the photos we've taken while here. That sounds simple enough, but I've already messed up one CD and had to reboot.

Gary has made good progress on his databases. It is an added level of complexity when all the user interface has to be in Spanish (and Gary doesn't speak Spanish). Yesterday he worked with the head of the child feeding program and got specifications for what that db needed. It turned out to be somewhat simpler, but still needed. The food for this program comes from the USDA, and they have specific reporting requirements that this database will make easier to comply to.

Birdwatching

"Can I help you with this?"

Computer Crisis

We had a computer crisis this morning here in San Pedro Sula with Gary's laptop which runs Windows 2000. He had made good progress on his project and wanted to start testing it, but needed to have his computer and the computer (Windows XP) of the person filling in the db to talk to each other over the network.

Once you start fiddling with network settings it is fairly easy to understand why you can earn a degree in computer networking. We could see her computer on the network, but couldn't read it even after we set up sharing properly and diddling with various settings.

So next we decided to put Gary's computer into the same workgroup as her computer. But when we actually did this, we got a funny little message saying something like "you are now leaving the Dallas network. Please talk to your administrator." Then it said you needed to reboot, so we did. But then, the disaster struck--Gary could no longer log into his own computer. It just refused all our favorite passwords.

Fortunately, Andrew's cell phone dials America just as easily as anywhere else, so I called the Center computer helpdesk (after first getting the swimming pool answering machine). Fortunately, we were able to convince the guy there that we needed the administrator password or we were going to be toast.

Shortly thereafter Gary did get logged in, and, lo and behold, was able to read the folder on the other computer. That made him happy and now he's making good progress on this project.

The End.

How Do You Eat a Bag of Water?

You bite it.

Preparations--Almost Panic

I Love Honduras !

Well, it is only 30 minutes past midnight, and we are packed and ready to go. I have a note to remind myself to pack a frozen loaf of zucchini bread. You know Andrew and Laura want that! Also some cookies Rachel made for them.

Today went quite smoothly, at least for me. I wrapped up some stuff at work, took the girls shopping, made dinner for a last minute guest, and packed.

Gary had a few moments when ten people wanted his time all at once, so it was a bit more stressful for him. But generally speaking, he doesn't get flustered, which is nice.

If you think to pray for us, pray also for Rachel and Doro, repainting her apartment without my supervision. Let's hope they don't spill a bucket of white paint on the brown carpet, or any other disasters like that.

I hope to have some internet access in San Pedro Sula and be able to post once or twice from there.

Preparations -- Leisurely

We leave for Honduras very early Tuesday morning (Thanks, Michael, for your willingness to takes us so early). We are starting to get ready, but on a leisurely pace. Tomorrow will be the day for panic preparations. So far we have:

• Put address/phone/email labels on the insides of the suitcases.
• Packed two old hardside suitcases with children's books, for transshipment to Ethiopia when Andrew goes again (very heavy!).
• Prepared a first draft of a "Things to do/People to call" list for Rachel and Doro.
• Printed out a hardcopy list of my email addresses and snail mail addresses.
• Reinstalled the OS on Gary's aging laptop (well, we didn't do this ourselves, we took it to the computer help desk).
• Installed a bunch of software on said laptop: Office, Skype, Firefox, XML Spy, Lotus Notes, AIM, some security software, etc
  
• Collected a bunch of stuff to take to Andrew and Laura: sun screen, CDs, picture hangers.
• Bought a book about Central American birds.
• Read a little about the Mayan ruins at Copan.
• Read the World Factbook page about Honduras.
• Oh, and I can't forget to mention that Gary has gotten a good start on creating the Access database. Lucky for him, one of our office coworkers actually know how to program in Access, so he has been helping Gary quite a bit.
  

As for Rachel, she's baking some cookies to send to her brothers and Laura. If we don't eat them all first.

Chelsey's Wedding Shower

Doro joined me and Rachel at a wedding shower for a friend tonight. Chelsey's mom and I get together for lunch every so often and discuss our kids--two of whom at one time were dating each other. Doro told us they don't have wedding showers in Germany, so she was curious what they were like. This particular shower had no silly games, and ended in a prayer time, so maybe it wasn't typical either.


This photo is to prove to my far-away boys that yes, Chelsey was absolutely delighted to get a flashlight (batteries included) as a shower gift. Why did they ever doubt my choice?

Chuck, the lucky guy, showed up before the party was over. He came in time to try on his new wedding hat. It is a little hard to tell from this photo, but his had looked like a tuxedo. Cute, huh?

They will be married August 12 at exactly the time I want to attend a wedding reception of another friend, so I told Chelsey I may or may not make it to her wedding. We'll see.

Yet Another Empty Nest

This time, a real one that fell out of the tree into our front yard.

Speaking of the front yard, I thought these blossoms on Rachel's rose bushes were nice.

And now moving to the back yard, last week we had a Texas Spiny Lizard laboriously dig a hole near one of the sunflowers, and then later cover it up. Maybe it was a she and she layed eggs there. Do lizards bury their eggs?

Ice Cream

I thought Moose Tracks was my favorite kind of ice cream. That was until I tasted Extreme Moose Tracks.

Another Empty Nest

Wow, isn't Google maps great? Got to love those satellite photos. Last Saturday we visited Joe Pool Lake and found a nest of bluebirds. Today I found on the satellite image the very tree where we saw the full nest. Start at the westernmost parking spot, walk to the picnic table covered with a red roof partially shaded by trees, then walk 5 yards further west and there they will be.

Or so we thought. Late this afternoon Gary finished writing a paper he's been working on, so we made a picnic and took off to see if the bluebirds were still there. We were quite disappointed. The nest was completely empty, but it hardly seems those babies were old enough to fledge.

Then we found another spot to have our picnic, and Gary complained that I brought salad with chicken on it instead of hamburgers or sausages to grill. Turns out the previous occupants of this picnic site had left their coals burning, so to stop his complaining I took one thin strip of chicken breast off my salad and roasted it for him. :-)

There wasn't a lot of wildlife to observe at this location, unless you count all the speedboats and waverunners, but there were a few butterflies.

My Astuteness is Commendable

Really, it is. Ms. Tricia said so.

Dear Ms. Simons,

Thank you for inquiring about the fee postings on June 30th and July 3rd. Your astuteness to your accounts is commendable.

Through notifications such as yours, we discovered that EC*Web is reporting the fee twice, however, the fee actually posted to your account only once. We are working to resolve this as quickly as possible.

I hope that this information is helpful. Please let me know if I may be of further assistance.

Sincerely,
Tricia
Member Services

And this is yet another example to my kids who think they don't need to balance their checkbooks, "because it is all online."

Let It Rain

We've had very little rain here for a couple years, so when our plans for celebrating Independence Day were interrupted by rain, I could hardly complain.

The rain also caused Gary a problem yesterday. He faithfully watched 113 minutes of scoreless World Cup soccer--in Spanish, no less--and then got up to shut down his computer because a lightning storm was passing through. Just then, Italy scored. So he ran back to watch the rerun, then went back to finish with his computer, and Italy scored again.

Am I Bugging You?

Ugh--bad joke, I know.

I would have said this was a mayfly, but the books says mayflies have tiny antennae.

I think this is a true bug, order hemiptera, but I can't find it in my book.

Leaf-footed bug, order hemiptera.

Grasshopper.


Overheard:

Do you have a tissue? You know I can't chew gum and drive at the same time.

Old People Can't Sleep

OK, I give up. I tried to sleep, but it appears there will be no nap for me this afternoon. The phone keeps ringing with people calling to wish me Happy Birthday.

:-)

Sundown

The Texas heat doesn't seem so bad once the sun goes down.

Overheard:

If you cross a blue bird with a cardinal, do you get a purple martin?

Sunflower

We're hoping the few sunflowers that Gary planted will all mature and provide lots of seeds for the birds next winter. The first one opened up a day ago.

My Brain's Gender

I suppose this is just another one of those dumb internet quizzes, but sometimes I think I think less like a woman than many women. But I can find things, and men can't, so I know my brain is not entirely male.

Your Brain is 47% Female, 53% Male

Your brain is a healthy mix of male and female You are both sensitive and savvy Rational and reasonable, you tend to keep level headed But you also tend to wear your heart on your sleeve

What Gender Is Your Brain?

Tarantula

James 2:1b You must never treat people in different ways according to their outward appearance.

I was just minding my own business last night, photographing this tarantula who was walking along Sarah Drive with me, when along comes an MK boy who just had to pick it up, didn't he?





He claims he used to have a much larger one for a pet.

Overheard:

Most people aren't intentionally out to get you. And even if they are, it is better to pretend that they aren't.

Are You Ready Yet?

Ecclesiastes 11:4 If you wait until the wind and the weather are just right, you will never sow anything and never harvest anything.

I've posted from Proverbs for a month, so now I think I'll leave that for a bit.

I've been thinking about timing lately. There are things that happen to us that have either a big impact or small depending on their timing. For example, it might not be such a big deal to find a quarter on the ground unless you just happen to spy it while you are fishing around in your purse for a coin to put in the parking meter.

I've been thinking about a friend of mine who has been having a hard time finding a job. He (he could be a she, but I'll use "he" for now) is fully educated yet inexperienced in his chosen field and he seems unable to find a job that suits him. He keeps looking and looking, but none of the jobs seem quite right, so he looks some more. Or he gets discouraged and quits looking and plays computer games instead. Is it foolish impatience that makes me think he should just get any job in order to get on with life, or is it actually a good strategy to hold off until the perfect job presents itself?

I've had similar thoughts about a number of young people I know who are looking for the perfect mate. They look and look, and there is always some problem with the potential candidates for the position. Is that because they are too picky, or is it because they really haven't found the right (dare I say "perfect"?) person yet? Or perhaps they are paralyzed with fear of rejection to even take the first step, so they wait some more, hoping the conditions will change so they can move forward. They wonder, is it just "settling" to marry a person who is less than the dreamed-of ideal? Or is it better to wait until the as-yet-unidentified perfect person takes the initiative to make the first move (or two, or three)?

And this thought extends to all kids of situations in our lives. Maybe we hesitate to speak to our neighbor in order to befriend them because, well, there will likely be a better time later, we say. I know personally I have failed to do good many times because I said the time wasn't right. Really, that was probably just laziness or procrastination or just plain disobedience.

Some of us have the personality trait that we like things to be all figured out and a firm plan in place before we are willing to even take the first step. Is this a Biblical attitude? I really don't know, because it seems that Scripture at times encourages us to wait upon the Lord (Lamentations 3:26) and at other times encourages us to step out in faith without knowing where we are going (Hebrews 11:8).

Overheard:

May you never look like your ID photo.