Bring your family to work

This is Josh writing. Recently the NC State library decided to let staff invite their kids to an ice cream party. Someone took pictures. Most library employees could not use the occasion to sneak in an extended family portrait, but Rachel and I can make that happen. Missing from the photo are Chelcy and Molly. At first, Chelcy was glad to take a break from her work to visit with Molly. Then Molly clung to her for an extra hour or so, including during picture time.

Without comment

Because it is not nice to make fun of the mentally challenged, I pass along a couple of items from the Washington Post without comment.

As a candidate, George W. Bush once asked, "Is our children learning?" Now he has an answer. "Childrens do learn," he said Wednesday.

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Al Kamen writes in his Washington Post column: "Bit of a slip-up at the United Nations yesterday. Someone posted a copy of President Bush's underwhelming address on the U.N. Web site, but turns out it was a draft, complete with helpful phonetic pronunciations for various countries and people.

"'The United States, salutes the nations that have recently taken strides toward liberty,' the draft said, 'including Ukraine, Georgia, Kyrgyzstan [KEYR-geez-stan], Mauritania [moor-EH-tain-ee-a], Liberia, Sierra Leone, and Morocco.'

"'In Zimbabwe,' the draft said, 'the behavior of the Mugabe [moo-GAH-bee] regime is an assault on its people,' and the U.N. 'must insist on change in Harare [hah-RAR-ray].'

"There was a tip of the hat to 'French President Sarkozy [sar-KO-see].'

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The camera is supposed to be delivered today.

Unknown Boyers

Nana Kathy and Papa Dennis kindly offered to take Alex and Molly overnight this past Friday, and there was nothing out in the movie theaters. So Josh and I went to see this character, about whom we knew nothing. I don't know if it comes through in the pictures, but he looked fully 60 to 65 years old. Anyway, because of the angle of our seats or something, we had kind of a hard time making out the lyrics to his songs, but he really could play the guitar. We saw him at the Hideaway BBQ, a cool country-themed restaurant/music club. We want to go back next month to see The Duhks. The crowd was kind of an odd mix of folks who looked like they enjoyed country music, and these women with black hair, bangs, red lipstick, black dresses, tattoos, and a few extra pounds. There were at least five of them and I kept thinking they were the same person, but I guess it's just the type of chick who likes to see Unknown Hinson. There was also a guy in a cowboy hat and a t-shirt saying "Viagra Test Dummy", hunting video games, fried pickles the size of small hamburgers (with ranch dressing -- yummy) and antler chandeliers. An eclectic place, but fun and a good night out.

In other news, the R2D2 costume is coming along, and while it will happen this year, the results will be pretty amateurish. But we're getting there. Pictures, hopefully, will happen -- camera still enjoying the fall scenery in Elk Grove Village, Illinois.

Oh, I started a Facebook page at the invitation of my husband. Since my brother-in-law is a nationally known, Newsweek-quoted authority on Facebook, it was about time, no?

The Guerrilla Gardener and other meanderings

Our next door neighbor, Tom, is a Gardener. He is growing an honest-to-goodness banana plant in his back yard sanctuary (which has a koi pond and first-rate tree house). He frequently gardens in complete darkness with flashlights because there are not enough hours in the day for him to get in all the gardening he wants to do. Lately there has been a sort of "mission creep" into our, neglected and atrocious property. After he pruned back some trees of ours last weekend, he discovered squirreled away back there a lonely dogwood and told me about it. "Whaddaya know", I say, "I did not know we had a dogwood." So the other night, I was taking the compost out to the compost bin after dark and I notice our hose is running tightly across the yard, across the playground and into the corner of the property. I pull on it to put it away, and it won't come. I go and check it out, and it has been stalled by the introduction of a soaker-hose noose attached to its end, encircling the poor dogwood. I start talking to Josh about it: "Honey, I think Tom attached a soaker hose to this dogwood." Over the fence, I hear a "oh, yep, that was me." In a related development, I am seriously considering converting most of my front yard to drought-tolerant native plants and grasses next spring. The hope is that while this would be a lot of work on the front end, it 1) cannot possibly look any worse than our dead yard of 95% weeds, and 2) possibly might not require very much work once it is established, which is absolutely necessary for any garden of mine. If anyone has undertaken such a thing, I'd love to hear how it went.

In other news, our family is undertaking an Asthma Walk next month. I spammed a bunch of people about it, but I attempted to spam myself and never got the email so it might not have gone through to some of you. In summary, it's a fundraiser for the American Lung Association, and personally meaningful to us as Alex has had asthma since infancy. If you'd like to sponsor us on the walk, go here and search for us under "sponsor participant". Many thanks to those of us who already have pledged their help.

In camera news, for the third time in my ten-month ownership of this camera, it has broken. To be fair, it is only the second time it has broken absent a traumatic event. Anyway, I have to send it back to Elk Grove Village, Illinois, for repair again. They have assured me that if it cannot be fixed again it will be replaced. I am hoping for replacement at this point. I have taken four disposable cameras to be developed and will be getting the photo CDs, so it is possible there will be some o.k. pictures to post soon. Mitigating that possibility is the fact that Alex frequently uses the disposable cameras.

Finally for something a little bit funny. Alex got a remote controlled vehicle for his birthday which was ordered online for him. The packaging for this thing is hilarious. If the camera weren't in Elk Grove Village, Illinois, I would take pictures. But it is called the "Happy Light Dancing Car" and here are a few of its blurbs. I have been very careful to preserve the original spelling and punctuation.

"THE VILENCE REVOLVES.
STRANGE FORM.
STRANGE.
Light!"

"SIDE-SPLITTIN' STUNTS!"

"Go forward.
Revolve.
Vacillating.
CENT SET ACTION!!"

"STUNT!
EDDY!
SHUTTLE!
REBELLION!"

This product was, wait for it, made in China. Please be on the lookout for the "Happy Light Dancing Car" the next time you read a recall for toys made from lead and tiny magnets and contaminated seafood. Cheers.