Cries from the Gulf (by Lea Morris).

Dry Humps 2010 Report.

As shown somewhere on the sidebar, this past weekend was Crunchy Chicken's Dry Humps 2010 challenge. I had no intention of engaging in this challenge until the weekend came, Em had gone off to work and I found myself with no excuse not to. I find it pretty easy to do these challenges when no one is involved except me.

The only interesting thing (for me) was using water over again for cooking. For instance, I made potato salad Saturday, boiling potatoes in water and then reusing that water to boil the eggs. Also boiled brats, but got fresh water for that. Had it not been for the challenge, I wouldn't have thought to reuse the water. It's always easy to just not flush the toilet when I'm the only one here, and who bathes or showers anymore? :-)

I noticed one trade-off and it always seems like there's a trade-off SOMEWHERE. I used a paper towel to avoid using water and a dishrag to clean off areas after cooking.

Once Em came home, I'm sure he flushed the toilet because he can't stand to see a toilet unflushed. That was about the extent of his five-gallon day.

Sunday, I baked baby back ribs. No water necessary for that and leftover potato salad, so no water at all for cooking. When Em came home from work I'm sure he flushed the toilet again and he always washes the dishes after supper.

Since the whole point of these challenges is to make us conscious of what we do unconsciously, I can say there was success on this front. Today I'll be showering AND doing a small load of laundry, but the challenge is over, right?

Swimming Granddaughter 4 months old.

We share a pool with other members of our Housing Association and I bought Swim Ways float with canopy so Astrid (now 4 months old) could enjoy the water.

The first time in the pool, we had her laid back, but this week (second time) we tried her laying forward. She enjoyed that more because she could see everything better, but both experiences were quite a bit to take in. I thought she might get over-stimulated and scream her complaint, but she seemed to enjoy the experiences and give more subtle signals when she'd had enough.



Worried about the Texas sun on her fragile skin, the canopied float was a good idea (particularly for babies who don't enjoy wearing hats). No. 1 took her out of the float this time (so we got her hat on her bald head) and let her get a taste of the water more upfront and personal.



Our housing association doesn't put chlorine in the water; they salt it instead. I guess that's cheaper, so keeps our dues down.





She particularly enjoyed standing on a ledge at the edge of the pool, just like she enjoys standing EVERYWHERE.



Looks like I'm gonna need a video camera to capture the action. I had the feeling that (if left to her own devices) she would have held her breath and dived down. No. 1 was unwilling to risk the consequences of an experiment on that thought.

Werner Herzog narrating the sad journey of the plastic bag.

If you homeschool, please share how you do it.

I really wanted to homeschool my three kids, but their father had a bunch of reasons for why I shouldn't (including how my profession was very lucrative at the time). No. 1 is considering homeschooling Astrid and I asked her if I could help if she did. I'm retired now, so there's no excuse for me NOT doing it, even if No. 1 took a part-time job and I did it while she worked and she did it when she didn't work. So, I ordered a book by Linda Dobson entitled "The First Year of Homeschooling Your Child (Your complete Guide to Getting Off to the Right Start)". I've been reading it this morning and probably can't even put into words all the questions I already have, but thought if I asked some of you how YOU do it I might be able to form some intelligent questions.

Seems like it's just a normal progression from providing an infant the opportunity to explore the wonders of life while making a conscious effort to expand on the opportunities as the child grows older, but some families follow a pre-set curriculum, as well.

How do YOU do it, and why do you think the way you do it is preferable to other ways? Do you get together with other homeschoolers and share routinely? Does your state have reporting requirements that you must follow?

Paul McCarthy at the White House.

I think he was one of the most talented song-writers ever to live, so I'm glad to see he was honored by the US.

I also don't agree with the folks who think that Obama should be ALL gulf oil spill ALL the time.