Storm Clouds and A Model

When I was watering my flowers in the early evening yesterday we had an unexpected rain shower. It didn't last more than 5 minutes and it didn't completely wet the patio. However, there were storms north of us that looked more severe so I grabbed my camera to snap some pictures.

 This is looking toward the north and the storm. I am forever fascinated by the sight of rain coming out of the clouds.

This picture is a view of the west. We get some fantastic sunsets out here. I should have climbed on top of the Missile Base entrance to get a full view.

You know how Katie is when she sees a camera, so I snapped a few of the Doodlebug. She once again was doing her model poses and pretending she was at a fashion shoot.

The Lake

Last night after dinner, Rick, Katie and I went over to our pump house on North Lake Anson. It was cooler by the lake which felt great after another 100 degree day. Earlier in the day Rick and our friend Don were at the lake and pulled the pick up tubes for the pump out of the lake. The pump house and tubes were used when Corinth West was an active Atlas F Missile Site. All of the water for the Site came from Lake Anson. When Rick bought Corinth West, the Pump House came with it; therefore, we have a little plot of land on North Lake Anson. Anyway, back to removing the pick up tubes. The picture below is of the tubes.

To put things in perspective, the picture below includes Rick and Katie.

The tubes are 90' long! Rick and Don used Don's tractor to get them out of the lake. For 50 year old pipes, they are in pretty good condition, which is good because I didn't want to have to buy new ones. They would be about $10,000. We will be putting the pick up tubes back into the lake after Rick gets them cleared.

Here are some more pictures from our evening at the lake.

 Katie and I skipping rocks.

 Katie dancing and singing on a sand clump/rock.

 Katie playing with the waves/ripples.

Katie and I on the dock. This dock is owned by the City of Anson.

Today Katie went to Taekwondo in the morning. She said that her throat hurt and her nose had started to run, so when we got home I gave her some "magic medicine". (If we call children's cold medicine "magic" she is more apt to drink it.) She seems to be doing well and it could be an indication of allergies.  We'll see.

Other than the lake adventure, things have been pretty quiet around here. I hope you had the same.

The Weekly Recap for June 6--11, 2011

This past week Katie and I went to the zoo between the morning and afternoon taekwondo classes on Thursday. I didn't think we would spend the entire break at the zoo, but time flew and we were there for 4 hours. Once again her favorites were the giraffes and the pink flamingos, however, this time I could not keep her out of the Creepy Crawly pavilion. She was fascinated with the snakes. She liked a black cobra.

Yesterday Katie tested for her High Green Belt in taekwondo. She was great and tested strong. She also broke her first board during testing by stomping on it. We had to make sure that Katie understood that it is good to break a board in taekwondo, but at home it's not too good. Anyway, Katie had a few instructors sign her board and we will put it in a place of honor in our home. It is hard to believe that she has been in taekwondo for almost a year now. How taekwondo has changed Katie and her attitude! I am sure some of it has to do with age, but taekwondo has been a great influence in her life. I hope that she continues to be enthusiastic about taekwondo because having a black belt in a martial arts looks impressive on a college application and on one's resume.

Other than that, it is still stinking hot here in West Texas. Every friggin day it reaches at least 100 degrees and more often than not a few degrees higher. We also have had strong winds for longer than I can remember, which is good and bad. Good because it helps make the great outdoors bearable, but bad because the fine dirt gets in the house. I cannot keep the top of the fireplace, which is granite, clean. There is always a thin layer of dirt on the black surface so it is very noticeable. And don't get me started on the glass coffee table. Another problem with the winds is that the fire danger is extremely high and if a fire does start, the high winds would help the flames eat 100s of acres rather quickly.

Rick bought me a 10'x12' green house. We were originally going to put it on the patio where our outdoor living area is right now, but Rick is rethinking that idea. Because of the wind, we need to anchor the greenhouse to concrete. It would be easier to do that by pouring new concrete forms into the ground rather than driving lag bolts into the current concrete. So I have some more time to plan my green house plantings.

Rabbits . . . UGH! I bought plastic chicken wire to encircle the flower bed around the tree in the front yard. In tiny printing on the label it stated, "some aggressive rabbits might chew through the wire." And of course I have aggressive rabbits. Time to get real chicken wire and pray that they are not psycho rabbits and chew through that. It amazes me that we have 170 acres and they continue to destroy one tiny patch of flowers. I guess flowers, especially petunias, must be a treat for them like Belgian chocolate is for humans. The cayenne pepper worked, but I washed it off every time I watered the plants. I was spending a small fortune in cayenne pepper. I was going to try a plastic owl in the flower bed, but the jury is out on whether they really work. We have an owl that frequents the Quonset Hut that we call Woodsy. I suggested to Rick that we shoot it, stuff it and plant it in the flower bed, but he just laughed. I have considered getting some plastic flowers but our aggressive, plastic chewing rabbits might eat them. What to do, what to do, what to do.

Speaking of destroyed flowers, Meatball (Cody) dug up the big planter by the front steps not once but two more times. Once was when I was standing right there. I gave him the what-for so I don't think he will be digging in the planter any time soon, but I fear it won't stop him from digging in another planter.

Below are the zoo pictures. I saved them for last because there are quite a few and if you are not into pictures of wild animals penned up you can skip the rest of this post.

 Katie waiting for the zoo's train. The train takes you through the zoo and the conductor relays interesting facts about the animals as you pass by them.

 Katie on the train in the blue car. We were going to wait for the next train because Katie wanted to sit in the blue car, but a sweet mom and her kids moved to a different car so Katie could have her wish.

 This is a puma/cougar/mountain lion. We have a few lurking around our home. Look at that big, bloody piece of meat and bone he is snacking on for lunch.

 Katie and her beloved giraffes. We ate our picnic lunch on a shaded bench that gave us a great view of the giraffes.

 I patiently watched this lady drink water so I could see how the heck she was going to get her feet back together. She shifted her weight from leg to leg and would move one foot slightly until her legs were back together. Did you know that giraffes have a special valve in their upper neck to prevent too much blood flow to the head when they drink water?

 We purchased crackers to feed the giraffes. Their tongues are gross/weird. They are extremely long and a blackish purple. However, that didn't bother Kate.

 Here's Papa Lion and his two cubs. One of the cubs wanted to play and kept on clamping on his father's mane. Finally the grumpy daddy lion roared/growled and the play ended. The cub in the back cracks me up. He seems to be looking to the heavens. Was he thanking God for his father not eating his frisky brother?

 I don't like to take pictures through the wire mesh, but I had to get one of this White Bengal Tiger. He is sound asleep in his concrete watering hole. It was hot that day . . imagine that.

 I cannot remember what type of bird this was, but it was absolutely beautiful. We were in the Texas pavilion so it is native to Texas, but I have never seen one in the wild. However, Texas has several different climates and this bird could be a coastal bird.

Another of Katie's favorites, pink flamingos.

So there you have the weekly update. Ciao!

Cody, Cody, Cody and Kate

The rabbits ate another plant. This time it was a pink petunia by the swing. Cayenne pepper does seem to keep them from eating my flowers, but unfortunately I did not sprinkle it on the former pink petunia. So I closed the barn door after the horse fled by sprinkling cayenne pepper on the few, flowerless stocks that remain. Interestingly the rabbits will not bother the flowers on the patio. Perhaps because they are too close to the house. I did sprinkle one butter yellow petunia that sits at the edge of the patio since I wanted to close that door before Flicka scampered away. So that takes care of the rabbits. I am unsure about the armadillo issue. I am not positive that an armadillo did the digging, but regardless nothing has been dug since the cayenne pepper treatment.

Now to dissuade Cody from rummaging around in the flowers. Yesterday morning he dug in one of the big planters by the steps, which is very unlike him. When I had checked on him a few minutes before he was happily torturing a grasshopper. I think the grasshopper made a break for it and went into the planter and Cody followed him. I yelled at Cody and bought some replacement flowers. That should take care of that.

Speaking of Cody, he does not like anything new on the refrigerator. I had hung up the new summer taekwondo schedule. I put it up high enough so Cody couldn't get it. Well, I didn't. I walked into the kitchen and there was the new schedule in shreds on the floor. Interestingly he'll let the old stuff remain. Weird dog.

Yesterday I stopped by Lowe's and bought a few tiles to test them out in the kitchen. (Remember Cody ate my kitchen floor.) I will do the floor myself. Matter of fact I am looking forward to it because I like doing home improvement projects, as my dad called them.

We purchased a piano bench and stand for our new Yamaha keyboard--did I tell you we got one? Anyway, here's Katie practicing. I am trying to find lessons for her, but the lady that teaches in Stamford will not take a child younger than 7.

Look how professional.

See you later, alligators.

Blankie

Katie has never had a tried and true favorite toy or object. She may prefer a particular toy for a few days, but then she moves on to a new toy without a problem.  Katie has always been very confident so she doesn't need anything in which to hold to feel secure. Some of my mom friends have children that fall apart if their favorite object disappears or breaks/tears. So we are fortunate because we don't have that type of drama in our life . . . until now . However, the neurotic one is not Katie. It is Cody. A while back Rick had brought home a burgundy American Airlines blanket. Cody claimed the blanket as his own and took to carrying it with him. Today I was doing laundry and the blankie was in dire need of a wash. When I picked up the blanket the first thing Cody did was grab the other end. He wanted to play tug-of-war. He had a strong grip on the blankie but I managed to pull him over to the washer and finally get it out of his mouth. I quickly put the blankie in the washing machine and you should have seen the look on his face. It was shock and horror and a "No, you didn't just do what I think you did" look. His eyes were bright and big as a 50 cent pieces and his ears were at attention. When I closed the lid on the washer, he proceeded to bark and bark and bark at me. I guess he was demanding that I remove his blankie. Thankfully he calmed down and blankie made it through the wash and dry and is now safely by his side as he sleeps. This episode got me to thinking. I had picked up his blankie a two days ago and put it in the hamper. I am quite certain that he was so stressed about his missing blankie that he ate my kitchen floor.

Here's Cody with his blankie. We should have called him Linus after the blanket-carrying Peanuts character.

 Love

This picture makes me laugh because of his tongue.

Carrying blankie into the bedroom

I know I rag on Cody a lot about not being as intelligent as Eric or Max, but in reality he is smart. For example if I tell him to get a toy, he'll scamper off to find one and come back with it; he listens to "No"; he won't continue pointless barking if I hold his snout closed for a few seconds and he knows how to sit and lay down. I think it is his quirks like his need of his blankie that have me thinking he is a dunderhead.

Living Room Dancing

This morning Katie had some music playing and was dancing in the living room. I decided to join her and was enjoying myself when she said, "Momma, it's not taekwondo." Here I thought I was a good dancer.

No Motoring and A Big Rat

No motoring down the highway in a motor home for us. Rick and his father drove over to Daytona Beach to go over the motor home and after their careful inspection we have decided to pass on it. It needed too much to be done to it. Just to get it out of the seller's yard we'd have to spend $2000. Even though there is only 28,000 miles on the motor the coach has sat too long--two years--in the Florida salt air that corrosion is rampant. But on the bright side, Rick gets to spend a week with his folks. He'll be flying back on Sunday into Dallas and then renting a car. The last minute fare into Abilene was almost $500; however, if he flew into Dallas via Houston and rented a car it was only $165 and that is because we used points for the car rental. Despite how much Rick travels, his frequent flyer account is drained because we used it for tickets to Orlando in August.

Which reminds me, in August we are going to Disney for Katie's birthday. We are spending five days in the land of The Rat. (Did you know I am a graduate of Mickey Mouse University? Yes, I am a certified Disney "Expert". It was a job related certification that I got years ago.) Since it will be Katie's 5th birthday and first time to Disney, we will be staying at the Contemporary Resort and in an upgraded room which will give us a view of Cinderella's Castle in Magic Kingdom and a balcony to view the fireworks. Katie's birthday is two days after we arrive and on her birthday she'll go to the Bippity Boppity Boutique to get the full princess treatment (hair, nails and dress) and then we do lunch with the princesses in the Castle at Cinderella's Table. That evening is more dining with princesses at another character meal in Epcot at Norway. We also opted to purchase the full dining plan because we will be eating there. Might as well prepay for it. Rick also made several dining reservations at the popular places that Katie will enjoy. As a family we have not taken a true vacation. We travel a lot as a family, but often it is Katie and I tagging along after Rick and where he has to work.

Katie is feeling better. She had a fever on and off for 24 hours, had no appetite and was tired. But she is back to form. All of my plants are now in the ground. Now it's the rabbits' turn to eat them. They have already nibbled down two petunias that are underneath the tree in the front yard. I'll be checking on the internet for remedies. Cody ate the kitchen floor. I don't want to talk about it so that is all I am going to say. Till later . . . Ciao