CatastroTree

While we were gone delivering our oldest child into the hands of higher learning, catastrophe struck our property. Or, more accurately, catastrotree. Our last remaining peach tree was completely loaded with fruit and fell victim to a driving rain and high winds.

Fortunately, after I got all of the limbs, leaves and tiny peaches cleaned up, I found that a spriglet growing out of the main trunk. It is about 3 foot tall now and obviously shares the same root system. We are hoping to take out the large trunk and seal the stump with out killing the new baby tree. Time will tell if this plan is sound. Or possibly the internet will tell if  can get my husband to Google it before firing up the chainsaw!

Going to Kansas City...Kansas City here I come!

From the KU website.

You can see KU for miles around, its crimson roof lines accenting the wide blue sky. We admit getting to the top of Mount Oread is physically daunting at first. Stairs, sidewalks, streets - they're all a workout. But nothing worth achieving is ever easy, and from the top the vista is endless.

Our older son Michael was accepted into the Duke TIP summer studies program but wasn't old enough to go to the Duke campus in North Carolina. They offer the program at various other colleges across America, all sponsored by Duke University. The closest one with the classes Mike wanted to take was the University of Kansas.

Colin, Mike, and Jon in the dorm.

The boys and I headed North and Colin left work in Illinois headed East. We all got to the hotel at the same time. We had some much needed family rest time at the hotel. The boys had a swim and watched cartoons while we parents took naps. Later we met with some family at a shopping center for dinner and visiting.                                                               Mike will be at the Duke TIP summer camp for three weeks of intense study on Programming for the Web. He was excited to be there and hoping to make friends and learn a lot during his stay.

View from Mike's dorm. 

 

 

 

Pond or Pool?

Back before the broiling heat of summer was upon us, DH and I decided to open the pool. The pool is 70x6x4. Mostly. Roughly 33,000 gallons of water. That looked like this...

I'm scared, Daddy!
So we proceeded to add double the amount of Super Shock than recommended by the good folks at hth and run the pump for 24 hours. The result was thus... Still horrifying!
Let's throw more chlorine at that beast!Thanks, Honey!

And break out the scrub brushes and vacuum attachment.Hubby and brother scrubbing the scum.

This is four or five days after the initial shock. That would be both the shock of how gross the pool was and the actual chlorine shock.Me, vacuuming for the thousandth time!

By the sixth day I was beginning to think the pool was a lost cause this year. The water was still quite cloudy and you could only quasi sorta see the bottom in the shallow end. The deep end was still a murky abyss. I decided to go ahead and put in the ph balancing chemical at double the recommended amount and give it one last shock session.Almost there!

All together we scrubbed, shocked, vacuumed and flocked the pool for nine days to get it even remotely safe for human activity. But it sure was fun on Memorial Day!

Love the lazy blogger.

I stumbled this hilarious lazy blog generator and had to share. It is like a mad lib with drop down craziness to choose from.This is the one I came up with by just clicking random drop downs and then reading the post after.

Holy Snapping Duck Do! I just got a bajillion whiny emails saying I have not updated this since I had to start working to pay the ridiculous food and petrol prices to feed my kids... You would not believe how insane my life has become. Stupid Global Warming!.

I am going ahead with setting fire to people wearing Crocs, spending my husband's money, just generally being the life of the party to the bodyguards of the blogger I am stalking, my day seems to involve the authorities from when the nightclubs close to whenever. I am so tired of my kids wanting me to give them attention and stuff. can't they see I am blogging.

I swear on the bones of my ancestors if one more person emails me to ask why I haven't posted today I will start posting pictures of toe fungus, or fecal murals. One day I will find my magic genie! Cats if you don't..

Everyone should try this thing out!

The Coffman Diamond Saves The Universe

Well, in the interest of full disclosure, I am posting the email I got after my friend Sheri read my blog. I didn't get all the little details just right, but please note that I included the most important detail,
A ROARING BLAZE!
I can’t remember the date that this happened, but Melissa blogged it and got it somewhat wrong, so I will tell you the true story. My beloved husband had been gone to Idaho and was on his way home. I, like an idiot had been text messaging him while driving home from my trip to Hot Springs. I had pulled off hot that day like a pro.
Anyway, we are texting, and I am driving and smoking, not a good combo to begin with and if you pay attention to things like this, the rule usually is if you are doing something stupid, something stupid is going to happen to you. I am not a very good text messenger, so I really have to pay attention to detail, and I had too many details going on (trying to drive, texting, and keeping the ashes from falling off of my cigarette), so one of my details got neglected, my cigarette. Somewhere during the time of texting, the cherry of my cigarette fell off. At this time, I kind of freak out, because I have been burnt by a falling, flying , etc cigarette before while trapped in a car. It is not fun in anyway, shape, or form. So, I am hitting my pants leg and making sure that the cherry did not fall into my seat as to burn my
buttocks.
Everything seems cool! This is when I should have started to worry, nothing is ever cool in my world. So continuing to text the love of my life; I smell something like smoke. What the hell???? I look down and in the cubby of my door is a napkin smoldering. I have found the elusive cherry. Not a problem. I will just slam on the brakes and look as much like the General Lee sliding to a stop as a green minivan (We will call it “The Mustang” from hence forth) can do. All 5 foot 3 ¼ inches step out of the “The Mustang” wearing black boots, black pants, a cutesy top, lots of jewelry, and unruly, red hair, as I mentioned previously I had pulled off hot that day. The wind is blowing profusely. The first step out of the van is a cool one, looking to the untrained eye like I am in control, but when I open the door, the napkin actually burst into flame. At this point, I am a little panicky. I grab the napkin out of the door thinking that I will just calmly stomp the flame out with my extra large size 6 shoe.
But to my dismay, the wind had a different plan. When I dropped the napkin to stomp it out, the wind (that bitch) swoops it up into her evil talons and tries to take my fire hazard away. I will not be stopped. I am small but full of fire (pardon the pun). At this point, I do not believe that I am pulling off anywhere close to hot, because my hair is swarming me like angry bees, and I look like a mad woman chasing down a napkin in flames. When I finally catch the napkin, surprisingly it is still flaming. Napkins ARE NOT made of flame retardant material, in fact I think that they might actually have some kerosene in them so that they will burn longer.
I catch the napkin finally and stomp it with my extra large size 6 sexy, black fashion boot. The universe is saved by “The Coffman Diamond”. Feel safe good people, the world will not be demolished on my watch even if the disaster is my fault. I will TRIUMPH!!!! Of course I will have to have my sexy boots on.