I wish I had pictures to share. I really, really do. Unfortunately, as this story unrolled, I ended up dropping the camera, and running away screaming. Since the husband had the hose on and there were bats everywhere - well... at least the camera wasn't toast, but I also didn't want to get any closer.
We live in a brick rancher. Do you know those roof vents over the ends of the house? We have three of them. One over the carport, and two over the "T" at the other end of the house.
The vents are screened on the inside to keep out birds and other beasties.
I park on the pad next to the carport.
This time last week, as I was getting out of the car, I looked down at the ground and saw lots of tiny little black things. They looked like hamster pellets, in a way. There were tons of these things. I ended up backing up my car so that I wouldn't walk through it and track stuff through the house.
Bravely, I looked up into the vent and saw lots and lots of little black things.
Bats. The stuff on the ground (and all over the siding) was bat guano. Not a good thing.
When husband got home, I mentioned it to him. He got the ladder out, got close enough to look inside and said one word "bats". He climbed up into the attic to verify that there were no bats inside of the attic.
After he changed clothes, he went to Home Depot and picked up some fiberglass netting.
He came home, and began spraying water from the garden hose on the parking pad and siding, attempting to get the guano off.
The bats really didn't like that. They left. Over 2 dozen of them flew out, all over everywhere.
Husband then decided that he would spray up into the vent in order to get any other bats out of the vents. A couple dozen more flew out.
Yeah, by this point, I was long gone. I actually took off once the bats started flying out.
Once he was certain no more bats were coming out, he climbed up onto the ladder, and measured the vent. He cut the fiberglass netting to fit over the vents. He used the staple gun to attach the netting on two sides. He has left the bottom open - so that it's an exclusion net. Just in case if any more bats were hanging out in there, they can get out, but not get back in.
Last night, he climbed back up the ladder with a flashlight to verify that all of the bats were gone.
He then stapled the bottom of the netting across the bottom of the vent.
We still have another vent that is loaded with bats. Absolutely full.
We have plans to put up a couple of bat houses on the property, before we work to get them out, so that they can have a new home to go roost in.
But where do these houses go? They like to be up high. We have an elm tree that's high, but that tree is sick and will have to come down within the next five years - so we don't want to put it there. And we really don't want them roosting inside of the house or the attic. With the amount of bats we have in this particular vent, if any more move in, it is possible that they could pop the screen out and take up residence in our attic. And that would be a bad thing.
Now, if we could just get the telephone company to come in and install a couple of poles for us in the back yard, I would know exactly where to put the houses!
Friday, August 15, 2014
Thursday, August 14, 2014
The Most Selfish Act?
I've been struggling to find the words for dealing with the death of Robin Williams. On the one hand, the man was my hero. His love of life, his childlike enthusiasm, and his unbounded energy drew us all into his circle. A light has been forever extinguished from our world.
The man battled some demons. Powerful demons.
All of his life, he has struggled with mental illness. We have all sat on the sidelines, watching in horror as he would attempt to self-medicate his problems with drugs and alcohol. He even joked about his struggle in his comedy routine. Eventually, he would enter rehab, get clean, and attempt to live a normal life. He would succeed for long periods of time, and then something would happen and he would begin self-medicating again, attempting to control the demons that haunted him until he once again entered rehab. At the time of his death, Robin was in treatment for his depression.
I keep seeing posts on social media that say "Suicide is the Ultimate Selfish Act" and "Get Help. You're not alone", posted along with the numbers for the Suicide Prevention Hotline.
If things were only that simple.
As the mother of a child who struggles with depression, I can attest to the fact that it is not that simple.
Suicide is not a selfish act. The sufferer finds him/herself so ultimately plagued by the internal struggle that they can't see any other way out. Family can be totally unaware of the battle that is raging within until it is too late. People who struggle with depression are very good at "blending" - making everything appear normal so that nobody else is aware of what is going on inside.
Because of our society's blatant misunderstanding and marginalization of those who struggle, people are afraid to tell others what they are feeling - their own interior struggles. They fear being ostracized, fired, ignored, stigmatized, or shunned.
Mental illness is a chemical imbalance. Many people are not aware that our bodies are chemical factories. Everything from our blood cholesterol, to diabetes, to mental illness is regulated by the chemical factories within our own bodies. Sometimes, our chemical factories are deficient. It is not our fault - it is something that is beyond our personal control.
Get Help... You're Not Alone. Here's the other lie. Getting help is not easy. You can call the suicide prevention hotline. They will attempt to talk you out of your "bad" place, and help you get to the hospital. So, you find yourself (or your loved one) at the hospital. 72 hours later, you will find yourself released with a claim of being cured! I'm sorry - but 72 hours is not enough time to make certain that you are stable, and ready to be back on your own. You can find yourself back at home 72 hours later, with a pile of drugs, and the same demons are still haunting you.
Getting through depression, and helping to keep it under control demands in-depth work with a psychiatrist and a therapist. Not only will you be looking deep within yourself and finding ways to help deal with your demons, and finding strategies to help keep yourself stable, you will need to work with a psychiatrist who will be able to monitor your progress, and help you make adjustments to your meds as necessary.
Even then, setbacks will happen.
Speaking again here as a parent of a child who has struggled with depression, I can tell you that while we did find a therapist immediately, it took us 6 months to get into to see a psychiatrist who would be able to prescribe the meds and monitor progress. Six long months of constant worry on my part, where I would sit up all night outside of the bedroom doors, ensuring that nobody got up to hurt themselves. Six months of being there every single minute of the day. I would only sleep during the day, when school was in session. Even with my constant vigilance, we still had moments when I was afraid that it wouldn't be enough and that we would lose the battle.
When a person is in the middle of a deep depression, they often don't see that they can get help, or that the need is there. This is where family and friends come in. If you see someone that you love is struggling with a deep depression and don't seem to be coming out of it, you need to step in and help them seek help. Gently, and lovingly, but you must be the one to reach out to them. If you are fighting for the life of a loved one - YOU - are the one who needs to make the phone calls and find the help that is so desperately needed.
What are the signs of depression?
Serious, clinical depression is a fight for a life.
A single life.
Do you care enough to fight the battle for someone else?
The man battled some demons. Powerful demons.
All of his life, he has struggled with mental illness. We have all sat on the sidelines, watching in horror as he would attempt to self-medicate his problems with drugs and alcohol. He even joked about his struggle in his comedy routine. Eventually, he would enter rehab, get clean, and attempt to live a normal life. He would succeed for long periods of time, and then something would happen and he would begin self-medicating again, attempting to control the demons that haunted him until he once again entered rehab. At the time of his death, Robin was in treatment for his depression.
I keep seeing posts on social media that say "Suicide is the Ultimate Selfish Act" and "Get Help. You're not alone", posted along with the numbers for the Suicide Prevention Hotline.
If things were only that simple.
As the mother of a child who struggles with depression, I can attest to the fact that it is not that simple.
Suicide is not a selfish act. The sufferer finds him/herself so ultimately plagued by the internal struggle that they can't see any other way out. Family can be totally unaware of the battle that is raging within until it is too late. People who struggle with depression are very good at "blending" - making everything appear normal so that nobody else is aware of what is going on inside.
Because of our society's blatant misunderstanding and marginalization of those who struggle, people are afraid to tell others what they are feeling - their own interior struggles. They fear being ostracized, fired, ignored, stigmatized, or shunned.
Mental illness is a chemical imbalance. Many people are not aware that our bodies are chemical factories. Everything from our blood cholesterol, to diabetes, to mental illness is regulated by the chemical factories within our own bodies. Sometimes, our chemical factories are deficient. It is not our fault - it is something that is beyond our personal control.
Get Help... You're Not Alone. Here's the other lie. Getting help is not easy. You can call the suicide prevention hotline. They will attempt to talk you out of your "bad" place, and help you get to the hospital. So, you find yourself (or your loved one) at the hospital. 72 hours later, you will find yourself released with a claim of being cured! I'm sorry - but 72 hours is not enough time to make certain that you are stable, and ready to be back on your own. You can find yourself back at home 72 hours later, with a pile of drugs, and the same demons are still haunting you.
Getting through depression, and helping to keep it under control demands in-depth work with a psychiatrist and a therapist. Not only will you be looking deep within yourself and finding ways to help deal with your demons, and finding strategies to help keep yourself stable, you will need to work with a psychiatrist who will be able to monitor your progress, and help you make adjustments to your meds as necessary.
Even then, setbacks will happen.
Speaking again here as a parent of a child who has struggled with depression, I can tell you that while we did find a therapist immediately, it took us 6 months to get into to see a psychiatrist who would be able to prescribe the meds and monitor progress. Six long months of constant worry on my part, where I would sit up all night outside of the bedroom doors, ensuring that nobody got up to hurt themselves. Six months of being there every single minute of the day. I would only sleep during the day, when school was in session. Even with my constant vigilance, we still had moments when I was afraid that it wouldn't be enough and that we would lose the battle.
When a person is in the middle of a deep depression, they often don't see that they can get help, or that the need is there. This is where family and friends come in. If you see someone that you love is struggling with a deep depression and don't seem to be coming out of it, you need to step in and help them seek help. Gently, and lovingly, but you must be the one to reach out to them. If you are fighting for the life of a loved one - YOU - are the one who needs to make the phone calls and find the help that is so desperately needed.
What are the signs of depression?
- Difficulty concentrating, remembering details, and making decisions
- Fatigue and decreased energy
- Feelings of guilt, worthlessness, and/or helplessness
- Feelings of hopelessness and/or pessimism
- Insomnia, early-morning wakefulness, or excessive sleeping
- Irritability, restlessness
- Loss of interest in activities or hobbies once pleasurable, including sex
- Overeating or appetite loss
- Persistent aches or pains, headaches, cramps, or digestive problems that do not ease even with treatment
- Persistent sad, anxious, or "empty" feelings
- Thoughts of suicide, suicide attempts
- A sudden switch from being very sad to being very calm or appearing to be happy
- Always talking or thinking about death
- Clinical depression (deep sadness, loss of interest, trouble sleeping and eating) that gets worse
- Having a "death wish," tempting fate by taking risks that could lead to death, such as driving through red lights
- Losing interest in things one used to care about
- Making comments about being hopeless, helpless, or worthless
- Putting affairs in order, tying up loose ends, changing a will
- Saying things like "It would be better if I wasn't here" or "I want out"
- Talking about suicide (killing one's self)
- Visiting or calling people one cares about
Serious, clinical depression is a fight for a life.
A single life.
Do you care enough to fight the battle for someone else?
Tuesday, August 12, 2014
Whoopsie.
Hypothetically speaking... have you ever accidentally paid a major bill a week before payday? You know, like a week before payday? You know, a huge one that requires the installation of a paycheck into the account before you pay it?
No, me neither.
Still speaking hypothetically here....
Daughter is taking concurrent enrollment classes at the Community College this year. She will be spending the first half of her day at the high school, and the second half of her day at the college. Our county requires us to pay a fee for these classes. So, for 2 college level classes, I am paying $600. For 6 credit hours of classes, I am paying $100 per credit hour. Not a bad deal. It's significantly less than I would be paying if she was enrolled full time in the school, or if she were at a 4 year institution.
As soon as our last payday rolled around, I went and wrote a check for her bill. Paid it in full. It put a crimp in our finances, but I had been expecting it, and had cut back on spending in July so about half came out of savings, and the other half came out of the last paycheck. Once you took out the mortgage, and the other bills, that left us with a little less than $500. More than enough for groceries for the first two weeks of the month, more than enough to pay cash for gas, and enough to go purchase her textbooks.
Now, in reality we pay our bills online. I can set payments up ahead of time, and our bills go out with very little trouble. We had a few issues for the first month after we went to electronic bill payment, but we have not had any issues since then.
Now, hypothetically speaking, let's say we had a bill that was due on the 18th, and our next pay date is the 15th. Let's pretend that I set the bill to "pay the full balance" which was around $600. Let's also say that I didn't pay very close attention to the "pay by" date and just hit submit. Let's also say that since I didn't set the date, the bill went out on Friday. LAST Friday - the 8th.
Yeah... have you seen the math here yet? $500, I went grocery shopping, we've put gas in the cars - twice - and then, a $600 payment comes rolling out of the account.
So, the bank pulls what we have left in checking and savings and the emergency savings account and pays the bill. THEN we get hit with an insufficient funds fee, and THEN we get hit with the transfer fee....
Saturday morning, I look at the checking account and realize that we are down to -$35. Yep, MINUS money. Savings and emergency savings have been wiped clean. The bank has a mandatory balance in each savings account that we are not allowed to go below if we want to keep earning interest and not incur additional fees. So, yeah... no money.
Hubby and I pulled the loose coins out, took them to the bank Saturday morning, and lo and behold- we had $40. Our balance was now up to $5.
And then, we did what we were hoping not to do. We went ahead and cashed in the EE savings bonds that we had set aside for daughter's college. We had paid $600 for her tuition, and this is what the money was set aside for. These credits at the community college will transfer directly into college, with none of the question or uncertainty that you can get from the AP Scores. Her English 102 class will transfer as English 102. The Community College even took her AP Language Credit and gave her full credit for English 101. So, when she goes to college next year, she will be transferring in credit for English 101 and 102. Freshman English - DONE!! So, yes, this is the very purpose of those savings bonds.
Our checking account is now back where it should be.
Good thing, too, because 2 other checks that had been in the wind for over 2 months cleared yesterday. I'm really going to have to start writing "Void after 90 days" on my checks.
So, hypothetically speaking.... you should always check the PAY BY date on the electronic checking. And then double check it... just to make sure the money is going out when you think it should.
Good thing this is all hypothetical......
No, me neither.
Still speaking hypothetically here....
Daughter is taking concurrent enrollment classes at the Community College this year. She will be spending the first half of her day at the high school, and the second half of her day at the college. Our county requires us to pay a fee for these classes. So, for 2 college level classes, I am paying $600. For 6 credit hours of classes, I am paying $100 per credit hour. Not a bad deal. It's significantly less than I would be paying if she was enrolled full time in the school, or if she were at a 4 year institution.
As soon as our last payday rolled around, I went and wrote a check for her bill. Paid it in full. It put a crimp in our finances, but I had been expecting it, and had cut back on spending in July so about half came out of savings, and the other half came out of the last paycheck. Once you took out the mortgage, and the other bills, that left us with a little less than $500. More than enough for groceries for the first two weeks of the month, more than enough to pay cash for gas, and enough to go purchase her textbooks.
Now, in reality we pay our bills online. I can set payments up ahead of time, and our bills go out with very little trouble. We had a few issues for the first month after we went to electronic bill payment, but we have not had any issues since then.
Now, hypothetically speaking, let's say we had a bill that was due on the 18th, and our next pay date is the 15th. Let's pretend that I set the bill to "pay the full balance" which was around $600. Let's also say that I didn't pay very close attention to the "pay by" date and just hit submit. Let's also say that since I didn't set the date, the bill went out on Friday. LAST Friday - the 8th.
Yeah... have you seen the math here yet? $500, I went grocery shopping, we've put gas in the cars - twice - and then, a $600 payment comes rolling out of the account.
So, the bank pulls what we have left in checking and savings and the emergency savings account and pays the bill. THEN we get hit with an insufficient funds fee, and THEN we get hit with the transfer fee....
Saturday morning, I look at the checking account and realize that we are down to -$35. Yep, MINUS money. Savings and emergency savings have been wiped clean. The bank has a mandatory balance in each savings account that we are not allowed to go below if we want to keep earning interest and not incur additional fees. So, yeah... no money.
Hubby and I pulled the loose coins out, took them to the bank Saturday morning, and lo and behold- we had $40. Our balance was now up to $5.
And then, we did what we were hoping not to do. We went ahead and cashed in the EE savings bonds that we had set aside for daughter's college. We had paid $600 for her tuition, and this is what the money was set aside for. These credits at the community college will transfer directly into college, with none of the question or uncertainty that you can get from the AP Scores. Her English 102 class will transfer as English 102. The Community College even took her AP Language Credit and gave her full credit for English 101. So, when she goes to college next year, she will be transferring in credit for English 101 and 102. Freshman English - DONE!! So, yes, this is the very purpose of those savings bonds.
Our checking account is now back where it should be.
Good thing, too, because 2 other checks that had been in the wind for over 2 months cleared yesterday. I'm really going to have to start writing "Void after 90 days" on my checks.
So, hypothetically speaking.... you should always check the PAY BY date on the electronic checking. And then double check it... just to make sure the money is going out when you think it should.
Good thing this is all hypothetical......
Monday, August 11, 2014
Photo Journey
Daughter took a photography class in school last year. This year, she will be taking AP Photo. She had a series of photographs that had to be taken this summer, from pictures taken from a moving car to timed light exposures at night, she had about 14 separate assignments in all.
Throughout the month of July, we would take off somewhere on a Friday afternoon and go on a photo safari. I would sit and enjoy the location, while she crawled around on the ground, squatted, and almost fell into a water fountain at one point, searching for just the right angle, and just the right shot.
All of her pictures belong to her, so I'm not going to share them here. Copyright online can be a tricky thing. Just because I label the image as belonging to her doesn't mean that someone won't lift her image and claim it for their own.
And so, I bring to you: our photo safari, 2014
Old Towne Alexandria
Located on the Potomac Waterfront, Old Towne Alexandria is a beautiful city that dates back to Colonial Times. George Washington's Home, Mount Vernon, is located not that far down the river from here. The Torpedo Factory is a huge draw for many people. This abandoned torpedo factory was turned into a hub of artists studios back in the 1970's. If you are looking for art, this is the place to go and see! (Remember that statement I made about copyright? This is why I couldn't take any pictures within the Torpedo Factory to share. Artists are VERY picky about such things!)
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| We found this little cowboy boot sitting on a tree stump in the park down by the river. |
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| Beautiful, tree lined cobblestone streets. I always have loved Old Towne. |
National Harbor is relatively new on the scene in DC. Considering the age of the town, and the fact that National Harbor is less than 10 years old, it's still in it's infancy. Home to some great views of DC, National Harbor is located on the Maryland side of the Potomac River, just off of the Capital Beltway.
We spent a lot of time walking around the Harbor, explored the Gaylord Hotel, wandered in and out of little shops, and she took a lot of pictures. We saw a bridal party taking pictures, and we watched someone in a full Captain America costume attempt to paddle board on the edge of the Potomac. We had a fantastic dinner next to the river, and then headed back home once traffic died down.
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| The view from National Harbor to the Woodrow Wilson bridge. |
Annapolis
The State Capital of Maryland, located on the beautiful Chesapeake Bay. I love Annapolis with a passion. Home to the Naval Academy and St. John's College, Annapolis is an intriguing mix of military town, college town, and legislative capital all wrapped up into a Colonial City... Did I mention I love Annapolis? The state legislative buildings are beautiful - and worth a tour to see. The art work in those buildings easily rivals that of the National Capital Building. I actually think the State House in Annapolis is a more beautiful building, to be honest. Down by the docks in Annapolis, you have wonderful stores, shopping, the city dock, and people - all kinds of people, young and old- roaming around. I spent a lot of time sitting on the dock, people watching while daughter attempted to get the "right" pictures.
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| We're up by the State House here, looking down to the water. You can just barely see the Bay down at the bottom of the hill. |
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| A view from the city dock. |
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| Had to share this... daughter's first ever attempt at a selfie. 17 years old and never taken a selfie before... Can you tell? That's her hair that you see against one of the pilings on the dock. |
Boonesboro
Out west of Frederick, in Maryland, there is a charming little town called Boonesboro. Why should you even know about this little town? Well, it is the home of the bookstore owned by Nora Roberts. If you call ahead, she'll sign books for you and leave them at the counter for you. She hosts book signings by authors, and writers workshops for teens and adults. The bookstore itself is a wonderful little place, full of her own books, books by other romance authors, best sellers, local authors, and books of local interest. If you didn't know, Boonesboro is located in the center of a lot of Civil War activity (it's not that far from Antietam/Sharpsburg).
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| Nora Robert's bookstore. Take note: not only do they occupy this store front, they occupy the store next to them, too. |
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| Another wonderful little spot! We didn't get a chance to stop in here, but I really, really wanted to! One stop shopping! |
Around Home...
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| The butterflies have Oriole's fever! This is the first Monarch I've seen in our yard! |
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| Storm clouds hover over the road. This storm spawned a couple of tornadoes East of us. |
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| Another year of camp comes to a close. |
Sunday, August 10, 2014
The Long Silence Has Ended
July is, and always has been, a very busy month for our family. No matter how much I vow I will keep up with the blog, I invariably manage to fall behind. Which leads me into August - and a Sunday afternoon blog post.
Over the past month, Middle Child worked at his summer camp, 2 hours away from home. His "weekend" was from Monday night to Wednesday morning. So, every Monday evening, I left home and headed up to the great wilderness north of Baltimore to pick him up. 2 hours back home, and then off I went to work the next morning. This year, husband took the Wednesday morning drop offs as my work schedule doesn't allow me to be off during the morning.
Daughter took a two week art camp in Baltimore. (More driving. Husband did drop off, I did pick up at 3:30). We visited 2 more colleges. One college was dropped from her list of possibilities, and another was added.
Oldest son is looking at graduate schools. He spent some time looking at schools in Maryland and Pennsylvania. He has one more school to look at in New Jersey. He is scheduled to take the GRE's in September. Hopefully, his score will be high enough that he will be able to get into the school of his choice. Just like daughter, his choice of school is dependent upon which school he has seen most recently.
I've been busy. The "new" job isn't quite so "new" anymore. After 4 months, I think we can call it a job. It's a wonderful challenge, and I really, really enjoy the students that I work with. They are all bright, curious, and full of enthusiasm. They have this passion that makes me feel as if they will be able to change the world! It's gratifying and oh, so very hopeful to see!
I celebrated another birthday last month. Instead of celebrating an anniversary of my 36th birthday this year, I decided that I would instead claim the age of 42. Ten points if you know WHY I chose 42!!!
Daughter will be taking her driver's test next week. July was full of lots of driving. LOTS of driving. She has driven all over the Baltimore area. I no longer feel as if I need one of those harnesses that race car drivers wear in order to protect them in the event of a crash. We've never run off of the road. At the beginning of July, I was consistently grabbing the steering wheel at least once a day to save us from running into a tree or a ditch. As time has gone on, I've grabbed the wheel less and less. It's been almost 3 weeks since I've had to grab the steering wheel. (And only one week since she stopped dead in the middle of a back road and honked at the birds to make them get out of her way. Kind of scary to realize that she lost a game of chicken to a house wren.)
Bats. I'll have to tell you about the bat situation later this week. That story will be a post in and of itself.
I'd also like to mention the baseball team based out of Baltimore. Take a look at their standings when you get a chance. I have seriously got to get to a game SOON!!
My last year of having a child in Public School begins in two weeks. Now that's a bitter sweet feeling! I'm not sure how I'm feeling about all of this... a lot of mixed emotions, that is certain.
I hope you are having a fantastic summer!
Over the past month, Middle Child worked at his summer camp, 2 hours away from home. His "weekend" was from Monday night to Wednesday morning. So, every Monday evening, I left home and headed up to the great wilderness north of Baltimore to pick him up. 2 hours back home, and then off I went to work the next morning. This year, husband took the Wednesday morning drop offs as my work schedule doesn't allow me to be off during the morning.
Daughter took a two week art camp in Baltimore. (More driving. Husband did drop off, I did pick up at 3:30). We visited 2 more colleges. One college was dropped from her list of possibilities, and another was added.
Oldest son is looking at graduate schools. He spent some time looking at schools in Maryland and Pennsylvania. He has one more school to look at in New Jersey. He is scheduled to take the GRE's in September. Hopefully, his score will be high enough that he will be able to get into the school of his choice. Just like daughter, his choice of school is dependent upon which school he has seen most recently.
I've been busy. The "new" job isn't quite so "new" anymore. After 4 months, I think we can call it a job. It's a wonderful challenge, and I really, really enjoy the students that I work with. They are all bright, curious, and full of enthusiasm. They have this passion that makes me feel as if they will be able to change the world! It's gratifying and oh, so very hopeful to see!
I celebrated another birthday last month. Instead of celebrating an anniversary of my 36th birthday this year, I decided that I would instead claim the age of 42. Ten points if you know WHY I chose 42!!!
Daughter will be taking her driver's test next week. July was full of lots of driving. LOTS of driving. She has driven all over the Baltimore area. I no longer feel as if I need one of those harnesses that race car drivers wear in order to protect them in the event of a crash. We've never run off of the road. At the beginning of July, I was consistently grabbing the steering wheel at least once a day to save us from running into a tree or a ditch. As time has gone on, I've grabbed the wheel less and less. It's been almost 3 weeks since I've had to grab the steering wheel. (And only one week since she stopped dead in the middle of a back road and honked at the birds to make them get out of her way. Kind of scary to realize that she lost a game of chicken to a house wren.)
Bats. I'll have to tell you about the bat situation later this week. That story will be a post in and of itself.
I'd also like to mention the baseball team based out of Baltimore. Take a look at their standings when you get a chance. I have seriously got to get to a game SOON!!
My last year of having a child in Public School begins in two weeks. Now that's a bitter sweet feeling! I'm not sure how I'm feeling about all of this... a lot of mixed emotions, that is certain.
I hope you are having a fantastic summer!
Monday, July 7, 2014
Pass the Peas?
The nice thing about microwave cooking is that it is hard to burn something.
If you put a pot of water on the stove, set it to high and walk away to study for a while, forgetting that you left a pot full of water on the stove, you could end up with the pot boiling dry and possibly melting.
True story. My husband did this back when we were dating. Luckily there was snow on the ground outside, so when his room-mate found the re-hot misshapen pan on the stove, he opened the kitchen window and thew it outside into the snow. Funny, he was using a potholder to toss it out, and it, too ended up out in the snow.
If you leave something in the oven and forget about setting the timer, you could end up with a pan full of charcoal.
Nope. I've never done that. Certainly never cooked chicken to the point where even the dog refused to eat it.
But, microwaves were supposed to stop that. You set the food into the microwave, choose the cook time, and voila! The food is cooked, with NO burning! Granted, if you cook your food too long, it gets rubbery and gross, but it doesn't really burn. Even metal in the microwave doesn't burn. It sparks, but it doesn't catch things on fire.
Oldest child will be entering his last year of college this fall. He has decided that he needs to learn how to cook for himself, as he is tired of eating peanut butter and jelly last night.
He has mastered the grilled cheese sandwich.
Over the weekend, he decided he was going to master pancakes.
Husband helped him, and he did make a very good batch of blueberry pancakes.
Last night, when I was making dinner, oldest child decided to help me make dinner. He announced that he was in charge of the veggies. He pulled a bag of frozen peas out, put them in a glass bowl, and set the timer on the microwave.
You know, I didn't ask any questions. I figure the kid, who is 21 years old, and going into his last year of college, is old enough to read the cook time on the back of the bag.
That is where I made my mistake.
You know, frozen peas weren't really meant to be microwaved for 10 minutes.
They actually don't burn.
Instead, they explode, and/or catch fire.
After you finally get the smoke detector to stop howling, you have a giant green mess to clean up in the microwave.
The good news is, as soon as you stop the power, the peas stop exploding.
The bad news is, it's a hell of a mess to clean up. 1 pound of peas. Most of which exploded over the interior of the oven.
What happened to the handful of rubbery, gross peas that were left?
Oldest child ate them. Why?
"These are better than the last batch I made"
If you put a pot of water on the stove, set it to high and walk away to study for a while, forgetting that you left a pot full of water on the stove, you could end up with the pot boiling dry and possibly melting.
True story. My husband did this back when we were dating. Luckily there was snow on the ground outside, so when his room-mate found the re-hot misshapen pan on the stove, he opened the kitchen window and thew it outside into the snow. Funny, he was using a potholder to toss it out, and it, too ended up out in the snow.
If you leave something in the oven and forget about setting the timer, you could end up with a pan full of charcoal.
Nope. I've never done that. Certainly never cooked chicken to the point where even the dog refused to eat it.
But, microwaves were supposed to stop that. You set the food into the microwave, choose the cook time, and voila! The food is cooked, with NO burning! Granted, if you cook your food too long, it gets rubbery and gross, but it doesn't really burn. Even metal in the microwave doesn't burn. It sparks, but it doesn't catch things on fire.
Oldest child will be entering his last year of college this fall. He has decided that he needs to learn how to cook for himself, as he is tired of eating peanut butter and jelly last night.
He has mastered the grilled cheese sandwich.
Over the weekend, he decided he was going to master pancakes.
Husband helped him, and he did make a very good batch of blueberry pancakes.
Last night, when I was making dinner, oldest child decided to help me make dinner. He announced that he was in charge of the veggies. He pulled a bag of frozen peas out, put them in a glass bowl, and set the timer on the microwave.
You know, I didn't ask any questions. I figure the kid, who is 21 years old, and going into his last year of college, is old enough to read the cook time on the back of the bag.
That is where I made my mistake.
You know, frozen peas weren't really meant to be microwaved for 10 minutes.
They actually don't burn.
Instead, they explode, and/or catch fire.
After you finally get the smoke detector to stop howling, you have a giant green mess to clean up in the microwave.
The good news is, as soon as you stop the power, the peas stop exploding.
The bad news is, it's a hell of a mess to clean up. 1 pound of peas. Most of which exploded over the interior of the oven.
What happened to the handful of rubbery, gross peas that were left?
Oldest child ate them. Why?
"These are better than the last batch I made"
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