Phase 1 complete!
Pile of dirt removed from bottom of pond:
Rocks rolled/lifted away from rubber liner:
More as it develops…
Tag Archives: family
The newest addition to our family?
Introducing the Masked Tramp (a/k/a Charlie Chaplin as crime-fighting cat):
Has been hanging out at our house for several weeks now (the cat, not the actor). We bring the feline bandit inside on cold nights.
Very friendly…
Meanwhile, Erin the Elder rules his domain, the heated blanket and fleece bedsheets:
My sister’s idea of holiday snack food
Baked kale chips instead of baked cookies?
Hmm…have to think about that…
Kids shaking gift packages all over America are causing bridge tremors?
Just when you thought it was safe to celebrate the holidays with family, along comes another “vague threat” from Grinch’s minions — encouraging kids to shake gift packages as vigorously as they can in order to tear bridges apart?!:
For those who don’t remember the last time such an event occurred, click here for video proof of the unified power of children’s curiosity, led by an anonymous person named Gale:
HAPPY HOLIDAYS FROM ALL OF US HERE AT THE CENTER FOR INVESTIGATIVE HUMOUR, WHERE SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY MEET ON A BLIND DATE, FALL IN LOVE, HAVE CHILDREN, LIVE TO OLD AGE AND FORGET THE SECRETS OF LIFE THEY DISCOVERED ALONG THE WAY, ENDING UP SHOUTING IN ROMANTIC TEXTS TO ONE ANOTHER WHILE SITTING NEXT TO EACH OTHER ON A SOFA IN AN OLD FOLKS HOME, HAPPILY OBLIVIOUS ABOUT MAJOR WORLD EVENTS, WISHING THE SAME GOOD FORTUNE FOR THEIR GRANDCHILDREN ON MARS, IF THEY’D ONLY COME VISIT EVERY ONCE IN A WHILE — IS IT SO FAR TO TRAVEL FROM MARS TO EARTH THAT THE KIDS CAN’T MAKE A TRIP HOME ONCE A YEAR?
The future of food
One day, instead of your descendants reminiscing about the flavor of food, they will reminisce about the
“artificial” chemicals that make up flavor:
“Gee, Wally, I sure miss the taste of Octyl Acetate* in Mom’s cooking. Don’t you?”
“Yeah, doesn’t seem homemade without it!”
[*An ester called Octyl Acetate (CH3COOC8H17) is a fundamental component in orange flavor.]
Father-son quality time…
Antique metal advert in Cheeburger Cheeburger
“Look, Dad, it’s the Killer Rabbit of Caerbannog. Shoot it, quick!”
“No, son. That’s a bunny rabbit. Besides, I’ve a pheasant in my sight.”
“But, Dad, it’s got nasty, big, pointy teeth!”
“No it doesn’t.”
“I’m telling you, Dad. It has a vicious streak a mile wide.”
“Nope. Not something that cute and cuddly.”
[Sound of rabbit attacking and eating bird dog]
“What the…?”
“See, Dad, I told you.”
“If only we had the Holy Hand Grenade of Antioch at a time like this.”
“What’s that, Dad?”
“An ancient relic that saved the quest for the Holy Grail.”
“Holy Quail?”
“Something like that, son. Aiiiieeeeeeee…”
[Sound of rabbit attacking father]
[Son to no one in particular] “Run away!”
Thus was born the idea for the Remington Killer Rabbit Edition RPG (rocket propelled grenade) Launch System, an essential tool for every hunter, with launch countdown instructions of “one, two, five…no, three.”
Holidaze
Every word posted here sends ripples through the local manifestation of the universe.
The energy associated with the ripples will, according to observable data and scientific hypotheses, slowly dissipate — atoms/molecules bumping into each other, their subatomic particlewaves sharing the energy until it has split into enough shares that the dilution has rendered the original stream of energy into background noise, the pink slime of aethereal ephemera.
Growing up in family traditions, one decides (if one has any actual belief/action in free will) whether to reenergize the traditions for passing on to the atoms/molecules/people/subcultures around oneself.
In the Northern Hemisphere, when our planet approaches a certain place in orbit, we traditionally invoke images of both snowy fields and dry deserts while talking about Santa Claus and the birth of a relatively obscure infant of desert tribe lineage.
Some people counter these images with their own newly-founded traditions such as the Flying Spaghetti Monster.
What do we want in life?
Do we desire happy, healthy social connections?
Since no one is an island, dependent on the surrounding environment for sustenance in one way or another, on what do we replenish our energy sources?
If the source of much of one’s childhood centered on the teachings of text with contradictory information, allowing those wisest amongst us to pick and choose which portions of the text are relevant for today’s receptive pupils, should one pick and choose how to reinterpret the text for personal edification/gratification?
If one’s personality leads one to live a happy, healthy life with a tendency to be kind to others, can we say which came first, one’s innate personality traits of “goodness” or one’s immersion in a family tradition that removed “bad” habits and replaced them with good ones?
This morning, when densely-packed water droplets moving en masse through the sky blocks the direct rays of our local star, giving a bluish-gray hue as background light, the origin of our universe or ourselves as a created/evolved species is not nearly as important as how one chooses to treat others as moral/ethical equals until proven otherwise.
Free to be Me 