CelestialFamily

Rachel's Vocabulary Quiz Show brought to you today by the letter S.

So Rachel quizzed Noah the other day, "Noah do you know what scrupulous means?"
Noah replied, "Isn't that a part of the body?"

Noah's response brought upon him hails of derisive laughter. I think we will keep him for the comic relief alone. We did eventually tell him what scrupulous meant after several attempts at coming up with some new anatomical definitions in the form of a sentence.

:::::::::::::Copious Book Reviews::::::::



This book was recommended to me by a very well read member of our book group. She knows what types of books I like and this does fit the general bill for me. Elna Baker writes about her experiences, hopes, and dreams. It is book worthy because of the juxtaposition she finds herself in being a single Mormon in a community largely made up of non Mormons in New York City. Her insights, especially, in the beginning chapters is spot on about Singles dances and attitudes in the church. She comes off as rather neurotic, but understandable in the context of being someone who by nature questions everything, but is in a religion that requires faith. She reminds me of an adrenaline junky that wants a constant thrill, but needs to run back to the comfort of familiar beliefs. She is an actress, so the personality is not surprising. Faith is an intregal part of her life and I had the feeling it was like an imbilical cord that was both a life line and something she felt like she was growing out of and was trying to cut the cord. She is an amazingly sharp witted person, but her inability to make a decision left me feeling somewhat the way I imagined her ex-boyfriend Matt felt, rather frustrated.



Dr. Carson was brought up in poverty by a mother who had episodes of depression that had her checking herself into the hospital. He had a brother who was a good example and got him involved with ROTC. Dr. Carson's ability to analyze his life and work past his intense anger issues and early poor study skills to become the skilled pediatric neurosurgeon he is today he attributes to his faith in God who gave him the talents to begin with. He tells off the long hours of studying and internships, which tired me out just thinking about all of the hard work. His ability to think spatially has helped him see how the parts of the body, specifically, the brain works in all its varied parts. I enjoyed the stories of some of the specific cases he has encountered and how they have effected him, as well as, the patient. I appreciated his emphasis on procedures as being a team effort realizing that one person can't get it done. He has kept his humanity in the face of the opportunity to be a celebrity. He acknowledges his talents and achievements, while remaining humble. I was impressed by his wife, who is an accomplished woman in her own right and maintains their family amidst her husband's long hours.


This is not just a book of eye candy. You might think bugs aren't eye candy, but the photographs in this book are outstanding. I might not want to meet these bugs in person, but I loved going over and over this book and looking at the variously hued insects and their funky appendages. The introduction is very well written and a definite solid beginning to a fabulous book.


If looking at freaky cool bugs isn't your thing, then maybe photographs of freaky cool plants and their bits might just be. Pretty colors that are worthy of any lsd trippin' Timothy Leary types (that is purely a guess on my part...about the lsd...I mean...I think the hardest thing I've done is Nyquil for a cold back in 1990...but I digress). This book is so cool. It even has words, which explain the photographs...BONUS I highly recommend this one.


This was a solid sequel to Simon Bloom, The Gravity Keeper. The effects of the octopus dna in the kids was really fun. I love the characters of the narrator, and Ms. Fanstrom from the Historical Society. I even think the Books from the different orders are very intriguing. I could have used less running about finding and fighting folks and had more of the cerebral stuff regarding the Books and how they interact. I'm hoping for a sequel that gets more into the scientific and less about the physical Fight Club aspects of finding out the mysteries of the Board of Administration.

Peace out my Peeps!

The torrential rains bring this song to mind:


::::::::::::Book Review::::::::::




The story of an ordinary girl with busy, unaware parents, in an extraordinary house. Coraline is brave and loyal and realizes getting everything you want isn't really what you want at all. The book is creepy, yet endearing. I was especially fond of the black cat with no name. He didn't need a name because he already knew who he was. My daughter, Rachel, recommended this book to me and I really enjoyed it.

::::::::::::::Another Oldie, but Goodie::::::::


:::::::::::::::Conversations with My Kids:::::

On Thursday Noah and Eve were having a discussion and Eve mentioned something about me being mom. I must preface this with a prior conversation that Noah and Eve had where Eve told me to get her water because I was the maid. Noah, vehemently, defended my position in the family as "mom". Eve finally relented and had to ask politely for assistance. Back to Thursday...Eve asked me something and I sarcastically asked, "Oh, I thought I was 'The Maid'?"

Eve replied, "You're THE MOM!"

Noah said, "You were demotted."

Mom: "So, being a mom is a demotion?"

Noah: "No...well yes. A maid gets paid."

Warm fuzzies...people...do you feel them?

:::::::::::::::Chad Vader:::::::

Rachel, Noah and I watched a show I found on HULU.com. Chad Vader,Day Shift Manager, is about the brother of Darth Vader. Chad works at the Empire Market, which is a grocery store. Each show is about 5 minutes long and completely nuts. Check it out if you are a sci fi geek.

Off to read.

Comment from Aaron for the day:

Aaron: "Hey, mom. You know I've been kinda of paranoid making Ramen noodles ever since I forgot to put water in the pan and almost burned the house down..." "Good times."

Mom: "Yes, Aaron. I remember."

:::::::::::::Fun with Friends:::::::::

I drove Miss Daisy (mom and Carol) to Suzanne's birthday party at Maggiono's at Ashford Dunwoody. We had a great time talking with everyone and the food was excellent. I loved the fried zucchini we had for an appetizer. I ordered the eggplant parmesan with the side of spaghetti with marinara sauce. No ice issues on the way home, which pleased me greatly.

Mom and I stopped off at the health food store for some avocado oil for Eve's eczema. My friend, Elizabeth, who also happens to be a nurse recommended this as something that would ameliorate Eve's symptoms. All the other creams we tried (and they are most of the brands on the shelf) caused a mild burning sensation. The doctor recommended all-vegetable Crisco. The Crisco was okay, but the avocado oil has no odor and soaks in quickly. It can also be used for cooking...BONUS! The avocado oil has been a great help...not a cure...but a soothing help for our lizardy lady.

::::::::::Snow Day:::::::


Okay, it was LAME on the scale of Snow Days, but the kids had fun with the neighbor kids. I made a ton of hot water and mixed several cups of hot chocolate and popped a mess of popcorn. Here are a couple of photos:

Rachel:


Evey

Smiles!

The kids are preparing the "Ding Dong Cobbler":

It is made with yellow cake mix, Ding Dongs, marshmallows, and hot cocoa mix.



Michael cooks the Cobbler and a Chicken Gumbo concoction:


Eve with one of the ropes:



Eve plays with her shadow:





Aaron belays Rachel and Michael gives some climbing suggestions:



Aaron lets his feet dangle for fun when he gets to the top:



Noah found a handprint his size:


Eve plays on the rocks:


We all think stickbugs are so cool:


I went up on two routes. I didn't top out on the second, but I got pretty close for being so rusty. No photos because Michael was belaying me and the kids were exploring the rock formations.

***The Noahism from the trip:
***edited (Noah was misquoted by me...thanks for reminding me, Michael)
We were sitting in the tent and Noah piped up, "You know those books by that comedian..."Are you sure you're not a redneck"? We all busted out laughing. We told him they were called "You might be a redneck". His matter of fact title just seemed a heck of a lot funnier. I can't remember the point he was trying to make, but this was great for the rest of the day.

******Book Review*****



The voices are distinct for each character. Growing up in the South I hear these voices and their is some familiarity. The voice of Aibleen is one that I particularly enjoy. Kathryn Stockett does help crack the veneer of Southern gentility. There was more than one occasion when I was younger when a relative of mine would be friends with a specific black person, but whisper under their breath that they didn't want a black person to be seated next to them in a restaurant. I always found that odd.
Each of the stories were woven together so well about this community where secrets were kept, while so many people seemed to know everybody elses business. I wanted to hug Aibleen and Louvenia. I wanted to listen to Minny talk about life. I kept wanting Leroy to man up and stop drinking. I wanted Stuart to pour out all of the bourbon. I bristled at the horrors and indignanties that human beings who happened to have a different skin color had to endure by people professing to be morally, spiritually and mentally superior. Her message of mutual respect is one that, unfortunately, needs to be retold.

p.s. the story about the word Crisco is priceless.

Later, gators!

My sister, Katherine, called me last week and asked if I would make a topsy turvy cake for her daughter, Jessica's, 21st birthday. I said sure, so she and my stepmom, Alice, drove up and we shopped for the ingredients. We purchased French Vanilla cake and Strawberry cake mixes. We also got pink petal dust and rose gel coloring to use with the fondant. I mixed up the buttercream frosting for the cakes on Saturday. I put seedless raspberry in the middle of the French Vanilla like I did for the last cake creation. It seems to be popular.
Rachel and Eve wanted to help so they got to apply the luster dust to some of the stars and all of the fondant ball border. I spent the time quite amiably by listening to Pride and Prejudice playing on the television. Rachel wanted to watch it and I love the Kiera Knightly/Matthew McFadden version. It was great reciting lines from the movie while rolling, cutting and applying fondant decorations.
This is Eve helping put petal dust on the dimensional stars:



This one is Rachel putting petal dust on the balled fondant border:




This one is me making the pink bow to go around the top tier:


Rachel requests a slice of cake:


Michael says that it tastes good:

Jessica, Rachel and My sister Tracy:

My funny and cute niece, Haley:

Did I mention funny?

A satisfying outcome and a lot of laughs with my sisters. BTW, Katherine refused to be allow her photograph on the blog. She is beautiful, too. Her story of the homeless man that stopped her in traffic got funnier with each telling. Life is truly an adventure and isn't it lovely that cake is a part of that!

Smiles!

Hey, just been busy doing other things, like everyone else. Michael and I did our own version of Food Network's Challenge. I was volunteered to make a surprise birthday cake for my stepdad's mother's 75th surprise party. The request was a topsy turvy cake covered in fondant. I didn't know how to use fondant, so Michael signed me up for the class at Cake Art. Michael also volunteered himself to help me. The theme idea for the cake came from the many trips that Nancy and Jim take to Tybee Island, Georgia. With Peggie's okay on the theme the many drawings and ideas were put to paper. Here is the finished product:


The lighthouse was created from Rice Krispie Treats (Michael did the whole thing). He also created all the sea stars, sand dollars and horseshoe crabs from fondant. I did the middle tier from Devil's Food cake, then covered the layers in Chocolate Ganache. I did the bottom layer in French Vanilla cake filled with seedless Raspberry's and iced with buttercream. To create the effect of waves we tinted and rolled out the fondant in blue, created ripples, then Michael took an offset spatula and used white royal icing to create the white caps.





This is a layout of Michael breaking into song. It was quite late at night:






I finally create a couple of layouts of my final class project from Cake Art:




::::::::::Book Reviews::::::::::
I've been reading a lot for my book club and just for my own enjoyment. Here are a few reviews.

The State of Jones (This one just interested me)


A fascinating look at the lives of a group of Jones county Unionists who initially fight for the Confederacy due to conscription. The people had voted for remaining with the Union, but underpressure, their representative voted to seceed. The resentment of this fact and the belief that everyone is equal in the site of God kept Newton Knight fighting for the Union. Fighting from the woods and swamps, while trying to avoid the Rebel army and the dogs they used to hunt men down made for years of separation from family and friends. The separation wasn't complete, though. Newton fell in love with a slave who was owned by one of his family members who believed in slavery. He goes own to have childred with her and has both a white and black family. He ends up feeling more comfortable with his family with Rachel. She ends up converting to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints because of their beliefs of families being together after this life. Newton doesn't convert, but doesn't stop Rachel either.

The history of the Civil War from the perspective of a Southerner who never wanted to secede and didn't believe in slavery is a compelling read. Mans inhumanity to each other is boundless. Newton Knight stood against those who would enslave others for their own enrichment and base desires. A sad, yet fascinating read

***

Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie (Book Club)


Flavia de Luce is a chemistry loving 11 year-old with a bit of macabre since of humor. She lives with an aloof, philatilest father, one vain sister and the other with who loves books. a cook who isn't a very good at it, and a the kindly, but shell shocked gardner named Dodger. The book has great tidbits about poisons and their antidotes, as well as, some history on the Penny Black stamp. The book was an interesting mystery and I look forward to the next in the series.

His next book is available for pre-order at Amazon. The title is: The Weed That Strings the Hangman's Hand
***

Lost Christianities (Another just because I wanted to read it books).


Another well researched work by Bart Ehrman. Fascinating book.

***
The Guernsey Literary and Potato Pie Society (Book Club)


An enthusiastic thumbs up! I am fond of characters that you find in small villages. There is so much quirky, yet lovable goings on in such places. This book reminds me of the characters from one of my favorite television shows, "The Vicar of Dibley". You quite quickly come to care about the people in Guernsey along with the main character, Juliet. I also love history, so learning about what the Channel islanders had to deal with during the German occupation was of keen interest. I really like the literary device of using letters, so the authors' writing style worked for me, as well.



:::::::::::::Yearbook:::::::

I've been working on the yearbook for the kids' elementary school again. The kids call me "Eve's mom!", "Hey, your Noah's mom", or "You're the Yearbook Lady!" I love having the SLR. I'm going with quantity of photos to get the diamonds in the rough. Kids move fast! It was fun to take pictures for "Crazy Hat Day" and the Wildlife Wonders show. The lunchroom ladies even smile at me now. I was able to strong arm the school's custodian to send me her photo for winning the county honors for her excellent work. She is a super lady, but hates to have her photo taken. I have been tinkering with the layouts and learning some of the new software offerings.

::::::::::::::Room Mom:::::::

I'm also one of the Room Moms for Evey's class. The other mom, Kathy B., is so cool. We will be working with Eve's class for the Fall fun centers. Kathy is doing a game like the one the used to play on The Bozo Show with the ping pong balls and the buckets. I will be working with the kids to put their handprints on some aprons with the date. Another mom will be helping the kids put together apple foam frames with photos that Kathy will be printing. We even have some things ready for the Christmas party. The theme is gingerbread. We will have the kids decorate gingerbread cookies and making foam gingerbread boy/girl ornaments with their photos.

::::::::::::Rain:::::::::

Rain has come to Georgia in abundance. Many neighbors have moderate to severe damage from the rain. We live high enough and on a slab that we had no water damage. The Great Flood of 2009 was the title for what happened at the end of September. My mother and I were in Columbus, Ga. for my Great Uncle Dewey Posey's funeral during the worst of the rain. We were able to make it back safely. The kids will make up the 2 days they missed in February, I think.


:::::::::::::Chorus Performance:::::::



Rachel had her first choral performance for 6th grade. The shirt was wayyyyyyy to big and the shoes I found for her were too small. The poor girl has 4 quad e feet. I bought 5W shoes. I sat in the chair trying to force the shoe on her feet like the guy in Cinderella. We had 30 minutes to exchange the shoes. We ended up buying 6 1/2W. They were a bit too big. I gave her tissue paper to stuff in her heels. She waddled into school with a bit miffed. The performance went well. I carried her on my back to the steps that led to the parking lot. She said she would walk the rest of the way. one of her friends asked her to join her family at Steak and Shake. We asked a couple of more friends. Rachel ended up sitting with Lauren S., Julia B., Brenna M. and Julia's brother, Jack. I enjoyed a chocolate/banana malt. Rachel loves the chili cheese fries. Any excuse for Steak and Shake is a good one.


:::::::::::Halloween Prep.:::::

So far, the kids want to be:

Aaron- Samurai, Rachel- Rubik's Cube, Noah- a molecule, and Eve- a bioluminescent jellyfish.

Well, have a fabulous weekend!

This is one of the things we learned at Dialog in the Dark. Even our guide said he didn't know that one. Michael, Aaron, Rachel and I found the experience amazing. We explored a park, a grocery store, took a boat ride, crossed the street, went to a cafe and sat down for a Q and A...all in pitch black rooms. We were provided with walking sticks. All our belongings, including eye glasses, went into a locker. I found the sounds from tapping things were the most helpful due to the different timbre of various objects. If you get the exhibit in your town give it a whirl.


::::::::::::The Grim Reaper Philosophy::::::

Michael was talking with Rachel and me about how time speeds up when you get older and closer to death. Rachel's response was immediate, and classic, "Sounds like somebody needs a Happy Meal!"



:::::::::::Digital Layouts from Scout Camp:::::::










:::::::::::::A Walk::::::::

I took a walk today and watched what happens when humidity doesn't let the sweat do anything but pool up on your arm. I looked like a white, freckly, wet tarp. Yeah, me!

I did get to listen to some great podcasts from Brian Dunning's Skeptoid site. I was really impressed by the one about Sarah Palin and others. The title is "Sarah Palin is Not Stupid". He talks about avoiding ad hominem attacks when people don't agree with your view, instead be polite and present your evidence. Otherwise, you just come off looking like a petty jerk. Really thoughtful piece.

:::::::::::::Cake Art numero Tres:::

I'm looking forward to my class tomorrow.

Later, gators!

Michael, Rachel and I watched the movie 9 to 5, today. They had never seen it, but it is one of my favorite movies. One of my all time favorite movie lines is, "You're a sexist, egotistical, lying, hypocritical, bigot!" The dream scenes of how to kill Mr. Hart are so bizarre. My favorite character is played by Dolly Parton.








::::::::::Back to School Shopping:::::
We are mostly done shopping. The boys were, surprisingly, easy to shop for. The girls are in transitional sizes. Inbetweeners, so to speak. Rachel is being pumped with estrogen and her hips are making fittings hard. She is petite and should fit regular size, but she gets pants high-centered on her hip bones. We decided to skip jeans until the fall.




:::::::::::Sleep Overs and Scout Projects:::::

Aaron had two friends over last night and first thing this morning he had a clean up day at the Scout Hut. He kept falling asleep. After the clean up finished he took a very long nap at granny and grampa's house.

::::::::::Another Layout from the Gulfshores Trip:::



::::::::::Book Review:::::::::



This was a very enlightening book. I found it interesting to know what happens to our bodies after death and the choices available to you for what happens to your body. The author uses spots of humor to alleviate the awkwardness most of us feel when talking about death. I tend to laugh at inappropriate times simply because I'm uncomfortable with the situation. I laugh more when the feelings become more intense, so the tone of this book worked for me.

Mrs. Roach gave information on organ donation, body donation for scientfic research, plastination for display and education, cremation, freeze drying to become organic compost and bodies used for folk medicines. One injury analyst who works with the FAA on some cases gave some interesting information on where it might be safest to sit on a plane. "He says it's mostly common sense. Sit near an emergency exit. Get down low, below the heat and smoke. Hold your breath as long as you can, so you don't cook your lungs and inhale poisonous fumes. ...Prefers window seats because people seated on the aisle are more likely to get beaned with the suitcases that can come crashing through the overhead bin doors in even a fairly mild impact." (p.127)
Men tend to survive because they are stronger and can push others out of the way and make it to the exit doors. The analyst stated that he preferred to fly in First Class whenever he flew.

The author shared the point of view that you should state your wishes to your family, but if they find it too abhorrent, or hard to deal with emotional to let them know they can change your burial plans. They are alive and have to deal with the emotions, but you are not. I'm rather ambivalent. I think I like the organic compost idea. I find that when our pets have passed away we bury them under our favorite tree. It is nice and shady and the kids can play and climb on the other side. I would like to be parted out, if there is any usable stuff, first. I'm all for the idea that if I'm not going to be using it it might help someone else.

I thought this book was well written and add just the right bit of levity to something that will affect all of us at some time.


:::::::::::::::Volunteered:::::::::

I have been volunteered for a project that is coming up the first week in October. To try to be ready for this event, Michael drove me to Cake Art so I could sign up for Cake Art III. I will be learning to use fondant. I will also be learning how to make tiered cakes. The class starts in 2 days. The same instructor for my first 2 class will be doing this one. She is pretty cool. I'm looking forward to learning some new techniques.

:::::::::::::::Fundraiser for Scleroderma Research::::::

I was very excited that I got to fill in for my mom at the fundraiser in memory of Kathleen Basile. I sat with Jim's family, the Towheys. They are such a hoot. Kathleen's family put together an amazing evening of entertainment, food and prizes. I participated in the Silent Auction and won tickets for "Dialogue in the Dark".Dialogue in the Dark. Here is a blurb from the site, "DIALOG IN THE DARK’S visually impaired guides lead visitors on a journey through a series of darkened galleries created to replicate everyday experiences. Without familiar sight clues, visitors learn to “see” in a completely new way with their non-visual senses." Michael, Aaron, Rachel and I are going.
The Basiles have decided to make this fundraiser into an annual event. There will be options for people to golf at Chateau Elan, purchase dinner tickets, raffle tickets and participate in the Silent Auction. Keep your radars onfor this one.

Rachel:


Eve is ready for the beach:



Michael helps the kids look for Coquina Clams on the beach:




Here is the sea nettle that stung Rachel:



Noah emerges from the sand with help from Eve:



Eve puts herself in time-out aboard the U.S.S. Alabama:


::::::::::::Some Digital layouts of the trip::::

::::::::::::::Photofunia.com:::

Some photos of Rachel as Bubbles when she was a very, little girl:





::::::::::::Digital Layouts::::

Here are the girls being incredibly silly:


My 2nd, 100 page, artscow book came in the mail today. It looks awesome!
2008 Book 2

Here is the link to 2008 Book 1





This book was such an interesting read. I learned several things:

1. The smell of newly cut grass, that I like, comes from hexanol-which may be an injury response.
2. The number of wildly acidic frogs have begun to blanket parts of Inida and Pakistan in winter, which may be due to pollutants. Since amphibians are very good indicators of what is going on in their environment, I wouldn't be surprised.
3. When quartz dust lands in the lungs, a macrophage will engulf it. The stomach of the macrophage ruptures and dies, then another macrophage comes to clean up. It will be killed by the sharp quartz dust. Then the bandage-making cells weave a fibrous web over the dead macrophages and the quartz dust. These build up and lead to silicosis. Nasty stuff.
4. Black lung from coal dust will turn the sputum black in the first stages of the disease.
5. Retrieved core samples of ice are under enormous pressure. If you cut it it will shatter. For a year they lay around on the surface to depressurize.
6. Brown lung comes from breathing, in part, cotton dust.
7. The worst offenders in dust making trees for wood workers are: beech, cedar, oak, mahogany, iroko and zebrawood. It is the fungal dust that is released, not the wood itself.
8. Air freshners do 3 things: 1. They numb the nerve endings inside your nose, preventing you from smelling anything offensive. 2. They coat the inside of your nose with droplets oil, to the same effect. 3. They simply saturate the air with such strong smelling chemicals that the odors fade by comparison. (p. 168).
9. Talcum powder is stone dust and is linked to epithelial ovarian cancer. (It's probably causal). p.170-171. People have died from baby powder overdose.
10. The term bonfire comes from the people of Britain who, in ages past, burned their dead on a "bone fire".

We all are affected by dust and each of us do our fair share of contributing to it every day. I recommend this book for those curious about the workings of things that are on such a small scale, but impact us in such a big way.

My current read is:



:::::::::::::::High School Reunion:::::::

I attended my 21st high school reunion on Saturday. Michael and the kids didn't make it home in time to see me dolled up. I wanted them to get my photograph, but oh, well. I had fun seeing friends from the class of '88 and '89. I got to dance a bit and do a lot of talking.


Melissa N., me, Pam S. and Jennifer M.

I would love to have had Michael along, but another $73.00 was out of the question.



:::::::::::Time for Sniffin' some Hexanol:::

I need to go mow the lawn. Later, gators!