Four years. This dog has been here for four years now. Apparently, he thinks he's staying, and is making himself comfortable - in my bed.
So, now my pillow smells like dog.
Great.
We buried our cat today.
Sixteen years ago, Ellen and I went off to pick out a cat. When we got ready to leave, Ellen had chosen a little yellow furball who we ultimately named Mufasa. I was drawn to a black and white kitten we ultimately named Neelix. So, instead of the one cat we had intended, we ended up coming home with two (and dodging the landlord for a couple of years).
Mufasa was always the eager, spry, underfoot cat. On the way home with us that day, he kept peeking his head out of the cardboard box, as if he were eager to jump into this new adventure. The first couple of nights we tried to keep these energetic ones in the kitchen, so that we could get some sleep without them crawling all over us. We didn't have a door in the kitchen, so we propped up a card table to block the opening, and figured we were good to go. Not long after settling into bed, Mufasa came bounding up the stairs and onto our heads. Seems he had figured out that he could jump to the chair, to the table, and then launch himself over the propped up card table into the living room.
That kind of set the tone there. I don't know how many times I stepped on his tail, or clonked him in the head with the cabinet door because he was trying to insinuate himself in whatever I was doing. Especially if there were food involved (or might be food involved).
Last week, we returned from Thanksgiving at Ellen's folks' house, and Mufasa was listing along on one side, acting very groggy, and dragging himself from place to place. We figured something was up, but it was confirmed when he only ate just a little bit (and the next day when he wouldn't eat at all). Ellen took him to the vet on Tuesday morning, and asked them to check him out. (He'd had some pretty weird health-related things before.) The vet called to let us know that Mufasa was suffering from kidney failure, and that the best they could do would be to try intravenous fluids for a few days to see if he responded. If he did, he could come home and we would be on a maintenance program to keep him comfortable.
After talking it over, we decided that the best thing to do would be to let him go.
We buried him in the backyard today, with many tears.
Sixteen years - a good life - a good cat.
As of this writing, my "About Me" block on this blog says "4 kids, 3 cats, 2 adults, 1 family (and a dog)". Please excuse me if I don't update it for a while.
Sixteen years ago, Ellen and I went off to pick out a cat. When we got ready to leave, Ellen had chosen a little yellow furball who we ultimately named Mufasa. I was drawn to a black and white kitten we ultimately named Neelix. So, instead of the one cat we had intended, we ended up coming home with two (and dodging the landlord for a couple of years).
Mufasa was always the eager, spry, underfoot cat. On the way home with us that day, he kept peeking his head out of the cardboard box, as if he were eager to jump into this new adventure. The first couple of nights we tried to keep these energetic ones in the kitchen, so that we could get some sleep without them crawling all over us. We didn't have a door in the kitchen, so we propped up a card table to block the opening, and figured we were good to go. Not long after settling into bed, Mufasa came bounding up the stairs and onto our heads. Seems he had figured out that he could jump to the chair, to the table, and then launch himself over the propped up card table into the living room.
That kind of set the tone there. I don't know how many times I stepped on his tail, or clonked him in the head with the cabinet door because he was trying to insinuate himself in whatever I was doing. Especially if there were food involved (or might be food involved).
Last week, we returned from Thanksgiving at Ellen's folks' house, and Mufasa was listing along on one side, acting very groggy, and dragging himself from place to place. We figured something was up, but it was confirmed when he only ate just a little bit (and the next day when he wouldn't eat at all). Ellen took him to the vet on Tuesday morning, and asked them to check him out. (He'd had some pretty weird health-related things before.) The vet called to let us know that Mufasa was suffering from kidney failure, and that the best they could do would be to try intravenous fluids for a few days to see if he responded. If he did, he could come home and we would be on a maintenance program to keep him comfortable.
After talking it over, we decided that the best thing to do would be to let him go.
We buried him in the backyard today, with many tears.
Sixteen years - a good life - a good cat.
As of this writing, my "About Me" block on this blog says "4 kids, 3 cats, 2 adults, 1 family (and a dog)". Please excuse me if I don't update it for a while.
Math Team, Pinewood Derby, Spelling Bee - a busy day at our house!
Saturday, March 5, 2011
10:22 PM
by bill
Today was a crazy day as far as the kids were concerned. Three kids needed to be at three events in three different parts of the county - at the same time.
Keke had a Math Team competition, and we were able to drop her off after arranging for a ride home with one of her friends. She competed in word problems, and she did all right.
Stewie had a regional Pinewood Derby event. As the overall winner of the Pack Derby, he got to compete at the regionals. He also did well. They only showed the results for the top three finishers in each class, and his name wasn't displayed, but his time was only .01 seconds off the third place finisher, so I figure he was right up there, too.
Beenie had his second Regional Spelling Bee competition. The winner of this competition goes to Washington DC, for the national competition. Ellen took Beenie to this round. The bee started off as last years did, with a number of people being knocked out, and the competition was quickly down to ten spellers. After that, the eliminations slowed, and several rounds passed before the winner was determined.
The words that was given to spell were:
predicate (practice word)
hydraulic
impetuous
(10 spellers left)
epiphany
patel
angstrom
(5 spellers left)
eureka
(4 spellers left)
bureaucracy
tachometer
(3 spellers left)
bezoar
Unfortunately, Beenie spelled the last word beezoar, and was eliminated. But, he did come in third in the region, and that is something to be very, very proud of! The kid who won was the kid who has won the regional bee in three out of the four years he's been involved, so the competition was tough.
Way to go Beenie, and Stewie, and Keke!!
Keke had a Math Team competition, and we were able to drop her off after arranging for a ride home with one of her friends. She competed in word problems, and she did all right.
Stewie had a regional Pinewood Derby event. As the overall winner of the Pack Derby, he got to compete at the regionals. He also did well. They only showed the results for the top three finishers in each class, and his name wasn't displayed, but his time was only .01 seconds off the third place finisher, so I figure he was right up there, too.
Beenie had his second Regional Spelling Bee competition. The winner of this competition goes to Washington DC, for the national competition. Ellen took Beenie to this round. The bee started off as last years did, with a number of people being knocked out, and the competition was quickly down to ten spellers. After that, the eliminations slowed, and several rounds passed before the winner was determined.
The words that was given to spell were:
predicate (practice word)
hydraulic
impetuous
(10 spellers left)
epiphany
patel
angstrom
(5 spellers left)
eureka
(4 spellers left)
bureaucracy
tachometer
(3 spellers left)
bezoar
Unfortunately, Beenie spelled the last word beezoar, and was eliminated. But, he did come in third in the region, and that is something to be very, very proud of! The kid who won was the kid who has won the regional bee in three out of the four years he's been involved, so the competition was tough.
Way to go Beenie, and Stewie, and Keke!!
It's the last year for Beenie to compete in the spelling bee. Last year he followed up 2 years worth of second place by coming in first and moving on to the regional spelling bee. In a way that created less pressure as he's already been there. In a way it created more pressure - the pressure to repeat.
So, we were a little on edge last night as we sat down to watch the Middle School Spelling Bee. 26 entrants from grades 5-8 sat on stage, under the lights, and had to spell in front of an audience of parents and siblings. In each of the first five rounds, only a handful of kids got eliminated each time.
In the sixth round, all that changed, instantly. The round started with five kids standing, and the first three each spelled their word incorrectly. Then it was Beenie's turn. He got "monstrosity" and spelled it correctly. One kid followed, and he missed his word. That left Beenie to spell one final "championship" word to win the whole thing.
The announcer said "herringbone", and Beenie got a sly little smile on his face. I could tell as he started h-e-r that he knew he had it, and he was just trying to slow himself down so as not to make a silly mistake. r-r-i-n-g-b-o-n-e, and bam - he's the champion for the second year in a row!!!
I swore I was not going to get all worked up this year. Since he did this last year, I was good with however he did. I was wrong. When the kids started missing in round 6, my heart was pounding. When I hit the stage, I wrapped him in a big bear hug (much to his chagrin, I'm sure). So much for the cool, collected, dad.
Again, we're on to the regional bee, where the words are exponentially harder. We'll see what happens.
The (correctly spelled) words from this bee:
So, we were a little on edge last night as we sat down to watch the Middle School Spelling Bee. 26 entrants from grades 5-8 sat on stage, under the lights, and had to spell in front of an audience of parents and siblings. In each of the first five rounds, only a handful of kids got eliminated each time.
In the sixth round, all that changed, instantly. The round started with five kids standing, and the first three each spelled their word incorrectly. Then it was Beenie's turn. He got "monstrosity" and spelled it correctly. One kid followed, and he missed his word. That left Beenie to spell one final "championship" word to win the whole thing.
The announcer said "herringbone", and Beenie got a sly little smile on his face. I could tell as he started h-e-r that he knew he had it, and he was just trying to slow himself down so as not to make a silly mistake. r-r-i-n-g-b-o-n-e, and bam - he's the champion for the second year in a row!!!
I swore I was not going to get all worked up this year. Since he did this last year, I was good with however he did. I was wrong. When the kids started missing in round 6, my heart was pounding. When I hit the stage, I wrapped him in a big bear hug (much to his chagrin, I'm sure). So much for the cool, collected, dad.
Again, we're on to the regional bee, where the words are exponentially harder. We'll see what happens.
The (correctly spelled) words from this bee:
auburn
cascade
navigator
enzyme
unanimous
monstrosity
herringbone
I tend to stress out at the thought of the Pinewood Derby. I am not a woodworker, so I figure the chances of me messing something up permanently are pretty high. This is made worse with the knowledge that I'm messing up something that my kid is making. That was the situation I found myself in earlier this week, as Stewie and I started working on his first Pinewood Derby car.
We talked about some simple designs he could use (that wouldn't require too much finesse on my part), and he told me exactly what he wanted. He wanted a car with a steep incline in the front, then a gradual slope from the top to the back of the car. Okay, I can do that. A little bit of sawing and Stewie doing some sanding, and we've got the basic shape.
Next comes the paint. Stewie wanted a red car with a pair of racing stripes down the middle. So, we busted out the art kit and he got busy with the painting. We ultimately decided on a silver racing stripe, and Stewie put it on as one full stripe, then I painted the thin red line down the middle that would separate it into two. Came out looking pretty nice, I must say.
The day of the derby we got there, got signed in and inspected and decided to add some weight to the car. Six nickels seemed to bring it to the right weight, and Stewie set off for his den heat. He finished second, losing by a hair to one of the other boys, but it was enough to get him to the finals.
The finals featured a number of really fast cars, and they were winning every race. When it came time for Stewie to go up against them I was surprised when he beat every car except one. Pretty amazing!! When the race was over, the Pinewood Derby Committee gathered behind closed doors and emerged a few minutes later, declaring the one car that Stewie lost to disqualified (they moved the axles to the ends of the car - a no-no). That meant that Stewie won the first Pinewood Derby he ever was in!!! The best part - using a design that he created.
Next stop - the district Pinewood Derby. (Which actually had Stewie a little upset because all he wanted to do was to go home and play with his car.)
We talked about some simple designs he could use (that wouldn't require too much finesse on my part), and he told me exactly what he wanted. He wanted a car with a steep incline in the front, then a gradual slope from the top to the back of the car. Okay, I can do that. A little bit of sawing and Stewie doing some sanding, and we've got the basic shape.
Next comes the paint. Stewie wanted a red car with a pair of racing stripes down the middle. So, we busted out the art kit and he got busy with the painting. We ultimately decided on a silver racing stripe, and Stewie put it on as one full stripe, then I painted the thin red line down the middle that would separate it into two. Came out looking pretty nice, I must say.
 |
| Car is lookin' good! |
The day of the derby we got there, got signed in and inspected and decided to add some weight to the car. Six nickels seemed to bring it to the right weight, and Stewie set off for his den heat. He finished second, losing by a hair to one of the other boys, but it was enough to get him to the finals.
The finals featured a number of really fast cars, and they were winning every race. When it came time for Stewie to go up against them I was surprised when he beat every car except one. Pretty amazing!! When the race was over, the Pinewood Derby Committee gathered behind closed doors and emerged a few minutes later, declaring the one car that Stewie lost to disqualified (they moved the axles to the ends of the car - a no-no). That meant that Stewie won the first Pinewood Derby he ever was in!!! The best part - using a design that he created.
Next stop - the district Pinewood Derby. (Which actually had Stewie a little upset because all he wanted to do was to go home and play with his car.)
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
