Hunting Is Work
At work I was tasked with getting rid of a bunch of file boxes with old documents in them. I called up Farmer Bloomfield and made a trip out to deliver the file boxes to his burn pile. Since I would be out there I figured it was a good time to take a shotgun and a few shells out with me and assist with some pest removal. I managed to get three pesky pigeons - and unload all of the boxes!
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| The third bird landed in the poop pile. I didn't bother going to retrieve it. |
Bay Leaves
I have an awesome wife. (I'm not just saying that, anyone who knows her will attest to it. How I fooled her into getting married is a mystery!) However, I think she may have gotten wise to the scheme. You see, I think she is trying to kill me. I think maybe her sister, Tammy (who started the feud, remember...) may have something to do with it, too.
You see, I've found an unlikely number of bay leaves in my soups, stews and spaghetti sauce. I know - they add flavour... Whatever. Do you know how many people choke on bay leaves each year? Well, not very many, but I don't want to be the unlucky one.
There is even a medical paper on the topic. It starts the discussion section with the sentence "Reports discussing ingestion of bay leaves have been exceedingly scant". They indicate 10 cases in the 40 year period from 1950-1990, and not specific studies on the ingestion of bay leaves.
It may be safe (for you) to conclude that only a tiny, tiny fraction of the ingested bay leaves have caused problems, else there would be more studies mentioning such cases (and more cookbooks alerting the cook to remove the leaves!). The paper mentioned is "Bay Leaf Impaction In The Esophagus and Hypopharynx" by Stephen K. Buto, MD; Tat-Kin Tsang, MD; Gerald W. Sielaff, MD; Laurie L. Gutstein, MD; and Mick S. Meiselman, MD. Look it up.
You would think she could come up with a way more creative way to remove me and claim the scant insurance pay-out. After all, she works with heart and lungs...
Oh yeah, the soup was delicious!
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| The evil Bay Leaf: bay laurel; laurus nobilis |
Polar Vortex
Well, this meteorological anomaly they call the polar vortex (come on, polar vortex? Really?? Let's call it what it is... 'winter') has had us in the deep freeze for a while. I'm getting tired of it all. I am all in favour of winter activities but it has to end some time soon. Spring has got to be right around the corner... I'm betting on late May.
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| If it weren't for fenceposts it would look all grey with no horizon |
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| Feels like -40C. Yep, that's cold. |
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| Dash camera photo, limited visibility. |
The Dragonfly
LP has saved up his money from Christmas, allowance and wherever else he gets his spending money. He wanted to buy a small folding knife. But this is not just any knife, no, no, no. This is a yellow handled Spyderco Dragonfly, with a rust-proof steel called H1. This little thing is sharp as a scalpel!
He had requested it and asked me to order it. Since it was his money and a good chance to learn the value of spending on quality, taking care of your property and being careful with a sharp tool, I discussed with his mom and ordered him one.
When it arrived he nearly burst out of his skin! He was so excited.
Now, for those who might not 'get it', we have put certain restrictions on the use of this little tool. He can't take it to school, chase his brothers with it or use it during dinner. He's been instructed in the safe handling and knows to put it away when it's not in use. He can't wait to put find any reason to good use. He has a silly grin on his face whenever he gets a chance to trim a thread or open a cardboard box!
Bonus - he hasn't cut himself with it... yet.
The Rascal
I was able to pick up a little rifle for the boys, too. A Savage Rascal, which is a small, lightweight, single shot .22 LR rifle. It's bright blue. It is easy to load and has a nice little peep sight and a big, fat safety switch on it. Perfect for teaching safe firearms handling and getting them on the right path for some marksmanship skills, too.
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| Thanks to Brother Bill for the photo of LP shooting |
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| Brother KP with a dead Coke can. Sorry to the Teacher for the wasted contents! |
Happy Birthday, Special K...
Someone your age should be more mature... Get that basket off your head!
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| The birthday girl - finally getting older! |
Oh yeah, one more thing...
I've called our boys window-lickers at one time or another. It's usually when they are doing something a bit strange or weird. It does happen from time to time. We were driving home from a weekend visiting the in-laws when Christine heard a bit of commotion from the back seat. It seems Half Pint was in full 'window-licker' mode.
Licorice is not meant to be stuffed up each nostril, son.
