Archive for April, 2009

Beth and I have a new “thing” that I hope will become a whole/real tradition (we’ve already met the Aggie definition of a tradition: it’s happened twice!).

Last night, we had a Wine for Whine session where we each had wine while we whined about the crap that is part of our lives right now.

There are so very many things we need to talk about….and tonight was a perfect release for all those little stresses.

Our first WfW went until ~3am while we talked about everything under the sun. Next time, curfew!

Some of you may remember when, earlier this year, a good friend of my dad’s passed away. Well, the next step was to add Harold’ s name to the Memorial Golf Tournament. There are also plans to install a memorial bench at the course, like the one there in memory of Daddy.

Larry Salter & Harold Morrison Memorial Golf Tournament
benefiting the Prairiland Academic Trust Foundation
which supports Prairiland ISD schools, namely scholarships for graduating seniors who might not have funding to attend college

My has the tournament grown since that second year when we became involved. (The first year, Daddy played in the tournament. The next year, he died just before the event and the planners named it in his memory.) The first year we were involved, there was one flight of four-man teams. A couple of years later, they went to six man teams and then to two flights just after that. This year, both flights were brimming over: 21 and 24 teams on an 18-hole course.

It was a very windy day that constantly threatened rain. But, all in all, the weather was not to warm or cool and made for a nice day for golf. Emil even got to use the driver he won as a door prize last year. He played on the As You Wish team, which came in last in their flight and won free golf lessons.

Tiny Valvet

To give you all an idea of the size of Valvet (and some idea of how much Turtleor has grown in the year we’ve had her), I caught them sharing each end of their big rock.

Cuddles

And, to make Beth happy. I included the one image I have (so far) of Turtleor cuddling Valvet. This is only a part cuddle and is a horrible image, but I’m sure there will be more.

see more Lolcats and funny pictures

No Shoes.
One Day.
Make a Statement.

Valvet is acclimating nicely. Yay for our reptile family!

She is the “beta” member of our turtle family, which Turtleor has made clear with the flapping of her front paws/claws (Patty R., help me out here! What are turtle’s feet called? fins? webs?).

Early on, Valvet seems to be the smarter/faster turtle. Like most “second” members of a family, she’s progressing just a little bit more quickly. It only took her one day of being at home with us to eat. She was with us for a little longer at Easter, so that is part of the difference, but she did eat much earlier than Turtleor did. She is also acclimating quite nicely to an aquarium with a filter and running water. Turtleor had the luxury of being in a bowl, first. In any case, like children or cats or other critters, they are easier with the second. So far, Valvet is learning from Turtleor and we have learned from our first red eared slider of what to do/not.

Also, while Turtleor will press her baby sibling down into the water to establish dominance, Big Sis also cuddles the little one up into safety.

It’s clear that Turtleor loves having a baby to care for. I suspect it will be different when Valvet starts to catch up in size…

Thank you, Patty R., Andy/Mary, and Jenn, for introducing us to the wonderful world of turtles as pets.

Today, our’s are trying tomatoes! Nom!

As I mentioned on Twitter, this week’s episode of The Big Bang Theory made me laugh so hard that one of my ears popped!

As other Twitter users expressed, it was damn funny!

Amazon is officially on the blacklist. They have taken on a role of censorship and worse, are inconsistent about it, equating several entire demographics of people with immoral behavior. Who do they think they are?

Thanks to our friend Steve for pointing this out on facebook over the weekend. Thanks to one of my brides, Maria for these links. As a novelist, she’s pretty peeved.

petition

Amazon Rank re-defined

This is a funny little example of the way our world works.

As we were leaving the house for Easter…
Emil: Turtleor is upset that we’re leaving. She thinks we are going to bring her a baby brother or sister.

As we were driving into Dime Box…
Lori: I hope we don’t find another turtle. Two might be a lot more work, but I won’t be able to leave it there.

As Emil was reaching into the water cutoff to make sure the water was turned on…
Emil: “Baby, you aren’t going to believe this.” Then he hands me the tiniest Red Eared Slider I’ve ever seen. She had been stuck in the valve area for a while, was emaciated, and was so dehydrated she could not open her eyes.

As we battled getting the water turned on at Dime Box, I checked on her from time to time. I also texted a picture of her to Twitxr, which showed up on facebook. Name suggestions included Dribble and Speed Bump. Emil suggested Valvet since we found her in the valve. I suggested Turtleand and Turtlebut to go with Turtleor….but ultimately Valvet is the most telling/descriptive name for our new addition.

Turtleor has made it abundantly clear that she is the alpha with the fluttering of her front feet. At the same time, she seems to “cuddle” Valvet under her belly in a protective way. Valvet hasn’t eaten, yet, but it took Turtleor ~3 days to eat when we brought her home, so I’m not too concerned about that, yet.

Pictures to follow, of course.