Jedi Mind Tricks

Desmond has taken to answering his own questions. He'll make a request, look you right in the eye, then with a serious yet impish look, he will emphatically prompt you with the answer he wants. For instance,

- More blueberries, please? Yes, you may.

- Do you want to listen to Silly Songs? Yes, you want to.

- Should we play with the phone? Yes, sounds good.

I think the Force is strong with this one.

Secret Pleasures

I've been fighting the greener grass syndrome lately. I actually do enjoy being a stay-at-home mom. As a reminder, did you know that as a stay-at-home mom, you can...

- Eat corn on the cob for lunch. When's the last time you did that on a weekday?

- Watch World Cup soccer games while "on the clock"

- Get a farmer's tan without actually doing the work of a farmer

- Bake pretty much anything you want anytime you want and call it a "teaching experience"

Not a bad life, neh? And that's not even thinking about stuff that's actually significant. :-)

New Wheels

For those of you who care about my car saga, Charlie, the beloved '92 Subaru Loyale, has kicked the bucket. He's been replaced with an Outback. There's no name yet, but she is a girl.

The Zoo

It's amazing that elephants live within three miles from the White House.

Aunt Katie, Desmond and I visited the National Zoo this week. Admission is free and we found free 2 hour street parking. Two hours is as much zoo as Des could handle. Pretty cheap and a lot of fun.

As much as I dislike the concept of zoos, I had a good time. It was fun watching Desmond excitedly race around and laugh with glee at the animals. There are some truly fascinating animals on this planet. I felt fortunate to see some of them in person.

Desmond and Tian Tian.

A better view of Tian Tian. Washingtonians are particularly fond of their pandas.
When Tia Shan was returned to China, it headlined the local news.

My favorite moment was at the elephant pen. A particularly playful elephant stopped to pee. Boy did this guy pee; think fire hose strength. Anyway, you could hear a quiet chorus of mothers talking to their toddlers saying things like, "Yes, the elephant is going to the potty. Yes he is doing a good job. Yes, he should get a sticker." We are approaching potty training; I could sympathize.

Thanks for the teaching moment, Mr. Elephant.

In a Pickle

Last year our neighborhood started a community garden. I enthusiastically signed up for a plot, only to fantastically fail. This year, I set the bar low with two goals - to not kill everything and to harvest at least one item.

It's gone better than I would have asked for. Out of three cucumber plants, I canned 30 jars of pickles! I watched my Memaw and mom can for years. I've never had a big interest in it because I'd have to buy the produce at the store. Having home-grown produce to can has been really exciting.

In addition to cucumbers, we've harvested a few beans and peppers. The tomatoes are arriving. I'll continue dreaming of amazing gardens that some of my friends are impressively growing. But for now I'm satisfied with my modest progress.

Now that the tomatoes are going nuts, I'm making salsa, tomato soup and am going to try slow roasted cherry tomatoes.

Do I dare try growing a fall crop?