First things first

This has been a week of firsts. The most exciting for us without a doubt was when Eli stood up by herself. We were so proud! However, she was much more excited when she learned to stand on her head. We were at free concert in downtown Durham lounging on the grass and Eli decided to dance. She just stood up and started shakin’ it. It was cute. Mean while, Emily has been hard at work creating meals that won’t kill Eli! For those who don’t know she is has moderate to severe allergies to many foods including wheat, dairy, and soy. Try making a meal without any of those ingredients! This week Eli experienced spaghetti, pancakes, and a cupcake. As you can see, Eli thoroughly enjoyed herself. Emily is beginning to see the rewards of her first garden. We have had some delicious tomatoes. Our current tabulations appraise them at approximately $150 a pound. They are for sell if any one is interested! The cucumbers are growing as are the zucchinis. We have peppers, cabbage, beans, a carrot (yes only one) an onion, and various herbs. The garden is like a second child, we both go out to check on the garden each day to see its progress. Joe had a first as well. Watch this as a prelude.
Tommy Boy - Click here for more amazing videos No, Joe wasn't pulled over by the cops and Yes he was attacked by a swarm of angry yellow jacket wasps, and they were real. He escaped with a single, yet very painful, sting on the top of the head! Joe and the missionaries from the church went to help do some yard work for an elderly lady in the neighborhood behind us. Other than the suffocating heat things were fine until one of the elders chopped an old stump in half with an axe and disturbed a sizable population of wasps. The rewards of service will be felt for the next couple of days at least!

Where to Start

Wow, how do you begin a blog. The first post must be such a compelling piece that your audience will bookmark your page and check it regularly in an attempt to better understand their own lives. It should offer creativity, humor, knowledge and inspiration. It will create a sense of anticipation that will only be satisfied by reading your next entry.

Well, good thing we have some friends to read this because the only thing we have to write about today are ticks! Yea ticks, thousands of them. The kind that suck blood and transmit various infectious diseases.

It started this past Thursday morning, as we woke up in a good mood anticipating our trip to Washington DC to watch the fireworks on the lawn of the White House with George and Laura. (We have friends with hook-ups). I let the cat (Manjula) in and went to pet her as usual and noticed these oddly grotesque bumps on her ear. Upon closer examination they appeared to be some sort of egg or larvae? Oh well, we hoped that the cat would survive the weekend and that what ever had invaded her ear would be so kind to stop, after all George and Laura were expecting us. Long story short our good friends with the privileges called. One of their daughters had a virus that is harmful to pregnant women. No we are not pregnant, but lets say it was a possibility. Trip canceled.

Then being the caring, concerned parents we are we took Manjula to the Vet. The vet said the sentence that no one ever wants to hear, "Wow, I have never seen anything like this before!". He added a "I wish I had my camera to take a picture". Apparently Manjula had the tick equivalent of the population of Mumbai, India residing on her ear and body. So he put a single drop, one drop, of medicine on her back to take care of the problem. I was thinking three, four maybe dip the cat in the stuff?! But apparently one drop is all it takes. So that night the cat was quarantined in the laundry room, and the rest us had that creepy feeling that bugs are on you the rest of the night.

The vet was right! The next morning I opened the laundry door and it looked like someone had came back form a beach trip. Little black flecks the size of a grain of sand littered the floor. Being the nerd, I mean the educated individual that I am I took out my opthmaloscope and examined one of the ominous black dots. Eight legs (they are arachnids), creepy. Hours of scrubbing and bottles of Lysol later we are again free. So this fourth of July we not only recognize and celebrate our autonomy from the oppressive throne of England but we are happy to observe our once unappreciated independence from the formidable Dermacentor variabilis, the tick.