Two Treats

Posted on October 15, 2018 by Brad

Yesterday at church I received two treats! Two! Woo hoo!

My friend Chloe had been decorating Halloween cookies on Saturday, and made too many, so she brought a few to me. I was delighted! She goes to early church, so she gave them to me right as I arrived.

After church, we heard an announcement that someone’s lemon tree was producing heavily, so there were lemons available in the back. I went back there to get a few so I could make lemon pudding.

Before I left, I stopped to speak with Judy. I will be alternating with her to play the piano for church services, and we chatted a little about how to set up the schedule. Then she said she wanted to give me something before I left.

They were lemon bars! Yum! I told her how I was craving something lemon and these would be perfect!

Today is our first day of school after a long break, so loading up on sweets and falling into a food coma really helped with my nerves yesterday.

Today is our first day of school after a long break, so loading up on sweets and falling into a food coma really helped with my nerves yesterday.

Posted in Food | 1 Comment

One Response to Two Treats

  1. Lauren says:
    October 15, 2018 at 12:41 am

    Holy cow, those Halloween cookies are so fancy! I admire the imagination that went into making those. And lemon bars? I’m surprised you didn’t go into diabetic shock from all that goodness. A food coma was to be expected.

    Have a great first day back!

    Reply

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One or the Other?

Posted on October 14, 2018 by Brad

My baby crownflower trees have been being eaten. It started slowly, but yesterday, I noticed a bunch of leaves were gone. Some of the seedlings were stripped bare.

A closer look showed me the cause of the missing leaves:

Monarch caterpillars!

Monarch caterpillars!

Crownflower trees are relatives of milkweed plants, also making them host plants for monarch butterfly caterpillars. I have monarch butterfly caterpillars on my lanai! How exciting!

I was really torn, because I’ve grown these crownflower trees from seeds, and I’m not just doing it for fun – I have plans to plant them. But I also like monarch butterflies, and would be willing to do a lot to help them. But would I sacrifice my baby trees for the caterpillars’ survival?

It turns out, I don’t have to. I texted my coworker Andrea, because she raises monarch caterpillars in her classroom each year to show kindergarteners. When I showed her the picture, she said I should bring them to church today. She’ll keep them fed and safe until they wrap themselves in a chrysalis and hatch into a butterfly. Nice.

Posted in Gardening | 1 Comment

School Brad

Posted on October 13, 2018 by Brad

I went in to school yesterday to do some work. I didn’t get as much done as I wanted, but it was a step in the right direction.

While I was on vacation, school pictures got delivered to my classroom. I didn’t get any prints of my picture, but I did get a school ID card. We don’t use them for anything, but I think the photography studio must give them to us for free.

For last year’s school pictures, I wore my light blue shirt. It’s one of my favorite shirts, so it’s often my go-to shirt when I’m going to be seen by crowds or when I’m going to be photographed. This year I decided I would try something different. I wore a dark blue shirt. Crazy, right? I know!

I will get a print that has all the seventh graders on one sheet. Last year’s print is on the wall, so I could compare my pictures.

Looking another year wiser...

Looking another year wiser…

Posted in Journal | 3 Comments

Not Learning

Posted on October 12, 2018 by Brad

It’s hard to post about things when all you do is lay around and watch TV and read. I really need school to start again. This second week off is not agreeing with me.

Actually, I had planned to go in to school yesterday, but I woke up late, and then I puttered around the house, and then I called my mom, and suddenly it was 1:30. I was talking with her when I realized what time it was. I would have said it was 10am if anyone had asked. Sheesh!

Anyway, I have no pictures of my stupid wasted day, so instead, here’s a picture of Bob Ross. It’s an inspiring message, but perhaps in this context, a little convicting. I’ve had many times to learn this lesson.

I’ll try harder, Bob Ross. Thanks for not judging me.

Posted in Journal | 1 Comment

Road Trip

Posted on October 11, 2018 by Brad

The condo complex I live in has an extermination company do a treatment a few times a year. They don’t like to spray in apartments with pets in them. It always happens during the day when I’m not home, so I can’t take Gus out and have them spray.

I had arranged for a special visit yesterday because I was home. I held Gus while the guys sprayed, then Gus and I headed out for a drive after they were done. I wanted to let the spray dry a little before I let Gus wander the apartment again.

I drove to Kahului, because that includes a long straight drive for a while, and I thought that would soothe Gus. I stopped at school to feed my fish, then headed home again.

I was sure I took a picture of Gus walking around in my classroom at school, but it’s not on my phone. Dang.

Posted in Cat | 1 Comment