Boxing Day and Monday

Well it happened - it snowed in Newport, NC. GA got snow before us though. 
It is the first time Atlanta has had a white Christmas since the 1882!


We got the snow here on Sunday which prevented us going to church that evening.
Below are some pictures. Sadly it was a bit thin on the ground. On Monday morning the snow was a bit frosty and did not hold together too well - so no snow men were made. 

If you believe that Jesus was born in winter, then perhaps it looked like this:

I went for a walk Monday morning as I had been inside for most of the last few days playing endless games and looking after children and watching movies and eating food. 

Here is a frozen mail box with an icicle:

I went for a walk along the rail track near by. 

I was on a bridge with no pedestrian path (i.e. no room for me and the train) and a river underneath. 

Looking at the picture below it looks a bit of a worry...

Until you realise the train was actually traveling backwards (away from me) and I was not really on the bridge but I zoomed in to take the picture. 

I had no idea I would see a train this day - and it is always a little scary going over the bridge knowing that if a train did come - I would have to run pretty fast across the bridge. This may not sound very scary - but there are only railway sleepers with holes between going into the river. One false step and you would be stuck in the middle of the bridge. And it was snowy and icy. 

Anyway - the train driver stopped. I was trying to figure out why. Maybe he was wondering why I was running towards the bridge? Maybe he wanted to talk to me? Why? Would he offer me a ride?

In fact I can only conclude that he got out to have a pee. Then he went on his merry way - backwards...

When I got back I was exhausted and went to bed. I think I was suffering from dehydration or something. Also we have been going to bed real late and Solomon wakes us really early. We need early nights!

Though the train may have been the most exciting thing that happened all day - it was a bit of a distraction. 

I was having some good quality time mulling over some thoughts and praying. 

I think that is what is missing in my life - good quality quiet time. In my usual day - Solomon is up in the morning - the wife follows and then I go to work. I get home and the wife is there and Solomon wants to play until 8pm when he is supposed to go to bed. But he does not got to sleep - he keeps coming up. Sometimes this goes on to 9pm or sometimes 10pm! - then I have time to myself - which by this time I am feeling real tired and want to go to bed. That is my typical day. 

When I was single - I had so much quality quiet time with God - it was really a blessing. I need to get back to that. Not sure how yet - but I need to think of a way...

The 25th of December 2010

Well it's that time of year again - the 25th of Dec. 
It's the season to be jolly - so as soon as it is over we can go back to our grouchy selves (if we are grouchy of course). 


I have spent my time this year in Newport, North Carolina. I think this is my 3rd time in December. 
I remember I came into Charlotte NC on the 23rd of Dec 2008 when I was emigrating over here. We spent a few days in Newport, and then we went to Virginia to visit with Bob and Shelly (now BOSH Global Services). We also went to Williamsberg - which looks like a British town (they fly the British flag!). It was a really nice time. 
Then we came to Newport NC in December 2009 and I visited Bufort, which was a British colonial town. It was the home of Blackbeard the Pirate. There was some interesting history with some old looking houses. We also visited 'Mike's Farm' which was a Christmas tree farm with a hay ride that went through many displays of Christmas lights. They had a shop dedicated to Christmas decorations and gifts. No comment. 


Now it is 2010 and we are back. Solomon is older and is more trouble than last time. He has gained many new toys, but he seems happy playing with Michaela's cleaning set or trying to beat his cousins up. 


The day started about 5am when Solomon woke up and ran out of our room. Not that he was exited about the day in hand or presents - but he has been getting up like that recently. He was excited about spending time with his grandfather and his Thomas the Tank Engine computer game. 
Stacy and I tried to sleep a bit more as we had gone to bed around 12:30 to 1am the previous day. 
I think we managed to get up about 6 or 7am for some breakfast and Bible reading. 


I played with Solomon for a while. I particulaly liked the cyber rubber duck that was in the toy box..

Stacy roped me into wrapping some presents, which I did. Pauline suggested I wrap a present in a pizza box that she was going to throw out in the trash. For that classy look I wrapped my own present in that box. Stacy purchased it on behalf of someone else... 

I am thankful for the presents I received. A jumper, a fleece, a watch, a belt, some hankies, some peppermint patties and a plaque going on about spending more time with Solomon. 


Solomon got a bunch of toys. 
Here are some select pictures:

We also saw a movie called 'The Christmas Wish' which was a movie about a boy learning about his grandfather (who had passed on). His grandma suspects that he was having an affair because he wrote about this lady in his journals. Turns out this lady was the person responsible for killing the boys parents in a crash. The grandfather saw her because he was trying to forgive her. Sounds like the grandfather was some sort of Christian - but the movie does not actually say that (I don't think). Though he has a charitable spirit. 

We ate lots of food today. I made some mash potato - which was nice and tasty! We also had turkey and ham and gravy and biscuits and broccoli bake and pasta bake and sweet potato bake and pineapple and bell pepper bake. Not sure what else we will be eating in the week - but there is some curry in the fridge...

I feel like the only person  in the USA that does not like to celebrate 'Christmas' as it is called. 

At least in the UK I had other people around me that saw the faults in the whole thing and also made the conscious decision not to observe the festival. I know of one person living near me that does not like to celebrate - but he probably gets roped into it by his wife and family...

Though I have had to endure a lot of 'Christmas' celebrating in my life - it could be a lot worse - I could have a mother like the following: Christmas Fanatic

It's Church tomorrow so I look forward to hearing the preaching and so on. It is quite remarkable that they have such a large radio ministry that reaches the whole of NC and beyond. I heard some good preaching on FBN the other day by Curtis Hudson. Yes the guy who wrote 'Why I disagree with all five points of Calvinism'. At least he has a good grasp of the millennial reign of Christ though. 


I will try and update before the year is out with some possible new years resolutions...


Happy Holidays!! Enjoy that time away from work!


Regards,
Lance. 

  

Compost Happens

Well I have taken the plunge and started my Square Foot Gardening program (see the book by Mel Bartholomew). 


As you can see I have my first 4 ft by 4 ft square foot garden worked out:

You can see the weed block on the bottom - which lets through moisture but blocks weeds. There is a little organic material in the bottom to stop it blowing about. 
I need to get bags of peat moss and vermiculate next to create my 'Mel's Mix'


I have the compost heap ready - as you can see below:

In Fact I have four compost heaps here. One main one - within the fencing. There is a pile of rotting grass clippings and in the wheely bin there are some leaves. To the left of the grass there is a large pile of leaves also. 

The compost mix in the fence was made up of rotting vegetation, grass clippings and leaves. I ran a lawn mower over everything to get it down in size. I need to turn the compost heap once or twice a week so it really starts to get oxygen in there and rots away nicely. I need it to be ready for late March - so I need it to rot as fast as possible. 

My second square foot garden is under construction:

I just need the ground leveled and the blocks in place.  I intend to spray the boring looking grey blocks with a brown colour to make them look more organic. 

You are supposed to use wood to make the 4 by 4 ft box - but I chose concrete as it will last longer and I can also grow stuff in the little holes in the side. I will probably put carrots in there as I need a good 12" of earth. The main part is only supposed to be 6 inches. In all Mel's experimentation there is no benefit for using more than 6 inches - only with Carrots and other long root vegetables. 

That is where I am now - updates to follow...

Lance. 

Solomon or School?

As Lance has done all of the previous posts, I feel compelled to finally put my "two cents worth" in.  Or maybe I now have a few minutes to spare because my last day of teaching English before the holidays was yesterday.


I have been asking myself lately: why am I teaching english anyway?


I do enjoy teaching for the following reasons (not necessarily in order of importance):


1. It keeps my mind from going into a two-year olds world and staying there permanently. Maybe I am afraid If I went in - i would never come out it. I feel that I would be a mother who could no longer function in meaningful adult conversation anymore. at least right now I am forced to keep myself mentally alert by finding the answers to questions, preparing non-boring lesson plans and continuously researching better ways in which I can present this complex language to english learners.


2. It helps me to remember who I was before I had children. who exactly was that, again?  Why do I feel so different?  Maybe I haven't changed - I just think i have.  I am on the inside looking out, but i need the view from the outside - looking on.  of course that means that i have a biased perspective on the subject, and i need constructive criticism.  but who do i have - Lance?  He has to live with me after his critique - and that may not be easy for him after he speaks freely.  I need someone who knew me 10 BC (10 years before children). Any takers?


3. It gives me the opportunity to help someone else survive more easily in this country.
I can't imagine having to go to china because of Lance's job, and having to survive in that country without family or friends.  Also on top of that, the language, cultural and social barriers of living in what seems to be a very strange world.  I don't know if I could do as well as some of my students are doing.


Why am I questioning the reasons why i am teaching?  Because - i am torn with guilt.  i might as well be honest.  I am torn between being the perfect mother for Solomon and continuing the "teacher" side of my life that I love almost as well.  What is a mother-teacher to do?  Does it have to be one or the other?  or can I do both?  I have been trying to do both,  but now - solomon's potty-training is looming over my head.  his needs are becoming more important and i feel like i have to choose between the two.


Any advice anyone?  I know i am not the first mother to go through this guilt, and certainly not the last.  I need help!  help!


Other than this - I am great, thanks!

Mutual xmas Spending

I have come up with a great idea for xmas spending for people with family in another country. 


Well it's an old idea - but perhaps people should take it seriously.


Perhaps a website could be setup to handle people with many family members. 


Basically - it goes like this:


A person (person A) declares that he will spend $20 on a present for a family member (person B). The family member then buys himself something to the value of $20 (in the native currency). Person A then buys himself something worth $20. 


So if a website could organise all the people and requests - a person could end up having to spent $100 to $200 on himself and the other members will also have to spend an amount on themselves. 


This way - everyone gets what they want - there are no shipping charges (which are VERY high right now) and it takes out all the hype of xmas!


The only problem is that if someone decides to not spend the money on themselves (because they cannot afford it or want to save money). 
To get around this - perhaps people should just buy each other Amazon vouchers. 


Or - perhaps people should just stop buying each other stuff and get over it. 


Lance. 

Solomon at the Aquarium

As I posted previously I was going to Georgia Aquarium with Solomon. 


I did indeed pick up my books from the Library and took them with me. I was hoping I would get opportunity to read one of them in the aquarium. 
While I was at the library I went to the children's section to see what was there (Solomon was running around all over - I actually had to carry him kicking and screaming into the children's section!). 
All of a sudden Solomon spied the four cool looking iMACs they had there in the children's section!
So - the adults have to put up with rubbishy windows PC - but the children get cool high power Macs!
And what do they use these professional super machines for? A Sesame street colouring program!
It looked like normal colouring - but the children just wave the mouse pointer over the picture and it colours it in for them. 
Anyway - none of the children were going to give up their Mac for Solomon - so we waited and waited. I kept trying to get Solomon away - but he was determined to get on the PCs. He kept shouting in excitement as the children were doing stuff. They probably wondered why he was so happy. None would let him have a go. 
After about 10 to 15 minutes I had to drag Solomon away. He got over it eventually. 
Perhaps I can take him when it is less busy... or just buy the software...


Anyway - we got to the Aquarium. There was some sort of event going on - which I thought was a Ball game or something. I found out later it was Santa and some lights or something. It was a HUGE event in Atlanta. 
On the way to the Aquarium we passed the Coca-Cola visitors center. It was lit up very nicely. I think these are the people responsible for having Santa as we know him today (red clothes and so on). 
Anyway - we got in. It was about 12ish so there was no line. 
Solomon was a little afraid of the fish at first - but soon got used to them. oddly enough he was more interested in running around - trying to get lost and pressing the computer screens. He also liked going up and down stairs. There was one instance where he worked out how to get into a shop window display. I could not fit in there behind the glass - so all I could do was incise him out with some juice. Some fluffy penguins fell off a shelf - but apart from that the front display was intact. I soon got out of there. 


We looked at the whale shark and he thought it was all pretty interesting - but Solomon was ultimately more interested in climbing up a rock - over and over again. 
We got to the HUGE tank wall - which must have been 20m by 10m or bigger. Solomon was going up the steps that people sat on to watch the fish. He was going all over. People could not believe that a child was walking around on his own. He even tried to push a lady to the side so he could walk down the step!
He is very assertive!


He kept running around and getting into trouble. Eventually I fed him and he fell asleep. So - as they closed at 6pm - I made a dash for the Large tank again and started to read my book. It was 'Square Foot Gardening' by Mel  Bartholomew


Check it out here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N5Lu-7FIj_g
Very interesting. 


Anyway - Solomon woke up at 5:30 so I decided to head for the shop. I wanted to buy Solomon something - and I did eventually decide on something - but the queue was so long and it did not seem to move very quickly - so I gave up and left. 


So that was our day! I learnt that looking after a child and trying to look after a stroller (large push chair) was pretty hard work. It was very easy to loose him. I don't know where he gets the energy!
I hope he will appreciate fish a little more when he is older. I think diving would be a lot more interesting though - but there is little opportunity for that around Georgia. Perhaps it is good for fish in the Caribbean?


Lance. 

"Souper" meal aftermath

I forgot to document the after effects of the "souper" meal I consumed the other day. 


The immediate affect was that I was amazingly thirsty! I must have drunk a liter of water, or more, in one go! - Not the sort of thing I wanted to do before going to bed. 


I woke up a couple of times in the night with a dry throat and my head felt like there was a mild ache in the background. Salt overdose?


I did not feel too good the next day. The bowel movement was gross and I don't want to really go further than that. 


I don't know the full neurological effects of that 'food' but I just did not feel right after eating it. I will avoid any further contact with the product. 

Early morning Solomon

Since Solomon worked out to get out of his crib, open doors and turn lights on, it has been a tough time. 
It was not even 6:00am this morning and Solomon appeared. I think he either wanted a drink or to watch a DVD. He particularly likes Timmy Time, Shaun the Sheep or Bob the Builder.
As I had a late night I was not planning on getting up at 6am - so we tried to persuade him to sleep for a bit. Eventually we had to get up.
He is waring us out!


Not sure what to do about it really. If we put him back to bed he cries and gets out again. We could try discipline - but it's not something I feel like doing so early in the morning. All I feel like doing is sleeping!


**Comment Censored By Stacy**


Well I am hoping to take Solomon to the Aquarium today. I have some sort of ticket deal. Stacy is teaching English 2pm - so I may go around then. 
I also have to pick up some gardening books from the Library and trim the hedges outside the front. I also have to recondition some old antique style furniture that Stacy purchased. Not sure what else I need to do. Oh yeah - Stacy wants me to fix her PC. I suggested installing Linux on it - but I am not sure if the printer will work with Linux. I wonder if there is a way of downloading Windows install disks to re-install windows (which it what it needs...).
I am so glad there will be no PCs in heaven!


Lance. 

Tornados.

I went to the sales office on Tuesday to pick up a piece of test equipment I needed. 


The weather looked like a dull foggy rainy day. Something that looked like common English weather. 
Anyway - the sales guy said this was Tornado weather. I remember thinking - what??? This is just a dull day. Nothing special here. 


Well it rained quite a bit after that - I mean crazy amounts of rain! It took ages to get home from work. 
A road I use to get home was closed off for some reason. Our TV was out - so we could not find out what was going on. The next morning on the NY news they were talking of the wind damage in Gwinnett county (where we are!). There was even talk of the possibility of tornados 'touching down'. There were pictures of houses ripped apart in Buford - which is about 10 miles from us. 


Thankfully we were spared...

Antiques Roadshow

One thing that I thought I would never have to worry about any more by moving from the UK to the US is the Antiques Roadshow.


I mean - it was so boring and a big waste of time. It used to come on on Sundays when we had nothing better to watch (before I went to church). It may have been more interesting if I was into antiques or if I owned some old things - but this was not the case. So watching people bringing in some old junk and someone saying it was worth £10,000 got a bit dull after a while. 


Well imagine my surprise when I found it was one of Stacy's favourite programs!


It has caught my attention a few times. Some guy had a very old Gibson Les Paul guitar that was worth over $20,000 - which I thought was crazy.  
I always wonder what happened to my time after I watch programs like that.
I need to resist! I need to pull myself away. 


I need to say with Groucho Marx:


"I find television very educational. Every time someone switches it on I go into another room and read a good book."

Drugs

I used to work in Maldon for an electronic contract manufacturer, which was a walk away from Heybridge. In fact it may well have been in Heybridge. I used to have a flat in Maldon. 
Anyway - My Skin and Blister (Slang for Sister) told me that the biggest Marijuana production facility ever found in the UK was busted the other day - in Heybridge. It sounds like there was a cover company masking what was really going on in the facility. I guess it was kinda interesting. 


Anyway imagine my surprise when I looked at the newspaper the next day and saw that the biggest Crystal Meth hall in US history was seized in Norcross (worth $44 Million). 
I used to work in Norcross...
Again - the company was an electronic contract manufacturer and was situated on the Duluth / Norcross boarder. And we had a flat in Duluth...


Mmm.

Sick

What is going on in this world. In a recent visit to the UK I over heard some young boys in Southend saying that something was 'Sick' - and it sounded like they were saying that it looked 'cool.' 


The problem with that is that it was not cool at all. It was a BBC 'cool zone' truck with a few games and some modern music with some graffiti sprayed here and there to appear cool and hip with the 'kids' - but it was some sort of recruitment drive for a college or a job or something  (so totally not cool at all).


But even if it was cool - to call it sick is just messed up right there. 
First the 'youth' called things 'Bad' - which meant good. 
Then things were 'Wicked' - which meant good. 
Then they were 'safe' which meant good (or sound). 
Things were also 'Killer' which meant good. 


I looked at the Urban Dictionary and got this definition for sick:


SICK

1)crazy, cool, insane 

1)man, that trick was sick yo


I thought it was a UK thing - but then I was watching Megamind and the 'Hal' character is trying to invite his lady reporter co-worker round for a date and he said it would be 'Sick' (as in cool). 


So sick has entered the common language to mean good. But how did this happen? - I mean who makes this stuff up?


Did some twisted individual think it would be funny get young people to call things 'Sick'.


I mean it is bad enough for young people engaged in TXT language. GR8! C U TMZ
It's like NEWSPEAK out of George Orwell's 1984. 


So instead of humanity busting the limits of vocabulary and calling things marvelous, beautiful, excellent, splendid, wonderful, magnificent, superb,glorious, sublime, lovely, delightful, smashing, great, amazing, super, fantastic, terrific, tremendous, sensational, heavenly, divine,gorgeous, grand, fabulous, fab, awesome, to die for, magic, ace, mind-blowing, jaw-dropping, far out, out of this world,brilliant 
- they instead call them 'Sick'.


I guess you could apply this to other areas - instead of young people appreciating the emotional beauty or complicated structure of a classical piece - they instead listen to repetitive beats and mindless lyrics of Lady Gaga (or similar modern music). 


I guess it just is not cool to reach for excellence - never has been I guess. 
It's time for people to reject cool!
Just because it's cool - it does not make it right... 

'Souper' Meal

Well it is 10pm and I am sitting in front of the TV and eating what they call a "Souper" Meal. I am only eating this now because I skipped dinner because we were too busy for it. We are now just relaxing in front of the box. We are watching Stacy's favourite program called 'Clean House.'


The meal is made by NISSIN - Which is a weird name for a company as it looks the same upside down as it does upright.  It also looks like SIN. The actual product - the 'souper' meal - is like a pot noodle but three or four times as big. 


Click here for images.

It tastes ok. Not sure if it is up to the high standard of the Pot Noodle - but it is ok. 
It's probably an MSG GMO nightmare and I will be going blind any minute and sterile - but that is the price we pay for quick cheap food I guess. Maybe I should not eat these again...