Insulators (181/365)

 
Col. Milt: [gesturing towards a pile of books] You read them all?
Bennett Marco: Yeah, they also make great insulation against an enemy attack! But the, uh, truth of the matter is that I'm just interested, you know, in, uh, Principles of Modern Banking and, History of Piracy. [picking up books]  Paintings of Orozco. Modern French Theater. The... Jurisprudential Factor of Mafia Administration. Diseases of Horses and novels of Joyce Cary and... Ethnic Choices of the Arabs. Things like that.

The Manchurian Candidate. Perf. Douglas Henderson and Frank Sinatra. 1962. United Artists.

TIME:  7:49 PM
PLACE:  Living room
SUBJECT: Glass insulators

I picked these glass insulators up at a yard sale last weekend.  These particular ones are fairly common ~ I only paid $1 apiece for them.  I thought that they would look nice sitting next to a window, especially when the sun hits them.

H2WHOA! (180/365)

 
Splashmore Commercial Song: I wanna go to Mount Splashmore, take me take me take me take me now! Now now now now now! Mount Splashmore take me there right now!
Lisa: This is a rather shameless promotion.
Bart: Hey, it worked on me.
Lisa: Me too

"Brush With Greatness." The Simpsons. Perf. Yeardley Smith and Nancy Cartwright. 1991.

TIME:  2:57 PM
PLACE:  Raging Rivers Water Park
SUBJECT:  StellaDella

The kids and I, my sister and her 2 children and my nephew, niece and 2 of my niece’s friends, all went to the water park today.  It was a gorgeous day, sun and blue skies, temps in the low to mid eighties and low humidity.  We spent much of our time in the wave pool.  SD and I did some floating on inner tubes down the lazy river and there was plenty of water sliding.  We arrived back home just in time for MonkeyBoy to change into his baseball uniform and head to his final game of the season.  It was a winner.

Illinois Wildflower (179/365)

 
“And what's romance? Usually, a nice little tale where you have everything as you like it, where rain never wets your jacket and gnats never bite your nose, and it's always daisy-time.”

D.H. Lawrence (British Poet, Novelist and Essayist, 1885-1930)

TIME:  5:10 PM (on Sunday)
PLACE:  Lake
SUBJECT:  Annual Fleabane - Erigeron annuus

I did not take a photo today so I decided to use one from the many I took yesterday.  ~Hey, it’s my blog, I can bend the rules if I want too!~ This is a common wildflower found all over the state of Illinois.  There were many of them growing along the banks of the lake where the kids were fishing yesterday afternoon.

Gone Fishin’ (178/365)

 
“The charm of fishing is that it is the pursuit of what is elusive but attainable, a perpetual series of occasions for hope.”

John Buchan (Scottish Statesman and Writer best known for his swift-paced adventure stories. 1875-1940)

TIME:  5:17 PM
PLACE:  Bunker Hill, IL
SUBJECT:  DramaQueen

StellaDella had her last T-ball game of the season this afternoon and when they were finished we headed out to my brother-in-law’s for his granddaughter’s high school graduation party (HandsomeHusband’s grandniece).  They have a lake that was well stocked with fish and very generously lent the kids fishing poles and let them try their luck.  SD was in heaven and MonkeyBoy enjoyed himself too.  At first DQ didn’t want to fish, but changed her mind and joined in after her sister caught a blue gill, or as SD called it, “A blue-gi-oh” (not to be confused with Yu-gi-oh).  I even got a nice smile from DQ as she was fishing – shocking.  SD caught one more “blue-gi-oh” and while DQ and MB each had plenty of nibbles, they did not catch any fish.  Maybe next time.

June Tree (177/365)

 
"It is the month of June,
The month of leaves and roses,
When pleasant sights salute the eyes
And pleasant scents the noses."

Nathaniel Parker Willis, *The Month of June*

TIME:  4:42 PM
PLACE:  Front yard
SUBJECT:  Red Sunset Maple Tree

It’s hot and humid here today.  Even being under the shade of the tree doesn’t help.  I think that I’ll stay inside with the air conditioning on.  I am such a wuss when it comes to the heat.

Stranded At The Drive-In (176/365)

 
Patti Randall: Couldn't we just once see a nice quiet movie where boy meets girl, they have problems which aren't too weird, they fall in love and live happily ever after?…
Canoe Henderson: All right, I'll make you a deal. Well, you go with me to the drive-in Thursday night, and next week I'll take you to one of those happily-ever-after clambakes. Deal?

*That Darn Cat!*. Perf. Hayley Mills and Tom Lowell. 1965. Walt Disney Productions.

TIME:  8:33 PM
PLACE:  The Drive-In
SUBJECT:  Movie screen

We went to the drive-in this evening for a double feature of “Toy Story 3” and “Shrek Forever After.”  I love going because it’s inexpensive to get in ($14 for me and 4 kids), you can bring in your own food and drinks (Dominos pizza and then a candy run to the grocery store next door) and I get to send the kids to the playground before the movie starts and I get me some quiet time!  What more could you ask for?  The drive-in has two screens and recently the city approved a measure to help tear down an adjacent vacant property, so the drive-in will add a third screen and improvements to the business.  It’s nice to see a local company being able to expand in this economy.

Dragonfly (175/365)

 
“Clouds of insects danced and buzzed in the golden autumn light, and the air was full of the piping of the song-birds. Long, glinting dragonflies shot across the path, or hung tremulous with gauzy wings and gleaming bodies.”

Arthur Conan Doyle, Sr. (Scottish writer, creator of the detective Sherlock Holmes, 1859-1930)

TIME:  7:40 PM
PLACE:  Little League Fields
SUBJECT:  Dragonfly

MonkeyBoy had his 2nd to last game this evening.  We only had six players, so the other team let us “borrow” 3 of theirs and we played 6 innings.  Needless to say, it was considered a forfeit by us, but at least the boys were able to play some ball.

During the game, I wandered about the creek that runs by the ball fields, looking for a photo opportunity.  This dragonfly was resting on a large concrete block that was sitting at the top of the creek bank.  He was gracious enough to hold still for a close-up.

A Banner Day (174/365)

 
“Boy, if I were a lamp I'd light, or if I were a banner I'd wave.

Frank Loesser (1910-1969), U.S. songwriter. "If I Were a Bell," Guys and Dolls, Frank Music Corp. (1950). Music composed by Frederick Loewe (1901-1988).

TIME:  11:16 PM
PLACE:  Dining room
SUBJECT:  Flag banner

I’ve had this idea in my head for some time to sew a cloth flag banner to decorate for the 4th of July and finally decided that tonight, I was going to ignore all of my chores and just go ahead and make it.  I used some denim, muslin and a red striped fabric for the flags and red double fold bias tape to hold it all together.  By the time I finished putting it together and then messed around for about an hour deciding how to best to photograph it, (and I’m not at all happy with the outcome – there isn’t a whole lot of natural light available at night; I hate using the flash) it became quite late.  I am pleased with how the project itself turned out…in fact, I like it so much, I think I am going to make another one tomorrow.

Flower And Fly (173/365)

  
Fly: I only got twenty-four hours to live, and I ain't gonna waste it here.

A Bug's Life. Dir. John Lasseter and Andrew Stanton. 1998. Pixar Animation Studios.

TIME:  7:50 PM
PLACE:  Front yard
SUBJECT:  Moonbean Coreopsis & a fly

Another hot, hot day.  I worked this morning as I couldn’t make it in on Monday due to MonkeyBoy’s doctor’s appointment.  Came home and sorted the ever present mountain o’laundry in the basement.  Tthe kids had folded the whites while I was at work (woo-hoo!) and cleaned their rooms, which was great, but resulted in even MORE laundry to do.  I mean, why should they hang up the clean clothes that are lying on the floor when it is so much easier to smash the clothes into a ball and throw them in the wash?  Grrrr.  I felt a migraine coming on late in the afternoon and lay down after supper.  The nap didn’t help and about 7:30, I realized that I did not have a picture yet for the day.  Crap.  So I drug myself out of bed and went for the old reliable – the flower photo.

Pretty In Pink (172/365)

 
“I fell off my pink cloud with a thud.”

Elizabeth Taylor (English Actress. b1932)

TIME:  8:38 PM
PLACE:  Main Street
SUBJECT:  Church steeple and pink clouds

MonkeyBoy had his school physical this morning – according to the doctor, he is normal (I however, have my doubts).  Tonight, while he was at Boy Scouts and HandsomeHusband was at a meeting, the girls and I delivered a strawberry pie to Dad for Father’s Day.  We visited with him for about an hour and a half, then we left to pick up MB from his scout meeting.  While waiting to turn into the church parking lot, we saw these pink clouds in the sky.

Best. Card. Ever. (171/365)

  
“Fatherhood is pretending the present you love most is soap-on-a-rope.”

Bill Cosby (American Actor, Comedian and Producer. b.1937, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA)

TIME:  8:10 PM
PLACE:  Home
SUBJECT:  “Hapi foths bay” card

This morning, as I was in the bathroom, getting ready for the day, I could hear StellaDella talking to herself downstairs in the kitchen - “HA-HA-pa-ee, ha-PA-PA-ee, ha-pa-EE.  FA-FA-thrs, fa-TH-TH-rs, fa-th-SS-SS, DA-DA-a, Da-AY.”  She was silent for a bit, then she came upstairs into the bathroom with this card.  “I made this card for Daddy and figured out the words all by myself!  Do you think he will like it?” she asked.  Yes, SD, I do believe that he’s going to love it.  And he did.

Full Nest (170/365)

 
“To find the universal elements enough; to find the air and the water exhilarating; to be refreshed by a morning walk or an evening saunter... to be thrilled by the stars at night; to be elated over a bird's nest or a wildflower in spring - these are some of the rewards of the simple life.”

John Burroughs (American naturalist and essayist important in the evolution of the U.S. conservation movement, 1837–1921)

TIME:  2:14 PM
PLACE:  Front yard
SUBJECT:  Baby robins in nest

I am all giddy with excitement…I got them!  Momma and poppa robin were not pleased with me at all.  Now that I have the picture, I won’t be bothering them again.

Crazy Hair Day (169/365)

“Violet will be a good color for hair at just about the same time that brunette becomes a good color for flowers.” 

Fran Lebowitz (American Writer and Humorist, b.1950)

TIME:  8:25 AM
PLACE:  Outside of Walgreens
SUBJECT:  StellaDella’s hair

I was informed late last night that today would be “Crazy Hair Day” for the last day of Daisy Camp.  Silly me assumed that we still had colored-hair spray in the house.  I found out at 7:45 this morning that this was not so as DramaQueen had used it all up during one of her sleepovers.  So SD and I hightailed it to Walgreen’s to get new spray.  She decided on a purple hue (although I am surprised that she didn’t chose the black spray and go Goth) and back in the car, I quickly put her hair up in four crazy ponytails and sprayed them violet.  She was happy and we made it to camp in plenty of time ~ we even were able to stop and help another turtle cross the road…Success!

Optical Illusion (168/365)

 
“There is an optical illusion about every person we meet.”

Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803-1882), U.S. essayist, poet, philosopher. "Experience," Essays, Second Series (1844).

TIME:  7:31 PM
PLACE:  Front yard
SUBJECT:  Birdbath reflection

At the end of May, I moved the birdbath from the backyard to the flower bed in front of the house.  We had storms this morning which filled the saucer with rainwater.  I like the optical illusion of how the reflection makes it look as if the birdbath bowl is hollow and lets you “see” the entire length of the porch skirting.

Flight Of The Bumblebee (167/365)

 
“The solitary Bee Whose buzzing was the only sound of life,
Flew there on restless wing,
Seeking in vain one blossom where to fix.”

Southey, Robert. Thalaba (bk. VI, st. 13)

TIME:  7:23 PM
PLACE:  Front yard
SUBJECT:  Bumblebee

The best of my many attempts to capture a flying insect.  Originally, I wanted to take a photo of the baby robins in a nest near the front porch, but Mama and Papa Robin were none too happy with my presence.  Lordy, they were quite vocal with their displeasure.  Not wishing to upset them, I turned my attention to the bumblebees flying amid the purple salvia.  Even though I was on the other side of the flower beds and nowhere near their nest, they were still cussing me out, robin-style.

Why Did The Turtle Cross The Road? (166/365)

 
“Behold the turtle. He makes progress only when he sticks his neck out.”

James Bryant Conant (American, chemist, President of Harvard University and government official, 1893–1978)

TIME:  8:31 AM
PLACE:  Jefferson Road
SUBJECT:  Turtle

I was driving StellaDella to Girl Scout camp this morning and as I crested a small hill, I came upon a turtle in the middle of the road.  Now, I didn’t know why the turtle was crossing the road, but she damn near got run over.  I pulled over, picked her up and placed her.in the direction she was heading, on the other side.  And was I rewarded with a good turtle pose for my troubles?  Noooooo.  She wouldn’t stick her legs out of her shell.  After I returned to my car, I looked in the rear view mirror and observed her heading into the grass.  Later, I found out that it’s common for turtles to cross the road in the summer when they seek higher ground to lay their eggs.  And all of the sites I researched advocated helping the turtle across the road so it doesn’t get run over.  So I guess helping her across was my good deed for the day.

Stamens And Stigmas (165/365)

 
“The flower is the poetry of reproduction.  It is an example of the eternal seductiveness of life.”

Hippolyte Jean Giraudoux (French novelist, essayist, diplomat and playwright, 1882–1944)

TIME:  7:50 PM
PLACE:  Front yard
SUBJECT:  Stamens and stigmas of a Heliopsis “Ballerina”

I rode my bicycle this afternoon with my dad after he got home from work.  It was hot and steamy and it felt difficult to do and it took a lot of effort on my part.  My legs felt like rubber bands when I dismounted and put the bike away in the garage.  But I’m glad I did it.  Today’s animal count:  4 rabbits and 4 groundhogs – a tie!  I was completely whooped from riding, but still needed to take a photo.  I decided a flower photo would be good enough today, so I wandered into the front yard and wearily sat down on my brick pavers lining the flower beds.  I do like this shot…the middle reminds me of a birthday cake (or cupcake) with candles.

See-Food (164/365)

 
“Good manners sometimes means simply putting up with other people's bad manners.”

H. Jackson Brown, Jr. (American best selling writer, author of Life's Little Instruction Book)

TIME:  6:57 PM
PLACE:  Living room
SUBJECT:  StellaDella and her cousin Shayne

We had MonkeyBoy’s family birthday party this evening.  It’s a good thing we have them…it forces me to clean my house.  SD and Miss Shayne were eating birthday cake and Shayne was being goofy, sticking out her tongue with a mouthful of cake and icing.  SD thought it was hilarious of course.

Seeing Double (163/365)

 
“The way I see it, if you want the rainbow, you gotta put up with the rain.”

Dolly Parton (Popular American country Singer and Actress, b.1946)

TIME:  7:07 PM
PLACE:  School parking lot, facing east
SUBJECT:  Double rainbow
~click~ to embiggins

Our parish’s annual summer picnic was this evening.  MonkeyBoy worked the chicken dinner with the Boy Scouts, bussing tables from 4-8pm.  HandsomeHusband dropped him off at 4 (after we tore the house apart looking for his class “B” uniform shirt – never did find it – he borrowed one there), then took StellaDella to her 5:30 T-ball game while DramaQueen and I went to the picnic.  It started raining around 6:30ish when HH and SD joined us – a real downpour - but I could see the sky was clearing a bit in the west.  I was hoping for a rainbow to shoot and I wasn’t disappointed.

He Goes To Eleven (162/365)

 
Nigel Tufnel: The numbers all go to eleven. Look, right across the board, eleven, eleven, eleven and...
Marty DiBergi: Oh, I see. And most amps go up to ten?
Nigel Tufnel: Exactly.
Marty DiBergi: Does that mean it's louder? Is it any louder?
Nigel Tufnel: Well, it's one louder, isn't it? It's not ten. You see, most blokes, you know, will be playing at ten. You're on ten here, all the way up, all the way up, all the way up, you're on ten on your guitar. Where can you go from there? Where?
Marty DiBergi: I don't know.
Nigel Tufnel: Nowhere. Exactly. What we do is, if we need that extra push over the cliff, you know what we do?
Marty DiBergi: Put it up to eleven.
Nigel Tufnel: Eleven. Exactly. One louder.
Marty DiBergi: Why don't you just make ten louder and make ten be the top number and make that a little louder?
Nigel Tufnel: [pause] These go to eleven.

*This Is Spinal Tap*. Dir. Rob Reiner. Perf. Christopher Guest and Rob Reiner. Spinal Tap Prod, 1984. Film.

TIME:  8:30 PM
PLACE:  MonkeyBoy’s bedroom
SUBJECT:  MonkeyBoy

Today is MB’s eleventh birthday.  We asked him what he wanted and he asked for the Xbox 360® Wireless N Networking Adapter.  So yesterday we ventured out to Target and purchased said adapter as well as a card with 1600 Xbox Live points.  Here he is with his headset playing a game and talking with his cousin Michael (via the headset) who also happens to have Xbox Live.  He is one happy eleven year old boy.

Royalty (161/365)

 
“Father told me if I could get my fingers
to ballet the typewriter keys
to Nureyev the steno pad
everything would be perfect.”
 
Lynne Savitt, U.S. poet. "Self Worth and the Typist," lines 1-4 (1979).

TIME:  11:17 PM
PLACE:  DramaQueen’s room
SUBJECT:  Royal 890 manual typewriter

The kids and I discovered this typewriter at the thrift store this afternoon.  The cover over the keys is missing, but other than that it works fine.  DQ and StellaDella both were soon tapping out notes as fast as they could with it.  I’m thinking that it is a hit.  DQ bought the 3-shelf white metal rolling cart that the typewriter is sitting on for her bedroom.  Yes, that’s her new green paint on the wall behind it – bright isn’t it? 

Lightning Bug (160/365)

 
“Before, beside us, and above
The firefly lights his lamp of love.” 

“Tour Through Ceylon”. Bishop Reginald Heber  (English, Church of England's Bishop of Calcutta and hymn writer, 1783–1826).

TIME:  7:55 PM
PLACE:  Front porch
SUBJECT:  Firefly

There is something magical about spying the first fireflies of the summer.  Seeing them flash on and off on a warm summer evening brings back memories of my childhood.  There was a large field next to our house that always had tons of lightning bugs.  My brothers and I would run around in the dark and catch them in glass peanut butter jars (Who remembers when peanut butter jars were glass and had measurements on the sides? – We used those jars for holding everything: lightning bugs, bees, tadpoles.  They. were. the. best. jars. ever!).  We punched holes in the lids and added grass to make the jar more “homey” for the bugs.  After the street lights came on, we would let the fireflies go free and move to the front lawn to play “Ghost In The Graveyard”, “Statues”, or “TV Tag” until Mom called us inside to take our baths.  Tonight, StellaDella and I caught lightning bugs and put them in a mason jar.  Then we let them go and SD went inside and took a bath.

Bee Saved (159/365)

 
“Why should man expect his prayer for mercy to be heard by What is above him when he shows no mercy to what is under him?”

Pierre Troubetzkoy (Russian, writer)

TIME:  11:28 AM
PLACE:  Back yard
SUBJECT:  Wet bumblebee

This morning, I went out to maintain the pool and found a large bumblebee floating in the water.  I fished him out with the skimmer and he slowly started to move around on the mesh.  He crawled to the side of the paddle and hung over the edge.  Poor thing was totally waterlogged.  I took him over to the sandbox and placed him on the cover.  He moved around a little bit and spread out his legs and wings to dry.  Apparently he made it, bee-cause (Ha!) when I checked on him about 2 hours later he was gone.

Great White Egret (158/365)

 
“the small white blacklegged egret, how beautiful, quietly stalks and spears the shallows, darts to shore to stab—”

Archie Randolph Ammons (b. 1926), U.S. poet. Corsons Inlet (l. 74). . . Norton Anthology of Modern Poetry, The. Richard Ellmann and Robert O'Clair, eds. (2d ed., 1988) W. W. Norton & Company.

TIME:  6:42 PM
PLACE:  North Municipal Gateway Park
SUBJECT:  Common or Great White Egret

After supper, I rode my bike on the trail.  There was a plethora of animals to be seen this evening – rabbits (too many to count), groundhogs (I spied 3 of these guys), a snake (almost ran over him) and this egret.  These birds are pretty common in our area during the summer months.  I noticed this fellow by a pond that is located in a park on the trail.  There is a fountain in the middle of the pond – that’s its water spray you see on the left side of the photo.  It’s been almost 2 weeks since I’ve been able to ride…my legs felt the burn tonight.  Great feeling.

Hen And Chicks (157/365)

"The cocks may crow, but it's the hen that lays the egg."

Margaret Thatcher (b. 1925), British Conservative politician, prime minister. Quoted in Sunday Times (London, April 9, 1989).

TIME: 7:52 PM
PLACE: Front yard
SUBJECT: Sempervivum tectorum

Guess where I placed this pot of succulents? In my iron wire rooster planter. It cracks me up to have "Hen and Chicks" sitting in a rooster. I am so easily amused.

Foal (156/365)

"Poor little Foal of an oppressed race!
I love the languid patience of thy face."

Coleridge, Samuel Taylor. *To a Young Ass, Its Mother Being Tethered Near It.” 1794.

TIME: 2:20 PM
PLACE: Just south of town
SUBJECT: Foal

I picked up DramaQueen from her overnight adventure and on the way home, spotted some horses in a field. Unfortunately, they were on the other side of the 2 lane highway and traffic was steady. I pulled way over on the shoulder and told DQ that I was getting out to take a photo. I would have crossed the lanes and obtained a better shot, but DQ was very nervous about me being so close to the highway and was afraid that I would get hit by a car, so I stayed by the Jeep and quickly took a couple of shots. This is as good as it gets today.

Shriner Bling (155/365)

Lt. Columbo: “I had an uncle who played bagpipes in the shriners band; he couldn't play a note, but nobody could tell the difference.”

"Requiem for a Falling Star." *Columbo*. Perf. Peter Falk. 1973.

TIME:  7:31 PM
PLACE:  West Main St.
SUBJECT:  Ainad Shriner Fez

The Annual Shriner’s Parade was this evening.  Just as we did last year, we walked in it.  Our state representative was in town and we helped him hand out Tootsie Rolls.  DramaQueen did not join us this evening…she had a better offer to spend the night at a friend’s house in another town…we couldn’t compete with that.  So it was just HandsomeHusband, MonkeyBoy, StellaDella and me tonight.  MB walked the entire route and SD rode a little (in a rumble seat of a vintage auto), walked a little -  she LOVES handing out candy - and rode a little more.  It was hot and humid tonight (91 degrees!) and it felt good to climb into our air-conditioned car at the end of the route.

Antibiotics (154/365)

 
“Why is it we never get our bad medicine in small doses?”

Edmund H. North (American writer, 1911-1990)

TIME:  11:07 PM
PLACE:  Kitchen
SUBJECT:  Amoxicillin 875m tablets

DramaQueen has been complaining of a sore throat the past couple of days, in fact, she said that it has been hurting for the past 3 weeks!  I gave her some acetaminophen for the pain and it worked for a couple of hours but that was it.  She did not have a fever, but did have a runny nose and a slight cough.  So I called the pediatrician this morning and late this afternoon, we took off to the the doctor’s office.  It turns out she has a bad sinus infection and since it’s been hanging around for over 10 days, she won the prize and received a prescription for some antibiotics.  Hopefully she will start feeling better shortly.  Summer illnesses are the worst.

Wooden Chair (153/365)

 
“I love it, I love it; and who shall dare
To chide me for loving that old arm-chair?”

Eliza Cook (1818-1889), U.S. poet. The Old Arm-Chair (l. 1-2). . . Anthology of American Poetry. George Gesner, ed. (1983) Avenel Books.

TIME:  7:39 PM
PLACE:  Front porch
SUBJECT:  Old wooden chair

This chair sits by my front door and is currently holding my red, white and blue planter.  I purchased it at an estate sale almost 10 years ago for $3. It is missing a couple of spindles on the back, it has a horrible paint job that is peeling and it sits a bit wonky.  It has character – I love it.

The Release (152/365)

 
“Having children is like having a bowling alley installed in your brain”

Martin Mull (American Actor. b.1943, Chicago, Illinois, USA)

TIME:  10:12 AM
PLACE:  Bowling Alley
SUBJECT:  StellaDella

I signed the kids up at www.kidsbowlfree.com.  We live pretty close to the bowling alley so I figured this would be an inexpensive thing to do this summer.  We only have to pay for shoe rental.  (When did THAT go up to $3.00 a pair?)  DramaQueen became frustrated because she kept making gutter balls, and groused that SD only did well because SHE had the bumpers when she bowled.  I pointed out that SD was 6 and when DQ was 6, SHE used the bumpers as well.  Also, it had been some time since she bowled and with this program, she should get better at it each time we went.  DQ then sulked that she didn’t want to bowl anymore because “it’s too hard.”  Too bad, girlie, I told her, we’re going bowling this summer *and* she and MonkeyBoy are going to learn how to manually keep score.  It’s good math practice and knowing how to figure a bowling score is something everyone should know how to do.  I got the old eye rolls from DQ when I announced this.  I’m such a mean mom who likes to torture her children.  I live for it.