Some Things Never End
David and Kola fight ALL the time. I was quite relieved when Kola told me once that he really likes David. You wouldn't know it from the squabbling.
Jonathan's tolerance was reaching its limit when I was away in Washington, D.C., since his break time was pretty minimal. He told the boys that for every minute they fought, their swimming time would be reduced by the same amount of time.
After that, David and Kola disagreed vehemently about which one was fighting more!
Silver Lining
The insurance adjuster finally made it to our house a few days ago. The storm that felled half of our oak tree had damaged many homes in the Chicago area, so the insurance companies have been very busy.
The loss of our tree resulted in very little money for repairs or removal. And the part of the tree that is still standing, but unstable, warrants no funds because it hasn't created any damage (yet!). We don't have a solid estimate at this time, but we've been told it will be many thousands of dollars.
The adjuster took a look at our roof after he finished with the tree, and he noticed that a few shingles were missing. "Looks like you had roof damage from the wind, unrelated to the tree." To repair these few shingles seems like a small job to this layperson--just add a few shingles in those places.
BUT, the original layer of shingles (original to the house, from 1903) is made of wood shakes, and it is against code to install composition shingles on top of wood ones. We also have three layers of shingles, and a fourth layer is against code.
So the end result is that the drama of the fallen tree, for which we are barely receiving any insurance money, is leading to a complete tear-off and new roof, paid for by insurance. What a turn of events!
Creative Advertising
The following is an ad from the convention book for the American Guild of Organists:PIPE ORGAN FOR SALE
(House included)
Unique 48 Rank, 3 Manual and Pedal,
Installed in Rustic Adirondack Mountain Retreat on 29-Mile-Long Great Sacandaga Lake.
Organ:
4 Divisions: Great, Swell, Positive, Echo
3 Manual Console with full Pedal and 99 Level Combination Action
3001 Pipes & Chimes
60 Stops
House:
4200 Sq. Ft.
57 Acres
60 Ft. Beach
Mountain/Lake Views
Guest Cottage
$795,000
Realtor:
Adirondack Mountain Property
Double-Take
On my drive from church to the high school, I often pass a store named BAHCALL. Yesterday was the first time in years that I've mentally pronounced this word correctly (in English, that is).
The first five letters are homoglyphs with Ukrainian, so my first reaction is to pronounce this word "VANSALL." Then I get to the English "L"s and remember suddenly that this word is not Ukrainian.
The only Ukrainian word I hear from the children is "pianino" from Kola, which is his term for piano or organ. On rare occasion, we hear some unusual word order or turn of phrase, which I assume is Ukrainian. Two examples, though not recent, are "seatcar" (for carseat) and "haircomb" (for comb).
The speed of language acquisition by children continues to impress me. In my opinion, the U.S. education system should offer foreign languages in younger grades, when it's so much easier to learn them.
Efficiency
When I took management courses in college, one of my professors constantly strove for efficiency in his everyday life. I guess that teaching about Frederick Winslow Taylor (1856-1915), who is considered the founder of scientific management, inspired him to find ways to speed up daily tasks.
Well, I look for some of those tricks myself. Parking in the same quadrant of every parking lot means never forgetting the location of my car. Carrying the same purse all the time may not be fashionable, but it makes retrieving objects from it a lot faster. And buying cake mixes and frosting of the same color makes birthday preparations much less frustrating. Otherwise, those crumbs of chocolate cake in the white frosting drive me crazy!
Still Cool
Several people have asked me if Paul's playhouse was the one destroyed by our falling oak tree. The answer is no; the one you see in the photos is the fort connected to our swing set.
So, the a/c is still on in the playhouse!
I'm Back
My last post on 7/2 was a while ago. My absence was due to the national convention of the American Guild of Organists, which was held this summer in Washington, DC. Rachel, Sarah, and I took the train there and stayed with my sister's family, as well as my parents, who have recently moved to Virginia.
The convention was SPECTACULAR. The family time was very rewarding. Fireworks on the National Mall were incredible--like a halo around the Washington Monument. The train ride was relaxing. All-in-all, a great trip.
Makes Sense
Kola: "Mom, we've had mouse traps in our house for a while, and the mice don't go into them."
[
These traps are circular, with a door that snaps shut behind the mouse, sealing them inside. The bottom is coated with a poison that kills them instantly, and you throw the whole thing away without ever seeing the dead animal.]
Mom: "Yes, we're trying to kill the mice, but it's not working."
Kola: "Well, I think they see the picture of the dead mouse on the outside. If we took the picture off, they wouldn't be so scared to go inside!"
