Saturday, February 21, 2009

Zachy Out For A PowerNap

Miranda & Sqeaky

Unfortunately, this may be one of the last few pics of Squeaky, as he seems to have developed a walnut-sized growth on his hind end. He is very, very old for a rat, and has been a good, loyal and loving pet. Maybe we will get two new ones when the time comes - I will keep you all posted.

Zachy's new Thomas board game:

Miranda in her new tiara:

Friday, February 20, 2009

Goodnight Monkeys

Today Zachy got up at 4:15am, then took one of his power naps from Hell all afternoon - this does not bode well for a bedtime much before midnight (sigh). On the plus side, however, he called me a "dozing dog" this afternoon while I was lying on the sofa exhausted;-)

Wednesday, February 18, 2009

Another Man In The House

While Zachy (now 6 y/o) has been going to the potty independently for some time, he just started peeing standing up. I am happy about this milestone of course, however, because of the unfamiliar sound of it I keep having these disconcerting moments in which I wonder what strange man has broken into the house. I suppose this too shall pass.

Friday, February 13, 2009

PS 102

Today we signed Miranda up for kindergarten at PS 102 in Bay Ridge, then went to the bake sale they were having in the gym. Everyone was very welcoming and excited about the prospect of Miranda becoming a student there. The snacks were yummy too!

Thursday, February 12, 2009

Valentine's Party At Zach's School

Yesterday, Miranda and Daddy (and Hya) went to Zachy's school in Manhattan for a special Valentines Day party. We played musical chairs (Miranda won), pin the heart on the cupid...

... made some festive artwork...

... read some nice books...

...(another view)...

... we ate lots of yummy pizza...

... and of course there was cake!

Monday, February 02, 2009

Groundhog's Day

















Groundhog Day, which began as a Pennsylvania German custom in southeastern and central Pennsylvania in the 18th and 19th centuries, has its origins in ancient European weather lore, wherein a badger or sacred bear is the prognosticator as opposed to a groundhog. The holiday bears some similarities to the medieval Catholic holiday of Candlemas. It also bears similarities to the Pagan festival of Imbolc, one of the four principal festivals of the Irish calendar, celebrated among Gaelic peoples and some other Celtic cultures, either at the beginning of February or at the first local signs of Spring.

Most commonly it is celebrated on February 2nd (traditionally a time of weather prognostication, and the old tradition of watching to see if serpents or badgers came from their winter dens), which falls halfway between the Winter Solstice and the Spring Equinox in the northern hemisphere. Originally dedicated to the goddess Brigid, in the Christian period it was adopted as St. Brigid's Day.

Modern customs of the holiday involve celebrations where early morning festivals are held to watch the groundhog emerging from its burrow. In southeastern Pennsylvania, Groundhog Lodges (Grundsow Lodges) celebrate the holiday with fersommlinge, social events in which food is served, speeches are made, and one or more g’spiel (plays or skits) are performed for entertainment. The Pennsylvania German dialect is the only language spoken at the event, and those who speak English pay a penalty, usually in the form of a nickel, dime or quarter, per word spoken, put into a bowl in the center of the table. The largest Groundhog Day celebration is held in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania, where crowds as large as 40,000 have gathered to celebrate the holiday since at least 1886.

I often find myself reminiscing each Groundhog's Day, of February 2, 1987, when I stood soggy and aching in the sub-freezing drizzle, at 5am, on Gobblers Knob to witness Punxsutawney Phil predict the future. This day was memorable for several reasons, one being the profound physical discomfort all present endured, another being the charming companion who accompanied me, but perhaps my most poignant memory is of the rather absurd treatment the rodent du jour received.

Did you ever wonder how they know that the groundhog (called a woodchuck as well) will miraculously poke its nose out on this exact date each year? Mother nature is full of wonders and all, but it seems far-fetched, right? It did to me, and it was one of the reasons why I talked my college crush, Jennifer - the proverbial "one who got away," into going with me that day.

We got there early enough to witness the whole operation - it goes something like this: First a hapless napping groundhog is taken from its cage on a farm outside of town the night before, jammed into a portable kennel which is thrown on the back of a pickup truck, usually having some witty bumper sticker invoking beer, handguns and/or Jesus. The truck is driven to the Astro-turf covered Gobblers Knob, where a cheesy fake tree stump has been set up, complete with a fake hole in the stump, simulating the groundhog's natural habitat. At about 4:30am the now thoroughly terrified rodent is removed from the kennel and roughly stuffed into the stump hole. The animal retreats inside to escape further torment as the crowds start to gather.

What the beasty does not know is that the stump is wired with an industrial strength cattle-zapper, and shortly after sunrise, the TV cameras are fired up, speeches are made and poor Phil is zapped out of the stump - nearly out of his skin - and into 100,000,000 candlepower's worth of TV camera lights. He can't see his shadow, for his retinas are fried before he even hits the ground, still quivering from the shock. He appears to wander around, as if prognosticating, but really he is blindly searching for somewhere to go - anywhere out of reach of humanity.

There is always much cheering - yes it will be six more weeks of winter, there always are - but there are truckloads of beer that must be consumed and Punxsutawney pancakes and beer and bratwurst and beer and apple cobler and more beer.... well, you get the idea.

You do it once then cross it off your Americana "Bucket List", along with Graceland, Wall Drug, South of the Border, the double-decker outhouse at The Booger Hollow Trading Post in Arkansas, Carhenge (Stonehenge made from junked cars) in Alliance, Nebraska, Six Rivers National Forest where the famous Patterson-Gimlin footage of Bigfoot was shot in 1967, the world's largest ball of twine (Darwin, MN), the Black Hills Motorcycle Classic, the Roswell UFO Festival, etc.

I have never been back to Punxsutawney ("Punxy" as the locals call it) for another Groundhog's Day, though I passed through on my motorcycle a great many times after that coming or going to Swamp Camp... but that is another story, for another day.