Tag Archives: Thoughts

My braces are off!!

Adventure, Thoughts,

A little over 2 years ago, my foray into the world of braces and oral pain began.  I am here to tell you that yesterday, my braces were removed.  I didn’t have braces in the traditional sense because I was fitted with Invisalign aligners.  Part of that process, though, involved the installation of tons of knobs and buttons and bumps on my teeth so the aligners could grab onto something.  So, I had knobs and bumps and stuff removed yesterday and my teeth are straight!

 

Growing up as a boy with a brother who liked to fight (it was mutual), my teeth were a wreck.  I had chips and dings in my teeth, both top and bottom.  After grinding all of the extra stuff off of my teeth, they ground my teeth too.  I no longer have chipped or uneven teeth!  Although those chips were hard won, I am happy to be free from their unhappy appearance.  I have to tell you though, it was a lot more fun getting those chips than having them ground away.  Holy cow was that awful!

Before Invisalign

 

After Invisalign…cheesy grin at no extra charge

 

So, I was fitted for retainers and now I will spend 4 months wearing them 24/7.  If all goes well with that, I will wear them only at night after that period.  I am pretty pleased with how all of this went down.  I would do it again if I had to go back in time.  What I wouldn’t do, however, is use Invisalign.  I would get the regular old fashioned braces and be done with it. Mainly, I like the cool colored rubber bands.  Actually, either way you can see stuff in your mouth.  Invisalign aligners are not invisible and I needed to wear rubber bands anyhow in order to move my teeth and bite around.  With the bands, Invisalign aligners are a ton more work every time you eat or drink anything besides water.  No thanks.  Hopefully I will never know though.

 

I love this picture

Awesome, Family, Technology,

Isaac is trying out for middle school soccer and practices have definitely stepped up a notch from the rec leagues in which we have been playing.  The poor boy was exhausted after the first practice.  I picked him up and we talked all the way home.  I pulled into the driveway and we just crashed on the steps.

We didn’t talk about anything in particular, but I so loved sitting there, relaxing and just talking with Isaac.  Middle school is going to be ok…

Getting plowed

Land, Tinkering,

It wasn’t too long ago where I was getting tanked.  Now I am getting plowed.  The underlying theme there makes me wonder if I have been working a bit too much lately (the answer is yes).  But really, I got plowed this week.

I acquired 2 old plows and I am trying to decide what to do with them.1  I have considered turning them into mailbox stands and/or planters for flowers out at the property.  That might clash with the bathtub and toilet planters I have in mind though.  Then it occurs to me that I might be able to restore them and use the kids to pull the plows to turn over some garden space.  I guess I could use the Subaru instead of the kids.  We’ll see.  Anyhow, I guess a third option is to paint them up and make them sort sort of decoration inside whatever building we eventually build on the property.

So what do you think?  Do you have any other ideas?  They are too cool to junk but I just do not know what to do with them.  Help!

Gimme a call

Family, Thoughts,

My baby boy is growing up!  It seems like just yesterday he was born and here we are preparing to send the boy off to that wasteland that is middle school.  I grew up in BFE so we had k-6 in one school and 7-12 in another.  It was somewhat terrifying because of that age span but there were a lot fewer kids and most everyone’s family knew everyone else’s family so trouble was somewhat minimized.  Anyhow, Isaac will soon be headed to “real” middle school where there are hundreds of kids…my little baby!

As a sort of “nerve pill” for Emily and me, we decided that we wanted Isaac to be able to reach us at any time.  So, we ventured out to the mobile phone store and were thrilled by the technological spectacle that presented itself.  Well, actually, we were flabbergasted by the price of phones and mobile plans.  Holy cow!  Anyhow, we decided that with soccer practice starting soon, Isaac needed to be able to contact us and, more importantly, contact his friends.

Isaac put up quite a sales pitch for a full-blown smart-phone.  The sales guy was all too willing to help Isaac make his case.  Fortunately, we held our ground and got Isaac a poverty-level phone…you know, one with calling and texting only.  I sure hope he can survive.  My poor baby!

I know, lots of people made it through middle school without phones.  I don’t care.  Technology is around us and we embrace it.  We are trying to be sensible though and are using this as a way to teach responsibility.  Any time I see a way to expand communication, I am for it!

None of us is too worried about middle school.  We are building it up so we all have positive expectations of the next school year.  A little bit of trepidation crops up now and then in the back of my head, but I know it is going to be alright.  Heck, my baby boy is only a phone call away!

It’s gouda stuff!

Family, Food, Thoughts, ,

I was wandering through the grocery store the other day (which is really the only way I ever experience the grocery store) when I passed by the cheese area.  A certain joy overtook me as I saw that delectable red wax wheel covering, what I remembered to be, the cheese of the gods.  When I was a kid, my parents used to get a wheel of gouda cheese every now and then.  My brother and I waited patiently as mom and dad unwrapped the cellophane and sliced through the wax to cut out our wedges.  It was a bit of a delicacy when I was growing up so we got a fairly small piece each time so we could make it last several days.  I remember enjoying that whole experience so much.

That was supper one night

So, I bought a small wheel of gouda cheese the other day and did the routine, opening the wrapper, cutting the wax, doing all the stuff like when I was a kid.  You know what?  It was almost as good as I remember.  My tastes are probably a little more exotic now than they were when I was a kid but I think my “taste memory”  kicked in and made it taste far better than it really was.

Now I am no longer bound by rules of sharing or making it last or even letting anyone know I even bought the stuff.  It’s weird maybe, but I wanted to sort of keep it to myself a little.  Isn’t that weird?  Anyhow, I plowed through that wheel all by myself.  It was the first I had in a long time and was just sort of cool.  I think I will buy another wheel of gouda cheese though, and this time, I may just share small slivers with the kids.  We may try to make it last and talk about how special gouda cheese is.  I think my kids need to develop a “taste memory”.  I don’t know if they will ever have the love affair with gouda that I do, but I can try!  After all, not too many other foods can describe themselves…it’sa gouda!

Anyone else have a “taste memory” for something from when you were a kid?

Dirt Road People

Thoughts, WV, ,

We have started talking to some of the folks who live around our property in the woods and they are absolutely wonderful people.  One neighbor and I were talking about the view from atop our mountain.  He talked with a sparkle in his eye about when he first came to the ridge.  One view and he said that he felt like he could never leave.  It’s funny but that is pretty much the exact same reaction I had.  There is something about that ridge that leaves me in awe.

The view is incredible for sure but there is something else that makes it special.  Driving up there is a lesson in roads.  We start on interstate, do a little time on nice paved roads, then move on to a “paved” road, and finally dirt.  Our road is not dirty or sort of like dirt.  It is plain and simple a dirt road.  When I was a kid, there were lots of dirt roads around home.  Lots of people lived on some dirt road or another.  It seems like most of those dirt roads have since been paved and I think the pavement took a little something away from those roads.

Dirt roads are a different world.  Maybe it’s about being someplace simpler or maybe it’s reminiscent of old times.  Of course, maybe I just like playing in the dirt.  Either way, part of what makes our ridge special is that dusty old dirt road.

The neighbor and I were talking about how the world works and he said something along the lines of, “it doesn’t matter what happens ‘out there’.  We are just dirt road people and things just make sense up here.”  I am sure that is a paraphrase but it’s the absolute truth.  Regardless of what happens, “out there”, dirt roads just make a lot of things make sense.  While we are not full-blooded dirt road people yet, I like to think that a big part of my heart is up on our ridge and that I have a “dirt road person” inside of me ready to bloom!

Maple blooms

Bees, Nature, Thoughts, ,

Last weekend when we had our first false spring, the maples really showed their stuff and bloomed beautifully.  The bees were out and about and desperate for an opportunity to stretch their wings and look for a bit of fresh nectar to eat.  Many folks fon’t know that maples have floral blooms (I guess as opposed to fungal blooms?)  Blooms on a maple are super tiny and most people  just think they are the beginnings of leaves on the trees.  Anyhow, with the warm weather and blooming maples, the bees were out in full force.  Tons of bees were dragging back all sorts of pollen also.  Pollen is the protein source for bees and early protein usually means that the queen can start ramping up egg production as soon as the weather stays warm enough, long enough.

Some beekeepers find it necessary to add pollen patties about this time of year to prime the queen for early egg production.  Of course, early eggs mean early bees which usually makes for a strong colony when the honey flow begins in a few weeks.  With so many maples so close, we do not need to put pollen into the hives.  I have been into the hives this time of year and sometimes there is so much pollen that I worry the queen won’t have room to lay.

Look closely at all of these pics…the yellow stuff on the bees’ back legs is pollen!

Anyhow, the bees were out and doing their thing and I, as always, decided to hang out near the hives and stick my nose into the doorways so I could smell the smells of the hive.  Unlike a few weeks ago, I managed to avoid being stung.  I love summer plenty but I think I might just like this time of year more than any other time.  This is the time of year when stuff starts to come alive again…including me!

I thought the pics were especially nice so I hope you enjoy my bees (from afar) as much as I do!

Closed!

Awesome, Thoughts, WV,

On Monday we signed the closing papers for the piece of property we bought (yeehaw!  Past tense!)  We have bought a few houses and been involved in a few other real-estate related things.  This is the first time we have done a transaction with absolutely no realtor involved.  And you know what…the process is not scary at all!

The previous owner put out a post on a message board I read, saying that she had some land for sale.  I saw it and emailed her (it’s cool that I already knew her from blogland…just didn’t know she was selling property).  We went up to visit and walked around the property with her husband.  My kids hung with her as she made apple butter.  They got to stir the big kettle she had over the fire and play in her yard where the turkeys gobbled to offer their greetings (or were they asking us to rescue them?  Not sure on that one…)  We took home some apple cider and a few days later discussed the deal we wanted to make.

After some time, we got back together when it was time to finish the deal.  I wrote up a sales contract all by myself.  Since I wrote it, I was able to have a little fun.  For instance, when you write a contract on a house, you usually say that you want the blinds, lights and toilet seat to remain.  There wasn’t anything like that on the property but I did lay claim to any indian arrowheads that are currently on the property.  No one cared…it was legit!

We worked with a banker and a closing attorney and they handled their details without any hassle at all.  So, on Monday, we decided to meet the sellers at a mom-and-pop restaurant in the nearby town and have breakfast.  Have you ever done a real-estate deal where you get to hang out with the other party?  I don’t know why the transaction of real-estate always seems to be built up as a contentious mess where the buyer and seller have to be kept apart.  I know it isn’t always that way, and I know that some deals are ugly, but being pals and eating breakfast before the deal was just plain awesome!

Anyhow, after we signed the papers, the sellers gave us 2 dozen eggs, fresh from their chickens and we headed to the property (in a downpour) to walk around.  I grew up in the country and had forgotten what rural sounds like.  In the rain, as I walked into the woods, all I could hear was water running in a stream.  I could not hear a single car or radio or another single person…only the woods.  I found deer trails and thickets and some awesome places for a zip-line.  I think I found a spring and a few places for a treehouse.

Even in the rain, I could not have been happier.  This whole deal was so simple and pleasant and I already love the place.  The deal is closed and I can once again lay claim to being a (part) country boy…

Tea for two

Thoughts

I was reading my friend Granny Sue’s blog the other day and she had a great poem about coffee and tea.  I drank a little coffee in college and now and then afterwards but never was I much of a fan of tea.  It was not something I could even choke down.  I am not sure what really got us started but Emily and I have been drinking a cup of English breakfast tea every evening the last month or so.  I have really our tea and we both really look forward to our new tradition.  I sort of feel all grown up and stuff.  Grownups drink tea in the evenings and grownups talk about important things while they drink their tea, right?

Has anyone else ever noticed that adults are really just old kids?  I surely do not feel any more mature or any more prepared to be an adult than I did when I was, oh…13 or so.  It’s sort of a funny realization I guess.  When I was a kid, I always held adults in high esteem…like it was a special privilege to make it to adulthood.  Surely adults got a special membership card or access to a secret library of adultiness.  Surely adults must be some special sort of creature, right?  I mean, adults drink tea.

On how I did surgeries

Thoughts

In my last post, I mentioned that I had performed surgery.  It’s a somewhat interesting tale that may make you wonder about me a little more than you already do.  Ok, so where to start?  I entered college pretty sure of myself.  I wanted a job that made great money and was intellectual and all that crap that high school seniors think is important.  I also had no interest whatsoever in dating or romance or ever having a girlfriend, so electrical engineering seemed right up my alley.

Within weeks, it was clear to me I had no idea what college was all about though.  I didn’t want to be an engineer and I didn’t mind the idea of a date now and then.  The first semester passed (and I shall speak no more of it here) and I knew I did not want to be an electrical engineer.

I met Emily during the first week of an honors philosophy class we both were taking (I also learned I did not want to be a philosopher).  We weren’t anything but acquaintances at that point.  I was minding my own business in the library during finals week, probably studying for that very class, when Emily and her friend came over and sat down.  Emily declared that I had studied enough and invited me to her dorm room for some hot chocolate.  I didn’t like hot chocolate but she was far too cute to let a little hot chocolate come between us.  It took 6 months of drinking hot chocolate before I finally worked up enough courage to kiss her.  Well before that, however, I knew I wanted to hang out with her more…so I decided to become a psychology major!  Yeah, if you know me, you know I don’t like people that much…not a smart move.  Anyhow, we graduated with degrees in psychology and prepared for graduate school.

We ended up at Western Kentucky University (we called it Western but they frown on that now) where I studied retinal physiology of zebrafish.  The neuroscience program was technically a part of the experimental psychology program which was technically a part of the  regular psychology program so I was legit.  I wrote software to do the data analysis and drive the data collection mechanisms which we used to study fish eyes.

I really thought I liked that a lot so after finishing at Western, we decided to head to Vanderbilt University in Nashville, TN.  I enrolled in the PhD program in neuroscience at Vanderbilt where I studied brain anatomy and physiology in rhesus monkeys (and other creatures to a lesser extent).  The work I was doing was pretty sexy and unusual at the time.  Most anatomy and physiology work requires a short future for the animals involved.  They are always treated humanely at Vanderbilt, but it required an extreme commitment from the animal subjects.  My lab, however, was unusual in that we did surgeries to implant sensors in the monkeys’ brains and then woke them back up and did various tasks on which we had trained them.  They had long and nearly normal (lab animal) lives .  While they did their tasks, we could collect data from the sensors.  Truly, it was amazing work!

As I mentioned, the sensors were implanted in the brains (and eyes…I did not mention that) of the monkeys.  As students, part of our training was learning how to do both types of surgeries on the animals.  We used a sterile, human-grade operating room with human-grade tools and all of the “stuff” a surgeon would use on people if ever there was a need to put eye and brain sensors in a human (remind me…there is another story there).  Monkeys, of course, have many similarities to humans so it truly was an amazing experience but incredibly terrifying.  Every surgery we did was so stressful and I didn’t even have to worry about a human life or any sort of litigation.  Ok, I digress.

I eventually decided I did not like monkeys any more than I liked people so I ended up leaving Vanderbilt and monkey research.  I did like writing the computer software that we used at Western and Vanderbilt to collect data and drive the machinery.  Upon leaving Vanderbilt, I enrolled at Middle Tennessee State University where I earned a masters degree in computer science.  I am much better suited to this gig…I get computers and they get me.  It really is where I needed to end up, even if it was through a roundabout path.  The coolest part is I still get to spend lots of time with Emily!