Three Quickies: No. 2 - Which way up is up?

Sometimes I just like to be contrary. So one day when I was frustrated by how poorly the dry-erase markers were working, I tossed the red one back into the holder upside down.

I mean, we all know they should be caps up, right? That's a lesson learned from the old leaky-fountain-pen-in-the-shirt-pocket episode.

So there, I thought. Take that!

Imagine my surprise the next day when I went to use the red marker and it wrote like it was brand new! No more dried out, barely pink scribbles. It was bold red again - voila!

So you see, Timmy (more about that another time), it's not that they've dried out, even though until recently they've been used very infrequently. The problem has just been gravity, which is now working in our favor.

And to think I almost threw them away. Chock one up for the contrarian.

Farewell, Shelby

Shelby came to live with us about a year and a half ago. As our son's no. 2 dog, she had been Hemi's sidekick and a fun part of the family for a dozen years before. Always energetic and full of joy, Shelby was the perfect dog. Walking, chasing tennis balls, lounging around the house and yard patiently when all the rest of us were too busy to play, she was a delightful addition to our household.

In February, when we brought home a new little Yorkie puppy named Quinn, we had a few concerns. Not to worry. She and Shelby were equally curious and enthusiastic about each other. It didn't take long for them to become fast friends and playmates, despite the 13-year difference in their ages. (Remember, in dog years that's 91 years.)

Shelby even taught Quinn how to chase tennis balls - which of course are too large for a Yorkie. But Quinn didn't know that, so the two of them romped joyfully in pursuit of the bouncing balls. Quinn even learned to bring them back, a fine point that Shelby was always fuzzy on. For her you needed at least two balls to play - one for her to drop when you threw the other.

I didn't realize just how much Shelby had brought into our lives until she died last Monday. We knew she wasn't 100% well, but more from the vet's blood tests than anything else. Even on Sunday she was chasing Quinn around, hogging the toys, just generally being Shelby. What a good friend! We'll miss her.  

A little about the traditional web

Just a snippet of evidence that we're doing our part to maintain the balance of nature here in our little corner of paradise. 'Tis just slightly post-Halloween, so this spider is arguably still in season. He/she/it has definitely found a reliable spot for grazing, and doesn't appear to have missed many meals!

My part in this whole thing? Well, I'm just glad the light bulb hasn't needed changing in a while. With a little luck, it'll last a bit longer, too - perhaps until the snow flies and our resident spider has retreated to a warmer spot.

Three Quickies: No. 1 - I love you, honey

For years we've kept a small bear-shaped bottle of honey in the corner cabinet. And every year as the temperature drops - and after we haven't used much honey over the summer months - it has turned from clear amber to a cloudy, congealed, unappealing blob. I should note the corner cabinet is on an outside wall...

This year the thought occurred to me that perhaps this change wasn't as terminal as we usually imagined. Low and behold, when I went to www.suebee.com, as the label suggests, I found an interesting bit of information in the FAQs: Honey is supersaturated with sugar and naturally crystallizes over time. And that process is hastened by a drop in temperature. Aha!

In fact, the experts say, when the temperature drops to about 65 degrees Fahrenheit - which it regularly does in our home in the cooler months, and remember this is on an outside wall so it goes even a bit lower - the crystallization process accelerates. So that explains how we got here. But what to do?

Well, that's the really cool part - the crystallization is reversible. Just heat a pot of water, they say, then set the honey in it and wait until it ... de-crystallizes?

We tried it, and it looked like it was working! But I'm not as patient as I should be, I guess. Rather than taking it off the heat and letting it sit while the crystallization reversed itself, I kept the pot on the heat.

Ever notice the warning to not microwave the bottle of honey? It turns out many of the containers are PET, or PETE, plastic. And that stuff doesn't take well to microwaving. Or, as became evident, to serious heating of the contact variety, either.

Suffice it to say our bear-shaped bottle now has a rolly kind of bottom. The honey is fine - clear again and tasty as ever. But instead of just setting it on the shelf in the cabinet (we've switched to keeping it in a cabinet on an inside wall), I now have to make sure it's propped up in the corner. But that's a very small concession to make to have our honey back.

NEXT: The secret of the dry-erase markers. 

Ready, Set, ... (Go is on Sunday morning)

This is an exciting weekend. You may not realize it, but you know someone  (although it may be by proxy) who's going to run in the 2015 New York City Marathon. Come 9 a.m. Sunday (Eastern time, as adjusted for Daylight Savings), Zachary will be huffing and puffing down (up?) the 26.something-mile course. I can hardly imagine what that will be like.

He's been gearing up for this for a year or more now, and I'm surprised at how excited I am about it. We talked about going out to see the real event, but that didn't work out. Fortunately, we've got it covered, thanks to Tata Consultancy Services.

(1) We've downloaded the free app -- TCS NYC Marathon -- which will let us track his progress throughout the morning. (You should too - it's free!)

(2) Once the worship service is over Sunday morning, we expect to be watching the marathon -- THE marathon -- live via www.tcsnycmarathon.com.

You know me - I'm the world's worst sports fan. But not this Sunday.

Get the app and look up Zach Klemens. More later.

Good bye, old friend

The day has come. It's time to take this old dog to the vet one more time. Hard to believe he was born in 1999, the summer after Jonathan graduated from high school 16 years ago. He got Hemi that fall, and he's been a good dog from the start. Quirky, yes. Shiba Inus have personalities, intelligence, intensity and independence. But also a lot of devotion.

Hemi shared a lot of experiences with us, and we'll miss  him. But the curl has long gone out of his tail, and the fire in his eyes as well. He staggers about once again, a few steps at a time, then stands with his head in the corner. We know now it's our turn to be a good friend to him. This is hard.

Fare well, old friend, farewell.

"Aha," he said, about what she said

I'm beginning to see a pattern in what qualities make me want to read more of an author's work. It's the clarity of thought and strength of conviction that allow the author to make insightful observations supported by evidence of some kind, usually anecdotal, whether fiction or reality.

One good example is George Eliot, who at the end of most chapters summarized the lesson to be learned from what had just been recounted. I've noted a few of my favorite examples from her writing in the Quotes section of this blog. (You'll need to scroll down a wee bit.)

The most recent "Aha!" in this regard came as I was reading Willa Cather's "The Professor's House." As is often the case these days, I recently realized I'd never read any of her works, even though she is held in high regard as an author. Once again the Palatine library rose to the challenge of providing the material to put this author to the test.

I've gotten out of the habit of noting quotable quotes as I read these days, but I'd only reached page 6 when I realized I should reinstate that behavior. It was just a turn of phrase, but a very nice one.

In the middle of a paragraph describing Professor St. Peter's garden, we are given this observation: "St. Peter had tended this bit of ground for over twenty years, and had got the upper hand of it."

That simple phrase caught my attention, but a couple dozen pages later Cather stopped me dead in my tracks with this:

The Professor made no reply to this. Lillian [his wife] had been fiercely jealous of Tom Outland. As he left the house, he was reflecting that people who are intensely in love when they marry, and who go on being in love, always meet with something which suddenly or gradually makes a difference. Sometimes it is the children, or the grubbiness of being poor, sometimes a second infatuation. In their own case, it had been, curiously enough, his pupil, Tom Outland.

Now that's an interesting observation. Time to get back to reading.

In the waiting room

There were no four-year-olds around to stop me from doing this.

 

Sharing tennis balls

Quinn, the new little Yorkie, discovered last evening that she can grab a tennis ball and race around the back yard just like Shelby does. Very cute.

Three seems to be the magic number. With only two balls in play, Shelby jealously shepherds both of them. But when a third ball is available, Quinn can usually manage to steal one and take off running. (They both slept very soundly last night.)

Amended April 18: A still picture just doesn't do this justice, but it's almost as hard to capture the scene on video.

The fan club

I couldn't pass it up. We were in the choir room at Maine West High School warming up for the evening concert. And there, on the sidelines, what was clearly ... a fan club.

P.S. - to see a fun portion of the main event, go to https://youtu.be/nVI7LKPfJd4