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garden flowers, garden vegetables, Cracker Barrel 250 dessert, Braselton work, taekwondo, Maddie drives, post card from Everest, Braves fall to Jays, ... updates coming soon...

Angry Chocolate Pudding

 

Mom made us some great chocolate pudding with bananas in it, and of course I saw a face in there.  It looks like that scrunched up facial expression of Vigo the Carpathian in "Ghostbusters II."  He never stood a chance, because I ate him.  

Speaking of not standing a chance, the Blue Jays lost to the Braves tonight, thanks to some big home runs from Dubon and Harris II.  One of our favorite things to see after the game - mainly because it happens when they win - is the little dance motion the outfielders do as they gather together.

There is a fun energy to this team that we find really addictive!  We have only missed a few games this year, and those were while we were on the Disney Cruise earlier.  But we've even watched all those Spring Training games, and we've just loved watching this team roll on.  They beat the Blue Jays 7-3 tonight, winning yet another series and keeping ahead of the nearest division rival by a whopping nine games - already.  We've been nine games ahead since early in the season, winning and winning and winning.

Okay, so today was a quiet day.  We had a big Summer Xtreme meeting, and I've been doing voice work for an animated movie we're doing that week.  We didn't do much outside of work today - Mom's been cleaning up the house, getting some gardening in and doing a lot around the house, as always.  

Tonight we read from our book, still moving towards that big end there.  Commander Vimes has jumped on a steamboat and there's a big storm on the river, and there's bad guys and there's goblins to rescue... it's quite an adventure to wrap up his last story.  We said our prayers after this, and yep, it was time for the Plush Entourage to get tucked in and get everyone to sleep.

BravesVision Hat Game

It's Number One!  Again!

Okay, if there is one flaw with BravesVision, it's this game right here.  First of all, I usually love this game.  We all do.  When we see this game on the screens at the stadium, everyone screams and cheers for whatever answer they think it may be.  The hats fly around, and the question is which one has the baseball under it after they've all mixed themselves up?  

Well, if you have BravesVision, you already know the answer:  it's hat number one!  It's always hat number one.  We've seen about four times total this season where it isn't hat number one.  But it's funny: the moment this game shows up on our screens, Maddie and I scream out, "It's under hat number one!"  And sure enough, it always is, pretty much 99% of the time.  In fact, I actually don't remember the last time it was under any other hat.  Again, this is my sole complaint right now, because the games have been a blast to watch this year.

Case in point:  tonight's defeat of the Toronto Blue Jays.  Of course, we're sort of kicking a team while it's down, but given that this team kicked us when we were down in 1992, and that little bit about adjusting air currents in the dome while the game was being played... well, it was almost therapeutic beating the Blue Jays tonight.  I cheer for the Blue Jays from time to time, unless they are facing the Braves of course, but last year when Canadians were booing the American flag, I was a little stirred up!  Canada lost all the gold medal games for the Olympics and Paralympics - to the USA - and I think that sort of made up for things a bit.  I think I can let go of my "Boo Canada" phase.  Well, I think I'll let go of it after the Blue Jays leave town.  For now, it was great seeing Matt Olson send a moonshot home run into the stratosphere, and just great watching the team get shut down.  Go Braves!  Hopefully we can win again tomorrow and win yet another series.

Moving on, here's Maddie making herself a dang quesidilla.  Actually, she usually makes a few of these when she's so inclined!  Oh, and here's an update on our Chia pets, both doing well!

They're doing great!  I suck up the water in the plate and put it back in the hole at the top, then add more water to keep it all full and hydrated.  The plants are doing just fine.  And so is our garden outside, actually.  We've got some great things growing outside, and soon enough we'll have that hydroponics set going inside too.

So tonight we read some from the Discworld, moving along with our story.  Commander Vimes is chasing down a riverboat, and that's where the we finally see some of the imagery that's on the cover of this book.  It's been a good read though!  We read that a bit, and then said our prayers - and then it was time for some sleep.

Spider-Noir

We finished "Spider-Noir" tonight, wrapping up that old school adventure with the final two episodes.  Not too bad, and certainly a little different.  No ball game tonight, so it was on to Spider-Man.  The interpretations of certain villains was kind of fun, namely Tombstone, Electro and of course Sandman.  The noir dialogue was great too, but the highlight was definitely the cinematography.  This was a fun series! 

So Maddie did have taekwondo tonight, and she drove there of course.  Nate was there too, and this Monday night class is a bit longer than the others, given that there are a few classes tied together.  I was there reading and writing a bit while Maddie was kicking and twirling around that staff.  She's doing well with that - I think there's a new competition coming up this summer, though obviously not the Battle of Atlanta.  I think the team may be done with that one for a season.

Today I had a good bit of cleaning done with the teeth, as did Mom.  Nothing terribly eventful there, except the fact that both Mom and I have some procedures coming up soon.  Mom has to have the final bits done on her teeth, and I have to have one completely removed.  I've been dealing with an ongoing head infection for the past two years now, and me and this tooth just aren't working out.  The idea is to get rid of the tooth, and wait for four months to allow the whole area to heal up.  It'll be a bit of an ongoing story - I've been sort of suffering with this for a good bit.  And it'll be good to have this done for Mom too, as she has some final bits to get finished up with her teeth.  Still... all the $$$.... it's a lot.

Walking up Mt. Everest - virtually of course.  That's the latest virtual walk here, incline walking on that treadmill.  I've been watching episodes of this one reality show that follows a team up the mountain, and it's been great seeing some of these challenging locations that I've only read about, starting with the Khumbu Icefall and the Lhotse Face.  These are insane challenges, and just the start of the ascent up Mt. Everest, but the most challenging parts involve acclimatizing and staying healthy.  And, of course, the sudden changes in climate.  It's always fascinated me ever since I read that book "Into Thin Air" some time ago.

Okay, moving on!  Tonight we read more from our book "Snuff," the latest Discworld book.  We're following another Nac Mac Feegle named Wee Mad Arthur, and it's refreshing to read about one of these guys again.  This tiny angry leprechaun character just took down several bad guys that underestimated him, which is generally what happens when you encounter a Nac Mac Feegle.  We're moving along with our story, and it's been fun.

We said our prayers afterwards, and then it was time for a good night's rest!

National Macaroon Day

 

It's National Macaroon Day!  And we're not ones to miss out on such an important holiday, I tell you!  Mom had these ordered earlier in the week in anticipation of this sacred day, and when we got home from church, of course there was the rotisserie chicken that I brought home - but Mom had these set out on the table, and boy were they delicious!

We had a fairly active day today.  After getting a nice meal, it was time to continue the ascent up Mt. Everest.  I even got this post card!

I was watching a special on Disney Plus, "Lost on Everest," which was a fascinating trip up the mountain in search of what's left of George Mallory's climbing buddy Sandy Irvine.  It was a video that showed where he wasn't, and quite a bit of effort went into going to a place where he was thought to be.  After this video was made, a boot was found with Irvine's name on it, but the legendary camera  that he supposedly had on him has not been found yet.  It may or may not prove that he and Mallory made it to the top - we may never know.  Fascinating stuff.  And such a great documentary about the climb.  I'll be watching a few of these as we do this virtual march, and of course there's all kinds of info coming in periodically from the virtual walk too.  I've got that incline set too, so it's been a little more challenging.  It's shorter, but it's one of those things that have always fascinated me.

Maddie took some of these pictures from today's service at KidPak, which featured another great small groups morning.  We were doing games and lessons, and having a great time in service.  Mom was at home though, still taking care of the little downy woodpecker.  It spent a good bit of time on Mom's shirt, and eventually it was strong enough to hang on that suet feeder, where it ate heartily.  Eventually the bird's Mom came to this little one, and the two were vocalizing to one another - they were able to fly off together to a nearby tree where we're guessing the nest is, right next to the house, and yes, right next to where I first found the bird, face up on the soil in the garden.  So a happy ending for our bird friend, and a really bright spot in Mom's day.

We watched another game from Cincinnati, where the Reds defeated the Braves, although it was a good game.  It was close at the end, but you can't win them all.  Regardless, the Braves did win the series again, something they've been doing a lot of this year.  They ended May with 40 wins, the first team in baseball to reach forty wins.  They're doing great.

Tonight we enjoyed that new soundbar that took me forever to figure out, and wow, it sounded great as we watched the live-action "How to Train Your Dragon," and then the next two parts of "Spider-Noir."  We closed the night out with more reading from Ankh-Morpork.  A simultaneous story in the city is unfolding as Commander Vimes deals with a mystery of his own in the rural countryside.  Things are afoot, and it's been fun to read.  We said our prayers after that, and yep, it's time for sleep!

Downy in the Garden

Citronella!  It's supposed to be an unappealing smell to mosquitoes.  We'll see how it works because we'll be putting this on the porch, along with an infuser spouting out citronella as well.  We were at the garden shop, or the nursery today, getting a few plants...

We did get this one arrangement on the bottom, but we also picked up a hibiscus (also pictured above) for the hummingbirds, plus some things for our garden:  marigolds, tomatoes, and peppers.  Here they are, planted in our garden this evening.

One of the peppers we got - in addition to this Mammoth Jalepeño for Maddie - was a Mad Hatter Pepper Plant.  I didn't know about this one, so obviously had to get it.  But right when I was digging up some ground there in the garden plot, there was a tap above me, and plop!  A pretty young downy woodpecker landed right there in the soft soil next to me.  

Immediately I picked him up, and we did a few right things, although there were some that they officially don't recommend.  We gave him some water and food, and that's apparently not recommended.  But we did put the bird into a cardboard box, and that is recommended.  That helps the bird chill out and not stress so much.  After a bit, the bird was more alert and was eating and drinking some.  But it wouldn't fly anywhere.  In fact, it just wanted to hang around Mom a good bit!

Sweet!  Mom and I were out there on the back deck, watching over our new friend while listening to the ball game.  The Braves won again, sealing the series victory against the Cincinnati Reds at the Great American Ballpark.  Our sound bar is working well, and so our audio in the living room is sounding great.  I had "Fantasia 2000" playing on the television earlier, all while straightening up some of the interior cabinets and electronics.  Just some tidying long overdue, but it was indoor work we could do while the weather was a little too warm outside.  But that rain was coming again, and that was good again.

As for our woodpecker friend, that little bird is spending the night inside a cardboard box with holes poked in the top.  This little guy just didn't seem ready to fly yet, so we'll have to see how things work out tomorrow.  Hint:  it all works out okay!

Maddie's had a good day today.  Maddie had Team Edge practice this morning, and then went to see a movie with Nate's family, "The Breadwinner," a comedy that everyone seemed to like.  She spent the day with the family, and the rain came down quite a bit after that - they played it safe, driving home after the rain. 

We were able to read together tonight, with Commander Vimes putting one culprit in jail after hearing all kinds of confessions about a larger more vile plan - the game is afoot!  We read, and we got to sleep after that.  Time for some rest!

Day of Ascent

 

Today I began my ascent of Mt. Everest!  It's a new virtual hike, and to make things more realistic, I've got the treadmill's incline going.  Gradual at first, but I'll build it up.  It's a shorter hike, but the distance will seem longer with that incline on the increase.  Should be a fun walk - I took an old photo of myself hanging off a ledge at Guadeloupe Peak, and asked AI to make it look like I'm at Mt. Everest instead.  

And here's the new race bib!  In a week or two I'll get that "Walk to the Moon" medal, which is not a virtual one.  These are great motivational tools for getting on that treadmill each day.  Got to keep moving, as movement is medicine.

So today Maddie was at home most of the day, but she did drive around with Nana for a bit, working on three-point turns.  She also drove us over to taekwondo tonight, and we met Nate there and everyone had a good night at Edge.  I was watching the students practice, and also getting the Summer Xtreme scripts in line and in order - for the first time, we're repeating the series "Unleashed" for Summer Xtreme, something we did back in 2019.  That was Maddie's last Summer Xtreme as a sixth grader, a big year for the sixth graders.  We don't repeat these, but it's been a long time since we've done this and more importantly, there was an animated project that Josh was working on for 2019 that he just ran out of time on.  I did some voice work for that, as did others, and so this has been sitting there dormant for all this time, all this voice work and animation already done.  This year, it will finally premiere, seven years in the making!  But all that said, I think that repeating the skits from seven years ago might be a fun idea.  We have enough actors for all the parts, so it should be easier to set up.  Anyway, I was working on that - and the latest Psalm.  I've been setting these all to music using AI, and tonight I was wrapping up Psalm 71.  I think I've done about 130 of them so far, so we're getting close to getting it all finished!  I'll share those when the whole project is done, one Psalm at a time.

Okay, so the big project of the day was a sound bar for the television.  We were watching the Braves defeat the Cincinnati Reds tonight, and the whole time I was trying to get this sound bar set up so that we could hear better.  The sound was going out on the television somewhat, but the picture is just fine.  So my thought was a new sound source.  Anyway, we got it going at the very end, and as a bonus, the Braves won 8-3.  We like scoring eight runs, apparently.  This BravesVision has been so much fun seeing all these ball parks, and of course as a bonus, the Braves are currently the best team in baseball.

Ye-Ye and Nana both have been getting some great news at the doctor this week, with good blood tests and other fantastic reports.  So that's been a lot to rejoice about.  

Tonight we read from "Snuff," and we know whodunnit.  The chase is on, and this will not end well for our culprit, I can tell.  We'll find out soon as we keep on reading at this pace.  Wild thought:  we started reading this book on the Disney Fantasy.  We should be done by next week, I think, and then off to some other character story in the Discworld, perhaps.

We said our prayers, and then it was time for some sleep.  It's raining again, and that's not a bad thing.  That's one great thing about our rainfall levels in 2026:  We're catching up!