Honey... honey... LION!

Just like in our beloved book Honey... Honey... Lion! Nate, Nora and I saw both honey badgers and lions when we visited the zoo this morning, but the badgers were busy making baby badgers like they are every time we visit, so we left them to it without photos.

Bill, on the other hand, was lounging very close to the viewing area. Actually, he couldn't have gotten any closer if he'd tried.

Another doozy

Nora: If you put your tongue on the roof of your mouth, you can make little spit bubbles.
Jen: That sounds a little distasteful to me.
Nora: No! It doesn't taste!

I couldn't make this stuff up

Nora: Mom, you don't have to worry about other people's air in your mouth.
Me: Why not?
Nora: Because it's just air.

Photo from an unscheduled, delightful romp with Robert on September 3.

Home sweet zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

Nora's home from a delightful week of special time with Grandma and Toot Toot all on her own. She had a great time, but boy is she beat. I managed to get a piece of toast into her before she fell asleep. Well, I almost did, anyway.

Thanks for the week of fun for Nora, Grandma and Toot Toot! We got a lot of work done in our basement this week, and a fair amount of mudding and sanding on the walls, too!

Happy cat, happy family

Yesterday afternoon Animal Care and Control called to say that the bat Zelda caught last week did not have rabies, and our cat was free to come out of quarantine. We're all so relieved-- especially Zelda! She purrs when we simply come near her now.

Taiko!

I brought Fiona to her first afterschool Taiko program this afternoon. It was so much fun! We learned about Taiko drumming, and also how the year-long free class will work. The instructor, Allison, made it easy to follow directions, and her engaging manner held the kids' attention for the entire hour and a half we were there. We even met up with some friends there whom we didn't know we'd get to see! Now we're itching to practice on something at home between lessons.

First festival

We went to a local festival today for the first time. It wasn't just the first time for this city's fun, but really the first time either kid had been to anything like a fair. Ian had to work, but we girls did it up big-- face painting, horse and buggy ride, rope ladder, "merry go round," and games like ring toss and duck pond. Top it all off with a little festival food and we were on cloud nine. Both kids crashed when we got home. Now we're primed for some fall festivals!

September 11

Over dinner, we took turns telling about our day. Nora went to the zoo with a friend, Fiona talked about her school day, Ian did some household chores, and I made a lot of angel food cake and tiramisu to take to a dinner tomorrow. Suddenly Fiona remembered something.

"Oh! Do you know what else happened today?!" She was suddenly bursting with information. I told her I surely didn't know, and she would have continued to say, "Yes you do!" had Ian not stopped the loop. "Two planes crashed. Actually, CJ said it was three!" Once we got past the detail that today and eight years ago today are different concepts, we were able to go on.

Ian and I told both girls what life was like for the two of us on that fateful day. There was no Fiona, no Nora. We lived in a different house in a different town. Gracie Dog was still alive and could even sort of hear and see back then. Most people didn't get late-breaking information from the net, and Ian explained that the first people to hear about it were colleagues who were watching TV news.

I have been thinking about September 11th and all the horror that surrounded it all day today. I've been thinking about how hard it is to send a child out of the home for weeks now. I've been thinking about what home, safety, and truth mean.

Fiona said her teacher read a book called September 12 We Knew Everything Would Be All Right, which was written and illustrated by first grade students in Missouri. "It was sad Mom, but not totally sad. I liked it." A little dose of hope can take us a long way.

Just batty

Animal Care and Control didn't believe Fiona's leg looked like it was bitten yesterday, but more like it was scratched. This means Zelda didn't need to go into quarantine-- until today when she caught a bat in the basement.

We haven't known about a bat in our home since the one pictured at left. The bat from 2005 surprised me by hanging on the pot I had used to boil spaghetti the night before. It was the only dish I hadn't bothered to wash before bed, and after running some soapy water in the left sink the next morning, I reached for the pot in the right sink and wondered-- even while reaching for the handle-- what the brown stuff was on the rim.

But I digress. This time I didn't want to get a handful of bat (or worse) so I didn't try to take any photos of Zelda and the bat. Instead I called Animal Care and Control immediately. The same officer appeared on my doorstep and apologized for jinxing us by asking yesterday whether Zelda had caught any bats. He caught it in a wink using a small lidded coffee can and walked me through quarantine procedures.

Over the next ten days, Zelda may be scared when we'd expect her to be affectionate, or lethargic when we'd expect her to be active. She may cough as if she has something stuck in her throat. Most alarmingly, however, she may display unprovoked aggression and bite for no reason. When I put on Ian's sneakers to go in and feed her the first night, she pounced on the loose shoelaces and made my heart stop, but she was just hungry for attention, movement, and play. She is, after all, a Mighty Huntress.

Had Zelda not been up to date on her vaccinations, she would have been removed and euthanized immediately. There are more rabid bats in our county this year already than all of last year, and the fact that they've been found in our nearby downtown is unsettling. Bats are usually only solitary when they're ill, and their bites don't hurt or fester, so we just have to wait. Hopefully ten days from now Zelda can be reintroduced to our home.

Come skate away with me

Fiona's school sponsored a skating party, and we decided to go even though Ian had to work. We didn't stay long, but managed to get around the floor in a relatively painless fashion.

Nora was convinced she wouldn't need my hand. "I learned all about balance from Mirette on the Highwire, Mama." Balance indeed.

A serious misstep

Yesterday I moved Zelda's food and water dishes out of the basement landing and back into the kitchen. We think Nathaniel is old enough to stay out of the water dish, and it's easier to monitor there.

At feeding time Fiona forgot I made this switch and changed her steps too quickly, stepping on hungry Zelda. She got a bite on the leg as a reward for her trouble. It wasn't a puncture wound-- more like a tooth scrape, but I did see a tiny bit of blood so instead of taking her to the first night of religious education, Fiona went to a rapid care facility. She didn't require antibiotics, but I did just get a call from Animal Care and Control. We'll get a visit tomorrow from an officer who can show us how to quarantine the cat to make sure she doesn't have rabies. I can see why it's important, but it does seem a little over-the-top for a cat who lives inside and has all her shots.