Hope every one enjoyed their spring breaks, whether spent in Euope, on a farm, or in the snow. Things here are going pretty good, except for gas costing $3.34 (regular unleaded) and the euro costing $1.62. I have to get our little monster ready for the day, but in the meantime just thought I'd post a pic of Caedmon and "Beff." ;-) How are things in IL? I can post pics of flowers if it would help endure the last blasts of winter.
Wednesday, March 19, 2008
Hope every one enjoyed their spring breaks, whether spent in Euope, on a farm, or in the snow. Things here are going pretty good, except for gas costing $3.34 (regular unleaded) and the euro costing $1.62. I have to get our little monster ready for the day, but in the meantime just thought I'd post a pic of Caedmon and "Beff." ;-) How are things in IL? I can post pics of flowers if it would help endure the last blasts of winter.
Tuesday, March 18, 2008
HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU!
Dateline: March 18, 1985
Geoffrey Michael joins the Davis family.
"Come on! Open your mouth and sound off at the sky.
Shout loud at the top of your voice, I AM I!
ME! I am I! and I may not know why,
But I know that I like it. Three Cheers, I AM I!"
Three cheers, Geoff! We are very glad you were born.
Geoffrey Michael joins the Davis family.
"Come on! Open your mouth and sound off at the sky.
Shout loud at the top of your voice, I AM I!
ME! I am I! and I may not know why,
But I know that I like it. Three Cheers, I AM I!"
Three cheers, Geoff! We are very glad you were born.
Friday, March 14, 2008
Off to the Farm
Yeah for Easter Break! The Equinox will pass while I am at Mesa Top Farm and when I return, it is to Epicurius (in the form of Lucretius) and Ptolemy. I get two weeks to work in fields, study Greek, read De Rerum Naturua, (the only Latin we read this year) and relax.
Mom & Dad: you can officially stop worrying now. I have spring break figured out, and somehow everything came together...albeit at the ABSOLUTE LAST MINUTE.
See y'all in May.
Mom & Dad: you can officially stop worrying now. I have spring break figured out, and somehow everything came together...albeit at the ABSOLUTE LAST MINUTE.
See y'all in May.
Sunday, March 9, 2008
My Spring Break
My spring break, while not as glamorous as flying all over Europe *cough*Geoff*cough*, will hopefully be spent here, at Mesa Top Farm. It looks pretty fun. It's not economically sustainable yet (it relies upon donations and wealthy patrons to keep it going), but the people running it have their heads on straight and are constantly looking for ways of improving efficiency and making the most out of the desert in which they live. In addition, the future of farming is in what they're doing. It's no secret that spiriling petroleum prices affect EVERYTHING and especially agriculture. Many pesticides and fertilizers are petroleum based (not a problem 30 years ago when oil was $30/barrel), and don't forget the giant combines. All this will become prohibitively expensive for all but the wealthiest of farmers (a combine already costs $100,000).
The methods used at Mesa Top Farm largely avoid such a reliance upon petroleum - they use smaller vehicles and natural methods of controlling weeds and pests. They aren't as effective as petroleum products, but they have no detrimental effect on the land and they're much less expensive.
More and more farms will be headed in this direction as the oil shortage grows more extensive. It's pretty cool to see the future of agriculture unfolding before our eyes.
I think this will be fun.
The methods used at Mesa Top Farm largely avoid such a reliance upon petroleum - they use smaller vehicles and natural methods of controlling weeds and pests. They aren't as effective as petroleum products, but they have no detrimental effect on the land and they're much less expensive.
More and more farms will be headed in this direction as the oil shortage grows more extensive. It's pretty cool to see the future of agriculture unfolding before our eyes.
I think this will be fun.
Friday, March 7, 2008
Congratulations, Zachary!
It's not every day that a sixteen-year-old places into college algebra and freshman English, but that is exactly what Zachary pulled off this morning at Sauk Valley Community College when he took a series of placement tests in preparation for the fall term. Bear with a proud mom for boasting about his 96% English score! It seems that Zach is ready for Sauk in the fall.....but is Sauk ready for Zach?
Thursday, March 6, 2008
potty training and related episodes
Caedmon has kind of started the whole "potty training" phase. He goes #1 in toilet frequently and he occassionally comes to me or Nate and tells us "pee pee, potty" and marches off towards the bathroom. And boy does he love to flush it (I think he's going to be wierded out when he sees American flushers). And far be it from me to discourage such behavior.
However, this said, I get the *joys* of potty training a bit early. This morning was perhaps the most amusing incident (and when I say amusing I mean for others and not for myself :-p). Caedmon came to me this morning and declared loudly "mommy, POTTY!" so we headed to the bathroom but nothing happened. He'd just gone about an hour ago, so I put him down thinking we'd try again in a few minutes, and not 2 minutes later he came to me saying "mommy, ICKY." I followed him out to the livingroom to see two small piles of poo lying on the floor. To spare the semi-disgusting details, a bit of a mess followed, along with a bath and a lot of cleaning supplies.
Just thought that maybe mom and dad Davis might enjoy hearing about the pleasures of potty training. :-p
However, this said, I get the *joys* of potty training a bit early. This morning was perhaps the most amusing incident (and when I say amusing I mean for others and not for myself :-p). Caedmon came to me this morning and declared loudly "mommy, POTTY!" so we headed to the bathroom but nothing happened. He'd just gone about an hour ago, so I put him down thinking we'd try again in a few minutes, and not 2 minutes later he came to me saying "mommy, ICKY." I followed him out to the livingroom to see two small piles of poo lying on the floor. To spare the semi-disgusting details, a bit of a mess followed, along with a bath and a lot of cleaning supplies.
Just thought that maybe mom and dad Davis might enjoy hearing about the pleasures of potty training. :-p
Saturday, March 1, 2008
In Which a Dirty Money-Grubbing Capitalist Attends School and Finds Ways to Save Money
Perhaps I'm not really a dirty money-grubbing capitalist - Mom prefers to call it "economical". Whatever you call it, I have a very well developed sense of money and how to use it. Combined with my book addiction, it is a formidable tool indeed.
During the first few months of SJC, I noticed that on Saturdays, students were lugging freight-car size loads of laundry to the room beneath Murchison dorm every two weeks. It was easily four loads of laundry right there. A conservative estimate places their expense at $30/month. That is ridiculous. Now I don't even have that much laundry, but such an expenditure appalls me. They're not even doing anything to get clothing dirty! You go to class and eat, and unless you do blue-collar work, if you're careful, you never get clothing dirty!. I therefore resolved to watch my laundry habits. I arrived at St. John's second semester armed with extra white laundry and plotted. I discovered that since I only work three days a week, I could wear the same pair of pants/shirt and didn't need to wash them! This cuts down on laundry in general and now I'm trying to see how long I can go without washing these pants - it's been four months so far. With the massive amount of white laundry (socks and underwear) I possess, I haven't done laundry once since the spring semester started, and I spent the laundry money in the bookstore instead. Would I rather spend $15 doing laundry or buying Euripides? What kind of a choice is that?
Then there's shaving. Personally, I am against it. It takes five - ten whole minutes every other day or so, and if I were capable of growing more than four hairs on my face I'd totally grow a full beard. Make no mistake, when I am able to do so, I'll happily kiss shaving g'bye. Then there's the expense. It costs seven dollars to buy a can of shaving cream! I can get the entire works of Aristophanes for that much. Then I discovered you don't even need shaving cream! Water works just as well! I was thrilled, and the seven dollars went to the bookstore instead of Wal-Mart.
And food, let's not forget food. My metabolism hasn't slowed down yet, so 14 meals a week is as low as I can get without losing weight, but a ten meal/week plan only costs $1500 as opposed to $2000 for 14. And even 14 is $500 cheaper than 21. Who needs to eat three times a day? I certainly don't. I discovered that if you stretch your stomach, you can hold MASSIVE amounts of food in there. Chock one up to fiscal conservatism, and I'll pocket the $500, thank you very much, and I'll head to the bookstore, hooray!
This is a very long-winded explanation that money goes EVERYWHERE at my age, and being fiscally responsible is quite profitable. (and I won't deny that having a pair of pants that hasn't been washed since November is really cool in a nasty sort of way) I'm going to be reading Aristotle and Euripides for the rest of my life. When Nicomachean Ethics and Euripides V both cost $11, wouldn't I rather have these books (which will last me the rest of my life) than a load of laundry? A lifetime of learning compared with what - having plenty of clean clothes? Give me a break. The Scholar (Canterbury Tales) had his priorites in the right place.
During the first few months of SJC, I noticed that on Saturdays, students were lugging freight-car size loads of laundry to the room beneath Murchison dorm every two weeks. It was easily four loads of laundry right there. A conservative estimate places their expense at $30/month. That is ridiculous. Now I don't even have that much laundry, but such an expenditure appalls me. They're not even doing anything to get clothing dirty! You go to class and eat, and unless you do blue-collar work, if you're careful, you never get clothing dirty!. I therefore resolved to watch my laundry habits. I arrived at St. John's second semester armed with extra white laundry and plotted. I discovered that since I only work three days a week, I could wear the same pair of pants/shirt and didn't need to wash them! This cuts down on laundry in general and now I'm trying to see how long I can go without washing these pants - it's been four months so far. With the massive amount of white laundry (socks and underwear) I possess, I haven't done laundry once since the spring semester started, and I spent the laundry money in the bookstore instead. Would I rather spend $15 doing laundry or buying Euripides? What kind of a choice is that?
Then there's shaving. Personally, I am against it. It takes five - ten whole minutes every other day or so, and if I were capable of growing more than four hairs on my face I'd totally grow a full beard. Make no mistake, when I am able to do so, I'll happily kiss shaving g'bye. Then there's the expense. It costs seven dollars to buy a can of shaving cream! I can get the entire works of Aristophanes for that much. Then I discovered you don't even need shaving cream! Water works just as well! I was thrilled, and the seven dollars went to the bookstore instead of Wal-Mart.
And food, let's not forget food. My metabolism hasn't slowed down yet, so 14 meals a week is as low as I can get without losing weight, but a ten meal/week plan only costs $1500 as opposed to $2000 for 14. And even 14 is $500 cheaper than 21. Who needs to eat three times a day? I certainly don't. I discovered that if you stretch your stomach, you can hold MASSIVE amounts of food in there. Chock one up to fiscal conservatism, and I'll pocket the $500, thank you very much, and I'll head to the bookstore, hooray!
This is a very long-winded explanation that money goes EVERYWHERE at my age, and being fiscally responsible is quite profitable. (and I won't deny that having a pair of pants that hasn't been washed since November is really cool in a nasty sort of way) I'm going to be reading Aristotle and Euripides for the rest of my life. When Nicomachean Ethics and Euripides V both cost $11, wouldn't I rather have these books (which will last me the rest of my life) than a load of laundry? A lifetime of learning compared with what - having plenty of clean clothes? Give me a break. The Scholar (Canterbury Tales) had his priorites in the right place.
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