West Vir-Ginny!

We have always been cat people. I think it’s because cats are low maintenance and don’t smell bad. We like critters around the house, but it’s gotta be easy…or so we thought.

We were watching the evening news (mistake 1) the other night and they did a bit on the Kanawha/Charleston Humane Association animal shelter.  Since it is Spring, they have apparently had a huge influx of animals.  I may be making this number up, but I think the news said they had over 200 dogs when it aired.  Anyhow, I am a softie (and not just in the head) so I thought it might be interesting to go see what the shelter was all about (mistake 2).  I had no intention of getting any pets…I am a cat person after all and we already have 2 inside cats (and 4 outside strays have us).

Two weekends ago, Emily had an all-day meeting at her school so I was solo with the kids.  For some unknown reason, I decided that not only did I need to see what the shelter was all about, but also that the kids might enjoy seeing some dogs…sort of like a trip to the zoo (mistake 3)!

Being a softie and also having Abigail with me, we “oohhhh-ed” and “awwwww-ed” and it was then that it struck me…”hey, we need a dog!” (mistake 4)  The only trick was, I had to convince Isaac and Emily, neither of whom like dogs…or so they thought.  After much debate and searching, we happened upon “Lucy”.  Lucy is a mixed puppy around 5-6 months old.  I finally broke through Emily’s cold hard heart and convinced her we needed to rescue poor Lucy from her certain fate.

Again, after more debate and many “deals”, I was given clearance to adopt the dog…but we had to change her name.  Emily didn’t like that someone else had named her new baby (ahhh…see, she’s caving in) so we pondered and consulted the seers and came up with the name “Ginny” as in “West Virginny”.

Ginny came home after being fixed and otherwise poked and prodded on Monday.  She promptly christened my car and has apparently claimed us.  I think all of those “mistakes” have turned out pretty well.  Ginny is so sweet and will eventually be house trained…

Anyone else have “pound dogs”?

13 Comments

warren, March 17th 2010 | Tags: ,
Posted in Awesome, Family, WV

Hydroponic Gardening

I have been itching to get dirty again working in the garden.  Spring is nearly here and the snow has melted at the house.  Daffodils are starting to poke through and I saw my first forsythia blooming today!  Spring has to be my favorite time of year as life starts popping again.  The bees fly and the birds do what birds do in the Spring.  It’s just inspiring to me…I figure I have survived another Winter.

How the garden area normally looks

We’ve had a bunch of snow this year in WV and it is melting.  Showshoe Mountain in WV actually had more snow this year than they had at Vail, CO.  Snowshoe had 227 inches while Vail had 223.  So, couple the melt with a good bit of rain and we’ve got flooding around Charleston and elsewhere in WV.

Note the fence and white birdhouse posts

The same view...you can barely see the white posts

There's the fence

We live on top of a hill in Charleston so we don’t really have any any danger from flooding at our house.  Our garden, the one I have been itching to get into, is at Emily’s grandparents’ house which is near the river and a creek that drains one of the big nearby hollers.  It is currently under about 5 feet of water.  Nearby houses have significant amounts of water in them and many folks have been forced to leave their homes.  Even with the flooding, the Corps of Engineers report that flood control dams prevented the water from coming even higher (check out the pictures.  We were planning to have Abigail’s birthday party at the South Charleston Rec Center pool…which is now under water).

It’s hard to complain when I consider that our family is safe and our house is intact.  Nonetheless, I am still bummed that the garden is under water and my garlic that was planted last fall is undoubtedly ruined.  I suppose I will have a chance to work in he garden soon enough.  First order of business will be hauling off the trash that washed in.  We’ll have to find a compromise with the ducks and fish we have seen in our garden and consider a new place to plant our garlic this coming Fall.

6 Comments

warren, March 15th 2010 | Tags: , ,
Posted in Garden, Nature, WV

Everyday Math

The kids bring home papers from school and, like most parents, we look over them to make sure they are doing well. Most of the stuff is pretty typical fare, but I can’t get over the math papers that Isaac brings home. You see, he is being taught Everyday Math…it’s a curriculum that is mandated by the state (or maybe county? I think state) and it is crazy. The whole idea is to do math problems that one might encounter in their day to day life.

I am not exactly sure how I feel about it. I know the teachers are mandated to teach math using the curriculum so I do not blame his teachers one bit. I honestly doubt they like teaching it either. Anyhow, let me give you an example:

Directions: Estimate the answer. Write a number model to show how you estimated.

Problem A: A prairie vole (a mouselike rodent) has an average of 9 babies per litter. If it has 17 liters in a season, how many babies are produced.

Isaac’s number model: 10X17 = 170
This answer was marked wrong
The “correct” answer: 10X20 = 200
The real answer: = 9X17 = 153 (Isaac’s answer was closer)

I understand that the idea is to round numbers so you can get an easier problem that is doable in one’s head…but let’s give a little credit here…most 4th graders can handle 10X17!

Problem B:  In the next hour, French people will save 12,000 trees by recycling paper.  About how many trees will they save in two days?

Isaac’s number model: 50X12,000 = 600,000
This answer was marked wrong
The “correct” answer:  50X10,000 = 500,000
The real answer: = 48X12,000 = 576,000 (Isaac’s answer was closer)

There were 5 problems and Isaac “missed” 3 of them.  Now, I love learning to estimate.  It’s super helpful when I am at the grocery store, but this stuff is absolutely ridiculous!

I learned to estimate very well after I learned how to actually get the right answer!  Isaac and most of the other kids do know how to get the right answer, but they are definitely not as fluent with it as they should be.  So, as long as the kids need to estimate their grocery bill, they will be well equipped (although Isaac may be too accurate).  However, if we need to build a bridge or send a woman to Mars, she is out of luck…though I figure we can get her close…

I don’t often rant on here but why on Earth are the powers-that-be messing with math programs that taught engineers and scientists to build great dams, and discover new medicines and send men to the Moon?  Surely the times have changed since then, but those “old” techniques worked.  Update the problems…kids don’t need to know how to calculate how many bales of hay can fit on a hay cart, but they do need to know how to calculate!  I truly don’t blame teachers.  Most of them are disgusted by it as well.

Okay, I am going to stop at that…there are other similar examples of how the new curriculum is making math less useful and more difficult, but I’ll save that for another day…

12 Comments

warren, February 25th 2010 | Tags: ,
Posted in Thoughts, WV

Blossom Deli saved my life

We started indoor soccer at the YMCA this weekend and the kids’ games were spaced just perfectly to mess with the entire day.  Abigail played at noon so, by 1, we were pretty hungry.  We knew better than to eat before the game as the floor needed to stay puke-free.  Anyhow, by 1, we were all pretty hungry so we headed downtown to one of our favorite restaurants.  It’s a local downtown place and lately has been somewhat flaky about when it is open.  We usually hit it on evenings and weekends though it really caters to the weekday lunchtime crowd.  That’s right…you guessed it…they were closed.

Anyhow, we were pretty bummed and more urgently, pretty dang hungry.  We stood in the middle of the street with vacant zombie-like looks on our faces, wondering how we would survive…what we would do to get food…whether we could bear to go on.  Fortunately, my lovely wife, with cat-like reflexes and an eagle eye, spotted the Blossom Deli a few hundred feet away.  If only we could make it the 100 steps to their door-step, surely they would have something they could give us to avert disaster.

Somehow we made it to Blossom Deli alive.  It’s all a little fuzzy, but I sort of think ants must have picked us up and were carrying us to their nest when some heroic patrons rescued us and drug us inside…but I have no evidence of that.  Anyhow, we got inside and…you’ll never believe this….they sell food at the Blossom Deli!

We were seated right away (I think they noticed our pitiful blank faces and feared a zombie attack) and quickly set us up with liquid salvation from the fountain.  Yes, you heard me right…they have a real soda fountain at Blossom!  I wasn’t going to push my luck, but I bet they have a real live soda-jerk somewhere too.  Anyhow, the whole place seems right out of the 1950s.  Inside the place is art-deco floor to ceiling.  A lowered grill sits adjacent to the bar seating and simple tables (like your grandma used to have in her kitchen) were everywhere.  Ours even had a nice, easy rock to it.  I think the only thing missing was a poodle skirt or two.

So, the less creative members of my family ordered hotdogs (all beef as Isaac likes to remind me) while I ordered my usual (see, I am the creative one!).  Whenever I go to a restaurant and I see a Reuben on the menu, I order it.  I am not sure why but I MUST order it if I see it.  So I ordered my “usual” and a cherry Coke.  When the waitress (I bet she wants to be called that rather than a server…it’s 1950 afterall) delivered our drinks, I initially wondered how she would tell my cherry Coke from the others’ vanilla Cokes.  Silly me, it was easy…she just sipped from each straw and knew right away!  Not really.  No, she simply looked at the color.  My cherry Coke was definitely red…and I think that red was either the fantastic cherry flavoring or the color of awesome!

Isaac and I quickly drained our glasses (he declared his vanilla Coke to be the best he’d ever had and he’s had a bunch) and asked for another.  When it finally became clear that we weren’t weren’t about to be hauled off by a creepy guy in black carrying a scythe, I took a look around.  The mirrored walls make the inside look much larger than it really is.  It’s really quite comfortable but cozy inside.  The waitresses gave great attention to everyone and I could see as the cooks prepared my meal…fresh!  Blossom Deli offers a daily blue plate special which I will definitely have the next time we go there.

I am sure we will go to our other “favorite place” again when we see it open sometime…but we now have a new go-to local restaurant in Charleston, WV!  Blossom Deli, not only did you possibly save my life, you nourished my soul (well…at least my stomach!)

7 Comments

warren, January 19th 2010 | Tags: , , , ,
Posted in Awesome, Family, Food, Fun, WV

White as snow…and not just outside!

Like lots of folks in the East, we got a bunch of snow last weekend.  Actually, compared to what many folks got, our foot of snow hardly compares.  Still, there are folks around here who are without power and may be until after Christmas.  I guess when I think of it, we are pretty lucky in regard to this storm.  Since we had nothing important to do and because we still have heat, I guess we all sort of enjoyed the snow.  It surely put me in the Christmas mood (even though it is supposed to be rainy and in the 50s for Christmas) and gave us all a chance to go outside and try to break bones…I mean sled-ride.  We built a gender-neutral snow-person, complete with a carrot nose (until the squirrels heard the news), and made many snow angels.

(check out the mistle toe!)

I mentioned awhile back (many months I guess…holy cow!) that we’ve been doing some pretty extreme work inside of our house.  Stay with me here…I promise it is related.  We’ve hemmed and hawed, we’ve cussed and dodged and pondered and tried to do just about everything we could to make this project take as long as possible.  Of course, by “we”, I mean “I”, not that there was any doubt.  But now, as weather has turned from wonderful and sunny and nice to Winter, I’ve run out of excuses and had to buckle down and make some sort of progress on the house.

See...it's white!

See...it's white!

We water-proofed the walls on the outside as part of the foundation work we had done this summer.  I added additional water-proofing inside as an insurance policy and so I can satisfy my desire for over-kill.  We added foam-board insulation and studded out new walls from the uninsulated masonry walls.  From there, it was easy to add proper insulation and make the rooms usable.

Well, it's not white but it's new!

So, we’ve been mudding and sanding and mudding and sanding until our house is much like a dessert town after a sand-storm. There is grit and dust everywhere and for some reason, the cat’s fur and kids sock feet haven’t been able to keep up with the dust that has been generated.  That’s all until last night.  Last night, you see, Emily painted the drywall…there will be no more sanding in that room.  The walls are snow white with primer and absolutely look as pretty as I do in my beard…well, actually, a lot better than that…but you get my point!

11 Comments

warren, December 23rd 2009 | Tags: ,
Posted in House, WV

Our first indoor allergy-maker!

Tomorrow is my birthday…it’s not a big one…not a decade mark, but I am pretty happy to celebrate another year.  Both Emily and I have been around the sun a few times though and had never experienced a live Christmas tree.  We never had live trees growing up because I am allergic to everything.  Of course, I grew up in the woods so I was surrounded by evergreen trees, but they were never in the house.  Anyhow, since I have been so sick the last month or so, I decided that a new tree can’t possibly make me feel any worse than I already do.

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We loaded up the kids in the van and headed to the Capitol Market in Charleston, one of WV’s best farmer’s markets.  This time of year, the sell only one thing…Christmas trees!  We wandered through hundreds of trees looking for the cheapest price….erm..I mean the best shaped tree.  About 2/3 of the way down the market, we happened upon the cheapest…erm…best shaped…trees.  We talked to the folks working there and they told us where their trees were grown (locally) and their price was good so we picked out a tree.

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The guy working there ran our tree through the wrapping machine and offered to run Isaac through as well.  I told him I would pay him $10 extra to run both kids through but we measured and his machine would not quite handle their size.  I bet for $20 he would have made it work.

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Anyhow, we tied the tree atop the van and proceeded to cruise over all of the hills and curves back to the house.  Neither of us wanted to look back fearing we’d see our tree rolling down the hill towards the next car in line.

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We made it home and I manhandled the tree into the house and set it into the new tree stand we bought.  The kids cut the tree-wrap into hundreds of tiny pieces that were left strewn about the house.  Emily cut the last bit of the wrap as the kids and I cowered in fear of the tree’s opening.

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We put lights on the tree and, of course, the kids started to fight.  The good news is, they seemed to fight in rhythm with the Christmas carols we had playing so it felt like Christmas indeed!

So far, allergies have not been a factor and I have not yet keeled over dead.  I am not any better, but I am not much worse either!

So, do you set up a tree?  Live or artificial?

17 Comments

warren, December 1st 2009 | Tags: , , ,
Posted in Family, Fun, Nature, Thoughts, WV

Hallelujah!

We headed down to the Clay Center this weekend to check out the Lost Kingdoms of the Nile exhibit.  From their website…

“The Clay Center is one of only two venues in the entire nation afforded an opportunity to present this exhibition. From the largest Nubian collection outside of Khartoum, Sudan, the exhibition includes more than 200 objects from the royal tombs of el Kurru, Nuri, and Meroë which date from the Prehistoric Period to the Roman era (3100 BCE to 246 CE).”

It was really incredible and I am so excited that Charleston has such an opportunity to see priceless artifacts from “back when God was a kid”.  Unfortunately, we couldn’t take pictures in the exhibit so I got nuthin’ to show you.

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Outside, however, is another incredible object that I think Charleston is fortunate to possess.  The new sculpture called Hallelujah! by Albert Paley was installed just a few weeks ago at the Clay Center.  The McGee Foundation donated a bunch of money to add the 60 foot tall sculpture to the collection of the Center and I am so pleased that they did.

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The new piece has apparently met with mixed reviews.  In fact, when I first heard about it, I too thought, “Great, another pile of rusting metal in the city”, but I was wrong.  When we drove upon the Clay Center, it was striking.

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Sure, it’s rusty, but it is a beautiful piece and, when seen in person, is oddly moving to me.  Not moving in an “I’m about to cry” way, but in a “I’m huge and awesome” kind of way.  Come to think of it, it also feels like it is in motion… definitely moving!   Isaac critiqued it thus, “Dad, this is an awesome weapon…probably something the Transformers would use.”  Indeed.

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My pictures don’t really do the piece justice, especially with the gray background.  Even so, it’s a sight to behold.  So, what do you think of modern art in general?  Do you dislike it all or can you see awesomeness in some pieces?  Do you think it looks like a Transformer’s weapon or do you see something else?

8 Comments

warren, October 19th 2009 | Tags: ,
Posted in Thoughts, WV

Me Warren…you Jane

I returned a bit to my primal-ancestral ways this weekend.  Besides the urge I had to dance ’round a fire with a spear, I had an opportunity to swing among the trees.  In Fayetteville, WV, there is a fairly new canopy tour among the trees in some of the most beautiful forest I have seen in a long time.

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(yup…raining)

Anyone in this area knows that it rained cats and dogs this Saturday.  The tour company cancels for neither man, no beast…only lightning.  I guess the Post Office still has one up on canopy tours.  Anyhow, we arrived in the pouring rain and prepared for our tour.  My preparation involved hitting the restroom one last time and slamming down some health food…a Snickers bar.

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The tour is 2-3 hours in length and there are no tree-side rest areas along the way.  I suppose, since it was raining so hard, we probably did have some options but no one wanted to really go there when it came to going there.

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So, we tied into our male-sterilizers…I mean harnesses and started the course.  It was breathtaking.  We whisked, platform to platform between what appeared to be ancient trees.  At first, we started at near ground level.  As we progressed slowly down the mountain, we quickly ended up in the tops of enormous hemlock and magnolia trees.  At the highest point, we were 85 feet off the ground in a tree…not the top of the tree, mind you.  It was far taller than that.

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Hemlock trees are being decimated by a beetle that destroys entire forests.  A portion of our tour fees goes to treating the trees to prevent their destruction.  After standing high up in the tree, I am pleased they are dedicated to preserving such beauty.  We could see all around.  There were “fields” or rhododendron and mountain laurel.  There were wild, rushing streams and rock formations formed long ago.  It was incredible and a bit spiritual for me.  It just felt like how life is supposed to be.  I mean, the ziplining was a blast, but I think I may have enjoyed just looking out through the forest and seeing nature.  The only noise was the sound of raining falling through the leaves (and down my back) and the rush of the streams.

WarrenZipline

(I am flying by…the photographer’s timing was good!)

So, as I mentioned, it sort of rained some….I think Noah once said that too.  Anyhow, my pictures aren’t great, but I don’t think they could begin to do this trip justice anyhow.  The Rivermen do a fantastic job and I can’t recommend them enough.  If you have an urge to get outdoors, to have a thrill, or just do something different, try ziplining in WV!

12 Comments

warren, September 28th 2009 | Tags: , ,
Posted in Adventure, Fun, Nature, WV

Oh the West Virginia hills, how majestic and how grand

I have told people that we are hilly here in WV.  I think most people don’t really understand what I mean when I say hilly.  You see, there are very few spots of flat land in Charleston, WV and most of those are either in a bad flood plain or are underneath some business.  The rest of the area is hilly.  Some  say you need a longer leg on one side to walk the hills and it’s true.  We take our hills seriously in WV.  I decided to take a video of my ride home from work one day.  There are a couple ways I could go but this is my typical route.  I am not sure that this video even does the trip justice, but I think you’ll get the idea…

MyRideHomePreview

(please holler/leave a comment if this video doesn’t work for you…some folks have had trouble…I can reset the webserver which may help)

I love the WV hills for sure and so did the author of our state song…an atrocious song, but one that honors our hills.  Ok, promise me you’ll listen to that song and then I’ll share with you a few more WV songs…go on…have a listen…


(stop it at around 5:15 if you are easily offended…this is the only version I could find)

See what I mean?  It’s a bit painful isn’t it?

Most people are familiar with the John Denver song, Country Roads.  Have a listen to it:

Some folks fuss about this song but I don’t pay much attention to them.  This is a great song and, for me anyhow, a real WV song.

So, John Denver’s song is a WV song, but in my mind, the WV song is this one:

(here’s an audio only version which may be clearer)

Emily and I went to college at West Virginia Wesleyan College, where this song was first introduced to me. Dang, it brings a tear to my eye every time I hear it.

So, I love my WV hills. My wife says they wrap her up and hug her every day as she looks out on them. I can’t think of a better way of putting it. I love my home among the hills!

13 Comments

warren, September 23rd 2009 | Tags:
Posted in Thoughts, WV

Well, it is after 4:00

We took a trip to PA this weekend to visit with family and help with some home winterizing projects.  I used to dread the trip from WV to PA (and even worse when we lived in TN) but as the kids have aged, we have found that a few movies, books and video games save lives.  The kids travel very well and it’s become a non-issue for them to pack up and go.  Emily and I count on a bunch of caffeine though as we always drive at night after we get out of work.  It’s a 6.5 hour drive so that usually puts us in pretty late (especially when you consider that it follows a long work-day).

caffeine moleculeequalsthumbs up happy face

Anyhow, we count on caffeine and the groovy tunes to keep us going and it usually works very well.  We headed up I-79 and drove until we got hungry.  Subway usually agrees with our tummies so we pulled into one and ordered the usual.  Emily ordered an un-sweet tea (she isn’t truly a Southern girl apparently).  The feller at the counter said, “We don’t serve sweet tea after 4:00.”  Emily said, “that’s nice, but I want UN-sweet tea.”  They went back and forth several times saying the exact same thing.  We were still in WV so one would think that we spoke the same language, but it was pretty clear that communication failed early on.  Finally, the guy told her that they don’t serve ANY tea after 4pm.


(We got this one stuck in our heads!)

A lot of places in WV and elsewhere still have blue laws.  I am familiar with them and couldn’t really care less as they don’t affect me.  My wife without caffeine on a trip, however, does endanger my life.  Green (tea) laws in WV must be overturned!  We were in prime dinner time hours so I can’t imagine that they wouldn’t have sold their tea.  And heck, they waste tons of food at Subway (as in all restaurants) so I can’t imagine that throwing out a bit of tea at the end of the day would have caused them much distress.  No, no, I think there must be some moral reason why tea is banned after 4pm!  If anyone can enlighten me on the issue, please feel free.  My life may depend on it!

18 Comments

warren, September 9th 2009 | Tags: , ,
Posted in Family, Fun, WV
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