The legitamacy of Thomas the Tank Engine

This was a fun week for us--we got to visit our nephews in California during the break.  Note: Our nephews will heretofore be known as n x 1.6 (n>1) (5 years old) and E.T. (almost 2 years old).  Much to the chagrin of my sister and brother-in-law, they do acknowledge that the only reason people come out to visit them is to see the boys.  Of course--their kids are so dang cute and so dang smart! 

We were able to do a few fun things while we were there,

...like go to the California Science Center...

...and eat dim sum with our friend, Bethany, in Chinatown...

...and go to T-ball practice with n x 1.6 (n>1)...

...and play with the high energy E.T.

 

But my favorite thing was just to hang out at my sister's apartment with n x 1.6 (n>1) and E.T. After T-ball practice, Miles said to me, "Cuckoo, I need to ask you a question."  Note: n x 1.6 (n>1) only knows me as Aunt Cuckoo, a nickname my sister and bro-in-law jokingly gave me and stuck!  

So, we sat down on the couch and then he asked me his pressing question--"Cuckoo, do you think that talking trains are real?"  

If you know happen to understand the obsession with trains that n x 1.6 (n>1) has, you will understand how important this question is!

He then proceeded to tell me his "hypothesis":  talking trains aren't real. I asked him to show me the "data" of why talking trains aren't real.  He continues, telling me his observations of Thomas the Tank Engine and how he doesn't look real.  He LOVES Thomas, so this was kind of a shock to hear him say he doesn't believe Thomas is real.

I asked him if he knew of any other famous trains that we could observe  if they could talk and if they were real.  He couldn't think of any, until I asked him about The Little Engine That Could.  Before I knew it, n x 1.6 (n>1) had run into his room to get The Little Engine That Could and was looking for spots in the book where the Engine talks (quotation marks were his hint).  The Engine does indeed "talk", saying "I think I can" several times.

After our extensive conversation, he finally came to the conclusion that his hypothesis was true, since he had only seen talking trains in books and TV. I think he may have realized that he also "does not have significant data and more studies would be needed."

What do you think?  Do you agree with n x 1.6 (n >1)--talking trains aren't real?

We are the champions!

Lee and I competed in the Utah Winter Games yesterday--in curling.  Yes, in curling and we are proud to admit it!

I know what you're thinking--"How in the world did they get into curling???"
Actually, what you're probably thinking is "What the heck is curling anyway???"

We like to describe it as shuffleboard on ice.  You slide stones down a sheet of  ice, trying to get the stones closest to the target   If you're really curious about curling, Wikipedia and USA Curling both describe it nicely.  Yes, you have to sweep the ice--it's the way you smooth down the pebbled ice so the stone has a path to travel.

I started attending the Learn to Curl class at the Kearns Olympic Oval shortly after the 2002 Winter Olympics.  It was fascinating!  And extremely do-able!  Lee and I went curling when we were still dating. It was grand fun!

Last night was the first time we had ever played a real game.  We teamed up with Laura and Mike, a couple of other novice curlers and competed against 5 other teams.  We had a blast, playing for over 3 hours at the Park City Ice Arena.

And guess what??

We won the Utah Winter Games Silver Medal in Curling (novice)!!!  Woot! 

So if you ever want to go curling, we are game to come with you!  Just give us a holler!

---------------

UPDATE!

We actually heard from the person that tallied the points for the curling competition, and she admitted that they didn't factor in a point for us.  If they did, we would have been tied for GOLD!  We would have had to have a quick curl-off to determine the winner. 

Yes, people, you are in the presence of potential Utah Games gold medalists in the mighty sport of curling!

Dear Bountiful Deer, Please stop eating our tulips!

When we moved into our apartment last year, I was elated to find that we had a small garden plot and we would enjoy, every spring, the tulips and daffodils the previous tenants had planted.  We started to see little clumps of leaves poking out--so exciting!

However, one morning, to my horror, I noticed a couple clumps of tulip leaves had been eaten!  Lee sat me down and educated me on the domestication of Bountiful deer--how they walk around like they own the place, how they hang out in a nearby field, and how they LOVE tulips!  I was sad for my favorite flower's fate. 

Then I got mad.
Of course, Lee wanted to get a gun and have some venison, but I found out other (non-violent) methods to POSSIBLY keeping the deer away from our tulips:

1)  Human or coyote urine sprinkled in the area (gross, but the "enemy" smell is the deterrent),
2)  Cut human hair also sprinkled in the area (smells like a human is near),
3)  Placing a bar of soap on a rope in the area (smells like a freshly-washed human is near),
4)  Paprika sprinkled on the leaves (apparently deer don't like spicy food), and
5)  Planting daffodils around your tulips (daffodils are poisonous to deer).

I'm going to be honest--we tried ALL of them last year.  The human hair and the bar of soap didn't work out so well.  Maybe deer actually like the smell of Irish Spring! The daffodils are slower than the tulips coming up, so that didn't help.  The urine and the paprika seemed each to work, but we had to (but forgot to) reapply due to all the storms in June 2009. A good portion of our tulips made it out okay last year.

But this year, the deer have nibbled half of our tulips.  HALF!!  Arg!   This is war! We are now trying a two-pronged approach:

1) First urine sprinkled in the area (gross, I know), and
2)  Afterwards, an anti-deer concoction (paprika, chili powder, and cayenne pepper) sprinkled on the tulips directly.

So far, so good.  Lee pointed out we might start attracting deer that have a palate for spicy tulips!

What do YOU do to save your tulips from the deer every year?  Let's hear your suggestions and we'll probably give it the ol' college try!