Sundials

Last Friday night at our house began as a quiet evening, with Dan finishing up a late-afternoon project.  I took the pup for a walk and when I returned, my honey was just finishing up in the shower and he arrived in the living room wearing his grey corduroy pants and a decent long-sleeved shirt.  I, of course, thought this meant we were leaving the house.  

With no dinner-making ideas in mind, it may have just been my stomach doing the thinking.  So I coyly suggest how about some soup and grilled cheese.  (It had started to rain - I went the comfort food route.)  But to my surprise, he didn't take the bait (or, he took the bait?).  Whatever.  He said that sounded great.  No burrito run, I gather?  For an encore, we figured it's about time our garden/landscaping plans got some attention.

We sat squished in the living room chair.  Luna just sat there looking like it was MY fault that it was raining.  So we started working on a to-scale-but-neither-or-us-is-measuring-it drawing.  At least this time we're starting with actual real boundaries and angles, relative to the house exterior.  From there the questions came in rapid succession. Can you put the fruit trees there or will they cast shadows on the raised beds?  Where should the compost bin be for adequate sun exposure? Where does the sun set in the summer? If you're in Alaska, what pattern does the sun follow in the sky?  Which one is closest, the tropic of Cancer or Capricorn?  What is the angle of the Earth's axis tilt (excluding the 4 centimeter change after the earthquake in Japan 2 weeks ago)?  Is "due east" in Santa Barbara the same as "due East" in Uganda?  Or New Zealand?  

But really, we only knew the answer to one.  Well, I knew it, but Dan wasn't convinced. (23 degrees).  And we didn't have a globe in front of us.  And we were actually wedged in the chair together.  So, rather than go open the Encyclopedia Britannica (are you kidding me, we aren't in the stone-age: we have it on CD-ROM), we spent about 90 minutes drawing and thinking and trying to figure them out.  

Obviously, pencil and paper is the most practical.  This is what we concluded:

Glad I could clear that up for ya.  Both sun position and our geekiness.  yeah.

Wishery

I love this.

Never too old for puppets

...Nothing like big bird and cookie monster to make you feel cheerier.

Bless the Chips

Dan and I were talking yesterday about praying at meals.  I'm all for giving thanks, but do we need to ask for it to bless our bodies?  Isn't that why we eat?  Re-thinking my word and food choices...

fun for the big kids

In March (?) we had some guests, now that we finally had a guest bedroom (no comment on having an air mattress and futon as the only options).  Nevermind that they were really here to see some girls I like to call the Other Santa Barbarians, but we were glad to play host and hostess.  Who knew that washing machine boxes are fun for little AND big kids?  Classic rainy-day shenanigans.

These kids are almost old enough to drink.  Legally.

Come over and play anytime.  Seriously.  No really, I will feed you.
We can start working on our book.  Chapter idea: lavadora.  Think about it.