What's That Bug?

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What's That Bug?

Laphria sp. - Robber Fly (Bee Mimic)

This is him - my fly!!! My mystery from last month (http://casadegalletti.blogspot.com/2006/08/was-it-bee-or-fly.html ) is finally solved! It's a Laphria sp. (Robber Fly Bee Mimic)



Here're my pictures of him, posted again.

fly not bumble bee

I am convinced that my picture back in August was a of a fly NOT a bumble bee - totally different leg structure. These pictures are of real bumble bees Burning Silo � Blog Archive � the bee’s knees and the rest of the pictures on her blog are quite nice too! Here is a source of good identifiers for bumble bees http://www.bumblebee.org/ .

Caldo De Pollo

I made the most amazing caldo de pollo this weekend! The kids love it although Giselle gives me all her onions and celery and I give her all my chicken pieces.

fresh chicken pieces and carcass simmered for 12 hours
carrots
potatoes
celery
pesto
onions
ayote squash
diced tomatoes
garlic
rice
fresh oregano
salt & white pepper
fresh rosemary

The Biscuit Brothers Austin TV Schedule

KLRU - View Series

Making Butter

I tried making butter today because I had two quarts of milk from The Farm that were each almost half cream - one of the cows had a calf last month so her milk is super rich and creamy - and I couldn't resist the temptation of trying to make my own butter. I didn't use quite the 'proper' tools so it took a long time (45 min) and I stopped while it was still just buttermilk because I was tired of shaking the jar. I now am freezing the 2 cups of buttermilk for future cooking and next week I will try again using these instructions: Cooking For Engineers - Kitchen Notes: Making Butter

Bedtime at Casa De Galletti

This is what I have to pry apart to get into bed at night. They scootch towards the middle looking for me in their sleep, they run into each other and then are satisfied that they have found a warm body to be near. Once I'm in there, they're content with feeling my breath on their face or being able to reach out and touch me with their hand or foot. I love being able to snuggle with them like this every night - it lets me know that they will always be my babies no matter how old they get!

Everyday Food

The new issue arrived today (October)!! These are the recipes that I'm interested in making soon:
Roasted Fall Vegetable and Ricotta Pizza
Being from the South, I already make my egg salad per their recipe plus I add celery
Bats and Cobwebs
Lentil and Swiss Chard Soup
Red and Black Bean Pies
Ginger Pumpkin Bread
Apple Brown Betty
Croissant Pudding
Manchego Crackers
Everyday Food
I wonder which one Suzanne will make first!

Talk Like a Pirate Day

YouTube - Talk Like a Pirate Day: The Five A's

Talk Like A Pirate Day - September 19

It's only one day away!!!!!!
Talk Like A Pirate Day - September 19

Whirlwind Week

Last Saturday was the Farmers Market as usual. It was a pretty slow day at the market - not a lot of produce due to the heat and drought and not a lot of people due to whatever.
Sunday was Sunday School and Free Museum Day - we went to The Austin Museum of Art at Laguna Gloria to see the Biscuit Brothers with all of our friends.

Monday was shopping at Walmart, Central Market and HEB day.
Tuesday was go to Sam's to repair a nail in the tire day and we went to the Austin Zoo.
Wednesday was Homeschool Day at Pioneer Farm.
Thursday was a La Leche League meeting.
Today was Homeschool Park Day.
And tomorrow is Market Day again for us and Classic Car Show Day for Joe.
WHEW!

Night time

I can't believe it, the other night Paul stayed asleep from 7:30 pm all the way to somewhere around 1 am without waking to nurse! Too bad I didn't go to bed that night until 11:30 so I didn't really get the break. Although he's near the age that Giselle was when she started dropping some of her night nursings - I think that she was down to only waking 2x during the night to nurse just before Paul was born - so maybe it will start to happen more often. So it's now been a little over 5 years of nursing a kid pretty much every 2 hours, 24 hours a day (with a 3 hour break after bedtime until 10:30 - you could set a watch by him on that - no earlier than 10:20 and no later than 10:35). Fortunately they are both in bed with me so all that night nursing never seemed like much of a big deal.
I guess that I learned to accept that it's just part of life with kids with a high metabolic rate and a 12-hour sleep time of 7:30 pm to 7:30 am - heck my blood sugar freaks out if I go that long without eating or drinking so I can just imagine what it's like for a growing kid. For that same reason, I never leave home without some snacks packed in my purse, a reserve of snacks in the car and some more snacks in the water bag that also has 4 24oz bottles of water.

Slings

Here's proof that a 36 inch 34 lb child can still be easily carried around in a sling. A sling, by the way, that I made myself (from a pattern from Elizabeth Lee Designs). It's the Classic Sling pattern and I follow the instructions with the exception that I leave out all the padding 'cause it's too bulky and hot for Texas.

When he was first born I carried him in a plum colored fleece sling that I made from the same pattern.

That spring I switched to a lovely floral material that we used until he was 1.

Actually, just last month I carried 46 lb 48 " Giselle around in the striped sling while at HEB - no picture of that.

Rain Bubbles

So on Tuesday it rained here for the first time in like forever. Giselle and Paul played out in the rain as much as they could and Giselle did some pretty bubble art, then Paul smashed it all (after Giselle said it was ok).

Paul's Latest

OK, since the sprinkler accident last week there was:
1 - Saturday - He tripped and fell while running at the farmers market and scratched the palm of his right hand. He always wears long shorts to the market to keep his knees from getting scraped in these falls so those were unharmed.
2 - Sunday - He was chewing on the string to his binoculars and then pulled it back and forth in his mouth giving himself a major rope burn on each side of his mouth. He looks like the Joker from Batman.
3 - Tuesday - He was stabbing the etch-a-sketch with a pen, it slipped and he stabbed himself in the finger.

Oh, and the day before the sprinkler accident he got stung by a bee on the bottom of his other foot.

Dick Nichols Pool Update

It's officially open year-round as of yesterday!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Of course, we are in the middle of a cold front right now with highs only in the upper 80's so it's WAY too cold to go to an unheated pool (the heaters won't be turned on until October). Yea Suzanne, you just keep on laughing at me but you know how Giselle is about cold water and cold air mixed with cold water.


Dick Nichols Neighborhood Pool 8011 Beckett Road
Dates September 5 - March 29
Monday-Friday Activity
11am - 1:30pm Recreational Swim and Lap Swim - Swim Lesson (9/5-10/12)
5:30pm - 7;30pm Recreational Swim and Lap Swim
6pm-7pm Youth Fitness Program

Saturday-Sunday Activity
1pm - 4pm Recreational Swim and Lap Swim

Croc Hunter Diaries - The true Final Entry has been made

Joe told me this morning that he heard on the radio that Steve Irwin died. I've spent the last 2 hours pouring over all the articles on the web - the accident happened last night (Sunday) at 8 pm (our time - cst US) which was 11 am Monday in Australia.

Media statement released by Australia Zoo – 4 September 2006
Steve Irwin
At 11am today, the 4th September 2006, Steve Irwin was fatally wounded by a stingray barb to his heart whilst filming a sequence on Batt Reef off Port Douglas for his daughter’s new TV series.Emergency services were called from Cairns Rescue Base and met Croc One, Steve’s rescue vessel at Low Isle on the Great Barrier Reef.The Croc One crew performed constant CPR during the thirty minute dash to Low Isle, but the medical staff pronounced Steve dead at approx. 12 noon.
His producer and closest friend, John Stainton said on Croc One today,“The world has lost a great wildlife icon, a passionate conservationist and one of the proudest Dads on the planet. He died doing what he loves best and left this world in a happy and peaceful state of mind. Crocs Rule!”


I've watched all his shows so many times that I feel like I knew him. The love that he had for his family, friends and all animals should be copied by everyone. This world has lost a great person. My heart goes out to Terri because, from all that I've learned of them over the years, theirs was a true life-long love that should have continued for another 40+ years.
Thank you Steve for sharing yourself with the world and you will be missed greatly by the occupants of Casa de Galletti!

Death as perplexing as fame