mice, non-Newtonian solids, and Time

Exterminator visit today; more poison traps in basement. Some of those in the kitchen cabinets had not been touched, others, the bait was entirely gone. But since Brent and Cimi sealed up most of the holes around the pipes a couple weeks back, we're hoping that that will make a difference.

Yesterday I tried out First Art's recipe for silly putty. (Here it is: 4 T liquid starch, 8 T Elmer's white school glue, food coloring. Mix together and let set 5 minutes, then knead into putty.) It totally worked, though I was initially highly doubtful and in fact was planning to throw the strange, stringy mass away but it felt so weird in my fingers I kept messing with it and eventually realized that it was getting kneaded into silly putty despite my doubts. Clare loves it. Last night it was "green goo" but that morphed this morning into "googly." So pleased with myself I had to call my mother, who, as a former chemistry teacher, appreciates that sort of thing more than normal people.

I can't believe it's August; I need to plan for Brent's birthday, and also pull out my notes for the ACU Lectureship class in September and start working on getting my mind back on it. (I probably also need to think about finding a place to stay during Lectureship...oh how I hate logistical details.) It's amazing how these summer days can seem almost frustratingly long and lazy and yet there's still not enough time to really get things done. I think this is probably the result of overindulgence in procrastination.

So I've decided to reform some of my counterproductive ways: eat breakfast, put in my contacts (glasses are a liability around Clare nowadays, plus, it makes me feel less sloppy--even though I'm still just as sloppy, it's just a mental trick), do yoga during naptime, and make sure that Clare and I do at least one major learning-type activity each day, whether it's music or art or whatever, and lots of outside self-directed play (she loves digging in the dirt nowadays; a couple days ago she made "mud soup" which then turned into "rice and beans" as it got thicker).

We also have some pics of the house which I'll put up in another post, and some of the backyard, which is still gorgeous even though the lilies and the hostas are no longer in bloom.