Hell Bent for Leather

Dad: "Scout (age 5), It seems that if I ask you to do something, you do the exact opposite!!"
Son (age 8): Calmly like he says this all the time....Yeah, Scout, you seemed HELL BENT on doing that.


My son is 8. We live in the woods. He reads books about dragons, and pirates, and magical boys. We don't watch TV.
This is one reason why what he said the other day is funny, beyond the fact that he is just a kid, he is an innocent one.
My brother-in-law, Dan, laid down some vocals for his friend's recording. It is a spoofy album about Arnold Schwarzenegger. The song he helped out with was a cover of Judas Priest's fantabulously touching "Hell Bent for Leather".

Clearly my son listened to the song, and understood the lyrics. It also shows what a genius my kid is (I know, I'm biased) to use a phrase he heard once 3 weeks ago, in context in another situation, and have no idea that it might be an edgy thing for a 3rd grader to say.

You can check out the aforementioned music at this link (I didn't embed it on purpose, it is loud) and hear Dan's background vocals:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bG4ceCLJt_I

Kids say the darndest things....

Crusty Bread

For the most part, I am modest by nature. I guess I just needed to brag a bit about my latest baking experiment. Baking and brewing are a bit of a science experiment for me, and more creative than mopping, cleaning and folding. It also is rewarding to see my kids and family loving something I have made. Seriously, they do not love that the floor is clean.

On that note, I wanted to post my latest loaf of crusty, chewy, European style bread. Let's face it, it is just yummier than a regular loaf. Mine turned out perfectly. It is crunchy on the outside, chewy on the inside. It took more patience than elbow grease, and I can wait, if it does not take much work. So there is my not-so-modest-side coming out.

That Darn Cat

This is the cat that I drove to my mother-in-laws house for safe keeping while we were on vacation for 3 weeks. This photo was taken when it was a bit smaller and did it's job of hunting with more gusto. I drove this cat 2o minutes away, out to the highway, down a country road, in a pet carrier. I dropped him off and didn't even think of him until we returned.

When we got home, Martha said that the cat had stuck around about half the time we were gone, and then had disappeared. I felt a bit bad (mostly for the kids), but something in me told me that was not the end of the story. When we arrived at our house, there was X-ray the cat. He was hungry. He walked home through the woods one mile as the crow flies. He had to swim across the Deer Creek to get here. How did he know the way?

Clearly he loves his home, not us, but where he lives. I had heard stories like this before, but never thought that they were real. And I don't have a guilty conscience about a 'missing' cat.

Banksy in Bethlehem

I love Banksy. He is a anonymous graffiti artist who has art on walls all over the world. I think only a few people must know who he is and they keep his secret safe. His work sells for millions and he is still alive (incredible!!). I like his stuff cause it is political, or ironic, and timely.

I have been interested in him, and the mystery of him for some time. When passing through the Israeli wall into palestine to visit Bethlehem, I was thinking it would be a perfect place for a person to make a political statement. The place is full of intense irony. As it turns out, as I was thinking that, we round a bend to see some of Banksy's work. I whipped out the camera and did my best to get a photo of it, which I did. I also got Selma's head.

The wall that surrounds Jerusalem is to protect against the violence that Palestine is up to around there. Palestinians don't go to Jeruslam and vise versa, though they are 3 miles apart. One needs a permit to work in one place or the other. The wall helps further divide the two raging inhabitant of the land.

I am not an expert about the strife in Isreal, and yet can clearly see that neither side is seeking peace. They are however trying to protect themselves without peace. It seems as if it is not working. It seems that if there is a leader who is truly striving for peace, then that person does not live long (it seems to be a theme amoung radical peace keepers-watch out Tony).

I wanted to share some other interesting snaps I took.This is a cross I saw on the path that Christ rode on into the city of Jerusalem on a donkey. This is an adventure in missing the point if I ever saw one.



This is a photo of Justus in the "manger". You know, the "real" one that jesus was placed in after he was born. I think it was totally taboo for him to hop in, so I kicked him out before a grumpy manger nazi saw him, and after I took a devious photo. Who's kid is that?

A Bit Buttoned Up

Here are the latest photos of our progress on our atrium. The new roof for the entire house is sitting in our drive, and will make the whole house look so different! The new roof will be put over the old one, and is a cream colored aluminum (okay, some sort of metal, I am not sure what kind).