The Kids and Kahlie

The Artist

Originally uploaded by Thomas Miguel.

Thomas is working hard on his art these days. Follow this link to see many more pictures of Thomas hard at work at daycare.

Be sure to watch it as a ’slideshow.’ It looks goooood.

Kids and Dogs and Candy

Originally uploaded by Thomas Miguel.

Classic dad mistake … don’t tell anyone … please. I left an open bag of licorice on the stroller (sorry Granny, it was red licorice) and took the groceries inside. Kahlie came out to find Thomas with the bag of licorice. I came out a moment later to find Thomas with a piece in his hand and Kahlie with a piece sticking out of her mouth.

Wonder where they get the sweet tooth?

The strangest thing happened on the weekend. Thomas and I (Mariela) were at the park, sharing a muffin, and this crow started following us. Thomas threw a piece of muffin at the crow, who quickly ate it. Thomas then took off after the crow, so I got up to chase Thomas, and my wallet fell out of my pocket. The crow then flew over to my wallet, picked out my American Express card, and flew up into a tree with it. After a few minutes, the crow got bored with the card, and dropped it to the ground. Very odd experience.

I have been reading a barbequing blog recently. It is called The BBQ Report. the writers post recipes and other stuff related to barbequing. I like it because they discuss, at times, about something they call ‘barbeque culture.’

You might appreciate a recent post on how the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) classifies beef. There are 8 levels of beef quality in the US and I list them here from best to worst. (Love the names …)

Prime
Choice
Select
Standard
Commercial
Utility
Cutter
Canner

They follow the list with this juicy summary:

Studies suggest that beef graded at least USDA Select are likely to acceptable in eating quality for most consumers, so this is usually the lowest grade you’ll ever hear mentioned by name in the supermarket. (Mmm! 100% UTILITY GRADE BEEF!) Unlabled cuts of meat are either commercial or utility grade, or more likely were never graded in the first place. The lowest grades, cutter and canner, are used in disgusting things like potted meat and those meat sticks you find in the gas station. Let’s look a little closer at the three primary grades of meat you’ll likely to be selecting from.

But what else is fun about this post is the game where you get to try and assign USDA quality levels to photographs of actual steaks! Does it get any more fun on a hot summery afternoon? Try the game by clicking HERE. (Hint: It has to do with amounts of fat and marbling.)

By the way, there’s lots more mouth watering information in the original post.

Daycare Art Board

Originally uploaded by Thomas Miguel.

Thomas has been working at the easel recently. The daycare staff have put together boards with Thomas’s artwork and pictures of Thomas creating the art. Here’s an example.

(They also write about Thomas’s experiences, but unfortunately it is hard to read their notes in these photographs.)

To see all three of Thomas’s artboards click here. You can also click on the picture to the right to see a bigger version of it.

Originally uploaded by Thomas Miguel.

Thomas is enjoying cereal with milk these days … but there is often a problem with the milk-filled bowl flying around.

Well, once again, duct tape comes to the rescue. His bowl is now taped securely to the high chair tray.

Duct tape truly is the fix-it solution for anything and everything.

Untitled.
String and powder paints on construction paper.
9×12, July 2005.

Some discussion on the anthropology blogs got me curious to download and try out the new Google product, Google Earth. Man is it ever an amazing piece of software! Check out these images from above our house in North Van … I have saved the sequence on Flickr so you can take a look.

Basically, Google Earth allows you to ‘fly’ absolutely anywhere on earth at your choice of altitude and with a view like you are looking out of the front of a plane. You can circle around buildings and rotate your view as if you are in a helicopter. It actually made me feel motion sick! I have traveled to Mississauga, to Iskut, to Japan, and Albuquerque … it’s wild.

If you can, check this software out. It is really neat.

Thomas has started using ‘Uh oh’ this week. He does so indiscriminately, but it is fun to imitate. It also goes well with his favorite expression: ‘hi-pur.’ (We are sure he is commenting on himself being so hy-per.)

I used to think that Vancouverites went out in the rain simply because if you didn’t, you’d never go out. After my adventures with Thomas today, I might have to rethink that opinion.

Today was the first truly sunny and warm summery day in weeks. Thomas and I set our plan … without any deviation for a sunny Sunday … and headed first to the Seymour Forest for a run on the trailway. Given my premise that people go about their business rain or shine, I expected no real chaos on the trails. I was very wrong. The parking lot was totally full and we never got parked! This was the place that just last week we saw a deer on the trail because it was so quiet. We turned around and left.

Next stop … the beach at Ambleside. It was crazy busy too without any places to park. We left.

At home, where there was a parking space and one to spare, Thomas and I cleaned the basement and the deck. We returned to the Seymour Forest later in the afternoon. The clouds had come in and, surprise surprise, the crowds were gone. What a sorry state …

Then, lest you think we are dowtrodden without Mariela around, we dined on a feast of grilled cheese sandwedges and beef stew. Yummy!