tim and lisa cocking

Put up the Christmas tree in the morning. Went swimming with the girls in the afternoon. ‘Nuff said!

This is an online story that makes me think of my kids. A lot. Even though it’s a kid thing, it always cracks me up! I wish it were available in print form.

“The Grumpy Bug”

Make sure to put your cursor over the bugs and play with them!

Grumpy sounds an awful lot like a couple of little girls I know (who shall remain nameless but live in my house) when they’re angry–or want someone to play with them.

Yes, another bug story.

The girls and I found this one in the backyard yesterday when they were going out to play. Those squares on the mat are about 1 cm each, so it’s about 6 cm long, including the legs, and looks a lot like a maple tree seed (whirlybird) or a piece of mulch. I think it’s some kind of a grasshopper or katydid, but I couldn’t find anything exactly like it with a quick Google. It wasn’t moving very much–it was a cool afternoon (around 70) and it was in the shade.

The girls didn’t want to go anywhere near it, and neither did I. But Ellie and Micah decided to go out and play anyway, just staying away from it. Bethany eventually got brave and joined them. A few minutes later, she yelled to me through the open window, “Mom, can we kill it?” My immediate answer was, “NO! Don’t kill it!” Not five seconds later, Bethany starts screaming, “She killed it, she killed it!” It took me a few minutes to get things sorted out, but as far as I can figure, Micah squished it with a big fat piece of sidewalk chalk. I’m not sure if she walked up and did it by hand, or just had a lucky toss. Either way, there was the poor bug, not moving, with a piece of chalk on its legs. I figured it was a goner and decided to leave it for “Daddy” to investigate/deal with.

When I saw it a couple of hours later, the words of Monty Python came to me: “I’m not dead yet!” Well, by that time it was, but the chalk had not dealt the final blow. No, that came later, when it tried to crawl away from the piece of chalk that was pinning its rear legs to the mat. Uh… let’s just say the chalk won that tug-o’-war. Ick.

At Bethany’s brand-new elementary school, there is no gymnasium. Not even a cafeteria/gym, like my elementary school had when I was a kid. No, here PE classes are held outdoors. Even in the rain, there’s a large covered area where they can run around (as long as there’s no lightning). But not this week. Both PE classes and recess had to be indoors. Why, you ask? LOVEBUGS! Yes indeed, the lovebugs are too thick for the kids to play outdoors at school. Growing up, we would have recess canceled for rain or extreme cold (like below zero). But never for bugs! And gym classes were held… in the gym! It was a treat in the early fall and late spring to be able to go outside for PE.

The bugs haven’t been quite as bad as either a year ago or last spring. So far. Maybe we’ll get off easy this time. Still, when entering Publix there is the nasty smell of burning lovebugs from the industrial-sized bug zappers in the entrance. Ewww……

Did you know that Johann Sebastian Bach had a serious coffee habit? The current issue of Christian History & Biography magazine has an article about him that speaks of his caffeine addiction. As I think about it, it totally makes sense. Caffeine and counterpoint… of course! And those inventions and fugues sure can benefit from a little extra kick!

Bach actually wrote a piece called “Coffee Cantata.” Yes, for real! The story is about a girl who loves her coffee so much that her father fears she won’t be able to find a husband. But the girl doesn’t care–she just wants her cup o’ joe! My favorite line:

If I can’t drink my bowl of coffee three times daily,
then in my torment I will shrivel up like a piece of roast goat.

Now there’s a girl who’s serious about her coffee! The story does have a happy ending, though. Lieschen promises her father that she’ll give up coffee so that she can find a husband, then has a clause written into her marriage contract permitting her to make coffee whenever she wants. Way to go, Lieschen!

To see the full lyrics, visit www.afactor.net/kitchen/coffee/kaffeeKantate.html. In the meantime, remember:

A cat won’t stop from catching mice,
and maidens remain faithful to their coffee.
The mother holds her coffee dear, the grandmother drank it also,
who can thus rebuke the daughters!

I think I’ll go practice piano now. After I finish my coffee!