Monday, September 7, 2020
Sunday, September 6, 2020
Nichole's Turn
I don't know what to write. So I'll tell you about dragons.
(based off of Drake's Compendium of Dragonology)
So, first there is the Western (or European) Dragon. It is your typical dragon, 15-20 feet tall, four legs, fire-breathing. Fun fact, dragons who breathe fire do it through an inflammable venom and something to create sparks with, which is kept in the front of the bottom jaw in the "spark pouch." Frost dragon venom instead of flames has a highly corrosive effect similar to frostbite. Frost dragons are similar in looks to the Western, but usually are of blue-white color, and you find them in the Arctic or Antarctic. They migrate semiannually, so that is the easiest time to see them.
The Chinese lung is what we usually think of in terms of the eastern type of dragon. There are others, like the Japanese ryu, but I'll just cover the lung. This type of dragon is accredited for bringing the secret of writing to a Chinese emperor. The lung has four talons, and is about 30 feet long, but not very tall, only about 7 or 8 feet tall. It has no wings, but that doesn't keep it from soaring into the sky. In the mating season, males curl themselves up like a giant spring and launch themselves into the air in order to impress females. Sometimes they can even get as high as 100 feet!
The Wyvern is the largest of the dragons. I don't remember how big it is, but it is really big, much bigger than the Western. In Africa, it is fond of carrying off elephants and rhinos for dinner, so that can give you an idea. The roc is probably its biggest competition, as it likes many of the same things. Wyverns have only two legs in addition to their two wings, but they have a cool locking mechanism in their toes that helps them hold onto their large prey. The Hydra also has two legs and two vestigial wings. They have multiple heads, often three in number, and uniquely among dragons it prefers the cannibalistic practice of eating dragon eggs rather than any other prey. Rabbits are safe from this dragon. Hydras don't reproduce in the normal way. An ancient carving shows that when hydras want to reproduce one of their heads is cut off. From this head a new hydra will grow, if it isn't eaten. The adult hydra is supposed to guard the vulnerable head, but usually wanders off to do something else. It is very hard to sneak up on a hydra.
No one knows what the basilisk's true form looks like. It is a shapeshifter, able to transform into any dragon form. Its favorite guise is that of a European chick. The basilisk's one feature that stays on is the yellow eye, which instantly hypnotizes those that look into its gaze. This may be part of the myth that the gaze of the basilisk kills instantly, because once someone looks into its eyes it's usually too late to do anything to stop it attacking the poor soul. A second thing that helps to identify the basilisk is the poison that seeps out of the soles of its feet. This poison often kills the vegetation around it, which makes tracking a basilisk somewhat easier.
The knucker is a fun dragon. It has four legs and two vestigial wings. It is a little dragon, but don't let that fool you. Its venom is among the most acidic of dragons, dissolving living substances in seconds. The knucker is strange because it will take any shiny bits of broken glass or bottle caps to add to its hoard where other dragons would collect gold coins and precious jewels. It just goes to show that beauty is in the eye of the beholder. Speaking of fun dragons, I like the incognito. There are many accounts of this dragon, and most are contradictory. Everything about it is unknown and uncertain. This dragon was believed to be a psuedo-dragon until one account labeled it as "completely dragon-like." It is possible that the incognito is such a master at hypnosis that everyone who encounters it completely forgets doing so. It definitely exists though. It would be ridiculous if it didn't.
The ampithere is an American dragon, mostly Central and South America. These dragons have no legs and two wings, and often have a feathery crest. These dragons have been worshiped by a culture that I forget, and they prefer to spend all their time soaring through the skies. The gargouille is found on old buildings, often churches and things that have lots of statues on the roof. There are lots of them in France. When a gargouille is sitting still, as it usually does, it is nearly impossible to tell it from a gargoyle. The only way to tell is to blow on their eyes, which will make the gargouille blink, but often ends in the maiming or death of the offending party.
So there you have it. I told you about dragon species, and I didn't even tell you about tracking them in the field, or psuedo-dragons, or the extinct species. Or the riddles, or the artifacts, or their hoards, or how to safely meet a dragon. You'll have to wait, or find the book that I got all this information from. It's in the 700s in the Dewey Decimal system, I think. 741.something, but don't take my word for it. Find out yourself, because dragons are awesome.
(based off of Drake's Compendium of Dragonology)
So, first there is the Western (or European) Dragon. It is your typical dragon, 15-20 feet tall, four legs, fire-breathing. Fun fact, dragons who breathe fire do it through an inflammable venom and something to create sparks with, which is kept in the front of the bottom jaw in the "spark pouch." Frost dragon venom instead of flames has a highly corrosive effect similar to frostbite. Frost dragons are similar in looks to the Western, but usually are of blue-white color, and you find them in the Arctic or Antarctic. They migrate semiannually, so that is the easiest time to see them.
The Chinese lung is what we usually think of in terms of the eastern type of dragon. There are others, like the Japanese ryu, but I'll just cover the lung. This type of dragon is accredited for bringing the secret of writing to a Chinese emperor. The lung has four talons, and is about 30 feet long, but not very tall, only about 7 or 8 feet tall. It has no wings, but that doesn't keep it from soaring into the sky. In the mating season, males curl themselves up like a giant spring and launch themselves into the air in order to impress females. Sometimes they can even get as high as 100 feet!
The Wyvern is the largest of the dragons. I don't remember how big it is, but it is really big, much bigger than the Western. In Africa, it is fond of carrying off elephants and rhinos for dinner, so that can give you an idea. The roc is probably its biggest competition, as it likes many of the same things. Wyverns have only two legs in addition to their two wings, but they have a cool locking mechanism in their toes that helps them hold onto their large prey. The Hydra also has two legs and two vestigial wings. They have multiple heads, often three in number, and uniquely among dragons it prefers the cannibalistic practice of eating dragon eggs rather than any other prey. Rabbits are safe from this dragon. Hydras don't reproduce in the normal way. An ancient carving shows that when hydras want to reproduce one of their heads is cut off. From this head a new hydra will grow, if it isn't eaten. The adult hydra is supposed to guard the vulnerable head, but usually wanders off to do something else. It is very hard to sneak up on a hydra.
No one knows what the basilisk's true form looks like. It is a shapeshifter, able to transform into any dragon form. Its favorite guise is that of a European chick. The basilisk's one feature that stays on is the yellow eye, which instantly hypnotizes those that look into its gaze. This may be part of the myth that the gaze of the basilisk kills instantly, because once someone looks into its eyes it's usually too late to do anything to stop it attacking the poor soul. A second thing that helps to identify the basilisk is the poison that seeps out of the soles of its feet. This poison often kills the vegetation around it, which makes tracking a basilisk somewhat easier.
A Western (or European) dragon. Or maybe a basilisk. Can you tell?
The ampithere is an American dragon, mostly Central and South America. These dragons have no legs and two wings, and often have a feathery crest. These dragons have been worshiped by a culture that I forget, and they prefer to spend all their time soaring through the skies. The gargouille is found on old buildings, often churches and things that have lots of statues on the roof. There are lots of them in France. When a gargouille is sitting still, as it usually does, it is nearly impossible to tell it from a gargoyle. The only way to tell is to blow on their eyes, which will make the gargouille blink, but often ends in the maiming or death of the offending party.
So there you have it. I told you about dragon species, and I didn't even tell you about tracking them in the field, or psuedo-dragons, or the extinct species. Or the riddles, or the artifacts, or their hoards, or how to safely meet a dragon. You'll have to wait, or find the book that I got all this information from. It's in the 700s in the Dewey Decimal system, I think. 741.something, but don't take my word for it. Find out yourself, because dragons are awesome.
Saturday, September 5, 2020
An Orange Birthday
For Jr.'s birthday in August, he requested a chocolate sour cream sheet cake with orange icing (both recipes from The Food Nanny Rescues Dinner) as well as some kind of orange ice cream (orange cream bar) and orange Shasta to drink with dinner (it's tradition).
Jr. wanted to light the birthday cake candles himself but it was just not working. He went through several matches before we realized the fan was on. There was no problem after turning the fan off.
Lucky made Jr. a diamond sword out of LEGOs. It's became a cute tradition that he's done that for everyone on their birthday so far this year.
Jr. brought an Xbox home from Washington so for his birthday he got a game and some controllers. The morning after his birthday he got Jr. Jr. and Lucky up early to play his video game with him.
Jr. wanted to light the birthday cake candles himself but it was just not working. He went through several matches before we realized the fan was on. There was no problem after turning the fan off.
Lucky made Jr. a diamond sword out of LEGOs. It's became a cute tradition that he's done that for everyone on their birthday so far this year.
Jr. brought an Xbox home from Washington so for his birthday he got a game and some controllers. The morning after his birthday he got Jr. Jr. and Lucky up early to play his video game with him.
Friday, September 4, 2020
Power Outage Adventure
Everyone say, "Power outage!"
The electricity went off before I could make chop suey for National Chop Suey Day on August 29. Usually when the electricity goes off, it lasts for a few seconds then comes back on. This time we waited for several minutes before I checked our neighborhood Facebook page on my phone to see if it affected others. It did. The estimate was that power would be back on by 8:30pm. The kids couldn't do chores, I couldn't make dinner, some other things wouldn't work out. Well... even though we had already gone out birding earlier that day to see common nighthawks on River Lane (and other birds- Jr. Jr. loved all the swallows flying around),
I knew Jr. Jr. and Lucky really wanted to go back to Bridal Veil Falls to throw rocks in the river after we did that the day Jeremy and the older kids got home, so I suggested that. Everyone was in favor of that idea so we headed out to Bridal Veil Falls, which was packed, as was everywhere else in the canyon (last Saturday evening in August and a lot of people were having wedding receptions). Jeremy mentioned that throwing rocks in the Provo River where people might be rafting might not be the best idea anyway.
New plan. We went home (power still out) and grabbed granola bars, chips, and some jerky for a makeshift dinner in the van. We thought that since farther up the Provo River wouldn't work, we'd head farther downstream closer to where it empties into the lake, but not at Utah Lake State Park as that would be just as crowded. As we were driving, I thought of a place to try along the Provo River Parkway. Turns out it was a great spot. There was parking available, not too many people on the parkway there, no people floating down the river as it was too shallow (which also made me not worried about the boys falling in), and there was an area down off the parkway where the boys could run around and throw their rocks. Also, as it got darker, there was light shining right on them from street lamps. And the sunset was gorgeous.
At one point, Nichole and I walked to a nearby tunnel and Nichole got pictures of spiders.
Hooray! It worked out and when we got home, the electricity was back on so we could all get ready for bed with light.
Finding the silver lining, we had a fun family adventure.
Since we didn't get to eat chop suey, we still celebrated the holiday by watching the chop suey song/scene in the movie, Flower Drum Song, before bed. I had been singing that song all week in preparation for the holiday and every time I looked at the menu plan.
New plan. We went home (power still out) and grabbed granola bars, chips, and some jerky for a makeshift dinner in the van. We thought that since farther up the Provo River wouldn't work, we'd head farther downstream closer to where it empties into the lake, but not at Utah Lake State Park as that would be just as crowded. As we were driving, I thought of a place to try along the Provo River Parkway. Turns out it was a great spot. There was parking available, not too many people on the parkway there, no people floating down the river as it was too shallow (which also made me not worried about the boys falling in), and there was an area down off the parkway where the boys could run around and throw their rocks. Also, as it got darker, there was light shining right on them from street lamps. And the sunset was gorgeous.
Hooray! It worked out and when we got home, the electricity was back on so we could all get ready for bed with light.
Finding the silver lining, we had a fun family adventure.
Since we didn't get to eat chop suey, we still celebrated the holiday by watching the chop suey song/scene in the movie, Flower Drum Song, before bed. I had been singing that song all week in preparation for the holiday and every time I looked at the menu plan.
Thursday, September 3, 2020
Wednesday, September 2, 2020
Gene Kelly Kind of a Weekend
Saturday, August 22, was Be an Angel Day. I made our traditional alfredo with angel hair pasta. I didn't take pictures.
Nichole turned on Singin' in the Rain while she was doing dishes. I also didn't get a picture.
Sunday, August 23, was Gene Kelly's birthday. I didn't get any pictures of us singing songs from Singin' in the Rain but I did get pictures of my diner plate of a new recipe I tried in the crockpot- jalapeno chicken. Yumm. The garden fresh tomatoes from the couple who minister to us were so good, too. I love garden fresh tomatoes.
Monday, August 24, was National Waffle Day. We made waffles and tried out another new recipe for mozzarella stick waffles. Also yumm.
The kids finished watching Singin' in the Rain while doing dishes.
It was a Gene Kelly kind of a weekend.
Nichole turned on Singin' in the Rain while she was doing dishes. I also didn't get a picture.
Sunday, August 23, was Gene Kelly's birthday. I didn't get any pictures of us singing songs from Singin' in the Rain but I did get pictures of my diner plate of a new recipe I tried in the crockpot- jalapeno chicken. Yumm. The garden fresh tomatoes from the couple who minister to us were so good, too. I love garden fresh tomatoes.
Monday, August 24, was National Waffle Day. We made waffles and tried out another new recipe for mozzarella stick waffles. Also yumm.
It was a Gene Kelly kind of a weekend.
Tuesday, September 1, 2020
International Bow Day 2020
August 19 was International Bow Day. I noticed that when I had my hair in a ponytail and tied the upper tie of my mask above my ponytail, it looked like I had a bow in my hair. Cute.
Dinner was bowtie pasta salad bar. I cooked some bowtie pasta and got out other ingredients for making pasta salad (Jeremy cut up vegetables) then I was too tired and took a nap while everyone else just put their food together however they wanted it.
Thanks to my sister-in-law who made my llama mask. I love it.
Dinner was bowtie pasta salad bar. I cooked some bowtie pasta and got out other ingredients for making pasta salad (Jeremy cut up vegetables) then I was too tired and took a nap while everyone else just put their food together however they wanted it.
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