Tuesday, April 28, 2009

The Bees Are Getting Closer....

Cabal is home and seems to be well again, he had some bones kind of, uh, sticking some things up, so they, uh, wouldn't come out. Now they are out.

I just started my new post with Dog Poop. Can we move on?

I was on the phone with the Birdchick today. The Bees could come in the morning. They WILL come Wednesday, Thursday or Friday. She said it was like "Well, the waters broke, now we just wait for the baby." Much of the time we just sat on the phone silently. I kind of thought we both wanted to stay that way, together, until the bees came.

She was with me when I bought my new Bee Clothes, on the phone there. Clearance light coloured denim capri's, and a green hoodie. Also on Clearance. We talked a lot about how it might feel to work with bees with no bee suit. She does not want to know. I want to try.

I am not sure I can.

I remember what it felt like the first time to be covered in bees, IN the suit. And how they fly, hundred's and hundred's of them in a huge cloud, as you try and pour them gently into the hive and spread them out softly. FREAKY is how it felt. Especially if you have a Bee Phobia. Like I did.

I have let bees drink honey from my bare finger. ONE bee at a time, thank you. Crawling all over my bare hands????

Not sure. But I am going to try. And keep the Bee Suit in the truck. Just in case. I don't believe there is any shame in TRYING and not succeeding. Even if you fail, you have that, and you are further along than you were. The only failure is not to try and do something that you want. All you can give it is everything. Sometimes the magic's there, and sometimes it's not.



I liked these shots. You know this game can only end badly. For the Bengal, or for the fish. (Fish by the way, are giving up thier little fishie ghosts in alarming numbers. I am down to two, I believe, or one who gets around.)



Love and Bees,
Lorraine

131 Comments:

At 20:39 Blogger Siri said...

Don't scream and don't run. I think that's what you learned the last time you didn't have bee suits, isn't it? Just walk really really fast....

I know you won't die. Just bee careful - you don't have to conquer all your fears in the same quarter. One step at a time.

At 20:40 Blogger Phiala said...

I'm glad Cabal is recovering. We've had plenty of cat poop here, the dog obviously wants equal time.

Bees. Interesting. Try. Fail. Fail better next time. Or something like that.

I'm stuck in grant-writing hell tonight. But will collapse after not too much longer. Just a few more paragraphs...

At 21:01 Blogger Siri said...

RE: earlier, Phi - I feel your pain. Now more, because I can't imagine having to write grants.

Here's a question - once you write the grant, does someone else tell you that you didn't write it right, and to make all these changes, or are you your own editor?

And what ever happened with the thing you sent to your co-author?

At 21:11 Blogger Phiala said...

Siri - grants. Blah. Done for the night, brain oozing out ears, gonna take a fresh hot hotcrossbun and a book to bed.

*dashes to oven* Make that slightly singed hot hotcrossbuns. Guess they'll just need extra butter to compensate, right?

Um, you asked something. Right? (See above, brains, ears. Ooozing.)

Two things you asked.

Grants. This is a rough draft, and will go to all the collaborators, and we'll all make comments. (Don't worry, I'm just as hard on everyone else's sections as they are on mine!) After we put it all together and make it nice, we send it to whichever agency put out the call for proposals. They review it, send us back comments, and tell us they won't fund it.

As for the ms I sent to my coauthor, it's been less than a week, and he's working on this proposal too. I expect to see it next week sometime.

And now, dear Fiends, I must depart. The oozing is about to spill over into the keyboard, and I think that's bad for it. Plus, it smells like hotcrossbuns in here now and I must eat one!

G'night, g'night.

At 21:21 Blogger Dragonsally said...

There is clearly Bengal collaboration going on over the fishtank.

Glad to hear Cabal is home and de-plugged.

Phiala, sleep well

At 21:39 Anonymous Kate said...

I'm so glad to hear that Cabal is home and recovering. Sounds painful.

I'll dream of bees for you tomorrow, and Siri is right; you don't have to climb all the mountains at once.

Phiala - good luck finding your way through and out of that particular maze. And sleep the sleep of the righteously sleepy.

Perhaps we are all a little slightly over-toasted. To quote my favorite bee-loving bear, "I think I shall come down now." Goodnight to all.

At 21:42 Blogger Na said...

Bones in the works. Huh. Hadn't heard of that happening to a critter before, but yay! for Cabal being better.

Water's broke, eh? Well here's wishing you all a safe and swift bee delivery. Boxed bees--what a curious concept.

Lyndyn, your Great Dane tale is spooky in a wonderful way.

One more trip and all of our stuff is out of the old place. Turning over the keys to hELL very soon. Then it's all about sorting through the piles of boxes, and hopefully the ache in my legs recedes quickly.

At 21:42 Blogger Na said...

'Night Kate, 'night Phiala.

At 21:52 Blogger One Sock Short said...

So glad to hear Cabal is better.

As for handling bees sans bee suit, I know I hyperventilate at the thought. But it sounds like you have a good plan there, with the suit nearby, and the knowledge that it's the trying that matters. I just heard someone say on a podcast tonight that if you fall on your face, that's still moving in a forward direction.

I didn't walk home tonight. Tomorrow should be better weather for it. Tonight it had stopped raining, but it was still cold and windy; and I don't want to push my luck so close to getting over the 2-week cold.

G'night all.

At 22:16 Anonymous Lysandwr said...

Bees without bee suit. Oh my FOD, ladychick, you have come a very long way (insert Virginia Slims music here *g*)!!

Taxes have come. I am no longer penniless. This is not your father's IRS. Awaiting the sound of the other shoe dropping....

SpacedLaw--carrying over from previous post: The ONLY thing wrong w/those wasps and their incipient nest four feet from my egress? The anaphylactic shock I would enter in less than 15 minutes if by some chance I displeased any one of them enough to fire phasers.
It just makes me severely nervous. That is NOT how I want to die!ps....happy Cabel thoughts. Most happy for his present comfort level :)

pps Oh, and re mail delivery of bees--today was second day of Post Office training up in the big city. No bees, but (after we noted we could hear this unhappy sounding rooster) they took us to the Express Mail area to see flats of chicks (SO CUTE!! How could ANYONE mail a box of wee little CHICKIES!!), larger birds (in larger boxes) and a couple of even larger boxes which were unidentifiable but quite mobile and thumped a LOT.
So. How interesting to be the carrier who delivered any of those....again,though, no bees.

At 22:22 Blogger Siri said...

How far is your commute, Lys? I drive about 15 minutes each way (unless I speed, and then I can do it in 10). If you are driving to the big city.....

At 22:27 Anonymous Lysandwr said...

Siri--luckily this was just a few days of training, because my commute is a)bicycle to shuttle stop at 05:30 b)shuttle to train stop at 5:50 c)train at 6:50 to transit center in big city d)bus to PO training facility at 07:45.

You get the idea :)

But the view is lovely! NM is so green this time of year...um....by NM standards, as opposed to any other state of course.

At 22:41 Blogger Lyndyn said...

Na- re: great dane. It was one of those startling better than fiction moments...I think that the best part was the huge relieved sigh that he gave when he settled down on the dog bed. He did that turn around three times thing and then just sort of sank into it as if he'd come a very long way and was very glad to have arrived.

re: moving and giving back the keys. I moved out of the little haunted bungalow that I'd rented about six years ago. I was glad to see the back of the spooky little place (for ten years, the door knobs just kind of constantly fell off...even the brand new ones...which doesn't seem like a big deal till they trapped you in a bedroom or the basement...) I have to admit that I do still stalk it once in a while.

Lo - re: bees. I think it is such a cool ambition to have - to commune with the bees sans suit. I think that even WANTING to do that is pretty darn amazing - to want to stretch yourself that far. Esp. when you think of where you started...

At 22:53 Blogger Rubius said...

Calm is going to be the key to spreading bees. I believe you can do it, and do it well. You need to believe you can do it, and do it well. More than that, you need to KNOW you can do it and do it well. And then put it out of your mind and just do it. Live. Breath in. Breath out. Spread bees like honey with your bare fingertips. Hold on to that calm and that knowledge inside of you and you can just put your fears and your worries aside and be.

One thing I didn't see on the tshirt contest was from American Gods and it is something that has come back to me more than once. Just think snow. Maybe I have twisted the meaning a bit in my head but it still works for me. Just BE the beekeeper. You will be fine.

At 23:41 Blogger ariandalen said...

You know, Ms. Fabulous, if you don't do it today with the bees, there is always tomorrow. "Today" being no specific day/time. If you want it to happen, it will, and when the time is "right." :)

Nice to see you back, Jess. :)

How to get rid of wasps: use spiders, especially those nice large black and yellow/orange orb weavers, sometimes known as garden spiders. We haven't had any wasps this year, yet. A couple of years ago two or three spiders built webs in our kitchen windows next to the back door. Paper wasps were building a colony just above the door, and in the wall. We don't have wasps back there now. We also didn't have spiders back on the windows last year, despite several egg sacs.

We had a lovely time Monday morning with Lavender (Great Pyr. cross) barking her head off. We were worried it was another copperhead, but no, it was an armadillo stuck inside the dog pen. We ended up letting Lavender out and shutting the gate so she couldn't get back in. During all the rain the armadillo finally got over being scared and finished digging its way under the fence. ::sigh:: Can I go back in time and shoot the man that brought armadillos to the States from South America as a carnival attraction? :P

At 23:46 Blogger ariandalen said...

I'm off to bed. Tomorrow is soon enough for catching up on LJ.

Dreet sweams.

At 00:03 Anonymous Anonymous said...

Is my memory going? I thought that light colors were what you DID NOT want to wear when working with bees?

Hmmm...

Poor Cabal. De-boned is good, though I always heard that they got stuck much sooner in the digestive tract. Chicken? Or something else?

Is the bengal looking at the fish or the water as the potential source of amusement?

Speaking of stinging things, I need to clear that mud dauber nest off of the washer fluid tank in the car so I can get it tested and re-registered before I sell the thing. If I don't have to make an quick (and sad) trip to Kentucky this weekend...

At 00:27 Blogger spacedlaw said...

Well whatever you do, don't try the "naked" beeing when you guys first get them. Give the girls plenty of time to adapt to a less stressful situation.

Great news about Cabal.
Not so great news about the fishies giving up the ghost (or rather living the ghost behind to taunt the Bengals).

At 00:45 Blogger Ticia said...

A post about new bees.
And how Cabal has passed his poo.
Too tired to haiku.

At 00:47 Blogger Chantrelle said...

Glad things have cleared up for Cabal.

Sleepy now. I made an amazing dinner, if I may say so myself. I twittered it of course ;-) Blew away our dinner guest, it made me happy.

Now my eyes are slamming shut.

Night fiends.

At 00:58 Blogger Ticia said...

I'm right behind you Chantrelle. And your meal tweets were drool worthy. Scrumptious! Nighty-night.

At 01:20 Blogger Adri said...

Ticky box comment

No haiku from me

Horrible day, good night, even if my Local Sports Team got knocked out of the championship running.

At 01:49 Anonymous Anonymous said...

LORRAINE!
Today a bee was in my doorway.
As i dropped to the floor and scuttled over to close the door before he got in i thought of you....
i've seen your "pizza spreading" videos.
And while i want you to be empowered and strong and face your fears.....
....ya know, i could send you ACTUAL velvet.....
LOVE!
-Bobina.
(hope you see this...i never know.)

At 01:51 Blogger Marjorie said...

I thought it was no Black clothes for Bees - the bee-suits are white, aren't they?

Just passing through over breakfast to fill boxes with tioks. I have to go to learn how to be the Fire warden for our office, today. I hear we get to play with fire extinguishers if we are good.

bees - is 'Make haste slowly' the key here? Naked bee-ing when you feel ready, not to any set schedule...

At 02:23 Blogger Lexocat said...

Bones? Huh. OK.

New Bee Clothes? Nice! Good luck.

Me? Yes. Exhausted.

G'night/morning/afternoon, Fiends

At 04:03 Blogger vampi said...

i am not asleep and this makes me grumpy.

glad everything came out ok for cabal.


naked beeing still makes me laff

youtube was working for me, sorry not sure why you are having issues.

At 05:06 Blogger Dan Guy said...

Good morning, all.

Naked beeing frightens me, but I really want to experience them from the suit.

At 06:25 Blogger dabbler said...

Morning/evening all...

Fablo, when Mark hived the school garden bees he had a bee hat, but was wearing sandals and short sleeves . He says as he was pouring bees it occurred to him that maybe he should have had more clothes on. But all went well.


Never got human anaphylaxis, just what they call dog anaphylaxis, which is nausea, vomiting and diarrhea after a sting.
I have had a whole series of anti-venom allergy shots for all the vespids (hornets and wasps) and haven't been stung since...this was ten years ago, and previously I would get stung every couple of years. I feel pretty certain that one of the things that changed was my fear level....

Off to wait, perhaps eight hours, who knows, for the mighty forces of communication to install the internets in my office. Yay! Soon I can be fiendish at work. uh-oh. There goes my already rudimentary filing system!

At 06:54 Blogger Unknown said...

From dog poop to fish poop -- the latter might be why you are losing your goldfishes.

My husband the aquarist says that goldfish are messy fish -- producing lots of fish poo. I can't tell if there is a filter on the tank but it may not be colonized by enough bacteria to turn the poo into non-dangerous stuff. Without a filter you don't have anything taking the poo out of the water.

The solution in both cases is lots of water changes -- take out about a third of the water and then put in new (declorinated) water. Twice a week is the best but once a week will probably do.

(Husband also says "Goldfish! Bah. You could get a fabulous pleco in there." But I think not everyone likes giant sucker fish.)

At 08:12 Blogger FabulousLorraine said...

Hi Eirka, I do have a filter, but it doesn't look RIGHT. Perhaps that is the problem. Tell you husband it can't have a heater, or so the direction SAY or I would have cool fish.

I keep hearing stories where LOTS of people don't wear bee suits, in fact most don't!!!!! Birdchick found puctiures of a girl in tank top and shorts. Uh...

Black clothes are bad. You look like a bear. Kid you not.

I was asleep last night before 10. Really good ride tho. Am likeing Ana.

At 08:21 Blogger FabulousLorraine said...

No Bees. Yet. I would have mentioned it.

At 08:35 Blogger Lyndyn said...

Hey! Goldfish are cool! They do like lots and lots of oxygen, though. And - if they are happy they get bigger (and bigger) so fewer is actually better. Check out pix of the veil tails...gorgeous!

One black and one orange veil tail in your tank would be really cool. Maybe two of each depending on the size of the tank...

Though - I've been tempted to get a whole tank and fill it with those neon tetras - so pretty! Don't know if they would need heat or not...

At 09:08 Blogger spacedlaw said...

Tomorrow the bees
Maybe they'll come tomorrow.
Gracing flower blooms.

At 09:28 Blogger FabulousLorraine said...

I will see about this filter situation. And nOT buy fish from Wal mart. There is a real pet store a few towns over.

No Bees, but I am really hoping for SKYPE today, fingers crossed. Up at 7 and SLAYED the e-mail, and so now am off for my workout ride. Then work, then SKYPE.

And El comes today!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Of my poor hands will be happy!

At 10:04 Blogger Lyndyn said...

What is El!!!!!!!!!!???????

At 10:16 Blogger spacedlaw said...

She with the golden hands?
I am SO jealous. But happy if we can skype.

At 10:34 Blogger hope said...

Good morning, fiends! So glad Cabal is home and unblocked, and Lorraine, your fear-facing is INSPIRING! I need to read up on city bee-keeping to see if it's feasible in my (soon, fingers crossed) house.

OSS, I love the quote about falling on your face. Fear of failing is a HUGE obstacle in my life and I am trying to do something about it now. In baby steps, sure, but the doing is important.Thanks!

At 11:02 Blogger Jess said...

Hooray handy El!
She has opposable thumbs:
a matchless, helpful grip.

/hand haiku

(Which reminds me that she mentioned museums and theaters. I'd be up for something nifty in that area. And the birding. And, oh, whatever. Roll on, June! Hopefully by then there won't be any chance of catching the Aporkalypse on the plane.)

Suitless beeing sounds daunting. I mean: there's Necessary Courage, and then there's voluntarily covering oneself in bees. Of course, that's coming from someone who'll run from a bee at the dinner table-- yet has no trouble photographing them up close, as though a camera makes it all fine. So I concede that my perspective on the matter is inherently flawed.

I love that first picture of the girls stalking the tank. Venus is just asking for a nose-beepin'.

At 11:03 Blogger Jess said...

I meant first picture from the...bottom...of...the post. Yeah. That's right.

At 13:15 Blogger Fluffy said...

Lorraine, thou dost push thyself, in truth.

I think it takes incredible courage to work at overcoming fears. If that makes any sense?

Snif. Veiltails. So gorgeous. I had FIVE of the beauties when I was a kid, courtesy of a neighbor who moved. I lurved those fish. And I never see them in pet shops. Where does one get them?

And re: June; I believe I will be (who am I kidding? I defintely will be) going to The Mall, because the self-styled "Label Whore" daughter sees this as Nirvana. I blame her paternal grandfather for this fashion obsession. She sure didn't get it from me. So, at least one day there will be Shopping. Sigh. It's not like we don't have plenty in Dallas/Fort Worth... I'm trying to decide what I DO want to do. My idea of birding is sitting on my butt in my comfy house/yard and watching the ones that come to me. I don't ride (horses,) but I like walking/hiking and talking, and sitting around. Oh, and FOOD. Love food. (...and a drink every now and then if I don't have to drive...)

At 13:31 Blogger Marjorie said...

Those not on Twotter - Did you see these pictures of bees-in-belljars - someone tweeted the link to Boss...

At 13:36 Blogger Adri said...

I am looking up quotations about self discovery to title a story I get to post today, and I found this, and thought of our talks of growing pains over the past several days.

Life is a process of becoming, a combination of states we have to go through. Where people fail is that they wish to elect a state and remain in it. This is a kind of death. ~Anaïs Nin

At 13:51 Blogger Rubius said...

Neat Bell Jar Bees. Thanks for the link.

Adri, love the quote. Anais was wonderful.

At 14:48 Blogger Na said...

i agree re: ms. nin, wonderful. i like the quote, adri. it makes me rethink something... i've long been convinced that humans fear change because change eventually brings about death. but without change we would not be alive in the first place. *ponders*

this morning i retrieved the last few things from hELL, swept and vacuumed, and now just need to find out where to hand over the keys. ;) i'd do a Jig of Happiness but my legs are wobbly from all the up-and-down of stairs while carrying heavy things... suppose that was purgatory.

goes to follow Marjorie's linkylink

At 14:54 Blogger One Sock Short said...

Na - Congratulations on your escape. I don't know your particulars, but I know how happy I was when I left the house-of-centipedes for the last time (was that only a month ago?!).

At 15:10 Blogger Ani said...

Just dropping in to say "hi" and that I am making plans to walk regularly with a friend, so that I have reasons to *like* wanting to find my FIT. & deliberately chose a sandwich over a burger for lunch, so with little steps I am Keeping At It!

At 15:23 Blogger Lyndyn said...

re: veiltails. Since their fins are so delicate, you usually have to go to an actual fish specialist to find them. You do find the also pretty fantails once in a while at one of the pet supplies generalists that offer fish.

At 15:40 Blogger Lyndyn said...

Those of you who suspect that I'm writing this latest entry JUST cause I forgot to tick off the ticky box are quite incorrect.

I...uh...just wanted to say Hi...that's all. ;)

At 15:48 Blogger Arwenn said...

LOVE the skeletal arm in the fish tank!!! Where did you find that? Most of the spooky aquarium decorations I find tend to skew strongly towards pirates. Nothing wrong with pirates mind you, just not the look I'm going for.

At 15:49 Blogger Lyndyn said...

I'm fond of pirates myself. Arrrrgh...and avast me hearties.

Oh...another good source for veiltails is a local aquarium society where you can find hobby breeders.

At 15:59 Blogger One Sock Short said...

Off to look for buttons.

Walk? Did someone say something about a walk? Oh right, I did…yesterday. Well, it’s about a mile from the El station to the yarnstore. There and back have to do for tonight.

Thinking about stopping at my favorite Ethiopian restaurant, but not sure. I’m usually perfectly content to eat out alone, but have never done so for Ethiopian. That cuisine just seems inherently communal.

At 15:59 Blogger Marjorie said...

Na, do the Jig of Happiness in your head for now, and with your legs later, when you are rested ;-)

At 16:26 Blogger Adri said...

OSS-- I would totally eat Ethiopian food with you. YUM. And I do love the communal eating experience. It appeals to my inherent feelings about shared meals and social bonds.

At 16:38 Blogger Cecily said...

I think your burning desire to try will help you over come your fear of it. I agree with the letter from the last post. Just be a bee. Maybe a shot of courage before try it the first time. ;-)

At 17:25 Blogger Dan Guy said...

For those not on Twitter, Lori has posted some pictures from Monday night.

At 17:31 Blogger Na said...

OSS - centipedes! yich. well done getting shot of them... cockroaches are my biggest phobia, but centipedes in the house *shudder*

hope your move was desired. we moved TX to Alberta last June; two months ago the place we were renting went up for sale; landlord/owner agreed on a closing date which gave us only 5 weeks to find a place and move; we could have stuck him with a legal mess by refusing to move 'til end of our lease, but decided we were better off just getting the heck out.

(all the spice seems drained from me' brains these days, and i like to lay a load o' blame at eejit landlord's step for that)

hey all, saturday is Free Comic Day!

At 18:18 Blogger Phiala said...

I now own one Forester, slightly used. Yay! I did indeed get the very good deal I asked for, and I'm also feeling very virtuous: I have saved diligently, and paid cash. Whoo-hoo!

I don't actually get it until tomorrow, but the nice lady loaned me a different Subaru to drive home with.

Now: pizza and James Bond, and some relaxing after last night's grant-writing marathon. Tired, I am.

At 18:20 Blogger Dragonsally said...

Yah Phiala for a new car. Few things are as exciting, I find.

At 18:34 Anonymous Kathy said...

Actually the bees don't mind the black so much - what they mind is dark texture - like polar fleece. Definitely a problem for we Northern beekeepers. I have a medium brown polar fleece jacket they don't care for, either. I normally wear my barn coat with the lining buttoned in for cold weather. My hair doesn't seem to bother them. They'll crawl right in and hunker down until I walk far enough from the hives that they won't be able to get back without dropping from the sky because of the chilly air. I have to lift and toss my hair a bit so they can exit. One Spring day I went to check on them in my charcoal gray light wool suit and heels, and ended up with about 20 in my hair. They had flown out and were surprised by the cold - they just wanted to be warm. Sometimes things that come at you fast with intensity aren't looking for trouble - they are looking for shelter.

At 19:02 Blogger Rubius said...

Very nicely said, Kathy.

At 19:30 Blogger vampi said...

oh bees in my hair would really freak me out. i think i might be okay in a bee suit, or atleast the hat thingie and gloves with appropriate normal clothes cover. bee hats are neat and i've always wanted to wear one.

At 19:39 Blogger EmilyLady said...

This sounds awesome, in its way.

At 19:52 Blogger One Sock Short said...

No turning back now. I have flights reserved for June. Squeee!

At 19:59 Blogger EmilyLady said...

Whoo, One Sock Short!!! I have not reserved a flight yet. We're wondering about this swine flu thing, how it might affect flying in June.

At 20:01 Blogger Lyndyn said...

Phiala - I really like my forester. I have a 2000. My aunt and another friend really like theirs, too.

The cup holder in mine does suck mightily, though - alas.

At 20:19 Blogger FabulousLorraine said...

Havn't read all the comments yet but had to say : Kathy, YOU are my hero. And I am so keeping that in mind when our bees come.

Not sure I could do hair, but mine is pretty long and thick. I keep concentrating on keeping away fear. MOST beekeepers work with no suit. I can do this too.

At 20:21 Blogger FabulousLorraine said...

Dan, tell Lori those were some REALLY nice pictures!!!!

At 20:25 Blogger FabulousLorraine said...

Both Vnend. Mim is a weirdo about water, like most Bengals. I have water glasses and bowls all over, so she can paw and drink where ever she goes.

I am home from a very long day. El came over tho t give my neck and hands the BEST massage and then stayed to dinner and we had a lovely walk with the Cabal, who seems COMPLETELY recovered.

Can't go to bed at 8:30. SIgh.

MAgic SO let me one finger pet him tonight when I fed him! Only one finger, and I would do an entire post about it, if I weren't so tired, but I did it many times on top of his head. He growled while he ate, very funny sound, but didn't pull back.

I love that cat.

At 20:30 Blogger Siri said...

Poor Lorraine - talking to herself again.

Just home from a nice dinner with Pa and an old family friend - the one who lost her husband last fall when you were all so nice to me. Stayed out much later than I thought I would, partly because I stopped at Lowes for a new doorbell and ceiling fan/light for the kitchen. Fortunately, I have my own Woodman Hans to do the installation.

His name is really Michael, which isn't anywhere near as exotic as Woodman Hans


Elady - Don't worry about the flu. It's two months from now - all will be well by then. Really.

At 20:50 Blogger Beez said...

Magic is your boy alright. It sounds like the growls are more for keeping up appearances. Fierce Jungle Cat has an image to maintain!

Dan, tell Lori she is a goddess with a camera.

At 20:52 Blogger EmilyLady said...

Hans happens to be one of my favorite names.

Thanks, Siri. My mother just brought it up in the car today and I was wondering ... but you're probably correct about that.

Good-night, Fiends. Must sleep after day of tennis and shelving books (you'd be amazed how PHYSICAL this is).

At 20:53 Blogger EmilyLady said...

And Quiche, that's great about Magic. Sounds ... goodness, I almost wrote "magical" there when I realized it would sound like a lame pun. Didn't even notice, because, well, it just ... was.

At 20:53 Blogger Ticia said...

I love that Magic let you pet him. I'm having trouble pedaling, thinking, and typing at once. Multi-task fail. hahahhaha

Fit is HARD!!

At 21:06 Blogger Jess said...

Second what Siri said, Emily. As it stands, there have only been 7 confirmed deaths, and most of the cases in the US have been mild. There would be Federal recommendations against travel if there were that much cause for concern-- and right now, there isn't.

Hurrah for finger-pets and sheltering bees! Kathy, that story sounds like something Kit Williams would draw. Fantastic. :)

At 21:13 Blogger Chantrelle said...

I'd completely freak out if there were bees in my hair...please let me live vicariously Q!!

Off to make some quinoa since i can't have wheat for one more week....hanging in there!

At 21:26 Blogger Adri said...

You can do it, Chantrelle! Just think of it as a chance to explore the less-celebrated grains. For instance, I really like quinoa, yet rarely make it.

Q-- super happy news about Magic!

re: swine flu. There are outbreaks in my area, so I'm trying to be careful. I don't want to buy into the media panic, and I'm not stocking up on bottled water or anything, but I don't think it's unreasonable to right now make an effort to avoid crowded areas, especially since there's so much travel between here and infected parts of Mexico. Also, as a native Louisianian, I remember when West Nile virus was a 'media panic' for the rest of the country and a real health problem in my hometown.

At 21:34 Blogger El said...

Hullo fiends. I am quite sleepy after my drive but I just wanted to catch up! And let Q know that I did not die on the way home.

Also, rain's coming your way.

G'night, all.

At 21:36 Blogger Siri said...

I second the rain's coming (already here) and night Fiendom.

Why am I so weary tonight? Thinking too much? Not with any solutions, but that could be it.

Tomorrow is also a day.

At 21:43 Blogger FabulousLorraine said...

El, glad you didn't die! And Thank you! My arms thanks you!

Venus is washing Mim. Not killing her. Ah, the joy...

At 21:49 Blogger Na said...

Danth, i believe Beez said it best here, about Lori's pictures. i tweeted you, but that was hours and ergo prolly a thousand tweets ago.

Phiala, muy impresseev and wise to save up and buy the car outright. kudos! may your new ride take you many thousands of miles without incident.

brain is just mush here. blah. i should get some FIT points from all the weight-bearing exercise this past week or so.

OSS yay, see you in June.

and Q how wonderful still, every step forward with Magic.

i am tapping away on the laptop while the kids fall asleep. it's still quite cool up north, but long sunny days help make up for that. more plants are beginning to unfurl from the bare earth, trees budding, more birds coming back. amazing how much Mother Earth can do when it's still nearly freezing out.

At 22:24 Blogger ariandalen said...

W00T! Magic let you pet him! :)

I'm not too worried about the H1N1 flu. SARS was bad, but not so bad that the airlines were closed, particularly within the country. The number of new cases in Mexico is decreasing, and precautions are being taken where new cases show up here in the U.S.A.

Dan, I've said it before and I'll say it again, Lori takes amazing pictures. :)

At 22:27 Blogger ariandalen said...

FIT -> Na
FIT -> Na
FIT -> Na
FIT -> Na
FIT -> Na



;)

At 22:43 Blogger Na said...

aww, thanks, ariandalen!

At 00:26 Blogger ariandalen said...

Yer wery velcome, Na! :)

At 00:27 Blogger vampi said...

hooray for successful moving. boy and i are thinking about moving out of the demon spawn apartment building

At 00:53 Anonymous kali_licious said...

Bees in one's hair sounds like a recipe for hyperventilation..well, at least for ME. lol
Magic let you pet him! Of course he still growled..must keep up appearances you know.;)

Dan, Lori's pictures are quite lovely. Poor Boss looks a little sleep-deprived though.

Wish me luck, I'm gonna go digging for the necessary items to fill out my FAFSA..I may be a while.

At 01:37 Blogger Marjorie said...

Dan, those photos are wonderful.

Magic petting and Cabal being better are both very good to hear, too.

OSS WooT!WooT! - e-mail and let me know your flight times...

The whole Swineflu thing reminds me of somwthing I wanted to share. As you may know, the first couple of cases in the UK were reported a few days ago - what cheered me up was the BBC News -
They started of by saying 'A couple, who had been honeymooning in Mexico' and then a little later, 'the couple, a man and a woman are being treated...' (my emphasis)

I just thought it was cheering that the BBC no longer assumes (or expects it's listeners to assume) that a couple, even a honeymooning one, automatically means a man & a woman.

Phiala - congrats on the new car - such fun, especially with the added warm glow of achievement for having saved up and paid cash.

At 05:54 Blogger dabbler said...

THIS is brilliant!

Sometimes things that come at you fast with intensity aren't looking for trouble - they are looking for shelter.

People, too! Thanks, Kathy.


And I love the fascinating pictures of the bees in the bell jar.

Morning/evening all.... I now have internet at the office. Installation was mostly a non-event, except the kind gentleman arrived to install in the midst of one of my only two appointments for the day. This was, of course, totally predictable. Take any sort of handy person hob, and one period of time when it is least convenient, and that is when it will occur...

At 06:28 Blogger Marjorie said...

'Morning, Dabbler - good to hear the interwbs have been installed. You're right - I think there is some agency somewhere responsible for ensuring that deliveries/call/people installing things always come at the least convenient moment.

I had some gorceries delivered last night. they give you a 2 hour delivery slot, and becasue I live close to the supermarket I usually get my delivery right at the beginning, or right at the end, of ther 2 hout slot. LAst night they came right in the middle. I'm sure it's because that's just when I had finsihed cooking suppe adn was about to eat..

At 06:38 Blogger Marjorie said...

May I recommend these horoscopes? They came (over the twitter, of course) with the provisio "If you don't like yours, choose one of the others. It's not real astrology ;-)"

I'm going to choose Gemini, becasue I am hurt I asn offered neither a lucky fruit, nor a lucky country. Although Leo has it's points, too...

At 07:30 Blogger Ticia said...

Good morning Dabbler & Marjorie!

What fun chatter to wake up to. :-D

I agree with the whole delivery/call thing. It's like magic.

And Marjorie, I haven't been to twitter yet this morning, so I got to see my horoscope here first. ROFL.

Hey... how are your hands?

At 07:38 Blogger Phiala said...

Marjorie, those are great! Mine says I get to engage in murder and destruction today. I can agree with that. :) Unfortunately I have training all afternoon. Unless it's all morning - the organizer was completely unclear on whether the half I need is really afternoon, or might be morning instead...

Tangential: I'm interested in medieval and Renaissance sciences, and spent some time studying astrology. If anyone wants a proper 15th-century horoscope, let me know. :) I need date, time and location, but it can be an event, or a random time, not just a birth date. I do daily planetary updates at astronomicum.com but they only have interpretations if I have spare time and am feeling ambitious (so never).

At 08:20 Blogger Marjorie said...

I thought they would appeal. (Twitterers, if you don't alerdy follw @Harkaway you may wish to start...)

My hands are much better, thanks for asking. Peeling like after bad sunburn, but definitely much better.

Phiala - that sounds fascinating. Tend to forget that Alchemy & Astrology were the hard sciences of their day, and included much of what we'd now define as chemistry or astronomy.

At 08:29 Blogger EmmyCP said...

Really cool horoscopes, Marjorie - thanks. I think I still want to stay a Libra. Libra always seems to rock just a bit, if I may say so myself.

At 09:02 Blogger FabulousLorraine said...

Morning Fiends!

I have been UP since 7, but working mostly in the UK and Europe today, so you can imagine my inbox!

I think it has settled enough to comment, and the west coast has a couple hours before IT is awake.

NO BEES YET!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Today is all about catching up, no matter how long it takes, so tomorrow can be about Bees. Hopefully. They could come Saturday.

At 09:03 Blogger FabulousLorraine said...

HEY!!!!!! I could shower!!!!!!!!

THAT would be good.

I keep thinkng well, I am going to ride, best shower after, only there isn't any after. This could be a bad loop....

Why am I telling you this?

At 09:20 Blogger Lyndyn said...

LOL - Lo - that's funny - conservation of showers - it just makes sense really. Good that you are doing your part to conserve water. ;o)

Margorie - those horoscopes are awesome! Will follow him at once.

Not sure when my bedtime became 2 am, but it would be nicer if my wake up time wasn't 8 am! Must adjust internal clock.

Why am I telling you all this? Cause you are a captive audience! Bwhahahahahah!

At 09:21 Blogger Marjorie said...

Well, If I had known you were working in the UK you could've pooped over and used my shower....

(Come to thing of it, I do recall a a strange sensation, as if the nation were being organised by a higher power, an hour or so back)

At 09:46 Blogger FabulousLorraine said...

Yes, Marjorie, that was me. The entire next WEEK is all about me and will fail if I relax my diligence for more than 5 minutes.

(Ask El how it works to give a massage to someone who can't leave her Blackberry for 5 minutes)

Skipping shower. Horse won't care. MUST ride.

At 09:46 Blogger FabulousLorraine said...

New Post tonight PROMISE!!!!!!!

Thought that would be nice for 100.

At 10:46 Blogger Hellie said...

Marjorie they are cool horoscopes. I'll stick with mine, it tells me I rock and my lucky country is Micronesia. That is UNCANNY!!! Ha ha ha.

Quiche, I might siphon some bravery off you, I have to do a radio interview and hate speaking in public! Although I've got much better at just 'having a go' at things, even if they scare me - and lots of things do seem to scare me, but just admitting to myself 'hey this scares me' somehow helps.

I went caving while I was in New Zealand, before that I never appreciated how you could be terrified but simultaneously have enormous fun. Errm, I think this is what's commonly known as an adrenalin rush but it was a new experience for me anyway :o) Good luck with those bees and hope they arrive soon!

At 10:54 Blogger Jess said...

Ride, Q! Ride like the wind! \o/ Or maybe canter.

Hurrah for conquering the UK and Europe via email! Indeed you are powerful. Obi Wan has taught you well. Wait, sorry-- this isn't Star Wars.

So Dad is here, framing in a big new closet for the guest room. The man is a dynamo. I am not unappreciative, but I wish he'd given me time to paint the walls first. I'm still in plaster-patchin' mode. But no: he cannot be stopped.

I cannot access the Horrorscope thing! No portent for me, I suppose.

At 11:01 Blogger One Sock Short said...

If it gets any darker here, this will be me:
(http://www.savagechickens.com/2009/04/work-safety.html)

Coffee break now.

At 11:02 Blogger Hellie said...

DIY Dads - once they get started there's no stopping them!

At 11:07 Blogger Hellie said...

Just clicked on the page of Nick Harkaway site about the Budget - Socialist bees unleashed by the monstrous apiarists of the Left!
http://www.nickharkaway.com/2009/04/budget-will-cause-rain-of-frogs-zombies/

And here was I only worrying about voluntary sector funding being cut! Would rather have George Romero for next prime minister than David Cameron!

At 11:28 Blogger ariandalen said...

Morning, Fiends! I trust our fearsome leader is a-horseback as I type. :)

Hi, EmmyCP! Welcome to Fiendom! You have won a lovely white jacket with buckles up the back! If you look around, you will find paints, permanent markers, and rhinestones/studs to personalize said jacket if you choose. :)

::SNIFF::
Heh. . .Spicy!


MWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!

At 11:36 Blogger spacedlaw said...

I fear she's not instead, having been lured into work and eaten alive by it...

At 11:56 Blogger FabulousLorraine said...

There is no Quiche. Only Zul.

At 12:02 Blogger Phiala said...

Hm. That's a bit disturbing.

Not sure I want to visit in June after all...

At 12:14 Blogger Chantrelle said...

I'll bring Ben, he's a superhero named Changer, he can defeat Zul.

June will be safe.

At 12:17 Blogger ariandalen said...

Zul?

::sigh:: Calling Ghostbusters.

On second thought. . .maybe I ought to be calling Sigourney Weaver?

;)

At 12:27 Blogger Jess said...

*sighs*

*duly prepares for the coming of Gozer*

At 12:33 Blogger Dan Guy said...

I am the beekeeper. Are you the horsemaster?

At 12:35 Blogger FabulousLorraine said...

Zul is Gozer. And ate the Princess of NO for breakfast.

You will long for her.

She was mild.

Zul is not.

At 12:36 Blogger One Sock Short said...

Clearly, I am missing many cultural references here. I fear being cast out as unworthy of being a fiend.

At 12:39 Blogger One Sock Short said...

Why yes, I am having a hard time concentrating on 1948 railroad stations. How could you tell?

At 12:39 Blogger Marjorie said...

*tremble*
I would feel grateful that I am half a world away, but as I know you are already subduing Europe I realise that the slight sense of security is probably misleading.

Um, Hail Zul?

At 12:41 Blogger Marjorie said...

OSS - the secret is to start making your own opaque references , to transpose the fear to the rest of us.

(PS - Do we even *have* a casting out process?)

At 12:41 Blogger ariandalen said...

::whispering:: Psst, OSS. . .
ever seen the movie "Ghostbusters?"

We'll forgive you if you haven't. ;)

At 12:44 Blogger Marjorie said...

Unintentional Humour:

BBc Local News reporter; "Usually, he is to be found exploring Planet Earth, but we caught up with David Attenborough a little closer to home"

Am now curious to know which planet my local newsreader is from, and when Sir David visited...

At 12:44 Blogger Jess said...

Zuul's the Gatekeeper. Vinz Cortho's the Keymaster. Gozer is the Traveller. He will come in one of the pre-chosen forms. During the rectification of the Vuldrini, the traveler came as a large and moving Torg. Then, during the third reconciliation of the last of the McKetrick supplicants, they chose a new form for him: that of a giant Slor. Many Shuvs and Zuuls knew what it was to be roasted in the depths of the Slor that day, I can tell you.

At 12:45 Blogger One Sock Short said...

OIC. Thanks! I have seen it, but it's been a Very Long Time. As in, when it was in the theaters long time. And I have a memory like unto a sieve.

I am a cataloger. I can come up with very opaque references indeed. Except mine would be mind-numbingly dull.

At 12:46 Blogger ariandalen said...

AFAIK, we don't ::ahem:: "cast out." We do. . .educate. ;)

Granted, Sue does make casts, and takes things out of casts. I don't think she "casts out," though.

Granted, educate might be read as enable. ;)

At 12:52 Blogger ariandalen said...

I suppose I should get off my ample butt and make DD2 and myself some lunch.


Darn. No marshmallows.

At 12:53 Blogger Hellie said...

The Stay Puft Marshmallow Man!!

At 12:54 Blogger Hellie said...

Why was he dressed like a sailor?!

At 13:25 Blogger ariandalen said...

I've never had Stay Puft marshmallows, so I can't say. Could have something to do with Navy dress whites, though.

At 14:24 Blogger Na said...

No casting out. No escape from the Fiends. BWAHAHAHAHAHHA.

At 15:40 Blogger Marjorie said...

No Escape. No Parole for Good behaviour.....No Bees

At 15:42 Blogger FabulousLorraine said...

Zul has posted a new post for you.

Lorraine has nothing. She has melted.

At 15:45 Blogger Ticia said...

Quick everybody, while Zul has its back turned. We need to get Lorraine back before the bees come tomorrow. If Zul joins forces with the Bengal Bee Alliance, the planet is DOOMED!!

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