Dependent

Both computers took a dive last week. Both! It was terrible. The main one revived enough to limp us along- but only after heroic efforts. The laptop flat-lined. Sad, sad day. After the weekend, and Monday, with no computer, I called Bert at work and said, "Hellllp! Save me before I totally screw up your kids." Here's a sample of Monday's questions:

"Mom, I don't get the difference between Hapsburg Austria and Prussia. Will you explain it?"

"........Mmhmmm, of course!"

"Mom, I don't get how kites were used during wars in China. It was before cameras. How would they use them to spy without a camera? Do you know?"
"......Mmhmmm, of course!"

"Mom, when was the Bronze Age and who was alive at that time to help me see it clearer? Do you know?

"......Mmhmm, of course!"

"Mom, I don't get 'example of proof by induction'. Can you help?"

"......Mmhmmm, of course!"

"Rachel, are we going to be overdrawn if I spend ___$ at Walmart?"

".......Mmhmm, of course!"

"Mom, what does the word _______ mean?"

".....Mmhmmm, of course."

This is where they began to catch on.

In one way I enjoyed being without the computer, because I was always right and there was nobody to prove me wrong. On the other hand, once they found out that I was guessing, and that they would have to take a day to untangle everything I had tangled, nobody was very nice to me.

So, I called to tell Bert that it was worth going into debt. It was the price we had to pay for competent children. Children who don't believe that all Hapsburgs had a lisp/cleft palette, and that Bigfoot wasn't the ruling emperor during the Bronze Age (...or Copper Age -they were kind of interchangeable Monday). He agreed, and we are happily back up and running -and untangling.

Watching Sherlock Holmes does NOT make oneself brighter; no matter how one may feel afterwards...

Proven by case below:
Clue 1 -
Coyotes don't usually hang out by your front wall/mailbox during the middle of the day.
Clue 2 -
Kate (our dog) isn't usually covered in foam and bite marks.

Calder, putting our new sleuthing skills in action, put two and two together and saw the course he must take -just like in the movie. Being a good boy, he first came to ask if a stray bullet would ricochet off a brick wall. I didn't know, but was certainly interested enough to watch him find out!
The good news:
A dead coyote, and no ricocheting bullets.
Elementary, no?
NO.
The magic from the movie wears off there. We can no longer afford to kid ourselves that we are smarter, more intelligent, or ready for the big screen with the help of Mr. Holmes. In fact, we can't even afford to visit the big screen now, period.
Because, in our effort to save the pretty hide, we forgot to save the brain from bullets!! Four to be exact. Calder's nickname went from, 'One shot Atticus' to, ' four shot Finch'. The first one probably did the job, the second one was to stop the twitching, and the final two were to just to make me feel better. Doh!
Bye-bye testable rabies brain.
Add that to Calder who sweetly knelt down to comfort, pet, and console our foam covered dog who was upset after the shots were fired. He used his hand with the open wound.
Hello 600.00 vaccine.
Movies - what a waste.

Planking

Too many reruns of 'The Office'?
Most Definitely.

But I won't complain anymore, because
finding them like this on Saturday morning
has kept me laughing, intermittently, for 72 hours.