Tuesday

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Some photos of Rachel as Bubbles when she was a very, little girl:





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Here are the girls being incredibly silly:


My 2nd, 100 page, artscow book came in the mail today. It looks awesome!
2008 Book 2

Here is the link to 2008 Book 1





This book was such an interesting read. I learned several things:

1. The smell of newly cut grass, that I like, comes from hexanol-which may be an injury response.
2. The number of wildly acidic frogs have begun to blanket parts of Inida and Pakistan in winter, which may be due to pollutants. Since amphibians are very good indicators of what is going on in their environment, I wouldn't be surprised.
3. When quartz dust lands in the lungs, a macrophage will engulf it. The stomach of the macrophage ruptures and dies, then another macrophage comes to clean up. It will be killed by the sharp quartz dust. Then the bandage-making cells weave a fibrous web over the dead macrophages and the quartz dust. These build up and lead to silicosis. Nasty stuff.
4. Black lung from coal dust will turn the sputum black in the first stages of the disease.
5. Retrieved core samples of ice are under enormous pressure. If you cut it it will shatter. For a year they lay around on the surface to depressurize.
6. Brown lung comes from breathing, in part, cotton dust.
7. The worst offenders in dust making trees for wood workers are: beech, cedar, oak, mahogany, iroko and zebrawood. It is the fungal dust that is released, not the wood itself.
8. Air freshners do 3 things: 1. They numb the nerve endings inside your nose, preventing you from smelling anything offensive. 2. They coat the inside of your nose with droplets oil, to the same effect. 3. They simply saturate the air with such strong smelling chemicals that the odors fade by comparison. (p. 168).
9. Talcum powder is stone dust and is linked to epithelial ovarian cancer. (It's probably causal). p.170-171. People have died from baby powder overdose.
10. The term bonfire comes from the people of Britain who, in ages past, burned their dead on a "bone fire".

We all are affected by dust and each of us do our fair share of contributing to it every day. I recommend this book for those curious about the workings of things that are on such a small scale, but impact us in such a big way.

My current read is:



:::::::::::::::High School Reunion:::::::

I attended my 21st high school reunion on Saturday. Michael and the kids didn't make it home in time to see me dolled up. I wanted them to get my photograph, but oh, well. I had fun seeing friends from the class of '88 and '89. I got to dance a bit and do a lot of talking.


Melissa N., me, Pam S. and Jennifer M.

I would love to have had Michael along, but another $73.00 was out of the question.



:::::::::::Time for Sniffin' some Hexanol:::

I need to go mow the lawn. Later, gators!