Go away snow

This is J, holding one of the chicks we hatched last summer. Her name is Fluffy. J has a way with chickens.

The snow remains, but we are getting warm enough by afternoon to begin the melting process. We might hit the low 60s this weekend.

The day after Christmas

It started snowing yesterday afternoon, so we got a white Christmas after all. In all we probably got five or so inches of snow. I was out with the kids today. They made a snowman and a snowfort (really just a reinforced snow wall). The snow wasn't all that great for packing, but we did our best.

'Twas the Night Before Christmas

Flat Stanley arrived back home in the mail today!!! J is very excited. She spent a long time looking stuff over. Thanks, Brilly! I'm amazed that L had access to the book at the same time the Flat Stanley arrived. I didn't know it had reached the international markets. The pictures are wonderful and J will take the material with her to school when it resumes after New Year's day. (Flat Stanley is a project in J's class where the kids read a book about Flat Stanley and then she made a paper Flat Stanley and had to send it far away to spend the day with someone. She sent it to L in Australia, he took it to school and got lots of pictures, and then wrote a bit about it and mailed Flat Stanley back to J.)


The kids are watching some Christmas thing on TV. Mr. K is doing a crossword puzzle by the wood-burning stove, which we have going. I'm on the computer and listening to an Eagles CD (Greatest Hits).

Probably half our things aren't wrapped yet. I don't know when the kids will go to bed. I'll be up half the night getting the presents done. The kids will get us up far too early. They are so very excited. They claim they won't even go to sleep tonight. We've been following Santa's progress on NORAD.

I called my dad tonight to wish him merry Christmas. He had just sent me an e-mail so I knew he was home. He seldom is since he got a girlfriend.

We're having roast, stuffed rabbits for dinner tomorrow.

Three Days Before Christmas

The kids are so excited about Christmas. J is wrapping crackers and stale bread so her favorite chickens will get presents. N is encouraging this.

I've got some stuff wrapped and under the tree, but not a whole lot because I know the kids will poke at and pull at the wrapping paper until they get a peek at what's in the presents. The bulk of the presents can't come out until Christmas Eve. Then the kids will wake us up far too early on Christmas morning. They just get so excited.

This picture was taken a couple days ago. Some of that snow has melted, but certainly not all of it. We have the potential to get a storm on Christmas day.

I made it to the gym with the kids this morning. With my class, I was only making it once a week. I couldn't justify spending time at the gym when K was in preschool. I needed the time too badly for my studies.

Speaking of that, my paper has been graded (thanks Rhiannon). I got 50 out of 50 points on the paper. I am so relieved. I guess I can still write research papers. Before this class, I hadn't done one since 1987. I think I've ended this class with 97 %, which I hope and assume will be a 4.0. I've had classes my first college where it would get me a 3.8 or a 3.9, but I don't think that the grades are broken down that way at this school.

J's birthday

I thought this picture of J's birthday came out pretty well. We did the cake in the evening, after dinner. J wasn't hungry and didn't eat any until today. She didn't eat much at dinner, either, because she filled up pretty well at her friend's birthday party she went to in the afternoon.

We got an egg yesterday!!! I found three little green eggs in the chickens' nest. Mr. K had given up even checking the nest about a week or so because it was always empty. For some reason, I was out there and I checked it. We think the oldest of the chickens we hatched this summer, Pippy, is probably the one who started laying. She made us another egg today. We have two more pullets we hatched this summer. I think they are about two months younger than Pippy. I've purchased about five dozen eggs so far this fall. It's the most eggs I've purchased since we started raising chickens in 2000. I hope we'll keep getting more eggs so I can quit buying them. I prefer ours.

Mr. K is saving the eggs we got to use in his nut bread recipe he's planning to make on Friday. It's a family recipe (from Slovenia). It takes nearly half a day to make. I just stay out of the way and enjoy the bread when it's done.

Christmas Break Began Early

The kids were also home from school today. I hadn't expected that. I had figured they'd start on a 2-hour delay and then K's school would be closed. Even my college was closed again today, and they made the decision last night. I took the kids to an orthodontist appointment this afternoon, and the main roads were fine then. Since I live on one, I didn't have the chance to see how the back roads are.

Because of school being closed during final exams, I think I'll be getting an incomplete for my grade at first. Once everyone finishes his final early next year (the first week of the year), we'll get our real grades. I got 95 % on my final so based upon how many points I have without my paper being graded yet, I have crossed the threshold for an A! I don't know how high an A. I don't know how my school grades (if it's got 2.0, 3.0 and 4.0 or 3.0, 3.5, and 4.0 or 3.0, 3.1, 3.2, 3.3...4.0). I really should ask someone and find that out. The first college I ever went to did it the last way. The one I actually graduated from did it the middle way.

J's birthday is tomorrow. She's crazy-excited. She's going to another girls' party tomorrow, too. We're all going out for dinner after she gets back from the party.

Done

My paper was turned in last Thursday, so that is done, and I took my final exam this morning, so that is done, too. Now I just need to wait for everything to get graded and hope that I get an A in the class.

Over Christmas break, I need to study for a test called the TEAS test. I think it just covers basic high school stuff (math, reading, English, and science), some of which I haven't done in years. I've ordered a couple review books. When I first looked into the nursing program, no test was required if one already had a college degree. That changed shortly after I was told about it. Now everyone who applies has to pass this test. I'm taking it in January. It's a four-hour test. It's one of several that nursing schools use to determine if you can apply. Everyone says to study for it; people who don't generally don't pass (I imagine that doesn't apply to people just out of high school, though). We are only allowed to take it two times at my college. It's only offered once a month, and when I signed up for it yesterday, I got spot 26 out of 30 for the January test. There is also a February test, but I'm sure that one will be full by the time I find out how I did in January. Nursing school applications for fall are due the week after the February test. If I miss it, I can't apply until October when the applications for Winter 2012 are due.

When I pulled into the parking lot for my final exam this morning, I saw on the sign that it was 25 °F. We are expecting between two and five inches of snow tomorrow, with snowfall beginning in the morning. I am so glad I got my test done before that became an issue. If there's snow, my kids probably won't go to school, and I have no one to watch them.

Mr. K arrived at preschool as I was leaving it. He was able to stay for K's play (thank goodness).

J's play was last night. I didn't realize what a big part she had. She probably had the most lines, and she was listed fourth on the program. It was really surprising how well she did (and it's not just that I'm biased because she's mine). She spoke loudly and clearly into the microphone, and she spoke with passion. She had no problem whatsoever remembering her lines or when it was time for them. Lots of the kids just recited their lines. It's pretty exciting since until then, I didn't think we had a drop of talent in our house. No one can sing worth a darn or play an instrument or draw or do any sports. J is sorry the play only showed twice, and she's hoping to get parts in future plays.

Busy Saturday

I've been raking pine needles out of my driveway, studying for my final exam, getting a Christmas tree, taking N to his friend's for a sleepover, calling my brother for his birthday, grocery shopping, taking J shopping to get presents for the two birthday parties she's going to next weekend, getting air in my tires., getting a Christmas tree, and trying to sew K an angel costume for the school play she'll be in that I will miss. We have to figure out how to make a halo tomorrow, but I've got the robe-thing done (in essence, a hemmed piece of white sheet with a hole cut in the middle for her head that will be tied up with tinsel garland). Tomorrow I expect we'll go to church, picking N up at his friend's house on the way. He needs to take a package of cookies with him because his Sunday school class is having a party. I got Oreos at the store this evening. They appear to be free of nuts and peanuts. He's got a kid in his class with the deadly type of peanut allergy.

Poorly Written Paper in Existence

My essay now has a rough draft!!! It is in very poor shape, but it covers the topics I wanted to cover, and it comes in at 2006 words (I needed 2000). I'll probably have to plump it up better so I can prune things without going under 2000 words. I'm going to work on laundry for a bit to take a break from it so I can view it more objectively when I get back to it. I'm sure it's full of typos, non-sentences, and misspellings. I don't even know if I have the paragraphs in the order I'll end up putting them in. Since what my report really is is a collection of essay questions that need answering, I'll need to keep rearranging the answers until they flow naturally.

Sunday morning

Here's what my car looked like this morning. The snow started as I dropped N off at his lock in last night. J and K played in it in the dark (not that I thought there was enough to play in) last night. They were so excited by the snow and the fact that N was at a lock in, that they thumped around the house in their snow boots until 1 a.m. (J told me, I finally fell asleep). They had planned to stay up all night like N but failed.

N came come at about 7:45 this morning. His den leader dropped him off. He walked out onto the snow on our deck with no jacket, came back in and said he didn't sleep at all in the night and he felt to ill to go to Sunday school. Mr. K decided the night before that we weren't going to go to church because he didn't feel well enough. Anyway, I told N that was fine; I wouldn't make him go if he was asleep. He went up to his room to sleep.

Just as I was getting ready to take the girls to Sunday school, Mr. K had been upstairs to look for boxes in the attic. He came down and told me N was crying in bed and complaining he didn't know what was wrong. He's so tired he doesn't know what to do. After I dropped the girls off, I came back and let N use my electric throw to see if its warmth would help him sleep.

Mr. K's off right now to drop something off at a friend's house and then he'll pick up the girls from Sunday school. I figured I'd use this time to get the photos off my camera and make a quick blog post.

N at a Lock In

N is spending the night with his Cub Scout troop and the Boy Scout troop he's going to join in a couple months at the church that sponsors the troops. They're having an all-night lock in. His den leader is willing to stay (thank goodness) because no one else in his den wants to. I was there for about half an hour, and the boys were playing with balls in the church's gym. It was noisy and painfully boring.

When I left the church, it was snowing. I don't think it will end up amounting to anything, but this was the first snow I've seen this season.

Tomorrow, besides church, coffee, and doughnuts, I have to take a quiz about the nervous system. That will be my last quiz. As far as I can tell, that will be it except for the paper I am working on and the final exam, unless my professor gets the wild urge to give us another discussion question to work on that will eat into the time I do the other two things.

Mr. K thinks he's getting ill. He didn't take his temperature, but he claims to feel as though he has a fever and he aches all over. K has a cold. I don't know if that's all Mr. K has or if he got something worse. Mr. K slept in for a very long time this morning.

I took J out to get a new winter jacket today. We went to Sears and it took a long time to find one that was sewn properly (all made in China), and that was in a color that she liked, but they were affordable.

Cold

I'm shivering from the cold. I am such a wimp. I think we'll get below freezing tomorrow, but my house is about 63 °F and I just can't warm up. I am too cheap to heat the house warmer. Once I get to bed, though, I will put an electric throw under my down comforter to keep me warm until my middle-of-the-night hot flash warms me enough to sleep without it.

I'm trying to knit a scarf for K for Christmas, but I only knit while I watch TV, and I don't watch TV much. Usually K's around when I watch TV, too, so that limits my time available for knitting. I saw The Good Guys this evening and got through a few rows after K fell asleep. My knitting isn't very good at all, but J sees K's scarf-to-be and wants one, too. I'll have to make her one once K's is done. It won't be a secret, though, because I certainly don't have enough time to work on it after J's in bed. I'd be studying, getting ready for bed, or sleeping.

So far it is working to have J clean my kitchen for $1 per evening. I have a little more time to myself in the evenings, and she does a barely acceptable job. I drag her back to redo things when it's just too sloppy. I'm hoping she'll improve with age.

Rhiannon, I need a chemist! (and I've bored anyone else)

I just was looking over the exact wording on the requirements for my essay, and I see I need to discuss, "What are differences between salicylic acid and acetylsalicylic acid in terms of structure, function, pH, and effect on the stomach?"

My question is about pH.

I figured I'd just look up pH in my Merck index and compare the two, hoping they are listed at the same concentrations and conditions. Anyway, I've got salicylic acid at a pH 2.4 for a saturated solution and no pH info for aspirin. I decided to scrounge MSDSs, and while many have that 2.4 value (but include no concentration information), all I'm finding for aspirin is stuff like "no information found." I'm not sure MSDSs are that reliable as sources since I think someone at the company just pulls the numbers off another MSDS or a reference book.

I didn't see it in my CRC handbook, and I am stumped. I see discussions of it, but nothing worth citing. I know it's not particularly soluble in water, and since we take it in solid form, it really doesn't have a pH as it sits on my desk. I've looked in Lange's and can't find pH of those materials, but I found the pKa (specifically pK1) of acetylsalicylic acid (listed as 2-acetoxybenzoic acid) in water at 25 °C is 3.48. I've found salicylic acid's (listed as 2-hydroxybenzoic acid) pK1 of 2.98 and a pK2 of 12.38. Fortunately, these are also in water at 25 °C. I don't know the connection between pK1, pK2, pKa and pH. I'm guessing the pK1 and pK2 go into a formula somewhere to get the pKa. It's been about 20 years since I've done this sort of thing, and I don't think this essay was meant to require problem solving of this nature.

By the way, I got my CRC used. It's probably older than you--the 1974-1975 edition. I just looked in it for pKa values to try to see what pK1 and pK2 mean, and I see only salicylic acid listed in a pK table but at slightly different temperatures and with slightly different values than Langes used. The big difference is, the data is on two lines with a reference to step number. Now I'm thinking there's a two-step dissociation for salicylic acid, and pK1 is for the first step and pK2 is for the second step. This stinks and I'm sleepy.

Do you have any ideas where I could get pH data, or can you direct me to what I do with the values from my table to get to pH? If you don't know of a simple way to do this, I think I'll have to post the question to my professor about where to find the pH data he wants. I don't know how helpful he'll be; he often talks around questions instead of answering them.

Maybe I'm taking the question too literally; I don't know, but to me to compare pH values, you need first to have them.

Thanks for any help you can provide. Thanks for just reading this if you made it this far. It's pretty garbled.

Just life

Above is my solution to a puzzle in the new Nancy Drew video game that takes place in Japan. I'm not done with it yet (too busy), and I've had to cheat (but not to solve that puzzle). N is farther into the game than I am.

I've been Christmas shopping. Some of it has been over the phone or Internet. I've hit the stores, too.

I'm working on my paper about aspirin. I've got the part about the history of aspirin done (but subject to many changes), but that's just the tip of the iceberg. I still have to cover the differences between salicylic acid and aspirin, the many ways aspirin works, how nerves "feel" pain, how to extract aspirin from willow bark (you don't--you get salicins that are oxided to salicylic acid which is acylated to asprin--boy, I hope I have that right!), other medicines that work like asprin, and problems caused by taking aspirin. I have most of my research done now, so it isn't as formidable as it sounds. I've also got a worksheet I need to complete by Friday, a quiz to take this weekend, and a final exam for which to prepare. This class has been so hard! I guess I got spoiled by math and psychology. At least this is far more interesting than psychology.

My mom told me she woke up to snow in Michigan this morning. We're not that close to snow yet. Last year it snowed on J's birthday, which is the 18th. That was stunningly early for around here.

I ordered a book about Native Americans by phone for Mr. K's Christmas present today and talked on the phone with the guy in Maine for a while. I used an L. L. Bean credit card, and he used to work at L. L. Bean (which is in Maine).

We have our Advent wreath out on the table, and we light one candle each night for during dinner. On Sunday we get to make it two candles. J has started putting up Christmas decorations and Mr. K has out his Nativity set on our sideboard. I've done nothing so far.