As most readers of this blog know, my little brother Stephan has cancer and last week he started his first (and hopefully only) round of chemotherapy treatment which will last for the next 3 months. Since we're living about 10 hours apart, it's not that easy for me to go over and lend him a hand when he needs it or spend some time with him to lift up his spirits. So I decided to show my support and encouragement with my razor. And I have to say, it's kind of nice during the hot summer months... so good timing Stephan on your cancer :)Rylan, being the highly suggestible 2 year old that he is, decided that he wanted to share in the head sheering. His older brothers probably would have shared his fate but in the nick of time, their dad decided it was better to wait until Mommy got home and could weigh in.
On Monday night, for Family Home Evening, we put together a small package for Stephan. Since we know that his treatment sessions are several hours long and pretty boring, we thought we'd help him pass the time by sending him some DVDs and books to help him kill some time. On the DVD front we included The Goonies, Season 1 of Arrested Development, Season 1 of Pushing Daises, Season 1 of Firefly and for books we sent Ender's Game and The Lincoln Lawyer. I spent a few minutes also looking for my copy of Good Omens, but then remembered that I had lent that to Erin's dad. I know that in the grand scheme of things it's not a lot, but we felt that anything to show Stephan that we love him and we know he'll pull through is probably better than nothing.
Our Worms
If you don't know, we've been experimenting with vermicomposting, which is another way to say pet worms. Basically we have a plastic bin where we put some of our food waste (instead of putting in the trash to end up in a landfill) and the worms eat it up and turn it into compost. On a side note, the worms also provide a steady supply of fishing bait.
While we also have a more normal compost tumbler, we actually started with the worms first. It's kind of nice to have them chewing through the food and it seems to work a bit faster than our other composter. It also smells a lot better.
This weekend we started to tear out our summer garden and get ready for our fall garden. In doing so we decided that the worms had thoroughly devoured their food and it was time to put their pooh to good use. Erin and Eli separated the worms from their droppings while Rylan watched. Cole was too scared to even attempt to help. What kind of a boy are we raising who doesn't like to play with worms or dirt?!
After separating the worms out we mixed the compost in with the garden soil and then shredded up some newspaper to make the worms a new home in their old bin. We then added some kitchen odds and ends (parts of tomatoes, onions, cantaloupe rinds, etc) to give them a nice big meal in their refurbished place. If you're ever curious about how to have your own pet worms (whether you're interested in nice rich compost, good bait, or you just like 'em fried) I'm sure we'd be willing to share any secrets we have.
On Monday night, for Family Home Evening, we put together a small package for Stephan. Since we know that his treatment sessions are several hours long and pretty boring, we thought we'd help him pass the time by sending him some DVDs and books to help him kill some time. On the DVD front we included The Goonies, Season 1 of Arrested Development, Season 1 of Pushing Daises, Season 1 of Firefly and for books we sent Ender's Game and The Lincoln Lawyer. I spent a few minutes also looking for my copy of Good Omens, but then remembered that I had lent that to Erin's dad. I know that in the grand scheme of things it's not a lot, but we felt that anything to show Stephan that we love him and we know he'll pull through is probably better than nothing.
Our Worms
If you don't know, we've been experimenting with vermicomposting, which is another way to say pet worms. Basically we have a plastic bin where we put some of our food waste (instead of putting in the trash to end up in a landfill) and the worms eat it up and turn it into compost. On a side note, the worms also provide a steady supply of fishing bait.
While we also have a more normal compost tumbler, we actually started with the worms first. It's kind of nice to have them chewing through the food and it seems to work a bit faster than our other composter. It also smells a lot better.
This weekend we started to tear out our summer garden and get ready for our fall garden. In doing so we decided that the worms had thoroughly devoured their food and it was time to put their pooh to good use. Erin and Eli separated the worms from their droppings while Rylan watched. Cole was too scared to even attempt to help. What kind of a boy are we raising who doesn't like to play with worms or dirt?!
After separating the worms out we mixed the compost in with the garden soil and then shredded up some newspaper to make the worms a new home in their old bin. We then added some kitchen odds and ends (parts of tomatoes, onions, cantaloupe rinds, etc) to give them a nice big meal in their refurbished place. If you're ever curious about how to have your own pet worms (whether you're interested in nice rich compost, good bait, or you just like 'em fried) I'm sure we'd be willing to share any secrets we have.
I don't hate it. Your hair. Worms I don't like.
ReplyDeleteThe no-hair looks good!
ReplyDeleteWanna do eyebrows next too? :)