Updates...

It's been awhile so I figured I should post some recent pictures. I finally made it home to hold my nephew- although he is growing so fast I feel like I'm missing it all! Slow down!

Also, we had an unexpected tragedy in our family as my Uncle Tim died suddenly on September 10, 2009. He was probably the most jovial man I ever met and will be greatly missed. Here is a pic of Tim, his wife Diane and his two boys Robert and Ryan. And pics of my family when I went home for the funeral...

Also, Noel and I have taken in a cat named Mr. Ernest Hemingway (soon to be changed if we decide to keep him!). He is a polydactyl cat- meaning he has more toes that normal. :) 22 in all. 6 on each front paw and 5 on each back paw.

Here is a little background info on Hemingway cats:

They were introduced into the U.S primarily via ships in Boston. Sailors valued polydactyls for their extraordinary climbing and hunting abilities and considered them to be extremely good luck when at sea. Polydactyly appears to improve the dexterity of the cat. The extra toes enable the cat to learn and perform feats of manual dexterity generally not observed in other cats, such as opening latches or catching objects with a single paw.

Nobel Prize-winning author Ernest Hemingway was one of the more famous lovers of polydactyl cats, after being first given a six-toed cat by a ship's captain. Upon Hemingway's death in 1961, his former home in Key West, Florida, became a museum and a home for his cats, and it currently houses approximately fifty descendants of his cats (about half of which are polydactyl). Because of his love for these animals, Hemingway cat, or simply Hemingway, is a slang term which has come to describe polydactyls.

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One day...I will hit you with a tomato!

La Tomatina is the annual festival in Spain during which over one hundred tons of tomatoes are thrown at the nearest victim. It takes place every August and is the absolute largest food fight ever. How fab-frickin-tabulous! I have to do this before I die!

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Crab Fettucine

Noel and I were at Publix the other day (for some reason I always spend more when he goes with me!) and Noel saw some snow crab that he decided he would like to cook for dinner. And by "he would cook" I of course, mean I would cook. :) Which I must admit is not really a burden- I enjoy cooking for us and he helps out with the dishes so I can't complain. But back to the crab- the dish turned out looking so good that I thought I would take a pic since I made homemade sauce and everything- turned out to be pretty tasty as well. A little sweet but of course, crab meat is really sweet to begin with. Maybe next time I will use a little more white wine and lemon juice...

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Elegant and Charming Plant

Ok, so it's been awhile since I've seen anything in the headlines even remotely interesting in the field of botany. Here is a portion of an article from the London Times of the the recently discovered giant rat-eating plant:

Nepenthes attenboroughii, a previously unknown variety of pitcher plant discovered on a remote mountain in the Philippines, is so big that small rodents could be trapped inside and slowly dissolved by flesh-eating enzymes.

It is thought that only a few hundred of the plants exist, growing only on one mountain on the island of Palawan. The species was discovered by a team of scientists who had heard reports from missionaries who got lost in the dense jungle...

Sir David told The Times that it was a great honour to have the species named after him. He said that the nepenthes family were “very dramatic plants. I’ve always thought they are remarkable things, very elegant and charming.” Click here for full article.

The best part of this article is the quote by Sir David that calls the rat-eating plant "very elegant and charming." Ha! I love it! I have to agree that it is a beautiful plant and I can even see why he would call it elegant because of its graceful lines. But charming? I suppose it has to get the rat to jump in somehow- guess that's the "charming" part?

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Just a moment to brag...

I was going through some old photos and found one of my favorites. Noel wasn't feeling too well and sacked out on the couch. Jasper decided to snuggle up with him and before I knew it they were both out cold. My two boys...

Also worthy of good brag time- Noel officially begins his first year of law school tomorrow. I don't think I have ever seen him so passionate and excited to follow a course of study and path in life. I am so very proud of him! You may not be able to read it in this pic but the name of the Cumberland School of Law building is Memory Leake Robinson Hall. How ironic!

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