Interesting pattern, Grandpa, visitors, classes, more buildings

Several days ago, Mama and Grandma bought a watermelon, which we finally cut today. Since we were only going to cut up half of the melon, I cut the fat watermelon in half. When the two halves fell apart, I noticed a pattern that immediately caught my eye. Something I had never noticed before. The straight white lines in the red flesh almost perfectly sectioned the watermelon in equal thirds. The swirls coming off each side of those lines are so well matched in size and shape that it was pretty amazing. It is always fun to spot the patterns in nature.

One of the things that is so fascinating about the bees is the pentagonal pattern used on each cell that is built for either storing honey or raising young. So recognizable is the pattern that we refer to it as a honeycomb pattern. The patterns of coloring in flowers, the striation of wood grain unique to each species, and so many other little things show a definite influence on nature by a steadfast, trustworthy, intimately involved Creator. Praise the Lord! Even a watermelon can praise God.

Grandpa seems to be doing better. He is eating two meals per day, most of which are made for him by Mama or Victoria. He has a greater tolerance for a variety of foods, so he has been pretty easy to cook for. Yesterday Victoria made him fish and rice. To satisfy his undiscerning tastes, no special seasonings were used but Grandpa liked it that way and ate a good helping. Grandma on the other hand has proved impossible to cook for. She still prefers to snack, eating little bits of odd things here and there. She is more inclined to eat fruit now but still finds every sweet thing easily available for consumption. All the cups of chocolate pudding I bought to take with my lunches quickly disappeared. Any cookies we leave in Ziplock baggies on the table vanish overnight in most cases. She does not complain about the meals we prepare, she just snacks through the day and through many of our sleeping hours, rarely eating what we would consider real food. All in all, we are getting by and doing well as we watch Grandpa’s recovery.

Seth and Gabriella came over to visit with Grandma and Grandpa, bringing Rosa Lee. Seth has grown out his hair well below his shoulders. Long enough where he can gather it into a manbun on the back of his head. His beard is also long. He looks very different. I am told by Norman, that Gabriella likes the hairdo and Seth is willing to endure the extra work to keep the locks even though his work requires him to wear a hairnet while working. The fact that that work is done around machinery that is run at very high temperatures to melt and extrude plastic is, I am sure, a sweaty discomfort. But we husbands do what we must to make our wives happy. Of course, Grandma is not at all in favor of the long hair or the long beard and mentions it at every visit. Seth just smiles through the matronly lectures. It is amusing to watch the interaction.

I will be teaching a class tomorrow. My third for the week. Things will slow down next week but it has been a busy two weeks that I am finishing up tomorrow. Since I had only a half-day class on Monday I spent the remainder of the day at the office – where I had taught the class. The internet at the HQ house was not operational, so I hurried to the office and presented the class from there. I had to repeat that process Wednesday since the internet issue was not attended to. I will once again teach from the office tomorrow. The frustrating part of presenting the class from the office is that our office is across the street from the railroad tracks. Every locomotive that passes down those tracks causes enough noise that I have to pause speaking as it passes. Every morning, between 7 am and 11 am, we have a train pass along those tracks about every forty minutes. An average of six trains per morning. It is quite a distraction.

The HQ house sits about a mile from the train tracks and about half a mile from a heavily traveled road. The ambient noise in the house is very low. A much better place to sit and present a class for the seven hours it takes me to present the class.  Plus, I do not have to compete with anyone for the room I use as my studio versus at the office where I have to commandeer a conference room and everyone who had booked the room for use that day is out of luck. They have to find someplace else to have their meeting. Sorry! Because of that I am interrupted several times per day by my office mates when I squat in a conference room I did not reserve as a backup teaching spot. It’s the little things.

I am not sure what the weekend holds but I may start on a new larger duck enclosure. If and when I get that built, the enclosure we now have will be used as a grow out pen for both chickens and ducks. Since Mama insists on using the little coop for banty hens, we need somewhere to raise our hatchlings or purchased chicks to sufficient size to integrate with the mature birds of either species.

Fortunately, I have the lumber and metal to build the larger enclosure. I am not sure I have the energy, but once I get started, I should be fine.