My Life Away From Norway

I wanted to write something about Norway, but I can't. Not directly anyway. The unthinkable evil necessary to bomb a building, then to massacre a bunch of children is so foreign to me I'm having a hard time processing it. So, instead, I'll write about how my day meant more to me that it usually does. It started with watching a movie with a friend, then helping that same friend's brother move. Both things I would have done anyway. However, instead of just doing it because these people are friends of mine, I really took the time to appreciate them. That was a shared moment that we had, just people helping each other out, spending time together, laughing, cursing, and strengthening our human bonds. Love, not romantic love, not something selfish that needed to be returned or paid for in someway, just simple human brotherly/sisterly love. It's a powerful thing.
Then, I went to a birthday party for a guy I've known since I was 9. I met him on the playground at the school across the street from my parents' house. He has CP and all of his friends are "special." I've only missed three of these birthday parties in the years between 9 and now. They're always fun, but last night it was more so. I appreciated the opportunity I had to be in this man's life. The fact that he chose me to be included in his celebration, being selected as one of the few to remain in his life for so long - it's a precious thing. And between the hugs and laughs, and songs, there was love. That same brotherly/sisterly love, the love we're supposed to have for all humanity.
It was an early night, so I decided to visit my parents. Said "hi," and sat on the couch with them and my niece (who was over for a sleepover). We watched Tangled, but that wasn't important. It was just the act of being there, being in the presence of these people who I love and who love me in return. Just their nearness was enough to bring me to tears. My niece said it's only a movie, so it's not real and there's no reason to cry. But I couldn't think of anything more real. Not then, not now.

Camp Graddad

Camp Graddad has come to a close. It was a solid week of my father treating my two nephews and their two oldest cousins to archery, golf, bowling, and kayaking. Pretty awesome.
Yesterday we wrapped everything up with family bowling - that's 6 boys (ages 5, 7, 10, 12, 13, and 14) and my 6 year old niece. Poor girl would rather have been playing babies, but she gamely rolled the ball down the alley when it was her turn.
The 10 year old, having been forbidden to put his hands up to his face for his mole impersonation, and subsequently from snarling while holding them up like velociraptor claws was reduced to impersonating a hyper dog-paddling zombie when he make a strike. His little arms stretched out as far as they could go while he flapped his hands up and down, hitting everyone within range, accidentally of course.
The 13 year old decided that he was in charge of the three youngest and they had a lane to themselves.  Squirmy little bodies rolled over him and under chairs in between turns. And little faces popped up with wide, bright eyes to exclaim about hitting a pin. It was like watching a box of puppies, or fresh spaghetti in a bowl. Maybe that would make them spaghetti that's made out of puppies, which would be wrong. Or, maybe puppies made out of spaghetti, which brings to mind those macaroni art projects from preschool, but I digress.
The 14 year old and 12 year old had a blast, a much better time than you'd think two boys that age would have with the little ones. They were patient and encouraging. Good kids, the lot of them. I think they're all looking forward to next year's camp granddad. I know I am.

Egg Experiment

Water Density Egg Experiment

You'll need an egg, three glasses tall glasses that are bigger around than the egg, water, and salt.

Fill your first glass about 1/2 to 3/4 full of water. Place your egg in it. Notice whether the egg floats or sinks.

Fill your second glass about 1/4 full of water. Stir in 6-8 tables spoons of salt. Once the mixture has settled, carefully pour in more water. Make sure you don't mix it with the salty water on the bottom of the glass. Once your glass is about 1/2 to 3/4 full (the same total amount as the first glass), gently place your egg in.

What happened to the egg?

In this experiment, the egg should sink to the bottom in the glass with no salt, but appear to float in the glass with the salt. This is because the salt water has a greater DENSITY than water with no salt. This means that the water in the salty glass is heavier than the water in the non-salty glass, even though there is the same amount of liquid in each one.

In the third glass, you can experiment with how much salt and water is needed to make the egg float at different levels. Or, you can try other liquids, such as dish soap or juice? Which liquids have the greater density? How can you tell?