Meads Family Habitat: May 2012

The Memorial Accident!

We were all tired puppies when we returned home from Vally Worlds of Fun! Judy and I took a little nap. At around 5:30 we arose from our geriatric slumber to find Sarah getting snacks ready. I looked up to see Sarah grimace and become pale. She had sliced her finger as she was cutting watermelon. Jeff arrived immediately from next door and surveyed the wound. Yep, she had sliced into the fatty tissue, but luckily missed a tendon!

Sarah, Jeff, Moi (that's me!), and Mom headed to Jeff's new dermatology office so he could stitch the finger. As we entered the building, contract floor folks were working and said that there was fresh wax on the floor and we could not walk on it. Wrong! We did take off the shoes and headed to a procedure room.

PROBLEM! Jeff injected the nova cane at the base of the finger. The finger had swollen greatly by this time and her two wedding rings were solidly embedded in the finger tissue. Jeff tried Vaseline to no avail. No matter of tugging would move the orbs. Jeff had to get the rings off immediately because the swelling would soon cause tissue damage.

Jeff ran to the first floor where the Med Express folks have an office. He brought back ring cutters. Dr. Moreno gave him an additional suggestion. He said that he had luck in extracting rings by spraying Windex on the finger. (Sounds strange?)

Jeff and I soaked the finger and rings. As I continued to spray he was able to pull the rings off the finger. (May I add with great force - but it worked!)

Sarah was now ready for stitches. Eight well placed stitches closed the cut.

We returned the ring cutter and thanked Dr. Moreno for his assistance.

Also on the first floor and across from the Med Express unit is a pharmacy. Sarah got some antibiotics. Finally we were ready to return home. Her finger is throbbing, but the critter is on the mend.

The following picture was posted on her Face Book page.

Alas, another of life's adventures was completed!

Sam and Nate's Birthday Party

Around 11A.M. on Saturday morning, we stopped by Bake-N-Memories bakery and picked up the birthday cake. Yes, the theme was Angry Birds.

Sarah and all her helpers readied the room for the party. Mom Meads is an excellent helper! Sarah and Jeff had ordered chicken strips and pizza for the kids. There was also yummy baked Italian pasta.

The party was on with hungry party goers quickly devouring the food.

Here is the way to travel. Zack cuddled a sleeping Julianna.

It was no surprise that Flora ate the chicken strips. She is really changing into a fine young lady.

Sam tried to make an Angry Bird face. I think he failed on this attempt.

Opening presents is a must. You will notice that Nate used the "throw over the shoulders" technique.

It was a hot day, but that did not stop the kids from running from one ride to another. Lucy is trying to figure out how to make the Bumper Cars go. Step on pedal and keep turning the wheel until you start down the road.

Many rides are located inside within the Valley Worlds of Fun complex. Slides, spinning teacups, and even a roller coaster that goes both frontward and then reverse itself and goes backwards.

The kids divided into two teams - the Angry Birds and the Pigs- and were readied to play laser tag.

Sarah helped Flora don her laser tag vest. The Pigs won!

It was a fun day. By the end of the party, the cake did not look as appetizing.

Tomorrow's post - An accident that was scarey!

Memorial Day 2012

Morning to all and happy holiday! I have thoughts on this day of all the blessings we have and those who served in the Armed Forces. Thank you!

What a Memorial Day weekend! We arrived Friday in Bridgeport and were welcomed by Saran and Jeff's profusely blooming Clematis. Judy and I meet the kids at the Bridgeport Country Club for supper.

We ate with friends Zack and Krista and their family. The newest addition to Zack and Krista's family is Julianna. What a great smile on that gal!

The talk of the evening was the birthday event the next day. Sarah and Jeff were having a birthday party for both Sam and Nate at the Valley Worlds of Fun in Fairmont.

You can see the excitement on Nate's face.

After the supper, the grandparents headed back to the house. The boys did some golfing with Mom and Dad. (That is another story that I am not at liberty to relate!!)

Tomorrow's Post - The Party

Lions Club Carnival

This week has been dry and hot. It is a rarity when the Lions Club sponsors their carnival that we have such fine weather. The carnival is usually cursed with rain and impressive storms.

Congratulations to the Lions Club folks for this years carnival. I think scheduling was the key to this year's success. Gambill Amusements have a great carnival this year - best in years. In the past we had to share the rides with Calhoun County's Wood Festival - this event begins next week. So instead of breaking the carnival into two units, the full team arrived in Glenville.

The carnival was setup with a series of midway games. This gave a true carnival atmosphere to this event.

There were so many rides for all ages. (Except for me!)

Bungy jumping has now made its way into carnival life.

The real joy is watching the kids!

Zombification

This article was published on May 4, 2012. I thought, my friends, this may interest you.

Christine Dell'Amore - National Geographic News - is the author.

To hear David Hughes tell it, rain forest floors are littered with corpses of fungus-infected "zombie ants." This made the entomologist wonder: How do the lucky ants escape zombification?
The answer, his team found, is that the ants have an unwitting ally: a fungus that "castrates" the zombie-ant fungus.

Ant zombification begins when an Ophiocordyceps fungus shoots spores onto an insect. The parasitic fungus gradually takes over the ant's brain and directs the insect to a cool, moist location. The fungus then kills the ant, and fruiting bodies erupt from the ant's head and spread more spores.

"When you go into the forest, you find graveyards of these [infected] cadavers," said study leader Hughes, of Penn State. "That would suggest that, for the ants running around the forest floor, it's terribly precarious—it must be festooned with spores of these fungi."

Not so, Hughes and his team discovered.

Combining new data from Brazilian zombie-ant graveyards with from previous studies of Thai graveyards, the scientists realized that an as yet unnamed fungus keeps the zombie-ant fungus in check.
"The vast majority [of zombie-ant spores] have been taken out of the game" by the other fungus, Hughes said. The fungus-killing fungus chemically "castrates" its zombie-making cousin, Hughes explained—and highly effectively, at that.

The team's analyses showed that only 6.5 percent of zombie-ant fungus specimens were able to produce spores—meaning that the unnamed fungus largely limits Ophiocordyceps' spread.
Hughes likens the situation to oak-tree reproduction. "Of all those little acorns, the vast majority die—only a few get to be mature," he said.

"There are lots of these really cool interactions going on daily in the forest," Hughes added, "and I think we should be studying them in more detail."

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HARK!

I am announcing that grandson Sam has lost his first baby tooth. I received back in the early 50's a quarter from the tooth fairy for each tooth! Our kids got one dollar! Wonder how inflation has affected the Tooth Fairy now?

Second Farmers Market

Of The Season

Yes, it was a beautiful Saturday (May 19th)! Lenora Marks welcomed me to the market with the colorful blossoms of her hanging baskets.

Friend Jackie was cooking up some goulash served with cheese biscuits.

Bruce Farmer ate two helpings. He is just a growing boy!

Don Kelble and Bill Bennett were, I am certain, solving world problems.

Gene Breza was busy working on his leather craft. Gene also had some neat house plants for sale.

The Phares family arrived. Logan purchased from Gene a huge Giant Aloe plant.

The Farmers Market is such a great gathering of community and friends. June Nonnenberg and Kim Jones are always a joy. These are special ladies!

Sadie Kelble was busy with Folk Festival activities. She was selling chances on a log storage building (see the Lincoln Log model to her right). Sadie also had chances on a lovely West Virginia themed quilt.