Baby, Books, Battery Blues, a Bug and a Birthday
Pressure is a bit higher, and our bodies a little more tired lately between a newborn who feeds eagerly every three hours and the need to homeschool Luke again. We’re looking for a tutor who can take over the morning classes with him for the rest of the term. Should we try Ritalin or another medical treatment? Ask the pediatrician. Oh, I am the pediatrician. I think it would be worth a try, but it would be hard to get a reliable supply of those controlled drugs.
Books: I’m reading less these days. Barb is finishing reading The Bookseller of Kabul. I did start re-reading Cancer Ward but when I get up at night to feed Lydia, I either sit in a stupor, read from my beautiful new Smith’s Recognizable Patterns Of Human Malformation, or watch Monk.
I spent Friday evening and nearly all day Saturday working on the problem of failed laptop batteries for Dell computers. Two of the three new ones I just received have failed and there is not only the problem of their cost, but the time it would take to get replacements. I learned a lot about these “Smart” lithium ion batteries and some ways to get them working again … everything from spitting on them (I haven’t tried that one yet) to discharging and freezing them (I’m on it) to opening them and messing with the charge control circuitry (remembering, though, that the batteries can explode … I think I’m not going to go that route). I actually did make some progress on one of the new ones and also an older one.
A few nights ago when I got up to feed the baby I found this little creature on the kitchen floor. It was so small, an inch or so, I couldn’t tell what it was without my glasses but it had sort of a scorpion shape. Sure enough, that’s what it was. Sigh, and I thought that was one thing we didn’t have around here. It was probably just a baby, but are there some big mom and dad scorpions lurking around under the rocks?
Finally, we went to a first-birthday celebration for Paul Kumswa, son of our friends Nanfa and Sahmacit. The climax of these parties here is when the child cuts the cake, surrounded by singing friends. Strangely, to Americans anyway, the cake isn’t usually served at all, it’s just there to be cut! And what would be a more popular toy for toddlers than a cell phone? 
Well, it’s about time for that midnight feeding …
April 23rd, 2007 at 1:33 am
Found you by way of Missionary Blog Watch . . . so what do you do with scorpions? Here in Mx we’ve had our fair share of them, but I must confess to not knowing what to do in case me or one of my kids was bit. I have heard that the type we have here are just painful . . do you know?
April 23rd, 2007 at 7:59 am
I have no experience or particular knowledge with Mexican scorpions, but a quick Google search came up with a couple of interesting websites. There seems to be agreement that Mexico has some dangerous scorpions that cause a lot of deaths each year. Of course, I don’t know where in Mexico they live. I think you should check with a knowledgeable doctor there in your area, or a mission doctor who knows your area, and sort out whether there is a local risk and, if so, what the plan would be in case of a sting.
From your email address I’m guessing you’re involved in ministry to the deaf in Mexico. DO you know our friends the Bickfords?