So this afternoon about 4:40 the phone rings, and it's someone from the
body shop at Lynn Smith Chevrolet, wanting Don so as to ask him a question
regarding the damage to the left front fender of the Camaro.

Puzzled because there's nothing wrong with the Camaro, I suggested
perhaps there's been a mistake?   Charles had that
contratemps last summer, and the front left bit of his Buick Skylark
was damaged, but it's been mended long since.  No, I was assured,
the date on the claim form is today.  Apparently a claim on the
Camaro was filed today with State Farm.

Oh.  If Don's been in an accident this was the first I'd heard of
it, anyway, so I gave her his cell phone number, with a request she
give him a message from his wife:  "HUH?  What accident?"

He called me about 5:20.  Yup, he'd been in an accident when
trying to go to lunch, but since his car - unlike the other guy's - is
driveable, he was waiting until he arrived home to mention it.

Didn't factor in the up-to-the-minute service provided by both State Farm and the Lynn Smith body shop.  

December 25 was almost a month ago, and it's closing in on 80° here, so why, oh why, has "I Wanna Hippopotamus for Christmas" been running on an endless loop through my head over the past couple of days?

It's annoying.

There's a massive Siberian cold front that's borne down on western Russia.  Right now it's about 6 p.m. in Samara, where Dmitry's cousin Svetlana attends university, and it's currently -24° F. 

Folks, that's too cold. 

It's amusing how much Dmitry's tastes have changed in the 2 1/4 years he's been here.  Last night we had a dish made from browning ground beef, then adding a can of Ranch Style beans, Mexicorn, chili powder, cumin, cayenne, and for a change I added a can of petite diced tomatoes but don't plan on repeating it . . . too soupy.  Anyway, the whole thing simmers for a bit then is served over tortilla chips, and if you're me you add sour cream, and if you're Don you add sour cream plus cover it with jalapeno slices.  There was also a lettuce salad with chunks of avocado and a Salsa Ranch dressing (which I thought spicy).

First time I served it after Dmitry's arrival, he wouldn't touch it with a ten foot pole.  Not gonna eat that, no sir, not him. 

Last night he noted that "Something is smelling pretty good!" while it was simmering, then got himself quite a bit when it was served, plus courteously waited till Don, Charles, and myself served ourselves salad, taking the remainder of the bowl.  He told me it was a delicious dinner.  Don's sure he'll be dumping jalapenos on his food within another year. 

His ESL teacher has set him the task of making a handwritten English/Russian dictionary, since he can take it into the TAKS tests when they're given, an aid only ESL students enjoy.  Up till now, though, Dmitry's cooperation has been on the spotty side, to Mrs. Hinds' dismay.  Now she and I have agreed his playing video games hinges upon his adding at least three words a day to his dictionary, so last night he brought up the subject.  We took his history textbook, found the section being studied now, and I located words I thought he mightn't understand, such as "escort", "stronghold", and "predecessor."  The last one stumped him, but he had at least a workable grasp of the other two; what was interesting was he didn't know offhand what they would be in Russian until I looked them up on the online English-Russian dictionary.  I pointed out to him these would be vocabulary words he'd doubtless be reading were he in school in Russia, so his dictionary will do double duty, strengthening both languages.  Otherwise his Russian will stall out at the level it was when he left the Olde Country, which won't be much use.  Most places who might be interested in hiring someone bilingual would expect an adult-level vocabulary in both languages.

For those who love to see adoption arrivals, check out my friend, Tim
Bayly's, blog:  http://timbayly.worldmagblog.com/timbayly/ 

I was at the grocery store this afternoon, and was looking for shredded wheat.

You remember Shredded Wheat, surely? 

Being unable to recall which company makes it I was poking around the
Kellogg section with its Mini-Wheats.  Tell you what, good luck
finding a no-added-sugar one of those!  They've got frosted,
strawberry, maple and brown sugar, and vanilla creme.  No plain,
unadorned Mini-Wheat, though.

Finally located the real deal down in the Post area.  Had to make
do with the minis, however, as I couldn't find the original big ones.

[impressively]  Prepare to have your withers wrung.  We visited Benjamin in his Bed of Pain this evening.

Well, actually it was a Bed of Jello, and a Bed of Toys, and a Bed for Snuggling With Mama, but by jingo, my Benjamin Bunny had an IV so his Gran says it was a Bed of Pain. 

We brought an offering of a nifty Viewfinder with Sound, which proved to be an acceptable gift:

Why, it appeals to the kid in Kloesels of all ages:

To be fair, that was when Kirstin was trying to figure out why the sound wasn't working, but it made a good picture, didn't it?

After hearing about the horrors poor Benjamin had suffered yesterday afternoon and today, it was a delight to see this:

The last 24-30 hours had taken its toll on him, though, and he was swiftly winding down:

Tomorrow morning he has a pancake breakfast, then is released.  This is assuming he's not one of the 1-in-10 that suffers a recurrence within 24 hours, however.  We'll trust and pray he has a peaceful night, and is able to go home on schedule.

Well, this has been a day and no mistake.

The short version:  Benjamin had to go to the ER this morning, where he was finally diagnosed with intussusception, which is one intestine impinging on the other, basically.  Fortunately the procedure they used worked, this avoiding surgery.  He does have to stay in the hospital overnight, however.  According to Kirstin, he was initially intimidated by the control panel on the bed but once he got the hang of it.....! 

Jessica called to say her husband, Jason, got his electrician's license today! 

Plus Brianna knows how to read, and proved it by reading out loud one of her books from school.  ;^)

Alex and Beth will be back in town later this month when his band plays at various universities and schools in the area, and what's best is he'll be here when Charles ships out to boot camp. 

---

Here in north Texas we're having a huge problem with grass fires as it's been so hideously dry.  No decent rain in ages!  However, I was bemused to see one of those highway signs  -  the kind that flash messages?  -  announcing an "Arson/burn ban".

An arson ban?  Isn't arson banned by definition?

---

Today's the first day of the Fort Worth Stock Show and Rodeo.  Yee haw.  Here comes the traffic!  This morning when I was at Elaine's house Meredith earnestly asked me if I'd ever been on a Ferris wheel.  Naturally, I assured her I had indeed.  Elaine said that to get to her school they drive past where the midway is, and Meredith has been fascinated by the Ferris wheel.  I wonder how she'll like it?

Always thought 'em a bit scary, myself. 

Charles was told by the Chief this afternoon, out at the recruiting office, that though he was turned down by the Millington, TN regional office (yes!  the same base at which Alex is stationed), if he does a boffo job at boot camp he stands a pretty decent chance of being approved for the nuke program by the national office, if a spot is available.

So.  We'll just have to wait and see what transpires.  He's determined to wow them with 100's. 

Which he's quite capable of achieving, BTW. 

Charles is now scheduled to head to boot camp two weeks from tomorrow, as the Navy received his high school transcript; turns out that put the kibosh on his entering the nuke program.

His last couple of years were good, but his freshman and sophomore years were, um, less than impressive.  Apparently they didn't impress the Navy, at any rate.

He'll be allowed to reapply for nuke school after boot camp, however, so he isn't giving up on the possibility.

Now it's back to being a machinist's mate on a sub, which was his original plan before he took the ASVAB test.