Chocolats a L'eau-De-Vie De Vin

I recently received a box of chocolates from my dad. Being the chocolate addict that I am, I thought how wonderful a gift this was. On the box it says "Chocolats a L'eau-De-Vie De Vin" I thought nothing of this as I cannot read German. I took a piece out of the box and unwrapped it. Savoring the moment, briefly, I popped the piece of chocolate into my mouth. Delicious. Then, I bit down onto this tasty little morsel. !#*&!@#*&#^$%@$!@^!%#% Fire in my mouth. I can't breath. I can't talk. Tears start welling up in my eyes. What just happened, I wondered? I was enjoying a tasty treat and now, I feel as though I am going to pass out. I swallowed once, twice, three times. Whew, I can breath again. Still feeling the fire though. Had me a little shot of water and things started to improve. I felt as though I needed to know how this German phrase translates, yes? Let me tell ya. "Chocolats a L'eau-De-Vie De Vin" translates to Plain Chocolates filled with Brandy. Holy Crap, Fires of Hell, Are You Kidding Me?, Brandy. Wow. I'm off to try another piece. It can't be so bad the second time, ya think?

Photo by Jeff Rosenfeld 

Punk'd by the Peacock

I have recently acquired a new salt water creature called a Peacock Mantis Shrimp. I have been so fascinated by this animal that I wanted to share some of it's interesting behavior. I wanted to test this animals water temperature to ensure it was remaining constant. I put in a small floating type thermometer. It bobbed once, twice and then the most horrific noise. The little punk had smashed the thermometer to bits with one punch. I'm not sure who was more stunned. Me, because he smashed my brand new thermometer or him, because he wasn't going to get to eat his "kill". I spent a great deal of time digging glass shards out of the tank after that. I had to go buy these large tweezer looking things because I can't put my hand in the tank. He wasn't real pleased about having those in the tank either. We had to argue a bit about it, but after he whacked them a few times, he left me alone. I have listed a bit of information about him for those of you that care.


*They are found in tropical waters worldwide.
*They are carnivores and will eat just about anything and everything.
*They are experts at catching and killing prey, being very clever, stealthy hunters.
*They are masters at hiding.
*They are not related to shrimp, but are referred to as shrimp because of their front appendages and how they use them to capture food.
*They are called a "Mantis" Shrimp due to the fact they resemble the appearance and have the same hunting characteristics of a praying mantis insect.
*There are two hunting categories, the "spearers" and the "smashers". The "spearers" use their spear-like claw to silently stab soft tissued prey. The "smashers" use their forceful, club-like claw to hit, crack open or pulverize harder bodied prey. It is interesting that the power of the "smashers" appendage can produce a blow close to the power of a .22 caliber bullet and are notoriously known as "thumb splitters". I have the "smasher" type. It is rumored that because of the tremendous strength these animals have, they can crack aquarium glass.
*These animals are burrowers, and can create tubes or cavities in sand, rubble or mud.
*They will adapt to living in holes, cracks or crevices in rocks, and may take up residence in snail or hermit crab shells as well.
*They are solitary animals, and unless you have a VERY large tank, they should be kept alone.

*Mantis shrimp can grow up to about ten inches in length and are fast moving. They eat crabs, anemones, and fish, among other things, and if kept in an aquarium with other fish, they will eventually eat them all. They dig burrows and live in crevices in reefs and rocks.

Cool....:)

Visit

As most of you know, Drew and Stacey came for a visit this week. I worked most of the days they were here but we still managed a bit of time together to goof off. One of the most memorable things was the family party hosted by one of the Branson nieces. Pictures will be coming soon. There was indeed a houseful of Bransons. Most of which were singing Karaoke. Scary, I know. I thought it was nice that Stacey could see all of her family at once rather than running all over town trying to find everybody. It was also nice to have Drew in the middle of it all. I'd say he did quite well. No whimpering at all. Trust me, there are Kings that would run from a bunch of Bransons in the same room.

They brought two of their friends from New Orleans with them. Rob taught us a great deal about grace and balance. Unfortunately for Rob, it was what not to do in certain situations. Please do not dismount the front porch in this manner. Don't jump across a ditch with muddy water in it quite like this. And, please stay upright while exiting the shower. I was afraid he would go back to N.O. a broken mess. Alas, after he made it through day #1, he seemed to get his "sea" legs firmly under him. Angie put my cat Blossom under a spell. It was love at first sight. However, kitties aren't always good when they are feeling some love. Bad Kitty. Sorry, Angie. I just hope they had a nice time.

Drew did some funky crazy magic on the computer and now it is running much smoother. Thanks, Drew. I was pretty confident in my computer skills prior to seeing Drew whiz through things I didn't even know existed. He spent a lot of time fixing this heap. I can only say it would have taken me weeks to do all the things he did in a few hours. However, I have learned new things and will be able to do more now. I will catch up on all that e-mail now that it isn't such a pain in the butt to get on the internet. (Promise)

When you're swimming in the creek and an eel bites your cheek, that's a moray. ;)