Double Trouble?

I swore to my wife that I was going to punch the next person that said, "Oh, oh.  Double trouble."  It is the most popular, laziest, and most offensive comment we hear when people see us with the girls.  Our most frequent response to it is, "Double blessing."  This occurs even though we are not religious people.  However, we are considering a service or two at the Unitarian Church.  We were both thinking about it, but neither of us had made a big case for it.  I checked their website the other day, and I kind of dig the whole social justice and compassionate edge they espouse, assuming it is not sandwiched within too much of the boring and insulting ritual and ceremony  that has kept us out of other such places.  I also remember going to some shows at a Unitarian Church in New Orleans, while I was in school at Baton Rouge.  In fact, I specifically remember seeing Policy of Three, there, which was one of the best shows I ever attended, though, I know there was at least one other (was it Men's Recovery Project, too, Bob?...ah, the scary, scary masks).  If a church would host such events, it may be the church for me.

The girls are currently napping, but I'm doubting I'll get another two-hour spell.  I screwed up this morning and got them up too early.  We've been consistent about helping them go back to sleep when they wake at 5:30 or 6 most mornings, but Delia's clogged nares foiled this morning's attempt.  I think the poor angel is suffering from the same pollen sensitivity her father fights every spring.  They're doing fairly well, but I'm growing less and less concerned with following the Baby Whisperer book.  As with most books, there is little to no attention to twins, which makes any routine much, much harder (they're individuals, and they can't always be on exactly the same time frame).  We're having success going 4 hours between feeding, now, but they seem to need a little more sleep than the book suggests.  They'll go from about 7 at night until 6 or so in the morning, which is awesome, but they sure get to lookin' sleepy a good bit throughout the day, and I'd rather respond to those cues of yawning, ear-pulling, face-rubbing, and thumb-sucking by putting them down, rather than trying to force them to stay up, possibly killing the chance that they'll make it through the night.

Delia sounds like a little lion compared to her sister, but Tillie is still speaking noises that are much closer to words.  Delia mostly growls, squeaks, whistles, and barks.  I can't wait 'till she's able to sing along with the Pete Seeger CD we've been listening to since they were born.  She's going to love it...until she's 13, at which point, she'll inevitably refer to it as that embarrassing CD her father, oddly enough, seems to always put on when she has friends over. 

I'm toying with the idea of buying a used Lemond Ti frame from '01.  I was going to buy a Jamis Eclipse (853 steel), but I'd save some money if the seller will meet me near my asking price.  Besides, it'd be nice not to have to worry about the degradation of the frame material, after having gotten rammed in the rear end by Surly and their unfaithful representation of paint finish warranty.

The garden is about the only thing that I seem to make any progress on, lately (other than the girls), which is just fine, since only producing some of our food is a big accomplishment in the face of twins that, again, are napping, albeit with much protest.  I salvaged some sliding shower doors of tempered glass and made a bed with them and some concrete blocks that I finally broke down and purchased (12 at around $1.50 each).  I just missed slicing this poor glass lizard in half with the pick-ax, so I released it in the compost pile for a better life.  I assume he was just coming out of wintering mode; down there grabbing an earthworm here and a few ants and beetle grubs there.  The bed seems to be holding after the first couple of rains, but it's a great reminder of how much more garden space I need if I'm to grow what I'd like.  I got seeds from Clemson Extension, again, this year, so I got Charleston blackeye peas and cayenne peppers, some sunflowers for Andree, dill, parsley, tomatoes, bell peppers, and a few others.  I'll keep updating on their progress.  The lettuce has produced like gangbusters for the second year in a row, though the spinach was less prolific.  It's hanging on, but we've only gotten a few handfuls from the 8 or so plants.

The rain barrel design is near completion.  I now need only disguise them with some of that cheap bamboo fencing and fasten the second overflow hose.  I also need to buy a cistern pump for watering purposes.  I tried a cheap manual siphon pump, but with the barrels only being at ground level or only slightly above, this is none too easy.  The overflow hose is pool hose from Lowes, attached to 1 1/2" couplings that have a rubber washer and a steel lockring on the inside.  I originally glued this into the trash can barrel I made, but the gutter sealant I used is probably one of the most toxic substances one can buy, and the water will at least only flow by that which is in the gutters (I didn't want the water sitting in the barrel, reacting with the stuff over time and with the addition of the sun's heat).  I opted for a gutter separate from the barrel, since I didn't want water backing up the gutter and spilling onto the house.  I also screened the ends of the overflow hoses.  The entrance to the barrel is simply a plant pot with some extra holes I drilled, some mesh screen, and some river stones to weigh down the pot and help catch any big stuff that might, otherwise, clog the screen. 

After just having watched the Frontline on water pollution, the film "The Unforeseen" (about contamination of the Barton Springs area in Austin by development), the film "Flow" (about water problems the world over), and the current dialogue with Garrett about stormwater mis-management, the rain barrels are seeming more and more important.  Though it'd be nice to have an entirely terra cotta or other clay or stone-based system and one that collects all that falls upon the roof, I don't have the money.  The two 55-gallon, plastic barrels will have to do, and I'm comfortable watering the plants from them, since the intended use for these is drinking water storage.  Ultimately, I'd like to get a table-top filter reservoir (like the ones Lehman's carries), so that we can provide most of our own drinking water from the barrels.  With the current home and money limitations, the grey-water recycling probably won't happen, but that can remain a goal for down the road (drainage is critical for this sort of thing, and our lot is not amenable).

I'm thinking this may be an avenue for my next job.  I could live with installing rain collection systems for a paycheck, and these will only become more important over time.  I suspect it'll be either this or electronic engineering or an electrician apprenticeship (if I can't get back into teaching Natural History somewhere).  These interest me for two reasons.  Number one, micro-solar and micro-wind systems will only become more prevalent as we continue to phase out current electricity fuels.  Second, I really, really would like to know how to make a bicycle do more, electrically.  There are at least a couple of vendors online that sell storage batteries that hook up to bicycle trainers.  Even as inefficient as they are, a two-hour spin on the trainer could power the television for a movie or the computer for a few hours each evening.  The thing is, I'd like to know how to patch this power into a home grid, rather than just to a 12-volt battery.  I'm pretty sure Ed Begley (sp?) has some such system, but I haven't done any looking to see what he uses.  Ultimately, I would at least figure out a generator that would negate the need for ever needing bicycle light batteries.  I've been riding Shimano's front generator for a long time, now, but it is only for the headlight.  I'm very happy with the performance (I've been through at least a few hard rains with it and the resistance is minimal).  I'd like a taillight, too.

The ride last night was a smasher.  We went to Mt. Pleasant, then joined some of the CBC team at Hampton Park, downtown, for some very fast laps.  I rode the Lemond for a second time, but I won't be buying it.  I'd be replacing the wheels and the fork, and it'd wind up costing me as much as the Jamis, in the end, without a warranty that was mine (plus, it ain't steel).  So, I now need to find a buyer for my huge, 58-60cm Raleigh and either my fixed gear Miyata and/or my repainted tour monster.  I sold the Xtracycle to a good friend for $800, and I don't really miss it.  I'm thinking I'll feel the same with the other two, if they both sell, at least until I have the time (read:  the girls are old enough) to get back on the bicycle camping horse.  The goal for now is to get down to 1 MTB, 1 road race bike, and 1 tour bike (though, I could always just tow the Burley behind the race frame, in a pinch).  In the meantime, I miss the Marrington rides with Dave.  I've got to get back off the road.  

Update:  the sunflowers are germinating (as are some other seeds, but I haven't yet identified them...they're all still in the cold frame, for now).