Fu Manchu It Is!

I didn't get much response in my koi naming endeavor but fortunately the responses I did get netted some good suggestions.

I smile every time I think about the reason for Erin's suggestion of Fu Manchu. She felt that the whiskers on each side of the unnamed koi's mouth looked somewhat like a Fu Manchu mustache. The funny thing about it is that one of the most distintive characteristics of all koi are the whiskers on each side of its mouth. But I love the suggestion and the name is very versatile. We can call it Fu when we want to shorten it and if it turns out to be a chasee instead of a chaser, then she can be called Fufu. So the prize goes to Erin.

The next guy we have to name is (Isn't it funny that he looks completely different on each side?):






And the winning name is Cubbie! And the winning namer is Bacardi Mama. What a great name. Certainly Mr. Right loves it and I think it's perfect too. This guy definitely looks like he has a baseball cap on at a rakish angle and he has that cute little face that just looks like a Cubbie to me. And by naming him right now, he can get out of the house and into the pond a week sooner.

So let me introduce to you, Fu Manchu and Cubbie:



They'll be joining the guys in the big pond sometime this week. And thanks to the loyal readers who helped me out in this project. Erin and Bacardi Mama, please leave your prize choices in the comments section and I'll be sure that your selections are headed your way this week. (Since Beth will be adding more this week, take the time you need to choose the one you want.) Thank you so much for participating.

Next we'll be working on names for some of the big guys already in the pond. But that's a project for another day.

Mother's Day

Who could have foreseen it? Six beautiful children. I remember all the Mother's Days when our kids were young spent with my mother-in-law and my mom. What beautiful days those were. And I never thought ahead to the days when my family would spend Mother's Days with me. And it's a good thing too. Because I might have looked disappointed. I won't lie. I am taken aback at the way things have worked out. I never could have foreseen spending Mother's Day without a child in sight.

But it's happening and it's okay. I have one in San Francisco, the Detroit area, Louisville, Colorado Springs, Virginia, and Nebraska. Jobs, marriage, and the rare opportunity to just get away for a few days has caused this unusual scenario. So it gives me time to reflect on being the mother of these wonderful children. I read a letter in an advice column today from a mother to her children and it urges her children to tell her they love her now while she's alive. Later when they're at the cemetery is too late. She wants to hear it now. I thought there was a good message there but somehow it seems too sad and morose. Besides, I know my children love me. I know that despite the mistakes I've made (both real and imagined), they continue to be happy to have me for their mother. And that's why being the mother of six children that I adore and am proud of and the mother-in-law to all their spouses, grandmother to their children, and a great grandmother to one is enough.

This is what Mother's Day is about. It's a day to appreciate the incredible gift I've been given. No one's ever been given more.

I'm so very grateful for this day.

You Capture - Expressions

This week I saw expressions at the Louisville Zoo. I think you'll agree that they represent a variety of emotions.













For more expressions or to join the party, go to Beth's Ishouldbefoldinglaundry site and see how much fun it can be!

Names and Musings on Paying Attention

The good news is that I saw Stealth and Alabaster swimming around in the big pond this evening and they came up to eat with all the big guys just like they'd lived there all their lives.

The bad news is that I'm not getting a lot of responses for names for the koi that I talked about here. I really would be grateful for lots of interesting, funny, or quirky names. I'd help you if you asked.

We went to Louisville this weekend to visit the baby of the family and her wonderful family. We had a short but sweet visit and it makes me wonder why we don't go more often even though it is a 4 1/2 to 5 hour drive.

We come home on I65 and Sunday, when we got near Lafayette, I65 was closed. This caused a big traffic backup, a time consuming detour, and all in all a very big inconvenience.

Then, on Monday, I did a Google search to see if I could figure out why we were SO inconvenienced. A mother driving a car Southbound crossed the medium and hit a mother driving a car Northbound. The Southbound mother's 5 month old baby died of massive head injuries because their car overturned and the mother was helicoptered to the hospital with the same type of injuries. The Northbound mom and her family suffered injuries but none so serious.

We will probably never know what caused this accident but a lot of us will speculate. Maybe there was a malfunction in the steering mechanism of the car, maybe the lady driving suffered a seizure or fainted, or maybe she took her eyes off the road for just a second or two.

And we've all done it! I wrecked my firstborn's car years ago because I was looking at a map. I had checked ahead and it was clear but I looked at that map just a split second too long and when I looked up I saw what I couldn't have anticipated..a car stopped in my lane on an interstate highway. I didn't have time to check if it was clear so I could change lanes and visions of a multi car pileup flashed through my head if I took the chance. So I braked hard to try to minimize the impact and I hit him.

So I've done it and I'll bet you have too. I'll bet you've texted while driving (very carefully of course), looked for a phone number on your cell, or reached back for a child's book, paci, sippy cup or whatever else was needed to keep that child happy. And you did it very carefully.

But you never know. So let's never, ever take our eyes off the road again..even for a second or two. It's just not worth the risk. Even though when we do it, we really don't believe there's that much risk at all.

And I can't believe that I complained about the inconvenience.

Did I Say Thursday? I Meant Tuesday.

Today Stealth and Alabaster joined their older and bigger cousins in the main koi pond. I think they're adjusting pretty well because I can occasionally see Alabaster swimming around like it's his job. As for Stealth, I haven't seen him since shortly after we turned him loose but as I explained here, he's invisible. I do hope he shows up later though as the murky winter water starts to clear.

Now it's time for a new naming challenge. I know yesterday I said we'd start a new challenge on Thursday but that's when I was still trying to think that Beth's You Capture was on Wednesday. So now I remember and I'm adjusting. That's important, right?

Anyway, back to naming. These guys won't be so easy because I don't think they have those features that lend themselves to names based on their appearance. On the other hand, maybe they'll be easier to name because we aren't bound by appearance parameters. What we are bound by, though, is the stickiness of the suggestion. As I explained in another post, if the name doesn't fit, it doesn't stick. It just disappears.

So here's a view (from both sides) of our naming candidate for today: I believe he would be classified as a Sanke but I'm a little unsure when it comes to designating the breeds.




So please, send some suggestions. The prizes are the same and include a selection from Beth's prints here. We'll be looking for input up until Saturday night. We want to let these two guys that are still in the house (the other will be named next week) join their cousins in the big pond as soon as possible and they can't possibly go until they have a name.

Thanks for much for your help!

It's A Name and It Will Stick

The name, however, is not Stick although that suggestion was quite funny and I'd never say that somewhere down the road we won't have a fish named Stick. It's just not going to be this one.

There's no doubt that if Mr. Right were choosing the name, it would have been Cubbie but he didn't get to this time. I'll let him choose a name sometime when the suggestions are few and far between.

I loved so many of the ideas and suggestions that it was hard to make a final decision so I'll just have to go with the one that's stuck in my head. And, that's Alabaster. I like it because it's descriptive and because if it turns out to be a boy, he can become Al and if she turns out to be a girl, she can become Allie. If it ends up real obese, it can be Fat Baster. You won't get that unless you've watched the second or third films in the Austin Powers series. If you haven't, then I guess you better go ahead and do that now.

An interesting fact is that it's very difficult to tell the sex of a koi and that sometimes the best method is to watch them during spawning season. If the fish is being chased, it's a girl. If it's a chaser, then you have your boy. I see some parallels here but I won't get into all that now.

Thursday I'm presenting a new guy that needs your help finding a name and this one will be a little harder. Of course, that could mean the prize is a little better. In fact, I can almost guarantee it.

In the meantime, I'd like to introduce you to the star of this post. Please say hello to Alabaster!

A Case of Mistaken Identity

Yesterday, for You Capture - Joy week, I mistakenly identified joyful looking Carrington as Erin. It was easy to do. I've never been good connecting new names with new faces and in this case, that was complicated by meeting too many people in too short a time all wearing identical shirts. That's my official explanation.

I can assure you that it had nothing to do with the sixties in musingsoftheSIXTIES. Now if you'll excuse me, I have a couple of cans of SPICY HOT V8 that I still have to drink.

Before I get to that though, I have to address my dilemma as described here. I really do need some help naming this guy:



Maybe I wasn't completely clear. It's a contest and the person that submits the chosen name wins a prize. The prize can be any of the following interesting items: a cheap car vacuum cleaner, a really cheap, odd digital camera, an iron, a football, a porcelain egg that opens or one of Beth's prints from her print shop.

I have to remind you, though, that Casper has already been submitted as well as Pearl, Blizzard, Snow White, Milky, Eggshell, Albino, Alabaster, Cloud, and Icy. These last nine submissions were via telephone from our beloved firstborn granddaughter and her husband. And they're making a pretty strong run for the big prize.

So submit your suggestions by Saturday night. After that, any suggestions become the sole property of the white fish and no prize will be awarded if that name is chosen.

Now...back to that V8.