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Crabs, heat, taxes and tea

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Feb 11, 2007


On Friday my delightful 10 year old daughter brought home the class pet...or should I say pets.  5 hermit crabs.  There names are Snoopy, Shiny, Angelica, Buttercup, and one whose name we can't remember.  I was less than thrilled  with new guests...they were unexpected and I have not signed a permission slip for these to come to my house.  Had I been sent one I would have, doing my parental duty and all.  However, I know NOTHING, let me repeat NOTHING about hermit crabs.  My daughter, appears brunette but has very blonde roots ( no offense to anyone meant). Our first conversation about them follows: She comes in the door with them and tells me, I need salt.  We have to put salt in their water.  How much salt says I?  I dunno she tells me.  My teacher just puts salt in the water and shakes it up.  Sweetheart, mommy needs to know how much.  She shrugs.  So I look it up on the internet.  Know what I discovered?  Table salt can kill hermit crabs.  They need sea salt.  I don't have sea salt.  We live 1 hour from a pet store, 30 minutes from Walmart.  I'm not planning on doing either...remember..we had plans this weekend.  The whole reason they came home with her THIS WEEKEND...her teacher was out sick and so was the person assigned to be hermit helper.  So the sub let her volunteer.  Remind me to send my dogs to her as a thank you.  :) 

Yesterday evening, after having been gone for a few hours, we discovered that their sand was quite wet.  She had bathed them earlier in the day, they'd been given water in a shell to drink (we had nothing else to give it to them in) but it shouldn't have been THAT wet.  I told her to just wait and we would check it out in the morning...me assuming it would be drier...I swear to you this morning it appeared the sand was sitting at lowtide because it was that wet.  I was a bit worried about one of them and decided we needed to do something...let me interject we overslept and didn't make it to church...so the morning wasn't running so hot anyway...

We decided to bathe the hermit crabs, put them in something to dry out and use the blow dryer to dry the sand.  My beloved was trying to study his current chapter for  his business class..but he pitched in and helped us.  We put the hermit crabs in the water...very shallow water, and then put them in a lid to dry off.  Then my beloved put the blow dryer through the lid on the habitat and put a towel around it to keep the sand from blowing out. Periodically he took the blow dryer out, used a fork to mix up the sand so it would all get dry.  Imagine our surprise when the heat from the blow dryer melted the habitat!  Holy Cow Batman, we have a problem!

We called our "local" Walmart and they weren't answering in the pet department.  So we called one half an hour in the other direction.  They had one...so because it is smaller than ours..and I needed to go into that town to pick up some prescriptions anyway, we went to the one that wouldn't answer.  Yeah, good choice.  They clearenced theirs on Friday...they are ALL GONE.  So now what?  We were supposed to already be at Mike's best friends to do our taxes.  So we took the hermit crabs and went to do the taxes..then went an hour the nearest pet store to buy a new habitat.  This is just a transport case..not the big one from the classroom.  Thank God above!  Bought new sand.  Then went to grab a bite to eat.

The hermit crabs are safe and dry.  Assuming they live through the night.  They still have to be given some water to drink and make the trip back on the bus in the morning.  With a note to the teacher explaining what has happened to the old one. 

Ok, I've covered crabs, heat and taxes.  That leaves me with tea

Next Saturday our church youth group is hosting a tea party.  I volunteered to bake something.  I'm not a great cook but I can bake.  They are trying to make it a true english tea party.  So I need your help.  I need a simple recipe for little cakes or tarts.  But remember keep it simple!  NO stress here...but I"d like to make something somewhat authentic..yet simple...cause I will be making it no earlier than Friday....

I've not hit anyone's blog all weekend..( I know you are either bowing down thanking God or trembling in fear) I'm on my way to visit as time allows. 

I'm grateful that this weekend we had the money to replace the habitat.  $13 shouldn't be a big deal..but around here it could have been.

Have to get J to bed and C in the shower for school tomorrow.  J has a dentist appt in the morning...he hit his mouth on the coffee table last week and his top two teeth still hurt so she wants to see him...hmmm yippy skippy.

lol
blessings and hugs
Vicky