mathmom's blog

While we were on vacation several weeks ago, it seems that pantry moths were undisturbed in our pantry, and busily did what they seem to do best. Last night, we were suddenly beset. Like Birds , except very small. Each moth is easy to kill; collectively, they are very disturbing. This morning, deep-cleaning the pantry was a three-hour task. Three bags of trash, and the not-obviously-touched food (and bags, boxes, and other containers) into the freezer for three days just in case, since that is supposed to kill the eggs. We'll see. There are suggestions in some articles to put all dry goods in the freezer for a month or two, since the moths' life cycle is about a month long. Previously, we kept a pheromone trap in the pantry, but perhaps that attracted them. We are now trying a trap next to but not in the pantry, as well as using an insecticide spray sparingly, and a lemongrass spray more widely (don't know how well it will work, but at least it smells nice).

Eleanor really really wanted to use poles while skiing. Ski instructors don't give them to kids (or anyone just learning, for that matter) because it distracts them from learning and can be dangerous. Worn out by her repeated entreaties, Michael said that if she did “linked turns” with good speed control all the way down the hill without his reminding her, she could use poles. The first trip down he had to remind her a few times, but after that, she worked very hard and remembered all the way down. Of course, using the poles was a distraction, and there were new things to learn about how to use poles safely. But it kept being a great motivator for skiing well, and she kept skiing well all the time she used the poles. She's at least as good a skier as I am, and she definitely has more confidence. I'll see if I can get Michael to write a “guest blog post” about Eleanor skiing. Michael says: It's amazing how quickly Eleanor learned when she was motivated. When we st...