marshmallow shooters (and other explanations due)

ok, ok. james is not the only one who's asked about my passing reference to marshmallow shooters. it's true, had i not seen one for myself i would have been very curious about what, exactly, they are. first of all, they are not related to jello shooters at all. these are designed for kids (really). evidently, you can shoot marshmallows from guns of all forms, but the ones we saw look like this.







you put a few small marshmallows in the long end, aim, and blow through the top pipe. i can't say for sure with what force the little balls of sugar coming flying out. but it's fun - you can even make one yourself.

as for the big hole in our yard, i also probably owe further explanation: the reflecting pool pictured below conceals a hole that's about 3 feet deep and lined with tiles. in the middle of the hole there is a very large pipe and a very important valve. the town has had to increase its water pressure recently in order to accomodate the new homes that are going in up the hill in chatham forest. the pressure necessary to get water up the hill is way too high for homes like ours back on "pittsboro-level." thus, the valve, of which we are the town's trusted stewards. if anything goes wrong with it, the hole will contain the water temporarily, and (in theory) still allow room for two people (presumably not tracy and me?) to access the pipes to fix it. thus, no dirt over the hole: it must be accessible at all times. anyone understand this better than i, to offer a more accurate explanation?

by the way, while i'm taking a minute away from work to write this post (eek?), i should mention (somewhat sheepishly) that i browsed around other blogs yesterday, and got some sense of our company here on blogger. not only do we use the SAME color format as everyone else around the world :), but i feel a bit frivolous for not using the space to analyze jihad or document worldwide travels or debate local politics. but to be sure, the purpose of this (join me, tracy?) was to provide pictures and some stories from our lives, which are refreshingly simple... hope you're still enjoying.

james, thanks for the comment. y'all post more to let us know if you're reading? :) thanks.