On to more interesting things.
Our vacation started this year with the Staff Christmas party on Wednesday. It was a fun night...much better emotionally this year for us. We know people here now. Last year, the party just emphasized how much we didn't know people. But after a year and a half, we are starting to feel like this is home.
The next day, the Kamper clan blew into town for a few days. We had a great time of eating, sleeping, playing in the snow, eating and just being together. They all left today heading into a blizzard, but reached home safe and sound.
Hang on....
Ok, I am back. I always manage to boil the water in the microwave that I am making for tea. I have been having a lot of sinus pressure and my ears hurt when I swallow (typical for me when I have sinus stuff). Anyway, I was making hot cider and the water was boiling over. And here is a question that has plagued me for years...Why, when you add sugar to water boiled in the microwave, does it foam up and froth? It doesn't do this when you boil what on the stove.
Ok, so back the whole ear thing...I bought some ear candles at the Amish store the other week and decided that tonight would be a good night to use them. Interesting...there is a lot of conflicting info on them...as in they do work, or they don't. They are suppose to clear out your ears and help with things like pressure. Some even claim they pull fungus out of your ears...who knows. Not sure, but when we cut them open afterward, gross I know, but interesting, there was just wax...no bugs or anything cool looking. So, I think they probably helped just clean out the wax build up.
Tomorrow we are going to have our family Christmas with the boys. It will be fun to have just a day to ourselves. Then, Tuesday or Wednesday, we haven't decided yet due to the weather, we will head downstate to my parents' house for the rest of the week.
Stay warm tonight...it's cold out there!
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Hi Liz! What sweet pictures! Jeremy and I enjoy keeping up-to-date with the goings-on in your family, and are looking forward to being in Barakel this February for the married couples retreat!
ReplyDeleteI can answer your question about boiling water in the microwave vs. on the stovetop, but my explanation below is an abbreviated one -- I'm sure there are websites that can explain this further, if you're interested. :)
In order for boiling to take place, there has to be a large enough group of gas molecules in one place to form a bubble. If you put clean water into a new, smooth mug in the microwave, there is nothing for the gas molecules to stick to. However, if you used a mug that had a scratch on the inside, or if you added your sugar or apple cider mix to the water before heating it, you would find that it would boil like normal while in the microwave. (Try it!) This is because the scratches or the grains of sugar provide sticky surfaces for the gas molecules to congregate and promote the formation of a bubble.
Let's say, though, that you had heated plain water in a new mug in the microwave. If you took it out of the microwave and jostled the mug, steam would form all at once with the sudden agitation. Same idea when adding sugar to your heated water. The grains of sugar provide surfaces around which the gas can congregate to form bubbles. Voila! Instant boiling, froth and foam are the result!
We had the same issue boiling water in a glass beaker over a hot plate in the lab where I worked. We used to take a metal instrument and make a tiny scratch on the bottom inside surface of the beaker. That scratched allowed us to boil water in an otherwise impossibly smooth glass container.
Hope that answers your question. Yay science! :)
Ahh yes, ear candles. We tried them a couple years ago and were FASCINATED with the wax. We like gross things like that. I guess that's why I clean teeth! Hope you're feeling better soon, and Merry Christmas!
ReplyDeletehey there! hope you have a great christmas! i've done that ear candling before..it does help with wax build-up.
ReplyDeleteyes...it's true... they were quite surprised.... but nonetheless happy.. i had a dream last week that our baby came out and the dr said... it's a ____ which was the opposite of what we were having, and i said WHAT?!? :)
ReplyDeletehope you guys have a great Christmas!