Well my enthusiastic start to Christmas posts was scuppered by violent bloody murder actually murders ...No not real ones thank goodness. My OH was teaching a two week special Forensic science class to mostly High School (but a few middle school children made it in)children.
This involved much setting up of crime scenes for them to investigate. Think masking tape body outlines ...bloody murder weapons (Glossy Holly red paint ..very festive) Foot prints on newspapers, fingerprints (nice bloody red ones ! on cups, phones, glasses, chairs you name it... we had lines of drugs left on tables at the scenes (sugar actually ..lol) tables tipped , china broken , fibers to id clues to discover etc etc times this by Seven for each set up ...so 14 in total and you find how much effort and time it takes ..... We are now officially ready for the holidays!!!
I scoured the local thrift stores for outrageous ties (strangulation) Cast iron frying pan, assorted tools.... who could resist Candle sticks for the school library crime scene ...not me .
Another great find was a golf club ($2.95 so within budget !) It sounds like they've have had a great and very interesting time ..a mix of lectures and short videos ...lots of lab experiments... testing chemicals ..testing fibers to identify what they are....looking at hair and fur under the microscope (oops just realized I forgot to add dog hair to this mornings crime scenes....still it's too late now)
Fingerprint ..making, lifting , id'ing... ballistics ... gun shot holes in glass ...(gosh darn it do you realise how hard it is too produce bullet.. actually air gun pellet... holes in glass to examine ..without shattering the whole thing ...very I say and it's darn messy to clean up the disasters in the garden on a below freezing snowy day.)
He also had visits by interesting speakers including A Pharmacist, A Prosecutor, Crime Lab foot print chap (excellent apparently) ..and more .
All in all Exhausting, informative and great fun!
So tomorrow the Children start their Winter Break and I get to help clear and put away rather a lot of labs... but at least life is not boring.
Anyway to keep on a vaguely murderous theme Christmas stories I like to read at this time of year
The Nine Tailors by D.L.Sayers
also a short story called A Necklace of Pearls from her collection
" A Treasury of Sayers Stories"
On a non Christmas or Murderous theme I'm really enjoying this work by Sayers
The Lost Tools of Learning
I must be on a Sayer's influenced roll here as I just realized I also have The Late Scholar by Jill Paton Walsh on my bedside cupboard which I'm enjoying for a second time.
I've also dipped into Martin Edwards lovely fat book The Golden Age of Murder which talks of D.L. Sayers life and work.
And that leads me onto The Christmas book edited by Mr Edwards Silent Nights:Christmas Mysteries ..which I'm rationing to one to two at bedtime ...Just right for a cold Winter'y night.
The only progress I've made on the Christmas cooking front is Three nice fat jars of Mincemeat. I used raisins, dates,chopped dessert apple, brown sugar, fresh grated beef suet, spices, home made candied peel, blanched chopped almonds and some Maraschino cherries (because I had some in the store and no other cherries in sight) plus of course some sherry ..oh and some white rum oh and a little Amaretto...it smells and looks rather wonderful and Christmass'y.
Well enough for now I'm off to clean my fridge (it's all fun here)
This involved much setting up of crime scenes for them to investigate. Think masking tape body outlines ...bloody murder weapons (Glossy Holly red paint ..very festive) Foot prints on newspapers, fingerprints (nice bloody red ones ! on cups, phones, glasses, chairs you name it... we had lines of drugs left on tables at the scenes (sugar actually ..lol) tables tipped , china broken , fibers to id clues to discover etc etc times this by Seven for each set up ...so 14 in total and you find how much effort and time it takes ..... We are now officially ready for the holidays!!!
I scoured the local thrift stores for outrageous ties (strangulation) Cast iron frying pan, assorted tools.... who could resist Candle sticks for the school library crime scene ...not me .
Another great find was a golf club ($2.95 so within budget !) It sounds like they've have had a great and very interesting time ..a mix of lectures and short videos ...lots of lab experiments... testing chemicals ..testing fibers to identify what they are....looking at hair and fur under the microscope (oops just realized I forgot to add dog hair to this mornings crime scenes....still it's too late now)
Fingerprint ..making, lifting , id'ing... ballistics ... gun shot holes in glass ...(gosh darn it do you realise how hard it is too produce bullet.. actually air gun pellet... holes in glass to examine ..without shattering the whole thing ...very I say and it's darn messy to clean up the disasters in the garden on a below freezing snowy day.)
He also had visits by interesting speakers including A Pharmacist, A Prosecutor, Crime Lab foot print chap (excellent apparently) ..and more .
All in all Exhausting, informative and great fun!
So tomorrow the Children start their Winter Break and I get to help clear and put away rather a lot of labs... but at least life is not boring.
Anyway to keep on a vaguely murderous theme Christmas stories I like to read at this time of year
The Nine Tailors by D.L.Sayers
also a short story called A Necklace of Pearls from her collection
" A Treasury of Sayers Stories"
On a non Christmas or Murderous theme I'm really enjoying this work by Sayers
The Lost Tools of Learning
I must be on a Sayer's influenced roll here as I just realized I also have The Late Scholar by Jill Paton Walsh on my bedside cupboard which I'm enjoying for a second time.
I've also dipped into Martin Edwards lovely fat book The Golden Age of Murder which talks of D.L. Sayers life and work.
And that leads me onto The Christmas book edited by Mr Edwards Silent Nights:Christmas Mysteries ..which I'm rationing to one to two at bedtime ...Just right for a cold Winter'y night.
The only progress I've made on the Christmas cooking front is Three nice fat jars of Mincemeat. I used raisins, dates,chopped dessert apple, brown sugar, fresh grated beef suet, spices, home made candied peel, blanched chopped almonds and some Maraschino cherries (because I had some in the store and no other cherries in sight) plus of course some sherry ..oh and some white rum oh and a little Amaretto...it smells and looks rather wonderful and Christmass'y.
Well enough for now I'm off to clean my fridge (it's all fun here)
If only we'd had science lessons like that when I was at school. I might have paid attention. Some interesting looking books you have there. My Christmas read was very disappointing. Homage to Agatha Christie? I should've stuck with Jane Marple.
ReplyDeleteOh darn it ..I was hoping you'd give it a good review occasionally you get a good one ...but usually not .
DeleteOur science was uninspired too! this lot have all the fun!