It has been a while since I wrote. Not because anything major happened - on the contrary; nothing much has happened! Last week was pretty much the same ol' stuff. Yesterday for Mother's Day we didn't even do much. A while back we were given gift certificates to a seafood restaurant nearby, but we hadn't used them yet. This place also has a carryout where you can buy raw seafood, too, so we used the certificates to buy crab meat and I made a pile of crabcakes yesterday. Jerry's mom came over, and it was basically just a laid back kind of day. I feel like I enjoy Mother's Day every day. Although there are times that are trying, I wouldn't trade being a mom for anything in this world. Yesterday was a special day for my boys as well as me, because I get to be their mom every single day.

Having said that, I must tell about something one of my offspring did yesterday. I had planned to have deviled eggs with dinner, so yesterday morning I put both boys to work helping to make them. I had one boy peeling eggs and the other cutting them and removing the yolks. I went about doing other things and walked into the kitchen just in time to see my oldest dumping the entire bowl of hard-boiled egg yolks into the trash. Not believing what I had just seen, I shrieked, "WHAT DID YOU JUST DO?!" He turned around with a look of terror on his face because of the decibel level of my shriek, at which point I repeated the question (at the same decibel level, too). He stared blankly at me and said, "You needed those?"

This is the same child who has taught himself everything he knows as far as music goes. This is the same child who was chosen out of the entire county to represent the county in his high school vo-tech computer animation competition. This is the same child who was asked by the local college to give a presentation to incoming students because at 17 he was maintaining an "A" average in college, while attending high school at the same time. This is the same child who gives guitar lessons to a student who speaks Japanese, thought the language was wonderful, and so bought a textbook and has been teaching himself to speak and write Japanese. Alas, this is also the same child who got a tattoo instead of a mattress, and threw the filling away for the deviled eggs. Well, on the positive side, he will never forget how to make deviled eggs now.

As usual, I am a day late and a dollar short. My day got away from me yesterday and when I was going to call my own mother, I was shocked to realize it was 8:40 at night. It wasn't that I forgot - my day just sped by and was gone before I knew it. I sent a card which I do hope arrived in time, but I could have made more of an effort to call at a decent time. Her birthday is coming up shortly - I shall have to redeem myself. Mom, if you read this, Happy Belated Mother's Day - I love you very, very much, and I hope you had a wonderful day yesterday, in spite of your middle child.

Let the Games Begin!

Yesterday's track meet was a lot of fun. The kids really enjoyed themselves, and we could not have asked for a more beautiful day. After Andy's class returned to the school, they had Chick-Fil-A nuggets waiting for them for lunch in the classroom. Jerry and I drove to the high school to meet Andy's class there, then afterwards I dropped Jerry off at home and had to go back to the school for the rest of the day to do my regular Tuesday stuff there. It was a very long day, but a fun one. All three of us got sun on our faces which is stinging a little this morning, but we'll live! I'll bet there were a lot of tired fifth graders in this county last night. There were tired people right here in this house last night! That was just the beginning of what will be a very busy May and June for Andy's class. In two weeks they will be going on their fifth grade boat trip. Then two days after that they are going to the nature park near here to study oysters. After that they have their fifth grade luau, then a few days later is their movie day which is when all of the fifth grade classes from the school will be going to the theater to see Madagascar. In between all of this they will be learning about the birds and the bees. Maybe the kids will be too tired from all the trips and activities to really pay attention! I can only hope.....!

The picture is a little blurry, but there was some kind of a nest up in the lights on the field.

The track meet was held at the high school that Tom graduated from last year. It is a HUGE school. This is only part of it - the rest wouldn't fit in the picture.

Racers getting ready for the 100-meter race. Andy is the runner on the far right.

Andy ran in the 30-meter race - he is at the far left of the picture.

Here's Andy doing baseball speed throwing.

Andy and friends.

Opening ceremony - each school wore a different color. Andy's school is in the gray just under the yellow bunch.

Picture Day Again - And Again - And Again......

Remember when Picture Day at school was a one-day thing? You were given a little black plastic comb, waited in line, had your picture taken and went back to your classroom. When your pictures arrived, of course your parents bought them - then embarrassed you by displaying them. That's how it was done. Woe to the child who was absent on Picture Day. You had a blank space in your school scrapbook of pictures for that year. Well, times have definitely changed, and not for the better. Photographers have figured out that a parent will buy anything that has their child's picture on it - not because they need more pictures of their child, but because of the guilt factor associated with not buying pictures of their child. So far this year there have been three Picture Days at Andy's school - or, as the wealthy photography company puts it, "Photo opportunities".

The photography company must know that parents are getting a little tired of buying pictures of their offspring, so they've changed their tactics once you get past the very first Picture Day. Now they take pictures of your child whether you ask for them or not, then print them and send them home with a payment envelope "If you want these precious keepsakes of your child". Boy, have they got you. If I don't buy these "precious keepsakes of my child", will this precious child be telling that fact to a therapist ten years from now? Not only are there pictures in the package but bookmarks, keychain pictures, calendar cards and last but not least, stickers! Boy howdy - now my precious child can just be with me, at my side, in my wallet, on EVERYTHING I OWN ALL $%#& DAY LONG!

Ahem - excuse the outburst. I must go now and write a check to those dear photographers who keep reminding me what my precious child looks like. Oh well, at least it's cheaper than therapy.

Not much happening these past few days. Andy was up most of the night Wednesday with pollen-related general yuckiness. I wish he had told me he wasn't feeling well. Instead, he got up and got himself some water, turned on his light and sat up reading most of the night. If he had awakened me I could have given him Benadryl to help him sleep, but he said he didn't want to bother me. So, at 4:30 when I got up and saw him still awake, I gave him Benadryl then, knowing full well that he'd be too unconscious to get up for school at 7:00! I just let him sleep and he slept until 9:30. I'm a stickler for not giving medicine for every little thing. I honestly believe it keeps everyone healthier to let your body do the fighting, if it can. Too many people take medicine for every little ache and pain, and your body doesn't even have a chance to try to defend itself, and so no antibodies to anything get built up. I feel the same way about seasonal allergies. I know people suffer with them, but pollen has been around longer than people have! I'm quite sure the first settlers didn't go running to Ye Olde General Store for Claritin. I just think that we are in too much of a hurry to "get on with our day", and will take something to feel better so we can do that, instead of just taking it easy a day or two while your body builds up defenses. I guess I'm doing something right - Andy hasn't been to the doctor's for two years and that was when he caught scarlet fever when it was going around school. When his temperature went from 99 to 103 in the space of an hour and he became too drowsy to talk to us I knew this was not the time to let his body fight by itself. Tom hasn't been to the doctor's for three years, and that was when he developed a fluid sac around the screws in the top of his leg and it was too painful for him to even walk. We are blessed with good health and a family lineage that is the same.

Andy has a track meet on Tuesday that sounds like a lot of fun. Five elementary schools from this area get together at the local high school and spend the day running races and doing different sporting events. Each school competes against the others. It is only for the fifth graders of each school. They will be doing that until 1:00, then they return to school for a lunch catered by Chick-Fil-A. Sounds like a great day! All of the fifth graders from Andy's school were given a T-shirt that the school had made up with all the fifth graders' signatures on it and that has their school name on the front. The fifth grade teachers got together and gave me one too! I will proudly wear it on Tuesday as I cheer my son on! He has signed up for a few of the races. They had to sign up in advance for what events they wanted to participate in so there wouldn't be complete chaos on Tuesday.

We went to Jerry's mom's house on Thursday night for his birthday dinner. Unlike my birthday dinner (steak and macaroni and cheese - which, I might add I haven't had since I was a kid - and miss very much), we had roast beef and lots of other good stuff. Of course there was cake and ice cream, too. Tom wasn't able to make it because he had lessons Thursday night. He is doing very well at work. All of his lesson slots are filled because so many people have requested him for their teacher, and now he has been put in charge of instrument repairs at their repair shop, too. He has gotten raises commensurate with all of this too and is doing very well financially. He seems to have a real talent for all things musical, from playing music to building or repairing instruments. He is self-taught in all of this too which is very remarkable, I think. But then again, I am his mother and could be just a tad biased!

Today is a rainy day and so I think I will finish my work, try to do some decluttering and sorting, and maybe work on the blanket that I'm crocheting. Needless to say, we decided not to go to West Virginia this weekend. We thought that it wouldn't be much fun traipsing around in the rain for two out of three days looking at land. We are getting things lined up around here though in order to sell the house. The electrician came by last week and is going to be finishing the electric in the garage sometime soon. The plumber came by yesterday and told Jerry what he needed to get in order for him to put a shower in the downstairs bathroom. This also involves moving a wall in the adjoining laundry room and moving the water heater, washer, dryer, and refrigerator that are in there. Tom said that we're going to fix this place up so that we won't want to move! Nah... THAT will never happen.

Not a great picture, but this azalea has grown to be HUGE! Must be the coffee grinds I feed it!

Another azalea - complete with bee!

The sun shining through the plum tree branches. If you look closely you can see teeny, tiny plum buds!

One of the azaleas - minus bees for the moment!

Time Is Flying!

Where is the time going? And why does it seem that the older I get, the faster time goes by? I don't like it - no, sir - I don't like it one bit! The phone rang yesterday morning and the caller ID screen read "United States Government". Hmm...maybe I should answer this, I thought. Turns out it was a Sgt. Kinney from the U.S. Marines who wanted to know what my soon-to-be-19-year-old son planned to do with his future. I guess Marines don't have a sense of humor - or at least this Marine didn't. When he asked me if my son had considered a career in the Marines, jokingly I gasped and said "You want to take MY BOY!!!!". After a moment, Sgt. Kinney said, "No, ma'am. I assure you I do not want to take your boy." Then I laughed and said, "It's okay. Actually there are times when I'd like to bring him to you!". Again, a silence for a moment, then a serious "Yes, ma'am". Hoo, boy. Tough crowd! Oh, well. I guess a Marine with a sense of humor is an oxymoron. Like civil war.

If it wasn't upsetting enough to be reminded that MY BOY is going to be 19 soon, yesterday at school the teachers asked me to sort the Family Life books that they will be using to teach in the next few weeks. I took a look through one of the books - and had to stifle a shriek of terror. It's the birds and the bees! OH NO!!!!! Not my OTHER BOY! He's not ready for this. I'M not ready for this.

Now, we are trying to decide what to do for Jerry's birthday tomorrow. School is closed on Friday and we had originally talked about going to West Virginia to look for property, but we're not sure what we're going to do just yet. In any case, Jerry's mother said she wanted to at least go to dinner or something tomorrow night if we don't go to the mountains. Another year older for him. Actually, I don't mind his birthdays. Since he is six months older than I am, I have six whole months to tease him about being old! For some reason my mother used to always confuse Jerry's birthday with the birthday of Porky, a dog we had when I was growing up. I wonder if there's something subconscious going on there about what she really thinks of him?!

Well, Andy will be finishing elementary school in about six weeks, Tom will be turning 19 in a while, Jerry turns another year old tomorrow, and I'm getting more gray by the day (larger, too!). Time really does fly, doesn't it? I can remember being 12 and wanting to be 13 so I could wear mascara, and mom saying "Don't wish your life away". I remember being 15 and wanting to be 16 so I could drive, and mom saying "Don't wish your life away". I remember being 17 and wishing I was 18 so I could get married, and mom saying "Don't wish your life away". Now I'm really understanding the wisdom of those words, and telling my boys the very same thing.

Not a lot has been happening, and not a lot of thoughts rolling around in my head lately, either! Sometimes something will happen, or I'll see something and think "BLOG!", but nothing blogworthy has happened recently. Well, except for what we like to call the "meringue pie incident". Luckily, I was the first one to taste it, and quickly quarantined the pie before it did any further damage.

The volunteer lunch at school was very nice. There was a lot of food! There were platters of meats and cheeses, every kind of salad you could think of, including garden salad, pasta salad, tuna salad, broccoli salad, macaroni salad, potato salad, and probably some others that I'm forgetting. They had a place called Mom's in the Kitchen cater it. I didn't even know this place existed - now if only they had delivery service......!

The knitting is going okay. I'm still practicing that, but I got itchy to create something, so I fell back on the old crochet standby. Yarn has certainly changed from back in the day! I found a wonderfully nubbly, thick and soft yarn that I am crocheting a blanket with. I also bought some yarn that isn't actually yarn at all - it's more like feathers on a string. I have ordered some chenille yarn and I can't wait to make something out of that! I ordered from Knitting Warehouse. I have never ordered anything from there before, but their prices were even better than Wal-Mart, and they seemed to have good reviews. We'll see when the goods arrive!

Andy graduated from D.A.R.E. on Friday. He proudly wore his T-shirt home. DARE stands for Drug Abuse Resistance Education. A police officer has been teaching the fifth graders for the last month or so. Andy has really learned a lot. He would come home every evening and tell us facts and statistics, and why Jerry really needs to quit smoking! I was touched by the essay he chose to write. At the end of the DARE course in addition to taking a written test, you had to write an essay about anything you wanted to, but in some way it had to incorporate what you learned. Andy chose to write a letter to Jerry asking him to quit smoking, and giving him what I thought were darn good reasons to! It was a very well-written essay.

Jerry is back on the eastern shore today. Yes, again. The latest on the trailer saga goes like this: Jerry took the trailer to another trailer manufacturer to get their opinion. The man there told Jerry he couldn't and wouldn't fix it, because to begin with the trailer was over-wide, which accounts for the no clearance problem with the wheels, and why they are rubbing the box of the trailer and tearing up the tires. This man told Jerry that there are legal specifications and measurements that trailers need to be, and that this one was over-wide and, therefore, illegal. He suggested the name of an attorney who is very knowledgeable about trailer stuff for Jerry to talk to. Well, this attorney confirmed that indeed Jerry's trailer was oversized and therefore illegal to have on the road, but that he couldn't help because it would be a conflict of interest for him as he represented the National Association of Trailer Manufacturers on a case before, and the company who made Jerry's trailer is a member of this. Have I lost you yet?! This attorney suggested we contact our own attorney and see what could be done. Before doing that, though, Jerry took his trailer to the Department of transportation police and asked them to inspect his trailer. We were really hoping that he wasn't going to leave there was a pile of citations! They were very nice and helpful, but they did inform Jerry that the trailer was illegal, and that he could very well be stopped and either ticketed, or the trailer would have to be parked until Jerry proved that he fixed it to within size specifications. And no, they didn't give him any tickets! When he got home from there, Jerry called our attorney here and explained the situation. The attorney asked Jerry to write a letter outlining everything, and bring it to him where he would refine it and send it to everyone involved and try to get something done without having to take it to court. Jerry, being the nice guy that he is, and not being the litigious type, decided to give the trailer people one more chance. When he called them and told that what he had found out between all of the people I mentioned above, they were suddenly willing to talk with him. Well, that proved to be useless. He went all the way over there this morning and the guy representing the company just kept saying that he sees oversized trailers all over the place, and didn't see what the big deal was. The big deal is that this trailer is unusable to Jerry as it is, because it can't hold any weight without rubbing the tires and burning off the backs of them because the thing is just too wide! The trailer company representative is either very stupid or is just playing the part, but in any case he just could not get it that something needed to be done, and that it was not our fault that we bought a trailer that turned out to be useless because it was built wrong. Jerry already started the letter that goes to the attorney for fine-tuning, and will be dropping that off tomorrow, I imagine. It is amazing to me how no one is willing to take responsibility for anything anymore. Everyone just pushes the blame off on someone or something else, instead of having some character and integrity. Those are hard traits to find in people these days. Well, I could go on and on about stupid people, but I think I've written enough for one afternoon!

Karen's Household Hint #2

Always check the expiration date on your lemon juice before making a lemon meringue pie. Unless, of course, citrus laxative was your intent in the first place.

How Politically Correct Can We Get?!

Who thinks up these things? Is there someone who sits in an office thinking of ways to change current terms into "politically correct" ones? It is truly getting ridiculous now. Today I saw a florist's ad reminding everyone to "Remember Administrative Professional's Day!" Excuse me? What, exactly, might that be, I wondered. After a short search I discovered that Administrative Professional's Day is what used to be called Secretary's Day. It seems to me that if everyone was as worried about doing their actual job and doing it correctly, then they would be less worried about the title of said job. Did you know that I'm now a Medical Language Specialist? Yes, the powers that be in the medical field decided that Medical Transcriptionist no longer accurately described the depth of knowledge needed to do that job, and that Medical Language Specialist was to be the new title. I'm glad I wasn't looking for a job recently. I saw an ad for "MLS with extensive ESL". I couldn't figure out what it was. Last I heard, MLS stood for Multiple Listing Service and had to do with the real estate field. By this time I was wondering why this ad was listed in the Healthcare section of the classifieds, and wondering what an ESL was, and why the Multiple Listing Service needed it. I finally figured out what it meant. I'm almost afraid to find out what will be changed next.

This may not be politically correct at all, but I am convinced that we are a society of squirrels. This is what I read in Andy's book about squirrels:

"Usually the male leaves after mating, but sometimes the pair will stay together for a while and even build a nest together. But the male is always gone by the time the babies arrive."

I wonder how many fathers claim temporary squirrelity during their child support trial?!

Karen's Household Hint #1

Never, ever try to substitute Dawn dishwashing liquid for Cascade dishwashing powder. Please don't ask me how I know this - just trust me on this one.

Goodbye weekend......sigh...

Another Sunday night. Which means closer to another Monday morning *sigh*....

We didn't do much this weekend. Or rather, I didn't do much this weekend! Jerry, on the other hand, drywalled the garage ceiling and spackled it all, and finished putting the electrical outlets where they need to be. An electrician he knows is supposed to come by sometime this week and connect everything to the house electric. Great - there goes the electric bill again!

All week we have been watching "Band of Brothers" on the History Channel. What a great series this was. Anyone who hasn't seen it really needs to. It was really hard to break away from it to get anything else done while it was on. Then last night they showed the movie "Windtalkers". This was a very good movie. It was about how the Marines used Navajo Indians to be "code talkers" during World War II. The Japanese never broke that code, even though they managed to break every other code used by the military.

I am looking forward to lunch tomorrow. Each year at Andy's school they have a special lunch for the volunteers. In previous years I didn't attend these, but I wasn't aware until last year that the teachers pay for this. Last year when Andy's teacher asked if I was going, I said no at first, but that's when I found out that she helped pay for it, and wanted me to go with her! It was a very nice lunch with lots of great food. I also didn't realize until last year that the teachers you volunteer for go too and you are their "guest". Hmmm.....I volunteer for two teachers this year - can I get two lunches?!

TGIF!

Friday at last! It hasn't been a bad week, but I do love Fridays! I feel like a kid again, getting to stay up late on Friday nights! Oh sure - I can do that any night of the week, but then I'd be miserable and make everyone around me the same way. Instead of staying up late reading tonight, I might pick up my knitting again. A friend and neighbor showed me a beautiful scarf she had knitted and it inspired me to learn how to knit. It's slow going, but I'm making some progress - at least after four days it's starting to look recognizable as knitting! I am, however, hearing knit 1, purl 1 in my sleep.

I was on a roll baking today - pun intended! I have a recipe for soft pretzels and Andy had asked for those, so I made a batch of those today. I need to find a new recipe, though. These didn't turn out tasting very much like the kind you get at a store. They were good, but could have been better. I use my bread machine for just about every kind of dough - so much easier.

The pretzels were made after I had baked a cake at 6:30 this morning. Strange, I know, but what a great way to heat the kitchen! It was cold in the house this morning, and I wasn't going to start a fire just for a few hours. We have a practically brand-new heat pump, but I refuse to use it. Energy efficient, my eye! Well, perhaps it is, but with our electric rates it's just very expensive to use. Everyone got a letter from the electric company in January informing us that our electric rate was going up 23%. That's a LOT! We had used the heat pump for only about five days during the last billing period, and kept a fire going the rest of the time, but I almost fainted when we got our electric bill - $251.00 for one month. Everyone around here was in shock. The lady in front of us got a bill for $200.00 - and she lives alone! The neighbors next to us got a bill for $280.00. They just built an addition to their house and weren't even in that yet, so they are dreading their bill when they actually move into the new part. So anyway, to take the chill out of the kitchen before it was time for Andy to get up, I baked a cake.

The neighbor that built the addition gave me a wonderful present today. It is a half-pint milk bottle that has "Chestnut Farms, Chevy Chase Dairy, Washington, D.C." embossed on one side, and "Safe Milk For Babies" on the other. I love it! She has a daycare in her home (hence the addition!), and sometimes I get the children off the bus for her since I'm there getting Andy anyway, and this was a thank-you gift for helping. Her husband works for a company who does a lot of excavating around here, and he finds treasure troves of stuff like this. She has quite an extensive collection of wonderful old bottles. If my camera starts to behave, I will try to take a picture of the bottle.

Well, on to my Friday evening...life is good!

Walls CAN Talk!

Andy bought two new posters at the book fair last week. Looking around his room after he had put them up on his wall made me think about posters past and present, and gender differences in poster tastes. It seems to me that in choosing adornments for their walls, girls favor boys, and boys favor cars. I'm not sure that this ever really changes post-adolescence, either ! Tom has posters of guitar players and cars on his walls. Andy has posters of video game characters and cars on his walls. Not a female in sight.

What a difference from my friends and I when we were growing up. I had posters of David Cassidy, and then later on it was Peter Frampton who adorned my walls. One of my friends had her room plastered with pictures of Shaun Cassidy and Parker Stevenson. We would cut pictures out of Tiger Beat magazine and add to our already-cluttered walls. Another friend was not allowed to put anything on her walls - she had a lighted, framed picture of John F. Kennedy on her wall. I always thought that was a little weird.

Before cable television and internet where there is instant access to pictures of the current crush-of-the-month, we had to rely on trying to catch our faves on a television show, or waiting for the next issue of a teen magazine to come out. Times have changed, but the need for surrounding ourselves with things that interest us hasn't - it has only matured to match our grown-up interests. Well, for most of us anyway. How else can you explain the fact that women hang pictures depicting beauty, such as flowers, while men hang pictures of poker-playing dogs?!

The plum tree in full bloom.

Too Much Me!

I have been having fun trying on clothes - right here at home! I found this virtual model site, and it's been a lot of fun. It is definitely an eye-opener as far as seeing yourself as others see you (when you are honest and enter the information as you really are!). It's also fun to see what you would look like heavier or lighter, too. I realized that there are just some things that, uh, larger women shouldn't wear, and that horizontal stripes can make one look like a barge!

Andy showed me a fun site today, too. You get to design your own roller coaster, but it takes some thinking to make it work. We adjusted the gravity too light and had the car flying (literally!) off the track!

We are enjoying the weekend - not really doing much, even though there's lots to be done. Maybe tomorrow.........

In The Blink Of An Eye

It amazes me how quickly someone's life can change, or be taken away. Jerry is in Delaware today to have his trailer fixed. He bought his trailer there last year and has had lots of problems with it. He was looking underneath it and saw numbers on the axles; the front axle said "7" and the back axle said "6". Well, it turns out that the trailer is supposed to have two "7" (meaning 7000 pounds) axles on it, and somebody from the factory goofed. This is after Jerry had already taken it back once where they said they fixed it (but didn't). After many, many phone calls, Jerry finally got them to agree that they were responsible for putting the wrong axle in it when building it, and agreed to replace the axle with a new one, which is why he is there today. That's not the whole problem, though, and now he is waiting for someone to fix the entire thing or he told them they could have it back. The backs of the wheels on the trailer are less than half an inch away from the body of the trailer, and the last time Jerry carried a load on the trailer, the wheels rubbed on the metal body and melted the rubber off the back of the tires. After checking with several people and looking at the wheel clearance on other trailers, it was determined by the salesman, distributor and factory rep that something was indeed wrong and that maybe the trailer wasn't built to the right size specifications. Now it seems that everyone just keeps passing the buck on this problem and no one seems to want to take responsibility for fixing it; the salesman said to call the distributor; the distributor said to call the factory representative; the factory representative won't return anyone's calls. In summary, Jerry has planted himself at the trailer place where they replaced the one axle and has told them he's not leaving until someone fixes the other problem, too. (I fully expect a phone call asking for bail any moment now!).

Anyway, that explains why he is there. He called me a little while ago and said that while he was waiting there at the trailer place he saw a lot of commotion going on at the building right next to where he was. Then he saw a helicopter land there in the parking lot. One of the people working at the trailer place told Jerry that they had heard shots just a few minutes before and apparently someone had been shot right next to the building where Jerry was. While he was telling me this, I got on the internet to see if I could find out anything about it, and I found this article which explains it. It's difficult to think about the fact that we go about our everyday lives, never realizing that things can change in an instant. I am praying for those who were shot today, and as sappy as it might sound, I am also treasuring my family just a little bit more today, and thanking God that Jerry wasn't in that part of the parking lot at that particular time.

The people at the trailer place have to know by now that he is serious about getting the problem resolved; despite police and television crews swarming the area and skittish people ducking into buildings at the slightest sound, he's still there waiting, standing his ground! (I do hope someone is kind enough to provide him with a blanket should it become quitting time this evening and he's still there!)

View From The Swing

What a beautiful day it is today. After everything was done inside, I went outside to sit on the swing in the front yard. I love my swing. Jerry gave it to me for my birthday two years ago, and it's one of my favorite places to be. I brought a book outside with me, but the world around me held my attention too much for me to pay attention to the book.

I saw that the blossoms on the plum tree were beginning to open up. I noticed how the grass had grown so quickly after the last rain, and where there were brown dirt patches before, now there was green. I saw a chalk line drawn across the blue sky as if by an invisible hand. Oh, I know there must have been a plane before it, but I couldn't see the plane; just the line being drawn. I watched two red-tailed hawks fly back and forth bringing items to build a nest in the little patch of woods next to our driveway. One of them was carrying what looked like a very long ribbon in its beak. At least it wasn't a squirrel this time; we have seen them carry whole squirrels in their talons before. As I was pulling into the driveway one day I must have startled a hawk that was carrying a squirrel. Andy and I saw the hawk drop something large. We got out to see what it had dropped, and it was a dead squirrel. The hawk eyed us warily from a tree but didn't come back to retrieve his dinner until we had gone back up to the house.

I watched our old cardinal friend singing in the plum tree. This is a male cardinal who begins at about 7 o'clock every morning pecking at all the mirrors on all the vehicles in the driveway. He should know by now that this is his territory, but he still fights his reflection each and every morning. I saw a goldfinch eat from the thistle feeder. His dull brown winter coat has now changed to bright yellow for the summer. In between enjoying everything around me, I had to keep a close eye on our handicapped cat. I thought he would enjoy the outdoors today, so I brought him outside with me, but he was very busy, and wouldn't stay in one place very long. He acted as though the whole yard was new to him and he had to explore every part of it! When he decided to go around to the side of the house, I decided it was time to go inside. As I was walking around to the back yard, I caught sight of something else that made me glad for days like today - clothes on my clothesline! There is something very peaceful about watching clothes sway gently back and forth, and knowing that when you wear them, they will smell wonderful! In an earlier post I mentioned that I could not live where there were not four distinct seasons; I also could not live where I could not have a clothesline. Some of the new neighborhoods around me won't allow clotheslines as they feel it "detracts from the scenery", but I feel sorry for the people there. They are missing out on one of the simple pleasures of life. One day last week I had hung all of Andy's bedding outside and that night when he went to bed he exclaimed, "Mom! My blanket smells like sunshine!". I like that description very much!

Now that warm weather is here (at least for today), I will finish cleaning the back porch so we can have dinner out there tonight. Maybe I'll leave the clothes on the line until then to provide a little dinner ambiance!

Goofing Off

Yes, I'm supposed to be working now, but I just couldn't get into it, so decided to see how the sunrise looked at the different beaches. I use this link to see them.

I got to see the sunrise on Rehoboth Beach this morning!

Time To Build An Ark!

Boy, did we have rain yesterday. Rain water rushed over the rocks that run under a footbridge in the gulley/ravine in our back yard and was like a river with small waterfalls. It would have been a lot nicer to look at if the water hadn't been so muddy. It was fascinating to watch and Andy and I walked outside to look at it. When we got near it the noise was so loud, it was hard to hear each other talk. It was just like a rushing river. I stayed out there a long time just watching it. Andy was having fun tossing small pieces of wood from the wood shed into it and watching them travel. I had intended to get pictures, but after taking three pictures of other things in the yard, my camera started acting up again. I have been using Tom's so long that I had forgotten how persnickety mine can be. Unfortunately Tom had his camera with him, so I had to use my half-working standby. Enjoying the view of the "river" in the ravine took my mind off the fact that there was also likely a "river" going directly into the septic tank again. It was just a week ago that we had the last round of rain water pumped out of it. Sure enough, this morning Jerry informed us that we had to take it easy on the water as the tank was just about full again. This whole area is so soggy and waterlogged. Our neighbors two houses further down the hill from us were having a new septic tank put in, but when the machine dug the hole, the hole kept filling up with water, and then when they put the septic tank in, it kept bobbing in the hole because of the amount of water. And they had waited for an extended dry period to do this, too, so there had been no recent rain. We have city water - it seems to me with all the new building going on here that sewer should be considered, too. Okay, enough complaining!

I am feeling restless or something today. I can't quite put my finger on it. I just feel out of sorts somehow. Maybe it's just been a long week; the first week back to school after vacation, the Terri Schiavo ordeal, the pope's passing, daylight-savings time and staying up late last night - it's probably a combination of all these things! It has certainly been a newsworthy week, anyway. Tom's friend Billy (the drummer) was over yesterday and last night all of us were playing Mario Kart racing together. Boy, those guys can race dirty! I was just trying to concentrate on keeping my go-cart on the track but they were busy shooting turtle shells at everybody else, causing lightning bolts to strike other racers, and putting banana peels out on the track for the racers behind them to hit! Jerry especially seemed to have it in for me! I managed to win a couple of races, but it was through no actual skill on my part, I assure you!

Tom's other friend Steve is home from the hospital now. Tom and his group of friends usually get together and go to dinner on Friday nights and Steve actually went to dinner with them this week. Of course, he still can't drive or get around very easily as he has a hip cast and brace on one leg and one arm in a cast. Apparently when the front of the other car struck the driver's side of Steve's car, the top of his leg at the ball of his hip just popped right out of his hip joint. Tom said his leg didn't break, his hip just totally dislocated and he said the x-ray showed the ball of his hip six inches away from where it was supposed to be. That hurts just thinking about it. Anyway, that's why he's in the leg cast and brace because they did surgery for that and then they had to reconstruct one elbow. Tom said Steve told everyone at dinner Friday that he has a new appreciation for his parents, friends, and life itself, and that he realizes how close he came to losing it all. He is indeed a blessed young man. I don't say lucky, because I don't believe in luck - I believe in blessings as I believe someone is in charge.

Well, now that this daylight-savings thing is upon us, I guess that means dinner time rolls around an hour earlier, so I guess I'd better get with the program. I cooked a big roast last night, so I'll just figure out something to do with that, I guess. I made cinnamon rolls this morning - why can't we just have those?!

Venting

I am sad, mad and frustrated right now. I am deeply saddened by Terri Schiavo's death. I am frustrated at the fact that apparently some people's lives are worth more than others. Who decides that? Yesterday's headlines disgusted me. The top headline read "Appeals Court To Consider Schiavo Request". Directly underneath that was the headline "Pope Getting Nutrition From Feeding Tube". Am I the only one who sees irony in this? At 4 PM yesterday when the last request for Terri Schiavo's feeding tube reinsertion was denied, apparently the pope was perkin' along nicely with his.

No one - not her husband, not her parents, not the masses of doctors - will ever know what she was or was not capable of. That was impossible to tell - but where there is life, there is hope. Perhaps if the opinions of her condition had been unanimous in that there was no hope of recovery, things would be different (even so, starving someone to death is not an option). However, in this case there were differing opinions - some saying she could regain some function, some saying she could not. As long as there was some doubt and differing professional opinions, she should have been given a chance, and her husband - I use the term loosely, and will not print the words that I feel truly describe him - took that away.

People talked about her "quality of life". What is that, anyway? Does a person who has all four limbs and no deficits of any kind have a better quality of life than someone who is handicapped? I believe that quality of life is relative to the person living it. A person who is fully functional mentally and physically could be miserable with their life, and yet a quadriplegic could be joyful with theirs. No one can say what quality of life is or isn't - too many variables. I hope her husband enjoys his money that wasn't spent on helping Terri. I have a feeling that what he thinks will be "freedom" from what he saw as a burden, will now become more of a burden than he ever imagined. I hope her parents find peace. I know Terri already has. Stepping down off my soapbox now.

Going Once, Going Twice.....

Well, now I have seen it all. I was searching on eBay for history books and came across this auction. Grandmas on the auction block. I have seen weird stuff up for auction before, but they have been jokes (mother-in-laws, annoying relatives, souls, and even dignity for sale!). I don't think this one is a joke, unless I'm really missing something in the ad.

We are enjoying our last day of freedom here. Tomorrow it is back to school, schedules and same ol' same ol'. Actually, it's probably a good thing as we were all becoming just a tad too lazy (sleeping 'till whenever, staying up 'till whenever, eating whenever). I mentioned in an earlier post that Andy is a creature of habit, but in truth I think we all are, and a little more of a daily routine isn't really such a bad thing. I will heartily disagree with that statement as the alarm is going off at 4 tomorrow morning!

Searching for eggs (even the cat!)

"I WILL find all the eggs, and anyone who thinks otherwise can answer to my little friend here."

Andy hid 7, then ran out of hiding places, so this is what he did with the rest!

Happy Easter

He is not here; He has risen, as He said He would do. Come, see the place where He lay. Matthew 28:6

Easter! Time for eggs, candy, and most importantly, to acknowledge the fact that we are all saved because someone loved us enough to die on a cross for us.

The Easter Bunny made an appearance at our house last night. I must admit I was a bit worried, wondering if this story had discouraged him from making his rounds last night!

We are not having a traditional Easter dinner today. We had one of our sugar-cured hams last week which led to leftovers, then ham sandwiches, then ham spread for sandwiches, and now it is awaiting its final metamorphosis into bean soup. Needless to say, we were not in the mood for ham today. I have been cooking a crockpot full of spaghetti sauce with Italian sausage since this morning, and right now there is a butter chocolate fudge cake in the oven. We won't be able to move after dinner, but that's okay!

We had our traditional egg hunt. Every year the four of us take turns hiding the eggs for the others . It is always, shall we say, interesting. Last year Jerry and Tom tackled each other on the ground for an egg that they both spotted at the same time. Sadly, I did not have the camera with me to capture that Kodak moment. I can only assume that memories of last year prompted Jerry to carry around a plastic baseball bat during this year's hunt. As long as I am in the house while someone else is hiding the eggs, there will be NO CHEATING! No one peeks, or they invoke my wrath. Unfortunately, Jerry is lacking a little in the No Cheating department. When it was my turn to hide the eggs, I was more than a little pleased with myself for what I thought were creative and wonderful hiding places. What I didn't know was that not only was Jerry looking out the front window watching me, he actually took a picture every time I hid an egg! There on the camera screen was a documentary of every hiding place of each of the 12 eggs. He may not have seconds of the chocolate cake tonight.

Yes, We Have No Blog

Nothing much has been happening around here. I couldn't think of anything to write. I considered writing about how inept I would be at saving the world (should the need arise, you know), while playing a video game with Andy. I thought about telling how while we were supposed to be battling the enemy together, Andy kept having to come rescue me, because I kept finding various ways to either get myself killed, fall off of high ledges into endless pits, or wedge myself into places from which I could not escape. A most hopeless warrior. Andy gently suggested that perhaps I would rather just watch the game instead of participate. I agreed.

Then I thought of writing about how the mother of a 14-year-old was arrested for entering an abortion clinic demanding to see her daughter who was taken there unbeknownst to her mother. This is absurd. The clinic contends that the 14-year-old's rights were violated. Excuse me - a 14-year-old has rights such as this? Yes, the time for talking ideally would have been before the situation arose that required the clinic visit, but you know what they say about hindsight. Actually, my neighbor says that hindsight is 50/50. I'm not kidding. She does not intend it as a joke, either. Very hard to hold a straight face when she says this! Well, this is also the same neighbor who refers to "hosta" plants as "hostages". I'm not kidding, and she's not joking then, either. She told us one morning that the deer were eating all her hostages. At this point we remembered something vitally important that needed our attention at home, as there was a real danger of us bursting from stifled laughter.

Well, I thought about writing all of this, but then decided not to. I will just wait until tomorrow and maybe then I can think of something to write about. So, no blog for today.

Rain - Rhymes With Bane

Bane of our septic tank, that is. The heavy rains of yesterday did us in. Brothers Johnson to the rescue once again! In a previous post I commented that we must be good customers because we received a Christmas card from the company - now I know this to be true. When Jerry called them this morning he was told they were very busy and wouldn't be able to come out until sometime next week, but if Jerry wanted to leave his name and number, they would call if something became available sooner. Approximately 10 minutes later they called back, saying that someone would be here today. Approximately 1o minutes after that, they arrived! I felt as if we should have offered refreshments or something, as they have become more frequent visitors than our friends and neighbors! Well, in any case, now we may dishwash and bathe with abandon once more. Until it rains again......

The whole issue with Terri Schiavo has everyone offering opinions and opening discussions. I don't think there has been this much debate about anything since the election last November. This story certainly puts a different perspective on the issue for me, though. I had not realized that there was question as to the husband's possible involvement in (or responsibility for) her condition. Kind of puts a new light on the situation.

Yesterday was Haircut Day at our house. After a false start about a month ago, we managed to go on and finish getting the job done - well, Jerry and I, anyway. I usually cut Andy's hair myself, and Tom - well, we're not real sure what Tom is doing with his hair these days. About a month ago Jerry and I set out for haircuts one sunny afternoon. We decided to try Hair Cuttery this time instead of the usual place we went. We had been to Hair Cuttery once before, but didn't like the attitude of the people there, so had determined that we wouldn't go back. Well, it had been a while, and with the usually high turnover rate at places like these, we figured it might be safe to return there. When we walked in we were told the wait would be about 45 minutes to an hour. Hmmm...we saw exactly one man sitting in the waiting area, and we saw four stylists standing at the back door smoking cigarettes and chatting. When Jerry started to say no, thanks, the lady suddenly changed her mind and - what do you know - the wait suddenly became only 20 minutes! Jerry figured that maybe the third time was the charm - say no, thanks again, and maybe we could be seen RIGHT THEN! Nope - didn't turn out that way. Instead, she changed her tune to 30 minutes. By this time Jerry had had enough. He said no, thanks - we'll go elsewhere. As we headed for the door, the lady actually said "Oh! We could probably take you all next!" Puhleeze. Well, we went across the street to the good ol' standby haircut place that we had visited for years, grumbling all the way over about the bad attitudes and general nastiness of the previous place. When we got to the shopping center, we couldn't find the place. It was GONE! We started thinking we had sniffed too much perm solution at the other place and had lost our bearings, but no - the place was GONE! Instead, there was a FOR LEASE sign in the window of where it used to be. Oh dear. Now what?! The only other haircut place now was 20 miles or so in the other direction. There was no way we were returning to Hair Cuttery - sheepishly or otherwise! Jerry decided we were Standing Our Ground and by golly, there'd be no haircuts today! Finally, after a month, our vision started becoming obscured by the completely unruly masses of growth atop our heads - hence our trip yesterday. We are shorn and happy. Oh, and by the way - we went to the place 20 miles in the other direction!

I had one lone clump of daffodils in my back yard. No idea where they came from, but they look much better in a vase on my table!

This blog has been rolling around in my head for a few days now. I almost didn't write it, but then remembered the whole reason for having this blog. I started this as a kind of journal for myself and my boys, so that many years from now they could see what the dailiness of our lives was about. So, having said that, I will write what is on my mind and heart. It's my blog and I'll write if I want to, write if I want to, wriiiiite if I want to - you would write too if it .....oops! Got carried away there. Great. Now "It's My Party" will be stuck in my head all day. See? This blog will probably even save my boys thousands in therapy when they're trying to discover where the lunacy factor came from!

Anyway, what I was getting at was that self-reflection is never easy. Actually, it's downright painful sometimes. I had an "ouch" moment a couple of days ago. I was thinking about some of my neighbors and started thinking "They should be doing this, or that", (insert whatever it was I thought they should be doing at that particular time - it varied depending on the day!) or, "Why do they think they have so much? They're up to their ears in debt!" Or, "Don't they know how ignorant they really are?". Now, it has to be said that this wasn't about any one person in particular - it was several people. Over the course of several minutes I had managed to basically shred lots of acquaintances and, in my mind, bring them down to size. Shortly afterwards, while basking in my moment of righteousness, it hit me. I'm not talking about a twinge to my conscience, or even a nudge. No, Imean that it HIT me. Like a 2 x 4. Suddenly in stark and painful clarity I saw myself as being the only common denominator in all of the negative thoughts I had been thinking about people. It occurred to me like a flash that it is only me that is bothered by their actions. They are not thinking twice about it. They do not care what I think, nor should they. Furthermore, my high-and-mighty thoughts made me worse than they were. What gave me the right to judge other people? It occurred to me that while I waste time stewing about other people's actions, they on the other hand are giving me no thought at all, and moving on with their lives, just as I should be. After contemplating this for a while, I thanked the Lord for knocking me down a few notches. Painful, yes - but absolutely necessary.

It has been a very nice weekend. I can't say that I got much accomplished, but that's okay. Tom and friends' band practice was at our house again yesterday. I sincerely hope the neighbors enjoyed it. And I mean that sincerely. (Cheshire cat grin here).

Tom and Billy have gone to visit Steve at Washington Hospital Center this afternoon. Maybe we can finally get the right story about how he is doing this time! Having information go through several people is like the old game of telephone, and by the time the message gets to the last person, it's NOTHING like it was when it started out!

I was reading the book about the Kansas pioneer women and it told about how they used to build "soddies", or houses out of sod, because there were no trees to make lumber with. This is what it says:

"Harnessing the strength of several yoke of oxen, they used a special grasshopper plow or sod cutter to slice strips of sod from the earth. A sharp spade was then used to chop the strips into individual bricks. Weighing a full fifty pounds apiece, these blocks generally measured one foot wide, two feet long and four inches thick. In general, the typical sod cabin was constructed by stacking the sod bricks, one layer after another, around the perimeter of the site. Laid with grass side down, the blocks were normally placed side by side to form walls two feet thick. In all, it took nearly one full acre of prairie turf to provide enough bricks for the average one room soddy, which usually measured sixteen by twenty feet and weighed nearly ninety tons."

I found this fascinating. (It doesn't take much, you know!)

I watched yet another movie last night - but this one doesn't count toward my slovenly-bon-bon-eating-housewife tally. I watched this one with Jerry, so instead it counts as spending-time-with-hubby. We watched Wyatt Earp on the History Channel. I must confess that when he said he wanted to watch it, I figured it would be a really good time to do laundry, clean the cabinets, shampoo the cats, detail the vehicles.....you get the picture. Instead, I found myself watching it, and when Jerry fell asleep before the ending, I kept watching it because it was a good movie! It was also a long movie - four hours!

Just now while I was typing this, Tom called to let me know that they were leaving the hospital and were on their way home. Steve must be doing well. Tom said that they saw on a hospital map that there was a Blimpie's in the hospital. Steve is allowed to have anything to eat and Tom and Billy were hungry, so they decided to go there and bring Steve something. Tom said they wandered around for a long time and couldn't find the Blimpie's so they stopped at the cafeteria and asked two security guards they saw there. When they were asked how to get to the Blimpie's, Tom said the guards said that they didn't know there was one, and if they had, they surely wouldn't be eating in the cafeteria! I wonder if they were new?!

We are breathing a sigh of relief here. Two of Tom's friends have talked with Steve from his hospital room and he is doing well. He had surgery on one of his legs the night he was taken in. We're still a little confused as to whether one or both of his legs were broken as we got conflicting messages! He will have surgery next week to reconstruct one of his elbows and part of his forearm which was shattered. Those are the only injuries we are certain of at this point, but Tom will be finding out more later. In any case, Steve was talking to his friends and is allowed to have visitors beginning tomorrow.

The letters are hard to see with the small picture, but they say "We miss you Mrs. Fitzpatrick!" Andy is holding the "K" - what a ham! You can click on the picture to see it better. That's the new teacher who "rocks"!

Spring Has Sprung (I Think)

I finally had to take down my winter flag. I had determined to keep it flying until there was no chance of snow whatsoever. I think we have reached that point. The trees are starting to bud and my lilies have started coming up in the flower bed. I have daffodils already blooming out back. I broke down and changed my house flag yesterday. Now I need to take down my St. Patrick's Day flag from my mailbox and put up the Easter flag.

No word on Steve's condition yet. As a mom, I was concerned about Tom's upcoming license suspension. He was given the option of turning in his license for 30 days at MVA or requesting a hearing where he can explain why he would need his license during that time. I thought he was going to request a hearing to see if he could maybe just be limited to going to work or something similar instead of losing it altogether, but time is quickly running out for him to request that option. I have reminded him too many times that he needs to address the situation - as I have reminded him of other obligations and responsibilities, but I have finally determined that I will not say anything more. He cannot learn responsibility if he is not allowed to handle (or mishandle) his affairs. It is time for me to step back (still praying that he'll be guided to do the right thing, though).

I went to Andy's school yesterday and took the picture to send to their former teacher. I think it turned out very nice. You can't see the letters very well in the small picture, but I printed out an 8 x 10 on photo paper and it looks wonderful. Unfortunately we can't send it to her until school is back in session after the spring break.

Maybe more blogging later - maybe. It's going to be a beautiful day and there's lots to be done outside to get this house ready for selling.

Another Accident

Last night was a little uneasy for us. Tom's friend Steve was in a car accident and was in very serious condition when they flew him out. We have not yet heard how he is today, but are anxiously awaiting news. A neighbor had called me and asked me to listen to my scanner because she wanted to know what was going on when she saw an ambulance at the house beside hers. I turned on the scanner and didn't hear anything about what was going on next to the neighbor, but I did hear that there was a very bad car accident and that they were closing off Route 4 in both directions and had called for three helicopters. Tom was due to get off of work in about a half an hour, so I called him to let him know he might want to go get coffee or something, as he wouldn't be able to get home for a while. I heard on the scanner that one of the accident victims was a young male and told Tom this. As is usual, when something like this happens he and his friends check on each other to make sure everyone's okay. The friends were able to reach everyone but Steve, and then shortly thereafter it was confirmed that it was him involved in the accident. Tom was badly shaken because Steve had called him yesterday afternoon wanting to know if he was free so they could get together and hang out or something, but Tom told him he had to work and wouldn't be able to. Tom finally made it home. They had the road closed for a few hours as they were doing accident reconstruction work but they opened a detour eventually on lots of back roads. This is the fourth of Tom's friends to be in an accident. The first one was Josh (I didn't post a picture of that one). Then it was Billy's turn last October. Then Steve (one who works at the music store with Tom) had his accident with the bus last month. Last night it was the other Steve, who was just here hanging out and eating pizza with us last Saturday night. Josh's accident was his fault. Billy's was not his fault, and the first Steve's was not his fault. We don't know the details of last night's accident yet. I would imagine that the odds of a circle of friends being in accidents would be slim. I could understand it if they were unsafe drivers, but Billy's and Steve's wasn't their fault. Other drivers (older drivers) caused their accidents, so it can't be chalked up to teenage driving. I did, however, spend some time in prayer this morning and it occurred to me that Tom's speeding tickets could be (and should be) a warning from The One in charge. Yes, Tom has gotten two of them now and is facing a 30-day suspension of his driving privileges at the end of this month. I firmly believe that having a mother who prays for his safety daily has kept Tom from being in an accident, but I also firmly believe that the warnings he is being given should not be ignored. I shared this with him this morning. I am sorry that he has seen many friends in accidents, but I truly hope it serves to change his driving habits. By the way, the picture of the boys playing in the band were taken the week after the first Steve's accident. He was flown from the scene, but was released the next day, and three days later was here in our garage playing guitar. Someone was definitely looking after that young man. Billy was just able to resume playing the drums when the picture was taken. He broke his hand in his accident and it had just healed enough for him to play again. Well, I will certainly be praying for Steve and awaiting news on his condition. More blogging when I am able.

Steve (the truck & bus) is on far left with the blue guitar. Billy is the one in the middle with the hat (at the drums).

This is the other Steve's car - this happened last night.

This was Steve's truck.

This is (was) Billy's vehicle.

This is a large box from BJ's that I had sitting by the trashcan, but my cat had other plans. Did I mention he's not very bright?!

Happy Saint Patrick's Day!

Uh oh - I'm not wearing any green today. I am, however, typing this in green, and I found a few greenish moldy spots on some bread this morning - that counts, right?! Andy's bus driver gave out green hats to everyone boarding the bus this morning. It was a sight as I waved goodbye to him - lots of little green hats!

I have yet to hear back from my sister since she unwittingly called me yesterday. She has called me quite a few times accidentally because a button on her cell phone somehow gets pushed. Yesterday afternoon she called but I wasn't able to answer it. Later I listened to the message - well, what there was of one! I heard muffled talking, muffled music that sounded like a school band practice, and other unidentifiable noise. This is all there was. I listened for a full five minutes before hanging up. I have no idea how much longer the message really was. I called her cell phone and left a voice mail thanking her for the lovely phone call, and also thanking her for not talking about me while she didn't know she had called me! She really needs to watch that - that could truly be a hairy situation! What if she just happened to be talking badly about the very person she accidentally dialed?! Ouch! Jerry used to unknowingly serenade me with country music when he had his old cell phone. Somehow some button would accidentally get pushed and when I answered the phone all I would hear was Jerry singing - loudly. Some people sing in the shower - Jerry sings in his truck. Loudly.

I'll bet he's singing now - he has gone to Delaware today. I don't think his truck knows how to stay parked for more than a day or so! He left at 5:30 this morning, but called me at 9:30 to say he was already on his way back. All he had to do was drop off a sunroom. He's not installing this one. On the way home he will be stopping to finish a porch that he started earlier. As much as I miss him, I am always amazed at how much I get done when I'm by myself. Already today I have finished all of my work, plus worked a little extra in case we go away for a few days next week. The house is picked up, the laundry is done, I filled the wagon and woodbox with firewood and now am writing this! I may even spend a little time on the treadmill! Will wonders never cease? I usually pray while I walk - sounds strange, but it's time that I really enjoy spending with the Lord, praying about everything and everyone, giving Him all my worries to handle (and then trying to remember not to take them back later!). Today in addition to prayer, I need to think of something green to have for dinner. Hmmm......maybe I need to get that bread back out.....!

Today's Blog Is Titled Couldn't Think Of A Title For Today's Blog.

Jerry made it home last night - with a horse! It was a beautiful horse. We looked at it through the slats in the trailer door and it just calmly looked back at us. It had to be a terrible ride for the poor thing - I know how miserable Jerry was - I can't imagine standing and riding in a bumpy trailer for 12 hours or so! Jerry's brother came here at around 9:00 last night to pick up the horse and trailer. This one was sent out from Ohio for his brother to train. Jerry's brother trains horses for the Prince Georges County police department where they are used by the park police and other places.

Andy had another good day today! I hope this is the beginning of a trend.

I will most likely be up for a good while this evening. Tom called this afternoon from work and asked if he could go to a concert with a friend who unexpectedly had an extra ticket. The friend is the drummer that was in previous pictures that I posted (and that was in our snow battle). I don't mind him going to the concert, but he won't be getting home until late, and I doubt I will sleep until he is in. Don't rock bands know this is a school night for heaven's sake!? Sheesh.

I saw in today's news that Scott Peterson got the death penalty. Hmm - guess that means he'll be on death row for, oh, about 20 years, kept at taxpayer's expense, while awaiting death. I wonder why this is? It seems to me that if one is sentenced to death, things should not be prolonged. I remember first hearing about his wife missing on the news, then shortly thereafter Jerry and I were watching another news report that said that the husband had been having an affair, but then they showed him and he was just pleading for someone to find his wife. I looked at Jerry right then and said that they needed to take a close look at the husband. He looked much like a weasel to me, and then changing his story 2-3 times didn't help matters, either. I wonder though how life can be so disposable. If he wanted his freedom, he could have done anything other than what he did. What a coward. Ooohhh - it's much too late in the evening to be getting my ire up about this!

I'm looking forward to next week. School is closed all week for spring break, and we might go a-hunting for property during that time. Andy said, "Awww....I just wanted to spend the week doing nothing and playing video games". Hoo boy - DEFINITELY time to get that boy out into the country with a farm to keep him busy!

Home Again, Home Again

Jerry just called me from his mother's house; they just arrived there and he will be on his way home shortly. They have been on the road for 11 hours, and now he has about another 40 minutes to get here. Whew! He sounded so very tired. It will be nice having him home again.

Well, Andy's new teacher is wonderful! The first words out of Andy's mouth when he got off the bus yesterday were "Mrs. Walton ROCKS!" I met her today, and I have to agree with that assessment! She is a a lovely lady with a disposition to match. She has a great sense of humor, as well. Andy said that yesterday they were doing "webs" on the chalkboard, which is where you write a main subject and circle it, then draw "webs" off of that main word to explain details about the word. The main word was "space shuttle", and when asked for webs to draw off of that, one child said "endless darkness". The teacher wrote that, and then Andy spoke up and said the teacher should make a web off of that that says "Andy's mind"! Andy was shocked when she laughed and actually wrote it!

I had asked the principal last week if I could have the children make a card for their teacher who is out, and she said that would be a good idea, so I thought of something fun to do. There are just enough students in the class for each one of them to hold up a card with a letter on it, so that they can spell out "We miss you Mrs. Fitzpatrick!" I asked the new teacher today if I might "borrow" the class sometime soon to do this, and she said that Friday right after lunch would be good. I am going to take a picture of the whole class spelling out their message, print the picture out and tuck that into a card that I will have them all sign. I hope it works out. Watch Friday turn out to be the day several students are absent! Last year I wanted to do something special for Andy's fourth grade teacher, so I asked the principal if I could "borrow" the class then, too, and told her what I had planned. I bought muslin and cut it into 12 x 12 inch squares and bought fabric markers. I "borrowed" the class during one of their music classes so the teacher wouldn't know about it, and had the children each draw or write something special to the teacher on their square. Then I sewed the squares into a quilt. When I had asked the principal about doing this, she said that it sounded wonderful, and that it would make the teacher cry! She was right; it did! I don't think I'll be making a quilt again this year, but you never can tell! In any case, I am so very glad that Andy has a great teacher now. Now, he needs to stop being class clown so she doesn't leave!

The children really put a lot of thought into making this.

The principal said the quilt would make her cry - she did!

Happy Monday!

Monday again! This Monday is a good one, though. Some are better than others. This Monday brings me one day closer to having my husband home again. Yes, he is still in Ohio. The job turned out to be a lot more difficult than anyone anticipated. The windows he is replacing turned out to be rotten and needing a lot of work before the new ones could be installed. I think his mother is getting antsy and is ready to get back home again, too. She enjoys taking trips, but doesn't like staying away too long. I know just how she feels! Jerry sounded so tired on the phone this morning. He has been working 12-hour days for the last four days, and will probably put in near that amount of time again today. There were 28 windows to replace, plus all this other added work now, too. He's as anxious to come home as I am to have him back home.

I had a dream Saturday night about Jerry. Looking back on the dream Sunday morning, I thought it was wonderful that I would dream about my husband of 23 years! Think about this - your subconscious could have you dream about anything or anyone - you cannot control your dreams. I could just as easily have dreamed about something or someone else - say, abstract thoughts, Pierce Brosnan, etc....you get the picture! But I dreamed about my husband. And I'm very glad I did.

I hope Andy is having a wonderful day today. His new teacher is supposed to start today, and after all the turmoil of the past week, he deserves to have a wonderful day. I can't wait to hear all about it when he gets home. We will have his favorite dinner - cheesy shells with anything! I make the pasta shells and pour Ragu cheese sauce on them - he loves it! I'll probably make fried chicken to go with it, but as long as he has his cheesy shells (he named them this), I could serve liver and he wouldn't care. Well, okay - that's stretching it a bit!

My Hands

I took a good look at my hands last night. Somehow without realizing it I had gotten into the habit of hiding my hands from sight when talking with other people. I was ashamed of how awful they looked. They were dry, cut, rough, and my nails were very short. Last night as I was getting ready to use hand cream because the dryness felt uncomfortable, I actually gave some thought to the uses of my hands. I realized that my hands were reflections of my daily life, and that I need not be ashamed of them. The dryness of them can't be helped - that happens every winter. That's just part of what makes me unique - dry skin in winter! Then there are the cuts. Some of them came from stacking firewood. Some came from playing with a cat who got overly rambunctious. Some are paper cuts from volunteering at school. The roughness is from using cleaners around the house, pulling splinters from firewood out of my hands and fingers, and some burned spots in various stages of healing. I keep the nails short in order to do my job - it would take me twice as long to type with long nails. In thinking of these things, I realized that my hands are a reflection of me - what I do, and what's important in my life. I suppose I could wear gloves, learn to type with long nails, and stop playing with my pets, but what fun would that be?! My hands reflect who and what is important to me, so I'll just have to unlearn my habit of hiding them (and use hand cream a little more often!)

Mom To The Rescue

Well, I helped make a change for Andy's class, but I wish it wasn't at the expense of someone else. Several posts ago I mentioned that Andy's teacher was put on bed rest during her pregnancy. It appears that she is not going to be coming back, so the school was looking for a long-term replacement. They were looking for somewhat who was certificated (what a weird word). That means someone who has all the teaching credentials - not just a substitute. It appeared that they found someone who started last Monday. That afternoon Andy came home looking terrible and telling me how awful the new teacher was. I didn't agree with a couple of the things Andy said the new teacher had done, but I figured the class and teacher would adjust to each other in time. When I went in on Tuesday, it was awful. Not only was this new teacher short-tempered with the children, but with me, too. I thought she treated them unfairly. I won't go into all the gory details here, but let's just say that she is a better candidate for a military academy than elementary school. Those poor children were miserable. This class has been through a lot already this year. In November one boy's mother was killed in a car accident. This was hard for a lot of the kids because for some of them it was their first encounter with death, and with it being the mother of one of their classmates, it was especially difficult. Andy took it hard himself and it brought up the discussion about who would take care of him if something ever happened to me, like it did to the other boy's mom. I'm sure it made a lot of the kids think of things like that. Then there were several snow days which were a lot of fun, but totally threw off any school schedule they had! Andy is very much a creature of habit, as are most children this age - it provides stability and a sense of security, I think. Then when school resumed, their teacher was gone - then they found out that she wasn't coming back. As if all this weren't enough, last week they had the state testing to deal with, which is always a pressured time for them. I thought that these children needed to be given a little slack - not to be coddled or let them slide in their work, but just shown a little tolerance in light of what they had been through in the last few months. If this new teacher knew anything about this class's circumstances, she sure didn't show it. By the second day the children looked absolutely beaten. They seemed miserable. It upset me on Tuesday to see them like this. I came home and told Jerry everything and I began to get upset as I was telling him. He got furious and wanted to pull Andy out of school right then unless something changed, but I thought we could try to talk to the principal about our complaints since during the course of the afternoon I had found out that it wasn't just me who was having a problem with the new teacher. I wrote the principal an email Tuesday evening and spelled out everything that I was unhappy with. I have to say that Andy's school is blessed with the best principal I have ever known. She is very approachable and a definite people-person; not just someone who sits in her office and makes rules. She is involved in every aspect, and always has a kind word or smile for students and parents alike. Anyway, I admit that I was upset when I was writing the email and by yesterday I was kind of wishing I had not been so hasty in sending it. Oh, my opinion of the new teacher hadn't changed, and Andy was still miserable, but I just felt that I was kind of hard on the principal in my email. Well, last night the principal called me to let me know that they had found a new replacement, and that the current teacher would not be returning. Apparently I was not the only one who complained and it seems that she even rubbed some of the staff members the wrong way! I apologized for the tone of my email, but she said no apology was necessary - I was just speaking my mind. I told you she was a great lady! She said that she was very positive about the new person coming in and that the children should have a much better time starting next week. If truth be told, I'm kind of glad the drill sergeant won't be there on Tuesday when I go back in - I was a little intimidated by her myself, and wondered how miserable she'd make me if she knew about my complaint! Well, I feel good that Andy's class will have a nicer teacher, but I do feel kind of bad for the unkind one. She seems like a miserable person, and I'm sure being ousted from a job she thought she had until June can't feel nice, but I really hope she figures out a way have a better disposition with children. I have learned something, too. I will sit on an email a day or two before I send it!

Look Ma, no hands! One squirrel rode the bungee while the other ate from the suet feeder (upside down!) while waiting his turn. The bungee was swinging, but the picture doesn't capture that.

A Slippery Slope

What shall become of me? I watched another movie today. I shall have to curb my wanton ways before I become tempted to watch......daytime television.... (Shriek of terror).

Okay, okay - that will never happen. I'm not brain dead nor do I intend to become that way by watching inane nonsense. Today's movie was Little Women and I thoroughly enjoyed that, too. There were only two movies that I wanted to see, and now I have finally done so! Well, only two movies in the free movie listings on On Demand on Comcast that I wanted to see. I still have Casablanca, My Fair Lady, Singin' In the Rain and Gone With The Wind on DVD to watch, but I can see them anytime. The two that I wanted to see were only going to be there for this month, so I'm glad I got to see them. (And I made sure my work was done first, so it was a guilt-free movie!)

Well, Jerry, his mom and the horse arrived safely in Ohio last night. He had expected to arrive somewhere around 6 p.m. but by 8:30 p.m. I still hadn't heard from him. I started to worry, so I called him. He was just about to call me to let me know that they had just arrived - a little over two hours late. They ended up sitting on the beltway for an hour because of something that had happened there, then later on in the day the horse trailer got a flat tire. Jerry had to take the trailer to a tire place where it was found that the tire had a piece of metal in it, so they couldn't just plug it; they had to patch it. He said they jacked the trailer up - horse and all! I had promised myself that I wouldn't worry about him on this trip, but by 8:30 I couldn't stand it anymore. At least I waited two hours after he should have arrived to call. I'm getting better!

A Day For Me

I should be ashamed - but I'm not! I actually watched a movie in it's entirety today, and enjoyed it very much. Jerry left for Ohio early this morning, I got Andy on the school bus, then Tom got called in to work early (no, I didn't arrange that!) so I figured I would sit down and get a lot of work done. I got my coffee and sat down, but that's as far as I got. There was an email letting me know that there were problems with the dictation system and they had no idea how long it would be out of commission, but they'd let me know when I could get to work again. I immediately thought about a movie that I wanted to see but never had the time, but then just as quickly felt guilty because of all the things I should be doing, like more de-cluttering. I gave each room a cursory picking-up (didn't make much difference in the appearance of the room, but I felt better!), then decided to treat myself to that movie. I watched Sense and Sensibility all the way through with no interruptions, and enjoyed every minute of it, thank you very much! I can't remember the last time I watched a movie by myself. I need to watch chick flicks alone, otherwise the male gender in the house thinks it's funny to watch me choke up and cry at movies! After that I was able to work again, so I finished that. Maybe this evening I will work on the house. Maybe.

Strange Weather!

In the past three hours I have seen the weather change from 51 degrees and rain, to 36 degrees and snow! I'm still not tired of snow yet, so I don't mind seeing it at all.

Not much happened this weekend. On Saturday everyone except Jerry kind of sat around and did nothing - my favorite kind of day! Jerry helped a neighbor who is putting an addition on his house. On Sunday Jerry's mother came over and we were all going to work in the yard. We had come inside for a minute and without warning Andy got sick - we're talking projectile here! Naturally, he was on the stairs when it happened! After that he was a little pale and tired, but fine, and it never happened again. By Sunday evening he was ravenously hungry and I was trying to slow him down! We're not sure what that was about, but if it was a stomach bug, that's about how long I want it to last the next time I get it!

Not much time for blogging today - it seems whenever I write that, I end up writing my longest blogs! I have to be at Andy's school shortly. His teacher still isn't back and now there is another substitute teacher. I hope things start to go a little more smoothly in his classroom. Today and tomorrow they are finishing up the state testing. Those poor children go through so much for those stupid tests. I totally disagree with them, because they take time from learning what they are supposed to be learning so that teachers can coach them to learn what is going to be on the tests so that they will score higher and the schools will get more money from the state. It's ridiculous and I really disagree with the whole thing - as do most of the teachers, because they have to stop teaching what they were teaching, teach "to the test" for about two weeks, test the children, then get back to where they were before. In my opinion the testing doesn't even give an accurate assessment of where the children are anyway - they have been taught what's on the test strictly for the test! Oh, now I'm off on a tangent again! I feel sorry for the students because they are pushed hard to do well on these. Usually the teachers give them some sort of treat afterwards, but since Andy's teacher is not there, I wasn't sure if the substitute would do anything, so yesterday while I was at BJ's, I got a box of mini-cupcakes for Andy's class. I'll take them in with me today but they probably won't have them until tomorrow when the testing is finished. Jerry and I went to BJ's yesterday because he is leaving for Ohio early tomorrow morning. His sister there wanted new windows for a farmhouse on their property they are remodeling, so Jerry ordered them for her and now that they are in, they also want him to install them. The funny part of this is that there is a horse that Jerry's brother needs to get out to them in Ohio too, so they thought as long as Jerry's coming this way ..... so now he'll be taking a horse with him, too! He is going to be taking his brother's horse trailer with the windows safely packed in the front in a little room there, and the horse in the back! Jerry's mother is going along too to visit Jerry's sister while he's there. It should be quite a trip! Anyway, knowing that they will have the horse with them, I didn't think they would want to be stopping a lot and since it's about a 9 to 10 hour trip, I wanted to get food to pack for them that they could eat on the road and that's why I went to BJ's yesterday. (I kind of took the long way around getting to why I went there, didn't I?!) Well, off to school - more blogging later!

A Book In Every Room

I love books! Ask Jerry - he's the one who has to put up with the overflowing bookshelves, boxes, bins......! I have a rather interesting reading style. I usually have about four books (or magazines) going at the same time. Either I have a vast curiosity or just a short attention span! For instance, right now in my living room I have the new issue of The Old Schoolhouse magazine that came yesterday. I love this magazine. It is for homeschoolers, and it always reaffirms my decision to homeschool Andy. It is interesting how I began receiving this. Several years ago when we were homeschooling Tom, I purchased material several times from sellers on eBay who had a family business of selling used textbooks and curricula. They then turned their business into a small homeschooling newsletter, and sent copies to all of their eBay customers. Over the past few years this little newsletter has grown into a very nice, glossy, 200-page magazine that is now sold all over the world in places like Barnes and Noble, Borders, Amazon, etc. They have been sending me copies of the magazine since it started, and it gets better with every issue.

Anyway, that's what's in my living room at the moment. Next we come to the kitchen where the book Esio Trot by Roald Dahl is lying on the table, still there from when I finished reading it to Andy while he was eating his breakfast this morning. It is an amusing story about tortoises - read the title of the book backwards and see what you get! Now the, ahem, powder room which at the current time contains a copy of Countryside magazine which Jerry and I both read. Next is our bedroom which contains many books, but on my nightstand right now is Pioneer Women, Voices From the Kansas Frontier. This is a collection of essays written by women who left everything to become settlers in new land. In Andy's room there are also many books, and we usually just pick something to read at night. Up until yesterday I had Selling Your Home in the car. My bible is in whatever room I decide to read it, and in the car with me a lot, too. That one's portable! A strange way to read perhaps, but how else would I be able to learn about homeschooling tortoises who pray about selling their home to move to Kansas to live in the countryside?!

Weighty Issues

The time has come to do something about my size. Two things occurred today which decided this for me. The first thing was that my legs and feet were aching badly today from all the walking I did at school yesterday. I am definitely asking too much of my size 7 feet to support my, uh, much larger size body. The second thing happened when my Avon order came in this afternoon. I was looking at the brochure where they show the new things coming out, and on the cover was a plus-size model, modeling one of the new outfits from Avon's new plus-size line. The model was approximately my size, and I was looking at her thinking how we actually were similarly shaped. Just then, Jerry glanced over and looked at the picture and commented, "Is she pregnant? Avon's carrying maternity things now?" Lovely man. Well, that clinched it. I thought that by writing my intentions and progress here in a somewhat public forum, it would motivate me. Either I will lose weight, or I'll become a fine liar!

Not much time for blogging today. Not even enough time to think up a title for this one! School was two hours late today and then I went in to volunteer for the rest of the day. I worked when I came home (okay, I watched the History Channel a little bit, too). I'm not sure it's safe to be at Andy's school anymore! These accidents didn't happen at school but maybe there's something in the air! (except for Andy's teacher - her, uh, condition wasn't an accident and I really hope it didn't happen at school !!!) One teacher's aide fell and seriously hurt her back a few weeks ago. She is back now, but wearing a brace. Then over the past few days a teacher broke her ankle badly, requiring surgery and everything that goes along with that, and a long period of recuperation, so she'll be out a good while. Today I discovered that Andy's teacher was going to be out the rest of the week. I thought this was strange since the state testing is this week, plus his class had two major projects due this week. She is pregnant and due in May, so I was hoping everything was okay with that. Later in the day I found out that she could possibly be out the rest of the year as she has been put on bed rest. I haven't told Andy this yet, though. He is definitely a creature of routine, and the slightest changes throw him off, and I know he would really miss his teacher. He was already very disappointed that she wouldn't be here at the end of the year for fifth grade graduation because of maternity leave. I do wonder, though, how much learning there is going to be. From what I saw today, the poor substitute spent most of the day trying to hold down the fort. At dismissal time I asked her if she had a large bottle of Tylenol for the rest of the week, and she assured me that she did!

Andy and I were reading a book the other night and we came across this passage which I found really amusing. The book is written from a little girl's perspective. She was explaining why she didn't like a particular new girl who had come to her school. Here's the passage:

"Her name is New Thelma. The first day she came to our school, my boyfriend named Ricardo chased her all over the playground. I hollered and hollered for him to stop. But he said chasing New Thelma was fun. And so that is how come he dumped me. Dumped is the grown-up word for when you have to find a new Ricardo."

What a hoot!