It was a Dark and Gloomy Day...

It has been dark and gloomy the last so many days. There are two things I want to do on dark and gloomy days: cook or curl up with a good book. The cooking can be extremely dangerous for me. I went outside and realized dark and gloomy days are actually quite nice for gardening. The key is being outside some part of every day. I'm like the old timers who put the baby on porch for some air every day no matter what the weather. Why should it stop with babies? When I'm old in a wheelchair please put me on the porch.

Wet Pumpkins and Lambs

Karl wasn't feeling too well yesterday. His head is really aching from this latest surgery. In spite of feeling ucky he managed to go (it took some coaxing) to his friend's lamb roast. This is an annual event for us. I think we have attended the last five years.

The women who hosts the party is a biologist and a big gardener. She has the same weird trees in her yard that I have which is saying something. Last year her Kentucky Coffee looked much bigger than mine but maybe because I threatened to dig up mine last spring mine has really taken off. She collects orchids and has a small green house filled with orchids attached to her house. Pretty nice place to eat your breakfast I would imagine. Yesterday there was a very loud tree frog in greenhouse. Somewhere in the rosemary.

They live on a farm and raise a small herd of sheep, chickens, sometimes turkeys, geese, and three cows. I am not sure when they sleep. Last year they were bringing in the hay when everyone arrived for the party but this year it was all safely rolled up. We joked with their son about pushing one of the bales down the hill but he told us he had actually tried it out once. "I had to jump in front of it when I realized it was just going to keep rolling." "Forever." We took his word for it and didn't try it.

The food is always wonderful at this party. It's always potluck and always attended by people from all over the world. Usually there a big group of South Americans, Russians, Chinese, Serbs etc. That is my kind of potluck. Not one person brought a bag of chips. Of course the main attraction is roasted lamb. I have to say that I don't find roasted lamb nearly so appetizing when it looks so lamb -like just before you eat it. This year I decided I just couldn't do it. Although I enjoy roasted lamb as much as the next person I passed. I am one of those people who really should be vegetarian but loves a good steak so much...

Today, we are having some much needed rain. That will make cleaning up the garden for Fall that much easier! The trees are starting to turn and seems the colors may be outstanding this year. Driving up to the farm yesterday, Karl and I debated which was better: dark gloomy clouds as a backdrop for the leaves or sunshine making them sparkle. At any rate they bring out the photographer in the most innocent of us.

Emo Backwards

Today is Friday. Karl usually goes out to lunch on Fridays so I figured when my friend called it was also okay for me to go out again. We went to the sushi restaurant. You might think sushi is risky in a tiny town too far from the coast but it is actually quite good. Sushi has become so mainstream that even truckers with those girls on their mudflaps eat it. We had a good meal and we tried to solve the thieving in the locker room at the high school problem but of course we didn't. I maintain that we should expect and demand that people be honest and she maintains the kids should just lock their locker more carefully.

This morning Cooper crawled up on my chest for his morning nap. Tiny little cuddly dog has a way of endearing himself no matter what. They did get their long walks and they returned home safely. Now they are napping. Good dogs and children take naps when Mom is on the computer!

Of course Erik is in a band. As I was walking the dogs today I was thinking about that joke, "What do you get when you play a country song backwards..." So what do you get when you play an emo song backwards...Your Mom lets you stay in your room forever, all the girls in school love you, and Spanish doesn't suck.

Karl is going for a new biopsy of a new spot today. Always worrisome. I thought that was a great picture of Karl and my niece Lara so I included it in today's blog. Also the picture of Lara and Erik is good. On the last night we were at the lake Lara and Erik went fishing on the dock. Lara caught nine fish one after another. You always want Erik on your team when you are fishing. Erik has spent the last three summers teaching fishing camp at the nature center. He's very popular with the kids for good reason. When you click on the pictures they do get bigger and you can actually see them!

Tiny Violins

Well instead of "Elmo" days at our house we have "Emo days as in everyone is soooo sad. And everything totally Sucks! You know the scenario, "How was School?" "It sucked." "I hate all my teachers." "Spanish sucks." "Not one kid in my English class can actually read. It sucks."" The lunch line is too long". "Canoes suck". Today was one of those days. Tiny violins all afternoon.

Later on I was watching some fashion designers on TV and there happened to be a Russian guy on the show. I realized Russians are the ultimate "Emo" people. Remember how they had to ban dying on the ice in figure skating a couple of years ago because the Russians kept skating to gloomy music and then laying on the ice. Sesame street is really grey and gloomy in Russia because they aren't comfortable with the more colorful version we are used to. Imagine what happens then when you ask a Russian teenager how school was? No. wait. Let's not go there...

We had "emo" children and crazy ass dogs. Cooper believes we have hidden his favorite toy on the bookcase. Why he believes this we do not know but he does. Every night when we sit down he whines at the bookcase. Incessantly. We have tried picking him up and showing that there is nothing there to no avail. We started hiding things up there but that was a very bad idea. Nothing we do will convince him his koala isn't up there. Tomorrow I think I will take him for a very long walk...

Hamster Wheels

Today was the school superintendent's round table meeting. Once a month he goes out in the community to try and generate good rapport. The "Lunch Moms" usually go as we did today.
one of us is on the school board so she has other reasons to go.

Before the meeting we went to the gym. Sigh. The gym is sooooo boring. I forgot my mp3 player in the van so I had to listen to whatever hateful stuff was spewing out of the talk radio on the ceiling. I like to get my exercise actually outside walking, hiking, kayaking, or gardening. That was easier to do when we lived in Albuquerque. Riding on a little machine like a neurotic hamster seems like some bad sci-fi movie where everyone does weird things because the world has been taken over by robots. And getting naked in the locker room isn't quite the same as when I was 30.

The meeting went well. I guess. The same old story, "Well we would love to do that except the teacher's union would file a grievance." Our local teacher's union has really made me question unions. In this case there seems to be a conflict of interest. Much corruption and a quest for power. A necessary evil I guess. But I wish just once it was actually about educating the kids.

Math and Division

This morning Inga was telling me about a t-shirt she had seen at camp that has the symbol Pi saying "Get Real" to the square root of minus 1 ( which is apparently denotes an imaginary number). The imaginary number answers, "Be Rational". She wanted that t-shirt. Being a supportive parent of geeky children of course I tracked it down and ordered it. ( Maybe the word is not supportive but indulgent?) Anyway I thought it was funny so I ordered it. Well, I thought it was funny after it was explained to me! I ordered it along with the one which had the moon telling Pluto, "Don't feel bad I'm not a planet either!" Inga wears her geeky t-shirts proudly and she backs that up by clomping around in combat boots which are pretty hard on flip -flop wearers.

The thing about this election that is difficult for me is that way it is hammering home how divided we have become in this country. Of course I too feel strongly about "the issues" and the election but more and more I keep it to myself because I don't want to know how the people I am eating lunch with feel. It is much easier at this point to be friends and eat lunch happily when you don't know where they stand. "Embracing Diversity" only works when you have someone to hug.

Rita's Rocks!

A new ice cream store opened in our tiny little hamlet. For us that is a wondrous event. It is an Italian ice/custard chain based in Philadelphia, Rita's. It just so happens we were in Philly not too long ago and we ate at Rita's so we were already familiar with their yumminess. All week long the Italian ice is free so I've been twice today. Passion Fruit the first time and Key Lime the second. Inga is lactose intolerant so having a place to get a treat she can actually eat is doubly exciting.

We stopped at Rita's after the meeting about a high school trip to London/Paris over Spring Break. None of Inga's buddies are going so I think she is going to pass and instead try to get accepted into the Japanese exchange program which is also over spring break. We had two kids from the program stay with us when Inga was in seventh grade. It would be great if she could see those same kids four years later. So many opportunities kids have today that never existed when I was in school!

My Heart Bleeds

Yesterday I met two friends at Target at 2pm. Our mission for the day was to create a basket for our friend who was recently diagnosed with stage-four throat cancer. We tried to find light hearted things and orange things. Things that might be comforting in the hospital. We bought two detective novels, a book called "Eat, Pray, Love", orange and black striped furry socks, a tiger striped Magna sketch board, 27 Dresses on DVD, Friday Night Lights on DVD, Mentos, a set of candles, a soft Halloween afghan, lotion, and one Halloween takeout box of shortbread cookies. I made the cookies in the morning. Shortbread with butterfly stamps.

After all of that shopping the three of us were pretty tired so we went to see the year's worst movie, "The Women". As I was watching it I kept thinking, "Boy this is a really long movie". Always a bad sign. A chick flick that was not funny. Yawn.

We found a basket at Micheal's and made it up on the tailgate. Covered it in a giant basket bag and a bow. Then we debated about the best way to get it to her. None of us wanted bother her and we didn't really know how she was doing. I was voting for "Ding Dong Ditch" for a while. Since none of us is 10 years old that was out of the question so we all straightened out our backbones and drove up the hill. It turns out she was out so we ditched the basket with her son and fled.

It was now 7pm so we all went to dinner. As we were eating our friend called and came down to join us. She loved the basket. She starts Chemo and radiation on Tuesday in NYC. She has one son still at home. He is in between Inga and Erik's age. She never smoked. Her cancer is most likely the result of the HPV virus. She never suspected and didn't go to the doctor for about eight months after symptoms appeared, partly because she doesn't like her primary care doctor. (Does anyone? Not around here!) Her treatment has already started with the insertion of a feeding tube. She has trouble swallowing and breathing. It is going to be a long six months. My heart bleeds for her.

This has not been a good year for us in terms of friends and family members being diagnosed with cancer. Maybe it is our age.

Unique Books of the Year (Or Recent History )

Here is a list of books I have read recently that I think have a unique point of view or tell I story I just haven't read before. Maybe some of you folks out there in blogland will give me some suggestions. Pretty Please!

The Golden Spruce

The Icarus Girl

Intuition

A Short History of the Tractor in Ukrainia

Tales of the Otori ( Series)

March

The Thirteenth Tale

The Number 1 Ladies Detective Agency ( Series)


On the subject of lists Inga and Erik have a new ongoing funny list story. The superintendent of our schools has decided that each classroom in our district should display a poster of"150 ways to Show a Child you Care". This includes the High School. Well, the quickest ways to inspire rebellion among a large group of teachers seems to be to require that they do something. They just don't want to be "bossed". And well some things on the list sound pretty funny when you apply them to High School teachers and their students. Play outside together, tape record a message for them, share a meal together...share a secret... predictably Erik's history teacher has something to say about this poster. " Ladies and Gentlemen behold the poster of "150 ways to be a pedophile" An art teacher is going through the list and trying one thing every day. Friday she was giving out Dixie cups of juice to all her students. A couple of kids from history class had to borrow something from the art room when they returned they raised their hand and said, May we please have juice too?" I am sure they used their best "please" and "thank you voices!"

Notice them.
Smile a lot.
Acknowledge them.
Learn their names.
Seek them out.
Remember their birthday.
Ask them about themselves
Look in their eyes when you talk to them.
Listen to them.
Play with them.
Read aloud together.
Giggle together.
Be nice.
Say yes a lot.
Tell them their feelings are okay.
Set boundaries that keep them safe.
Be honest.
Be yourself.
Listen to their stories.
Hug them.
Forget your worries sometimes and concentrate only on them.
Notice when they're acting differently.
Present options when they seek your counsel.
Play outside together.
Surprise them.
Stay with them when they're afraid.
Invite them over for juice.
Suggest better behaviors when they act out.
Feed them when they're hungry.
Delight in their discoveries.
Share their excitement.
Send them a letter or postcard.
Follow them when they lead.
Notice when they're absent.
Call them to say hello.
Hide surprises for them to find.
Give them space when they need it.
Contribute to their collections.
Discuss their dreams and nightmares.
Laugh at their jokes.
Be relaxed.
Kneel, squat, or sit so you're at their eye level.
Answer their questions.
Tell them how terrific they are.
Create a tradition with them and keep it.
Learn what they have to teach.
Use your ears more than your mouth.
Make yourself available.
Show up at their concerts, games, and events.
Find a common interest.
Hold hands during a walk.
Apologize when you've done something wrong.
Listen to their favorite music with them.
Keep the promises you make.
Wave and smile when you part.
Display their artwork in your home.
Thank them.
Point out what you like about them.
Clip magazine pictures or articles that interest them.
Give them lots of compliments.
Catch them doing something right.
Encourage win-win solutions.
Give them your undivided attention.
Ask for their opinion.
Have fun together.
Be curious with them.
Introduce them to your friends and family.
Tell them how much you like being with them.
Let them solve most of their own problems.
Meet their friends.
Meet their parents.
Let them tell you how they feel.
Help them become an expert at something.
Be excited when you see them.
Tell them about yourself.
Let them act their age.
Praise more; criticize less.
Be consistent.
Admit when you make a mistake.
Enjoy your time together.
Give them a special nickname.
Marvel at what they can do.
Tell them how proud you are of them.
Pamper them.
Unwind together.
Be happy.
Ask them to help you.
Support them.
Applaud their successes.
Deal with problems and conflicts while they're still small.
Chaperone a dance.
Tell them stories in which they are the hero.
Believe in them.
Nurture them with good food.
Be flexible.
Delight in their uniqueness.
Let them make mistakes.
Notice when they grow.
Wave and honk when you drive by them.
Give them immediate feedback.
Include them in conversations.
Respect them.
Join in their adventures.
Visit their schools.
Help them learn something new.
Be understanding when they have a difficult day.
Give them good choices.
Respect the choices they make.
Be silly together.
Hang out together.
Make time.
Inspire their creativity.
Accept them as they are.
Become their advocate.
Appreciate their personality.
Talk openly with them.
Tolerate their interruptions.
Trust them.
Share a secret.
Write a chalk message on their sidewalk.
Create a safe, open environment.
Be available.
Cheer their accomplishments.
Encourage them to help others.
Tackle new tasks together.
Believe what they say.
Help them take a stand and stand with them.
Daydream with them.
Do what they like to do.
Make decisions together.
Magnify their magnificence.
Build something together.
Encourage them to think big.
Celebrate their firsts and lasts, such as the first day of school.
Go places together.
Welcome their suggestions.
Visit them when they're sick.
Tape record a message for them.
Help them learn from mistakes.
Be sincere.
Introduce them to people of excellence.
Tell them what you expect of them.
Give them your phone number.
Introduce them to new experiences.
Share a meal together.
Talk directly together.
Be spontaneous.
Expect their best; don't expect perfection.
Empower them to help and be themselves.
Love them, no matter what.

Color My world Part 2

Okay this wasn't what I had in mind when I said I loved color! That hair dye comes off on everything even my new white/ soon to be pink towels!

Color My World

The little weather exclamation point on my computer was yapping about frost all day yesterday so late in the afternoon I decided to go outside and pick everything. Why do I insist on growing swiss chard every year when everyone in my family except me hates it? Well don't tell them but it is definitely on the menu tonight! Since I posted it watch and see if they don't all develop "dinner plans". Ha. Basil also we gots. And we gots lots of it. I planted Cinderella pumpkins this year but time got away from me and they were only watered when it rained much less fertilized. That doesn't matter because those two pumpkins are the most beautiful red orange. If only I could paint a room that color! They just as wonderful as last weeks fuchsia gladiolas! Some people are missing the color connections in their brain. They actually like beige house, walls, clothes, etc.. I guess it is like the music connection I don't have but my kids sure do. Karl hears music all the time. A constant sound track. For me it is the colors. Maybe that is why winter in upstate New York is so hard. It is the lack of colors. I really should paint a room soon! Fuchsia or Orange?

Creature Feature

It was such a beautiful Fall day. I took the dogs for a run over at the reservoir. I tried to time it so that I would intersect with Inga's kayaking/canoeing class but I was a little early. Our high school believes in creating "lifetime activities" through gym class. Inga is taking kayaking and Erik is golfing. This is the fourth time Inga has picked kayaking. She loves anything to do with water. She also took scuba diving, fly fishing, rollerblading, self defense, ice skating, and (another favorite) archery. It sure does beat the old days when your only choice was field hockey or basketball. Wait, now I remember there was no choice! As I walked along with the dogs the reservoir was filled with much laughter and giggling and not one kid was on the sidelines because they "forgot" their gym clothes.

I have to add that there maybe another reason the kids don't forget their clothes. As Erik discovered when he left his clothes on the bus in the morning. If you come unprepared to class you still have to participate and you have to make up the class afer school. This has caused much stress for Erik. That rule would have been the kiss of death for me as I relied on the "Oops I forgot my sneakers" excuse pretty often.

While I was walking along enjoying the gym class I came across this giant unfamiliar caterpillar.Caterpillars often crack me up because they sport such scary attire. Like this guy's horn. When I lean down to take their picture they rear up and hiss at me or curl up and show me their threatening eyes. Imagine though, if they were say, 15 feet long! I guess I wouldn't be laughing then.

Hair of the Dog

It seems one way or another I am always fixing hair. Dyeing teenagers hair, dyeing dog hair, or as I did today cutting dog hair/fur. Somehow I ended up with two Barbie dogs. They are designed for you to play with their hair. In fact it is required. They do not shed. Great for kids with asthma but what if Mom has actually grown out of Barbie? It is either pay 100.00 or do the dog yourself so here I am. One dog done one more to go. Cooper actually seemed pretty pleased with his haircut. Maybe he is just grateful I didn't dye him green.

Rockin and Fencing

Monday night is lessons night for Inga and Erik. I got smart this year and managed to schedule them all on 2 nights...well two nights and an afternoon. Last year there was a lesson four nights a week. Inga takes bass lessons and voice. Erik takes guitar, drumming, and fencing. He is angling for bass lessons but overlap is a bad thing.

Inga and her friend Zack were working on starting a band. They wrote some songs together, got some other kids, and they used to have band practice. Zack's dad is a guitar tech/stage manager for various bands ( REM right now) so his house is like Rock and Roll day camp. Big amps. Inga scored 100 percent on the state chemistry exam and for a reward we bought her a bass. I found a bass teacher. ( He used to play for Foghat and also the Outlaws) But AP Global studies involved so much work she found it hard to practice. Things kind of petered out. She kept taking lessons and playing for fun.

Meanwhile Erik started playing Karl's drum kit in the basement and we turned around and Erik was playing in Zack's band as the drummer. I think Zack was worried for awhile that Inga wouldn't speak to him ever again but it worked out okay. She forgives him. I think. The new band jelled together pretty nicely and I turned around this time and I was hauling equipment to shows. "Band Mom" is way cooler than "Hockey Mom"! Erik and his band have played four gigs so far.

When Erik was at the private school all of his friends took fencing. So we signed him up too. Odd I thought but okay we will go with it. I hoped it wasn't like Ta Kwan Do. That Ta Kwan Do guy took himself way too seriously. Fencing has worked out great. The teacher is good with them. Patient but firm which good since they are playing with swords. Erik is starting his third year now. This year they had a choice of weapon and Erik and his group picked sabers. Sabers are less flexible than the regular foils and now they can strike any part of the body. Heads are fair game. When I watch them warm up and do drills I am reminded of ballet. Actually they even have "positions" just like ballet. The shifting of weight and emphasis on hand positioning, the drills across the floor, all these things are remarkably similar to ballet but I won't say anything..

Book Club

Friday night I had a meeting of my Book club. We have been together about 8 years. Some people have moved, some people have splintered off to form a Bunko club instead, but our core group of 6 woman have remained through out the years. It is an inter generational group with people in their twenties and people in their sixties. This adds dimension to our discussions. One of the first books we read was about the Taliban and Afghanistan. Someone brought a color coded map which I thought was pretty cool. I think the next one was a about a talking gorilla. We read all different kinds of things. This year we read Caliph's House: A Year in Casablanca by Tahir Shah which was about renovating a house in Morocco. Enjoyable but it did not make me want to renovate anything in Morocco. We read Three Cups of Tea by Greg Mortensen and David Oliver Relin. After that book we donated money to build schools in the mountains of Pakistan in the book club's name. This past month we read The Nine: the Secret World Inside the Supreme court. I haven't finished that one because halfway through I got too disheartened to read on. Clarence Thomas is worse than expected shall we say. With the election coming up it was even harder to read. Next month we are reading the Hounds of Baskerville. Last year we read a spooky book in October. We read The Thirteenth Tale. I recommended that one with some trepidation due to some hints of incest but everyone loved it for the spooky factor so we are hoping to repeat the theme this year.

Yep, we always talk about the book. ( Well except that one time we tried to read Shakespeare) But of course we also follow along on with what's happening with every one's families births, weddings, school problems, etc. We manage to talk religion and politics pretty well too. No arguments have ever occurred although we do get loud. (Inga and Erik hate it when Book Club is at my house!) Someone usually has a funny story. I guess I will always remember Bernadette's stories about delivering the newspaper on her pony and sharing one bathroom with eleven other siblings. Oh yes, and her boss that thought Canada was in Europe. Judy and I are separated by a generation but we have remarkable parallels in our lives. Hopefully that means someday soon I will start traveling to all the places she has been. (Well I'll pass on Antarctica at Christmas!) I am often tired upon arriving but less tired when leaving. Book clubs are a good thing.

Ta Da!

Ta Da! Inga's room is clean! Clean, sorted, scrubbed and hung out to dry. Oh yeah. I did buy organizing thingys for all her stuff because she holds on to everything! When I throw things out she goes through the bags rescuing stuff. But I have to say she did let me throw away six bags of garbage. We did finally pack up her dolls. (Not to throw away of course.) Inga and I built a bookcase and organizer this morning. The bookcase had special hidden recesses for screws. They instructed you to angle your screwdriver in the little recesses and then screw them together. My screwdriver doesn't angle well. Well you would need a screwdriver with a fourty-five degree angle in it to do this easily! We managed. We managed to nail the backings on without any nails poking through to the otherside! Yeah. Inga nailed without hitting her fingers! Yeah! We even worked out more efficient ways to hammer. We are hammering queens nows. Holding the hammer farther back on the handle works a lot better.

To Market to Market

Thursday is market day for me. Last spring we bought a share in a local organic farm, Hendy Hollow CSA. Every week I go down to the public market and pick out our weekly share of veggies. Due to the herds of deer and the fencing required my own garden is too small to grow enough veggies and I like to support the local farmers. I like the chatting and the friendliness of this way of shopping. If I could buy all my stuff from small local vendors....well, I can't imagine buying the kid's Cheetos from a small village stand. Anyway I like the market. And all of my favorite vendors happen to be tall blue eyed farmers. I like buying my groceries from tall blue eyed men just like men like buying their beer from nearly naked blond women. Same Same. Sexist? I don't know but it does beat grumpy fat women behind the counter at the local grocery.

After the market it was off to the grocery store for Cheetos of course! Then Target for Inga's favorite noodle bowls. Sam's was next for water. We have a well and the water smells and tastes funny. Another grocery store in hopes of finding our favorite yakisoba noddles. Sadly, I can't find yakisoba noddles anywhere. Best Buy, where I wished for tall blue eyed men who would actually be helpful. I went home and unloaded all that food. Ten minutes later it was off to pick up Inga from school to take her to get her allergy shots. After shots it was voice lessons. Stopped by the Verizon store because Inga broke her third cell phone in a year. Good thing she had money in the bank. Home to fix dinner. Erik was nearly in tears over a bad day at school. After dinner Sarah Palin started to ruin my evening but I took two asprin. And now here I am. Another day gone and guess what... Inga is still living in the guest room because her room is still not clean!

Red Heads

Erik has been dying his hair weird colors starting in the second grade. I used to take him to Penny's where I would have to sign a waiver stating that I wouldn't hold them responsible for any repercussions. It just got too expensive so I figured out the whole process myself. The first time I bleached Erik's hair I was pretty nervous. But we are so over that now! Erik alternates between various shades of red and black. Inga has had purple hair with black tips, rose, blue, fuchsia, burgundy, pink, and now red. Oh, I guess Erik was black and blue for awhile too. They weren't too fond of it at Erik's private school last year but now that they are both at the High School it is a non issue. Inga had purple hair while she worked at the glass museum this past summer and it created some interesting questions from tourists especially when she talked about the chemicals used to make different colors of glass. She also had to wear a button proclaiming her a "Wizard" of glass which added to the jokes at times. The newspaper came and interviewed her and a couple of the other kids. She ended up with three pictures and huge long article in the paper. Pretty cool. And believe me everyone in our small town seemed to notice the article. There were messages about it on the machine when we came back from the lake. She's out in the community proving that all kids with wild clothes and colored hair aren't potheads! Oh yes, and once or twice the dogs came a little too close while I was dyeing someone!

Updates and Weather

Karl is doing better today. He is still in some pain and looks pretty black under the eyes but he's coming along. He fed the cat today all by himself while I waited on the bench outside. I was banished. He is talking about going to work tomorrow but I don't know... tonight he doesn't seem ready. He may go for peace and quiet though!

Inga is doing a lot better. I think the Walmart stuff is helping her stomach. It's basically yogurt in a tablet. She is settling into school work and tonight she hates Spanish less.

Erik continues to be amused in history class. Today his teacher told him South Carolina was riding the "short bus". Apparently his teacher is a lapsed southerner who doesn't have great things to say about congressmen from the Secessionist party of South Carolina.

I had a meeting at the High School today where we asked why the kids planners had a map of Russia but no map of the High School. After the monthly parent meeting we always spend the rest of the morning at Panera's. We spent the morning exchanging crazy kid stories from the summer. Like time Erik jumped off the two story dock in boots and jeans. One woman has a son with girlfriend who won his approval by dressing up his childhood stuffed rabbit as a heavy metal bunny and posting it on My Space. Okay. I guess there are new ways to a boy's heart!

The mornings have been foggy and it really feels like Fall. The dogs and I got out for a walk this afternoon and I could see some trees starting to turn. The trees are going red, golden rod is driving us crazy, and monarch butterflies are doing their thing every where. Soon we will be buried under ten feet of snow.

Surgery Cats and Pain

Karl and I are home from the hospital. He has a lot more pain than last time and he is more groggy. Not sure why but it was a different anesthesiologist. Little bit different sedation. Because we live in a fairly rural area not particularly attractive to most doctors we have a global smorgasbord of nationalities represented by our docs. Karl's anesthesiologist was Ukrainian. After surgery he stopped by to tell Karl all about having his tonsils removed at age 6 without anesthesia. He told us in graphic detail about the size of the needle used to give the local. Made you glad not to have been a boy in Ukraine but it wasn't shall we say helpful to Karl.

Karl was called in early to surgery so we didn't get a chance to stop by and feed his friend's cat as we had been planning. Unfortunately this meant Karl wanted to do it on the way home. What followed was another one of those slapstick moments you should only experience through movies. We went in the house through the garage. I went outside while Karl went upstairs to tend to the cat. I wasn't paying much attention and I didn't latch the screen door behind me. When I went upstairs to check on Karl (who I didn't want to be doing any of this stuff) He said, "You closed the door right? You didn't let the cat out did you?" Of course we couldn't find the dam thing. (Cursing allowed now!) We looked all over, I asked neighbors, I sat in the garage listening for cat sounds, Karl walked all around, I made promises as what I would do if I found the stupid thing, Karl looked more and said he wouldn't leave without said cat. Finally I went through the house one more time and found him curled up under the sheets on the bed. I am now definitively a "Dog Person"!

Karl and I are off to the hospital this morning for his second skin surgery. They did not get it all the first time. I know Karl is dreading it and so am I. Maybe I will post more later. :(

Of Pet Stores and Dumb Bunnies

Erik and I made our regular weekend trip to the pet store yesterday. We have 6 leopard geckos, one house gecko, one crested gecko, three leopard gecko eggs, one ball python, one poodle, and one bichon. Geckos eat crickets or meal worms which involves a trip to the pet store pretty often. Meal worms live in a plastic container in your refrigerator for a month or so but crickets they don't last very long. Unfortunately, there has been a meal worm shortage all summer so this means more frequent trips to the store. Meal worm farmers in Florida had some crisis. How would that be for a job? Meal worm farmer?

The ball python eats mice or rats. Haggis came to our house because Erik volunteers at the Nature Center. Erik was so good at caring for their snakes they really felt he needed his own. When I said we couldn't afford one they were kind enough to locate a free one. Nice huh? Thing is they do not allow snakes in college dorms! Oh yes and Haggis is a picky eater. The mice we bought yesterday were not to his taste so we have to take them back. Another trip to the store!

Last night just before dinner Erik and I went out to our little garden to collect veggies. I was happily pulling up beets when a small brown furry thing ran over my feet. I have to say unless it is a small brown puppy or possibly a kitten I do not like them running over my feet especially in my garden. We have the garden fenced in because we sometimes have herds of deer in our yard. All around the bottom two feet we have double fencing to keep out small brown furry things. It was a tiny rabbit. Erik and I chased this rabbit round and round the garden trying to herd it out the open door. Every time it got close, it ran right by the door. "I kept yelling go through the door it's right here" to no avail. Dumb bunny kept running towards the opposite end. Erik and I thought "well maybe the dogs will hunt it out for us." So we brought out the dogs. Bichons are not rabbit hunters. Jimmy ran out of the garden back up on the deck where it was nice and quiet. Cooper chased the rabbit but not very effectively shall we say. Pack hunt just wasn't happening. Okay, so we went in the house for brooms buckets and reinforcements. Now we had a dog, Karl, Inga, Erik and I chasing this tiny rabbit round the garden. We were all afraid to pick him up. Finally, Erik scooped him up in a bucket and dropped him over the fence. That rabbit ran right down the fence right over the chicken wire and my feet back into the garden in spite of me telling him "No. No. Get out. Go the other way " He was determined to be in my garden. Maybe he left his new blue jacket with the shiny buttons behind...

Not the Best Choice

It was hot yesterday afternoon. Hot muggy and irritating. Erik was not in a good mood when he got off the bus today. But he did tell me all about his day. He has been buying lunch in the cafeteria. Yesterday apparently he was in line behind a rather huge girl with the word "F#*K" tattooed in italics on the back of her neck. He said something about "talk about making life choices you regret in twenty years"! ( His band recently played a gig at the "Making Healthy Choices" teen fair) Mmm I thought... last time we were at the Chinese Buffet I think I saw exactly that scenario.

After lunch in his history class the teacher had trouble with the digital projector and used exactly that same word in response. Erik and Inga had a little discussion about how often this occurs and what other outrageous things teachers have said in the past. Now you have to take these discussions with a grain of salt but teachers do swear in front of Highschoolers fairly often these days. And they make me feel old doing it because "in my day teachers didn't do that!" and I went to school in the Seventies. Last year Erik had a female teacher who threw markers and swore when the projector didn't work. How am I supposed to get my volatile teenagers to use self control when teachers are setting this example? Okay of course I am guilty too and I have taught my kids to say things like, "Come on really 25 miles an hour?" I guess what I wish is that we would all stop with the swearing just a little bit. Very Hallmark of me.

I did make a mighty fine elderberry peach cobbler yesterday. I have to say elderberries are awesome. I hope they have some at the market next week too.

Inga was very sick yesterday I think she threw up six times. Periodically her eyes swell up and she looks like she should be living in a yert somewhere in Tibet. I just wish that kid would be well. Maybe the rain we had overnight will help with the pollen or maybe she has some kind of flu. I'm just not sure what else to do for her. Cross my fingers that when she gets up today she will be better.

Snakes in the Bed

I made some headway on Inga's room but it certainly is not done. When she came home from school I showed her my new Blog. Her comment was, "Is it bad that I think my room looks pretty in that picture?" So much for for Karl's worries that she would be offended.

Surprisingly, I did not find in snakes or vermin in Inga's room. However down the hall Erik's room is replete with "little friends"! Apparently Karl's Dad was a collector of snakes and I myself was known to carry snakes to school in third or fourth grade. Snake loving is genetic I guess.

Both kids had a pretty good day at school. Erik enjoyed his World Drumming class. He got to play some kind of African drum which I had never heard of and they listened to some "awesome" world music. History of the Civil War also got good reviews although he was late to class due to being totally lost. Inga drew him a map so maybe today he will get there quicker. Why they don't give the kids maps I don't know. Anyway, Erik was amused when the teacher asked the class if there were slaves in Florida and someone said, "They would never have slaves at Disneyland"! Across the aisle a boy answered with "Well, Mickey is black." The teacher responded by saying "I'll pretend I didn't hear any of that!"

Inga didn't have any funny stories to tell but she seem to like her classes well enough. She is home sick this morning with her chronic stomach issues. She suffers from IBS which seems to be a name for untreatable stomach pain. The doctor's advice column in the paper today talked about IBS and recommended an over the counter treatment. I am going to try and locate it. Mostly I think her asthma medicine tears up her stomach. Starting your day throwing up is no way to go.

I will work on that pie today and Inga's room. I am sure the best way to clean Inga's room would be to go to Target and buy more organizing plastic thingys. And I do also have to return some of those skinny jeans as they were too skinny! I am sure I can procrastinate until after lunch!

My New Blog!

This should be fun! Today is the first day of the school year for my both of my children so it seems an appropriate day to start something new. My first day to think since June. I am calling my blog Nailing Jello to a Tree because on a recent trip to Ithaca with my daughter I saw a pin that said, "Raising teenagers is like trying to nail Jello to a tree!" Most days I do feel like that. And nailing Jello can be fun given the right frame of mind.

Of course by starting this blog I am also avoiding the task at hand which is cleaning my daughter's room. Why am I cleaning a 16 year olds room you ask? Well my daughter is a slob with asthma who has let her room get to the point where it is actually unhealthy for her to be in it. So I am here dragging my feet starting a blog!

So far today instead of cleaning Inga's room I have: called my mother twice, edited pictures, gone to the public market, tried to find my skinny son some jeans, thought about making peach elderberry pie, and of course written this. Maybe the dogs need a walk???