Category: kids

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my boring life

Seems like all my posts have become a bulletin board for my to-do lists [YAWN], so how about something more interesting? [tap dancing across the desktop]

Yeah, it’s my birthday month — my favorite month of the year, except for hot summer and Christmas. But February — woo hoo, my fave.

Valentine’s Day, Austin’s birthday, violets are blooming, plum trees are trying to bloom their gorgeous magenta blossoms, then it’s an anniversary with Mr Husband from one of our earliest dates (our walk on the beach), and of our first romantic date, and when we got engaged, and also…yes. My birthday. And Mia’s birthday. And my sister-in-law Amanda’s birthday. Heck, it’s also Black History Month, Lincoln’s bicentennial and Washington’s birthday.

This year I’ve been ripped off from my usual three-day birthday weekend, since Presidents’ Day is earlier. Bummer. Oh well, I’ll just make it a longer birthday week.

Plans for birthday? A romantic dinner. I think the kids are cooking my birthday meal (ack, as long as I don’t have to clean up after them). I asked Patrick to make me a CD compilation. And I might ask for dirt. Yes, dirt for my garden. A truckload. Or a pallet of dirtbags. The dirt gets so compressed over the year that it needs some fluffing up. Raised beds have that problem. I’m hoping to expand the vegetables a bit this year so new dirt is in order.

A dirty birthday present, that’s what I want.

And maybe a (used/borrowed) copy of The Omnivore’s Dilemma. That would be nice to read. Anyone have a spare? I’ll give it back.

Looks like rain. That’s good news for the state. Shed a little water on us all, Lord. Verily, amen.
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weekend rain, and sun

What I learned this weekend: that clothes on a clothesline do not dry in the rain. That clothes left overnight on the clothesline, dry or wet, end up as playthings for raccoons. That wet clothes that get wetter in the rain will break the clothesline.

Now I have just one clothesline. Quite annoying.

Because it rained on Saturday, I saved a lot of energy by not doing much laundry, and attempting to hang out what I did wash…when it wasn’t raining. That didn’t work so well. Hey, live and learn.We did not use the heater at all this weekend, though it was chilly and damp (relative to the rest of all y’all in colder places). Socks, sweaters and blankies…lots of snuggling with library books and recyled cats and cups of organic loose leaf tea. (Mr Husband’s version was hot tea and a cat and the ongoing football games. Go, Bears.)

I got our local CSA (local farmer produce) box on Friday — which I’m starting to order again now that our garden has finished, and by getting it Friday, we no longer have that weekend-with-no-food problem that quickly leads to telephone-for-takeout syndrome. So instead, we ate well this weekend, with fresh strawberries, black grapes, apples, bok choy, celery, and more vegies than I can remember. All of that was local and organic. Yum…

The teenagers were out riding their fixies (fixed gear bikes) in the rain, which must be fun, since they have no brakes and have to skid to stop. They came in, a horde of them at about 6:30 p.m. I happened to have a jar of pesto in the cupboard, so made a vat of green spaghetti, a big salad and pulled a Safari’d foccaccia out of the freezer. As soon as they were eating dinner, I whipped up a quick coffee cake for dessert, with cocoa and walnuts on top, since we had nothing else to offer. Coffee cakes bake quickly, like 35 minutes, so before long the kids were eating warm cake with melting chocolate and chopped nuts. Mr Husband and I had our pasta with the last of the homemade garden tomato sauce from earlier in the week = no waste!

We had to feed all these kids again in the morning, so out came the wafflemaker and I made a fruit salad with seasonal fruits — persimmons, black grapes, apples, oranges. Yum. Plus a boatload of eggs. One of the teens actually got up and made coffee so it was hot when I came down. A miracle!

I made another pass at my living room, eliminating all the rest of the crap piles — ALL of them, and had my LR in order for a writers’ meeting Sunday at noon.

We had another clean-out-the-fridge soup on Sunday with a couple of packets of udon (thick Japanese noodles), our fresh bok choy, some mushrooms and onion from the fridge, and leftover chicken breast. I left the chicken in a dish next to the pot so that the vegetarians among us could eat soup without meat, and the omnivores could have it or not. We finished the weekend by sorting a big pile of laundry and *Putting It Away* (in our room, another miracle!) and watching a movie from our DVD collection. Free fun!

So there you go. Happy Monday, all.

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blogging the sphere

Or should that be spearing the blog? Blogger tells me it is on a scheduled outage, so no telling when this will post. (!)

I’ve been editing a fascinating book by one of our new authors, about the discovery and passage of the Anza Trail. Her photos are gorgeous — a look at an old historical venture through the photographer’s eye, 21st century. It is good reading but lots of details to watch for (like checking the Spanish translations) so it has taken me longer than I expected. That’s work. The elections are also causing a flurry at the newspaper, because of covering issues before Erection Day and giving fair coverage, etc. I could go on but bleah. I’m sick of all of it already. So much negative noise. The only hope I have re this outcome is that the noise will stop soon after Nov. 4, please G*d…it’s giving Mommy a headache.

Back at the hacienda, our kids are rocking in school; we got the Boy’s school pictures back yesterday and he is adorable! The Grrrrls are having fun in their various endeavors, and though each year is a bigger challenge, they are stepping up to it. Short story: it’s all good. Long story: buy me some decaf organic loose-leaf tea and I’ll tell you more.

Summer hasn’t left us yet, though this warm weather feels like fall. There’s a different blue in the sky, falling leaves, a sweeter light wind, and pumpkins everywhere. Halloween decorations are out, but not at our place just yet. Guess we’re skipping it this year. That’s OK by me. As I said, I’ve been on full-whelm, so another batch of stuff to haul out, set up, then clean up and put away again, for no reason other than “It’s Halloween, and cute skeletons are all the rage,” to me is kind of a waste of my time.

Yeah, I know. Humbug. I’m still feelin’ summer here. Get off my back.

This week has been a merry-go-round of busy, from Jimmy Buffett prep to school meetings to my women’s group to teaching night school this week. (Thanks to another great group of smart writers just waiting to unleash their talent on the world — watch out, Alameda…here they come.) The other surprise of the week was that we *did* go to Jimmy Buffett on the party bus with 20 other Parrotheads on Tuesday, and it was a fabu concert (see set list here). But a lo-o-o-o-ng night for tired me. Nothing like 20,000 margarita-swigging fools to show you what a good time looks like.

Tonight: Iyengar yoga with the Grrrrls. Tomorrow: softball game with Mr. Husband and the Pack. Saturday: detox and juice fast, because it’s time to get a bit healthier. Sunday: cigs, booze and heroin. Nah, just kidding. Maybe church instead. Or a nice bike ride. Or nothing.

Thought for the day: Most citizens/families of the world survive on about $730 per year, if not less. Here in America, if your household makes $93,000, you are in the top 10% of Americans re wealth. I found that shocking, esp in this economy. That, in fact, puts many, if not most of us, in a pretty sweet situation, if you consider that we flush our toilets with perfectly potable water when about half the world is desperately thirsty, and throw away a ghastly amount of edible food and wearable clothing, not even to mention random driving around in our gas-guzzlers just because we can.

Think about it before you waste another gallon of water just to rinse the sink. Just think about it.
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moments in time

What have I done for you lately? Not much. I’ve found that I’m on full-whelm, which is a shade below overwhelm. And doing fine here, thank you. I didn’t know I could juggle this well. Or at all. Clearly, I am learning.

What I did this week:

1. Didn’t receive hate mail from anyone. Did buy 1-cent stamps. Did send very small check to favorite political candidate. His name starts with an O and rhymes with Mama.

2. Made several school lunches that did not get eaten. Took one of those with me to work when daughter forgot/rejected it, only to have to give it to her at school because she had no money and really wanted lunch. Ate company-bought pizza instead of delicious homemade sandwich.

3. Ate leftover spaghetti Monday night when I got home from my women’s group. Made jambalaya in the Crock pot on Tuesday for when I was covering school board. Yum. Made a baked potato feast Wednesday night, when I was teaching a class on writing in the first person. No leftovers. Homemade chili from the freezer was Thursday’s meal, but we all went to yoga together and then came home and died on the couch afterward. Still dead now.

4. My tomato plants keep producing; last weekend I made a boatload of pasta sauce for the freezer (using my Seal-a-meal that doesn’t work = in other words, I ironed the tops of the bags shut.) This weekend: more tomato sauce (Gil Michael’s Nonna’s recipe = yum)

5. Had a massage to work out some of the knots and kinks from my fabulous sciatica. I love to talk about my sciatica. And my failing vision. And my blood sugar. And my aching feet. And my gums. How about some ringworm, anyone? Maybe some eczema for dessert? My whole body hurts from the not-so-tender ministrations of my favorite masseuse.

6. Mia bought her plane ticket home and will be arriving Dec. 20, for anyone who wants to see her. She is cuter than ever. Really.

7. NaNoWriMo begins Nov. 1. I may get back to work on my newest novel or the Year with the Saints pilgrimage project. Maybe. Maybe. Maybe.

8. Got the idea for this year’s holiday gift baskets. Have begun gathering the items in earnest. Fun stuff! Also began my holiday gift bartering and finding. I hope you all like antiques and vintage. That’s what you’re getting this year — that, or homemade. All of which is better for Planet Earth and my wallet than some crappy gift basket from Pepperidge Farms or whatever that sausage place is in the mall. Or a Precious Moments statuette assuring you that I wub you. (I do wub you, though.)

9. Halloween: No child this year means no outings, no dress-up. I’m giving away homemade treats, and if the neighbors don’t like them, they can say no thank you. Hope you kids like peanut butter cookies. Peanut allergy? How about some raisins?

10. Pumpkins: Success in the garden means 4 lovely large punkins for pies and breads and more. Success with corn means we can decorate with some dried cornstalks. Couple of gourds, too. It was indeed a successful harvest.

I could go on but you need your beauty rest. A couple of cucumber slices on your eyes will help with that puffiness. Take two naps and call me tomorrow.

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10-02=08

A mathematical date today. A pity I missed 080808, but O-well.

Juggling balls and spinning plates. Tried to have a sick headache last night but was interrupted by life, kids, hunger and a cross-Island junket to pick up a teen and save her from a dark bus ride. But at least I had a chance to catch up with Mom on the phone.

Continuing my quest to be further-Compacty, I found my two fountain pens and got some artist’s ink. I was able to refill both cartridges, one with green ink and one with purple ink, and will be using these at work instead of my colored ballpoint pens. At least, I will try to make the switch. I just realized I was writing with a black ball point to take a message, and that my pens are in my purse.My fountain pens are old friends but I haven’t used them much. One is a no-name brand — something from an art store a decade ago, and the other is a very nice Waterman pen from Mia.

Mr Husband has given me a few quill pens, including one with an amazingly beautiful silver pen holder, filigreed, holding a feather, with a really nice nib. But that requires dipping into ink, while the fountain pens do not need dipping, as they have cartridge. I figure this will get me away from plastic disposable ball points.

* * *
And…it took me too long to finish the post so here’s what Friday morning was like…Guess what we had for breakfast?

We have the double-toaster, extra-wide for bagels. Yesterday I tried to toast some waffles and the left side wouldn’t go down/turn on. This morning I tried it again with a bagel for D#3. Left side didn’t work. Moved it to the right side and it was fine. Followed suit with my own bagel.

Daughter #2 came home from school to make cookies and said the kitchen smelled raunchy. She snooped around a little and found…in the toaster…our mouse friend from the dishtowel drawer.

Yep. Toasted mouse on the left side. No wonder the cats have been on the counter all week.

Say it with me…eeeeeeeeeewwwwww!!!!