I Hate Moving

That is all. 

Funnel Cloud

If you look very closely at the far right corner you can see a wannabe tornado. 

And then about 5 minutes later this one happened. 

Vacation

Upstate New York. 

Spades

Four conservative bidders. Super conservative, at that. We're only playing to 200, instead of the usual 500. After 7 hands we've barely broken 100. Pete said, "This is a game of attrition."

Brewing Beer

Summer Evenings ...

... might be my favorite thing ever. Small brewery. Patio. Good beer. Great company. Definitely one of my favorite things, at the very least.

Driveway Oil Change

New Restaurant

This place, Schoolhouse Libations and Kitchen, is fun. The menu is presented in an old school folder. The bar is full of books - and booze, of course. There are classroom style chairs and even some desks scattered around. And the drinks are served in beakers.

Garden

We planted snap peas, lettuces, cabbages, broccoli, carrots, and mustard greens in late March. The greens have done well and we're starting to eat some. The carrots were a complete bust; we've had zero. The peas were a delicious, smashing success. But they're all done now and we've ripped them out to plant cow peas. We've never planted cow peas so we're not sure what to expect. They look like green beans except they are purple.

Tomatoes, eggplant, and cucumbers followed in mid-May. The tomatoes and eggplant were all choked out by mint. (Mint is delicious -- we've made many a lovely mojito with it, but it grows in quantities which almost no backyard gardener can use.) We thought the cucumber was another mint casualty until we got into the patch today to rip out the mint and discovered a healthy, thriving cucumber plant in its midst. Much rejoicing followed.

To make up for the sad lack of tomatoes, Pete bought some pre-started tomato plants at the famer's market today. We plunked them into the ground this afternoon and we're hopeful that we'll end up with some good tomatoes by the time August rolls around.

July 4th

Ribs and potatoes. Mojitos. Playground. Fireworks after a drizzle. Oh, yes.

Hiking

Teeny orange caterpillar of some sort.

We hiked about 6 miles, round trip, through part of Golden Gate Canyon State Park to Windy Peak. It was fun and difficult and very worth it.

Double Rainbow

Celebrating the End of Another School Year

Freddy's Steakburgers and fries. Delish.

Flooded

Our creek has had water in it for almost 2 solid months.

This Conversation Happened Today

This phone call took place as I was leaving the referenced parking lot to look for parking elsewhere.

Parking Office Employee: Auraria Parking Office, how can I help you?

Me: I was wondering if you are aware that the lift gate in the Maple Lot is not working? I've tried three times in twenty minutes to get in.

POE: Yes, there's someone headed over there now to lift the gate. We can't do it electronically right now. 

Me: Great, do you know when that person will be there?

POE: Let me check ... :puts the phone down:

POE: Ma'am, he's there right now. 

Me: Is he wearing a uniform of some sort? Or in a staff vehicle or something? Because I'm telling you I was there for twenty minutes and no one is there. 

POE: Yes, he's there because we lift the gates at 4:30 for evening parking without a pass. 

Me: But it's 5:30 right now. 

POE: Yes. 

Me: So the gate goes up for the night at 4:30 but right now it's 5:30 and no one has opened it?

POE: Yes. 

Me: :head explodes:

In Which Old Music is Revisited in New Movies

The kids returned from Albuquerque after summer break enthusing about their new favorite movie, Pitch Perfect. I had not seen it but they assured me that I'd love it. They quoted so many lines from it during the 3-hour drive, I felt like I had seen it by the time we got home. But since feeling like I had seen it and actually seeing it are not the same, they insisted we watch it. 

It is, indeed, a rather funny movie. Yes, it's a tween movie and yes, it's actually a musical. But I didn't hate it. I probably wouldn't have allowed them to see it on my watch (Uh, hello, language?! Adult situations??!!) if it had been totally up to me, but I wasn't consulted on that decision and the deed was already done.





Ace of Base's "The Sign" is performed repeatedly in this movie by the main characters, as are many other pop tunes from the 90s and forward. I didn't think much of it until the next day when that song happened to come on the radio as Miriam and I were out grocery shopping. When she recognized it, her eyes got huge and she stared at me incredulously.

I said, "You did know this was a real song long, long before that movie, right?"

She said, "Uh, NO!"

She sat in silence for several seconds and then did that whole hand-exploding-from-the-head thing that people do to signal that their mind has, officially, been blown.

General Life Update

It's finally, well and truly spring. I am loving every single second of the glorious sunshine and breathing in this amazing, fresh air while appreciating new buds and blossoms every where. The longer I live here and the more winters I endure, the more I love spring and summer.

The spring semester is nearly over. I can taste the freedom that lays on the other side of finals week. I have struggled with this semester. The work load isn't all that heavy; it just consists of a lot of new-to-me concepts. I am taking Intro to Chemistry and Biology II. I haven't had any chemistry in 18 years so it might as well never have happened. Bio II requires memorization of lots of life cycles I've never learned, cladistics (a word I did not know 10 weeks ago), and general maddening info that most people never know. In any case, I am almost finished and I am fairly confident I'll eke out As or Bs in lecture and lab for both classes.

I've enrolled in Chemistry I next semester. Originally, I also enrolled in Statistics because I found out I'm still lacking a semester of math and because statistics is integral to scientific research, which I want to do some day. But that would have required going to school 4 nights per week. There are many reasons I cannot do that: 1) I cannot handle working 4 days a week and going to school 4 nights a week while caring for kids and a home; 2) There is no way I can ask to be the early person at work all 4 days I am there so I can get to class by 6:00. My co-workers would revolt. 3) Chem I and Stats?! In the same semester?! No way, no how. Since Chem I and II are prerequisites to most of the other stuff I need for both my major and minor, I dropped Stats and will take it the following semester. This means I am only taking 1 class next semester when I've always taken 2 classes at a time. That puts me behind a bit but I think it's better to be behind than burned out.

Solomon is doing quite well. He's taking a lot more responsibility for his school work. As a third year band student, the time commitment is much heavier than it was the previous two years. His abilities are improving dramatically. He auditioned for both symphonic and jazz band for the high school and made both. He also joined the wrestling team at the middle school again this spring. Last year he won only one match out of the whole season and was pretty discouraged about it. The experience last year and hard work this year really paid off because he did so much better. He's gotten so strong and flexible! We were able to sign him up for an extended freestyle season at his future high school and he really, really loves it.

Miriam is really blossoming. She has made the honor roll several quarters in the last 2 years and that's even with taking honors reading and writing. As a result, she was recently invited to join the National Junior Honor Society. She is applying to be a WEB Leader for next school year. This is a student ambassador group which works throughout the school year to help new students and incoming 6th graders adjust to life in their school. I think she will be amazing at it. She still tends toward the quieter side in large groups of people but she can and does speak up when it's needed. Beyond school, she continues to be compassionate, sensitive, and friendly to a diverse group of people. She has a wicked sense of humor and makes me laugh all the time.

Samuel is still struggling a bit in school, but I've been able to work with his teachers and speech therapists to get more support in place for middle school next year. I have a feeling it will be a rough transition for him. I know he's tough, though and I'm sure he can rise to the challenge. He certainly is excited about it. We went to the middle school for a Sneak Peak night last week. They sent all the 5th graders on a scavenger hunt through the school to find various teachers, classrooms, and other important locations in the building. He told Miriam he didn't want help figuring things out and he ended up doing 90% of it on his own. He continues to be completely enthralled by video games and still says he wants to design them when he grows up.

Parenting, in general, is much less sucky than it was 10 years ago, or even 2 years ago. Solomon and I had a tough couple of years recently. We butted heads almost constantly over almost everything. But the last year has been much, much better. He's growing up so much and I'm learning how to parent a teenager. It's not easy -- for either of us -- but it's easier than it was. This new found peace is translating well into my relationships with the other 2 kids. I am really enjoying being a mom to older kids instead of toddlers and preschoolers. I am more and more solid every day in my decision to be done with babies. Man, that was rough.

In conclusion, life is pretty dang good and that makes me smile.

:smile:

The spring, she is pretty. In May, she is so pretty. 

:sigh:

The winter, she stinks. In April, she stinks so much. 

Misadventures in Housekeeping

I have tumbled the same load of laundry in the dryer 5 times in 6 days with the goal of de-wrinkling and hanging everything up.

I went to spot mop a sticky stain on the floor and kept right on "mopping" with my foot for about 4 minutes. I didn't stop because I got all the spots. I stopped because my foot was tired. 

I spread out a tarp in the backyard so it could dry and I could fold it and put it away on Saturday. It's Thursday. Guess who has a tarp in her backyard?

I have not retrieved mail from the box at the end of the block in well over a week. 

I've been cursing the same toothpaste splatters on the bathroom mirror for 3 days. 

The refrigerator contains leftover rice that I meant to make into fried rice -- 2 weeks ago. 

I left Scentsy wax in my warmers so long that it now contains more dust than scent. 

The whole family has resorted to picking through the Sock and Underwear Basket every morning for clean undergarments. Drawers and paired socks are for wusses.

(In other news, the Sock and Underwear Basket has been an entity long enough to warrant a proper title. If it lasts much longer it will require its own budget and board of directors.)

In the time it took to compose this post I could have remedied half of the above issues.