Friday, July 28, 2006

07.28.2006

Uncle Mike coping with the heat



Bubba recovering from jellyfish attack







Boy and Allycat engaging in heat abatement activities (Squirt gun fights)



We're back early. I'm afraid that being repeatedly stung by jelly fish put a bit of a damper on things and kind of took the wind out of some people's sails. We're all a little browner and Bubba and I are feeling at peace, having communed with the ocean, filled our ears with the crash of waves, watched the sun go down over the edge of the shore, felt the waves lap at our feet and filled our nostrils with the delightful scent of salt water. Mmmm - sometimes I feel a real affinity with the Celtic tales of sylkies - ocean women who came ashore because they fell in love with a mortal man, but always longed to return to the sea - and sometimes did . . .

The pets are awfully glad to see us, and it's good to be back again in the woods, listening to the river rush past. A couple of tremendous thunderstorms hit this afternoon, cooling things off and knocking the power and cable out. I so love summer thunderstorms!


I did make some progress on the shawl, but I did not finish it as I had hoped. I have three days left to work on it - and much preparation before DH and I leave for the entire month of August. Sadly, no knitting will be coming with us, as space will be severely limited. I am wondering if I can maintain sanity without knitting for an entire month. Or beading. Or drawing. Or writing. Hmmm

Monday, July 24, 2006

07.24.2006

We are going camping tomorrow. For the first time. With two out of three children. And my brother-in-law, sister-in-law and neice. In tents.

I've always wanted to take the children camping, but have never actually done it. And, other than Girl Scout camping (in an old WWII barracks, never outside)as a little girl, and then when I was sixteen, homeless and slept on the beach (that's another story - but did you know what absolutely superb watchdogs sea lions are?), I've never camped. So, this'll be fun.

We've got the tent - there's only four of us because Jessegirl can't get away from work - and DH insisted on getting an eight person tent - which I think is just way too big. And he's insisted on getting air mattresses, which I think are silly - we're supposed to be camping - doesn't that mean sleeping on the ground, not on a bed? So, we'll be leaving tomorrow and we'll be gone for the rest of the week, and, then, of course, just DH and I will be gone the whole month of August, so there'll not be much posting going on here.

I'm bringing my knitting camping, because if I get to be outside in the fresh sea air, well, then, so should my growing shawl. But, sadly, I will not be bringing the beads I have been making into stitch markers. And I am sad about that, because I have really enjoyed making them the last week or so. But, I have made something like twenty sets of six, so I suppose I should take a break.

So, it's off to the store to pick up a couple of last minute items crucial to camping, such as marshmallows, graham crackers and chocolate. Because what would camping be without s'mores?

Sunday, July 23, 2006

07.23.2006

It's been raining since Friday, but it stopped this morning. There are rumors it will warm up and the sun may actually peek out. In the meantime, I'll start the day with pancakes - or as Jessebear used to say "cakecakes". You can see Lilli, supervising, and waiting for hers. yes, my cat is so spoiled, I make her, her own, cat-sized pancakes. Just makes you puke, doesn't it? She is just so cute, though. And, since she is already ten years old, I justify it by thinking that she is coming to the end of her life span, so she should be happy . . .

Thursday, July 20, 2006

7/20/2006

Other than working twelve hour days, in preparation for next month, this is what I have been doing lately (those are the glasses that were repeatedly run over by cars not too long ago and sprang back into shape after each indignity):



Perhaps a closeup?

Thursday, July 13, 2006

07.13.2006

The other day when we were out riding, I turned my head to look at something and my glasses came flying off. I should have been wearing my bike glasses, but for some reason, I like to see, so I was bad and was wearing my prescription glasses. We pulled off the country highway, and were trying to spot them before we ventured out into the road. I kept hearing cars hit them as they blew past, and I was fairly certain that I would not have glasse left by the time we found them, thereby being doomed to blurriness for a time. I counted five cars running over them before we could sight them and get out into the road to pick them up. Would you believe it - the lenses were only a little scratched, and the tops of the lenses had a tiny little divot on each one where they had been ground down into the road, but otherwise they were fine. I was pretty pissed at the high cost of the glasses when I bought them eight years ago, but I have to admit that I am impressed with the glory of high impact plastic lenses and titanium frames.

So, the end result is that I was talked into going to get my contacts again - so I can wear my bike glasses and see at the same time. Oooh - what a luxury. I've had the same prescription for the last fifteen years, so I was a little worried that my eyesight was worse because, sometimes, after wearing my glasses all day, they'll bother me. But, my eyes are actually better - go figure! So, I am happily wearing contacts again for the first time in two years, and that means I can wear sun glasses. And see. And I don't have to wear fricking glasses. Which I hate. But I'll have to repalce my glasses. When one of our clients pays their bill. Which hopefully will be soon. Because the electric company would like to get paid. And I think the phone company would, too. Oh, and I might want to buy food, too. Just maybe.

Wednesday, July 12, 2006

07.12.2006

Went for a little ride last night, felt the wind in my face, the chill of the air flowing up from the river as we rode past and it was sort of cleansing. Nice end to a stressful day.

It's raining today, grey, humid. Not raining hard - just enough where we have to take the car to work. So, DH is crabby. Any day he can't be on the bike is not a good day.

And poor Bubba, on top of everything else, she rode her bike all the way to her Wednesday babysitting job this morning only to be told by the mom (giggle) that (giggle) she forgot to call and cancel for today (giggle). That's not a problem, is it? This is the second time she's done this. Get ready for my bitch ray - although I think this behavior is age appropriate in a fourteen-to-sixteen-year-old, I find it rather annoying in a thirty-something mother of four. Although, I guess I should cut her a little slack since she does have four children under ten. People. What does it mean when you have nothing but contempt for the majority of your species?

But, the day got better. I've had one of my headaches for the last two weeks, and it has gotten to the point where I am alternately fantasizing about slamming my head repeatedly into a concrete wall, or a morphine drip. Either one will be acceptable, thank you. so, DH and I punched out quite a bit of work and then left work early, to drive home in the rain. And, as the children were quietly doing the assignment I had given them first thing this morning, we snuck off to our room, locked the door,put on some Allman Brothers and had a quiet afternoon. We woke up this evening to the rain moving out and my headache was down a notch, no longer making me suicidal or desirous of an opiate addiction. After checking the radar - which showed total clearance in the entire northeast corner where we live, we decided to go out for a bike ride. And then Neighbor Greg called and wanted to know if we wanted to go out with them, for a ride and sushi. Sometimes, the day just ends up being way better than you ever guessed - or hoped.

It's about a twenty mile ride through winding mountain roads, up sides of mountains, down into little vales and then back up again. The sun was setting, so the light was dim, the air was humid and there was low-lying fog over much of the mountainsides, riverbeds and stretching like fingers over farm fields. It smelled heavenly, warm and of things blooming, as we rode together. God, it felt good to be alive. And then, about two-thirds of the way there, deep in a vale between two mountains, it started raining. I think if you were walking, you would barely notice the rain, but going about 45 mph, it felt like miniature bbs bing shot at you. I have to admit, I did look longingly at the cowbarns and big trees we passed, thinking how nice it would be to pull over and wait it out, but Neighbor was in the lead and we kept going. We were pretty wet by the time we got to the restaurant, but the little Japanese waitress nicely brough us a roll of paper towels and seateed us wellaway from the air conditioner. I couldn't help but laugh my ass off - other than the momentary discomfort it was a great ride and I was with people I liked, so I had nothing to do but be happy. About fifteen minutes after we got there the skies just opened up - thunder, lightening, torrential rain. And none of this showed on the radar. It must have been hidden from the radar in between the mountains.
We had an awesome dinner, and Neighbor surprised us by buying us dinner, for our birthdays - what a treat! The ride home was great - the roads were wet, but it wasn't raining. It was warm, humid, occasionally a big plop of water would fall on us from the trees lining the road. We passed an eight point buck, grazing at the side of the road - he just watched us. The crickets, bullfrogs and tree frogs were singing their hearts out, and all around us, the earth smelled alive and fertile.

Tuesday, July 11, 2006

07.11.2006

Another muggy day - hazy and partly cloudy. Cranking out work - just one of those days where I'm working on five files at once,trying to keep things together and the phone is ringing constantly . It never ceases to amaze me how self-destructive people can be - whether intentionally or unintentionally. I don't think they are just plain stupid - though sometimes I wonder . . .

Things at home get pretty challenging at times - Bubba's friend is off at boarding school for summer session and Bubba is so worried about her that she isn't sleeping very well and is having a hard time eating. She will never admit it to her friend because she feels her friend has already too much to deal with - and she would be so furious if she knew I was writing about it. Bubba hasn't quite got to the point where she truly believes deep inside herself that she can't save anyone but herself - but, hey - it only took me 40 years to learn that lesson! So, at sixteen, she's doing ok, I guess. I hate seeing her in pain, I hate that she's all bolluxed up, I'm very sad for her friend and I have bad thoughts, like "just how much stress can a person take?". And, on the selfish side, I have to admit, I'm a little sick of getting the whiplash from her misery.

And the soap opera does go on . . . Jessegirl is quite unhappy with boyfriend - quite hurt - he is so in the doghouse and is either clueless or just doesn't care. Sometimes, you just have to wonder about the male species.

So, I'm going to go home, look at my knitting, think about eating an entire pint of Ben and Jerry's, but ride the damned bike instead and do a hundred crunches, and then I'm going to have a good cry in the shower where no one can hear me. So there.

Monday, July 10, 2006

07.10.2006

Muggy and hot today. The cold hangs on, but it's barely there. Boy is still on breathing treatments, but neither he nor Jessegirl are waking up hacking all night long. Court was cancelled for today, so it is office work. Work, work, work - I so want to be in the sun today. Loving the heat, happy that it is sunny. It's supposed to rain the rest of the week, but the weekend will be nice. Wishing clients would pay their bills . . .

Sunday, July 09, 2006

07.09.2006

Began the day with pancakes - very quickly made on my spiffy new griddle. That means Boy got to have pancakes before he had to be at work in the orchard this morning. And Jessegirl was quite happy - she usually misses out on weekend breakfasts because she has to be at work at 7 AM. The rest of the day was a quiet day - lying in the sun with my two girls, eating cherries with my Bubba girl, watching Jessegirl sleep, sweetfaced, curled up like a baby.

Bubba asked DH to take her for a ride, Jessegirl and I picked Boy up at the orchard and then ran errands in town.

We came back around sunset, had guacamole, salsa and chips for dinner (mmm - heaven), and then curled up together, all of us, on the couch for a cuddle and to watch and critique Scarface. The kids peeled off, one at a time, Boy back to the computer, Bubba to her book and cat and then Jessegirl, to sleep more so she could make it through work tomorrow. I knit a little more of the shawl, and now, I am going to sleep. Feeling most of the way better - I am hoping I baked the hell out of this damned chest and head sludge.

07.08.2006

I've decided this morning that I couldn't take another day of lying around and being sick, and the only way to get better was to bake the hell out of this damned virus by being scorched in the sun. So, I talked DH into going down to the beach for the day. We left early, got there in about three hours, baked and sweated, drank tons of water, DH took a dip in the Sound and then scorched his feet on the boardwalk and then his sunburn erupted into blisters, so we headed home. The blisters were all gone by the time we hit our town in the woods (thanks, I believe to Neutrogena AfterSun - the awesomest stuff ever!) and then we had a lovely steak and green beans.
No rain, but boy, was it chilly in the woods - 15 degree difference. It was awfully nice to hug Boy and Bubba and just be with them. Jessegirl had gone out with her friends after work - it was one of her friend's birthday (we're all keeping our fingers crossed that the chemo works and her friend's cancer goes into remission) so they had a bonfire luau at the cabin in the woods at the lake, and she didn't come home until after two in the morning (#$@^&*%$#@), and boy was she in a bad mood - boyfriend trouble. Oh, dear.

Thursday, July 06, 2006

07.06.2006

I hate being sick. The good news is it's just an upper respiratory, not the stomach flu. I can take this, I hate the stomach flu. Nausea sucks. So, it's my birthday. I'm 41 today - hopelessly ancient, I know. And I'm sick. Boohoo. I'm going to go have a hot lemon honey toddy and curl back up in a ball on the couch.

Mmm - I got home from the office to find a lovely card from Boy and Bubba, a cheeky one from Jessegirl, and a lovely new big griddle from Jessegirl! I think I will break it in Sunday morning, if I am better, by making pancakes.

Tuesday, July 04, 2006

07.04.2006

Shawl progress - keep in mind Bubba is about three inches taller than I.



Lucky me - the virus has hit me now. Ugh. Bubba has still not succumbed, but Jessegirl is beginning to sound suspicious, tho' she steadfastly denies any illness. Way to go girl - keep denying it and maybe it won't really hit you!

Monday, July 03, 2006

07.03.2006

The sun came out today - and it was hot! Lovely! Got up just over 80 degrees!

It was Jessegirl's day off today, she decided to stay home to rest and care for Boy. Bubba babysat in the morning and then read most of the afternoon. Since all was quiet and the day was lovely and DH had gotten a reprieve from Court, DH and I decided to bolt for the beach. Fill our batteries a little for the coming week of Law Hell! We had a lovely, meandering ride down on quiet country roads, walked on the sand, dipped our toes in the ocean and got sunburned. How delightful! As we hit our home town, we could see that a thunderstorm had just moved through, the roads were steaming. As we came through the trees and hit the center of town, we could see there were masses of dark grey clouds to the north, and then lightening was breaking on either side of us. We raced home and just missed the next set of storms. The rain and hail came down right after we got in the house. How exhilarating!

Sunday, July 02, 2006

07.02.2006

DH is down with an upper respiratory virus, and now Boy is as well. Keping fingers crossed that it doesn't go through the rest of the family . . .

Miss Julia has to leave for summer boarding school tomorrow, so Bubba and I took her out for a girly afternoon - clothes shopping, looking at boys, more clothes shopping, giggling over boys. It was so very nice to spend time with those two. Boy, am I beat. Going to knit and doze off . . .

Saturday, July 01, 2006

07.01.2006

The wild strawberries started blooming last month - they are finally beginning to show fruit. For anyone who hasn't had a wild strawberry - you don't know what you are missing. they are tiny, but the most heavenly, intense strawberry flavor you've ever had. Mmmm . . .



Some little green ones - should be ripe in a week or so - here's hoping the rabbits don't get to them first!



Also, the wild raspberries have taken off - the bushes are just heavy with fruit. All we need are some sunny days so they ripen up.