The other day, SIE and I went to the pet store on Broadway to get a better cage for the chameleon. The box was about 4 inches thick, but about 2 feet x 2 feet. SIE wanter to carry it and he was doing OK as we manuevered between the aisles. When we got over to the checkout, I turned to help him lift it. He was emphatic: "No-o-o!"
Then with a lower voice he says for my ears only, "I want them to see how amazing I am."
Showing posts with label family o' mine. Show all posts
Showing posts with label family o' mine. Show all posts
Monday, July 06, 2009
Amazing
The other day, SIE and I went to the pet store on Broadway to get a better cage for the chameleon. The box was about 4 inches thick, but about 2 feet x 2 feet. SIE wanter to carry it and he was doing OK as we manuevered between the aisles. When we got over to the checkout, I turned to help him lift it. He was emphatic: "No-o-o!"
Then with a lower voice he says for my ears only, "I want them to see how amazing I am."
Friday, July 03, 2009
Top O' the Morning
July 3rd - I think an old friend of mine, Larry Santo, was born today. He's gone now a year or two, but I woke up thinking of him so it might be today's his day. He was a character. I first met him at St. Patrick's Parish in Northside. He actually was the first person there to speak to me and he was a gentle soul. The church florist, sacristan, eucharistic minister, and server par ex-cell-ance. He loved to say he taught me all I know about serving and floral arranging, and that could be true. Along with my keen eye for observation and artistic temperment, of course.
Shortly after my arrival at St. Pat's I observed that Larry always wore a shade of green when he was on the altar. Later, at St. B's, he always wore the appropriate color tie to correspond with the vestments of the day. I think of him as the Irish/Northside version of Mr. Beachy. May he be teaching the angels a thing or two today!
Shortly after my arrival at St. Pat's I observed that Larry always wore a shade of green when he was on the altar. Later, at St. B's, he always wore the appropriate color tie to correspond with the vestments of the day. I think of him as the Irish/Northside version of Mr. Beachy. May he be teaching the angels a thing or two today!
Sunday, December 21, 2008
Sunday Mornin' Coming Down
Woke up today to a bunch of new snow. It's the kind of snow that Blue and I would have reveled in if we were out on the farm. There is an ice crust on it that is 1 to 2 inches thick. I found out because I went out to change the hummingbird water and sweep off an area to spread bird seed. A line of juncos was waiting for me and I couldn't figure out why they weren't digging in the snow for food. Then I realized the ice crust was so thick there's no way they were heavy enough to dig through it.
If we were on the farm, Blue and I would bundle up and go off hiking in the woods. This snow is the best for walking with sure footing, even if it does crunch as you walk. We would be able to see every movement in the woods and track animals that are heavy enough to make prints. Even little animals would be making swish marks on top of the ice.
As nice as that would be, the reality is that we would have been "snowed in" for a week now and probably out of food and clean laundry and human contact. In other words, by now we'd be a little crazier than usual! Yes! God is good. My cozy little house is the best place for us right now!
I was able to get out for a bit on Friday. Drove over to Goodwill for a little shopping therapy. I love that Goodwill. It's a big one and always pretty clean and bright. I think this is where they send all the estates, because you can find priceless collections there. The kind someone saves their whole life, then whoever is settling their estate just takes them all to Goodwill. You'll go one day and there will be 100 glass swans, or a zillion salt and pepper shakers. Sometimes it will be sad because some one's hand carved boats or boats will be there. They're never all together. Somehow they get spread all over the store on different shelves. Maybe that's my excuse for having to go up and down every aisle when I go over there.
Anyway, I found a great fake tree there. It was in a box that looked like it had never been opened. (Sometimes Target sends boxes of big things that haven't sold - I thought it might be one of those.) I wasn't able to see what the tree looked like so I just crossed my fingers and hoped it would do. As it turned out, it was a used tree that someone had very tidily packed away in the box. SIE spent the night Friday so we put it together and decorated it on Saturday morning. SIE also shared his cold with me, so today my throat is sore and my nose runny. I still need lights, but we found a pack of gold tinsel in my wrapping paper stash and covered the tree with gold. So far I've only had to clean up one cat throw up containing tinsel and hope Waylon learned his lesson. Waylon is disturbed that I'm not watering the tree. I guess Christmas tree water is a Seasonal delicacy for animals!
The Jesse tree will have to wait for another year. I tried to google "Jesse Tree Ornaments" and got a porno site. Yuck!
For those who have asked, I think the Jesse Tree ornaments are flexible. They are symbols and you can use the traditional symbols or create your own. Some people put up a symbol on each day of Advent and use a sampling of bible stories to make up the ornament. Some just do it the last week of Advent and use the O Antiphons - these are short songs from the bible which give names to the Lord. The "O Come, O Come, Emanuel" song is based on those O Antiphons. There's the easy ones like "Star of David" - the six pointed star, and the "Root of Jesse" - which is usually a tree stump with a new branch growing out of it, or "Lion of Judah" - guess what - a lion. I'll slow down one day and make a list and then make the ones I like. STraditionally, some people replace the Jesse Tree with an evergreen tree on Christmas Eve. That's because the Christmas Tree is a symbol of Christ - being ever green, ever alive, ever present. There's lots of interpretations for all this, so it's fine to be flexible.
I think today is the Winter Solstice. I know there wasn't much daylight yesterday. It was dark until 8 AM, then dark again by 4:15 PM. Today seems brighter. One problem with being snowed in is that the only thing on TV is continual weather reports on every channel. So we don't know what's happening outside of the Portland area highway loop. Global warming or the shift of poles might have occured and we wouldn't know it. It may be they cancelled the Winter Solstice this year!
If we were on the farm, Blue and I would bundle up and go off hiking in the woods. This snow is the best for walking with sure footing, even if it does crunch as you walk. We would be able to see every movement in the woods and track animals that are heavy enough to make prints. Even little animals would be making swish marks on top of the ice.
As nice as that would be, the reality is that we would have been "snowed in" for a week now and probably out of food and clean laundry and human contact. In other words, by now we'd be a little crazier than usual! Yes! God is good. My cozy little house is the best place for us right now!
I was able to get out for a bit on Friday. Drove over to Goodwill for a little shopping therapy. I love that Goodwill. It's a big one and always pretty clean and bright. I think this is where they send all the estates, because you can find priceless collections there. The kind someone saves their whole life, then whoever is settling their estate just takes them all to Goodwill. You'll go one day and there will be 100 glass swans, or a zillion salt and pepper shakers. Sometimes it will be sad because some one's hand carved boats or boats will be there. They're never all together. Somehow they get spread all over the store on different shelves. Maybe that's my excuse for having to go up and down every aisle when I go over there.
Anyway, I found a great fake tree there. It was in a box that looked like it had never been opened. (Sometimes Target sends boxes of big things that haven't sold - I thought it might be one of those.) I wasn't able to see what the tree looked like so I just crossed my fingers and hoped it would do. As it turned out, it was a used tree that someone had very tidily packed away in the box. SIE spent the night Friday so we put it together and decorated it on Saturday morning. SIE also shared his cold with me, so today my throat is sore and my nose runny. I still need lights, but we found a pack of gold tinsel in my wrapping paper stash and covered the tree with gold. So far I've only had to clean up one cat throw up containing tinsel and hope Waylon learned his lesson. Waylon is disturbed that I'm not watering the tree. I guess Christmas tree water is a Seasonal delicacy for animals!
The Jesse tree will have to wait for another year. I tried to google "Jesse Tree Ornaments" and got a porno site. Yuck!
For those who have asked, I think the Jesse Tree ornaments are flexible. They are symbols and you can use the traditional symbols or create your own. Some people put up a symbol on each day of Advent and use a sampling of bible stories to make up the ornament. Some just do it the last week of Advent and use the O Antiphons - these are short songs from the bible which give names to the Lord. The "O Come, O Come, Emanuel" song is based on those O Antiphons. There's the easy ones like "Star of David" - the six pointed star, and the "Root of Jesse" - which is usually a tree stump with a new branch growing out of it, or "Lion of Judah" - guess what - a lion. I'll slow down one day and make a list and then make the ones I like. STraditionally, some people replace the Jesse Tree with an evergreen tree on Christmas Eve. That's because the Christmas Tree is a symbol of Christ - being ever green, ever alive, ever present. There's lots of interpretations for all this, so it's fine to be flexible.
I think today is the Winter Solstice. I know there wasn't much daylight yesterday. It was dark until 8 AM, then dark again by 4:15 PM. Today seems brighter. One problem with being snowed in is that the only thing on TV is continual weather reports on every channel. So we don't know what's happening outside of the Portland area highway loop. Global warming or the shift of poles might have occured and we wouldn't know it. It may be they cancelled the Winter Solstice this year!
Friday, August 15, 2008
A-hem
Mr. Beachy stopped by today to tell me to get on the schtick and get back to blogging! This has been a busy month and there's lots to write about. Right now I'm sitting in a very warm room in a house that looks like I'm still moving in. There's chaos everywhere, but it's too hot to do anything except sweat.
My three children were in town to visit this past week. The time went so fast! But we did get a chance to spend two nights at the Coast. Kaliedoscope had reserved a great room with a loft and a balcony looking out over the beach in Newport. The weather was in constant flux and a blanket fog kept rolling around with one morning that was clear and sunny. Besides loving the fact that all three of my girls and one little grandson were with me, I loved walking along the beach. Blue loved running. There are so many soft colors. The sand takes on many patterns. Little creatures scurry along the rim of the waves. The sky is huge when the sun was out, and mysterious when the fog covered everything. The wind was chilly but felt good to me. The sand was warm.
And here I'll have to close because I'm too weary to write more. My mind and heart are full to the brim and, yes, Mr. Beachy, I'll try to write all about the visit soon as I can. Thanks for stopping by!
My three children were in town to visit this past week. The time went so fast! But we did get a chance to spend two nights at the Coast. Kaliedoscope had reserved a great room with a loft and a balcony looking out over the beach in Newport. The weather was in constant flux and a blanket fog kept rolling around with one morning that was clear and sunny. Besides loving the fact that all three of my girls and one little grandson were with me, I loved walking along the beach. Blue loved running. There are so many soft colors. The sand takes on many patterns. Little creatures scurry along the rim of the waves. The sky is huge when the sun was out, and mysterious when the fog covered everything. The wind was chilly but felt good to me. The sand was warm.
And here I'll have to close because I'm too weary to write more. My mind and heart are full to the brim and, yes, Mr. Beachy, I'll try to write all about the visit soon as I can. Thanks for stopping by!
Wednesday, July 09, 2008
Stand Back Steven Speilberg
It took a lot longer to download this video than it did to take it. It might take all of 30 seconds to view it. Make sure your audio is on. Miss Ingu is striking out into new realms of art. I hope it works!
Saturday, July 05, 2008
In The Early Morning Rain
What could be better? I'm sitting on the porch on a Saturday morning with a cup of coffee and a small piece of left-over pineapple bundt cake. There is a misty rain left over from last night. Much cooler than last week at this time. A-h-h-h!This past week Kaliedoscope, SIE, and Miss Ingu ventured to the Pacific Coast for a couple days. We had a little room near Cannon Beach (that is the beach Fireling and Bikerboy visited last year). That is also the beach you may have read about in the journey of Lewis and Clark. They were camping for the winter about 3 miles north and decided to investigate a report of a beached whale. They weren't going to take Sacagawea with them. After all her help along the trip, she threw a fit and swore not to help them anymore if they didn't take her. I love to think we were standing where she did.
The 1st evening there, we flew a kite that SIE and I had made several weeks ago. He was able to get it up right away. So exciting because I've never really been able to fly a kite more than 4 or 5 feet in the air. Later we measured the string and we had let it out 154 feet!
We walked over toward Haystack Rock. That's a huge rock sticking up out of the ocean. It is covered in birds nesting - mostly sea gulls. But I got to see my 1st puffin! This was a Puffin Watch Week and they had counted 53 puffins.
When the tide goes out the area around Haystack Rock is called a Marine Garden. There are tide pools full of seaweed and all kinds of sea life and the rocks that are usually underwater are coverred in barnacles, shell fish, and anemones. It happened that Thursday morning was the lowest tide in a really long time. Someone said it was the lowest since 1907, but I don't really know if that's true. It was at -2.0. SIE and I got up early and we were able to walk out on the ocean sand almost 1/2 way around the main rock. Plus we saw lots of really tall rocks that had been hidden underwater. We saw hundred of large purple and orange starfish clinging to the walls. They were big - I guess about a foot across and they have a pattern of small white bumps on them that look like a spiderweb has been carefully spread over each one. We also saw some bright green tentacled things that looked like rubber bath toys. I'll have to look them up to see what they were.
One day we drove up through Ecola Park ("E-cula" is the native word for "whale"). We got to see 3 elk grazing really close to the road. They were big. They were a soft chocolate brown with black-brown head and neck; one of them had velvety antlers growing.
The place we were staying had an indoor pool. One morning SIE and his mom went swimming for 3 straight hours. I don't think he would have left the pool except that we promised him breakfast at a place called "Pig and Pancakes". K-girl had packed a book titled "If You Give a Pig a Pancake" so it seemed like a perfect place to eat.
As we returned home the highway takes us over the Coast Range through stands of tall fir trees and then along orchards and farmland on rolling hills toward Portland. About 30 miles from home a large border collie was weaving in and out of traffic. K-girl pulled over to the curb and openned the door. The dog jumped in without any coaxing. Poor thing must have been running and searching for his her people. She was covered in dirt and had thorny twigs matted in her long fur. Right away SIE named her "Captain Bogg" and we started calling her "Lucky". She is staying with me for a couple nights while we try to find her owners. Last night the fireworks went on for hours here and the animals were shaking they were so scared. Blue and Waylon spent the night on my bed and the stray dog slept on the floor next to us with her head under the bed as far as she could get it. I woke up this morning to find out that Lucky had properly christened the carpet in the little front room. Yuck and gag! There goes a little more purgatory off my karma.
All in all a beautiful week and lovely cool morning.
Monday, June 30, 2008
Cry Out With Joy To The Lord, All The Earth
That's the first line of psalm 100. It crosses my mind every morning and it really makes me happy to think of all of creation praising the Lord in its own way. Even when it's hot, like it has been here for the last couple days. HOT! So hot that I can only do a little bit of stuff before I want to lie down and take a nap. Blue and Waylon apparently feel the same way. Right now Blue is asleep under my desk and Waylon is outside sleeping under a bush.
It's been so hot that poor Hammy collapsed on the floor of her cage and I thought she'd breathed her last...but she's OK today. I don't know what I'd do if she died; she's such a sweet little hamster.
SIE is on vacation this week so his mom, Kaliedoscope Girl, and I are heading off to see the coast tomorrow. She just had her birthday - on a day in Portland that was as hot as the day she was born in Chicago. Half the guests were under age 5 and spent the party in the backyard seeing how wet they could get - water balloons, squirt guns, and wading pool provided - plus one crazy Hapapapa who kept egging them on. "Wet" = the only way to keep cool. SIE and I made her a lamb cake and the whipped cream gently rolled down the lamb melting into sliced strawberries. Someone called it a camel cake, I think because a naked lamb looks sort of like a camel, but maybe because only a camel could make it through the heat to a party.
I've been working on one of my projects and I'm not sure if I've already told you all about it. I had a kitchen table made to fit the spot in my kitchen that looks like a dining spot. It's made from reclaimed wood and looks like a "Little House in the Prairie" table. Hapapapa said it looks like a table Jesus would make. I've been wanting to stain it and gotten several opinions from people about how to and how not to go about it. Every idea seemed like a little more expense and too much troulbe driving around to look for supplies. So I finally decided to use my old artist's ingenuity. I had some burnt sienna oil paint, a jar of linseed oil, and a hunk of bees wax already in my art supplies. So last week I mixed the oils together and stained the table soaking in the aroma which reminds me of growing up. My mom used to oil paint and she'd put the brushes in her mouth to make the hairs form a point - artists do that. I always thought of her kisses as a combination of lipstick, coffee, and oil paint. It took a couple days for the table to dry - yes, even in this heat! Then I melted the bees wax (my only expense - a $2.00 enamel stove-top pan from the thrift shop) and started painting it onto the table. The 1st area go too thick, so I got out my hair dryer and was able to smooth the extra wax over to a bare spot. Then with an old cloth and the hair dryer, I was able to finish the table top. I love that the wax was made by bees and not petroleum. For some reason I can't figure out, it is very soothing to me to work the wax into the wood. H-mmm?
Next is to finish recovering the sofa and making curtains and my little house will look good! And before long the chilly, wet days of Portland winter will be upon us.
It's been so hot that poor Hammy collapsed on the floor of her cage and I thought she'd breathed her last...but she's OK today. I don't know what I'd do if she died; she's such a sweet little hamster.
SIE is on vacation this week so his mom, Kaliedoscope Girl, and I are heading off to see the coast tomorrow. She just had her birthday - on a day in Portland that was as hot as the day she was born in Chicago. Half the guests were under age 5 and spent the party in the backyard seeing how wet they could get - water balloons, squirt guns, and wading pool provided - plus one crazy Hapapapa who kept egging them on. "Wet" = the only way to keep cool. SIE and I made her a lamb cake and the whipped cream gently rolled down the lamb melting into sliced strawberries. Someone called it a camel cake, I think because a naked lamb looks sort of like a camel, but maybe because only a camel could make it through the heat to a party.
I've been working on one of my projects and I'm not sure if I've already told you all about it. I had a kitchen table made to fit the spot in my kitchen that looks like a dining spot. It's made from reclaimed wood and looks like a "Little House in the Prairie" table. Hapapapa said it looks like a table Jesus would make. I've been wanting to stain it and gotten several opinions from people about how to and how not to go about it. Every idea seemed like a little more expense and too much troulbe driving around to look for supplies. So I finally decided to use my old artist's ingenuity. I had some burnt sienna oil paint, a jar of linseed oil, and a hunk of bees wax already in my art supplies. So last week I mixed the oils together and stained the table soaking in the aroma which reminds me of growing up. My mom used to oil paint and she'd put the brushes in her mouth to make the hairs form a point - artists do that. I always thought of her kisses as a combination of lipstick, coffee, and oil paint. It took a couple days for the table to dry - yes, even in this heat! Then I melted the bees wax (my only expense - a $2.00 enamel stove-top pan from the thrift shop) and started painting it onto the table. The 1st area go too thick, so I got out my hair dryer and was able to smooth the extra wax over to a bare spot. Then with an old cloth and the hair dryer, I was able to finish the table top. I love that the wax was made by bees and not petroleum. For some reason I can't figure out, it is very soothing to me to work the wax into the wood. H-mmm?
Next is to finish recovering the sofa and making curtains and my little house will look good! And before long the chilly, wet days of Portland winter will be upon us.
Friday, June 13, 2008
Ode to Brother Bear & Sweet Sis
Last Sunday was my brother's 40th wedding anniversary. For some reason that seems like a miracle to me. Not the fact that the same wife stayed with him forty years...just that anyone can be married that long. I was only married 13 years, and my parents (D/T my mom's death) were only married 35 years.
I grew up adoring Brother Bear. He's 4 years my senior, so always that much more experience to look up to. He carried around a b-b gun when we lived on my grandma's farm. When the neighbor's Brahma bulls looked toward us, he'd encourage me to be brave: "Hold your breath, don't show fear, and when I say so - RUN!" I remember him cracking his very own bull's whip. Later, when I fell in love with Davy Crockett and Zorro, they didn't seem all that amazing. I felt like Brother Bear had had all these adventures before TV was even invented. I was sure he'd killed a b'ar or two while he was only three.
Brother Bear was allowed to ride his bike on fishing trips Down in the Valley. I was only allowed to go two driveways on each side away from home. I was never so thrilled as when he got a new bike and I inherrited his old reddish-purple one. I rode that one till I went away to college and passed it down to the next sibling.
He went with me to pick out my first prom dress and helped me decide to buy elbow length white gloves instead of wrist length. He taught me to slow dance and practiced with me so I wouldn't be too awkward.
He studied a lot and had a bedroom in the basement through college. We all had to be really quiet so he could work on calculus. If I was very stuck on a homework problem, I could go down and he'd help me on it. And sometimes while making himself a snack late at night, he would make me a "dagwood sandwhich" too. I loved those nights not so much for the snack as for the company.
I don't think I'd met Sweet Sis until the day of Bro Bear's college graduation. I had heard about an office girl where he worked during college - a girl he liked to flirt with. How I heard about her I have no idea. I'm sure he never would have told me about her! She turned out to be wonderful. She was sweet and smiled and didn't treat me like an obnoxious little sister. She probably thought I was a snob - Bro Bear had duly warned me before meeting her to keep my mouth shut and be polite.
They got married on 6-8-68. I was looking forward to having a sister and it had been a rough year for me away at school. Sweet Sis had asked me to be one of her six bridesmaids. Yes, she did! And, yes, I wore a dress. It was pink and long and I think it had an empire waist. I'm not sure but I think my shoes were pink, too. It was a Polish wedding and I was excited to see what it would be like. It was the first time I'd been in the Polish neighborhood and it seemed old-fashioned and sweet with buildings and shops clustered around the church. I remember looking at the outside of the church. It was built of grey stone and had Polish writing on the outside. Inside, in the undercroft, a couple men were already drinking! Yikes! After the Mass there was a formal sit-down breakfast for the families and wedding party complete with Polish meatballs. My then boyfriend had come with me and I think we sat together instead of at the main table. He was a small town boy and totally freaked out at the whole scene. When everyone started klanking their spoons against the glasses for someone to make a toast or to get the couple to kiss, he was horrified. I think this was the first wedding I'd ever been to, but I knew about the spoon klanking and thought it was so much fun. The tradition is for the bride and groom to go to each families' home and have a little welcoming drink and pastry or snadwiches. My boyfriend hid out in our backyard and I felt like I had to take care of him so I felt torn......But the bride was beautiful and even my brother looked pretty handsome. Later was the reception and I was looking forward to the traditional dances and the part where they take away the bride's veil and give her a broom. A pouting boyfriend and a tight girdle convinced me to leave before the dancing began.
Forty years. No boyfriend. No girdles. But still a wonderful sweet sister married to an adored brother.
I grew up adoring Brother Bear. He's 4 years my senior, so always that much more experience to look up to. He carried around a b-b gun when we lived on my grandma's farm. When the neighbor's Brahma bulls looked toward us, he'd encourage me to be brave: "Hold your breath, don't show fear, and when I say so - RUN!" I remember him cracking his very own bull's whip. Later, when I fell in love with Davy Crockett and Zorro, they didn't seem all that amazing. I felt like Brother Bear had had all these adventures before TV was even invented. I was sure he'd killed a b'ar or two while he was only three.
Brother Bear was allowed to ride his bike on fishing trips Down in the Valley. I was only allowed to go two driveways on each side away from home. I was never so thrilled as when he got a new bike and I inherrited his old reddish-purple one. I rode that one till I went away to college and passed it down to the next sibling.
He went with me to pick out my first prom dress and helped me decide to buy elbow length white gloves instead of wrist length. He taught me to slow dance and practiced with me so I wouldn't be too awkward.
He studied a lot and had a bedroom in the basement through college. We all had to be really quiet so he could work on calculus. If I was very stuck on a homework problem, I could go down and he'd help me on it. And sometimes while making himself a snack late at night, he would make me a "dagwood sandwhich" too. I loved those nights not so much for the snack as for the company.
I don't think I'd met Sweet Sis until the day of Bro Bear's college graduation. I had heard about an office girl where he worked during college - a girl he liked to flirt with. How I heard about her I have no idea. I'm sure he never would have told me about her! She turned out to be wonderful. She was sweet and smiled and didn't treat me like an obnoxious little sister. She probably thought I was a snob - Bro Bear had duly warned me before meeting her to keep my mouth shut and be polite.
They got married on 6-8-68. I was looking forward to having a sister and it had been a rough year for me away at school. Sweet Sis had asked me to be one of her six bridesmaids. Yes, she did! And, yes, I wore a dress. It was pink and long and I think it had an empire waist. I'm not sure but I think my shoes were pink, too. It was a Polish wedding and I was excited to see what it would be like. It was the first time I'd been in the Polish neighborhood and it seemed old-fashioned and sweet with buildings and shops clustered around the church. I remember looking at the outside of the church. It was built of grey stone and had Polish writing on the outside. Inside, in the undercroft, a couple men were already drinking! Yikes! After the Mass there was a formal sit-down breakfast for the families and wedding party complete with Polish meatballs. My then boyfriend had come with me and I think we sat together instead of at the main table. He was a small town boy and totally freaked out at the whole scene. When everyone started klanking their spoons against the glasses for someone to make a toast or to get the couple to kiss, he was horrified. I think this was the first wedding I'd ever been to, but I knew about the spoon klanking and thought it was so much fun. The tradition is for the bride and groom to go to each families' home and have a little welcoming drink and pastry or snadwiches. My boyfriend hid out in our backyard and I felt like I had to take care of him so I felt torn......But the bride was beautiful and even my brother looked pretty handsome. Later was the reception and I was looking forward to the traditional dances and the part where they take away the bride's veil and give her a broom. A pouting boyfriend and a tight girdle convinced me to leave before the dancing began.
Forty years. No boyfriend. No girdles. But still a wonderful sweet sister married to an adored brother.
Friday, June 06, 2008
In Which Miss Ingu Ponders the Day
I'm sitting in my white chair as I write this. The day has just begun. I fell asleep with the blog in my lap last night before I could write anything! I promise - I'm trying to write!
Yesterday was a beautiful day with those grey Irish clouds that make all the greens look like dancing emeralds. Everyone's yard seemed bursting with blossoms that take on such a cool combination of colors when the sky is overcast. To day is the same, but the wind is blustery like a storms a-coming. The trees are blowing wildly and the sound of the trains has a strange muffle to it. And it's chilly. The heat is still on! Who ever heard of a June when the heat still came on.
My day began with Waylon licking my hand, then my cheek. I have heard that having a cat lick you is a special blessing. The licks start out tiny and tender then progress to a rough sand paper cleansing. My eyes are still closed; I'm ignoring him. I think about people who are allergic to cat saliva and wonder why Waylon licks me. Does my skin taste good? Or salty? Or does it stink to him, so he's cleaning me up? Or is he just doing it to annoy me? I try not to move. Maybe he'll go away.
Then Blue comes to the side of the bed. She breathes her dog breath into my face and takes her head and starts bumping the mattress, sort of like a baby goat. With every bump there's a tiny growl. If I hold still long enough will she go away? Nope. The bed bumping and growling increase with eash attempt to rouse me until the whole bed is slamming against the wall and each growl is accompanied by a sharp bark.
I think it's sibling rivalry. A cat and a dog trying to compete at who can make me get out of bed to open the back door and put food in their plates. After all is accomplished, they ignore me.
It's a Bird, It's a Plane. It's a Four Year Old Gymnast! Yesterday morning I went with Kaleidoscope Girl and SIE to his last gymnastics class. His teacher is moving to Corvalis. I had heard about gym class and wanted to see it for myself. The gym was a huge room the size of a basketball court. I'd pictured it smaller. It was sparsely filled with equipment, but had a lot of large, padded floor coverings of different shapes and colors. SIE ran, tumbled, bounced, colided with cushioned walls, and walked the high beam. He would start across the beam, then turn to wave and make sure we were watching. He was wearing his pajamas - more comfy for free movement even though the britches kept slipping down because they're a little too big for his tiny butt. He doesn't care about the slippage. He's mastered a slight-of-hand "pull up action" for such occassions!
After class we sent to check out the award winning roses at the Lloyd Center Ice Rink, stopping first at the bookstore where Sie mannaged to find several books we had to read right there on the spot. I guess that's better - otherwise you'd have to buy them. Then down to the ice rink. Where does all that ice go? We walked around the rink, but it wasn't open for viewing yet...so I still haven't seen Dr. Pottinger's rose in bloom. Then we found a pirate store. When I was little it was Peter Pan and Davy Crockett we loved. Today it's pirates, complete with bildge rats, sabres, and cool bandanas covering dread locks.
Next stop was the Sushi Train. Have I told you about that before? It's a little sushi bar where the sushi is put on a conveyer belt and you grab what you want as they dish passes by. The dishes are different prices according to the color of the plate, so the waiters can just add up your plates when you're finished. SIE is an expert sushi catcher. Miso soup and crab rolls are his favorites. Yesterday he ate 9 crab rolls and a bowl of jello.
Back home by way of the pet store to pick up some dog food. They have a parrot named Claude who talks and can say "Harper" and "Grandma". We stop to see him, as well as the baby guinea pigs and fish, a couple small snakes, and a lizard that hid under the sand.
I thought for sure that SIE would fall asleep on the drive home. But he was still awake and I decided to take him with me on a couple errands. We had to stop at the airport post office to pick up some 1 cent stamps (they're for all those Christmas cards that never got sent). They have a display case with model airplanes that he loves to look at while I'm in line.
Then we stopped at the craft store. I had a purpose in mind and they didn't have what I needed. But SIE found plenty. I could be more disciplined about getting things for him if I didn't like to play myself. I found a bag of blue marbles for Nimblethread's project. SIE explained why he would like a bag of blue marbles for himself - "Grandma, I've lost most of my marbles." We had a controversy over some sequins that were on sale. He claimed he wanted them for himself because "they are so really pretty to look at." I bought them, but took them home. I hope it didn't cause a fuss when he remembered them. We also found a model hot rod that he "really, really needed...please, grandma". I explained that I couldn't help him put it together, but he was quite confident his mom would know how. The clerk gave us a 50% off coupon, so that sealed the deal. And I last saw him sitting with his mom on their living room floor taking a million little pieces out of the box. It didn't look as easy as I thought. I thought I better get away fast! My apologies to Kaleidoscope Girl.
Yesterday was a beautiful day with those grey Irish clouds that make all the greens look like dancing emeralds. Everyone's yard seemed bursting with blossoms that take on such a cool combination of colors when the sky is overcast. To day is the same, but the wind is blustery like a storms a-coming. The trees are blowing wildly and the sound of the trains has a strange muffle to it. And it's chilly. The heat is still on! Who ever heard of a June when the heat still came on.
My day began with Waylon licking my hand, then my cheek. I have heard that having a cat lick you is a special blessing. The licks start out tiny and tender then progress to a rough sand paper cleansing. My eyes are still closed; I'm ignoring him. I think about people who are allergic to cat saliva and wonder why Waylon licks me. Does my skin taste good? Or salty? Or does it stink to him, so he's cleaning me up? Or is he just doing it to annoy me? I try not to move. Maybe he'll go away.
Then Blue comes to the side of the bed. She breathes her dog breath into my face and takes her head and starts bumping the mattress, sort of like a baby goat. With every bump there's a tiny growl. If I hold still long enough will she go away? Nope. The bed bumping and growling increase with eash attempt to rouse me until the whole bed is slamming against the wall and each growl is accompanied by a sharp bark.
I think it's sibling rivalry. A cat and a dog trying to compete at who can make me get out of bed to open the back door and put food in their plates. After all is accomplished, they ignore me.
It's a Bird, It's a Plane. It's a Four Year Old Gymnast! Yesterday morning I went with Kaleidoscope Girl and SIE to his last gymnastics class. His teacher is moving to Corvalis. I had heard about gym class and wanted to see it for myself. The gym was a huge room the size of a basketball court. I'd pictured it smaller. It was sparsely filled with equipment, but had a lot of large, padded floor coverings of different shapes and colors. SIE ran, tumbled, bounced, colided with cushioned walls, and walked the high beam. He would start across the beam, then turn to wave and make sure we were watching. He was wearing his pajamas - more comfy for free movement even though the britches kept slipping down because they're a little too big for his tiny butt. He doesn't care about the slippage. He's mastered a slight-of-hand "pull up action" for such occassions!
After class we sent to check out the award winning roses at the Lloyd Center Ice Rink, stopping first at the bookstore where Sie mannaged to find several books we had to read right there on the spot. I guess that's better - otherwise you'd have to buy them. Then down to the ice rink. Where does all that ice go? We walked around the rink, but it wasn't open for viewing yet...so I still haven't seen Dr. Pottinger's rose in bloom. Then we found a pirate store. When I was little it was Peter Pan and Davy Crockett we loved. Today it's pirates, complete with bildge rats, sabres, and cool bandanas covering dread locks.
Next stop was the Sushi Train. Have I told you about that before? It's a little sushi bar where the sushi is put on a conveyer belt and you grab what you want as they dish passes by. The dishes are different prices according to the color of the plate, so the waiters can just add up your plates when you're finished. SIE is an expert sushi catcher. Miso soup and crab rolls are his favorites. Yesterday he ate 9 crab rolls and a bowl of jello.
Back home by way of the pet store to pick up some dog food. They have a parrot named Claude who talks and can say "Harper" and "Grandma". We stop to see him, as well as the baby guinea pigs and fish, a couple small snakes, and a lizard that hid under the sand.
I thought for sure that SIE would fall asleep on the drive home. But he was still awake and I decided to take him with me on a couple errands. We had to stop at the airport post office to pick up some 1 cent stamps (they're for all those Christmas cards that never got sent). They have a display case with model airplanes that he loves to look at while I'm in line.
Then we stopped at the craft store. I had a purpose in mind and they didn't have what I needed. But SIE found plenty. I could be more disciplined about getting things for him if I didn't like to play myself. I found a bag of blue marbles for Nimblethread's project. SIE explained why he would like a bag of blue marbles for himself - "Grandma, I've lost most of my marbles." We had a controversy over some sequins that were on sale. He claimed he wanted them for himself because "they are so really pretty to look at." I bought them, but took them home. I hope it didn't cause a fuss when he remembered them. We also found a model hot rod that he "really, really needed...please, grandma". I explained that I couldn't help him put it together, but he was quite confident his mom would know how. The clerk gave us a 50% off coupon, so that sealed the deal. And I last saw him sitting with his mom on their living room floor taking a million little pieces out of the box. It didn't look as easy as I thought. I thought I better get away fast! My apologies to Kaleidoscope Girl.
Monday, May 12, 2008
Just a moment to write
I talked to Mr. Beachy this morning. He was planting two kiwi vines that Lady M. had found while she was visiting. Her visit was indeed The Great Northwest Garden Tour of 2008. Mr. Beachy's putting the kiwi vines up against the garage (soon to become the garden-art studio) and hopes to trellis them over a window. The vines are supposed to start bearing fruit this summer or next, and in winter the branches will be intwined and red.
He told me Peaches had a very nice first mother's day. The 3 had a picnic in the backyard and little Soon loved looking at the blue sky. As for me, my little PDX family took me and the 3 dogs for a walk in the woods. It was great to be in the woods again and I have a zillion bug bites on my back to prove how much the woods missed me! They also gave me a funny little garden gnome doll that records your voice and plays it back in a tiny gnome voice. While Lady M was here, SIE heard her say, "... and blah, blah, blah". That cracked him up! I guess he'd never heard anyone say that before. So we recorded "blah, blah, blah" for the gnome and it's really funny.
He told me Peaches had a very nice first mother's day. The 3 had a picnic in the backyard and little Soon loved looking at the blue sky. As for me, my little PDX family took me and the 3 dogs for a walk in the woods. It was great to be in the woods again and I have a zillion bug bites on my back to prove how much the woods missed me! They also gave me a funny little garden gnome doll that records your voice and plays it back in a tiny gnome voice. While Lady M was here, SIE heard her say, "... and blah, blah, blah". That cracked him up! I guess he'd never heard anyone say that before. So we recorded "blah, blah, blah" for the gnome and it's really funny.
Friday, March 28, 2008
What Can I Say - He's a Character!
The books are up! It feels much better now! And today was a "Grandma and SIE Day". He came over here for the day and brought the dogs with him so Blue could play, too. We played and played so much. I totally love watching and listening to him. I think he's one of God's finer creations!
I can't believe what an imagination he has. First we played "Talking Animals". At his house it's usually "Talking Cars" because he has a bunch of cars. But I have a bunch of animals - the hard rubber type: tigers and lions and farm animals, etc. Today he started off dumping all the animals out of the box in a heap. They were all sleeping. A couple of the children woke up and started to play tag, then decided to walk down to the river (which is where the rug hits the wood floor). The last time he was over, the baby seal taught everyone to swim and he wanted to do it again, but something happened and a baby duck got swept out to sea on a piece of wood. One of the baby tigers had to hop on a rocket (an old pair of binoculars) and lasso the duckling and pull him to shore while the other "kids" went to wake up the parents. Whew!
Next we set up the store. It's easy in my livingroom since there's lots of empty space and 7 empty milk crates! He used to have a cash register that broke several months ago. His mom got him a new one for his birthday, but put it aside and pulled it out last week when he was sick. So we had a food store, a toy store, and a pet store (with the dogs) Something prevented us from buying too much. I think it was because he decided he wanted to be my new puppy instead of the shop keeper.
So I made him a bed under my desk and scratched his ears and tried to get him to curl up and sleep in my bed, which only ended up with him crawling under the blanket to hide.
One of the shelves on my new book case has children's books. Some are ones I've kept from my own kids, and some are ones I've gotten along the way. A few are ones SIE's parents put in a box for a yard sale and I scarfed them up before they knew it. He pulled out one from the shelf that he hadn't seen since he was a baby. It's a color learning book that has a simple story and a dial you can turn to change the color of different animal's eyes. I think it's called "Purple Eyes". We read it twice; then I heard him reading it to himself a couple more times during the day.
A nice thing about SIE is that he feels comfortable opening drawers and getting things out. He was playing with Hammy (whose name has been changed to Hammer) and decided to draw a portrait of her and put it in her cage. So now Hammy has a life size drawing propped up beside her wheel.
I think he has photographic vision, because he can tell you where everything was the last time he saw it even if we didn't play with or talk about it. Last time he was at my house he saw a monkey cup on the counter by the sink. I didn't know he saw it; I was saving it for him. When he came this morning, he told his mom about it, then used it to drink melted lime popsicles and water all day long. He had 3 lime popsicles today! And lots of other food. I think he was making up for last week.
While we played indoors, the dogs ran in and out tracking in muddy footprints and wet fur. The weather is crazy - bright sun, very cold, snowing big snowflakes in the AM, and hailing briefly in the afternoon. The dogs fought over who got toweled off first whenever they'd come in and never really seemed to notice how wet and muddy they were. Izzy found an old bone under a tree and acted like it was wonderful to make the other dogs jealous. Frankie and Blue spent their time creeping up on each other - they look like two panthers crouching in the grass stealthily creeping toward a kill - or like a show down at the OK Corral. SIE got a big kick out of cleaning up their muddy prints with paper towels, then showing me how dirty the towel got. We'd both say, "Oo-oo-oo ew, Yuck!" Then he'd crack up laughing over and over again.
What can I say - he's a character!
I can't believe what an imagination he has. First we played "Talking Animals". At his house it's usually "Talking Cars" because he has a bunch of cars. But I have a bunch of animals - the hard rubber type: tigers and lions and farm animals, etc. Today he started off dumping all the animals out of the box in a heap. They were all sleeping. A couple of the children woke up and started to play tag, then decided to walk down to the river (which is where the rug hits the wood floor). The last time he was over, the baby seal taught everyone to swim and he wanted to do it again, but something happened and a baby duck got swept out to sea on a piece of wood. One of the baby tigers had to hop on a rocket (an old pair of binoculars) and lasso the duckling and pull him to shore while the other "kids" went to wake up the parents. Whew!
Next we set up the store. It's easy in my livingroom since there's lots of empty space and 7 empty milk crates! He used to have a cash register that broke several months ago. His mom got him a new one for his birthday, but put it aside and pulled it out last week when he was sick. So we had a food store, a toy store, and a pet store (with the dogs) Something prevented us from buying too much. I think it was because he decided he wanted to be my new puppy instead of the shop keeper.
So I made him a bed under my desk and scratched his ears and tried to get him to curl up and sleep in my bed, which only ended up with him crawling under the blanket to hide.
One of the shelves on my new book case has children's books. Some are ones I've kept from my own kids, and some are ones I've gotten along the way. A few are ones SIE's parents put in a box for a yard sale and I scarfed them up before they knew it. He pulled out one from the shelf that he hadn't seen since he was a baby. It's a color learning book that has a simple story and a dial you can turn to change the color of different animal's eyes. I think it's called "Purple Eyes". We read it twice; then I heard him reading it to himself a couple more times during the day.
A nice thing about SIE is that he feels comfortable opening drawers and getting things out. He was playing with Hammy (whose name has been changed to Hammer) and decided to draw a portrait of her and put it in her cage. So now Hammy has a life size drawing propped up beside her wheel.
I think he has photographic vision, because he can tell you where everything was the last time he saw it even if we didn't play with or talk about it. Last time he was at my house he saw a monkey cup on the counter by the sink. I didn't know he saw it; I was saving it for him. When he came this morning, he told his mom about it, then used it to drink melted lime popsicles and water all day long. He had 3 lime popsicles today! And lots of other food. I think he was making up for last week.
While we played indoors, the dogs ran in and out tracking in muddy footprints and wet fur. The weather is crazy - bright sun, very cold, snowing big snowflakes in the AM, and hailing briefly in the afternoon. The dogs fought over who got toweled off first whenever they'd come in and never really seemed to notice how wet and muddy they were. Izzy found an old bone under a tree and acted like it was wonderful to make the other dogs jealous. Frankie and Blue spent their time creeping up on each other - they look like two panthers crouching in the grass stealthily creeping toward a kill - or like a show down at the OK Corral. SIE got a big kick out of cleaning up their muddy prints with paper towels, then showing me how dirty the towel got. We'd both say, "Oo-oo-oo ew, Yuck!" Then he'd crack up laughing over and over again.
What can I say - he's a character!
Saturday, February 16, 2008
In Which Miss Ingu Thinks About Four Year Olds
It's true. Sie turned four today. I can remember my fourth birthday and that I had already formed a philosophy of life by then - that's probably why I think of this as such a landmark. I can't believe he's four.....But he is and he acts just like the best four year old you can imagine.His parents had friends over for a birthday party and it was as good a party as the Annual Chinese Gift Exchange Party. They only expected a handful of kids, but ended up with 13, I think, plus their parents. A lot of his classmates came - the adoring little girls and rambunctious little boys. I made a pinata for the occassion. I used to make them for my girls, but it was espectially appropriate for him because he attends a Spanish bilingual school. There were cupcakes and juice boxes and presents and so much fun that at the end of the party, Sie laid down on the floor and sighed with a sweet smile on his face.
Monday, February 11, 2008
In Which Miss Ingu Welcomes the Vagabonds Home
They're home! Home from Honduras. Went to the airport for their midnight arrival on Sat/Sun. Each face was beeming. Glowing with a great trip behind them. I'd expected weary and ragged-out faces. It was very exciting to greet them and take them home. Wish I'd taken a picture of them. SEI chattered away and told me about parrotsandmonkeysandlittlelizardsandglass-bottomboatrides. Sunday I got to see photos and hear more stories in between playing games and building tents with SEI. Hapapapa and SEI showed me a huge conch shell they found on the beach and brought back for kaliedoscope's own. And much as I've resisted having chicken decorations, they brought me a really sweet little ceramic hen on a nest that I really like and is perfect for a new kitchen window sill. Welcome back to tu casa, mis amigos!
Sunday, January 06, 2008
Habla Un Poco Espanol
Saturday there was much to do. SIE was here overnight Friday to Saturday.
How does one little person have so much energy!!!??? He was going full speed from about 5 pm till almost midnight. We tried to go to bed at 8 pm and we turned off the lights and got into bed. He made sure we both had flashlights because it's pretty dark in the country. Mine had a smaller beam, so it became the moon and his was the sun who kept eating my moonlight. Then that hungry sun made him hungry (although he'd been eating almost non-stop since arriving). His parents had dropped him off with a lot of good food. They'd brought a roasted chicken which he loved, but only after asking if it was a real chicken or if that's just what we call it. Yes, I lied. "Oh, we just call it chicken." Sorry. I couldn't face the dead meat issue. Besides he loved it after that.
By then it was 9 pm and I made the mistake of saying we could play "animal hospital" in bed quietly for a while. His imagination is so fast and he loves role playing. Isn't four kind of young for that concept? For the next hour it was, "Now, you call me doctor, and say, My pet isn't feeling well." "Now you be the nurse that helps me. Say, Doctor, this pet needs an exray." At 10 I told him we had to go to sleep. But then we had to read 3 books, two of which we'd already read earlier. He still wasn't tired. I told him he could watch a video, but we'd have to turn off the lights. One amazing thing about him is that he is a master of staying awake until a video is over. This video gets stuck and needs help fast forwarding, so after he woke me up twice to fix it and I realized it was midnight, I told him we just had to close the dvd and wait to fix it in the morning.
All the time we were in bed, he was on one side with my pillow. I had to wait till he was sitting up and not paying attention, to switch pillows. As soon as the dvd went off, he climbed over me to switch to the side near the wall and stole my pillow in the process. At least he was holding still, so I knew he'd be asleep soon.
We didn't wake up until 9 am! The first thing he said was, "Turn off the lights; it's too bright!" Less than 5 minutes later, he was awake, alert, and back to role playing. He's so funny and fun.
It took me about two hours to get the house under control after he left. Later, I decided to watch the debates. I couldn't believe how long they went - like 4 hours? But I did mannage to stay awake for it. It kept saying it was broadcasting LIVE, but New Hampshire time is 3 hours ahead of us, so just how LIVE could it be? Plus they'd already played some of the comments on the evening news. I wish I'd counted how many times Hillary said, "I have 35 years experience with making change." How come no one asked her how old she was 35 yrs ago and point out that they too could make change being, in fact, older now than she was 35 years ago? And also point out that just because she says it over and over doesn't make it true. That's what G. Bush has been doing for eight years....
OK, all this to say: I didn't make it to Mass this AM. I ended up going to the 1pm Spanish Mass. There's a large migrant population here in Washington, as you could guess because of all the orchards and all the berry picking needed. So I decided to go to the Spanish Mass at the Woodland parish. The Spanish Mass is wonderful. It is such a spirit boost. I would recommend it to anyone who feels like church has become boring and/or hard to sit through. The music is most wonderful. The children are gorgeous and no one cares if they make noise. The priest, whose 1st language is English, speaks very slowly and clearly. I was able to pick up at least some of the sermon. I guess it helped that it was the Epiphany - El dia de los tres mago y Jesuchristo. But even with the responses written I had a rough time keeping up with the congregation. They seem to talk so mucho rapido. And we didn't have to sing "We Three Kings of Orient Are", which I bet was sung in every gringo church in the county today and I cannot sing without thinking about exploding cigars. I might go again next week. Amen. Adios.
How does one little person have so much energy!!!??? He was going full speed from about 5 pm till almost midnight. We tried to go to bed at 8 pm and we turned off the lights and got into bed. He made sure we both had flashlights because it's pretty dark in the country. Mine had a smaller beam, so it became the moon and his was the sun who kept eating my moonlight. Then that hungry sun made him hungry (although he'd been eating almost non-stop since arriving). His parents had dropped him off with a lot of good food. They'd brought a roasted chicken which he loved, but only after asking if it was a real chicken or if that's just what we call it. Yes, I lied. "Oh, we just call it chicken." Sorry. I couldn't face the dead meat issue. Besides he loved it after that.
By then it was 9 pm and I made the mistake of saying we could play "animal hospital" in bed quietly for a while. His imagination is so fast and he loves role playing. Isn't four kind of young for that concept? For the next hour it was, "Now, you call me doctor, and say, My pet isn't feeling well." "Now you be the nurse that helps me. Say, Doctor, this pet needs an exray." At 10 I told him we had to go to sleep. But then we had to read 3 books, two of which we'd already read earlier. He still wasn't tired. I told him he could watch a video, but we'd have to turn off the lights. One amazing thing about him is that he is a master of staying awake until a video is over. This video gets stuck and needs help fast forwarding, so after he woke me up twice to fix it and I realized it was midnight, I told him we just had to close the dvd and wait to fix it in the morning.
All the time we were in bed, he was on one side with my pillow. I had to wait till he was sitting up and not paying attention, to switch pillows. As soon as the dvd went off, he climbed over me to switch to the side near the wall and stole my pillow in the process. At least he was holding still, so I knew he'd be asleep soon.
We didn't wake up until 9 am! The first thing he said was, "Turn off the lights; it's too bright!" Less than 5 minutes later, he was awake, alert, and back to role playing. He's so funny and fun.
It took me about two hours to get the house under control after he left. Later, I decided to watch the debates. I couldn't believe how long they went - like 4 hours? But I did mannage to stay awake for it. It kept saying it was broadcasting LIVE, but New Hampshire time is 3 hours ahead of us, so just how LIVE could it be? Plus they'd already played some of the comments on the evening news. I wish I'd counted how many times Hillary said, "I have 35 years experience with making change." How come no one asked her how old she was 35 yrs ago and point out that they too could make change being, in fact, older now than she was 35 years ago? And also point out that just because she says it over and over doesn't make it true. That's what G. Bush has been doing for eight years....
OK, all this to say: I didn't make it to Mass this AM. I ended up going to the 1pm Spanish Mass. There's a large migrant population here in Washington, as you could guess because of all the orchards and all the berry picking needed. So I decided to go to the Spanish Mass at the Woodland parish. The Spanish Mass is wonderful. It is such a spirit boost. I would recommend it to anyone who feels like church has become boring and/or hard to sit through. The music is most wonderful. The children are gorgeous and no one cares if they make noise. The priest, whose 1st language is English, speaks very slowly and clearly. I was able to pick up at least some of the sermon. I guess it helped that it was the Epiphany - El dia de los tres mago y Jesuchristo. But even with the responses written I had a rough time keeping up with the congregation. They seem to talk so mucho rapido. And we didn't have to sing "We Three Kings of Orient Are", which I bet was sung in every gringo church in the county today and I cannot sing without thinking about exploding cigars. I might go again next week. Amen. Adios.
Thursday, December 27, 2007
The Softness of the Christmas Season
Christmascame softly this year. I've been sick with a bad case of pink eye and finally had to give up on all the preparations before the big day.
When Christmas morning arrived, SIE came down to the basement where I'd spent the night, and together with kaleidoscope girl and Hapapapa we went up to see the most amazing sight. Santa really had eaten all his cookies, drunk his milk, and given the carrot to the reindeer.
It's the first time in as long as I can remember that I didn't get to Christmas Mass. My eyes felt really bad, though, and I think when your eyes or hearing are affected, the rest of your body feels bowed down and crummy.
Driving back to LaCenter on the 26th, the roads were wet and rain poured most of the way. There's one spot between LaCenter and the farm that is a curvy stretch of road. One side of the road goes up and the other side of the road drops down, and it's covered on both sides with sheltering trees. This section of road is like a tunnel.
The farms were green and the road clear when I went into this "tunnel". When I came out the other side, everything was covered in snow! You drive this section of road, concentrating on the curves and not really realizing that you're driving up an incline.
When they tell the weather during news casts they tell it by feet above sea level. So they'll say something like, "Rain in the valley; snow above 4000 ft." My farm, I'm told, is at 1000 ft. It must be La Center is lower!
I still felt sick, but Blue and I went for a walk. We went deep into the woods along the main path. There was only one set of footprints. They looked like they were from a big dog. I kept wondering if they could be the coyote we used to see. We haven't seen him since last New Year's Day. So maybe he's going to visit us again this New Years? The snow was wet and I heard on the reports that the rain would melt it all by morning.
Waking up today, we beheld a beautiful white morning. Putting my clothes on over my pajamas, we went out to see the world. Snow was falling all around us and kept falling all day. A couple branches snapped from the firs sounding like gun fire. Glad we weren't under them!
The snow on the greenhouses slipped down from the roofs sounding like mini avalanches.
With snow on the ground you can see deeper into the woods, but nothing was stirring. All the birds in the area were at our feeders. Blue tumbled in the snow certain she would find some critter under each snow-laden twig. Brownie and Molly ran across the field to play. Blue was so-o-o-o wet when we came in!
Saturday, December 22, 2007
A Mouse House for Every Child!
It's always fun to find out what your kids remember about their growing up years. It's usally the awful stuff of how they were mistreated, abused, and neglected. But occassionally they remember something wonderful. One thing each of my girls remember, and indeed still have, are the "Mouse Houses" I made for them one year. These were little wooden house forms bought at a craft store and then painted and decorated with teeny furniture just right to house any little mouse. We hung them by their beds so that somewhere between stories and sleep they could make believe about the mice in those houses.Since moving out West, kaleidoscope has wanted me to make some more mouse houses. This Christmas, I finally got it together enough to complete 5 little houses. They are actually larger and more elaborate than the girl's had way long ago. Already all are spoken for: one to Celia, the most enchanting little girl I've ever known, who came to the Christmas Party and went home with it via The Great Chinese Gift Exchange. Another went to SIE, who was with me when we decided which gift to bring to the party. He got first dibs...of course! Another went to a little classmate of SIE's who attended the party, but didn't get the one in the gift pile! How could we not give her one! I feel like one of Santa's elves.
Friday, December 14, 2007
Good Night, Dear Ones
So sorry that Miss Ingu has been unable to blog this week. It seems she was crushed in the pre-Christmas glitter. Very pretty, but materialistic and not very Advent-ish. Hapapapa was out of town and the kaleidoscope girl was tending the sick children, so that meant SIE and Miss I spent a good amount of time playing. It seems SIE is into putting a lot of little things into a basket or bin and then dumping them all over the floor. And it seems Miss I is way too OCD to go to sleep without picking up the toys. That leaves one tired Miss I.
Tomorrow, SIE and Miss I and perhaps three dogs will drive to the country and spend a little while at the farm while his parents get the house ready for THE GREAT CHINESE CHRISTMAS EXCHANGE PARTY. It is the most fun Christmas party Miss I has ever attended. There is so much laughter that tears run down faces and everyone's sides hurt. Miss I will be taking one of her newly made Mouse Houses as her gift to exchange. She must write about the Mouse Houses later. Right now she's too, too tired. Good night, dear ones.
Saturday, November 24, 2007
In Which Miss Ingu Studies a Hibernating Hamster
The most recent member of our extended family is a black and white teddy bear hamster first named "Freemont Lake", then "Hop Scotch". He's more often called "Hammy". SEI loves this little critter and, unbelievably, the critter seems to love him, too. I say unbelievably only because the hamster plays with him like a real pet and will hold still on command, perched on a stool or in a plastic tea pot, etc. Yes, maybe the little guy is frozen in terror, but he doesn't let on.Hammy travels back and forth between SEI's house and mine. At his house Hammy lives in a fancy, colorful, plastic hamster home. Here he lives in an old bird cage that's been specially adapted for him. Now that the weather is getting cold I worry about him staying warm. In spite of the paper towels, shredded papers, and soft cloths that we find for hamster bedding use, he seems to prefer balling up without a cover. I think this is unnatural. I've read that if hamsters get cold enough, they go into a state of semi-hibernation and are often taken for dead. I've taken to watching him until he breathes deeply enough to move and/or blowing on him until he looks up. I hope we can find a hamster veterinarian in case we ever need one!
Friday, October 26, 2007
In Which Miss Ingu Plays on a Pirate Ship, Hangs Halloween Spider Webs from the Windows, Has a Picnic in a Rocket Ship, Rescues a Hamster, and ...
Yes, all that and more. The kaleidoscope girl is in India. She left on Monday early morning and traveled for days, phoning this morning from the tip of the India saying she'd arrived safe and sound. Her luggage got lost on the 1st leg of her journey between PDX and Atlanta, but luckily arrived in time for the international flight. No other mishaps were reported.
Her little guy, the boy I love, also known in this blog as SIE (short for "Smile in His Eyes"), put aside some of his banana this morning for her return. Lucky for me he is off to school this morning counting uno, dos, tres with his amigos. I wonder if he will always wake at the crack of dawn ready for excitement. It takes me about 2 hours most mornings to clear the fog from my brain. Meanwhile SIE has taken charge directing multple games. Stopping to pee or eat real food is only a very brief distraction to him. Hapapapa says to me, "Does he ever have any independent playtime when he's with you?" Hum-m-m? I think so, but it doesn't feel like it today.
Before kaliedoscope left, she put together a bag of dollar store gifts. Yesterday we opened the pirate booty, among which was a small plastic treasure chest and a board game map. After playing one round of the pirate game, it became a treasure map and SIE was out the door with barefeet and no sweater burying the treasure chest in the sand by their garden. He reappeared with an oar from a plastic boat for me to use as a shovel and, "Please, please, please...we have to follow this map and find the treasure!" So out into the chilly air I follow, trying not to see the spot where the sand was disturbed.
Ah! There's no better life than to be a pirate's wife...or grandma!
Saturday, October 20, 2007
Blue
This is a blog about Miss Ingu's faithful companion, Blue. Blue is your typical black and tan mixed breed dog like the kind you might imagine running the hollers in the Appalachian Mountains. She weighs about 35 lbs and comes up to my knee. She arrived at my door about 3 yrs. ago, a gift from my daughter. I wasn't quite sure she'd be around long. I'd seen her before. She was chubby little puppy tired up in a neighbor's yard. She seemed terrified of strangers. I watched one day as she ran after the boy who lived in the house. He was on his way to school and somehow she had gotten lose from her chain and caught up with him. A few minutes later, I watched as she followed him back home. My daughter befriended this little pooch, bringing her bowls of water and a treat or two. Kaliedoscope, being very tender-hearted, couldn't bare to hear her whimpering at night. So one day she offered the neighbors $50 for the dog. Hapapapa put his foot down; they already had 2 dogs, a cat, and a baby. So Blue ended up in front of my house.
Now it just happened that Kaliedascope's family was heading out on a two week vacation the next morning. So here I was with a little dog whose history was questionable. It was obvious she'd been abused. She was afraid of the broom, skittish hearing paper rattle, and very difficult to convince she was allowed in the house. It took two of us to carry her up the porch steps and into the house. And because I was doing a lot of childcare at the time, I was nervous about how she'd act around the babies.
The first night went well I thought. She slept on the floor at the foot of my bed. During the day she hid under an end table next to the couch. The second night she slept with her chin on my bed. That next afternoon she disappeared while I was over feeding my daughter's pets. After searching the streets for hours, I finally found her under their deck curled up in a hole she'd dug. The third night she curled up on my bed near my feet. This was fine until midway through the night, she started scratching and licking herself.
All I could think was how much I did not want fleas in my bed. Then I heard a tiny cry. Between 2 AM and 6AM that morning Blue delivered 11 puppies. I became a puppy midwife. A very bonding experience.
The next 8 weeks had a special dimension as the puppies grew and were given away. Now she is my constant companion with few faults. She likes to bark when she's with Izzy and Frankie, but not so much on the farm. She does dislike the neighbor lady and barks like crazy when she's near. And she tries to trick me into going out for a walk by barking toward the drive and looking concerned enough that I go to check. Sometimes she's right; someone's coming. But a lot of the time, it's just her ploy to get me out and down the lane for a walk. If I could only teach her to close the door when she comes in.............
Now it just happened that Kaliedascope's family was heading out on a two week vacation the next morning. So here I was with a little dog whose history was questionable. It was obvious she'd been abused. She was afraid of the broom, skittish hearing paper rattle, and very difficult to convince she was allowed in the house. It took two of us to carry her up the porch steps and into the house. And because I was doing a lot of childcare at the time, I was nervous about how she'd act around the babies.
The first night went well I thought. She slept on the floor at the foot of my bed. During the day she hid under an end table next to the couch. The second night she slept with her chin on my bed. That next afternoon she disappeared while I was over feeding my daughter's pets. After searching the streets for hours, I finally found her under their deck curled up in a hole she'd dug. The third night she curled up on my bed near my feet. This was fine until midway through the night, she started scratching and licking herself.
All I could think was how much I did not want fleas in my bed. Then I heard a tiny cry. Between 2 AM and 6AM that morning Blue delivered 11 puppies. I became a puppy midwife. A very bonding experience.
The next 8 weeks had a special dimension as the puppies grew and were given away. Now she is my constant companion with few faults. She likes to bark when she's with Izzy and Frankie, but not so much on the farm. She does dislike the neighbor lady and barks like crazy when she's near. And she tries to trick me into going out for a walk by barking toward the drive and looking concerned enough that I go to check. Sometimes she's right; someone's coming. But a lot of the time, it's just her ploy to get me out and down the lane for a walk. If I could only teach her to close the door when she comes in.............
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