Monday, September 29, 2008

Flat Stanley




A busy weekend - Flat Stanley has had some adventures finally! Although it crossed my mind to cut off the horns and what looked like a pile of doo-doo that Daniel added to the picture, we left him intact with all his glory as he played soccer,

went to church,













visited a marina,




and saw some ships on the Navy base.









A big happy birthday to Dad! Sorry cards are late - since you were busy hanging out with LCI's at Notre Dame, you probably don't mind.

A project I wasted a couple of hours on the other day: Collecting images of reading women. In a moment of weakness, I bought this datebook at TJ Maxx the other day with pictures of woman and books. What was I thinking? I had seen it while out with Mikko and then kept thinking about it. Remember the calendar Aunt Mardena and Aunt Leslie competed for at the Christmas exchange? Same publisher. But I never use a datebook. Little scraps of paper work much better for me. So instead I sent the book back and found those pics online plus more for my own little art museum. I would paste one here, but I can't figure out how to do it.
A parting shot of Claire's infected spider bite. You wouldn't believe how much pus came out of this spot. Then Mom shared the story about her friend who died from an infected splinter.

Monday, September 22, 2008

La Vida Loca en Tejas (I said 'loca' b/c I couldn't remember the word for 'fast food')

That was my quarter-hearted attempt at Spanish, since we have an aspiring bi-linguist in the house... that's Luke, by the way. I had my chance at bi-lingualism and decided (for better or worse) I just didn't care that much about Spanish. And even if I had retained any high school Latin, I don't think that counts - doesn't a "second language" have to be living?

Anyway, Luke has entered a stage where he loves to make up words and names for everything. Now that he found out about the existence of Spanish, he says that his imaginary words are what "should be" the words in Spanish.

Today, after telling me that "Kakaríko" (looks like Zelda but sounded Spanish; I don't know how else to spell it) should be the Spanish word for 'car,' we had the following conversation:
"Mom, can we go to Spanish?"

"You mean can we go somewhere where they speak Spanish? Yes, that would be fun. They speak Spanish in a country called Mexico. And in another country called Spain, and in some other countries."

"Yeah, and in Taco Bell."

Further revealing my overdependence on fast food was the day we were getting something at my Mom's. "Are we going in?" Luke asked. "No," I replied, "just picking up something quickly." "Yeah," he said knowingly, "we're just doing the drive-thru."

HOWEVER, our Taco Friend did grant Luke one small piece of elegance (albeit the kind reserved for lovable supreme nerds). On another day (another drive-through) we pulled up to Taco Bell - where we like to get pintos 'n' cheese that comes with a little plastic spork - and Luke immediately shouted his order from the back: "Beans, please! Beans and a runcible spoon!"

Sunday, September 21, 2008

Books and Planes

Everyone must be so busy reading facebook that they aren't posting here . . . Elizabeth may be allowed the excuse that since she has gestational diabetes now, she has to spend more time in food preparation: salads take a long time to make. But where is everyone else?

Last night I finished Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress by Dai Sijie, and it left me feeling terribly sad. What misleading jacket blurbs. It did have some funny episodes, but the ending is full of irony. Maybe I'm reading it wrongly, but it seems the Little Seamstress is duped and misses the point of the books she hears. The author ends up agreeing with the Communists in a way that great literature is subversive; enlightening,but not in a liberating way. It's possible I'm idealizing the life of the mountain that the Little Seamstress leaves behind after she is introduced to western concepts and becomes disenchanted. Meanwhile the two city boys want nothing more than to get back to their home in the city, even though they, and, perhaps worse, their parents, are persecuted there. Has anyone read any Balzac? I read Pere Goriot and found it dull; do I need to try again?

Today I had to make a choice. I could have taken the kids to the Chesapeake Heritage Arts Fest, a small gathering with sheep shearing demos, bluegrass music, and a tent filled with mostly church bazaar tschotke, but also a few really beautiful handcrafts: quilts, weaving, handmade soaps, knitted goods, etc. We went last year and the highlights for the kids were the jumping mule, the guinea pig rescue lady, and rolling down the hill. My other option (aside from staying home and doing laundry) was going to the Oceana Air Show, which Joe wanted to attend. In the spirit of adventure, and with a sense that we aren't going to be in a major military area next year (unless we're sent to DC), and because we're studying modern history this year, and because the neighbors were going, and because Mom gives me a hard time about making sure the boys aren't over-mothered, we headed for the planes. A long drive, then a long bus ride (always exciting for home schooled children), then a long walk, and we were finally there. The display was pretty impressive: Lots of old planes, new planes, fancy planes, cargo planes you could tour. I can't seem to keep straight the different kinds of planes, but don't really try to. There were also lots of sponsor tents with free stuff. And lots of overpriced food tents. And lots of people and lots of noise. John nearly melted down completely from noise of the jets' flybys, but he finally settled down when he found a plane with a rhino knight on it. We watched from sky divers from afar, a little old fashioned one man plane that performed stunts about as breath taking as any, a rigged up cargo plane and the Blue Angels. Truly a testimony to the audacity of the human spirit. And to the age-old desire for thrills and chills and other adrenalin boosts. But after a really LOOOONNNG walk (we missed the bus), and a long wait to exit the base, I wondered if maybe I shouldn't have opted for farm animals. Or laundry. Well, I'm thankful it was a beautiful day, and we were outside for most of it. And I'm thankful that the kids will have a story to tell Dad when he gets home and a story to add to their saga of bonding myths about how much their mother made them walk without buying them any sugary foods or sodas or souvenirs. And I'm thankful that when I walked the dog after dinner while the kids watched Andy Griffith, I found a couple of shrubs, yaupon hollies, I think, that someone had dug up and thrown out at the curb. I plan to replace the third bush (this time a rhododendron) that Bosco has killed by peeing on it. Here's to hoping they recover from the stress of the move and survive being tinkled on!

Wednesday, September 17, 2008

Gratitude


Inspired by Elizabeth's friend's friend's (friend's) webpage (by a homeschooling mother of six who puts me to shame), for school yesterday we made lists of things we are grateful for.

Joe and Ben's list says, in case you can't read it: "the Cincinnati Reds, baseball, Calvin and Hobbes, Pixar, Art, Command and Conquer Generals [a pc game], Internet, Life the game, Wii, my family." James' list: "Scruffy [the guinea pig], food, clothes, toys, good helth [sic], family, our house." Annie: "Squeakers [the other guinea pig], our house, love, chocolate [!]." John is thankful for "knights and castles, cookies, peanut butter, Mommy, Daddy, me, and cowboys." I am thankful that my older kids still know about contemporary culture no matter how much I shield them, that they all love our family like I do, that they have the best daddy in the world, that they love reading books and having books read to them, that they love good food, and maybe someday they'll appreciate good coffee and wine, too (in moderation, of course), that they love our house, which their dad and I have labored to make into a welcoming home, that they like art and museums and music and movies, and hopefully they will find that these representations of the visible universe will lead them to the truths of the invisible. et cetera.

Ben is also grateful for his rat and GI Joes. I'm thankful it's cool enough to open the windows.







He thought I would really like this outfit for his first day of the middle school youth group at our church:He comes by it naturally, I guess. I'm thankful he has a sense of humor.
I'm also thankful these cupcakes made $75 for the CECOSC charity auction. Dad would like them because they have almost four pounds of powdered sugar and a pound of butter on top.

Monday, September 15, 2008

Ike's near miss

So this weekend was not as exciting as expected.

We spent last week keeping an eye on Ike's cone of probability since we were in the possible path of the storm. We battened down the proverbial hatches (read: picking up Luke's toys in the back yard, putting lawn furniture in the garage, preemptive lawn mowing). And we spent much of Friday night watching Fox News' mustachioed ubermensch, Geraldo Rivera brave his ongoing, internal struggle to affirm his reporter-at-large machismo--this time by attempting to maintain a power stance on the beaches of Galveston in the face of the hurricane's fury--an exercise in futility. [Here's video evidence of Ike's domestic abuse of Rivera]. We also enjoyed watching Rivera interview Chuck Norris, Texas personified, who, along with his wife and beard, opened their TX ranch to any hurricane refugees needing a place. He also home schools his kids...in awesomeness, I presume.

The storm was supposed to reach us on Saturday morning, but instead of waking to the sounds of screaming winds and trees cracking, we awoke to find some clouds and a light drizzle. The worst of Ike just missed us. We were (thankfully, I guess) on the less intense, western side of the storm. So, instead of testing our fortitude by taking on nature's oblivion, we ran errands. Kate did some shopping. I efficaciously went to confession in the midst of the hurricane--of course, briefly entertaining the somewhat morbid and presumptive idea that I might pass trying to fjord raging floods on my way to or (preferably) from confession. But beyond rain and some sustained winds that were just strong enough to keep our wind chimes chiming, we remained far less affected than our family to the north. Thankfully, we kept safe and sound...though it wasn't as deadly as some, Ike caused some extreme and expansive damage. I think much of the country will be feeling the effects for awhile.

Anyway, here's our little ubermensch setting out, self-equipped, to brave Ike's wrath.




Luke 1, little puddle 0.

And here's Charlie, also equipped for some sort of shower...


Thursday, September 11, 2008

One less mouth to feed

We all know pioneers used to wipe their stinky buttocks with corn cobs. This is the image that comes to mind every time we play "corn hole." Whatever the name, I'm thankful for this game that kept my children happy for hours so I could read many a magazine at Mom and Dad's this summer.

In other news, yesterday we dropped off Baby Squirrel, that sweet cuddlebug, which had just opened its eyes and started biting me, at the Va Beach SPCA that has a wildlife rehabilitator on call. The bird rehab woman happened to be in the building when we dropped off Squirrelly, and I could tell we were making her uncomfortable. While the check-in girl, who appeared about 20, was friendly and admiring of our adorable wild baby and my large brood, the bird lady was aghast when she learned we fed the little rodent instead of bringing him immediately to someone of wiser, more mature years. (Admit it, rodent adverse siblings, it's cute!) Not only did we feed him, we let multiple small children hold him, but I didn't tell her that. She doesn't realize how close I came to NOT turning him in. It was the thought of having to feed a baby every 2 to 3 hours for the next three weeks that really was the turning point for me. I've just returned to my pre-nursing bra size of "AA," gosh darn it (Almost A, that is, for those of you who are more generously endowed).

Seeing as Pop recently had to pay $80 to repair a truck wire that a squirrel chewed up, I thought he would appreciate this snippet: James commented that he had never held a squirrel so closely before, to which Joe, holding up his hand, replied, "The closest I ever held a squirrel was this:"


Sunday, September 7, 2008

At Last

"At last"refers to the fact that I can now reenter the family blogsphere... I was able to resolve the problem of my forgotten password. However, what is not so easily resolved is how to enter the conversation with such witty and comical contributors! Where did you guys come from????
I will just have to content myself with newsy updates. However, most of the interesting updates that I would consider posting are already known to you because YOU are the source of the content! The summer flew by and I am eternally grateful for all of the time we had together.
We had a great weekend with Jane and Rick too. Although Rick avoided the primaries for "health" reasons, with the help of his new blackberry, we were on top of all of the headlines and found a source for jubilation. We also introduced them to Corn Hole, which they still can not believe is really named Corn Hole. We had many "couple" competitions, often under the stars and spotlights, but in reality the real competitors were Jane and David. Rick and I were very inconsistent with our tosses....he can only see with one eye and I can only,well, not toss very well. Once they arrived home, they found a game to purchase online, but at THEIR house, it will be called "Corn Toss".
We have Grandma Margaret with us for a few days. I have at various intervals been her mother, her guest, "that woman", her nurse, etc..etc.. She has been very easy to care for and it has been nice to slow the pace here a little.
Probably the most exciting recent news is the artificial insemination of one of our cows. Dad has a new friend that has that particular expertise and was willing to take on the job. The other two will soon be ready. Hopefully, this venture will be successful. I read an article today about a "traveling slaughterhouse" that has been approved by the FDA and is staffed with the mandatory FDA inspector. An interesting enterprise. Our garden is full of pumpkins, tomatoes, and okra (which we tried to eat tonight but it was awful....could hardly chew it so we ended up throwing it out!). Our neighbors have been very generous with their sweetcorn after hearing about the dogs destroying our crop.

Saturday, September 6, 2008

Rodents and Reviews

Tropical Storm Hanna has come and is mostly gone. Effects: a loss of power for about 3 hours and a new rodent in our house: a tiny baby grey squirrel which fell from its nest. According to the internet, it is about 4.5 wks old (has fur but eyes are closed). Since the power was out, I could not read on the internet that I should only give it pedialyte or a mix of salt, sugar and water, until after I had fed it a little cream. Now the latest debate in the house is whether we should keep it a few days or turn it over to the wildlife rehabilitators. Actually, there really isn't a debate: we're GOING to turn it in; it's only that I just want to keep it a day, or two or three, or maybe until it's eating solid food. It's so darn cute. Can we keep a baby squirrel for a science class, or is that breaking the rules on keeping wild animals as pets?






Maybe I can detach from the squirrel if I watch another James McAvoy movie. He keeps showing up, but I never recognize him until I read the credits. Last night I watched him in the Last King of Scotland. (Dan was asleep in bed with another little lady, Claire.) Loved it. Dan woke up after it was over, just before I was going to rave about it here last night, but instead we stayed up talking about it. He saw it on the ship when he was in Africa, so it had an immediacy for him. We differed a little on our takes: He argued that Idi Amin, awesomely played by Forrest Whitaker, is the main character, while I posited that the character McAvoy plays, Dr. Nicholas Garrigan, is the hero because he undergoes this huge conversion at the end. Dan didn't think the Garrigan conversion was as dramatic as I did; he saw the descent into the madness of Amin as the drama of the movie. However, I'd argue that the Garrigan character, who is very fictionalized version of a British officer who became one of Amin's advisors (see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Idi_Amin_Dada), makes as dramatic a change. He begins his stay in Uganda as a volunteer doctor trying to escape his father and wooing all kinds of women. Self-absorbed and immature, he is won over by Amin's charm, but by the end of the movie, he sacrifices himself to save a young soldier who is about to die because of Garrigan's attempt to poison Amin to end the violence. Excellent filmmaking and storytelling, but not for sensitive stomachs.
In between watching this, Hotel Rwanda, reading Immaculee Ilibagiza's Left to Tell, and even Black Hawk Down, (not all this weekend) we're left amazed at the endurance of the human spirit. Dan saw a bit of that resilience during the humanitarian exercise last spring, but needs are so great. I can sympathize with those that ask why, if we intervene in Iraq, don't we elsewhere, but then there is also the nagging fact that the radicals also want to see Americans dead. Movies with the same theme, different places: The Wind that Shakes the Barley, and Pan's Labyrinth, which we watched this weekend. Eliz, I know you loved PL, and I thought it was really good, but I wished the two threads - little Ofelia's fantasy and the betrayal of the Capitan - were woven together better. It was not the stomach puncher that Last King was.

My other encounter this weekend with McEvoy was in Becoming Jane, which I thought I was going to hate because of its revisionist promos asserting that if Jane Austen wrote so convincingly about love it must have been because she had some torrid affair. But I ended up thoroughly enjoying it, maybe because the star actors did such a good job. Anne Hathaway who played Jane was way better than Keira Knightley in the new P and P. Of course, it ends up making it seem that Pride and Prejudice is veiled autobiography, but it was entertaining watching.
Another fun literary watch from the weekend: Miss Potter. I was impressed that Renee Zellwenger did a decent job. But then it probably would have been improved if James McAvoy were the leading man. Since I hadn't recognized him in Last King of Scotland, I looked him up online and found out that,not only did he do a great job in Atonement, he was also Mr. Tumnus. I guess this goes to show that I am a willing suspender of disbelief when I watch movies and don't recognize famous people very well. And that I'll be willing to watch any movie with James McAvoy in it from now on. Maybe. (No worries, Husby, he's probably a jerk in real life.)
Before I close, I just want to share our newest home improvement project, gratis Brian Cook. Doesn't it make our office look more official? I appreciate the storage space, and we've had fun debating what should go on the shelves. If I had time and money, maybe I'd do something cute like get matching organizational baskets or wrap up some cardboard boxes in maps or glue some decorative border on the shelf edges (Mikko suggested ribbon, but what if I typed up the names of my favorite authors in decorative shadow type and cut them in a thin strip to echo the architrave on the old downtown Norfolk library? Too pretentious?)

Wednesday, September 3, 2008

Goodbye Summer

It's been so long since my last post, I almost forgot my password. The past few days have been spent sipping the sweet nectar of the fading summer sun (and a few other bibations as well. Perhaps I will enlarge upon sweetness of absinthe later, although I have to admit, I'm a little curious about how this liquor brought so many artists to their buckets.) Our swan song Va Beach Labor Day Weekend celebration with the New York Cooks was definitely a highlight of the summer, as well as a farewell. Good bye, Ghent Square Pool. Good bye, Busch Gardens. Good bye, Lagoon Pool, even though we didn't make it there... Good bye for now, Beach. Husted Family, just look at the fun you've been missing by not coming to see us during the summer. Although the visit started out with gloomy weather, the last couple of sunsoaked days provided all the proof needed for why this place is a vacation destination for those without time and/or money to go to the Virgin Islands every year (as long as you don't have to go through a tunnel):

Some indulgences: Fun at the pool: Great form on field trips: And The Beach: Brian has a really great photo of the boys and dolphins I'll post, if he sends it, in order to make you truly sorry you didn't get out here during the summer.

So you can see why I felt sort of mopey this afternoon, suffering from PPD (post party depression). After fond farewells to our wonderful house guests (kids got along great, were cute and polite, Mikko washed dishes and provided wonderful conversation, Brian cooked and did projects with the boys when not belly busting waves), I spent the afternoon doing laundry, trying to organize the office to maximize the great new shelving system Brian installed, and catching up on email and late library books. The Doldrums were settling in as I realized the work that lay before us in the fall. That is, until Dan turned on the TV for the Republican Convention. I have had so little appetite for this election that I didn't even know Obama chose Biden for VP for two days even though it was spread across the Sunday front page. The primaries wore me out before they even began, and I didn't have any confidence in the offerings. So why trudge them out again, I thought. Then Sarah Palin came out: WOW! I might just have to put a sign on my door that says PALIN POWER! Her first son is named after Track season; I've got to respect that. Could anything be cuter than her youngest daughter licking her palm to rub down the baby's hair? And step aside, Hilary: it looks like she can play politics with the best of them, even if -or because - she is small town. Those who thought Obama was a shoo-in must be quaking. It will be interesting to see how this all shakes out, - I'm sure the woman has some dirty laundry to uncover besides a pregnant teenager -- but there's finally something to get excited about! Some drama, plus some commentary on clothing, hair and childrearing. (Bangs have got to go.) She has self-confidence w/o the bitchiness of HClinton, and has a working man hubby w/o the smarm of BClinton. The question is, will she be able to stand up to the attacks to come? This could be a particularly vicious election season with all the bitterness that has been percolating the last half decade.