Scraps of Our Lives

More Boredom Busters.

2010-01-27T14:14:00.000-08:00

Beating Workplace Boredom One Photo at a Time!

2010-01-27T13:56:00.001-08:00

Emma and Ben. Need I Say More?

2009-10-30T00:46:00.000-07:00

First Day of School.

2009-09-02T00:07:00.001-07:00

Pretty in Plaid.
Happy Schoolgirls.
And off they go. 1st and 6th grade begins.
Two sillies.
Oh boy, are the ladies ever going to be in trouble!
Mr. Ben.
Handsome little man!

Some recent photos of possible interest!

2009-08-30T23:34:00.000-07:00

Maddie in the back, workin' the parade.
Abby helps spread the word about her great school!
My new friends, courtesy of next door. I love it when they come in my yard!
Our backyard tent.
Abby and I slept out here this summer.
Face paints at the festival across the river--or tattoos.

Our visit from Amber.
I also do grad photos.

This is going to be a huge run of scrapbook pages. I got 24 done on vacation!

2009-07-28T19:10:00.001-07:00

An impromptu backyard picnic 7/14/09

2009-07-15T00:11:00.000-07:00

Dora enjoys the seasonal weather.
Silly attack!
Abby never met a ham sandwich she didn't love.
Same for Ben.
These two love each other.
And, every once in a great while, so do these two.

Spring Dance Recital!

2009-06-11T00:42:00.000-07:00

More recent pages.

2009-04-24T14:43:00.001-07:00

Scrapbook Memories.

2009-04-19T23:50:00.001-07:00

Spring's Blooms.

2009-04-12T01:21:00.000-07:00

Why we work like dogs.

2009-02-08T14:13:00.000-08:00

Snow on the Coast.

2008-12-22T01:16:00.000-08:00

Chez Ank under a blanket of white.
Through those trees, somewhere there's a river.
Click on this last photo and look at the wires down the street. They're way lower than usual under the weight of the snow and the power is bound to go out sooner or later.

Coming to a Mailbox Near You.

2008-12-19T23:14:00.001-08:00

Lots of photos of the children as of late. How could I not show them off???

Abby's First Report Card.

2008-11-20T00:22:00.000-08:00

In case you don't understand the new version of grading, 2 means beginner, 3 means making progress, 4 means works independently. S means satisfactory, which is all they give, unless they are not satisfactory, then they get a U. Abby got a few S+'s. Click on the image to make it bigger.

A Much-Needed Update.

2008-10-24T22:06:00.000-07:00

More photos to come.

2008-09-04T23:51:00.001-07:00

She's the one on the right.

How am I supposed to get anything done with these guys staring at me?

2008-09-01T01:24:00.001-07:00

I'm Unique!

2008-08-18T12:46:00.001-07:00

HowManyOfMe.com

There are
1
or fewer people with my name in the U.S.A.

How many have your name?

Bloom Where You Are Planted.

2008-07-23T00:25:00.001-07:00

Even if that place is on a postage-stamp-sized lot and doesn't get enough sun to grow anything but greens.

Scrappy Goodness...

2008-07-15T00:01:00.001-07:00

Summer Pages from Now and Then.

2008-07-05T20:19:00.001-07:00

Can it be three summers ago already?
Amazing the things you can get if you bargain hard enough.
This was all her idea.

Don't you dare laugh.

2008-06-11T22:39:00.000-07:00

2008-06-11T19:23:00.000-07:00

So the kids were all telling scary stories in the bedroom, and Ben didn't want to be left out. So he said,

"Uh, guy dig in the mud,
and the guy fall in the hole
and a monster in the hole!
And the monster crawl up the guy's head
And the guy goes "Ahhhh!"

The latest new pages.

2008-06-05T17:21:00.000-07:00

My pretty dancers!

2008-06-04T23:19:00.001-07:00

Work it, Mads!
Tap with an attitude.
The shortest is always on the top of the pyramid.
Jazz with Pom Pom!
She loves the camera.
And it loves her!

The Ocean and I.

2008-05-16T00:48:00.001-07:00

Until 1990, I lived close to the ocean. I grew up learning to respect its sleeper waves, to navigate across and out of its riptides. I stood for hours in its foam and talked to friends year after year. I body surfed and Boogie Boarded. My friends and I would swim out past the breakers, near the pier and would ride the bus home at night sandy and gritty and sunburned. At night, after a shower, I would lie in my twin bed, on my Raggedy Ann sheets, and, as I drifted off to sleep, I would feel the undertow pulling on my feet.

I left the ocean in 1990, and did not return until 2005. This ocean is different. Though it shares the same name as the one I grew up on, this ocean is much colder, more turbulent. I can't imagine swimming out past the breakers. There's no pier to judge whether or not I'm drifting out too far. I don't picture feeling warm and buoyant, not wanting to leave, like I did in that Pacific. But that ocean also didn't let me drive on its sand, and let my dogs out the run their hearts out. That Pacific was often crowded, with people knocking into each other as the waves tumbled them.

Yet on days like today, I am at the beach again, barefoot. And I am wading in deeper and deeper, my body growing accustomed to the frigid water. I haven't worn a suit, and now I regret it. So I stay with the children, and watch them wonder at the way the water pulls back out to sea, burying their small feet as it goes.

I'll get out further, I know, as the summer goes on. But for today, it was enough to know that now my own children will go home with sand between their toes, tired from playing hard, digging holes to China, burying each other in the sand.

I know tonight that they'll sleep hard, with the sound of the waves crashing in their ears and the water still pulling at their feet.

He's a lot bigger now.

2008-05-03T23:07:00.000-07:00

Bubbly.

2008-04-22T22:58:00.000-07:00

I did this while Tom was talking to me.

2008-04-22T22:57:00.001-07:00

83 words

Speed test

New and Old Pages.

2008-04-17T00:34:00.000-07:00

Sometimes, you just get lucky.

2008-04-16T15:20:00.001-07:00

With the weather. With the camera. With life.

New Pages.

2008-04-10T23:24:00.001-07:00

Time for an update.

2008-03-30T23:12:00.000-07:00

This is Spring????
Little Eskimo.
Snow bunnies.
Too much Easter.
The haul.
Coloring eggs.
Easter fun, spring snow and more.

Easter Photos, 2008.

2008-03-12T16:49:00.000-07:00

The eldest.
He refused to take photos alone this year. Or sit still.
Work the cute, Abby!

Coming to a mailbox near you soon.

Happy Birthday, Little Poppa!!!

2008-03-03T16:21:00.000-08:00

Hey, Mom, send me the stirped snake!

2008-02-29T23:55:00.000-08:00

Okay, I could start out by blaming it on my kids. I mean, that's how it started.

"Mom, can you go an my account and get me enough Kinz Cash to buy a bathtub? Mom, can you get on my account and win me enough Kinz Cash for the Pink Fairy Bed?"Like all addictions, this one started quite innocently. Then the kids decided I should have a Webkinz, so I could come over to visit their homes. Already, Eldest had the pink pony and some other pets I can't recall, and Princess had gotten a Panda Bear. With my help, they were busily playing games to win Kinz Cash, in order to furnish rooms for their pets, and add bathrooms, etc.
the next time we were all at Purple Cow, picking out their latest allowance Webkinz, I picked up the Pug. Just one, little, innocuous-looking Pug. With Eldest's help, I logged on, went to the adoption center, and my account was born.And like a good pusher, the people at Webkinz know how to do things to suck you in. Not only are their games fun and challenging for all ages (I like Word Challenge and Goober's Lab (a version of Bejeweled) the best), but you have to log on every day. Not because your pet will die if you don't--Webkinz are much heartier than their Neopets counterparts--but so you can spin the Wheel of Wow and win everything from free Kinz Cash to frog-themed sofas, then get your gem of the day at the mines, either to sell or keep for a larger prize, or to take your five free turns at the Wishing Well, a kind of cuted-up slot machine game that can net you up to 3000 points if you're very lucky.
So now, not only was I raising funds to "Kinz Mail" my kids' items of their dreams, but I was also now obsessed with outfitting Olivia (yes, that's the Pug's name) in style. I chose the celestial theme, which had a bunch of expensive pieces, including an operating TV (which shows cooking shows and other such fare) that cost over 1100 points.
Then, Chubby the bull frog came, and of course, not only did he need a room, but, being a frog, he needed water.
Well, you could only put the swimming pool into a garden area, so now I had three rooms.Lest you think virtual pets don't need a bathroom, guess again. This one has the same scheme as ours at home.
But for three weeks, for some reason, it wouldn't load, so I put in a second one. Yes, they can brush their teeth, take baths, and even use the toilet (Little Man thinks this is hysterical).Oh, and they need to eat. For this reason, not only do you have to earn points to purchase food, but they need a kitchen. You want your pet living in a tenement? I think not.Next came a big package from Nonna, in which Eldest got two, Princess got two, and I got two: Rocky, and Lillie. Then, Eldest told me about a hedge maze that someone had made. I had to have one. The herd was joined soon by Noah, and Chip.Once you have a room for everyone, now it's time to get creative with spare rooms. We needed a game room, and a garage, as well as a dorm (in case you want to put your Webkinz to bed in a hurry--they have to be asleep before you log out), and, of course, a classroom, because we want well-educated stuffed animals.It's at this point, you may be saying to yourself, "Yeah. She's gone." But I'm not alone. I have two friends who love the games and are always getting points for their kids. But let's face it, your kids will never decorate the way YOU want to, so why not bypass them as the little designers and do it your way? Princess doesn't even want to put all of her little clothes away, so I got my own storage room.Where else can parents and kids agree to keep their spaces exactly as they want, without argument?

Needless to say, my cross-stitching has gone to Hell.

Sorry for the Lapse...Broken Computer!

2008-02-21T00:05:00.001-08:00

The Year in Review.

2007-12-26T16:10:00.000-08:00

Change, day to day, seems almost imperceptible most times. At others, it's cataclysmic and violent, welcome or not.

But years, taken as a whole, offer the opportunity to see that things have, indeed, changed.

The older you get, the harder it is to get through an entire year without losing someone important. Each one, while you move on, still leaves a mark on your heart forever. I think the reason so many elderly people do not fear death is partly because the cumulative effect of all these marks becomes simply too tiring. I see them building up in my own life, and realize that even though new ones are added, that doesn't make missing the people associated with old grieving any easier.

People who aren't "pet" people never understand how the life of a dog or cat can affect you. Lucy was that dog for me, over 16 years ago, when I found her wandering in the woods near my ex's home in Cohasset. While she was an enormous pain in the butt as a puppy, she brought a sense of purpose to my life that I hadn't had up to that point. She paved the way for my children in that by the time they were born, the fact that someone could ruin your stuff and you could still love them just the same was second-nature. She had been around for so much of my life that me without her has felt very strange these last few months.

A little over a week ago a dear human friend passed away after 10 years of dealing with prostate cancer. This person gave for the joy of giving, without a laundry list of things expected in return as payment. He adored pop culture and would fill my mailbox with whimsical things like Nunzilla (a nun who shoots sparks from her mouth as she waddles across your desk--Catholic humor), a Ben Roethleisberger bobble head, a card for every occasion, stickers for the kids, and more. He made getting the mail a joy, even in the midst of financial strain. I looked forward to the mail, it was an adventure! Now, the mail seems a bit sad again.

Of course, as people exit your life, others enter, same with pets. Grief Recovery Dog is no Lucy, but he's a good boy, funny-looking (a shot of terrier actually gives him a stiff mowhawk), and I love him. He has helped, I have to admit.

Another year in Astoria has seen some friendships vanish, but others solidify and deepen. We're not the family you want to know if you like order, convention and the predictable, so understandably we were too much for some--we always are! But, as always, we are left with a group of fun, whimsical, giving, often sarcastic but always good people. After nearly three years here, we have people we can count on, and who know they can count on us, and that's a good feeling. One needs that sense of give-and-take, of community, on some scale. And while we're hardly conformists, we can say we contribute to our little town, and that it gives back.

The children. Where do I start? Eldest has moved up another grade this month, and Princess has finally started to get on board with the whole schoolwork concept. Eldest, regretting her decision to cut off her long hair, has grown much of it back. All of them continue to enjoy dance. Princess has become a real thinker, but funny. We have moved past the stage of pure frustration and head-butting and on to a wonderful time where her life philosophies are amazing, hysterical and wise, all in a five-minute span. Youngest has broken his teeth, had them repaired, has begun constructing sentences, loves to help cook and wants to learn his letters so badly. All are healthy, smart, and kids to be proud of. There have been numerous arguments amongst themselves, all of which have been solved, most without bloodshed, so I think they've learned and progressed. As far as the kids have been concerned, this has been the year of playing outside with a passel of neighborhood kids during the summer. Of chalk drawings, Neopets, Webkinz, and the Wii, of scooters and bikes, lemonade stands and gardening.

Slave Hubby has continued to endure me with patience (or is that just resignation?). This year, he managed to redo the staircase in an actual Craftsman style. He also finished my master suite, which I love, is huge, yet cozy. He painted the front of the house, traded in my old van, and cooked a lot of great meals. We kept the washing machine and oven limping along for another year, though the microwave gave up the ghost. He works hard at a pretty thankless job that would pay six times as much in a big city because he likes coming home for lunch and teasing his kids. Can't ask for much more than that.

And me? Well, according to my doctor's scale, I am 8 pounds heavier, and this with going to the gym three times a week! NO, it is not all muscle. Frankly, much of it were those Girl Scout Cookies last February and hitting 40. Time to adjust! Again! So, I want to work on that. I have fought valiantly against dirt that wants to take over my house, but have taken time for other things and have let go of that a bit, but not too much. I have been a chauffeur, a nurse, a teacher and housekeeper. My new year's resolutions last year included the goal of finishing this massive stitching that I started when Princess was an infant, and I have to say, I am really close. I did tons of work on it and though it won't be finished in time for New Year's, unless there's some really good TV on the next few nights, it will be soon afterwards. I managed to get through about three books, wrote this thing, got a couple of part-time jobs in everything from child care to data entry to selling stuff in Craigslist, so I've been busy.

Personally, I finally have a sense of peace with regards to my relationship with my parents. They are who they are, I am who I am. It's gratifying for me to know that I love them and they love me. I have finally let go of all the grudges of the past, and that is a very freeing thing. I have also realized that a relationship with my birth father and his family is not realistic. We tried, it's been a question mark for some time, and I am here if they want to contact me, but they are moving their own direction, I mine. When I saw a photo of the woman who abused and help murder my birth father's 2 year old sister, holding the babies of my younger siblings on Christmas Eve, I realized that I could never place my own children in her lap, the basic conflict that represents, and that it's just best to let it go.

What do I want to accomplish next year? Now that Little Man is 2 1/2, it's once again time to start focusing more attention back onto Slave Hubby. Poor guy. If he were a houseplant, he'd be half-dead in the corner by now. I also want to do much of what I wanted last year. I want to get to know my new metabolism and attempt to use it to actually shrink instead of grow, to continue to work out regardless, to do some more reading, stitching, scrapbooking and to spend more time on the beach (easier now that the new car is a 4WD!). To try to be more frugal, to earn as much money outside of home schooling hours as I can, and to try to be a more positive, peaceful person. We'll see, and more than likely I'll be back here next year, letting you know how I did.

How did you do?

Holiday Portraits.

2007-12-12T21:50:00.000-08:00

Coming to a mailbox near you.

Happy Birthday!!!

2007-12-01T23:55:00.000-08:00

Shakin' Down Santa.

2007-12-01T23:32:00.000-08:00

HoHoHolidays.

2007-11-21T18:09:00.000-08:00

From Disneyland.

2007-11-14T15:29:00.000-08:00

Really Old!

2007-11-13T23:50:00.001-08:00

Better Late Than Never.

2007-11-13T17:44:00.000-08:00

Something Old, Something New.

2007-11-10T20:16:00.001-08:00

The Perfect Ride.

2007-11-07T22:28:00.000-08:00

The latest.

2007-11-06T17:55:00.001-08:00

More Halloween Time Pages!

2007-11-05T13:15:00.000-08:00

If Ben's costume, below, looks familiar, here's why (above).

D-Day.

2007-11-03T21:24:00.002-07:00

Birthdays, Astoria Style.

2007-11-03T21:06:00.000-07:00

Chinese at the Golden Luck.

2007-11-03T20:44:00.000-07:00

Thieves!

2007-11-02T16:30:00.001-07:00

Love finds you.

2007-11-02T15:51:00.001-07:00

Boo!

2007-11-02T15:48:00.001-07:00

Some Scrapbook Pages for Your Perusal.

2007-09-14T23:05:00.000-07:00

New Pages!

2007-08-30T23:59:00.000-07:00

Some Summer Scrapbook Updates

2007-08-21T14:33:00.000-07:00

Thank you. For everything.

2007-08-15T21:26:00.000-07:00

Lemonade.

2007-07-31T19:11:00.000-07:00

Bummer.

2007-07-25T21:16:00.000-07:00

She did GREAT!

2007-07-21T21:37:00.001-07:00

Nope, no stage fright here.

Hey, Dad. Some of this stuff is older than YOU!

2007-07-07T20:58:00.000-07:00

I've always loved that show, but was never under the illusion that we'd discover a secret room that used to be an illegal speakeasy for state senators in our 1913 Craftsman. Still, while Slave Hubby and house guest D began the demolition of an attic wall today, I was thrilled at what they found: A 1944 Oregonian, a 1919 Portland Tribune, and several old containers, including an old whiskey bottle with top. By far, my favorite is a 1918 Astoria Catholic Monthly, in which there is an article calling people late to mass "degenerates." I will retype the article and post it here when time permits, because it is simply too fabulous. Boy, the punishments for stuff I take for granted were harsh back at the turn of the last century!!!

Anyhow, we have also discovered who built our house, that the bare land cost $10, and that they lived here from 1913 until the widow passed in 1976. Their descendants own a local hardware store, so I am going to stop by there at some point and ask if they have some pictures of the house back in the day.

Ultimately, everything related to the house's history is going to live in a glass-front cabinet, and will ultimately stay with the house. So look for those three ancient coffee cans to become part of our decor soon. (If you double click on the photo above, you can see the items in greater detail.)

A request for my mother.

2007-07-06T14:45:00.001-07:00

I'm in the kitchen today, making lunch, looking for a place to wipe my damp hands and it hits me: Why on earth did women stop wearing aprons?

When I was growing up, all the ladies in my life had aprons--and several of them. They had numerous everyday ones in various faded flower prints, and a couple really fancy ones with starched ruffles and wide ribbons in back, for holidays. They had Christmas aprons with poinsettias and easter aprons with spring tulips.

But somewhere in the late 70s to early 80s, it was the stiff-smiled image of the woman of the 50s, doing her housework gleefully in her crinolines, high heels--and the ever-present apron--that became the enemy of all liberation promoted. It was during this time, women stopped using aprons (except my Granny, who used them until she no longer cooked for herself).

Now, today, my hands air-drying because I've once again mislaid the hand towel, it occurred to me that the feminist movement brought many great things to my generation, but tossing out the trusty, hardworking apron as if it could suddenly fashion itself into a noose to hang you with oppression, was just silly.

Of course, as a liberated woman, I also don't know how to sew (or do much of anything useful around the house except clean), but my mother, who actually had to take Home Ec and has used it ever since (unlike myself, who took algebra and never once used it again), will be getting a call. My mom, of the Last Oppressed Generation who can still make all her own window coverings and will beat anyone's pie crust (even that woman on TV who cooks but is having an affair with a married man), she'll be able to make an apron from memory with fat wide ribbons in the back.

But I think I'll ask for a new twist: I'd like mine done up in fabric with pirate skulls and crossbones on it.

Important Date!

2007-07-05T11:48:00.001-07:00

Remember, it's Tom's birthday today! Hop over to his blog (link at left) and show him some major love people!!!

Behold, the power of cake.

2007-06-25T00:25:00.001-07:00

The Trouble With Sisters.

2007-06-25T00:24:00.000-07:00

I was such a geek.

2007-06-18T18:07:00.000-07:00

Wedding Weekend.

2007-06-17T23:36:00.000-07:00

Maddie Takes First in State for Poetry in Her Grade.

2007-06-07T20:28:00.000-07:00

The Wind

The wind,

It blows through the grass.

The wind,

It blows up to the sun.

The sun,

It warms the wind.

The moon,

Is friends with the stars.

The moon,

It shines in the sky.

The stars,

They shine with the moon.

The stars,

The sun is a star.

Things I Realize as I Get Older.

2007-06-07T13:08:00.000-07:00

When it comes to all the stuff we do for them, our kids don't have a clue. But then, when I was their age, neither did I.

I had to be a full-fledged adult myself before I began to appreciate things I never even noticed as a child.

One of the first things to hit me were holiday dinners. You have to understand, my family's holiday dinners were better than anything you could get in even the best restaurants. None of this stuff-suspended-in-Jello stuff, but homemade marinara sauce, ravioli, meatballs, Italian Wedding Soup, breads, fresh salads, and always a backdrop of brewing coffee with the promise of a cinnamon Bundt cake for later.

As a child, I'd enjoy the aroma of the upcoming meal, then I'd start to hover, looking weak, as I got hungrier. But I never understood that sometimes the cooking started days before, and hard work went into everything from shopping for the ingredients to the ambiance of the table, to cooking the actual day of the event, right down to cleaning up everything afterwards. We're not even talking about the fact that these Italian women (with the occasional interloping Hungarian who happened to marry in) also cleaned their homes within an inch of their lives while all this was going on.

When I was little, all I knew was that for about 1/2 an hour, I was eating food I looked forward to all year long. I knew it was good then. When the meal was done, my sister and I would go play nicely.

Now that I'm in the position of cook for many of the events, I realize it's one heck of a lot of hard work! And my female relatives did it year in and year out with smiles on their faces. In that, they are my role models.

The same goes for the everyday running of a home. I come from a long line of proud housewives, and though I have a college degree, I stay home because to do it right, you either have to hire several people or be here to do it yourself. I still don't know how they did such a good job. I haven't had time to try new recipes for ages and my house has never looked as good as theirs, but I give it the old college try.

Another aspect of being an adult is that I now notice when adults put on shindigs for kids, there is a tremendous amount of work. Take this weekend's scout camp. You've got dozens of pre-pubescent girls out in the woods without their parents. The results could be disastrous. At the very least, the logistics of feeding and keeping all these girls safe is enough to give you a headache in the preplanning department.

I had gone to numerous camps as a youth, and I loved them. I loved the woods, sleeping in sleeping bags, hanging with my friends and being away from my parents. It never occurred to me that those adults there hadn't lined up for the privilege!

Until this weekend, when I became one of those adults.

Now, it was time for my daughter and her friends to have some big fun, and up to myself and the few women that gave up their weekend to provide it.

For them, it was the joy of canoeing (which, I have to confess, was my favorite 1/2 hour of the entire weekend), learning archery, making crafts and eating too many s'mores. For we oldsters, it meant sitting out in the sun for four hours providing that same craft over and over to a succession of groups, standing on the dock giving that canoeing clinic over and over, or being one of the adults (as I was) who had to hotfoot it from activity to activity to make sure everyone got everything in. This was after a brisk hike to the ocean, where we all stood around and made sure nobody drowned and that everyone ate on time.

The mosquitoes swarmed like locusts and it was us who made sure the girls didn't get eaten alive. We were the ones who cut off Hormone Wars at the pass when two cabins decided they didn't like each other. We also made sure that the girls with special allergies or dietary considerations didn't poison themselves with too much sugar and that everyone was asleep by only 2 hours past lights out.

Walk here. Walk there. Break up this argument. Sleep on a plywood bunk. Pass on some wisdom. Dry some tears. Call a dad to take one overnighter home early because of homesickness, take photos, dispense medications and after it was all over make sure everyone packed everything else back up to take home.

When I asked my daughter if she had a good time, she responded with the same enthusiasm that I had when I was her age. Which means whatever we did, as exhausting as it was, must have been what the chaperones before us did. The ones we barely noticed in our excitement.

If I could go back and thank them for their hard work, after this weekend, I certainly would. Because I just realized that those adults from 30 years ago worked their butts off.

As I've said, I'm a little slow on the uptake.

Visitors!

2007-05-29T22:10:00.001-07:00

Two Generations.

2007-05-22T00:49:00.001-07:00

The Sky Above.

2007-05-17T22:40:00.001-07:00

Where's the Beach?

2007-05-17T21:07:00.001-07:00

Springtime Tap Stars.

2007-05-17T21:01:00.001-07:00

Mothers' Days Past.

2007-05-13T23:38:00.000-07:00

I came across a keepsake box last week, and it just so happened that two photos from Mother's Day were inside. Seemed appropriate, so above is my Aunt Ve and her family on Mother's Day 1966. They are sitting on my Granny's couch in her E. Cordova apartment in Pasadena.
My sister is going to kick my butt for posting this, but this is us and our Grandpa on Mother's Day 1983. I used to be kinda hot! Now, my sister's the hot one.

Abby's Birthday Blast.

2007-05-08T23:35:00.000-07:00

Bring on the cake!

The pull-string pinata.

Tom's culinary creations.

Studio time.

Tom teaches an impromptu shop class to the older girls.

Rollergirls and Scrapbook Cover

2007-05-02T22:14:00.000-07:00

Now THIS is dedication!

2007-05-02T19:52:00.000-07:00

So, Ellen trips over this embankment thing in a parking lot and tears a ligament in her back. She's on bed rest (and heavy narcotics) for at least a week. So does this stop her from getting to work at 4 a.m. and doing the show?? Nope. She is on set, in a hospital bed and jammies, and has one of those rolling hospital tables to hold her notes, and her guests sit in one of those awful vinyl bedside chairs in a harvest gold color. She did a lot better today than yesterday...and is quick to point out that she's on drugs, but I wouldn't go to work half this hurt!

Of course, being Ellen, her bed linens are much nicer than yours or mine!

Oh no you didn't!

2007-05-02T19:50:00.000-07:00

Green Things.

2007-05-01T13:01:00.001-07:00

When I was growing up, my parents always had the most beautiful yard in the neighborhood. They had this meticulously-trimmed St. Augustine grass (which was cranky and prone to this type of bug called a Chinch Bug, and needed tons of Sulfate of Ammonia and water--even during drought). They had a huge bougainvillea with tons of magenta flowers, and some natal plum bushes in three perfectly square shrubs lining the driveway. In the back, they had rows of roses were pruned at just the right time, yielding fragrant bouquets all spring and summer. Unlike many of the nouveau riche springing up around us, my parents didn't rely on underpaid migrant gardeners to do their landscaping. They did it temselves, and were out there hours every week

I thought they were crazy.

I couldn't believe the amount of time these two spent being yard-proud. Through heat waves and mosquito infestations, sunburns and randy teenaged boys whooping out of their car windows at my mother in her bathing suit, pushing the mower, my parents tended to that yard as if their lives depended upon it. Frankly, I didn't get it at all.

So, I'm surprised to report that I've lived a lot of places as an adult, hoping with each one that it'd be permanent, by the way. And as a consequence, I have planted gardens at each place. Bulbs that would come back year after year, perennials that would also, and splashy annuals that added flash while the the others came up. And, without exception, we had to move again before I got to see how well these gardens took. But with each one, I found the whole process more and more addictive.

So, the irony is that after years spent trying to avoid yard work, I'm now calling my parents frequently, asking them when to prune this, how to eradicate that and what grows where. I even have a gardening site bookmarked on my browser and (gasp!) gardening books. Nobody who had known me during my childhood would have ever guessed on this outcome on a bet.

Which just goes to show, people can change at any age, so don't get too set in your impressions of them.

Communion Day.

2007-04-29T15:45:00.000-07:00

Looking like an angel!
With her communion class (below).

Ben takes in the buffet afterwards.
Maddie eats with the girls in her class (below).

Spring Recital and Park Day.

2007-04-27T21:53:00.000-07:00

Last Easter Page.

2007-04-26T21:11:00.000-07:00

...at least for this year.

2007-04-26T21:09:00.000-07:00

Easter Page.

2007-04-18T01:01:00.000-07:00

New Scrapbook Pages

2007-04-16T21:58:00.000-07:00

Nothin' Says Lovin'...

2007-04-08T21:16:00.000-07:00

...like bunny-shaped ravioli.

Remember this?

2007-03-27T13:31:00.000-07:00

Tonight's efforts.

2007-03-26T21:49:00.000-07:00

From Today!

2007-03-25T23:58:00.000-07:00

Pages I did last night...

2007-03-25T19:29:00.000-07:00

More New Scrapbook Pages from Old Photos

2007-03-23T17:32:00.000-07:00

More of the Remodel Series

2007-03-23T17:22:00.000-07:00

My New Home Improvement Scrapbook Series.

2007-03-18T22:49:00.000-07:00

More Scrapbooking

2007-03-15T22:16:00.000-07:00

Putting Yourself "Out There."

2007-03-11T23:26:00.001-07:00

Back in the day, people were always entertaining. My parents were the hosts of numerous bunco parties, dinners, parties, and the like. We'd also go numerous places. When I was little, we had two Munchkins living across the street. I don't mean they were short, I mean they both had played Munchkins in the actual Wizard of Oz.

Today's events reminded me that we don't do that nearly enough anymore, and has caused me to wonder why.

I think people don't want to miss their TV shows.

Yes, it's simplistic, I know. But it seems to me that the more TV people got, the less they hung out at other people's houses. Now, even if you DO visit, the damned TV drones in the background the whole time!

One of my favorite movies is Avalon. If you haven't seen it, do. It's pretty old now, but a beautiful film, and it chronicles the influence television and the suburbanization of American affected one immigrant family.

I saw this a lot in my own family. Unless the get-together was specifically to watch the Big Game, the damned TV was off.

Today, the kids wanted to show their friends that came over the Eye Toy, where they can watch themselves dance on TV with glittery effects and that was almost too much for me. Mostly it stayed closed and dark.

What this world needs are a few more good, old fashioned card parties. Nobody knows how to play bridge or canasta anymore. Let the kids go off and play while the adults sit around the table, talking and snacking.

Today, we had some friends over. I wasn't feeling like running around, so Hubby got a huge spread together: Pot roast, salad, melon, biscuits, pasta with sun-dried tomato, green beans, rice and gravy. I was pretty impressed, actually. Because I like to have adult conversation every once in a great while, and some laughs. The kids played and all went well. It reminded me that I need to do that more. Now that the house is more manageable, I plan to.

Once, I was doing the floor in my bedroom and saw that the neighbor next door was home. It flashed through my mind that I had a full pot of sauce on the stove, and that I should invite her over. But I got onto something else. Well, she happened to knock on the door a few minutes later, I invited her and she stayed, and it was great. Since then, we've been passing this plate back and forth. I've had it for over a week, but I can't return it yet unless I bake something to put on it. Last time, I got back a cake from the Blue Scorcher. I had sent it over with more pasta.

Our parents didn't have the answers on everything. I mean, I personally think it's better that my kids aren't in a cloud of cigarette smoke everywhere they go. When I grew up, man, we were suckin' that stuff down all the time. but perhaps they had some good ideas when it came to connecting with other people. Sure, we all want our space at times, our privacy, and some people are simply not social at all. But most of us could be doing better, I think.

The payoffs are worth it.

Don't Forget Maddie's Site!

2007-03-08T17:35:00.000-08:00