Category Archives: On the Home Front

Now the second day…

Posted on August 16, 2011 | 12 comments

Good morning everyone!

Good morning!

I have to blow off  some steam today.  Anyone who has, or has had, a girl child between the ages of 9 and 16 will understand. 

The first day of school apparently went very well – no homework, except for spelling, no conduct numbers and people we like in our classroom made for a very good day. 

The second day has started out rougher.  She is now on her fifth or sixth outfit – each one has something wrong with it, with six minutes left before she has to leave the house.  Let’s just say if Mandy finishes eating her food before you’re dressed, you know your dressing process is taking way too long. 

No-no, having finished her food, now turns her attention to an envelope from the coffee table

I think she finally acquired an outfit, but is putting on her sneakers at a pace that would put molasses to shame.  I still have yet to see her emerge from her bedroom with a complete outfit on.

This delay means that Kayla will miss first breakfast here at the house, but not to worry – now that school has started, she also gets breakfast at the after-school center where she catches the bus and at school, so she won’t go hungry.  I, on the other hand, have felt three more grey hairs pop out on my head since I have been repeatedly exhorting her to get dressed. 

She finally emerged from her bedroom, fully dressed.  (Do I hear a sigh of relief from the galleries?)  In doing so, she tried to quietly slip out of the house with two book bags – the small one she insisted on buying with her own money when we went shopping for school supplies and the large one from last year which we told her was still in excellent condition and would work better anyhow.  I think she was hoping we would neither notice, nor comment.  Why she would think that given the two parents she has, I don’t know. 

Sunrise over the lake in the morning

While on the surface, it has been a rough morning, deep down everything is okay.  We are healthy, together and taking care of each other, so all will ultimately be good.  Still, tonight – THE CLOTHES GET LAID OUT FOR NEXT MORNING!

Have a great day everyone!

Nancy

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Posted in Just stuff..., On the Home Front, When things don't go as expected, working mom

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First Day of School!

Posted on August 15, 2011 | 14 comments

Good morning Everyone!

As hard as it is to believe, our summer vacation is over, and school started today!  It really does seem like it was only last week that summer vacation was just starting.  See, The First day of Summer Vacation . 

Since it was the first day of school, of course pictures were called for.  Kayla is entering fourth grade this year, and was gracious enough to wear the outfit I bought for her for the first day of school without any fuss. Kayla started our picture-taking session by telling Darwin what to do.

Kayla telling Darwin what to do.

He wasn’t exactly listening.

Darwin wasn't exactly listening.

So we left Darwin out of the next few pictures.  I tried hard to get a good one of her smiling but I’m not sure how well I succeeded. 

What IS it with her and the camera?

This picture I though was a good close-up.

Just playing around

Almost time to go....

Then she realized she really was leaving in just a minute:

I really am going to leave in a minute, aren't I?

 Once Mark came out, Darwin decided to re-enter the picture-taking process.

Daddy and Darwin Make Me Smile!

 Then, a small miracle happened – Darwin stood still long enough for me to get a good shot of all three of them!

As I watched Kayla and Mark walk out the door, ghosts of memory walked out beside them –  each of the little girls that Kayla used to be that also went out that same door for a new school year.  My favorite memory is from kindergarten.  We took pictures that day too.

Mark and Kayla, first day of kindergarten

 

At the door, ready to go, with Tyra

We drove Kayla to school for the first day of Kindergarten, and walked into the school with her to take her to the classroom.  Although she insisted the whole time she wasn’t nervous, of course we knew she was.  Still, we got to the front doors of the school, she took each of our hands, and as we opened the door to go in together, she took a deep breath, and a solidly determined look came over her face – she was going to succeed in entering this new phase of her life, no matter what.  We knew she was going to be okay after that.

Here’s hoping you and yours, whatever grade they may be in, have or had a good first day of school this year!

Have a great day everyone!

Nancy

14 Comments

Posted in On the Home Front, Reflection, working mom

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Out of Our Gourds for Gourds

Posted on August 11, 2011 | 4 comments

Good morning Everyone!

Mom and Kayla Working on Their Gourds

This weekend, my mom, who is visiting, Kayla and I had the chance to work on a craft project together.  My mom brought up two huge gourds, which she had allowed to dry for over a year, which she wanted to paint; one is to be a Christmas decoration, painted like a Santa, and the other is to be a Halloween decoration. 

The Picture They Knew I Was Taking

Well, I got a little curious, because it seemed odd to me that a plant would be developed solely for decorative purposes, and Mom couldn’t think of any food purposes behind the gourd, so I did what any reasonable 21st century individual would do – I googled “gourd.”  I found out several interesting things about them. 

The Picture They Did Not Know I Was Taking!

First, they are related to cucumbers and melons.  I wouldn’t have guessed either relationship, although had I seen the scientific name for the gourd family first, Cucurbitaceae, I might have been able to guess at the cucumber relationship. 

Hmmmm - Doesn't look much like a cucumber to me!

Second, they were brought to the United States around 10,000 years ago with the peoples who crossed over the land bridge which then existed on the Bering Straits.  Genetic tests have shown that the American bottle gourd is most closely related to the Asian bottle gourd.  The Asian bottle gourd is descended from the African bottle gourd. 

The gourd is not quite as big as Kayla, but close!

Third, and I find this most interesting, the gourd was the first domesticated plant in the Americas.  It was not grown as a food crop, but as a container.  The gourd itself is the fruit of the plant; its shell is strong and buoyant, and has been used for thousands of years as containers, for musical instruments, and fishing floats.  FN. 

Gourd fronts with finished base coat

Fast forward about 10000 years to my dining room table, where our gourd painting experience had begun.  Mom had downloaded directions on how to paint the Santa Claus from the internet, and had a much smaller example of what she wanted the Halloween gourd painted like, so art class was officially in session. 

Gourd Backs

We spent about three hours on Sunday afternoon working on them, and didn’t get much further than the base coats, but we had a lot of fun doing it!  I can’t help but wonder, though, if the gourds feel that they have taken a step down, from valued container or musical instrument, to simple decoration, but perhaps they are just grateful to still be useful even after 10,000 years!

Have a great day everyone!

Nancy

FN.  See, “An Asian Origin for a 10,000-year-old domesticated plant in the Americas, ” from the Dec. 20, 2005 issue of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America for further information if you are interested.

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Posted in Just stuff..., On the Home Front, working mom

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Kayla’s Conundrum

Posted on August 8, 2011 | 2 comments

Good morning everyone!

In case you haven’t noticed, it has gotten hot again.  That ugly two word phrase “heat index” which usually comes with the equally ugly “heat advisory” has slipped back into my weatherman’s vocabulary.  I think our heat index was somewhere between 106 and 108 the other day.   When that happens, our house gets a little warm; our poor air conditioner does the best that it can, but only manages about a 20 – 25 degree temperature differential during the day.  At night the house cools down, but when the heat index is over 100, it is still several hours after sundown before the air conditioner gets to rest. 

The other night, we put Kayla to bed at her usual bedtime.  An hour later Kayla started crying, so I went into her bedroom to see what the fuss was about.  She told me, “Mommy, I’m hot.”  I gently pointed out to her that the fact that she had her bedspread,  a thick blanket and a sheet tightly cocooned around her might have something to do with it.  She emphatically disagreed. 

Rather than teach her elementary thermodynamics at 9 p.m. on a Tuesday night, I decided to make another gentle suggestion.  Perhaps, I urged politely, the room might feel cooler if she used her ceiling fan?  As I did so, I turned the fan on for illustrative effect.  I was told that solution, too, was unacceptable because it meant that the fan would be rotating while she was asleep.  A little less gently and politely, I mentioned that the fan rotating was the whole point of the exercise.  She remained unimpressed.

At that point, the tired parent part of me kicked in.  I told her that I was sorry she was hot, but she had to stay in bed.  As she crawled back under her comforter, the blanket and the sheet, I had one last idea.  I told her that I would bump the air down another two degrees, but that it would take a while for her to feel any effect because the air conditioner hadn’t even gotten below 76 yet.  A little teary-eyed, she sniffled her way to sleep as I closed the door. 

Kayla managed to find her way to sleep and out of her conundrum.  When she got up the next morning, she showed me that she had turned on her fan.  She also conceded that having it on did make her feel better.  Whether this was sans bedspread and blanket, she failed to share. 

Have a great day everyone!

Nancy

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Posted in On the Home Front, Out of the mouths of babes...., working mom

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Shadow’s Spread

Posted on August 4, 2011 | 2 comments

Good morning everyone!

This Summer's Bedspread

Usually, Mark and I keep the same bedspread on our bed year round, only changing it out periodically to get it cleaned, but this summer, we decided to switch the regular comforter out for a lighter bedspread.  The bedspread  is  lighter and more comfortable than the regular comforter for summer, but there is another reason I like the bedspread, aged though it is.

 
 

Quilting that remains on bedspread

Shadow loved this bedspread.  It was originally quilted.  Stitch by careful stitch, night after night, without messing up one single square of fabric or alerting us to what she was doing, over the course of her 16 years, Shadow managed to pull out every one of the quilting threads in the bedspread, leaving only a few on the side.

Before and After

We have been without Shadow for over nine years now, but I still won’t get rid of her bedspread.  20 years from now, in whatever condition it is, I still will be carrying it around.  I can’t touch Shadow any more, but I can touch the bed spread she worked so hard on, and smile at the memory.

Shadow and I at Calloway Gardens

Have a great day everyone!

Nancy

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Posted in dogs, On the Home Front, Pets, Reflection, working mom

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Handkerchiefs

Posted on August 3, 2011 | 6 comments

Good morning everyone!

Regular followers of this blog will remember that Mandy and Darwin’s favorite pastime, after playing tug of war with one of my elastic headbands, is to snatch a handkerchief from wherever they can find one and chew it. 

 They are beginning to be quite gifted in this regard, and have now been caught snatching handkerchiefs from bedside tables, under pillows, bureau and sofa tops, and just about anywhere except the pocket of someone carrying one (and that’s only because they haven’t figured out how to be pickpockets yet.)

Not unexpectedly, this activity of theirs has taken a severe toll on the number of handkerchiefs available for Mark’s use.  We have decided, as a general rule, that if the washed handkerchief resembles a Rorschach blot more than a square, it should be thrown out.  This rule means that Mark is almost out of handkerchiefs, so we have been keeping an eye out for some but with no luck. 

From Print Shop Professional 2.0

On those rare occasions when he goes out of town overnight, Mark usually stops on his way home and buys something for Kayla and I.  On his last trip a few days ago, though, I knew he wouldn’t have time to stop, so I told Kayla that it was our turn to buy  him something, and we set out towards the nearest city to hunt for handkerchiefs. 

 I lucked out and found some at Target, so bought the store out of their entire five box stock.  Kayla asked if we should leave some for somebody else, and I told her no, they would have to do without for now since we had been looking so long! 

Payphone

When we got home with our treasure, Mark called.  He had just reached his hotel room.  I let him talk to Kayla first, and she told him that we had bought him something.  He apparently asked what, because she held the phone out from her head, without covering the receiver, and asked me, “Can I tell him about the handkerchiefs?”  I told her she already had.

Have a great day everyone!

Nancy

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Posted in dogs, On the Home Front, Pets, working mom

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Bird Watching, Twinkle and Dog Rules, the Sequel

Posted on August 1, 2011 | 2 comments

Good morning everyone!

  • Bird Watching

    From Print Shop Professional 2.0

I am writing this post today with a copy of Bird Watcher’s magazine sitting next to me. Why have I subscribed to Bird Watcher’s magazine when my experience with bird watching is limited to the birds I see at zoos, the birds that sit on my fence, and the birds that sit on lamp posts, electrical wires, and the huge flocks of sparrows that wheel through this area in the fall?  Am I eagerly starting a new hobby that would require me to tramp through wilderness at the crack of dawn armed with a binocular and the ability to sit still and silent long enough to see something worthwhile? 

No.  The truth is that I just don’t believe Publisher’s Clearing House when they say that a purchase is not necessary to win their grand prize of $5000 a week for life, and Bird Watcher’s Magazine was one of the best choices available to me. 

  • Twinkle

    From Wikimedia Commons, by the European Southern Observatory

We went and saw Cowboys and Aliens Friday night, and riding home Kayla got kind of sleepy.  Mark felt like singing, so, joking around, he started to sing “Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star.”  That woke Kayla up enough for her to say, “The stars are beautiful, but they don’t really twinkle, do they?”  Score again for the 9-year-old!

  • Dog Rules, the Sequel

    Mandy's close-up

A while ago, I wrote a post about the hierarchy my dogs use, Dog Rules.  While I retain the sobriquet of She-Who-Feeds-Us-Every-Morning, Mandy has also awarded me with the title of She-Whom-I-Must-Ask-To-Let-Me-Out-Immediately-After-She-Settles-Down-On-The-Couch-For-The-Evening.  Her timing is always impeccable.  No matter how late it is, (The term late is relative; I need to be on the couch by 8 to start settling down for bed at 9, so I am referring to whether I sit down at 8, 8:30 or 8:45), and how long Mark and Kayla have been on the couch already, the minute I sit down and pull out my cross-stitch, she comes up to me to tell me that she needs to go out.  Darwin, never wishing to be left behind, joins in.  Tyra usually skips this mid-evening excursion, because she has already staked out her spot on the sofa so she can sit by Mark. 

Tyra on the couch

Mark thinks it’s funny.

Have a great day everyone!

Nancy

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Posted in dogs, On the Home Front, Out of the mouths of babes...., Pets, working mom

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Of Kongs and Water Squirting Implements

Posted on July 26, 2011 | 2 comments

Good morning everyone! 

So far No-No is off to a rousing start this morning – I have had to rescue one sandal, one pillow cushion, one yellow plastic container of some kind of silly putty and one dustrag from his clutches so far.   It got bad enough that I spent a considerable amount of time searching the house for a chew toy of his called “Kong.”  Once I found it, I gave  it to him.  Now he is a crazed, but happy, camper, and our belongings are temporarily safe, since Bad Dog has restricted herself to chewing  on the blankets in No-no’s carrier. 

Darwin (No-No) With His Chew Toy

I also have new rules to add to the list of Rules I Never Thought I’d Need:

Do not sneak a medicine measuring syringe into the bathtub.

Do not squirt the dog, the ceiling or the floor with water using said syringe.

Kayla called out from the bathroom last night as she was taking her bath, “Mom, I need you!”  Mark called back, “What do you want?”  and she answered “Never mind.” 

After about 15 or 20 minutes though, once she was sure Mark was in our bedroom, she came out and told me she needed me.  I went in to the bathroom with her.  As soon as I opened the bathroom door, Mandy scooted out. Kayla crooned at Mandy, “It’s okay for you to go out, since you’ve already been squirted.”  (I’m sure Mandy appreciated that sentiment!)

Kayla then held up a plastic medicine measuring syringe and announced that she had been filling it with water and squirting Mandy and herself with it, but then she had tried to squirt the ceiling with it, and all that had accomplished was a track of water across the ceiling.  She wanted to know how to fix it. 

I told her a) let the ceiling dry; if it messed up as a result, she would just have to paint it later;  b) dry the floor, which was soaking wet, c) (between gritted teeth) get in the bathtub, take a bath with soap and the use of shampoo on her hair, along with a good rinse for everything and d) don’t squirt anybody or anything else with the medicine syringe, which is not meant to be used as a bathroom toy. 

Have a great day everyone!

Nancy

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The Beeping Fridge, The Momentary Absence of Clutter and Child’s Play

Posted on July 25, 2011 | 4 comments

Good morning Everyone!

It mattered not, after all, whether the Weather Channel gave us a 90% chance of rain, or a 30% chance of rain, because, at our house, we ended up with 0″ of rain.  So either way, I guess, it was right! 

  • The Beeping Refrigerator

    From Print Shop Professional 2.0

The refrigerator in the garage keeps beeping at us.  It has never done so before, so naturally we are a little curious as to why.  We have checked the temperature in the refrigerator and freezer, and they appear to be fine.  I have reset the water filter status, and that didn’t work.  I turned the compressor off for about 10 minutes, then turned it back on.  I have read the 23 page refrigerator manual cover-to-cover and in doing so have learned how to set up the refrigerator, install/hook up the ice maker and water supply if I so choose, how to fix various and sundry problems, none of which apply to our current situation, and even the proper way to dispose of a refrigerator (yes, they spent 2 out of 23 pages on that one), but nowhere does it even mention beeping.  Anywhere.  I even downloaded a version of the manual from the Frigidaire web site to electronically search it for “alarm” or “beep”, and didn’t get anything.  So, basically, I am back where I started, with a refrigerator beeping at me and no information to go on.   It is worse than arguing with the computer, because at least the computer, when it beeps, gives me a crumb of information (usually incomprehensible, but a crumb nonetheless) to go by.  Stay tuned; if I ever find out how to fix it, I will let you know.  At least the refrigerator is only six months old, so it is still under warranty. 

  • The Momentary Absence of Clutter

From Print Shop Professional 2.0

We had company for supper this weekend, an old friend we hadn’t seen in quite a while.  Not only did we have a fantastic visit, but as a side benefit, the clutter throughout the den/kitchen/study/dining room part of our house was completely swept away.  I may not be able to find any of the stuff again, but it is safely tucked away somewhere.  Kayla wasn’t as keen on the picking up part, although she did make a valiant effort on her bathroom and bedroom, but she always enjoys the company part.  We not only visited, but towards the end of the evening we played UNO, one of Kayla’s favorite card games.  The first two games went fairly quickly, but the third game lasted about an hour and a half and was a lot of fun.  To her great delight, and with an assist from Dad, Kayla ended up winning that last round.

The dogs enjoyed my friend being over, and my friend was able to enjoy them once we got the three of them to settle down and stop sniffing.  (Cindy has a bischon frise at her house, and my three were intent on gathering all the information about the bischon that they could.) 

      • Child’s Play

Kayla played Harry Potter Sunday afternoon.  She came out of her bedroom with her purple dance bag packed and a little cosmetics case (for just a minute, it looked like she was running away!)  and informed us that the bedroom was the Forbidden Forest, Harry wanted them to stay there (in this game, she is Harry Potter’s sister) but that she didn’t think that was a good idea, so she was moving on.  She set up camp in the middle of the great room, and was busily setting up file folders.  I guess if you are on the run, file folders are indispensable.  She and Harry must have finally agreed on where they were going , because she eventually broke camp and went back into her bedr…. I mean the Forbidden Forest.  I love my child’s imagination!

Have a great day everyone!

Nancy

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Curious Weather Forecast

Posted on July 24, 2011 | 2 comments

Hi Everyone!

Isn’t it curious thatwhen I checked the forecast a minute ago, the Weather Channel informed me  under the “Right Now” forecast that we have a 90% chance of rain today, while in the 36 hour forecast, on the same page at the same time, our chance of rain is only 30%.  Shouldn’t it have to choose one or the other?

We are getting a late start this morning; none of us felt that great when we first woke up; at least Kayla and Mark are feeling some better now, and Mark and I picked up an extra 3 hours of sleep we didn’t realize we needed.  We missed being with our church family this morning, though.

Have a great Sunday!

Nancy

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Posted in On the Home Front

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