Plan B

Tent camping is the ultimate cheap vacation. It is not easy to fill up a few days of family time at the same cost, particularly when the local parks and bodies of water are closed. We cobbled together a few fun activities, but had to spend money we didn't have to spend. We really didn't want Luciana to feel that she lost out on fun because we had to alter our plans.

Jasper came home Wednesday evening. After we got him settled and made sure he was still able to pee, we were able to leave for a bit. We took Luciana to see Kung Fu Panda at the drive-in in Monroe. We have been wanting to take her to a drive in for years, but whenever we were able to go, we had no interest in the movie playing. We had a great time! We took lots of pillows and the three of us were able to get pretty cozy and enjoy the movie. It was close to an hour to get back home, though, which isn't the greatest drive at 11:00 pm. The second feature was the new Indiana Jones movie, but none of us had any interest in watching it, so we came home after the first movie.
With Jasper still doing well and Dej home to watch him, we left Thursday afternoon for our next activity. We had asked Luciana what she would like to do, besides camping. She wanted to go to the Domes in Milwaukee, so that's where we went. We arrived to find an almost empty parking lot, which was really not a good sign. Upon checking the door, Mark found that they are closed for rennovations until September! Who'd have thought?! So we quickly changed plans to go to Boerner Botanic. L. was intent on searching for frogs and turtles. We enjoyed walking through the gardens, but it was a very HOT, sunny day. We survived the mosquito attacks as we searched through the boggy areas for turtles and frogs. She was giddy to find one of the small pools there filled with hundreds of toad tadpoles. They were very cute! M. spent lots of time photographing plants (he's always working), while L. and I watched the tadpoles play. They were very cute, and it really looked as though they were playing. She caught and immediately released several. They were very fun to watch. There was also a little frog that lived in the pond.

I love their roses there, and found many stunning ones to photograph. I know, the last shot here is a clematis, not a rose, but I love everything about this clematis!



We left there and headed to the hotel/waterpark where we had reservations. This was a surprise to L. It was quite a nice hotel. She had hours to play in the waterpark, and then when it closed, we all piled into one of the beds with the laptop and watched the Nancy Drew movie that we had rented and brought with us.

We were all awakened a little after 8 am, when housekeeping knocked at our door. I had forgotten to put up the "do not disturb" sign. UGH! We most definitely did not want her to come in and 'fluff pillows'. L. was ready to get back to the water, where she played until we had to come back to the room and clean up and get out in time for checkout.

We stopped at Lake Geneva on the way back to town, as M. had received a gift certificate for Northwind Perennial Farm. It's a very nice place, but we couldn't afford to shop there normally. We got lots of good stuff--many gorgeous perennials (which I now have to plant), and some antique iron scrollwork to decorate the back fence--and we only had to spend $8, thanks to the generous certificate! Because it's a working farm, they had cats, kittens, chickens, and goats there, and of course we spent a lot of time with them. She was also able to find several frogs and turtles around there pond, so she was a very happy girl! It just so happened that they were having an antique fair on the grounds that day, and that was very hard for me. I LOVE antiques, and they had so many things there I would have loved to have. Since our gift certificate wouldn't work for the antique vendors and we do not have money to buy things just because I love them, I was a very good girl and browsed only. I did a lot of drooling and dreaming, but no spending!

We were all very happy to be back home with the rest of our family yesterday afternoon! We miss the animals so much while we are gone! We spent the remainder of Friday loving our babies and making up for the time we lost with them. It was nice to have the little bit of time away to enjoy each other, but it always sucks that we can never take our whole family with us on trips/vacations. I also can't wait to go camping next month! I really miss camping. I am so ready to get away for a while and live a simple, basic existence. It has been WAY too long since we've gone camping! I'm desperately hoping everyone stays healthy so we are able to make our scheduled July camping trip.

The best laid plans of mice and men...

Often go awry. So we are starting our vacation today and will be 'away' until Saturday. We are not camping and we will not be in Iowa. It would have been lots of fun, but it just wasn't meant to be right now. We're trying to create alternate plans for the next several days, and have everything taken care of except today's plans. We're thinking hard!

Jasper will hopefully be released from the hospital today, so I have to stay local. We visited him last night, and it was SO HARD to leave him there! I also need to remain local, because he needs to be watched carefully for the next few weeks. We, as a family, agreed that Jasper's health is more important than WHERE we are. We can have fun and family time here in the area while still being close to Jasper, so that's the plan. I took Jaspy in to the vet Monday night, because he had complete urinary blockage. This is his first one ever. He is blocked from 'sludge' in the bladder, not stones, so at this point we will not do any surgery. He has been catheterized, and the hope is that the 'sludge' will drain out and he will be fine from this point on. There is always the possibility that it could plug back up after the cath. is removed, so he has to be closely monitored (and babied and spoiled for his traumatic experience).

We will definitely be camping in three weeks, though. I am demanding that everyone in the household maintain perfect health at least until after our July trip! I think it's ultimately for the best, though, considering the floods and weather forecast for the next several days.

I would like to have shared a picture of Daisy's new look. Dej used a marker to draw a big 'L' on her forehead--yes, for 'Loser'. She finds it very amusing. I do not like my little dog to have to go around with a big blue 'L' on her. I'm unable to get a picture of the 'L' on Daisy, however, because Daisy is incapable of being still for even one second. There's just no point in showing a picture of a blue blurry thing on an out-of-focus dog.

I'll leave some pretty garden pics (two poppies and a lily), and I'll be back online on Saturday.

FFFFFFFFFFFFFFUUUUUUUUUUUUUCKKK!!!!!!

Lots to say but no time. I'm behind on everything. Life's in the shitter. Jasper's in the hospital (can't really afford it now, of course). It rips my heart out to leave my babies at a scary strange place overnight. At least he will be sedated tonight so he won't know. Doesn't make me feel any less sad, though. One kid's a hormonal psychotic, and the other one is overly emotional tonight. We were supposed to go camping on Weds., but that's looking very iffy at the moment. Why must everything go to hell at once? I. can't. take. any. more.

I did get my plants all in the ground tonight--no time to water them in, but at least I accomplished something. This photo is a couple of my favorite undernoticed plants growing in the cracks of our flagstone patio. There is, from left to right, a moss, a miniature juncus, and a liverwort. All have such great texture!

Help save science (or Louisiana goes to hell in a handbasket)!!

For my fellow atheists and agnostics, let's take action on this. Check out the post (and comments) from my favorite science blog: pharyngula.

We had a great gardening night tonight! I pulled a lot of weeds, and wrestled out some of the many volunteer maple trees that have popped up between our garage and our neighbors. I can't get over how big they have gotten already and how many there were. I'm already getting sore from the tree wrestling, but it's a good kind of sore.


While I weeded, M. filled our containers with soil. Then L & I planted up most of the containers tonight. We have a few left, but we need to get some specific plants for those that I put aside. This is the first year that L has helped with 'composing' the containers. M. gets to do so many at work, so I get to select all the plants and groupings for containers here at home. This year, L. wanted to do some of her own. I explained a few basic points to her--all the plants in a container need to have the same light and water needs, and we talked about growth habits--height, upright, cascading, etc., and how they should be varied for an interesting container. From there, I let her have at it. It was one of those moments where I just had to take a deep breath and let her do it her way. I have a tendency to want to take over, to make sure everything is coordinated just right, but I work hard to remind myself that it doesn't matter. If I take over and correct her or imply that her containers are somehow less than perfect, that will unnecessarily damage her self-esteem. I have to do the same reminding with some of her clothing choices, but again, if she's weather appropriate and feels pretty, that's all that is important.

I also got to bring in the first batch of our fresh organic catnip for my babies. They had fun with it, and it was all gone in a matter of minutes! L was very cute trying to divide it up to make sure everyone had the same amount.
Dej crushed her dad's heart. She came back from a friend's late last night. When M left for work this morning, he noticed that a hubcap from her car was lying in the garden on our terrace. The car D. drives was M's, and he is very attached to that car. He really suffered, seeing the abuse that the child has inflicted on his beloved old car. She apparently pulled up to the curb to park a little too vigorously last night, the hubcap popped off, and then she somehow managed to drive over it. It's pretty misshapen and mangled. I came down to the kitched to make L's breakfast this morning, to find a mangled hubcap on the table, with a note on top of it saying, "WTF?!" M, being traumatized and in a hurry to get to work, didn't think this one all the way through, because I also found some slugs on the table, who had hitched a ride in on the back of the hubcap. L and I took the slugs outside to the garden, cleaned up the table, and enjoyed some cantaloupe for breakfast. It was kind of a strange morning.


I've found myself bothered quite a bit lately by the comments of some parents (moms, really, but I hate to impugn other women). It really saddens me to hear so many parents talk about having their kids home in the summer as a curse or an imposition of some kind. Every year, when Dej finished the school year and was able to be home over summer, I was thrilled. When it was time for school to start again, I cried. I have NEVER anxiously counted down to the day I could send her back to school. I miss my girls intensely when they are not with me.

Having a whole summer with your children there all day, every day, is something that should be delightfully anticipated. The more I think about such a crappy attitude towards children, I realize that it makes me angry, as well as sad! I’m sad for the children who are parented by such selfish people. Children are incredibly perceptive and will have no trouble picking up on the fact that their mother doesn’t enjoy spending time with them. Why did these people have children? If they have created and raised a child that they themselves don’t enjoy spending time with, what does that say about their parenting skills. Our daughters are NOT perfect, but they are funny, smart, interesting people, who are a joy to talk to and spend time with. I will not ever turn down a single opportunity to spend time with my kids.

I find this particularly hard to stomach when it comes from SAHMs, and that is usually the case. They are supposed to be Stay-at-home MOMs, not stay-at-home lazy housewives, tv watchers, or Internet chatters. In addition to maintaining a household (with tons of animals) and being a mom, I manage to work, home school (developing much of my own curriculum), volunteer for many organizations, and don’t begin to have the luxury of time that these women have. So for them to have only running a household and parenting on their plate and still begrudge having to parent their children “extra” time during the summers, I am, quite frankly, disgusted by their wasteful and selfish lives. I’m also outspoken and quite frequently offensive. I can live with that. :D

Monday blues (and yellow and pink)

Front: campanula; Lower left: love-in-a-mist














Campanula




yet another campanula

Ozark sundrops (and if you look closely, you will see my nemesis, bindweed, creeping up near the top center of the photo.)

One of our miniature roses

It just continues to get worse for our city! Following the heels of the announcement of GM’s closing and another large business closing, there are strong rumors of a third large employer in town closing soon. That blow was followed up with the flooding. The downtown portion of the city is under water, as are several other areas. People are sandbagging, trying to prevent or minimize the damage. Portions of M’s botanic garden are flooded as well. Other than our garden looking a little rough, we have been extremely lucky and have no other flooding issues in our neighborhood. We lost power for a while this weekend, but that was just a minor inconvenience.

Dej and I went to see the movie, “The Happening”, on Saturday afternoon. It was fairly entertaining, and I liked the environmentalist message presented. It did not scare me. I repeatedly go to movies that look like they will be scary, as long as they don’t appear too violent. I prefer intelligent psychological terror to gore. I did look away during several portions of this movie, as I just have no desire to see gore. I see enough real-life gore, that I sure as hell don’t intend to look at it for fun. We weren’t pissed that we went, but were glad that we had only paid matinee prices, rather than regular prices.

Right after the movie, D left to go to Chicago with her friends. They drove to the Harvard station and took the train from there. They stayed with another friend of theirs who had moved to Chicago. D has never taken a trip like that with friends before—she’s never gone so far or to a big city. We were pretty nervous about it, but she did make it there and back okay.

Saturday night, we went to Madison to have dinner with some AR friends, and managed to squeeze both business and pleasure into our night. We had a fabulous time with good vegan food and great conversation. They also had animals, which is a vital ingredient for me to have a good time. I’m completely lost and weirded out in homes with no animals (not to mention that I don’t trust people who don’t have animals; I generally assume they are selfish and/or lazy or are such shitty humans that most animals hate them). I was quite late giving the cats their bedtime treats when we returned home, and they let me know what a rotten mother I was. They were able to recover from their snits enough to eat their treats though.

Both Mother’s Day and Father’s Day really snuck up on me this year. They weren’t even on my radar, and then suddenly they’re here! This year, for a change, I already had something for Mark and I knew what I was going to do for my dad. I was unprecedentedly prepared for this sneaky day. Luciana made very well-thought-out gifts for her dad and her grandpas.

I tried a new vegan fettuccini alfredo recipe, as this is a dish Mark liked (as did I) before becoming vegan. I was not thrilled by it. It was kind of bland and just not quite right. I can’t identify what could be done to improve it though. He ate it politely, as he does everything I prepare, but I don’t think he was thrilled by it either. I’ll keep trying to find a good recipe for it. We went, later in the afternoon, to my parents' for strawberry pie.

D. returned from Chicago, came home, showered and spiffed herself up, and immediately left again to go to her friend's graduation party. She spent the night there and didn't return until this morning. I'm very disappointed with her decision to be completely absent from our Father's Day activities. She didn't see her grandpa at all and only saw her dad for about five minutes. She called them both. I guess that's something. I know logically that it's normal at this age, but it really makes me sad. Maybe next year she will have grown up to be a bit more thoughtful.

I'm struggling with a few AR issues and have spent a lot of time thinking. The stress and time taken by rescue work is such that it leaves Allegrea and I with very little (sometimes NO) time to be activists and change the world for animals. We have to find a way to get back some time and energy for activism. We're just not sure how to do it. Both jobs are incredibly important, and there are not nearly enough people doing either. We have to find some kind of balance, and A & I will continue to talk about this very soon. We wanted to get together last week and last weekend, but couldn't get our schedules to cooperate. We'll talk this week for sure, as it's weighing heavily on both of us.

I'm also really feeling all kinds of sad and horrible. AR comes first in my life. Hands down. This Sunday is our annual date with the Zor Shrine Circus boys (TIC, as they are all around 90). We ALWAYS protest this circus, because they are horrible animal abusers. Last year, I was able to get a hold of the circus's license and all of their inspection papers from the USDA (I love my secret source!!) and I printed them, took them, and handed them out. It was fantastic! They had TONS of violations through the years, and the USDA standards are obscenely low. They really hate us, and it's interesting as we've had years to forge our hostile relationship. It's always the same people, on their side and our side--it's kind of a summer tradition for us. It is really devastating for me to miss this one. We have to go to IL that day, though, as M's brother and family will be coming to visit from NJ. I feel weepy just thinking about it--I feel horrible about bailing on my group!

Quick post (for me), I have friends coming over in a few!

What a week! I'm sitting on my bed listening to yet another thunderstorm. More storms predicted for three of the next four days. More devastation in the midwest. I'm having to force myself away from the news/weather, because I'm getting so depressed for these poor people and animals suffering in this weather. And, I should add, more angry with the insurance companies who have no qualms about boosting their bottom line by screwing people out of their lives. Seriously, how in the hell is a flood NOT an "act of god".

I have been fighting with a migraine/sinus headache all week--actually since Saturday. By pounding enough different drugs (excedrine, otc sinus meds, and imitrex), I am able to alternate between a crappy sinus headache and a migraine. This is a really, really bad one, and I'm getting pretty discouraged by it. I hate that weather is one of my biggest migraine triggers! There's really no way to get around that one. I'm currently back to a sinus headache, so I'm able to function today. Tuesday night and Wednesday were beyond horrible. I was wishing for death.

So in the midst of my weakest moment (god, I feel like such a disgusting, pathetic, weak loser, in addition to the pain--I hate to be weak!!), Dej called Tuesday night a little before midnight. She was on her way to B's (currently at semi-boyfriend status, although they still act exactly the same) when she saw the car in front of her hit a young bunny. They kept right on driving. She stopped. They bunny was hurt badly but not dead, so she called to tell me she was bringing her home. I was at the stage where talking was agony, moving was worse. Walking was so intense that crawling was the best way to get around. Mark, used to the drill by now, popped up to help get everything we needed for the wild-animal intake. We have one room left that we can use to safely contain an animal from all other animals in our house--the first floor bathroom. Baby bunny was not in good shape and was still bleeding. Part of her back was gone--just a big old chunk of her was not there. There was an wound on the back leg, which was also broken. The severity of these and her small size made the likelihood of internal injuries highly probably. This is one of the most heartbreaking situations to be in, and Allegrea and I have both been in this position way too many times in the past. This rabbit needed euthanization. There is NOBODY at that time of night, who will come and take care of her. There was no point even trying to clean up or triage her, as my touch was extremely upsetting to her and probably pretty painful. All I could do was try to provide as much comfort as possible until she passed on. Damn that is a sucky and sad place to be, and I was so weakened by the damn headache that it was even harder to deal with than normal. All I could do was cry. How very helpful. Needless to say, she did pass, and I can only hope that I was able to make her feel safe and somewhat more comfortable than she would have been dying alone in the middle of a dark road. We buried her in the garden last night (actually, Mark did the honors, as my head was still pretty intense).

I took some shots of L's little play area (before the wall of storms arrived), as she has done some rather creative "decorating" in her little area. Keep in mind that this is not her garden. This is just her little playground. I swore I took another picture, but I can't find it. She also has a container, that she borrowed from our stash, and she planted a boxelder seedling that I pulled out of the garden. It's growing fairly well in it's pot. That's also in her little area, but I apparently have no picture to illustrate it. The first pic shows a beautiful shrub that she has growing

between her sandbox and her rope ladder. It's a 'Hakiro Nishiki' willow. Mark pruned ours last fall, and she took one of the cuttings, planted it in her area, and it took. It is now a beautiful shrub in a strange (or I should say, unexpected) place. You can also see, near the shrub, a bunny and the top of a mushroom--statuary that she "borrowed" from my garden. The second pic shows another bunny statue that she liberated from my garden. She then took some moss from the cracks in our patio and pt it on her bunny statue. She wanted it to be moss covered. We are all great moss lovers here and have worked pretty hard to get various kinds of moss established between the flagstone in our patio. She loves it as much as M & I do, and is always trying to take bits of it. It actually has established itself on her little bunny statue, though, and continues to look healthy and grow there.

The first game

Luciana had her first baseball game tonight. They didn't keep score--I love that about the Y sports! We never keep score when we play any games at home, so she's used to it. Whoever had fun playing the game wins. I was kind of surprised tonight at the end of her game, when she asked me who won. I'm guessing the other kids on the team chattered about it and she was curious. She was happy with my answer, though, "whoever had fun won."

She started the game in the outfield and despite everyone's reminders to "pay attention", "watch the ball", she spent most of her time examining the grass, clover, sky, etc. She also found a caterpillar (a monarch, I think) in the field, picked her up, carried her in her glove, walked off of the outfield, and put her down in a safe spot. The last inning, she was in the pitcher's spot but not pitching. The coaches do the pitching, but they have a child stand next to them to do the catching. She chatted with the other team's coach for a good portion of the inning. She did pay attention sometimes and ran for, caught, and threw the ball many times. She got to bat twice, and hit it both times. The kids all get to swing until they hit the ball, so they are guarateed to hit it every time they get up to bat. We had very pleasant weather, and the game was very entertaining.

This was one of the buds in the poppy bud pictured in my previous post.

I LOVE poppies. They remind me of my grandma.

Our torrential downpours are taking a short break--finally! We're not supposed to get anymore rain here until Thurs. or Fri. The heavy rains and storms have really beat up the garden. The rain and heat have created these big,beautiful, lush blooms, which then became too wet and too heavy, and now they're all flopped over looking sad. I was so sad to see our poppies had started blooming and looking great, and they are now lying down. I just love the flowers and look forward to their one bloom all year. The blooms and colors are still fantastic, they just look kind of ratty and floppy. Our Seven-sisters climbing rose is also in full bloom (once a year bloomer) and is so huge and heavy that it pulled out the stakes and trellis that usually keep it upright. It's now taking up half our driveway, making it a challenge to get in and out. It's so beautiful, though, that we're not going to cut it down until it's all done blooming, so our driveway will be hosed for a few weeks. I'm actually NOT complaining though--just explaining the pictures. :D With all the flooding around us, my heart goes out to those who have suffered much more than floppy flowers. I wish life wasn't so sad and so hard for so many.

Seven Sisters

Yesterday we made our first trip to purchase plants of the year. We have NEVER gone on our first garden trip this late in the season! We've been so extremely busy and have not had good weather that it just hasn't worked out until now. As it was, we squeezed in a trip to one nursery, in between thunderstorms. We dropped Logan off at home and L. stayed with him and went out exploring the swamp. In mud. Mark and I then went to Lima Center to get some annuals, herbs, and veggies, from Jenka Blossoms. We got some very fun stuff there, but because it was so late in the season already, a lot of things I needed were already sold out. We'll still have to hit a couple more nurseries and get soil. It will be great to get planting. So far all I've planted this season is catnip. L & I will start planting on Thurs., if the weather permits.

Oh, and when we returned to pick L up, she and Logan had indeed had quite an adventure. They were looking for turtles, as they are all over this time of year, walking to dry land to lay eggs. They didn't find any turtles, although they found plenty to keep them busy. She got her shoes stuck in a nasty muddy sinkhole, so she walked the rest of the way back to the house in her socks. She pulled the shoes out, her white tennis shoes, and carried them, while walking in her formerly pink socks. Fortunately Orinda had extra clothes that fit her at the house, so she wore those and came home bare footed. They had tons of fun though. She came home and had her tubby time and was just fine. The clothes will wash. Childhood should be full of lots of great, muddy adventures.

A chapter closes, but it was a pretty crappy chapter, so we don't mind too much.

Well I am now officially the mother of a high school graduate. UGH! How did that happen. Since I'm internally stuck at seeing myself as 25, this is a bit jarring for me to comprehend. I still have to remind myself that no matter how I see myself, the college students I teach see me as a teacher who is old enough to be their mother--I am no longer "one of them". I find that's the toughest part of aging for me. I think of myself as a completely different age than the rest of the world sees me. When I am reminded of the reality of my physical age/appearance, it's shocking. Pictures of myself--very traumatic. I like the way I look in my head better. Having a daughter who is a college student--ouch. That's something that only the middle-aged can have.

Despite the threats of bad weather all day Friday, we ended up with nice weather for the graduation. That was especially important, since it was outside with no alternate indoor location. Their morning dress rehearsal didn't go quite as well. They got soaked. Poor Dej returned from practice and had to do her hair for the second time, as it had been totally drenched and destroyed outside. This usually puts her in a rotten mood, but she was giddy and excited all day. I tried to get her to go out with me: shopping, dinner, anything, but she wanted to hang with her friends all day, both before and after graduation. I would really have liked some time with her, but I understand. I'm sure that I was not interested in hanging out with my parents on graduation day either.

The graduation itself was as painless as sitting on bleachers for 3 hours can be. Luciana took a sketchbook and drawing supplies, so she had plent to keep her occupied during the boring parts. She made a sign that said "Dej", with a rainbow, to hold up when they called her name. My parents attended with us as well. In addition to announcing each child's name, they also announced their plans after high school. I was saddened to hear so many names announced with plans of "entering the workforce" or "joining the military". Neither of those options seems destined to provide the kids with happiness or satisfaction, and I'm afraid many of them are setting themselves up for hard lives. I wish them the best. Sadly, many of those kids are those who had few options and little support. I really hate to see people in that position chose the military. It's one thing if that's what they truly want to do, but so many of them end up doing it because it looks like their only option. I was please to hear, though, that D. will have many friends and acquaintances at the same college, so she won't start off all alone. I attended the same college she will be going to, and I met many great friends there, and I know she will also meet many new friends. One of my dear close friends today is one who I met my first semester there.

After the ceremony was complete, they let off fireworks. I thought that was great! Some of the kids shot off silly string, there was confetti thrown, and then the fireworks were just a fantastic topper. I love that they did that for the kids. I was curious as to who paid for them, but I'm grateful that they did. I think it was a very nice and memorable touch. I was a little disappointed that no toilet paper rolls were thrown, but maybe that's just a Craig thing (my alma matter). Or maybe they don't even do that anymore at Craig. This is the first graduation I've attended since my own. I probably went to my little brother's almost 20 years ago, but I don't really remember that (during the peak of my 'experimental years').

I can't exactly explain how this happened, but I, who cry all the time over everything and nothing, held it together through graduation. I was even fully prepared with a purse stuffed full of tissues. I had a lot of adrenaline. I was very excited for my girl, who was of course very excited. I had a headache that was quickly developing into a migraine. I am ridiculously happy to be done dealing with the school (again, NOT the teachers--the majority do the absolute best they can within the limitations imposed on them) and was feeling kind of giddy about that. Having said all that, I still don't know how or why I managed to get through with only a minor "tear up" or two. I guess if I could figure out any rhyme or reason to my ridiculous tendency to weep profusely (when it embarasses me tremendously), I would also understand why I did NOT weep profusely when it would actually make sense or be appropriate.

D's boyfriend is totally on my shit list now that he ruined her graduation night celebration (which was supposed to take place at his house). He decided that last night, after her one and only hs graduation, that it would be a great night to start a fight. Yes, I realize that's typical immature teen crap. I know they specialize in drama and idiocy, but still. DAMN! The little fuckwit could have picked any other night. Now her grad night, instead of ending with a party and lots of fun, ended up with her and a couple of friends (who have been here since yesterday afternoon and are STILL HERE!!--probably overnight again) hanging out here. Much of the night was spent with her on the phone, sad. We ordered them pizza, but didn't go very far in restoring the original glory she had planned for "her night". Bastard. This is the parenting part that I struggle with. I have my higher self reminding me that he's a confused idiot teenager just trying to figure life out, not an evil person who set out to harm my child. My lesser self (which seems to be the bigger portion) continues to call him obscenities (silently, oh, and in my blog) and fantasize about showing up the little shidiot's house with L's pink baseball bat.

L is also having a sleepover tonight. She and Logan are watching Open Season right now. They had a great day together. Orinda brought Colton and Logan over this morning, and all three kids played together, had lunch, went to gymnastics, came back and played some more, then O. and C. went home and Logan stayed here. As usual, they have had tons of fun all day, and all three kids played together superbly--lots of laughing and no fighting. They are all three really kind children with good manners who share well, so that makes for mostly peaceful playing. L & L are very cute together and come up with some very imaginative play. It's extremely rare that the two of them disagree or have words, so it's always enjoyable to have play dates or sleepovers with him. Logan told me tonight that L. is his very best friend, and he has other friends, but no friends are as good as L. That was so sweet! Up until recently, I have always been "Mimi" to Logan. When he was a baby, he couldn't say "Amy" and said "Mimi". He just informed his mother, when she said they were coming to "Mimi's house", that my name is "Amy", not "Mimi". Another one of my babies is growing up way too fast!

Mooncup madness!

Tuesday when I returned home from work, I was not feeling well. I had cramps, a huge sinus headache, and my random vomitting had kicked in, so my stomach was feeling really rotten. I was so tired and trying to cook dinner. I was getting crabby, as I was feeling awful, and the smell of the food I was cooking was NOT helping things. My sweet little girl popped into the kitchen wearing Tica in the sling. She wanted to help me out, so I didn't have so much to do later. Since it was already tied and adjusted to fit me, it was obviously a little too long and Tica wasn't very secure at the moment of this photo. I adjusted it a little for her. It was such a sweet thought, though, and she looked pretty adorable trying to wear our little kitty girl.

New topic, probably only of interest to the ladies. I have discovered and fallen in love with my mooncup. I've been meaning to try one for a while but never quite got around to ordering it. Finally, after reading yet another article about the chemicals in tampons and the sheer waste that stuff creates, I was motivated enough to get online and order. Why oh why did I not do this years ago?! It is sheer freedom during that very unpleasant week. TMI alert! When I bleed, I hemorrhage! I can actually go through an extra super tampon and pad in 1/2 hour to an hour sometimes. My mooncup holds with no leakage for an entire day. I can also get through the entire night! That, my friends, is a gift that I never thought possible. It will pay for itself in about three months, because I don't need to purchase any other supplies anymore. There is no waste whatsoever. I don't feel it at all. There is simply no downside to it and a world of wonderfulness! I cannot recommend this highly enough. This is a win-win; it's great for the environment (which is the biggest and best reason for using this) and saves money and makes life easier. There are very few products that have this many benefits.

Addendum: It's a small, small world

I almost forgot to mention a weird distraction and perhaps the most memorable part of the evening at the Perfect Harmony Concert. The pianist looked very much like my brother. I mean, a lot like him! He had the completely shaved head, the closely-trimmed facial hair thing (I think of beards as being big fluffy, nasty things—it’s not a beard), very similar features, and very similar mannerisms and expressions. It was so strange. M. noticed the same thing, and we found ourselves staring at him repeatedly. It was so uncanny I couldn’t look away. I even looked up his name, thinking perhaps there was some strange family connection, and I would recognize his last name. It was really Twilight Zone-like, though. It was like we entered an alternate reality in which my brother became a gay pianist instead of a fundamentalist Christian pastor. That would be quite a mirrored universe!

Another little bit of strangeness is that on the way to work this morning, while sitting at a stoplight (in Madison on John Nolan), who should pedal right across the street in front of me but the guy who sang the solo at the concert. He sang, "In the Still of the Night", and had a beautiful voice. I've never seen him before, but since he was the soloist and had a very distinctive face, there was NO doubt that it was the same guy. Stuff like that always trips me out.

Mooncup Monday

;P Title will make sense after a future blog entry.

Finally, I can complain about this without spoiling the final episode for the spoiler free. Locke! They had my beloved Locke in the coffin! They better have a way to bring him back. I must have Ben, Hurley, and Locke. They are my favorites by far. Everyone else is negotiable, although I would really miss looking at Sawyer.

I would be a remiss blogger if I neglected to share the little tidbit I learned today while listening to the Naked Science podcast. Farting, while wearing underwear and pants or shorts is completely hygenic, keeping all gut bacteria contained within clothing. Farting without clothing on, however, propels a plethora of bacteria through the air, making farting at places like nudist camps, a potentially contagious affair. Now, aren't we all better people for knowing this? Gotta love science!

This weekend flew by in a flurry of activity. Mark's brother came Saturday afternoon, to visit for the weekend and help M. work on finding and fixing the leaks that the lovely roofers left. They still haven't returned any of our dozens of phone calls. The guys think they got at least one of them fixed, maybe both. Saturday night was date night, and Mark already had purchased tickets for the concert we attended. It was another surprise, so I didn't know what we were doing until we got there. While we were there, Dan took L. out for dinner and to see Nimm's Island. The guys also worked on our weed whip.

We went to see Perfect Harmony Gay Men's Chorus. It was a very nice concert, and they were fun to watch and listen to. It's always heartwarming to me, when I attend events like this, to be able to see couples--gay and straight--out as couples. The gay couples were able to conduct themselves as straight couples normally are able to do without even thinking about it. What a sad world that it is still a life-endangering risk for two consenting adults who love each other to hold hands in public! Strangley enough, we found that we knew two of the guys in the chorus. They are friends of friends, and we run into them socially sometimes. We will probably see them in a few weeks at a party we will be attending.

After the concert, we returned to town and came home to get L. tucked into bed and squared away. M's brother was ready for bed, too. We then went over to our friends' D & D's to celebrate her birthday. We have a hard time getting our schedules and kid-free nights to line up, so we don't get to hang out nearly as much as we would like to. We had lots of fun and giggles over there. She has a very contagious giggle and laughs a lot! I usually come away from a night with them with a sore stomach from laughing so much.

Sunday we had another Petland protest. We had a great turnout--I think we had 17 people, especially considering that a few of our regulars were unable to make it. We did not pre-warn that we were coming this time, so no police greeters this protest.

M's parents arrived after the protest. They came this weekend to celebrate D's graduation (this Friday) early, as they will be in Nova Scotia when she actually graduates. We all went out to Olive Garden, as that was D's choice for the dinner celebration.

Tonight was L's first baseball practice. We were all (especially her!!) relieved to see that there were two other girls on the team. There may even be more, as a few of the kids were missing tonight, but I don't know what their gender was. She did well, sort of. She did great on batting and the throwing/catching drills, but the outfield--she did everything but pay attention. Mostly though, she chatted with whoever was near her. She almost got beaned a couple of times and wasn't remotely aware of it until the ball landed next to her. Her first game is next Monday, so I hope we can get her to improve on this before then. She liked it though, and the minute we got home from practice, she said she wanted to play more at home, so we played baseball in our yard until bedtime.


In the outfield, looking everywhere except at the ball: