Has It Really Been That Long?

Has it really been that long since I posted anything on here? It's hard to imagine that a year plus has gone by so quickly. So much has happened in that time and more is happening now. I must admit that deeply miss writing on here. Facebook has served as a surrogate for some time and that may be why I haven't taken the time to write here as had been my wont for so long. I think a time has come in my life that I must make the time to do this properly. I need an outlet for all that has gone right (as well as wrong) and Facebook just can't provide that anymore. Something else I miss about doing this is that I no longer have that timeline that I can go to and say "Oh, Charles did this on that day." or "Kitty said that silly phrase on this day" or even "Thirty feet of pipe had to be ripped out of my floor and replaced in early February (true story)."

I have grown so much over the last year with many struggles and triumphs. My shy self was finally a celebrant for a Church service (I even managed to read The Lorax without choking up). I am now the official library chair for my Church. I have knitted many projects (and started even more). I even managed to learn how to knit two socks at the same time. I fractured my ankle but it has now become strong after all of the walking that I do. I have managed to offend my landlady so now we're moving. I am struggling on balancing the minimalist identity that I want with the packrat that I am. Did I mention we're moving? What a wonderful chance to perhaps attain that goal. Or at least take several large steps toward it. My husband lost his job last summer with absolutely no warning so we struggled for several months. I am proud to say we were only late on our rent once. He found an awesome job and we thought our prayers were answered but it wasn't to be. And then he found another good job with a good boss. It's hard physical work but he's losing weight and the boss is happy enough with him that he's now got keys to the premises, he will start commission work this summer and they are talking of sending him for training. I have a 9 year old son that has the mentality of a 7 year old (on his good days). There. I've said it. It's still so hard to accept and even deal with. This year has been very hard for him and he's struggling to find his place. The struggles that he's going through has made it hard on the other children as well. I now have another son in therapy, a daughter seeing an occupational therapist and another daughter that has decided she doesn't need to eat. Even my husband is seeking therapy. My husband and I have applied for a home loan through rural development. I've got everything crossed that I can possibly manage that we get it. I have dealt with a major infestation of fleas (and lice >.<) but have won the day and lived to tell about it. I finally got of my lazy bum to see if my dehydrator worked and it works awesome. I have it going at least once a week now, mostly making apple chips but I have tried other things as well and have much on my "MUST MAKE " list. I have discovered a paleo lifestyle and have moved towards attaining it at least partially. I will be teaching a knitting class to a group of children starting in mid-April (and lasting 5 weeks) and I'm busy planning that. Oh, and did I mention we're moving? So I'm busy packing for that, trying to decide what to get rid off, and looking at rentals (all the while crossing my fingers and keeping the candles lit that we get that loan so I can look at the properties I'd really like to be looking at instead).

I was pleased to learn this morning that my tax refund has arrived so we can now pay off our crazy landlady for the last few months on our lease and not even worry about that anymore. I mean, come on, what person in their right mind asks a tenant to keep their bikes off property in a storage shed (at the tenants expense) so the property looks nicer for other prospective tenants? (Said bikes were neatly in racks. They're also a major mode of transport for us.) Or tells her tenant to sell the children's outside toys because their not playing with them during the winter? Or that the container garden is taking up too much room in the yard even though 98% of the yard is open to the thriving thistle population? Or that we have too much stuff when the the drying dishes from one meal for six people cover an entire tiny counter? (Yes, she was on inspection and actually complained about that.) Ok, I can feel myself getting off on a rant and I certainly didn't have that in mind when I began this. While in many ways I'm sad to leave this unit I know it's time to move on. It's just a struggle to accept that. It's small but it was big enough for our needs. The push to move is really strong though since so much has gone wrong. Just since the beginning of the year pipes had to be replaced (so we had to stay in a hotel for three days), the thermostat in the front room quit working which is not good since it was in the single digits outside this morning, and now my stove is throwing a tantrum. Oh, and we're in a battle with our landlady for damages incurred to our property while the workmen were here for the pipes; she says they aren't liable. As far as I'm concerned, if the workers moved my chest freezer and left it unplugged so that $200 worth of meat was lost then it is her responsibility. If the powers that be aren't saying "it's time to move on luv" than I don't know what the point of all of this is. Besides making me want to jump up and down screaming while tearing my hair out. 

A Spectacular Day

Today was one of those flawless fall days when the sky is a clear vibrant blue, the clouds are whispy and the air has a crisp sweet bite like the perfect apple and you just HAVE to be outside. We were lucky enough to spend several hours of it rambling through a local corn maze! My mother-in-law took us all as a special treat. It was disappointing that Carey was unable to attend but we had a load of wood coming in and one of us had to be here.

The drive was short, only taking us about forty minutes to get there although, I must admit that it seems to take forever to get anywhere with several small children swarming around you what with pit stops, lost hoodies and fights over water bottles. The children thought it awesome coming over the Lewiston grade and seeing the whole valley spread out before them, especially the mill in one area. Their grandfather and uncle work in the mill that supplies this mill with most of it's wood chips so there was a big connection there for them.

We stood in line for only a short time, perused the maps (a necessity!) and noted down the number to call if we were irretrievably lost before setting off on our adventure only to realize that the ticket gal had forgotten to give us our tickets! So Mom had to go back and stand in line to get them. I'm just glad it wasn't so super busy that they didn't recognize that she had actually paid for them and didn't make her pay for them again.

So began our ramble over more than thirteen acres of false starts, dead ends and endless fun. Charles and James had a blast running ahead and around us. I lost count of how many times I thought I'd lost them and then one would pop around a corner in front of me or even come up behind me! The idea was that I would be in charge of two and Mom would have the other two so if we got separated that would be OK. In the end though we pretty much stuck together. I didn't dare leave her! Not only did Kitty keep bopping back & forth between us (it would have been so easy for her to be left behind if one thought the other had her), I didn't have a map. James had taken off with mine and I didn't always know when I'd see him so I couldn't count on it's use although, technically he was supposed to stay with me. But this was such a fun, unique experience and the children had so much energy that I didn't have the heart to make them stay close. They were never so far ahead that I couldn't hear at least one of their piping voices (Charles' is quite distinctive now that he has no top front teeth and he has a whistling lisp) or hear them thumping up & down a lane. They were also marking X's in the soft wet ground whether to mark the way or just for fun I'm not sure. I will say that it would have been an entirely different story if we had gone there at night and the only light to see by being the flashlights we had brought with us.

Throughout the maze there were several numbered checkpoints with the answers to trivia questions on them. If you had not purchased a map, the answers were meaningless but the checkpoints were still handy to get your bearings. Since Mom had purchased two maps, we made it a game to find all of the checkpoints and read the kids the questions to see if they could guess the answers (or perhaps even read them). At one point James was so pleased with himself because he was able to read the answer! The grin on his face was a mile wide. You could easily become disoriented looking for the check points although none were terrible hard. Except for one! Number 6 was almost in the exact middle at the end of a long zig-zagging dead end with several branching intersections.

In the end, we were actually in the maze for just shy an hour and a half. So the kids learned some interesting trivia (such as the number of rows & amount of kernels on an ear of corn or how many eggs a hen lays in a year), saw lots of evidence of animals such as an ear of corn completely denuded of all kernels, got lots of sun & fresh air in their little bodies and only had to make two little side excursions into the stalks to quickly relieve themselves.

(A  nice slide-show will live here as soon as the site cooperates and gives me the code for it.)

After leaving the maze the children were slightly disappointed we weren't getting pumpkins from the "pumpkin patch" but none of them had brought their allowance. Instead, after snacking on apples, honey roasted sunflower seeds, baby carrots, raisins and some lovely dried apricots we set out on a rambling drive home. We took the back roads the better to appreciate the beautiful rollings hill of the Palouse hills dressed for autumn and to better see the houses dressed for Halloween.

This evening was nice as well. The kids don't get to see their grandmother very often for all that they live only a few short miles away. She stayed to read them each a story before leaving us to our own devices. Dinner was simple and quick, they enjoyed their documentary about extinct monsters of the deep and went to bed happy children. Carey wandered off to a game with his friends so now that I am done with my chores, I am enjoying a quiet household with only the peeping of the tea pot and a purring cat to keep me company. I now leave you in favor of a cup of aromatic rose tea and The Witches of Eastwick.

The House on Haunted Hill

Carey and I love watching classic movies; the older the better. Oddly enough, when I was growing up I wouldn't touch a black & white film with a 39 1/2 foot pole. In the almost 10 years of our co-existence I have come to see the error of my ways. Since it is October, last night I was wanting to watch something that was classic, suspenseful, didn't have a lot of blood and gore, that actually had a plot and had at least one distinctive voice in it. So that automatically precluded everything from about 1970 onward (at least for last night). I was wanting the suspense so I could curl up with Carey on the couch and pretend to be frightened. Of course, I hadn't included Carey falling asleep on me! LOL It took me a while weeding through Hulu's horror & suspense section to find a few likely candidates but as soon as I saw Vincent Price's name on this one I snagged it.

The House on Haunted Hill is classic Vincent Price. Eccentric millionaire Fredrick Loren (Price) and his 4th wife, Annabelle, have invited five people to the house on Haunted Hill for a haunted house party. Loren rented a real "haunted house" (a house that had seen seven murders at various times) from the owner, also one of the guests. The guests arrived in funeral cars and were given party favors in little coffins. Any of the guests willing to stay in the house for one night will earn ten thousand dollars each. As the night progresses, all the guests are trapped inside the house with ghosts, murderers, and other terrors. There are falling chandeliers, vats of acid, ghosts literally coming out of the woodwork, etc.

There are very good suspense and horror flicks on the market right now, but many of them still can't hold a candle to old films that require you to use your imagination to round out the details. The House on Haunted Hill is certainly one of those. It's all a bit campy but the suspense and twists are still there; it's full of ghosts, murder, mayhem, betrayal and greed. The guests include Loren & his wife, a young employee of Loren's (that girl certainly had a pair of lungs on her!), a psychiatrist, a pilot, a columnist and of course the owner of the house. There is tension between Loren and his wife (whom seems very reluctant to be there), the typist is very nervous and wants to leave almost immediately (but is kept from doing so by the caretakers leaving early), the owner that keeps relating the gory history of the house and moaning the ghosts are coming for everyone, and then there is the psychiatrist who very emphatically doesn't believe in ghosts. There is supposedly no connection between any of the guests besides them all needing the money rather badly (except the psychiatrist whom is there to investigate the supernatural although he doesn't believe in it so it makes one wonder what else he's up to) and none of them know the others at all although, a few twists at the end reveal otherwise.

They did a great job with the atmosphere of the house but I was little frustrated that they used an art deco mansion for a haunted house supposedly over a hundred years old. Once you were in inside it didn't matter though. Price has one of those distinctive voices (voices that are immediately recognizable and you listen just for the sake of listening) that work admirably for horror and suspense. He brought the creepiness to the party and it added just the touch needed as the guests suffer through their frightful night. Price as usual delivers his lines with a hint of his dark almost comedic timing. There are a couple of quotes of his that I loved. One, when he confronts his wife about serving him "arsenic on the rocks". Or "Don't sit up all night thinking of ways to get rid of me, it makes wrinkles." There is clearly no love lost between those two.

When Carey and I watch a movie, we often drop in on IMDB to check out ratings of the movie, learn odd bits of trivia, etc. One of the questions posted was "Was the house really haunted?". That was certainly a valid supposition; it really could go either way. Some say the nervous typist was having hallucinations other than just the few tricks that are being played on her to twist her to the needs of two of the guests. Others believe there really is a malevolent core about the house and the machinations of the other guests were twisted into it's reality. The feeling I got was that it was actually a bit of both. There was the foundation of a house with a very macabre past. Houses really can take on a personality although it's often just a feeling that can send shivers. Add to it a very nervous personality, a psychiatrist to push & pull at just the right moments and an atmosphere of tension and terror and you have a house full of the supernatural.









Some more fun, campy, good suspenseful movies you could watch:

• Terror in the Haunted House from 1961
• The Devils Hand from 1962
• The Mummy from 1932
• The Mummy from 1959
• The Carnival of Souls from 1962
• The House of Long Shadows from 1983
• "Alfred Hitchcock Presents" (Anything from Hitchcock really; he was the master of suspense.)
• The Haunted Palace from 1963
• The Comedy of Terrors from 1963  
• Clue from 1985 (I had to; it's just so much fun!)

This of course is just a small smattering of suspenseful out there. In the early to mid part of the twentieth century, the masters were quite prolific. We will not see their kind again.

Beginnings

Lately I have been using my Blogger dashboard to keep track of other blogger blogs (what a mouthful) especially since James' teacher has started keeping a blog for the class. I have also been toying with the idea of taking pen to paper, so to speak, and begin writing again. I have missed it so; it was a wonderful release for me. This blog originally began at the very end of 2006 as way to keep far-flung family appraised of what my horde was up to in their daily life. It was especially for my grandmother and she read it the most. However, a lot of the wind went from my sail when she passed almost three years ago. Has it been so long already? The heart was gone from it and though I occasionally dropped in to do a post, it wasn't often.

Later, as I felt more up to writing again, I discovered something had gone wrong with my formatting and all of my posts began at the bottom of my page after all of the pictures & links in my sidebar had ended; not fun. That discouraged me mightily since for the life of my I couldn't figure out what was wrong! But I have finally taken the plunge. So today heralded a new beginning! This blog has had a complete overhaul with a new background, new colors, new formatting and everything. I was sad to see the old go but I am pleased with the new format. I will have lots of links and pictures to add back in. That will have to wait for my free time tomorrow however.

The new card system for the housekeeping chores that I have adapted from the SHE system is starting to work well , another new beginning for us. The children have given only the normal protestations expected from the small fry when it comes to dumping the garbage or scooping the litter box. I am slowly catching up on the boxes and clutter left from the move and I hope to have it completely finished by my birthday (only a month & a half!). It would be nice to have family for Thanksgiving and not have to worry about hiding the clutter in my bedroom. :D It would also be nice to have friends over and not worry about what they're thinking, even if they're too nice to voice their opinions. Carey has finally started helping, too! Now that he's being handed several cards every morning, he can't say he didn't know what needed to be done. LOL I can't either come to think of it; not when I have the cards staring me in the face. That little box of cards has actually started to become a lifeline for me since I have to look at it every morning and I don't have an excuse to forget appointments anymore. I swear, I would forget my head if it weren't bolted on!

That little box of cards is also what's enabling me to have my free time although, I must admit that I would prefer to be working on my Halloween wall hanging right now. It's the usual scene of haunted house, witches, ghosts, pumpkins etc. I'm using the trampunto technique and doing it by hand so it's taking me a while. I had barely begun this five years ago when it got put away and I just found it again as I was going through boxes. I don't think I'll be able to finish it by this Halloween but I hope to be able to hang it proudly by next year. We shall see. I will perhaps have it machine quilted when I am finished. I'm not sure about that one yet. Either way, if it comes out well I'm toying with the idea of displaying it at the fair next year and perhaps even the Church's quilt show that we do every year in conjunction with one of the services in late fall/early winter.

Today was scary. A ton of snow had dumped on us last night and even at 10:20, most of the streets hadn't been plowed and some of them still hadn't even been touch by a car at all. I decided to take the boys with me to Church. Carey holed up with a good movie and two girls snuggled on his chest while he nursed his bad knee.

I had a hell of a time getting up the hill to the Church and I dreaded every stop sign. Each time I stopped, I had to fight to get it going across the intersection and through the next block. There was only one service today because of a congregational meeting so there were few people there when I arrived. I can't say that the service was enjoyable because I missed it. I decided to stay and help out with James' RE class when I discovered how many children were there. Normally, with the two different services, most of the children come to first one and so there are usually no more than four or five children in RE for the second service. However, today there were close to twenty!

The teacher read two different perspectives of the story of the wise men (today, after all, is Three Kings Day): The Stone and the original bible version. The kids then got to make little spice boxes out of egg cartons decorated with sparkles, sequins, markers, etc. James' did a great job of his. I wandered around helping the kids when needed. One child went all out with his and wasn't doing just one egg cup like all the others, he was doing a complete carton! It was really fancy. The top was covered in glitter and then he put glue lines down it with the plan of putting sequins on them but he kept getting glue on his fingers right along with the sequins he was trying to set down so I showed him how to use a pair of small scissors to drop the sequins on with. Then it was snack time. And let me tell you: powdered sugar, glue and sequins makes for a very big mess. An Epiphany Cake was made and had been dusted with powdered sugar. It was really good though.

Afterwards, I helped clean up. Most of the children had left when it was discovered that one had locked himself in the bathroom. When asked who it was, the child replied "Me". Any guesses as to whom that child was? Yep, it was James. Bleh.... It took us twenty minutes to get the knob off and the damn door open. Although there was a little trip switch for the lock, we couldn't get it to go so it's thought that it's worn out. While he and Charles played outside with a couple of other boys, I helped finish the cleaning inside while I talked to one of the other women from my homeschool group who also happens to be a Unitarian. We talked quite abit about the different philosophies and she's gotten me interested in Thomas Jefferson Education. Depending on how you look at it, it's a very unschooling approach but it's also very classical. It was time to go and we wandered outside to collect our boys which is when I discovered that James' coat was still inside the Church as well as my stuff. I hadn't brought any of it with us when we went over for RE class. I was glad that I barely caught the Reverand Kayle, who was just leaving.

So, everyone said goodbye, we loaded up and we were off. Not. We were stuck! One gentleman tried to help me push it out, but she was just in too deep. I finally went int to call Carey and let him now. He recommended just walking home but I really didn't want to leave the van there. So started a twenty minute struggle with Nature. I dug out as much snow as I could from around the tires, and then I rocked it. The van finally got loose, but there wasn't enough traction to actually get me out of the ruts. So I got to back partially down the hill to the end of the block where I backed into a parking lot and was finally able to turn around and finish going down the hill. Where I got the shit scared out of me. At the bottom of the hill is a stop sign where the street intersects with one of two main one way streets. I slid right through the stop and halfway into the first lane of the one way with oncoming traffic. I would have slammed into a vehicle if it had been unable to get over into another lane. That was really scary and I just sat there while the rest of the traffic finished passing from that wave of lights. I then continued on my way and stopped at Carey's parents. I had to drop off some stuff that had been borrowed and I also wanted to call Carey that I had gotten out and was on the way home.

Carey had made soup for lunch, but due to a miscalculation (and the fact that I don't like chicken noodle) I dug out something else. It was just a light lunch: garlic cheese, some herbed crackers and sardines in a garlic sauce. Of course I had neglected to read the ingredients of the sardines and discovered that they had been packed in oil, which I didn't care for. However, the kids loved them and they kept asking for more. I had bought the small tin as an experiment and it had such good results I think I'll buy more. In the end, the kids ate most of the tin between themselves. At first they kept asking for more "tuna" and I finally got it through their heads that it wasn't tune and then they called it "deens". LOL

After lunch, since it had warmed up considerably, and most of the streets had been plowed, we decided on a trip to the mall. We were wanting some storage chests for Deedee's room and I'd seen a couple of cute ones at Ross yesterday. Alas, those were gone but we did get a couple of cute things that fit under bed perfectly. She has already filled one with her dress up clothes, and the other one she started placing some toys in. She really likes them. One is white whicker with a lid and a blue gingham lining. The other one is open but it has a mod design of circles in green, turqoise and fuschia on a light turqoise background. She loves it.

Carey made some great spaghetti tonight. He had meant to make meatballs but he didn't get the meat out soon e nough so we wound up with just a meat sauce instead but it steall tasted good. We even had real parmesan from some stuffed shells I mad a couple of weeks ago. That always tastes much better than the powdered parmesan usually bought for pasta.

Carey made me sit down and watch The Big Sleep after the kids had gone to bed. It was a lot better than I expected it to be from the description and I enjoyed it.

Today was busy. Carey kicked me out early for my usual me time this morning. So, first I wandered over to a local used furniture and antique store with the idea in mind of finding some shelves for the diningroom. We still have books and stuff coming out of our ears that need to be organized better. I didn't find the shelf I was looking for. The only one that I tagged as a possibility proved two inches too big for the space. :( However, I was excited over some other treasures that I found.

I bought a vintage 1958 Parker Brothers game called Finance and wonder of wonders, it's actually complete! I also got my hands on two record sets: The Wonderful World of Music for Children and Musical Adventures for Young People. I'm quite pleased with both of these. Each set has four double sided records. The Wonderful World has general songs such as Skip to My Lou and Frere Jacques on record 1, record two are songs from great shows including 76 Trombones from The Music Man, record 3 are more general songs such as How much Is That Doggie in the Window and The Teddy Bears' Picnic. Record 4 has muscial tales including Peter and the Wolf (sadly, not the complete version) and The Sorcerer's Apprentice. Muscial Adventures also has some great stuff. Record 1 is full of stories such as In The Hall of the Mountain King and Billy the Kid, selections. Record 2 Marching songs such as The Stars and Stripes Forever or some from movies such as March of the Toys. It haslo has selections from H.M.S. Pinafore which got Carey really excited and he put that right on. Record 3 has traveling and adventures such as Spanish Rhapsody and Victory at Sea. Record is full of classics such as The Thieving Magpie overture and Dream Pantomime.

Of course, the hardest thing with records is getting the kids to understand that they can't bounce around while we listen to one because it will skip and mess up. They do like listening to them though. James insisted on listening to a small ABC on that I have twice and he enjoyed singing along with it.

I also got my hands on a Jody Bergsma print, The Land of Nod. It was a limited run, only 1000 were made. It's a wonderful picture with one of her little people and a great poem accomanying it. Mister Charles claimed it when I brought it in so it now hangs in the boys room.

I then went to Ross where I picked up a few items before heading to Bed, Bath and Beyond to get the humidifier for Carey. I was a little disheartened at the prices. The one that I really wanted was well out of reach, at $200. And I didn't want another small one such as the one that crapped out on us so quickly, after only one season. So I got one from HoMedics called Brethe. It's really a humidifier per se in that it doesn't send out a ton of mist or steam. Some little botanical scents came with it to add to the water which does scent the house very well. What I like is that moisture is being sent out into the air with the scent. It's gentle, although a bit noisy. I also like that I can set it down near the children and not worry about them getting burned, which did happen once with our previous humidifier. :( So, we'll see in the long run how good this choice was.

I ate lunch at the Co Op and sat reading a book while I ate it. I ordered a wonderful bread bowl full of herbed beef stew as well as a large mug of spiced apple cider. The cider was wonderfull as well, especially after I added a dash of cardamom and nutmeg to it. I enjoyed that repast and then wandered up to the library. I brought home another huge stack of books that the kids have attacked.

As soon as I got home Carey got James ready to go and they took off for some one on one time. They went to see Water Horse and James really enjoyed it. He didn't really say much about it when he got home, and he didn't answer questions very well but he says that he wants it. They also stopped off and bought a new frog and a couple of fish. James, of course, has already names it Charlie. I tried to get him to pick a different name but he insisted.

Carey took off for his game after helping put the children to bed. He was busy tickling Deedee and nibbling on her belly when she squealed that "I not food. Don't eat me". It was so cute. So of course Carey grabbed one of her arms and nibbled even more while she squirmed and giggled.

It was starting to snow when he left and I'm glad that he decided to come home early because of it. He fell and hurt his knee when he slipped on some ice hidden by the snow. It was his "good knee" that he landed on. It's now swollen and purple.

Last night during the group meeting, one of the women discussed the fun she had that morning at a local park and everyone said it would be a lot of fun to go there today. In the end, we didn't make it although I certainly planned on doing so. I even got up an hour early so I could get some stuff done before I had to get the kidlets ready to go. I had them fed, clothed in several layers and stuffed into their snowsuits by 8:30 for the twenty minute drive to the park. The plan was to stay there for perhaps two hours. I hauled them all outside to get loaded up only to discover that my husband apparently forgot about this little excursion and took the van to work today! >:(

So here were the kids, all ready to go and pumped up with excitement with the thought of maybe seeing beavers and stuff so they weren't very happy about it. They all set up a very loud ruckus when I tried to herd them back inside. So I loaded the girls into our bike trailer and we went to the little Burman Creek Park. It's only about a 10 minute walk for us. They spent the better part of an hour running around there, making snow angels, "fishing", etc. I wish I haven't managed to lose my camera. There were several shots I would have dearly loved to capture:

1. Deedee and Charles were actually holding hands for a bit as they walked.
2. James sitting on the bank by the creek "fishing". He found the perfect stick to his pole. It was long and tapered to point on the end. It was very pliable and looked exactly like a pole.
3. Kitty making a snow angel.

They had a ton of fun and I only headed home when I noticed the nasty black clouds moving in.

We also had an impromptu funeral for James' little frog, Charlie while we were there. James discovered that he had died this morning and he was pretty upset about it. He insisted on putting the little thing into a baggy with some water and hauled him with us on the walk. He then chose a spot along the creek to say goodbye and poured him out. He was upset for a few minutes, he even cried and said that Charlie was his best friend.

In the end it was OK that we didn't make it to the planned excursion. One woman wimped out because of the cold, one had a tooth break on her, I was stranded with no mode of transportation, and the woman that had originally proposed it got there an hour late. So even if I had made it, and actually found my way there I would have thought no one else was coming. I may have stayed for a while, but would probably have left before the other woman arrived.

We put the kids to bed early tonight. They were all exhausted from all of the walking they did to and from the park, as well as the hour that they ran around there. I was surprised that they went so quietly. They must have been more tired that I thought.

Carey got some boxes cleaned out and then we relaxed with Oh! Heavenly Dog. I don't recall seeing this movie before but it was cute. I enjoyed it and I think the kids will too. Kitty amused herself with a set of keys. She alternately banged them on a new metal dump truck the kids just got or tried them in the lock on the entertainment center. We bought the center used when our previous one proved too small for our TV (Carey didn't measure properly). It has a small door with a lock on it although, the key was long lost when we bought it and we've never replaced even though it's been discussed. So the lock is well within her reach. She would hold up a key and try to line it up and insert said key. She even got it in a few times and then got frustrated when the key wouldn't turn. I didn't realized that she even knew what a key was for! We let her be with it though. It kept her quiet and worked on hand eye coordination at the same time.

She's getting another molar and the top left eye tooth has popped through. Her newest word is "Stinky". She certainly knows what it means too. She came up to us, pulling at her diaper and saying it just as the miasma drifted over to us. She certainly was stinky all right.

Carey also had a bloody nose tonight! We were just watching the movie when his left nostril just started gushing. He told me that it's the third time in two weeks that it's happened. So, I dug out our humidifier only to discover it had sprung several leaks from the bottom while in storage. Grrr... so I'll have to get a new one soon.

Her is a picture of Charlie last year (wow, is really last year already?), just after James'birthday and at this time we've had him for a year. He's the little green blob right in front of the pirate barrel.

Today was relatively uninteresting. Lots of cleaning, a well deserved break playing my new game Voyage, and the usual antics of the children.

James saw only Kathy this morning and he did well. Kathy and I discussed him going to the meeting by himself next week since he did that with Carey the last couple of weeks and he did great. So, we'll see how he does next week.

Carey did kick me out this evening when he found out some of the women from my homeschool group were getting together and he kicked me out. I enjoyed sitting back with some good women of like minds without the interruption of little ones. The meeting was at a popular local coffee house. I've only been in their twice, including this time, but I really like the ambiance. It's full of comfy arm chairs, couches, small tables in secluded nooks, etc. I ordered a large chai and settled back with the five other women who had come. We talked about all kinds of stuff ranging from different homeschool philosophies, curriculum, field trips coming up, knitting, sheep, and other general day to day stuff. I found out that one of the women was older than I though. She has an 8 year old son and she's 49.

There was also a reporter there! I enjoyed talking with her. She has a son she's talking about homeschooling herself. So I think she gleaned more from us than just fodder for an article. The article will be in the January 19-20 issue of the Moscow Pullman Daily news and she's hoping to attend an upcoming field trip at an art studio for a photo op. I may or may not be featured in it, although it would be interesting if I was. I did make sure the kids names were spelled properly just in case.

The most amusing story belonged to one of the women, Gabrielle, about her youngest son Sammy. He has taken to making up really silly and nonsensical super heroes. He will take a word or even a sentence and add the word "man" to the end of it. One of his creations was called Penis Man (I kid you not, his mother was in tears she was laughing so hard over this). He came up with lots of adventures that would only actually have a sexual overtone for someone old enough to understand. To him, they were completely innocent. The story involves a trip to the grocery store, him, and a group of perhaps Mennonite? children. (I can already hear the groans and snickers). He got along quite well with one of the girls and they were having an animated conversation. Sammy wanted to play so he jumped into the middle of the aisle with his arms and legs splayed out and cried "Hey, everyone, lets go for a ride on the Penis Mobile!". Oh, Goddess, I'm laughing just thinking about it. Gabrielle says the whole group went deathly silent and bug eyed. She had to explain to him that not everyone is comfortable with the term "penis" and it's associated connotations so it would be better if Penis Man only came out to play at home.

I was glad to get a ride home with one of the women. I had walked down, only a 10 minute walk but in the ensuing two hours the temperature had dropped drastically and I didn't relish the walk. Wonder of wonders, even Kitty was asleep when I arrived so Carey and I settle down to spend some time together. We watched the first two episodes of CSI season 1 that had arrived that day from Net Flix. That is one of the few shows that I actually miss with no TV. I was happy to discover that Net Flix has the complete set of every season so they've all been added to my que. I will gradually get to watch them over the next several months. There are only two or three episoded per disc and I get one disc at a time. I have also interspersed those discs with movies and stuff that the kidlets would like to watch or even documentaries and other general educational stuff I'd like them to watch. In fact, next up in our que before I recieve my next CSI installment is The Music Man 2003 remake and Wallace & Gromit. Everyone liked the original The Music Man so much that I thought I'd see how well this one was made. However, based upon a video I saw of one of the kids' favorite songs, Shipoopi, it already seems that it just doesn't have the same sparkle and the sheer amount of energy that is displayed in the original elaborate musicals that I so enjoy but I'll reserve complete judgement until I see it.

Alas, we also discovered that James little African Dwarf Frog Charlie breathed his last and passed on sometime within the last day or two. Carey and I talked about just going and getting a new one, and not telling James, but in the end we felt it better to just tell him the truth. He has to deal with this kind of stuff some time and we won't help him any if we shelter him to that extent. So, sometime within the next few days we'll hold a little funeral and James will get to go down and pick a new pet. This really didn't come as that great of a surprise. When I bought a new tank in December, the guy I was talking to was amazed that we still had Charlie since their lifespans really aren't that long.

Today was nice. The kids actually slept in a bit for once (and so allowed us to do so as well :D)and they cooperated with their morning chores. Deedee even made her bed unasked although I'm not sure if piling her blankets in the middle of the bed really counts. LOL

This afternoon our homeschool group met for a day of snow fun and sledding several miles out of town. Now, I was told it was a big hill, but wow. I really wasn't expected it to be as big as it was. It took forever to get to the top. The snow wasn't packing well today, it was just powder. So every step I took I had to fight the saucer in one hand, a Kitty under an arm, and a Charles in the other hand. I never did go down myself. I was just thinking of trying it, but Kitty started shivering. It was pretty darn cold today, and with the wind chill, it was downright frigid. Deedee didn't stay out much longer than I did but Carey and the boys were out there almost an hour. They had a blast. There was hot chili, sourdough bread, hot orange juice, chips & dip, and tea waiting for them when they came in. It was a nice enjoyable hour spent talking to people I haven't seen very often lately, as well as a nice opportunity for the kids. While not as many showed up as was hoped, the kids still did great and liked playing with the others. A possible play date has been tentatively set with one of the parents. When it came time to leave, Carey had to concentrate to get out. He had to back the van down a hill that hadn't been plowed and he wasn't very happy about it.

We were supposed to go to Pullman to look a shelf we saw listed on Craigslist, but he was too tired and wet to want to drive that far so instead we drove back to town listening to the pleas of our offspring to go sledding some more.

We dropped in at the store real quick for milk and stuff. Carey found some chocolate covered cherries, mint flavored. That might be an interesting combo but for me, I certainly can't eat more than one. I was stupid and over indulged last night in the damn things and considering they're always too rich for me, I don't know why I insist on eating them.

After dinner the kids were excited because we played a new game they got for Christmas, Zingo. It's like bingo. The cards have pictures with the name of the item. There are corresponding chips, two are drawn at a time. You have to say the name of the item to get it. So even if you grab it first, if someone beats you to calling it out, they still get it. It was so funny because James started calling things and grabbing them when he didn't even need them. Kitty didn't play but she did help me put it away. She crawled right up on the table and started putting the little chips back in their case. I told her she was doing a good job and she actually said thank you!

We got the kids ready for bed and read some great books to the little buggers. I'm so thankful that I can hold books at the library with just a few pushes of a button on a keyboard at home, so I don't have to spend an hour wandering around, chasing after kids and hoping I actually find some good books. However, that does take all the fun out of it, so sometimes I still just wander around and randomly choose books. You never know what you're going to find that way.

Carey hit the for sale bin at our local movie rental place. I wasn't happy to see so many vhs coming in when the whole point was to be getting rid of them but I do admit he got a few good ones. Tonight we watch The Cannonball (not a good one). There were a few funny moments and stuff but it was a pretty pointless movie unless you into the thought of a car being sexy and like watching them push to the limits.

Today was just a long lazy day. Carey and the boys spent a lot of time sledding again. Kitty really wanted to go too. So bad in fact that she went running out after them wearing nothing but her sisters snow boots and was very dissapointed that she got pulled back in the house. LOL

We have so much snow out there that they built a small snow fort. Carey built up the walls and then used the kids saucers to form the roof before piling the snow on top of them. It wasn't very big. There was enough room for one to be comfortable or two to squeeze in tight. I got some good pictures of it. Poor little Charles got mashed underneath it when the roof collapsed (helped along by their wonderful father) and wasn't very happy about it since he got quite a bit of snow down his suit. After Carey cleared away the saucers he helped the boys build back up the walls although he wouldn't put a roof back on it. Since so many children play outside unsupervised here, Carey thought it would be irresponsible of him to leave something up that could collapse on someone and possible hurt them.

The kids decided that they wanted to be Indian Chiefs today and so they painted their faces with some of their markers. They looked hilarious and they were quite proud of themselves.

We have introduced the kids to musicals and they've fallen in love. This week they've watched The Music Man and Guys & Dolls. They really didn't pay that much attention to Guys & Dolls but I think that's probably because they were too busy running around singing music from The Music Man. Two of their favorite songs were Shipoopi as sung by Buddy Hackett and Gary Indiana.

Luck of all luck, a spider has chosen to make his abode with us this winter, specifically a P. phalangioides (otherwide known as daddy longlegs). It's been spotten several times in the bathroom over the last few days and today the kidlets noticed it for the first time and have "adopted" it as a pet. They've always been taught that spiders are lucky and are good to have around. Especially since they take care of the icky bugs that we definitely don't want around so they were happy to welcome it. It was funny watching them boil down the stairs with excitement screeching about the spider taking a bath. :D

I can't believe this year has gone by so fast. So much has happened that it's hard to put it all in context. Kitty is walking & talking, Deedee can count to two and draw circles, Charles learned how to pedal his bike, and James is talking much better. We moved, Carey is now oficially a Junior and me.... well I just walked me ass off everywhere all summer and don't even have the smaller pant size to proove it. :( LOL I didn't lose one darn pound this summer. I know, I know, I traded fat for muscle but it would have been nice to change at least a little bit. :D

We don't have tv so there was no way to watch the ball drop in New York. However, Carey got the bright idea of seeing if there was a live feed on the computer and he actually found one. So, at 9 on the dot we all watched it drop. The kids really liked it and wanted to watch it again. They were dissapointed when we explained that they would have to wait until next year. Or, I guess I should say at the end of this one. :D

Kitty told Carey to "Bite Me" tonight. She doesn't talk much, besides "no" and "oh oh" so it was a bit of a shock. She has also learned the "Talking Butt" from her siblings. This is something that Charles started and we have no idea where he got it although it does put one in mind of Ace Ventura. They grab their butt with both hands, and make silly noises with a certain tone and inflection. I find it very annoying. Usually it's done when the child is annoyed with you (how easily they know which buttons to push) but occassionally it's just because. I about died seeing me sweet innocent little Kitty slowly meander away from me and the bath she'd just left and then just casually reach back, grab her buttocks and start squeaking with the same tone and inflection that Charles does. Sigh... I also got a really sweet baby kiss from her tonight, just before I received a baby headbutt on the nose. :(

We've been working so hard lately that we felt we had the time to sit down and watch a couple of movies today: Marie Antoinette and Scrooged.

I'd never seen Bill Murray's Scrooged that I can recall but I enjoyed it. Carey was shocked when he learned that I had never seen it or A Christmas Story and he says that means to remedy that very shortly.

Although I wasn't sure about Marie Antoinette, especially when I heard that there was modern rock music in it, I watched it anyway, even if just to see the costumes. I was pleasantly surprised that in most cases, the choice of music was well done and was actually pulled off. It was sad to see that although her life was decadent and full of every luxury, she was very lonely. In reading reviews, several people complained that there was no real story and the most that every happened was food being eaten, pans across scenery, etc. that added unnecessary time but that it was illustrated just how frivolous and decadent her lifestyle really was.

Carey bought the children a human body model for Christmas and today we attempted to put it together. Bleh... I'm really having to remember a lot of anatomy. It's skeletal structure, and all major organs. They organs themself were well constructed and they look lifelike in many instances. However, I'm a little dissapointed in some of the workmanship. The different plastic organs fit together with little pegs and slots and for the most part fit well. However, some of the holes were ill formed and in some cases flimsy enough that the barest knock upon them disconnects the pieces. Also, the instructions really suck. While the booklet has wonderful info in it about the body and I really enjoyed reading it, when it came to assembling the damn thing, it was a mess. It tells you in what order to assemble the different items, however it didn't really tell you how. For instance, it said place the stomach in the cavity. That's it. It doesn't say which other item to connect it to (some stuff connect to other things funny that they might not actually normaly attach too for stabilizing) or even how it sits in their properly. There were diagrams, but they were super tiny pictures. It showed sort of how the different items fit in (for the most part) but not how they all connected together. I was also dissapointed with the plastic shell. It's in the shape of a person and clear so one can clearly see the bones and stuff. However, it doesn't stay together very well. Also, we got two left skelly hands! LOL

As I have gone through the laundry we seperated it all into piles for ease of washing. I did one load today of nothing but underwear and socks. I was totally amazed at how much undies the kidlets really have! Deedee herself has over 30 pair although that is largely due to both her and Kitty getting a couple of packs for Christmas. I lost count on the boys so I think it's high time to weed through it and pull out anthing size 3 or smaller. I can't go too crazy ditching though since most of James' new underwear is still way too big on poor Charles' skinny little nothing butt and they just hang on him.

The wind is really whipping tonight as I sit here writing this. I can hear the sleet hammering against the windows and the wind chimes are singing as they dance. Kitty is curled on my lap, and the others are upstairs curled snug in their beds.

Once again, a good part of the day was spent by Carey and the kids sledding down the back hill. Technically, sledding is prohibited on University property, and Carey was hesitant at first. But so far no authorities has told anyone to stop or sent out notices. Last year, where we were it was quickly stopped so I'm not sure if it was just because of where we were (it was a heavily landscaped hill) or if that rule has changed. We also went through a ton of clothes and got rid of two huge 30 gallon bags that were stuffed as full as they would go. There's still more to go but it's such a huge relief to see so much go. That makes 9 bags that we've gotten rid of in the last month. It was a catharsis to be unburdened by so much and yet at the same time extremely embarrassing that there was so much to be gotten rid of in the first place.

Tonight we also went to the annual birthday party for a close family friend, Glen Lanier. Carey's parents have been good friends with the Laniers for many years and it's been a tradition for at least 13. Carey is also good friends with their son Mike although, at this time he was unable to attend since he's currently out to sea. He's in the Navy and is stationed on a nuclear sub somewhere. Carey says he hopes to see him in March sometime when he's home on leave. Part of the tradition is to have homemade pozole made by Mr. Lanier and it's always wonderful although the heat varies year by year. This year it was actually pretty mild. Carey and I were very proud of the kids. They were extremely well behaved. They used their manners, they played quietly with the bag of toys we had brought, no fights were started, etc. Even Kitty was well behaved and she was excited when she saw the dog, but she got nervous when a lot of people started showing up. I was disappointed when it was time to leave, but it was a good idea to do so before the kidlets reached critical mass and there was a major melt down.

The only bad thing to happen was the cutting of hair. It seems that we may have a budding stylist in the family, said person being Charles. Sigh... Carey had a received a beard trimmer for Christmas that also came with some scissors. Carey neglected to put the scissors safely away out of reach. Charles found them and proceeded to go to work on both Deedee and James! Grrr.... Deedee actually doesn't look too bad. Hers was thinned a lot (Goodbye rats nest on the back of her head) and it closely follows the shape of her head. Cute! But James... Well, James' was already a disaster anyway but now it looked even worse. I tried to fix it, but there are still a lot of problems with his. I think in the end he'll have to go to a professional although, if he'd just keep it combed it actually doesn't look to bad.

Bleh. Now I know why one should never go shopping the day after Christmas. Sigh... it was a mad house. I was pleased with some pretty ornaments that I got at Jo Ann's marked down super low and I enjoyed my meandering in there. I also finally remembered where I'd stashed the Jo Ann's gift card that I bought for my friend Patty. However, once I entered the mall proper, that's another story. I dropped in at Old Navy to get Kitty a sweater with the last little bit of her Christmas money, chose one from a display clearly marked sale and then was told by the checker that it wasn't on sale. When I asked about the display, she said that it only meant some pants. Then why did the sign mention all items? She just looked at me.

And Macy's... Ooo, don't even mention that store to me. I had already stopped in at Ross to get some flannel sheets for the kids. We've dropped the temperature back down at night now that they're no longer sick but I still wanted to be sure that they stayed as warm as possible. It took me a bit to find what I wanted but in the end I was satisfied. When one wants to take advantage of Ross' low prices, you have to take what they have, which changes on a constant basis. James got Sponge Bob, Deedee a delicate pink & purple floral on cream, Charles' is lots of dogs and I got a new set for us as well with strawberries. Kitty already has a set on her bed, if she'd ever deign to use it. I also picked up an extra cream colored set with the thought that I might tie dye it. So by the time I got to Macy's I was pretty burdened with a couple of heavy bags. I haul them into the kids section, perused the rack that had the cutest stuff at the lowest sale price. According to the sign, it said 60% off. I chose a couple of cute outfits (like she really needs more cloths, I know) did the quick math, liked what I came up with and got in line. Big mistake. A woman had just come in with a huge pile of returns that didn't fit her daughter properly. There had to have been at least 20 items. Sigh... Goddess protect me from women with too much money and not enough brains. Not only had this woman not gone through and matched the items to receipts, she wasn't even sure she had the proper receipts! The checker started to just scan the tags but no, that wouldn't do the woman. Every item must be matched to a receipt. Grrr.... So I stand there for almost twenty minutes and finally another associate offers to help me at a register in a different department. And the stuff rings up at a price other than expected but I assumed that I must have added wrong, paid for the stuff and was on my way.

Of course it took me the whole way back across the mall, to the van to drop everything off and then to the grocery to pick up garbage bags to realize that I had paid more than I was supposed, at least $10. So back I go, and the cashier agreed with. Did I get my money back? Nope. She said that yes, the items should have been included in the sale, wasn't sure why they weren't but there was nothing she could do. Huh? Fine, she could keep the money but that's the last time I go in there.

After I got home, we loaded the little buggers up along with every single item of their bedding and made our way to the laundromat. We spent the next two hours there but smart momma I am, I was smart enough to bring a large tote full of games and toys just received for Christmas so they were well occupied for the most part. Every single blanket, comforter and sheet made their way through the ringer and the dryer. Even our sleeping bags. The kids have been so sick lately that their bedding had taken on a decidedly ripe air and there was no way I'd ever get that much done with just my lone washer. Still, it wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. In the end, it was less than $30 and we had budgeted $50. And it's nice to have sweet smelling bedding on their beds again. Deedee especially was pleased to have her large wool blanket back and snuggled right up with it tonight at bed time. Charles the little rat immediately made a nest for himself so I don't know why I even bothered making the damn bed. I should have just piled everything on and let him have at it.

James was so well behaved and helpful, that we gave in and let him play Runebound with us. We drastically simplified the rules, and did only the super easy battles and adventures. The harder stuff wasn't even on the board at all so he didn't miss it. There are actually several stages to a battle, but we kept it at just one for his sake. But, it was a good opportunity to push counting, as well as money sense since he bought a few items for his hero. He had a lot of fun. Still, even as simplified as it was, it took the better part of an hour before he reached the 10 experience points he needed to win the game (our house rule for his game, certainly not the actual way to beat the damn thing or there'd be nothing to it) and that was even with Carey and I avoided the little areas on the map where one might encounter an adventure (and so, experience points). He was quite pleased with himself, and went quietly to bed.

Carey and I went sledding again but it wasn't as fun as it was last night. I'm not sure why but we came in after only 2 1/2 runs (the 1/2 was me, I came to an early stop). Still, I did enjoy it. We came in and played more of Runebound. We saw no reason to completely restart the game, so the different town markets were left with their interesting items and henchmen for sale, and we kept the experience points we had gained (they're used to pay for better abilities for our hero's). Carey also switched characters. The one he had was fine for James little game, but when it came to the bigger stuff that we were going after, it really sucked. Still, we enjoyed ourselves and I look forward to playing it again soon.

Today was very simple, which is what I've been yearning for and had been wanting for this Holiday Season. While, in the end, the kids got way more then they were supposed, it was still very close to my vision. I dearly love my family and enjoy the time we have together, but at times it can be very stressful. So this year, although I hadn't planned it that way on purpose, in the end I was happy to have actual Christmas day just to ourselves. We've never had a holiday like that to just us and I enjoyed it.

We were all slugabed's although the kids finally got insistent about coming downstairs just before 10. They were all really excited to come and see what they'd been left. They all got their stockings first. At the last minute while they weren't looking, I also stuff little ornaments that their Great Aunt Elaine was kind enough to make and send. Apparently she must have forgotten to send ours last year because we got two years worth in our box this year. LOL The kids were all excited over their goodies in their stockings and all immediately started eating their fruit which I was happy to see. A pear, a handful of nuts and a tangerine would fill their little bellies and hold them a few hours until it was time to eat lunch, a simple fare of crackers, cheese, and meat. It was also much healthier fare than the candy making it's way down their gullets as well. We decided to show patience by only one gift getting opened at a time. I didn't want a huge mad dash for presents and then not even know what anyone had gotten. (Or even what they themselves had gotten.)

They only got a few items each, most of which all fit into a large gift bag that I'd made, one for each of them. The all got poetry books, as well as a book with jigsaw puzzles. James Where the Sidewalk Ends, Charles The Dragons Are Singing Tonight and Deedee a beautiful fairy poetry book with gorgeous artwork and little sliding pictures. And Carey was pleased to note the he got two shirts he'd been wanting: I Demand Justice black T from DespairWear and I Am A Sexy Shoeless God of War! featuring Belkar from Order of the Stick.

After the presents were opened and everything had been put away, the morning was spent quietly playing. James insisted that we get out his new marble run he got from Grandma Sue. It's a bit flimsy but he loves it anyway and he had a blast putting the darn thing together.

We had a good lunch, (I had a nap) and then Carey was off to return some stuff to his mother while I got the kids ready to go. The road was beautiful and clear so we decided we'd drive thirty miles to see the locomotive park in Lewiston. At this time every year, it's always lit with a ton of lights and it's really an awesome sight. The kids had a blast there and Carey's talking about doing it again next year.

We got out on a bit of a late start, so it was later than planned when we got back but we still did our big meal that Carey asked for: hamburgers! LOL He said he wanted something simple and he decided that hamburgers would definitely be simple and fun. After everyone scarfed all of that down with sparkling cider or eggnog, we shared a small plum pudding that I had gotten. I thought it was very good although most everyone else just picked at theirs and ate only the cream from the top. Sigh... they don't know what's good!

The kids got shooed to bed. While Carey took care of the younger ones, I stayed downstairs with James and read one of his new books to him, a really cool pirate book that also came with four jigsaw puzzles. We read the whole book (not very big) and did one of the puzzles. He should have gone to bed with the rest, but he'd been so good just jumping in and clearing the table without my even asking that I just had to reward him. So he's finally off to bed, and even Kitty is asleep! Finally, and Carey and I could sit down to play a game that we'd gotten a couple of weeks ago. It looked like a lot of fun and we'd been looking forward to playing it.

However, Carey threw a wrench into the works and insisted that we go sledding first! So here it is 10 at night, and we're out there with our children's pilfered saucers giggling like naughty children. It was a blast. We only went down a few times and we had the monitor with us in case the kids woke up, but we didn't want to be away for too long. Carey was growling that I went faster and further than he was. I only wiped out once and I'm still not sure what happened. Still, I haven't had that much fun in a long time. It was exhilerating.

We finally went back in and changed out of our wet stuff into nice comfy new pj's to play the game. We thought we had figured it out at least although, Carey was complaining because we were rotating through the adventure decks rather quickly. He had already bought some expansion cards but he'd been assured that he wouldn't actually need them for some time. We finally realized that Carey had forgotten to open of the decks! After that we had a ton, more then enough to last us for quite a while. James is also super interested in it, so I need to figure out how to dumb down a game meant for 12 and up so a 5 year old can understand it and still have a lot of fun. The game is called Runebound, and while it cost an arm and a leg, we're having fun with it. It's nice for once to be able to play a game with Carey that doesn't have to have more than two players to be a lot of fun.

Today was busy. This afternoon we went shopping. We had to return the outfit the kids had received for Christmas and I wanted to find a few items. I was shocked when I returned just four items to Macy's and received back over $40! Almost half of that went to buy Charles a much needed heavy sweater that he enjoyed picking out all by himself. We also popped into Old Navy real quick to return a few items and we chose a nice sweater for Kitty that in the end fit Deedee much better. It was the length of the sleeves. They were just way too long on the little thing.

We got home just in time to have the kids take a quick siesta while I got dressed and then they got dressed to go and have Christmas Eve dinner with Carey parents. The girls were adorable in red velvet dresses and even the boys were dressed well. Carey grumbled that he felt out of place because he was in torn jeans but he did make sure and shave, for which I was grateful. I wore a black knee length skirt with large red flowers, a black shirt with a black bead medallion at the neck (very pretty, one of my favorites) and calf lenght black books. I even managed to put my hair up and wear nice jewelry. And I wore the long black velvet dress coat the I received this year after Carey's grandmother Doris passed on.

Dinner was wonderful. Sue always get a smoke cured roast from a local man. The last few times I had it, it was way too rich and I'm not a huge fan of the smoke flavor anyway. However, this year it was excellent. However dinner was running late because she forgot to take the oven off of timed bake when she took the potatos out, so the oven turned itself off. Thank goodness the thing only needed to be heated up because she was reduced to slicing chunks off and heating them in the microwave. The kids all ate well although they finished much sooner than we did. They all played quietly together while we finished eating. They got fudgsicles for desert however, since we were running late, the adults didn't have time to have their dessert as we needed to get presents done before Sue had to leave for Mass.

We all got way too much but James got really excited over a marble run. The guys all liked the tie-dye undies they got (Deedee was dissapointed that she didn't get any) and I really liked the cool footie pj's that the kids got. The toes can be flipped up (like the mits on babie's sleepers) so there is an option to have the feet bare or covered. I got several nice shirts but my favorite was a jean jacket that Sue had embroidered a Celtic dragon on the back and one sleeve. I can't wait to wear it. The kids all insisted about putting on their new jammies (big help to us so we didn't say no). The only sour note was Deedee. Towards the end of presents, she took offense at the packaging of one and refused it. So her grandmother told her fine, she couldn't have it and put it away. So we had a few minutes of screeching and then Deedee started loudly demanding more presents. Sigh... this is exactly what I'd been hoping to keep from happening but the simple Christmas with few gifts had long since gone out the door when five big garbage bags showed up full of stuff not asked for and not wanted for the kids. But it was getting late so we loaded everything up to go home and then I decided on the spur of the moment to go with Sue to Mass instead.

I've always wanted to attend the one for Christmas Eve and I'm glad that I did. We got there a bit late. Sue kicked me out while she went to look for parking. I guess she was concerned that my boots wouldn't make for quick walking on icey pavement. While I was waiting, Father Joe arrived (and was kind enough to enquire about me since I was standing outside still) but Sue got there right after. I didn't think we'd find any seats but we wound up in the third pew back. It was very beautiful. The manger was quite large and elaborate but not over done. There were poinsettia's everywhere, especially right in front of the altar. The music was wonderful to listen to. There was quite a nice choir. I did receive the blessing, but I did not take Communion. I thought it interesting to see a service not much different than what I had attending only a couple of days before.

James didn't forget to put out cookies for Father Christmas and he was pleased as punch to use his gingerbread mug that he bought last month. Of course, by the time I got home Carey had already disposed of the milk and cookies although he'd been thoughtful enough to leave a few crumbs on the plate (that Kitty promptly ate) and a bit of milk in the mug.


I also got home just in time to find out that Carey's system was acting up again and for him to go straight to bed. He was having diahrrea and his guts were cramping. He said he was feeling like that before dinner although it didn't get bad until he got home. Sigh... it could be anything. Rich meat, too much junk in the form of cookies and soda, etc. He's been prone to these problems for several years now ever since he got some kidney stones not long after we met. There has been talk of IBS by the doctors although no tests have been done yet. Since then, Carey has really cut out on most of the sweets, 99% of his pop consumptions and most of the processed foods although he refuses to give up pop tarts. I must admit that I've seen a huge differance in him so even if it's not IBS, his system likes to new eating habits.

So, instead of him helping me get the last of the stuff set up for Christmas day, he went to bed and I got to spend the next three hours fighting with the tree house. Carey's grandparents had been very generous in their Christmas money for the kidlets and the three older ones decided to pool their money and buy this for themselves. I had promised to put it together for them for Christmas Day, but boy, what a pain. At first it went together all right, but I realized that I'd put a peg in wrong so when I redid it, nothing worked and I still can't figure out why. For some reason, one of the layers won't line up right. Sigh... there are two different models. We could have spent $10 less and gotten one preassembled (and that would take up a ton of space) or get one that we had to put together but could also disassemble for storage. Well, most of it got put together and I must admit that the kids were really excited to see it the next morning and spent some time playing with it. None of them realized it was incomplete (or cared that we hadn't gotten any furniture for it yet).

I also prepared their stockings. Each got a handful of nuts, a pear, a tangerine, a candycane, a small wooden top, and a hand knit finger puppet (not by me alas). Deedee also received a huge wooden pencil a foot long and big around as a penny.

Sunday was very peaceful. We went to Church and listened to some beautiful music, including one sung by our choir mistress. I wish I knew what it was called and I'll have to ask her. James did very well in his RE class. He happily waved goodbye to me when I left and he was excited to show me the small manger that he'd made with corks, old fashioned clothes pins, but of straw and foam. It's really cute and I'll try to get a pic posted soon.

Afterwards, we stopped at Hodgins Drugstore on the way home so Charles could spend the birthday money that's been burning a hole in his pocket for a month! While I thought he picked out a bunch of useless junk (I had been hoping to teach him qaulity above qauntity but Carey in the end is the one that led him around the store as he chose his items). Among many things, he brought home a lifelike rubber snake, a plastice eyeball (would have been perfect for his wizard bench at his birthday party), a lightup bouncy ball and some candy. As we were leaving, Kitty latched onto a furry stuffed monkey as large as she is and refused to let go of it! She set up a huge ruckus when Carey tried to take it from her and wrapped her skinny little arms even tighter around it! So he hauled it up front and used a portion of the generous amount of Christmas money that her paternal great grandparents sent her. She happily went home with it and immediately snuggled right down with it for a nap.

She woke up just in time for a visit from Aunty Sarah and Uncle Jeffrey. They came bearing gifts for the little ones. Deedee was excited with a little pirate ad lib book. Each page has a paragraph and then one or two slots to add stuff in. Each paragraph comes with several little paper items to choose from and slide into the slot. James got a cool game called Zingo (any guesses as to what game it's similar to?) that makes you say the name of the item to get the tile for your card, so it will help him with his speech, and Charles got an awesome prehistoric animal pop up book. They also all got little ornaments. James was excited to give the little jade earrings he'd picked out for her to his aunt. She was happy to put them in since they matched her sweater and she'd neglected to wear any today. They weren't able to stay long though since they had a long drive ahead of them for home and Jeffrey had to work the next day.

Happy Solstice! Well, for yesterday anyway. I know, I know, I'm a day late. LOL But I'm very busy. Today, not only did my family coming down for our holiday meal, but my pagan group also did a solstice ritual tonight! The Divine Child of Light was born in the long dark hours of the night and the Oak King has triumphed over the Holly King! Our sun is finally on the way back. I found a beautiful albeit sad poem that I thought personified the Solstice very well.

The Buck in the Snow

White sky, over the hemlocks bowed with snow
Saw you not at the beginning of the evening the antlered buck
and his doe
Standing in the apple-orchard? I saw them. I saw them
suddenly go,
Tails up, with long leaps lovely and slow,
Over the stone-wall into the wood of hemlocks bowed with snow.

Now lies he here, his wild blood scalding the snow.

How strange a thing is death, bringing to his knees, bringing
to his antlers
The buck in the snow.
How strange a thing, --- a mile away by now, it may be,
Under the heavy hemlocks that as the moments pass
Shift their loads a little, letting fall a feather of snow ---
Life, looking out attentive from the eyes of the doe.

Edna St. Vincent Millay ~ Winter Poems selected by Barbara Rogasky


Our ritual was very simple. The door to the Sanctuary is curtained off (the doors are glass and wood). As you enter, there is an altar with blessed salt and water to purify, center and ground oneself before you begin your journey into the dark. The chairs are set up in a spiral with the young God & Goddess, the High Priestess and those calling the quarters in the center with the altar. You begin be going through being drummed in by musicians and then you slowly walk to the center or until you find an open chair although for me it was the center since I was calling the East. Today was so busy for me because not only did I have dinner to prepare, a family to welcome and enjoy a visit with, the actual ritual itself but also the altar to set up. I prepared a very simple one.

There were actually two altars. One at the entrance set of up for cleansing and centering as one entered the sacred space. It held a small bowl of blessed salt, a gorgeous copper bowl of blessed water, a crystal star, evergreens and a candle. A greeter stood beside it to welcome you and dry your hands as you entered. The official altar is what I set up in the center. First was placed a white cloth (not seen in the photo), the dark green cloth with a discreet gold plaid & holly design, and then the white lace altar cloth. I use that on all of my altars and it's very special to me. Placed upon it were evergreens gathered by one of our group members, a white candle placed in a beautiful crystal flower shaped holder, a small glass figure, one of my chalices, and various other bits of flora. To me the glass figure represented the Mother and welcomed back the beginning of spring. It seemed to be a figure with an arm curling around and cradling a babe. The sparkle within heralded the forthcoming life of spring. At the end was a small copper dish of flowers with evergreens, mistletoe, a pine cone, and a small silver angel placed around it. There were two roses representing the God & Goddess. The green of the cloth and evergreens is the coming growing season, the red of the flowers to me is the blood from the birth of the Child and white is innocence and purity. Then again, on the flip side the white mistletoe berries always represented the God's sacred seed and holly represents the Goddess' sacred blood so it's all about fertility. There was also a potato placed by the High Priestess to represent the going into the dark, the waiting for just the right moment and then reemerging as something new. I wore a beautiful ankle length dark green wool dress and a simple gold stylized stag pin with enamel ribbons of red and gold around it's throat. It's the first time I ever wore it (I also managed to slop sauce from the cake I brough down the front of it but not noticed until after the ritual) and I thought I'd feel out of place since I wasn't sure what the other participants would be wearing. I needn't have worried. North was wearing a beautiful purple Renaissance dress that she was married in, South in a long black dress of the same style as mine and West in a long red skirt and a white blouse. The High Priestess was also beautiful in one of Holy Clothing's gorgeous dresses. The ritual itself wasn't very long. The corners were called, poems read, a few songs sung, cakes & ale, etc. At one point all lights, even the ones from the gigantic tree in the corner, were extinguished except for the lone spark on the altar. A song was sung by the High Priestess' daughter, a few passages were read and then the Young Goddess lit the first candle. From there candles were quickly lit, with the light spiraling out around the circle. That moment is always very beautiful and profound for me. After cakes and ale, and the releasing of the corners, hands were joined and then a seemingly complex circle was danced out of the spiral (taking everyone passed the altar) to the tune of Deck the Halls. Everyone enjoyed fellowship downstairs with cookies, cake, wine, etc. Although there were few children in attendance, my small nephew Jordan was one of them. Everyone enjoyed his antics as he ran around and her garnered several laughs as he would sneak a quick paw over the edge of the table and steal a cookie. The butter cake with the spiced apricot butter sauce I took disappeared very quickly so I think it's definitely a keeper and perhaps the start of a tradition.

Speaking of traditions, I'm wondering if I started another one as well. I thought it very nice that my family came down for a family meal on the Solstice and I'm thinking of doing that again next year. I'm very proud of myself. The meal came out very well, we had way too much food, and everything was pretty close to being on time. I wanted to eat by 4 and we were eating 10 minutes after. We had an awesome ham that had been prepared with honey and a wonderful Belgium fruit ale (the only beer that I actually like!), an apple & pear compote (that no one ate and made it's way to a neighbor), my mother's scalloped potato's, pureed vegge (apples, pears, celery knob, and sweet potato's), some of my FIL's wonderful wine , and sparkling cider. For dessert we had pumpkin pie, apple pie, fudge, sugar cookies the kids helped with, and my stollen.

I was gone preparing the altar when my oldest brother and his small family showed up (on time, I was impressed) and when I got back the kids were all quietly playing upstairs while my brother had commandeered our new lap top and his fiance fed their little one. My mother was late but no later then I expected. She arrived with my youngest brother Jason and the news that my father would not be in attendance because he was on his way to Wisconsin to see an ill family member. I was also dissapointed that my grandmother would be unable to attend. It is very probably that this would be her last Christmas and I wanted her to see the family together at least this once. However, she was in too much pain to travel. I also had hopes the the energy in the spiral of the ritual would be beneficial for her. My sister and her son were really late. We had all finished dinner (The adults at the big table with the kidlets at our large coffee table. The large table was resplendant with a borrowed plaid table cloth from my MIL and upon it was a small flower arrangement in a glass swan (ultimately to be dismantled for the altar), my holiday wine glasses never used before and the brand new fancy plates that Carey had insisted on buying. Even the coffee table looked nice with a holiday tablecloth and santa straws for the little buggers.) and were almost done opening presents when my sister Mary and her small son arrived.

We had received way too much from the local Christmas charity and we decided to do all of that tonight instead of waiting for Christmas. The little buggers had a blast opening stuff. They especially got way too much clothing and I set several outfits aside to be returned to the store. While I loved them and thought they were adorable, I saw no reason to keep un needed items, especially if they were too big. Kitty wound up with 3T stuff! I would have kept it for Deedee but she had received duplicate items. Sigh... Ah, well. Everyone loved the gift bags that I had made and I look forward to using them again next year.

I thought it very appropriate also that it decided to snow. While I was concerned that my mother would have to drive home in it, it was wonderful that within just a few short hours we went from bare soggy ground with isolated little piles of snow to over a foot deep!

Argh!!! I'm officially tired of the horrible drivers here! I've almost gotten into three accidents in the last two days, through no fault of my own! The first one I was backing out of a parking spot and a truck went around me instead of waiting behind me. I almost hit him! The second one I was turning right at a light. I was halfway through a turn but had to stop to let some pedestrians pass. Apparently either the light changed, or the fool behind me was in too much of a hurry and decided to go around because just as I started to go again someone went breezing past me and I would have hit them if I hadn't stopped because my foot slipped. >:( The third one happened when a fool ran a stop sign and flew by in front of me. I had right of way and almost hit his side. Sigh... This is enough to make me not want to drive anymore. We're limited to how much we can drive the van anyway. One of the windshield wiper arms is bent so it doesn't keept the screen very clear and it severly limits visibility on the drivers right.

James was really funny today. I asked him to pick up his room real quick but he said he was too busy. When I enquired what he was doing, he informed me that he was feeding his kitty, a little bean bag thing. When I turned around to find out more I discovered him nursing the darn thing. LOL :D

I did my last minute shopping today for tomorrows feast as well as any items I needed for tomorrow nights ritual. I'm making Danish Ham Viking Style (I'll post the recipe later) with pureed vegge and an apple & pear compote. My mother is also bringing scalloped potatoes, I'm making mashed potatoes in defferance to my husbands picky ways and a few other odds n' ends. I can't wait. For dessert we'll have a pumpkin pie and an apple. I'm also making another butter cake with spiced apricot sauce for after the Solstice ritual. The pureed veggies will contain jicama and carrots (to sub for the Jerusalem artichoke I couldn't get my hands on), sweet potatoes, and a celery knob. It took me forever to find the celery knob. Only one store in town is carrying it right now. I didn't even know what to look for and I called my MIL to ask her as well as what I might sub for the Jerusalem artichoke.

I wasn't happy today when I found out that my father won' be here tomorrow. :( He's on his way to visit family in Wisconsin. Apparently a member isn't doing too well and Dad wanted to see him. I'm not upset because of that. I'm annoyed because he couldn't bother to call me and let me know. >:(

I got two packages mailed for family today and I hope the arrive in time. It was just small stuff and I used shoe boxes to send it all, one box for each family. I used colored tissue papers to pack around the items until you couldn't even shake it and have it rattle. I also included a Christmas letter about what we've been up to this year. I used a template at HP since it had a pretty holiday look and it also let me add pictures. We chose the Arctic Animals set and went with the Resting Reindeer. I did want the Peaceful Polar Bear since it held five pictures vs. the three pictures on the Reindeer letter. But there wasn't as much room to write the letter, and it was harder to drop the extra stuff on the second page and have it still look nice. I'm happy the first letters have gone and the rest will be going out on Monday. I'm behind this year but at least they're getting out. :D

When I was out and about getting various items, I came across monogram tree ornaments so I got one for each of us, six in all. They're a pretty italic font and each one has swavorski crystals. The look really pretty on the tree.

I have no idea how he did it, but Charles managed to spill a full pitcher all over the floor and to break said pitcher as well. So now I have three towels stained red and a super sticky floor. :(

I put tape over the edge of our living room window today. A major draft came through where the two panes met. If I can sit at the desk and fell a draft strong enough to move my hair move arcross me as I type, that's way too much. Small drafts are necessary, not full force gales. So hopefully the tape will help with that as well as our heating bill.