Day 2, Nathans Travels

Random Solomonism of the day:

"Daddy" (baits Solomon as he is getting tucked in)

"you know, you can sell your truck

and buy the original Darth Vader costume".

********************

So, my last post left me sleeping

and Nathan was beginning his 4+ hour long test.

Solomon had plans to have a friend over

to go sledding at the golf course

and Adrianna really needed  the library.

Nathan called and was walking the city block

to where he had parked the Jeep, hoping the weather had

kept the parking police out of commission or at least bogged down.

Avoiding the ticket and with a good understanding

of how to get to 131, then 96 then 31, he said he would

call when he made it to Muskegon.

He called as we pulled into the library.

He had missed a street, gotten caught on 1 ways and

was lost in downtown GR.

Tying the kids hands together and warning them

about the perils of splitting up,

I let them go upstairs at the library,

while I sat on a bench

(in eye shot of both the stairs and the elevator)

on Google maps trying to find my other kid.

Giving him an idea of where he was in relation to 131,

we determined the next right moves to make.

He would call me from 96 at a drive-thru.

He called 5 minutes later, the kids still upstairs in the library.

He realized his snow pants were not in the Jeep

and wondered if he should just drive home to get them

then drive the easy route to Gerber from home.

The children still upstairs, I called Doug who had

just sent his first casualty of the snow and cold back to the hothouse.

I apprised him of Nathans situation. Long pause.

We both new if Nathan came home, he should just stay home

as the additional time would put him several hours behind.

But. Nathan had the coffee grounds

and toilet paper.

Doug found someone we know who was just out for the day

and would not need their snow pants.

Tired and exasperated, Nathan geared up for the drive.

Oh. He missed the last street

and he was now well west of 131 so I sent him

west to the zoo for the entrance ramp to 196 and he would backtrack.

He called from 96 and was sitting at an Arby's,

well out of the maze of 1 way streets and tall buildings.

The children with me at the library

finally showed their faces

and after paying off late fees,

we headed home.

Nathan later told me that one of the roads he turned on

sounded a bit strange and he found himself surrounded

by pedestrians glancing strangely at the Jeep.

When he saw the cobblestone and benches on both sides,

he realized that he had turned onto and was driving on

a sidewalk.

He made it in record time to Gerber

and 3 people in their group needed the attention

of the hothouse that night.

************

*The girls stayed at home reading books*

Around The World in 1-1/2 Days

Photos from this winter

will be scanty.

Sun has been scanty.

Snow has been scanty.

*******

Doug and Nathan survived the annual BSA survival test:

Okpic camp out.

See this post to find the details of the thing from last year,

that will save me some words.

Words, this winter, are scanty.

What actually tried Nathan most,

No.

What tried me the most,

was leaving at 6:20 on Saturday morning

headed to the nearest real city to take the SAT.

We planned. Oh did we plan. 

We studied Google Earth. We printed from Google Maps.

The State Police site was visited to check road conditions,

which were not good because, of course,

that was the weekend IT SNOWED.

Really snowed. Schools closed Friday.

Temps (finally) hovered closer to zero.

I checked Collegeboard every hour

watching, hoping to find the test rescheduled

due to inclement weather.

My last check at 5:50 am forced me to realize

the kid was going to drive an hour east,

where "inclement" weather had not suspended the test.

That is because the folks who make the decision

live in a high rise condo, surrounded by concrete that is

getting plowed every 6 minutes and

 do not know what The Snow Machine is.

Or what it produces.

Nor did they look at their roster and say

"Oh we have a newly *17 year old boy

driving in from the lake and according to the

Department of Transportation

the road conditions are dangerous and the wind chill alone

would cause severe health problems should he go in the ditch

and lose power to his vehicle,

rendering him alone and vulnerable because

HE DOES NOT DRESS FOR WINTER."

And so. Loaded with pancakes, toting, pencils, calculator,

cash for parking, phone, directions, water bottle and

wearing an Under Armor hooded sweatshirt-

he pulled out at 6:25.

Also note that he was loaded with gear

for Okpic along with ground coffee that Doug forgot

(and toilet paper)

as he would be trekking to Gerber directly

after finishing his test.

I sat drinking coffee, (I think I even asked if he would like some,

which by the way, he does not drink and doing so for the first time

on SAT morning was not in the recommendations labeled

"how to make test day a success").

Time really does crawl

when waiting for someone to arrive.

From afar or to their destination.

I REALLY REALLY wanted to call his phone

but I knew he would not answer if he was driving,

which would begin a whole series of "what ifs" fired straight at me.

Of course he arrived safe and sound.

And early.

And found parking on the street.

And had tons of change for the parking meter.

I could finally sleep.

*Photos from birthday

**This completes Part 1 of Nathans Travels.

Watch for Part II coming soon**

Guest Post

Above Me

By Franchesca James

 This is about my family, our problem, and how we had fun even though our outing ended up, well, cut short. The sun shone brightly on that day, July Fourth. The sky was unique: a rich blue color with nary a cloud in it. Birds floated aloft in the pleasant breeze, which held the familiar scent of summer. The sun beat down mercilessly, but it was welcome. Horses stood and munched hay peacefully, swishing off the relentless flies. A truck sat stolidly in the gravel driveway, with a speed boat in tow. All remained tranquil, silent; and then we, the James clan emerged from our abode.

My family trooped out the door, some of us dashing back inside have forgotten something of utmost importance. Eventually, we all gathered by the truck, talking and laughing. The other kids and I threw armloads of items into the boat and back of the red four by four, including masks, flippers, and towels. After checking to make sure all was secure, Dad slid into the driver's seat and off we drove. All of us felt thoroughly excited as we sped along the road, engulfed in the wind and sunlight. We stopped to pick up food and drinks, and of course gum, which my little brother and sister started squabbling over, but that's another whole story in itself. On my dad drove, the sun only growing warmer as our F-250 drew closer to one of my favorite places: the lake.

The boat launch appeared small, with an old wooden dock alongside it. A few people milled about in the shallows, yet we had no trouble putting the boat in. My mom, siblings, and I settled down in the cushioned seats of the craft while Dad drove it for the half hour ride out to the lake, but the heat did not become any less scorching; by the time we reached the last corner, sweat dripped off all of us. When everyone spotted a quiet uninhabited stretch of beach, Nate, the oldest of us kids, anchored the vessel, and we darted to the end of the craft and jumped off into the blue gray, refreshing water. After everyone had cooled off, Solomon, my little brother, and I floated the coolers and other items ashore, and Mom remembered the pair of water skies in the back of the boat so she suggested that she and Nate could try it. The two had been in the water for only a short time with the skies before we decided to pull out the tubes and everyone take turns tubing instead.

Realizing that our vessel had drifted, Dad headed over to the ignition and attempted to start up the craft, but the boat had a mind of its own and denied the request: it would not start.

It was now early evening and the sun began to seemingly recede into Lake Michigan, leaving behind an empty blue sky soon to be filled with silvery iridescent stars. The leisurely waves still rocked the boat as Dad ran his calloused hand through his hair, and pulled up the seat concealing the motor to try to find and solve the problem. While my father expertly checked a cluster of wires and the motor, the rest of us rummaged around for a screwdriver; apparently the problem was in the ignition and Dad needed to cross the ignition wires. As I fumbled around in the side compartments, I found a small, orange box containing flares, and spontaneously all of us kids started joking about how it could be beneficial to have those with us. There we sat stranded, half an hour away from the dock with fortunately one phone, unfortunately we had a boat but it wouldn't start, and we were not desperate enough to row...yet. We all sat there, not quite sure what to do when Nathan pointed and exclaimed "Is that a trail over there?" and upon exploration of the area, and evaluation of the signs that stood near, we realized that the trail, a State trail, would lead to a road. So Mom and Nathan waded into shore and began jogging the trail to the road, where our grandpa would pick them up, then they would retrieve our motorized fishing boat and tow the other vessel, and us, back with it. As soon as Mom and my brother left, I scrambled out of the craft and helped Dad drag the boat through waist deep water back to our original location, and sat down to wait.



Eyeing the spectacular sunset, I helped bring the coolers back to the boat. Fortunately, we still had quite the sufficient food so Dad and I sat and munched on M&Ms and chips watching the vivid setting sun over the still lake. I gazed at the irreplaceable scene before me; the two silhouettes of my brother and sister facing each other, looking down into the rippling water, with the stunning backdrop of pastel blues, purples, and the center of it all, the yellow orange brilliance of the sun. I glanced over to find my father on the phone; Mom, Nate, and my grandpa had reached the dock with the fishing boat and would arrive to pick us up in about forty five minutes.

After multiple false sightings, dad recognized the small angling craft approaching and he and I rounded up, or tried to round up, the other two younger family members on board the inoperative ship.





By the time we all reached the dock, pulling the malfunctioning boat behind, dark had fallen but we didn't miss the fireworks. I sat holding the vessel while Dad ran to retrieve the truck, and watched as the components of fireworks burst into life, creating bizarre yet beautiful colors and shapes. I sat in the cool, somewhat stillness of the night with my spectacular family, and realized that this was an outing I could definitely remember, sitting with the water beneath me, and the open sky above. And I absolutely loved it.

Thank you Google Chrome

I like you.

Overtaken by Blogger

 

I am not exactly sure who has taken over my blog.

 

How's that for conspiracy theories?

 

What I can say is that I've been trying for days

(when I can eek out a minute)

to post various news, ideas and photos.

 

Since reformatting this thing,

I simply CANNOT add photos

from my computer.

The window does popup but does not

give the option to download from computer.

 

Any bright ideas out there?

Cleared cache and cookies.

Added Blogger.com to popup settings.

Checked Picasa.

 

Good night.



Adieu 2012

The memories of this holiday season are to be stored
and retrieved not from this blog
nor the 2012 leather bound photo album,
but from good old fashioned memory.
It was just
one of those years.
I did my best.

Even now I struggle to hen peck this post out
with my left arm enveloped by a cumbersome wrist brace.

Christmas 2012 though will remind me of
super long games of Canasta, turkey and ham on my mom's homemade dinner rolls,
waiting for snow,
green Guess down coat,
book reading marathons, remote control helo's hovering,
Mexicali food, french toast from the oven,
cheesecake wars, massive amounts of new sheet music,
diabetic socks hiding a pocket knife, The Pacific, kickers, fog lights,
luscious furry vests and robins in various forms.
Oh. And a vault.
Did I mention peanut brittle? 2 kinds.

The Wave. I find it particularly difficult to type the word.
It has 2 wheels and wiggles in the center.
My current fear will be changed into courage by summer.

No photo of stunning, if not shortish spruce tree,
that we could have traded in for Frasier Fir 1 hour later for the same price.

It feels like yesterday.
And like yesterday, it is history.

Crash

Messed up laptop

+

Messed up headcold

+

Messed up wrist

______________

One handed, hen pecked mobile blog post

***

I was able to redesign a bit before the crash. 

Something new for a new year. 

It was easier than rearranging the great room. 

Here's to 2013!

What IS chili?

 Tonight was the Civil Air Patrol Christmas party.

Nathan graduated his first group of newbies

out of Tango flight.

 

Including Cadet Airman James

The cadets made 10 different types of chili

and the Sr. members (including my husband)

were privileged to be the judges,

giving points for taste, smell and chili name.

 AJ dug out the recipe from long ago

that came from a generous soul

who gave up any claim to fame should

this chili become famous.



We didn't know she would need to present a name

so our chili was simply #7.

Looking back, the lack of name could have led to our demise

in the chili cook off.

Consider this:

3rd place: Roadkill Chili

2nd Place: Fire and Ice

1st place: Hot Costa Rica Chili

Frankly, I thing that for most people,

"chili" must have certain ingredients to qualify,

those being

A. Ground meat (even possum)

B. Kidney beans (light or dark)

C. tomatoes or tomato product

 

Ours had none of the above,

is called White Bean Chicken Chili,

has cumin and sage in it,

and tonight it was even vegetarian

(for the few of us who don't eat meat. Or roadkill)

 

The condition of the Sr. member judges

shall remain confidential

after sampling 10 different chili recipes including condiments

and Cherry Coke.



Jesus Wept

The kids are learning various stylistic techniques

to use in their writing.

One is the vss (very short sentence).

 

I love to read.

 I adore words. 

I read a ton.

Words, like music, can stir me in places that are difficult to reach.

 

I've made sure that the kids have been exposed to lots and lots
of good books, beginning early in life.
Living books are such a vibrant alternative to dry textbooks.
I'm so hoping that the love of books stays with them.

 ********

Friday night I was online reading the headlines

and within all of the horrendous details,

I was most touched by a vss.

This sentence describes the actions of one of the courageous

teachers in the latest tragedy,
 how she protected and  loved on her kids.

 

I'll paraphrase here to save time citing.
 

 

..."There, (she) read to the children."


Oh. That I would be that brave.

 

 



Addition to Blog

I'm starting a new dynamic to this digital journal.

The Guest Blogger who will occasionally

share something on their heart.

 

I have one brave soul working on a draft

so I thought I would retell a scene from yesterday which involves someone

who refuses to have anything to do with story telling on paper (or word processor).

We're working on it though.

Thus, the guest blog idea.

(photo from months ago
this is not the hair culprit)
 

 Several days ago set against the backdrop of loud footsteps marching to my bathroom:

 

"Mama, I am so sick of finding hair in my food.

 

Remember those scrambled eggs a long time ago?

 

And now this hot chocolate. I just swallowed a piece of hair.

 

And last night when I was baking cookies

and pulled them out of the oven,

they had a LONG piece of hair on them

straight from the oven.

 

This is gross"

 (pouring out entire cup of freshly made hot cocoa in my sink).

The Boat

A friend emailed these 2 photos to me awhile ago.

 

I so enjoy looking a photos that I haven't seen a very long time.

 

I remember buying that little green bathing suit at Old Navy.

I remember how Nathan luved to drive anything at that age.

I remember the squishy floating Nautica keyring for the boat

and the feel of the teak on my feet, the smell of the seats,

the feel of hair on my back in the heat.

 

 

 I love the ability to go back.

Selectively.

He Knows If You've Been Bad or Good

 The kids and I froze

while waiting for and watching the Holiday parade.

Correction: the girls and I froze.

 Kids do not understand how ridiculous

a mom feels when they under dress.

Any child under the age of 8 was fully prepared

to spend the day in Alaska, carefully

dressed from head to toe in winter gear,

drinking hot chocolate from their parents

thoughtfully packed thermos.



 

Even the (many) dogs in attendance

had more layers on than my girls.

 

As for me, no amount of downy feathers from any bird

will keep me warm at 8:15 a.m. in November.

It's a mental thing.

 

Nathan's squadron marched in short sleeves.

They were hot by the end of the route.

Of course.



Chivalry

 A few weeks ago I dropped the kids

at their classes

and watched as a cute boy
(who was dressed for fake injury day)
 held the door open from the inside
for a grown up who tried to tell him she could get it.
He refused, getting squished as she came
through the door with all of her belongings.

This is that cute boy.



He wore full camo that day,

having acquired a severe looking gash (from lipstick)

on his face

and a blood (paint) filled strip of tee shirt

wrapped around his leg.

I felt right proud of him.



Paint

Most of the rooms in our house are ready for a new paint job.

Even if the paint condition is in good shape,

most of the people are ready for a change.

Before Doug took the brush and the Hershey brown color to

Franchesca's walls,

she asked for a few days to do some doodling.



She had guests signing her wall
like a highschool yearbook.

It's just paint.

Running Just to Catch Myself

It's okay.

Everything is fine.

Just living the life that I will someday post about.

 

I'm thankful for the extra warm days this fall.

 Nathan just promoted to Chief Master Sergeant

in Civil Air Patrol.

And is in charge of the Tango flight for new cadets.

More on new cadets soon.

Franchesca just promoted to D2 in Pony Club.

What a long, cold day that was.

 

AJ and Solomon are taking their first classes outside the home.

 

Some things are seemingly always in a constant

state of change.

 

Some things feel like they will eternally be the same,

like the heavy, warm, penetrating,

soul soothing feel of the sunshine on my skin.

 

 We're coming back summertime.