Post Vacation Post

There is still a good bit to share from the beach vacation.  Specifically the wedding/baby shower and the coming out celebration but that will have to wait for another day as there are still 250 pictures to sort through.

Also- life does go on.

In today's news- I am a giant.  Not just overweight but a verifiable giant as can be seen by some of the photos from vacation.  Something has got to give.  No more ice cream.  No more treats.  A trip to the grocery store this morning brought an abundance of fruit and vegetables which I will name here so as not to forget- beets, sweet potatoes, cauliflower pellets, eggs, feta cheese, tomatoes, cucumbers, nectarines, plums, and  black beans.  If I can't make some healthy choices from that collection there are no healthy choices to be made.  The trick is to do it for more than a week.

beets and sweet potatoes in progress

Mail orders placed in anticipation of returning home arrived today.  I have never played with legos.  I don't think they existed when I was little, I didn't have any kids to have them and we were sort of always a stupid lincoln log kind of household.  I ordered this hoping it would be a group project.  

today's wager- will it or won't it happen?

GreathusbandBob suggests that we not do it on the kitchen table because maybe we'll want to eat there.  We have eaten there a total of maybe 20 times in 14 years.  But he also says, "maybe some people can help" which is very promising.

And in an effort to keep both greathusbandbob and grandsonLevi busy I ordered these while on vacation-

They had a good time playing MarioWorld together so it should allow for some bonding moments.  That is if grandsonLevi gives up his vampire ways.  I thought I had sleep arrhythmia. Nothing like the weirdass sleep of a teenage boy.

It's Monday and that means at some point it's time to plan for another week of music appreciation.  It also means it's time to sort through more pictures and mentally prepare myself for Zumba. (there may be a wiiU zumba game headed our way as well- again- still taking bets)

And because it cracks me up- I call the following photo- "he's never coming back"

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The kids made dinner. Sort of.

 

I burned my feet on the sand yesterday. Note to self don't go barefoot on the sand at noon even if the dog thinks she wants to.

I haven't made any food or done any dishes other than my own.

There is a little girl here who I have to ask to speak more quietly and believes every sentence should begin with the word "basically." She is seven.

The one who is five and wouldn't talk to anyone last year or the year before has completed kindergarten and has figured out the whole being in the world thing,

The two mentioned above were having a conversation about their initials (while putting them in a video game) I like to call this "when relatives meet."

Hey, my name begins with a T!

What's?!?!?! Me too!

My last name is Terry.

No way!!!! Mine is too!

Greathusbandbob and his adult children had a pots and pan jam session after dinner.

Tomorrow is a wedding/baby celebration.

The dog is much happier now that the thunder has stopped.

 

Vacation made.

I feel guilty for not basking in the sun and water but then I'm doing what I love (reading, playing with yarn, napping and not worrying about other people) so it is still time well spent.

Nephew Leif recalled my love of Young Frankenstein and ordered it with the coffee pot carafe he had delivered. Last night at movie night we all watched young Frankenstein.

 

This morning was a big round of MarioKart and some coloring

 

I've done some online shopping while here. Some more ecowool to finish the giant mandala afghan I started with leftovers before we left and a lego model of a Volkswagen bus because I think maybe I would enjoy doing that and maybe the boy will too.

In a stroke of genius trying to figure out how to have food at the wedding baby celebration we decided to have a sundae bar with gluten free and lactose free options. Genius. Thanks you PBS rewards at school. In addition there will be flowers and balloons.

There were teacher messages on Tuesday night. It's hard to say I miss you to teacher friends because it suggests a desire to return to work. Instead we opted for a swimming pool play date back in the burg next Wednesday. That will be something to look forward to after the return and change in the living arrangements.

People are happy and having fun.

 

 

 

Favorite quotes of the day "oh crap" while learning craps. And "don't be sad about losing, be happy about me winning."

The dog is exhausted but got to walk on the beach this evening. Here's the thing. When it's hot and humid I become a sheen of sweat after 30 seconds. It is so unbearable. The house is nice enough that you don't feel trapped while inside and a dip in the pool is on the agenda for tomorrow but for the record, I hate hot. Alaska next year. Anybody? Beuller.

 

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Beach Traffic

 

Dog at beach house

 

View at beach house

 

We had a shopping trip as we came in- not at the tourist store. Fruit, cheese, nuts, treats. Georgia crew just made plans for dinner tonight and breakfast for which we are grateful. Really it's how it's supposed to work. It's just that others in the past didn't figure that out and played "your food and our food." They aren't here this time.

It is a huge house and that is the best. Very close to the shore and that is the best. If you decide cool wins over hot there can still be ocean.

 

On the road. Tomorrow will be again.

It feels a little silly to check into a hotel at 3:00 after five hours of driving. Greathusbandbob said "now what are we going to do?" But I'm still glad we've done it this way. Four and a half hour drive tomorrow.

Lots of fun texting with the kids yesterday and today. On the flight here-

 

They're only about twenty miles away but are going to a baseball game in Charlotte tonight. Other family members have been checking in from NY and GA. All very much looking forward.

After some initial slobbering and frothing at every rest stop, the puppers has settled down. She's not even barking at the people outside the hotel room. Just watching a little tv. And has already dug herself under the covers.

 

Because the big guy did all of the driving, I was on meal recon. I had to drive into downtown Mt. Airy to check out the Mayberry factor. There was a kitschy souvenir shop that I probably would have liked. Lots of burger and shake shacks. This time tomorrow twenty people will descend together. Oy. I'm going to try really hard to fight the introversion. How else am I going to convince one of them to take care of me when I get old!

 

Seriously?

So I'm giving the dog a bath before leaving and my feet start to spontaneously and urgently itch.

I've been moisturizing dutifully.  Perhaps have some rare condition.

I have a condition but it's not so rare- apparently an outlying symptom of menopause is itchy feet.  What. The. Hell.

Rather than share a photo of that, I will instead post the delightful comments I got from strangers (because your friends have to say nice things) about the blanket.

On your mark...

It's that time again my friends.  Vacation blogging.  This year should be a good one. We are going here with the whole gang (dog included)  There should be about 20 of us.

https://www.vrbo.com/759718

I believe I mentioned earlier that the favorite niece 

is pregnant, due in October.  I have been working on the CAL Atlanticus by Hooked on Sunshine  (ravelry link)  I'm calling it a belly blanket for baby because the cotton texture is delightful.  So much so that a baby will be happy to be on her belly.

It is the first crocheted pattern that I've wanted to get married to.  I've started two others. One in a sock weight cotton and the other in leftover Monroe Sweater eco-wool (I'll probably have to order more at some point.  Crocheting uses so much yarn.)  I have now imagined every single skein of my stash in some form or other of this pattern.  I'm seriously addicted.

One thing that makes this vacay something to look forward to is that there is enough familiar and therefor less high anxiety. We know the beach, we know the grocery store (which is walking distance from the house!) we know the drive, we know the guests.  And while we are going to miss Greathusbandbob's Trump loving brother, we will be glad to be able to speak freely.

Whilst composing this post a package arrived- a bag from the mochithings store.  I allow myself one new purse/bag change a year.  It usually comes in summer.  When this year's arrived, the logo said:

Summer as it should be

The house is quiet.

1970 made for TV movie streaming on YouTube. Apparently Stefanie Powers was in every single one. Today's selection is called Paperman and is about credit card fraud.

Dog is resting up against me.

Atlanticus baby blanket ready to be attended to.

Quiet until it's not. Here's what arrives on the 17th. We'll have him for breakfast. Which will be easier when it's no longer vacation "how can I help make this memorable" mode.

 

 

There it goes...

Summer, that is. We've had a hitch.

Grandson of greathusbandbob has been making poor choices.

Last month he was taken to the ER unconscious with alcohol poisoning (3.38) after a hazing ritual that he very willingly participated in.

He has always been quite willful. One needs only to revisit summer vacation posts on this blog to get a hint of what it's like.

I am fairly certain his way of being would at least register on the anti-social behavior spectrum. Blood relatives say he's making poor choices. After knowing him for all of his 14 years I think it's pretty safe to say that he's not terribly interested in making good ones. But I wisely say nothing and wait for what happens next.

In an effort at rehabilitation, he alone will be returning with us after the week at the beach. It is under the guise of "helping grandfather" but really is just to give him (and his family) a break and a city with nothing to do and nowhere to go (except the occasional AA lead) seems the right thing to do.

He'll be staying for a month which leads right up to when school resumes. It's not a matter of wanting or not wanting to do it. It's what we have to do.

That being said, greathusbandbob naively believes that his explanation of the situation (helping grandfather) and the incentive of money sent home for work well done will be all that's needed to straighten him out. I, on the other hand, have begun to steel myself for the fireworks I believe are on the way desperately hoping to be proven wrong. (And knowing that if I visit my GP with this added to my list it's a guaranteed Xanax script)

On the up side, there is sure to be a good blog post or two out of the whole experience.

In other news, the humane society has been less than humane in handling our special needs request of a new kitten for cousin. Greathusbandbob points out that many of the workers there are doing court ordered community service. Each encounter has someone saying "it will be approved and you can come in,,." Only to have to call the director this afternoon and have to explain the situation yet again because the repeated story never made it to her. I should have expected that when I saw the county probation officer hanging out in the front hallway.

As for summer plans- Zumba continues. Walking has stalled but there was a MONUMENTAL moment in Spanish this evening. Fear of the Walking Dead had many English subtitles for the Spanish spoken in the show. I easily recognized the words that matched the English translations. Not to the point of not looking at the subtitles but to the point of "oh yeah, that IS what he said."

Short back story- we play a watching TV game where we try to get the next line before the character speaks. Bob is the master. I don't do as well because I don't concentrate hard enough and rarely think ahead,

On the episode we watched this evening a sentence began "si habla.." (if you talk) and the character proceeded to list the consequences. There was a dramatic pause and in it I thought "si no habla..". (If you don't talk...) and I was totally right. It was awesome. But I never said it out loud. It felt kind of showy offy. BUT I CAN TOTALLY PLAY THE GAME IN SPANISH!

Prior to studying the language I used to joke that I hoped one day I would wake up and be able to speak and understand Spanish. In a Jesus kind of way. Now it's happening only it's mostly studying and not so much Jesus.

Tomorrow we go forth in search of chairs so that three people can sit comfortably in our sitting areas without invading one another's personal space (hey ma, you just visited too early-the next time you conme you'll get a comfy chair!)

Here she comes

 

One of my school bff's. We know she's one of my friends when just before she starts down the aisle she panics and says "someone take my gum." It was such a lovely wedding and I was truly happy to be there which, when I thought about it hasn't happened all that often.

The other bonus of the day was hanging with my true school bff secretarysandy

 

We have excellent smiles because when I held up the iPod touch at first I looked at the screen and said "where are we?" It looked like this

 

Then I found the switch it button. You know it's the best bff when you can look at the people in the world, look at each other and know just what the other is thinking. It's one of those unspoken mmmmmhmmmmm's.

The rest of the evening was some mandala crocheting with yet another yarn. I think this is the one.

 

And finally there are two people that I know that I adore having babies this late fall so I will soon be on the baby present hunt.

 

Somewhere

If you keep doing the right things, there will be something to take a picture of. A double rainbow on the way home from Zumba.

 

A treat sent by greathusbandbob's number one son. Husband wants to hear everyone chatter about how they are as excited as he is about vacation. He doesn't really say it that way but it's what he does. We are a month out and had a mini crisis in that I didn't have the right phone number for the stop on the way hotel. All was resolved. Point being, he is so excited.

 

There was this to be proud of today. Just trying to push things forward. There have also been four days in a row of a 6:00 am/7:00 am walking. Humidity hampered the distance earlier in the week but I've kept on getting up so there's that.

 

 

Week two day three

Item one- investment tip. Go for the cooling businesses. That global isn't going to stop warming anytime soon.

Item two- walking has occurred three days this week but curtailed by half this morning. See above

Item three- "what are you doing this summer?" As per my list a few posts ago, I've changed my plans. I'm recovering and relaxing. Who says I have "to do" even after a week or three. Plans are "to be." And study Spanish.

Item four- new friend named Nicole at knit night last night. An youngish odd bird who rode her bike to knit night. She started conversation by asking "how do you drink your coffee" which led to chats about beverages of choice, coffee snobs (which we are not) and top shelf liquor snobs (which we are). She has been a nurse in NICU for some years and is taking a break to see if that's where she will stay. She loves math and wants to take a test to become an actuary. She was very interesting and I hope she comes back.

Item five- item number three leaves this post lacking and I haven't taken any pictures lately. There is a wedding to go to this weekend of first grade teacher friend. There is some knitting that is progressing nicely. There is Orange is the New Black for when a break from politics is required.

Time to be.

Vacay Day 2

Item the one- pay the damn bills. For so long there was so little money that I haven't gotten past dreading it yet. Also it's so much easier than in the past. Do you remember checks and envelopes and stamps!

Item the two- was a valiant attempt at extended napping that did not happen because I had not yet done items one or three.

Item the three-write and send an appeal to an insurance company over a $7000 bill. My hope is that the rehab center just failed to submit properly. There was so much wrong about that place.

Item the four- 54 day streak on DuoLingo and some work on Babbel. I remember a lot but I'm afraid if I go too fast, I'll forget.

Item the five- is a non item. It was raining this morning and I did not take the three mile walk I took the last three days. I wasn't mentally ready this morning anyway but am looking forward to tomorrow's so that's a good thing.

Item the last-I'm undertaking a grand yarn project that will span across several days. I am frogging all of my incomplete stashed projects. I feel like I should have gone with before and after pictures as an artistic statement on process. What I really can't believe is all of the lace projects I've never finished and the degree to which I did finish them. I frogged the beautiful today. Part of this activity will also be taking stock so here are the pics.

 

 

I love yarn.

 

Appreciating Music Appreciation

Next year I will be adding high school music appreciation to my schedule. It's what happens when you teach in a rural area.

One of the ideas suggested to me in a music teacher group had students pick five songs that have the most meaning to them, create a PowerPoint slide/collage for each one and give a presentation on them.

Yesterday, on the first day of summer vacation I started my version to have as a model. I thought about songs that I have "binged" on as well as those that seem so sacred to me that I save listening to them for some imaginary special time that doesn't really exist.

What I wasn't expecting to find were overarching big picture life connections. Once I started to think about how to represent each song these connections surfaced.

 

Barber's Adagio for Strings is the ultimate in sorrow. I can remember sitting on a floor for hours and weeping. It may also be the most comforting release for the clinically depressed. Andwhile I realize now that it was Samuel Adler and not Samuel Barber that I met in college, this encounter brought to light the fact that the composers are a separate entity from the music. Maybe it's not so much we want to meet them as we want to be them, or in some cases we feel we already are them having experienced their music.

 

In contrast, Carl Orff's Street Song is the ultimate in joy. I have never been happier than when I got to play the timpani part in my level 3 Orff training. Also, that training has made me who I am as a teacher and there is no doubt some connection in the joy and sense of accomplishment in that moment and throughout my career.

 

The Littlest Birds speaks to humor and friendship. Knitnightdrjustine brought this one to me and while,they are really singing "the littlest birds sing the prettiest songs", when I first heard it I thought they were saying "the little assed birds sing the prettiest songs" and even when I found out the real words, I stuck with my version and laugh and laugh every time I hear it. One time I listened to only that song over a three hour drive. I'm a big fan of the repeat option.

The last two will be Blackbird and the South African song Shosholoza. I've already come to some realizations about thos pieces but I will save them for when the sleeping res are done.

 

 

Cat Poet Babbles Sunshine

Or what I would name this post if it were fake news.

Item One- granddaughter of greathusbandbob has been named the Youth Poet Laureate of Seattle. I can't wait to find out what that means in real life.

Item Two- cousin's cat died. At home. In the middle of the night.

My first act of the morning was to dispose of a dead cat. Which is better than cousins first act of the morning which was finding him.

When she called this morning we told her to cover him with a towel until we could get there. Cousin being cousin... when I got there she had a kitchen towel on him like a blanket with his head and tail out rather than covered.

As I was adulting, I couldn't help but play Law and Order in my head, noting the body was in full rigor but had not started to decompose.

Item three- having restarted the latest double knitted Star Trek blanket square five times, I am pausing for some crochet. It's called Atlanticus from a website called Hooked on Sunshine. It's Noro- the colors are absolutely not correct but the variety is.

 

Item four- There are two more days with kids, one work day after that and summer vacation begins. Babbel is the winner for clarity of instruction. Duolingo is good for self esteem and a site called languagezen exists to make me realize how much I don't know. Tiny cards for vocabulary training.

 

Seven days with kids.

Item number One.

I believe a major victory in adulthood is when faced with passive aggressive personalities you can see it, let it roll and call it out only in your own mind. I'm getting closer.

Number Two

Kid at school. Here is the picture of a kid at school a million years ago. I now teach his child who is identical.

I'd post a picture of the son but I'm not allowed and I don't really have to because they are twins. Sometimes genetics blow my mind.

Item number three. One time greathusbandbob and I went to Costa Rica. This is my favorite picture in downtown San Jose. (That's greathusbandbob in the window being a Costa Rican Ernest Hemingway) The goal now is a trip to Cuba in similarly rustic accommodations. A girl can dream.

 

Item the four. Right now as the school year nears its completion, another thing I really need is a repeat of the knitnightdrjustine trip to the big apple for some Chinatown, little Italy and cocktail hour in the best decor.

 

 

Finally five. One thing that is for sure on the horizon is the annual July ocean trip which, if accommodations are the measure, this will be the best ever. Seven rooms, sleeps twenty, beachfront, private pool and most importantly king size bed so there is enough room for the dog and an elevator for the luggage. The best part is that there could very well be more than twenty all running in and out, up and down, eating and grocery shopping doing the thing. And zero passive aggression.

 

 

Pedro y el lobo

On the mend from strep, first grade became Peter and the Wolf day. But Julian is in class and I have just enough Spanish chops to say el gato, el pato, el lobo, abuelo and with some help from a blushing five year old, el pajaro.

He was suddenly a star and the look on his face when I had some sentences that made sense instead of pieces of words put together was priceless.

And when he had the answers and kids started asking him about how to say things the look on my face was equally as priceless.

Guano loco and I can teach myself things other than knitting.

That's not an official Spanish phrase, just one I like to use to describe the last weeks of school- they always manage to find a way to become batshit crazy.

I know we are celebrating first responders one day next week. I'm pretty sure that doesn't mean you have to call them to get them to do stuff for you the week before. Details are unreportable and confidential. Everyone is safe and fine, but there was a need. Twice. In one day. When the principal was out of the building. Also a third time would not have been inappropriate but it seemed to get handled. And none of the events were related to each other.

Greathusbandbob and I watched the movie about the mathematician called The Man Who Knew Infinity. It was a good albeit sad movie and I learned a new word. Ramanujen was an autodidact. Wikipedia says-

Generally, an autodidact is an individual who chooses the subject they will study, their studying material and the studying rhythm and time. An autodidact may or may not have formal education, and their study may be either a complement or an alternative to it.

Guess what! I am an autodidact. Today I felt stupid making verb vocabulary cards in present and past tense in Spanish. But then I thought What Would Ramanujen Do? Taking notes for the sake of taking notes seems crazy but it is one of the better ways to learn something. So I did it. Also I don't have to learn Spanish as slowly as high school French happened. I will choose my studying rhythm and time. I'm not sure how I'll know if I'm knowing it but I can understand simple sentences that I couldn't before and that's the goal so I just need to break the habitual constraints of formal education and get on with it.

 

Next idea- because summer is coming, the brain is relaxing, the ideas start to come. Greathusbandbob organized a forum of smart people to speak about various aspects of treatment for drug addiction. You don't need the details. Just know there was a drug pathology professor, a probation officer and a physician who made up the heart of the panel. After hearing them, I think, just like students go to other countries for foreign exchange visits, there should be a program for adults who want to go visit other jobs. I skirted this idea when visiting the accountant but now it's taking on a clearer form. Or maybe it's just more autodidactism.

In other news which is actually a revisit of old news, you can not even imagine how awesome it is to watch the faces of kids as they make music together with giant pieces of paper. They are so surprised by the power and intensity of the sound. There is at least one in every class who makes the same face that's in my head every time I hear it. And with each escalation in sound, the wonder and surprise in their faces expands. For an "offhand, maybe this will work" activity it's been a treasure trove of happy teaching and learning moments.

And finally the weekend will include teaching greathusbandbob how to use his new iPhone. Today is his birthday. And one of us needs to be grown up enough to have a cell phone.

 

This is my job.

There is a standard "let's make a rainstorm" that kids at camp and kids with clever music teachers do. It involves doing the "wave" across the room but instead of hands in the air, its body percussion (snap, clap, pat and variations) building from silence to a big storm.

It was a part of my plan today with the words "giant paper?" penciled next to it. Not prepared to really go there, I walked into the teachers lounge and saw a giant pile of ugly orange poster board for giveaway. If creativity is putting two "knowns" together to make a new known then I win today.

 

We didn't have a thunderstorm, we had hurricane winds with practically on top of us thunder (when they started kicking and punching the paper). It was awesome.