A brief pause...

My Uncle Don passed away a few days ago. My dads youngest brother. He was the most tender sweet lovable guy alive. He lived in great physical pain for as long as I can remember. But he endured it with a spirit that was saintly. Wherever he went there was music smiles and laughter. Rare was the time when he wasn't singing and strumming his guitar or involved with the church. Despite all his physical challenges he took the helm and really cared for my Grandfather in the years leading up to his death. My memories are few and far between of him but there is not one that I don't cherish and treasure and I was looking forward to making some more with him. In July. Before we leave. The plan was coming together. And now.. A hole.. in my heart.

You are missed, Godfather! Heaven welcomes an Angel.

Put me in motion

Greg and I are always watching the currents and predicting where they are going to take us. We have been watching for years. And well... we have always been wrong. As time has gone on the itch to hitch our sails has grown. So when work took him to Germany we began to eyeball the possibility that we could go international. And guess what.. The possibility swiftly gave way to probability and today, with the signature of the contract, it is a done deal (and what a deal it is!)  We are on our way.

In two weekends.. estate sale

The 4th.. A big going away party.

Then packers, movers, road tripping extreme and flying away. 

  

Meanwhile.. The school year ended. Connor had a awards Ceremony. 

Willow performed two performances of Billy Goats Gruff. She was a butterfly. At the end of rehersals she was always exhausted but had awesome stories and really enjoyed working with the Reach program and its participants.




When I can I sneak in walks with my dear neighbor!



We finally have a handle on our Aquaponic system!


Connor has been developing a love of our horse neighbors.



The landlord is developing our yard beautifully and is currently building a gazebo/hot tub. And he rented out the barn to commissioned artists. I can't wait to see what the property looks like when we return stateside.


Meanwhile paperwork!! Sorting!! Cleaning!! Summer School!! Arranging visits!! And.. Well its a long list and I  need to return my attention to it!! 

Rounding third and bringing it on home

Whoo Whee!  The last month of school is always crazy no matter what the grade. The last few weeks have been quiet a race but we have managed them at a fairly decent pace. Even with the addition of Wonderland on our plates.

Willow stepped into her role as a mom (flour sack baby school project) with excitement and gusto. She bought clothes and a carrier with her work earnings. And, upon Yeelissa's (Don't ask me about the name) arrival, Willow shown bright and proud. It didn't last long. She was quickly exhausted to her core. The added weight, even without the crying and the pooping, was quite a lesson in and of itself. The ache and the strain of toting 10 pounds around with her constantly for 7 days straight (not to mention hefting along a backpack and her costume which was more than uncomfortable and the hustle of the stage) did her in. More on that later...  Another interesting aspect of her lesson was how she was perceived in public. Because of the carrier she had you could not tell it was a flour sack. People looked at her with such.. disdain. While at the chiropractor one lady glared so much that Willow pulled out Yeelissa and began reading her nutritional facts.  The woman then burst out.. "My son had a flour baby!" Then she quietly took a picture. I suspect it ended up somewhere on social media... "Son, remember when this was you? #funtimesinparenthood #Rememberwhen " Anyway, it was quite an assignment and she learned more than a little bit from it.  Primarily she learned parenthood is pain and endurance. And if you are a teen mom it takes a hell of a backbone.

Speaking of backbones.. Wednesday Willow started to complain of neck pain. Well not only complaining. crying too. Long story short all of the things going on with her had lead to a twisted neck, pinched nerve. Or so it seemed to be the likely culprit. We got her straight to the chiropractor. (Her flour sack baby project had ended two days earlier) And adjustment and then off to school. She managed but still in pain. Then off to rehearsals (Which were just watching the rough cut of the play on cd). Friday a full day at school, a revisit with the chiropractor and the addition of a neck brace then an evening show.  She managed.. painfully.

High Schools now requires volunteer hours in order to graduate, Willow has been struggling to find a cause worthy of her interest. Well the theater partners with the Reach program which gives Autistic and other severely challenged youngsters a chance to participate in theater. This is right up her alley. So her Saturday started with her volunteering at the theater at 8:30 which consisted of pushing a wheelchair about. At 11:30 she was in costume and in the farmers market promoting the show and then... curtains. After the first showing was the cast party.

I got a standing ovation from the kids for my help. And then we walked to a park and had a picnic with most of the cast. It was a little chilly but the kids kept warm dashing about. Then back to the theater for the last show. After which was the after party.

By the end of it Willow was a mess and the next day rather immobile.

I took her to Urgent Care on Sunday.. looking for a little bit of pain relief. We sat for two hours before getting her in to see the 90 year old deaf  Dr.  He was a very pre-cautious fellow who became concerned that it might be meningitis and hurriedly sent us off to the ER.  What an experience that was. Willow was placed in a mask as she might be contagious and we waited another 3.5 hours before getting a room.

When the dr. finally strolled in he asked her to take off the mask. She did. He said, "She doesn't have meningitis. If she did it would be impossible to pull off the mask and she has no other signs. Im not going to take spinal fluid". I was fine with that. And then he left. He didn't touch her... nothing. So then they came in to release us and I was like.."What?! She needs pain relief. Get the Dr. back here." He explained that based on chiropractic assessment and all that had happened, this was not an "emergency" and he could do no more to help us. I asked for meds and he said no he wasn't giving her any. There was nothing he could do. He left and after a little bit longer we were released. It was a very long day.

Needless to say, I kept her home today  and I got her into the chiropractors once more. They suspect the flu has gotten into her muscles with the added complication of a sinus infection coupled with the stresses she has been challenged with. She needs to be on her feet for finals which start tomorrow. Ack! With the chiropractors recommendations and adjustment she is showing signs of improvement. At least we are moving in the right direction and I am super pleased we are not dealing with meningitis! Next week will be dedicated to recuperation. Then its off to summer school for a solid month.

Anyway... Nell and David brought Nells mom down last weekend to watch the play and afterwards go hunting out Nells grandmother (and namesakes) old home which was not far from the theater. They arrived for brunch and after dropping the kids to the theater we wandered the farmers market and got in a beer. It was wonderful as always to see my dear friends and catch up on their (and their mom's) adventures.

In other news, After getting home from the hospital it was time to get Greg ready for his next BIG adventure. Greg is off to Germany. Checking out a foreign country. Looking all swank and dapper. It will be interesting to see where all this leads. But in the meantime I will just enjoy the view. 

In other news, Greg takes and gives all sorts of personality tests for work. He was curious about what Myers Brigs would say about me. So I took it and it turns out I am an INFJ. Its pretty dead on. Interesting. Says, among other things, that I should be a writer. I have been working on the start of a piece. I think it is a pretty solid beginning. Now Im wondering where to take it. It will develop over summer I am sure. That is the extent of the plans I have set for summer so far.

And that is the news for now.  Hope all is well! 

XOXO  

There is no fragrance in April breezes till breathed with joy as they wander by...

Its been a while eh?!  Since last I wrote there was tax day. I checked and double checked my numbers and there went 10k.


But I am happy to report that is the worst of my news. The rest of the time has ben busy.. some might even say tiring. (I can't say that I have seen her zonk out in the car since she was super small!) 

We are heading into the last few weeks of school when our activity level always ramps up. Greg actually had his accounting final (Ick!) this weekend.       

 

 

There have been Fieldtrips.... Willow went to a traditional tea ceremony with her Japanese class. I can't believe that girl is old enough to raid my closet let alone pull off my clothes..... And there have been Birthday parties.... And there have been 6 weeks of intense rehearsals for "Wonderland."  The kids receive college credit for their participation and they truly deserve it. It is intense and challenging. The biggest frustration came two nights before curtain when the director made huge changes to everything and cut a majority of their particular scene.  The first show was last Friday. It went pretty well considering and each of the two shows on Saturday got progressively better. Next weekend Nell and David will be down to watch and I will get a chance to come out from behind the scenes and actually enjoy it. I have been helping with costumes, makeup and the calling of places.

 

 And squeezed in and around the edges I managed to sit down and read a novel that my dear old friend, Rebecca Kelly,  just had published. It is called Broken Homes and Gardens and is a story of love and friendship in Portland.

Meanwhile and in addition to everything going on with the kids and I, Greg has been making some strides and gaining some recognition at work. His employees are very happy and his production is above parr. In addition to wrapping up his accounting course (He got a B!) he has been working on learning German. In a few weeks or so he will be crossing the sea for his first international work related trip (technically he has had other international work trips but going to Canada isn't the same as Europe). Anyway, that is exciting and fun news and it will be interesting to see what directions this may lead us in.

 



What else? Im sure there is more because.. well like I said it has been busy..

 

Connor and I attended a jr. high track meet down the road that a lot of his old friends were competing at. He enjoyed it. I on the other found it rather nostalgic and found myself humming Def Leopard "Pour Some Sugar on Me".  It was a popular song when I ran track in jr. high.

 

 Anyway..

 

Yesterday we had dinner with the neighbors and got to meet Kathleens parents. I love this little community I live in.

 

 

 

It was a good time. Willow had a chance to finally show off her baby girl, Yeelysse.

 

 

 

10 pounds and full of fine powder. Willow is a mother for a week for school and she has taken to the project with gusto.   And Greg has started to get a grip on the idea of being a grandfather.

For the most part the weather has been grey, grey and more grey. Coupled with a chill damp wind that never seems to stop. I miss the sun.  

 But the views are still quite impressive.

 

 

 

 

 



More Grow than Show

Ive been struggling to get to the keyboard all week and now that I am here I don't have to many words aching to find their place on the page. My mind is quiet and calm and really I prefer to write when its more blustery.. A bird in flight. 

We welcomed in spring with the midnight arrival of Heather, which then promptly turned into a facial. This facial was something else. Not a facial by my definition.. a biore strip and some moisturizer from the pharmacy... No this was something else indeed. This was Hollywood style beauty treatment makeover. Heather brought her supplies from home,.. well a fraction of them anyway... There was an electronic brush, a mask that burned, elixirs, lotions and potions, A red wand which emits uv light or something. Then there were these metallic balls that emitted an electrical current and "Sculpted" the shape of the face. At the end my face was like brand new. My deepest lines,the ones on my forehead, disappeared. I suppose it took off a few years. And even today, a week later, my face is still shiny and plump. 

 We did this while drinking wine and waiting for Greg to get in from Boston. His flights were delayed due to weather and he didn't walk in until 3:30 am. We turned in and Saturday started welcoming guests at 11 but the party really didn't start until 12;30 or so. Wonderful neighbors, wonderful company. Good times. Things wrapped up by 6 which was perfect given exhaustion overload from the late night.  For pics..click here 

Sunday night we received unexpected but very pleasant company in the form of Melissa and Trinity. They were mermaiding their way down the coast on an impromptu weekend getaway. They also came bearing bloody meat. How could I turn them away? We visited for a few solid hours and saw them off to thier next destination. 

Then into the week.. meetings at school, the beginning of rehearsals for Wonderland and its been nothing but go. The performances are the first three weekends in May. Then we roll right into summer school and maybe another production. Busy times.

We are still working out glitches on the aquaponics system. but have started a few things a-growing. Fingers crossed. 

Did I ever post this cute pic of Con on his way to the valentines day dance?

Savoring some flavorful moments

It looks like El Jeffe is not going to get the transfer I had hoped for. The company isn't moving in that direction. And so we remain in port itching for change yet entirely enjoying the life at hand. Eventually it will be time to jump.. when I don't know. Where remains a mystery. But when its right.. well then.. it will be right. Until then .. Wonder-lust. Tis the season for it.  Awe.. Spring!

So Anyway,

I've been playing with a new deck. A deck whose back is covered in what I could easily call stars.   Its a deck which speaks the language of music. Fun little things.  They go deep and there is little ambiguity in deciphering them..  D. asks, "Shall I buy an income property at the lake?" The cards describe her motivations clearly and tell why she is hesitant then end with "Ritardando" or stop. So far the responses have been pretty clear and concise. 

It is a perfectly quiet peaceful moment. Greg is out of town tonight (Boston to Florida and back this round), I happily wait for his return. The kids are down.  The house is clean.. well .. pretty darn close to being clean and I am well on my way to being prepared for a little Spring get together this weekend... I feel on rather on top of things.. not everything.. but most things. I am relaxed and energized from a little swim today with my good neighbor friend Kathleen and the kids (I might have more to say about this later but must remain mum for the moment). Im relaxed and energized from our daytrip to San Jose yesterday.. Do you know the way to San Jose?.. Finally a musical interlude you can appreciate, mom!! Anyway I digress and if I continue in this vein I will spend the night writing those stories and missing the moment at hand.  A moment which is blissful and perfect for tuning into the sound of our future and seeing what is in the stars.

 

Intermission

 

I did the reading a few days ago. Yes it has been that long. After I crashed and since I have been running pretty steady.... guest preparation, school.. (this is Math time today. We were working on solving story problems) 

fThen there was driving, playing single parent for the week. collecting eggs from hidden nests, getting some plants in the aquaponics bed,  doing some filing and data entry for a friend and ...so on. All the while, I've been meaning to get back to the keyboard to dissect the cards I pulled and tell about the adventures of last weekend. Bah.. But here now Wednesday night I finally get a chance and I'm going to jump in.. not with those stories just yet.. but with some fresh memories. 

Willow came home and began puking. She'd been fighting it all day. I wonder if it was because she started sex ed. today. It is a topic which she is not particularly enthused about. Being the good mother that I am, and in order to prepare her for what lay in store, on the drive to the bus this morning, I began rattling off the proper terms for the reproductive parts for both men and women. She practically leapt from the car before I had completely stopped to let her out. :P Funny Story.. not the puking part anyway. And I am pretty sure that the cause is actually more biological than psychological.  Heck Im sick too but with the sniffles. I watched this bug course through Greg so I know it will get worse tomorrow and Friday I will be pretty burnt but I should be back on top by Saturday. I hope the same can be said for Willow.  Connor is not showing any signs yet. Wait and see.. Probably just as we get to play rehearsals Tuesday. Knock on Wood. 

In other car related conversational type stories.. Today on the ride home from school, Connor asked, "Mom, can I ask you a question? Its kind of weird... Well never mind" I told him that there was nothing he could not ask me and he jumped in without much further hesitation. He then began to ask me why people cheat on each other when they could just be honest with each other. He is still processing Grandma's divorce and striving to understand things. Hes starting to move away from wanting to take serious revenge .. Needless to say, he took the whole thing rather to heart.. and now he is struggling to find ways that such destruction and broken heartedness can be averted.  I told him that I believed it was possible to love more than one person at once, and I asked him to think about how many he holds in his heart now. I said that if a person faced a situation where they wanted to be in a relationship with more than one person than  ideally it is the best to be truthful. He agreed. But I then told him that that approach is really hard for a great many people. They fear that they will loose the people they have to tell. And that fear is real. If Grandpa had have come to Grandma from the start, it would have spelled the end right away for them. Anyway, I told him that being honest is a wonderful (yet sometimes painful) trait and that I was proud of what an honest young man he was. Wouldn't it be an amazing world if he were the rule and not the exception?

So yep. there you go a few brief reflections of the good times had today.

 I guess now I can get back to the stories I mentioned at the start. Last Saturday the kids and I left Greg at home sick and went into the City. It was out last hockey game we are going to this season but Greg was sick and catching a flight out to Boston the next day. He needed to mend and spend the day in bed asleep. Good thing too. How else was he going to be able to enjoy some very authentic St. Patty's Day Festivities in Boston which sounded like a blast.. at least it did from the drunken, gooey, sentimental murmurs coming through the phone at midnight.

Anyway, last weekend.. Hockey.. Blackhawks swept across the frozen shark infested waters with  skill and won 6-2. 

I donned Blackhawks colors but not in the typical jersey/hat sort of way ) You see.. It was also super pi day. As in math pi. 3.14.15 .. The date is the start of the number pi. And this year it went to 4 decimal points. Weird geeky math fun. Anyway, I had arranged a visit with Nell and David afterwards and it was super hot ..85 or so.. Maybe you don't think that is to hot but when 55 to 60 is your daily year round norm.. 85 is like an oven. Given all these factors I felt it was a great day to break in a new sun dress in team colors (Plus being pi day ..  I was cherry!) After the game ended, we walked to Bijan Cafe and Bakery on Market street. This rather nicely captures how happy they were at the mile long journey from the stadium to the restaurant. 

But the selection of fine European deserts was fantastic and so very hard to choose from and I think helped make up for the misery of crowds, smokers, heat and exercise that I put them through to get there. The deli part was not near as fancy but provided a decent dinner. The decor featured some really interesting cake plates which Nell and I marveled at while the kids played magic tricks on me and stole my wallet and phone from right under my nose. I suppose my attention was wrapped up in the excellent conversation. We caught up with some of the details of life and talked about new scientific discoveries (of one sort or another) and Aquaponics. Which reminds me to post Connors school presentation at the end of this. Willow had a presentation at school this week as well. She raided my closet and went to school yesterday looking like this. She is a beauty!

:

Back in San Jose, after our fill up, Nell and David walked us back to our car. Dave is quite the storyteller and history buff. He regaled us with tales of turn of the century bank robbers and pointed out the architectural details of churches while Nell darted here and there looking at birds and pointing out the fleeting details of the present moment. Wonderful to wander with them. We stopped to check out a cool sculpture in route  

However, just when she thought I wasn't looking.. Nell tried to eat the cheesecake I was taking home to Greg! 

Fortunately Dave stopped her! 

It was a wonderful but all to brief visit. Maybe we will get in a longer visit soon. Attempts will be made! 

Sunday Greg caught his flight.. I said earlier that he was going to be going to Boston then Florida but he ended up cutting his trip short so that he could be home with us this weekend. 

Now as to that reading.. I have not yet analyzed it but I did get a quick impression which just left more questions. I guess our next destination is going to remain a mystery for the time being. 

“It's spring fever. That is what the name of it is. And when you've got it, you want—oh, you don't quite know what it is you do want, but it just fairly makes your heart ache, you want it so!” 

― Mark Twain

 

Here is the link to Connor Aquaponics presentation. Enjoy! Much Love!