How I Spent My Summer Vacation, part 1.

First of all, I can't believe it's been so long since I last posted. Where in the heck do the days go?! I'm sorry for the lack of updates. There's nothing (to me) more frustrating than finding a blog you like to read and having the blogger not update regularly. I will try to remedy that situation and maintain some sort of regular timeframe when it comes to updating. That said, I have been extraordinarily busy of late.

Last week we were on vacation. We stayed home doing projects around here until Wednesday morning, at which point we headed for Vancouver and Victoria, BC. But before I go into the details of that trip, let me regale you with tales of the project that consumed the three consecutive Saturdays preceding last Saturday.

Our oldest son bought a beautiful home in the Spokane Valley almost two years ago. They already had a nice house in Liberty Lake (just east of the Spokane Valley), but it was in a very crowded neighborhood filled with cookie-cutter houses on small lots with just a few feet between them. They put a for sale sign on that house and sold it in three days. Their new home is in a beautiful development called Morningside and is situated on a hill, or rather collection of hills, about 3 miles south of "downtown" Spokane Valley, overlooking the entire Spokane area. The lots are big - half an acre or more - as are the homes. All the houses have three car garages, are custom built, have sprinkler systems, and beautifully landscaped yards. Tommy's house was no exception. The photos on the realtor's web site showed a gorgeous yard with beautifully blooming perennials and a healthy green lawn. The interior was immaculately decorated by the lady of the house with each room painted a different color and sporting wallpaper walls and/or borders. It was quite a step up from their other home, although the layout was almost identical, just larger.

It didn't take long for them to realize the landscaping required far more maintenance than either of them could manage. The previous owner was a stay-at-home mom who had plenty of time for pruning shrubs, deadheading flowers, and doing the many chores that accompany a heavily planted yard. Tommy and Shannon are on the go constantly. When they're not ferrying Sydney to and from basketball games, tournaments, camps, and school, they're taking Alyssa to swimming lessons or daycare, going to the gym, playing basketball themselves, or working. Throw in some summer fun, visits to Sandpoint, a vacation here and there, and you have a recipe for yardwork disaster. Before long, the shasta daisies were overrunning the front landscape beds, carpet roses were so big and overgrown with blooms they were an eyesore rather than an accent to the yard, vinca was sprouting from every spot in the yard that wasn't covered with grass, and thistle was sprouting from the middle of the few junipers in the yard. It was a nightmare - and that was just the front yard. The backyard is an even bigger problem, but not one so glaringly visible to every passerby. In a neighborhood of perfectly cared for yards, theirs stood out as an eyesore. At one point early this summer, they decided to put the house on the market - after all, the housing market was going crazy, values had skyrocketed, and it made sense to get out while the getting was good. The plan was to sell the house, pay off bills, get out of debt, move to Sandpoint and build a house the way they wanted it for less money. Well, after several open houses with dozens of prospective buyers tromping through the place, after dropping the price by several thousand dollars, the house remained unsold. Too many new homes were being built all around them that could be had for almost the same price. I don't think the overwhelming landscaping helped. When they realized a sale would not be imminent, they adjusted their plan. If they had to stay in the house, then they had to deal with the yard. That's where we came in. If there is one thing we know, it's landscaping for maximum curb appeal but minimum maintenance.

We had always felt that the area right outside their bay window next to their walkway and "porch" was perfect for a patio. The yard is two levels - the lawn and driveway are on one level with steps that take you two steps higher to another level just in front of the front door and front of the house that was filled with these impossibly overgrown perennials. Another two steps up takes you onto the small porch from which you enter the house. A long, exposed aggregate sidewalk takes you from the driveway, up the steps to the door. A brick retaining wall with two short columns divides the upper level from the lower one. It was our perception that a patio to the left of the sidewalk would be a perfect addition to the front of the house. In order to put one in, all the perennials would have to be removed. Tommy and Shannon decided they liked the idea and set about preparing for the creation of the patio. They also followed our recommendation and got rid of all the bark in the landscape beds with the intention of replacing it with river rock. Rock is much cleaner looking, doesn't fade every year and require replacement with fresh rock like bark does, is less likely to foster the growth of weeds, and makes killing any that do try to grow a lot easier. They had their work cut out for them.

About a month ago they called us and told us they had removed all the bark, had ordered rock, and were ready for us to start helping with the patio. We drove over to see their progress and were amazed at what a difference just getting rid of the overgrown perennials and bark made. The place already looked neater, cleaner, and much more inviting. They also had concrete curbing put in around all the landscape beds that matched their brick on the house and the retaining wall. You could actually see the front of the house for a change. We decided we would come very early the following Saturday and start the patio. We went with them to the landscape supply place and helped them decide on the pavers for their patio, the pattern they wanted them laid in, and the color they wanted the pavers in. The hardscape guy at Gibson's Nursery in Spokane was super helpful.

We arrived at Tommy's at 7AM ready to start excavating for an 11x15 patio. Their soil is pretty sandy so we didn't think the excavation would take too long. A few shovelfuls into the project we realized we were in trouble. The entire area was filled with rocks, roots, and hard, hard soil. It was amazing anything had grown there. Tom realized there was no way we could excavate by hand so he had me get out the yellow pages and start calling around in hopes of finding someone with a mini backhoe who could come excavate that day - a Saturday. Yeah, right. I didn't hold out much hope that this was even a remote possibility. To my surprise, we did find someone! The guy drove over to look at the job, called his backhoe operator to see if he felt like doing the job, and said it was a go. Within 20 minutes we had a mini backhoe on site digging out the patio. Tom and Tommy hauled away wheelbarrow after wheelbarrow of dirt to Tommy's backyard (he has this huge area on the side of his house that the previous owner used for storing an RV and a race car). After about an hour and a half, the excavation was done. It cost $150 but was worth every penny. We'd probably still be digging if the backhoe hadn't come. Apparently, the area where the house sits is glacial moraine. That means that it's full of rocks, sand, clay and all sorts of other unwelcome stuff. Add to that the construction debris, like cinderblocks and roofing shingles, that was obviously just plowed under when they finished building the house, and you have a real mess. Thank goodness for the mini backhoe!

Now the work began in earnest. We now had a big hole and a lot of dirt piled around that we had to level and make into the hole for the patio and prepare for the surrounding landscaping. Oh, did I mention that this particular Saturday was the hottest day of the year so far - and that the house faces southwest so is in blazing sun all day long? Yeah, that was a really nice feature of this project. There was only shade until about 9AM and then again at about 7PM. Aside from that, full sun, blisteringly hot, reflecting off of the brick facade on the house all day long. This particular day temps reached 98 degrees. I swear it was 108 in the sun with the heat off those bricks. After the backhoe left, we had a lot of dirt to spread around and still more digging. There had been this crazy mound of dirt at one end that we had to level out and a slope that needed to be made less steep. Tom, Tommy, Shannon, and I raked, dug, raked, moved dirt, carried away boulders, and raked for hours. Then the guys started bringing in the crushed rock that would be the foundation for the patio while I started spreading landscape fabric and rock in the surrounding landscape bed. Every time one of the guys brought a wheelbarrow full of rock to be dumped into the hole, I had to stop what I was doing to lift the front of the wheelbarrow up the two steps so the wheelbarrow didn't chip the steps. I must have done this 100 times. After they'd dump the rock, I started spreading it in the hole. Shannon was inside making something to eat and then taking care of Alyssa for most of this. My forearms were screaming, as were my hands. It was brutally hot and none of us could get enough to drink. But time was of the essence and we had to keep working.

We finally took a break about 1:30 PM for half an hour to eat lunch. That break made it extremely difficult to go back to work. We had two yards of rock to move from the driveway into the hole and then to level. We also had about 6 or 8 yards of river rock to put into the landscape beds - a part of the project that is still ongoing. We worked until 8 PM and finally got all the rock in the hole, leveled, the dirt spread, shrubs trimmed and/or removed, and things ready for putting the pavers in place. It was one of the longest, most miserable days of my life. We were filthy. I had worn my Chaco sandals so my feet were caked with dirt and water. My legs were streaked with dirt and sweat. I felt as if someone had dumped me into a barrel of salt while I was wet thanks to the dried sweat that covered my body. We were going to take a shower at Tommy's before heading home, but we were so tired we just drove home filthy, showering once we got home and falling into bed immediately thereafter. What an ordeal! And there was more to come.

Next... laying the pavers, with accompanying photos.

Hotter than blazes

I'm not sure what exactly happened to summer this year. June was, well, weird and not at all summer-like. Actually, I think April had hotter weather this year than June did. Then came July. We went from rain, rain, and more rain, to blisteringly hot unbearable hotness overnight. We went from needing the heater on and closed windows and doors to all doors and windows open 24/7, fans going, and it's still unbearable at 10PM. Go figure. And no, I don't attribute it to global warming. I am not sure I believe in global warming as much as I believe in cycles. Weather always goes in cycles (remember the ice age?). Anyway, we didn't have a few weeks of nice high 70's low 80's temps like we usually do. We just jumped right into the 90's and we've stayed there for weeks. They are forecasting some rain on Saturday with temps about 77, which would be a welcome relief. But Sunday is supposed to be clear and hot again. Normally, we get our hot days in late July, and there are usually just a few strung together - maybe 6 or 7 - before we get rain and cooler temps. Not this year. One good thing though - we haven't had the 100+ temps yet. Now, I'm not complaining really. I do love sunny, warm weather. I just wish it wasn't SO hot. The other day I went to get the paper at 8AM and it was already hot. I felt like I was in Vegas or Palm Springs it was that hot. Weird weather. We had practically no winter. Spring was warm and fairly dry. Summer started out cool and wet and is now insanely hot and dry. I wonder what fall will be like.

I love autumn. I hope it stays warm well into October. That would be awesome. I would also love another mild winter, but the plants and bugs need a real winter, a cold, snowy one. The plants need the deep moisture and the bugs need to be killed off. We've got all sorts of weird bug strains we don't usually see because of the lack of a snowy winter last year. I am not too thrilled with the copious numbers of bugs in my lawn and on my plants, so I could go for a very cold and snowy winter if it means fewer bugs next year - and healthier flowers and plants.

This is a really boring, pathetic post so I am going to end it and go home and barbecue tri-tip for dinner.

Where was I when everyone else went to Europe?

Okay, that does it. I've come to the conclusion that I am the only person in the US who has not been to England or Europe or Japan or even Hawaii. What's up with that? I regularly read the blog of Nathan, Jonathan's freshman year roommate. Nathan is in England right now as part of Whitworth College's British Isles Study Program. That alone makes me so jealous I can hardly stand it. Along with Nathan are several other Whitworth students, of course. Some of them blog as well. One girl has been to England twice before! Even Nathan's parents have been to England! Nathan's sister just returned from the Czech Republic, and Nathan's friend, Shaun, is in Japan.

So, what's wrong with me? When I was in college, going to Europe was out of the question. The cost of air fare was completely out of reach. I don't recall vast numbers of fellow students winging their way to Europe. Then again, there were all those kids backpacking around Europe, traveling by train, staying in youth hostels, and returning to taunt the less fortunate with tales of their escapades abroad. Oh yeah, I forgot... my then husband's sister spent a semester in Greece her senior year of high school too. In the ultimate betrayal, shortly after college, my own brother went to Italy wtih our ex-stepbrother, found our grandfather's family home, found our Italian cousins in that home, hung out with them for several days, trekked around Switzerland, went to Morocco, and returned to regale me with his adventures, while I stayed here in the US, working, working, working. He even went back across the Atlantic to India and Switzerland after he was married. And, to add insult to injury, he recently returned from Hawaii with his oldest son. My kid sister has been to Italy and Paris recently with a friend and I am sure she was in Europe once before when she was in the Air Force. My own father has been to England on a couple of occasions when he was in the Air National Guard. He used to arrange to do his active duty there so my stepmom, who is British, wanted to visit her sisters. My very best friend has been to Europe. She lived in England for a year while her father taught at some university. My other best friend is going to Hawaii for his honeymoon in less than a month. Oh... and two coworkers took European vacations this year - one to England and Paris, one to Italy. Gina has been stuck in the Western US and Canada her entire life. That is so sad.

My travels? Outside the US, I've been to Tijuana, British Columbia (Victoria, Creston, Nelson) Alberta (Calgary, Edmonton, Banff, Jasper, and the towns in between) and that's about it. The farthest east I've been is Nappanee, Indiana, and that was to check out library software. I didn't get to sightsee or anything, just drive from Chicago to Nappanee and back. I was in Chicago for a couple of days but didn't even go downtown to see the sights like Navy Pier. I was alone and it was just too weird. I did drive from Chicago to my sister's house in Spooner, WI and spend a few days with her. Then back to Chicago, back on the plane, back to Sandpoint. I've visited or lived in pretty much every state west of Colorado, but that's the extent of my travels. Pathetic, isn't it? Well, that just has to change! The plan is for the three of us, Jonathan, Tom, and me, to go to the UK as soon as Whitworth gets out in May 2006. I also really think Jonathan needs to find a way to do a study abroad. Whitworth has several opportunities for students to go to Europe, Central America, and various other places for class credit. I know once I visit anywhere in Europe, I am going to want to go back more and more often. I am sure Jonathan and Tom will feel likewise, so I think the plan now is to save for a trip abroad at least every two years. If Jonathan can go with fellow students in one of the study abroad opportunities, all the better. I just don't want him sitting at his computer one day wondering "why on earth didn't I make sure I went to Europe before the kids, mortgage, and job tied me down?"

All you kids who are in Europe or Japan or wherever right now... you'd better post a lot because I am living vicariously through your blogs! I hope you all realize really how lucky you are and cherish this experience.

More Photos

Since I had some weird issues with Blogger Images yesterday, I decided to post a couple more here. Here is one more of the finished shed project. Note the terrific, perfect, level floor all nicely edged with the treated 2x4s, the fresh coat of paint on everything, and the perfectly mowed lawn - that's MY contribution - well, I held boards while they were nailed in place, held levels, fetched materials, and so on. All actual construction was done by Tom, of course. Oh yeah, I washed, on my hands and knees with a scrub brush, in the driveway, 5 sheets of lattice - both sides. THAT was a horrible job!

So, shed photo -

And this is a photo taken just last weekend of the pots on the patio. Notice how beautiful they are now that things have grown a bit. Notice, too, the freshly sealed patio. It looks SO nice. Tom did that arduous task Saturday morning bright and early (as in 6AM), before the sun hit the patio. Again, take note of the perfectly manicured lawn. That is my handiwork. I mow the front yard with the push mower twice a week. Jonathan mows the back with the rider, also twice a week. We mulch, so you have to mow often or it gets too long to mulch.

Okay, some flower pix I tried to upload yesterday. These are of the lilies along the driveway. Now only the daylilies are blooming as the pink Asiatic lilies have finished blooming. They really are a sight to behold when they are blooming in such profusion. They just keep getting thicker and thicker each year. I love it!

The Shed Project

Tom calls it a "lean-to". I call it a "carport" for the riding lawnmower. To me, lean-to sounds like something you throw up with scrap lumber with a tarp for a roof or something equally as makeshift. When Tom kept talking about building a lean-to onto the shed, I envisioned something not all that attractive or functional. I wasn't really keen on the idea. Boy, was I in for a surprise when we started building it - a pleasant one! I don't know why I ever had a negative thought. Tom is a perfectionist. Everything he builds, everything he does, is done perfectly, tastefully, and with great skill. If he can't do it well, he will hire someone who can. The crazy things is, when it comes to house and yard stuff, I have yet to see a project he had to hire out. From the paver patio out front to the fountain/pond to this carport, he's exceeded my hopes, let alone expectations, every time. See for yourself: These first photos are during the construction. The roof is on - it's made from that corrugated polycarbonate stuff - but we have yet to put the floor in and the lattice that will enclose it is just leaning against the neighbor's fence. The floor is made of 12" x 12" x 2.5" concrete patio blocks. Tom leveled all the dirt, put sand down, and leveled each block. It was only about 95 the day he did it and this part of the yard gets sun pretty much all day long.


Now - the finished project:

Well, I have two others showing the shed in more detail, but Blogger won't let me post any more photos so... you can sort of see the wonderful floor, all framed out in pressure treated 2x4's. The lattice will help keep the stuff dry and keeps prying eyes from seeing what's inside very easily (it's the privacy lattice as opposed to the more common garden lattice). The riding lawnmower fits nicely inside (under its new cover) while there is plenty of room for the two walk-behind mowers and the fireplace thing we used on July 4th (it's in the back corner). The overall dimensions inside are 8 feet wide by 10 feet deep. I'll post more pix of the finished project tomorrow when Blogger frees me up to do so.

A Plethora of Photos

Okay, this post is going to be nothing but photos and captions.

This is a shot of those lilies from Jonathan more fully in bloom. They were even more beautiful in person!







Who says white men can't jump? This is Tommy taking a couple of shots during Hoopfest, the largest 3-on-3 basketball tournament in the world, held in Spokane the last weekend in June every year. Pretty good height for a 5' 9" white guy! (They won the game AND their bracket!)

4th of July at our house...
This is our backyard. We roasted marshmallows, made S'mores, and shot off fireworks from back by the property line once it got dark (about 9:45PM). In attendance: Shana (left with red sweatshirt on), Tom (leaning back on the deck steps), Shannon (sitting next to Tom), Olivia (blond in pajamas), Sydney (in pink PJ's), Tyler (roasting a marshmallow), Ryan (in shorts and yellow t-shirt), Jonathan (in beige shorts), Alyssa (purple shirt and blue jeans), and Tommy (Carolina Blue shorts).

In the following photo you can see the empty lot behind us. The lake shore is just beyond those trees across the street from the lot. That house on the left fronts the lake. In the winter, we can see the water from our yard when the trees are bare. You can see one of the three tents the kids put up to sleep in that night. It was a gorgeous night, perfect for fireworks and sleeping outside.





As the night progressed, so did the quest for the perfectly roasted marshmallow. Here's a shot of a couple of likely candidates roasted by Jonathan.






The grandkids all enjoyed the fireworks, especially the sparklers. Alyssa is having fun with hers in this photo. The key was keeping them from lighting each other or the tents on fire.

Well, I've tried twice now to add three more photos, but Blogger is not cooperating. Maybe this is a sign that this is where this post should end.

No wonder I have no fans!

When one doesn't update one's blog, one loses readers! I should KNOW that because I have given up reading a few blogs wherein the bloggers fail to update. I am stunned that the last entry in my blog was 19 days ago! Honestly, where did the days go?

I know I promised photos, so here they are, at long last. So, first photo is of our patio in May, right after I planted the big flowerpots. On the left you can see a bunch of flowers still waiting to be planted. As usual, clicking on the small photo will take you to a larger version.

Next is a photo of the fountain we have in front of the dining room windows with all the flowerpots around it.

And then I potted the pots you see in this photo with red geraniums, pansies, and lobelia. There are four of these pots and they sit between the daylilies and asiatic lilies that have yet to bloom in these photos.

This photo was supposed to show you the three pots - one on each side of the arbor and one in the concrete birdbath - that supplement the flowers on the side of the house, but they don't show up all that well. That shed is the subject of that project Tom and I worked on during our vacation. Those photos are forthcoming.

A year ago, I was having a bad day. Jonathan felt bad for me, so he went out and bought me a pot of beautiful orange lilies. They really cheered me up. When the blooms faded, I potted them outside. Surprisingly, in early fall, they bloomed again! I half forgot about them over the winter. They lived outside through the winter months. This spring I looked at this pot and saw the lilies emerging from the soil. They had more than doubled in number! This is a shot of them when they had just begun to bloom. I have another shot I'll post of them in full bloom. They were gorgeous! I can't wait until next year, when they will again multiply in number. They are neat in that they are short - only about 18" to 2 feet tall. I planted some columbines and petunias in with them so it becomes an interesting, perennial pot to look forward to each spring.

Well, I think I will post the other photos in a different post and end this one for now. This is the first time I have used Blogger's photo upload service and I'm curious to see how it looks.

Wow, where does the time go?

I can't believe it's been 12 days since I've posted. A lot has gone on since June 30. We had a terrific holiday weekend. All the kids and grandkids were over for a BBQ on the 3rd. The weather was glorious. We put up our little portable fire pit thingee (it looks kind of a like a giant wok with supports that keep the lid about 2 feet above the bottom) and had a campfire where we all roasted marshmallows and made S'mores. When it got dark, Jonathan and son-in-law Ryan set off fireworks we had gone to the reservation in Worley, ID to buy (in other words, the good illegal kind) from the far edge of the backyard. The kids had set up their tents earlier and they all camped out in the backyard. Jonathan had to get up to go to work on the 4th at 4:20 AM so he didn't join in the camp out, nor did we. The next day we all went downtown to watch the annual parade featuring logging trucks, cement trucks, fire trucks, antique tractors, an array of horses and their riders, a few floats, several marching bands, and various local "dignitaries" in convertibles - your typical small town Independence Day parade. After the parade we trekked down to City Beach to join the crowds taking in the gorgeous sunny day and enjoying the lake. The local Lions club always does a neat thing on the 4th. They organize all sorts of contest for kids by age group wherein they win $2, $1, or $.50 for 1st, 2nd, and 3rd places. The contests run the gamut from sack races to wheelbarrow races to belly-balloon races. Our oldest granddaughter, Sydney, participated and ended up taking home $3.50. She was pretty happy! It was funny - her dad was exactly her age - 11 - the first time we ever participated in these events 22 years ago.

After a few hours at the beach we headed back home for another BBQ. Tommy and his clan had to get back to Spokane and Shana and her kids went home so the kids could take a nap before the fireworks show at the beach that night. Jonathan had to work the next day and Tom and I had to begin our building project early in the morning, so we opted out of joining the kids at the beach and turned in about 9PM. For the first time in 22 years, we did not watch the fireworks being shot off at City Beach by the Lions. It gets dark so late around here that the fireworks don't even start until 10PM. They end about an hour later and then you have to fight the traffic leaving the beach, which is practically everyone in Sandpoint, so you don't get home until pretty close to midnight. The 4:20AM alarm comes far too quickly when you don't go to bed until midnight. I didn't want to be a grouch all day while we tried to work on our project so figured I'd seen more enough fireworks in my lifetime that missing this year wouldn't matter. Besides, the ones we set off in our yard were amazing!

Tuesday AM Tom and I started on our project. He's been talking about this project for a couple of years but we've never had time to do it. Since we're saving up for a trip to Europe next May, we decided to take "stay at home" vacations this year. That meant we had plenty of time to finally undertake this project. Tom has wanted to build a "lean-to" onto the shed for parking the riding lawn mower and other mowers and yard implements in instead of lifting the mower in and out of the shed every time we use it (which I cannot do). He had it all figured out in his head. Good thing, because construction is not my forte. I was concerned, though, that he'd get frustrated and things would go wrong, which would mean I'd be getting yelled at a lot. Well, God is truly wonderful! I won't give you a blow-by-blow, but the project went really, really well. It turned out far, far nicer than I had imagined it would, and we never fought one single time! I even contributed ideas and solutions as we went along and they helped! It was awesome! I had the best time with Tom I think I've had in years, maybe ever. We just worked really well together and built a great addition. "Lean-to" is not a very good description. It's more like a carport attached to the shed. Another miracle happened to... my dad and mom stopped by, completely unexpectedly, to check out our project. Now, you may wonder why that is a miracle. Well, my parents haven't been to my house in years; I'm not sure how many - at least 3, and they and Tom have kind of been on the outs for the past couple of years. So, for them to drop by and check out the project, tour my yard, and spend time talking to Tom... well, I just wanted to cry with happiness. Instead, I just praised God. He is SO good! He has been blessing the socks off of me lately, and I'm not totally sure why. It's not like I've done anything to deserve all His recent blessings. I just know He loves me and thank Him for being so wonderful, even when I'm not.

So, it's been a great 12 days since my last post. I will post some pix of the shed, the flowers that are incredibly gorgeous in my yard right now, and some from the 4th later today after I do some actual work.

Jesus ROCKS!!!!

Non-conformity

The sun is shining! It's 6:45 AM and I'm actually dressed for the gym. Obviously, I'm not there yet. If I can get this post finished quickly, I may actually make it to the gym and get some sort of workout in. That's step 1 in getting back in shape. So, I'm typing as fast as my fingers will allow.

Today I am off to the periodontist for my follow-up appointment. That means I have to leave Sandpoint by 9 AM at the latest in order to make it to Spokane by 10:20. Hmmm, actually, now that I think about it, I need to leave by 8:45. You never know what sort of traffic problems you will encounter along I-90 between Post Falls, Idaho and Spokane, WA. So, if I plan to workout at all, I had better get to the gym by 7:30 at the latest.

Tom is in a bad mood. Jonathan cut his hair last night and it made Tom mad. I don't really understand why. You may recall that just before Mother's Day Jonathan shaved his head. Well, he's been letting it grow ever since. About a month after he shaved it, it looked pretty good. It was short but not horrendous and it was easy for him to take care of. He liked that it didn't lay down flat, as his hair has a tendency to do. By yesterday, his hair had grown out quite a bit and was laying down flat. He just cut it back to the length of about 3 weeks ago. I think it looks fine, but for some reason, it just sent Tom off the deep end. He thinks it's stupid looking and went on a rant about how Jonathan never takes his advice, never listens to anything he has to say, and so on. I told him I'd rather Jonathan's "rebellion" be in the form of cutting his hair short than body piercing and tattooing himself like some kids we know. For some reason he just doesn't get that kids this age are all about weird hair/clothes/habits while they try to figure out who they are. I guess since he was such a conformist he just doesn't understand non-conformity as a normal part of growing up. When I tell him that it's normal, he gets sarcastic with me, telling me that I think I'm such an expert on kids. Well, I do see a ton of college kids at the library, I do read college kids' blogs and try to understand what they are thinking and feeling, I do work with some college kids, and I do remember being a college kid who did not listen to much of anything her parents told her. Good grief! I can't believe we are arguing about something as stupid as Jonathan cutting his hair. I wish Tom would just let Jonathan be Jonathan and stop trying to "fix" him. Oh, duh... this is where I'm supposed to let God take over. Stop trying to control everyone's feelings, keep the peace... let God do what He needs to do in this. See, I'm telling you, this is my huge weak area and Satan knows it! As soon as I vow to let God be in control, Satan steps in and says "oh yeah? That's what you think. I'll show you that you just are not able to do that. Let me throw a wrench in your nice little life today." Boy, and I fell for it, hook, line, and sinker! Satan, you are such a jerk!

I think I need to go talk to God for a while... c'ya!

Testing, 1,2,3, Testing, 1,2,3

This is my first attempt at using audioblogger, so bear with me if it's completely inane. I promise they will improve with time.

It's all good

Wow, what a week since I last posted. First, we finally got the money from the refinance! I paid off ALL my credit cards and still have a nice little nest egg that I'll be depositing in an ING Direct savings account so it can earn 3% interest instead of the meager .75% most banks are paying. Second, last weekend was Hoopfest. It is such an awesome event. It's so cool that Spokane can host two events (the other being Bloomsday) that draw over 100,000 people to downtown and nothing bad happens like stabbings or shootings or anything like that. The only thing of note that happened during Hoopfest was one fight that broke out between two teams. Tommy, my oldest son, has played in Hoopfest for years - probably more than 10 years. He has played with various other players over the years, but his most consistent wins have come when he has played with my son-in-law, Ryan, my husband, and a kid named Tyler he met a few years ago down at Sandpoint City Beach playing basketball. The four of them have kicked butt every time they've played together. This year, Tom didn't play, so Tommy picked up the father of one of the girls on his AAU basketball team. He was okay and helped out, but Tom would have added a lot more to the team. Regardless, they won their bracket for the third year in a row. That's quite a feat. The team they beat had won their bracket for the past three years, so Tommy ended their winning streak. The last two years, Tommy's team won without losing a single game. This year they did lose once to the team they eventually beat. They had beaten the team on Saturday, which dropped the other team into the loser's bracket. That team had to work their way back up into the finals to play Tommy's team again. In order to win, the other team would have had to beat Tommy's team twice. They won the first game 14-12 because time ran out. Tommy hadn't heard the court monitor call "five minutes" so didn't realize time was running out and didn't play for the last shot, so they lost. They had a 15 minute break, then started game 2. When time ran out the score was tied so the game went into overtime, just like the first game they had played against each other on Saturday. Tommy's team ended up winning 15-13 in overtime. It was a tough, tough game and a hard fought win. Way to go Tommy, Ryan, and Tyler! Oh, his team's name is "It's All Good".

The always wrong weather man predicted hot, hot temps all week. True to form, it's been raining for three days. Yesterday, I mowed in the rain. How fun was that? The lawn is growing like it's on steroids. It's crazy. I miss the sun.

I got my first paycheck with my raise on it. Nice! And... I got the lump sum back pay payout. Double nice! God is sooooooo amazing! He has truly blessed us in so many ways. (I think I hear Satan waiting in the wings to try to upset the apple cart.) I just need to always remember to TRUST HIM and stop trying to manage everything myself. I think that's my big lesson in life... TRUST HIM in all things and stop trying to make things go right. I am such a dork. I never thought of myself as a control freak, but God has been making it really apparent that I so AM and so often try to control situations to keep the peace, stuff like that. STOP IT GINA! That was God shouting at me. TRUST HIM! That's my new motto.

Ciao!

What is burning?

I'm sitting here reading blogs when I smell something burning. Well, actually, the smell is the smell of something heating up, like an iron or a heater you haven't had on in a while - that sort of dusty hot smell. I immediately hop up to find the source of this smell. My nose takes me to the master bedroom. Yep, definitely something in here. I figured the small space heater had come on since all the windows and the sliding glass door are open, the fan is going, making it about 62 degrees in there. So, I check the heater, which is usually set to come on when the temp gets below 65. Nope, it's not going, hasn't been going, and can't go because it's turned off completely. I check my curling iron "just in case", since it has not been on yet this AM and has an auto-shutoff that would have turned it off if I'd forgotten to do so yesterday. Nope, not that. I sniff all over the room and can't find the source for the life of me. I sniff like a beagle all over the house and out the windows. It is definitely coming from the master bedroom. Since I can't find any offending appliance, I chalk it up to a lingering smell from Tom's earlier use of the hair dryer - plausible but not likely.

I returned to my laptop in the living room and continued to peruse blogs and comments. After about 20 minutes, the smell got stronger. Now I was worried. What if some wires in the wall were overheating (you always hear about fires starting from wiring). I had to find the source. I returned with vigor to the master bedroom, my nose twitching like Samantha's in Bewitched. I sniffed around everything electrical - the TV, the satellite receiver, the surge strip they are plugged into, to no avail. The smell was strongest by the bed so I double-checked the electric blanket. Not on. I was starting to really freak out, touching the walls to see if they were warm or "different". The closer I got to our headboard, the stronger the smell became. Suddenly, I realized what it was! Our bed is a waterbed with a regular mattress in the frame instead of a waterbed mattress so the headboard sits on the frame above the floor (you know what I mean). I reached under the headboard and felt the wave of heat arising from......the baseboard heater! Its breaker was supposed to be turned off to eliminate this exact thing from happening, but apparently it had gotten turned back on somehow. The thermostat in the room was turned to "off", which really means 50 degrees, so it was a lot colder in our room than I thought, but that heater should not have been on. I immediately ran to shut the breaker off. Lord knows what is sitting on that heater under the headboard that could have caught fire! Phew! Thank you, Lord, for giving me a good nose, letting me be home to smell this disaster-in-waiting, and saving our house from burning down.

We actually removed the heaters in four places in the house because we don't use them. Back when we built this house we had a woodburning stove for heat. The bank actually required us to have baseboard heaters as backup before they'd lend us the money, so we put them in. On rare occasions we did use them to supplement the wood heat. Many moons ago, when natural gas became available in our neighborhood, we swapped the wood stove for a gas free-standing stove. (Yay! No more chopping wood, carrying wood in each night, soot, etc.) It is our sole source of heat now, with the exception of the small electric ceramic heater in our bedroom. Our bedroom is on the north side of the house so, when the north wind blows in the winter, it gets cold in there as the heat seems to all get pushed to the south end of the house. The heater comes on if the temperature drops below 65, which is not that often. It's a lot more economical than the baseboard heater and does exactly what we had hoped it would do.

I sit on my sofa blogging in the early AM. About 5 feet from me is our 45 gallon aquarium. After once being populated with 40 fish, we are down to 4. I thought I was a bad fish owner, though in years past I have had aquariums and have had dozens of fish thrive. When one of the gouramis died, I finally figured out what was going on. We had two opaline gouramis. I had always had gouramis and loved them, loved watching them swim around, "touching" things with their little "tentacles". Well, this pair stayed hidden behind one of the big rocks in the tank pretty much 24/7. They were boring! When the one gourami died, it was following an injury to its side, I realized the culprit was the other gourami. Turns out, despite his sheepish behavior, he is very aggressive, especially at night. He attacked all the other fish in the tank, causing injuries and eventual death. So, now he's alone with two cory catfish and a giant gold plecostomus. The plecostomus is too big for him to take on and the cory cats are too fast and probably mean. So now he's alone and probably bored out of his mind. How do I know he's bored? Every morning as I sit here blogging or reading, he suddenly goes completely insane and races around the tank, banging into the sides, swimming in dozens of circles, jumping to the surface over and over, making such a racket the cat comes racing in to see what's going on, and then just as suddenly, he stops and goes back behind the rock. He's crazy. I think I'm going to trade him and the plecostomus in for a bunch of small, nice fish, like some neons and some tetras. No more gouramis.

Time to get ready for work.

How high can it go?

The real estate market has just gone insane! I just talked to a neighbor who put his house up for sale. His appraisal came in at about $40,000 more than ours (it's about 400-600 sq. ft. bigger) but he's selling it for $80,000 over appraised value! It will probably sell too. That's insane! That means we could probably sell ours for $360,000 instead of the $280,000 it was appraised at. What is going on? We do live in a "desirable neighborhood" and we have deeded lake access with a boat launch ramp, dock, beach, and nice picnic area, but still, houses going for several thousand over appraised value? That has never happened here. I know in Seattle there are bidding wars on houses. We know a girl from here who lives in Seattle. She has put in offers on several homes and lost every one. She said she's usually competing with over 25 other buyers, most of them couples (she's single), who are willing and able to pay $100,000 over appraised value. The sad thing is, our kids may never be able to own a home at this rate! Well, my two oldest do own homes, but what will it be like for Jonathan once he's at that stage of his life? It's kind of scary.

I wish I had had the money to just buy a lot or two before things went so crazy. What a great investment that would have been. Unfortunately, we've never been in a position financially to do that. We've been lucky to just be able to afford the house we live in, let alone "investment property". There's a guy in town we've known since we moved here in 1983. He used to work for the local radio (FM) station selling radio advertising. He used to beg me to come to work for him. I sold radio advertising back in Colorado Springs. I couldn't imagine trying to make a living selling radio advertising in a town of 5,000 people so I politely declined his persistent offers of employment. It was a smart move on my part as the radio station has always been notorious for problems paying their bills, including payroll. Anyway, Jeff decided to go into real estate after a few years in the radio biz. Very smart move on his part. His first year he had the highest sales figures of all the real estate agents in the county. He continued in that vein, eventually becoming a broker. He is now a multi-millionaire. And to think, I knew him when... It makes me consider becoming a realtor. I love my job, though. And there are about a million realtors in Bonner County. Obviously, some of them are NOT making much money. But some are.

I hear stories almost every day about some two-bit piece of property, or some cheesy little house, being sold for unbelievable amounts of money. Everyone in the area is aghast at what is going on and can't seem to stop talking about it. New developments are popping up all over the place. Lots that sold for just $30,000 last year are going for over $100,000 this year as people scramble for a place to build that doesn't reequire them to bring in power, water, and telephone. Acreage is still fairly reasonable. It seems what is selling are lots or homes in and around Sandpoint, or anything on the water. What seems slow to sell are homes and acreage over 5 miles from town. Where in the past the inclination was to buy someplace out in the boonies to escape humanity and surround yourself with lots of property, it appears now that people want proximity to town, a nice neighborhood with amenities, and paved, plowed roads. Privacy and acreage really don't seem to be a factor at all. Maybe it's because so many of the transplants are used to big city living where homes are built on top of each other. Compared to that, a lot that is .25 to .5 acres seems enormous and probably seems really private. Also, someone used to California or Arizona (seems to be from whence most of our new arrivals come) city life would probably not be too keen on dirt roads, mile long driveways that they have to plow, and dialup internet access. So, maybe that's what I should buy - acreage just about 8 or 10 miles from town. Some day it will be worth a fortune as "town" continues to expand and new developments are continually in demand. Maybe, once we get our bills paid off and start saving money, we can actually consider buying investment property. It would be a smart move. Heck, look at the woman who owns the lot behind us. She has refused to sell that, and 4 others she owns in Ponder Point, for years - or has wanted so much for them no one would pay the price. We tried to get her to sell to our kids a few years ago and she wanted $60,000 when it was maybe worth $30,000. She has hung on to them all, and now each one is worth in excess of $100,000, up to $150,000. That's crazy! Her ex-husband is mad because he sold all his lots a few years ago. She got hers - half of his - in their divorce settlement about 25 years ago, so it irks him that she is making so much from land he "gave" her (not like he's hurting - he's worth millions). So, where will it end? How high can it go?

Debt-free here I come!

Today we close on our home refinance! We have lived in this house for 21 years. We have never refinanced the first, although we have had a second for several years and have refinanced it a couple of times. When I went to the bank to see about increasing the line of credit to pay off some other bills, my banker suggested we do a complete refinance. I was leery at first, but realized my 21 year old adjustable rate mortgage, while it had been great for the past few years of record low interest rates (it has been at about 3.2% for the past several years), was headed up with the recent rate increases. It had already gone to 5.32% and was set to adjust next year at least half a percent, if not a full percent, higher. The second was a whopping 7.65% and had 13 years left on it. A complete refinance sounded like a good idea if the interest rate was decent. We ended up with a 15 year no points loan at 5.65% fixed. That saves us $200/month on just the mortgage payments! I got enough to pay off all the credit cards (which had gotten a bit out of control over the past year) and leave us money in the bank for emergencies, college tuition deposits, and such, saving us another $830/month! That means I can actually start SAVING money! What a novel idea! It also means that we should only have to borrow half as much for college each year as we have been borrowing via a PLUS loan. For the first time in our lives we will be on the road to freedom from debt. In 15 years the house will be paid for - just two years later than had we not done this - and in the meantime, we can actually put moneyin savings each month and put aside more for retirement. Tom's hope of retiring in 2-4 years is now a real possibility instead of a pipe dream. I am so excited! Also, I found out how much our house appraised for just last week and was stunned. 3 years ago it appraised at $140,000. The latest appraisal came in at$280,000!!! That's about $30,000 higher than I had even hoped it would appraise for (I know, bad grammar). Just shows how crazy the real estate market has gotten. Anyway, I guess we'll have the money in our account in 3 days and I can send the credit card companies their last payment. Yippeee!

I have become Marlon Brando

I swear, the day after my gum surgery I looked exactly like Marlon Brando in The Godfather. I actually had someone ask me if I had "something in there", referring to my extremely swollen lower jaw. The swelling has subsided almost completely now, but I am seriously bruised on both sides. It only looks like I took a couple of good punches to the jaw now.

So, the surgery was "interesting". I have never had my palate numbed before. That is a real experience. You have no idea how much the roof of your mouth is involved in virtually everything that goes on in there. It became difficult to swallow with a numbed palate and both sides of my tongue numb. That actually got a little scary a couple of times when I tried to swallow and it wasn't just a natural reflex. All of a sudden, I had to actually mentally talk myself through the steps to make it happen. You tend to instantly panic when you can't swallow. It was freaky. They gave me about 50,000 shots of novocaine to numb me up. That in itself is so much fun. Then they give you this list of movies from which you can choose to watch during the procedure in an attempt to distract you from all the activity taking place inside your mouth. Riiiiggghhhhtttt. I decided against any comedies. It would be hard to laugh while someone is cutting away on your gums. I opted for A River Runs Through It since I've never actually seen all of it. I still haven't. Half the time I just was too distracted by what was going on in my mouth to focus on the movie. The other half the time, my doctor's head was in front of the screen so I could hear but not see the movie. The rest of the time I just tried not to imagine what was going on in my mouth, with little success.

The procedure took 2 hours. She cut two incisions in my palate and removed tissue to be used for the grafts. That was sutured and then she started on the grafts. All I felt was a lot of tugging and stuff, you know how dental stuff is - you can't feel anything but you know what's going on sort of, the thought of which is almost as bad as if you could feel it. Anyway, they cut open the gums by teeth 19, 20 on one side, and 29, 30, 31 on the other, took biopsies, then inserted the grafts and stitched me up. I was to eat only cold, soft stuff for 24 hours, then I could graduate to warm, soft stuff for the next 14 days.

Eating is the worst part. I made Tom and Jonathan barbecued steaks that first night. Man, I wanted some so bad! Instead, I had ice cream. I never thought I'd get sick of ice cream, but I am now. The first day I had popsicles, iced tea, ice cream, pudding, and more popsicles. The next day I had cream of broccoli and cheese soup. Every time I ate anything with more substance, like I tried to gently chew with my front teeth some pizza, I popped some of the sutures in my palate. Fortunately, the roof of your mouth heals really quickly. I almost have zero stitches on the left side already. The right side has a few more still, but they'll be gone soon. It does still feel like I have one heck of a bad burn on the roof of my mouth. The lower gums are a different story. I can't chew anything with my molars. Anything that presses into my gums is excruciating. We went to this great buffet on Father's Day and I was so bummed! There was all this gorgeous fresh fruit - strawberries, pineapple, melon - I took a couple of pieces of pineapple and tried to eat them with my front teeth. No dice. I broke out some of the palate stitches. Srawberries were a no-no because of the seeds on them. I was told absolutely nothing with seeds. I sort of gingerly chewed bacon but mostly swallowed big chunks. I did do okay with the scrambled eggs, but the buffet was wasted on me, sadly. Last night I had a big, big bowl of macaroni and cheese. That's about the least painful thing I can eat. Oh, and over the weekend I got Tom some KFC and I had the mashed potatoes and gravy. That is easy to eat too. It's amazing how when you can't have something, that's all you want. I want barbecued meat! I want nuts! I want crunchy stuff! You'd think this would be a great time to lose weight, but most of what I can eat is carb-laden and fattening. I would kill for a green salad right now. As for the pain, I was given a prescription for 800mg Motrin tabs and Vicodin if I wanted it. I filled neither. I have generic ibuprofen at home, so I just took 4 of those every 6 hours. The first two days, if I went longer than 6 hours, I felt it. My jaw would start to throb and ache. Now I just take 800mg in the morning and then before bed and I'm fine. I go back on the 30th for the follow-up visit. I just want to be able to eat real food again!

Rain, rain go away

It's raining really hard. It's been doing that all night. My potted flowers don't NEED any more water. In fact, some are getting root rot from too much WET and I have had to pull them out of the pots. I just had to drive down to our beach lot to unlock the gate for some guy delivering huge, long steel pipes that will be pilings for someone's dock. The secondary lot owners have the nearest launch ramp and we keep the gate locked to keep non-residents out. We don't usually do stuff like let big delivery trucks unload on our launch ramp, but I figured it was not that big a deal this one time. But that meant I had to throw on clothes really quickly, run a comb through my hair, and drive down to the beach lot to unlock the gate in the pouring rain with a really sore mouth.

I agreed to do this yesterday when my mouth didn't hurt at all because it was still numb. Today is a different story. It's sore. The roof of my mouth feels like I have the worst pizza burn you could possibly imagine. My lower jaw is swollen and it's hard to talk because the muscles pull uncomfortably in the areas that are swollen. It's hard to describe how it feels. They put these "bandages" on the roof of my mouth to cover the stitches. Really, it's almost like temporary filling putty stuff. They just form it to the area and push it into shape. Well, the left one came off last night so I have all these ends of stitches hanging down that my tongue keeps trying to mess with. Tongues are weird. They're like the curious cat. They just roam constantly around your mouth, searching out anything unusual or any changes in the various items littered throughout your mouth - teeth, cheeks, gums, palate - the most minute change is instantly discovered by the tongue, which then plays relentlessly with the are in question. It is truly a naughty, curious kitten at work. I have to consciously keep my tongue still and not let it toy with the stitches hanging down.

With the rain coming down so hard, Jonathan will be home soon. It's only 7:28AM. It takes him about 3 hours to mow the greens, which they do rain or shine. That means he'll probably get off around 8 or 8:30. Since he's trying to earn as much money as possible this summer, these short days are a drag. He's going to put in to work some Saturdays to make up the lost hours.

I may just milk the gum surgery and take the day off. I can't talk too well so if I have to talk to a patron, it will be weird. I think I should just stay home. Maybe I can take a nap. I didn't get a lot of sleep last night. I was supposed to get up and take Motrin at 3AM, so I kept waking up, but never did take the Motrin. I just took it when I got up at 4:20. Now I'm watching E! True Hollywood Story about Farrah Fawcett while I type this. She sure was a beautiful woman. She sure is a wreck now. I remember some star saying once "I hope I never end up on E! True Hollywood Story because that will mean I've done something really wrong and have really messed up my life." I would say that's pretty accurate. Farrah has pretty much messed up her life. I think I'll watch Shall We Dance after I take a nap. I've had the DVD forever and haven't gotten around to watching it so today will be the day. And Jonathan has been bugging me to read Eragon, which I have every intention of doing. Maybe I'll start that today too. Yeah, it's one of those kinds of days that is perfect for taking naps, watching movies, and reading books. I think I'll make the most of it.

Show me the money!

I have a bad habit of not blogging. It's been 15 days! I even took photos of my flowers to post but haven't had time. I guess that's a good thing - being busy. I have some good news though! I had to go to the Board meeting last Monday because we were asking them to FINALLY approve the purchase of 3M's PAMS - Patron Access Management System - an internet management program. We've been "reviewing" it for almost two years now. The Board appropriated the funds last summer but had not gotten around to actually giving me the go-ahead to order and implement the system, continually posing questions and asking for more info. I prepared a paper addressing every question they had, every concern the staff had, showing the hardware that would be used (smart card readers), and basically giving them a very persuasive sales pitch. I had to be in attendance in case they had still more questions. That meant I had to sit through all the boring rote stuff - approval of minutes, budget reports, committee reports, etc. Just before my project was to be discussed, discussion ensued about a change to our salary scale. The personnel committee and the supervisory team had recommended a change. The current scale provides for a 4% step increase every year through the fifth year. From that point forward until the 12th year, the step increases are given every OTHER year, so year 6, 8, and 10 do not get raises. Starting the 12th year, the raises are only given every three years. It was finally recognized that this system totally devalues those who have been with the library the longest and it was recommended that the step increases be given every year for everyone. That I knew about. What I didn't know was that the Director and one of the Board members had decided that doing away with the "gap" years should be made retroactive to the beginning of this fiscal year - October 1, 2004. Anyone who was not scheduled for a step increase on their anniversary date from 10/1 to now would, in fact, receive one - and it would be retroactive! Well, I am one of those who did not receive a raise on my anniversary date of 10/1 so that means I get a lump sum payout of 4% of my earnings from 10/1 to 5/31, and I am now being paid at the higher rate. AND...on 10/1/2005 I get ANOTHER 4% raise! So, by 10/1 I will be making $300 more a month than I was making just last month! Awesome! I had no idea the Board was pondering this so was thrilled when they approved the policy change. Immediately afterward, they spent about 30 seconds on PAMS - and approved that too! It was a great night for me!!!

Now... I am sitting here with sutures in my mouth following gum graft surgery wherein they took tissue from both sides of my palate and inserted it between the gum and bone on both sides of my lower jaw. Needless to say, I am in pain. I can only eat cold stuff like popsicles, ice, ice water, iced tea, ice cream...for the next 48 hours. Then I can only eat soft stuff like pasta and soup for the next two weeks. Maybe I'll lose weight? Well, not if I'm eating ice cream I suppose, but it hurts so much I don't feel like eating much of anything really, even ice cream. It hurts a lot more than I thought it would. I did get a prescription for Vicodin, but I'm not big on pain meds and would prefer to get by with just the 800mg of Motrin every 6 hours. We'll see. For now, I see myself doing a lot of reading and movie watching. I was watching "A River Runs Through It" during the surgery and didn't get to see the end. I've never seen the whole movie, so maybe I'll go rent it, or check it out from the library.

Oh, Tom and I had our 24th anniversary yesterday! Yay! We're going to celebrate on July 8 at the Hotel Lusso in Spokane. I have a free night's stay coming to me courtesy of a coworker for whom I did some computer work. It's quite a luxury hotel, so we're going to do shopping, dinner, and a movie and spend a romantic night in luxury! Should be fun!

Time to get dinner started.

Holidaze

Wow, the holiday weekend went by quickly! We had the best weather ever for the weekend! Well, it was at least the best we've had in a few years. Temps were in the 80's and 90's and the sky was crystal clear.
On Saturday, Tom and I went to Home Depot and bought three 20" pots for the patio. They look like they're terra cotta, but they're actually styrofoam. Amazing! We bought a few flowers as well, though we were not impressed with the condition of most of the plants. They were not being well cared for. After our Home Depot purchase, we headed to this nursery in town we like - Arcadia Greenhouse. They have a big greenhouse facility out in the boonies but they open a satellite operation in town with dozens of flats of flowers of all varieties. When we got there, they were swamped. Every time we walked down one of the aisles between the rows of flowers we had to stop and stand sideways so someone could walk past us. I felt like we were driving a Suburban on a road in an Italian village. Not that I've ever been in an Italian village, but I've seen movies and heard stories about how narrow the streets are and how crazy the Italians drive, so that's my metaphor! Anyway, it was crazy. We squeezed in where we could, picking out pony packs of pansies, petunias, dianthus, nemesia, bacopa, and stock and putting them into little nursery trays. Before we knew it, we had 4 trays of flowers for a grand total of $57. After we checked out, I overheard a woman saying that all the small black pony packs - pots equal to 4 cell pack plants in size - were 2 for $1. That was just an amazing price, so.... we hurried home with the plants we had, and then I went back and bought another $36 worth of flowers! I bought everything I could think of - vinca, geraniums, violas, phlox, more petunias, more pansies... at that price, I wanted to buy everything they had. I made myself stop at 72 plants. We had our work cut out for us. Later that day our oldest son and his family came to visit. We all went down to Sandpoint City Beach for a while so the kids could play in the water. Tommy and his family spent the night at our house and we all made plans to get together with Shana & Ryan the following day for a barbecue and to celebrate Shana's birthday (May 31).

Sunday was every bit as beautiful as Saturday. We again spent the day at the beach. The "boys" (Tom, Tommy, and Ryan), and granddaughter Sydney played a few games of "horse" - two out of three of which Tom won. Not bad for an old fart. After we got bored with the beach, we went to Shana & Ryan's and barbecued tri-tip and had birthday cake. We played dominos until later that night and then headed back to our house. Tommy and his family left Monday morning and Shana & Ryan trekked to Spokane to do some shopping.

Sunday morning I ran over to Home Depot again to get some more African Daisies. Sadly, they were sold out. I went over to WalMart to check out their flowers, but nothing struck my fancy. By the time I got home, Tom had filled the large pots with potting soil and one was waiting for me to fill with flowers. I set to the task with great enthusiasm. I love mixing the colors and leaf textures to make an aesthetically pleasing arrangement. Tom insists on a dracaena in the middle of the pot each year - something I'm not overly fond of, but I relent - so that went in first. On one side of the dracaena is a Martha Washington geranium. On the other is a gorgeous African Daisy in the darkest, most beautiful magenta you can imagine. The rest of the pot is filled with a mix of yellow snapdragons, white dianthus, pink, magenta, and white Sweet Williams, white and lavendar bacopa, lavendar petunias, lavendar nemesia, purple and yellow viola, some ivy, some vinca, and lots of lobelia. Oh, and some pink phlox is thrown in as filler throughout. They will be beautiful once they start filling in. So, we have three pots like that on the patio. We also planted about 7 other smaller pots with things like red and pink zonal geraniums, purple and lavendar petunias, butterscotch colored African Daisies, and other miscellaneous flowers. Once things begin to grow a bit I'll post photos. After all this planting, which took most of the day, I still have about 36 flowers to plant! Unfortunately, it's raining, has been raining, and is supposed to continue to rain for the next few days. I guess the rest of my pots will have to wait.

But it was a glorious holiday weekend!

Dual homed

Now you know how much of a geek I really am. The title is a computer term meaning a computer has two network cards in it - like a server that has a network card for accessing and being accessed by the external network (internet) and one for the internal network (LAN). In this case I'm referring to the fact that I have set up a blog at MySpaces. My goal is to blog in both places each day rather than abandon this space. I like the features the MSN Spaces offer but Blogger is my original home, so I'll maintain both - mostly just copying from one to the other rather than putting anything brilliant and original on one and not the other. In case you want to visit my MSN Space, here's the link: http://spaces.msn.com/members/eclecticdefined/.

So... check it out. I'll add more photos and stuff to the MSN space, so keep checking it out.

Life is like a box of chocolates

I love Forrest Gump, both the character and the movie. I think I should watch that this weekend. I'm in the mood for that sort of movie.

It is brilliantly sunny and gorgeous outside right now. I think the entire West Coast is enjoying this same sort of weather. I think it's supposed to be in the 80's today. Brilliant!!! I will most definitely take at least a 2 mile, and maybe a 4 mile, walk at lunch today. I had planned to do that yesterday but we had a major software upgrade Tuesday night/Wednesday AM which required that I physically upgrade every computer in the library except the 22 public access computers and the 12 online catalogs. That meant I had to upgrade about 60 computers. It took all day, meaning I had no lunch break. Along with the upgrade came countless questions from the staff about the various enhancements they were seeing on their screens. And, as with almost any upgrade, there are a few bugs still to be worked out. So, I would be in the midst of an upgrade on a computer upstairs and I would get paged to go to the circulation desk downstairs to answer some question. I was all over the building all day long. It was crazy. But it's all done now so I just have to sit back and wait for the bugs to be fixed by TLC. There are some great new features that I to read up on so I can train staff. There are some features in our online catalog that I have to become familiar with as well so I can implement them. I have a lot of learning to do in the next few days.

This weekend should be great. I'm going to plant my flower pots and try to just relax, especially since it's a rare 3-day weekend for Tom and me. Saturday it's supposed to rain, but the rest of the weekend should be nice. I'm ready for some relaxation.

I bit down on this really great bread with a thick, chewy crust - an Italian bread - the other night and my jaw made an awful popping/crunching sound. Ever since, I can't put my back teeth together and my jaw hurts something fierce. I have TMJ anyway, but it's been pretty mild for a long time. Now, it's back with a vengeance and it's giving me a bad headache. I'm hoping it just subsides as the swelling goes down (I'm assuming there's swelling). It's so weird. The noise was something else! You'd have thought I'd broken a piece of my jaw joint off!

Speaking of jaws and stuff, I go in on June 16th for two gum grafts. That ought to be fun. The only positive thing I see about the experience is I should be able to eat only yogurt and popsicles for several days which should result in a loss of weight. I hope. I understand the roof of your mouth feels like it's been burned for quite a while afterward. That sounds like SO much fun - NOT!

I have a confession to make. I watch American Idol. I am SO happy Carrie Underwood won. I think she has an amazing voice, is a really sweet country girl, is gorgeous, and I think she will have the best career of any Idol yet. Go Carrie!

I have three season finales yet to watch on TiVo - House, Lost, and CSI Miami. After that, no more TV shows to watch so I can go to the gym in the AM! Yippee! I'm pathetic and I watch way too much TV. Desperate Housewives, Grey's Anatomy, 24, CSI: Miami, Amazing Race, House, American Idol, CSI: NY, Lost, CSI, Survivor, The OC, Without a Trace, Joan of Arcadia (cancelled - sniff, sniff), and Numb3rs. That's so crazy. But they are all such good shows! That's 15 hours of TV a week! Oh my gosh! I need to get a life. Okay, some, like Survivor, Amazing Race, and American Idol are not on all season long and 24 starts late in the season, so most of the time I'm only watching 11 hours a week, but still........

Okay, time for work.

Star Wars III - Revenge of the Sith

Okay, I saw it - yesterday at 12:20PM at the Northtown Regal Cinemas in Spokane. It was good - far better than the previous two - but nothing like the first three. Of course, that is due, in large part, to the content. We all know this is the story of Anakin's conversion to Darth Vader - an inherently unhappy tale. We know it's dark - that's been all over the media as if to warn us "this is not going to be all laughs and chuckles... evil wins". They're right. It's dark.

So, my review - it is good, but it does have its shortcomings. Inevitably, it will be compared to the original trilogy. Heck, I find myself doing that all the time. The original was amazing, groundbreaking on so many levels, and just plain good fun. It had a great ensemble cast with fabulous chemistry. Okay, maybe they weren't the BEST actors, but they played off of each so well - something the latest trilogy sorely lacks. The original had catchy one-liners sprinkled liberally throughout all three films that found their way into common usage for years after they debuted (or was is just me who ran around saying "May the Force be with you"?) This is also lacking in the current trilogy. But I think the real root of the "problem" with the current trilogy is the tale it tells. It can't help but be bashed because it is all about evil triumphing over good and, as a people, we are never thrilled with that type of story. We like happy endings, the guy getting the girl, all that stuff. The original trilogy is all about good triumphing over evil, and the heroes of the epic struggle, hence it reverberates in the hearts and minds of us all. We get to cheer the good guys and boo the bad guys - an opportunity we don't get in the current trilogy.

I left the theater feeling a bit ambivalent. Okay, so now I know how Anakin became Darth. I know how Luke and Leia came to be separated and why they ended up on their respective planets, how and why Obi-Wan came to be on Tatooine, and why C3PO, despite having been Padme's protocol droid, didn't have a clue who anyone was when he "met" Luke and Leia. I also got to see Chewie in his native land with all his Wookie warriors (very cool)... but I didn't get to cheer anyone for their triumph over adversity and evil. The story was sad. So many times there is the chance for Anakin to go the other way, away from the Dark Side, and I found myself saying "no, Anakin, no!" knowing, of course, the path he would take. It's hard to accept a character turning from good to evil and not ending up dead or repentant. Episode VI, where Darth does finally repent in a way, is too far removed from Episode III, so you just have this nice young, but immature and selfish, boy turn into an evil monster who gets to live and wreak havoc on the world. It's just a very sad story.

As for acting, it really wasn't very good. Hayden Christensen is pretty awful. He just wears that brooding scowl throughout most of the movie to show his displeasure, dismay, anger, and regret. One face for every emotion. You get no sense of chemistry between him and Natalie Portman, and sadder yet, none between him and Ewan McGregor. There was a definite chemistry between Mark Hamill and Harrison Ford, between Ford and Carrie Fisher, Fisher and Hamill, and Hamill and Alec Guiness. There was great chemistry between Han and Chewie. You knew they all cared about each other, would do anything for each other, to save each other. You get no sense of that connection between Obi-Wan and Anakin, or among any of the Jedi, for that matter. Probably more than any other aspect of the movie, I miss that and fault that for the poor reviews.

Go see it for yourself. You need to finish the story. But be prepared to be sad.

The first three movies (IV, V, VI) were a complete product in and of themselves. I, II, & III are meaningless without IV, V, & VI. There is no reason for them to exist except as prelude. I am not sure I like that aspect of the trilogy. But hey, who am I to second guess George Lucas. The guy is a creative genius who brought us the original Star Wars and changed the world of filmmaking in the process.

DA DA DA, DA-DA-DA, DA-DA-DA!

Okay, so I can't carry a tune in a bucket... that's the beginning of Darth Vader's theme... see? So.... tomorrow, May 19, 2005, two great things happen:

1. Jonathan turns 19. Yay! His car insurance rates go down next month!
2. He and I get to go see Star Wars Episode III - Revenge of the Sith!!!!!!!

I'm taking the day off work, as is Jonathan, and we're going to the 12:20 showing at Northtown Regal Cinemas in Spokane. It's our tradition. We've gone to opening day of all them since he's been alive (the last two) as well as to opening day of all the Lord of the Rings movies. The only thing missing this year is his best friend from high school, JW. JW is spending his summer interning at Mercruiser in Georgia (he goes to Georgia Tech) so he won't be accompanying us as he has every other time. Bummer. After the movie, we're going to Peking North for the best Chinese food in Spokane. Can't wait!!!

If my people, which are called by my name....

"If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land." 2 Chronicles 7:14

It seems God was trying to teach Tom a lesson in humility with the recent job problem. On D-Day - the last chance he had to file his grievance/appeal - he met with his boss to go over, in detail, the concerns she had that prompted her to write the letter of reprimand. I had just heard a great show on the local Calvary Satellite Network station by Chip Ingram wherein he discussed how, when there is a conflict, all of us usually believe we are right and the other person is wrong. He referred to Proverbs 21:2 - "All a man's ways seem right to him, but the Lord weighs the heart" and went on to explain that if we really want to resolve conflict, we have to stop wanting to be right and look for the real problem, look behind the words and weigh the heart. It really struck me that this was a message I had to share with Tom. He needed to stop trying to prove he had done nothing wrong and figure out what the real problem was. I called and told him what I'd heard and then prayed all day that God would reveal the real issue to both Tom and his boss. Tom prayed all day too. I told Tom I felt a big part of the problem is that his boss really needs to be liked. He has expressed to me on several occasions that he didn't think she liked him and he didn't particularly like her. I told him he needed to be nice to her and to try to like her, otherwise she would most likely say to herself about him "you don't like me, fine! I don't like you either. The hell with you!" and that could have grave consequences.

So... with all that in mind, he met with her at the end of his day yesterday. I sat on pins and needles - sort of, but not really because I was totally trusting God in this matter - and waited for his call. He called me an hour later. She was going to rescind the letter! He had admitted that he could have done a better job of documenting the things that had delayed him during some of the times in question. She realized he was not taking too long to get to his break. He apologized to her over and over for putting her in the position of even having to write him the letter. Then he said to me "I guess she really does like me and she had a horrible weekend after she gave me the letter because she felt so awful about it." That was huge because he was convinced she did not like him and was out to get him. I know he was humbled and I know that he came to realize over the past week that he has unrealistic and unattainable expectations of people around him (especially me and Jonathan). I see a real difference in him. I just hope it sticks. This is definitely one of those times you could say "what the enemy meant for evil, God turned to good". Though it was stressful and emotional, a lot of good came out of this experience. I know I learned, yet again, to trust God with everything. I kind of have a habit of thinking I need to take back the reins now and then and God usually whaps me upside the head to remind me HE is in control. Too bad I keep forgetting that.

It is POURING outside right now. Absolutely pouring.

Hmmmmm....

Well, last Friday was a mixed bag. Tom and I got into a kind of big fight that weighed heavily on me all day. Fortunately, it got resolved - sort of. More on that later. On a more positive note, I got Jonathan all packed up and moved back home for the summer. I got to see the Harrisons - always a joy for me - although we were all so busy packing the boys up, loading our vehicles, and cleaning their room that we barely got time to enjoy each other. Oddly, I got kind of misty saying goodbye to Nathan, though I'm sure he didn't notice - or care. I sort of look on him as family I guess. After all, he was Jonathan's first roommate, which is a pretty memorable thing, and I liked him from the first email he sent Jonathan. I'll most likely always follow Nathan's blogs, especially as he spends next semester in the British Isles. He really is a wonderful young man and I love his writing style. I'm glad he was Jonathan's roommate, especially because I got to know his family as a result, and JoAnn is one of the best people I know. There is something about her.... I suspect we'd be great pals if we lived near one another. So, moving out was bittersweet for both myself and Jonathan. He already misses dorm life, although he is glad to be home. I'm happy to have him home, but it is another person to cook for, do laundry for, argue with... it should be an interesting summer.

Jonathan talked to his boss from the golf course on Saturday. He starts full time this Wednesday except he will be off Thursday the 19th, his 19th birthday and the opening day for Star Wars Episode III! Then he starts right up on his 5AM to 2PM work schedule for the summer. Thank goodness as he needs the money.

Now, about last Friday - Tom got called into his boss' office where she gave him a letter of reprimand after saying her gut told her to fire him!!! He was stunned. This is a man who has gotten nothing but 6.9 and 7.0 out of 7 on every performance review for the past 18 years, performs at over 100% of goal on a daily basis, and is one of the best couriers in the entire company! Her reason? She "claims" he is improperly coding his timecard" and that there are "inappropriate time gaps" between his last stop and his break. You see, FedEx has a policy that you must take your break within 5 minutes or 5 miles of your last stop. The last stop shown for his day is a pickup he makes at about 2:30 every day. From there, he has to drop off his outbound freight at a designated location so that another driver can take it down to the station in time to make the plane. That stop does not show up on the time card because management requested about 18 months ago that the couriers stop coding that stop and just do it, but don't enter it. From the dropoff point he drives 4.6 miles to his break, which takes 10-15 minutes. In actuality, 4 miles of that distance is actually the route he has to drive to return to the station, so technically, he is only driving .6 miles to his break location (the gym) and spending about 3 minutes doing so. The manager knows where he goes on his break, has always known, he's been doing it for 6 years, and has even been dropped off there by past managers during check rides. Why is it suddenly a problem? And how is anything he's doing "improper coding" of his timecard or taking inappropriate time gaps? He was stunned. He called the personnel rep and talked at length with him. He seemed to indicate the warning letter was totally unfounded and planned to discuss it further with his manager. I just talked to him on the phone and he is supposed to meet with his manager again tonight. Now I'll be on pins and needles waiting to hear what transpired. The thing that got him, though, was that he was basically being accused of being dishonest, lying and cheating, which is the very last thing he would ever do. Tom is one of those people you PRAY you hire. He is so honest it's hard to believe. He NEVER sandbags at work, and he has an incredible work ethic. He busts his butt to do everything he can to get the job done, even when it appears to be impossible. To be disrespected this way is just beyond comprehension. The sliver lining is, it "cured" our fight.

Time to go grocery shopping.

Unlucky day?

I just realized today is Friday the 13th. Now, I'm not superstitious but.... Tom is mad at me and that is pretty unlucky. I hope that is not a predictor of how the rest of the day will go. I'll just have to try to stay positive and pray a lot.

Today's the day

I will be heading to Spokane to move Jonathan back home in about 3 hours. Before I leave, I will meet an appraiser at my house for a quick appraisal. We're refinancing our mortgage - both first and second - for the first time ever. We've had a pretty good first mortgage for the past 20 years. It is an adjustable rate, but it had a great cap on the annual adjustments and, with the exception of a year or two early on, when interest rates were insanely high for everyone (back in the era of 11 and 12 percent mortgages), the interest rate has been lower than the going rate for the year. It was as low as 3.2% for the past two years! Alas, rates are edging up again. This year the rate went to 5.32%. Given today's prime rate, I am convinced it will be between 6 and 8% next year. My second mortgage is at 7.65% fixed with a home equity line of credit attached to it that is already over 7%, is adjustable monthly, and is surely going nowhere but up. So, time to refinance. I visited my bank, the holder of both the first and second, to discuss a new second. My banker suggested we do a new first instead. I was a bit reluctant to refinance the first - we have 11 years left on it - but he said "let's apply and see if we can get an interest rate somewhere between where the first and second are now", so I agreed.

Part of the reason I wanted a new loan was to pay off our credit cards which have, to my chagrin, gotten way out of control thanks to college expenses and the fact that I have lost about $10,000 a year in income over the past two years. I used to work one day a week for Litehouse Custom Printing as their network admin, but I got the network working so well, there's nothing for me to do on a weekly basis, so now I just work ad hoc, resulting in a huge income deficit. I was horrified when I added up the balances on my credit cards and discovered we are the average US household. Ugh.

So, I went through the slick online app in my banker's office and after just about 15 minutes, this screen came up saying "Congratulations! You have been approved for a mortgage for x amount of dollars at 5.75% fixed!" WOW!!!! I was so so so so so happy! I yelled out "thank you Lord!" and told my banker I wanted to kiss him! My second had 13 years on it and this new loan is for 15 years, so big whoop - it will take us two years longer to pay it off. We'll actually pay much less interest than had we maintained the status quo AND... my credit cards will be paid off! I am going to cut them up and never carry a balance ever again. This new loan will actually put about $8000 cash in the bank, will cost me $100 a month less than the existing first and second mortgage payments combined, and free me up from almost $1000 a month that I was paying on credit cards and the line of credit. Of that $1000, I should be able to put at least $500 a month in savings, maybe more. When I went through two months worth of bank statements to find out where my money goes, I realized we spend a fair amount on eating out and "miscellaneous" stuff we could easily do without, not to mention $1000 a month on food and sundries - for two people! That's crazy. I buy a lot of steaks and convenience foods nowadays, in other words, expensive stuff. Time to change that!

This new loan is like getting a clean start. As a result, I am going to really look at our spending habits and make some serious changes. I don't want to have to keep getting PLUS loans to pay for Jonathan's tuition so I'm going to try really hard to put away enough each month to cover at least half his tuition. After grants, scholarships, and student loans, we are usually left paying half the total cost of his tuition, room, and board. This year that amount was $14,000. Tuition, room and board are all going up next year - about $2300 - so we'll be looking at over $15,000. I don't see how we could possibly pay it all from our current resources, but we should be able to cover almost half that. It will be a lot better to borrow only $7000 a year from the feds than twice that. So... my loan interest rate hinges on the results of the appraisal. If it comes in where I think it will, we're all good. If it comes in much lower, the rate could go up a couple of tenths. I know the appraiser pretty well, so I'm hoping he appraises on the high side and gives me some idea of where he thinks it will end up before he leaves today. Once he is finished, I'm heading to Spokane in the Suburban to pack Jonathan up and move him and his junk back home. Yippeee!

Drama at work

Wow, one of my favorite coworkers narrowly escaped serious injury or even death yesterday! Her husband was driving her to work when a car crossed the center line and slammed into them head-on! Apparently, the guy in the oncoming car either suffered a heart attack or lost consciousness due to some problems with his medication; the details have not been made available yet. Fortunately, he was driving a Subaru Legacy and the car my coworker was in was a Subaru Forester so the cars were pretty evenly matched. All occupants had their seatbelts on and Rosemary's husband saw the car coming toward them, so he was braking rather than going 45MPH (the speed limit where the accident occurred). Her husband's tibia was broken and he has severe soft tissue bruising and swelling in both knees from the air bags. She has a black eye and soft tissue bruising from the air bags as well, and a cut that required stitches on her left index finger, but they're both okay. Their car is a total loss. The dash was pushed right up into them and they had to be cut from the car, but they are both going to be okay, thank God! The man who hit them is in serious condition and was heart flighted to the hospital in Coeur d'Alene. He was 79 and not in the best of health. His wife usually drives him around so everyone is curious why he was driving. I'm sure we'll learn more in the next few days as he is the mayor of a small community just 8 miles to the east of Sandpoint. The story made page 3 in the local paper (link).

I just adore Rosemary. She's a fellow Italian and we generally take our lunch breaks together and talk about growing up Italian. I'm going to miss her while she recuperates over the next two weeks, but I'm so glad she's okay. The spot where the accident occurred has been the site of a couple of fatal head-on collisions in the past, so she's really fortunate to have escaped with mostly bruises and bumps.

No one is reading this so....

I should just stop posting. I guess the masochist in me - or the eternal optimist - keeps posting "just in case" I do have a fan or two. I wouldn't blame people for not reading when I've gone weeks without updating. Not much worse, or more boring, than an un-updated blog. I should adopt the approach of Nilt, and write whatever random thoughts, no matter how nonsensical, enter my overworked little mind. At least it could provide a laugh to anyone who stumbled across this blog. I'll give that idea more consideration.

On a completely random note, I watched the finale of The Amazing Race this morning (thank you, TiVo!) Though I'm sure most people were rooting against Rob and Amber, I was rooting for them. I was bummed they didn't win, but Joyce and Uchenna are an awesome couple, they love the Lord, and they really ran the race well. They totally deserved to win, which Rob and Amber acknowledged. Most people thought Rob was underhanded and devious and didn't play the game fairly, but as he stated several times during the race, it is a race. It is a race for a million dollars! You do what you have to do, without cheating, to try to come in first. At some point in all the past races, the winners have done underhanded things to try to get an edge on the competition. I am sure the producers showed all the conniving things Rob and Amber pulled to play up that aspect of the race and of Rob's personality as we came to know it from Survivor. They probably didn't show the dirty tricks pulled by the other teams to make Rob and Amber look worse by comparison. Anyone who thinks otherwise is very naive.

Interestingly, at least to me, is how "wholesome" all the teams seemed this season. Sure, Ron and Kelly fought with each other like children, but overall, the competitors had good relationships with their partners and engaged in very few arguments. Maybe that was intentional after last season's horrible pairing known as Jonathan and Victoria. Ugh. That guy needs help! He claimed, on Dr. Phil's interview with him, that he was portrayed badly and that they actually get along swimmingly. Yeah, right. Any guy who will call his wife the awful names he called her, humiliate and ridicule her the way he did, blame her for everything that went wrong like he did, and then, shove her roughly like he did, needs some serious counseling. She needs to figure out why she stays with a guy who treats her that way! It was upsetting to watch. So, maybe to counter that season, they only showed teammates getting along, encouraging and supporting one another for the most part - or maybe they all really did get along that well. Let's hope it's the latter.

Okay, that's enough randomness for now...

Now, this is more like it

It's raining. It's been raining for days now. We've had to squeeze lawn mowing in between rainstorms, which translates into very long, very wet grass that has to be bagged instead of mulched. Ugh. Bagging makes the 3 hour job more like a 4 hour ordeal. It also usually means the lawn doesn't look so hot and has to be recut just to even up all those strands of grass that refuse to stand up and be whacked the first time around. On the up side, the lawn is incredibly green and lush, the flowers are growing like mad, and we don't have to wash the cars - my least favorite chore in the world.

Rain in May is normal for this part of the country. After an abnormally dry and hot April, the rain is welcome and much needed. It's been mostly raining at night and just sprinkling off and on during the day - about the best way for rain to happen. It does make for dark skies throughout the day, but when you're stuck inside working, that's not so bad. As long as it's sunny on the weekend.... which is rarely the case, of course, so why even hope for that? I can dream, can't I?

Friday I go to Whitworth to move Jonathan back home for the summer. As sad as it was having him gone in the fall, it's going to be so weird having him back home. Last September I couldn't go an hour without crying because I missed him so much. And contrary to what I thought back then, I did get used to him not living here eventually - about a month or so ago - just in time for him to move back home. Mind you, I wouldn't have it any other way, but it will be different to have to make dinner for him again, to have his hulking figure stretched out on the couch watching TV with us, and to have him eat us out of house and home again. On the other hand, it does mean I will have some help unloading the dishwasher and mowing the lawn again for a while. And about the time I get used to having him home, he'll be off to college again and I'll cry buckets for weeks and weeks. Weird.

Jonathan's college roommate won't be his roommate next year and that makes me sad. Nathan is going off to study in the British Isles in August and won't return to Whitworth until Jan Term. That's so awesome for Nathan, but so not awesome for Jonathan. Though they didn't exactly hang out this year, they coexisted quite peacefully as roommates. They never really fought about anything, they played a lot of World of Warcraft together, and they actually did some stuff together. I think, if they had remained roommates, they might have started doing more and more together eventually. But maybe that's just wishful thinking on my part. Nathan has been a great, calming influence on Jonathan, who has a tendency toward impulsivity at times. I think they were very compatible roommates.

Next year Jonathan will live in the basement in a huge room with two other guys. One is a pretty stable guy who goes to bed early and gets up early. The other has been Jonathan's partner in crime during most of his "escapades" this year - they are both bad influences on each other - so I'm a bit concerned about them actually living together. On the other hand, they spent all their free time in Steve's room so maybe it won't be so different. Having Nathan and his calming influence as a roommate didn't stop Jonathan from shaving his head last week on an impulse. Yeah, shaved his head! Happy Mother's Day, Mom! He looks like a cancer patient. He's always wanted to "Bic" his head, but we've managed to talk him out of it in the past. After his pal and future roommate, Steve, dumped crushed up Kix in his hair, he decided it was the perfect excuse to shave it off as opposed to just washing it. He has way too big and round a head... it does not look good. Thankfully, it grows quickly, so in a month he should look like he does most summers. That sort of impulsivity is what worries me about next year's living arrangements, though. I'm hoping both Steve and Jonathan learned their lessons when they got in trouble earlier this semester for their pranks and breaking of the rules, and will have matured a bit more by next fall. I can hope, can't I? Steve does, at least, seem to study hard and do well in his classes, so that's a plus.

Well, today is staff meeting day and I have to make a presentation for which I'm unprepared because I forgot we had this special meeting scheduled. I have to go in early to prepare for the meeting so I have to get into the shower NOW. I also am the notetaker at the meetings. After years of very poorly written notes from the meetings taken by hand by one of our staffers, I volunteered to take notes on the laptop, typing what everyone says as close to verbatim as I can. I've been doing this for the past three months or so and the staff is thrilled. I email the notes to everyone within a day. They used to have to go to the staff bulletin board and read a xeroxed copy of the handwritten notes, which were usually 1-2 pages in length. They now get the notes in their email and they are generally 6-8 pages in length - much more comprehensive. My goal is to try to capture the flavor of the discussions in our meetings by recording what each person says in detail as opposed to just summarizing the topic discussed. So far, everyone is really happy with the new approach. Thankfully, I type fast (about 100-110 wpm) but I wish I had trained as a court reporter and had one of those cool court reporter machines. Wouldn't that be amazing for taking notes verbatim? Usually I type in "shorthand" and then expand the "shorthand" later into whole words and sentences. Crazy.

I'm looking forward to Friday. I get to see the Harrisons (Nathan's folks). We're going to move our boys out and clean their room together. I really like them and will miss them at Parent's Weekend next year. I'm glad I get to see them this week. I'm hoping maybe they'll come up to Sandpoint and go camping this summer! It would be so cool!

Well, it's 7AM... shower time...So.... off I go.

Lycos did me in too!

So, what's up with Lycos anyway? First Nathan's Lycos account was closed mysteriously for no apparent reason, forcing him to develop a new site. Now mine is closed, meaning any photos I had linked to that site now show up as little red x's in my blog. Fortunately for me, I have a web server at work from which I can host my photos. The big pain is that I now have to go back and change the links on any photos that are MIA in past blog posts. Ugh. Lycos - you suck!