Oglefamily

Fast Forward

2011-01-06T20:43:00.000-08:00

Emily pointed out to us today, Laura and me, the daisies as we walked to school. “Daisies?!?” I said. “Where?”

“Wight DERE!” pointed Emily.

And sure enough, there was a patch of wide parking strip with actual daisies, actually blooming; I counted about five flowers the next time we walked by. It’s a nice reminder of two separate things: winter is not forever, and children see things we don’t, if only because they are closer to the ground. :-)

It is wonderful having school so close by, after the endless driving of last year. In walking distance, door-to-door is eight blocks, none of it particularly hill-ish. Unless there is some extenuating circumstance—torrential rain, illness that kept someone home—we walk. Since Emily has Kindergarten, we three walk there together in the morning, I walk to get her and we walk home, then the two of us walk to get Laura and we all walk home together. Days when I do that, it adds up to four and a half miles. A nice way to get in exercise!

We have seen so many things, out there in those eight blocks. In the fall, we walked past two different sets of oak trees, and we began collecting acorns. I wouldn’t let the girls pick up too many at a time, and one of the sets dropped these tiny little nuts, so our collection fit into and is still in a crystal dish on the dining room table. One day soon we need to make a gift to the resident squirrels in our backyard.

Many, many leaves were crunched.

We have fallen in love with a garden we go by when we walk down a particular alley. (The alley is a lovely, paved alley, with a bit of space on the sides should we need to avoid any cars). We watched a set of pumpkins brighten over the course of about six weeks, and gasped in surprise when Someone had obviously harvested a few of them at a time.

A few of the kids in each girl’s class sometimes walk ahead of us, or behind us, or next to us, and that is pretty interesting, too. Like everyone else, kids put on a different face in the classroom than the one they use at home, and it’s been educational for the girls to see these strange new people they thought they already knew.

One of the houses we pass has these funny clover-shaped pavers as a short retaining wall (perhaps eight inches high) at the edge where the lawn meets the sidewalk. A few days ago, Laura had to stop to get something out of her shoe and sat on the wall. The next time we passed, she noticed one of the pavers had fallen down, so she grabbed the stone and put it back (oooof!), just in case she had been the one to loosen it and hadn’t noticed. The next day, she saw that two more had fallen, in different spots, and put them back. Today there was yet another (either someone is doing it on purpose, or there’s an animal knocking them down, or the ground is heaving, perhaps from the cold), and again she took care of it.

Sometimes we’re rushed, but somehow the walk always ends up calm and refreshing. Now with added daisies.

A Paean for Matt

2010-06-20T10:54:00.000-07:00

It's been a difficult year to be a parent on top of everything else. Quite fortunately, we still have two children, though it was in some doubt at one point. So the first verse is a thank you, for taking Laura on that harrowing ride to the hospital and staying with her during the first of many IV insertions (Matt Does Not Do Needles. He said he just made sure he knew where the nearest garbage can was, in case he needed it....). He also put aside temporal things and stuck it out at the hospital for two solid weeks; AND, though it was hard, was willing to be the one to leave to fetch things from home and tend Emily.

Thanks for being the dad!

One of the reasons I'm not working next year is that neither of us manages to keep only one job at a time very well...we always end up adding on. So it's worth noting that whenever he could, he was the one to drive out to drop the girls off in the morning, thus giving me either extra vegging time in the van (when I was tagging along), or extra prep time, when I drove myself all the way in to work. And whenever he could, he was also the one to pick them up in the afternoon. There were many days--in between all the meetings!--when I would kiss the girls goodbye and not see them again until we were all at home again. Day in and day out, week after week...that's pretty impressive.

Thanks for being the dad!

Have you noticed that there is no day for husbands, officially? I confess that I tend to follow the trend of anniversaries largely being about the woman having put up with the man for another year, so since we haven't created a husband day just yet, I'll take this opportunity to thank Matt for being a good partner. Apart from missing the person who was gone last week, I was so happy to wake up this morning and know that there was someone else who would do roughly half the chores today. Without fussing about it. We've already started plotting our summer projects--together. I know that I am never going to come home to some "adventure" that he has decided to devote time and money to without checking in with me....it's just not "how he rolls." And for that, I am so grateful, since I do not ever want to roll that way myself.

Thanks for being the husband! (that was clearly a bridge, not a chorus.)

Finally, I must mention the pure daddy-ness involved. There are "emo" moments with Laura that Matt understands (and can cope with) infinitely better than I can. He is much better at many games than I, including but not limited to Chase, Throw the Ball, Bounce the Ball, Jump, and Boogie. He is a good sport about us "seeding" him with songs as he hums and whistles around the property. And of course, we love him.

Thanks for being the dad!

And We're Back...

2010-06-19T16:18:00.001-07:00

Wow. It's been a long time. But now, at last, I feel like writing again. I might be a bit rusty, but I'm sure it will come back to me.

First, the news in brief: after a year that was just as hard, in mostly the same sort of ways, as the one before, we decided to go back to being a one-income family. So I resigned my job, and am now (as of today!) contemplating all the things that have been put off, patched together, stacked up, stashed away....and thinking about where to start.

More tidbits to come...I have two years' worth of images stored in my brain to download (not to mention anything current!).

Dear Sears

2009-02-28T14:17:00.000-08:00

February 28, 2009

Sears National Customer Relations
3333 Beverly Road
Hoffman Estates, IL 60179

Dear Sears:

One mistake has wasted countless hours of my time—and yours, too.

On January 26, my husband and I ordered a new stove at your Sears store in Lancaster Mall, Salem, Oregon. Our oven had stopped working the day before, and because of food allergies, we have to cook almost everything we eat from scratch; eating out is not an option for long. We had the stove delivered that Saturday, the 31st.

The delivery guys took off the back panel of the stove, hooked up the “pigtail”, plugged the stove in, waited while I stripped off the packing materials and turned on the oven, and left. I left the oven on to burn off the factory debris, as directed in the user’s manual. About a half an hour after the delivery people left, I heard a loud “click” from the kitchen and went to investigate. All the lights on the stove were off. I looked at our breaker box, and the range breaker was tripped. I tried resetting it to no avail.

So I called the delivery people (who had called to make sure we were there; I used Caller ID to get them). The person I reached said, “I can’t send my guys out again until Monday.” Since I am a teacher and cannot take extra time off work, I asked if this breaker-tripping was normal, and he said, “No.” So we called an electrician.

The electrician came, took off the back panel of the stove and saw immediately that a wire had welded itself to that back panel (the scorch mark is still there, on the inside). He peeled it off the panel, looked to make sure the contact part was okay, and stuck it back where it belonged. He then reset the breaker, at which point we realized the outlet for the range was damaged. He went and found a new plug, installed it, and plugged in the range. The top still functioned, but somehow during the “dead short” as he called it, the oven stopped working. It took two service calls and several fruitless phone calls to get that repair completed, as well as paying someone to be in our house during the four-hour repair windows so we didn’t have to miss work.

As he was working, the electrician mentioned that the stove, as it was installed, was a “death trap,” since the entire back of the stove was, in fact, live with electricity. Imagine how I felt upon hearing this, especially since I have two small children and one cat. “Product liability” does not really cover the emotion.

I am now writing, however, to get the electrician’s bill resolved. I have repeated the EXACT SAME STORY to various people and departments at Sears over the course of the last month. At first, I was told that it was the delivery people’s fault, and that I would hear from them. After a long delay, I did, and they decided it was actually NOT their responsibility after all (see their letter, attached.)

So far I paid the money for the stove and the electrician’s bill, used up approximately 15 hours of my life that I will never get back—and, in fact, since I am a teacher, will lose in sleep as I attempt to get caught up on grading, gone without a working oven for over a week that was YOUR store’s fault (I do not blame you for the week we waited for delivery—just repairs, since we were told not to let anyone exchange the stove in case we needed proof for this very claim I am writing about). In exchange, I have netted one stove and oven that actually works, several more gray hairs, and one $25 gift card to soften the pain (it’s not working, actually).

Here is what I need you to do. Read the attached electrician’s report and bill. Send us a check for the total amount of the bill, $399.55 (I wouldn’t mind if you sent it overnight, but it’s your corporate image, not mine.) And seriously consider finding some way to compensate us for our time, on the off chance that we might consider patronizing your store again: make me an offer.

Attached you will find the bill and the report, as well as the delivery company’s note denying responsibility. If you’d like to read my letter online, you may see it at:
http://oglefamily.blogspot.com/2009/02/dear-sears.html

I will be happy to post your reply there as soon as I receive it.

Sincerely,

Ginger Ogle

Life since Thanksgiving 2008

2008-12-20T12:39:00.000-08:00

I don't quite know how to write it all, so bear with me. Our life has been a shambles since Thanksgiving, though we are of course grateful for what we have.

The Sunday after Thanksgiving, we got a call that Pat was again in the hospital, with a severe headache that was eventually diagnosed as bleeding in her brain. The medical folks never did figure out exactly where the bleeding came from, though they ruled out both aneurysm and stroke...technically, I suppose it is just a brain hemorrhage. ("Just.") The bleeding was, however, massive. Naturally, Matt grabbed a suitcase and left to be near her as she lay in the ICU at St. Vincent's.

It was shortly after that that I realized Dudley had gone to that Great Ball of Yarn in the Sky at exactly the perfect time--a week and a half earlier--because I'm not really sure how I would have managed the whole first-year teaching too much thing, plus sudden single working parenthood, plus being worried about Matt, his mom, and their family, plus trying to explain to the girls both what was happening and why they didn't even get to say goodbye before Daddy left (it was nap time), AND do all the care Dudley needed. Of course, all the while I realized that I had by far the easier job, at least compared to Matt's. (It was also good timing, because it did give at least Laura a touchstone...in that way children have of bringing humorous catharsis to tragedy, when I told her Grandma was so sick she might die, Laura immediately said: "Will she go to the vet?") We were very grateful for the many offers of help that week; special thanks have to go to Kyle for continuing to shepherd the speech team while its two other coaches were incommunicado, and Eric for chipping in to judge at the tournament that next Saturday.

By Wednesday of that week, they had decided that Pat had stabilized enough to move her to a regular room, out of the ICU. She had been unconscious, then in and out of consciousness, in part at least because of the painkillers, but she very gradually improved over the next week. They could tell by now that she had what is called "left side neglect", and while I probably won't explain it correctly, it mostly means that her brain ignores the fact that her left side exists. This is not quite the same as paralysis, but has many of the same effects, plus some really weird ones like not acknowledging what her left eye sees....Dianne reported that she watched Pat eat half a plate of food, and think she was done, until the plate was turned to reveal what had been on the left side of it.

By that, you may deduce that she is doing a little better; the plate of food was in the nursing center she has been moved to. She's able to speak, a bit; not nearly as well as before. The doctors, though, have warned us not to hope for too much.

This really sucks.

The weather has kept us from going up to visit her this week, though we're hoping for a break in time for Christmas. Although in comparison it seems like a small matter, you may be able to imagine how far behind I got while Matt was gone for six school days, and worse, how far behind *he* got in that amount of time (his kids were mighty glad to have him back instead of another substitute). And that is what we have been up to, why there are no Christmas cards, no Christmas letter, definitely no blog posts, and not a heckuva lot of Christmas cheer around here. But we'll see what we can do about that last one in the next few days....

Walking Like an Old Guy

2008-09-23T21:37:00.000-07:00

Matt dropped the girls off at preschool today, stopped long enough at work to let them know he would be gone, and took himself to the hospital.

He's had some pain in the abdomen--no, not on the appendix side--the last few days, and it suddenly got worse this morning. They ran several tests, including x-rays to check for kidney stones and a CAT scan to check for all sorts of things, and so far their best guess is that it's some kind of infection somewhere in the intestinal tract. More tests are coming, but they let him leave with TWO antibiotics prescriptions to take for now.

He says it only hurts when he's not holding absolutely still.

Meanwhile, so far we're still hosting a tournament this weekend. The school was closed down yesterday morning because of a power outage. So when he got done with the medicos, he went back to work (tho' school was out by then) to start coping with all the registrations to compete that had come in yesterday and today.

Will post more info. as it becomes available...hopefully, it will be nothing too exciting to report.

Dear Rachel,

2008-08-29T21:05:00.000-07:00

Although lots of people have dropped hints, a few have been bold enough to ask, and at least one has actually nagged, you are the first person, I do believe, to take the time to send me a snail-mail letter urging me to update my blog!

So this one's for you.

It's been an incredibly busy summer, mostly because I've been working. Most weeks, I've gone out to school at least once. On virtually every other day, I used the afternoon to work on sewing some clothes for myself (a job still unfinished...), and also to look through the mountains of curriculum stuff left me by my predecessor. Matt made some good progress on finishing up the house's trim painting job. (The girls now have fond memories of Daddy sitting on the counter with his feet in the kitchen sink, painting the outside trim on the windows above the sink from the inside.) He also built a new picnic table (the old one was disintegrating before our eyes).

We got a new car, a new set of mattresses (way overdue!), and a new computer (with free iPod). I have actually and with no incidents driven the minivan now--it's still a bit scary because it's so huge, but I hope to keep my good record. I have even parked and un-parked without hitting innocent bystanders (or by-cars). I did a little happy dance at school yesterday when I found that the funny adapter thing that came with my computer was, in fact, exactly what I needed to hook it to the projector at school...thus making my wiki very workable (I *could* use the evil PC to project, but this way I don't have to be compatible, or export my own bookmarks. Heaven.) Also, the nice tech people from the District connected my own dear Dobby to the wireless network, which works both in my classroom and in the library--and the projector lives in the library but is also happy to travel. Gotta love flexibility!

I still have a few loose ends to tie up over the weekend, and quite a lot of planning to do. I am starting to feel, however, that I will live to see the end of the year. And downright excited when I start thinking and talking about my wiki and having the kids do some podcasting... the District tech people get these sappy, happy looks on their faces ...amazingly, I am something of a bolt from the blue there, I think.

How are the girls? They are fine. They looooooooove their preschool, though I think they'd rather we could all stay home when they're tired. Laura has completely attached to her main teacher, and is slowly getting to know and like the others. Emily has mostly gotten over her initial fear of the Big Potty they have there, and loves to climb on the play equipment. Both entertain us with the new/old songs they've picked up. For the most part they seem to be well and happy there, and I know *we* have been happy with the quality of care. Our schedule is tough on them; we get up at 5, they get up at 5:30, and if all goes like clockwork we manage to get home by about 4:45. That's a long day for a little one! (On the up side, they fall right asleep at night.)

Matt has one new "prep" class to set up. He is still the co-president of the union. And the NFL District Chair. And the first tournament is coming up at the end of September, as usual. (The first workshop, even earlier than that.)

My garden has gone to seed this year...it had a slow beginning because of weather, a slower still middle because of work, and then--agonizingly--I just realized I didn't have the time to do it all. I'm still hoping to at least tuck it in nicely this fall and try again next year.

I have to have my wisdom teeth out; but I can't just make an appointment. Because I was honest on my little health form for the dentist, I have to have allergy testing to make sure that anything they might use or give me for that surgery, will not cause a repeat of the asthma attacks I had with each girl's arrival (they did give me lidocaine before each c-section. So we'll see....) Since I have to go without some of my favorite (i.e., most helpful) medications to do the allergy testing, not to mention the thrill of oral surgery as a reward...I am not looking forward to it all that much.

We've tried to make the summer full of good memories; we've been to the beach at least four times (five...six? times), once for a two-night stay at a beach house (we really liked the house, though the beds were terrible--even the kid beds! But it did have location, location, location going for it in a big way.) We spent Emily's third birthday at the Aquarium, and our adventure for August was taking Grandma Ma and Grandma Pat and Grandpa Bill with us to play at the beach...except Grandma Ma got really sick and couldn't go (she's better). The beach was so exciting that Bill fell asleep--quite a feat when you're being offered a plastic toy full of sand to pretend it's a plate and eat off of--and yes, we have pictures as proof. The same house we stayed in is already on reserve for a weekend later in the fall; if I don't schedule time away, I know I won't rest enough.

We had a great time at the fair today, looking at lots of live animals and seeing the sights of the midway (not riding anything or even playing; just LOOKING was excitement enough for the girls!) Although she fussed about the noise at the time, Laura's favorite was the roosters, while Emily preferred the bunnies. I liked the cows. Matt was amazed at the pig mama with 11 (count 'em) piglets, who--apparently--spend all their time eating. (Let me just say that that pig must be getting more than her share of oxytocin to tolerate all those customers at once....) Since the girls have not yet made it to a zoo, this was one of those great days.

Before I forget, another pitch for the fair (it wraps up on Monday). They have way cooler facilities than when I was there as a teenager; for instance, we spent some time in the "Toddler Zone", all free with crawling toys and safe mats and drawing equipment *and* a changing table stocked with lots of diapers in a variety of sizes. We also found a booth set up near the Artist's area where kids could sit and paint or color--also free.

So there you go; that ought to catch you up a little. No promises for updates as the school year gets into full swing; I've been spending my spare time snuggling with my babies whenever I can!

Yours very truly,
G.O.

Me: Confusing Doctors Since 1971

2008-07-11T17:23:00.000-07:00

So the plan was, for me to go in and get allergy shots this summer. I'd start them, see whether they killed me (apparently that can happen, though it's extremely rare), and continue during the school year.

Before mixing up the magic serum with which to inject me, the allergist wanted to do another skin test, just to make sure the primary culprit was actually still dust, and that nothing had been added to the mix. I went in Tuesday, and here's the thing: NOTHING showed up as a positive allergen.

This is bizarre.

A year and a half ago, the dust mite spot was clear and obvious almost from the moment the little needle touched me (the nurse commented on it as she was setting the timer they use to give you enough time to finish reacting). I also had, according to the doc, "minor" reactions to cockroaches and something I now forget. So when I saw the same doc this time, she said she was frankly perplexed. We both agreed that we'd try the test again in a few months (3 to 6) to see what we can see; she said that it does happen, sometimes, that people just don't react at one point and will at another. I said, "Could I be *cured*?" and the reply was that it was, just like everything, possible.

Personally, I have a few theories, but since there's only one in the test group and no controls at all, it's difficult to verify cause and effect. So here they are, in no particular order:

Maybe getting really, really, really sick and then taking the Prednisone last winter somehow "reset" my immune system (to be honest, I have felt top-notch the last few weeks.)
Maybe more distance from the whole ordeal of child-bearing and breast-feeding has let my body heal itself and replenish some nutrients it needed to not be so tense and sensitive.
Maybe eating almost all organic has somehow lessened my reactivity (that's been since February).
Maybe the tech who mixed the test-prick potions messed up.
Maybe my life goal is actually to show up in as much medical literature as possible before I die (no one had heard of the asthma attacks with C-sections thing, either...)
or, Maybe I really am better.

So far, that's all I can think of.

On the up side, I don't have to have shots unless and until I have a positive skin test again. And maybe I'll enjoy our coming beach escape even more than I was expecting, if the furnishings don't make me so sneezy!

Don't Cry for Me, Little Laura

2008-07-11T17:09:00.000-07:00

This is what happens when you marry a metrosexual. Who watches show tunes clips on YouTube. With a four-year-old nearby.

I would just like to point out that, apart from asking her if she'd do it for the camera, we did not encourage her in her dramatics. She was, apparently, born a star. (She has been doing this for about a week, at random times and places.)

A Lovely Addition to the Household

2008-07-08T23:15:00.001-07:00

We've been on a long-planned, long-anticipated (but not long-lasting!) spree. (I use those qualifiers so nobody thinks we've gone completely nutso; we've been fairly cheap for quite a long time, first to prepare financially for house and children, and then to be able to stay in the former with the latter. Now, things are different).

So please know that I mention this not to brag, but because Matt will kill me if I don't at least give it a post: we are the happy owners of a 2008 Toyota Sienna.

It is lovely.

The Way It Shouldn't Be

2008-07-08T22:59:00.000-07:00

Let's say, just for fun, that you're looking for a preschool for your children. You pick two to do site visits for; both are nationally accredited. They cost precisely the same amount.

Enter one preschool.

You see the play area; it is not tiny. The guide shows you the basement meeting hall the children play in when it rains. In case you didn't know...it rains here. Often.

You see the pretty classrooms, with the busy children, and ask about the curriculum. They talk about letters and numbers.

You ask, "What do you do with a child who already knows all their letters?"

They are silent. They look at each other. Then they stammer, "Uh...well, we'd work on the letter sounds, and maybe move on to word recognition?"

They assume that I am talking about the four and a half year old. I do not tell them that Laura already is pretty solid on the letter sounds, and that Emily is actually the one I was thinking of when I asked the question.

~~~~~
The scene shifts to a different preschool.

A smaller setting, both in size of classes and of classrooms. It is homey, and not very institutional. (There is a room full of infants, and none of them are fussing, although at least two or three are being simply snuggled by some grandmother-types). They have a sandpit outside in a large fenced play area. When you comment, you are told, "Oh, yes, and we play outside even when it rains. We encourage boots in the winter!"

When you ask how they handle children who are starting to read, they answer with no hesitation that they "just try to take students where they are, and help them move forward academically."

Can you guess which place we (unanimously--all four of us) chose?

As an independent benefit, it's close to work for both of us, so the girls may get to visit speech practice from time to time and catch up on their idols.

The Way It Should Be

2008-07-08T22:47:00.001-07:00

Last week, I had the pleasure of meeting the retired teacher whom I'll be replacing (who? dammit, I have trouble with those...). He spent about two and a half hours giving me a guided tour of my new classroom, showing me the textbooks for all the subjects I'll be teaching, providing me advice and cautions about various and sundry things and people, and assuring me of two vital things: that he *hoped* I would certainly change the curriculum around to suit my own style, and that he was planning to sub but would not be back for a while, to give the students a chance to transfer their loyalties. (Although I assured him that--especially as a not-new teacher--he was most welcome any time).

Can you imagine the state of the world if every teacher in a new spot had an introduction to their job like that?

In addition, he decided to donate almost two whole four-drawer filing cabinets full of teacher materials (over and above the textbook supplements; these are the kind the individual teacher picks up on their own. I do not plan to sell them, but rather, use them; but if I priced them all out, it's probably in the neighborhood of $2,000 worth of literature. Maybe more.)

As a final gift, when I asked (a bit timorously, I think) about how he organized 8th grade graduation (that task comes with the job), he said: "Call me in April, and I'll walk you through it."

To be sure, I've got challenges ahead. But one guy and couple of hours of his life have suddenly made mine a whole lot easier.

Some People Have All the Luck...

2008-06-11T22:00:00.000-07:00

...and obviously, I've gotten my fair share. I am employed for the fall; I had an interview yesterday afternoon and was offered the job this morning. It was the job Matt and I had hoped for, since it's in his district; that means it should not be a big hairy deal for me to keep on assistant coaching the (State Champions!) team.

Okay, it's not *all* luck. I'm sure it helps that I have that Continuing License I worked so hard to get (especially now that you can put it off for quite a while, which I did not). And it helps that I grew up in the District, got excellent grades there, did not end up in Juvy, etc. And I have experience teaching. Finally, it has to help that I am happy and proud to know some Pillars of the Community in the small unincorporated hamlet in which I'll be teaching (don't get me wrong; it's a cute hamlet. Crossroads. Wide area in the road. Whatever. ;-) ).

So what's she teaching, you might ask? I'll tell you: everything! First, it's important to point out that not everyone who has ever taught in a high school, likes middle schoolers. I do. And that is fortunate, for I'll be teaching a combined class of 7th and 8th graders all day. It's a "self-contained" class, which in this case means that all the 7th and 8th graders in the school (around 23, at last count)* are in it, and I will be their only teacher--except when I swap with the 5th/6th guy to do science or social studies (we'll figure that out soon). Since I've always disliked having to choose just one thing to focus on, I'm actually really looking forward to that situation.

On the other hand, I'll also be teaching math. (Are those sirens I hear?....) No, really, it will be okay; I won't have to go beyond Algebra I, which is the last math class I did anything remotely resembling A work in. It'll just take me a while to figure out exactly how to teach it, never having done so.

So that's the scoop. Preschool placement will get figured out when Matt gets back from Vegas, and we'll also have some purchasing decisions to make; some of our making-do strategies will become obsolete when there's no one here to be doing the making-do (ing?). While I don't think either of us is planning to engage in obnoxious conspicuous consumption....it will be nice to have two incomes again.

And Tier Two status!

*This is a nice change from 33 per class for English 9, and a total load of around 180. Perhaps nice is not a strong enough word, especially since I am the Worst Teacher in the History of the World at Learning Names.

Will Work for ~$300 a Month

2008-06-04T14:18:00.000-07:00

It's a long story, but the quick and dirty version is: I need a job this fall. It needs to be a PERS job, which means teaching or government work.

I can explain more when it's not so crazy, but essentially, the reason I need it now is to stay in Tier II of PERS; hence the title. That's how much I stand to lose a month at retirement, in today's dollars, if I fall out of Tier II, which will happen without me getting in around 600 or so hours in a PERS job before the end of the calendar year (a full-time teaching position would fit that bill quite nicely). When I first found out (last week), I was a little horrified--we were always planning on sending me back, and had always wanted one of us home with the girls until they were up to three (which Emily turns this summer), but I'd settled in to the idea of waiting until they were in school. Now, I'm seeing that they'll be fine and would probably actually benefit from a little preschool...Laura's grown out of a lot of her "transition issues", and we'll find her a place she likes. Emily will probably like anywhere with toys.

So, into the fray I go. All job referrals welcome!

Another Reason to Get Up in the Morning

2008-06-01T09:56:00.001-07:00

The note says "Frosty the Pirate strikes!" (also, "GARRR!"). It is anonymous, but we have some suspects in mind.

Quote of the Day

2008-05-29T12:34:00.000-07:00

"Mama, Mr. Rogers can pee standing up!"

We Are the Champions

2008-04-20T16:59:00.000-07:00

Yesterday, our team won State in the 5A division!

And, not coincidentally, one of our kids was a State Champion (in Impromptu). That alone couldn't make us number one, however; many, many of our speakers went to various finals.

That was plenty for one day's excitement. But, there's more. Matt was elected the Speech Educator of the Year for this coming school year! So, next year at State, he gets to give a speech and accept the honor during a special assembly.

It was a good day.

It's a Two-Fer

2008-04-12T23:28:00.000-07:00

We qualified another one to Nationals, in Congress. So now Matt gets to take two teenage boys to Vegas.

That doesn't sound quite right....

and yet, it's true!

Speech Team at 2008 Districts

2008-04-06T10:24:00.000-07:00

We creamed 'em.

The team is sending students to State in every event there is, save C-X (which no one in our District does, so it's not like we lost anything). Many events have more than one qualifier from our team (most events send 2 or 3 students or debate teams). Each school is limited in how many entries it can have at Districts, which means we actually had to exclude some people from even competing there...but most of the students we did send to Districts, are going on to State.

That's a big step on the way to doing well at State (just getting our kids there). We have five practices between now and then, and NFL Congress next weekend, so there's not much time to do much radical change...but most of these kids have been doing well all year, so hopefully nobody needs any radical change. Tune in in two weeks to see how it turned out.

Calling Dr. Laura

2008-04-06T10:19:00.000-07:00

A few weeks ago, Laura decided to take her turn caring for a family pet. Here are the pics and some explanation.

[Tami nagging set to: OFF] ;-)

Sweet Things

2008-04-04T22:48:00.000-07:00

When I was horribly sick in December, and my allergies were going bananas, Laura was very sweet to me.

We have a popcorn-popper toy, and the girls call it their "vacuum"; okay, the movement to get it to go and sing its song does look a lot like what the grownups do when they vacuum. Laura has figured out that Daddy vacuums so that Mama won't get sick, i.e., allergic.

So in December, whenever I said I was sick (even when it was just the cold), she would say, "*I'll* vacuum for you, Mama!" and she did. In fact, she asked me on several different occasions if I was feeling sick, and followed it up with the offer--and the popper...just in case.

~~~~~~~~

In spite of Emily being turbo-charged, she loves to snuggle. The following scene occurs once or twice a week, usually after she's been asleep:

[parent--it happens with both of us--is holding Emily on their shoulder. Emily's head is down.]

P: "Can I set you down, Em?"
E: "No. I not done wuvving you yet."
P: "awwwwwww...okay, I guess I can hold you a bit longer...."

I need inspiration...

2008-04-03T13:28:00.000-07:00

So I have a few minutes, but for the first time (surely not the last), I find myself...uninspired. So I need to hear from you. I know Tami wants pictures; what does everybody else want to hear about/see/etc.?

Hook up them thar jumper cables and get me going! (you can leave comments, or email me, or whatever...don't do smoke signals, though, it aggravates the asthma).

The Apple Has Not Fallen Far...

2008-04-02T08:26:00.000-07:00

So, Saturday, two of our co-captains were wonderful and came and babysat for us. Sunday, and Monday, and yesterday, Laura has been saying a particular word (okay, it's the word "no") in a distinct and rather obvious imitation of one of said co-captains. Today, said co-captain finally got to hear her say it, and realized that wow, it *does* sound like her.

I said, smirkily, "Children are wonderful mirrors."

(I said that to the co-captain, mind you).

And Laura said, even more smirkily, "Yes, we ARE!"

Gee. I appear to have given birth to a smartass. Who'd a thunk?

ain't got, got, got no time...

2008-04-01T21:48:00.000-07:00

but I know Tam's not the only one eager for Ogle news.

So: we had Spring Break.

Before that, we qualified one kid to nationals (in LD Debate; they can only go in one event, now).

Before that, we were having a tournament almost every weekend, and before that, we got to play for a night out, thanks to a generous gift from my aunt and cousin (we went and saw..."The Debaters". Of course!).

Before that, I enjoyed my very-much-a-surprise-gift post-Christmas night out...mostly. I got to see Ellen for several hours, and we enjoyed a leisurely dinner, followed by coloring (we are, after all, party animals!) No children of mine were present at the dinner, and it was oh! so lovely to just talk like, and realize we actually are....grownups. I enjoyed the hot tub. I did not enjoy the dusty bed, though I had just finished my course of steroids and was actually much better. I ended up sleeping on a leather loveseat, some, and decided maybe next year....I'll send the family away instead. :-)

And I plan to start allergy shots, once speech season is done. We'll see if they work for me....

Over Spring Break (what was left after NFL), we did not sit still much. I had to work on our taxes, which are considerably more complicated this year as we both have self-employment income (that's just one of the perks...okay, it's the only perk....wait, it's NOT a perk! of Matt's being the union president; although he has no expenses to put against it, he is considered a sole proprietor in his union hat.)

We also managed to get to the library for a kid's concert--fun! though Laura stood just outside the auditorium to do her dancing--and took the girls out to lunch one day, just for fun (chocolate shakes and balloons get them every time!) Matt did some school work. We took delivery (free) of four filing cabinets and a desk (free.) Those will make my, and possibly Matt's office, very happy at some point.

Saturday we had a lovely afternoon, thanks entirely to two of our co-captains who had given us three free babysitting sessions for Christmas. Taking them at their word, we took all three sessions in one day: we both got lots of work done in the morning, got the girls (ours) down for their naps, then went off to explore the Mission Mill Museum and go out to dinner. As a fabric addict, it was fascinating for me to see how the wool was processed, but the most gripping thing I saw was the mill race; it had never really made sense to me that you could, you know, lose a child in one, because when I think of a mill, I picture a water wheel alongside some placid creek back East. That's not enough to run a woolen mill, so they purposely channel the water into a narrower space to make it stronger and faster--hence, I'm guessing, "race." Anyway, it was amazing to see wimpy little Mill Creek suddenly look like a scary rapids. Good engineering.

Now we're in the breathless race (sorry ;-)) to Districts. We've been having practice three days a week, which is one reason you haven't had reports--getting the girls up in the morning, then down in time (and tired enough) for naps, then up and hustled out the door in time to make practice at 3:15 (or so) is no joke. Doing it two days in a row, as we are now, is even less jokier. And I do still love that whither I goest, goest them, too; it's just time-consuming right now.

Upcoming pictures you are owed (go ahead, nag me. It couldn't hurt...):

Laura "doctoring" Dudley the cat while Emily reads him books
child faces around our dining room table, from a gathering of the Usual Suspects

Something to Smile About

2008-04-01T12:25:00.001-07:00

In today's news, NCLB is being repealed. Much joy. ;-)

Echoes

2008-02-29T16:06:00.000-08:00

I think about Joe when I shower.

Well, really (Carol, it's okay to stop hyperventilating. And please, put the knife down! Now, back away, nice and slow....) I think about Joe when I get into the shower, then I laugh to myself and move on to other thoughts. It's nobody's fault; I just have a phonographic memory. You see, when Joe was in medical school, he did an internship (or something) south of us; Carol was north of us; and at least once I remember him flying by, stopping in to see us, and at some point in the visit taking a *very* quick shower. So quick that we commented on it when he came back from the bathroom (nosy, that's us!) In those days, Joe was often a little...late, and so he said he had become an expert on the quickest possible effective shower-taking technique. To wit, and I'm roughly quoting here: "You just *don't worry* about how warm the water is. Turn it on, jump in and start washing!" This is what pops into my head every day when I am decidedly NOT not worrying about the water temperature, but instead waiting for it to get warm.

Joe is not alone in my memory banks, not by a long shot. Actually, it's pretty crowded in there.

There's a whole category set aside for speechies, of course, though the one that crops up most often is, "It made a difference to *that* starfish." And I can never think of that speech without thinking of the same author's speech on popcorn; in regard to movie concessions: "Skip the stuff they squish on top; that's an easy way to cut the calories." I also remember that whenever we're at the movies, and we never do (skip it). From the same era, we are (I think I speak for Matt here, too), completely unable to avoid thinking of Eric whenever we think of any kind of pepper, whose speech on them was a staple of our diets for nearly a year. And whenever Emily crawls into a cardboard box to "take a BAFF!", I think back to that wonderful interp piece, "Days of Cardboard Boxes." It's about cardboard boxes. And what children can do with them.

Other speechies connect more to songs than to actual speeches, in part because we traveled so much with a constant soundtrack. I cannot hear "You're Unbelievable" without thinking of Danny; JJ gets "Say Goodbye to Hollywood", and really, all the team members from that era get to share Billy Joel's Greatest Hits volumes I and II. That's what happens when you listen to an album for nine hours with a set of people, give or take; wait three days, and listen to it *again* for nine hours with the same group.

Not all these echoes are happy. For instance, I was raised on musicals and have always loved My Fair Lady. I even got to teach it, reading the play first, of course. And that was nice. Until the day one of my former students--a grad--came back early in the fall to tell me that the one kid who had come into class the school year before *excited* about the musical, because he loved it, too...had just been killed in a car accident. Justin haunts me a little now whenever that music plays. I think of Jim when I pay bills--not just because I do some bookkeeping for Laurie, but because he's the one who first taught me to write when things were paid, how much, and by whom on bills, having done a fair amount of accountancy himself.

Others are just bizarrely mundane--like the Joe/shower thing--but apparently, permanent. I always open my bank statements the minute I get them (if children allow...), while hearing my grandfather's voice in my head. I shared my first checking account with him, and he impressed upon me how important it was to check your statements and balance your checkbook. I cannot even *see* a package of instant mashed potatoes--let alone eat 'em--without thinking of Paul. He either followed the directions so well, or did not follow them with so much elan, that I remember his particular instant mashed 'taters as being sublime. (It could have been an excess of butter. But they were yummy.)

So now I wonder, what strange and interesting echoes do other people hear? Do tell...I've made it lots easier to leave comments; they just take a little longer to show up. :-)

Nightgown Pics

2008-02-28T08:05:00.000-08:00

As demanded by Tami, here are pics of the Great Gown Adventure.

(The camera is apparently on its last legs, but it suffered a miraculous rebirth just before being looked at by an actual repair-person, so we'll see how many shots we can get out of it before replacement!)

Muffins, Interrupted

2008-02-23T19:50:00.000-08:00

Obviously, nobody tried to make the muffin recipe I posted back in November. Or if they did, they assumed the failure was their own. They would have been fairly flat muffins, as it appears that I left out some very key ingredients....well, I included not enough of one (baking soda) and entirely skipped the cream of tartar. Since the original recipe (that I tweaked) calls for 4 teaspoons of baking powder, and those missing items are the replacements....well, it's no light matter. And neither would the results be, without 'em!

Here is the corrected version. Humble apologies for the egg on my face (and let us all be thankful that I couldn't find my copy, but knew I had posted it, so printed it out and read it and realized it was wrong....I gotta pay my test-kitchen people more....)

What I Do Instead of Blogging...

2008-02-18T16:52:00.000-08:00

Today, like everyone else in the PNW, I was seized with a strong urge to be outside (actually, I was outside yesterday, too). So the tomato bed of last summer is finally uprooted, the stringy disgusting tomato vines now chopped up and preparing themselves to finish their carbon cycles; all the leaves that got left on the lawn near, but not in, the garden beds, are IN the garden beds (better late than never...); and I planted a few early flower seeds, as well as peas (hey, it's President's Day. You're *supposed* to plant peas on President's Day. It's, like, a LAW.) and spinach and, being a gambler at heart, lettuce.

This weekend, I finally finished the Little Girl Nightgown Extravaganza of 2007. I had purchased (at a good discount, natch) several different flannel fabrics, intending to spoil my children rotten at Christmas. Laura has long adored the few nightgowns she has, and they're a lot easier for little potty-goers than zip-up footie pajamas; just lift, lower, and ....uh...."go"! I made one for Laura around her birthday, in November, then was busily working on more to get done in time for Christmas. Then I got sick, which killed most of December. But I had them all cut out (the gowns, not the children), so I couldn't put it off until next winter; they might not fit! But now, I'm done: there are two little gowns with kitties on them (one pink, one aqua--those actually made it under the tree, though it was a near thing!); three little solid-color gowns (red and purple for Laura, green for Emily); two white with capital letters all over them; and two white with pastel polka-dots.

I've been getting my sewing room closer to proper for a dust allergy sufferer. More plastic bins, and I'm in the process of washing my whole fabric stash, since a lot of it has been exposed to dust and such at one point or another. I have to do this gradually because, as one of my fellow coaches put it when I was describing what it's like to have little children and a dust issue, "My God, your washing machine must be running All The Time!" (and she was 100% correct; if it's not running, I know I'm getting behinder.) But the sewing room is getting better. There were a few things that I had to actually sew into a different status before they could be safely (i.e., without falling apart or tangling themselves impossibly in the machinery) laundered, and the nightgowns represent almost the end of that category. Finally, I'm approaching sewing nirvana because--don't laugh--Matt gave me an ironing board for Christmas (muttering all the while, but I really wanted it!). So now I have a very efficient set up with sewing machine at twelve o'clock, ironing board at nine o'clock, and serger at three o'clock, with just space for my old office chair to swivel between them. And, of course, tidy little containers for the sewing-room toys and the Little People, whose village has moved up there as well.

We've been trying a whole host of organic foods, but that's the subject for another post. As is the speech team, though I can say that their string of successes continues. And of course, as long as it's legal, I'm playing Scrabulous. I also had lots of catching up to do in general in January (not least of which was getting my strength back; I had a killer!), and am finally starting to feel like I only have "normal" things to do (payroll taxes are behind me at last, at last...now I just have *our* taxes to do, like everyone else :-) ). Well, you know, as normal as we ever get....

Hanson Vineyards

2008-01-06T20:52:00.000-08:00

Yeah, yeah, I know, you've heard nothing since before Christmas. I am doing okay; much better now, and we have had many excellent adventures.

But for now, I'd like to direct you to Hanson Vineyards. I know from *nothing* about wines (except I like some of them), but I do know the Hansons, and they are given to doing things "right" (among other things, though certainly not limited to, producing Ellen!). So my guess is, they're making some good stuff (there are two bottles of it on our counter at the moment, one of which I don't think *you* can buy yet--at least not online--neener neener neener). Try it for yourself! They're happy to have tours, and you can see all the equipment up close (I know, because we did. Check out the photo section on their site--we saw it all today.)

(Oh, and while they're working on a wider distribution, you can get it from them direct, or at the Glockenspiel Restaurant in Mt. Angel.) Not only are they a local business, and therefore worthy of our support...they are also, truly, some of the finest and nicest people I know.

Irrational Exuberance

2007-12-21T12:40:00.000-08:00

I've been sick. Really, really sick. Like, once every fifteen years or so, sick (at least, I think that's the last time I actually went to see a doctor because of a virus).

I just had a basic--though nasty--respiratory infection. It started two weeks ago, in the throat, descended to completely harass my lungs, then gradually worked its way up to my head (I now have just barely stuffed ears, the last vestiges of the Thing.) Well, except for what it did to my immune system. Essentially, my body went into DEFCON 5 mode; picture a disturbed war veteran reacting to unexpected fireworks, and you have a small idea of what my allergies and asthma have been doing this week: "Take cover and attack, men!" Apparently, my lungs didn't get the memo that we were winning against the virus, so I have been hyper-hyper-hyper-sensitive to anything that might have had a passing acquaintance with a dust mite, ever. Sitting in my office chair--which Matt had vacuumed twice for me in one week--made my throat swell up right away. The one time I made it to speech practice, I returned as quickly as I could to home, took a lot of Benadryl, dived into the shower to get the dust off, and practiced yoga breathing the rest of the night until my allergies receded. Meanwhile, I was not eating much. I lost nine pounds in 11 days, and while I would be the first to point out that I certainly have the weight to lose, *this* is not a healthy rate of doing so (and it wasn't water weight, as I was drinking and drinking and drinking). The clincher, however, was that on numerous occasions I could not draw a full breath of air, all the asthma drugs notwithstanding.

This sucked.

So, I finally went to the doctor yesterday. He decided that my lungs sounded clear--hurray, no pneumonia! But agreed that things were not right. So I'm on prednisone for a week.

While corticosteroids--of which it is, of course, one--can have some pretty nasty side-effects, the worst of them are usually from long-term use. And just now, I'm happy to report that I am breathing. Deeply!

Meanwhile, one of the reported side effects is "unnatural happiness." One is supposed to contact the medical professionals if one "becomes dissociated from reality" (I told Matt that when I put a chateau in Provence on a credit card, he could call the doc.) But, while I wouldn't actually take the drug because of it, I can't think of a better time of the year to be suffering from a little mania than now, being a mom of small children who's been really sick for two weeks, with Christmas but four days away.

Christmas, ho!

Toy Containment

2007-11-30T20:40:00.001-08:00

Well, it's not nearly as important as, you know, nuclear containment, but this set of devices has been a godsend for all of us.

I was inspired to track it down by two things: seeing an arrangement of bins and boxes at Ty and Erin's house, and of course, by the dust allergy.

There are much cheaper versions out there; we went with a more expensive rack that's guaranteed not to fall on short people (it's really sturdy on its feet) or give them splinters, and that comes with lids for the bins--absolutely necessary for it to fulfill its duty here. (We used some of the proceeds from the summer Big Sale to pay for it.)

A side benefit, not entirely unpredicted by us, is that the children are *much* more organized. They know where to find their toys when they want them (our previous "filing system", which worked great for fill-and-dumping toddlerhood, was just a big wicker basket. Clean up? Throw in! But it was hard to find things later....) And of course, clean up is easy, because they hardly ever get out everything at once.

A side benefit that was completely unexpected is that Laura loves to dust them. Obsessively. Give her a cloth, and she will take a bin out, set it on the couch, polish it up, take it back, and pick another. Perhaps she's going to be a jeweler....

Laura Loves to Label

2007-11-29T20:51:00.000-08:00

All is categorized for Laura. She's deeply into checking to make sure what gender someone is; she doesn't, you know, lift their skirts or anything, but she's trying to tell just by looking at them as they are. So far, she's got a good track record. But I think it freaks the speechies out a little bit when they hear her saying, "Mama, X is a boy, right? And Y is a girl?"

It's not just sex, but a variety of other things go in categories. For instance, some songs are assigned to certain people. Tonight on the way home I was singing along to "Feliz Navidad", when this Voice from the Backseat said, "No, Mama, you can't sing *Daddy's* song!" (N.B.: no criticism was made of the quality of the singing itself. :-) ) Exercising admirable self-restraint, I didn't tell her to shut up; I just said that yes, I could sing it, because Daddy didn't write it or anything; he just sings it a lot. I think that confused her, as she conceded the point by maintaining silence!

The Seneca Falls Series

2007-11-28T23:06:00.000-08:00

Another series of mysteries I've been enjoying lately is by Miriam Grace Monfredo. She sets her stories around the middle of the 1800's, and the sleuth is a female librarian (being cutting edge by being female, and by having a lending library at all, and by refusing to get married, in spite of four or so men hanging by her and helping in the solving.)

Flitting to and fro in the stories are historical figures, especially from the suffrage and abolitionist movements. I appreciate her ability to make them seem human--how many of us, if we think of Elizabeth Cady Stanton at all, think of her husband and children?

They are set--at least partly--in upstate New York (and I honestly can't remember, but I *think* my Aunt recommended them to me long ago; being from there and a librarian, it would not surprise me much! :-) ).

Anyway, they are great. I had trouble putting them down....until they were finished, anyway. The characters are finely drawn, and many of them have a clear sense of humor. The inequalities of life then are ever-present but do not overwhelm the narrative. Good stuff.

Your Witness! er...turn.

2007-11-27T22:55:00.000-08:00

This one will sound pretty esoteric if you're not familiar with speech and debate, but I am excited because our team is *finally* going to have some competitors trying to do a certain kind of debate, called C-X.

C-X stands for Cross-Examination Debate, and it's very sophisticated in terms of intellectual arguments; requires lots of research and evidence to be hauled around from debate to debate; and has the same topic for the whole school year. It's a lot of work, but I think it makes students think in ways that our other kinds of debate do not. So I'm fairly jazzed about having some do it (and it helps that they know they're going to lose a lot before they get good at it.) It's also really the one and only event that we haven't had someone at least *try*....and since the team's sweepstakes points are calculated based on what everyone does...and debate is worth lots of sweepstakes points...it's been a bit of a handicap in terms of racking up those nice team awards.

So it's a good thing for everybody.

Scrabble Update

2007-11-26T20:40:00.000-08:00

At last count, I had 10 games of Scrabble going, with various people.

And now Matt's trying to talk me into playing Blackjack on Facebook with him, too.

As if I weren't already addicted to my computer!

The Brother CS-6000

2007-11-25T20:51:00.000-08:00

One of the tools that's helped a great deal as I've been figuring out how to be a better seamstress is my new sewing machine (well, it's not really new anymore; it's been about a year? since I got it. My other one Died, and it was time!)

While there are many good machines out there on the market, this one had some features that caught my eye. It also turned out to have several attributes that would actually make me recommend it, even for beginners, in spite of the increased price over some more "basic" models.

The quick and dirty version: you can do pretty much *anything* with this machine. That's why I picked it!

To wit: It sews denim. It has some fun decorative stitches. It is built and meant to do quilting (if you look at its picture, you'll see that there is a curve between the needle area, on the left, and the stitch selection chart, on the right. That curve is purposely built to accommodate a rolled-up full size quilt. It comes in mighty handy for big wads of fake fur, too!) And of course it does all the (now) typical stitches: forward, backward, zigzag, overlock. It makes beautiful buttonholes; another reason I quickly fell in love is that it has lots of different buttonhole stitches set up already: stretch fabric ones, standard ones in three different styles, keyhole....ahhh, variety! My previous machine was also a Brother, and they've got a great way to make buttonholes that always seems to come out perfectly.

One of the things which I thought I would hate, and now realize that I love, is the top-loading bobbin. A good reason to love it is that I can always *see* how much bobbin thread is left, so that I won't run out in the middle of a long--inevitably, topstitched!--seam. It's also really nice for a rank beginner, because there are little directions right there, and arrows clearly showing you how to put it in. I like idiot-proofing, as I've mentioned before!

Another handy feature, which I also thought I would loathe but now love, is the automatic needle-positioning. It's set so that anytime you stop sewing, the needle reverts to the "down" (i.e., in the fabric) position. I thought I would be annoyed at always having to raise the needle if I wanted to be done with a seam. I've found two things that make it all okay: one is that there's a handy needle up and down button right on the front arm of the machine, which is quicker than using the flywheel ever was for getting the needle back up--beep! and I'm done. The other is that having that needle automatically down is great for corners and angles and such, where you have to stop sewing only so you can turn the fabric; the down needle keeps it anchored perfectly without me having to remember it. And that is why I've never bothered to read up on how to make it always land in the "up" position...their engineers were right in the first place.

A few other of my favorite things: I enjoy how quick it is to change stitches, since it's computerized. I like the little read-out on the front that tells me which presser foot I'm supposed to use for the stitch I have selected. I love how easy it is to thread--again, handy and clear arrows. I haven't actually timed myself, but I think it takes me around 10-11 seconds to change thread colors.

This, folks, is a darn good machine. It's lightweight *and* a workhorse, and I'd recommend it for just about anybody.

Sew Far, Sew Good

2007-11-24T18:15:00.001-08:00

In the last month or so (after I finished off the Hallowe'en costumes), I've been working on tailoring.

See, I learned how to sew by the time I was a teenager from at least four different people, and they all--collectively--taught me important pieces of the basics: how to sew a straight (or curved) seam; how to cut out a pattern; how to choose fabric; how to iron as you go. But somehow, I missed how to actually *fit* clothes to the person who was planning to wear them. The trouble with that is nobody is actually the ideal mystery person for which patterns are made. So I have several years' worth of clothes I tried to make that...worked....but didn't quite fit. Since I didn't have much time to sew, but did have time to read while I was nailed down under two little girls in process, I spent it trying to learn what to do.

Now, I've figured out how to fix things to make them fit me (amazingly--considering some other proportions--I have really, really, really narrow shoulders, at least compared to the size they are on patterns that fit me pretty much everywhere else. Also, I have this funny curve on the back of my neck--all the male Moores who've ever been fitted for a suit or tux are nodding knowledgeably now, because we all seem to have this weird thing that requires a tuck across the back--horizontally!) Anyway, now I finally know how to change the patterns so I can sew something that looks like it was made for me. This should save those of you who've always been so polite about my efforts--and I do thank you for your discretion!--from having to keep being so polite. :-)

This is exciting. There's not much worse than spending the time (not to mention the money) investing in building something, only to have it not look nice when you're done.

In case anyone's thinking of taking up sewing--and it still is the best way to get clothing that actually fits you--three books have helped me out a great deal in getting to this spot:

Fantastic Fit for Everybody: How to Alter Patterns to Flatter Your Figure, by Gale G. Hazen
If you were to read no other book, this one could get you there alone. Hazen details a whole host of fitting problems, and gives very specific directions--and pictures!--on how to repair them. She also gives copious advice on picking patterns and fabrics.

Sewing for Plus Sizes: Creating Clothes that Fit and Flatter, by Barbara Deckert
Obviously, this one might not be as useful if you happen to be built like Twiggy. Statistically, though, more and more of us aren't. Deckert is no nonsense, but is sensitive to the different needs of "larger" women. Again, there are clear drawings and explanations, and size-specific advice on fabrics and ways to change/choose patterns. An especially useful bit on how to "size up" patterns that stop before they get to Women's sizes.

High Fashion Sewing Secrets from the World's Best Designers: A Step-By-Step Guide to Sewing Stylish Seams, Buttonholes, Pockets, Collars, Hems, And More, by Claire B. Shaeffer
In spite of the name, this book has a lot of helpful information for your average sewer. I especially turn again and again to the second half of the book, which is full of inspiration for changing details in patterns--a new neckline, different sleeves--and advice on making your own patterns. My favorite chapter is all about how to take an existing garment you have, that you like, and making a pattern from it.

Update on the Aliases

2007-11-23T21:39:00.000-08:00

Things move pretty fast around here; Emily's been reading a board book about dinosaurs for around a month. So now, she requests that she be called the "'Ceratops!". Laura refuses to actually have a specific dinosaur name, and calls herself "Dinosaur" (generically). Daddy, however, is now "Iguanadon!" I have so far avoided a name, which is good; Tyrannosaurus is one of the few remaining ones Emily knows. (I don't really want to be the Stegosaurus, either, which is the other names she knows.)

I know I've been brief lately, but I've got a good reason: in between all the other stuff I do, there's this new version of War and Peace out, and I thought this would be a good time to dive in. I haven't ever read it. What kind of reading geek will I be, without having read that? I mean, I've suffered the whole way through Michener books! How bad could it be? (I suppose that's what I'm trying to find out.)

Anyway, three different reviews I saw praised the translators of this particular version. So far, the only trouble I've had is with the disjointedness of looking at the footnotes for the translations of the (Russified) French Tolstoy has his uppercrust characters speaking. (I know a lot of French, but I like to double check things. And it's been a long time since I did any serious speaking of it.)

A Happy Thanksgiving

2007-11-22T22:17:00.000-08:00

Had a delicious dinner, followed by a raucous game of Yahtzee (won by the youngest player, a novice at the game--just as it should be :-) ).

Laura and Emily had fun playing with cousins and aunts and uncles and especially with Grandma Pat.

Hope everyone else's Thanksgiving was as good a time!

C'mon Baby, Light My Fire

2007-11-21T13:38:00.000-08:00

You know, I'm not really given to greed, especially in the technology department. But ohhhhhh, I want one of these!

I don't want it now; I want one when they have all the kinks worked out. And especially, I want it when you can load free books from the library on it. And then perhaps a few extra lifetimes to spend using it.

Hello, My Name is Ginger...

2007-11-20T20:17:00.000-08:00

...and I'm addicted to Scrabble.

See, Facebook has a contract with these people called "Scrabulous". It's a turn-based game setup (so you don't have to be online at the same time as your opponents(s) ), and it comes with a handy word-looker-upper thingy so you can tell if it will let you get away with the bizarre ones.

I'm sure I can stop anytime...but there are people out there, waiting for my move. And they're not faceless Internet strangers; I *know* these people. And now I can play Scrabble with them without having to clear off a table. Does that make them enablers?

Anyway, it's a good time.

Seriously, quite apart from the thrill of connecting with people, some of whom were in the long-lost category, it's about worth it to sign up for FB just so you can play Scrabble with me (just so's you know, majoring in English is not always an advantage. I waste a lot of time trying to figure out how to use up all my tiles on the perfect triple word score block, while Matt's busy blasting me away with cunningly placed, complex words like....."the".)

Also Known As Alias Moniker Misnomer

2007-11-19T18:32:00.000-08:00

It's hard to keep track of my name these days.

Of course, I answer to "Mama" and "Mommy." But I'm also expected to answer to other, more random monikers.

This is probably just a developmental thing; heaven knows teenagers are always into trying on new identities. The difference here is that the whole family gets renamed. For instance, after Sesame Street exposure, Laura requested that she be known as "Cookie Monster"; Emily alternated between "Snuffleupagus" and "Big Bird."

{Scene: evening; it is bedtime. Mama tenderly kisses and hugs Emily and says--predictably--"I love you, Em, sleep well." Child responds in her toddler lisp: "*I'n* the SNUFF UP GUS!" Okay. "I love you, Snuffleupagus. Sleep well."}

Eventually, though, it was not enough for them to be different; I was dubbed "Grover" and Daddy became...."Zoe." Please don't ask why, because I have no idea.

We (the adults) were given several weeks to get this straight. But then last weekend.... :

L: I'm not Cookie, I'm *kitty*.
E: And *I'm* cow!
L.: and Mama's a....duck!
E.: What's Daddy?
L.: (obviously thinking hard) He is a.....frog!

I'm planning to contact all the credit bureaus, just to be on the safe side.

Pumpkin Pie

2007-11-18T10:13:00.000-08:00

Just in time to think about it for Thanksgiving, I bring you:

Healthy Pumpkin Pie (except for the sugar and salt....)

Note: pumpkin pretty much tastes like pumpkin. The tricky part for me was trying to replicate the texture of regular p. pie without using any eggs. The soy alone can't quite do it; hence the yo cheese to help firm it up and make it custardish (some recipes call for gelatin).

1 29 oz. can of pumpkin
1 cup of milk
1 1/2 c yogurt cheese
1 1/4 c brown sugar
2 t cinnamon (ground)
6 T soy flour
1 t salt
1/2 t nutmeg (ground)
1 t cloves (ground)

Mix it all together. I like a whisk to make sure there aren't big clumps of yogurt cheese.

Pour into two pie crusts (see below for recipes). Bake at 450 for 10 minutes, then turn oven down to 350 and bake for 1 hour.

Grandma's pie crust recipe (thanks to Ab for finally getting me to write it down somewhere I'll remember it!) :

1 cup flour
1/3 cup shortening (I use butter. Of course.)
pinch salt
3-6 T cold water

Cut the butter into the flour until it is pea-sized. Add the lesser amount of water to make dough; add more as needed to soak up most (but not necessarily all) of the flour. Wrap in plastic wrap and put in fridge for at least an hour (overnight is fine). You will find that some of the excess flour will be absorbed into the dough when next you check it.

Without waiting for the dough to get warm--you *want* it to be cold--divide it into however many crusts you're making (if needed). With the least amount of flour you can, roll out the dough to a circle about 1/8 to 1/4 inch thick. Do it in eight rolls (back and forth is one roll. Mess with it too much, or use too much flour, and you get tough crust. Ick.) Roll onto the rolling pin and gently lift and slide the crust into the pie pan. Now you're ready for the filling!

This is for one crust; for a two-crust pie, double the recipe. You can do a quadruple batch (for two two-crust pies), but beyond that it's too hard to work with in multiples.

But that's not what I use for the healthy pie; butter is not good for cholesterol. Olive oil is. Can you use olive oil in pie crust? Turns out, you can, especially with something like pumpkin pie where the filling has its own assertive flavor. I like to add a bit of sugar and salt to the crust to make up for the missing salt that was in the butter, and to kick up the flavor a little.

so, for two crusts:

Olive Oil Pie Crust:

2 cups flour
scant 1/2 cup olive oil*
2 t salt
1 T sugar
6-12 T cold water**

proceed as above, except:
*obviously, olive oil is not cuttable (though if you were obsessive, you could measure it and stick it in the fridge for a while....) Anyway, just mix it with the flour. It will make a very grainy texture. This makes an incredible flaky crust!
**aim for the lesser amount, especially with this olive oil recipe. You only need enough water to make a viable dough.

and finally, don't try to roll out this one; it won't hold together well enough. Just pat it into the pie tin. What could be better? It's healthy *and* you don't have to sweat the rolling out part!

Another Reason to Hate "NCLB"

2007-11-17T19:30:00.001-08:00

I put it in quotation marks because of course it leaves more than one child behind. Teachers, too.

This morning, Matt had to get up at regular school time to get out to the college where his test is. What test? Oh, a stupid test. See, under the "Education President's" legislation, Matt is not "highly qualified" to teach speech.

Even though, you know, he's had state champions. And National qualifiers (some of whom made it out of the preliminary rounds at Nats). And been doing it for nine years at *this* school, and for a while before that. So, why isn't he highly qualified? Because he did not *major* in speech, and did not do a practicum in it as a student teacher (before he was even endorsed in English), and has not taken a certain number of graduate credits in it. That would be because...ummmmm....he already *knows* what he's doing?!? And that's why his colleagues on the speech circuit keep electing him to the State Tournament Committee, which runs the whole event?!? Because he KNOWS WHAT HE IS DOING.

But according to Bush, et al., he is not highly qualified, and Matt's district wants every teacher in every classroom to be highly qualified in every subject that they teach (I don't really blame them for wanting to toe the line, parents being what they are. I blame the law). So we must shell out $130 and kill a weekend day, so he can take a test to prove that he is worthy to teach speech. (and if you're wondering, no, there will be no financial reward down the line for that test money; it's not even going to be deductible [it is, in theory, but it would require the planets to align in a way they won't until at least 3045. By which time we won't need the deduction, I'd guess.])

I suppose this is just another abject lesson in why laws should not be quite so sweeping and dogmatic; I'm sure the writers meant to make sure that poor city kids would be taught by teachers who knew something about their subject. (Although even that is suspect, since most of those inner-city schools have basically just eliminated anything but test prep. Heaven forbid students should be taught to *think*...at least anything beyond "the most common answer is 'c'"!) But not having any provision for past performance--no matter how stellar--is worse than stupid. Like so many other parts of that misbegotten legislation, it's criminal in what it does to teachers...and later, to the kids they won't get to teach. What about those teachers they're supposed to be attracting from other professions? How many stupid hoops are *they* going to have to jump through? (and don't get me started on the tests kids have to take....)

We'll be fine. The money's spent, the test is done. But it's just another reason to loathe this piece of legislation.

I'm In a New York State of Mind

2007-11-16T20:24:00.000-08:00

Tonight, as I sit in my cozy office in the Pacific Northwest, a bunch of people I really want to meet (and a few whom I actually *have* met) are meeting and greeting each other, and feasting on food in New York City. This weekend is the annual NCTE Convention. That's the National Council of Teachers of English, in case ya didn't know.

When I was in graduate school, one of our assignments was to research a professional group; I'd already found the NCTE list-serv at that point, so it was an easy A. But I decided to stick around, and the email group isn't even affiliated with NCTE anymore (though most of the members are the same; the Council's server crashed and was not fixed for rather too long, so we found our own way. See Interversity for more wacky details about the "Talkies".) Anyway, this gaggle of crazy English types has been a lifeline for me for years, not just for teaching ideas--of which they have plenty--but for just about anything teacher (or not-teacher!) related you could think of.

When the Spring Convention (a much smaller sibling to the annual hooha) was in Portland, I got to hobnob with a few of my virtual pals. They were even more fun and amazing in person than they are online. So I raise my water bottle in a toast to them all tonight, wishing them safe journey on the streets of NYC, and plot my way to go to another gathering...soon.

Muffins

2007-11-15T20:12:00.000-08:00

I'm pretty sure I promised to post this recipe at least a year ago, and I'm pretty sure I never did (loser.) So here it is at last: the no-fat, no-cholesterol muffins. They are best served fresh from the oven!

Preheat oven to 400 F.

Sift together:
2 c flour
2 t cream of tartar
1 1/2 t baking soda
1/2 t salt
1/4 t nutmeg
1/2 t cinnamon

In a separate bowl, mix together:
1 c yogurt cheese
2/3 c granulated sugar
2/3 c applesauce
1 t vanilla extract

Have prepared:
1 to 2 c fruit

Time is of the essence for this next bit! Soothe the baby. Feed the cat. Change the channel. Check your stocks. Then:

Add wet mix to dry. Mix as gently and as quickly as possible. When it's about half mixed, throw in the fruit and finish the mixing. The dough will not be remotely runny, but somewhat the consistency of heavily whipped cream.

Cook in a cooking-spray sprayed muffin tin for 18-20 minutes. Makes 12 standard sized muffins.

Yum!

We generally (okay, always) use about a cup of blueberries for the fruit. When I'm in the mood, I add a banana, which makes them very sweet and very moist.

Notes: Muffins are not mysterious. If you follow a few rules, you can alter the recipe from here to kingdom come, as they say. The rules are:

1. Thou shalt honor the ratio of wet to dry ingredients. You can use any kinds of flours, sugars, fruits alone or in combination, or leave out the fruit, or put something else in its place (cheese? shrimp? tuna? italian sausage? Oh, that sounds good, though not fat-free!), other spices (or herbs, and make savory muffins!), as long as you have the same amount of dry stuff, and wet stuff.

2. Thou shalt include something acidic (in this case, yogurt). If thou shouldst forget this rule, you ain't gonna get *any* rise out of these muffins. The soda needs something to react with (remember those vinegar and baking soda experiments? Vinegar is...acidic.) Yogurt is not a very heavy-duty acid, so this recipe doesn't rise much as it is....but they're pretty lofty to start with, so it's not an issue. You can use just plain yogurt if you don't have time to cheese it, or even milk will work, though the resulting texture is not as grand.

3. Thou shalt neither beat the dough unto submission, nor shalt you shilly-shally once the wet meets the dry. Again, this is partly out of deference to the baking soda. If it spends its time getting and spending all of its rise before the stuff has heat, the muffins aren't as soft and tend to fall a bit once they're cooked. The other part--not beating it too vigorously--is to avoid too much activated gluten. Unless you like chewy, yeast-bread-like muffins. I don't.

4. Thou shalt not try to make a double batch. Trust me. I've tried. It is basically impossible to follow rule number 3 with a double batch, and whenever I convince myself otherwise, I end up with chewy, slightly flattened muffins. Just give up and prepare it twice (I suppose you could mix double the dry, and double the wet, then mix half of each together at once. As long as you were quick. But don't try it all in the same bowl at the same time!)

Austin Air Suckers

2007-11-14T20:29:00.000-08:00

During the summer, a large percentage of my unexpected income went to two air purifiers. We put one in the basement, in our bedroom, and the other on the main floor, in the living room.

They have made a world of difference!

I sleep better (even with all the pillows and mattresses encased in plastic and such, the bugs start to bother me again after just a few days. Clearly, I am a Princess. Dammit.). Matt sleeps better (in part, I'm sure, because my snoring doesn't wake him up any more). The girls sleep better, and wake up much more cheerfully. I can sit on the upholstered furniture again (we've been vacuuming it religiously, but not until the purifiers had been in place for a few weeks did I really notice a change for the better).

I bought these in particular not because of price--they are not cheap--but because Laurie had one running whilst I was sleeping on her couch. Ordinarily, that would be a miserable experience for me, but I was pretty okay. When I told her how surprised I was, she pointed out the air purifier a few feet away (I hadn't actually known what it was 'til then!) and explained what it did.

So, I asked my allergist about it the next week at a previously scheduled appointment, and she said she'd had several patients have success with them. A personal experience plus a medical go-ahead? That's enough for me!

We call them "air suckers"...I don't know why, except I don't think the girls could quite figure out "purifier" when we first unveiled them.

As an added benefit, because they have activated carbon in the filter, they do a dandy job of cleaning out organic smells...you know, cat box "odor", burning debris on the stove burner or in the oven, those wandering smells that seem to trail after certain family members, field burning smoke, and truly, et cetera.

As a final piece of evidence: Matt and I were both a little alarmed at the cost. So I suggested we try one and see what it would do. Within just a few days of the first's arrival, we had decided to order the second.

(and just so you know, they're not paying me for this. :-) )

Crackin' the Back

2007-11-13T19:01:00.000-08:00

Matt has just about finished his initial, intense treatment under the hands of the chiropractor. The hardest thing about it has been all the appointments after school (two to three days a week); in looking back over the calendar, between that and speech and the union, there have been *very* few days he's home before five. Since we pretty much have to eat around five (or as soon thereafter as possible) to get Matt's (or sometimes, my) break in and the girls treated and to bed on time, it's been something of a marathon for the last few months.

So, has it been worth it? The reviews are mixed. Matt says he's definitely noticed changes, but he still hurts. The pain moves around with different treatments. He reports that he thinks he feels better....

I confess to a certain skepticism; not with chiropractors in particular, but with the whole "holistic" movement (I think chiro.s can, and do, do a lot of good for some folks. As can naturopaths, and lots of others.) So what's my beef? It's the idea that there is always something wrong with everybody. I mean, yes, okay, when my former doctor told me I was basically healthy as she sent me out the door--missing entirely the massive allergy that made me miserable night and day--she was an idiot. But I still like the concept that people are basically okay to start with, and that medicine exists to intervene when there's a problem. From what I've seen of the holistic route, you are assumed to be broken, and although you can improve, you will always BE broken...thus ensuring a tidy income stream for the practitioners. Am I the only one who's noticed this?

So that's my bias.

I'm glad that things seem to be slowing down a bit in the appointment department, and continue to hope that Matt's back doesn't bother him as much as it did before. We will just have to see.

TREAT!

2007-11-12T18:51:00.000-08:00

So we have this traditional "one-bite" rule in our house; no one gets up from the table without tasting at least one bite of everything available for dinner. (For some reason, the issue doesn't come up at lunch (and breakfast is the same everyday; fortunately, we got the girls hooked on oatmeal very early on.)) Trouble is, we have smart children. Although we try to have something we know they'll eat (veggies and bread are generally safe), sometimes, one--mostly Laura--will compliantly have her one-bites and then get down. And then ask for food just before bed, being (unsurprisingly) hungry.

This drove us a little nuts, especially because it's hard to eat cooked veggies on your way down a set of stairs. So, inevitably, her request would be for something starchy like bread or bagel or crackers....all of which are okay, but not as your only diet for dinner.

Clever Matt borrowed an idea he's seen in action at some of our friends: the after-dinner treat, a.k.a.....dessert.

So, the new rule has become: little girls who aren't hungry enough to eat a reasonably good dinner, aren't hungry enough to have a treat afterwards (I like that sell better than "no eat, no treat"...it's just a little less like making food a "reward"...or so I tell myself.). And we make sure that the treats are *awesome* (at least to inexperienced little girls.) It's working out pretty well, at least from the perspective of getting those veggies down the hatch and not having to have either midnight snacks or insanely hungry mornings.

However.

Emily is allergic to eggs, and at least sensitive to corn. So treats can't just be bought off the shelf. Hence, I now know how to make eggless (and baking-powder-less, since baking powder has corn starch!) cookies, cakes, and even pumpkin pie. I have enjoyed the unexpected fun of having little interested people follow me into the kitchen to see what I'm up to, and help a little in the filling, measuring, and dumping departments.

Also, anything in the cake or shortbreads family lends itself to pre-measuring the dry ingredients and throwing then into a freezer bag (and then into the freezer). Saves a bit of time later.

Here's the peanut-butter cookie recipe, tonight's treat:

1 1/4 c flour
1/2 t salt
1/3 t baking soda*
2/3 t cream of tartar*
1/2 c shortening **
1/2 c peanut butter
1/2 c granulated sugar
1/2 c brown sugar (packed)
1/2 t vanilla
1 T soy flour***
1 T water***

Preheat oven to 375 F.

Sift together dry ingredients (including soy flour). Cream together shortening, p. butter, and sugars. Add vanilla and water; mix. Add wet to dry and stir up 'til combined well. Smoosh together dough into 3/4 inch balls; put on greased cookie sheet. Make famous crosshatch symbol with fork tines.

Bake for 10-12 minutes.

* these two ingredients are the active parts of baking powder (the cornstarch usually added slows down the reaction time a bit for the rising action). You can make this substitution in anything that's going to be cooked (uncooked cream of tartar leaves a bit of a bitter taste--not surprising when you consider that it is the acidic after-product of wine making--but in baking it works great), at a ratio of two parts cream of tartar to one part baking soda.

**I loathe shortening, and always use butter instead. The amounts are the same; fat is pretty much fat, here.

***These replace one egg. Again, you'll see this substitution a lot in eggless baking (For some things, you can just leave out the egg entirely and not make a substitution, perhaps throwing in a little extra liquid. But cookies need something to bind 'em together a little!)

Ah, the power of the internet. But you know, I can't quite convey the yumminess to you...since I'm eating one now!

At Least I'm Not Frozen in Carbonite

2007-11-11T18:36:00.000-08:00

It occurs to me that having a cold, getting a flu shot, then staying up twenty hours the next day is not the most intelligent approach to life. Let's just say today all of it has caught up with me. (To quote Han Solo: "I feel terrible!")

On the other hand, the Speech Team is having a great year, which helps make it all worthwhile. Yesterday's tournaments added to the string of successes they've had since September, both individually and in winning sweepstakes awards. It's nice, especially, to see so many of the kids working so hard; they've got some solid goals, and want passionately to get to 'em.

Kat Goldring

2007-11-10T05:19:00.000-08:00

I found another author of cozy mysteries lately, and liked her so well I'm just pining for another book (it's been two years since the last one was in paperback, which makes me worry a bit...)

The series centers around an impetuous but brilliant high school English teacher (cool, huh?), and her developing involvement with a "lawman"...it's set in Texas. There are some lovely but not really nasty "racy" passages, and lots of good ol' fashioned minor-blood-and-gore mystery. And a dash of the supernatural thrown in, but lightly salted and definitely not dogmatic.

The pacing was great--I stayed up too late more than once to polish them off--and the characters were very well drawn (as was the phenomenon of the small-town grapevine). Lots of secondary people to use for more sequels, if she gets to publish more.

If you're looking for a good mystery and don't object to a female sleuth (i.e., if you're not a sexist pig ;-) ), this author is a good choice.

Ya Want Some Cheese Wit Dat?

2007-11-09T19:03:00.000-08:00

Today was flu shot day for the three female Ogles. I didn't cry, but there was a lot of screaming from other people in the room...most of it before the actual shots.

On the up side, they got their stickers--two each! I think the nurse was glad to be rid of us.

Being completely foolish, and probably wobbly-brained from the cold I had already, I thought I'd just walk over to the lab--since we were at the clinic anyway--and find out if I could actually get my blood drawn with two children in tow. I figured they'd say no, and I'd have to come back at some later, put-offable date, sans brood.

Alas.

The nice lady said, looking appraisingly at my offspring, "Sure. It shouldn't be a problem." Rats!

So, as if to immediately prove her wrong, each child deposited one of her stickers on a table in the (crowded, needless to say) waiting room, then proceeded to fight in wailing whining toddler voices over who had which doggy sticker. (I finally stuck them in my purse. The doggy stickers, not the children.....though it was close.)

Of course, the actual bloodletting went pretty uneventfully. They were fascinated, the little ghouls!

Don't Eat This Snow, Either

2007-11-08T16:18:00.001-08:00

It just seems sad to rake it all up (lustfully as I want all that carbon for the compost.) See, you can hardly tell that the picnic table's broken!

(Oh, and if you look at the left side, just right of the tree trunk, you can see Max, the Queen of all she surveys....that's one of the Pickerel's cats. We generally have a symbiotic relationship, except when she leaves carcasses lying around [shudder]). Otherwise, she is a very decorative addition to the landscape, and even lets me pet her.)

In other news...I finally have the first cold of the season (the girls have been messing around with something for a few weeks, though they seem healthy now. Of course.) And it could have come from so many different sources that no one who might have been a carrier should feel much guilt!

Several have asked about the Ancient Feline; his kidney numbers are starting to slightly creep back up a little (as expected, unless something else gets him first), but otherwise the vet pronounced him a "model senior citizen". He's never been a model *anything* before, trust me--he whose file at the doc's says "DANGER!!!" in large red lettering. (It amazes me that this same animal will let me stab him every other day for his fluids, take medicine from me, etc.; yesterday he didn't even get up for the juice, just lay there and worked on getting back to his twelfth nap of the day.) His feral beginnings really show under medical influences, I guess. But I secretly always root for him to be obnoxious, because if he's strong enough to be pissy, he must be doing okay.

As a result of her birthday, Laura has become a parent. (Yes, you read that right). Grandpa Bill gave her a dolly with a little cloth carrying bed and some baby accessories, and I swear, it's like having a newborn in the house again. Dolly gets faithfully taken up and down the stairs, so she can sleep with Mommy, tucked in with her (Dolly's) very own little blanket on Laura's bed.

We are told to "Be *quiet*! My dolly is *sleeping*!"

We discuss Dolly's moods at meals:
L: (two bites of oatmeal into her breakfast) "Good morning, Mama! My dolly's sad, can I get down?"
M: (gathering his coat and preparing to leave for work, and closer to Dolly than I) "She's okay, just a little fussy today."
G: (not really awake yet, not being a Morning Person in the first place, but trying to play along) "Is she really okay?"
M: (completely straight faced, sounding a little concerned) "Yes, she's just been kinda crabby this morning."
G: "Finish your breakfast, dear, and then you can check on her. Daddy says she's fine right now."
L: "Okay. I think she just wants to sleep, but I'm almost done, and then I'll rock her."
Etc.

I hope Laura's put some thought into saving for Dolly's college education.

You Never Count Your Veggies When You're Sittin' At the Table

2007-11-07T16:50:00.000-08:00

Steve Solomon, one of the acknowledged gurus of veggie gardening in these here parts, says pretty much anything planted in the garden after September 30th is a gamble. Apparently, I like to shake those dice and let 'em roll, because I snuck outside one day--weary of costume making--last month, and planted my Gambler's Crop of winter goodies.

Everything came up, which is the first gamble (will the weather cooperate, or will all those tiny seeds just rot in the rain?)

And in one way, at least, I figure I've already gotten my money's worth. See, last weekend I took the girls out to frolic in the leaves and such, and took the opportunity to actually thin the little babies (and continue the fruitless effort to rescue them from the smothering maple leaves). Laura decided she was interested in chowing down what, properly marketed, would be about $15 worth of micro-greens: I pulled up the baby spinaches and made little bouquets of them, and she picked them out of said bouquets one at a time, and bit their tiny heads off. So I think even if we get nothing else from this crop, at least she got her vitamins for that day.

The Big Seven-Oh

2007-11-06T21:42:00.000-08:00

Later this week, my grandparents will be celebrating their 70th wedding anniversary. (In case you're wondering, some of the "modern" and "traditional" gifts lists...don't go that high!) That's right, this is not about a birthday, but a wedding!

So what does their 70th tell you about them? Three things, right off the bat:

1. They got married fairly young (18 and 19, I think).
2. They are really old now.
3. They have a lot of patience, at least with each other.

What do they have to show for their union? Well, in the tangible, inherited genes sort of way, they have six grandchildren (and one's even a boy--yay for Patrick!), and so far, six great-grandchildren (three boys, two of whom can carry on the family name--yay for Patrick again [and double yay for Shelley, who did all the heavy lifting!]). The consensus is that Grandma passed on her nose to several of us, while Laura looks strikingly like her Great-Grandpa in her sunnier moods (it's the facial expression, more than the face itself, I think.)

What can we learn from them? Well, a ton of history if you can get them to reminisce; they got married in the midst of the Great Depression, though probably no one knew when it was going to end. By their tenth anniversary, they had seen the end of the Second World War and felt the first rumbles of the Baby Boom. For their twentieth, the news was full of the Little Rock Nine and Sputnik beeping away in orbit. By their thirtieth, they were likely concerned about the racial violence in many of the nation's big cities, and confused by Sergeant Pepper and his band.

By their fortieth anniversary, not only had they seen the war in Vietnam begin and end and been blessed with four grandchildren, but they were also well on their way to amassing a backbreaking collection of National Geographics. Number 50 saw the nation fascinated by the Iran-Contra affair, as well as the release of Prozac (no connection there, I'm sure....) Anniversary #60 arrived along with great movies--The Full Monty, Titanic--but by then, the great-grandkids had started arriving in all their cutenesses, so who cared?

What else have I learned from them? Let's see:

~Grandma swears better than anybody. When frustrated with her spouse, she squinches up her nose, narrows her eyes, and says (roughly) :"Sniggle-frizzle-snorbitz-sloopitz-hermic-abble!" I have no idea what that means, but apparently it has worked for all this time.

~You can get away with murder pretty much all the rest of the time if you a) keep a man well and consistently fed, and b) let him fall asleep to the TV on whatever he likes.

~Everybody should give 110% to whatever it is they are doing, at all times. This could be classed as Moore's Law of Workaholism.

~In a pinch, a rubber band is an effective filing device.

~You can never have too many plastic bags....until you do.

~No matter what you do for a living, culture--reading, fine arts, music--are important things to know and love.

~The Moores eat weird vegetables.

~Having a house big enough that you can escape from each other's company now and then without leaving home is a boon.

and of course,
~A little love, commitment, and perseverance can go a long way.

Many happy returns of the day!

Refuse to Choose: A book rec

2007-11-05T20:55:00.001-08:00

One of the things I did this summer was read a fair number of books (I had some down time waiting for and riding Amtrak, and then waiting for my connection once I got there). I am, therefore, way, way, way behind in book reviewing.

I've mentioned this book to a few folks already, but haven't made mention of it yet here, and it's high time: Refuse to Choose, by Barbara Sher. The main idea behind her book is that there are perfectly intelligent--often, highly intelligent--people out there who have more than one life-giving, life-sustaining passion. Sometimes those folks are called dabblers or dilettantes; in other times, they're called Renaissance people. In any case, it can be terrifically hard to pick a career path--or even a hobby to dive into--when you're good at and interested in so many different things. Her argument is that you can find ways not to have to choose just one.

I liked this book for two main reasons. One was that it was my first exposure to the idea that there are what she calls "Scanners" (those who like to Scan all the possibilities in life before deciding on their entree). Just knowing that I'm not a freak (okay, not that kind of freak :-P ) was nice to hear (a telling anecdote she provides that resonated because it happened to me: you know when you take those job aptitude tests in about 8th grade? What are you supposed to do when they say you're good at everything??? Everybody raise a paw who's had that happen.). The second was the very practical set of time management tools she offers as food for thought.

As an example: she profiles several different subtypes of these Scanners. (And they are both subjective and overlapping in many ways; this is not a Myers-Briggs kinda system, but more a series of touchstones.) One of the descriptions that struck me was what she calls a "Sybil"; someone who loves to do lots of different things...so many that they can become stymied and paradoxically end up doing nothing, in the fear that choosing one to do means letting another (or seven) go. Simple idea: figure out how long it takes you to get bored, or even just restless. Allocate a little less time than that to one project or whatever, then do a different one for the same amount of time. Repeat. Repeat. Etc. It's not hard and fast--she encourages you to enjoy a "zone" if you get into one...but it's a somewhat radical departure from what I think of as the DayRunner Approach: do your task until it's done, then see what's next on your schedule. If you're a DayRunner kind of worker, you're probably gnashing your teeth. But I've been getting lots more done since I've tried her way...and I'm cheerfuller, too, not feeling tied to the grindstone!

Another subtype that hit home for me (she calls them "Plate-Spinners") loves to put out fires, saving situations for others and just generally rescuing grateful people. I have no claims to being SuperWoman...but gosh, there is a rush in turning something around! But these types not only love to save the day, they like to do several saving missions at once (um, can you say, "Teacher"?) The problem there, of course, is not only having tons to do, it's having others counting on you to do it. And coming back for more. The advice here, while useful, was not profound; what was helpful for me was in having it applied particularly to this sort of person (she says: "Learn to say NO!" At least some of the time.) A bit like having a segment on Oprah followed by a personalized ticker at the bottom that says, "And this means you, buster!"

Anyway, if you have more things you love to do/want to try/hope to accomplish than seems possible in any one lifetime; find yourself wanting to be on time but caught up in just doing one more thing; not wanting to let go of some hobby you haven't done in ages because you still love it...this could be a good book for you, too.

How Can This Be???

2007-11-04T19:44:00.001-08:00

But you know, of course, we're happy about it. She had a great day!

Ogle Wan Kenobi

2007-11-03T15:06:00.000-07:00

So, Matt wanted to be a Jedi for Hallowe'en. (and not an evil or soon-to-be-evil one, either; I checked.) Here's the "official Star Wars licensed" costume for adults.

It is completely lame.

Note that the tunic is all one piece, with what appear to be little pieces of vinyl ironed on to stand in for actual layers of clothing. I would rather go with a sack on my head, and I just couldn't subject a dedicated fan to such degradation. Also, it cost between $50 and $60. (!!!) And that's without the cloak, which is another $50 or so (plus shipping) (The cloak does not look nearly so lame, until you consider that it is "one size only" and is meant--supposedly--for an "average" person. Male or female. Not someone who's almost 6'3". Can you say "lame" again? Of course, you can get beautifully personally tailored wool cloaks, too....but we'd like the kids to be able to attend at least a community college some day!)

This poster became my inspiration.

For the cloak, I found some brown poly/cotton broadcloth. Broadcloth is dirt cheap (around $3 a yard), and while it's not wool, as in the movies, it does have a nice floaty effect. I measured his wingspan and his height from the base of the neck to the bottom of his ankle, did the math, and borrowed some instructions off the web for construction. Easy. Oh, and I added some fancy-schmancy pleats at the shoulders to make it more Obi-Wan-ish (or "Ogle-Wan -ish", as one of the speech kids dubbed it.)

The tunic started out simply enough: it's just a short bathrobe. Until I looked at that poster again, and noticed the tabards. And the under-tunics, visible at the neck. Back to the drawing board! I found a different color of all-cotton broadcloth, again for around $3 a yard. I already had several yards of muslin--handy for all kinds of things. And then I cheated.
See those nice under-tunic collars? They're actually just collars: thin strips of cloth, cunningly positioned and attached to the real tunic, then crossed with a section of velcro at the point where they cross. As long as he doesn't do jumping jacks, they look pretty good. I made one in broadcloth and one in muslin, then did the tabards (those thingies that drape over the shoulders and tuck in to the belt/sash thingy) of muslin.

Lame-o official options: around $100, give or take. My prices: cloak cloth, $24. Muslin, $8. Tunic cloth: $11.60. Thread (which I have lots of left): $8. My total: $51.60. Plus it's custom tailored and therefore actually fits him.

Of course, left out of that total is the fact that he'll owe me for years, since it took at least a week and a half of all my spare time. But damn, it looked good!

Not a Child of the Corn

2007-11-02T15:04:00.000-07:00

Because our lives weren't interesting enough, we've finally figured out in the last month or so that Emily has not one, but two allergies. Well, maybe one's just a food sensitivity. Who knows. Anyway, to the previously fairly obvious problem with eggs, we now add corn.

Neither of them is sending her to the hospital (though I'd just as soon nobody fed her, you know, a whole deviled egg or anything); so far, we just get hives. In my completely un-medical-schooled mind, I'm assuming the corn issue is the lesser one, because it's just her face that breaks out. Eggs give her hives all over, usually starting on her legs and spreading hither and yon over time. It doesn't take much, although so far flu shots and such haven't bothered her (well, they bother her, of course. But it's from being poked with something sharp, not the egg in the vaccine).

In the hopes of minimizing such problems, we're obviously trying to limit her exposure. *Very* fortunately, the list of processed, pre-cooked items we eat is fairly short...and that's fortunate because--have you noticed?--just about anything in a box or a plastic package or a jar or even a can, has corn syrup in it. Even bread, fer crying out loud. It's on my list to just break down and make a huge batch of homemade bread, to have on-call in the freezer for when the exactly one variety they carry at the store which she can eat runs out of stock.

I apologize for all the prepositional phrases in the previous sentence. Some days, I'm allergic to punctuation!

I can see school age could be a trying time, although I hold out hope that maybe she'll be one of the lucky ones who grows out of the egg allergy, at least (there are worse things than a corn allergy, if only because it guarantees you a lifetime of eating mostly unprocessed foods.)

On the other hand, she can eat all the peanut butter she can stand. It could be much worse--peanut allergies are just plain scary.

My Autumn Idyll

2007-11-01T19:13:00.000-07:00

I've been meaning to write this for a few weeks. Has anyone else noticed just how beautiful the autumn has been this year? Every time I drive out to speech practice, my breath is taken away (and not just because my car hasn't been vacuumed out lately!). The leaves are all in blankets on lawns, their colors are bright and the rain hasn't smushed them all into goo lately. (While I have a poet's soul at this particular season, I'm still not a poetic writer :-) ).

Of course, it helps to have little people in the back seat, so I can point out the birds jumping off the wires along the country roads as we get close. And we have a permanent livestock watch along one particular road; it is a sad, sad day when neither the cows nor the sheep nor the "horsey" are out eating in the fields.

Every day, I feel again that we live in a Thomas Kinkade painting. The quality of light on sunny days is such that everything seems drawn sharply in relief; on misty moisty days, the smudges are all the more startling because of their vibrant colors.

It's entirely possible that I am prejudiced: I grew up here, and have always loved this countryside. And, of course, fall is the best time to be alive. I've always been a taking-stock sort of person, and so there's something metaphysical that I love about everyone being forced inside--literally and figuratively--as the weather gets colder. In agriculture, this is when farmers total up the harvest; gardeners are generally already thinking of next year's plans (and if they're on the ball, getting beds ready now when you can actually work the soil.)

Brief forays out into the weather are exhilarating now: the wind seems to mean it, somehow, in a way it doesn't in the summer. The smells speak to me, too; I've always thought that if I were blindfolded and plunked down somehow in an unknown time, I would be able to tell if it were fall just from that strange combination: wood smoke, leaf mould, cold air (it does have a smell!), turned earth.

Apparently, I am actually part squirrel, because I love having a full larder much more in the fall. It is a safe, secure feeling to know that we have lots of food options available without having to go anywhere.

And finally, autumn seems to be a time of redemption, at least in Nature's hands. For instance, there is a hideous house down the street. It is the most bilious shade of green imaginable, and every time I see it--the rest of the year--I think, "hooooooey! You know, it has nothing going for it architecturally (it is a "whatever cottage", i.e. a non-descript square with no distinguishing characteristics), but they could at least change the paint color!". But now....now, its one charm is revealed. There are three trees in a beautifully Japanese proportion in its front yard--big, medium, and a small weeping one--and they are all the same stunning shade of vermillion right now. Was it planned by someone who had more taste, some time years before, or just a happy accident? Either way, it always makes me smile, and not mind the eyesore the rest of the year.

Somehow I look for a similar redeeming quality in my fellows in the fall. Faced with such beauty, who could help it?

The Costumes, 2007

2007-10-31T19:46:00.000-07:00

Just one photo of each here on the main blog so it would load quickly; I put several more on the photoblog for those with quicker Internet.

You cannot get the full effect of the Googley eyes from a still photo, but you can see the gloves! (You just have to imagine Cookie saying "Yumyumyumyum.") Another shot of Laura here.

Long trunk like an elephant (which doesn't show well here). Big green eyes. Long tail like a dinosaur. We bring you....The Snuffleupagus! More views available here.

Do I need to explain this one to anybody? See what a Jedi does at home here.

I've always wanted to be Piglet for Hallowe'en. As midlife crises go, I figure this was way cheaper (in so many ways!) than either an illicit lover or a hot sports car.

There are a few more photos here.

A Tailor's Top Ten

2007-10-31T15:37:00.000-07:00

Top Ten Things I Learned As Tailor to the Stars:

10. If a television character clearly has gloves (individual fingers) and not mittens (the whole hand), the costume here must have gloves. Mittens will result in a complete malfunction of the Star, and possibly a Supernova.

9. Gloves are a pain in the a$$ to sew, especially when tailored to a Star who wears a size 4T.

8. "Minky" fake fur gloves are even more difficult.

7. Big Googley Eyes are V E R Y important. Even more important than gloves.

6. If one child's--er, Star's--costume has Big Googley Eyes, the other child--oh, the heck with it--must also have them. Even if that Star's character does not, in television actuality, have Eyes that are Googley. Verisimilitude takes a back seat to sibling rivalry any day.

5. At least one Star will cry when taking a costume for a test-drive for fitting purposes, "I don't LIKE it! Take it OFF!" At moments like that, I am so not a nurturing Mommylove: "Tough. This is what you picked, and you can't change now. Try to remember that It Is Not Done Yet." (Matt sniffled a little but went away quietly....)

4. Nordic fleece does not ravel (no, this one isn't funny, but a useful fact to file away. It's true: you could rub that stuff with sandpaper, and it still won't shred. Saves a lot of time when making seams.)

3. No matter how many times it is explained to her that December in our country contains no dress-up holidays, one Star still says, "I want to be a Ballerina for Christmas."

2. No Star who has studied under Yoda the Great can wear a costume--and I'm quoting, here--that is "Lame." (Apparently, the Force will not flow, or whatever, under those conditions.)

And the number one things I've learned as Tailor to the Stars:
I am absolutely certain that the Tailor cares more about how the costumes came out than any of the Stars do. It could be that I need to get a life.

Hope you have a great Hallowe'en!

Success!

2007-10-31T14:45:00.000-07:00

I got all four costumes done, finishing up just a little while ago. (pant, pant, wheeze....)

Please, please, can someone mark their calendars for, say, September 15, 2008? And remind me then not to go temporarily insane? And I know I'll need reminding, because now my family thinks I can make anything!

Facebook Friday

2007-10-27T09:05:00.000-07:00

First, a costume update: Matt's got done in time, and is, if I do say so, AWESOME. Of course, he has to go as the same thing for every Hallowe'en for the rest of his natural life, but it is nicely done. Someday--maybe next month--more on the tools that made it all possible. Laura's is also done, Emily's is about half way, and mine is ready to cut out. I don't expect to be online all that much before The Day arrives, what with trying to get them done.

But, yesterday, I did do some goofing off. I finally took Facebook for a spin, and I like it. Not least because there is a whole collection of people who are not on MySpace that it's sort of fun to keep track of, i.e., former speechies and former students. Now, there's a fine line that people who work with anyone who's underage have to be careful of--for instance, no matter what social network I was on, I would never ask to connect to a current student. If they came to me, depending on how I felt about it, we could be "friends" or whatever. With graduates, though, the line gets pretty fuzzy. The whole power relationship still comes into play; I wouldn't want people to feel like they had to connect to me because I might still write them a letter of rec someday (or just because I once had their grades in my hands). And I also know that most people don't obsess that much about who is and isn't on their friends list. Whatever. I restrained myself from sending notes to everyone I remember fondly, and just stuck to some of those with whom I spent the most time (besides, I like to think I'm honest enough to realize that just because *I* remember a student fondly, doesn't mean it goes both ways!)

Things that I think are much better than MySpace: layout is not what counts; the interface lends itself to simplicity. There's no "top friends" feature; they are defaulted to show a random smattering anytime anyone looks. There's a "news feed" feature that lets you know what other people have changed/done/added without you having to go to each individual's page. Finally, it's possible to find people with their actual names, and look at who *their* friends to see if you've got the right person....certainly a larger security risk, but also much easier for connecting with folks you haven't seen in 10+ years.

Let the (Blue) Fur Fly!

2007-10-09T23:17:00.000-07:00

It's October, and that means Hallowe'en is coming. And *that* means that Ginger is busy making costumes.

How do I get myself into these things?

(For the record, I love my life. I even recently turned down some money I could have been earning--in exchange for my time and expertise--because doing it would mean eliminating something else from my schedule. And I do love what I'm doing here.)

So anyway, I've never been a big booster of this holiday. I recall a few disjointed attempts at trick-or-treating as a child, mostly once I was old enough to figure out my own costume and still young enough to guess I wouldn't be turned away at doors. So I didn't do much to sell it to the girls. Matt, on the other hand...well, last year, we decided at the last minute to dive into the dress-up box and take them for a spin down the block. From that moment, Laura was hooked. I don't even think it's the candy or the clothes; it's the weirdness factor. She loved it all, though, knocking on doors and learning to yell the traditional alms slogan; and equally loved being at home, handing out goodies to others.

So this year, costumes are a big deal. I have never in all my years started even *thinking* about a costume this early. Then again, I've never had this many to figure out.

We've recently lifted the video ban, Emily having reached the age of consent at last. Not that they're surfing the channels (since we still don't have any). We do, however, have a DVD starring Elmo, and three of early Sesame Street, as well as one VeggieTales with which to rot their brains. It was from the ancient Sesame Street that the girls got the inspirations for their costumes (talk about the sins of the fathers...). Having priced the outfits online (one, at least; the other is pretty much unavailable), checked my serger-inspired soul, and ogled fabric, I decided to dive in. Hey, I may not be able to make the world go 'round, but Laura *loves* the idea of Mama making her something. Emily is just excited at the thought of transforming, somehow, into someone(thing) else.

Meanwhile, back at the ranch....I lobbied hard before school started to add one particular tournament to the speech schedule this year, even though it means a loooong stretch of weekends in a row. It's run by a good friend of ours, a compatriot who's not only been on the State Tournament committee with us several times running, but also a fellow mom of our generation and generally good soul. On top of that, she's FUN. So her tournament, being always near Hallowe'en, requires costumes for competitors and encourages them for coaches and judges. I was going to go, giving Matt a rest between weekends, so I figured out a costume for me, too. Alas, one day last week, Matt came home with the news that the other assistant coach (whom we are elated to have, believe me!) ought to go, too, and being a male, couldn't share a room with me (not that *I* would care--I shared a room with my [male] college debate partner lots, and got over any squeamishness and toilet-seat issues then--but it's policy, ya know.) So, rather than paying for an extra room, we agreed that Matt would go. So now HE needed a costume!

Back to the online fabric store I go (thank goodness for online stores. I might have had a coronary if I'd had to drive, too!) That bundle should arrive later in the week, and meanwhile, I have plenty to do.

I will post pictures when I'm done (with however many of them I finish!) Wish me luck to get all four finished; that way I'll only have the girls' to worry about next year.

Nature Abhors a Vacuum

2007-09-24T08:49:00.000-07:00

As far as I know, this is not a sweeping tragedy, but: I take back the recommendations I made to several people about our cleaning help.

It's not that she did bad work; she was entirely adequate to our needs. But I haven't seen her in three weeks....no phone call, no email to let us know she wasn't coming. Of course, I sent a polite email and left a polite message, hoping that she was okay and just wondering if, assuming she was alright, she hadn't had the heart to let us know she was done with us. Response: nothing.

So, it could be that she was hit by a truck (though I haven't seen her name in any accident reports; yes, I looked: I was worried about her!), in which case she's probably not in a condition to help someone else anyway. Or it could be that she just doesn't get how to be responsible to clients, in which case, my advice would be to seek elsewhere. Or maybe we did something soooo horrible to her that she felt the only recourse was to cut us off....but we're having trouble figuring out what that might be.

For now, we've divvied up the chores. We're hoping that with the amount of streamlining and decluttering and containerizing we've accomplished in the last few months, we can manage. If not, the search for good help will continue.

Pictures Appearing

2007-09-21T15:40:00.000-07:00

Just a note to let you know that I'm trying to get a little caught up on our pictures; there are a few new ones up at Ogle Family Photos. Direct links are here for:

Emily Caesar, in which Emily performs the first three acts of Julius Caesar in brief
Laura's new diet
and several different kids (not just ours!) from the Labor Day 2006 gathering at Dennis and Maria's.

We do apologize for the delay! (and now I'm only a whole year behind....)

Summer Round-Up, 2007

2007-09-10T20:53:00.000-07:00

My last day of taking the train up to help Laurie was Saturday. It's awfully nice to be settling into the rhythm of school days again, busy as they can be. I have so many things that are pestering me to be caught up, and the Season of Speech Weekends starts....this weekend! Still, I have much more time to do that catching up when I am actually operating out of the home.

On the other hand, I'm awfully glad I was in a position to help. I think one of the hardest things--for me, at least--when someone I know has died, has been the inability of people I care about to take my help (I assume it's inability; maybe they just don't *want* me. Hey, I've got a healthy ego! :-) ). Since that happened three separate times in the last four years, it's nice that this time, not only was there something concrete I could do, but I was actually asked--and welcomed--to do it. I know I'm not very good at asking for help myself--or even accepting it, if others are brave enough to offer--and it's something I wish to get better at. This was a good lesson for me in how to do it gracefully, and I hope it's contagious.

Not least because, along with the real work we did, it was an awful lot of fun to reconnect and remember why we're friends in the first place (we always have Excellent Adventures!) And I was glad to be close by, a human presence, during moments of pain.

All in all, not a bad way to spend the summer. Our house may not be perfect, but our hearts feel pretty whole.

Matt Ogle, M.Ed.

2007-08-15T09:30:00.001-07:00

Just before leaving for the beach last week, we got official confirmation that Matt had passed his Master's Comprehensive Exams. In spite of these tests being a relic from the 15th century or so, in order to get a degree from WOU, one must pass them. So, seven hours of testing later (and all the classes that came before, of course), he now has a Master of Science in Education degree (and will get the actual piece of paper in the spring, when they give them out.)

Congrats!

Just Another Laundry List

2007-08-14T23:26:00.000-07:00

That's what my mother and I called it long ago when we'd write letters to each other; a "laundry list letter" was one in which one of us pretty much said, "and then I did ___, and then I did ___, and then I went over ____ and did ____" etc., etc.

So I'd love to share my impressions and thoughts, but really, I want to sleep. I just can't let any longer go by for my poor, lonely blog.

So: I've been working, a LOT. The summer projects (which were not new; they were unfinished!) have mostly been put on hold. Most of them require the children to be being supervised away from the project site, and it's hard for me to supervise when I'm not here! There is only one small patch of carpet left in the basement, although it's not in my bedroom so I'm not too worried about it. Still on the hope-to-finish list is getting all the adhesive off the basement floor (although it seems that if we wait long enough, we'll just wear it off!)

We just tonight took Emily's crib apart and assembled her new bed, which required moving the nursery's loveseat into our room. Fortunately, the bed fit in the space we had designated for it (though we'll have to move more furniture when we actually get and assemble her headboard. Complicating this is, of course, the fact that most of the nursery furniture is bolted to the walls: Unbolt. Move. Drill holes. Rebolt. Sigh over holes and be glad we're not renting.)

Emily adapted well (she actually fell asleep in fairly good time), and was sooooooo excited to have her new bed. We've been playing up its arrival for weeks...and of course, Matt and I both choked up a little bit to be saying goodbye to the crib (we'll be okay!)

Having looked at the calendar, we were incredibly spontaneous (for us) and took the girls on an overnight at the beach last week.

Really.

I know, those who know us are shaking your heads and wondering how this could be. It gets worse: we literally decided around 3 in the afternoon, did a quick search for suitable hotels, and had a room reserved before 4. And then started packing and arranging kitty sitting. We just suddenly realized it was the only chance we'd get before summer was gone.

The "'tel" is a whole story which I may tell at some point. For now, we stayed in Lincoln City, played on the beach at sunset there, went to the Oregon Coast Aquarium, played at Beverly Beach, and all slept in the same room. Although I think both the grownups had to take a day off to recover, we all had fun (though not always all at once!)

While there, we got a message that Matt's mom had gone to the hospital with chest pains. She's okay, and back at home, and they only ended up keeping her overnight (so she was out by the time we were done at the beach.)

Complicating my work life has been the alteration in the trains I take; I rode their chartered bus home one night (they had compensatory sandwich dinners for us) and discovered the next day that that had been pretty much the last coach out of Dodge. Because of a mechanical problem in the cars they used, they cancelled almost all the trains (and all the trains I would use) on the route the next morning. For nearly a week. Happily, they're back in business now with a slightly altered schedule, and my abortive attempts to substitute the foul smoke-enshrouded Greyhound are but a memory.

We have tomatoes! And a TON of green ones coming on. And cucumbers raised two blocks over and three up. It's good to finally have a salad all from the yard(s).

I'm right on the edge of abnormally low iron in the blood (one number is at the edge, the other just below it.) I even got my lab results, read up on them, and concurred with the diagnosis: I need more Fe! So I get to take iron pills. So far, so good, and I actually think they're helping: more energy, not so many cravings. Anemia is famous for causing fatigue, and I don't know why I didn't think of it myself (since literally *every* time I've given blood, they've had to hem and haw while they waiting for the "special test" to make sure I had enough iron for them to use me).

We have at least two new babies to see (no, we haven't forgotten you, our dear friends! It's just been a singularly un-summery summer for us.) Jillian and Ryan and their adoring families are on our minds.

Matt's trying chiropracty at last (not practicing it, using it). He hasn't been bent around yet, but will as soon as he can get the next appointment.

Laura's singing lots of songs. And the notes are often correct. She is mercurial as every, although we have heard some apparently genuine, contrite "sorry"s from her when she realizes she's done something wrong.

Emily is 34 inches tall, weighs 25 pounds, and is starting to understand "Pet the kitty GENTLY!" She, like Laura did, has a great big vocabulary and only so-so enunciation (so we can be impressed, but the world will only hear the stray word now and then. Probably just as well, since we're the ones who are supposed to be impressed.)

Oop, time to go move the laundry....(get it?) So I'll end in the traditional laundry list fashion:

More later.

Mind-Meld Confirmed

2007-07-29T23:25:00.000-07:00

More proof that Anna Quindlen and I share a brain sometimes. (Either that, or the Dept. of Homeland Security is monitoring us, and she has access to the tapes.)

I said this months ago, as Matt is my witness. Honest...I think it was in March.

"No more adventures!"

2007-07-29T23:11:00.000-07:00

Extra points if you know the source of that quote.

Saturday, we had a family party to celebrate Emily's birthday. She was a model birthday girl, and since I made a cake for her (in addition to the store-bought one most people wanted), she actually got to have some this time. Turns out you don't really need eggs in cake; they make it richer and all, but don't much affect its rising action.

And then, when the tired children had been poured into their nap-ready beds, the real adventure began: the last Harry Potter!

I had had a preview of it in the earlyearlyearly morning, because I invited myself along when Rebekah (with whose family we were dining deliciously) mentioned she wanted to go to one of the parties at a bookstore; she pointed out that it was The LAST One. I immediately saw her point, figured out that the children would long be in bed by the time she wanted to go (and thus, me tagging along would be no stress on Matt), and so, we went. Of course, it was sort of a last-minute decision on Rebekah's part, so we were close to the end of the line of people who got books (they had everything arranged based on when you asked to reserve your copy); but this also meant we got to enjoy the ambiance for longer! So, long about 2:45 in the morning, she graciously let me open it up, we gasped over the chapter headings, and read the first page. And then I went off to bed; got up, had the party, thanked the delivery guy, and started reading one of our two copies as soon as I could.

I'm not going to spoil it for anyone else, but I feel totally vindicated.

Monday I took the train up to Laurie's to help her for the day; it was my first experience of Amtrak, and was generally pleasant. We (all) decided it makes sense for me to commute that way, as that way nobody has to drive me back and forth (I am perfectly capable of driving to Milwaukie, especially on 99E, but it is my car that has the carseats, and I'm not great at driving Matt's car. And I hate to leave him without the carseats all day (he doesn't like the idea, either!). So Amtrak, ho!

Tuesday, Matt had sundry errand to run and places to be (not least, finding out the details about his upcoming Master's comps), so I got to have my fill of little girls; I have been away from them more this summer than ever before (I had that night off in December, and there were the days in the hospital when I had Emily so I only had visits from Laura...that's it. Until now. I miss them desperately and really, really, really hate saying goodbye. Sigh. If there were not a good friend involved, I would not go.)

Wednesday, we finally got to the beach for the first time this summer. (It seemed an appropriate way to celebrate Em's birthday!) We had the beach basically to ourselves; it was a gorgeous day apart from the strong wind; and we all had a great time. (pictures...uh...sometime!)

Thursday, back to Amtrak. All went well until my trip back; Laurie dropped me off at the station, and there were some nice-looking people there waiting, too. And waiting. And waiting. Finally, I pulled out my phone and called their voice-activated computer tracking service: the train was an hour and 56 minutes behind. Holy moly! We're at a station with no actual building, no close restaurants or anything...it's kind of in the middle of nowhere. But, we rallied and worked together; two guys went off on foot to see if they could find anything at all anywhere close by with water or food (they had no luck). Another guy called his wife, who was out, but who did eventually drop by with some bottles of water to share. A mom handed out peanut-butter cracker packets to each of us. We all entertained a five-year-old girl. Finally, the girl's dad (he and toddler son were staying while Mom and daughter went on the train, so he would have been okay if he accidentally missed it) decided to make a McDonald's run in the car; by then, the train was apparently over two hours late, according to the system (it became my job to keep checking, as I had no provisions to share!) So, it all worked out; we got fed, and the train did eventually come. And the guy wouldn't even take any of the change to help with gas. It was a nice affirmation of how nice people can be when the situation arises (of course, it wasn't raining and there were no medical emergencies; but still....)

Friday, I decided we should take Mah and the girls to the library, and leave Matt at home to get some quality study time in for his comps. All went well until I started the car. It said (in addition to the usual engine noise) : skreek! skreek! skreek!. I turned the car off, went inside, and wailed to Matt, "There's something wrong with the car!"

He says (having no idea how close he came to death....) : "Is it a high-pitched whine?"

[ggggrrrrrrrr. If you *knew* there was something wrong, why didn't you say so earlier? I got over it quickly, though.] "Yes, rhythmic."

"It did that a little yesterday when I started the car to come and pick you up, but it went away, so...."

So, we troop back out to the car, rev it a little, try to figure out where the noise is coming from (it stops), and I decide to go anyway. Of course, less than half way there (but almost the whole way to the shop!), it begins again. Because I have the girls and the shop guys smoke like chimneys, around goes the car back towards home. Matt takes it in (while I distract the disappointed children. We went outside, and I got the last of the tomato-y things in the ground at last. I had a couple actual ground-cherry fruits trying to ripen under the light!). The report comes in later: not one but *two* loose belts were making the awful noise(s), they're now adjusted and tightened, and the total is under $25 (we love our shop!).

Saturday I take the train again, and have no train-related adventures.

Today, I took the girls to church by myself for the first time, again to give Matt some study time. We all lived, though I may have hurt the ol' back.

And *that* is way too many adventures for one week!

Pounce!

2007-07-09T23:37:00.000-07:00

I woke up this morning to a kitten jumping on my face, claws out. He meant no harm, so after the initial shock (mine, and his at mine), we settled down together and he fell asleep on my shoulder, with his face nestled into the crook of my neck.

This is not my kitten.

I was sleeping on one of Laurie's couches (the one least likely to be dust-mite territory; although she has an awesome HEPA air filter that I'm going to be researching more the next time I'm there; I was very Not Sneezy there, in spite of being on a couch all night). The kitten was adopted--at Jim's request, a first for their household (the animals generally follow Laurie home...but I think he knew quite well what he was doing when he asked to have this one!)--just a week or so ago, and is tiny but very mellow and all Cat. (If you're not an animal person, you may not realize that this can be unusual; my own cats tend to run about 15% Dog, one way or another.) Since Laurie has a lovely dog (who the kitten is warming up nicely to), and another cat (who lives in the out-of-doors, and has his own private quarters at night), and *another* cat, who doesn't like either the outdoor cat OR the new kitten, but tolerates the dog, and misses Jim terribly....she kept the fussy cat and the dog, and I got the kitten for the night.

After lights-out, I explained to the kitten that I was pretty used to sleeping with cats here and there on me or my bedclothes, and I heard him gradually prowling nearer and nearer...first jumping on a chair near me, then onto the couch, then onto my shoulder, and finally kneading and bonking my neck as he worked himself into a kitten coma. He perched here and there all night, and Laurie's first words to me this morning were, "awwwwwwww" (the tiny claw poke holes in my face weren't bleeding by then!) as she saw him curled up on me again.

And it was good.

Jim Joins Jelly Roll

2007-07-06T13:48:00.000-07:00

Our friend Jim died Wednesday morning, peacefully.

He was a wonderful soul. Quite a few people, in Portland and in various spots around the world, knew him for his love of jazz. He had his own show on KBOO, and was often swapping hard-to-find sets with other aficionados. Actually, whenever I called to talk to Jim or Laurie in the last few weeks as he was in and out of hospital and rehabilitation center, the music was always there in the background. He even had the pleasure of a trio of his performing friends, who came to play for him in his room at St. Vincent's (Laurie reported that the staff kept "finding reasons" to drop into his room while they were there!)

He was generous with his time, and loved to spend an afternoon (or evening; Jim was a true night owl) with one of his children (and their children) whenever he could. Books were another pleasure (we shared a love of Dickens, and bemoaned from time to time that we had no new Dickens novels to look forward to!)

He was honest, and gentle, and kind, and the world is a little darker now. I'm reminded of Aldous Huxley's famous words as he approached his own aging and death: "...I really don't have anything more profound to pass on by way of advice than, 'Try to be a little kinder.'" It's always hard to describe someone's personality in few words; the best image I have of what he was like was a mostly tree-shadowed mountain lake. Not so big that you can't see the other side, but just right for paddling a canoe on, and perhaps swimming in the sunny edge of it, and then sleeping comfortably, without fear, nearby. He had that quality of flexible stillness about him.

I plan to spend some chunks of time away next week, staying with and hopefully helping Laurie.

Eyes, Sale, Carpet

2007-07-04T15:07:00.000-07:00

While that title would actually make some great "found poetry", it's really just a summary!

In amongst all the colds of May, apparently I got one that messed with my eyes (I guess that's not unheard-of...). That's another reason you've all been sadly Oglefamily-less; I've been trying to save my eyes for actual business, and reading to small children (the reading was actually easier; for some reason the computer has really been rough.) They are mostly better now, although I notice they get tired quicker than before, especially if I spend too long at the screen.

We did indeed have Da Big Sale last weekend, and made a happy sum (though not an earth-shattering amount, we made our ad money back times many). Also, I am looking forward to a hefty tax deduction sometime next spring, since we (when I say we, I mean "Matt") carted off almost everything that didn't sell to Goodwill. (Which took three trips in our neighbor's SUV. This is our penalty for moving into a house with more than 3000 square feet of space....and having two children. Although in all honesty, most of *their* [former] stuff sold.) We saved a few items to sell on craigslist, because we are masochists.

I think Matt and I actually both enjoyed the selling part of the sale (and I, for one, actually enjoy haggling. Except for the people who think they have to insult you to make the sale; not an appropriate strategy, IMHO). Although I claim to be an introvert--and I am, actually!--I really, really, really like people. (Which is why I was quite content to work as the docent, alone, at the Ad Museum. I got to spend time introverting, and then whenever paying customers showed up, I could enjoy the people.) So we quibbled over who got to be outside haggling, and who had to stay in when the children tired of hanging out, had to be fed, or needed to be put to sleep. On the other hand, gathering up all the dusty stuff last week and pricing it made me come pretty close to reaching for the Epi-Pen; I took Benadryl often instead, and made it through okay (but I don't remember much!)

In further avoidance of similar incidents, Matt has spent a lot of time the last two days ripping out the carpet in the basement, at last. The ripping part goes quickly, he reports; it's tearing out the tack strip along the edges (and digging out all its rusty and sharp little tacks) that takes a long time. There's still a bit left, in my closet, because his knees finally rebelled at the abuse, but he assures me that that, too, will be gone soon (the carpet, not the...well, I suppose the abuse will be gone, as well!) Let me say here that even though we have only vacuumed the concrete, not scrubbed it thoroughly, and it is still kinda gritty from the accumulated crud of decades, I notice the positive difference. Of course, it *looks* terrible: about like you'd expect concrete that has been carpeted and then de-carpeted to look. That is, discolored, with swirly whirly blots of adhesive, with the occasional jaunty sploop of still-adhering purple carpet pad bit. I'm sure it'll get slightly better when we clean, and hopefully a LOT better when we throw some throw rugs on it. Matt noticed immediately that now it *feels* like we're sleeping in a basement, where before, you could sort of squint your eyes and think it was just "downstairs". Hence the upcoming rugs (which we can throw in the washer--die, bugs, die!) We have spoken of tiling it at some point, though Not This Summer.

This summer is The Summer of Unfinished Projects! (And Speech Camp.)

Hail to the Chief

2007-07-02T17:39:00.000-07:00

In between the buzz of grading at the end of the year, another benching
with colds in June (I mostly escaped this time, but it's kept us from
visiting), and being a Single Parent during Nationals, I neglected to
mention yet another change for next year.

Matt's the union president.

Actually, he's the CO-president, no small distinction. He's been
fighting off the...uh...honor, for a few years, with my hearty support,
partly because he knew I would have an extended psychotic episode if he
were gone any more than he already was. So, this year, as the
electorate closed in on him from all sides, he said if only someone
else could go to all the *meetings*, he'd be willing to be the Big
Argumentative Cheese. And lo, it was made so. The co-pres will go to
any school board meetings where Matt doesn't need to, you know,
intervene, and Matt will be to go-to guy for grievances and liasing
with the super, etc. It seems like a good deal to me.

Breaking at Nats

2007-06-19T18:45:00.000-07:00

Or, in the common tongue, proceeding to semifinals at the National Tournament: that's what Keisha (the previously un-named, but now both over 18 and graduated student) found out today.

We are pleased!

Semifinals in Student Congress (her event) start tomorrow. Woohoooooooooo!!!

Quick Telegraphic Message

2007-06-04T22:04:00.000-07:00

or, why having a counter is both a blessing and a curse: I can see you out there, checking. Clicking. Hopefully. *When* is she going to post? Whenwhenwhen? Sorry; it's been busy.

Quickly, then, as I must sleep:

Children: 50% still snotboogery, same one with spots (we think they're hives, but can't figure out from what...); neither with fevers (were quite high when had them last week/end: 102+, but never up to the DANGER WILL ROGERS! mark of 104). All three of we girls have had two viruses in a row (I'm pretty sure # 2 was not a secondary infection, but it's own distinct--*nasty*-- "thing.") Ugh.

Monstrous Wading Pool: must get pics next time we play. Awesome to use, a bear to drain; but necessary to prevent massive Mosquito Breeding Ground. Girls want to play in whenever outside, now.

Cleaning: finally hired help to do dusting and vacuuming. Sorry we waited so long (tho' it's easier when one has a medical excuse!). Nice woman, nice job, and in spite of colds, has given me energy to tidy up. And motivation, since it takes her less time to clean the tidier it is!

Garden: Tomatoes in the ground. Beans popping up. Greens out our ears (must plant next batch very soon.). Still huge patch yet to turn under, hopefully before grass goes to seed. Roses going bananas (in an amazing twist of genetics...), in spite of various diseases. Ground cherries still getting big enough to go out; under light.

Matt: singing songs about "two weeks to go," then remembers I'll be all by lonesome during Nationals, and changes song to say "Three weeks to go." Good man. Grading papers basically all the time he can. Weekend schedule (every weekend): "Grading."

Laura: noticing that the sun has been out quite a bit. Puts two and two together. Says, "I want to go to the BEACH!" Trying to give up naps, but pays dire consequences for same after dinner. Can see distant light at end of tunnel for Potty Training; not there yet, but at least, at last, progress.

Emily: Starting to recite books along with Laura. Does not get all crazy on Benadryl (for the hives, remember?); instead, conks out quite nicely. Whew. (In case you're wondering, the suggested dose for her is about 1/8 the adult dose of Children's liquid. But see yer own doc. And I generally give her less...) Becoming Toddler Terror of Almost Twoness; we beginning to give her (unsympathetic) tips on tantrum-ing: "Can you lie on the floor and bang your hands on it?" "How about stomping your feet? Come on, harder!"

Ginger: just hoping to be well soon, but pleased at how much I'm managing to do even with one hand tied behind my back. Oh, and our friend Jim is still in the hospital (he's had some ups and downs; they're fairly sure the whole thing was caused by a drug interaction.), but currently scheduled--crossed fingers and toes--to go home in just a few days.

Bruce: got to see him (that was a story in itself!), and Eileen, and CM. Good time, too short, but glad to still be on the short list. Children behaved, mostly; Bruce and Eileen behaved, mostly. CM ran marathon earlier in day (!) ; too tired to misbehave...mostly.

Dudley: a bit dehydrated when he saw the doc last week, but we figured was from a hairball (doc concurred). Getting better at giving him fluids without numerous puncture wounds. Because dehydrated, doc checked liver numbers: fine. BUN is also in normal range (hurray, as that is what can cause discomfort from his condition), and creatinine is also down tho' still not normal; that's the one that's a more accurate representation of actual kidney function. Basically, all the stuff we're doing is really really helping!

Fiona: helping Dudley finish (she lets him go first, in a rare case of politeness!) the yummy wet food the vet sent home. Enjoying the open door and seeing Life, even through the screen.

That'll have to keep you for now. Thanks for checking on us! :-) Maybe next time missing subjects, verbs, and objects will be back. Just have to see...

The Good News...and not so good

2007-05-23T22:31:00.000-07:00

First, Matt was elected Northern Oregon NFL Chair. This is good for a number of reasons; the most important one, however, is that it means he'll be the one in charge of organizing the 2008 National Qualifier tournament. The person who usually does it (our amazing friend Jane) will be out of the country next year at that time, and it was agreed by many that the job needed to be done by someone with experience, excruciatingly good organizing skills, and an obsessive desire to follow the rules. Those are always good things in a tournament director, but for NFL tournaments, they're absolutely required: the NFL is even more obsessive than Matt, and they demand that their tournaments be run "just so" (and the results submitted even more "just so-ly"). So, while it will certainly be a stressful task, we're glad he's been tapped to do it.

Second, Matt's district reached a tentative agreement in ONE short bargaining sesssion last week (the teachers know about it, so now I can tell the world.) It seems like a really good deal to me: a 4% raise this year, and a 3% raise next year, plus some other things (but the money is, of course, usually the biggest deal to make). The best part, though, is that it sounds like there were really no big contentious arguments; considering some, ah, other nearby districts, both the contract and the process seem pretty amazing. (On the other hand, I'm trying hard not to run in all directions, spending my $8 extra a month all at once. ;-) )

The not so good news is that our friend Jim has been in the hospital since last Friday night, and they're having a heck of a time figuring out what's the matter. One doctor thought it was liver failure, but then they changed a drug and he started perking up more today. Ironically, he's been responding really well recently to chemotherapy, had tumors shrinking away quicker than the docs expected, even regaining strength. It has been a trying time for his loved ones, and those of us not close enough (or well enough; the cold's slimy fingers linger here....) to visit wait anxiously for updates. Kudos to these folks for providing ill people and all their family and friends an easy place and way to communicate. I know most reading this don't know Jim...but this really bums me out.

Social May Butterflies

2007-05-18T14:35:00.000-07:00

Weekend before last, we went to the Salem Saturday Market's 10th Anniversary opening. Matt and I enjoyed seeing what sorts of wares there were (and quickly snagged some crochet-hanger dishtowels, as ours have long since become almost worthlessly thin). The girls enjoyed free balloons, seeing Mama get her face painted with a ladybug (Laura declined the free offer, but was fine seeing me do it! Why a ladybug? Because I'm a gardener, and they are right up there with worms as Gardener's Best Friends, of course.), and--skeptically--watching the resident clown make them some balloon animals. It was a good time. Laura declared that she "liked Saturday Market, but Mama, I did NOT LIKE THE PEOPLE." Yeah, yeah, I know; you would have had to spend at least ten minutes one-on-one with each of them, and then you would have liked them, too. We plan to go back again sometime, whether she likes the people or not.

That night, since I had baked a ham, we randomly decided to see if the Pickerels were free to share it. And lo! they randomly were. As always, it was good to catch up a little bit with them, though it was a brief dinner since they had to get to church early, and so did we.

Church was a good lesson in how I always end up worrying about the wrong things. The Bishop was visiting on his annual circuit through the churches, and I was to teach Sunday school. So I had my lesson obsessively all ready (which took some time, since it was all about the order of service and had a lot of moving pieces to go with it), but the "door person" assigned for that day couldn't be there. As a result, the person who stepped up to be the helper was none other than the Director of Education for the whole diocese (who also happens to be in charge of our ed. stuff; she lives here and commutes). I had already chicken-heartedly offered to trade spots with her, but she declined.

So we get all assembled, children present, and the Bishop decides to check in with us before the service, just to say hi. He then announces that he'd like the kids to be in the sanctuary for the sermon, which is about 45 minutes earlier than they'd usually go. Thinking swiftly, I figure that gives us time *either* to really rush through the lesson, or to just have "work time" with a hasty wrap-up at the end. Door person and I conferred, and put it to a vote with the kids; they of course voted for "work time" and my lovingly prepped lesson did not have to be performed. What really ended up stretching my creativity was helping the ADHD child sit next to me--quietly!--through the sermon. But I managed that, too (never underestimate the benefits of being double-jointed, and goofy!). So next time I'm worried at all about teaching on Sunday, clearly, I should devise a way instead of sneaking playing cards into church.

Wednesday we spent some time in the morning with three of the four point eight Davisons. We went on a walk to see if the diggers were doing anything exciting; they were loud, but not moving much. Still, it was good to get outside, and we came back to play in the back yard some. Our slide has gotten a lot of use! It's fun for me to see Jonah and Laura playing more together as they get older (Elisha and Emily are pretty much still at the age of, "you play with that, and I'll play with this, and if we're lucky we can trade politely after a while.")

This last weekend we finally got to connect with the Borahs--it had been too long. As a bonus, they brought dinner (that has to be one of my favorite kind of guests--not that I mind cooking for the rest of you, of course, but the only way to have an even less-stressed host would be if you also showed up early to clean the house for us! ;-) ). We ate and made merry and managed to get in a few good conversations around the six little girls. Laura was fascinated to have Stephanie read to her a bit. I am certain this will only further cement the awe with which she regards that particular Borah (I think she wants glasses, now, too....which is probably just as well, considering the genetic heritage she's got.)

We spent Mother's Day at home, nursing our collective cold. There was, however, a temporary restraining order placed on Matt's food restrictions for the day, and the fettucine Alfredo I made was definitely...adequate.

And that brings us up to this week, which has mostly been spent sequestered from the world, trying to get better. We've had at least two other pieces of good news, but I should wait until they are more official and/or widely known before I mention them here.

Ooooh...suspense!

Falling Into Work Again

2007-05-06T17:59:00.000-07:00

I have another job.

I'm working--telecommuting, really--for an old friend who decided to let her former bookkeeper go. Believe me when I say I was not really looking for another way to fill those long, empty hours (um, which hours would those be? The ones when--hopefully--I am asleep?), but it certainly seems like a good fit for both of us, for now at least.

We manage to get everything done via Internet, phone, and efax, including payroll tax quarterlies. Those babies flexed my muscles last week, since I hadn't done any since working as a Licensed Tax Preparer, eight or so years ago. Fortunately (for this), the IRS is a massive and slow-to-change beaureaucracy, no matter who is in power, so not much has changed in the interim (and the Oregon Department of Revenue, in this as in so many other things, follows in the IRS' footsteps.)

Speech: Fifth in State!

2007-05-06T16:12:00.000-07:00

It's actually "old news", now, being two weeks old, but I figured I'd better note it here for those who don't already know from MySpace, etc. (or because they were there :-) ).

Yep, the team got fifth in its division (and no, there were not only five teams!) This was nice for a number of reasons. In no particular order:
~pretty much everybody who helped get that sweepstakes award, worked for it. I'm always pleased when hard work is acknowledged.
~it was Matt's first state sweeps award. (Not mine; Gresham got at least one? two? I can't remember if it was more, while I was there, and of course I have my prints on the one that is *still* in Matt's trophy case from 1989, when my beloved alma mater's team got, I think, second.)
~it is some external validation that having me help coach the team is, at the least, not detrimental. There were some entirely valid concerns (both ours and admin.'s) about how it all would work with two spouses together (we weren't worried about that, as we happen to love it) and with their small children part of the mix (that, we were worried about.) In the end, it seems to have gone pretty well.
~a significant number of the speechies who contributed to the award were juniors and sophomores. That means they'll be back next year. Woohoo!
~it's a testament to the impact speech has on those who participate, because another major contributing factor was the returning speechies who also helped coach in the weeks leading up to state. Kyle and Chris were both awesome to volunteer their time and expertise.

In other speech news, we are pretty excited because it looks like Matt will have *two* competitive speech classes next semester (probably diminishing to one for Spring Semester 2008). This will both lower the out-of-class English paper load that keeps him from playing with the girls as much as he'd like, and will give us a Rather Large team. (Though surely they will not all stick around when they find out what they're in for, 35+35=70. That's a lot of speechies, and a lot of speeches.) Partly because of that, and partly because--apparently!--we just can't go that long without our speech fix, we're planning to have a "speech camp" this summer. The goals are to help indoctrinate (oops. I probably shouldn't say that. Hmmm. Inform? Acclimatize? Assimilate!) the newbies (or "novii", as we call them--some sort of un-parented perversion of the Latin plural of "novice"); and, to give the returning kids a chance to focus on their speeches without being completely surrounded by all the novii and/or buried in homework.

Pincushion Kitty

2007-05-06T13:17:00.000-07:00

Dudley's doing much better. The vet reports that his key number (it's BUN, and you medical types probably have some idea what that measures; not me.) is only 4 above normal, where before it was 16 above normal. I could game the numbers and give you the amazing percentage of improvement, but basically, he feels good enough to bonk a lot at family and to sass at the vet. (We are all in agreement that it's a sad Dudley indeed who cannot live up to the large red "DANGER!!!" printed on his medical file.)

This is a good thing, not least because there are several good reasons why I did not go into medicine. Many of them have shown themselves on Dudley's hide; while I'm pretty good at sewing, I would not call myself good with the other sort of needle! I hit veins; I accidentally have the needle poke back out of the skin at a different spot; I'm not always good at getting the fluid temperature comfortably right. Incredibly, he puts up with it all from me (mostly), and the vast majority of his prescribed fluid goes in (although, now that he's feeling better, he is not as inclined to stick around for the full dose. I occasionally have to use Persuasion.) Of course, that might also have to do with the treat that he always (and only) gets after the ordeal. Another good thing is that I only have to do it every three days, now, instead of every other. And finally, I am somewhat proud of myself in that I haven't had Matt (or anyone else) help me since that first time; it's Me, Myself, and I, all working him over.

The Ones Who Matter

2007-04-17T11:52:00.000-07:00

While I always have pretty much the same reactions to horrible events like those that capped the news yesterday (shock, anger at the situations that preceded them, a sick fascination with the unfolding story, and especially, sympathy for those in the middle of it), it is this information that saddens me the most.

Before joining in the storm of 20/20 hindsight, as well as thoughtful future preventative measures (if I get around to it...), I figure we should all take a deep breath, pause, and remember the ones who matter the most in this story, and the families and friends who have lost them.

On Average

2007-04-17T11:44:00.000-07:00

We have really, neither of us, ever been what most would call "normal". But now, there is proof that at least in a few ways, we are actually close to average:

CNN Money's Median Income Gallery

But Wait...We Got One After All!

2007-04-14T19:30:00.000-07:00

Because the National Qualifier tournament here is actually held in two parts, it's possible not to qualify anyone during the first part (held already this year, last month) but to still have someone qualify in the second part. That second part of the competition--Student Congress--was held today, and lo! and behold, we've got ourselves a qualifier!

Congrats to the un-named-due-to-confidentiality-on-the-Internet student! And she and Matt will be off to Wichita--yes, in Kansas--in June.

Matt is naturally heartbroken over missing the three days of inservice at the end of the school year (two of them to make up for earlier snow days.) Wichita will have to show him a good time to make up for it, I'm sure...

Tomatoes, Broken Ground, Skeeters of Doom

2007-04-12T21:13:00.000-07:00

I'm proud of myself; in spite of the zaniness and long list of "things to do" in the last few days, I managed to finally get little tiny tomato seeds into pots under my lovely new grow light. (Also some ground cherries, to which Matt and I have become addicted--they're something like a cross between a grape and a cherry, but a relative of the tomato. And some basil for the kitchen just for kicks.) Since the average last frost date for our fair city is--believe it or not--May 22, I'm just barely in time. Some folks like to push the date with various insulating strategies, but I know I'm not gonna get there...this year.

I also broke a little ground in the "real" (as opposed to "tall") garden, but quickly abandoned the project. The mosquitos were vicious! When I was out there, I thought they were just attacking me; having always been handy as a mosquito magnet, I figured I was taking it for the team, as it were. And in sheer numbers, I was, but now we have two itchy little girls with big nasty welts, too. Those bugs were *hungry*.

I've been especially careful not to leave any places where the skeeters could hatch, draining any water-collecting things whenever I can and such, but....our neighbors (not you guys, Pickerels!) have a horribly clogged gutter, with quite a puddle beneath it, too, and it has become Mosquito City. Ugh. I am planning not to go out again with the girls until I am armed with the best non-DEET repellant (happily, there are a few now that supposedly work really well) I can get (the other good news is, enough sun will eliminate the problem. The bad news is, Laura at least swells up just like Matt does with bug bites. Big nasty hive-like welts around the bites. And scratches. And scratches. And scratches.) And perhaps we'll send Matt over after State to offer to help clean the offending gutter out--I don't think they'll want the mosquitos around their kids, either; they probably just haven't played much yet this Spring out there.

Oh, and State: the team did pretty well at Districts. Our district has become smaller lately--the same teams are competing, but only one (besides ours) fields many members. There were several schools with one or two competitors! That means we don't get to send as many people to State: the number of qualifiers is based on the number of competitors at Districts. And that other big team is really big, and has become quite the powerhouse of speakers (Matt was pleased that they only beat us by 14? points this year in Sweepstakes; last year it was by many, many more points.) Still, I think about half our team members who went to Districts, qualified.

I have not broken the news to Laura that we're probably not going to be driving out to practice after next Tuesday, since State is at the end of next week.....

The IBS Interview

2007-04-12T21:01:00.000-07:00

I was fortunate (and the girls were sleepy!) enough to get to listen live today. Judging by the recent press, perhaps I should say, "the FIRST interview". If you want to hear Ellen's authentic "Oregon farm girl" giggle (and some good interview Q&A's), here's the link to the radio show. (Click on "show"--it's "Arts in Review"--or "date"--look for April 12, 2007 at 12:02. It'll stay there for ninety days.). She was interviewed by the same guy who wrote the review in Variety, and joined there by two members of the cast.

Good stuff.

Good Reviews for IBS

2007-04-11T18:25:00.000-07:00

While it's true, in some ways, that there's no such thing as bad press, good press is always more appreciated by authors and their boosters. Happily, that's just what Infinite Black Suitcase has just gotten!

Variety proclaims: Lewis gives evidence of being a significant talent to watch. "Infinite Black Suitcase" certainly has the legs to move on to a more ambitious staging.

LA Splash says: Stories of lost and languishing life unfold and overlaps onto themselves, entwining and pulling at the living in EM Lewis’ “Infinite Black Suitcase”.

Also, our esteemed author herself will be on the radio tomorrow (Thursday) at noon, in an interview setting with two members of the cast (you can listen to the streaming version online).

We are impressed. It couldn't happen to a nicer person.

Happy Easter 2007!

2007-04-08T19:26:00.000-07:00

Infinite Black Suitcase

2007-04-05T20:57:00.000-07:00

I've been remiss in not mentioning this sooner, but Life, you know.

The world premiere of Infinite Black Suitcase starts tomorrow in Los Angeles. (If you happen to be in the neighborhood, by all means, go!) I've had the pleasure to read it, and it's fantastic: I laughed, I cried, I wanted more. (Isn't that what all good literature should do for us?) But I'm sure seeing it live with real people will be an even more gripping experience.

Apart from the fact that I know what's in it--and thus, know that, independently, it is worthy of recommendation--I am happy for the playwright, none other than my buddy Ellen (some may remember her as my matron of honor...we've been friends since 1985, and never a cross word. Well, there was that one incident with the Red Hots, but we stayed locker partners anyway [and it was my fault. I was completely obnoxious. There. I said it. ;-)]) I've always felt that saying you were proud of someone implied that you thought you had something to do with the accomplishment; and I don't think I did, so I can't say I'm proud of her. Can you be proud *for* someone? I dunno; but I know I'm excited. This is a big recognition of her years of servitude to that most demanding calling, writing. I'm just so glad that more people in the world will have the chance to see what I've known for years: she's *great*!

Matt Washington Cannot Tell A Lie

2007-04-02T11:54:00.000-07:00

He really did chop down a cherry tree.

We got most of the things on our list done for Spring Break (possibly a result of trying to only put a reasonable number of things on the list this time, and not including world peace, either). The tall garden is three-quarters of the way planted (and if I don't get the last quarter in right away, I'll just call it succession planting.) The back yard got cleaned up some (though it has, as usual, a long ways to go). While we were out there, we found that the cherry tree nearest my office, which has always had to stretch for the light away from the maple and the hawthorne, was slowly toppling over onto our neighbor's roof (that sounds so terrible, though it wasn't a very tall tree even so; the roof of the neighbor's back porch, where it was resting, is only 2 or three yards from where the tree's base was.) It could have been the result of me redirecting the water from the downspouts into the herb bed, and quite close to the tree's root system. I'd feel guilty for hurting it, but it was suffering anyway from the lack of light (also, I never really liked it; the leaning meant all its branches were in our neighbor's air space, and the trunk was just in the way.) So down it came without incident.

Matt moved his office downstairs to what used to be the guest room (starting, as he puts it, his long migration to the basement.) It is quite convenient, actually, though I'm not sure how I'll feel about it when I have papers to grade again; perhaps by then he will have descended the whole rest of the way. For now, it's kind of silly to raise my voice just a little to say, "Check your email!" and have him read the note or whatever that has traveled through the Internet countless miles, only to land about 20 feet from where it started. Ah, modern technology!

We did manage some Spring Cleaning, notably the windows. (For the record, I do not do windows, which tells you who did. :-) ) One day soon we'll get the curtains hung again (guests be unafraid; we hung a replacement in the bathroom!) Other cleaning was not for Spring but needed doing just the same, and it's good to have caught up since we have three more insane weeks of practice, tournaments each weekend, and all the usual meetings and work and...well, you know how we are. My closet is one particular area that got tidied and rearranged; since it's a walk-in closet that's really a walk-through closet, I can't really close the door to keep the dust away from the clothes; it's been a problem. I'm hoping the current set of solutions will help keep the (DIE BUGS, DIE! ooops, sorry.) allergies at bay until we can move upstairs.

On the social scene, we enjoyed getting to hold Tamara's granddaughter, Irelynd (2 months, give or take). She is a beauty! (Matt asked if that made me want to have another one, and I told him "No! This is much better! I don't hurt anywhere, and I can enjoy the baby!" I can totally see why grandparents enjoy themselves so much. :-) ) We also got to see three of the four Davisons, and the oldest one (Ty) was able to finally get our computers networked. They're both hooked to the router, but we'd never quite figured out how to snoop into each other's hard drives; now we can, and Matt is happy, because he can use my CD burner to back things up. You just never know when you're going to need one of your stored Civ games... ;-) We also played much in the backyard with them, sliding down the slide and climbing on the rocks (one day soon, the rocks will become paths. But for now, they look persuasively like a plaything!)

And finally, I got our taxes done. All the rest of you are not supporting our lifestyle as much this year (in part, at least, because I'm actually employed now), although we still don't owe anything. While I don't enjoy getting a big refund--I'd rather have the money as I go--I also don't enjoy having a big state tax bill to pay. [Insert annual rant about how messed up the state withholding tables are.] So, the numbers coalesced correctly and we have a very small state refund and a several times bigger (though still not awe-inspiring) federal refund. I used the refunds to purchase a freezer (though I scheduled its delivery after the craziness ends), and we successfully Freecycled the fridge that came with the house to make room for the freezer in the basement. (And the location saved us some bucks now and later and hopefully agony down the line; I got a manual defrost, because the basement drain will only be about eight feet--directly downhill--from the freezer.) On my list of things to do is get more local and organic (both at once, which is probably possible!) food into our diet; the freezer will help, hopefully this summer.

The Long? Goodbye

2007-04-01T12:45:00.000-07:00

Dudley's been diagnosed with a smorgasbord of issues, any one of which could lead to his demise. It's certainly not a threat of an *untimely* demise: he's eighteen and a half, venerable for a cat. Especially one who spent his first eight years as an indoor/outdoor cat, at a ratio of about 30/70 whenever he could get it.

The biggest issue (or, looked at another way, the only one that's actually treatable), is chronic renal failure. The kidneys going is actually what takes out a fairly large number of cats, so it's normal and very much age-related (as opposed to the rash of acute renal failure that's been in the news. Fortunately, his and Fiona's food was not on the list, though the one that Hill's recalled was just one letter away from theirs. Scary.) Another one is a fairly pronounced heart murmur, indicating at least one valve that's wearing out. And his bone-marrow is not doing a very good job of making red blood cells, which probably is a symptom of some kind of leukemia or lymphoma. Again, all pretty usual for a cat of his age. So, we're doing comfort care; fluids a couple times a week to take the strain off the kidneys, and (when it comes in) a heart drug that will lower the blood pressure and also take some pressure thusly off the kidneys.

From his point of view, the good thing about all of these is that generally, they don't hurt. And while he wasn't exactly *thrilled" when we stuck him with the needles today to get his fluids in, he took it with good grace (well, good enough that it all got into the cat.) And in case anyone's wondering, the rule with fluids and helpers is, "She who owns the cat wields the needle." (Besides, Matt doesn't DO needles, so kudos to him for holding the cat while a needle was nearby. On the other hand, it's only an inch long. Not like the freaky foot-long horror-movie kind! Once inserted in the cat, you really can't see it, though I'm sure Matt knew intensely that it was there.)

It's nice to be able to actually do something to ease him; and it's nice to have a chance to say goodbye and give him extra cuddles. It could be months; it could actually be a few years (though personally, I think the fact that there's more going on than kidney failure makes the longer time less likely. Then again, he's always been an exquisitely *stubborn* fellow.)

I told Laura about it right away, and she made the connection right away: "Like Merlin?" So at least she knows to give him extra lovin', too, and it won't come as a shock when he goes. Matt, taking the role of the optimist this time, pointed out that it's probably easier to have her see the whole process this way, so she'll understand when one of the many older people she's fond of goes to that big bubble bath in the sky. (What? You don't think heaven is a bubble bath? Clearly, you're not doing it right!)

Spring Break...and, GO!

2007-03-26T15:12:00.000-07:00

At last, Spring Break has arrived. As usual, Matt went to the NFL National Qualifier tournament Thursday, Friday, and Saturday (no one qualified this year, though as far as we know everyone tried their best; and that is what we always hope for.) Sunday we spent a little time snuggling with the girls and regrouping slightly, then went off to see Joe and Carol's new house and welcome Susan home for a visit.

As an aside, we are grateful that the Kanns have decided to move at least 10, maybe 15 minutes closer. (I'm sure that was a big selling point for the house! ;-) ) Also, it has much more room, which will be handy for their growing family (and guests!) Of especial little-girl interest was the playroom, complete with a tea-party table and a tea party set, as well as a handy swing and high chair to keep the dollies occupied while the Mommies have tea. And that was just the indoors....Needless to say, all the Ogles had a wonderful time.

We stayed too late, playing and talking, but are rallying a bit now after being up later than usual.

I just finished dumping my usual birthday present from my mother into the tall garden (nine buckets of beautifully finished compost, already sifted and fluffy), and tucked the rest of it (four bags of worm castings) into the used-to-be-doghouse (because we don't *have* a dog; it came with the house). That means that area is topped off enough that I can plant salad greens sometime this week, in between showers. And *that* means there'll be salad in about four weeks, tops, from all the thinnings. ('scuse me while I wipe the drool off my chin; it's been a long winter!)

Big plans (famously best-laid, of course...) for the week include catching up on the everyday stuff we've been putting off in favor of other things lately; doing some spring cleaning here and there; Matt grading some papers so he's not too far behind; the aforementioned planting and much, much more yard work; seeing if we can connect with Ross and Tamara and Tamara's daughter and granddaughter, here for a visit (Laura, upon meeting the two-month-old: "I like this baby!"); much death and destruction wreaked on fictional victims inside Matt's computer; and perhaps a mystery or three for me.

Whee!

Easy as Pi

2007-03-14T11:37:00.000-07:00

Today is not only the internationally acclaimed "Pi Day" (in celebration of 3.14etc.), it is also National Potato Chip Day, and, Learn About Butterflies Day.

Who knew?

In addition, today marks the birthdays of such illustrious people as Albert Einstein; Casey Jones (yes, that one); Johann Strauss, Sr; Michael Caine; Quincy Jones; and Billy Crystal. Wouldn't *that* make a great dinner party guest list?

Ask And Ye Shall Receive...

2007-03-11T16:20:00.000-07:00

...garden fencing!

Turns out a lady who lives only a few blocks from us is a Freecycler, saw my request, had some, and (once she found out how close we were), even dropped it off for us while we were at church (and then apparently found a little more in her garage later and dropped that by, too.)

Cool.

Freecycling, freeloading...

2007-03-09T19:11:00.000-08:00

My birthday's next week, and it's a budgetary impossibility for me to have everything on my list (probably just as well; that sort of thing keeps one humble, etc.) On the other hand, if I can find some of the things for free and/or cheap, well...I can get more of them. And they're useful things, after all, not covetous ones.

So I posted the two "wants" on freecycle, found that craigslist is finally local (hallelujah and it's high time!), then smacked my forehead and asked myself why I didn't ask you, the loyal readership (all five of you ;-) ) if anyone has one of these or knows of one being available.

The two things are:

1. A serger. Here's what a serger looks like (N.B.: they're not all as expensive as this one; it's just the first one that came up in a Google search. They also have anywhere from three to five of those cones sticking up in the back. I'm not picky about how many it has, because it won't make a difference for what I need it to do.) In case you have no idea what one does, look at a piece of your clothing (especially a t-shirt or sweats). The straight stitching is probably done with a sewing machine; all that loopy stuff on the seams is done with a serger (and that's what I want it for; it makes finishing seams waaaaaaaay faster.)

2. Garden fence. I love having y'all over, and I have these little busy girls, and I'm trying to keep everyone OUT of the garden. Especially the veggie garden. Squashed tomatoes aren't much fun. So I'm looking for some of that white wire fence that's about a foot and a half high, or plastic that's roughly the same size (I don't care if it matches what I've got). I only need about 10 feet to protect the garden proper, though I could of course use more to protect the less mission-critical flower beds.

So, there's my freeloading for the day. Thanks for any help!

Rub-A-Dub-Dub

2007-03-09T19:04:00.000-08:00

Finally called the plumber this week, and they were able to finally get here today. So now the hot water isn't dripping (or, as it started last night, drizzling!) uselessly down the bathtub drain. Had him fix up the sink in there since it was trending the same way; while I know exactly what the problem was (the washer inside the faucet handle itself was dying, or in the case of the tub, dead), my plumbing expertise with washers pretty much stops after unscrewing the little aerator cap. (and if you're wondering why Matt didn't fix it, it's because he has many wonderful qualities...one of which is knowing to call a plumber for anything beyond a toilet float!)

Since I had been denying myself the luxury of a tub--not wanting to encourage the drip to get any worse, as it did each time the handle was turned on and off, and knowing the little girls weren't about to take a shower so it would inevitably get some worse that way already--tonight was the night.

Aaaah. That's better.

Embarrassing Ty

2007-03-08T08:42:00.000-08:00

Jonah came to visit yesterday, and brought Ty and Elisha with him (that's Laura's perspective :-) ). Everyone had a good time, in the sense that there were no permanent injuries. (No, really, I thought they all did really well together).

But in talking with my fellow (and predecessor, by years!) in blogging, we decided he might need a nudge. So, here it is:

Ty has some good stuff to write about. We're all out here, twiddling our thumbs, clicking our mice, just waiting.....