Too much Peter Pan???

Harry and I were sitting on the airplane, and he apparently heard an announcement I wasn't listening to very closely. Suddenly, he asked, "Where's the pirate?"

"Pirate? There aren't any pirates on this plane, honey." (Blink, blink) "OH! The pilot? The pilot is the person who flies the plane, and he or she sits way in the front."

<:D

***

This is the same kid who hands us the "Peter Pan" book and askes us to read "Peter Butter." He has never in his life eaten peanut butter, his daycare doesn't use peanut butter, and we use a different brand at home. I guess it's possible that Oliver and Bailey might have said something about Peter Pan peanut butter, but how in the world does he remember that for months at a time???

Snow problems

Once upon a time I liked snow. That time is past.

It has been snowing for the last 8 days in Portland. The good news is, we have a couple of great friends in the neighborhood, and we trudged there last night for some company and good cheer. We have food. We have heat and stuff. But, I'm supposed to fly to DC tomorrow. The Sunday version of my Monday flight was cancelled today. So far, my flight tomorrow morning is still scheduled, but who knows? In the event that my flight tomorrow isn't cancelled, I am wondering how I'll even get to the airport...as of right now, people aren't even allowed to drive on the highways without chains...

Harry eats with sticks!

Oliver and Bailey like Asian food, so when they're here, we sometimes eat at Pei Wei, an Asian place that has "chopstick helpers" for kids - a little plastic widget that you snap your chopsticks into, which keeps the chopsticks separated so that you just have to squeeze the chopstick ends together to pick up food. A few days ago, Harry found one of the chopstick helpers (they're plastic, so we wash and re-use) and thought it was the world's tiniest bridge. I showed him what it was and how to use it, and he was fascinated!

We ended up in Pei Wei on Sunday night, and Harry ate 8 or 10 bites of chicken with his helpered chopsticks! He didn't do quite as well with the noodles, however... but when he started to eat with the fork instead of with the chopsticks, I don't think it got any less messy. ;)

And then yesterday I gave him some grapes and he asked for a spoon, and then said, "sticks" and nodded when I asked him if he wanted chopsticks. He ate all his grapes with his chopsticks, and then if I asked him if he liked eating with sticks, he said, "CHOPsticks." LOL

Blog Nog - need recipe!

Years ago Lisa sent me her egg nog recipe. Really, she sent me two - one skinny and one not. I went for the not skinny recipe (Hey, it's egg nog!) This was the recipe with 4 cups of brandy in it, that at one point mentioned adding 2 cups brandy, then never said what to do with the other 2 (drink during preparation?). I can't find this recipe and it makes me sad. I can do some online digging, but does anyone have the recipe and can you post it here? Then it shall be recorded forever in the blogosphere!

Thanks!!

Schmerry Claus is coming to town!

Okay, kids! I'm coming to DC for about 72 hours. Here are the deets!

December 22, 2008
United Airlines # 250 Portland International (PDX) to Washington Dulles Intl (IAD)
Departure (PDX): December 22, 7:48 AM PST (morning)
Arrival (IAD): December 22, 3:35 PM EST (afternoon)

Thursday, December 25, 2008
United Airlines # 251 Washington Dulles Intl (IAD) to Portland International (PDX)
Departure (IAD): December 25, 6:00 PM EST (evening)
Arrival (PDX): December 25, 8:55 PM PST (evening)

So...can someone get me from and to Dulles at the appointed times?

It will just be me, but I actually got direct flights, so that's two fewer flights to worry about being cancelled or delayed. Yay!!! I'm officially worried about one fewer thing!

Now I just need to get through my solos tomorrow night, and I'll be officially recovered.

Breakfast with a two-year-old

Harry is a really good eater, starting about lunchtime. However, getting him to eat in the mornings can be a challenge, and I'm not usually organized enough in the morning to have predetermined choices laid out for him. This morning at our house, for instance:

Me: Harry, here are the last of the berries. What else would you like to eat this morning?

Harry: Want breakfast.

Me: Good! Do you want Kix? (no response) Cheerios? (crickets chirping) Oatmeal?

Harry: Oatmeal! Yes.

Me: (after making oatmeal with brown sugar) Here you go!

Harry: (wrinkles nose)

Me: Sniff it.

Harry: (sniff, sniff, turns head away)

Me: Would you please lick it?

Harry: (lick, yuck face, pushes spoon away)

Me: (giving up and going with the old standby) Do you want a cheese sandwich?

Harry: Yes!

Me: (getting cheese) Do you want an English muffin or regular bread?

Harry: (no answer, which usually means "neither one, thanks")

Me: Do you just want the cheese by itself?

Harry: Yes. (I hand Harry the piece of cheese. He hands it back to me) You eat it.

Me: No, I don't want it. Oh - we have some French bread. Do you want a slice of that with the cheese on it?

Harry: Yes! (takes open-faced sandwich happily, eats the cheese off the top... and hands the bread back to me)

*****

On the other hand, we have exchanges like the following. I was making dinner a few nights ago and he was in the kitchen with me:

Me: I love you, Harry.

Harry: I love you, too. You're cute.

*****

He likes the song "Mary Had A Little Lamb" (which in our house is called the Lamb Song). I was singing it and about halfway through...

Harry: It's not the lamb's shirt. It's my shirt!

Me: Shirt? I'm not sure what you mean.

Harry: Not the lamb's shirt! It's Harry's shirt!

Me: OOOOHHHHhhh - you mean the part where it says "everywhere that Mary went, the lamb was *SURE T*o go?"

Harry: Yes. Harry's shirt.

:)

El diente que le falta: the case of the missing tooth

After several weeks watching it wiggle, Tommy lost his first tooth - right in the middle of science night at school. It was fun for him to have a huge audience and one of the teachers promptly got a little tooth box in which he carefully and proudlly placed the (teeny) tooth treasure. Fun!

I'm now reminded of my friend Kathy's advice to get a bunch of pictures asap - we'll soon face years before smiles bear a full set of pearlies :)

The long-anticipated day has arrived!

After much ado, late-night analysis, photo ops, and participation from all over the nation, we can all finally say:

Happy birthday, Eileen!!!

:D

Retreat from reality

This past week has been way too much for me. The weekend was a welcome retreat with some women friends from church to the Middleburg area not far from the place where Sheryl and Ben were married. We hiked, I painted, they crafted, we talked, and there was a Saturday late afternoon service. I was so tired by work, that I misunderstood communications and didn't take sheets, towell and washcloth, etc., and also came home 3 hours later than I had understood. (I rode with Amy Smith, if any of you know her. She has a 5 year old little boy, Harrison and called Harry. I told him I really liked his name!
The weekend was lovely--sun and beautiful colors. The finale, of course, was Eileen's birthday party. I was late, but forgiven. I think she really enjoyed it. Sone of the kids put on a show for us after the party.
Last week I gave my powerpoint on Peru and Ecuador. It was packed. Even some of the staff came. I got lots of complements from the residents all week. There was so much going on I worked lots overtime and wasn't able to keep up let alone do the Bazaar stuff. My new boss arrived Friday. I need to get in very early tomorrow to organize what she needs to start taking over. One fun part of the week was the Halloween Party where the entertainment was Birds of Prey, a volunteer who works with injured wild birds. He brings several birds, parades them around the room and talks about them. We were encouraged to wear masks, hats, or costumes on the theme, or inspired by the words. Our administrator didn't come as the Flying Nun, as we suggested. One woman came as a Praying Mantis. Nathan paper clipped different colored feathers to his hair and borrowed my Toucan beak.
By the way, I still don't get the Test, Yo. Did it have anything to do with the Red and Blue State Virus? That was fun.
Hope there is a way to all get together to sing-a-long,etc. Mary Ann is moving out mid November, so there is room here for anyone who would like to come. I'm always anxious to get together whenever you can. Love, Mom, GheemaK, etc.

Christmas Plans

What are the plans for Christmas? I doubt I can travel this year because I have trials set in early January and in February. But I don't want anyone to miss Scott conducting the Messiah because that sounds (and will sound, I'm sure) absolutely terrific !
See you soon.
-TK-

Goodbye, Cleveland

I had to have Cleveland put down yesterday - I knew it was coming, but the time to take him in came much more quickly than I expected. In the last 2 weeks, he was pushing his food around more than he was eating, but otherwise seemed fairly normal (for his current condition, which had been deteriorating slowly for about 5 years). Then on Wednesday evening he really didn't take any of his meds, which was unusual, and didn't eat or drink almost anything. On Thursday night, he didn't take any meds or food/water, and his balance was off. He also was mewing in a very high-pitched voice, much different than usual, and wanted to be close to me but wasn't comfortable sitting on the sofa with me.

Yesterday morning we took him in, and they gave him a sedative. After that, he seemed to breathe more easily, and got very peaceful. Then they gave him the euthanasia medicine while I held him, and he just slowly stopped. I don't know when he actually stopped breathing - it was very peaceful and quiet.

John and I then took a long walk in a local park and then had a long, slow lunch - I told him lots of stories about Cleve and just kind of processed it all. It was tough coming home and knowing that Cleve wouldn't be here, but carving our pumpkin and getting ready for trick-or-treaters helped keep me busy.

I'm really sad but Cleve was really ready to go - he was at least 19 1/2 and his health was so bad in the end that I know it was a relief for him to not have to go on living. But I miss him terribly.

There's something about this blog I don't get. Certain things seem to go to everyone and certain things don't. Maybe comments to posts only go to the original poster? My response to Kaylin's announcement about having the wedding in June didn't seem to get seen—unless nobody noticed the last line:

"I just got asked to guest conduct for the Messiah Sing-Along at KenCen this December 23rd!"

Not to troll for compliments, but I'm pretty sure you all would have said something if you saw it...

Love, Scott

Cleveland

I just wanted to say what a sweetie-pie Cleve was. I know you guys loved him incredibly. I will miss him too, and please give Ghidi snuggles from us.

Test, yo!

Most a yous should be receiving this via email!

Viral, but funny...

Dear Red States:

We've decided we're leaving. We intend to form our own country, and we're taking the other Blue States with us. In case you aren't aware, that includes California, Hawaii, Oregon, Washington, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Michigan, Illinois and all the Northeast. We believe
this split will be beneficial to the nation, and especially to the people of the new country of New California.

To sum up briefly: You get Texas, Oklahoma and all the slave states. We get stem cell research and the best beaches. We get the Statue of Liberty. You get Dollywood. We get Intel and Microsoft. You get WorldCom. We get Harvard. You get Ole' Miss. We get 85 percent of America's venture capital and entrepreneurs. You get Alabama. We get two-thirds of the tax revenue, you get to make the red states pay their fair share.

Since our aggregate divorce rate is 22 percent lower than the Christian Coalition's, we get a bunch of happy families. You get a bunch o f single moms. Please be aware that Nuevo California will be pro-choice and anti-war, and we're going to want all our citizens
back from Iraq at once. If you need people to fight, ask your evangelicals. They have kids they're apparently willing to send to their deaths for no purpose, and they don't care if you don't show pictures of their children's caskets coming home. We do wish you success in Iraq , and hope that the WMDs turn up, but we're not willing to spend our resources in Bush's Quagmire.


With the Blue States in hand, we will have firm control of 80 percent of the country's fresh water, more than 90 percent of the pineapple and lettuce, 92 percent of the nation's fresh fruit, 95 percent of America's quality wines, 90 percent of all cheese, 90 percent of the high tech industry, most of the U.S. low-sulfur coal, all living redwoods, sequoias and condors, all the Ivy and Seven Sister schools plus Stanford, CalTech and MIT. With the Red States, on the other and, you will have to cope with 88 percent of all obese Americans (and their projected health care costs), 92 percent of all U.S. mosquitoes, nearly 100 percent of the tornadoes, 90 percent of the hurricanes, 99 percent of all Southern Baptists, virtually 100 percent of all televangelists, Rush Limbaugh, Bob Jones University, Clemson and the University of Georgia. We get Hollywood and Yosemite, thank you.

Additionally, 38 percent of those in the Red states believe Jonah was actually swallowed by a whale, 62 percent believe life is sacred unless we're discussing the war, the death penalty or gun laws, 44 percent say that evolution is only a theory, 53 percent that Saddam was involved in 9/11 and 61 percent of you crazy bastards believe you are people with higher morals then we lefties.

Finally, we're taking the good pot, too. You can have that dirt weed they grow in Mexico.

Peace out,

Blue States

Potential new tenants

We have another family from our HighlandsMommies online mothers' group interested in looking at our Denver house for a rental - I'm trying to set up a showing this weekend, so send us good thoughts!

Tentative Wedding Date: June 2009

We finally made a decision - we're NOT getting married over Thanksgiving. There were pros and cons about the idea, but it finally occurred to me that we were stressing ourselves out with trying to get the wedding organized within a few weeks, and there's just no reason to try to push it. So life resumes its normal frenetic pace without immediate wedding plans hanging over our heads!

Although it was absolutely gorgeous weather this weekend, it was kinda tough since I had a really bad cold and John was in SD with Oliver and Bailey. I had arranged for our Mother's Helper to come give me a break on both Saturday and Sunday, but she has cystic fibrosis and shouldn't be around sick people, so we had to cancel her visits. :P So Harry and I had a very low-key weekend. The highlight of it was that the neighbor next door had raked leaves and left a leaf pile in the front yard, and by playing with a kid visiting that house, Harry got to jump in the leaf pile. From then on, every time we left the house Harry wanted to go jump in the leaf pile... and I let him! I kicked the leaves all back into a pile each time we were done - I'm sure we reduced some of them to dust, but oh well. I've promised Harry that when our tree drops its leaves, I'll rake him a good pile and let him kick and jump and scatter leaves to his heart's content. For one day. Then I'll hand him a rake. :D

I also had my first mammogram last week - happy 40th birthday! I was expecting some sort of medieval torture device with a thin veneer of modern medicine over it, but it actually wasn't at all bad - barely even uncomfortable, much less painful.

And Harry has his first black eye. He was running across the playground to his teacher and fell and hit his cheek - a nice bruise on the cheek that then traveled up to his eye. It's not as bad now as it was, but John and I are both ready to be done with it. We're probably imagining most of the stares, but it doesn't help that recently Harry has been pretty aggressive, and when he hits us, we say, "Don't hit Mama" (or Papa) and Harry responds, "Don't hit Harry!" Ack.

Damn, he's good!

I'm not entirely surprised at this point, but I just really enjoy how calm Obama stayed compared to McCain. Obviously, I'm biased, but I do find it rewarding that Obama is behaving himself. ;)

Did you guys see this article a few months ago? It graphically demonstrates how, as graphically depicted, how much both candidates' blogs are focusing on Obama.
http://www.boston.com/bostonglobe/ideas/articles/2008/08/03/portrait_of_the_candidate_as_a_pile_of_words/
Kind of cool...not to mention satisfying. ;)

Dad, who are you voting for?

The joys of domesticity

John spent a good portion of this weekend installing a new toilet and sink in our second bathroom - yee-ha!! It's just been an empty room (except for the bathtub) for a year, after John and his brother ripped out the tiles and drywall and completely replaced all the wallboard, so getting the toilet functional is really, really great. (Almost as exciting as our new fridge, which appeared last week!) The new bathroom sink isn't quite functional yet - there's some problem with the drainage; apparently the original builders didn't bother making sure the plumbing was installed with the correct grade, so John's bringing in the duct tape and chewing gum to retro-fix it. But that should be done fairly soon. Then we move on to putting grout between the shower tiles, and sometime in the next month or so we might have a second fully functional bathroom!!!

And this weekend we had some really great cheese and vegetable soup, with veggies straight out of the garden, and BLTs with the L and T freshly picked and washed. I have to admit that eating just-picked carrots, tomatoes, green beans, broccoli, zucchini, etc. is pretty addictive! I've rolled my eyes in the past at the amount of time and energy John's put into planning his garden, but I'm a convert.

Harry even likes helping to pick the beans and strawberries, and enjoys eating the green beans right off the vine! He likes them cooked, too, but it's just especially funny to see him running around with an 8" long bean in each hand, chewing away. :D Of course he flatly refused to eat any of the cheese soup... because he loves cheese, chicken soup, vegetables, and the bread bowl we served it in. Therefore, since he loves all the ingredients, he wasn't at all interested in eating it all together. ???

Harry's now fulltime in the potty-training room, which means that he's able to play in the bigger-kid playground and do activities that are more challenging for him. He's been having a bit of trouble napping, although he seems to be sleeping better, so it probably works out evenly... although we'd love it if he started napping better AND sleeping better! Actually, we'd love it if all of us started napping and sleeping better. It's on the agenda.

Book fair and fish tales and debate

Did you watch the debate? What did you think?

I went to the book fair for the first time yesterday. Heard four authors including Cokie Roberts. No seats for that one! Also looked over the maps and artifacts on Central and South America at the Library of Congress, which I'm taking the residents to this week. There is an early map of Cusco, Peru and several Inca artifacts. They've also computerized the display so you can turn the objects around on screen and gain more info. Downstairs is a Bob Hope exhibit if we have time.

Today I played with the two E's right after they'd visited the new marine display at the Museum of Natural History. Emma was full of observations such as how huge the jaws of the shark were and how he had tiny teeth.

Got a call from Juan last night. He still hasn't found a serious girlfriend. Any ideas? He lives in Australia now, but may someday come to the US. Love, Mom

La Traviata

I got to go to the Portland Opera's dress rehearsal of La Traviata last night with my voice teacher (who's 2 years older than me and really cool). She got tickets from a friend of hers who is in the Opera chorus, so I got to go for free. I've never seen La Traviata, and that was a treat, but it was also great to have a combination of the experience of seeing it with the added bonus of it being almost, but not quite show-time. It was interesting to see some lighting be screwy, to have the house be mostly empty, and to be able to have conversations about it with my teacher without fear of bothering people nearby - no one was really within earshot of us. The set was really lovely, there was a great baritone, and afterward, we went out for a drink and a nosh with her friend in the chorus. I enjoyed the opportunity to talk shop with other singers and meet someone who has a day job but gets to moonlight with opera too. But it was a late night and I am really tired today. I'm really glad there's only one day left in the workweek!

Great weekend

Great weekend. Had some fun with Emma and Eileen at the nearby Pumpkin Patch on a glorious afternoon, got some work done for the church, went to a great little folk concert, enjoyed an interesting talk at church by a couple who worked in the schools in Dubuy(did I spell that right?) Another member had been there years ago with the Voice of America. The comparison of pictures and experiences was fascinating.

Finally got to see Fugard's The Road to Mecca at the Studio theatre. It's a play I've long wanted to see. The production was extraordinary and there was much to chew on about old age, relationships, and life's meanings. It fed my soul. Have not been to serious theatre for awhile and I miss it.

Samuel is trying hard to turn me into a computer guru. Should be quite a challenge. Love, Mom, etc.

Last weekend

John, Harry and I had a great time with the KirvinWoods in San Fran this past weekend! We flew in on Saturday with Harry seated by the window (we had an extra seat in our row) saying, "Whoosh! Up in the air! Whoosh! Down on the ground!" and making his hand fly up and down like an airplane. :D

In less than 2 days, we: ran through North Beach, eating at the Stinking Rose and finishing with gelato, took a walk through the redwoods at Muir Woods, stopped to take pics at the Golden Gate bridge, listened to "Taps" at the Civil War fort under the bridge (where Harry gave his mama heart attacks by going up and down very steep stairs), drove through the Presidio, ate dinner with Anne Elvin (aka Anne Marie Kornbluh) and her husband, celebrated Harry and TK's birthdays, saw sea lions and the Musee Mechanique at Fishermans' Wharf, saw Tommy's new school, visited a playground, and listened to "You Are My Sunshine" roughly 8,417,612 times... (Harry fell in love with a version of that song on a CD that Lisa made for Tommy, and as soon as it finished playing, Harry would say, "Sunshine, please!" or "Again!" or occasionally "Waaaahhh! SUNSHINE!! AAAAAAAHHH!!!")

And Tommy and Harry had a terrific time together! Harry asked for Tommy over and over after we left.

This weekend will be much more sedate - John's kids are coming here for their monthly visit with John instead of John having to go up to SD - yaaay! We'll be having a family b-day party for Harry and giving him his bike a few days early so his bro and sis can be in on it. Harry will also get some new Thomas the Tank Engine books, which will really be a gift to John and me, so that we don't have to read the same two Thomas books to Harry over and over, ad nauseum!

humility

I don't think it is wrong to want a solo or anything else that means someone else doesn't get it. I also don't think it's wrong to hope that you don't have to compete for something more than once or even once. Sounds normal to me!
My philosophy in a nutshell is dare, care, and share. If you don't dare you don't even know what might be possible. If you fail, so what? Most others forget if they ever knew. A little failure helps with the humility thing, but the trick is just enough humility and not too much. Let me know if you solve that one!
If you don't really want something and getting it knocks someone else out of the running, that's the time to think hard about whether to try for it or not. I don't much like competition. Some thrive on it. Still, I wouldn't feel guilty competing for something someone else wants also.
To really care about someone or something enriches you. Sharing what you care about enriches others. I wish you both.
I hope you get the part you want. And I think it's great you feel good about your audition. You have a great voice. I don't. It's good for me to be humble about that. Mom

Audition

I auditioned tonight after rehearsal. Four of us stayed after to be heard. Two sopranos, one of whom also auditioned one of the alto solos, and two altos. There's a soprano solo, a first and second soprano duet, and two alto solos. I have my heart set on one of the alto solos in particular.

I don't think that auditions are anything close to over, if for sheer mathematics alone, I don't think he's going to want anyone to sing more than one solo. But, I can confidently say that I sounded better than the other three people I heard sing tonight. One of the sopranos was pretty good, but she was not the one who also auditioned for the solo I want. I did also make known to the conductor which solo was my favorite.

There are lots of new folks in the choir this year, at least four or so altos that I haven't heard closely, so who knows what's in store. But I did my best (discounting the general nerves), and that's all I could do tonight.

If things go the way they've gone in previous seasons, he often does not let people know who will be singing solos until about three weeks beforehand (sigh) but since the solo I want is actually part of a chorus, my hope is that I'll get a chance to sing it during rehearsal at some point. Is it bad that I hope people hear me and then don't want to audition against me? I feel shitty even saying that, and it's especially scary to type and post, but it's true. While I would like to be chosen to sing despite competition, the part of me that wants less risk wants less competition.

I feel very torn by these things. I want to have the solo. I want to kick ass at it. At the same time I feel like I'm supposed to be humble. That sucks, frankly. I want to feel proud of something I'm good at without feeling guilty about that pride. That is something I'm really struggling with right now. Just how much I get in my own way by deciding what is an acceptable level of potential reached to not feel guilty about underacheiving, without veering into the territory where I think I'm a narcissist. Has anyone figured out how to feel good about their own talent yet? What's the secret?

From Grandma K, etc

Great to read all you have written about work, house and garden, little ones, engagement rings, etc. I got bounce off the first time I wrote, so I'll keep it short.
Came home sick tonight, so I'm staying home tomorrow. Some kind of fever thing.
Scott, Lynne canceled her operation again, so if I get better, I'll plan to come to the concert on Sunday.
Ben, I'm bummed we didn't get to see you. This is the first time I've actually been able to do this by myself.
Samuel didn't come last Monday, but has spent 3 evenings here helping me learn about putting pictures in an album, how to blog, etc. He really doesn't know everything, but he's a lot better guesser than I am.
Last Saturday the metro was flooded and I had to turn around at Braddock Road. Sunday Huntley was glorious with a frog orchestra, beavers sunning themselves and all kinds of herons preening.
Lots going on here. Love, Mom,etc.

At last

I'm finally on. Samuel and I have had a time getting on, but hope I'll get it now. Will try reading everything later. Sorry I missed anything from Ben and everything you have written. I emailed Sheryl and asked Scott over the weekend for help. Will get back with more news later. Love, GrandmaK, etc.

Blog setting

Does anyone want to receive an email when new posts are added? If so, reply, and I'll add you to the list!

Making an appearance!

Gang,

Just wanted you to know that even the old gaffer is not totally locked out by all this new technology! Been terribly busy at the office with end of the contract year coming in a few weeks. Good thing is that all my acquisitions are out and drawing bids so must have done something right!

Weather has been cooling down and unfortunately we are torn between gardening here and there. WV garden is looking good and we are spending more time there than we should, to the detriment of the garden here--but plenty of time to bring things back into balance.

Sorry we missed opportunity to see Ben, maybe another time. And as Kar says, pet crows are adept at some language skills--though not as much as French even to Harry's level. We had to settle on getting it to say "Caaaa, Caaaa," mostly because we couldn't get it to speak English. Somehow it was not up to "Quoth" -but that is another story.

Glad the wedding plans are moving forward, auditions in the offing, and all the youngsters are getting new exposure to their new reality--the world of school and a greater personal role in self-discipline.

More later.

Me an' Fay

Vivaldi's Gloria

We're doing Vivaldi's Gloria this season in Chorale. There are some real lovelies, as far as solos go, so think good thoughts for me. I've indicated my interest already, so I'll probably audition next week. I was nervous that he was going to hire professionals, so I'm very happy that's not an obstacle!

Okay, at least I'm up and running for now

Hey, guys, finally I followed the link and am blogging. I got the concept of it (a web page that anybody can edit), which is very similar to wikis (which I'm heavily into) and maybe Sher's Sharepoint thing ("Sherpoint"?)

In the interim I missed Ben's message about his visit coming up...last weekend....d'oh! Sorry, dude. Hope you didn't spend the whole visit waiting to be picked up at the airport.

Things are nutty here, so you probably won't hear from me really soon, but in brief, Emma's enjoying Kindergarten (full day at Hayfield), Mary's stressed but also enjoying being back teaching 1/2 time at Hayfield (mornings, five days a week). Eileen is getting better with daycare (three mornings a week) but still is unconvinced.

Love, Scott

Happy Birthday, TK!!!!!!

Hope you're enjoying the game!!

Sharepoint is my bitch

Still quite a bit of work to do, but I think I'm finally getting my head around some of the capabilities and limitations and how to make the most of things.

Harry speaks French!

Dad and Fay got Harry a cloth Mickey Mouse book a year or so ago, and each page has a phrase in English, Spanish, and French. This morning, we were reading the book, and after I said, "one, two, three," Harry said, "un, duex, trois." He's a genius! (Of course, it can't have anything to do with the fact that we've read that book eighty billion times and Dad's pet crow could probably be speaking three languages after that many repetitions...)

:D

Out in VA

I'll be in Virginia for a couple of days starting this Sunday and I'm flying back home on Wednesday. Based on the schedule I've been handed (which, like everything with my company, is subject to change at a whim), Sunday evening and Tuesday evening around 5ish are the times I roll into the dinner timeframe without anything going on with the company. And Sunday is only good if the plane gets me in on time (which didn't go so well on my last trip). I won't have a rental car and will be out at the Worldgate Marriott in Herndon. It would be fun to see the VA peeps if possible, but I can completely understand if my pieces of free time and location do not work out on the schedules of others.

I'm starting to get the hang of this manager thing and, thus far, I've only made one person cry. Sheryl would say I'm obviously not trying hard enough. But I'm enjoying what I'm doing and hoping that my people continue to make me look good.

Great idea!

Blogging is new to me... but this is a terrific idea, especially with everyone so spread out and busy!

News from our neck of the plains:

We've been pushing ourselves like crazy to try to get the house under control, and it's S-L-O-W-L-Y starting to happen. We've found a "Mother's Helper" (basically a babysitter who watches Harry while we're home) - we've been having her come over on Sunday afternoons for several hours. That means that we're both available *at the same time* (a novelty in our household) and can make noise... so we're able to do things like hang towel bars in the now almost-finished bathroom, etc. We've still got way more to do/organize/clean/get rid of than either of us wants to think about, but at least we're making headway.

We've picked out an engagement ring, after investing far more time/energy/etc. in the whole decision-making process than most people could even imagine! (But that's what happens when you've got a jewelry nut with definite likes and dislikes, and two people who over-analyze everything to the nth degree.) It's an antique platinum and diamond ring, gorgeous but completely impossible to describe, so I'll have to post a pic one of these days. It needs some work before I can wear it, though, so I'm still wearing the big ol' honkin' CZ that Harry and I picked out at Target. :)

Harry turns two in less than three weeks - he's really starting to talk and sing, and runs around saying the alphabet (most of it, anyway) and counting. Sometimes he gets all the numbers in series, but often it's "one, two, three, nine, ten, eleven, twelve!" Reminds me of something Oliver and Bailey say: "one, two, skip a few, 99, 100!" We're planning to get Harry a no-pedal bike (it's a surprise, so don't spill the beans!) for his birthday - he's been crazy about bikes ever since we spent time at John's parents' house this summer. They've got a bunch of bikes in a range of sizes, since four of John's neices (ages seven to 19) are currently living with them, so Harry had a chance to mess around on a tricycle and get steered around the yard on a bike that was only a little too big for him. He still asks to ride bikes, so we're excited about getting this one for him - you can see it at www.stridersports.com

Once he turns two, Harry will be eligible to move up to the next room in his daycare - it's basically the potty-training room. Harry's one of the oldest kids in his classroom right now, and one of his best friends is about to move up to the next room, so we're excited about him moving up soon. We think he's not getting enough stimulation in his current room (they are wonderful people but he's just outgrowing the activities) and he's starting to be a bit aggressive - biting, hitting, etc. We think activities geared for older kids will help with the aggression, and getting rid of diapers will just be icing on the cake!

And we're planning a trip to San Francisco in 10 days - my first trip out there in several years, and our last trip before we have to start paying for a seat for Harry. John's only been to SF once, and it was only for a few hours, and Harry's never been, so we're really looking forward to the trip.

Sharepoint

I'm learning Sharepoint for work. The marketing department (of 3) has to manage a ridiculous amount of documents, fonts, graphics, emails, presentations and forms. The company has started to employ sharepoint to keep organized. It's kindof half intranet and half network drive. I'm now in charge of making it do what we want it to do. I'm enjoying the challenge, if finding it difficult to find the time to dedicate to learning about and creating the infrastructure when people are constantly contacting me about other smaller things.

Next week we have to present a working site to the sales force, so tomorrow is a designated all sharepoint day - I've turned on my "out-of-office" email rule and I'm going to put a sign on the back of my chair telling people to pretend I'm not there. We'll see how this works.

Anybody ever used Sharepoint? Or Infopath? (I'm also trying to learn that as a way to create forms).

The fruit of our labor (day)

Ben and I have been warring with the hillside of blackberry vines behind our dillapidated fence all month. We spent time out there all three days this weekend, and we hurt. But, we're about 3/4 done. We've got two huge piles of blackberry death built at the bottom of the hill.

Our roses are doing really well now that Ben's mom gave us a few pointers and Ben gave me a book on roses for my birthday. It's nice to have them in the yard, be able to have them in the house, and to be able to give them to people for birthdays, thank yous, etc.

It's been a beautiful weather week here. It hasn't been above 75, and the last three days have actually been cool. Aside from an unexpected downpour yesterday, it's been pretty sunny. I've slept in all three days, done some reading, taken two naps, pet kitties, and didn't do any work. While running errands yesterday, we discovered that a Five Guys is coming soon! Woooooo! Life's good!

Thank You Wood / Rodgers

Thanks for inviting me, Sheryl and Ben. Kirvinwood News: (1) Tommy's first week in Kindergarten at Daniel Webster Elementary School in the Spanish language immersion program (yo soy orgulloso de mi hijo), (2) working on Labor Day and haven't had time for much else, (3) going to Giants v. Pirates on my birthday, (4) turning 59 next Friday, (5) new law firm website with my updated bio at http://www.clappmoroney.com/, (6) hoping to make plans for an Autumn visit to Portland with the family.
See you soon.
-TK-

Follow up from five feet away

I've been asked to reply for testing purposes. It appears to be working. I provide this picture of Cat In Sink to add something fun.

Welcome to the blog!

Hi guys - after talking with Mom last week about my difficulties of keeping up with contact, I decided I'd start a fambly blog. This way we can post and reply in whatever quantities we want at whatever hour we want, and keep a record of things too. We're all authors, so we can all create or reply to posts.