The Saga of the Table

Over 20 years ago, when we bought our house in Onion Creek, we found a large burl log in our ancient barn. We dragged it with us when we moved, years later. Years passed. One year, someone was slicing wood for demonstrations at the county fair, and Michael asked them to slice it for us. They did, no charge. Sometime later, Michael knew someone that was interested in making us a table, of our own design. The pieces were moved to their house. They languished there for 2 years, unworked. This woman apparently was quite the flake. It nearly took a lawsuit to get them back, but we did, $100 gone, wasted. Now we dragged slices with us when we moved again. I thought our idea for the burl would never materialize. Last summer, Brother-in-law Bob was working on our new house and he saw them, sadly neglected in the garage. He said he had a neighbor that worked with wood and who needed the work/money. I sent them to Deer Park with him. Michael never noticed them missing. Lee, the artisan, met the pieces and wanted the project. I went to meet with him and laid out my idea for a table with him. He had big plans, but again we were trying to succeed with someone with few resources. Was he up to the task? Waited several months, hoping the burl would finally be finished into a table.

It became a Christmas present for Michael. I blew my secret twice! First, I secretly went to Deer Park to meet Lee and slipped later about something Vicki said to me. Curious, how had I seen her? Michael asked. I suck at lying to him. Fortunately, he wisely knows when to drop a line of questioning.

Then the dragon. When I met with Lee, he showed med a dragon he is creating from a log. I was quite impressed. Couldn’t figure out who would want such a thing. Some weeks later, driving to work, it hit me. Dani has a house we call the castle. They even have a dragon weather vane! I told her and she was excited to look at it with an eye toward buying it for Shawn’s Christmas present. He’s hard to buy for. Second security breach: I finished talking to Dani on the phone and said outloud, Dani is excited about the dragon! What dragon, my ENTIRE family says. I suck again! Genny is relentless, I want to see the dragon, what dragon, why, when….

Dani goes with me to get the finished table right before Christmas. She and Kylee like the dragon and think Shawn will too. She strikes a deal with Lee for the still unfinished dragon. Hopefully, this will work out for them also!

Michael had to find a series of letters for clues then assemble them to find out when his present (the table) is hidden. I made it hard, since he always makes hard puzzles for me to solve. It says: "I'm only a doctor, Jim". Look in the van. He solved it after working hard on it!

Top Reasons I Love/Hate Yellowstone National Park

Love:

Stopping where other people have already spotted wildlife for me

The ground is alive like nowhere else

Cool even in the midst of summer

Many of the sites are ADA compliant!

My favorite: paint pots bubbling away

Hate:

Crappy, overpriced food and housing

Stupid people stopping in the middle of traffic lane, holding up dozens of cars, to watch a goose.

Too many people

Idiots that get out of their cars to get close to the buffalo

Even more idiots that bring their small children out of their cars to get close to the buffalo


Best comment overheard: ‘When do they start Old Faithful in the morning?’

Best book to read while in the park: Death in Yellowstone (includes many examples of idiots, as above)

I Dunno

The death of Michael Jackson has brought a flurry of attention to his art. I am conflicted by the rush of adoration. He has a long life of denial and abuse. Did he ever accept that he was an African American? Was he gay? A pedophile? Unstable? Van Gogh hurt himself, not innocent children in his pain. Whose children are those that he was raising? How are they? Have you seen the video of him twitching one baby wildly on his knee? I don't buy music from people that I don't respect, even if I like the tunes (Britney Spears, for one). Don't expect me to run out and buy Thriller just because he died and now I remember my lost youth. Those children are the ones I am worried about. His legacy will continue in them, the good and the bad.

Staycation

Wow-- we are a kid free zone for 2 whole days this week. It feels so wonderful to concentrate on each other instead of the realities of life. We even declared official Naked Day yesterday. Too cold, perhaps, but who cares? Today is Half-Naked Day. What will tomorrow be? Oh yeah, G comes home and it's back to reality. Until next week; then 2 more days! I will have to rename those days on our behalf. I'm already working on Strip Roulette. Could be interesting.

The Long Night

Boy we have been trapped in our own personal hell. The boy has been in an awful way for so long it's hard to remember how life used to be. We finally had him tested and it appears he's been on the wrong med. for him. Can cause manic episodes. Well DUH! The professionals were slow to act. I mean, they didn't go at home to my house and live what we have been living. I can go on and on about this miserable process. I just hope that it will start to turn around. We have found a camp in Wyoming for ADHD kids. It costs a fortune but it lasts a month (no locks and alarms for a whole month!!) It even has a school element and study skills in addition to the outdoorsy stuff. All my fingers and toes are crossed, hoping this will help him (and us) survive his teens.

Serenade of the Fast Food

Can you hear it? It calls to me sweetly as I drive home from work every day, tired and hungry. Hard to resist the siren call.

We will feed you fast. It smells good.

In this small town, there is no way to avoid them. They all line up, coming and going out of town. Such an attractive song. Like the sirens of ancient Greece, only dressed up in tacky signs.

Woe is me.

Count? What counts?

Who would have thought that the blog counter could break. Or that it would matter to me. Who visits? Who knows? I guess I should be writing just for me anyway. Hey there, it's me. Shhhh, someone might notice you.

Cryin' in my tea

What are you supposed to do? Our baby has turned into Kujo. He yells and screams when he doesn’t get what he wants. And he wants a LOT. I swear we didn’t start this school year micromanaging his life. But, we sure do now. Lying, stealing, internet porn, the list is endless. When he gets caught (which is often) he turns it on us. Like the right-wing pundits who think if they are the loudest, they are right. M has counted the months until the boy is 18. I don’t know if I can make it sometimes. The apple of my eye has turned on us. He is a big old worm in the apple basket. What are we supposed to do????

It is so hard. We as parents are supposed to do what is right. Not hit him back. Not call him names. What rules does he have to follow? It is worse for M, being the same gender. Oh, we suffer for our love of our child. Our friends are starting to notice how much it is taking to raise our boy, and that helps a bit. We need a break. Time without stress. Anything!

All Hail the Vampires, again

Okay, now the Twilight DVD is out. I can watch and obsess freely. My family rides along with me. Whee!

My hope for the future. Trying to channel to Stephenie Meyer... Write a 5th Twilight book... this time, focus on the story of the long suffering underdog (pun intended) Jacob and his mate, Renesmee. Bella and Edward move to the back of the stage and we learn of the future of Jacob and Nessie. Wouldn't that be interesting? What will she grow up to be like? Can they have kids of their own? Won't Jacob age eventually? How does he keep from doing that? Of course, channeling Meyer, they would have to face a big threat before the end of the book that would include our Cullen friends. Too bad I can't write!

Turd Blossom – or another reason why I love the Internet

I was reading Newsweek last week. There was a short reference in Conventional Wisdom. It said that Turd Blossom and Harriet Miers were due to testify to Congress and let the amnesia begin. What the hell is that? Who would name their child Turd Blossom?

I know, Google it. Within a seconds I had my answer. Turd Blossom is the 'affectionate Texas' nickname for Karl Rove given by GB!

Octomom - octomania

I've been waiting for someone to have my idea. But since I haven't heard it:

That woman in California with 14 children under 7 years old. You know the story by now. Her fertility doc did all 14 fertilizations. He knew she had 6 kids, no husband, and no job when he inserted the last massive group of embryos that resulted in a litter of 8.

I think the state should sue him for child support for all this mess he created with full knowledge of the repercussions. What do you think? A lawyer would love the unique case, don't you think?

I Feel Old, but it's Good News!

Strangely, former students have come out of the woodwork recently bringing us their children to teach. Maybe it is because of the horrifying economy. I know at least one of the alumni has been laid off and had to move home. Our enrollment has been dropping, as it has many places, as the boomers’ children grow up and birth rate declines. So much panic and worry around me about what will happen to our tiny school. I think I worry less about it because I think my time for work is always on the verge of ending because of my lovely MS.

Anyway, it does make me feel old to see former students with children of their own. In our rural area, most every child grows up and moves away for school or work. But it is also nice to see them return, happy to reconnect with our school community. Maybe they will save us in the end!

I Surprise Myself

Boy, did I surprise myself today. I recently got a prescription for a power wheelchair from my neuro. My world has been shrinking and I have started to notice it. So, today as I was driving to work, I realized that if I do get this chair, I will be able to go outside at school again. It has been a long time since I could safely walk out there. Our old school grounds are very uneven and gopher holes abound. The driveway is gravel, and any variations in terrain are hard for me. As I reflected on this possibility, I was surprised to see I started to cry. Imagine, driving to work and wiping tears. When I went in the building, people saw my red eyes and asked about what was wrong. It was so weird to say that nothing was wrong, it was a good thing that made me cry.

I don’t think I have given a lot of thought to how much has changed in the last ten years for me. It creeps up an inch at a time. MS sux!

So, next week, we drive to Spokane and start the process. If I get insurance approval, it will be done. I find it unimaginable to celebrate getting a wheelchair, but I think I will. And I also plan to take it to school for the spring and go OUTSIDE for recess and my students’ PE. Keeping my fingers crossed!

Obama, Lincoln; Lincoln, Obama

Please read this quote:
“The rising intensity of the slavery issue and the threatening dissolution of the nation itself provided Lincoln and his colleagues with an opportunity to save and improve the democracy established by Washington, Jefferson, and Adams, creating what Lincoln later called’ a new birth of freedom.’ Without the march of events that led to the Civil War, Lincoln still would have been a good man, but most likely would never have been publicly recognized as a great man. It was history that gave him the opportunity to manifest his greatness, proving the stage that allowed him to shape and transform our national life.”
Team of Rivals, by Doris Kearns Goodwin

Wow. That is how I feel about Obama. If he can transform our nation like Lincoln did and fix some of what has gone so wrong, he will manifest his greatness. It is remarkable that she wrote these words over 4 years ago, before all the crises we are in. Before Obama came to the national consciousness. BTW, great book, too! Doris Kearns Goodwin, you rock!

The miracle of OBAMA

It finally happened! We survived until the abuse of the Bushies is done. I hope that he can do enough to save us all from the past years of lack of oversight and the foxes in charge of the chicken coop. Hail to the Chief!

Reflections on Bonding

I find it remarkable the level of bond between Mossy and myself. I think the turning point for us had to be when confronted with our daughter’s unexplained disabilities. Statistically, couples often divorce in such situations, but fortunately, we grew closer. It helped that we were in Nowhere Land, Montana at the time and had to rely on each other.

I also think this is why I can bounce back from setbacks generally. The bad side is that the unexpected loss of Mossy’s job was my undoing. I have come to rely on his steadfastness in hard times, but then it was his hard time and I had to find my inner strength. Like there was any!

Now with the snow breaking all the records and many buildings, I can new see some sunshine, anyway. Mossy is trying out a new job, to see if it fits. If not, we will make it to another day.

I also reckon this is why I have responded so strongly to the Twilight books. It is all about sacrifice for love and unbreakable bonding. Why do they keep saying it’s only for the young and females? Those theme apply to us all. Plenty of scary stuff for the truly macho. Mossy is finally reading them and enjoying them.

My favorite quote:

“Before you, Bella, my life was like a moonless night. Very dark, but there were stars-points of light and reason. Suddenly everything was on fire; there was brilliancy, there was beauty. When you were gone, when the meteor had fallen over the horizon, everything went black. Nothing had changed, but my eyes were blinded by the light. I couldn’t see the stars anymore And there was no more reason for anything.”
Eclipse, by Stephenie Meyer

That struck a chord with me. We didn’t bond quick, like that implies, but it has grown so I feel like that now. So, whatever happens, I can cope. Love you honey, Sunny