iLove It

I've been without my iPod since it went through the wash last year, so Jim decided this is what he wanted to get me for my birthday. We went yesterday to pick one out and came home with an iPhone instead. (I must admit, this makes up for 3 years of no birthday gifts.) About a month ago the screen on my cell phone cracked and this ended up being the least inexpensive way to get both items. I love providence. So, I'm beginning to understand Jim's obsession with this technology. (What is the male version of a mistress, anyway?) It will, of course, as the counterpart to "Lady in Red", need to eventually have a name. Several friends have already given me their ideas but I think I'll just live with it for a time, let the personality emerge and one day the name will come.

August 27

Another birthday has come and gone. Jim took me out to dinner on Sunday to celebrate, so today was relatively uneventful, just a small party with the family including Mom and Dad (and Nate Fisher, who seems to spend half his life here). Mom made my traditional and favorite blueberry cake with brown sugar crumb topping. Jim impressed me this morning by being the first to remember that it was my honorary day. I believe that was the first time ever....not that I hold it against him. He just doesn't remember special occasions, ever. He has many other redeeming qualities so I let that one slide. I had a sweet rendition of "Happy Birthday, Auntie Ro", sung by my nephew Nicholas, waiting for me on the answering machine and many, many birthday wishes given to me all through the day by those closest to my heart. I am blessed and very thankful for this life my Creator has given to me. Who knows what this year will bring? Let it begin!

Early

This is not an adjective that is ever placed in the same sentence as my name....and yet today, I met with Peg to discuss the kids' evaluations for the 08-09 school year. This means that my Letter of Intent to homeschool for the 09-10 school year will arrive in Augusta in September instead of April. Perhaps this is just a fluke, but I'd like to think that as I edge past 35 there is hope that one day I may actually be a consistently organized and timely creature. (I hear that snickering.....)

Anatomy of a Toddler

Sitting here in this heat, it certainly doesn't feel like the start of school is less than three weeks away! Tell and I had a conversation today that prompted me to consider that even though he is not starting school for a few years, perhaps I should invest a bit of time teaching him anatomy. A couple days ago he asked to watch cartoons and I told him "no". I said that it wasn't good for his brain to watch too much TV; his brain needed to have play time and imagine things. I believe that conversation was the root of this one:

Tell: "Mama, my brain iss tellin' me thah I need cartoons."
Me: "Cartoons?"
Tell (holding up two fingers): "Two cartoons."
Me: "Your brain is telling you that you need to watch two cartoons?"
Tell: "Yeth."
Me: "Do you know where your brain is?"
Tell (very thoughtful): "Uhhhm....in my tummy."

Yup. There are a few things to be taught there.

Drives

I didn't mind the drives to and from Yarmouth to pick up Jim this evening after he ran out of gas, but I LOVED the drives the Patriots put together against those Eagles! My favorite season has returned! Ahhh. Football.

Rachelle runs to Dunkin'

On Saturday, we spent a few hours at Fort Williams Park in Cape Elizabeth. My cousin Bryan and his family were up visiting from PA and had invited family and friends to come and visit them for the afternoon. I dropped off the rest of our family and went in search of parking. Finding a spot took two swings through each of the three lots. We found out later that there was a wedding and a wake happening simultaneously. It took a while but I finally found one. It was, of course, in the last row of the furthest lot away from where our group was set up and required me to walk about a quarter mile. Passing by the lawn that always has kites flying, I saw a most unusual one. It was a large, scuba diver and the kite's fluid motions realistically simulated a person swimming through the ocean. Once I arrived at our party's location, we had an enjoyable time catching up with not only them, but also my Uncle Frank from D.C. and Maine family and friends.

While stopping to get an ice cream on the way home, I realized that I had lost my debit card. After dropping off Jubal for paintball that morning, I had stopped to get coffee at Dunkin' Donuts and was quite sure that was where I had left my card. I called but no one could verify that the card was there until this morning when the manager came back in, so I left my name and number. At 11:06 the call came that my card was indeed there but the manager would only be in the store until noon. I quickly got dressed (hey, it's summer....) but could not find my sandals. I saw what I thought were Jubal's on the floor and put them on. They were a bit snug but workable. I later found out that they were Nolan's. When did my boys get so big?!

Arriving at DD, I waited in line while one employee chatted on her cell phone. I then picked up my card from a girl with multiple studs in her face who never bothered to check my ID. (I'll save my opinion of this generation's work ethic for another day.) As I drove toward the parking lot exit, someone who was parked next to a car vacuum decided to open his door without looking first and only my sharp swerve avoided taking out the man and his car door! ......and darn it all, I forgot to get some coffee.

Say Cheese.....cake!

Yesterday Mom celebrated 56 years of life, so I decided to bake her favorite birthday treat, a cheesecake. Nolan, Atira and Tell joined in the process. As Tell pounded the graham crackers in a bowl for the crust, he stopped for a moment and said, "Mama. Iss hard work, we make Mimi's cake." It was a bit longer process than I anticipated, but eventually we ended up with an Italian cheesecake complete with blueberry sauce. Atira set the table while I gathered some flowers from my garden. Since Jubal was absent from the baking process he served up the first piece to Mom and a cup of coffee to go with it. Jim's parents joined our party via webcam. Singing "Happy Birthday" proved to be a bit more difficult than usual as there is about a 5 second delay and the Aussies were consistently a stanza behind. An enlighteningly funny discussion about how old one needs to be to be a regular coffee drinker followed and the party wrapped up around 9.
Happy Birthday, Mom!

.....Back from camping

We arrived back from camping in the NH White Mountains with the Fishers Sunday night. Despite the normal irritations that occur naturally from time spent with Don, we all had a wonderful weekend and wish we had gone two nights instead of one. I had been in charge of finding a location and I chose Moose Hillock Campground, which none of us had ever been to. Although a large campground, it has extremely wooded, secluded sites. Tenting out in the open grass with another family 20 feet away is not my idea of an enjoyable camping experience. I'm quite sure what the kids enjoyed the most was the heated pool area. It contained two waterslides, a waterfall, and a pirate ship which shot water from its cannons. As a balance to the hype and excitement it also bordered the White Mountains National Forest and had three quiet trails to explore. One was very short, only a ten minute walk that meandered next to Batchelder Brook. Tell and I discovered this one together, Saturday morning, as we took the long way back from the playground. On Sunday morning my back was bothering me when I woke. I thought that a walk might loosen things up and so I wound my way through the campground, finally arriving at the second trail which would have taken about a half hour to hike. Let me stop here for a moment and make a recommendation. Do not wear flip flops while hiking. I am not unfamiliar with the activity of traversing a mountain trail, even climbing Mt. Washington in my younger years, and normally I would have at least had sneakers on but I forgot to pack any shoes for the weekend and flip flops were it. Not one to be deterred by the little things I pressed on down the winding wooded path and was doing very well until about 10 minutes later when I found myself facing a mud pit with no way around. Not willing to have my only shoes sucked into the miry well, I admitted defeat and turned around. My back felt better after the walk although both mornings since our return it has taken a long hot shower to get me mobile. I'm thinking that the addition of cots to our camping gear may not be a bad investment.