The Chalk Family

Times are tight, as they say. Scott has been out of work for over a year now and we could definitely use a few extra bucks. But, we're more fortunate than some - we can almost always pay our bills - and food is never scarce. Nor is a good time! The kid is in a summer program through her soon-to-be-school. The program is from 8-Noon, totally free and they pick her up and drop her off at home on the bus and feed her breakfast and lunch! We're all very excited about it! Scott and I are, so far, pleased to have her in this school district. From what I can tell, by most respects, Emma does not have a lot of toys. And, even though cash is tight, that is not the reason she doesn't have a lot of toys. We choose to not get her much. the Grandparents are great about this too. We've never had a family meeting to discuss our self imposed toy deprivation, but we just have really cool parents that "get it." Please don't think that the kid has no toys, or never gets indulged - because that is far from it! Not to worry, the child does just fine... So, with the kid being back in a school atmosphere I figured she would be exposed to the more material side of life. Not long ago, as we were sitting quietly on the porch listening to and observing the bird, I asked her if there was anything that she wanted or needed that she didn't have. "Well, there is one thing..." she started. I was expecting her to announce her need for some plastic imported piece of junk that can only be purchased by calling an 800 number. But, my sweet, wonderful child proclaimed her need for - no, really - a massage table! I had, moments before, given her a quick little massage at her request. She was achy from having to stand for so long to make her soup. Her soup, you see, is for now made up of trillions of cut up pieces of paper. This has been an on again - off again obsession since Christmas. Her first batch of soup also contained beans (real ones that we planted), beads, buttons, pompoms and a smattering of other miscellaneous little trinkets. But, because that must not have been flavorful enough, she added ripped up pieces of paper towel. You know - the fluff. But, the fluff must have been a little tough, so before our friend Josh could convince her otherwise, she added a couple of Dixie Cups of water to her mixture. Oy! Currently, the kid is entertaining herself with a family of sidewalk chalks. the family is taking a ride in the car - a big stock pot lid. And, because the closest sidewalk is in the little village at the bottom of the mountain about two miles away, we let her color on the porch. And all the rocks are fair game. Recently she colored a big section of the porch purple - because she wanted it to look pretty. The dog likes to lay on the porch... We were left with a lovely lavender tinted polka dotted doggie. Purple dogs, chalk families, massage tables and oodles of cheap plastic toys... We could have more, but we choose to make do with less. I'm pretty sure our kid is better off because of it. Our life is slower than most. And that works for us. Life is good.

The Cat Peed in the House

This hilarious event actually happened weeks ago, but it's much more dramatic in the present tense. Allow me to take you back to the last Saturday in May... . Scott and Emma let me sleep in this morning. It was so nice. Then the dog started barking... and Scott started laughing. Of course I had to get up and see what was going on. Scatt was stalking the neighbor's pet baby rooster. I like our neighbors, and I know our neighbors like their pet baby rooster. It was obvious that Scott was going to let events unfold, so I got my shoes on and went out to retrieve the cat - the mighty hunter... As I started walking back to the gate I noticed the damn chicken was following us! Scott and Jazzy had given up on the whole scene. Apparently, this was nothing new. Scott informed me that Scatt (the cat) and the baby pet rooster had the same cat-and-chicken game yesterday and that if Scatt really wanted chicken, he would have gotten himself some chicken by now. Fine. Because I had just gotten up, as is my morning routine, I had to go potty. Lately, Scatt has been keeping me company in the bathroom so I thought nothing of him following me in there. I assumed that he was seeking asylum because our little wild child had been chasing him since I brought him back in from his early morning expedition. Did I mention that she was chasing him in hopes of capturing him in her net - and by net I mean her pretty pink fleece blanket? The cat is not her biggest fan. I was definitely not in a position to get up from the potty when I noticed Scatt pacing back and forth in front of the shower. This wasn't his normal searching for a place to stretch out pacing, but more urgent. I called for Scott to get him outside - but it was too late... In hind-site, the best thing to do would have been for Scott to put the cat in the shower. But that didn't happen. We could have even let the cat finish what he started. That would have at least been easier to clean up. But that didn't happen either. Instead, Scott grabbed Scatt by the scruff of his neck to get him outside, mid-stream, mind you. Meanwhile, I'm still planted securely on the toilet and hubby has the cat swinging like a pendulum, racing to get him outside. The cat was not thrilled to be going for a ride at that moment! It seemed like the events all unfolded in slow motion. I didn't think that Scott would ever get the cat outside! Just so you know, cleaning up a non-visible wiggly stream of cat pee is MUCH harder than concentrating on one big soaked area. There are so many ways that the morning could have gone differently. But, you live and you learn and you deal with the consequences and you move on. Dear Scatt, thank your providing me with a teachable moment. My lesson learned... if the cat is going to pee - let it be!

I'm on a pencil kick...

Ok, so I haven't been here as much as I should be - but I've rediscovered an amazing tool... the mighty pencil!

yeah, I'll get back to this soon...

Monday Early Evening Bloggin'

• The microwave in clean. Life is good.
• Seeds are started - later than most people, but we had a freeze (not a frost, a FREEZE) in the middle of June last year...
• The sun is shinning.
• My perennial garden is kickin' butt!

I'm not sure what this will develop as. Life is happening so fast. I'm having trouble keeping up. Emma is going into kindergarten in 5 months. I'm having a really hard time with that. Ok, that's not something I can get into right now - that subject requires some heavy lamenting, a glass of red and some dark chocolate...

Tonight for dinner we're having beans and venison franks. They're pretty much the only hot dogs we'll eat anymore. They're so plump and yummy!

We're pretty proud of our kid. She ate almost half of my salmon fillet the other night. Scott made salmon for the first time ever. To make the bbq dill sauce he used the Dinosaur BBQ "Mutha Sauce." Very nice. Emma thought it was delicious. Then, the next night, I couldn't keep her off the crab cakes. Scott's simple crab cake recipe is the best ever!

A Little Help Please?! Crap-Master Crap McCrapenstein

What the hell should I do with my life - because I tell you - what I'm doing now just ain't gonna cut it for much longer! Spring always gets me down. I'm pretty confidant that I'm not a big fan of Spring... a time of rebirth - my ass! It's a time to realize all the things that you could have gotten done last year, but didn't. Can I blame my parents for any of this crap that I'm feeling? Probably not, but let me try... Damn you Mom and Dad for not forcing me into organized sports or music lessons. Damn you for allowing me to have a fun and carefree childhood. Well, crap - that didn't work! Unfortunately I have a too-Zen approach to life. Given the fact that I've never had to really work at anything, I've never really worked to achieve anything. Things will happen when they're supposed to. I'm at a point that I just cannot let that be good enough anymore. Get over it and make it happen! But, what is it that I want to make happen? Suggestions are welcome... This past summer was pretty much an embarrassment for me. Yes, it was a rainy, crappy summer - but not every single day was crap. I work at a job that is running towards the end of it's lifespan - at least on my end. So, no matter how beautiful it is when I come home, there is only so much I can do, I'm mentally exhausted and pretty tired to boot. I do get a little bitter and resentful given the fact that my dear husband has been out of work for over a year now (including an entire summer), and that our home and our life is not where I had hoped it would be by now. My dream of being garlic farmers has been dashed (smashed?) I was hoping to have 500 cloves in the ground - we have maybe 30... I'm frustrated that I cannot live the life I want to live. Hey, I guess that's my fault - I need to live the life I want - just do it. Just do it - that's a nice way of saying "shit or get off the pot!" Does it sound like it's time for a self help book, some sort of inspirational, motivational story? Let me explore what's on my bookshelf...

Here's what I found:

• The Celestine Prophecy - great book, many things to take to heart. A gift from a nice couple from Florida traveling 'cross country. I met them in the shoe repair emporium I was working in at the time. But, everything happens for a reason...
• Bus 9 To Paradise - haven't read it in many many years. It was given to me as a gift for my 17th birthday by Tammy Sepe. I miss her. I don't even remember what the book is about. On the cover it states, Inspiring #1 Bestseller. join the beloved author on a mythical "bus" for a journey that proves earthly paradise can be yours in the here and now...
• Silent Spring - not a self-help book, but an absolute must read! Kinda puts life into perspective.
• The Dalai Lama, A Policy of Kindness - again, not really a self-help book, but who wouldn't want to read this book?! What a beautiful man!!

Oh yeah, there's lots more that I could bitch / write about. But, I think I'm pretty spent for the night. Tune in next time for the adventures of "The Muds of Spring, How Can a Child Get THAT Muddy THAT Quickly?!"

Are White Crayons Evil? -or- I Love So Much In This World

Where do I begin...

Our child is an interesting little critter, that's for sure. For the past four years she has wanted nothing to do with crayons. I'll pause here and make it known to those that may not be in "the know" about crayons - THERE IS ONLY ONE CRAYON - AND CRAYOLA BE THY NAME. I may be a little passionate about this subject... Ok, so absolutely no interest in crayons for the last four years, barely any interest in the huge crayon carousel at the Crayola Factory, even. But, now we're a bit obsessed with them! Emma is a peeler and a breaker. She likes to use the tiny little pieces, so she will methodically peel the crayon and then kneel on it to snap it into pieces. We explained to her that was kinda like what Oma did to her hand! The rumor is that - Mom broke her hand falling off the mechanical bull. Teeheehee.

So here we have dozens upon dozens of tiny little crayon pieces and a bright pink garbage can full of crayon wrappers. And then I stumble upon a handful of unused, "fully clothed" white crayons... and then another and then another. Hmmm. The child has a thing with white crayons. Of course she has colored paper - I totally get that she doesn't want to use a white crayon on the white paper. She has green paper, but she's not abandoning the green crayons? Silly girl!

While snuggling with me on the couch Emma started singing about dragonflies and unicorns. (next she'll be singing about butterflies and moonbeams - she already talks about zebras and fairy tales... ) "there's so much in this world that I love - yeah, yeah" The kid is a sing-songer. Life is a song for her. She inspires me.