Summer Breeze Makes Me Feel Fine

It was gorgeous this morning.  And this time of year, the mornings hang on a bit longer to the chill of night, before the heat gets to you for the day.  So we decided to get out my husband's old GTO and go on a drive, the whole family.  Well, not the dogs.  We can't have dog hair on the nicely restored interior.

With the windows down, and my hair whipping all around me, I began to reminisce about times in my teen years when I'd be out driving with friends.  It was similar.  None of us had air conditioning, and somehow we were more connected to the world around us with the windows down.  It was a simple pleasure, and always the sensation of driving down the road with the windows open will always take me back to that time.  Maybe I'm just too nostalgic, but despite a lot of challenges, that was a happy time in my life.

So as I sat in the passenger seat this morning, eyes closed, and feeling the air rushing in from the window, and thinking about my teen years, I hear my not-quite-a-teen daughter, whose hair is longer than mine, complaining from the back seat.  "Will you close the windows and turn on the air conditioning?"  Actually, the GTO has no air conditioning.  And, sadly, my daughter's future reminiscing of an open car window may be far different than mine.

However, as the drive went on, some kind of magic came over my family.  My daughter somehow accepted that the cool air was a good thing, despite what it was doing to her hair.  She and her brother began to laugh and make jokes in the back seat.  Even my husband began to smile.  Life was good.  Sometimes the best things in life are the simplest.  It really set the stage for a wonderful, easy day before we all have to get onto the busyness on Monday.  And I'm so grateful for the time we had together.  And if tonight I dream about drives years ago in an old Nova stationwagon, well, that's not all bad, either.

Of Birds and Slingshots

It's funny how relationships evolve, especially with one's children.  A year ago, who could have guessed I'd be at my sewing machine, putting small pieces of fleece together with my children watching in awe.  After all, they usually ignore me when I'm elbow-deep in fabric in my sewing room.  But not tonight.  Tonight, we were creating a small red plush bird, a replica of a character of the Angry Birds game.

Really, this just started a week ago when I downloaded a free app for my iPhone for the game.  I'd heard about it and thought I'd give it a try.  I had to show my kids.  It was adorable, in a flatten-bad-piggies-by-slinging-angry-birds sort of way.  And soon it was all we could talk about.  A quick search online found a blog by a woman who had made small plus characters from the game for her family.  We had to try it.  And try, we did.

Celebrating Independence Day!

Happy Independence Day!

Well, close to it.

We're still two days away from the 4th of July, but in my heart, I'm anticipating the concerts, barbecues, and of course the fireworks that always mark this holiday's celebration.

So at work the other day, I was talking to a woman at another company, in Canada, and she wanted to schedule a conference call for Monday, the 4th. I explained to her that we were off for the holiday, the 4th of July. It took her a minute, then it dawned on her that this was an American holiday (and many of her countrymen would be off July 1st for Canada Day).  But it made me realize that we rarely ever use the term "Independence" Day anymore.  So I asked myself whether or not this term has become irrelevant?  If it has become irrelevant or passe, why is that?

Over the last two years, since we first took the big step to homeschool our children, as a family we have read far more about American history than I ever did in school. It has made me realize how much sacrifice and risk our fore fathers took to establish the foundation that has given us the liberty to do great things and grow as a powerful and free country.  I remember, even as a young girl, feeling a sense of comfort in knowing we had these liberties.  My parents were hard-working people, my dad especially was very humble.  He served his country in the Korean War and always tried to teach us kids the value of a dollar earned, and made it clear to us that we could each make our own way in life, doing what we felt called to do, and be better or worse for the choices we made.  So I have a fondness for independence, individual responsibility, and a deep appreciation for what gave us this incredible foundation we have here.  My grandparents immigrated from Europe in the 1930's and I grew up hearing their stories about coming here and making a great life for themselves, living the American dream.  Even many decades later, they would cry when they would talk about it, so overcome with gratitude they were for the opportunity to live freely here and make their own way to a good life.

So this Independence Day, as I watch the fireworks with my kids and grill yet another hot dog, I hope I can share this celebration of history with my kids and give them a little bit of insight into why I feel this country is great, why it's important for them to take responsibility for themselves, and why it's so important to remember our heritage and our history.

Happy birthday, America, and may God bless us all.

Herding Cats

A naughty kitty.

Well, in this case, herding one cat!

My daughter recently picked out a pattern and some gorgeous fabric to make a quilt to show in the fair in a couple of months.  We cut out the quilt pieces this afternoon and she laid them out on the floor. This prompted our cat, who before this wanted nothing to do with the entire fabric-cutting business, to come over and lay out on the layout, so to speak. I suppose he can't wait for the finished quilt to lay on, or perhaps it's just too hot today to really lay on a real quilt.

So now the problem became how to remove said cat from the quilt parts. My daughter was eager to sew, which is very difficult to do when you have a 10-pound kitty all over your quilt pieces.  Besides which, at this point, the kitty was becoming playful and batting the pieces until they were all catty-wampus (naturally).

A very naught kitty, indeed.

To fashion a quick kitty lure, we took a wayward strip of elastic out of the sewing room.  Kitty was not fooled.  He just rolled his eyes and flicked his tail.  Not to be dissuaded, we tried a lovely section of 100% cotton blue and cream-colored yarn.  At first he seemed interested, and we got excited at the prospect of successfully getting him away from the quilt.  However, after a few seconds, it became apparent that the blue and cream-colored yarn wasn't going to cut it.  Exasperated, we finally tried a piece of ecru-colored twine.  Finally, success.  We managed to coax him off the laid out quilt with minimal damage to it, and off he went, content with something to chew on for a while.  Whew.

Of course, now he's looking at me, the twine is gone, and he's got that evil glint in his eye.  I'd better find some more twine.

Memorial Day

A dear friend of mine recently loaned me a number of books.  Among them is one I'm reading now, "Lone Survivor" by Marcus Luttrell.  Mr. Luttrell was on a Navy SEAL team who were mostly killed in Afghanistan.

I wish everyone would read this book.

I'm only about 1/3 of the way through it and so far it's mostly been a reflection on his days through boot camp and the grueling training of becoming a SEAL, with bits here and there about his team mates and a few hints of what is to come in the book when they are all faced with such brutality in the Afghan mountains.

But woven throughout this reflection is something I have a deep appreciation for and admiration of: the heart, courage, and deep love of country that those rare individuals have who serve in our military.

It's such a bittersweet thing. My heart swells with pride at being an American, sharing the same country with such astounding people. At the same time, I realize these are young men and women who sign up for this, who have so little life experience already, but who are willing to sacrifice their lives and well-being to defend our freedom.  I think of their parents and siblings and spouses who tearfully support them, probably praying every night for their safe return home.  I wish all Americans would pray for them.

On this day we have set aside to honor those who have died in service of our country, I hope we also remember those who are still serving, think of their families and loved ones, and remind ourselves that we can have such peace of mind in going about our business, knowing that this immense sacrifice has been made for our sakes.

I'm proud of my husband who served in Desert Storm.  And I'm proud of my dad who served during the Korean War.  And I'm grateful that both returned to their families after these conflicts.  I know not everyone is as fortunate.

God bless America. God especially bless and hold all who have served, are serving, and will be serving to protect us. And thank God for those who have a true Patriot's heart.

Reflections on 50

President Obama and I have something very special in common.  We were both born the same year, and later this year, we'll both be turning the big five-oh.

I've been feeling an impending dread. Not because some say the world will end today at 6pm.  I think that's silly. I have way too many quilts to make and need to watch my children grow up and have children of their own, so this end-of-the-world scenario just doesn't fit in with my plans. No, this dread has been at the prospect of turning 50.  So I am spending some time looking at this and trying to work my way around to accepting this.

I think part of the dread comes from having unfulfilled dreams. However, when I look back on what I've done so far in my life, what I've come through, it's really remarkable I'm even still here, and I have managed to accomplish enough that I can feel good about that.  If the world should end later today, I can rest assured that I've told my children at least 80,000 times that I love them, and shown them I love them as best as I can.  I've taken time to help where I could.  I've worked hard to support my family.  I have tried to be a patient and caring friend, wife, and mother.

Perhaps the dread comes from realizing that some of my dreams are probably not going to happen.  And that's probably okay.  I've managed to make my biggest dreams come true, having a home and family of my own.  Considering where I came from, I feel that this is a huge accomplishment (and I also give God huge credit for this, because it's been a rough road, and He has always been there to help me).  Given the choice between having happy, healthy kids and, say, traveling the world, I guess I'm happier with the kids part. Traveling through life with them has been an incredible trip, and there's so much more to come.  Seeing the miracle in the world all around us, through their eyes, has been so amazing, I wouldn't trade that for anything.

Perhaps some of the dread comes from having had to deal with an aging body, and facing even more things falling apart as I grow older.  But you know, I've discovered that this can be a mixed blessing.  Sure, my wrinkles grow deeper and more pronounced, but as I get older, my eyesight gets worse, so if I don't see them in the mirror, they can't really bother me, right?  Yes, it takes longer to heal, but three weeks at 50+ is kind of like two hours when I was younger, since time seems to have speeded up, so doesn't that sort of balance out now?

I think living in a culture that worships youth and vitality, and seems to be ever more resentful of older citizens, doesn't help with this whole aging thing.  However, as I face another birthday, another year behind me, I'm going to make a choice to look at my blessings, not let go of my dreams just in case I get to live them, and show my own children that getting older is okay.

Two of my oldest and dearest friends have recently celebrated their 50th birthdays.  One, I've known since Kindergarten.  And how cool is it that I've got friends I've known that long?

Today, I promise myself to turn this dread into something better.  Each wrinkle is a testament to a life lived boldly (well, mostly), each ache and pain means that I haven't wasted the body that God gave me, and each passing year means another year of enjoying my family, learning, and growth - and maybe even another fulfilled dream.

California Dreaming

We are actually back from vacation, but a part of my heart is still in California.  We were blessed on this trip to spend time with wonderful friends and see family, and all around have a safe and fun trip.

Feeding the ducks at Waller Park.

While in California, the kids got to do quite a few fun things.  There was the annual Strawberry  Festival in Santa Maria. We spent a whole day there and the kids rode lots of rides. We even shared a funnel cake (AFTER the rides, for obvious reasons!).  I bribed the kids into letting me take a photo of them with a living strawberry.

While in Santa Maria, we visited Waller Park.  I used to hike in this park years ago when I lived nearby and it's changed so much over the years.  The pond near the front of the park has evolved and is absolutely lovely now.  I remember when it was pretty stinky and icky, but now it is just a gorgeous area to walk around and enjoy the ducks and geese. We spent an evening there feeding the ducks.

I got to visit a whopping one quilt store during the entire trip.  But it was good. I was in a patriotic mood and managed to find a lot of patriotic-themed fabric and panels to add to my quilting stash.  I can't wait to get back to some Bernina time!

Quilt store shoppies!

Toward the end of our time in California, we drove down to Carlsbad by the Sea and spent a day at Legoland. That was the first time any of us had been there.  Originally, we thought we'd spend two days there, but it's quite small and largely oriented toward wee ones, so one day was plenty of time. And I'm glad we visited now, because I imagine in a year or two, the kids will be much too old for this park.  My son is a Lego fanatic, so he was thrilled to be in a Mecca, of sorts, for Legos.  And it was amazing all the things they had in the park that were made out of Legos.  The evening before our day at the park, the receptionist at the hotel recommended we get "apple fries" at the park, so we did do that. And they were good! I'm sure they have about 18,000 calories, but you know what?  They are delicious.  Sometimes you just have to try something.

During the trip, the kids also got to spend some time at the ocean, playing in the sand, in Avila Beach.  We had gone there so I could show the kids the pillow basalt that's easy to see in that area.  And we ended up staying for a few hours while they played in the water and got some sun.  From the beach, we could see a sea lion playing in the water and occasionally hear it bark, which I assume was him (or her) begging for chum from the tourists on the pier.

Speaking of critters, on the way back home yesterday, on the highway, I saw two strange little creatures trying to cross the busy road.  One was up on top of a post of a guard rail along the highway.  I know I've seen such creatures before, but not often. I am thinking they were marmots.  They were very dark brown, larger than a squirrel, but smaller than a fox.  I just hope they were able to cross safely.  I also noticed that fences along the interstate through Utah and in parts of Colorado had these unusual sections that had a steep slope up one side and a drop-off on the side away from the highway.  I wondered if these were for animals to get away from the interstate and not allow them to get back?  In parts of Utah, they were erecting these, and the fences they run along are quite high, I would guess about eight feet or more.

It is good to be home and good to have a few days to relax before going back to work and back to the routine of things.

Now to plan next year's big trip.

Hot and Not-So-Hot Dogs

A girl and her dog.

So, it is one week and many hours since we set out for the west, all ready for our vacation on the road and throughout California.  That first day, somewhere in the middle of Utah, we decided to test our decision to cook on the engine.  Technically, it wouldn't really be cooking as we were really planning on heating up hot dogs (which are pre-cooked) on the engine.  We got them all wrapped in foil, decided to set them on the radiator hose, and discussed the time (or miles) we should let them cook, er, heat up.  After about 40 minutes, we pulled over, hungry and ready for some hot dogs.  Sad to say, the dogs were barely warm. However, they were pre-cooked, and warm dogs were good enough for us.  So we found a nice park, brought the luke-warm dogs, buns, and all the condiments to a picnic table, and set about having lunch under the Utah sky.  It was actually pretty good.  Topics discussed during lunch included various other safe engine locations we could heat food.  After all, we still had breakfast burritos ready to be heated the next morning.

The next day, we tried another engine location, this time placing our pre-cooked, but refrigerated breakfast burritos on the engine in another location.  We drove for about a half an hour, pulled over, and had nice, toasty burritos (partly scorched - perfect!) for breakfast.  Eureka!  And even driving over some bumpy roads didn't knock them off the engine.  Now we were cooking, so to speak.

So we made it through Utah on eight breakfast burritos and 12 hot dogs and lived to tell the tale.

PS - I have been without internet access for a week.  I know, right?  But we did survive, and vacation is just about half over. However, I've been unable to blog because of the lack of internet access (not to mention I'm totally on another planet news-wise and hope nothing drastic has happened). We're a week out on the road, currently somewhere near San Diego (Legoland tomorrow!), have wifi which seems to be working beautifully, and I'm trying to catch up on our vacation adventures.

Westward, Ho

It's that time again.  Family vacation time!

Having taken long family trips all over the country the last few summers, dealing with the crowds and heat and whatnot, we decided to do a compromise between spring break and actual summer break.  So we're hoping to avoid the crowds, and visit places less toasty roasty.  So Easter morning, we're packing up the family van and heading to California.  I can hardly wait!

Over the years, I've heard about people who have been able to utilize their hot car engines to cook food.  Intrigued by the idea of utilizing this heat, and saving a few dollars by not eating out, and hopefully eating slightly healthier (and I mean ever so slightly healthier), I'm going to stick my toe in the water of this engine cooking business and try doing hot dogs.  That, and warming up breakfast burritos. I just finished making a huge batch of breakfast burritos which are already sealed in foil and will stored in the cooler.  I figure we can stick a few of them in the engine compartment, in a safe (?) place, and hopefully enjoy a toasty breakfast burrito at some point down the road.  We'll see how this trial goes.  I'll keep you posted!

I spent some time earlier looking through photos of past family vacations, from the time the kids were pretty small. There are a lot of photos of them in the car, fast asleep in car seats, holding onto their bed buddies which of course had to make the trip with us (and which, thankfully, after gazillions of miles and years later, are still with us!).  Our kids have always been good travelers, for which I am grateful. Even on very long road trips, they keep busy playing fun games along the road, or reading, and occasionally watching a movie on a portable DVD player.  I used to swear I'd never be one of those parents who lets a movie babysit a kid.  However, there is a particular time of the day, during a particularly long road trip, which my husband and I lovingly call "the witching hour" during which the ONLY thing one can do us to pull out a video.  Otherwise, it's pure mayhem in the backseat, and ain't no one gonna enjoy it.  So with the advent of portable DVD players and ear phones, my husband and I can actually use the witching hour to have an actual conversation that doesn't include topics of boogers, roadkill, the latest video game or cartoon, or any of that stuff. It's pretty amazing.

So we'll head out tomorrow morning, breakfast burritos tucked into the engine compartment, on our family vacation of the year. If you happen to pass a California-bound minivan smelling of burned bacon and tortillas, don't say I didn't warn you!

'Twas the Day Before Easter

My children, waiting for the Easter egg hunt to begin,
standing in front of the traditional Easter tree (see eggs in tree).

The small town we live in has a tradition each Easter.  On the Saturday before, the Town holds an Easter egg hunt.  Our children have participated since they were old enough to know what candy was, and it's a fun event.  This year, we woke up to a light dusting of snow, which seemed to keep the number of kids attending down.  But our kids didn't mind.  To them, fewer kids translates to more candy!

Now that the kids are a bit older, these Easter egg hunts are coming to an end for them. The cut-off age will be coming soon.  For some of their peers, this is cool.  Some of them didn't even bring baskets to collect the little plastic eggs packed with candy.  That would be, like, so, awkward!  However, my son, always one to be very proactive when it comes to the obtaining of candy, was eagerly strategizing before the "go" was shouted out this morning.  He's also told me, several times, and loudly, that he hopes the Easter Bunny will come to our home this year and leave him a basket of goodies.

Like we need more candy?

I wish everyone a bright and cheerful Easter. This time of the year, I am reminded of how blessed we are for the sacrifice that was given for us, for all the opportunities we have in this life, and for the spirit of renewal that comes with spring.  May God bless us all.

Human Achievement Hour!

It's been a while since I've written a new blog.  Work has been busy. Home life has been busy.  I rarely just get to sit at the computer anymore.  And that's not all bad.  If there is a downside to the Information Superhighway, it's that it makes getting outside and enjoying nature a bit more removed from our day-to-day lives.

So, tonight is Earth Hour.  Since my family believes that the earth is precious, and that humans are created by God, as was the earth, we celebrate Human Achievement Hour (which happens to coincide with Earth Hour).  How do we celebrate this happy occasion?  We turn on every light and electrical appliance in our house for that hour.  For one hour a year, we run our heater the entire time.  And our kids absolutely love it and enjoy being the ones to creatively plan for this event and help us execute it. This year, we have a generator, so may also run it, just for that little extra edge to our celebration.  It's times like this that I wish I could, just for an hour, replace all of our CFL's with incandescent bulbs.  I get goosebumps, just thinking about it.

We encourage all those who love this earth and all of God's creations to celebrate Human Achievement Hour, too, in whatever fashion your family feels is fitting.

I thank God for the free will he bestowed upon us, and the perfect design of giving us the ability to learn and grow from our mistakes and successes.  I am grateful to all of our forefathers who, through trial and error, have helped to forge a world in which people are free to rise to the level of their competence and achievements or not.

So, if you are sitting alone in the dark, maybe with an organic, gluten-free, vegan candle, feeling good about yourself, you can feel just a little better knowing that my blender is running full-speed, and when my margarita is done, I'll raise a glass to you and yours.  Here's to mankind and all of our achievements.