Ernesto takes aim at the Keys

Tropical storm Ernesto is expected to strengthen as it leaves Cuba then run over the Keys sometime tomorrow night. A hurricane watch is in effect throughout the Keys and along the east coast of southern Florida.

On the bright side, the storm has shifted somewhat to the east, aimed right at Miami. This means Key West and the Zombie Princess will probably be in the better quadrant of the storm, since the area south and east of a hurricane is usually the worst place to be.

In other boat news, the yard where the boat is stored has been sold and we've been given 30-day notice to vacate. This morning, we talked to Vanessa, our broker, and she said the local gossip runs toward the new owners being developers who are trying to circumvent the state moratorium on converting boatyards into condos. Regardless, it seems like we have to find a new home for the ZP. Vanessa has a guy who is interested, so keep your fingers crossed that finding her new home will be somebody else's problem!

MJ is on her way to NBTSC

I dropped MJ and three unschoolers at the train station bright and early this morning. There, they met up with two other unschoolers, to make a sixpack of very excited teenagers. They're headed down to Oregon to Not Back to School Camp, a camp for unschoolers that was founded by Grace Llewellyn. She's the author of "The Teenage Liberation Handbook: How to Quit School and Get a Real Life and Education." I highly recommend it, even to adults. It's all about grabbing the world by the tail.

Anyway, the kids are traveling down together by train and bus. They'll spend a week hanging out, attending each other's workshops, swimming in the pond, and being inspired by each other. There may not be much sleeping. Then they'll come back home to us, probably a bit worse for wear. :-)

A Midsummer Day's Fun

This past Saturday was another great day. We drove into Seattle to Seward Park and met up with a sailing/homeschooling family that Frank met online. They had their catamaran anchored in Lake Washington and dinghied to shore to pick us up when we arrived. We had some lunch aboard (Frank made Rosie's scrumptious crab mousse!) and the five girls (aged 5 to MJ's almost 14) swam and got acquainted. I jumped in the water, too, but levitated right back out again when I discovered the temperature.

After a pleasant couple of hours visiting, we ferried to shore and watched a Shakespeare-in-the-park presentation of A Midsummer Night's Dream. We all baked in the sun, but it was really fun anyway. The players were energetic and humorous, and all the kids had prepared by watching the movie version, so they were able to follow the action pretty well. The littlest girl, Aeron, decided Frank was her new best friend and spent much of the show on his lap. He said his legs went to sleep a couple of times, but I didn't hear him complaining. She's a sweetie!

After the play, it was back to the boat for more swimming and more food. We were all having such fun that we ended up spending nearly 9 hours together. Not your typical first meeting, eh?

A note about Puck: In this presentation, the mischievous one was played by a cute, spiky-haired female. She did a really great job and was obviously having a terrific time doing it. Chloe found her quite inspiring and came home to read the play herself. She has memorized Puck's epilogue ("If we shadows have offended...") and is answering mostly to "Puck" now. :-)

EndFest

Saturday the 12th, MJ and Chloe went to EndFest, a rock concert/festival put on by local radio station 107.7 The End. They saw a whole string of bands, including the Subways, Mars Volta, and the headliners, the Red Hot Chili Peppers. There was also a carnival midway and a whole bunch of sponsor booths with freebies to keep them entertained for 10 hours.

The concert was held way down at the White River Amphitheater (south and east of Seattle), so Frank and I decided to drop them off at the shuttle buses and then make a day of it instead of driving all the way home and back again. We spent a nice couple of hours at Kanaskat-Palmer State Park, on the Green River (yes, the one the killer was named for). We waded a bit, and walked a bit, but mostly we stretched out under a tree and went "Oooh, leaves." It was very peaceful and refreshing.

After the park, we had some food then went to Southcenter Mall. It's a completely integrated place and made us realize anew just how white-suburban Everett is. Anyway, we were wandering around, not finding much to interest us until we walked into Kennelly Keys. Frank picked up a guitar and started plucking, and I had an epiphany.

Let me tell you about Frank's guitar. It's an old friend, but as such, it's been through a lot. It once upon a time served as an emergency canoe paddle, and, more recently, it shared a household with a couple of toddlers. The body is scarred, one of the tuners is completely gone -- he's been using a pair of pliers to tune it -- and the neck is just a bit warped. As you can imagine, the sound is less than perfect. I knew this, or I thought I did. Then Frank picked up one of those shiny, beautiful new ones. It only took a single chord for the light to dawn over my oblivious little head. Oh, yeah, that's what a guitar sounds like. Even a relatively inexpensive guitar!

So Frank has a new friend. It's very pretty, and we talked the guy into a 20% discount because it has a tiny scratch on it. Plus, we managed to resist the $600 one with electric pickup.

The next stop on our EndFest odyssey then was a pleasant hour or so in the mall parking lot, with Frank playing songs while I read a new book. It was growing dark now -- only 3 or 4 hours to go!! -- so we headed back down to Auburn. Despite eating too much food earlier, we decided the perfect thing to do was popping into a Mexican restaurant for more food and strawberry margaritas. We sat in the bar and watched the end of the Seahawks preseason game (can't even remember who they played, but they lost regardless). Then we drove the two blocks back over to the shuttle stop, stretched out on cushions in the back of the van, and napped and chatted until the buses started rolling in.

Soon, the air was filled with revving engines and cries of "Woohooo! Chili Peppers rock!" Chloe and MJ appeared not long after, full of stories and smiles. While MJ has several under her belt (she became a music fanatic at age 8, I think), it was Chloe's first rock concert. Nothing like starting your 12yo off with a festival dedicated to alternative rock! I'm sure it was very educational.

And Mom and Dad had a good day, too.

Unschooling and chores

An unschooling friend pointed out that the following sentence in my previous post makes it seem like we require the kids to do regular chores: "She's discovered things she likes better at Summerhill -- no chores there...."

Well, this is biting off a big mouthful, presenting all this to a mostly non-unschooling audience, but I'll give it a go. Just bear in mind that the topic of chores is one that inspires hours of debate and discussion even among those of us committed to unschooling. I'm probably not going to convince you that this approach is right, but by the same token, you won't be able to convince me that it's not. With that understood, here we go.

To clarify, while chores do get done at our house (eventually), we no longer believe in assigning them to specific people. Frank and I chose this lifestyle -- having a house with a lawn, eating in, using stoneware and stainless instead of paper and plastic, etc. -- and we tend to set the standards for how that lifestyle should be maintained. We are, therefore, ultimately responsible for maintaining it. That's it, the bottom line.

As part of our family, the kids often voluntarily contribute to that maintenance, and when company is coming over, we all participate in the fire drill that makes the place guest-ready. Beyond that, the "chores" that the kids "must" do are things like occasionally hauling all their stuff to their own rooms, carrying dishes to the sink or dishwasher, and bringing me their dirty laundry.

Some unschoolers don't ask their kids to do even that much. Or if they ask, the kids are free to be too busy. It's all about respecting that the child's needs of the moment are as important as the parent's needs of the moment, and fostering an attitude of cooperation and joyful sharing of tasks. My schedule tends to be too tight to allow for that ideal flexibility. If now is the stolen moment when I have the time and willpower (an elusive combination) to start a load, now is the time the girls had better bring me their dirty clothes. However, they are free to choose to go without clean clothes for another week, and to accept the risk that one week might stretch into two.

I suppose I'd better talk about teaching responsibility, since that's what people always ask: How will your kids learn how to be responsible if they don't have any responsibilities? My answer is that OF COURSE my kids have responsibilities. Responsibility is unavoidable, and anyway, avoiding it is not something they have as a goal. Without external force being applied to them, my kids care, create, work, clean, correspond, keep schedules, remember details, pick up slack, invent, investigate, and help out. Making them do the dinner dishes once a day is not going to improve on that. Especially when they probably would have preferred cheese pizza on paper plates. :-)

Do Frank and I wish we had more help? Of course! What parent doesn't fantasize about having faeries that clean up all the messes overnight? Are we willing to assign, remind, harangue, harass, and punish in order to have that help? No way! Talk about time-consuming, nasty work! Ugh. Anyway, the peace of our family is not something to be sacrificed in the name of passing the white-glove test.

Even in our frantic moments, we try to help-because-we-love. And in our better moments, we are able to remember that everything we do, we do because we choose to. I don't clean the bathroom because I have to, I clean it because I like having it clean. Or because I like my kids to have a clean bathroom. Or because I don't want Frank to feel stuck with it. In my better moments, every chore I do is a gift to myself or someone else.

Filling in the blanks

Well, my blog posting has been somewhat sporadic recently, so I've got some blanks to fill in.

Marty
Marty moved to his new home at Heritage Manor on Monday. Here's Judy's report, sent Tuesday:

"We got dad moved in yesterday. Right now he's sharing a room but he's on the list for a private room as soon as one comes available. We got there just in time for lunch & he chowed down. He wanted to hang out in the hall with the rest of the gang afterwards until bingo. Gary & I went back this afternoon to do the paper work. It was worse than buying a house!

"He's using one of their wheelchairs but we're going to get him his own. I need to speak with one of the therapists to be sure I get all the right amenities... I hope to get his phone transferred this week. We still need to move his stuff over... We'll be getting a report from the therapists after they've had time to make an assessment...probably at the end of the week."

The foal
The foal's name is Hero. He's healthy and sassy and will no doubt feature prominently in an all-day fundraising event this coming Saturday. MJ is volunteering at their booth there. She's going to spend Friday night out at Hope for Horses so she can ride down to south Seattle with the owners.

Oh, there are a couple of photos of MJ, and even one of me, on the Hope for Horses Web site here: http://67.59.174.44/index.php?page=home She's right there on the home page, wearing the ballcap. Then click Our Volunteers to see the one of the two of us visiting with Faith's older baby and her corral-mate. It was taken at the volunteer appreciation BBQ 7/15.

Chloe's first week at home
Last Wednesday, Grandma hosted a welcome home party for Chloe out at the beach. It was a sunny day, although a bit cooler than the 90's we had been having. Still, all the kids got in the water. I stuck to wading, although Angelo (my mom's dog) and Bentley (the dog next door) did their best to share the water with me. I remember swimming in Puget Sound as a kid, but it's hard to imagine being willing to do so now. That water is COLD!

Chloe's friend-since-Kindergarten Gabrielle joined us for the party. It's been a while since we've seen her (at least 3 months!), so that was really nice. She's at North Middle School now, I'm sorry to say, but she seems to have adjusted well. And she's quite the soccer star, playing for a local league for soccer prodigies.

Other than partying, Chloe has been settling back into life in America. She's discovered things she likes better at Summerhill -- no chores there, and she says she is generally treated with more respect (we're working on that) -- but she's clearly happy to be with us again. We've been eating all that good food she requested, getting her caught up on the House episodes she missed, and just hanging out together.

Social weekend
Friday night, the girls and I attended a bridal shower for Tom's grandniece, Ryan. It was held up in Mt. Vernon in a lovely log building with adjacent Zen garden, and it was a nice gathering. Randi, our hostess, was amazingly calm. Must have been the Zen influence. :-) The wedding will take place in Grand Coulee in early September.

Saturday, Frank's cousin Mary and her fiancé Steve hosted their annual backyard BBQ. It was great to see so many Maiers in one place (even if it was only a small fraction of the clan). Sonya and Robert were there with new baby Anja and adorable 3yo Heide, so we got a nice infant-and-toddler fix. It kind of bummed me out to see the smart, talented, and very good looking teen generation of Maier males, though: My daughters don't get to marry one of them! (Hmm. I just checked the Revised Code of Washington and, legally speaking, second cousins can marry. I still think it would be too weird, though!)

The parade of pirates
Nearly a month ago, my brother asked me to explain about the parade we participate in on the 4th of July, and I don't seem to have done it. So, Nick, sorry for the delay, and here's your answer: Every year, one of my mom's neighbors organizes a kiddie parade down the road. Kids of all ages turn out for it, and the decorations and riding-mower-drawn floats have gotten steadily more elaborate. Three or four years back (hmm, after the 2000 elections maybe?), our crowd abandoned red-white-and-blue and began dressing up as pirates. Nowadays, a pirate-ship float and candy throwing have become part of the routine, and our supply of pirate clothing and accessories and weapons has grown to impressive proportions. I don't have a picture here at work, but I'll try to dig one out and post it later.

Snowball and the boys
Snowball is doing very well. She had to have her verrrrry long teeth trimmed, and she didn't care for the procedure one bit, but she's bright-eyed and eating well now. And the boys are settling in nicely. They aren't (much) afraid of our hands any more, and Snowball has taught them how to lick treats off of human fingers. They still get confused and nip now and then, but their teeth aren't lethal yet, fortunately.

They are still in separate-but-adjacent cages and will probably remain so. Snowball has *probably* reached menopause, but rats can produce as many as 20 babies in one litter, so we'd rather not take any chances. They socialize through the bars a bit, and they get daily supervised nonconjugal visitation.

Work
Frank's weird project continues. He regularly has days where they're paying him to be on call, with no work ever turning up. And he occasionally has days where he's working well into the night. Either way, it's money in the bank. (Kind of a bummer that it's all going to end up in Summerhill's bank, but Chloe is clearly having a unique and fulfilling experience, so we try not to think about it.)

My work is going well, too. After 2-1/2 years with this team, I definitely know more about the products than is good for me -- I am solely responsible for two huge projects that are due at essentially the same time!! -- but it's a good team to work for. My boss is a dream manager: a personable, creative, flexible realist. This Friday, we're moving to new offices. It's a classic Microsoft move: our new space is two hallways away, and we'll be even more crowded there. Too silly.

I hope you are all doing well. Drop us a line!

Marty update

Marty is doing well, but hasn't improved enough to return to St. Francis. Instead, on Friday, he'll be moving to the nursing home Judy found over on the North Shore. He'll do therapy there with the hope that enough improvement will allow him to return to St. Francis. The new place is very nice, though, and he should be comfortable there. And knowing Marty, he'll have a new bevy of girlfriends lined up in no time.

Judy and Chrissy are very busy with caretaking and arrangements these days, as you can imagine. We appreciate their efforts very much.

A sad good-bye and a couple of tiny hellos

Mezza Luna the rat left us to go on to her next great adventure yesterday morning. We'll miss her very much.

Mezza Luna

2004 - 2006

Sister, comedian, intrepid sailor,

flying wonder, determined explorer, friend

To keep Snowball from getting lonely, we brought home a couple of new friends yesterday afternoon. Please join me in welcoming our two very tiny boys, Rodney the Rat (pronounced Wodney the Wat) and Lestat.
















Rodney is in the foreground. Lestat was irritated with all the flashing and wouldn't come out any more. (Vampires don't like the light, you know.)

One more:

All is right with our world again

Chloe is home!!!

After an all-night farewell party at school and a *really* long travel day, Chloe arrived safe and sound in Seattle earlier this evening. She is full of stories and laughter and eager to dive back into regular life here. She's especially looking forward to the food; we hit the grocery store this morning to stock up on all her special requests (things ranging from Cornish game hens to lemon meringue pie to strawberries).

Right now, she's asleep in her own bed after having a bath in her own tub. I hope she'll sleep through the night and avoid the whole jetlag thing. It'd be nice to have a little time with her tomorrow! :-) I'm taking a couple days off for that purpose. Frank isn't sure yet what his work schedule will be like -- they don't know more than an hour in advance when they're going to need him. Anyway, we'll put together some fun family time. We don't have any firms plans for what to do except that, tomorrow, we're going to see Pirates 2 again.

Marty moving soon

The report from Judy:

"Not so great news. Dad's social worker called Chrissy today & said that the neurologist did not expect him to improve much so he'll need to go into a nursing home when he leaves [the hospital].... We're trying to get as much info as possible on the homes that are available. I think we'll try to go Sat. to look at them. There really is no reason for dad to be in the hospital any more so I expect he'll be getting discharged soon.... I'm concerned that he'll get very depressed when he finds out that he's not going back to St. Francis. We may tell him it's temporary to keep his spirits up. We'll have to see."

Also, the docs plan to do another assessment on Tues. and then meet with Chris and Judy. I'll post an update as we hear more.

A new flower on the Maier family tree

Proud parents Sonya and Robert welcomed a new addition to their beautiful family yesterday!Anja (pronounced "AHN-ya") Grace was born July 3rd at 2:37pm - 6lb 10oz, 20 1/2" long. Sonya says, "It was a very peaceful and amazingly smooth birth.... Her big sisters are very enthusiastic, and Papa's very proud of his new princess. Grandma [Grace] and big sister Maria were there for the birth."

Our congrats!!

The foal arrived!

The foal was born in the wee hours of Saturday morning. He doesn't have a name yet, but it will probably start with H (they (re)name their horses alphabetically, and he comes after his mother Faith and sister Grace). Jenny votes for Hallelujah, but John doesn't like that much, so the debate continues.

As you can see from the picture below, his extra month of "cooking" time made for some loooong legs on this little guy.

GG and Mezza update

My grandma is home from the hospital and getting steadily better. She's very impatient to feel well, but she's enjoying all the visitors she's been having. She will probably skip tomorrow's festivities.

Mezza is a yo-yo. One day, she's at death's door and the next, she seems better. Today is a good day. Her appetite is good -- she *loves* sweet potato baby food -- and she isn't falling over quite so much. We're keeping our fingers crossed that today's good spell is a sign of things to come.

The gauntlet has been thrown down

To those of you who come out to the beach for the 4th:

Please be advised that one of my mom and Tom's neighbors has let it be known that her family will be dressing up as pirates for the parade. We are taking this as fine flattery -- obviously, our Priest Point Pirates have been quite an inspiring sight in years past. But we also take it as a call to arms. Please bring all your finest pirate garb, weaponry, and decorations so that we can defeat these interlopers into our territory.

BATTLE!!

Marty update

We just talked to Chris. Marty is doing pretty well, but they aren't seeing the kind of improvement we had hoped for. While his spirits are good and his speech isn't too impaired, he still has pain and doesn't have much mobility in his right arm and leg. His medical team will do another evaluation the middle of next week that should give us a better idea of where he'll go from here. In the meantime, Chris and Judy are looking into rehab centers and nursing homes but holding his spot at St. Francis, and Marty is watching a lot of Law and Order to fill his time.

Crab horror

Being out at the beach yesterday reminded me of this photo. Our two Chiaras were appalled by crab cookery at my best pal's annual post-Thanksgiving seafood feast, November 2004.

Getting healthy

What a week of health issues!!

Dad Marty -- The speech therapist thinks all of Marty's speech will come back. And the folks at St. Francis Villa are eager to have him back, so we hope something can be worked out. He'll probably be at East Jefferson for another week or so.

GG -- My grandmother was hospitalized two days ago for diverticulitis. Her latest CAT scan revealed a couple of abscesses that may need to be drained (not sure what that entails). They were talking about letting her go home today, but she isn't eating enough yet, so it looks like another day or two.

Mezzaluna -- We've had one sick little rat on our hands. She's been to the vet 3 times since last Friday, with the last visit revealing reduced liver function and a certain amount of regretful pessimism from the vet. We've been giving her antibiotics in raspberry syrup, SAM-E in maple syrup, a daily subcutaneous injection of fluids, and baby food meals. By last night, she was perking up enough to be really irritated with all the medical attention, and today she seems almost, um, human? again. Well, almost back to normal anyway. She's still having some trouble regulating her own body temperature, so she's keeping company with a hot water bottle. Anyway, we're feeling much more hopeful.

In other news, Frank starts a short (month-long) contract at Microsoft next week. We're looking forward to the extra paychecks, but it's going to make for some family schedule juggling. Chloe is having loads of fun and some decent weather, and they're finally getting going on the Cold War game mentioned previously (she's a private). MJ is back at work this week after missing two weeks' worth due to her New Orleans trip. The foal hasn't arrived yet, so she didn't miss the action. And I'm enjoying my time off, even if it has been dominated by rat care. The weather is FABULOUS; hope it continues indefinitely.

Yesterday, we went out to Jetty Island for a fun day of hanging out on the beach with unschooling friends Jim, Larisa, and Sarah. It was lovely, and we had the place all to ourselves until late afternoon, when the kiteboarders started to arrive. We saw eagles and herons and seagulls, discovered shrimp as we slogged in the squishy sand/mud of the tideflats, and soaked up the long overdue rays.

This weekend will be spent gearing up for the annual chaos of the 4th of July. MJ is totally psyched. I have my annual mixed feelings about the whole deal. :-)

Marty news

Frank again. I swear I won't make a habit of this.

My dad, Marty, had a "minor" stroke and is in the hospital. They've ruled out his 20-year-old heart pig valve as a potential culprit and will be conducting more tests starting Monday. Currently, his right side is impaired, especially below the waist. Bowel and bladder function but no control. More news as we hear it.

Chrissy and Judy are taking turns being with him, when they're not working. My sisters are the best! Thanks, you two!

We're hoping for a speedy and significant recovery so he can quickly return to St. Francis Villa and his "harem" of female pals for exercise sessions, card games, and whatever else is on his mind!

BHD (re)reunion info for brother Nick

Cap'n Franko posting, so don't expect Ronnie's usual style. My apologies to the literati.

First, congratulations on your engagement! The photo arrived and now we have a visual; that's always nice! When you set a date we'll have an excuse to visit San Francisco and see you. Excellent! Here's an idea, a KENDO bachelor party! Huh!? Strippers in bogu! Oh yeah! Whaddaya think? Well, it's just an idea.

After our BHD reunion in 1991, there were a few negative realities for a re-reunion. Those would include the fact that we're scattered around the country and some of us are very busy with life and work, so scheduling is difficult; but honestly - bluntly - the greatest negative is that Mangey was really pissed at John and never wants to play with him again. Long story and I won't bore you with the details; but there it is.

The other, more recent, negative is that Rickey (our drummer) had a massive stroke in the late 90s and barely survived. He was a CPA and financial consultant and his life *really* changed after that. On the good side, he has come back pretty well personally, except for significant aphasia, which of course means that he is professionally retired. In recent years, he's begun taking drumming lessons again, feels that he's ready to do a short set, and would very much enjoy doing so.

Also on the good side, the Mystic Knights of the Mau Mau sponsor recurring shows at New Orleans' famous Rock 'n' Bowl and asked us to do a show with Question Mark and the Mysterians (remember them?) a couple of years ago. My schedule prevented me from doing that one and Mangey was also too busy (mostly true); but Rickey and Steve arranged to sit in with the Royal Pendletons, who are a current band who've covered our songs. Steve wound up sitting in with them; but once he was actually there, Rickey decided that he wasn't quite ready yet. However, he says he is now feeling up to it and these folks would be happy to schedule us to play a short (4 or so) set pretty much any time we want, which would be wonderful.

So, as Mange's old school buddy, I gotta start working on him to get him to agree to do a 4-song set. Rickey and I discussed it during my recent N.O. visit and we're VERY ready. Steve would do it in a heartbeat. We're pretty sure Eddie would happily jump in.

Anyway, I'm gonna start twisting Mangey's arm, 'cause our 91 reunion was a total kick-ass funfest! I loved it! If you read my comments from the link on Ronnie's previous post, I pretty much said it all there.

Mangey has recently taken up sailing again after a 30-plus year hiatus. (We almost bought a cruising sailboat together with my college gymnastics buddy Bob back around 1970. Ultimately that deal fell through and Mangey hasn't sailed since then, until recently.) So I figure I'm gonna try to tempt him with a combined vacation. We'll meet in New Orleans, play the gig, then go to the Caribbean for a sailing vacation. Sounds pretty good, huh?

Wish me luck. Rickey and I were talking about trying to get something scheduled in the two-years-from-now time range. If we do, I'll certainly let you know and you should try your damnedest to make it. I guarantee it'll be big fun!

Preview the songs of the Better Half Dozen

Rickey told us about a site where you can listen to a snippet of each of the songs on the BHD single.

I Could Have Loved Her
I'm Gonna Leave You

If you end up on the home page, search for Better Half Dozen, click "The Better Half Dozen" (not the others), click the name of the song you want to listen to, and then click the Play button.

The site also has a link to the Louisiana Punk CD that contains both tracks, but it doesn't seem to be available any more.

The Chick-Flick Scale

In reporting on activities to Chloe, I invented the chick-flick scale, my very own movie rating system. Instead of stars, chick flicks get 1 to 4 hearts (of course). Here are mini reviews of the movies I've watched this past week or so.

About a Boy -- Cute, and I liked that Hugh's romance is almost an afterthought in the movie, and he doesn't fall in love with the boy's mother -- 3 hearts

How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days -- Fun enough that I could have overlooked how contrived it is, but the ending *really* fizzled out -- 2 hearts

Love Actually -- Fascinating, moving, unapologetically sappy, and fun. Colin Firth is awesome -- 4 hearts

An Ideal Husband -- Fun but slightly flat adaptation -- 2-1/2 hearts

Brokeback Mountain -- Outstanding performances couldn't quite make up for the lack of romance. The cowboys seemed to have a purely sexual relationship; there was nothing that told me why these guys made such an effort and took such a risk to see each other for 20 years -- 3 hearts

Life or Something Like It -- Tony Shalhoub makes up for a lot -- 2-1/2 hearts

Miami Rhapsody -- Shrug. Antonio's cute -- 2 hearts

Jane Eyre (A&E Presentation) -- Exquisite performances, completely authentic (to the book) melodrama, lovely -- 4 hearts

Roman Holiday -- Audrey at her shining best -- 4 hearts

Ever After -- Sweet version of Cinderella -- 3 hearts

Summer begins

Here we are, a post in honor of the solstice.

Frank and MJ have been in New Orleans for 10 days, staying in one of buddy Bob's vacant-due-to-Katrina apartments (thanks, Bob!) and visiting with many Maiers. Jerry and Cori were in town, too, and Chuck and Karen came over from Houston. Lori hosted a big Father's Day get-together at her place on the river -- a nice spot to be when the temp exceeds 90 degrees!

Frank also visited with the crew of Jojamela, some sailing folks we got acquainted with online. The original Jojamela was done in by Katrina over in the Oak Harbor Marina (in Slidell). Another couple whose boat was damaged in the storm are also online buddies. They are two of the very few boats presently in Oak Harbor Marina and both couples are living aboard in less than top-notch conditions. The whole gang went to see Big Daddy O play some R&B at Ruby's Roadhouse in Mandeville.

While they were doing that, MJ hung out with cousin Brian at Gary and Judy's. G&J are all moved back into their house, with front stairs replaced and the mud removed from the inside. I'm sure they're glad to be out of their FEMA trailer now that the summer heat and thunderstorms have hit.

Yesterday, Frank and MJ went to see Rickey and Brenda. Rickey was the drummer in the Better Half Dozen, and he had a cleaned-up video of their reunion gig from 1991. As entertaining as I'm sure the video is, Frank and Rickey evidently became the main attraction as they told stories and cracked each other up. I'm sure MJ found it quite educational.

The travelers are due home tonight, which means my alone time is drawing to a close. I've really been soaking up the solitude, watching chick flicks and doing just whatever I want. I can't remember the last time, if ever, that I've had so much time to myself in a stretch like this. But it's been going on long enough now that I'm starting to feel lonely. I'll be glad to have most of my family back (and to be down to only one month til Chloe returns!).

Saturday, I had a nice little gathering of females at my house. It was a fun mix of unschoolers, Microsofties, Maiers, Minshulls, neighbors, and otherwise-uncategorized friends. We had more food than we knew what to do with, and we talked about everything from vegetarianism to racism to labor and delivery to growing up Maier.

Sunday, I woke up with a cold that was maybe really an allergy attack, and I totally punked out on Father's Day. Apologies to my three fathers!! I do love and appreciate you, despite appearances!

Last night, my niece Emma came over for a sleepover date. We did a couple of craft projects (I just love my hot glue gun!), watched "Ever After," talked, read, ate party leftovers, and had a lovely time all around.

Now, I'm sitting here in my clean house, blissfully temporarily unemployed, with my allergies under control and 10 more hours of alone time to enjoy before most of my family returns. Not a bad way to kick off the summer.

Some unexpected free time

Hmm. I just got word from my manager that I am laid off for the remainder of June. Seems the team did a cruddy job of budgeting and they have no money to pay us temps til the new fiscal year begins July 1. Pretty significant snafu by what is supposed to be a world-class corporation. Sheesh.

Anyway, my manager is going to work with me so it won't be such a big financial hit. He says I can make up the time in July and August. And -- in a nice bit of cosmic timing -- our tax refund just got direct deposited to the bank account.

Now I just have to figure out how to enjoy this impromptu little vacation. How will I ever fill the time?! Let me think....

A long chat with Chloe

Big doings at Summerhill this weekend. It's Half-Term Weekend, which essentially translates to "Big Party that Parents Can Attend." The kids voted to make Friday and Monday "slobbing" days like the weekends always are, which means no classes and later wake-up and bedtime times. There are activities planned for each of the four days, as follows:

Friday night -- The Midnight Walk -- Large pack of Summerhillians roaming about Leiston and the English countryside after dark.

Saturday

* Half-Term Crafts Sale -- Poc ("pocket money") will be handed out a bit early so the kids can spend it all at the sale. Proceeds benefit the school.

* Archery Competition

* Miss Half-Term Talent Show and Party -- Yes, boys can be crowned Miss Half-Term, too. Chloe, Ellie, and Popono will be performing a Summerhill version of "What Do You Do with a Drunken Sailor," with verses tailored for each of the 5 age groups at the school. Chloe says they are suffering quite a bit of stage fright.

Sunday -- Races and swimming games (field day)

Monday -- Football (soccer) match and Capture the Flag

Parents who attend will either camp on the grounds or stay at the pub in town. I know from the traffic on the parents newsgroup that the parents have a few activities planned, too, including a meal in the Jazz Cafe (on the school grounds) and something about a late-night kitchen raid. Wish we could be there for the fun!

In other news, Chloe seems happy and settled. She's making friends. Some of them are younger than her, which works out nicely since Chloe is never very interested in teen conversation and the younger kids need an escort to walk to town. She spent a day last week with Little Ruby (yes, ~85 students but two Rubies) listening to music by Harry and the Potters and Draco and the Death Eaters. Obviously a kindred spirit there!

For some reason, not all of the laws (school rules) are written down, so she occasionally blunders. The only time she's been punished, though, was for oversleeping one morning. Some of the older kids are "Beddies Officers." It's their job to (1) wander the school -- all 11 acres -- at bedtime making sure everybody heads to bed, and (2) shake out the sleepyheads in the mornings. All students are supposed to be up and dressed by 8:30. Chloe's penalty for sleeping in was a "Small Job" -- 20 minutes helping out with housework.

Something I didn't know before: The Beddies routine includes bedtime kisses-on-the-cheek upon request. The Beddies Officers try to avoid this part of their duties, which I'm sure makes the other students determined to make demands. Chloe said one Beddies Officer got so flustered by kissing one of her top-bunk roommates that he fell off the ladder. :-)

Chloe is regularly late for bed, but apparently there's no penalty if you're late because the Beddies Officers didn't find you in time. Chloe makes them work for it, having cozy little thinkin' spots out in the woods and way up by the entrance. (As you can tell, they all spend a lot of time outdoors.)

For the first time today, Chloe seemed pretty sure that she's going to want to go back for Christmas Term. There goes the budget! But I do want her to have a term where she's not the new kid.

Which didn't stop me from blubbering a bit when I got off the phone. I miss her!!!

Replies to comments

Scott -- No, the BHD never would have referred to themselves as "punk." That's a more modern label. They considered themselves rockers. Period.

Mom -- Burt Rutan is the engineer who designed SpaceShipOne, the ship that won the Ansari X Prize by reaching space twice within two weeks. He is one of the major players who will make it possible for space tourism to happen, with SS1 being the prototype for the Virgin Airlines craft that is expected to begin making commercial space flights in 2008.

House is on Fox on Tuesday nights. Right now, they are running reruns so you have a chance to get caught up on a very eventful season. On the West coast, two back-to-back episodes air on channel 13 starting at 8:00 p.m. You can also see older episodes on USA on Friday nights at 11.

Randi -- Yeah! :-)

Make that a baker's dozen

And #13: Watching House, M.D.

A dozen things we proselytize about

Here's a quick list of things we wish more people could enjoy as much as we do:

1. Attachment parenting
2. Unschooling
3. Pet rats
4. Caribbean vacations
5. Freedom sailboats
6. Cajun food
7. Thai food
8. REI
9. Crocs
10. Burt Rutan
11. MR2's
12. Swordfighting

I'm going to be a grandmother!

Okay, sort of, but I couldn't resist the shock value of that title. :-)

Nephew-son Jerry and his wonderful wife Cori called today to let us know they are expecting a little one on or around February 7, 2007. (02-07-2007 would make a cool birthdate, wouldn't it?) So far, Cori is feeling good. The doctor does have her taking pren-a-tal, that same mystery drug they put me on when I was pregnant with MJ. (Prenatal vitamins, really, but the label on my bottle only said "Prenatal", and poor Jerry, who suddenly found himself at 17 living in a house turned upside down by baby plans, asked one day what the pren-a-tal was for.)

We're totally tickled and can't wait to welcome our new grandniece-daughter or grandnephew-son.

The immortal Better Half Dozen

A friend just sent us this link to a list ranking the "most legendary" garage-band 45's from the '60's. The single put out by Frank's band, the Better Half Dozen, came in at number 31. Here's what they have to say about "I Could Have Loved Her" and "I'm Gonna Leave" (reviewed on another site as "a great, previously undiscovered girlfriend trasher"):

"A supreme 2-sided masterpiece which has everything. The a-side is a monster punker with frantic organ, basic pounding drums and a ridiculously effective stuttering guitar solo. The b-side combines a memorable haunting chorus with upbeat popsensibilities, and more frantic organ and killer guitar. An estimated quantity would be a bit dangerous here. It's incredibly rare, but also incredibly great and it's likely there may be a few copies tucked away that no-one knows about. We know of 6 copies, only one is near mint. Hear both killer tracks on Sixties Archives 5 - Louisiana Punk Groups from the 60's"

Frank was the "frantic" organist, with his good buddy Mike Mangiapane (aka "Mangey") on the killer guitar. Rickey Moore was on drums, Steve Sklamba provided lead vocals, Eddie McNamara played rhythm guitar, and John D'Antoni played bass.

We own a copy of both the 45 and the Louisiana Punk compilation, so if anybody wants to hear these deathless tunes, let us know.

For somewhat R-rated reminiscences by the band, visit http://home.unet.nl/kesteloo/betterhalf.html. Frank's comments start about two thirds of the way down.

Family hurricanes?

Here's the list of names for 2006 tropical storms in the Atlantic/Caribbean/Gulf of Mexico:
http://www.usatoday.com/weather/hurricane/current-names.htm

Interestingly, several of our family members are listed there. Wonder what that signifies....

The inclusion of Kirk and Leslie is interesting, too, since Kirk, a coworker of mine, and his wife, Leslie, are planning a hurricane-season vacation in Cancun.

A poem from Chloe

"hello from school"

school
unusual
megalomaniacal
miserly
evilly weird people
rainy
high spots
idiotic boys
laughter

MJ has been published!! (link updated)

You can check out a small sample of MJ's brilliant writing here:
http://www.neopets.com/art/storytell.phtml?issue=275

Look for the one by death_angel1510.

(For those who don't know, Neopets is just about the coolest Web site there is. You adopt from one to four neopets, then play games to earn neopoints. You can save your points in the bank, or spend them in thousands of user-run stores on millions of fun virtual items. It's a great place for shopaholics. Also, you can run your own store and conquer the retail mysteries of supply and demand, or build a home, or visit the trading post, or explore all the imaginative lands of Neopia. I'm quite addicted.)

BD41

We have big plans for tonight: a midnight showing of X-Men 3. Should be great fun and terribly intellectually stimulating.

This weekend, MJ is headed over to Grand Coulee with Grandma and Papa for an annual Canonica gathering. So Frank and I will have an empty nest. Should be great fun and terribly intellectually stimulating. :-)

News from Chloe: We're hearing from her MUCH more regularly now, mostly via IM conversations. It helps a lot. After a bout of homesickness, she seems to be settling in. They are playing a lot of D&D, and she seems to be enjoying that. She's started taking horseback riding lessons, learning to ride English from the English, and she's really enjoying her chemistry class. The kids are starting up a school-wide game called "Cold War," with two teams each having a secret general, lieutenants-in-the-know, other officers and "I work for a living" sergeants (like Jerry!), a whole lot of privates, and a few spies. The game organizers assign rank, so there is evidently a fair amount of bribery going on right now. There's a lot of maneuvering involved, but the primary object of the game is to figure out who the other team's general is.

I think that's about it for news this week. I wish my American readers a safe and festive Memorial Day Weekend (and everybody else a safe and festive regular weekend).

Interactive N.O. flood map

This is pretty interesting. It shows the progress of the flooding during/after Katrina. The L made by the Industrial Canal and the MRGO/ICW out to Lake Borgne is the route we ultimately took to get out of Lake Pontchartrain. Marty's and Chrissy's neighborhoods are just off the map to the left, Judy's place is north of Lake Pontchartrain. Chalmette is where Lori and Jerry grew up; their grandparents' house there was totaled.

With explanatory text but you have to click through it:
http://www.nola.com/katrina/graphics/flashflood.swf

Continuous animation, no explanatory text:
http://www.nola.com/katrina/graphics/continuous.swf

A few words from Chloe -- UPDATED 5/13

And I do mean a few!

"hello, i'm fine. having a good time. everybody is nice and all. love you."

But it's something....

5/13 UPDATE: We got another e-mail this morning! She says she's been too busy to read e-mail, but that there's a lot of "nothing" happening. And she wore out the batteries in her camera, so maybe we'll get to see photos someday.

MJ and Ollie at the Nordstroms

Here are a few photos from MJ's recent trip to deliver Ollie-the-mini to his new Nordstrom-owned digs on the Olympic Peninsula.

Ollie and MJ in the SUV

Ollie hiding from the donkeys in his new enclosure

Ollie having a walk on the beach

Random details -- with 5/11 updates!!

The name of the volleyball team is Hot Sauce. Their uniforms (t-shirts) are red.

No foal yet. This may mean bad news. They're going to do an ultrasound and see.
Update: The foal is alive! Ultrasound indicates he's got a couple more weeks to "cook."

No word from Chloe yet. This probably means good news. I'm calling her tomorrow to be sure.
Update: No one is answering the kids' phone at Summerhill, so I have left a message for and sent an e-mail to her houseparent. I also put a Howler (scolding) into snail-mail yesterday -- I know Chloe will read that!

Mezza is completely recovered from her surgery, and her hair is growing back in. Man, did I ever say that the lump was benign? Well, it was. Yay!

We are totally hooked on House, M.D. We recommend renting the DVDs for the first season and having a House marathon. Great cinema!

Beta software is the bane of my existence. (Tough day at work today.)

Frank got our fence rebuilt! It blew down in a windstorm a while back.

I miss Jaffa Cakes!! (Ah -- turns out the ones I *really* love are McVities Jaffa Cake Bars. Looks like I can get a 5-pack on eBay for about $14. Or maybe not.)

More England photos, by request

In town


Phones near Picadilly Circus


The Piazza at Covent Garden


Taken from a community garden off Charing Cross Road (click photo to enlarge)


Fortuitous timing


The Millennium Bridge, footbridge over the Thames


Chiara and the boy who wouldn't grow up, Kensington Gardens
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In the countryside


Woodbridge, the village where we did our marketing


On one of the public footpaths


Somerleyton Hall, home of Suffolk's most eligible bachelor, the right Hon. Hugh Crossley, future Earl Somerleyton


A restaurant in Leiston, near Summerhill


Sign for one of the infamous roundabouts -- you're supposed to glance at it as you go by at 60mph and figure out which branch is yours. Sorry for the blurry photo, but this is about how legible these signs are at speed anyway. :-)

Hope for Horses

Duh, sorry, I forget where I've written what.

From the beginning of our homeschooling (3 years ago), MJ has been interested in volunteering at an animal shelter. The problem has been finding one that will accept volunteers younger than 16. A few weeks back, I was doing a little surfing and came across Hope for Horses, a horse rescue organization. They have a couple of facilities in the Puget Sound area where they take in abused and neglected horses, nurse them back to health, and then try to find foster or permanent homes for them. Their volunteer data sheet didn't specify an age minimum, so MJ sent in an application. They had her in for a little interview and tour, then made her part of the team. She's been going to their Woodinville ranch twice a week for a four-hour shift. She loves it, especially since they haven't treated her as slave labor who only gets to muck out stalls. Instead, they've given her a variety of tasks and seem to recognize the variety of skills MJ brings to the organization. Pretty cool.

Volleyball victories

Last week, Frank laid down the law to his volleyball team: pass to your teammates and quit criticizing each other. A couple of girls were right pissed off -- during the game, they let balls that came to them fall at their feet, in true teenage drama queen fashion. Those girls have now apparently quit the team, and the result has been a complete transformation of the team. At their match yesterday, the remaining girls were smiling, bopping around the court, serving, passing, and returning with skill and verve, and just plain having FUN. It was really terrific to see. *And* they won all three games by a large margin. Turns out the terrible twosome had been terrorizing the team.

In other news, yesterday was the Sons of Italy charity-fundraiser spaghetti feed. MJ helped out there all day (so she missed the volleyball fun, unfortunately) and had a grand time. She and my nieces bussed tables and took tickets and were very gracious hostesses. Frank and I just went for the food and to support the cause. It makes me a little melancholy to go there, since it was at the feed two years ago that we made the connection that brought Chiara into our lives. But at least I got to see her last week, and we have every hope that she'll come for a visit this summer.

Radio silence from Summerhill. This is supposed to be a good thing -- the kids only call home when they're unhappy -- but I'm still bummed. Maybe as the novelty wears off Chloe will do a little more emailing and blogging.

With MJ involved in Italian activities, Frank and I had a date for Cinco de Mayo. We walked over to the neighborhood Mexican place and were actually able to get a table. We ate way too much and ingested a bit more tequila than we had intended -- I think the margaritas were double-strength -- but it was nice to have some couple time.

MJ is really settling in at Hope for Horses and becoming a valued member of the organization, from all appearances. In addition to her barn work, she has been helping out in the office, putting together auction packets and returning calls to potential foster parents. A recently rescued mare, Faith, is due to foal any day. (She's underweight, so they're not sure how it will go.) Not wanting to miss the action, MJ spent some extra time at the ranch last week. On Thursday, she helped them take one of the mini horses -- loaded into the cargo area of an SUV! -- to his new foster home over on the Olympic Peninsula. His new foster family? The Nordstroms. Yes, those Nordstroms. So MJ had a bit of a brush with Washington-state royalty.

And I made it through my work week, despite continuing jet lag. I have seen more sunrises in the past week than I've seen in the last 20 years. :-)

Hope all is well with all of you. Let us hear from you!
Ronnie

Chloe's first day of classes

I just talked to Chloe on the phone. She sounds like she's having a good time. Today was the first day of classes, but she only has one class on Thursdays, I guess -- art -- so she didn't have much to report. They spent the time sketching out ideas for a project where they turn an ordinary object into an animal (I think that's what it is). She says she also signed up for history and science and some "doing things" classes -- hands-on activities, I gather.

Last night, a bunch of kids slept outside in tents. They're having good weather, but it still got pretty cold during the night. She said she and Ruby (a British girl who lives in Portugal) didn't get to sleep until about 2.

Over in Class 2 -- it's sort of her homeroom -- people are making or decorating Lord of the Rings figurines, and playing Dungeons and Dragons. Silas, a 12yo British boy, is one of the dungeon masters. I met his mom, Joy, when I was there. She said that Silas talked himself hoarse on his first day at Summerhill; he'd never been at a school before where nobody told him to be quiet. :-)

And it seems like they walk into Leiston with regularity. The drinks at school are "horrible" so they walk the eight blocks or so to the market and buy juice drinks there that they can keep in their cupboards. The universal favorite -- with very good reason -- is J2O. Very delicious stuff. My favorite is apple-melon. It tends to be a bit pricey, though, so they ration it out.

Michael, a former student or part-time staffer (Chloe wasn't sure which), is building a giant spiderweb on the school grounds. They've poured concrete and set poles and will be stringing big ropes. When it's complete, all the "spiders" will be allowed to climb on it.

Anyway, she sounded good. She's picking up the accent already and making friends with all the girls. (The boys, she seems less interested in.) So I'll try to stop worrying for a couple of days. :-)

Celebrate!!!!!!!!!!

Jerry is HOME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Back on land in North Carolina.

:-)

:-)

:-)

He and Cori will probably go to New Orleans for a visit in early June.

Photos plus London, day 1

Well, I can't seem to get in the mood for writing up a complete trip report, so I'll just post what I wrote after our first day in London. But first, here are some pictures (hover over pictures to see descriptions, or click the photos to see larger versions):

London

Mad cows of Ufford

Summerhill

Lowestoft on the North Sea

Saturday in London

Greetings from Lower Ufford!

Well, the cottage is everything it appears to be in the listing. It's very cozy and private, nicely appointed and clean and pretty. The 800-year-old Ufford Church is just behind us, the 18th-century Dower House is in front, a pink thatched-roof place is to the left, and a rabbit-inhabited shrub-and-grass area and the large Dower House daffodil garden are to the right. Dower House is a family home; there's a swingset and trampoline in their other yard, and their dog Molly greeted us when we arrived. She's very sweet and was thrilled to see us, but she stopped short of coming into the Granary's yard. We found out later that that's training; they don't want her bothering the guests.

But I'm getting ahead of myself. Our day today didn't begin at the Dower House Granary, it began in London. Or in Slough, to be exact. As I said before, the hotel there was fine. We had a nap after arriving from the airport, then went down to the hotel restaurant for dinner. The food was unexceptional, the prices something of a jolt (and I thought I'd prepared myself for London prices). We ate, then went back to our room for Laffy Taffy and Snickers bars (courtesy of Papa Tom) and an early bedtime.

This morning, Chloe popped awake at 6 a.m., so we decided to get on our way. We were packed and checked out and on the road by 7, then I had my first go at driving on England's "motorways" -- aka "freeways" or "expressways" to my American compatriots. Well, motorways are a piece of cake! No roundabouts!!!! And at 7 a.m. on a Saturday, virtually empty. The only trick was remembering that here, it's "Keep *left* except to pass." Washington state drivers would fit right in.

Chloe and I had settled on parking the car at Epping, the end of of the Central Tube (subway) line. Turns out Epping is a quaint little village well outside of town, so navigating and parking were easy. Well, there was one exception: I forgot momentarily that right turns are the turns that require caution and cut right in front of some poor guy. Fortunately, he was alert and quick on the brake pedal, so we escaped mishap. I'm hopeful that the big scare I received has drilled a lesson deep into my tiny little brain.

With that excitement over, we popped into a Shell station to buy something, anything, in order to break a 20-pound note and have change for the Tube carpark (parking lot). We settled on some fabulous "biscuits" -- Jaffa cakes, they're called -- dark-chocolate-frosted cake cookies with orange jelly filling -- and a bottle of chocolate milk. Just the sort of breakfast a growing (in the wrong direction) girl needs.
So, we parked, figured out the Tube ticket dispenser, and got right on a waiting train. The trip to town took about 40 minutes, which we spent reading and being happy, then we climbed up to street level and got our first look at London.

We started off on Oxford Street and on down Regent Street. This is an upscale shopping and business area, with lots of snazzy shop windows to look in. Of course nothing was open yet -- it was about 8:30, I think -- but we had a lovely stroll, watching all the double-decker buses go by, down to Picadilly Circus. That, too, was fairly quiet, relatively speaking, but it's still a bustling area with lots of traffic noise. We took obligatory photos in front of Helios' horses and the central monument (I'm drawing a blank on who that was dedicated to), then continued walking.
Next stop was Trafalgar Square, where we saw some more impressive statues (George IV comes to mind) and took pictures of the National Gallery. One kind of funny thing: One of the lesser statues is of George Washington, donated to Great Britain by the Commonwealth of Virginia. It seems a bit strange for Virginia to have donated a statue of a man that Brits must consider a traitor, but that's us cheeky Americans for ya.

From Trafalgar, we headed up Charing Cross Road. This was one of the highpoints of Chloe's day, because we think we found the entrance to the Leaky Cauldron. It's described in one of the Harry Potter books as being between a book store and a music store, and we found just such a place, in a rather unprepossessing little cubbyhole on the otherwise trendy street. Just the sort of spot those wily wizards would choose to throw us Muggles off.

After a stop for lunch (at 10 a.m.!) at a nice little cafe -- we both had toasted sandwiches, mine cheese and tomato, Chloe's sausage -- we went over to the Piazza at Covent Garden. Loved it! Once upon a time, this series of halls -- huge glass-roofed bays that are mostly open air but lined with enclosed shops -- was home to bustling, crowded fruit and vegetable markets. Nowadays, it's trendy shops and arts and crafts booths, but it's still bustling and crowded. The architecture of the shops is a real treat. We went into one that had archways between rooms that weren't much taller than Chloe.

I imagine Brits take it all in stride, but the age of everything here is really impressive to me. There's a pub still in operation in Covent Garden that was founded in 1623, and the famous Punch and Judy Pub was established in 1787 or so. I remarked at one point that the brick streets off the Piazza are probably older than the USA.

From Covent, we followed my sense of direction (usually a pretty risky thing) and actually ended up right where we wanted to be: on the banks of the Thames. We passed through Victoria Embankment Gardens to come out right at Cleopatra's Needle. Chloe got very excited to see that, too, because it features prominently in the second Bartimaeus book. I got very excited to discover that it's a real Egyptian obelisk, from Alexandria, a treasure that was actually a gift from Egypt, bestowed by Viceroy Mohamed Ali, no less.

We then strolled along the Thames, watching the ferry boats and the big Eye of London mega-ferris wheel while eating soft-serve ice cream cones with yummy chocolate sticks as garnish. We saw a nice monument -- dedicated to those so few who did so much for so many in the Battle of Britain -- the Old War Office and Ministry of Defence (gorgeous, huge old buildings), and arrived at Big Ben and the Houses of Parliament just in time for the noon chimes. We couldn't have timed that better had we planned it!

Westminster Bridge and Great George Street were PACKED. Can't imagine what it must be like during peak tourist season. But we shuffled our way along and went around the other side of the HoP, where we got a nice bobby to pose for a photo with Chloe in front of a triumphant (and yes, Frank, probably misrepresentative) statue of a triumphant Richard the Lion Heart. They incidentally were also posed in front of several gorgeous 30's-era cars that were all parked at the HoP for some reason.

From there, we crossed over to Westminster Abbey. Neither of us was interested enough to stand in line to go inside, so we ducked into adjacent St. Margaret's Church instead. It was lovely and grand, and the organist was practicing, and we got to SIT DOWN for a while. A very pleasant stop. Oh, and our pew was labeled "Members of Parliament" so we got to have delusions of grandeur (?) for a moment.

After our rest and some discussion, we headed up Victoria Street to Buckingham Gate and across to Buckingham Palace to visit the queen. She wasn't "at home" for us unfortunately, so we had to settle for pictures in front of the gates like everybody else. The guards with the big furry hats were too far away to appreciate the way I wanted to, though. :-(

There was one moment of drama at the Queen Victoria Memorial fountain in front of the palace. Some tourist had left his big duffle bag unattended. By the time he came back for it, the cops had cleared the immediate area and gotten on their radios for a bomb squad (I'm guessing). Silly tourist was scolded roundly then sent on his way.

Chloe and I left the palace plaza by walking around the corner along the wall of the palace gardens. It's secure enough, with spikes and barbed wire and on-high motion detectors supplementing 12 or 15 feet of brick wall, but Chloe thought the big trees next to the wall looked climb-able (with some sort of spiked assistance), and from there, she figured she could do the squirrel thing to the trees inside the garden. I think if she were queen, she'd give it a try, except she'd do it to get out of the palace without anyone knowing.

Rounding out our first day in London was a stroll under Wellington Monument (a big arch), then we returned to the Tube and rode back out to Epping and the car.

And then we found our way back to the M11 and out a couple of secondary highways to Lower Ufford. I successfully negotiated about a dozen roundabouts and made only one wrong turn (easily rectified at another roundabout), so I didn't do too badly.

The market in this teensy little village closes at 1 on Saturdays, so we haven't yet stocked up on "self-catering" supplies. That being the case, we walked down to the White Lion pub for dinner. We both had fish and chips, and it was really terrific. We learned some things:
1) Carlsburg beer is really nasty, and Stella (or is it Stellar?) is pretty good.
2) Orange pop is called "Fanta" even when it's not Fanta.
3) The fish in English fish and chips (or White Lion fish and chips, anyway) has skin on it under the batter, but we love it anyway.
4) Ketchup is ketchup. Heinz and everything.

Oh! And the other thing I learned today that I just have to share: Crocs are the best shoes ever in the whole history of shoes. I walked for, what, 7 or 8 hours today, and my feet do NOT hurt. In fact, I took an evening constitutional tonight. Pretty impressive, eh? My bright yellow feet sure do get a lot of funny looks though! That might have something to do with Chloe's bright green feet being right next to them. :-)

Note to Schuyler: Thank you for the Highway Code link! That really helped!

Arrivals

I am home safe and sound, and Chloe is happily tucked up at Summerhill. I just got mail from her, and she says she is doing great. Not many details offered yet, but she's having fun and not doing any of the panicked sobbing I was imagining as I boarded the jet at Heathrow. :-)

Right now, I'm trying to convince my body that it's time to be awake for breakfast, so I'll write more later, about our siteseeing and driving adventures, Summerhill, and England. And I'll try to pick a couple of photos to post, out of my 300 or so choices.

Cheers!

London!

We made it! We saw a red double-decker bus! Funny how it didn't really sink in til that bus rolled by.

Our flight was fun. Started a bit late but was completely smooth. We didn't sleep much, but we enjoyed watching "Pride and Prejudice" (the one with Kiera from Pirates). Chloe and I kept cracking up laughing. Fortunately, most of our fellow passengers were also ensconced in headphones.

Customs and Heathrow were a breeze. We found an ATM and got a wad of pounds, then took the shuttle over to the rental car lot. After some pointers from the clerk there, we went out to the lot to pick out our car (really!). Then we hit the roads. I am proud to say that I survived my first driving lesson (as in "learning by doing"). The sitting on the right while driving on the left isn't so bad, but roundabouts are a terror. I'm sure there are rules that these people are following, but I've only got them partially figured out. One thing I do know: Once you get in the roundabout, you have the right-of-way and can stay in there, going 'round and 'round, for as long as you want. So when I'm in doubt, I'll just go in circles. :-)

Our car is a Ford something or other (not an American model). It's cute. Why aren't Fords cute at home???

The hotel we're in tonight is fine, if a bit, um, challenging. It took us several minutes to figure out how to turn on the lights! (Turns out you have to insert your room key card into a little slot by the door before anything will power up.) Now Chloe is zonked. I'm trying to resist sleeping, because I want to get onto London time fast. But it feels more like 4 in the morning than 4 in the afternoon. We'll see how I do.

Happy 80th Birthday to Queen Elizabeth today!!

Chloe's blog

It won't have any activity for a week or so, but Chloe's blog is here: www.summerhillchloe.blogspot.com

In other news, Mezza the rat had surgery on Monday to remove a tumor (benign, fortunately). She is one unhappy little rat now, because she has to wear one of those post-op cones around her head. It was so big at first, she couldn't walk, and even with it trimmed down some, she can't get her hands to her face, so we have to help her eat. She also can't bunk in with Snowball until her stitches come out, because Snowball would groom her incision for her. They're both pretty confused. But it's only til next Monday, when Frank and MJ will take Mezza in to get her stitches out.

And Chloe and I are off. I'll write when I get home to tell you all about our time with the Queen. Oh, here is our home base while we're there: http://www.suffolkcottageholidays.com/cottage.php?id=000005
Cute, huh?

A tale of taxes, vball, and trip prep

Just a quick update--

Trip prep is coming along, although I haven't had any time for packing yet. Lots of work, last-minute taxes, Emma's birthday party (Happy Birthday, Emma!!), and egg-related activities have to come first!

Oh, yes, and Coach Frank and player MJ's volleyball team had their first games today at the Boys and Girls Club. Everybody's skills are coming along great -- there were several volleys that had the audience on the edges of their seats. This is a 7th-8th grade division, so they play with the regulation (big) net, but the rules are still weird to force the games to go fast. The as-yet-unnamed team won one and lost two.

Chloe and I leave Thursday evening. We have to find some time to write her name on all her clothes, although we hear that there's not much chance she'll come home with the same clothes she takes. Evidently the communal laundry gets distributed to whoever needs something to wear. We're also going to figure out how to dump pictures from Chloe's camera to her computer so she can post to her as-yet-unpublished blog. (I'll share the address of that when she gives the okay.)

Grandma has flown south to have some bonding time, so she and Chloe have said their good-byes already. They had a shopping outing together. Chloe got a cute orange spring dress that she has been wearing almost nonstop.

Oh, and we are a Crocs family. I'll try to post a picture before we leave.

"Ta" til I get back from GB. Happy Easter!!

Ronnie

P.S. Baby pictures have been removed due to parental privacy concerns.

Going out like a lion

Well, March is about done. Here's what we've been up to:

Networking
The girls and I have been getting together with a bunch of fellow unschoolers, kids ranging in age from 2 to 17. It's been fun, educational, and fascinating, and we've met some terrific kids (and their terrific moms). It's very cool to see the wide range of interests -- not to mention clothing and hair styles -- unschoolers have. They all seem to have one thing in common, though: their openness to new people of all ages, new topics of conversation, and getting out and doing new things. A couple of the girls are going to the unschooler summer camp that MJ (Marjie) is planning to attend; they might all ride down to Oregon on the train together.

Other social outings
We've had some great times lately with friends from the past. Patti, an old indexing buddy of mine, had us over last weekend for dinner, conversation, and video games. Her 12yo son, Noah, and their rather large kitty kept us company. The weekend before that, we got together with Frank's former boat partner, Jerry, his wife, and their four grown sons. One of the guys is into drawing, and when he found out MJ has written a fantasy novel, he had her write out descriptions of some of her characters so he can draw them up for her. We can't wait to see what he comes up with. He was also intrigued by the green vampire cats Chloe dreamed up.

Miscellany
The MR2 had to go in for repairs (cracked exhaust manifold). Frank got our home network set up (the other kind of networking), plus ran cable TV to the girls' rooms, so we are totally wired now. I've been procrastinating doing the taxes. (It takes a lot of time to do procrastinating right, you know!) The neighbor kids practically live at our house. And, of course, we've been getting Chloe ready for Summerhill. We've filed all her paperwork, paid her bill (gulp), and made all of our travel arrangements. This weekend, we'll try to get fired up about doing her packing. Less than 3 weeks til we leave.

Family notes
Chiara is coming to England to see Chloe and me!!!!
Jerry should be back in NC in May, gets leave in June!!!!
Colin is 11 days old!!!!

Book recommendation
If you're curious about unschooling and want to read a lovely little book that shows what it's all about, try Parenting a Free Child by Rue Kream. It's set up in question-and-answer style, so it's easy to read in short bursts. I think Rue really captured the way unschooling can transform your family relationships and lifestyle for the very much better.

Acknowledgement

From an essay by Richard B. Anderson, who lectures in Environmental Studies at UC Santa Barbara:

"At the heart of the modern age is a core of grief.

"At some level, we’re aware that something terrible is happening, that we humans are laying waste to our natural inheritance. A great sorrow arises as we witness the changes in the atmosphere, the waste of resources and the consequent pollution, the ongoing deforestation and destruction of fisheries, the rapidly spreading deserts and the mass extinction of species."

Read the rest of it here:
http://www.grizzlegritz.com/worldisdyingbr.html

Jerry update

For those of you who can't monitor the comments as easily as I can, here's what Judy had to say today about Jerry:

The ship is on its way home with stops in Italy & Greece! Jerry should be back in NC around May 7. Yeah!

Needless to say, there is much happiness in the Maier and Lewis clans today.

We're going to see if he ends up any place in Italy where he and Chiara could get together for a visit.

On free time and frivolity

A friend told me recently that she has learned a lot from me about having a life outside of work. This surprised me somewhat, since when I am working I get quite involved in work. But I am aware that, by and large, my life is focused on the Right Things: family, friends, fun. The three F's.

Still, perhaps because I am back at work, with so many hours and brain cells occupied with databases and servers and Help topics, this has led me to some thinking about how I want to spend my precious hours away from work.

It's hard to resist the vaguely Puritanical attitude that every minute of my free time must be “spent” well. Those minutes are in such short supply, after all! They should be filled with the right activities, meaningful activities that nurture my soul or stimulate my brain or give me a few checkmarks to put on my to-do list.

Blech. I’m becoming convinced that the only thing I “should” do is resist that attitude. Free time is only free if -– like Audrey’s princess in Roman Holiday -– I do “just whatever I want” for a while.

A recent entry in How to Save the World lamented the disappearance of playtime. In it, Dave Pollard maintains that one key difference between play and work is the absence of an objective. Under that definition, many activities of today’s kids -– video games in particular -– don’t qualify, because the kids are trying to win or achieve some other concrete goal.

I see it differently. To me, the key difference between play and work is the absence of requirement. If I allow requirements to infect my free time, the cost is extremely high: the loss of spontaneity, frivolity, indulgence. A life lacking those qualities ... well, is it life at all?

As we've had our adventures over the years, many people -– from coworkers to family members to the guy at the SCUBA store -– have said admiring/envious things but in tones that made it clear that they can’t imagine doing anything similar. If pressed, any one of them might have mentioned financial concerns, job security, house payments, and so on (just before heading out to their new Lexus). But I think what really stops people from taking off the way we do is the frivolity of it all. It is hard for them to understand, let alone contemplate personally, that we can choose –- quite deliberately -– frivolity over convention, spontaneity over security, and indulgence over service.

The really interesting thing is, these apparently foolish choices of ours have led us to a life of complete dedication to our kids, an understanding that the moment is what matters, and the realization that our family bonds represent the only security that is possible. Even without the lessons we learned from Katrina and Rita and Wilma -– that jobs and possessions and daily routines can disappear from one day to the next, and that even our shaky faith that our government will provide for us in times of crisis may be misplaced -– we know this to be true when we talk to friends and neighbors who’ve been RIF’d or reorg’d or outsourced out of their jobs, when we attend the funeral of a woman younger than Frank, and especially when we look at a picture of our infant daughters -– taken only yesterday, I swear! -– and compare it to the young women who live with us now.

Life must be lived NOW, not someday. And the joyous, playful exploration of not only our free time but our relationships and the world is the only objective that matters.

Jerry is aboard ship again!

Wahooo! Jerry has left Vietnam -- er, I mean Iraq. No word yet on where he's headed next, but at least it ain't there.

Catching up

Well, I've certainly let this thing get out of date!

All right. As I'm sure you all heard, the Seahawks were not the declared winners of the SuperBowl. We all hold them as the winners in our hearts, though! (A friend of mine here at work is a Pittsburgh fan and feels pretty outnumbered, so we'll leave it at that.)

Big gigantic news: Chloe has been accepted at Summerhill School, an alternative private school in -- get this! -- England. Oy! She leaves us at the end of April and will be gone for THREE MONTHS. Her "mum" is just a bit distressed, but also happy that Chloe will have this wonderful experience. If you want to check out the school, you can look at their website, but I'll warn you that it is not a very good site. (Read A.S. Neill's book _Summerhill_ instead!) The site is http://www.summerhillschool.co.uk.

So, we've been busily filling out forms and filing for visas and trying to adjust to the idea of losing her.

This past weekend, we had a little spur-of-the-moment baby shower for my sister, whose baby is due in March. It was very fun to buy boy clothes for a change! ;-)

Marjie is pursuing life as an extreme sports enthusiast. She bought herself a snazzy Tony Hawk skateboard and signed up for a Spring Break week of field trips to rock climbing, paintballing, skateboarding locales. (A combination of those three sports would make quite a triathlon, wouldn't it? But they're separate in this case.) She is also campaigning for a dirt bike but finding her parents a bit too Summerhill-strapped for cash at the moment.

No movement yet on the sale of the ZP, but spring is coming.

Anyway, we're all happy, healthy, and living life. Hope you all can say the same. Drop us a line!

SEAHAWKS!!!!

We never thought we'd see the day.

The Seattle Seahawks are going to the Super Bowl.

Grown men cried. Fans took hours to leave Qwest field. Pioneer Square rocked through the night. And in the Maier household, voices were lost, rats were frightened by all the noise, and sleep was hard to come by.

Our favorite sign in the crowd: "East Coast Media -- How do you like us now?"

Hats off to the whole team (but especially the defense)!!

See you in Detroit!!

Manhandling Rampage
Detroit Ticket Packages

Percolations 2

Here are some more previously unreported (I think) moments from our almost-cruise, in rough chronological order:

** Girls swimming alongside the dinghy at Cat Island. On one of our trips to shore, Marjie and Chloe decided to swim back to the boat ('though Chloe felt a bit nervous about being in the water with all the dolphins that had been around that day). It was a pretty long way, so Frank and I put-putted alongside them in the dinghy. When they got tired or we got bored (which came first, I can't remember), the girls grabbed on to the sides of the Tender, and we towed them. It was thrilling for all -- for them because they liked the speed and face-splashing, and for us because we felt like we were trolling for sharks with our daughters as bait. ;-)

** Getting turned away from Gulfport by the police boat. We stopped in there hoping to top off the diesel before the passage, but they met us at the harbor entrance and told us to go away. The harbor was completely closed due to Katrina damage.

** How good food tasted during the passage (once we quit barfing). For instance, we had one fabulous lunch – truly, one of the most delicious meals of our lives – consisting of crushed tortilla chips, Ritz crackers, salsa, and refried beans directly from the can. YUM!!

** Naples is a really pretty city. At the time, coming as we were from hurricane-ravaged Slidell, we were mostly aware of it being whole and undamaged. But now that we look back on it, having seen quite a bit more of Florida than we ever expected, we can “see” better how nice it was. It’s what people think of when they fantasize about winters in Florida, with pretty homes and quaint businesses; clean, palm-lined streets; a feeling that the whole world is on vacation; and an unmatched level of civic pride. I assume all that will soon be true again as they recover from Wilma.

** Walking to the Naples West Marine. When we pulled into the guest dock in Naples, they gave us a little city map. It says right on it, "Map is not to scale," but we figured it couldn't be *that* much off. It was. We set out one day to walk to West Marine, a distance of maybe 10 city blocks by the map and about 100 miles in reality. Okay, not 100, but it was a LONG way, and it was REALLY HOT. When we hit our moment of worst discouragement, lo and behold, there was a Joe's Crab Shack. We went in and had gigantic lemonades and a shrimp platter. You should have seen the waiter's eyes pop when he came back three minutes after serving our drinks to find that Chloe had emptied her lemonade glass already. Much refreshed and armed with the knowledge that we were actually close to West Marine now, we made the rest of the walk in good time and good spirits. A taxicab later returned us to the marina.

** Talking to Chiara. We miss our Italian daughter tremendously, every minute of the day!! But our phone conversations with her made for some of our best moments of the trip. The most memorable was that one lovely day at the Dry Tortugas. Totally fed up with being out of contact with her, I said, "I don't care what it costs!" and fired up the satellite phone one morning. We all took turns talking to her, and it was a happy, festive time. Afterwards, I was a little weepy but felt actual physical relief for having spoken to her. Then Frank and I got in the dinghy to go ashore and check the Wilma predictions. The forecast that morning said that the storm wasn’t coming to the Keys. It was erroneous but nicely timed to give us one lovely, relaxed day at Fort Jefferson.

** We aren’t the only clumsy sailors around. I had some moments on the passage of feeling like a pretty inept sailor, so it was kind of nice to sail to Key West with Delfina and see somebody else make some sailing errors. It was nothing major -- they made a couple of inadvertent tacks -- but it was reassuring.

** Visiting the Key West Municipal Library. My best friend, Stephanie -- who used to live in KW -- had a dream that we went to the Key West library. Not ones to ignore psychic vibrations, and since we had plans to go there anyway :-), we soon became regular patrons. They gave us a library card in exchange for $15, which seems pretty cheap now considering all the books, movies, and Internet time we got for it.

** Rain drills. Rain is always a major event on a sailboat in the tropics, because you typically have every port and hatch open in order to get some much needed ventilation. On the Zombie Princess (and a good percentage of the rest of the sailboats down there), this is compounded by a few leaky ports. So, every time it started to rain (once a day, on average), we had a mad scramble, "all hands" effort to close everything up and set out absorbent materials (diapers) under the leaky spots. We've been home for a month, in our nice waterproof house, and I still tense up and get ready for action when I hear it start to rain (17 times a day, on average). (Did I mention that we are currently enjoying a rain streak in Western Washington? It's rained at least once every day for something like 30 consecutive days, and rain is predicted for every day this week.)

** The Zombie Princess is one tough little boat. But I suppose you had all managed to figure that out, reading between the lines of this blog.

KQR

P.S. This may be the first time in my life I actually managed to follow through on a New Year's resolution!

Jerry

Our nephew-son (Jerry is Frank's sister Judy's son who lived with us for his junior and senior years in high school) is in the Marines, currently stationed west of Baghdad. We spoke to him yesterday. He says he's doing all right, except that they're all freezing right now. Seems the nice warm clothes the military provides don't fit real well under body armor. Fortunately, Jerry usually gets to stay in the warm truck with the radio.

Their base has been rocketed a couple of times since his arrival there in December, but the attacks went somewhat wide. He did send us a photo of a blasted toilet seat. The guy using the head at the time the rocket hit was unhurt.

There is some hope that Jerry's unit will be rotated out in the spring. Keep your fingers crossed for us. We really, *really*, REALLY want him out of there.

Photo of Chiara (because we really miss her!)

Here's a photo from Chiara's graduation party, not long before she went home to Italy.

We miss you, K-Dogg!!!!

Photo from New Year's Eve (by request!)

I was woefully neglectful of the camera at our New Year's Eve party, but I did get this one of Marjie and Ella asleep together on their pallet in the basement.

Still here?

Just in case anybody is reading this now that our lives are ever so much less fraught with danger, here's what we've been up to.

With the holidays done, we have stepped up our efforts to complete our big bedroom swap. Marjie is essentially moved into Chiara's old room, and as of two days ago, Chloe is essentially moved into our old room. Now comes the hard part: cleaning out 13 years of kid stuff from the upstairs bedroom. We've got the main room emptied, but that still leaves two closets, the toy shelves, the little alcoves that were Marjie's and Chloe's private spaces, and the 3/4 bath. It's all my fault for being a packrat and passing on the tendency to my kids!

Frank has moved up our bedframe and boxspring, and he cleaned the carpet up there. He accomplished these things on his own because I managed to slip on the stairs while moving Chloe's mattress down to the basement. My ankle is well sprained and quite colorful, but there's definite improvement already, and I'm being careful not to re-injure it. Frank's fancy Mardi Gras walking stick has come in handy and provides a much more dignified form of transportation than the crawling I was doing initially (much to the girls' amusement).

We held our annual New Year's Eve sleepover with all the cousins (eight girls this year, ranging in age from 2 to 13). It was the usual madhouse festivities, complete with musical chairs, ice cream sundaes, movies, and sparklers and shouting at midnight, even though we had to hold the party on Dec. 30th because some of the girls had a wedding to go to on the real New Year's Eve (our congrats to Tony and Jennifer!). Our neighbors thought we were nuts when we all went outside to count down to Dec. 31st. :-) Two-year-old Ella was the star of the show and probably the one who had the most fun, even if she did burst into tears when her mom came to pick her up the next morning, giving every impression that we'd spent the night torturing her.

Our actual New Year's Eve was a quiet one, 'though we had to struggle to stay awake that long. At midnight, we went out front to count down again and ended up receiving an impromptu invitation from our favorite neighbors to go hang around their backyard firepit. I was really dragging and left after only a short visit, only to get caught up watching Kate & Leopold on late-night TV with Chloe.

After two short nights, it was exceedingly difficult to get up and watch the Seahawks lose in the morning game on Jan. 1st, but we did. I wish Sean Alexander had been in Seattle when he broke the single-season touchdown record. As it was, the announcers barely commented on his performance, choosing instead to speculate endlessly and pointlessly about Brett Favre's likely (and one-season-too-late) retirement. East Coast bias rears its ugly head.

I return to work at Microsoft on the 17th, and Marjie and Chloe (and Frank) are preparing for a stint dogsitting Angelo for Grandma and Papa, who are traveling to Mexico. Frank is also preparing for some Ty Pennington time, since both girls have big plans for platforms and things for their new bedrooms.

I still have more Percolations to write up, quite a few of them, actually. Posting some of them before my return to work is one of my New Year's resolutions. ;-)