Please welcome Lila!

Emma and Ella have a new sister! Lila Elita Jean was born at 4:16 Saturday morning. She was 9 lbs., 6 ounces, has lovely dark hair and eyebrows, and is sweet and calm. Mom Erin and Dad Erik were both troupers (Mom through labor and delivery and Dad through a nasty bout of food poisoning).

In addition to her immediate family, Lila's arrival was attended by her aunties Megan, Denise, and Ronnie, and cousins MJ, Chloe, Chelsea, and Megan. The livingroom was a bit crowded, but it was sure a special time!

Blog neglect

I know, I know, no posts in weeks. Sorry! September is always a busy month for us, usually with at least one birthday party each weekend. This September has been even crazier because I had a big deadline last Thursday. I made my deadline, but that's about it for my news because I've spent so much time at work.

MJ and Chloe have been quite the social butterflies. In addition to all the birthday parties, they've had a couple of get-togethers with some of the kids from Not Back to School Camp. They spent one afternoon in Seattle, first in the University district and then downtown at the new library and beyond. There was a pack of about 12 of them, and they ended up having so much fun together that they organized an impromptu slumber party at one boy's house (a boy who obviously has very accommodating parents). That was so much fun that MJ and Chloe invited several kids over here for a sleepover the next week. It ended up being 5 girls and one outnumbered-and-loving-it boy.

As you can see, we have definitely entered the teen years. It's going to be fascinating.

Perhaps because of all this new exposure to other kids, we've had two different colds hit various family members this month. I got both of them, of course. Fortunately, the second one didn't attack until after my deadline.

Frank has been working pretty consistently, doing a second pass on all the files they threw at him so hurriedly in order to make one of their legally mandated milestones. But he's finished that now, so he should get a couple weeks of getting paid for being on call. I'm sure the girls wouldn't mind a tad bit more attention.

MJ continues her work at Hope for Horses. She got to be one of the bosses the day 30 or so Microsoft employees showed up at the barn for the Microsoft/United Way Day of Caring. Also, HFH is gearing up for their annual fundraiser auction, so she helped put together the packets and invites for that. She plans to work the auction, so we went to our favorite thrift store to find appropriate attire for an event at Bellevue's swank Meydenbauer Center. Mom and daughter disagree just a bit about what "appropriate" means. I found her this gorgeous, 100% silk Georgiou dress that looks fabulous on her -- the steal of the century at $5 -- but she thinks it's too boring. She prefers a cute spaghetti-strap number in blue (that I think is a bit casual). Her opinion will no doubt rule the day.

That thrift store is so fun! The three of us spent about $70 total and ended up with six dresses, a skirt, a jacket, and several shirts between us. All like new. Love it!

As you might have noticed, Chloe has not returned to Summerhill. In late August, she started expressing serious reservations about going back. We had a number of conversations about it, and Frank and I shared our best advice ("Go back"), but ultimately she decided that the good times she had there didn't outweigh her loneliness and boredom and some things about the school that made us all uncomfortable. (Here, I'll just say there was an incident that left us with serious doubts about the headmistress' competence. If you want the gossip, send me an e-mail.)

So, we have our daughter back. We felt compelled to advise her to go back, but Frank and I couldn't be happier that she ignored our advice! :-) She's been filling her time with the usual Chloe Variety Pack, but the last week or so has been devoted to watching over a hundred episodes of Inuyasha (anime) on YouTube. She is quite excited about it and now wants to learn Japanese. She's already putting together a bit of vocabulary, just from reading subtitles. The series is set in feudal Japan, so we've made some neat connections to other video ("Shogun" especially) and Dad's sword-based Japanese martial arts.

She's also conducting a bit of an experiment on herself. All this Inuyasha watching has taken place mostly at night, so she's started charting her sleep hours to see if her body runs on a 24-hour clock or not.

Anyway, all is well at our house (except maybe our upper respiratory systems).

Big news from New Orleans

Judy and Gary are engaged!!!!

No date has been set yet.

Happy Birthdays

To Gabrielle yesterday (12)
To MJ, Pam, and Judy today (14 and never you mind)
To Madison tomorrow (8)

The latest on Marty

Judy says:

"We're not real happy with the nursing home. It seems that another nursing home wouldn't be any better. We're VERY seriously considering taking him home once he's done with therapy. I need a little more info on what Medicare will cover and we need to see if we need to make some modifications to the house... I'm just not comfortable with him there & Gary has been very unhappy with their performance even with us going every day & keeping on them about stuff."

We'll keep you posted.

MJ the college student

We enrolled MJ in a drawing class at the community college today. Art 100. At the end of Fall term, she'll have her first two college credits. Not too shabby for a 14-year-old, eh?

Unschooling and allowance and math

Each of my kids gets an allowance. The amount has varied some over the years. Right now, they each get $10 per week. They don't have to do anything to earn that money; it's simply their share of the family income. (And when you think of it that way, $10 per week is not so much!)

The idea is that having money to spend will help them learn how to spend money. I think having a relatively generous allowance gives them more room to learn. I mean, about all you learn when all you have is $2 is that $2 doesn't buy much! At the level they're at, they can actually buy something now and then. They get practice choosing between desired items and saving for more expensive items (without being completely discouraged about how long it's taking), and they are learning how to make a dollar stretch.

The other area that this ready money addresses is math. Every time they go shopping anywhere, they get some math practice. They don't think of it that way -- they're just shopping -- but math happens anyway. Without teaching, they can figure percentages, estimate totals, multiply prices by quantities (or, in Chloe's case, add all those like prices together impressively quickly), and so on. This real life math is natural to them, stress free and practical. It's a far cry from the "I hate math" comments we were hearing when they were in school.

In fact, for most of us, it is only in school that math is something separate. The reality is that math is as much a part of everyday life as reading, writing, and speaking. Here's something I wrote recently about math in our lives:

"I've noticed quite a bit of math going on in our house lately, but I'm probably the only one who characterized it as such. My daughters were figuring out how many of these, estimating how much of that, playing with a new calculator, figuring a tip, calculating how many dollars this many [British] pounds is, measuring each other for their passport applications and talking about converting inches to feet, noticing patterns in some fractions, figuring out which new cage would give the rats the most floor area, asking questions about sales tax percentages, figuring out how many notebooks they could get for so many dollars at Target's 10-notebooks-for-a-dollar sale and how many pages that would be at 70 pages per notebook, and so on. They did all of this in a very matter-of-fact way: I need or want this information, and I'm going to figure it out. It's not 'math' to them, it's just taking care of business."

And how does all this translate to the math-on-paper skills the schools hope (but so often fail) to impart? Very well, actually. Neither girl has plans at the moment for going back to our lovely public schools, but I have every confidence they could slide back into the school flow with their former classmates without any difficulty. Except perhaps extreme boredom! ;-)

Artist Trading Cards

MJ has started making Artist Trading Cards. These are baseball card-sized pieces of art that can be collected, traded, or given away as a friendly sort of business card (title and artist information goes on the back). The content is as varied as the artists who create them.

Here are four of MJ's creations, our mutual favorites:





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To my Republican readers

I would be curious to know if your continuing support of the Republican party (meaning the more traditional, small-government, fiscally conservative Republican party) extends to Bush and his cronies. The speech linked below, delivered by Salt Lake City's mayor on the occasion of Bush's visit there, outlines several of the reasons that I, even if I were Republican, would find that particular group of people beyond tolerance.

I am aware that parts of the speech are easy-to-spout one-liners, especially near the end, but the middle part -- where he's describing the deliberate misinformation that led us into the war in Iraq -- outlines some of why I consider GW terrifyingly incompetent at best and a traitor and criminal at worst.

I am truly puzzled about why anyone would support him after all that. It's one thing to be determined to continue to vote Republican, whether due to concerns over a particular issue or because of a lifelong affiliation with the party, but why support Bush, Cheney, Rice, Rumsfeld in spite of their clear failings?

Here's the speech: http://www.slcgov.com/mayor/speeches/2006%20speeches/SPdemonstration83006.pdf

Doing the Evergreen

The girls and I spent yesterday at the Evergreen State Fair. We ate and rode rides until we were green around the gills. A fine day!

The high(?) points:

* The Scrambler!!! This is a family tradition -- it's always the first ride we go on. (Two summers ago, Chiara -- newly arrived in America -- found our passion for it just a bit puzzling.) The girls are big now, so they took the outside and I got the joy of squishing them for a change.

* Visiting the pig barn and admiring the cute little babies, then turning around to see recipe posters and pamphlets prominently displayed.

* Walla Walla burgers!!! It's all about the onions, baby.

* Shriners corn on the cob!!! It's all about the butter, baby.

* Riding the Yo Yo at sunset. Gorgeous territorial views!

* Taking turns swinging the sledgehammer-bell-ringer thingy. Macho we are not, but we all won prizes anyway. Mine is a big blow-up sledgehammer that says "Girl Power."

* Seeing the Clydesdales and Percherons all hitched up and doing their thing.

* Hearing bits of "Footloose" from the Kenny Loggins concert at the grandstand.

* Finding a booth that was selling Crocs and getting to see all the colors in person. They have silver now! And the baby-sized ones are adorable (but sticker-shock-inducing at $25/pair).

* Buying the girls tacky $8 air-brushed straw cowboy hats. Yee haw!

* Taking my junk-food hangover and the remains of my Mother Goose handstamp into meetings at Microsoft today.

The fair runs through Labor Day at the fairgrounds in Monroe. We give it three thumbs up!

On a lighter note

One more Nazi quote

"...Voice or no voice, the people can always be brought to the bidding of the leaders. That is easy. All you have to do is tell them they are being attacked and denounce the pacifists for lack of patriotism and exposing the country to danger. It works the same way in any country."

Hermann Goering, attributed by Gustave Gilbert

On my so-called confusion

The Republican speeches coming out of Washington (via Utah) as the anniversary of 9/11 approaches are, in my opinion, reprehensible. Keith Olberman has written a response that says most of what I want to say. Read it here: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/12131617/

He closes with a quote from Edward R. Murrow that bears repeating (again and again and again, if necessary).

"We must not confuse dissent with disloyalty."

Evidently now we need a new version: We must not confuse dissent with stupidity, just as we must not confuse a person's occupation of high office as proof of his intelligence or honesty or, indeed, morality.

Here are some other quotes that bear contemplation:

"It is the absolute right of the State to supervise the formation of public opinion."
- and -
"Think of the press as a great keyboard on which the government can play."
--Joseph Goebbels

"What luck for rulers, that men do not think."
--Adolf Hitler

Work/camp

About a week ago, Frank got word from his manager that his "one-month" contract, which had already lasted two-and-a-half months, would go on for another eight to ten weeks. Then last Friday, she asked if he's available until next June! Since this job regularly involves full-time pay just for being on call, we're jumping on that offer. We're trying not to count on anything -- it's Microsoft, where nothing is ever written in stone, and this is just about the weirdest project ever -- but we intend to enjoy the extra paychecks for as long as they last.

I picked up four rather dirty, very tired, very happy unschoolers from the train station Monday night. MJ is sad to be home! She had a fabulous time at camp, made lots of friends, and is counting the days until next year. Her four new best friends are from Minnesota -- evidently a big Minnesota contingent comes out every year -- so she's hoping to travel out there sometime. (Should I be concerned that these friends are all boys? Nah.)

Some highlights from the camp:
* Each camper was "fairy godmother" to another camper, leaving him or her notes, small gifts, and so on. The fairy godmothers' identities were never revealed.
* The campers spent a lot of time entertaining each other. MJ has lots of pictures of colorful characters doing flamboyant things (songs, acting, squirrel impressions). They also spent time making each other more colorful. One boy went home with blue hair, two others ended up with spiky mohawks (or maybe one of them arrived with that), a girl with waist-length hair got a shoulder-length bob, and one boy had his ear pierced with the old apple-and-needle technique (and his mom's permission). MJ came home looking pretty much the same as when she left (six holes in her ears and formerly-blue blonde streaks in her brown hair).
* At the prom, nearly everyone wore dresses. Yes, including the boys. :-) She's got some hilarious photos. One boy had this Marilyn Monroe look going on, with blonde wig and tiny red dress; he looked gorgeous!
* At the beach (a field trip out to the coast), the kids buried each other in the sand. MJ has a really cool photo of herself and three or four other kids, all buried into the same huge mound.
* One night, they played "Unconditional Love," a game where half the kids close their eyes and the other half goes around hugging people. Then they switch. It's evidently pretty cool, because you don't know who's hugging you, so you just relax and accept the hugs without the pre/misconceptions of identity.

Since she got home, Frank and I have learned some new vocabulary. An "emo" is a goth-like person who is full of emotion. "Nu Ma Nu Ma" is a bouncy song, in Romanian, that is evidently all the rage. And "skeet" is a bad word. (Hint: MJ cracked up when, during a conversation yesterday about Grandma and Papa's upcoming hunting trip, Frank made a passing comment about "shooting skeet." When Frank said it, it meant firing a shotgun at a clay pigeon. The teen meaning is a good bit more sexually explicit than that.)

As predicted, Not Back to School Camp has been educational for all of us! Chloe will be old enough to attend next year. MJ is looking forward to sharing it all with her.

One year after Katrina

The media is doing a pretty good job of showing how much recovery is left to do in New Orleans and along the Gulf Coast, so I'll just mark the anniversary of Katrina with a couple of anecdotes and a poster baby.

Our friend Bob has spent the past year embroiled in recovery efforts for his properties uptown, plus his mother's house in Gentilly and rental house in Chalmette. He discovered a few days ago that there is a cutoff on August 31st: remodel/renovation projects that don't have building permits by then have to adhere to the new building standards. The new standards involve raising buildings onto stilts or posts and expensive stuff like that, or more probably razing the old house and starting over, so he became very concerned. How could he possibly get all the inspections, structural engineering, and so on in just a few days?!

Well, he didn't count on good old free enterprise. When he left whatever government facility he was visiting, he found a line of electrical inspectors, structural engineers, and contractors, vying for his business, carnival-barker style. With a little old-fashioned New Orleans greased-palm wrangling, he just might make it.

Bob's second story is about his recent visit to his mom's rental house in Chalmette. As you may know from the news, Chalmette is still in a ravaged state. The houses are in bad shape, debris and trash line the streets, and blue-tarp roofs abound. So Bob was standing in this wasteland, no doubt wondering if recovery is even possible, when he heard the faint drift of tinkling music: the ice cream man was making his rounds. It must have been like landing in a Bergman film. :-)

In closing, I'll let a friend's grandbaby sum up what we think needs to be done:

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Note: These t-shirts are available from New Orleans-based www.metrothree.com. Proceeds go back into the community.

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.