Christmas Letter 2010

Guest Writer: Zeek the Wonder Dog

What we have here are glimpses of the future. The past year has been filled with snapshots of what is to come in the household of the Old Guy, the Princess, and myself, Zeek the dog. They were also known by some other names in several states, such as Map Beaters, that strange guy with the dog, the lady with funny hair. (The Princess had way too much fun with Crazy Hair day at work.) It's been an interesting year.

Nick the youngest graduated from high school this year, the last of the boys to do so. Always the one his parents felt might cause the least trouble, Nick moved through that time without fanfare. After a summer of making pizzas, he landed the job of his dreams. Nick is now working as an “IT” guy. Information Technology for the corporate headquarters of a regional business; he goes to work smiling and is still smiling when he returns. We don't see much of him in the evenings as his social calendar is very full. His job has included a few interesting side-lines, such as being in some holiday commercials for the store. A plaid flannel shirt tucked into Wranglers isn't his normal attire, but he looked good, especially with the girls dancing around him and the Santa hat on his head! He gave his mother a DVD of the commercials, and she would love to show them to you if you stop by!

Eric continues to thrill audiences with music and anti-comedy. I don't really understand anti- humor very well but Eric says it is something he enjoys. He hasn't given up his day job just yet, working as a gasoline dispenser for a local gas station. Remember Oregon has specialists that fill your tanks for you. Not because Oregonians are unable to pump their own gas, but it keeps anti-humor comedians and musicians from starving to death. (My attempt at anti-humor.) Eric recently became the proud owner of a labra-doodle puppy named Kawzmaux. No, it's not mis-spelled. I asked. I thought it was Cosmos. Eric brings him over to play with me sometimes.

Craig the oldest is now a full time student of the Culinary Arts at our community college. He is also a musician and his band keeps busy playing locally. Glimpses of the future I tell you. Someday you will be able to eat something prepared by a young man who has beaten a drum over and around your meal. I am thinking this might be either a very exciting experience or something that might happen as a religious experience. His parents love it when he cooks dinner. His mom keeps trying to assist him, but there seems to be some conflict between the French method and the Mennonite method of cooking. I think I saw the Old Guy and the Princess dancing in the street earlier this evening, singing something about Craig moving out. Seems kind of crass to me. I liked the kid, he was always telling me stuff that I didn't understand. Most dogs only hear one or two words, not complete sentences. And of course, dogs that can type are very unusual.

The Princess continues to make the lives of everyone around her better, both at school where she is the office manager, at church where she sings on the worship team, women's retreat where she often is called on to be master of ceremony and at home where she is responsible for so much. Very talented she is, humble too, but often much more fun to watch than anyone in the entertainment field. She is known to have done some very interesting things this past year, and there is photographic evidence to support these claims if anyone should try to dispute them. She has been seen in the back yard in her bathrobe photographing flowers in the snow, sitting in a ditch next to the road in a national park photographing flowers, standing on the edge of a cliff photographing flowers, and at the edge of a fast moving stream that could easily carry her over a waterfall, photographing flowers. The Old Guy was also able to take some pictures of the Princess taking pictures of flowers. Really, you should see some of those pictures.

Not nearly so entertaining, the Old Guy in this house continues to be unemployed and not looking for work. He was able to do a little landscaping around the house this year, built a few walls around the patio, camped for over 100 days, and walked the wonder dog most every morning, rain or shine. He is most excited about a new purchase that might keep him a little closer to home this next year. After bending to the Princess's urging, he bought a Jet Sled to run the rivers and fish. He told me it was her idea after he mentioned to her he would be home more often if he had a boat. Do you think he was working an angle? I know he is no angel, but she is very shrewd. Surely she wasn't taken in by such a lame excuse.

Zeek the wonder dog, I could go on and on but it is so hard to type without thumbs.

Glimpses of the future you ask, where are those. Well this year has seen a lot of evenings that found LeAnn and Will at home without boys. They traveled far and alone just the two of them (well, I was sleeping in the back seat) for three weeks in July. While pulling the 5th wheel up I-70 in Colorado they were able to avoid a retread in the road, followed by a hay bale, then drive over 500 miles late into the evening because the Old Guy was too cheap to pay $70 for a camp site and the Princess couldn't take another day of 110 degree weather. They were able to enjoy the company of friends and relatives and plan the next big trip to Canada in the summer of 2011. Most of all, they get along so well and seem to genuinely like each other. I think there will be some pretty cool things in store for them if they will just continue to feed me on time and stop stepping on me when they go out the back door in a hurry.

All of us hope this next year will be kind to you. We know the last year has sure been kind to us. Some times when I am laying in the sun watching the Old Guy, I know he must be thinking just how lucky he is to have so many blessings. I know when they pray they talk about it to Jesus and I am convinced they are living examples of the grace of God. Of course it helps to have such a great dog.

So here's hoping your holidays and the year ahead are filled with days that are merry and bright!

Love, Will, LeAnn and family

Family Treasures

Yesterday my siblings/spouses gathered at my parents' house in Brownsville to divide some of the treasures from our dearly departed father and mother. It was a good day of reminiscing and laughing. Little brother Doug scored big with a derby hat of Dad's. Nice hat but I'm not so sure about the attitude! 

 There was a box of dishes from our mother that had been boxed up for many years. I think she got these after her mother died, and it seems like I recall her saying something about at least one of them coming from a great aunt. If any of my Oswald relatives know, I'd love to hear it. I am now the proud owner of one of these beauties.

 Some interesting items included an original Bill of Sale for an auction my dad held in 1963, when he had a $3000 loan from the bank and the crops failed. He had to sell all his farm equipment to pay the loan. There were also some war ration booklets. I got one issued May 6, 1942 to Stanley John Troyer, my dad. It lists that he was 14 years old, 5 ft. 3 in, 117 lbs., blue eyes, light hair. It was signed for by his father, John R. Troyer. Pretty cool!

We also looked at the scrapbook of cards received after my mom's passing in 1973, when I was in 8th grade at Tennessee Elementary School. There was a card signed by everyone in my class and my teacher. It even had a Bible verse! There were also cards from Hope and Doug's classes there, signed by all their classmates. (No Bible verses though!)  Looking them over made me vow to be sure and write personal comments about the deceased person on cards I send. A neighbor had written, "You mother was a true Christian and she made a difference in my life." Others mentioned how inspirational her faith and courage were.

We also had fun looking at the yearbooks for the Christian school (Elliott Prairie) we attended when we first moved to Oregon. One year it actually listed the height and weight of all the 8th graders, male and female! A 5'2", 95 pound 8th grade girl's ambition was "to gain weight"! Fortunately, I wasn't in 8th grade that year!  A school calendar for October 13, 1972 said, "The Troyers left us." That's when we moved from Woodburn to Lebanon.

Lots of memories, but the best ones continue on with the unconditional love and acceptance we share with each other. We are truly blessed.

Christmas Bike

Yesterday morning, a tiny middle school boy signed in a few minutes late to school. Again. He walks to school every day, and he said, "If only I had a bike,  I know I could get here on time." The attendance secretary (Cindy) talked to him a little, asking if there was any chance he might get one for Christmas. He was sure his mom couldn't afford it.

Knowing the family was very needy, Cindy asked if I thought it would be ok if she would put out an email to our staff letting them know we had a student who would love to have a bike. I thought it was a great idea. After she cleared it with our principal, she put out a short email. Less than 10 minutes later, a teacher was down at the office saying she and her husband would buy him a bike. Cindy called the mom to make sure it was ok and found out he already has a helmet. Other staff volunteered also, but only one bike was needed!

This morning, the wonderful teacher wheeled a brand new shiny bike up to the office, and included a good bike lock. When the boy came in this morning, it was so much fun to watch as Cindy took him to the bike and told him it was his! Our principal was also there to share in this event.  I wish the teacher could have presented it to him, but she wants to be anonymous. This boy was SO excited! I took a picture which I will email to our staff with tomorrow's announcements.

His mother dropped off his helmet, and when he came to get the bike and ride it home after school, it was a joy to watch!

I appreciate our staff so much. They are consistently generous in helping students and each other, both with physical needs and with nurturing and caring. I feel so fortunate to be part of this group, and they inspire me to give more of myself and my blessings all year around.

Birthday Treats

I turned 52 yesterday. I got to sleep in on a Sunday morning, because I went to the children's musical at church Saturday night. I did some leisurely shopping.

 Craig cooked a fantastic dinner - Lasagna Florentine, Lobster Tail with garlic butter, french bread, salad. Nick frosted an angel food cake, my favorite.

The boys helped me decorate the tree, and we laughed at their handmade ornaments from their childhood and remembered Grandma Jean and Grandma McAnulty who gave them ornaments when they were little. Will got me a beautiful necklace and earrings in my birthstone (blue topaz).

This one was slightly painful. I'm all for hugs, but I asked for another one, just standing there.

It still surprises me sometimes that my "baby" ended up being the tallest.

Eventually all the family festivities were over and it was just Will and I relaxing in front of the TV, watching Animal Planet. Suddenly Will said, "Hey, that's Nick!" And sure enough, a commercial for Coastal Farm was on. There was Nick, sitting on a saddle (not a horse, just a saddle!), wearing a plaid flannel shirt and smiling like he was having a great time, surrounded by friends who put a Santa hat on his curly head. It only lasted about 10 seconds. Lucky for us, DVR allows you to record something you already watched. So we rewound it a few times to check it out. It was an outstanding birthday treat for me! Possibly more fun for us than for Nick!

A few weeks ago he was asked to go to Eugene for a day of filming commercials with some other employees. (He works in the corporate office doing IT stuff.) I'm told they needed a big guy to wear some Carhartt clothing. He brought us a dvd with all the commercials today. They are short, moving right along, and he's in the beginning of most of them. They are only on this week, on KATU, KPTV, Comcast Cable, KEZI, KVAL, CNN, ESPN, TNT, GHTV, Animal Planet, Weather Channel, and CMT.  Ads should play on Good Day Oregon, KEZI and KVAL evening news, and Monday Night Football.

So if you're watching TV and you hear the Coastal Farm jingle and you see a smiling face that looks just like Nick, believe it. It really is him!

(Sorry Nick. But you really shouldn't be embarrassed. You look good! I almost want to go buy some Carhartt. And I'm really glad you didn't dance around shaking your booty like the girls did! In fact, I'm glad you didn't have to dance around at all!)

I don't mind birthdays and getting older at all. People are more likely to do what I want, just for the day!  And every year I get to live is a blessing and a bonus. And the amount of wisdom I am attaining is just astounding. Hopefully I will start to accrue some modesty one of these years as well!

Saturday Spill

This morning I was relegated to the back seat when Nick took the wheel of my Camry to drive us up to Hillsboro to watch Santiam Christian play for the state championship. (My nephew Duane is on the team.) I hadn't realized how small the cupholders are in the back seat. I thought my full cup of coffee was stabilized as I got myself and my belongings settled in the back seat, but as we went around the first corner, the cup slid sideways and coffee went everywhere, including my lap. Somewhat grudgingly the men in the front seat agreed to turn around and came back home so I could run in and grab some rags to clean it up.

I got the spill mopped up as best I could (while holding the coffee cup between my knees). I was determined to have my coffee and finally reached the point where I could take a nice big sip. Just then Nick said something that cracked me up.  I momentarily lost control of my face, and coffee spewed out of my mouth everywhere! Nick's right shoulder and Will's left shoulder were generously splattered. The stereo on the dashboard and the mirror even got hit! And of course, my own clothing received some as well. Another mess to clean up! Good thing I had plenty of rags to clean up with!

I think I heard Nick say something about never going anywhere with me again. After we got done laughing, he refused to speak again until making sure my coffee cup was empty so I couldn't repeat the performance. I get no respect.

Later I asked Nick if he had ever done an inadvertent liquid laugh spew. He said no, but he has caused other people to do it numerous times! So see, it really wasn't my fault!!

We were very sad that SC lost, but it is always exciting to hear the announcer say that Duane Troyer made a tackle! Duane and his teammates worked very hard and had a fantastic season. And even better, Duane has grown up to be an all around wonderful person and role model who we all love and are very proud of!

Way to go, Duane! Looking forward to watching him perform in SC's play in March! This boy is talented in so many ways!

The Food Critic: Fresh Steelhead

It was my lucky day. After school, a teacher asked me if I had dinner plans. I did not. She asked if I would like some fresh steelhead fillets. Her husband, a fishing guide, had brought some in. His clients did not want the steelhead they had caught! I immediately texted Craig the good news. He was not working tonight, and I think he was excited about cooking them. He texted me back, "I'm gonna do something awesome with it.  I could cry tears of joy right now!" Yep, pretty sure he was excited.

When I brought the fish home, he had a plan. He would prepare Steelhead en Papillote (in Parchment). He started by cutting a piece of parchment in a heart shape. He placed finely diced shallots on one side and poured a bit of white wine over them.

 Next came the fish fillet. I believe he seasoned it with salt, garlic powder and a little fresh rosemary, then topped it with a little splash of white wine.

 Then he folded the other half over and pinch-pleated it neatly together,  anchoring it closed with a couple of toothpicks.

 The packets were placed in the oven to bake until they reached the appropriate temperature, which was determined by a digital thermometer. While they baked, he prepared a Beurre Blanc Sauce (translated White Wine Butter Sauce). This is a mixture of shallots, vinegar, white wine and butter. It was beautiful to behold...but the fish took a little longer than expected to bake, so the sauce broke and lost it's beautiful white appearance. It remained quite delicious, however. Here are the packets out of the oven.

The finished dinner: a little Buerre Blanc Sauce drizzled over the steelhead, rice cooked with a bit of fresh rosemary, sauteed green beans with garlic. The steelhead was moist and seasoned beautifully. It was the kind of meal you want to make last as long as possible. (Also one where you really don't want to even try to calculate the Weight Watcher points!) This was my plate. The men's plates contained larger portions of everything!

When the fish came out of the oven smelling fantastic, in his usual modest quiet way Craig said, "I believe this is going to be a poetic experience for us!"  I'll be glad to experience that kind of poetry any day!

I had never heard of Fish en Papillote or Buerre Blanc Sauce before, but I look forward to experiencing it again....especially if Will ever gets that boat he keeps talking about!

The Food Critic

I haven't been inspired to do any blogging lately...but today when Craig the Culinary student was making disparaging remarks about food bloggers, I decided to become one.

Craig is learning the French method of culinary arts. I grew up learning the Mennonite way of cooking, and the older  get, the more I shortcut and simplify in order to end up with the fewest pots and pans possible. The French must have lots of servants to wash up after them, because they use lots of dishes and pans every step along the way.

Anyway, Craig volunteered to make sausage gravy for lunch today. He would have preferred some old fashioned buttermilk biscuits to accompany it, but I said too bad, don't want to take the time, let's bake some of these handy dandy Pillsbury refrigerated biscuits. 

I am constantly learning about the problems and deficiencies that exist in my kitchen, now that there is another cook in the house. Before he could cook the sausage, he proclaimed that my teflon skillet smelled like garlic and dish detergent and he had to rinse it thoroughly and chastise me for using detergent on it. I say that's the only way to get rid of the grease. He says it's okay to leave some grease in it. I say you must be thinking of cast iron. Will agreed with Craig. I think he needs to stay out of it unless he's on my side.

I also encouraged Craig to change his shirt because he'll get grease stains on it. He assured me he wouldn't. I reminded him I already worked pretty hard to remove a couple of grease stains from that shirt. He ignored me. 

Many years ago, I learned to make sausage gravy by mixing flour in with the sausage after it's cooked, then adding milk. Unacceptable. The sausage must be cooked, drained, (another dirty dish), then a roux must be made by adding flour to a little sausage grease and a lot of butter.  Once you add enough milk to make it the perfect consistency, you can add the sausage back in. I finally bought some white pepper, so at least I was able to please him by having something right in my kitchen. I didn't even know there was white pepper until a few months ago.

The sausage gravy was absolutely delicious as well as having the perfect smooth consistency. Some eyebrows were raised about the man of the house placing a dab of strawberry jelly on top of each gravy-covered biscuit on his plate, but we agreed if he likes it that way, then it's fine with us.

He may not have gotten any grease on his shirt after all, but he certainly got a nice flour hand print on his rear end. And that's his own hand print of course.  I am pretty good at controlling my impulses to slap his sassy butt during our kitchen "discussions".

Who is this Etta Powell?

About 15 years ago, I was asked to be on the ballot for secretary of Women's Ministries at church.  I was mostly working with kids ministry activities at the time, so the prospect of getting involved with Women's Ministries seemed very attractive! Since the only other person on the ballot was Etta Powell, and I had never heard of her,  I figured I was a shoe-in for the position.  I didn't go to the event where the voting took place and was shocked to learn that Etta (who did attend) was elected secretary!  How had this newcomer defeated me?!

Someone pointed her out to me a few weeks later as she walked into church, and I was still puzzled. She looked very ordinary and nice, so I didn't feel too upset about it!  History again reveals that God certainly had a plan there! Etta went on to be an outstanding Women's Ministries Director and eventually Women's Retreat Chairman as well. She was extremely gifted in organization and in recognizing other peoples gifts. Her love and acceptance inspired confidence in women to use their gifts to serve God.

I got involved in the Women's Retreat Committee around 1997 when Etta was the director.  When she ran a meeting, it was fun but focused!  I was asked to do a workshop on journalling at one of those early retreats, and later on there was a delay in the programming. For some reason I ended up with a mike in my hand telling a funny story or two to bridge a gap. Soon after that, Etta decided that as Director, she did not want to emcee the retreat, but I would be good at it.  I wasn't so sure. Giving boring announcements really isn't my thing, and I was pretty nervous about being in front of people on a mike.  But in her own sweet gentle way, Etta prevailed, and the next year I was the emcee. 

I have held this position ever since, though I volunteer every year to step down if they want to give the position to someone else. There are just enough people out there who like to laugh at my imperfections that they can't get rid of me! I have learned to enjoy it as well. I used to think you had to look really good as well as have your act together before people would listen to you. Obviously not! I still don't like the announcement part, but God has give me so many  opportunities to share his faithfulness while enjoying a lot of fun and laughter and meeting many wonderful women.

Along with many others in our women's group, I often remarked that  wanted to be just like Etta when I grew up. She was  the epitome of a fun godly woman! We all loved to be around her, always receiving encouragement and feeling like a better person just from spending time with her.

During those early retreats as I stood in front of those women, I really wanted to have an image as a strong, godly woman like Etta. But as God worked in my heart at the 2006 retreat, He impressed upon me to share my burden for my wayward oldest son, and the sense of failure that was weighing me down even as  I desperately sought after God to intervene. I couldn't believe all the women who shared their stories with me afterward who had wayward sons and daughters….including Etta. I was so surprised that an amazing woman of God like Etta could have a prodigal son! Etta and I shared each other's burden, praying for each other's son after that. God miraculously intervened in my son's life and brought him back to the fold, and I was so blessed to share that at retreat the next year.  I still pray for Etta's son and will continue to do so.

When Etta retired and moved to Prineville with her husband, it left a huge hole in our women's group and our church. Etta came back for retreats whenever she could and occasionally visited at church when in town. On February 9, 2008, Etta sent an email to me and a long list of her friends, breaking the news that she had been diagnosed with lung cancer. I saved this email, and I wish I would have saved the updates that she continued to send during the past couple of years, because even though at times she shared bad news about her health, she always included words of hope and faith. Here is how she ended that first email:

"I want to share a quote with you that has been tucked into my Bible for several years.  I think it is fitting for what I am going through at this time. 

"First, He brought me here;  it is by His will that I am in this difficult place;  ........... in that I rest.

Second, He will Keep me here in His love, and give me grace in this trial to behave as His child.

Third, He will make the trial a blessing, teaching me the lessons He intends me to learn and working in me the grace He means to bestow.

Fourth, in His good time, He can bring me out again.......... how and when, He knows.

So, I am here by His appointment, in His keeping, under His training, for His time."    By Andrew Murray.

I believe in the power of a mighty God who loves me.  He is the one who gives me the hope, strength and courage to take this battle on."

I am so thankful for the time that God gave Etta on this earth and enjoyed visiting with her at her two-year survival party earlier this year. Even when bald from her chemo, she was beautiful both inside and out. She exemplified "the joy of the Lord is my strength."

God brought her home to her eternal reward yesterday evening. Just imagine His great delight in saying, "Well done, thou good and faithful servant."

So who is this Etta Powell? An amazing woman of God who encouraged and inspired me more than my feeble words could ever describe, and I still want to be just like her when I grow up. 

First Fire Drill

How lucky we were today, to have our first fire drill of the year scheduled for 9:45 am on a dry sunny day. At 9:30 I called the alarm company to put us in test mode for 45 minutes, as is my duty in this situation. Just before the custodian pulled the alarm, she asked if I had called the alarm company. Yes, ma'am. The principal had asked just a few minutes before.

So we're standing outside a few minutes later and we hear sirens approaching. The people around me ask if I called the alarm company. Once agan, I assure them yes I did. The sirens cease, and the assistant principal calls me on the radio and asks if  I called the alarm company. Yes I did! Well, the fire department called our  physical plant, who then called my principal and chewed him out for not calling the alarm company before we did our drill!

I made a bee line for the phone when I got back inside and called the alarm company to pleasantly inquire what happened. Turns out they put us in test mode for 5 minutes instead of 45 minutes!

Can you believe, there were some female employees who had the nerve to express disappointment that the fire trucks were called off before they got to our school, because a couple of tall, dark and handsome paramedics came out last week when we had to call an ambulance for a sick student whose parent was unreachable.  The nerve!!!

Another First Week is Over!

What is it they say about the best laid plans? After constantly waking up Monday night and checking the clock, my alarm didn't go off and I overslept! Instead of being nice and early to work, I was five minutes late on the first day of school! Fortunately everything was ready to go and it was probably the least hectic first morning ever.

To my surprise, Justin the phone guy was there first thing to program the bells! He hadn't quit just yet. But the next day,  I didn't hear the bells the first couple of periods, and when I went out to ask a couple of teachers, I was informed they hadn't been ringing. So I reset them and they worked. What is up with that?  No one called the office to mention the lack of bells. Could it be that we have no complainers among our staff this year? Or have they just lowered their expectations?!

The new scheduling program has had more than it's share of glitches, with a few periods or entire schedules disappearing, which makes it difficult to find students. I frequently thank God I don't do attendance any more. But the bugs are getting worked out, and the teachers who haven't had access have been amazingly patient and kind.

We have been without a heating system in our office since January. A new HVAC system is being slowly but surely installed, causing a great deal of dust and dirt everywhere. It was a bit of a shock to see  all the huge exposed shiny metal duct work under our high ceilings. Yesterday one of our special students was in the office and asked about it. After it was explained to him, he said, "Well, it sure looks tacky!" Several people have commented that it's all the rage in the big city clubs and lofts. Those who know say we won't even notice it in a month. We'll see. If we get heat that is not too hot and air conditioning that is not too cold, we shall not complain.

A parent called yesterday to point out that a teacher had sent home a paper that said volunteer hours needed to be completed and turned in by June 7, 2010. He said he didn't think there was any way his child could accomplish that. I asked if he was sure they wouldn't be able to do some time travel to take care of it, but sadly, he said they weren't time travelers. So I promised him I would let the teacher know about the date error!

So it was an interesting, busy week with many hours at the office. Our staff and kids are so much fun. But a nice sunny weekend is a very welcome break.  I just got a text from a friend thanking me for helping her son find his bus yesterday.  A great example of how nice parents are! Many of them have thanked me for doing simple little things. Although at the end of the day today, a parent with four kids at our school called with a message for them. Four messages to write, four schedules to look up. Good grief! I hope she doesn't get in the habit of that!!  It was a bit of a test of being cheerfully helpful, and I may not have gotten an A+ on that one!

The Night Before the First Day

Why is it that you can't keep your eyes open when you're trying to read on the couch, but when you go to bed you're instantly wide awake thinking about all that's going on the next day? Especially when the next day is the first day of school. After a sleepless hour, here I am to make a note of all the things I need to do first thing.

My alarm is set for 5:00, because you can never get there too early the first day. Our doors open at 7:00. The first thing I did when I got up just now was get a plastic bag and glove so I can pick up garbage on the way in. I noticed some today when I stopped by with a couple of vases of flowers so I wouldn't have so much to carry tomorrow, but I forgot to go out and pick it up.

While there I realized that I had totally forgotten to put in a work order to get our bells changed, and we have a completely different bell schedule this year. So I put in a work order today. I'm wondering if I should dig out the book of intercom instructions and try to figure out how to do it myself, since with such a last minute request, who knows when it will be done. Especially since Justin, the great guy who always did it before, has left to pursue higher education and I don't know if he has been replaced yet. We'll see what happens tomorrow.

Tomorrow the sixth graders get to have the school to themselves, and we always have a welcome get together for the parents first thing. I have the big coffee pot ready to plug in, donut holes from Safeway that just need to be put onto a couple of trays, and the whole thing hauled over to the cafeteria, but all the office carts were full of other things or gone, so I'm hoping one of them will have reappeared overnight. Check.

I noticed the boss put out a couple of all staff emails, and our two new teachers don't have email accounts yet so I need to get those printed and in their boxes right away. Check.

Speaking of the big 30-cup coffee pot, I need to put in the staff announcements that the mystery of the missing coffee pot has been solved.  I couldn't find it when I was preparing for their first day back and had been asking around about it. The cupboard where it belonged had been taken over and crammed full of used 3-ring binders. My ever efficient co-worker Cindy dug through them and discovered that yes, there was room for that big pot behind all those binders. I had just assumed there was no way it would fit back there. I'm so glad that it is not missing after all.

On Friday, a parent brought her sixth grade twin daughters in and they brought croissant sandwiches and grapes from Costco for our lunch! That was a first! I got their names, but didn't get around to writing a thank you note for all in the office to sign. Must do that tomorrow. Check.

I have just sent myself an email with six things I need to do first thing, so as long as I have time to check my email, I wont forget anything!

And of course the most important thing of all is making all those new sixth graders and their parents feel comfortable and happy to be there. There will be tons of people in the office, especially in the morning, and it will be a high speed day with lots going on. The staff at our school are wonderful people who pitch in and help out wherever needed. It's a very positive, fun place to be and I am looking forward to a great year! Now can I please just go to sleep?!

The Truth about Costco

Today as I was checking out a cartload at Costco, the young man assisting there asked if I would like a box. (They always sound like it would be somewhat of an imposition to supply a box, though they are piled everywhere under the checkstands.) I replied as usual, "Yes, please, as long as it is small enough that I can get it out of the cart without a struggle." "How about this medium sized one with handles," he said. I was shocked at his helpfulness.

I expressed my gratitude for his thoughtfulness and said, "I thought you  all specialized in getting the biggest box you could find and making it as heavy as you could so that I would end up in a big fight to get it out of the cart once I get to my car. I can't tell you how many times I've been out there muttering very bad things about you guys as I try to remove a big hundred pound box that's stuck in my cart."

This young man and the cashier at the checkstand both admitted they did enjoy causing this problem! I asked if they take turns hanging out in the parking lot to watch chubby middle aged women struggling with heavy boxes, using bad language that they save for the most frustrating occasions. (In my case it would be "poopy, poopy, poopy," but I didn't tell them that.)

That's when I learned the truth! They admitted to me that they actually have hidden video cameras around the parking lot, and they save the best videos to use for entertainment at their company Christmas party!!

Consider yourself warned. Look for the hidden cameras - I was unable to find them but I didn't take too much time searching the parking lot. I believe they are there, so watch your language when you get to your car and realize that once again, they have wedged a huge box full of all heavy items into your cart.

Retreat Prankster Unwittingly Strikes Again

So, the infamous fake cockroach got me again. (http://wlenmusings.blogspot.com/2010/01/retreat-ramblings.html)  I took one to school after the retreat last fall, with disappointing results. My sometimes annoyingly level-headed co-worker was not fooled by it when she moved a paper and saw it on her desk. But I was cleaning out a drawer last week and felt something strange when I grabbed a stack of paper. I turned it over and screamed when I saw...a cockroach!!! Why can't I be annoyingly calm and level-headed? Oh well, once my panic attack was over I enjoyed a hearty chuckle.

Also, I'm wondering how many other people have done this. I'm pretty sure it is perfectly normal to forget that you have a little straw in your coffee and bring it up to your mouth to take a sip, thereby inserting the straw straight up your nostril, where it sticks for a moment, dribbling coffee onto your new off-white sweater just before you have to go up in front of the whole church and sing on worship team. Everyone has probably forgotten about that little straw at least once, right?

How Not To Travel, Part 3

When you are  camping in the forest at the Grand Teton National Park near a the gorgeous Jackson Lake and its' Lakeside Trail just a few minutes away from your campsite, it's like living in a dream. Get up in the morning, walk along Lake Jackson with mountains bordering the opposite side and wildflowers growing everywhere around you. Of course, such a walk will take awhile, due to all the time spent gawking around at all this beauty and trying to capture it with your camera.

Although your steps do speed up when you hear some twigs cracking in the woods off the trail and you recall overhearing a poor woman in her car at an overlook yesterday, crying "But you just don't understand how afraid I am. We've already seen one bear!"  You are all alone, because the dog and therefore your husband are not allowed on this part of the loop.

Nearly two hours later you finally return to camp, worried that your husband might have gone out anxiously looking for your remains. But no, he's calmly drinking coffee and having breakfast without you, with no fears that you have become a victim of bears or anything else.

So you hurry with the preparations to get on the road, and you don't notice where the kitchen hand soap ended up. Its' spot is on the countertop behind the sink, which extends out to divide the living room area of the RV from the kitchen. Normally, you put the hand soap in the kitchen sink along with the morning coffee cups just before you hit the road.

So you go merrily down some narrow winding roads in Yellowstone National Park, uphill and downhill, enjoying the views but not getting out a lot since you were here a few years ago.

When you stop for the day in a shady RV Park outside of Livingston, Montana, you come in to get your house in order. When you are pushing the button for the last living room slide-out, your hear an unusual crack but don't think too much about it. You get your kitchen ready and wonder what happened to your hand soap. You peek back behind the sink in the living room and stare in stupification. What???

Small pieces of plastic have exploded everywhere, and there is a big puddle of soap on the floor directly behind the sink.  You recall the noise from the slide-out, and slide it in a few inches. There is the lid and dispenser and more shattered plastic and soap in the carpet, in the little eight-inch overlap area. It just is not a good idea to open the slide-out when a plastic soap dispenser gets pushed into the overlap.

Your husband assumes that you left the soap on the counter. You believe it probably flew out of the sink while he was speeding around a corner or bouncing through some road construction. Not that he's a crazy driver. But you are a good RV wife so you don't criticize him for either his driving or his suspicions that you could be so careless. You just thank him for helping dispose of the plastic shards and spend a lot of time on your knees trying to soak up and clean up all the soap from the carpet. It's a great way to spend a beautiful sunny afternoon. And the carpet will never be cleaner.

10 Steps to Becoming a Great RV Wife

A great RV wife knows that her main job is to enhance her husband's image as a knowledgable, competent, savvy, RV guy. Here are some ways to accomplish that.

1. When backing into an RV spot:  If your backing signals are a family joke, and your husband made it clear many years ago that he preferred being directed by your 10-year-old son, then he deserves to be on his own now that the children are all grown up and he's stuck with just you. However, if people are watching, be sure to get out and direct him as competently as possible so that he appears to be a successful RVer with a good wife. Try to remember to stand in a position where he can see you in his mirror. He may get irritated if he can't see your signals, and you want to avoid irritating him.

2.    When setting up the RV:  It is very important to let your husband be in charge of things like electricity, water, and sewage. If you do too much, other RVers around you will think your husband is inept. It is acceptable to appear helpful with simple things like placing the chocks and pads under the jack.

3.  Speaking of sewage: ladies don't. It is best to be oblivious to the workings of this system in your RV. Just let your husband do his manly duties to take care of things with nasty names like "black water".

4.  Occasionally, make a silly mistake and let him figure out how to fix it. For example, it's your job to turn on the air conditioning in hot weather as soon as he plugs in the electricity. If the RV doesn't cool off, and you eventually notice it's 88 degrees inside and 85 outside, go out where he is sitting in the shade with his dog and express your concern about the air conditioner.  When he comes in and sees that the switch is on Heat instead of Air, he will instantly be a hero for miraculously fixing the air conditioner by simply switching it to Air.  A great RV wife would admit she must have been careless or forgot to put her glasses on and apologize for making such a grievous error. One who is still learning to be a great RV wife might accuse her husband of bumping the switch on his way to the bedroom to count his 21 shirts. (It helps if you have a great RV husband who thinks this is one of the most hilarious things ever.)

5. When your husband has a new and amazing toy, such as an Incredible touch screen cell phone, and he believes you can bypass your map retardation by learning the Navigate system and other mysterious computer things it can do, resign yourself to learning as best you can. The first day, you can blame your mistakes and ineptitude on the fact that you don't have any reading glasses. After that, when you have glasses in the pickup, it's harder to find excuses for mess ups (although there is often a glare on the screen). After a week when you say, "Now how do you get off this keypad again?" and he exclaims, "I can't believe you still don't know how to do that!", try not to let your feelings get hurt. He is a man, and men understand tech things better than they understand women who don't get tech things.

6. Make lots of admiring comments about his dog, even if you secretly wonder about a big chocolate lab who is content to sleep away a 12-hour day in the pickup while his owners wander down the road with an ever changing destination. Is that normal? If you must have a dog, that is the kind to have.

7. Be very careful not to look behind you and make any loud exclamations about the dog as you are driving down the road. Just because the dog's head is in the styrofoam container of leftover picnic food that your husband did not put the lid on does not mean that you should gasp and say, "No, Zeek!" Your husband may slam on the brakes and pull over, alarmed that perhaps Zeek, his perfect dog, is doing something very unacceptable such as pooping. When he finds out the real reason for your outcry and believes it to be unworthy of such vociferation, he may become slightly irritated with you. Let me repeat, you should try to avoid doing things that irritate your husband. (Unless they are really fun for you.)

8. If your husband should ever mistakenly close the slideout over a hose bib that should have first been lowered, causing the fender to bend outward at an alarming angle, let him know you still respect him completely. Because he is a highly skilled and competent RV guy, within the hour he will straighten out the bend so well that no one but the most inquisitive fault finder will even notice the slight indentation where it bent. Compliment him on his repair job, and do not tell anyone about this embarrassing mishap. Let him tell whom he wishes (and he will tell), because his image is not important to him.

9. If his cell phone startles you from a sound sleep at  4:11 am with the text message notification blaring "Pay attention when I'm talkin' to you boy" in a horrible cartoon character voice, and the message is a Mariners baseball score (delayed due to poor cell reception at the RV park), try to calm your racing heart and quietly go back to sleep, keeping your bitter thoughts to yourself. There will be plenty of time the next day to encourage him to find a more pleasing notification sound. Just be thankful he normally turns it off at night.

10. And of course, the most important thing is to have a great RV husband who knows both how to read a map and work a Navigate program, can figure out and fix things that go wrong, and best of all, who treats you like a princess and laughs with you at all the minor annoyances and major inconveniences that come your way as you travel down the road (even if you are the one who causes them). Thank the Lord for the good health and love he has given you to enjoy life on the road as well as at home.

How Not to Travel, Part 2

Here is the outcome of following the three helpful How Not to Travel Tips from Part 1:

It was after 6 pm by the time we arrived in Estes Park. With the help of the Good Sam Directory and the Navigate program on the Mister's Incredible phone, we found our way to the highest rated RV park in Estes Park, because after doing all that research, I certainly didn't want to end up at a park that's dirty, crowded, has traffic noise, or looks like an RV trailer trash. (It also happened to be one of the closest.) Unfortunately the office was closed and no one answered the phone.  It looked extremely full and cramped. This is the highest reviewed RV park in Estes Park?! Ok, on to the next one down the road, a KOA. They were open but full. The kind lady there dialed the number of another RV park for me, but they didn't answer either.

We took off toward the next possibility but soon realized we were on Rt 34, not Rt 36 as we thought. We were out of town and headed into a narrow rocky canyon along the Big Thompson River. Absolutely beautiful, but no place to turn around an RV. Loveland is the next town, about 20 miles away, so I opened the RV guide to Loveland. What? Only one listing, and it's on the other side of Loveland in a small town called Johnstown?  But it's big, it should have room. Also my state park guide tells me that Boyd Lake State Park is located in Loveland, and it has 148 sites. Hope rises once again that we will end up in a state park.

But no. As we approach Loveland, the Mister spots an sign for Riverside RV Park and is able to turn around and go back to it. "What?" I say. "It's not in the book!" Oh, but wait. I was looking at "Loveland Area". On the page before, I find "Loveland", with many RV parks listed. Good grief. When did they start that?

This is an older park with many tall trees, grass, a fenced dog area, many amenities, and it is indeed on the river. And there were a couple of sites available!!! We set up in a pull-through with a meadow behind us. After 446 miles and 12 hours 44 minutes on the road with much uphill and downhill, we were finally camped. By 9:30 pm, the beef stew has been heated for the Mister's dinner and the chicken salad is ready for me.

Unfortunately, we were next to the noisiest group in camp.  I'm happy to hear people having a good time, but one woman had the most annoying loud laugh. It about drove me over the edge. (If you have a friend with a very loud obnoxious laugh, do her a favor and let her know she needs to not ever laugh again.) Shortly after 11 pm when I was about to go out and ask politely if they could quiet down so I could sleep, I heard another neighbor making the request. The party then broke up and they left the next day.

We looked over the state park the next morning, and though beautiful, it's all the way on the other end of town. We moved to a shadier spot at this park and we have decided to stay until the reunion starts Friday. (Although we are of course reserving one day at a time.) It's not perfect but it's shady. It is a gorgeous half hour drive to Estes Park, and we are blessed to have the rest of the week to explore Rocky Mountain National Park and the surrounding area.

Coming soon..... some tips from my vast successful experience on how to be a great RV wife!

How Not To Travel, Part 1

We have been on vacation for 10 days now, and I am confident I have gained much travelling wisdom. I love to give advice, so here is my opportunity to share a few tips I have learned along the way. Our traveling style is very flexible. We have a general idea of where we want to go and what we want to see, but reservations made too far in advance are frowned upon by the Mister. If you were locked into an itinerary and you found a place along the way that you wish to stay awhile longer, it would be a very bad thing for this household. 

Tip #1. When you do make a reservation because, after all, it's a weekend, go ahead and reserve three nights, expecting you will like the RV park based on the guidebook write-up and the name, "Archview Resort".  When you see pictures and read about the Arches, Canyonlands, and Dead Horse Point State Park, it seems like you would need several days to explore them. But  when you start and end your days in a hot RV at a barren RV park with no shade in 105 degree temperatures and intermittent high winds that cause you to scramble with awnings and shade tarps, you will wish you could up and leave without losing your money. 

Don't allow yourself to get too frustrated about having to reset  the switches when the air conditioning keeps tripping off every five minutes, making it very difficult to cool the interior of the RV.  Be thankful that the Mister lines the windows with tinfoil and is able to go out and buy insulated windshield covers to place between your shades and the windows to block the heat. Don't worry that all your RV neighbors will think you're some sort of alien-fearing freak because of all the shiny metallic coverings lining your windows.  Be very thankful when toward the end of the second day, the smart partner realizes that a simple removal of an extra electrical extension will cause the air conditioning to run much more efficiently. If the manager of the RV park won't respond to your request for a refund,  agree with your partner that you've had enough, you hate the place.  Leave anyway and tell all your friends to never camp at the Archview RV Resort. 

Tip #2:  Spend a lot of time researching RV parks/campgrounds and reading online reviews. Of course, its a big waste of your time if the Mister doesn't believe in making reservations in advance. The good ones will be full by the time you call an hour in advance or foolishly show up expecting a site, and you will likely be stuck with the dumpy park anyway.

Tip #3:  Allow yourself to become so traumatized by your three-night reservation at the heck hole that you are afraid to reserve anything for even one night, even on the day you need to arrive there.

When you start down the road and you have three great options for the night, its ok if you decide the first one is too close to your previous stay and still too hot. Keep going down the road. When you call to make sure the second option still has some openings and they tell you they only have two spots at $70 each, go ahead, gasp and sputter than anyone would charge so much for a place to park your RV. Don't even think about the possibility that if you don't grab it, there is high probability that many miles down the road and many hours later as dark approaches, you will feel like strangers with no room at the inn.  Don't give yourself permission to splurge.

Of course, if you would have splurged, quite likely you would have arrived to see that it is just one more RV park with too many big rigs lined up too close together with not enough shade. You would kick yourself for not going on down the road to unknown possibilities....I guess we'll never know.

When you are down to your last and most exciting option, (a state park in the mountains), don't bother to reserve a spot when you call at 2 pm to see if there are any openings. Believe the person on the other end of the phone when they tell you the spots are big enough for your rig. Believe them when they answer your question by assuring you there is not much of a climb from the highway.

When you get stuck in slow traffic for two hours, just relax and enjoy the scenery. Provide your partner with his favorite snacks (Vanilla Wafers) that you thoughtfully purchased earlier, and cold non-alcoholic drinks you packed in the small cooler. Keep your Good Sam Trailer Life Campground Guide on your lap and check all the towns near and beyond that state park for RV parks. When you start to get the picture that the only camping available for many miles after are Forest Service camps (with sites too small for your rig), perhaps its ok to share that information with your traveling partner. But oh well, just optimistically assume that of course there will be a spot for you at this gorgeous state park in the mountains where you are craving a stay in the cool forest surrounded by wildflowers, so different from the previous RV park from heck.

When you finally exit the freeway and the road immediately start to climb, don't panic. It's a really nice road. When you get to a small, lovely casino town such as Central City with tiny streets, sharp corners, and lots of families with small children at crosswalks, don't worry. Be thankful you are traveling with an expert RV driver whose occasional heavy sighs could be interpreted as signs of frustration,  but who is always in full control of his emotions and doesn't swear.  Enjoy the gorgeous mountain scenery after you safely pass through these two nightmarishly narrow streeted small towns (the picturesque Black Hawk is on the route also). Breathe in the pine scented air. Allow the peace of being in mountain forests with views of valleys and distant peaks to wash over you. You may need it later.

When you pull into the beautiful state park with the lovely name of Golden Gate Canyon and it is every bit as gorgeous as the pictures, allow your hopes to soar. You will be flabbergasted to find that all the big rig spots are  taken by your arrival time after 5 pm. 

When your partner pulls out and goes the wrong directions and you have to get out and skillfully help him back up and turn around, just smile. When the arrogant Forest Service guy comes by and insinuates you're an idiot to think you had a chance to get a spot at a beautiful popular state park this late in the day without a reservation, it's ok to be annoyed and tell your partner you don't like him. (The Forest Service guy, not your partner. You must never tell your partner you don't like him even if it's true right after you are turned away from the beautiful state park where he wouldn't let you make a reservation.)

When you go back to the main road and your partner suggests you look in the Good Sam book for parks at the upcoming towns, DO NOT hit him over the head with said 10 pound book you have been perusing on your lap for the past 3 hours. Forgive yourself if you snap at him a bit and suggest he look at it himself. Appreciate his calm demeanor and assurance that everything will work out as you head down the scenic Peak to Peak Byway toward Estes Park an hour's drive away, where the next RV parks are located. Lots of them. It should be no problem, after all, in Utah there was plenty of room in the RV parks. Too bad there's no cell service in these mountains to call ahead, but oh well. Everything will work out. You've only been on the road twice as long as you expected to be that day. Things will be fine.

What Went Wrong...

We left on vacation a week ago, and every day I type up a log of the day's events under two headings: what went wrong and what went right. What went wrong is, of course, always much shorter than what went right.

What went wrong the first day: I opened the closet to find all the clothes on the floor. The center support for the rod had come loose and the whole rod and clothing came tumbling down. When Will got around to fixing it (we won't say how many days later), he discovered the rod was bent and unusable. Fortunately, we had plenty of empty cupboards and drawers in the bedroom of this awesome RV. Will issued an edict that we would fold the clothes and place them in these storage areas until he gets what he needs to fix the closet. He started on his clothes first.

When I heard his loud guffaws, I went back to see what was so funny. He couldn't believe how many t-shirts he had in that closet! He keeps old ones with frayed collars in here for camping alone, but of course brings newer shirts for camping with the public! He has way more clothes in here than I do! He said it looks like he is a clothes hoarder, but he just can’t throw those shirts away! “Maybe we can find someone who needs paint shirts,” he said. "They’d have to be big people," says I. He said he has a lot of duplicate colors, but there a strategy behind it. That way no one knows if he changed his shirt. "No," said I, "actually that way no one thinks you ever change your shirt!"

I did laundry yesterday, and when I added the clean t-shirts to the stack of rolled up shirts in his cabinet, I counted them - 21! And that's not including the button-down shirts, (both short sleeve and long sleeve), the rain gear, the heavy winter gear, and various other jackets and miscellaneous he had hanging in the closet! It's no wonder the poor rod bent beneath it's load!

Will the clothes horse - who would have thought it? Here he is last weekend at his cousin's place, trying very hard not to wear out one of his nice new t-shirts.

Colorado Vacation: First Day

We survived our first day on the road together and remained cute and fun to be with for approximately 98% of our day. Last week my brother Doug commented that he wished we would have a video camera in our vehicle that he could listen in on as we travel together, so I will make him happy and share some of the things he would have enjoyed.

There is a bit of back ground noise as you drive on these concrete roads in a big pickup, pulling an RV. It makes it difficult to converse at times. Neither of us are the least bit hard of hearing of course. We had lunch at Cousins and as we left I noticed their sign said "WiFi hotspot". So I asked Will, "What does the Fi in WiFi stand for?" His reply was "What about fire?" Later as we drove through the mountains I heard him say something about orange sheep. I looked around and said, "What about orange sheep?" Oh, actually he said, "Watch for big horn sheep!"

As we were pulling out of a gas station after filling up, I asked Will how many miles we had gone. He said about 300 miles on that tank. "Oh, that's good, isn't it," I replied. With a slight edge of testiness in his voice he said, "So you were sleeping for two hours and now I'm trying to concentrate on getting out of here and you are full of questions!" "Well, excuse me," said I pleasantly, "I forgot that we can't all multi-task." So after we got back on the interstate, he said, "OK, what were you asking?" "I believe I said, "That's pretty good, isn't it?" That's all!" Ok, maybe this is what Doug was talking about!

Will doesn't like to drive this many miles in one day with the RV and says the rest of our days will be shorter. I'm not sure what his problem is, I quite enjoyed the long drive. I had a morning nap, an afternoon nap, and a late afternoon nap and viewed beautiful scenery in between. Zeek happily napped all day also. We won't even talk about Will trying to show me how to get maps and tracking apps on his new Incredible phone. i think I did just fine for someone with my stunted tech capabilities. Don't ask him what he thinks!

Now we are in an RV park in Meridian, Idaho. Will's sister brought dinner, which we ate outside at the picnic table. We will spend more time with her and his cousin tomorrow. It's midnight here, better get to bed because I won't have much time to nap tomorrow!

Don't Call Me Grandma!

Gotta love summer time. Spent the past two long weekends camping at the Metolius. The first weekend was nice and quiet, just me and Will and Zeek the dog. The second weekend, we shared our campsite with Nick and my brother Doug and his family. In the campsites adjoining and adjacent were many other friends. I believe I heard that there were over 50 people in the group, includiing about 30 children.

Our campground is about a mile from the Camp Sherman store, so we often enjoy a group walk along the river trail to the store. Saturday morning I joined a group of 4 women and 5 children on this trek. I fell back with Tiesha and her little guy Trent, and we soon lagged behind the rest. A walk was not Trent's idea of a good time. He thought staying in one place and throwing sticks in the river was the only fun thing. Totally a blast for a one year old. It soon became apparent that this walk was not meant to be for him, and I eagerly volunteered to be the "mom" to her other two children for the rest of the walk so she could turn back.

I caught up to the rest of the group and told Madi and Lincon that I got to be their "mom" for the rest of the walk. I enjoyed helping them pick out ice cream at the little store...and then Lincon announced that he had to use the bathroom. As we trudged over to the outhouse, I realized he probably wasn't old enough to go in there alone...Man, I hate outhouses. I'm an RV girl these days. Lincon was very particular about making sure I had the toilet seat perfectly lined with toilet paper before he allowed me to seat him upon it.

It has been a very long time since I had to accompany a little boy to the bathroom. I remember thinking thae my little Nick would never learn to take care of business for himself, but eventually he did, and I was ever so glad to be rid of that chore. Anyway, I stood in there patiently waiting, holding Lincon's melting ice cream push up and my melting Snickers ice cream bar (both still in their wrapping thank goodness). Lincon asked why I was looking at the ceiling. I didn't want to tell him it was because it was the least disgusting place to look at in there, so I just said because it's so high. Some old guy opened the door (which I had forgotten to lock) and started to charge in there. He wasn't too pleased to see me in the corner and a little boy on the toilet.

So finally that ordeal was over, and Maggie the dog was having a great time swiping her tongue at all the children's melting ice cream. I sat down with two little girls, Madi and Rae. Madi had a great idea! "How about if we pretend you are our grandma for this weekend!" I about choked on my melting Snickers bar. Now, I am well aware that I am old enough to be her grandma, and what joy when that day comes, some day when I am an old lady. But I am not yet a grandma. I had to tell her I wasn't emotionally prepared to be a grandma, but I would be happy to pretend to be her Aunt LeAnn. She liked that, and I soon had a few more little girls calling me that.

There were lots of wonderful little girls in the camping group. They would actually run up and hug me like they were so glad to see me. I'm sure it wasn't just because of the nectarines I shared with them. Was it?

I like my grown up friends and family, but it was very special to spend a little time with some fun, energetic, interesting and funny little girls! And I loved seeing all the little boys playing in the dirt! You parents are doing an awesome job!

No Song and Dance Here!

Tonight when I read the Public Safety Log in the local paper, I regained some confidence in my decision making abilities; confidence that was shaken by my recent car break down.

I read that earlier on Tuesday (the same day my car broke down) a deputy spotted a car pulled over on the interstate, and a woman was on top of the car dancing. She told the deputy her car had started making a "funny noise" so she pulled over. Then she decided it felt good outside and her music was good so she started dancing. "The deputy told the woman she was alarming passing drivers and she agreed to stop. The deputy noticed no signs of impairment other than "poor/odd decision making abilities."(Albany Democrat Herald)

There are several parallels to my break down, but I have to tell you, when my car made funny noises and I pulled over, it never occurred to me to get out and dance. Not only to dance, but to dance ON TOP of the car! I was even afraid to play any music. I just sat there and sent text messages to my loved ones while I was waiting for Will.

If I would have impulsively done such a thing, I wonder how long it would have been before my boys would have received text messages from people reporting that their mom was parked by LBCC and dancing on her car? Would have they been shocked? Or would have they just rolled their eyes and said they thought their mom would have known better than to dance in public?

Since I will never be caught dancing on my car at the side of a public highway, I am pretty confident that I will not be diagnosed with poor or odd decision making abilities. And I feel good about that! I think I'll go to my room and dance now.

Warning Lights, True and False

Early yesterday morning as I was driving to work, I noticed the oil light come on. I checked the little sticker at the top left of my windshield and noticed I was a bit overdue for an oil change. The oil light has never come on before, so it seemed a little strange. I ran an errand at lunch, and that light made me pretty nervous. Being a princess who expects her men to take care of guy things, I texted Nick to stop by and check my oil after school. He found it to be low and put in a quart, and I scheduled an oil change for the next afternoon.

I started getting my oil changed at Pacific Auto four years ago after we returned from our summer vacation, which included getting rear-ended by a city bus in Wyoming on our way to Yellowstone. They fixed the bumper and trunk and changed the oil. They are friendly, efficient, reasonably priced, and don't bug you with five other things your car needs like the oil change places.

So as I was driving home after work, the oil light was making me pretty nervous. Now there was not just one light, but another warning light that I couldn't identify. And was that a rattle I was hearing? Maybe it was in the dash, or the glove box? No, it got louder. It was coming from the engine and growing more alarming by the minute. The car behind me was tailgating me, and I realized I was losing speed. By the grace of God I was able to get out of the center lane into the right lane and make a right hand turn off the highway onto a lesser traveled road. The car died and I lost my power steering as I turned, but I was able to pull off onto the shoulder.

I called my trusty husband and waited for him to come rescue me. He looked under the hood and we saw that oil had leaked all over the place. He called our good friend Bruce Heilman, who knows everything about cars and mechanics, and he recommended a mechanic just down the road. I had just enough time to transfer my important stuff from the trunk and vehicle into Will's pickup before the mechanic and his tow truck showed up and hauled my car away.

You know how they say you should always wear clean underwear in case you get in an accident and end up in the emergency room? Why doesn't anyone ever tell you to keep your car clean in case it breaks down and has to go to the vehicle emergency room? Oh well, I finally got the file folder with the notes I used to speak at the Ladies Tea about a month ago out of the car. I tend to store more things in my car than I really should. I must improve. But I digress.

After dinner, Will got a call from the mechanic, and my heart pounded with dread as I listened to his side of the conversation. The news was bad. The oil had run dry, and the engine needed to be replaced. But interestingly, it appeared the oil filter had come loose. Quite unusual. Furthermore, the oil filter was not the correct one that belonged in my vehicle. Hmmmm.

The thought of paying thousands of dollars for an engine replacement was quite troubling. I was kicking myself for not calling Will before leaving work and telling him the car problems instead of just expecting it to be fine. But fortunately, I had supported a friend's fundraiser and bought a box of Krispy Kreme donuts that day, and a warm donut fortified me enough to go to bed fairly untroubled - or at least not totally disturbed and freaked out. I placed it in the hands of God and the wonderful husband he gave me.

Will finally called me around 11 this morning to give me the results of the activities of himself and his sidekick Bruce. They had met with the mechanic, got the errant oil filter, and visited Pacific Auto to talk to the owner. As a result, my Camry was now at Pacific Auto where they are replacing the engine at no charge to us. Pacific Auto also arranged for a rental car for me.

Sounds too good to be true, doesn't it!!! I am still amazed. God is so good!

Nick picked me up after work to get the rental car. I was led to a pretty little Chevy Malibu, but when I got in and was about to drive away, I couldn't believe my eyes. There on the dash in big blue letters was the warning, "CHANGE OIL SOON"!! I headed back in there to advise them, but they assured me the oil was fine, the warning always comes on prematurely. Strangely, in 24 hours time I had gone from blithely trusting that bad things don't happen to my car to expecting bad things to happen to my car!

This Chevy was just as irresistibly drawn to the flowers at the Country Barn as my Camry is. On my way there, I stopped by the Shell station to show off the car to Eric and received another amazing blessing. For the first time in many months, dare I say even years?, I got to see Eric's face clean shaven. No beard, no mustache, no sideburns, no goatee,no strange new configurations or combinations of facial hair. Just a beautiful face. And me with no camera in this naked rental car. And I expect by the time I see him again on Sunday, the facial hair will be growing again. Oh well. I put the car in gear as I was saying goodbye to him and he said, "Wait, I better tell you something. The car is in Neutral." I looked down and sure enough it was. Eric said, "I really wanted to hear you rev it up but I figured I better tell you so you didn't scare yourself and the other people here." Like he thinks I was going to step on it and peel out of there? Oh well, it was nice to be reminded he is not only good looking but very thoughtful as well.

The day continued to get better. As Will and I were out on our beautiful patio discussing the day and how thankful we were for the great customer service he received, I was about to broach the subject of having a late dinner because I wanted to plant the new flowers before dinner. Just then Craig showed up and volunteered to cook. He made some awesome beef stroganoff and green beans with garlic.

All my flowers are planted, my car will undoubtedly be returned to me vacuumed and washed, my husband, boys, and friend Bruce all did kind and helpful things for me today. I am so grateful for all of them and all the blessings this day brought!

And maybe the sun will shine for more than 10 minutes tomorrow! I continue to hope for the best in all of life!

A Drive in the Cascade Mountains

We took a little drive in the mountains today and Will, with his unerring sense of direction, found an place with an awesome view where we could eat our picnic lunch while sitting on the tailgate.

We could see the snow-covered Mt. Washington and Three Finger Jack, although the peaks were covered with clouds for awhile. Mt. Washington eventually cleared. My camera doesn't photograph white peaks against a clouded sky very well!

Zeek spent a good bit of time playing with a special stick that he found. He also discovered a nearby slough and took a swim without asking permission. I must be getting desensitized, I didn't even notice a wet dog smell in the pickup on the way back!

There were many lovely waterfalls along the road.

It was a beautiful day in the mountains.

Sweet pictures

My baby will be graduating from high school in 19 days. Yes, I know they have to grow up, but it sure happened fast. It's a little harder to take sweet pictures of him these days but this week I proved it can still be done!

It helps to have a sweet dog.

And a sweet dad. Who just happens to have built the world's second ugliest but sturdiest chair.

Tomorrow is the Tangent Clean up day where you can take your junk to a place here in town. We will enjoy his sweet help in the rain for as long as we can! Thanks, Nick, we love you man!

Traumatized

Last week when I visited Dr. J (my famous long suffering secret agent dentist) he was kind enough to diagnose the annoying bump in my mouth that I kept biting. "That is a Traumatic Fibroma," he announced, and instantly it felt ten times more painful and annoying than it did when it was just a bump. I received a referral to an oral surgeon to get it removed, and in the meantime I had a little fun telling my family and about 50 of my closest friends that I was going to need surgery to remove a traumatic fibroma. It sounds so serious yet funny to me!

So today at 3:15 I left work and drove a few blocks to the oral surgeon's office, a beautiful new tastefully decorated building. It was nice to see a friend working inside, but I was bitterly disappointed with the magazine selection. Very oriented to outdoor manly pursuits. Fortunately I had my phone and could text Will so I could feel his devoted support.

The young assistant led me to a room where she went over some paperwork and had me initial each of the hundred or so things that could go wrong. Before she left the room she said, "OK, pretty soon we'll numb you up and hack it off!" Oh, boy! She was very kind though. When she told me to sit on the chair, I sadly remarked how disappointing it was that it had no arms to grip. When she came back for the procedure, she moved me to a different room that had a chair with arm rests!

The doctor seemed awfully young. He told me I probably shouldn't go home and google fibroma because it could alarm me with things that didn't pertain to this type. I told him it was too late, I had googled traumatic fibroma and learned that the treatment was excision and the prognosis was excellent, so it was all good. He liked that.

He gave me three shots of a local anesthetic before starting the procedure, which actually went very quickly. It probably took less than five minutes to hack it off and put three stitches in. When he finished, he was holding some gauze onto it for a bit and he said, "While I was waiting for the anesthetic to work, I googled a step by step procedure to remove this, and holding the gauze in place for a few minutes is the last step. It's just great how easy it was." I told him how disappointed I was that it was over so quickly, and he confessed that actually he is a baseball coach at West Albany and just came over to work for the day for a change of pace. It's kind of hard to laugh heartily when you have a few fingers and a big wad of gauze in your mouth. But I managed anyway.

Well, I still have a little gauze in my mouth, and the numbness is wearing off. I'm starting to think it might have been wise to take him up on the offer for some Percocet. But I will make do with non-prescription pain relievers. Ouch. They say the mouth heals very quickly. We shall see.