Thursday, August 30, 2007

Busy days

It is hard to believe but the summer is over and Labor Day weekend begins tomorrow. Now begins the busiest time of year for me, and my favorite season.

Since I last blogged, the kids have started back to school. Here is Dancer before heading off to her first day in a new school. No longer is she going to the private school of her elementary years. She gets to now experience school in fashionable clothes, walking instead of bus riding, and the extensive resources of a public education. So far, she hasn't shown any signs of home sickness for her old school, but I'm getting prepared for the inevitable. About two weeks into the new school year is when it hit her older sister. Dancer is making a lot of new friends. There are many other girls to hang out with after school, which is a big positive.



VBGirl also has adjusted well to the new school year. To my complete amazement, she has been setting her alarm every night and getting herself up in the mornings. I haven't had to harrass her about getting out of bed. It makes my mornings much more pleasant!!! Both girls are fixing their own breakfasts and totally attending to themselves. I sometimes wonder what aliens abducted the real VBGirl and when she's going to return.



Both girls are busy with their volleyball. VBGirl has had 4 matches already. Her team has a 2-2 record. The games have been extremely exciting. I can tell how much the girls have learned since last year. Dancer has just begun practicing. Her matches won't start until mid-September. She is playing on a team from our church since the public schools don't start sports until middle school. Dancer's other extra-curricular activity is dancing, of course. She will have tap and ballet lessons on Monday nights. She is taking those lessons with her best friend from her old school, Sare Bear. Dancer and Sare Bear have been best friends since pre-Kindergarten. Sare Bear is staying at the private school. It has been hard to separate the two girls, but since her mom and I are friends, I'm sure they will remain friends also.

Dash started school 3 days after his sisters. He is still at the private school and is loving being the only one there. Ed gets him up and off to school after the girls leave and I head off to work. Towards the end of the summer, he began getting anxious to return to school. He was getting bored with hanging around the house everyday. It was difficult for him to see any of his friends because they don't live in the neighborhood and, like us, their parents both work full time. It is ironic that Dash's most entertaining week at home all summer was probably the last.



For the past two weeks we've had a house guest. Two weeks ago, Ed's best friend from college flew into town. The plan was for the 'boys' to go up to Lake Erie to meet another college friend, spend a day or two up there, come back here for a day, and then Tim was going to borrow our camping equipment and tour Ohio for a week or so. Well, as they say, 'The best laid plans of mice and men...' While in Sandusky that Friday evening, Tim encountered a little misfortune which resulting in him being stuck at our house for a while. Even though he felt like he was imposing, he actually helped out by hanging with Dash all week because the girls were back in school but Dash wasn't. Tim and Dash played games and watched videos all day. In the evenings, Tim, Ed and I would sit out late on the deck, eat dinner, and enjoy a beverage or two (or three). Earlier this week, Tim did manage to get away for a couple days, but returned yesterday. We spent one last evening out under a full moon. Today, actually about now as I type this, he is heading back home, provided he was able to get past the airport security without his driver's license. He may need to return later this autumn to deal with his misfortune, but that is still not fully determined.

In a way, I'm going to miss having him around. It was a nice change of routine to have another adult to talk to. Even though I've known Tim for about 18 years, I've never had much of a chance to really talk with him since he lives in California. It was nice to finally get that chance, even though the circumstance that allowed it sucked.



And finally, the tomatoes in my garden are finally ripening. Here's the lastest cache. The pepper are still not ripe and the watermelons are rotting on the vine. My green thumb is a bit brown and mushy around the edges.



Oh, and because of all the activities listed above, not much knitting has happened. With volleyball season upon me now, I'll get a little more in during matches.

Saturday, August 18, 2007

Back to School Preparations

Today's theme is 'Back to School.' Earlier I took the girls to the mall to get clothes. Since this is Dancer's first year in public school, regular clothes are a must. JC Penney's had a good sale. We were able to get her 2 pairs of jeans and two shirts. Then over at Abercrombie, we got her two more shirts and three shirts for VBGirl. I consented to so much at Abercrombie only because I had a gift card to use.

After coming home from the mall and eating lunch, I spent the next 2+ hours working on the stack of paperwork and writing checks for school. Dancer had her school orientation Thursday night. All forms and fees for her were taken care of by the orientation. Today's focus was on the stuff for the other two. I don't mind doing it if I can sit down uninterrupted and take care of it. Today was such a day. I also got my planner updated with the schools' schedules all the way through June 2008. I've learned the hard way to take the time and get it all written down at the start of the school year.

Dash's school is finally coming into the 21st century. In their newsletter they stated that they will not be sending home printed newsletters any longer. Everything will be posted on the school's website. They also will communicate via e-mail. My only complaint while filling out the forms today was that his school asked for e-mail addresses on 4 separate forms. Writing the same thing over and over again is one of my pet peeves. At any rate, I think I have it all taken care of.

VBGirl has her sports physical for volleyball on Tuesday and then that form will be complete.

Speaking of volleyball, VBGirl made her team and was selected in the first draft of players. She has heard from the assistant coach's brother that she is considered one of the strongest players on the team and is going to be groomed for a Libero position in high school. She is very excited about that. I told her to use this information as motivation to keep trying harder and improve.

I'm making progress on the linen shawl. I've completed 12 repeat. To finish it, I need to do 9 rows of garter stitch. I'm nearing the end of a ball of linen and don't think I have enough to do those 9 rows before starting the next ball. I can't decide if I'll do one more repeat before finishing, or just finish now. We'll see what my mood is tomorrow. I won't have time today to work on it so I still have time to think.

Lastly, the weather has cooled off very nicely. A front came through Wednesday/Thursday night which brought some heavy, but much needed, rain. It has cooled considerably. Last night it dipped into the upper 50s. I LOVED IT!!!! The windows were wide open and the crickets and birds were chirping away. Life is good.

Wednesday, August 8, 2007

Ramblings from a Fried Brain

It is so fricking hot!!!! When I pulled into my work's parking lot this morning at 6:55 am it was 78 deg F. The humidity was so high you could almost cut the air. It was awful. Driving home from work at 5:00 pm was even worse at 100 deg F!!! I really, really hate the heat. I much prefer cold weather. Not bitter cold, but cold.

It is almost shameful for me to admit I'm still on Clue 2 of MS3. My friend is up to the 5th clue. Looking at what the wing is like, I'm not sure I'll follow it that far. I may just make it symetrical and repeat the first 4 clues. I figure by the time I get to the point where I have to decide, many others will be done and I see some finished examples.

Monday evening I got 5 more rows done on the linen shawl. I'm into the 12th repeat. I still haven't decided when to call that one quits. My class reunion got delayed until late September or early October, so I have time to complete before then.

This weekend probably won't be a good weekend for knitting. Our church is having their annual festival on Friday and Saturday evenings. During the day Saturday will be spent at my in-laws. On Sunday I will be having lunch with a friend whom I haven't seen in 5 years. She's coming back to Ohio for her high school class reunion. It will be good to catch up with her.

Take care and stay cool!