In a Different Light

My grandfather did injure himself in his fall the other day. He re-broke the same arm that he broke several weeks ago, only now it is worse. The bone is shattered, a mess. Surgery is not an option; the only way to even think of repairing the damage. He was supposed to receive some sort of splint in the ER yesterday, the first of its' kind in our hospital, but his arm was too swollen for even the largest size to fit.

Here I am: relieved that my in-laws left yesterday, paranoid about the state of our bank account, eager for school to begin, afraid of venturing into the workforce, and desperate to finish painting my living room. Life is so much more than what surrounds us, the piddly details that we think matter. How they pale in the light of eternity!

I grieve for my grandpa, even though he still draws breath, because I love him, and because I feel too much. Or something like that. Still, I do have peace in the knowledge that he has a mansion waiting for him in glory.

I go on in the mundane, because there is nothing else to do. My grandpa's is nearing his earthly end, but I am still young, still alive. I have a husband and children to raise...the kids that is. Not the husband. I have goals and dreams and plans. Somewhere, in some way, I know that God has plans for me, too.

There is no music today while I prep and paint another wall. I miss it, but the speakers had to come down in order to paint. Sometimes, silence is necessary. It allows me opportunity to think, to tackle mental problems that cannot even be considered in a noisy atmosphere. I can pray, talk to God and myself.

I do that a lot. Talk to God. Talk to myself. Of course, I only talk to myself when no one else is around. I don't want to be perceived as crazy, and some conversations are better left in private. Even between you and yourself.

Back to work now...there is much to be done. Time is ticking.

Quiet Once More

The in-laws left about 15 minutes ago, only about two hours later than they had planned. The visit was okay; neither as bad as could be feared, nor as good as could be hoped for. Like I told Kane at one point during the weekend, for me, I don't think there will ever be a visit with them that is perfect or good. A fine visit, a tolerable visit-yes. Not perfect. Not good.

Still, the visit was rather strange in the beginning, not seeing Pat for nearly 24 hours right off the bat. Oh well! We each did our own thing and maintained a level of personal comfort. Pat did interact more with me as the visit progressed, but we'll never be buddy-buddy. She surrounded herself with her crafts and with kids. Her daughter, my three kids, and two to three neighbour kids, depending on the day. She even took all these kids to Planet Spacewalker for a couple of hours yesterday afternoon. She's braver than I; there's no way I would have taken the neighbour children with me!

So, the house is quiet once again. No more dog barking or bird squawking. No more little five year old girl asking for food that she doesn't finish. No more noisy RV running outside my bedroom window. It wasn't a bad visit really, but I am glad to have my space back. There is much to get done before school starts, and the clock is rapidly ticking.

My grandpa fell again yesterday. The nurses didn't think that he had really hurt himself, but his sister wasn't so sure late last night. His broken arm is now swollen and hard again. I'm sure there must be more injury than noted; his bones are so brittle now.

Ding, Dong

Well, some things just don't go as planned, or as you might have hoped. Such is life. Thursday, I finished painting the big wall spanning the width of our house. At 6pm, after supper, I roused Kane off the sofa to help me move the buffet/hutch back into its' proper place, as well as the bookcase. After moving that furniture, I returned all the china and tea cups to the buffet/hutch. Kane put some re-enforcing screws in the bookcase while I washed up the supper dishes. No sooner had I finished the dishes than the doorbell rang. It was the in-laws! Kane wasn't even finished with the bookcase yet which meant that books were strewn everywhere in the living room.

We had been told to expect them either late that night or midway through Friday. Six-thirty in the evening isn't late to either of us, and we were really hoping they would arrive on Friday.

Kane finished the bookcase and I went to work putting books away and tidying the living room. Thankfully, the in-laws were busy getting their camper backed into our backyard and such. By the time I went outside to visit, my sister-in-law had left to run some errands. She didn't return until after I had already come in for the night. According to her husband, she was feeling very uncomfortable around us after her phone calls of the past month or two. I saw her briefly when they first arrived, but didn't see her again until after 6pm on Friday!

Really, I rarely saw either of them yesterday. Brent finally made an appearance sometime around noon. Of course, their daughter was up early to play with her cousins in the yard and in our house. It was a strange day to have company camping in my yard but not poking a nose in to say 'hi'. As strange as it was, I didn't mind too much. It saved me from having to keep them entertained.

Pat does seem more comfortable though this morning. She actually came in the house for while, chatting and such. Her bird climbed on my shoulder and stayed there while Pat bathed her daughter. The bird was alright...until it decided to bite my chin, my ears, my finger and thumb. It didn't break the skin, but it was sharp enough to hurt.

It is now 10:35am and I am home alone with my three kids, my niece, and a neighbour child. Kane, Brent and Pat went to do a few errands together. Brent is having alternator problems with their vehicle and needs to check out a part. Pat needs to return something she bought yesterday. Kane's just hanging along for the ride. And, I am the designated child minder. Lovely.

I am looking forward to the end of summer and a return to normalcy and routine. Our two neighbour children are okay; they get along well with our kids. However, they spend so much time here that it is getting on my nerves. The doorbell rings first thing in the morning, and they play all day. Everytime we take the cover off the pool, our neighbour kids are there are like dirty shirts, even though they have their own pool. When our kids sleep out in the tent, the neighbour kids are sleeping in the tent with them. Now, our kids will probably be sleeping in Brent's camper tonight and the neighbour kids are already itching to join them. They even went so far as to tell Pat that it was okay with their parents.

I'm feeling over-saturated with the neighbour kids. Even though the kids spend most of their play time outside, I am feeling constrained, needing my own space to breathe and relax without neighbourly intrusions. I'm glad that our kids have neighbours to play with. Really, I am, and I am thankful that we have such good neighbours to interact with. Sometimes, I just need my own space for me and my family.

Singing While I Work

I've been busy working. Late last night, I washed another section of wall and filled holes. This morning, I painted that same section and added a second coat to the section I painted yesterday. That wall is looking great! Later today, I can put the second coat on today's section and move the bookcase back tomorrow morning.

It remains to be seen whether the in-laws will arrive tonight or tomorrow. I'm seriously hoping for tomorrow afternoon. It would give me time to put the living room back into order and do the last minute cleaning that was pushed aside for the painting.

I seem to have developed the habit of listening to the Temptations while I paint or go about major housework. It began last year when I painted the bathroom and the hall. This time, I'm still listening to the Temptations but also Greg Sczebel and my own mix of favourite songs. It scares Sam when I sing along, but I love it.

Whip-it Wednesday

I feel like I've got a lash at my back. Today has been a day of busyness and running around. I hate running errands that take a big chunk of the day. Really, I'm a homebody and not big on running around period.

As it was, we did have to do several things today. First, we put some gas in the van. Then, we dropped off a receipt of sorts at a friend's jobsite. It is in an area of the city that I rarely visit, so I've delayed this task for far too long. We then drove to the Christian school to pick up Abby's class photo and her files.

After conversing with several people, I was first informed that her files had been tossed, but eventually they were found! Yeah! The program leader will be searching her previously sent emails to see if she did send me one or not. I already know that it wasn't sent to me, or at the very least, I didn't receive it. To the best of my knowledge, I haven't had any issues with my server. To be honest, I wasn't impressed with my interaction with the leader today. She did slip in a small apology towards the end of our conversation, but it really didn't carry much weight after the rest of her statements. Oh well...I got what I wanted and don't need to go back.

*I should mention that I had to go wake Casey up this morning at 9:00am! He went to bed last night at 9pm, but he is our early bird. He rarely sleeps as late as 8am. Shortly after 10am, as we were driving to the Christian school, Casey fell asleep in the van. He's been tired all day, but we don't know why.*

After leaving the school, we stopped at the hardware store to have two cans of paint re-shaken. I had bought them over a year ago when we painted the hall and foyer. This is the paint for the living room. I also picked up some tray liners and a new brush.

We left the hardware store and stopped at Sam's bank. I wanted to get a bank card for his account. I opened an account for Casey a couple of weeks ago and received a debit card for him. Of course, the boys aren't going to be carrying it around; we'll still greatly control their wallets. It will just be much simpler rather than being subject to bank hours and location. Anyway, what I thought would take only a few minutes ended up taking much, much longer. Apparently, whoever opened Casey's account made a big boo-boo! With Casey's account, and Sam's, there cannot be a bank card. So, I made the decision to change Sam's account, so that we could have such a card. We'll worry about Casey's later...depending on what the bank wants to do about it.

From the bank, we dropped off another receipt of sorts at a sports store. Both these receipts stem from the Mosquito 'A' Provincial Tournament program and advertising we received for the program. Then, it was to the grocery store for milk, toilet paper, and fruit. It seems that we can't keep milk in this house. I am quite easily buying 4 litres of milk every day. Do you think the neighbours would mind if we kept a couple of cows in the backyard?

There was only one more stop. Subway for lunch. Sam's treat-that was the only condition for stopping there. Subway is Sam's favourite place to eat, but we rarely eat there as it is too costly for a family of 5. He weighed his choices and opted to fork over the cash to satisfy his craving. We collected our order and headed for home.

In all, we were gone for about 4 hours. We had been making good time until we hit the bank. Quite literally, I believe we were there for over an hour. It was good to get back home, eat our lunch, and relax for a little bit. I read another chapter of The Hobbit to the kids, and Abby and I looked through her file.

The rest of the time I spent painting one section of wall. One coat is finished. It looks great but will need another coat yet. The next section will complete the one big, long wall connecting living and dining rooms. Now, I am in a rush to get that part done. There was a large bookcase that rested against that wall, right in the centre. I need to get that bookcase back in position again very soon, so that all the books piled and scattered around the living room can be put away. Why the hurry? We got not so good news last night.

My brother-in-law, his wife, and their daughter are coming for a few days. They'll arrive either late tomorrow night or sometime mid-Friday. I'm not particularly eager for either time, but I'm hoping it is mid-Friday. That would mean less time with Kane at work leaving me to entertain and amuse my in-laws. Thankfully, they're bringing their RV and are only planning on staying three or four days.

I'm going out tonight for my regular girls' night. It will be nice to be out with my girlfriends; we haven't done that enough this summer. However, I'm already thinking about how much work I have to do before the in-laws arrive. There's more than just painting to be done; always more when the company is people you're not fond of. If I'm not out terribly late, I am tempted to wash and prep the next section of wall, so I can paint it tomorrow.

Call me crazy, if you will. But, this might just be the spur that I need to get this project done. The sooner, the better.

Roses are Red...and Mauve

Kane brought me roses yesterday. For our anniversary. Red and mauve for love and sincerity.

I love him! Sincerely.

Venting My Spleen...who needs one anyway

I wrote a letter yesterday. It wasn't nasty or rude or spiteful, but it was rather blunt and short and honest. I hadn't wanted to write it; had even decided months ago to let go of all the binding strings that kept me wrapped up with frustrations, anger, and disappointment. After all, my involvement was supposed to have ended in June. There wasn't supposed to be a return.

Last school year, I did homeschool Abby, but she was also involved with a homeschool program through a Christian school. All my kids had been involved the year before and enjoyed it. The program gave me the opportunity to avail myself of resources and support and features that I just couldn't come up with on my own. Also, it allowed the kids to attend a "real" school one day a week.

The intent of the program is wonderful, but the execution has been flawed. It is still a fairly new program, and I am more than willing to be gracious with growing pains and stages. However, I was rather frustrated for most of last year and perturbed with Abby's contact teacher and the lack of communication, or miscommunication. I tried to go with the flow. I tried to find reasons to like Abby's teacher, but each time I began to thaw, there would be a new reason for the ice to creep back in. I didn't appreciate the appearance of double standard that existed in certain situations, and I didn't appreciate being talked down to.

I knew part way through the year that this would be our last year of homeschooling, so I kept smiling and gritting my teeth, knowing that the discomfort was temporary. School ended in the middle of June, but we still hadn't received our class photos. I emailed our contact teacher and the program leader (for lack of the proper word) about the photos. I was told that the photos had not arrived and the situation was being looked into. Fine. I could be patient.

July was crazy busy for us, and any thought of those class photos vanished from my mind until last week. I emailed the leader and, surprisingly, received a response within an hour or two. The photos had been in since the end of June! I was somewhat shocked to hear this knowing that I hadn't been informed of their arrival. I asked a friend if she had received hers. Yes, she had; at the same time as she had picked up her files. I was stunned and I felt anger rising within me like steam from a kettle. Again, I had heard absolutely nothing about picking up the files, which apparently was a designated date and time. Nothing. Not an email, a newsletter, or a phone call. I emailed the leader once again to ask about Abby's file and commented on my lack of knowledge concerning file pick-up. I was less than thrilled with the response. She would look for Abby's file, but she had tossed most of the files after the deadline for picking them up. No comment on my being unaware of a deadline.

I stewed over those emails for a little while. Everything about them bothered me. In the two years that we were in that program, I was always prompt in responding to an email from the leader or a teacher. I always picked up my stuff and returned it on time. I always expressed interest in how my children were doing or what they were doing. There was no reason to think that I wouldn't want Abby's file. I do want it. Undoubtedly, there are things within it that I have never seen but want to. I might not get that chance now.

And so, I sat on my bed and composed a letter yesterday. Two and a half pages later, I sat at the computer and composed an email to the program leader. That email was only a couple of paragraphs, but it conveyed all the meaning in the original letter that I composed. I said that I hoped she would find Abby's file but understood that if it was gone, it was gone. I went on to say how disappointed and confused and upset I was over the lack of communication over the past year. I touched on one big area of communicating problems with our teacher last year and moved onto the class photo and files. I could have said much more about our teacher, but that was neither here nor there. The communication has always been the biggest issue for me this year. I don't understand why I wasn't notified of the photos or the file pick-up dates. I asked this and vented some frustrations. Not nasty, but honest. Not harsh, but blunt.

I am not happy about this. I am upset that I may not get Abby's file. It really makes me angry that I wasn't even informed of these things. It makes me glad that I won't be involved with this program anymore. I never encountered such problems with my boys in public school last year. I may not have always understood where Casey's teacher was coming from, but he did communicate in his own way. My not understanding his methods of communication in the beginning did not hamper Casey's learning nor taint my perceptions.

Kane read my email and is proud of me. I was assertive, but I wish that hadn't been required. I hate being given the run-around. Answer my questions honestly. If I was somehow missed in the notification process, just say so. Don't ignore my question. I would still be upset at being missed but not nearly as much as having my issues ignored.

I haven't received an email in response yet. Wonder if I will. I need to go to the school to pick up Abby's photo...and hopefully her file, though I hold no real hope of that. I am loathe to drive out there, afraid that I'll run into the leader. Any spine that I have in writing quickly weakens when placed face to face. Still, I am upset and avoiding is a self-preservation instinct.

My Little Pet Rant

I am not a card-carrying member of PETA or the SPCA or any other animal rights group. I like animals. I like pets, but I refuse to go overboard where animals are concerned.

We do have a cat which we adopted from the SPCA a few years ago. We all love her and take good care of her. In my opinion, part of taking care of her means that Maggie is an indoor cat only. The only fresh air she gets is from an open window or a trip to the vet in her carrier (which she hates!)

We used to have a dog, a bulldog, which is the type of dog I love. Sherman was a puppy and we learned that we really aren't dog owner type people. This doesn't mean we don't like dogs or enjoy their company, we just don't have the lifestyle for owning dogs. We gave Sherman back to the family that we bought him from; they were more than eager to take him back.

So, I believe in treating animals humanely and recognizing your limits, which is why my next-door neighbours annoy me. They love animals...perhaps too much. Let's see if I can remember what they have: two cats, two bunnies, a hamster, and maybe a bird or some fish. Just the other day, they had a dog which they found and were holding until the owner was located.

I don't have a problem with our neighbours owning so many pets. However, their cats and bunnies are frequently in my yard. Frankly, I don't want cats (or dogs or bunnies) using my yard as their litterbox or leaving dead mice or birds for my children to find. There is rarely a day that goes by without seeing at least one of their pets in our yard.

And then, there is the busy road just in front of our house. We live on a frontage road which shouldn't be too busy but has more traffic than it should. Only a foot or two away is a major arterial road with four lanes of speeding traffic. I have personally found a couple of dead pets in front of our yard. This morning it was one of the neighbour's bunnies.

The truly sad thing about all this is that our neighbours bury their dead pet with a funeral and promptly carry on as before. They even go to the trouble to pick out a new cat or bunny from the SPCA. Why?

Why bury a cat and then choose a new one, name it and love it, and let it run free outside? This isn't a house in the country but a house next to a busy road. If you love your pets so much, why not keep them as indoor pets? Makes sense to me.

It has been a busy morning thus far. Kane finished enclosing the carport and building some shelves. It still needs a door, but that will just have to wait. This morning, I cleared out some stuff from the kitchen, hallway, living room, and foyer and moved them into the new storage area in the carport.

So, what kind of stuff did we have cluttering up the house...camping gear, which normally isn't in the house anyway, but it was because we used it already this summer; a large sports bag of goalie equipment, which isn't ours but has yet to be picked up by the person who foisted it upon Sam last winter; baseball bags with cleats, gloves, and balls; team water bottles from baseball season; and a couple of big coolers, one ours and one my parents. I also took out a few small pieces of wood with screws half way in...I don't know what those pieces were for anyway.

With all that stuff gone, I swept and mopped floors. Sam attempted to clean the bathroom counters. He didn't do a terribly good job, but it is better than it was. All the kids picked up their junk and toys and clothes. Laundry was started. The cat litter was changed. Front steps swept. Clean dishes unloaded and dirty ones loaded. I even sanded the first coat of filler on holes and cracks in the first section of wall to be painted soon.

With all that done, what will I do for the rest of the day? Finish laundry, make supper at the appropriate time, run the dishwasher if it is full, help the boys deliver the Sears Christmas Wishbook catalogues that arrived today. I'm sure I'll be asked to keep an eye or two on the pool while the kids swim, which means that I can read or write or do some of both.

I've been writing a lot lately. Creative juices are bubbling more than they have in some time. It is good and exciting. Most of the time.

What I am reading:

Fallen Angel by Don J. Snyder
Beginning of Was by Ania Szado, a Canadian author
The Time Traveler's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger

I'm just about finished...maybe we'll go to the library tomorrow.

A Day of Breathing

Today was a good day. Relaxing. Enjoyable. Kane and I spent the day together. Without kids or demands for our time. We had breakfast at Denny's, walked through the mall and a few other shops around town, we went to see the movie Red Eye, we walked along the Greenway trail, we browsed through a few more shops, and had supper at Montana's. On our way home, we stopped to pick up a couple of videos.

We really didn't accomplish much of anything, but then we didn't have an agenda when we set out this morning. It was great! Sometimes, we allow life to get too busy and cluttered with needless things; things that squeeze out enjoyment and the breath of life. It is good to breathe and feel and move without care for time or obligation. We can't do this all the time, but we don't do it enough.

Hockey Morning in Kelowna

Canadian NHL stars descended upon our fair city for three days of Olympic hockey practices...or try-outs.

As hockey fans, this was exciting news; as was the $5 ticket price per day of practice. However, like all good, cheap things, I knew that it would be difficult to get our hands on tickets. And, I was right. We had no tickets and they were sold out. I was disappointed, but Sam was even more so.

His favourite hockey player would not be in attendance being from Sweden, but there would be no shortage of well-known stars to watch. Martin Brodeur, Vincent Lecavalier, Martin St. Louis, Jarome Iginla, Joe Sakic, to name a few. Of course, if you don't watch hockey, these names mean nothing to you.

The three days of practice began on Wednesday. That night while driving home from picking up some Chinese food, I happened to hear the radio station asking for callers 6 and 12 to win a pair of tickets to the next day's practice. I was driving. I hesitated. My mind raced. At a red light, I made my decision and pulled out my cell phone. Busy. And again and again and again. At least six times I tried and it was busy. I pulled over only seconds from home to call again and again. Finally, it rang, but I was caller 11. Ugh. So close and yet not.

Last night, out of the blue, one of Kane's brothers called. It seems that he was given two tickets to today's practice and wanted to know if one of the kids wanted to go with him. Duh! I think Sam hovered above his bed last night and he sported an enormous, silly grin on his face this morning. I admit that I am a little jealous of him, but just a little. I'm much more excited for Sam to have this opportunity to see professional hockey players...athletes who he sees on TV all the time and in his hockey books and cards. This is an opportunity he may never have again.

I can't wait until he gets home to tell me all about it.

Anniversary Plans

My wedding anniversary is in one week. August 22. Kane and I will have been married for 13 years! Our marriage has not been the stuff of fairy tales, but I can honestly say that we're doing just fine. We've had some highs and lows, but, generally, we've been pretty level. Still, I can hardly believe that thirteen years ago I was in the midst of last minute wedding preparations! In an instant, it seems both much longer and much shorter than thirteen years.

Typically, we go out for a nice dinner for our anniversary, exchange cards, and maybe a small gift. Nothing too extravagant; we can't afford extravagance anyway. Still, we've eaten well in restaurants that we'd never take our kids to.

This year, we both wanted to do something different, something more. Kane really wanted to get away for the night, but summer hotel rates are high and our funds are too low. While talking, I suggested that we could spend a day together...window shopping, walking along the beach, going for a nice lunch, basically doing things that couples do during a day together in the summer. So, that is what we are doing this Saturday.

Thankfully, my mom has that day off and can watch the kids. I was quite concerned about finding childcare for the day. I realized just how desperately I wanted this day with my husband. Looking back over the years, I can't bring to mind anytime when we've done something like this together since we've had kids. Now that the childcare issue has been settled, I can stop stressing over images of shattered plans. Instead, we can begin making loose plans for things we would like to do or places we'd like to go. The day is ours.

Change of Plans

I had plans to clean out my fridge today. They fell by the wayside. Instead, I moved the buffet/hutch from one side of the dining room to the other. I didn't realize it was quite that heavy, but, after some struggling and help from Casey and Abby, it is finished.

So, why did I move it? Well, I do like to re-arrange furniture from time to time, but that buffet/hutch has remained in the same place since long before I ever met Kane. Our house was Kane's childhood home, and the buffet/hutch was his mother's. We inherited both upon her death in 1997. We've made many changes, but the buffet/hutch has not been one of them.

Frankly, I prefer the buffet (I'm dropping the hutch from the rest of this post) where it has always been. It just works better there and looks better, too. However, I have plans to paint the living room walls. One of the walls extends into the dining room...the wall the buffet was against. I'm not quite ready to paint yet though I have the paint. There is lots of prep work: washing walls and patching cracks and holes and such. My aim is to start at the corner in the dining room, because that seems the least 'damaged' of the walls.

I am eager to get the painting started and, consequently, finished. School starts in three weeks, and I will be looking for a part-time job. Of course, a part-time job will mean that I will be working more than I currently do, yet still carry much the same load at home. I won't be as energetic or enthusiastic about painting then! If I can get the prep work done soon, the painting will be a breeze.

Now, I have a section of bare wall ready to attack with TSP and water, but not today. My wrist is still sore; coming up on four weeks of this tendonitis flare-up. I am tired and have been for the past three or four days. The fridge will still be here tomorrow.

Platz or Plauts

What is platz? It is, as far as I know, a Mennonite dessert made with fresh fruit of almost any sort. I was given a cookbook some years ago entitled, "Mennonite Foods & Folkways from South Russia...volume 1". This is what it says about plauts (as it is spelled in this cookbook), "Mennonite fruit Plauts-rich baking powder pastry dough enclosing fruit or berries-were probably first cousins to American pies. In fact, in the midwestern United States pie replaced the traditional fruit Plauts from Russia. 'It took less time to make,' says Tina Friesen Klassen. The most unusual feature of this dessert was its size. An American-style pie may reach a diameter of ten inches. But Plauts, Russian Mennonite-style, were huge-baked on big, black baking pans, three feet long and two feet wide, in the outdoor adobe oven. Fruit Plauts of such enormity could easily accommodate more than a dozen people. Frequently, one Plauts provided the entire meal; no other food was served."

I have both Russian and German in my background and mostly certainly Mennonite, too. That is not to say that we have ever lived as proper Mennonites, but Mennonite food is delicious whether you adhere to the folkways or not. Platz is very good with peaches or apples or plums or pears, but I think I prefer peaches. Though, I must say that as a child, I quite enjoyed my grandmother's plum platz. And, plum pie, too.

This is the recipe that I used for platz:

2 cups flour
4 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
1 tbsp sugar
1 cup shortening
1 egg
milk
fresh fruit, peeled and sliced, such as apples, peaches, apricots, plums, pitted cherries, or rhubarb (insert a personal blech!)

Topping:
1 cup flour
3/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup butter

Sift flour, baking powder, salt, and sugar together. Cut in shortening. Slightly beat egg in a measuring cup. Add milk to make 1 cup. Add egg-milk mixture to flour mixture to make a soft dough (it will be sticky). Pat dough into 11x13" baking pan. Cover dough with your choice of fruit. To make crumb mixture, stir flour and sugar together, then cut in butter. Sprinkle on top of fruit. Bake at 425F for 45-60 minutes. Best served hot. Even better with vanilla ice cream!

Busy Bees

We're having company for dinner tonight. We don't often have company to visit or for dinner. Our company tonight is a single mom with her son and daughter. The boy was on Sam's hockey team and baseball team this year. Kane and I had entertained the idea of having them over for a barbecue all week, but it wasn't until early this morning that plans were finalized. Of course, last minute plans result in last minute cleaning and preparing.

It has been a busy, but productive, day. Kane has determined to enclose the carport-to what degree I am not completely certain. For the moment, it will be enough to store such things that we use regularly but have no room for in the house (hockey and baseball gear, camping gear, etc.) There will still be room for working on big projects, like painting the desk we bought for Abby at a yard sale last year. Why Kane decided to begin work on this today, I do not know. I suppose there really isn't any better time.

So, Kane has been working on that with a couple of trips to the hardware store and a couple of work-related service calls thrown in. I have washed nearly every single towel in my house and my bedding. I managed to corral the kids long enough to have them pick up their things from the living room and sweep the floor, take out the garbage. I went grocery shopping. The rest of my afternoon has been consumed with preparations for tonight. I've peeled and chopped veggies, made potato salad, made peach platz, washed dishes and countertops, semi-cleaned out the fridge, and made lemonade. Oh, and I made my bed with the freshly cleaned sheets and pillowcases. We really need more than one percale and one flannel sheet set for our bed!

All in all, it has been a good, busy day. I don't mind the busyness when I know that it is productive. Sometimes busyness isn't productive, and that is what I do not like.

Beach Boys (and girls)

We're going to the beach tomorrow. I cannot remember the last time we went to the beach for our own pleasure. We were at the beach a year ago for a ball team wind-up party and for a few days during a camping trip; otherwise, I can't recall being to the beach in the past two summers. Of course, last year, we bought our pool. And who needs a hot, crowded beach with clinging sand and algae when you have a clean, warm pool in your shaded and private backyard?

Anyway, we're going to the beach tomorrow morning, before the crowds. Hopefully. We will be meeting some of my girlfriends with children in tow. It should be fun. Personally, I don't want to go swimming. The thought of being seen in a bathing suit makes me nauseous. Besides, I am not big on swimming anyway, though I do enjoy playing in the water from time to time. This just isn't one of those times. Knowing me, I'll be too busy keeping a hawkish eye on my children and squashing squabbles and saying 'no' to requests for ice creams and pops and treats from the nearby concession. If we weren't meeting friends, I'd stay at home, letting the kids play until lunchtime, feeding them and reading another chapter in The Hobbit before letting them loose in the pool for several hours. I could sip my Diet Coke with Lime while I leisurely devoured yet another book while sitting on the deck, in the shade of the maples and patio umbrella, keeping one eye on the children.

Still, the beach will be fun.

Days of Summer

Sam was stung by a wasp on his finger Sunday night. He handled it very well. In fact, he had been the only one outside when it happened. He came into the house with, "Casey is such a whiner!" You see, Casey has been stung twice within the past year, and his reactions are not so stoic. Anything but calm; hysterical has been the norm. Sam did not cry or whine or fall into hysterics. He promptly took the children's antihistamine that I poured out for him, held ice to his finger, and continued to let Casey know just how much of a wimp Casey was. Brothers.

We'll be off to the library today. I have books waiting to be picked up, and the kids want to get stamps in their summer reading logs. It amazes me that the summer reading program is nearly over! It ends so early...this coming Friday. Our summer feels as if it has just begun, while summer programs are already winding down. Our church has already begun advertising for their fall kick-off Sunday in September. And here I am desperately trying to cling to these last weeks of summer.

Sunday Somethings

There is a wasp's nest in my lilac trees. Funny that we hadn't noticed it before. It is quite large; slightly larger than both my fists together. We've never had a wasp nest like this before. The only one that I can recall was being made in the eaves of the playhouse a year or two ago. Kane sprayed and destroyed it before it was more than a couple of inches big. The kids are forever bustling in the branches of the lilacs. We bump them as we mow the grass; never once seeing disturbed wasps in that area. Seeing where this nest is, I'm surprised by how long it remained unnoticed. It makes me shudder.

My boys pushed all the wrong buttons this afternoon. They've been working overtime, it seems, to push them all week long. Maybe even longer. I have had enough of their selfishness, disrespect, and bully behaviour. It has to stop! After they're finished playing in the pool, and Kane is finished cleaning out his van, we'll have family meeting night. It wasn't that long ago we had a similar meeting to rehash family rules and expectations. Some things bear repeating. Often. I've also got all the fixings for some banana splits. Mom shouldn't always be the tyrant.

For the moment, my head is not pounding. A headache had been building all day. I think I took some ibuprofen this morning, but honestly can't remember. I took some more shortly before supper which explains the current happy state of my head. Ever since I banged my head, I've had some degree of aching in my head. Mostly, it wasn't really that bad, but this afternoon was a full-blown headache. Maybe it was just a lack of caffeine...or not enough.

I am so glad that Kane decided to put the pool up, even if summer is half gone. The kids have barely been out of the water since we declared it ready for swimming yesterday morning. I have yet to dip even a toe into the water, and I'm not likely to for a little while yet. I'm hoping that it will warm up some more first.

Painful Lessons

My head hurts. Mildly. Not the raging headache I was expecting after taking such a wallop, but enough to make sure I am I aware of its' presence. My hip hurts, too. There is only a small, dark bruise, barely the width of a pencil and only an inch or two long. Still, the whole hip is tender to the touch; the bruise must go deep. The tendonitis is still present and I now have a blister on my pointer finger on my right hand. I couldn't leave a body part out of the misery now, could I?

It was discovered last night that Sam's bike is missing. Likely stolen, but Casey's and Abby's bikes are still accounted for. Sigh. This is his second bike to disappear from our backyard, but this is the one that he will feel the most. He's older now and the brutality of theft will hit him with all its' injustices. He will need to purchase a bike to replace this one. Perhaps, he'll take more responsibility for something purchased with his own sweat and effort. Still, it is a bitter lesson to learn.

The pool is up and nearly full of water. The hoses should be able to be tucked away tonight and chlorine added. The kids will be swimming tomorrow...not a day too soon. Casey and Abby have been living in their bathing suits for most of this week, alternating their time between our neighbour's little pool and nagging Kane and I about the state of our pool. I am looking forward to enjoying the pool, even if only for a month.

Things that make you go "ouch!"

Ouch! I have a bump on my head and my hip is throbbing. I can feel the hip muscles banding together into an achy, tight knot. There must also be a headache due to arrive soon. I fell this morning. Embarrassing but true. I went to sit down in our computer chair, but wound up tipping backwards chair and all. As I teetered on the brink of forward/backward motion, I made futile, desperate attempts to keep the forward momentum. I failed. I fell back, hitting the side of my head hard on the front face of the computer desk and my hip landing on the arm of the chair. The commotion was loud enough for my kids to hear and come running to investigate. As I lay on the floor in utter pain, Abby tried to stifle a giggle, Sam's eyes were wide with alarm, and Casey calmly went back to his play. Thanks kids!

There goes my plan to do some exercising this morning. It has been bad enough that my left wrist is in the grips of a tendonitis flare-up. Now, the other half of my body is in even worse pain, and stiffness is already settling in like a member of the family. My hip joints give me enough trouble; can't wait to see how bad they are over the next few days.

Of course, yesterday was my day of rest. I spent most of the day, laying on the hide-a-bed, watching my Lord of the Rings trilogy, extended edition. Today, there are things to do and places to go. Baseball is now over and life returns to some semblance of normalcy. We need to go to the library. I need to go to our daily newspaper's office to pay for a photo that I'm purchasing. http://www.kelownadailycourier.ca/gallery1/view_photo.php?set_albumName=album401&id=aca The umpire in the photo is Sam, during the Valley of Champions tournament nearly two weeks ago. Today is also a friend's birthday and anniversary. And, as always, there is housework to catch up on.

Guess I should drag my aching body out of this chair before I am permanently encased here.