On a whim, I checked the weather forecast for the coming week in beautiful Kapalua, Maui, Hawai'i. I'm not thrilled:
Thursday: Scattered showers. Partly cloudy, with a high near 83. East wind around 17 mph, with gusts as high as 26 mph. Chance of precipitation is 40%.Thursday Night: A 20 percent chance of showers. Partly cloudy, with a low around 74. East wind around 16 mph, with gusts as high as 24 mph. Friday: Scattered showers. Partly cloudy, with a high near 83. East wind around 16 mph, with gusts as high as 24 mph. Chance of precipitation is 40%.Friday Night: A 20 percent chance of showers. Partly cloudy, with a low around 74. East wind around 15 mph, with gusts as high as 23 mph. Saturday: Scattered showers. Partly cloudy, with a high near 83. East wind around 16 mph, with gusts as high as 24 mph. Chance of precipitation is 40%.Saturday Night: A 20 percent chance of showers. Partly cloudy, with a low around 74. East wind around 16 mph, with gusts as high as 24 mph.
Hm, here at home, "partly cloudy with a 20% chance of showers" has lately meant "drought." Here's hoping the Hawai'ian interpretation is the same, especially since the wedding is outdoors.
Other storm-clouds are gathering--the kind that are likely to pop up whenever sizable numbers of an extended/blended family are in the same zip code. I just hope that all of the involved parties can keep in mind that this vacation is after all, Tim and Clarisa's wedding, and that everyone should make nice, if only for a few days.
We'll see what happens.
Monday, June 11, 2007
Saturday, June 9, 2007
Va, Pensiero!
Oh great honking mountains of technicolor joy! Today I bought a book of music for Dear Daughter. The volume is junior-level classics, with a heavy dose of carefully arranged selections from opera. What should I find in its pages but this? Only the famed chorus from my MOST FAVORITE OPERA EVER.
Even with these stupid, idiotic long fingernails (which are disappearing the day after the wedding, quite possibly even immediately after the reception) I've been playing this lovely music this afternoon. A little bit of heaven in 4/4 time...
Even with these stupid, idiotic long fingernails (which are disappearing the day after the wedding, quite possibly even immediately after the reception) I've been playing this lovely music this afternoon. A little bit of heaven in 4/4 time...
Fun in the Sun
Today was a good day. Most days are good days, but today was so good in so many ways. We slept in, for one thing. I'm a morning person--I love being up before anyone else in the house and puttering around getting bits of things done. Of course, the Loved One has referred to this as my "Russian peasant" routine, where I actually get up and start charging around maniacally getting things done. However, today was different. I did get up at 8-ish and make a cup of coffee with lots of milk and a big spoonful of cocoa, but I promptly went back to bed with a book whilst drinking it.
When I did finally get up for good, it was about 9:30 and we moved at a rather stately speed. We had the very best summer breakfast (fresh fruit, homemade yogurt with honey), with books at the breakfast table. We got a few things done at the house. We stopped by Sally's book sale, intending to stay for a few minutes. We found some great books, as usual, but ended up curled on an outdoor sofa with her two youngest children looking at books, talking about the upcoming wedding, and about the Loved One's job in Alaska.
Sally -- one of the truly most interesting people I know (and I would write that even if she didn't read my blog)--plied me with good conversation, cookies warm from the oven baked by her eldest daughter, and a glass of summer sunshine. Actually, it turned out to be a Junior League tea recipe involving fresh mint, tons of sugar and orange juice, but it was incredibly delicious and so refreshing on a summer morning.
Later in the day, Dear Daughter and I collected Best Friend and Best Friend's Brother and made for the pool at university from which I graduated. It's a smallish, Catholic school, so the pool is kind of off the beaten path and usually not terribly crowded.
The sky was clear, the water was cool but comfortable and only a few people were there. The kids amused themselves by bombing off of the diving board while shouting whatever goofy things they could think of. I love watching these three together--they have such a great time doing so very little. As Dear Daughter is an only child, having Best Friend and Best Friend's Brother so close and readily available is the next best thing to having siblings. They rarely squabble, and DD has learned some very valuable lessons about group dynamics just by playing and hanging out with these two.
After swimming about an hour, I hauled out on the deck and sat in the late afternoon sun. My book wasn't interesting at that point, so I kind of watched the children and tried not to doze off. My reverie was interrupted by a man who walked up to chat.
One of the things that I like most about this pool is that there are basically three kinds of people there: college students, professors and families, or members of the various religious communities. They're pretty distinct and easy to tell apart, excepting that one time years ago I spent an afternoon chatting up a very nice middle-aged man only to eventually discern I was subtly hitting on a Dominican friar. But the nice thing is, at this pool I generally don't have to worry about dealing with any unpleasant behavior of any kind.
Anyway, today this fellow wanted only to tell me how much he enjoyed watching my "family" play in the pool. He was very effusive in his praise for the children and naturally, I appreciated it. I did point out that only one of them is mine, but that they are very close friends and easy to have altogether in public.
This experience put me in mind of something I've always explained to Dear Daughter--that family is so much more than with whom we share DNA. We are fortunate to have an extended family of my siblings and cousins and elderly aunts--all of whom we love and see regularly. But our immediate family has always just been the two of us. We're in the process of expanding again with the addition of the Loved One and his grown sons and granddaughter. Lucky for us, we learned early that love doesn't divide, but rather it multiplies. Despite everything, I see that she is able to form close relationships and is not afraid to love deeply and abundantly, even outside our circle of "blood" family. And that love she shares is visible, not just to me, but even to a total stranger.
So, we just dropped off BF and BFB and DD is settled in for sleep. The house is quiet again, and I've run out of things I feel have to get done today. It's been such a good day.
When I did finally get up for good, it was about 9:30 and we moved at a rather stately speed. We had the very best summer breakfast (fresh fruit, homemade yogurt with honey), with books at the breakfast table. We got a few things done at the house. We stopped by Sally's book sale, intending to stay for a few minutes. We found some great books, as usual, but ended up curled on an outdoor sofa with her two youngest children looking at books, talking about the upcoming wedding, and about the Loved One's job in Alaska.
Sally -- one of the truly most interesting people I know (and I would write that even if she didn't read my blog)--plied me with good conversation, cookies warm from the oven baked by her eldest daughter, and a glass of summer sunshine. Actually, it turned out to be a Junior League tea recipe involving fresh mint, tons of sugar and orange juice, but it was incredibly delicious and so refreshing on a summer morning.
Later in the day, Dear Daughter and I collected Best Friend and Best Friend's Brother and made for the pool at university from which I graduated. It's a smallish, Catholic school, so the pool is kind of off the beaten path and usually not terribly crowded.
The sky was clear, the water was cool but comfortable and only a few people were there. The kids amused themselves by bombing off of the diving board while shouting whatever goofy things they could think of. I love watching these three together--they have such a great time doing so very little. As Dear Daughter is an only child, having Best Friend and Best Friend's Brother so close and readily available is the next best thing to having siblings. They rarely squabble, and DD has learned some very valuable lessons about group dynamics just by playing and hanging out with these two.
After swimming about an hour, I hauled out on the deck and sat in the late afternoon sun. My book wasn't interesting at that point, so I kind of watched the children and tried not to doze off. My reverie was interrupted by a man who walked up to chat.
One of the things that I like most about this pool is that there are basically three kinds of people there: college students, professors and families, or members of the various religious communities. They're pretty distinct and easy to tell apart, excepting that one time years ago I spent an afternoon chatting up a very nice middle-aged man only to eventually discern I was subtly hitting on a Dominican friar. But the nice thing is, at this pool I generally don't have to worry about dealing with any unpleasant behavior of any kind.
Anyway, today this fellow wanted only to tell me how much he enjoyed watching my "family" play in the pool. He was very effusive in his praise for the children and naturally, I appreciated it. I did point out that only one of them is mine, but that they are very close friends and easy to have altogether in public.
This experience put me in mind of something I've always explained to Dear Daughter--that family is so much more than with whom we share DNA. We are fortunate to have an extended family of my siblings and cousins and elderly aunts--all of whom we love and see regularly. But our immediate family has always just been the two of us. We're in the process of expanding again with the addition of the Loved One and his grown sons and granddaughter. Lucky for us, we learned early that love doesn't divide, but rather it multiplies. Despite everything, I see that she is able to form close relationships and is not afraid to love deeply and abundantly, even outside our circle of "blood" family. And that love she shares is visible, not just to me, but even to a total stranger.
So, we just dropped off BF and BFB and DD is settled in for sleep. The house is quiet again, and I've run out of things I feel have to get done today. It's been such a good day.
Friday, June 8, 2007
Numbers matter
In case you're counting:
Days until we go to Hawaii: six
Days until Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix hits theates: 33
Days until Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows is released to booksellers: 36
Days until the summer solstice: 13
Days left in 2007: 160
Days until Tim and Clarisa get married: eight
Days until Christmas: 200
Days since my dad's death: 356
Days since I've eaten apricots: one
Days until scallops are back in season: 141
Days until Sally's Usborne book party: 1
Days until Doug's birthday: 25
Days left in Bush presidency: 591
Days until we go to Hawaii: six
Days until Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix hits theates: 33
Days until Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows is released to booksellers: 36
Days until the summer solstice: 13
Days left in 2007: 160
Days until Tim and Clarisa get married: eight
Days until Christmas: 200
Days since my dad's death: 356
Days since I've eaten apricots: one
Days until scallops are back in season: 141
Days until Sally's Usborne book party: 1
Days until Doug's birthday: 25
Days left in Bush presidency: 591
Geology Joke
Dear Daughter recently announced to me that she wants to be a drummer when she moves to middle school next year. Hmmm, while I would hope that she would gravitate toward something a little more elegant, say, perhaps the oboe or bassoon, at the end of the day, I want her to enjoy middle school band and find something to play that she will love. However, there are so many drummer jokes out there, I would not want her to be the target of any of them. She's stronger than dirt though, so none of it will stick. Besides, she's always marched to her own unique beat, should I really be surprised that now in addition to marching to it, she wants to play it?
I just got the following in my E-mail this morning. It's not often that one gets a geology joke, much less one that's actually amusing. Thanks to Louie-louie for this one:
A geologist walks up to a river and says, "I feel very strongly that your bottom is composed of dirt, silt, small rocks, bits of dead animals, and other particulate inorganic matter."
And the river replies, "Yes, those are my sediments exactly."
I just got the following in my E-mail this morning. It's not often that one gets a geology joke, much less one that's actually amusing. Thanks to Louie-louie for this one:
A geologist walks up to a river and says, "I feel very strongly that your bottom is composed of dirt, silt, small rocks, bits of dead animals, and other particulate inorganic matter."
And the river replies, "Yes, those are my sediments exactly."
Thursday, June 7, 2007
Birdies in the Bushes
Oh, the simple joys! I was washing a few dishes in the kitchen sink and noticed some movement in the tall holly shrub just outside the window. There are three small finches, fairly newly-fledged, chattering and hopping from branch to branch. I tried to make a photo, but the glare from the glass was problematic. What a treat to watch these new guys test freedom on a warm summer night! I have so much to be thankful for today, and this just caps the day nicely.
Wednesday, June 6, 2007
Defining D-Day
I probably shouldn't title my post so seriously when this is most likely going to be a pretty frivolous entry. I'm feeling guilty because I haven't been posting as regularly as I'd originally intended so to do. The work days have been so busy that by the time I'm home, my brain is completely french-fried and all the brilliant witticisms (really, both of them) that seemed worth posting about have faded away to nothingness.
But here I am, and here are a few trivialities, and some others perhaps not so trivial.
What I've been reading over the past two weeks: Jane Eyre--out loud, a chapter per night, to Dear Daughter. Thank you, Best Friend of Dear Daughter, for passing along your extra copy. It's all the more precious to us because it came from you and for the nibbling from our second-most favorite black bunny! Drop City by T.C. Boyle-- this came from Kim Co-Worker, aka, the Book Fairy. She brought all of us culls from her collection. I received this wacky and sad tale of hippies who relocate to the Alaskan interior, and subsequently meet up with a unique married couple and a vengeful ex-Marine. Dear Daughter refers to it as "that book with the naked people on the cover." This world takes some explaining some days... Fall on Your Knees -- I can't remember the author, but this was more largesse from Kim Co-Worker. Similar to Annie Proulx's excellent The Shipping News, FOYK chronicles a multi-cultural family living on Cape Breton Island, Nova Scotia (a place I am destined to visit) around the turn of the 20th century. There are some heavy themes in this book, but it's beautifully written, and keeps nudging me in the back of the head with some of the issues and signs I've been discussing somewhat on the sly with Sally. Salamandastron, The Long Patrol and Triss -- all by Brian Jacques, and part of the Redwall series. Thank you, Joel Bunny-Keeper, for loaning me Salamandastron and Triss! They're great! What rich characters!
Today I made my final arrangements for our upcoming vacation to Hawaii. Yes, I've waited until eight days prior to our departure date to make accommodations reservations in Honolulu. I'm a procrastinator beyond compare. I found a great bed and breakfast at a tolerable rate and in an area I will feel safe traveling with just Dear Daughter, since the Loved One will not be joining us on Oahu. File this under my own particular brand of living dangerously.
Today is, in fact, the 63rd anniversary of D-Day, when more than 150,000 troops from the Allied Expeditionary Forces stormed the beaches of Normandy, France. This was the first step in the Allied liberation of occupied France and Europe...the beginning of the end of the lethal grip of Nazism. Growing up, we had a neighbor who participated in the invasion of Normandy. I actually didn't know this about him until I was grown and learned that he and his wife participated in annual reunions of his unit. Some of these were in the United States, some were in France. After he died, someone from his unit sent his widow a flag that flew at the memorial his unit sponsored in Normandy.
History often seems so distant unless we have something to tie us directly to the events and/or people involved. In this case, one of the heroes (and believe me, they were all heroes) of the Normandy invasion was the man who loaned us his tire pump for our bicycles, and who brought us fish from his trips to the lake, and who led the grace when we had his family to our house for dinner. That so great an accomplishment as the routing of true evil from an entire continent could be completed by such ordinary men is almost incomprehensible. But it's also quite fitting. Goodness comes in very small packages. It's the accumulation of many of those tiny bits that leads us to overwhelm the badness in the world.
Thank you, Richard, and all those who were with you on this day, 1944. You showed us what courage can do.
But here I am, and here are a few trivialities, and some others perhaps not so trivial.
What I've been reading over the past two weeks: Jane Eyre--out loud, a chapter per night, to Dear Daughter. Thank you, Best Friend of Dear Daughter, for passing along your extra copy. It's all the more precious to us because it came from you and for the nibbling from our second-most favorite black bunny! Drop City by T.C. Boyle-- this came from Kim Co-Worker, aka, the Book Fairy. She brought all of us culls from her collection. I received this wacky and sad tale of hippies who relocate to the Alaskan interior, and subsequently meet up with a unique married couple and a vengeful ex-Marine. Dear Daughter refers to it as "that book with the naked people on the cover." This world takes some explaining some days... Fall on Your Knees -- I can't remember the author, but this was more largesse from Kim Co-Worker. Similar to Annie Proulx's excellent The Shipping News, FOYK chronicles a multi-cultural family living on Cape Breton Island, Nova Scotia (a place I am destined to visit) around the turn of the 20th century. There are some heavy themes in this book, but it's beautifully written, and keeps nudging me in the back of the head with some of the issues and signs I've been discussing somewhat on the sly with Sally. Salamandastron, The Long Patrol and Triss -- all by Brian Jacques, and part of the Redwall series. Thank you, Joel Bunny-Keeper, for loaning me Salamandastron and Triss! They're great! What rich characters!
Today I made my final arrangements for our upcoming vacation to Hawaii. Yes, I've waited until eight days prior to our departure date to make accommodations reservations in Honolulu. I'm a procrastinator beyond compare. I found a great bed and breakfast at a tolerable rate and in an area I will feel safe traveling with just Dear Daughter, since the Loved One will not be joining us on Oahu. File this under my own particular brand of living dangerously.
Today is, in fact, the 63rd anniversary of D-Day, when more than 150,000 troops from the Allied Expeditionary Forces stormed the beaches of Normandy, France. This was the first step in the Allied liberation of occupied France and Europe...the beginning of the end of the lethal grip of Nazism. Growing up, we had a neighbor who participated in the invasion of Normandy. I actually didn't know this about him until I was grown and learned that he and his wife participated in annual reunions of his unit. Some of these were in the United States, some were in France. After he died, someone from his unit sent his widow a flag that flew at the memorial his unit sponsored in Normandy.
History often seems so distant unless we have something to tie us directly to the events and/or people involved. In this case, one of the heroes (and believe me, they were all heroes) of the Normandy invasion was the man who loaned us his tire pump for our bicycles, and who brought us fish from his trips to the lake, and who led the grace when we had his family to our house for dinner. That so great an accomplishment as the routing of true evil from an entire continent could be completed by such ordinary men is almost incomprehensible. But it's also quite fitting. Goodness comes in very small packages. It's the accumulation of many of those tiny bits that leads us to overwhelm the badness in the world.
Thank you, Richard, and all those who were with you on this day, 1944. You showed us what courage can do.
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