Just Another Different Day

Today began rather early...somewhere between 3:00 and 4:00 when I awoke and realized all the air had gone out of the cool Select Comfort bed I was atestin'.

Amazingly, the empty bag does not provide much padding.

So the idea of help for my back and leg pain was somewhat negated. But Loren has worked on it and I anticipate a most satisfactory experience, tonight.

Lack of sleep left me quite groggy, so I had Carolyn do the first part of driving for today's excursion.

First stop, the mall (actually, our first stop was to get gas...rather mundane but for the guy looking suspiciously at us from the next pump. I imagine we looked dicey; two females attempting to dislodge the gas cap, pour in fuel treatment, and then fill the tank to the brim).

Time for Ma to get new shoes!

Past time. Eighteen months is a good six months past the expiration date of my feet, but anyway...

After some less than impressive prospects, I spied a pair of Reebok Easytones with my name on them. Not only a great arch support, but rounded blobs on the sole that are supposed to encourage muscle toning. Possibly even be good for back and leg pain.

But here's the clincher: regularly $99, they were on sale for $39!

Can you say, "Wootariffic?"

After that it was a spot of lunch at Panera Bread (the baguettes are to die for and hey, I just spelled "baguettes" right, the very first time!).

We left with enough time to hit Cedar Rapids by 1:00. And that's when things went slightly awry.

Without going into details it involved alternate directions to bypass roadwork, running into an unrelated detour and lack of good signs, roads being different than the online maps, several changes of direction and rising frustration in Ma.

But thanks in part to dumb luck and Sharon's efficient driving methods, we made it to our destination almost at the stroke of one.

Our destination being the house of Scholls, or as it is commonly referred to, "Iowa Chapter of the Ice Cave."

We were there for the expertise of Anna, who tutors students who take the ACT. An added bonus was meeting baby Tim for the first time, and whaddya know but wasn't Josh there?

So as Anna worked with Carolyn at the dining room table, Josh and Ma had a long bit of convo over various subjects, ranging from.....well, there was quite a range.

Profitable all around, and I hope Josh didn't mind my occasional yawn, from time to time (see first paragraph).

After that is was back to the stead of Hoyt, and a quick rest fer this old lady.

Then supper and the usual evening frivolity of The Dick Van Dyke Show, treadmill, and herding kids to bed.

Speaking of which, it's about that time...

Tweet

From Coop to Coop

 Another day, another one leaves (though she'd only been here for two days after moving out of her apartment in Des Moines).

A few last minute things to stick in the car...the crew out on the lawn to watch Kendra leave for a year of traveling to various PA rotations.

The first one will be in Warsaw, with a doctor who she's shadowed  many times (our prayers are with you, Dr. Pitts....).

Clad in cool shades and armed with a triumphant grin, it is time to head out!

The trip took a couple of extra hours this time around, due to an accident near Iowa City. Traffic had to be rerouted, but Kendra finally pulled into sister Sharon's homey chicken coop just after 8:30, or rather, 9:30 Indiana time.





Back at the Hoytstead, the two youngest plowed their way through 1.5 math lessons. The same tomorrow and then their final test on Friday.

I'm working them down to their numerical nubbins in a last gasp effort to finish math in two more days. I did not like the thought of coming back to math after a break for Vacation Bible school, next week.

We still have odds and ends, and there may be more to finish after our big Hoyt reunion the third week of June, but at least math will be done. Math takes a lot of time and is the source of much frustration for both of them and for me. But we won't go into that, now.

Tomorrow is more academic work, but of a different bent for Carolyn. I'm driving her down to Cedar Rapids to work with a teacher who's had experience in prepping students for the ACT. Carolyn will be taking it for a second time, a week from this Saturday. We're hoping for another point or two, though she did quite well the first time around.

Anyway, another big day tomorrow. Seems like there have been lots of big days, of late....

Tweet

Life in the Yard

White-lined Sphinx moth, hanging around my Mountain Mint

Baby bunny, hangin' next to the porch

Goldfinch, hangin' at the bird feeder

Eastern Kingbird, hangin' on the barbed wire fence

Rugosa Rose, stuck on the bush

These were taken over the past two days. I'm a little frustrated with Blogger's new picture posting format, but I guess their idea of progress is making my life hard.

Anyway, these are some of the purdy things about the yard. The baby bunny is rather little and I had a fright the other morning when I went outside...I'd seen it earlier and went back to try to take its picture, only to discover a large area of scattered bunny fur over by the garage :-(

But it must have been another bunny. We still see this little guy on a regular basis.

Keep away, raccoons!

Tweet

Where's a Hot Flash When You Really Need It?

Hadn't been out to the movies for a while so Loren and I left the kids to their own devices and saw The Avengers.

And by "own devices" I mean they got to watch a video and eat pizza rolls for dinner after asking several times, "When are you guys going to leave?"

An integral part of the evening's story involved rain. After weeks of dry, blowy heat, it finally rained today!

Just wonderful. There were puddles in the driveway. The grass looked green instead of of fawn-colored.

To celebrate we drove the little tan Toyota so it could get the dust washed off and look blue, once more.

And because Ma is such frugal old lady, she added a stop at Wal*Mart to the evening, to pick up a few items that had been neglected in the last shopping trip.

This would prove to be critical, in terms of overall mood creation.

Critical because of a slight...alright, maybe more of a com-PLETE miscommunication between husband and wife. And by that I mean my cool denim, long-sleeved shirt was soaked while being held over my head as I walked outside the Garden Department into a complete deluge, looking for the potential husband cruising around the parking, looking (potentially) for me.

Which in his mind was more of a shoe department activity.

Yes, that's right. Not only did we misunderstand where to look for each other, but he thought I was buying tennis shoes for myself.

Of course this turned out to be quite silly because:

a) everyone knows it's easy to get the meeting place mixed up, and
b) while I would by the kids shoes there, I would never buy shoes for my 53-three-year-old at Wal*Mart.

We did eventually meet up in a doorway where thankfully there were only one or two people there to witness my reaction.

On the other hand, we can be thankful there were one or two people there to act as witnesses.

As in no crimes of temporary insanity occurred (well, not much, anyway).

Now came the dilemma. My over-jackety thing was sopping wet, significantly reducing my options for the evening. I was left with a sleeveless top and thin scarf.

"No matter," I thought. Sooner or later those hot flashes that had been plaguing me day in and day out for the past 2 weeks, would hit, keeping me nice and toasty.

Well of COURSE you know what happened...nary--a--hot--flash. Loren glanced over at me once during the movie and inquired, "Are you col..." "I'm fine" (Look, I never said I was perfect. But I did say I was "fine").

However, in truth I was getting chilly. JUST in time I remembered my scarf, unwound it and draped it over my plump, middle-aged shoulders.

It fit the bill.

And when we returned home and I changed into un-damp clothing, well....that's when the hot flashes returned.

Don't think I won't remember this, hormones.

Tweet

Isn't Living in the Country Fun?

Boy oh boy, could we use some rain!

That stuff that clears out dry spells.

Cold front coming through tonight, so I hope those radar blobs west of us make there way over here.

Can't actually remember the last time we had precipitation. You can walk in the grass and cute little dust clouds puff up around your feet. And the gravel roads don't help. Winds have been around 30 mph all day and the air has a faintly dirty hue about it.

Isn't living in the country fun?

But hey, if you want fun, you should have been around here this morning.

I was on the treadmill when Ethan came running down the basement stairs, "They're spraying the field south of us and it windy !"

Well that's just SUPER. Wasn't sure if it was going to be fertilizer or herbicide, but I had to take action since they sprayed herbicide last year (on a breezy day) and half my garden turned brown.

Isn't living in the country fun?

Ethan helped me as I rushed outside with sheets and blankets and pillowcases. The pillowcases were for popping over bushes and tomato plants, the flat stuff was for ALL the strawberries, the peas, the....well, you get the picture.

The guy was coming right down the fence line while we were running about like crazy people, looking for cloth-pinning rocks and large dirt clods. Not that it stopped them. And probably it wasn't herbicide since it didn't have the really bad smell from last year. Still, spraying on a breezy day is generally frowned upon. Spraying under a wind advisory is pure hubris.

 But I know who the owner is, heh, heh.

Turns out I shouldn't have been running back and forth. Now my left leg is hanging in there right about 5-6 pain level, most of the day. Sciatica, I think. But hey, what's another old age malady?

And now there are approximately 4-5 loads of blankety-sheety laundry to do. Though maybe I should just save it for next month when they probably come back with the multi-purpose plant killers.

Isn't living in the country fun?

Tweet

Working In and Out

Today dawned with the implementation of a new regimen: getting up one hour earlier. It was hoped that this would facilitate new heights in the completion of two boys' schoolwork.

It sort of worked.

I wouldn't say it helped the math go any faster--particularly in the case of HWSNBN and the extra math assignment given as punishment. I won't go into the three crimes committed before anyone else was awake ("You said we should get up earlier..."). But the extra hour was enough cushion that I was able to check their math right after lunch.

Things proceeded fairly well for much of the day, including a nap and just over two hours of outside work.

I weeded around my deciduous tree farm and put up new stakes and the fencing. There are 9 trees remaining that appear alive, and two of them are Redbuds that came right at Thanksgiving. I was planning to ask for replacements due to the Arbor Day Foundations absurd timing. But since I have those Redbuds (so happy!) and two others I can't identify until I re-find my schematic on my desk, I may refrain.

Man is it dry! We've had to water things with buckets as I haven't hooked up the hoses, yet. Then I noticed that strawberries were ripening, so we had some for supper, thanks to Carolyn and Ethan performing the horrid job of picking :-)

Then I came in from working outside a bit after supper, and HWSNBN had another behavioral lapse, leading to the sentence of cleaning both bathrooms. They were neglected these past weeks due to our being away on Saturdays, and somehow we didn't get that chore made up...until now.

I guess that's the reportage for today. This ol' Ma need a bath.

Tweet

The Humdinger Weekend

We will probably need several more days to recover.

Starting with Friday afternoon, we spent three consecutive days, at least 7 hours each day, at the church. To say it was a tough weekend for mothers with young children would be an understatement.

A pastor and his family, hailing from southwestern Kansas, came to visit our church. The intention being for both parties to see whether a "merger" would be advisable.

Our church has been without a pastor for...a while. In the meantime, several of the men have been taking turns preaching and teaching Sunday School. And a seminary professor from Dubuque has been over to preach, fairly regularly. There are benefits and disadvantages with this set-up, but we've managed to "get by."

It's a small church. There are...limitations.

But anyway, it was a jam-packed weekend, aimed to make the most of the time the Harmer family (pastor, wife and four adult children) could spend here.

Friday was a pizza-n-greet, followed by Lord's Table/prayer meeting and then outside games.

Saturday started before lunch with more games, a picnic style meal, and then a combined meeting where Mr. Harmer gave a presentation of his ministry and...let's see, did the men go off by themselves? It's hard to remember. At least it all broke up at the reasonable hour of 5, so they could eat with their host families (they were parceled amongst three homes); the rest of us crashed and prepared for the following day.

Sunday was the usual (plus, our family had special music), Mr. Harmer preaching and a potluck afterward. This was followed by more meetings: first altogether (with some repeat for the families that hadn't been there on Saturday) then the men breaking off for a more extensive question and answer period. The ladies also met together where we heard in detail from Mrs. Harmer and her daughters. I'm afraid they put up with a lot of questions! And most graciously, too.

We got home at 5:30 on Sunday evening, leaving little time to recoup for a new week. But some is better than none, as they say.

________________

As for today....it didn't start off that hot. Three days of sitting, no exercise, and not enough rest don't make you feel very chipper. And despite only having half a math lesson, both boys managed to get totally frustrated, as did I. We worked our way through one or two things...bleah.

Presently, I am com-PLETE-ly bummed to realize we cannot finish school until sometime after Vacation Bible School and El Biggo Hoyto Reuniono, third week of June (which in itself will require several days of recovery. Reunions, camping, vacations in general are geared for the men to relax).

But in the meantime, new tactics. Tomorrow I'm going for an earlier start...we have got to get through more school subjects.

That's the plan, anyway.

And somewhere down the road I hope to reach a place where there isn't a near constant need for recuperative measures.

Tweet

Wow

Can't believe it's already Tuesday. Better get a few things jotted down to prove I am still alive.

Saturday we all got up early (for us) and went to the church for "work day." That's when all the families--in this case, about... four?--come and do a few of those extra jobs, like sweeping all the chairs, performing small repairs, and dusting the tops of....things which need their tops dusted.

Also, it is apparently when 12-year-old boys wear their nice jeans and get red paint on them, while they were "helping" Mr. W. Though I have yet to find out where red paint was used in the church...

Sunday we basically tried to stay awake.

Monday was that ter-RIF-ically fun day when the boys put new spelling words on the computer and I had my usual beginning-of-the-week battle of wills with He-Who-Shall-Not-Be-Named. He ended up doing extra math. Small enough penance for upsetting our homeschool karma.

With any luck he'll act up tomorrow and I can have him clean the house. Except, it's still punishment for me since I'd have to watch everything he did and explain how to do it properly which would just make him more mad...

*puts on soothing CD*

Today went fairly well. Besides almost getting through my required school subjects with the two youngest, I helped Trevor and Nolan get their peppers plants planted (pardon the redundancy). Also, they dug part of Carolyn's bed (proof that unexpected helpful urges do exist) and I finished it off, so she could plant her beets (much to their dismay). She's been busy with school and I don't like her to do all that heavy digging.

I also dug up an odd place, planted sunflowers and worked more eradication magic concerning the rushes.

Digging those rushes out of the ditch and planting them in the garden was probably a mistake but they are pretty cool if kept in check.

All that digging messes with my leg. Not the leg with the bad varicose veins. And not the leg with the worst foot....oh wait, it IS that leg. Nerve pain from all those pregnancies. Pain which wraps around the top of the leg and goes down the limb, sometimes to the foot. Pain which doesn't moderate with acetaminophen or ibuprofen. Pain which kept me from going more than .5 mile on the treadmill, potentially missing out on...

NCIS.

But sometimes you have to take matters into your hands, even if it means watching the season finale on the bedroom TV in sweaty clothes.

Probably enough whiny reportage for one night....LATE BREAKING BULLETIN....

Nolan has captured the illusive Sphinx Moth!

The White-Lined Sphinx (Hyles lineata), to be exact.

The boys were outside last evening and discovered it, which lead to frantic attempts at catching it in a jar. No dice, since Mom made them come in for bed.

I suggested they try again but closer to dusk, rather than full darkness. Success! They have to release it before bed but as the saying goes, "What's not to love?"

Moments like this definitely help.

Tweet

In Which Ma Does One or Two More Things

(the new Blogger format doesn't allow you to pick from three picture sizes, as before, so I'm stuck with...this. Oh well)

Today was fairly decent.

Got done with school for the week. IT'S LIKE WINNING THE LOTTERY.

Of course, that might not have happened but for skipping treadmill time. Again. Eventually I will have to get back in the exercise grind, which will add additional grind-age to the school schedule.

BUT, I did go outside and do the following:

--took out the Scouring Rushes invading my rocks.
--did a partial rescue of my Button Snakeroot (again, from invading rushes)
--dug up a small pad of earth for planting Cosmos (orange and yellow)
--supervised Trevor and Nolan planting the seeds
--weeded the peas (that haven't been eaten by bunnies)

Tomorrow is a work day at the church, so we'll be heading over to Allison WAY too early in the morning. Compensation provided with pizza for lunch.

I fixed up several pots with flowers (yesterday...hey, that's right, I DID something two days in a row!) to take over to church and plunk into a couple of places.

They're not perfect pots of flowers, BUT THE PRICE IS RIGHT.

We heard from Jason and Derek, both in their respective apartments in Cedar Rapids. Oooo, that reminds me, I cut Derek's hair last night (Thursday, in case this doesn't post soon)...which means I DID ANOTHER THING!

If this keeps up I could soon be considered an almost useful human being.

I also took the picture while the granola was baking....baking?

YOU KNOW WHAT THAT MEANS...

Tweet

Life in the Yard

 Starting to feel better and just had to get out and do SOME-thing, this afternoon. So, with the help of Trevor and Nolan, we took out five Tent Caterpillar nests in five different trees. Two were nixed by Trevor; with his small stature he was ideal to clamber to higher places then Ma could climb. He was quite proud of his accomplishments.

But on a more pleasing note, here are a few flowers that are currently blooming:

Spiderwort and Anenome (probably Anemone canadensis)

 Some type of Bladder Campion (I think). I don't remember purposely digging this up from a roadside ditch, but I've always meant to, so I guess I must have....sometime. It came up (to my surprise) beside the porch, in a pot leftover from last year.

Columbine. You have to snap these practically looking up at the sky, to get any idea of what they really look like.

(the picture is off to the side because I moved it from the top position to bottom, and it got stuck, here)



So much to see and do outside. I haven't done a lot of either but I know I must force myself to get going. Can't let all my hard work of the past go to waste. Must weed and keep things nice for my accumulated wildflowers to keep agrowin'.

Tweet

Odds and Ends

I've been home three days and we're almost back to a routine.

Jason left for Cedar Rapids on Tuesday and is moved into his apartment. Now begins the task of furnishing it with the odd chair, the odd pan for cooking....the odd everything. But his Internet is up and running, so I guess food can wait.

Derek leaves for his Cedar Rapids apartment on Friday; and this summer it will be shared with a fellow Rockwellian from Iowa State University.

Melinda is waiting to hear about a job opportunity and getting more practice with driving the Toyota. She drove me in for shopping on Tuesday which was handy, since I have a moderately bad cold. I even took most of today off from the treadmill, though it makes me feel like a sluggard.

Trevor and Nolan started back with their studies this morning. I'd given them Monday and Tuesday off, since their older siblings were returning and I knew I'd be exhausted. Can't tell if I've recovered from the trip since this cold is bugging me, but life is like that and can't be shut down for too long.

The farmers of the field across the road have been spreading manure from a hog lot on their fields. This brings not only a pungent odor, but a fair amount of flies. I imagine this will be concluded fairly soon. Now, if only the field south of us doesn't spray herbicide on a windy day!

Should be out and working in the garden but there has been so much going on and now contagion...I feel like quite the slacker.

I'll write that down on the list of things to worry about tomorrow.

Tweet

Commencement Day

 Here is the crew: Melinda, Sharon, and Derek. Melinda and Derek, being conveniently located on campus, got to the Belcher Performance Center before the doors opened. They saved a prime spot for Sharon and me.

 It's fairly big, but if you don't get in right as the doors open, you could be standing up in one of the galleries.

 The graduates came in on our side (nice placement, Derek!) and when the line slowed down I performed my best stage whisper, "Jason!" and he looked over right on cue :-)

 This is the picture I already shared, but hey...there's always room for a repeat of favorites. We were outside immediately following commencement, getting a few pictures on the lawn. See that medal? Jason found out just days before that he'd be graduating Cum Laude. I can't tell you how proud I am of this guy!

 The attending family: Derek, Melinda, Jason, Ma, and Sharon. Sharon was my ride over from Tyler. And we also shared the second leg of my flight, from Charlotte, NC to Dallas.

So extremely grateful I could attend.

Afterward, Sharon treated us to a post-commencement celebration at Appleby's. Here's Jason about to bite into his "Cowboy Burger."  He was a little hopped up on joy and relief at being done with college.

Everything went well with my flights. First I stayed overnight at Ardith and Justin's, where they treated me to pizza and the most scrumptious and delectable artichoke dip, ever. Course, it was the first one I've had, but still...

First flight in 32 years so some of the protocols had changed for this old lady. Still, I managed to get through security without any snafus. And once on the plane, I couldn't help but wonder why they put all the first class people in the front. I can only surmise that the airlines don't want any of them to survive in the event of a crash. Everyone KNOWS it's safer in the back. That's where I was; the very last seat on the right. And I'm still here, demonstrating the truth of the above statement.

I had to change planes at Charlotte and met up with Sharon, who was passing through on her way from a business trip in Baltimore. Are we clever, or what? She persuaded the nice man next to her to switch seats with me so we could sit together. Good times!

Tweet

The Weekend of Magnificence!

BIG, big plans afoot. I'se agoin' to Texas!

After a a 32-year hiatus, Ma, alias middle-aged nobody, will be flying the friendly skies again :-) It's not United but U.S. Air. And I'll have to get back to you about whether they are friendly.

It didn't seem right that after spending a good chunk of time homeschooling (the high school transcript process alone decreased my life expectancy by several years) I should be missing out on Jason's college graduation.

Oh, he said it didn't matter. Particularly when weighed against the Hoyt reunion in June. But the idea of not being there for such an occasion continued to eat away at my soul until I broached the subject of my going alone.

My pathetic attempts to ascertain bus schedules came to naught, so Loren went into gear and soon chased down several possibilities, including a train from St. Louis and airplanes from Minneapolis (I hadn't even thought about Minneapolis).

We're goin' with the Minneapolis flight. Loren will take me up on Thursday, after lunch, and meet up with Ardith south of the city. Yes, I get to ride an airplane AND visit Ardith and Justin :-D

My flight takes off on Friday, noonish, and goes to Charlotte NC where I have a 2.5 hour wait and change of planes.

I tried to find a flight that had a layover in Ireland but apparently they don't do that.

Then this afternoon I discovered that the plane I catch in Charlotte, bound for Dallas, will have none other than my very own daughter aboard! Yay for Sharon and for her business trip :-)

This is getting so cool it's almost scary.

Now to come up with an interesting scenario. I wonder if I can convince the people on Sharon's plane that we are sisters....

I am trying not to act too excited for the sake of people staying here. And today I did some cleaning as penance for my weekend of frivolity. Though in truth, graduation day will be tiring. Not only do we arrive at Dallas at 8pm and have to drive two hours to Tyler, but we ought to get to the auditorium by 8 or 8:15 the next morning, and the ceremony doesn't even start until 1pm. I've heard they fill up fast and I want to be there to see el sonno uno walk across the stage.

And maybe yell out something appropriate, like, "That's ma BOY!"

With Sharon, Derek and Melinda also there, it should be good times.

Then Sharon takes her rental back to Dallas to fly Indianaway, while the rest of us drive home to Iowa in Derek and Jason's vehicles.

Hope I can sleep tonight...

Tweet