Bailey's Irish Rudy aka That Rude

How can you not love this face?

I am up late with Rudy on my mind. Earlier, I had received the news, or maybe it was confirmation in my world of denial, that our sweet boxer has cancer. Our veterinarian, whom we trust, says this isn't treatable. But he was surprised at how well Rudy was doing. Rudy-dog is a tough guy after all. I was told that we're going to have make a decision as his quality of life will not go on to be as good as it has been. Of course, on the way home from his appointment, I cried. And then, later as I was at my desk, it hit me again, even harder- I'm going to have to get used to the idea of saying good-bye again. It feels like I just did this with Hakeem the Dream. We lost That Weem in the fall of 2009 and I still pine away for that dog. Chris found Rudy in 2001 and so we've known him longer than we've known our oldest daughter. Chris says that Rudy is the first pet that was all his. I must admit, I was a little miffed when he walked into our first home with this puppy and hadn't asked me about it first. But he was the cutest little puppy I had ever seen with all that extra skin and one brindle ear. I always liked to say that he has a face only a mother could love, and I do love it! Rudy is riddled with bad, recessive genes. Being a white boxer, he knows he's lucky to have survived. Without his one brindle ear he would have been like most whites, deaf or dead. He's always had weird skin allergies, shed like crazy and looked at the UPS man with serious, paranoid disdain. He has, all his life, acted a little bit aloof, much like a person. I must say he's been an awesome pet. He has literally looked after my children as they have grown up. When they play outside, he's never far away. Even now, being as sick as he is, he follows us whenever we jog, ride bikes and go to the lake. He's on three legs since an injury back last winter and he still keeps up with us. He never complains. That is the worst part of this whole ordeal. This 10 1/2 year old boxer-pup never tells you that he is in pain. He lets you doctor on him and tend to him and he has never snapped, growled or whimpered. He still eats like it's his last meal and then goes and kicks Lilly out of her bowl. He just acts normal, with the exception of slowing down in his old age.

Today, at the vet's office, Rudy came up to me and put his head on my knee, as if to say, "Rub my ear, I need you." It's like he has seen this movie and he knows how it ends. And now, I lie awake in the night and think about what this dog means to me and my family. I suppose I'm going to come at this like I did with Hakeem. I'll feed him whatever I can get him to eat as his health declines and we'll keep him warm and comfortable. We'll show him as much love as a family can give to a family member and then when it's time, he'll let us know. This is how it went down before and it wasn't easy. I expect this will be no easier. I keep asking myself, why do we get pets? We know this is inevitable with all God's creatures. But, in my heart, I know that our lives are so much richer having loved these animals and having been loved by them.
This photo was taken during the summer of 2011. We adopted Lillybelle in 2010 to keep Rudy company after we lost Hakeem in '09. They have gotten along very well since she came to us.
Here Rudy enjoys hosting the Bailey Seafood Boil in 2010. He was still on all fours in this shot. As you can see, his facial expression doesn't change much from photo to photo.
This is almost my all-time favorite photo of Rudy and Hakeem together- the Yin and the Yang.

My latest creative venture...

It took me two full hours to scrub these babies and now they're soaking in bleach.

I'm hoping to go from this....
to something like this...
Some really awesome, creative person in Colonial Williamsburg is responsible for this one, but I'm hoping to stretch my own creativity in the next week or so and dress up The Dude's office door. I think it'll be pretty awesome. Can't wait to show off the finished product.

Fried Dough Night

Each week, The Dude has a night here and a night there when he has an evening meeting or hangs out with some golf buddies. This gives me the 'night off' from worrying about cooking a meal. (I'm still one of those wives who likes to make sure we get some kind of meal on the table for our men, when they're around.) But when it's just the kiddos and myself, we make it easy on ourselves. Sometimes this means mac n' cheese and carrots, corndog and apples, chicken nuggets and bananas... or popcorn, this is always a viable option.

But this doesn't mean I take a break from the kitchen completely. This just means I get some extra time to play around in there. I spend 75% of my time at home in that room. I love it in there. I hang out in there often, sometimes it's just me and the grapes.

Lately, I've been agonizing over all the things I should have learned from Grandma Fleta before she passed from this world to the next. I say lately, but what I really mean is probably most days since 1999.

My most recent quest was to figure out how she made those awesome little fried doughnuts she used to make me when I was a kid. Comfort food at it's most simple yumminess.

As you can see, this time I just started with my own biscuit dough, which I learned from my Mother-in-law. Then I made holes in the middle, well duh, and deep fried those babies in peanut oil. I use the Fry-Daddy but I'm guessing my Grandma used a deep iron skillet.
Taking photos over top of the Fry-Daddy can be hazardous to your face and camera.

Following the oil-bath, they were generously dredged in powdered sugar. My favorite part is the doughnut holes themselves. There's just something about those little power-houses of fried dough in one tiny bite! Yummy!
The girls seem happy with them, but did they resemble my Grandma's doughnuts? Well who knows really, it's been a while but I'm thinking I got close enough to suit me. Making touchstones with your far gone memories is one thing I'm sure we can't do perfectly. But when it's food, as long as it tastes delicious and your memories are simply an inspiration, I'm thinking you can't really go wrong.

A perfect model

For years, I've been looking at my little hometown, with all its potential, and wondering why all its lovely potential been squandered all this time. And I KNOW I'm not the only one. You can't be a young, adventurous person either living in or visiting this place and not think to yourself, 'I wish there were more cool things to do here.' Some things that local organizations have accomplished include the Buffalo Road Park (completely funded by Ruritan labor and interested donors) which includes a wonderful playground for children, a short circular walking track, a gazebo and a couple picnic table. It's beautifully maintained and I personally praise the efforts of the Ruritan group on this one. More recently, the Clarksville Enrichment Complex was built with funding raised through the Mecklenburg County Community Services Corp. Countless hours of fund raising and grant writing allowed this facility to house The Lake Country Distance Education Center, The YMCA complete with new state-of-the-art exercise equipment, workforce training via the local community college, and Lake Country Kids which offers before and after school care. If you live here and you haven't visited, you're missing out! It's quite an accomplishment!

Now, that being said, I know there is more that can be done to incorporate the beauty that is all around us. I understand, of course, that Occoneechee State Park has some lovely trails inside its perimeter. I still want more. Allow me to get to the meat here. This past weekend, we ventured up to Luray, VA to explore the caverns. I had searched the internet for other things to enjoy in the area and found the Hawksbill Greenway and so bikes were thrown on the back of the Rover. It's an easy 2-mile, paved path which leads into the town of Luray and beyond. It's not strenuous and therefore perfect for the entire family. We enjoyed the views and the ducks and the exercise. I even took a few photos on the ride.

Once you have ridden the loop part of the Greenway, you take the trial right into town and eventually to this little amphitheater area complete with rows of benches donated by folks who love this project. (whew, that was a run-on sentence if I ever did write one)
Much of the trail follows Hawksbill Creek which affords lots of opportunities to see the ducks. They like to talk to you as you ride by. I also spotted several fishermen along the way.
My kids and hubby watching the ducks from the bridge.
This is a view of the Greenway running along the meandering creek.

Oh how I love this man. I don't care where we might be, having his arms around me makes anything better. I'm not sure he realizes.
We makes pretty babies too!

So now you've seen parts of it and you can see why I wish I could have this to ride on more often. It's a lovely ride and it's easy enough for most anyone to do. I live in a lovely neighborhood but to venture out on the road outside of my subdivision is a bit treacherous for the children. The town of Clarksville, being right on the shores of Buggs Island Lake, is perfect for this sort of multi-use trail. The Department of Transportation recently built a new bridge across the lake and the biggest shame of it is that they didn't put a bike or pedestrian lane on it. In fact, you aren't allowed to walk across that bridge in order to take in and photograph the best views in town. Some evenings ago I happened to be driving into town and spotted 3 beautiful sailboats a little distance from the bridge and I wished I could stop and photograph them. It would have been a lovely shot from that vantage point. Someone just wasn't really thinking about how great that would have been for this community. A multi-use trail could have incorporated that bridge and somehow led into the actual town along the edge of the lake... maybe. It would require some cooperation from the Corps of Engineers, obviously, and lots and lots of donations... but when I think of it, both of those requirements seem awfully difficult to secure given ridiculous government red-tape and the floundering economy. But a girl can dream, can't she? A girl can dream. After all, Luray doesn't appear to be the kind of place that is rolling in money either, but somehow, they made this beautiful thing happen that people seem to be getting plenty of use out of. Hawksbill Greenway is a perfect model for a community centered multi-use trail, if a community chose to investigate such potential. If.

Cold afternoon project

Last year was our LCSPCA adoptee, Lillybelle's, first Christmas with us. Of course when it came time to hang the family stockings on then mantle, Lilly didn't have hers. I hadn't even thought of it. Little-bug made her one out of notebook paper and pinned it up there. Fast forward to this Halloween when Ese was a flesh-eating zombie. We had to rip up a pair of her jeans to make this fantasy very authentic. Once the Halloween festivities were done, I cut the jeans into shorts for Ese. But what to do with the leftover scraps of denim? Naturally, because it was a cold day and I'm less apt to get outside, I decided to try my hand at making a small stocking for the dog. I don't have a sewing machine so I had to sew it by hand but it really didn't take very much time at all to sew. I was even willing to take a little extra time to decorate it a bit. Little-bug helped me with that part. I am surrounded by creative people, and crafty ladies. At some point, I will post some photos of the blue-jean quilts made by my girlfriend Shirley. They amaze me in their level of artsy-fartsyness and absolute warmth. But at any rate, I offer you this, my first attempt at hand-sewing denim. It's only big enough for a couple of Milk Bones but I think she'll like it!

What? My rat race is my own fault?

He said it this morning, "I'm just tired." I say it all the time, "I'm just tired." We look at the clutter around our home, mostly the breadcrumbs left by our offspring, and we think, "We are literally drowning." It's depressing, sometimes, how I just throw up my hands, proclaim, "I'm getting in the car," walk out and wait...and wait...and wait, only to be late for work again.

But I have to be honest with myself here. There are some critical steps I could take to lessen the load of the rat race. I don't have to be in a rat race.

For instance, I had an opportunity to take it easy last night or catch up on some things that needed to be done. I could have gone with the cancellation of my girls' night and been okay with having an empty evening... but that just wouldn't have been very much fun. So I scheduled something in its place...well I just re-added girls' night sans one girl and adding a boy named J. so my kids wouldn't be too bored. And I loved every minute of it.

And there are other things as well, believe it or not. They are things of which most of us are guilty- Facebook, Blogger, Pinterest, T.V., the couch.

My bedside table, loaded with books and devotionals remain in my periphery. The Yale lecture series on autism on my iPad are waiting patiently for me. My husband, The Dude, that man who loves me, also is in the mix for attention. Oh and those little people who are walking around the house, leaving breadcrumbs...let's not forget them. And then I'm also thinking of taking on a second job to help pay the bills and buy my Dansko shoes... It seems as though there are a million things tugging at my attention span.

But ahhhh...

...The Dude and I spent this Friday evening at home, just us and our little breadcrumb-dropping progeny. There were steaks and deepfried tater chips and wine...and Rudy (the movie, not the dog) and lots of laughter. We really needed this time. Amazingly, there were no random 'Alert-now' calls from my school or telemarketers. Together we rang up an old Colorado pal with whom we hadn't spoken in ages. What an evening and for a little while...no feeling of being in a rat race. I have the feeling the whole weekend is going to be relaxing this way and I'm so thankful for this couple of days of chill. This weekend, I pledge to do NO people-pleasing. I shall, after completing this entry of course, spend less time farting around on the computer and more time in the real world. I may even work out...at some point. My rat race will cease until Monday. I'm giddy at the thought of it!

No thugs in our house....

Good tune! In an age of ready made artists...wait, maybe we've always had those...I'd prefer to harken back to when a group of guys got up on stage and worked hard for the money. Justin Bieber, sorry, hon, you never be that sexy.

Recovery project (Part II- A summer's worth of entries all in one giant nugget)

Poor, Poor Neglected Blog - October 9, 2011

Yes, I would say that I have most definitely neglected my little writing project here. The truth is, not that I would ever lie to my handful of readers, when I leave Summer behind and delve back into work (i.e., other extended vacation), I tend to become somewhat of a hermit until I get adjusted to the schedule. This usually takes me until about January, then it's so cold, I still won't leave my house. Another thing that, sadly, is frequently neglected happens to be my spiritual life. Over the years, I seem to have played this little game with God. It's kind of like freeze-tag, somebody starts counting and I start running away from God, as if I can hide from him. I hide behind things like fatigue, boredom, stress, depression, money, hobbies, facebook...you name it, I've hidden there. Thankfully, God wins each round and I'm happy to report that there is grace and mercy.
My priest says that our Bishop is supposed to be visiting in the spring and so, if there was ever the time to be confirmed into the church, it's during this visit. Yes, I was raised a Southern Baptist and now I'm hoping to be confirmed into the Episcopal church and I have a lot to learn. Here's where I must break from my usual habit of hermitism and actually leave my house every so often to go to what our priest is calling "Episcopal 101" a confirmation crash course of sorts. It's only one Sunday evening per month but I've balked on more than one occasion to leave my house on a Sunday evening when the days get short. The light was already fading when I arrived today but I took my camera anyway to see if the beautiful stained-glass windows would speak to me. It is amazing how the shifting light can bedazzle you in the sanctuary. Above, you see two examples; I especially like seeing Jesus calming the seas. It reminds me that He is a constant help in our struggles. Like those guys in the boat, we sometimes face some sort of storm, some small, some ginormous. At times, we are able to drift along on calm seas and those are the times we start to drift from Him. I guess that's when my spiritual well tries to run dry. Perhaps, immersing ourselves in worship and study of the Word is the only way to keep our sails tacked and our destination clear. I guess you just never stop growing...even in Fall and Winter.

Sep 11, 2011 11:53 AM
Wishing love for those whom would hate.

by And my Heaven will be a Big Heaven...
It just so happened that the following Gospel was delivered this day from the lectern.
Matthew 18:21-35
New International Version (NIV)

The Parable of the Unmerciful Servant

21 Then Peter came to Jesus and asked, “Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother or sister who sins against me? Up to seven times?” 22 Jesus answered, “I tell you, not seven times, but seventy-seven times.[a]

23 “Therefore, the kingdom of heaven is like a king who wanted to settle accounts with his servants. 24 As he began the settlement, a man who owed him ten thousand bags of gold[b]was brought to him. 25 Since he was not able to pay, the master ordered that he and his wife and his children and all that he had be sold to repay the debt.

26 “At this the servant fell on his knees before him. ‘Be patient with me,’ he begged, ‘and I will pay back everything.’ 27 The servant’s master took pity on him, canceled the debt and let him go.

28 “But when that servant went out, he found one of his fellow servants who owed him a hundred silver coins.[c] He grabbed him and began to choke him. ‘Pay back what you owe me!’ he demanded.

29 “His fellow servant fell to his knees and begged him, ‘Be patient with me, and I will pay it back.’

30 “But he refused. Instead, he went off and had the man thrown into prison until he could pay the debt. 31 When the other servants saw what had happened, they were outraged and went and told their master everything that had happened.

32 “Then the master called the servant in. ‘You wicked servant,’ he said, ‘I canceled all that debt of yours because you begged me to. 33 Shouldn’t you have had mercy on your fellow servant just as I had on you?’ 34 In anger his master handed him over to the jailers to be tortured, until he should pay back all he owed.

35 “This is how my heavenly Father will treat each of you unless you forgive your brother or sister from your heart.”

I have religious friends from different faiths and also friends whom aren't believers in anything but random chance. Whether the reader is God-fearing or non-believing, the words above, a Parable spoken by my personal Savior, is applicable to us all. We must forgive and we must love. As the Priest at my church said today, quoting an ancient Chinese proverb, "Hatred corrodes the vessel in which it is stored." It doesn't take a Christian to realize that hoarding hatred, ill-will, or unforgiveness can eat away at your psyche, or spirit, or soul, and kill you. On this day, kneeling after The Eucharist, I prayed for those whom would hate us and seek to destroy us. And I prayed for us, that we would cease in our own hatred and lack of forgiveness. There are no easy answers today, of all days, but only desperate prayers for our souls and the souls of all those suffering and those wishing to torment. Peace.
*filed under "Love & Nostalgia" for what is God, other than Love?

This looks like a good App

by And my Heaven will be a Big Heaven...
There has been some talk of Proloquo2Go™ for use in Augmentative Communication. I don't doubt for a second that this is a valuable resource for our non-verbal friends out there. The price: a cheap $189.99 and I don't say that facetiously. The truth of the matter is that Aug Comm has been such a niche market for so many years, developers of high-tech devices have enjoyed marketing products costing thousands of dollars. Proloquo2Go is a powerful alternative. But lets see, for the average family in today's economy, it still may be a hardship to first of all, purchase the iPad (I don't own one yet myself), and then on top of that buy the pricey app. The product is worth checking out if you can stomach the money.
I've taken a little time today to begin searching for more affordable apps and I intend to update my writings as I deem appropriate with my findings. This is of interest to me as our department has recently purchased us all iPads, which I have not received yet due to some glitch in the department-wide iTunes store. Needless to say, I can't wait to get my hands on that baby!
Today I found the following app:
http://a4cwsn.com/2011/08/speech-journal/ at a bargain basement price of $3.99, on sale this weekend for $2.99! It's going to be a little more limiting than the above mentioned product, but it's a good place to start for me just learning how to navigate the device.
That is all for now, on this particular topic, although I hope there will be more to come in the near future.

Sep 7, 2011 9:48 PM
September

by And my Heaven will be a Big Heaven...
It's funny how as soon as September kicks in, the light seems to disappear much faster. One distinct advantage to this: It's no longer blazing hot at 7:30 and you can get a comfortable run in. At least for now. Soon it will be too dark to run at 7:30. I'll have to be running before dinner, which doesn't seem very appealing. I have this sinking feeling that once that first cold snap hits, this girl won't be doing much running, regardless of my need to expend energy and anxiety. I do become a hermit in the winter months, it's no real secret. For now, I can enjoy being out there without sweating like crazy. I was joined by The Dude and Little Bug tonight and she is pretty good about keeping up. I think she is the natural athlete in the family. If I was really good, I would have taken a picture of the dusk as it began settling in around us; but I'm not that good. Take my word for it, September is off to a lovely start.





Aug 31, 2011 10:10 PM
Funk
by And my Heaven will be a Big Heaven...
Being in a funk never has any real upsides. Does it? I hate to say it, but as it turns out, I'm that stereotypical 'teacher' type, although I'm not a teacher. I feel like I had one of the best summers ever with my two girls and no pressure. And I get welcomed back to work with a crap, excuse my negative connotation here, assignment. I had been anticipating going back to work with excitement, I had some cool, new ideas running through my head. And then as I getting ready to settle back into my office I am hit with more students (way more), more driving, more paperwork (the height of Kilimanjaro) and a total and complete lack of appreciation for any of it. Enter the funk. Enter the 'teacher' type. I hate to say it but I'm right back at square one, that square that's actually shaped like a dollar sign. $ - yep, just like that. I have come full circle to the place where driving revenue apparently takes precedence over outcomes. It rails heavily against my personal ethics. Whatever happened to my dream job where I was actually making a difference in the lives of people, be they children, adolescents, adults, the elderly? My interest in most things, lately, has waned, including this blog. Here's the upside: punishing runs in the neighborhood. My need to work out my anxiety has led to miles of running, breathing, sweating and thinking about nothing but breathing and sweating. I guess I'll be lean and mean if nothing else. Dr. Adolph Brown says we need to get in the balcony and stay out of the proverbial basement. Right now, I'm just hitting pavement to cope. One of my teacher friends reminded me that Lincoln was shot in a balcony so maybe a front row seat at the show will be best. I'm thinking this year will have me running, both at work and in the neighborhood, and I'll probably look stressed since I'm known not to take stress well. In the end, I'll handle it all as I always do, with as much grace as possible and less respect and appreciation for the institution and for myself.

Aug 15, 2011 11:08 AM
Eat At Marvin's
by And my Heaven will be a Big Heaven...

Somewhere between Cherokee and Maggie Valley, NC we were all ready to eat the leather seats in the LR3. The Dude was charged with finding just the right place and, as usual, he came through in fantastic, delicious form. We are always looking for the next yummy spot in the road. On this day, we found Starvin' Marvin's Trout House. I decided to start with the French Onion Soup, which is kind of a favorite thing of mine to eat. But when I order it in most places, it rarely lives up to my expectations. BUT THIS was the probably the best FOS I've ever had. Seriously, in the middle of nowhere. I loved the way the crouton held on to its perfect crunch consistency despite bathing in the soup and being smothered under the perfect cheese. And it wasn't some silly little cup of soup; it was a substantial portion loaded with the perfect onions. It was so hot, it warmed me from the chilly wind which blew onto the deck of the Trout House. And then I followed that with a delicious fried trout sandwich. So simple, on a toasted bun, slathered with mayo...So GOOD!!! I can't even express it! The Dude decided to try the specialty, which amazingly was not the trout. It was the burger. He got a small one, called A Little Piece of Azz, at 8oz. It looked divinely sloppy and he swallowed it whole. Little Bug also had a kid-sized cheeseburger and Ese, as you can guess, ate chicken nuggets. Big surprise there.
You see these people? They're catching their own food. There are three small trout ponds right there stocked FULL of trout. It's not much of a sport really, but the end result is pretty tasty. I opted to let the establishment catch my meal, I was too hungry to go fishing. But everyone else was fairly entertaining. These little kids were catching them like crazy and there was this one guy who couldn't catch a trout to save his life! It was pretty funny to watch.
So while the diners are sitting on the deck, enjoying a brisk wind, this is what happens down below:You see that stick? It's kind of gruesome to watch this part, but guy who helps you net your catch applies a thunderous blow to the heads of the fish. They go from flopping about to just...um, yeah, you get the picture.
OH! There he goes...sorry little fishy...
But, man, aren't they gorgeous?? And I've got two words to describe this place:
So, if you are ever in Maggie Valley, this is the place to eat. It doesn't matter if you want to eat a Big Azz Burger or a Little Piece of Azz, Rainbow Trout, or the delightful French Onion Soup. The Dude says he's never seen me clean my plate so fast.

Aug 10, 2011 12:30 PM
Looking back at you

by And my Heaven will be a Big Heaven...
When I was in graduate school, I met a young man whose past time was rock climbing and whose job at the time was waiting tables at the local Mellow Mushroom. But I think his passion may have been photography, although the climbing was right there too. Who knows for sure. But I do know that I wish I had kept in touch with Matt because I think we could have been good friends and I think he may have a lot of lessons to teach on life, love, passion and reason. I look at his photography now, which is on the website below and I see that he sees what others might not see. If he had taken a photo of me, under any circumstance, I wonder what might be looking back at me. When a talented person captures an image of anything, it can be really telling... to the point of tattling. Reporting? Exasperatingly screaming and shouting! I love the images on this link and it makes me miss this person, even though we didn't really know each other that well. It's mystifying how someone can lay upon you such an impression that you never seem to forget them. Or maybe it's all a fiction at this point, since the brain tends to play tricks on your memory; all I really tie to this person is my own life in that snapshot of time: a vignette of a girl finally coming into her own sense of independence who for a brief moment in time didn't need or want a companion. It's a liberating feeling to be on your own, answering to no one and enjoying living your life with just your dog for a while. It's a feeling I will never experience again but that is not a regrettable thing. The Dude and I talk often about our 'pre-marital' lives and it's good that we can recall how those days were without feeling like we're missing out on life independent of one another. This whole marriage thing is a whole other chapter and it's okay to talk about other chapters, because memories are fond and times were so much fun. There used to be a time when I thought married people should compartmentalize the past and never visit it. To do so was a sign of 'pining away' for it. But that just isn't the case. The past is so full of love and laughter and just living it up (pardon my cliche) that I don't want to stick it in a box and put it under the bed. And I don't expect that The Dude should do it either. It's part of the living, breathing animal that is LIFE. No regrets (Friday Night Lights)! With that being said, check out the link I'm sharing. The rock-climbing photography is just SICK! I love looking at it. Side-note on Matt, I do know that he turned both his passions into money making endeavors. He designs rock-climbing training sites in NJ and NY and works in WV as a professional photographer. Some of his photo work has been published as well. I believe this is one of the most talented and intelligent people I've ever met and I would love the chance to sit and have beer with him now and just listen to him talk about his adventures. So today's blog post is dedicated to Matt and here's the link:

http://www.starkphotos.com/

Aug 7, 2011 10:38 PM
Floating Away the Day
by And my Heaven will be a Big Heaven...
Another adventure for our little family in the log book. I've lost count of how many times we've done this float and it never ceases to entertain us. This is the second time we've gone with this particular local church group and both times we've had a lot of fun. I always know I'm going to enjoy myself but I always forget how long it takes to get to where we put our boats in. I guess with the anticipation of the trip, I get a little antsy. This day, I was quite antsy since I knew I'd be padding out tandem kayak by myself with one child while The Dude man-handled the brontosaurus canoe with the other child. I'm used to all four of us piling into the tandem while The Dude did most of the work and we spend part of the day arguing back and forth about paddling technique and how I'm really getting in the way and please stop paddling for a while. The kids are getting older and bigger and piling into one tandem kayak is just not practical anymore (not that the brontosaurus canoe is exactly practical). So I knew I would be going stroke for stroke with The Dude and I hoped I could keep up. As it turned out, the canoe tracks about as well as a floating tractor tire so keeping up was a breeze for me. AND... no arguing betwixt me and The Dude. Mostly I was excited that I handled the entire trip on my own... making me feel really good about me :)

The trip up may have been long, but the kids are pretty entertaining. Here they are with their tough-river-rat faces. I think we may have been spoofing the Beastie Boys at this moment in time.
Finally, at the put-in. I look at this photo and I think, "Wow, how lucky am I to have these three wonderful people in my life?" And then they all get to bickering and I think "Wow, it's a good thing there's a church group here, I may say something regrettable." Haha...I'm half joking...
Waiting to put in at Long Island. I hope Ese always wants to hang out with me. She makes me happy.
The River Rat and her paddling buddy, Karla G. There are times when riding with Mommy just isn't cool enough.
I love this float. There is a little action during the 5 1/2 hour run. There are some good little rapids, you get to watch several novice canoe paddlers flip over, several trains run past, you see lots of wildlife and listen to the birds, you joyfully fellowship with other paddlers in your party, you look out for one another and you basically commune with nature and God. And you get an excellent workout! Feel the burrrrnnnn!!! The one thing I wanted to get a photo of, and couldn't, was the gang of dragonflies that seemed to be everywhere. You might be paddling along and 5 or 6 of them would hang out on your legs, but the minute you got a camera-phone out they'd disappear!
We pulled up on some rocks after a couple hours for lunch. Our menu included PB&J, Triscuit with Cabot Seriously Sharp Cheddar Cheese, beef jerky, figs, and blueberries. We also had a few pistachio nutmeats to snack on...mmmm....nutmeats...
This also gives the kids yet another opportunity to play in the water.
Every now and again, the sky would begin to appear ominous. Don't let those clouds fool you, we came away from the afternoon with some lovely sunburns.
The River Rat and Ese floating about.
Did someone order poached fish on this trip?
I knew I smelled something a little fishy...
Ese was having a really fun day as you can see.
Ese and The Dude after cruising down a rapid on their behinds.

The River Rat fell asleep during the last hour of the trip...and who can blame her with Mom doing all the paddling and the water seemed to nearly stop moving in some places. (stroke stroke stroke...I feel as if I'm going to have a stroke) I tried to shade her skin as much as possible but her legs got a bit of burn and she missed some really nice fast water at the very end of the run. We took out at Brookneal right at a bridge, which is a good thing since without such a landmark, I'd have no idea where I was taking out. It turned out to be a perfect day, contrary to the day's forecast. We were all pretty much useless for the party on Shiney Rock afterward, getting there late and leaving early... and El slept through most of that too!

Aug 2, 2011 3:56 PM
Figgy
by And my Heaven will be a Big Heaven...

FIGS! Food of the gods!

It's been one of those days when I had planned to kick back and relax, maybe at the pool or lakeside, since my garden was pretty much going out and the canning and freezing part of summer has come to a close... or so I thought. Here, one visit to an uncle's house yielded another evening of picking and shelling purple hull peas and more butterbeans. Thank goodness there's plenty of Capitol Hill drama on the tube to entertain me whilst doing all this shelling. Okay, you're right, we also watched Bolt with the children. And yes, even The Dude got into shelling with us. He also walked in last night, having visited some friends, with a jar of fig-strawberry preserves and a huge bag of beautifully ripened figs. Seriously, I've never made jelly, jam, preserves
or anything of the sort before. After I tried the preserves on toast this morning, I decided it was time to learn something new. Yes, it does take a bit of prompting for me to get up the nerve to try a new thing. Trust me, this stuff is worth it- SO YUMMY! For each batch you need to mash up 3 cups of ripe figs in a food processor (for me, a blender) and cook it with 3 cups of sugar and a box of strawberry Jell-0 at a rolling boil for 4 minutes. Process it in the water-bath canner for 5 minutes and you've got yourself some beautiful jars of preserves (or as the old folks say, "zerves").
Soupy yumminess! And sticky. And sweet enough to give you cavities if you just look at it.

That didn't take too terribly long to cook up. I still had time to check out the local wildlife.

Jul 29, 2011 9:42 AM
Making Sauce
by And my Heaven will be a Big Heaven...

I really really hope they get this debt ceiling mess figured out. But in case we go into default and the world is turned upside down and my 403b becomes worthless, I decided I'd better make some marinara. (and now, the Prez is about to talk on the TV...please DOW, tune this out and don't drop anymore) Last year's sauce just wasn't up to snuff. First of all, I didn't bother to seed the tomatoes and make puree. This year, I went through the lengthy, painstaking, I'msosickofstandinghere, process of seeding the tomatoes and pureeing them in the blender. (Guess what, turns out I really don't need a food processor) Before adding that to the pot, I sauteed the superchopped onions, green peppers, carrots and garlic to get those flavors all yummified, which is another step I neglected last year. Turns out, you absolutely MUST do this first! (Give me a break, I'm not Italian and I'm still learning about cooking at age 36)
Anyway, I used some Italian Seasoning and plenty of salt and pepper, and simmered the pot for about 3 hours with the top on. Then I got my canner out and canned 6 pints. I also tried to can that quart jar there but it didn't seal up overnight, so he's processing again as we speak. I assume this occurred because I had the water level low for the pint jars but not high enough for the quart jar; silly me, I should have thought about that ahead of time. Anyway, the pint jars of my own marinara, all sealed and lined up on the counter there are beautiful to behold and I'll be glad to be eating it later on this winter when after we've gone into default and the lights go out. It'll be worst case scenario, like a scene from Atlas Shrugged, but I'll have my stockpile of noodles and sauce. Unfortunately, all those frozen crowder peas will be thawing out in the deep freeze and I'll have to barter them away for loaves of bread and bicycle tires...shudder...









Jul 23, 2011 9:08 AM
Early Rising
by And my Heaven will be a Big Heaven...
Yesterday I did not get out early enough to get my garden picked. I was up since 5a.m. because The Dude had to leave for Roanoke pretty early; however, piddling in the house sort of took the entire morning. Before I knew it, it was 102 out there. Those crowder peas, butter beans, tomatoes, et al (ha! Pam) would have to wait.
Definition of Piddle: (verb) 1.Working steadily at nothing. 2.Working steadily at things that really should be done but on no specific timeline. 3.Moving aimlessly about the property, picking up this and that to shuffle to a new location, occasionally stopping to check scores of whatever sports event happens to be on.
No matter which definition fits, it has become apparent that the concept of time is null and void here. What I mean by this is that time itself seems to become sucked into some sort of vortex, never to be seen again. (shudder- it's creepy, I know.)
Here are some accomplishments of yesterday. The kitchen got some attention in spots I usually put off- under the sink, on top of the refrigerator, the pantry shelves. I made my PW iced coffee concentrate seen here: http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/2011/06/perfect-iced-coffee/
I worked on some pico de gallo also. There were other things too, more banal, mundane activities which don't bear listing.
The day finished with an awesome adult play-date. Dinner with friends followed by fun on a boat.
I knew this morning, after The Dude left at 7a.m., I'd better go get a handle on that garden before it got any hotter. It wasn't so bad at first but after 30 minutes, I was ready to wrap up that operation. I retreated inside to enjoy the fruits of PW's iced coffee idea- exquisite! I mean, sweetened, cold with a little vanilla soy milk and the Corona Vanilla my Mother-in-law brought me from Mexico- delicioso! I suggest each of my readers go to the above link and make you some! FOR INSTANT SMILES! I'm about to pour myself a third glass.
I mean look! I'm on E.

The Dude and his buddy will be out there roasting on the golf course today and tomorrow, I pray they stay well hydrated- hey! Maybe they need some of this iced coffee!

Stay cool, my friends!







Jul 22, 2011 6:41 AM
Nobody makes my kid cry...
by And my Heaven will be a Big Heaven...
I haven't taken the time to identify this little lovely yet, except to know that he is dead dead dead.
Despite the extreme heat yesterday, my kids were playing in their little playhouse. My oldest was moving her tiny picnic table back into the corner when she spotted this snake, to whom she did not take too kindly. Next thing I know, she's running into the house screaming and crying. She was visibly upset in a major way. "Please, Mommy, get rid of it!" "Is it black?" I ask, holding her tightly to me. "yes" "Is it just curled up there in the floor?" "NO! It's wiggling and squirming!" A shudder runs through me and then determination. I really love God's creatures, but I hate snakes. I hate anything that scares my children this badly. Especially something that is relatively difficult to kill.

Now my Grandmother Fleta was famous for jerking a snake out from under a house or chicken coop by its tail and chopping it to bits with a hoe. I would need to summon her courage and hatred of no-shouldered things in order to deal with this. And so, I went to my garage, grabbed the hoe (this hoe is a bit dull mind you) and walked, no tiptoed to the playhouse. I tried to spot it by just peering in from the ground, but eventually, I had to actually climb up blindly and hope he didn't surprise me first. Fortunately, he was right where Ese left him in the back corner. I can tell you that motherly instinct took over right here and although he put up a scary show, slithering about and attempting to escape, he didn't stand a chance. My hoe first came down randomly, causing no harm. But then I cracked him squarely on the head and he was done with only the end of his tail doing that 'I'm dead but my nerves are still working' little wiggle. Then the gruesome task of scooping him up with the hoe and carrying him away, still with that twitching going on- ick! This is no black snake. I don't know what he is and the photo doesn't do much, but maybe you can figure it out. If you know, let me know!
So here's today's lesson: Apparently I'm capable of killing. Nobody makes my kid cry.





Jul 21, 2011 11:07 AM
Mecklenburg County looks to sell old high school | South Boston Virginia News | TheNewsRecord.com
by And my Heaven will be a Big Heaven...
Mecklenburg County looks to sell old high school | South Boston Virginia News | TheNewsRecord.com

Someone please tell these people that no sane person or organization would want a dilapidated, old building given the current economy. But I know a guy with a bulldozer.

Jul 15, 2011 10:00 AM
It's so Burly 'round here
by And my Heaven will be a Big Heaven...

The weather is looking just about perfect for the 5th Annual Bailey Seafood Boil. In fact, it looks pretty much perfect for most anything. A bit breezy for tethered balloon rides yesterday evening; but most excellent for watching Marmaduke outside at the local church. Today, I'll be cranking up preparations for our 'Burl' as well as trying to get the garden picked well since I won't get to that tomorrow. I have a feeling there are peas, glorious peas in abundance out there. Thankfully, the air is cool. I'll be looking for the tent crew at some point today; but they are a lot like the cable guy who schedules you for sometime between 9a.m and 5p.m. - we shall see. I still haven't quite recovered from a lakewater-in-my-ear episode which made me incredibly sick. Thank the Good Lord that my neighbor had a syringe with which I irrigated all that mess out of my ear. But it made me so so so sick. Not cool, especially since we had people staying the night and I can't figure out why I just haven't felt right since. The sunburn probably isn't helping. Anyway, it is my plan to do better this year with documenting preparations in pictures. For my readers who are local to the area, I bid you an enjoyable Lakefest. Have a ball out there on the lake, downtown, wherever you are and PLEASE BE SAFE!








Jun 27, 2011 3:19 PM
Great squash boom, Batman!
by And my Heaven will be a Big Heaven...
I never know what to do with all this squash when it comes in all at once before the squash bug annihilates the plant altogether. I send my daughter off to different neighbors to deliver some but most anyone gets sick of squash after a while. There are only a few ways to cook the stuff and we get sick of it quickly. So I found this website with tips on freezing it. I will freeze mine since I don't have a pressure canner and frankly I get a little afraid of those things.
(Yes, I realize my grandmother NEVER blew the kitchen to bits; however, she did not have the terrible luck that I have.)
Here's the link:
http://www.pickyourown.org/freezing_summer_squash.htm

Jun 26, 2011 11:18 PM
The Thing I Missed
by And my Heaven will be a Big Heaven...
My Uncle is the sweetest. Although I didn't get the chance to earn it, he left an ASP 2011 t-shirt in my mailbox today. When I spoke to him on the phone I asked him for photos of the trip and he directed me to the ASP link. In case anyone is interested, I'm posting it here to show the work that ASP is doing in Lee County, VA. I'm so bummed that I missed it. Some of the photos show some beautiful country. Others show some pretty tough situations (Praise God for your blessings here), while other show folks like Uncle (in the Baked Bean and Outhouse Races t-shirt and lovely wide-brimmed hat) on site. The slideshow is slow for me tonight, maybe you'll have better luck with it.
http://www.flickr.com//photos/appservproj/sets/72157626839365635/show/





Jun 15, 2011 10:39 AM
Must be a guy thing
by And my Heaven will be a Big Heaven...
A Poem

There once was a groundhog,
slipping under the fence.
He thought he'd munch on tender shoots,
but he had no sense.

The Dude got his shotgun,
and with a grin of delight,
ran to blast him full of holes.
He couldn't put up a fight.

The Dude hath no mercy,
for the groundhog, you see,
would have wiped us out
of corn and crowder peas.

But in the heat of the moment
the irrigation got in the spray
of the shotgun blast,
and so it's duct-taped today.

Jun 14, 2011 10:04 AM
I won't cross that bridge...I won't even get to it.
by And my Heaven will be a Big Heaven...
Such an emotional week for our family. My hubby lost his Uncle tragically in a lightening related incident. I had made it up to my own Uncle's house an hour away when I got the news. So I spent the night there and came on back to be with our family. I don't feel that I am qualified to write about Jr.Boy, but I can say that I was always delighted to see him because he most certainly was a one-of-a-kind character. I've been hearing some funny anecdotes over the last couple days and story telling seems to help with the healing process. He will be missed but his legacy lives on. Rest in Peace, Uncle Jr.Boy.

For me, personally, it meant that I would not be making my mission trip with ASP. I had been looking at photos of the house (which I won't post here for privacy of the family) and the little foot bridge that leads to the cluster of homes where our assignment is. This bridge is to be crossed several times a day, in order to get to the worksite, carry materials and tools there, and run screaming from any vicious dogs that may be lurking about. My Aunt says that the team survived the first full work-day yesterday but that the bridge was really a doozy. One team member was contemplating just wading across the creek rather than attempting the bridge. I, for one, don't understand the design of the bridge (also an ASP installation on former trips) and The Dude says it must have been God's way of making sure I don't fall and drown this week. I hate heights but I believe I could manage by shimmying along the rail. I've crossed over more treacherous bridges and logs over water, just not loaded down with building materials. There will be other trips to go on and as my wise friend LB said, "That family will get help whether you make it or not." I know this is true but missing the experience does leave me a little sad, especially since I was going to share this one with my Uncle. I guess I'll be on the lookout for the next opportunity. Until then, it's me and and the kids, enjoying summer vacation, which isn't bad at all.

Jun 10, 2011 1:39 PM
Sharing another website I like (not a blog, but excellent)
by And my Heaven will be a Big Heaven...

When my first cousin, Courtney, married Anthony, I was introduced to this whole new world of Guamanian cuisine. I met Anthony's uncle at the rehearsal dinner, who had made this wonderful dish called Kelaguen Manok (or Chicken Kelaquen), frozen it and flown it over from Seattle. (He tells a cute story about going through security with the stuff). He told me that the only way to fix this dish is to use a fresh coconut. I actually got kind of gung-ho about fixing the dish and the coconut nearly defeated me... a hammer and screwdriver later, I emerged the winner and the dish was created. (I really need lessons on busting open coconuts) Long story short, it was a real hit at the 2nd Annual Seafood Boil and the link below will take you to the recipe. I like this website because it provides historical, political and cultural lessons with regards to Guam. And of course... the recipes! Yum!

http://www.chamorro.com/

(above photo yanked off the internet, I'm sorry, I have no idea who gets the credit but can be found @ http://wanderlustandlipstick.com/blogs/worldeatsreaderstreats/files/2007/09/chicken-kelaguen.jpg)

Jun 10, 2011 10:51 AM
Just when you think you've got it bad...
by And my Heaven will be a Big Heaven...
I ran across this disturbing story today:
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ac/8612835_deadly_fungus_strikes_joplin_tornado_survivors_volunteers

I was thinking that if I think I'm having a bad day, I really don't have far to look to know how blessed I really am. We've gotten our tornado scares in our area but I haven't had to live through this yet. My cousin teaches in a school in Tuscaloosa, AL which was severely damaged and I can't imagine what it is like to have to shift students into someone else's already tight quarters in order to finish out the school year. Obviously this makes me kick myself for complaining at all about where I work. (Although I know that these trailers would end up in Oz if a tornado was to come this way) Next time you hear me complaining, just politely pull me aside and in the words of my old boyfriend, just say "Quitcher bitchin' " Thank you very much.

Jun 5, 2011 10:18 PM
There's a squash in that there garden
by And my Heaven will be a Big Heaven...
My husband is awesome.
I hear stuff like this keeps evil spirits away.
This year, we buried the drip tape.
Garden Guard Pup
Go ahead squash plant!

The zucchini looks pretty healthy too!

Jun 5, 2011 9:32 PM
Getting ready for ASP -Part I
by And my Heaven will be a Big Heaven...
In one week, I leave for my very first 'mission trip' experience. I've been wanting to dip my toe in these waters for some time and finally the opportunity presented itself outside of my contract time with the school system- yay! Hurricanes and floods tend to fall during the school year and that's no good for a school based SLP. So my uncle found the perfect thing for me to do. This will be a week working with the Appalachia Service Project, hopefully wielding a hammer and doing some good for somebody. I'm very excited, but feeling terribly ill prepared. I did go to Dick's to get myself a cot about 2 months ago and up until last night it stayed in the above packaging. I finally decided I'd better make sure all the parts were accounted for and that I could actually assemble this thing on my own.
Oh boy, it comes with instructions...in English even! BONUS!

As you can see, I'm not quite as cot-illiterate as I thought I might be. Ask me in two weeks how my back feels after sleeping on this thing...but it's for the Glory of the Lord soooo....

The other thing I did that was in preparation was to go to the nearby Goodwill store for some old work clothes, specifically jeans. You know it's hard enough to find jeans that fit short, skinny, no-butt me in a regular store. Imagine my challenge in a Goodwill; however, I did manage to come out of there with two pairs of boot cut Gap jeans that actually do fit. Sweet. And I grabbed 3 old t-shirts too that won't be offended if they get thrown away after its all said and done. I've lined up someone to watch the girls during the workday and made the Dude promise to keep my hanging baskets watered. Uncle says he'll provide my tools for me so that's one less thing to worry about and pack. At my church service today, I solicited prayers for my trip. I think most everything is in order. Of course, it feels like I'm forgetting something... Last will and testament? Do I have enough clean underwear packed? Toothbrush? We shall see. I hope to have some interesting photos from the trip in order to put in a future entry. I'm told this will be a really fun, awesome experience and of course, I'm told, I will be blessed. I'm counting on it.