CA Girl in 10-OC

Derick Turns 14

2009-12-21T21:17:00.001-08:00

When Derick turned 14 a couple of days ago, it was like many other birthdays that we celebrate here at home. With a home made birthday cake, made to their order, plenty of candles and singing.

Then the presents arrive and everyone is giddy with anticipation.

Yippee!!! It's some sort of accessory for their PSP hand held game.

And a geek T-shirt that lights up whenever it detects WiFi.

But what's this? A surprise package??

Timothy can't believe it. How NOT FAIR IS THAT??

Jonathan is also in tears. How come DERICK gets a guitar??

Now if he can keep the other kids' hands off of it, it may last to see next week.

Happy birthday Rock Star!!

A Dicken's of a Christmas

2009-12-13T20:00:00.000-08:00

A misty day just added to the English feel of the Dickens Christmas in historic Franklin. We enjoyed kettle corn, caramel apples and hot chocolate while we wandered Main Street enjoying the music, sights and sounds of an Olde English Christmastime.

Timothy gets asked to be hired as a pick pocket. One day's wages would get him a drafty, drippy room, a cup of milk and some toast if he was willing to leave his family to work. He's thinking about it and Austin is pleased that Timothy hasn't said "no" yet.

Christmas carols on brass instruments always sound so grand.

But the bells sound heavenly to the ear.

Although who could resist such a sweet violinist?

Taking a break from all the fun.

Such a cozy spot that the older boys join in.

Another sweet violinist. I think those two should get together for a duet!

And the Christmas Spirit is well underway here in Tennessee!!

Leipers Fork Christmas Parade...2009 Edition

2009-12-06T20:03:00.000-08:00

Ho ho ho!!!

Thought I'd dust off the cobwebs around here and update my blog!

No better time than now, just in time to present the Leiper's Fork 2009 Christmas parade. Down home style.

Waiting for the parade to start! Derick was actually in the parade this year, so he's not waiting with us. High temp on this day was 34 degrees!

Naomi Judd did the announcing.

I loved this sweet entry!!

Uncle Lester??

A few of the Titian Cheerleaders decided to brave the cold and come on out.

I want these girls to be my best friends forever. And the guy in the afro wig too!

This is Mrs. Claus on her wedding day.

Isn't he having fun?? And why shouldn't he?.....

.....he turned his 4-wheeler into a Gingerbread House!

His brother was a gift box!!

No Leiper's Fork Parade is complete without Floyd!

Or the General Lee!!

The Hillsboro 8th grade football heroes!

Derick and Santa chillin'

Of course the Zero Turn Mower Precision Drill Team made their appearance, as they do each year.

My Dad tells me that this 34 Rat Rod is sporting a tractor radiator grill. That just makes it so much BETTER!

These sweet horses all wore authentic sleigh bells!! They sounded so pretty!

CSA!!!

She was just too cute!!!

Mrs. and Mr. Claus!!!!

A very nice day and a super fun parade!!

Arachnophobes Need Not Apply

2009-05-21T16:27:00.000-07:00

So heading out to the garage this morning, Austin brings to my attention this spider, which happened to be blocking the door we needed to get through in order to get into the garage. The spider was was pretty big and I thought maybe it was a small tarantula. We had tarantulas running around our property in So. CA, but even then I hadn't seen any except in October and November and they were much bigger.

Being adventuresome, I got a ruler and the spider obliged me by sitting still for me to get a good scale photograph.

Upon closer inspection, I learned that the spider wasn't really hairy.

It was just carrying a bunch of baby giant spiders on it's back.

So anyway, spider time was fun and all, but I had to get Austin over to the high school to buy his yearbook. I told the Austin and Amanda to step back just in case the spider bolted their way when I opened the door. Well as I opened the door, the giant creature instead went into the garage. Not good. I opened the big roll up garage door hoping it would head out into the far wilds and fresh air, but upon seeing the light the spider quickly retreated further into the garage. But I, still holding the ruler in my hand, decided to lightly flick the spider out the roll up door. Great idea. And it worked. Except as I flicked the spider, tens of the baby spiders fell off the spider's back and began scattering in all directions on my nice cool garage floor. Giant spider tried to run back into the garage. I quickly pressed the button to close the big garage door. The Mama spider was trapped outside while the baby spiders began to figure out where the Mama spider was and ran toward her. There was plenty of room between the garage door and the frame for the spiders to reunite, so I felt pretty good about that.

Meanwhile, we open the bay door to the garage stall I needed opened in order to get my van out. As we backed the van out and I started to close that garage roll up door. Austin then says that he saw that giant spider dart back into the garage. I left the garage door open all day hoping it would somehow, some way, miraculously run back out.

But I have feeling we will be over run with wolf spiders in our garage before the summer is over.

Books and Covers

2009-04-25T21:50:00.000-07:00

Why we love Susan Boyle

I'm assuming that most everyone has heard or heard of Susan Boyle's performance on a British talent show called, "Britain's Got Talent."

She has become quite the sensation. But why? We have all heard fabulous singers before. We have probably even heard better. So why is Susan's performance so extraordinary? I think her popularity has exploded for several reasons.

Number one is that Susan was judged on her appearance before ever given a chance to prove herself. She reminds us of how shallow we as a people have become, or what we expect from others as a society based on first glance alone. Before she takes the stage, Susan confesses that she has never been married, or even kissed, and that she lives with her cat Pebbles. Naturally one is to assume that it is because she is crazy and eccentric. I mean look at her right? Anyone who has looked less than perfect in the world's eyes, or has held on to a standard not recognized by society instantly connects with Susan, before she ever takes the stage. The classic, "Judging a book by the cover."

Number two is that Susan represents those of us who were ridiculed or teased during our lives. Susan stands up on stage and stoically endures the eye rolls, snickers and words being exchanged in low whispers among the audience as she speaks about her dreams. Most of us who were teased would never be brave enough to ever reveal our dreams. Our hearts would not allow any more rejections. Oh how we would have LOVED to have shut everyone up, brought them to their feet, lapped in their praises, just moments after they all made a joke of us. Susan has done what millions of the down trodden could not, not only proved the taunters all wrong but won their admiration to boot.

Another reason? Susan's age. Let's get real, people who want to have a career in the performing arts had better be well on their way by the time they hit 30. Doors are closing then. Actually in many careers, you are no longer considered a shooting star once one reaches a certain age. Susan reminds us that it is never too late to chase a dream. At this point in time, as our population ages, she has given many the inspiration to just try. As Susan said when asked why she hasn't fulfilled her dream, "I have never been given the chance before. But here's hoping that will all change."

Susan represents the 90% of the population who are not exceedingly gorgeous. Those who have lived a life of mediocrity. Who have worked hard, putting dreams to the side as they lived up to obligations and to the challenges of life. Susan's choice of song was also one of pure irony. She sings, "I had a dream my life would be so different from this hell I'm living. So different now from what it seems. Now life has killed the dream I dreamed." And really, who can't somehow relate to something in that?

Who else is happy about Susan Boyle's new found fame? Well I'm thinking it has to be Elaine Page. I think Susan Boyle has now made HER more famous than ever. I mean really, Elaine gets a shout out heard by tens of millions of people outside of Britain! Most of them probably saying, "Who is Elaine Page?" and then promplty logging on to Goggle.com. Sweet!

The Thrill of the Hunt

2009-04-21T20:57:00.001-07:00

So after Sunrise service it was time to begin the egg hunt.

There were plenty of eggs to be found all filled with candies.
There was also a golden egg, full of 5 $1 gold coins. Everyone wanted that egg.

Amanda wanted the golden egg badly, but it was found by Jonathan.

She took the realization pretty hard.

But after some clever negotiating (Jonathan gets the coins and Amanda gets the egg), every one seemed just a little happier.

Happier and ready to pose for a group shot.

Although Derick may have been a little miffed that he didn't find the golden egg.

Tramp Ball

2009-04-07T19:53:00.000-07:00

When a playmate comes over to visit, it's time to hit the trampoline for a friendly game of Tramp Ball

First the teams are formed and ground rules laid.

Then it's on to the action of the game.

It's intense....

...and needs concentration....

....courage and strength....

....perseverance...

...trick plays...

...and determination.

Actually I'm not sure what's going on.

Only that it's not too hard to figure out...

...when the ball goes out of bounds.

See, it's hard for me to concentrate on the game when I feel like I'm being watched.

Ya. Like that.

Special thanks to Frederick for contributing photographs for this story.

Location, location, location.

2009-03-24T20:02:00.001-07:00

Today I was on a mission. I was scouting out areas where I could take pictures where the light was usually consistently good. I would like a place that I can just run out and take pictures and know that the lighting is going to be nice. Here is a sampling of some demo shots. I haven't adjusted for color, brightness or anything like that, I just wanted to see how different areas photographed within the same camera settings. Today was a partly cloudy, mostly overcast day. Not bad shooting conditions, but here in TN it's mostly what I get day in and day out!

The porch on the outside of our garage and potting shed is nice. I could paint the whole area white so I'd have nice bright white bouncing all around.

Trouble here is that there is a big shrub right in front of the place!

Same spot, just from a different angle. Trouble again is that I'd have to keep the potting shed picked up. Not happening any time soon I'm afraid.

Out on the lawn is nice, but the shade is sporadic and inconsistant.

I thought for sure that the inside of the garage would be perfect. Actually it was a little dark.

Here I moved Amanda away from the door and more into the center. It may have worked out better had she been facing toward the light.

I think this area has potential too, this is the stair well in our garage that goes up to the garage attic. I like this window and the baluster. The stair well is narrow too, so it's easy to get everything in. It would need some paint on the stairs.

Then we head back outside. Here Amanda is leaning on the frame of the garage door opening. This area is shaded all the time except early morning. There is a gravel drive, so the white gravel reflects a nice true spectrum of light.

Same area, only this garage door is closed.

Then we head over to the stacked stone chimney. This is north facing and is in the shade 100% of the time. Once again, light is reflected from the gravel driveway.

And in conclusion....

I finally learned how to use the remote for my camera!

W00T!

Birding

2009-03-17T21:21:00.000-07:00

Well, so lately I've been hearing the birds singing and having a great time outside, that I decided that maybe it would be fun to go photograph a few of them. I mean how fun would that be? Stalking little birds and practicing my telephoto photograph taking techniques?

Well it was the most boring thing EVER! OK, I thought fishing could get boring, but not as boring as waiting for some little bird to decide to come over and get near enough that I could even SEE it to take it's picture.

So, not being the most patient person, I just started taking pictures of things to occupy myself until I did see a bird.

I found these LadyBugs on the climbing rose by the front porch. Can I just say that I'm SO over the cuteness of LadyBugs now? They will be cute again to me when I see them munching on aphids.

Things turning to rust are always fun to photograph....and readily available.

This pine tree in our front yard makes me laugh. About 30 feet up you'll find this. I think it looks like an alien thing. It's also like one of those trick pictures where you have to decide if you see an old woman or a beautiful young girl. Or like 2 faces looking toward each other, or a vase. Because this alien looks could be looking right at you with a snail eye thing, or looking toward the left with a big ear sticking out like Shrek.

More riding toys on our front porch.

Hey look birds! It's a house! By our front door! Let me take your picture!

Oh wait, here comes a bird. A sparrow. Kinda boring.

A bluebird! Spring IS arriving!

Another bird. He looks hungry.

And so do these guys.

Guess I shouldn't have such high expectations that birds will land close enough to photograph with these guys watching.

How Fun!

2009-03-14T16:15:00.000-07:00

Look, it's my first Photography showing!

Not really. It's just this fun little website that puts your pictures in their own frame things!

http://www.dumpr.net/museumr.php

Fun way t0 waste a rainy Saturday afternoon though!

Behind the Scenes

2009-03-13T18:37:00.001-07:00

For Amanda's portraits I didn't use any lighting other than the sun.
The pictures with the black background I took while Amanda stood in my front doorway. I used a piece of black fleece as the background letting it spill out over the front stoop. Next time I do one of these shoots I will put a white sheet or something in front of the door as I have a sisal rug there now and it reflected a subtle tan tone onto everything.

Here is a sample of what many of the pictures looked like right out of the camera.

In order to crop the picture clean with just the black background, I used the clone tool brush in my Paint Shop Pro photo editing software to extend the black back ground area.

Then I was able to crop the photo to an 8" X 10" size with plenty of dark area in the margins.

Isn't digital photography amazing??

The Birthday Girl

2009-03-11T09:13:00.000-07:00

We had occasion for a pink birthday cake this week.

Amanda turned 5!

Her birthday party consisted of 8 boys....her 4 brothers and their friends from the neighborhood.

Although we have celebrated a few of her birthdays with enough snow on the ground to sled in, this year it was warm enough for her to put on a princess dress and let me take some pictures.

She insisted on wearing her red boots. At first I said no, but figured that it was her birthday pictures and if she wanted red boots, then so be it.

Which resulted in my favorite picture of the group!

A Look Back At The Old Days

2009-03-08T20:58:00.001-07:00

Gee, I'm so old...because now I'm part of the generation who remembers the rotary phone!

As he says, we're in an amazing time in history, but still no one is happy.

Sugar On Top

2009-03-01T20:00:00.000-08:00

We made it through February with out a scratch!

Our first February here in Tennessee in 2007, our house caught fire. The next February, 2008, would bring a tornado our front door. So this year we held our breath for the surprises that this February would bring. It was a quiet month for us.

Then at midnight, the closing of February, it started snowing. It was like God telling us, "Your faith has brought you through and to mark the occasion, I'm sending you the sugar on the top."

There is nothing more beautiful than the sun shine on fresh snow.

Or the way the snow transforms things from the ordinary to the extraordinary...

....some things we need to put away for a while....

....but the once so familiar place we know becomes new to us and we want to explore it again.

Much like the way God's love feels to our souls.

So for now it looks like blue skies!

P.S. Counting my blessings that it isn't Leap Year!

Looking Closely

2009-02-28T10:20:00.000-08:00

Sometimes we need to slow down and take a closer look at the little things that we are stepping passed every day.

This grasshopper reminds me that spring really is on its way:

A bit of green moss that surprises in a sea of browns and gold.

The discoloration on the bottom of this oak tree by the creek caught my eye,

...and further investigation shows that a wood pecker has been at work. That tiny little bird that may have single handily taken this mighty oak down. A practical application of the story of David and Goliath. We'll see if the oak eventually recovers.

Then again, some things are never restored to as they once were, as this rib bone (probably from a fawn) will attest to.

When you see these....

...then you know that you are near some of these Shag Bark Hickory trees.

I have some old chairs that I picked up at a Leipers Fork auction that have seats caned from shag bark hickory. It's amazing stuff.

This blue fungus is fun to look at.

I come across a little lost football in the pine needles.

Also a pretzel that hasn't been worn away yet from countless rainstorms.

An acorn that has rooted reminds us to keep believing in the future.

A new butterfly drying its wings is easy to ignore.

But some little things won't put up with being ignored.

So as we fly through life, as fun and exciting as that is, it's important to remember to land every now and then, for to dry our wings that will enable us to soar even higher the next time we embark toward the skies.

Amanda's Day

2009-02-27T15:30:00.001-08:00

Yesterday Amanda and I took a little time to play outside. Even though I kept my sweatshirt on much of the time, she felt it was time to break out her "summer clothes." Here is a taste of what she is up to when she's outside.

First some quality time with her Bitty Baby.

Then for a ride on the redneck roller coaster.

Next it's off to throw some rocks into the pond.

Climbing to the top of the logs...

... and then a moment to rest in some leaves.

Time to head over to the trampoline!

Then on over to work on her "King and Queen" castles, being built with real stones.

Finally it was time to come into the house for a shower, lunch and a nap.

However, she napped so well that she didn't go to sleep until 2 o'clock this morning!

Looks like the joke's on me this time!

Tennessee In February

2009-02-26T19:46:00.001-08:00

I picked green as the color of our house because I knew that the winters would be stark here in Tennessee. I wanted to be able to see SOME green through out the winter.

By the end of February Tennessee has seen plenty of freezing cold weather. So everything tends to turn into one of the many color variations of gold.

Tennessee also has a lot of trees. Trees that drop their leaves creating endless carpets in shades of brown.

The leaves get caught up in everything.

Even the kitty cat blends in with the landscape.

Although even a trumpet vine withered by frost has a redeeming beauty to enjoy.

The holly berries remind me that not all is bad in the doldrums of winter.

For the promise of spring and new growth is all around if we take the time to seek it out, as blossoms waiting for warm sun so they may open await on my cherry tree.

My daffodiles can sense that the days are once again growing longer, and also to be growing warmer.

And plants that will become unwanted in the summer now give me a smile as they are the braviest of all that dare to send out blossoms so soon.

For winter is not over but is certainly just resting.

Tagged

2009-02-20T19:45:00.000-08:00

With online comes the risk of being tagged by your friends. Tagged in photos, tagged on blogs, tagged on My Space and Facebook.

Well here in the 10-OC, tagged still means tagged. Like graffiti tagged.

When the kids were little, they tagged like this....big happy, blatant tagging going on, right up the stair hall where ever one could see.

As they got in trouble for that, they went underground. Tagging in little circles or X's.

Then they began to learn to make real letters, and the tagging became even more irresistible. And they figured that no one would find them out. Clever little things.

Guess who tags in sparkly blue ink pen and has the letters "A" and "M" in their name? Kudos for trying to wipe it off as soon as she wrote it though.

Then they begin to figure out that their names have lots of letters behind their first initial. I found this tagging treatment in Jonathan's old room.

Then come numbers! In mirror images! I guess the pen was running out of ink and the tagging had to be carved into the wall. You'll find this gem in Jonathan and Timothy's old bathroom.

This one gets bonus score for neatness.....

..... a separate letter for each part of the door jam moulding.

Jonathan getting sneaky.....writing on the edges of the closet doors. Sort of subliminal because you can't see it when the door is closed....but you know it's there.

And who is getting bolder now? Like I'd NEVER figure out who wrote this one!

At least this is on the door to his bedroom. You know, in case I forget where all his toys and clothes go. He's just helping out his mom.

This it Timothy's doing. Oh ya, this wall is tagged.

You just need to shed some black light on it.

I'm totally hiding the spray paint now.

Kids. Can't Tell Them Anything

2009-02-18T22:01:00.000-08:00

So, Rick gets this sweet little weather station thing. It has a sensor outside and then a display inside.

We put the display by the front door, so when the kids leave for school, they can see what the weather is instead of guessing and then getting half way to the bus stop only to find that they are freezing or ditching jackets on the front lawn.

Well Timothy takes one look at it and I hear,

"Dad??"

"Yes Timothy"

"Is that weather station thing supposed to work?"

"I think it does work, Timmo."

"Well that guy has a SCARF on and it's 49 degrees. 49 degrees is not cold."

"You should dress how that guy tells you."

"That guy is crazy."

Parents, we can only do so much!

Word Art

2009-02-10T19:37:00.001-08:00

There's a cute little website out, Wordle, that will crawl your blog (or any RSS feed site) and spit out a little picture image that should sum up what your blog is about.

Here is what came up for mine.

And like the Hokey Pokey, that's what it's all about.

Gathering Kindling

2009-02-09T20:36:00.000-08:00

Day 3 of the best weather in a long time! We were actually only one degree from matching the record high temperature on this day of 72*. Which considering it was 6* in the morning only 5 days ago, that's pretty amazing!

So outside we went again. This time I decided to restock the kindling pile. Not hard to do, just walk around the yard picking up branches that have fallen out of the trees onto the front yard areas.

Amanda, however, decided that the garden was, once again, THE place to be. So to the barn for her garden tools.

And off to dig in the nice Tennessee clay.

This is as far as I got with the kindling pile before Amanda decided to do something else.

She wanted to ride her redneck roller coaster.

From the septic tank....

....all the way down....

Oops, forgot to tell ya, that ride goes fast!

....all the way down to the pond...almost.

And for you quick thinkers, the septic tank is a holding tank and the contents are pumped up and away....not leeched down to the pond. At least that's what we've been told....

A Day In The Garden

2009-02-08T17:21:00.001-08:00

A second day of unseasonably warm weather. Even though the forecast called for rain and a high of 61*, it was sunny and 71*.

I know that I can't plant in my garden for at least 3 months but I figured I could at least rake the dirt around a little.

It has been neglected all winter.

First I collect the pinecones that have fallen in the beds. They make great kindling for the fire in the fireplace and what we won't burn, the kids will use as grenade props during their Army guy battles.

Then here come my helpers. Kitty cat tries to find some catnip that may have escaped the freeze.

It would appear that he has been successful.

Then Amanda heads my way.

And yes. As a matter of fact that IS her normal gardening attire. This is what she wore last year when we broke ground.

We found a few little surprises. So if I had to do the Scarlet O'hara turnip scene, I wouldn't have to fake any parts.

When Amanda got bored raking, she found the camera.

I bribed her with garden tools to hand it back over before it got dropped in the dirt.

But not before she got a picture of Derick working in the dirt in the front of the house. We may even have a lawn there this year.

But then we were tired and called it a day.

And even though the garden is still sleeping, at least we got to make the bed a little nicer until spring.

A Drive About

2009-02-07T20:27:00.000-08:00

Our first nice Saturday in a while, so we decided to take the '57 Bel Air out for some fresh air. We did a little drive about our Tennessee countryside.

This picture is going down our road. Now I was trying to get a picture of the telephone poles, because down every country road here, you slalom around telephone poles, it cracks me up. But these cyclists got in my way. There were a lot of bikes out today, too.

Here we're heading into down town Leipers Fork. Looks like cyclists of another sort were taking a break at Puckett's. We see a lot of those kinds of bikes, too.

And on passed farm houses.

Big....

....and small.

We make our way to Bending Chestnut, where the temperature at the general store reads about 64*.

Plenty warm enough to go hard top mode.

Then continuing on our little loop....

....passed fences, barns and woods.

Until we arrive home again.

And await for the next unseasonably warm day to arrive.

Warm Sunny Days

2009-02-05T21:01:00.001-08:00

The other day I decided that I wanted to make a .gif file. I found out that my old Paint Shop Pro software did not come with animation software. So I browsed my programs file for my OLD OLD version, like PSP 4, because apparently that did contain an animation script. While looking through my program files, I come upon a photo editing program that I didn't even know I had, and have become side tracked playing with it. Now granted, I'm pretty sure that this program came bundled up with Paint Shop Pro X2, which I just got for Christmas this year, so I'm not a total loser.

Anyhow, in celebration of our 6* temps this morning, I decided to have some fun with some pictures we took a Gulf Shores last year.

Amanda's starfish hair clip actually came in a McDonald's Happy Meal toy!

The Gulf was too rough to swim in this day, but it was awesome watching the waves and hearing them crash upon the sand!

Too sweet!!

And I haven't checked yet to see if Paint Shop Pro X2 has an animation application or not. I'll think about that another day. After I've "painted" every photo I own!

Super Bowl Fun

2009-02-04T14:02:00.000-08:00

Super Bowl Sunday was a fun time had by all.

The boys were cheering for the Cardinals, but it was an exciting game none the less.

Lots of snacks and minimal fighting. Always a plus.

Of course we kept an eye out for commercials. Everyone was looking forward to the 1 second ad spot. I liked it and considered it ground breaking and unique.

Derick saw the commercial and laughed saying, "The guy yelled BUD LIGHT!" Seeing how it was a Miller commercial, I would have to change my opinion from ground breaking to epic fail.

Redneck Vader

2009-01-29T16:36:00.000-08:00

In keeping with the Nerd theme, I now have proof that Darth Vader was from the south.

Behold:

I'm thinking probably the Memphis area.

But then again, maybe Alabama.

If Only Defeating the Borg Was This Easy

2009-01-28T12:26:00.000-08:00

So today the boys had another snow day. Only this time there was snow. It sat upon a layer of ice but there was not enough snow to really play in. So that meant the kids mostly just sat around the house, ate chips, watched TV, pushed each other around and basically not much else.

But Derick, being a little more bored than the rest, decided to film himself solving his Rubik's Cube. It used to take me a week to solve one side.

And after last night's dinner table discussion of how many reoccurring humanoid-ish species there are on Star Trek, Star Trek The Next Generation and Deep Space Nine, I think we pretty much qualify for the Geek of the Week award.

Redneck Wonderland

2009-01-26T21:46:00.000-08:00

Funny as we continue to walk around the woods of our property and that around us, we keep discovering new things.

Like what was this thing? I got a little worried that it was sniper stand. Which in a way, it is. It's a deer sniping thing. A guy with a gun sits in there and waits for a deer to come by and get a drink. Then WHAM. Venison stew for all.

This one looks like it may have been here a while.

But what a pretty view down the creek, isn't it?

Then I turn around and look across the little valley.

What's this I see?? A barrel from our old still.

So THIS was Redneck Wonderland.

Shoot a deer and kept an eye on the Moonshine at the same time.

I bet someone is pretty disappointed that our lot finally sold.

Ice, Ice Baby

2009-01-16T16:10:00.000-08:00

This morning at the time the boys should have been heading to the bus, this is what the thermometer read:

The kids had a free day from school, as schools were closed due to extreme weather conditions.

Of course it's impossible to keep boys inside the house during extreme weather because the word extreme is derived from the word boys. I'm sure of it.

So my boys decided to play some ice hockey on the pond.

We even had a hockey stick from California. It's the street hockey version, but it works.

Jonathan used a golf club. He's still a Southern CA boy at heart.

They had to use a piece of ice for the puck.

When they got tired of that some of them decided to go ice collecting.

It's not for the faint of heart. It takes skill...

....and determination...

...but bringing home samples of air bubbles encased in ice is worth it.

Especially if there is hot chocolate to be had at home.

Nothing seems to bother boys much.

They don't seem to notice much of anything, really.

But they do know that Mom may notice.

To a point that is.

Christmas Trick or Treat

2009-01-06T23:27:00.000-08:00

Growing up in CA we used to always get an orange in our stocking. Candy Canes and Oranges go quite well together.

So a holiday visit to CA would not be complete without a fresh orange.
Amanda and her cousin Jade decided to make an adventure out of it.

A trick or treat adventure.

First they had to go knock on the door of the Orange tree and hope that there were oranges to be given out.

Is this one fit for a Princess?

Yes, indeed.

But Uncle Jay's work isn't done.

Is it juicy enough?

Apparently so.

Two happy girls with their fresh Christmas oranges.

And Uncle Jay leaves the scene before the rest of the kids caught wind of what was going on.

Road Trip

2009-01-06T21:20:00.001-08:00

This holiday we took a road trip.

A long road trip.

Yes, with all the kids in the van. For some nice, quality AND quantity, bonding time.

Through wide open, and sometimes quite unremarkable scenery. This scenery was a bit more remarkable than others.

The kids seemed to handle the trip well. For some reason.

Mostly because they stood to receive the pot of Wii gold at Uncle Jay's house. And the less often we had to stop, the faster they could get there.

Awww, can't be homesick for long when Elvis can be found at Legoland!

But here we are, heading home, across the Golden Gate Bridge of the South. Back to the land where all call letters start with W. And all Carl's Jr's become Hardey's. And there is no Del Taco. Or In & Out Burgers.

And gas can still be bought pretty cheaply!

Welcome 2009!!!

2008-12-31T19:53:00.000-08:00

And here we go into another New Year!!

The New Year has always been exciting for me. Not only does the year start fresh, but I have my birthday just 3 days before the start of the new year, so I feel a sense of an exciting new adventure too. Well I think it was more exciting when I was 6 turning 7, or 15 turning 16 or the much anticipated 17 turning 18 and the epitome of all birthdays 20 turning 21. But still, that exhilarating feeling of a new adventure has never left me, so I'm still excited about both my birthday and the new year.

This year is the year to cut the clutter. Stop laughing. I mean it. No I mean stop laughing. I have a whole year. By the end of that year my desk may be cleaner. Stop laughing at me!

I've already started.

See? I cut my hair:

And there is nothing more exciting than starting a New Year with a new haircut. Well, except starting the New Year with a new baby. And I've already done that. And so have my Mom & Dad.

Cheers!

Making Christmas

2008-12-19T10:33:00.000-08:00

Trimming the tree with ornaments that cost litte....

...but holds a lot of tradition....

...a lot of love...

....and a lot of memories.

May your Christmas...

...be merry and bright!

Leipers Fork Parade

2008-12-13T18:48:00.000-08:00

Today was the 5th annual Leipers Fork Christmas parade.

First we stopped to see Santa:

Then some free cookie decorating:

Waiting for the parade to start:

Here it comes!

And just in case you're interested in joining the above group:

Not everyone can pop a wheelie on their zero turn mower!

No parade is complete without the septic truck:

The human snow globe man (singing Mala Kaliki Maca):

And that's how Leipers Fork does Christmas.

Snowy, Snowy Day

2008-12-01T19:47:00.000-08:00

The morning started out with the first snowflakes of the season.

Kitty cat wasn't quite sure. Should she catch the flakes or go inside?

In came the firewood and in came Kitty Cat.

And a cup of hot coffee to start the day.

The snowy, snowy day.

Fall Pictures

2008-11-26T18:38:00.000-08:00

I have been slow in editing the pictures from November.
I usually love editing, but for this shoot the light was just a little tricky and many of my photographs did not come out as sharp as I like, which is frustrating for me.

But here are a few that I liked for one reason or the other.

Regina understands my frustration with black and white digital photography. I try, but I'm never really pleased so much with the results.

I can't believe that it's almost time for Christmas card pictures.

I always wish for a nice snow day so I can get a wintery picture for the Christmas card, but it never seems to turn out that way.

Baking with Butterscotch

2008-11-21T10:52:00.000-08:00

This month's Bunko included a cookie exchange. I needed to come up with 6 dozen yummy somethings. Fast, easy and different.
I dug out my Step Mom's family recipes book and this one caught me eye. Not only was it easy, but it noted that it was my sister's favorite, and my sister only likes the most excellent of things, so I decided that this was the thing to make and take.

You will need:

1/2 cup butter
1 package graham crackers (not the whole box)
1 cup chopped walnuts
1 cup butterscotch morsels
1 can coconut (I know right? Who knew coconut even came in a can?)
1 can sweetened condensed milk.
1 9" X 13" baking dish
1 oven at 350*

And here's how you do it:

First you melt the butter in the dish.
Then crumb up the graham crackers.

Put the graham crackers in the dish.

Sprinkle the walnuts over the top.

Sprinkle the butterscotch pieces over that.

Then the coconut goes over that.

And the can of sweetened condensed milk over that.

Pop in the oven for about 25 minutes.

So easy that even a brother can do it.

With out an apron!!

Amazing!!

Still Around

2008-11-15T22:51:00.000-08:00

We're still here. Just been busy with football playoff and friends coming to visit.

So I'll leave you with a little snippet of Amanda and one of her kittens.

The Pro-Quo Model

2008-11-06T20:35:00.000-08:00

Today I decided to get some fall pictures in before the rains came.
Amanda likes getting her picture taken as she loves to pick out the outfits to wear.
We haven't gone out for "picture taking" for a while now, and she became just a bit Diva-ish.

We started at the log pile:

Then to the top of the hill where she had to sit to catch her breath.
She won't mention that she made me carry her half of the way.

But eventually she let me stand her over here:

Then she insisted on a picture with her pink fluffy hand muff...

... and nice fluffy hat with the pink tails:

Then she demanded that if I didn't let her take pictures of me then she was walking home.

First she told me to "look beautiful"...

...then cross my feet over like this....

...then stand like a ballerina....

...then "get down low like this".....

Then Mama said, "OK give me back that camera."

And we headed on home anyway.

Until I can talk her into going out another time.

Leaf Raker

2008-11-05T15:52:00.000-08:00

When trees turn pretty colors like this:

They leave big messes on the pond like this:

So Amanda and I grab some rakes and prepare to clean out the pond.

First some ballet poses to limber up:

Say hello to kitty...

...and get to work.

Yippee for stretch jeans!

Get those leaves out!

Then rest after a job well done.

For at least another couple of days until the pond fills with leaves again.

Living In The Sticks

2008-11-03T20:58:00.000-08:00

A few months after we moved to the 10-OC, I took a picture of Jonathan and his little stick gun. He was having so much fun with that little stick and imagining all the things he could shoot with it.

But how fast they grow.

Now he's shooting cans like a pro.

It's good to be a boy in Tennessee.

And a girl too for that matter.

I think Amanda is going to skip that whole stick gun stage!

Autumn Is Here!

2008-11-02T21:12:00.000-08:00

It starts out innocently enough, with a sweet little Lady Beetle.

And soon you spot a few more...

...and soon it becomes apparent...

...that every lady bug in the world has finally decided to listen to all the little girls who told them to "Fly away home."

(click picture to enlarge)

And picked ours.

Then decided they wanted to stay for the whole winter.

After a few early fall frosts, on the first of the Indian summer afternoons, the Lady Bugs swarm to find a place to hibernate over the winter. Autumn is Here!! For the next few weeks we will be finding Lady Beatles on our pillows in the morning, floating in our coffee, crawling across our keyboards, squeezing in between the floorboards and generally making themselves at home. Only to disappear from view.

Until spring arrives and they all decide that they want back out!

T&T in 10-OC

2008-11-01T19:08:00.000-07:00

Trunk or Treat time in Leipers Fork!!

Franklin High School played their last regular season game on Hallowe'en night so it was up to me and the 3 youngest ones to have some trick or treat time at the Trunk or Treat out at Grace Chapel while Rick and Derick cheered on Austin at the game.

Here's Amanda, me and Jonathan hanging out in the Trunk Zone. Like my hat? It came straight from Moscow during Rick's visit to Russia. It's very warm and you'll probably be seeing me wear it ALLL winter long!

This princess needs TWO princes. In silver is Jonathan, in gold is Timothy:

Hay rides Tennessee style!! That's Pastor Steve Berger with his trailer full of joy!!!

Hey Timmo! Shout out right back at'chya!

"WHAT? That's ALL we got?!"

Post sponsored by my local dentist; who thanks me for indulging in the Trick or Treat tradition with the next generation of future dental insured patients.

YIPPEE for Family!!!

2008-10-28T18:37:00.000-07:00

Because when family comes to visit we get the excuse to play, play, play alll weekend long. Rick's sisters and families came out to pay us a welcome visit. We had SUCH a good time!

We had tea parties,

And chess pie, corn fritters and other yummy tasting things at Puckett's,

We had lots of eats at home,

A trip to Maridee's after the Pumpkin Fest in downtown Franklin,

And hikes in the woods,

Lots of pictures,

A trip to the pumpkin patch at Gentry Farms,

Lots of loving for the kittens,

More yummy eats at home,

A little bit of shooting,

And a little bit of riding,

You all make our lives a blessing and a joy!!

Come back and see us soon ya'll!!

New Day

2008-10-25T22:18:00.000-07:00

Morning has broken,
Like the first morning

Blackbird has spoken like the first bird
Praise for the singing praise for the morning

Praise for the springing fresh from the word
Sweet the rain's new fall, sunlit from heaven

Like the first dewfall on the first grass
Praise for the sweetness of the wet garden,

Sprung in completeness where his feet pass
Mine is the sunlight, mine is the morning

Born of the one light, Eden saw play
Praise with elation, praise every morning

God's recreation of the new day

As Sung by Cat Stevens
lyrics by Eleanor Farjeon

CA Weather vs. TN Weather

2008-10-22T12:27:00.000-07:00

This about sums it up.

This is the type of Autumn weather I had to deal with in California:

And here is my Autumn in Tennessee. Don't mind that the clip primarily states the north east because if you look at the big weather map, it totally shows that Nashville is going to get hammered with the system (eventually):

I Miss...

2008-10-21T18:54:00.000-07:00

I miss my van! Who would have ever thought I'd say such a thing 20 years ago when I was out racing our little Honda CRX up and down the Cajon Pass every day? But now, I miss my van.

My van is ultra-cool. It's nicer than my house! It has leather heated seats, triple climate control and dual DVD screens! It also has a navigation system and XM Radio.

But my van is away from me now because I went deer hunting with it and bagged me a nice deer. I mean really, look at how dead on I was!

Is that a hit or not? Niiiice!

I have another van now while my mean red hunting machine gets some new paint. The interim van is fine and all, drives nice. But it's not the same.

Hurry home van!

Because It's Funny and I Know You Like to Laugh

2008-10-19T22:07:00.000-07:00

OK I came across these videos and I just thought I'd like to share. I mean they're 2 of my favorite songs and videos from the '80's, EVER and I love clever and cheesy remixes. So get out your Aqua Net, Member's Only jackets, Izod shirts and join in the fun!!

Friends of Gold

2008-10-17T20:06:00.000-07:00

I headed out to CA this passed weekend to be with friends and family that I left behind in California. It was a visit that was good for the soul; where a few words could set me to laughter until I was in tears.

So in the words of Carol King....

....Close your eyes and think of me
And soon I will be there...

....To brighten up even your darkest nights...

...You just call out my name, and you know whereever I am

I'll come running, oh yeah baby....

....to see you again.

Winter, spring, summer or fall...

All you have to do is call. And I'll be there.

Yeah...

...yeah, yeah.

You've got a friend.

Drizzly Daydreams

2008-10-08T19:13:00.000-07:00

When Smokey Mountain mists
Fill the hollow with the sound
Of quiet rains on hallowed ground,

And the banks of springs
Themselves have found
That their bounty spills all around,

And roses heavy with drops
Of more than dew
Bend their sweetness toward the ground,

Then the darling of the sunlight
Has sought her muse
And surely cannot be found.

'Dem Bones

2008-10-07T14:45:00.001-07:00

One thing I have learned about the South is that it is OLD.

People have been living here in the south for a long time. And dying too. Last year I purchased a book about the history of the area. On our mile and half stretch of road there are 3 known cemeteries. I think I know where 1 of them is and even though the book maps out where the other 2 are, I cannot figure out where they could be. Key words here are "known" and "cemeteries."

Here in the south it is legal to bury people in your yard if the zoning allows it. Before zoning laws, people just buried other people where ever. Probably somewhere near their family homes.

When we went to Cades Cove over the summer, I wanted to find my relatives' cemetery. The only two graves that could be found were in church cemeteries. The family did have a plot, but that plot has been "lost through time," meaning the grave markers have been overgrown to the point where they are unrecognizable as such.

One of my neighbors, Old Uncle Lester who has lived here his entire life and whose family owned most of the land on our road at one time, tells me that there used to be cabin up on the back of our property. There was no running water or electricity, but people lived there none the less. I have found no evidence of this cabin as of yet, but there is an old logging road, which now has saplings growing up in the middle of the ruts.

I guess bottom line is, I'm afraid I'm going to dig up some bones when I plant my roses. I'll cross my fingers that they are deer bones.

Because there are plenty of bones out here.

This little beauty washed down our creek after a heavy rain.

These things are on the hill, about 10' from our barn.

This is our gravel driveway. Nice. Let's look closer, shall we?

Just as one can expect.....more bones!

As long as they keep to themselves, I guess it's alright.

The Path Less Traveled

2008-09-29T11:56:00.000-07:00

Come...

...passed the kids in the pond...

.....through the clearing....

...beyond the stack of logs....

... by the tornado ravaged trees...

...on up the trail that has been our summer project...

...and you come to this. Way before we ever had our Smokehouse business our property was home to a Moonshine Making Machine! But of course the feds have to get involved in any successful business and apparently they shut the whole operation down. How frustrating is that?

I wonder if we can restore it to all it's glory?

I sit in quiet contemplation, imaging the yummy goodness that was destined for this little bottle.

But then I head on back down the hill. And find this little bit of yummy goodness upon my return home.

Such is life in the hallows of Tennessee.

Free Flying in the Fork

2008-09-27T09:20:00.000-07:00

This weekend is the RC Plane "Fly-In" at Leipers Fork. If license plates are any indication, this little get together here in our little village brings folks in from as far away as Florida and Missouri and all states in between.

Although Rick used to have a radio control plane, he is happy to just bring the kids and watch, without the nervousness of how big a hit his wallet will take if a landing doesn't go as planned. (which is what this guy is thinking, I'm sure)

Of course, where ever we happen to go, the kids see someone they know. This time it was Austin's friend who came with his Dad driving in on this Tennessee-ified 1930 Model A. I'd love to stick ol' grandma up on top and drive it all the way out Beverly Hills.

Here's the little kids giving it a test sit.

Ya'll come back now, ya hear?

Acclimating to the South

2008-09-24T18:53:00.000-07:00

Coming to the South from California was sure to bring many changes to our family, especially when it came to the kids. We wondered how long it would take for the kids to shed their cool Southern California persona for one of redneck simplicity. Well, not long apparently.

When we first moved into our new 10-OC home, the builder had commissioned a local artist to paint a picture of our home as it looked the day we moved in. Then he had note cards printed up that we could send out as change of address cards or general note cards. On the back he even had them personalized with our last name. What a nice touch! Now, most everyone who spells our last name adds an "e" between the L and the Y, changing our name to Hambley. We're pretty used to that. So the first thing we did was check the spelling on the back of our notecards. Amazingly there was no "e" added! How lucky was that? But wait, what was that? No "e" was added, but somewhere in there an "i" got added. So on the back of our notecards, if you ever get one from us, is personalized as "From the Hambily's". Yes, that's HamBily's. Oh did the kids have fun with that one! So in keeping with the southern tradition of going by nicknames instead of given names, the kids have taken on southern monikers.

Meet this guy. Growing up in Southern California this boy was known as Austin, or aka Bubby.
He is now a Bubba. Bubba Hambily.

This strong young man here already had the nickname Derick, but at school he went by Frederick. His southern name, however, is Fredneck Hambily.

Timothy has a nice strong name. But not quite twangy enough for the southern culture. He is now Tim-Bob. Tim-Bob Hambily.

This little guy is Jonathan. But he is yet a boy. So he is known as Jon-Boy. Jon-Boy Hambily.

Now with Amanda you would think she was born in the south. She has a very southern name already if we go by her traditional Amanda May. But we've shortened it to May-May. Everyone can pronounce that. May-May Hambily.

Rick's southern name is Yes Sir.

Mine is No Ma'am.

We're fitting in just fine here!

A Southern Monster

2008-09-22T21:05:00.000-07:00

When I first moved here to Tennessee I figured that there would be a few things that would take me a while to understand. Like what IS a Meat & 3 and why DO they sell Kerosene by the gallon at tiny little gas stations that have pumps so old that one can actually watch the numbers turn like an old odometer? But the most concerning one of all to me was that ever elusive and strange creature called a Bush Hog.

The first time I had heard of a Bush Hog a was pretty much scared out of my mind because all I knew is that I heard you would see them on the side of the road and in people's pastures and yards and I pretty much imagined them meaner than a wild boar in Alabama. I would walk up to the top of our hill terrified I would see a bush hog.

Then one day I even saw a caution sign on the back of a truck that said, "Bush Hog Ahead."

I mean how frightening is that that you can't even catch them or shoo them off because they are so mean...you just have to put WARNING signs out on the backs of trucks and on the side of the roads like that?!?! I had never heard of anyone ever shooting a Bush Hog either, so they must be some creature on the endangered species list. Either that or their hide is so tough that a bullet just bounces right off of it.

It didn't matter, I never wanted to come across one of those Bush Hogs although I never figured out what I would do if I ever did. Climb up a tree or jump in the creek or something. But everyone told me that one day, I would indeed come across a Bush Hog and when I did, I would just have to wait until it was safe to pass.

"How will I know when it's safe to pass one?" I asked.
"Oh you just know, sometimes someone is there to wave you by." was the reply.

Oh thank God! Hopefully when my turn came to experience the company of a Bush Hog there would be someone there to help me get passed it. Right after I locked all my car doors and told my kids to duck and cover, it would be safe to pass.

And then one fine day, I learned the truth...

...Bush Hogs are big mowers that trim not only grass but small trees and limbs.

Oh look! Here is someone now coming up upon this Bush Hog, that happened to be right in front of my house.

Safe to pass.

Carry on Bush Hoggers, carry on.

Because Friends Do Love At All Times

2008-09-13T18:06:00.000-07:00

Word has gotten out all over about woman who kept a blog about her and her family, nienie She and her husband were in a small plane accident in Arizona. A flight instructor was killed and the wife and husband were badly injured. They have 4 small children, who were not on the plane at the time. People that they have never met, but who know their family through her blog and emails, heard of her story are currently trying to raise $100K to help this family offset some of the medical and rehabilitation bills. This outpouring of love has reached media outlets and is making news. For those of us who have been in the online communities for years know that this is nothing new. Love and connections become deep even among people who have never met in person, just through chatting online and opening up to each other.

The day my house caught fire, I called the fire department, my husband and then shot an email off to my group of online friends that simply said, "My chimney is on fire, gotta go." Then my power shut off.

After a long day dealing with fire trucks, Red Cross, confused kids and dripping water blackened with ash, it was time to use our hotel vouchers and head to our new temporary hotel rooms. When I opened the door to my darkened room, there on the bed sat a basket full of goodies....including snacks & things for the kids, light gossip magazines for reading and a big wonderful bottle of wine for Rick and I. How did that get there?

Once my online friends could not contact me through email or telephone, they organized amongst each other to find out what happened to me and my home. They eventually got a hold of the Red Cross who told them what hotel we would staying in. One of my friends in Houston happens to have a friend who lives in Franklin, TN. They called her and told her what happened. They pooled resources and delivered this basket to my room....before I had ever gotten there, they had it waiting for me.

One of the most beautiful and thoughtful gestures. EVER. From people I had only met through online connections. Love runs deep from many sources. Never sell it short.

THANK YOU AGAIN GIRLS! :*)

Pitfalls of a First Year Gardener

2008-09-06T12:59:00.000-07:00

Well the first year garden was quite fun. I sort of gave up on it half way through the summer, but the tomatoes did well regardless.

In California I had a little garden and actually had pretty good success, so here in TN I was feeling a bit over confident. In one area of the garden I planted some bell pepper and egg plant. I grew eggplant one year in CA and it did well and I thought I kind of remember what an egg plant plant looked like.

So when this little beauty appeared with its deep purple stalk, I assumed it to be egg plant. But then it got much taller than an eggplant. I soon realized that it probably wasn't an egg plant plant unless things in the south just sorta mutate on their own.

But I let it alone because it was doing very well in my garden and not a whole lot of other stuff I planted was doing well and I wanted my garden to have SOME success.

Then it put out these darling little flowers. So cute!

And these yummy looking berries.

But then I found out about a week ago that this is actually Poke Weed and quite poisonous, unless you are a little song bird. We had a good soaking rain yesterday so I went out this morning and pulled that little tree out, right after Rick told me that he almost ate some of those yummy looking berries.

Then I found this volunteer in the next bed over. Pretty sure it's Poison Ivy. It's doing quite well. I must have a knack for growing dangerous plants!

And after not seeing any pesky little bugs beside the Japanese Beetles, I came across this little stinker today.

Where do they come from? There isn't a garden a mile from my house in any direction! I should just toss all of them on the Poke Berry as some sort of science experiment!

Snake Rescue

2008-09-04T19:24:00.000-07:00

Little kitty brought to my attention this black rat snake on our hill. Every summer we get a few that get tangled up in the erosion control mesh.

So I get out this: my snake rescue kit.

I put the towel over the snake's head basically so it slows him down if he tries to bite. I've never had one try to bite me, but you just never know. Then carefully I cut him free from strings. The first time I tried to cut a snake free, it took 3 of us, now I can do it on my own.

This particular guy was in a mess of mesh, so I decided to move him. You'd think I'd just pick him up with my hands, but this hockey stick will do just fine for today. We move him up to a place at the top of the hill where he is free to leave.

And there ya go!

Don't Fence Me In

2008-08-31T12:24:00.000-07:00

I want to ride to the ridge where the west commences
And gaze at the moon till I lose my senses
And I can't look at hovels and I can't stand fences
Don't fence me in.
Cole Porter

When I was girl riding through the Tehachapi mountains, I used to sing that song to my horse all the time. The beat of the song fits perfectly with the methodical rhythm of the horse's hooves along a dirt road. Sometimes right when oak trees would begin to fall away to the mountain pines, I would encounter a locked gate or a fence. How sad I would feel that I wouldn't be able to continue riding to discover where the road lead. But usually it was getting late and I was going to have to turn back anyhow. "Besides," I would think, "that fence is probably holding in a big herd of cattle." And my horse for some reason did not like cattle.

Then the other day, Amanda and I went horseback riding. I rode a Tennessee Walking horse for the first time. Oh what a beautiful gaited trot! Quite different from the jumpy little Arabs I grew up riding. But as we rode the wide open country of the Tennessee hills, with its lush wooded valleys and wide open balds, I was once again reminded that "I don't like fences."

As a matter of fact, at that moment, I didn't care if I lived an hour from Target of if my kids would be forced to go to a Pre-K through HS single room school house, I wanted to live further away in the country than I live now. Which really, I live in a perfectly rural, perfectly distanced from town area right now, thank you very much. But I wanted land lots of land with starry skies above and to ride the open country that I love. And knowing me, I probably would ride until the west commences.

Photographs Amanda Size

2008-08-25T08:20:00.000-07:00

My friend Juli from Three Minutes and a Rainbow let her little sweetie run wild through the house with her camera. Her pictures came out so cute that I bravely decided to to the same with Amanda. And here is what Amanda found:

A kitten in Jonathan's shirt drawer.

View from the stairs. There's a DHL delivery slip on the door there. I missed the package drop off I guess.

Now lets take a little closer look at that ceiling light:

Uh huh. See that orange thing? It's a Nerf dart. They are everywhere. We don't even pick them up anymore we just go out and buy new ones.

Um. OK. I actually like this. I think it would make a great title picture for a blog entry one day.

Some fresh tomatoes from the garden.

Looking up the stair hall at night.

Just keeping it real.

A Girl Lives Here

2008-08-22T14:00:00.000-07:00

Now that Amanda is 4 and the older boys are off to school, Amanda has a lot of time to pretend play. She loves her dolls and play kitchen and other girl things. But it is fun to watch what she does with the "Boy" toys, too. Coming up the stairs the other day with a load of freshly folded laundry, I find this on the top landing:

Dumptrucks o' Barbies. With a nakey Ken thrown in there.

Actually it sorta reminds me of how I got home from some parties some nights during my college days.

ArrrrrrrrrrrrGA

2008-08-21T20:25:00.000-07:00

This is my AGA range. It's more like a faux Aga. At least that's what the AGA purists call it. It's an AGA Legacy. Regardless, I love it.

However, it is broken right now.

I guess I could have gone for the REAL AGA. The one that boils and bakes and fries and simmers and steams and grills with just a lit pilot light...always lit.The real AGA's are the lowest tech kitchen appliance there ever was with the exception of the dutch oven in a pile of coals.

But a real AGA stays hot constantly. And in anticipation of this southern heat I just didn't think that sounded very nice. Had I known more about the traditional English (real) AGAs, I could have designed my kitchen with a 12' ceiling over the range, where the heat would rise and not heat up the kitchen. Since our kitchen is literally in a separate wing of the house without a second story above it, it wouldn't have been a problem.

But I wanted gas burners and electric dual convection ovens that had defrost fans and pre-programmed heating cycles and steam heat and dry heat and all that so I could churn out cupcakes and lasagna and gourmet meals I can't pronounce.

But the oven clock stopped working sometime overnight so the ovens won't turn on at all(seriously) and the range needs a new mother board. And it also needs new convection fans and 2 new oven lights.

And today I learned that there are only so many ways to take a picture of an AGA range.

10 Things

2008-08-19T20:10:00.000-07:00

I have a lot of pictures on my hard drive. Some are interesting, some are boring, some are fun to look at, some I'd rather toss out. But none the less I have them and thought I'd cull a few of them to put up as 10 Things About Me - with photographs.

So in no particular order I have:

Thing 1

Oh here I am with our little orphan foal. I was think I was 16 years old here and my little brother Jay was 3. Her name was "Annie" (Little Orphan Annie) and her mother died while birthing her. She was born late in the year for a horse, during the summer. My job was to give her the 2 am feedings. I would heat up 6-8 baby bottles, put them in the pockets of my robe and trudge out to the barn to feed her. We were her Mommy. When my folks weren't home we'd let Annie into the living room. My folks could never understand why Annie always stood at the back door to the house.

Thing 2:

I love to sew. Here is a dress I made one summer after my 4th boy was born. I think I was really craving some girly whiteness, eyelet and lace. I designed this dress myself, it has an attached petticoat so I didn't have to wear a slip with it. The pleats in the bodice hide nursing openings so I could breast feed without taking my clothes off. I was pretty clever once.

Thing 3:

This was my first sewing project. I was in the 6th grade here. I really liked that shirt, but it had a hole in it. I didn't own a lot of shirts anyway at that time and felt it should be saved. So I raided my Mom's sewing basket and found a little floral embroidered applique and sewed it over the hole in the front....see that little thing in the front? I was very proud of it, thought no one could ever tell the shirt wasn't made like that and went to picture day wearing it. Too bad the hole wasn't a bit higher and more to the left, it could have passed for a very fem version of a Star Trek Communicator.

Thing 4:

This is the car I took my driver's test in. I'm sure all the DMV testers saw that car coming and had to draw straws. All I know is that it took a long time for a tester to come out and get into the car with me. I passed.

Thing 5

Awww, this is me on my little POA pony Cocoa. I'm riding him in Bakersfied so I must have been around 11 years old. Cocoa was a nut, he'd prance so much I'd literally get side aches from all the bouncing. I don't know who that little girl is. I was just riding down the road and a girl asked if she could pet him so I stopped so she could. Her Dad came out of the house and took 2 Polaroid pictures and gave one to me. I think it's the only picture I have of me and my pony. When I grow up I hope I'm nice like that Dad.

Thing 6

Oh this is when I tried to shed my Tom Boy image and be a refined lady. I fooled no one. But got a bunch of free stuff and a cool tiara.

Thing 7

1983 called and wants their hair back!! Thankfully that picture was taken in 1983. My brother's friend wanted to be a photographer and I wanted to pretend I was a model so we had a very convenient user friendship. His portfolio went no where as did my modeling so we're cool. They don't sell Sun In anymore because I bought it all up between 1982 and 1984.

Thing 8

My short and sassy hair cut days. Rick shudders at the memories to this day.

Thing 9

The 7th grade! I had crows feet even then. That was as long as my hair had even been. No surprise looking at those baby fine strands. I remember that shirt. My step mom bought it for me so I could show my pony in Western Pleasure classes. That shirt had the nicest pearl snaps. I would wear it during horse shows paired with my cream with rust/green/blue plaid pants, my leather tooled western belt with the brass covered wagon on a silver background buckle and nice pointed cowboy boots. On school picture day I wanted to wear my best shirt and apparently that shirt was it, maybe it was too nice. Who knows, but I know all the other girls were jealous.

Thing 10

Oh wait! I did model. Actually they just wanted to use the car since it went with the whole theme, but then the people felt bad that we had driven all the way to Indio so they stuck us in there, too. Rick & I. Rick is happy because he had just gotten that back bumper chromed but was then a little bummed when they cropped most of it out. We were paid with a travel gift certificate. We took an anniversary cruise to Mexico and came home expecting Austin. Sorry for the TMI.

And there you have it!

Legacy

2008-08-18T20:56:00.000-07:00

Our family has a new addition! I would like to introduce Abigail Beatrice, born to my youngest brother Jay and my sister in law Tamara. Abigail is welcomed home by big sister Jade, now a mature 2 years old. Abigail is named after our Grandma, Alta Beatrice, we all called her Grandma Bea.

Now Grandma Bea was born in northern, central TX and grew up in West Texas. Her family grew cotton on land that is still farmed by the family today. Eventually she and my Papa settled in West Bakersfield, on a small ranch. By the time we kids came around, her pastures were leased out to Mr. Knoll and his herd of cattle. They were his cattle, but my Grandparent's land, so when we kids went out to visit for any length of time you could find us out moving irrigation pipe in the summer to keep that pasture green. We kids got really familiar with electric fencing too. As a matter of fact, way before I knew what colors were, I learned the first thing one did when you got to Grandma's house was to run into the garage and check for the lights on a box on the wall. If the red light was on, that meant that the fence was on, so be VERRY careful, if the green light was on, just watch out for cowpies. Anyhow, bottom line was that my Grandma was a busy one all her life, raising 4 boys and keeping my Papa happy.

As I got older I learned to appreciate my Grandma for who she was and what she did, not just for her wonderful sweet tea with a splash of rootbeer. Grandma Bea was always one to serve family first. I can scarcely remember a meal where she sat for more than 5 minutes, always jumping up to serve, refill or make someone comfortable at the table and enjoying every minute of it as long as family was around.

In her later years, my Papa would develop Alzheimer's. I would visit my Grandma more and more often then. Those visits would be some of my favorites as my formerly quieter Grandma would chat and chat and chat. I learned so much about her on those visits. She talked about growing up on the farmlands in TX, of how she, my Papa and their oldest baby escaped the dust bowl with only their model T and what they could carry in it, to the times of holding together house and home while my Papa sought work away in other cities for weeks or months at a time, through war times and to the first time she saw the property my Papa had picked out for her in Bakersfield which she would call home for over 40 years ("You want me to live on a SAND HILL?" - she said she would have loved it more had it come with a windmill.)

But she was always happy with what she was given. Once I dared to ask her if she ever wished she had a daughter, you know, to help with with the woman's work in the house and stuff. She told me when she was pregnant with her youngest child, baby #4 with three boys at home, she went to visit a friend that had a baby daughter. The whole time my Grandma visited that friend was at the ironing board ironing little dresses for the daughter. My Grandma Bea thought, "Dear Lord, Please don't let this one be a girl!" and sure enough, my Uncle Michael was born a healthy son.

My brother Jay is my Grandma's youngest grandchild and and she had a special place in her heart for the "baby". And since my brother Jay's middle name is Floyd, after my Papa, it is only fitting that his daughter's middle name is Beatrice after Grandma. So little Abigail Beatrice, I could just imagine that if Grandma Bea were here to hold you, the first thing she would say to you is, "Well Howdy Sugar! Aren't you a pretty little thing!" and then make you a spot at the table.

My Summer Vacation

2008-08-13T20:00:00.000-07:00

Well, since the kids are in school and starting back to the whole school routine, I thought I would empathize with them myself and write a theme.

What I Did On My Summer Vacation 2008

1. Laundry. Lots and lots and lots of laundry.
2. Picked up Lego's. Lots and lots and lots of Legos
3. Poured milk. Lots and lots and lots of milk.
4. Picked up Legos
5. Laundry. Lots and lots and lots of laundry.

But mostly what I did was commute. Commute from home, to football practice, to football practice to home and repeat 2 hours later.

See Austin & Derick decided that football is pretty cool. Which it is. But starting July, they had practice every day, Derick at the Jr High and Austin at the high school. And they needed a ride. Enter me: with a van, car keys and a gas credit card. They NEEDED me to take them to football everyday. So I did. Left everyday at 3:00 and then got home at 4:00. Left again at 6:00 and got home at 7:00. Those 2 hours were spent driving, I just dropped off and picked up. We're country folk out here! We have to drive long distances. Fun.

No really, it was fun. I know, I know....how cool, all that time in the car to bond with my sons. Sure. I buzzed down those windows and cranked up the radio. Only after I heard "MOM!" 5 separate and distinct times did I turn it down and yell back an annoyed, "WHAT?" My usual answer was, "Uh huh" as I cranked up the radio again. This was MY time people! I'm out of the house! I'm on the road, I feel the wind, I've escaped. Don't ruin it for me.

Sometimes, oh sometimes Amanda fell asleep on the last long leg to the high school to drop off Austin. Oh THAT was the BEST! When Amanda was asleep after I dropped off Austin I could pull into Sonic, order a large strawberry smoothie with whipped cream and sneak sips all the way back home, then sneak it upstairs to enjoy at the computer as I checked email. I was living dangerously and sinfully.

But most times I just blasted the radio. And since the high school is just on the outskirts of town, I don't have to drive THROUGH town so most times I didn't even roll up my windows, I just let it all hang out singing at the top of my lungs to whatever song came on, even if I didn't particularly like it that song or know the words. I wasn't any bother really, because everyone else had their windows rolled up. One time however, I was at a stop light when I noticed the car next to me that had all their windows down and a young boy, 9yo or so, in the backseat; eyes fixed on me, mouth slightly agape, obviously amazed at the site he beheld. "Yes, my school boy friend", I thought, "we can't all be Stacey's Mom and have it going on." Me in my new RED mini van and all. Then the light turned green. As his car pulled away I saw him sit back and let out a sigh. Relieved that I was turning right onto the road that leads out of town.

Yummy Breakfast Tutorial

2008-08-11T09:04:00.001-07:00

Some of my friends have blogs. They are cute and witty and always interesting. They also talk about cooking. My friends like Regi and Juli and Inger. They have it going ON and are taking the blogger world by storm. I'm starting to feel a little left out.

So this morning as I was making myself a hot, nutritious meal, I thought I would join in on all the cooking blog action. Don't get discouraged, I usually don't make breakfast things as complicated as I did this particular morning, but you can file it away for another time if you like.

First, go turn on your computer. My computer takes forEVA to start up and there is nothing more frustrating than having my hot tea or coffee go cold before I can read my first email in the morning.

Then here is what you will need to make breakfast:

I know, Apple Cinnamon oatmeal. I LOVE to live crazy like that.
Yes people, I have kids. Our last 2 glass bowls are reserved for guests

This part gets tricky, but tear open the package, (I tear from the left side because I'm right handed) and then pour into the bowl .

Oops, I made a little mess there. Don't fret about that, it's good not to worry too much about perfection when you're cooking.

This part, adding water is really crucial. I think on the package of oatmeal it tells you how much water to put in, but I just wing it. Just like Grandma used to do in the old country (Bakersfield). Now you CAN heat water up on the stove, but I use this InstaHot here on my sink. I know the traditionalists will hate that, but come on, it's the 21st century, open your mind.

Now you pick up your spoon and stir it around a bit. I usually stir with my right hand, but I had to take the picture. You can use whichever hand you are more comfortable with.

Make sure all the oatmeal gets wet.

Looking pretty good.

Almost there...

...wait about 5 minutes and WaLa!

I know this is a lot of work for a weekday morning. But if you discipline yourself enough you will be able to get out of bed almost effortlessly and have hot breakfasts like this when ever you want.

Enjoy!

They're Going Baaaaaaaaack!!

2008-08-06T21:41:00.001-07:00

It's the most, wonderful time of the year.
The leaves are all falling,
The school bell is calling,
And folks of good cheer!
It's the most, wonderful time of the year~

Yes, it's soon to be that time again. Time to put on all those scratchy new clothes, pack up the new backpack with the brand new crayons that still have sharp points and all the paper wrapped around them. The binders, the book covers, the rulers, the pencils, the white board markers. Time to get up with the sun and trudge that whole 100' feet to the end of the driveway to wait for that big yellow school bus to be whisked off to new classrooms, new teachers, new student lists on the door. Isn't it grand?

Oh you homeschool moms just shush. There's no need to wonder how on Earth I can send my little lovelies to be taught life lessons by perfect strangers. Strangers who studied through at least 5 years of college and testing and teacher credentialling just be able to teach my 2nd grader math. So wonder no more. It's easy. It's called fly out the nest little ones and return to me each afternoon to tell me all about it. All about your new friends, your old friends, your new grade teacher, your cafeteria lady, your art teacher, your Spanish teacher, your theater teacher, your music teacher (ya their little school has lots of teachers) and I'll tell you all about how I got to do laundry and Lego pick ups and dishes and sweeping and eating my lunch in peace and quiet for the first time in 10 weeks.

Such a glorious time.

Oh and Amanda is laughing at Jonathan because she doesn't start school for another year yet.

2 Years in the South

2008-08-03T19:48:00.000-07:00

Well here we are closing in on 2 years since we moved into our new home in the 10-OC. We've moved in, and out, and in, and out and repeat once more. We're getting to be experts in moving.

Even if our house did catch fire and then did get hit by a tornado and it does still have water running underneath it, we have had a nice time living here. The kids' schools are nice and the students even nicer. We're learning to navigate the roads TN style and things that may have bothered me in CA just don't seem to be that big of a deal anymore, you learn fast that Tennessee just happens.

Like the other day after I took oldest son to football practice.

Our local bridges have recently been inspected and the 2 bridges we use to get to town are on the "unsafe" list. Both are being redone at the same time. The smaller basically one lane bridge is being replaced all together, the larger bridge has been narrowed to one lane while the other side gets retrofitted. To regulate traffic flow on this now one lane bridge there is a stop light at each end on the bridge. I've come to expect delays here....up to THREE minutes. The injustice. Anyhow coming home from football practice I see that my signal is going to turn red so the car in front of me stops and so do I. Interesting though, it looks like the traffic on the bridge is not moving anymore. I take a more intense look. Well, wouldn't you know it, a truck with an over sized piece of farm equipment seems to have gotten wedged in between the concrete barriers on the bridge. Well in CA peeps would be getting pretty upset, but not here in TN. Nah, the stuck truck just gives one the opportunity to spit some chew out your open window non-moving vehicle, wave to the fella in front and behind, check your truck's oil levels and maybe kick the tires once or twice. No problems here. But I'm from California, so I do a quick U-turn (it's county roads out there, you can legally perform U-turns there, but you cannot in the city of Franklin) and take the one lane country bi pass road passed Wyonna Judd's old place and connect back to the section of road I need to be on.

Or there was that time I went to Puckett's to pick up some hamburger buns for dinner. It was late afternoon and I knew I was taking my chances but fortunately they weren't out of hamburger buns when I got there so I grabbed a pack as fast as I could, but I bet they were out when I left. See, Uncle Lester was there and he being my neighbor and all, just HAD to update me on all the local things going on, that went on, that will be going on, that may be going on, what would have been going on and on and on for at least an hour maybe even two. Husband was going to send a search party, but I did make it back home before dessert was served.

Then there was the time when we didn't have our Internet hooked up yet and so I stopped by the library to use their computers. I had about 200 email to read. I read a total of 12. But I was there for 3 hours and 26 minutes and had the run down of the history of the area told to me by some locals born and raised here. They told me that before the Natchez Trace was built our little road didn't go all the way through. To get up to where our house is one had to cross a creek 3 times and then you were at a dead end. And there was always no good going on at the dead end. I can see now where our troubles started.

Jonathan's Terrible, No Good 7th Birthday

2008-07-29T21:31:00.000-07:00

It's birthday time in the Hambly household. At the end of July we have Rick's birthday, followed the next day by Jonathan's. Usually I bake 2 separate cakes, one for each day. This year however, Rick's birthday cake was so rich and delish that the thought of another cake the next day just made our tummies ache. I had made a dozen cupcakes the day of Rick's birthday and asked Jonathan if we could just do a cupcake tree on his. How cool would that be. He was very reluctant, but agreed. Amanda, being the little Happy Homemaker, helped with the cupcake project and put her spin on things, too.

And here's how it went down:

Jonathan: Yes! It's my birthday.
(He was so excited about his birthday that he picked out that shirt the day before to wear to the cake and present celebration)

Amanda: Yes! That's a very fine cupcake tree if I say so myself.

Amanda: As a matter of fact Jonathan, I put those pink candles on right there. See them?
Jonathan: Did you just say PINK candles?

Amanda: I am just so clever and so cute and so princessy!
Jonathan: Um, wait, there are pink candles on there?
Timothy: Sooo, when are we eating cupcakes?

Amanda: No wait Jonathan, pink candles HAD to be on there. See they match my pajamas and everything. It will look better for the picture if we all match. Here, turn around and see.
Jonathan: I have pink candles on my cupcake tree!!

Derick: This is taking much too long, I'm just going to reach in here and spear a cupcake right now.
Austin: Must. Not. Destroy. Cupcake. Tree.
Timothy: Uh, I'm outa here.
Jonathan: I can't believe how lame this is.
Amanda: I think that went well.

Amanda: We must X out bad attitudes. See, look, X. Like this.
Derick & Austin: Yes, X out bad attitude. Be happy, like us.
Timothy: Cool dudes, but can we just get on with it.
Jonathan: I can't believe this is MY BIRTHDAY! Can we just turn out the lights?

Finally, it's all about me. And you can't tell that the candles are pink in this light.

Wuzz N. T'Me

2008-07-27T20:36:00.000-07:00

I have read stories and watched creepy movies where kids "see" things that adults don't. Now I didn't really buy into that too much, but kept an open mind just in case. Once my kids were able to speak they kept talking about this little mischievous little one that would just come around and try to stir up all kinds of trouble. My kids named him, Wuzz N. T'Me (must be French). Anytime something came up missing, or broken, or spilled or eaten or anything else that my kids would NEVER do, Little Wuzz N. T'Me somehow became involved. I would give the kids the stink eye when they mentioned that name, but they wouldn't back down on who the real culprit was. "No!" they cried, "It Wuzz N. T'Me! Promise!"

But then we went on vacation to the Smokey Mountains and I think this picture finally captured Wuzz N. T'Me. He was on his way to dump french fries and a soda in our brand new van while my perfect kids slept.

Little Stinker!!

Ok, ok, I was trying to take a picture of fireflies and Jonathan was running around in front of my camera. But really, how else can one explain those fries and soda in my BRAND NEW van? Just 'cause we went through the drive-thru 8 times in 4 days doesn't mean anything. At least not with my perfect children.

Barefoot Summer

2008-07-26T19:16:00.001-07:00

There's just something about being a kid and going barefoot in the summer. As a young 'un I used to start out summers with a nice pair of sandals. But only one pair. As the summer progressed either I could never find the lost sandal-mate or just couldn't be bothered to put the things on, so more often than not, I was outside barefoot.

A kid learns a lot of lessons going barefoot in the summer. If you're a suburban type child you find that black asphalt gets really hot, but the painted white lines don't. When your feet are hot gutter water feels great. If it's slimy with algae that makes it even better. The real linoleum floors in the Green Frog Market in Bakersfield feel much better on those bare feet than the concrete floor of the K-Mart on Bernard Ave.

If you're a country kid you learn that dry dirt gets quite hot and sometimes even tumbleweeds feel better that dirt. Pastures look great from a distance but once in them cow pies make softer stepping stones. Irrigation ditches full of water are a reason to celebrate, but even those that ran a week prior still have their saving graces and are to be greatly appreciated.

As I grew up, so did the need for shoes. Unless I was at the beach, to be seen without shoes was about as Ragamuffin as one could get. In So. CA my kids hardly knew a day without shoes. If they ever were without shoes I sure wasn't going to tell anyone about it!

And then I moved to the south. Here I see little ones run amuck without shoes all summer long. There is just something so refreshing to see little girls in sun dresses running barefoot in the grasses. Little bare footed boys wearing shorts and clutching a soda in the local Walgreen's.

The biggest plus is that it sure makes life MUCH easier for me to yell to the little ones, "I've got to run to the store, who wants to come with me? No, don't worry about your shoes, just get in the car." Divine freedom for me and wonderful life lessons for my kids.

CA Girl Meets Fireflies

2008-07-24T21:08:00.001-07:00

I love Disneyland. In CA we had season passes and would go random Sundays after church just to spend an afternoon. Of course, each and every time, we had to ride on the Pirates of the Caribbean. As far as I was concerned, the whole ride could have consisted of gently gliding through the Bayou Swamp listening to ol' Uncle Bubba strum his banjo and watch the fireflies dance in that night sky. THAT was the south. THOSE were fireflies. My whole life. Until I got to Tennessee.

The sighting of fireflies was a very much anticipated event when we first arrived in TN. It was the end of July/early August and figured the fireflies would be just be everywhere. Little did we know that fireflies like tall grass and dampness. Our lot was freshly graded and the creek had been cleared out, so any fireflies that had been around were long gone. However, we just figured that we must be in a fire fly free area of the state. Sigh.

Come early September I was picking up oldest son a couple days a week after school in the late afternoon. One time after a long day as I was driving home with the sun just sinking below the horizon, the shadows getting long and the mist starting to settle in the holler my headlights caught the reflection of an animal's eye near the creek along the side of the road. He had turned back suddenly right before he was going to cross in front of my car. I figured probably a raccoon. Then near the creek again, another animal lurking in the darkness. Hmm. Must have been a opossum. Driving along I see eyes of another animal, this time much taller. A deer maybe? I had seen them before right there get a drink then bound out of the creek bed and across the pavement. My eyes are now glued to the over grown vegetation in the stream bed next to the road as I drive along. I see more eyes! But what where those animals?? I couldn't see! They moved so fast. I began to get nervous, feeling like Snow White lost in her darkened forest with eyes tormenting her forcing her further and further and further into blackness. I had only been in Tennessee for a month. WHAT kind of freakiness lives out here anyhow?

Finally a little flash of light appeared out in the open, no sign of an animal anywhere. Then my brain blinked like a light bulb (ha ha) and said, "Firefly!! Did you see the firefly?? Look!! There's some fireflies!!" My kids thought I had lost my mind, but when they finally saw some blinks of lights they just sorta said, "Cool. Hey mom, do you know what's for dinner?"

However, the magic of fireflies are contagious. Our lot is now properly over grown and we have many fireflies visit on summer evenings. We love to watch those Twinkle Bells play. Sometimes we turn up the music from the speakers on our front porch and watch the fireflies "dance." Yes, they actually dance! They pulse with the beat. It's like a Redneck disco. Drink a couple of glasses of wine and watch those little guys for a while and we should be charging admission.

Who needs Disneyland anyhow?

Country Home

2008-07-22T12:20:00.001-07:00

I think as parents we always wonder if we are doing what's best for the kids. I mean that I think that living out of town is fun and pretty and peaceful. The kids probably think is boring and boring and boring. But when we lived in California, take a look at what they did to my garden. To me that shows that they crave adventure and outdoorsy things. Right?

So now that I have a garden in TN, we decided on a pre-emptive strike and got the back hoe over and dug them out a big swimming hole. It's not deep, but neither was the one they had in CA. And this one they get to share with fish, tadpoles, a couple of snakes and at least one turtle.

Boogie boarding TN style!!

Spring fed water right there!

Because It's Easier To Be Yourself

2008-07-12T21:00:00.001-07:00

The Poser:

The Reality:

Now tell me, which one looks more fun to you? I'm taking door #2 and calling it good.

:)

The Long Trip Home

2008-07-08T19:02:00.001-07:00

Cades Cove, TN now part of the Smokey Mountain National Park.

I have always had a love for the mountains, particularly the Sierra Nevada range. When I was a little girl my Dad and siblings would camp near Red's Meadow for weeks at a time. See my parents were divorced and custody mandated that my Dad get visitation in the summer. He was a Professor of Geology and had class field trips during the summer, which left him not a lot of choice but to bring we kids with him. Anyway, we would fish and swim in the San Joaquin River. Red's Meadow was where I discovered the joy of pumice....rocks that would float. We kids would jump off high ledges to land into piles of pumice and sink down as in a pile of leaves. I would hike passed Devil's Postpile and on to Rainbow Falls with my Dad and then on to various points along the John Muir and Pacific Coast Trails. I had the advantage of my Dad being a Geologist, so I would learn all about how the mountains were formed and looked on in amazement as we discovered granite that had been gouged and polished by the ancient glaciers that had once been. As we hiked the trails I always hated to turn back, I always wanted to know what lay ahead. One of my friends from High School must have shared that same feeling and trekked the entire Pacific Trail. You can check out his journals here and be green with envy as I am: http://delnorteresort.com/.

But every summer, the camping came to an end and it was back to the San Joaquin Valley. Which wasn't so bad as it was surrounded by my favorite mountain ranges. Later, from the age of 12 through 15, I would live in the Southern Sierras. Some of the most magical times of my life.

As always life changes and I was brought to live with my Dad full time. He lived in the shadow of the another smaller mountain range, but I was no longer in them. I would look up at them and yearn for the pine breezes that I knew were there, but was stuck in the dust and flatlands of our horse ranch. I truly felt like Heidi who longed for her mountains, who felt that she could only be herself THERE. That love for mountains had to have come from somewhere.

My Great great Grandma was born in Cades Cove. She was the 7th of 10 children born to her parents and the first one to be born in Cades Cove. She lived her life there, meeting her husband and bearing children. Life in Cades Cove was one of much self preservation. She and her husband were farmers. They owned about 180 acres, which wasn't enough to sustain the family, but even in the 1880's, all the land in the Cove had been taken, leaving my GGGrandparents no other choice but to leave in order to own a bigger farm. My GGGrandma had never been out of the Cove until she packed up her family and by wagon headed out of the mountain valley. My Grandparents would later settle in Texas. There are not a lot of mountains in Texas. Although the Smokey Mountains are not a grand mountain range like the Sierra Nevadas or the Rockies, they are the mountains that Tennessee and North Carolina have to offer. I can only imagine that my Grandma would oft times think wistfully of her mountain valley home and long to be back there.

So here's to my Grandma Feezell....I made the journey back to where you lived. After many generations I made it back "home" for you. Thank you for the love of the mountains that I know you must have somehow instilled in me.

Tennessee is Not for Girls

2008-07-05T22:15:00.001-07:00

What I thought Tennessee would be like:

How it actually is:

I've grown up all over. Born on the Bayou, raised in the San Joaquin Valley, the Southern Sierra's, the Inland Empire, Dallas TX. I am no city girl who cringes at the sight of a June Bug. I have had rats run across my feet, dealt with scorpions, chased off coyotes and my horse and I have walked right over a rattlesnake in the grass (my horse, dog & I encountered a mountain lion once, too.) I've caught gopher snakes in pillow cases, cared for caterpillars until they were butterflies and have milked horses and goats. But I'm here to tell you, very little of that has prepared me to what I would find, and what will be found, in this fine area of the United States called the south. These are not ordinary bugs, spiders and snakes. These are Confederate Crawly things.

Once, in the wee hours of the morning, around 1:30 am, I heard a small commotion coming down the hallway toward our bedroom doorway. We have cats and kids so small commotions are not uncommon and didn't think a whole lot of it. A few seconds later, I hear something that sounds somewhat like a helicopter and it's coming closer. I open my eyes just in time to see a huge insect dive toward my hair. In an act of desperation I throw the bedsheet over my head and let out a yell. This rouses my husband and asks what the heck is going on. When I tell him and turn on the light, he is dubious. We look for the giant insect, but it is no where to be found. I think I heard the husband mumble, "Women." as he rolled over to get some more sleep. I lay in the darkness wide awake. A few minutes pass and suddenly husband lets out a yell and a direct order to turn on the light. The thing had made a reappearance and was trying to take husband as its hostage. We finally spy it on the ground, the thing is huge, and ugly. I trap it in a towel and throw towel and all out into the darkness of the night.

With these things as their allies, I have no doubt that the South will, indeed, rise again.

Yard Work Tennessee Style

2008-07-03T19:50:00.000-07:00

Once upon a time we lived in a little house, with a little yard with a little lawn and little trees, with a little baby and a lot of time to enjoy weekends. As the story goes the little baby was no longer a little baby and several other little babies came onto the scene so we decided that maybe a little more would be a little better and we moved to a half an acre. The little family had a lot of fun on the bigger little half acre. The little boys played with Tonka trucks in the dirt. The little girl helped me in the garden. The little birds chirped in the trees and gardner came every week.

If a little more was a little better the last time around, then even more would be even better for the next chapter in the 10-OC. We moved in, stood in bigger awe of the bigger yard we had, but we never knew what bigger work was. Alas little garden tools laugh at us. We bought bigger electric weed whackers and chain saws. Those are now "women's tools", because even bigger gas power is the only way to go around here. Bigger tractor mowers are needed to cut the bigger lawn. Now the bigger boys play with bigger Tonka trucks, renamed John Deere (but they're still painted yellow so to me they're still just Tonka trucks). In the summer a weekend is not enough to keep up with the bigness of it all. What to do? Well, take a backhoe, dig a bigger swimming hole in the creek and splash around until the little fireflies come out.

That's yardwork.

And the moral of the story; The grass is always greener over the septic tank.

Driving With The Windows Down

2008-06-13T21:56:00.000-07:00

Summer is almost here. The Twinkle Bells (Amanda's pet name for Fireflies) are putting on a show for us every night. The LawnChair Theater is showing movies every Friday and Saturday night starting at dusk. Summer traditions in the Fork are once again in full swing. The unofficial announcement of summer? Driving with your windows down.

Last summer was our first full summer spent in our house in the Hallow. Well, in the entire south for that matter, so we weren't well versed in the subtle changes of the seasons. Sure the leaves greened up, the weeds got tall and the chiggers started biting, but there is more than just that. As I would drive from my rural setting into "town" I would notice that on my country road and those cars & trucks heading away from town, everyone had their driver's side window down. I just figured that A: the weather was finally above 50 degrees and boy didn't that warm air feel nice; or B: thank goodness it's warm enough that I can leave my window down so I can spit and chew properly. But then the weather heated up. It got nice and hot and humid. Yet these country boys (and brave gals) would drive around with their window rolled down. Surely all these cars had air conditioning. Right? Why would anyone want to drive with their windows down?

Then it started happening. As I traversed the country roads two to 4 times a day taking oldest son to football practice, I would begin to recognize the cars and trucks of my neighbors. We would both wave to each other as we approached and passed. My wave consisted of taking my hand off the steering wheel and opening my hand, or waving it furiously if it was someone I knew better. Their wave consisted of an arm extended high in the air, right out their open car window. Soon in order to feel more part of the culture, if I saw a car approaching that I recognized and knew I'd have to wave, I'd push the button to lower my window, give a shout out wave and then button that window right back up. Oh but wait, there's someone else that I know, working in their yard. Window down, arm out, window up. Here comes another car. Window down, arm out, window up. Repeat. Maybe 6 times before I hit town. It began to make sense to me now. Window down meant you expect to wave. A lot. At least until you hit town. The peeps in town don't wave quite as much as they do in the country. I only need to remember to roll the window back up when I get into town. See, I have the idea in my mind that I could go toe to toe with Fergie, well at least Pink, and so I usually turn up the radio quite loud and prove my point. Another reason why those in town leave their car windows up I'm sure.

And so the lesson is now learned. If the weather is 65* (for locals, 72* for former So. CA girls), when I get in my car it's seat belt on, A/C cranked up, hair in pony tail and window down. All the way to town. And then all the way home.

On a final note, as my friend Sydney learned (also a So. CA transplant) you don't need to do the window down thing at night, or you'll risk a bat flying into your hair and consequently into the back of your Extera. Thanks for passing on that nugget of wisdome Sydney!

Planting Seeds

2008-03-17T20:28:00.000-07:00

Spring is arriving in Leiper's Fork. The bluebirds are coming back and frogs leap from the creek bank as I walk passed. It is time to think about the garden and if I am to have one this year. Last year we weren't able to get one in as we were out of the house while it got repaired from the fire, so I was quite anxious about getting started on one this spring.

We decided on a spot in a clearing amongst the pine trees where there would be good sun during the day. The area is just south of the barn which will protect tender plants from a northern wind. Last summer we planted a few fruit trees there, so the location seems perfect for a garden too. We waited until a rain softened the soil and then broke out the tiller. (The same tiller that hung off the back of our moving truck announcing our arrival to the folks in the hollow that we were here and ready to break some ground!) The dirt was wet and clumpy and the mud stuck to everything...this is some mighty fine clay soil out here, I think someday I'm going to till some more up and make an adobe garden house out of it. But in a few days as things began to dry the ground was ready to be worked; raked and leveled and cleared and amended. Ready for seeds and tender new plants. Ready for willing hands to help keep seedlings from being choked by weeds or ravaged by insects. Ready for gentle rains and yummy sunshine. Ready to burst into life with just the right combination of nature and nurture. We can hardly wait to see what it brings forth.

The tending of a garden is not that unlike the tending of children. In the beginning there is nothing but a promise of life. That something is there that will eventually be seen, but for a time it remains hidden. Then emerging into view, to feel the warmth of the sun, to drink in the air, to be known that there is new life. Carefully we care for it, giving small amounts of nutrients, guarding it from the harshness of the day, making the way easier for growth. Soon it becomes stronger yet we still cautiously feed and water it. Then we find that we are checking on it less often but are amazed at the little one's progress at each milestone when we do. Things change quickly now. We boast at how well the little one is thriving. We no longer pull little weeds from among it's roots with our fingers, but get aggressive with the hoe. The little one may get knocked over in our over zealous efforts, but we right it back up again, press the roots firmly in the ground, sigh, and continue on. Buds begin to set, then bloom. The little one has almost reached it purpose, it's beginning, we can see it, we can anticipate it. It's going to be lovely.

As all children are lovely. Even those that did not get sewn in a garden tended by love. Even those that struggled to find sunlight among the thickets. Even those that rose up too quickly, or those that sat underneath the snow. In fact, they are to be considered even more lovely, for any flower, or bud or fruit that they are able to bring forth is one truly worthy of amazement.

The Money Pit

2007-11-26T19:51:00.000-08:00

So you're the proud new homeowners! Aww! Congratulations. You've worked hard. You have so many ideas on how to make your new home just perfect. Big dreams, maybe some do it yourself projects, just a tweak here or there. Soon it will be just as you want it.

GOOD LUCK with that.

Our home has been a work in progress, for well, about 2 years now. Sure we only bought the land 2 years ago but that is when progress started. Designing, plotting, erasing, starting again. Then we broke ground and things really got going. Fortunately we were 2,000 miles away and didn't see all the day to day progress but we knew it was chugging right along (I swear that's the only way to have a house built. You be far, far away). Finally the day comes and we move in. Ya there was the punch list, ours maybe a little longer than typical, but manageable. Too bad the dang thing had to go all smoke house crazy on us before we got the list completed, but we just tacked on about 130 little things to the bottom of it and kept our chin up. I mean how long could things take? Really? Well I suppose if things were done according to some sane person's schedule it wouldn't take that long. But this is construction we are talking about. Construction in Tennessee.

Don't get me wrong. I love seeing Bubba and Junior and Bubba Jr and Bubba who drives the red truck and the Bubba who drives that Vega. They are all great guys. We love company. But when Bubba says he wants to start work tomorrow, I make a mental note to at least brush my hair that morning before I send the kids off to school. Maybe even pick up the house a little bit, do some dishes and sweep up some Legos.

So I wait and wait and wait. Maybe Bubba isn't coming over like he said. 2:30 and the kids will be home from school soon. Eventually up the drive comes Bubba!! Now the particular job doesn't sound too difficult, he and his team are to work on paint and drywall in our house. He takes a look around and decides he needs some more materials for the job. He'll back back in 2 days. Is around this time OK? Ya, sounds OK to me, I'll do my errands tomorrow and then the next day I'll be lazy like I usually am and start picking stuff up around noon.

6:30 am the next morning and I hear someone coming up the drive. I answer the doorbell as I lick my finger with spit to try to wipe off yesterday's mascara from under my eyes and there's good ol' Bubba ready for work.

He comes in and starts laying out materials and saws and drop cloths as I try to shuffle kids out of the way before they head off to the school bus. Bubba mentions to me not to worry about a thing as he has 7 kids himself and boy was it a hoot one time when the middle one decided he wanted to take a reciprocating saw to the electrical outlet. About burned the house down that time, but how are kids supposed to learn a darn thing if you never let them touch anything?

Eventually kids are off to the bus stop and Bubba looks like he's making good progress, I mean that big pile of dust seems to show that right? Soon it's 10:30am and it's time for lunch break. Apparently a long lunch break. Kids are home from school. I make a special mental note to keep them away from reciprocating saws. Bubba reappears and says that he's going to have to come back tomorrow, he'll leave his stuff under the tarp where the kids won't be inclined to fiddle with it.

The next morning at 8:30 I was pleasantly surprised to see Bubba coming up the drive. And not only him, but 2 more trucks full of guys. Apparently Bubba decided he wanted to get this job over and done with. I knew he'd come through! I greet him at he door with an enthusiastic "Hi there!" He lets out a sigh and informs me that he has gotten called to another job and needs to take his equipment over there. But it should be a quick one and will be back in 2 days.

So the next day I figure that I may as well go treat myself to a trip to Target after all I had been through and jump in the car for a little shopping. I come home and unload my treasures and then decide to go check the mail. Upon my return from the mailbox I notice a little note on the door. It reads, "Came by to finish job. You were not home. Be back next week."

Next week. WHEN next week. What day? What time?

Sorry. Doesn't ever get any more detailed than that.

Driving in Tennessee

2007-04-16T19:38:00.000-07:00

Now I know that Tennessee must have some traffic laws, problem is I have never actually witnessed anyone following them. Well, I take that back. The one and only traffic law to be obeyed is the speed limit. And rule of thumb there is to take the speed limit and reduce it by 10 mph just to be on the safe side. The double yellow? Just double the fun to cross. Red light? Just a suggestion. Stop sign? What's the point. Left turn on green? Only in emergencies (pray that you are the point car in the left hand turn lane. If you find yourself 3 cars back it would be much easier to make a right and then a U-turn.)

Let's just say that the roads in TN are roads only in that they may have some asphalt and a few painted details. And at one time, they were probably more than adequate for vintage Model B's. And since change comes slowly to TN, I would say that the roads are still adequate for Model B's but that's as far as it goes.

Now I'm sure to someone who has lived in 10-OC for 25 years or more, the roads make some sort of sense. There are no straight roads in TN. To head off to the south, you must first start out on the road that is marked "west" which begins its life heading north. Never turning off that road you will eventually end up south of where you started. I have a feeling that most of these roads began their lives as cow trails. Then one fine day a farmer thought that the cows had a pretty good route going and decided to drive his truck down after them, then the neighbor across the way decided that it all looked pretty fun and he'd take a shot at it too. Later some local kids dared each other to drive on the rut tracks and before you know it that road was paved and a Route 46 sign stuck in beside it. As a matter of fact I know that they had to be single file cow trails because there is no way 2 cows could even pass side by side and still have room before falling into the ditches that line each side of the roadway.

When I first started driving these roads I drove about 35 miles an hour in a cold sweat. I didn't dare take my eyes off the road because there is no room for sight seeing, with that double yellow on one side, a white stripe about 5 feet over to the right of that and the 3 inches beyond a 4' deep ditch. And when a semi is coming from the other direction at 60 mph, well, I'm telling you, all the Six Flags white knuckler rides have nothing over it! Add to the excitement deer jumping at you, turkeys playing chicken , bicyclists using the double yellow as route guidance and you're in for quite an adventure. One day I got brave and tried to hold the speedometer at around 58 mph. I made it to 2 miles to the red flashing light at the 2-way intersection before I had to drive back home to go lay down for 3 hours.

Driving on the back roads is something entirely different. I have yet to figure out why there are double yellow lines on these roads as they are not wide enough to warrant the effort to paint them. My theory is that they are there mostly for the hound dogs. So they know just how far they can run out into the street before getting skinned by a tire. Tree limbs get trimmed when unsuspecting semi trucks drive by. Actually I think it's a licensed betting sport out here to see how many limbs a semi can knock down before putting a hole in the trailer. And the locals, the locals can somehow smell it if you're new around here. When they see you driving, they cross the double yellow and wait until you've slammed on your brakes and have one tire in the ditch before moving over. Then they give you a big wave and a smile as they drive by.

Yep. A lot of good fun out here on the Tennessee public road system.

The Biggest Little Smoke House in Tennessee

2007-03-25T17:46:00.000-07:00

So when I used to think about Tennessee before I lived here, I'd think that there was more tobacco and smoked hams than there were people. Lots of smoked hams. And those smoked hams were in smoke houses tucked away behind every respectable house with at least 8 hound dogs in the yard. And come smoking time, boy did it smell nice in the ol' holler. Funny that when went house hunting, we couldn't find one decent smoke house.

But we found that if you just hold on to your ideas for a while that the ideas come to you. And just 6 months after we moved to Tennessee we had ourselves here the classiest smokehouse in Leiper's Fork. Heck, we were so dang proud of it that we invited the Leiper's Fork Volunteer Fire Department out to come take a look at it. And did you know that they got so excited over our new smoke house that they called in the Fairview Volunteer Fire Department to come take a look-see at it, too? You should have seen it. It was just breathtaking....there was a whole parade of lights and sirens running up and down our road. People nearby where already standing in line out front of the place just to see when we would start selling our cured hams and bacon and jerky and venison. You just can't buy that kind of advertising anymore. As a matter of fact the sheriff came out and was directing traffic just to keep things moving. And the neighbors were so nice! They were so excited for me and so worried that the new business venture would go to my head that they would just run up to me and give me a hug and tell me that everything was going to be OK and to just trust God to help us through this until things were back to normal. You just can't find that type of people anymore. Things were going quite well and the excitement was building by the minute. As a matter of fact one of the school buses came by and parked in front of the house for about 20 minutes before the Sheriff was able to convince him to turn around. Then that bus driver went out to the school and told everyone there about the new smoke house in town. When something is this good, word just travels so fast.

But you know what? I think the Volunteer Fire Department got a little bit jealous of our new found calling and began to think that maybe a smoke house the size of ours would just be too much for this little town to handle, you know with all the traffic and things, because they ran up into our house with their fire hoses full of water and put our whole dang operation out of business!!! Pretty soon all the smoke stopped pouring out from under the roof and you can't have a very successful smoke house business without smoke. The people waiting in line could see that their orders for hams, bacon, jerky and venison were not going to get filled anytime soon and after much low level exchanges amongst eachother they decided to go on home. The neighbors were still so sweet though and held my hands and told me to call them anytime if we needed anything at all, since they knew that most of our money was tied up in the new smoke house thing. Did you know that even the Red Cross came out and tried to cheer us up by giving us some gift certificates to the local hotel, so we could get our thoughts together and not have any hard feelings about things because you know that most businesses fail the first year so we are actually in some pretty good company and if I talked to enough people I bet I can find some that have had to deal with things like this too. I mean where can you find hospitality like that except here in the south?

So anyhow, I suppose that Leiper's Fork isn't quite ready for so much success, so we will try something a little different next time.

And We Have Arrived!!

2007-01-14T21:43:00.000-08:00

Well, yes I know it has been awhile and left you all hanging, but in Tennessee time we just arrived like a week ago with no worries; just in time to sit back and enjoy some bugs and the view. So far the place is great and the people are great, nice and friendly. The locals don't pay much mind to that yellow line in the road, but one learns to play chicken mighty fast in these parts, so maybe we're fitting in alright.

The house wasn't quite ready when we expected, but we barged our way in and lived without some creature comforts for awhile and things are still getting worked on every now and then. That's fine with me and I enjoy a knock on the door every now and then. I just kick some toys out of the way and tell the construction workers to have at it. Now if I see the builder coming on by, I break out in a cold sweat. I mean I warned the guy that I have 5 kids. Five that never learned not to put dirty hands, crayons, markers, Hot Wheels cars, basketballs and the like on the walls. That beautiful paint job, gone in a week. Those beautiful hardwood floors, distressed in a month. I know, I know, it's just a house, but builders take pride in their work and sometimes to see it lived in a little more than expected can just depress a guy. But sometimes a little living is good. To get out in the night air and just breath it in. Like what happened the other night.

This isn't so much a kid story, where one of the kids does something crazy, I have enough of those. It was just one of those days stories that happens to the best of us. Now we're from Southern CA and we're not used to the 55" of rain that comes along out here, but we are learning. And we learned that having 18" deep water collecting in the crawlspace of your house isn't the best thing. So our builder has some guys take a look and the determine that somewhere out there are some drains that just aren't draining quite the way they should be. They start off with some shovels and before I know it, there's a backhoe in the front yard starting to dig some holes. The boys decided that since it was getting on to 3:00, that they probably just do this job tomorrow. And so it was.

The next day they continue to look for the blocked drains. Apparently they pretty much gave up and decided to dig some trench for the new drain pipe. Apparently they weren't quite sure where the water main line was because they dug that up, too. And promptly broke it in two. Since the kids were in school and the one that is home is in diapers yet, it wasn't a huge deal for me that I was without water. But the combination of broken water main and the release of water from under the house resulted in some pretty wet soil. And if there wasn't enough of a party on my lawn, here comes the propane truck.

Well, I knew we were probably in need of propane, so I hoped that the propane man would brave the crowds and at least take a look at our tank. He sure did and he decided that indeed it needed some filling. And filled it got.

By 4:00 I had water back on in the house, a dry crawlspace, a filled propane tank and a school bus full of kids coming home headed down the road. Oh what a day. But back to putting those Christmas decorations away. So I take a box out to the garage. And it smells like propane. Of course it does, the propane man had just been there. But it smells like propane A LOT. So, I decide to take a peek. And it really stinks. And the tank was hissing at me. I didn't think tanks were suppose to hiss, but this being a Tennessee tank it's apt to do just about anything it wants. So I decide to give it about 5 minutes to get a hold of itself and just cut that stuff out. Only it didn't want to. And I didn't want to, not only having been here a couple of months, but it left me no choice. I had to dial 911. And they came. Down our quiet little street. Red lights flashing and just giving the kids the thrill of all thrills....firetrucks in your very own driveway!!

Mr. Hissyfit Propane Tank was given a quick look-see and it was determined that he was going to be trouble and that the house must be evacuated. Coats were grabbed, shoes put on and we quickly made our way out into the dusky winter air. Where we waited for propane man to make a call and tame our tank beast. Only he was busy, somewhere else. 90 minutes away. The kids sat in the fire truck to stay warm. Cars were parading up and down in front of our house. Looking at the excitement that had descended upon their quiet little place. And finally, my husband, who I was able to warn by cell phone about his first encounter with Leiper's Fork's finest, appeared. We were told it would be at least another hour before things could be secured and we could go back into the house, so a few Happy Meals and playland action was called for. Seatbelt laws be damned, we got into the G-35 and headed out.

By the time we got home 90 minutes later, all was quiet and dark and yet again peaceful in our little part of the woods.

Picking Up Speed

2006-07-24T00:54:00.000-07:00

Well the time has come. The moving van arrives in the morning. Time to start packing things out and loading them up. It seems like all of a sudden our normal household has become more like a madhouse. All changing in just an instant. A lot like when the phone rings.

When the phone rings at our house, it's like the signal that all semblance of order is to be abandoned immediately. It can be calm and quiet in the house, kids watching TV or playing with toys without any screaming or fighting or such. No one is hungry or needs a drink and not one really cares where Mommy is at the moment. But if that phone should ring, the atmosphere changes and changes quickly.

All of a sudden there are urgent needs to be met among the troops. Instantly everyone wants to know where Mommy is and things need to be answered and responded to immediately. Important things. Things like, "Can we have a cookie? I need chocolate milk. Is it OK if I invite 8 of my friends over? Can I ride my bike in the street?" I answer them all the same way. Making the scariest face I can, waving my arm wildly about my head like I am fighting off a swarm of angry bees and adding a boot kick with my foot all while cheerfully answering the phone caller with, "Oh yes, we are all doing fine here." My answer only persuades the kids to move 6" out of the reach of my foot while still preparing their second wave of attacks by gathering up packages of cookies and chips and water color paints to be opened.

"Oh but PLEEEEESE Mommy! Can't I just have ONE can of soda?"

Thankfully things have gotten a little easier on us mothers with the invention of the cordless phones, as now I try to outdistance the throngs of 4 feet tall and under younglings by heading up the stairs while still cheerfully carrying on the telephone conversation. I disguise my breathlessness of climbing up the stairs with a little faux cough and wheeze. But 10 seconds behind me and there they are! With juice boxes and marking pens and a 36 pack of Crayolas. Their demands growing louder and stronger. It's time I take a stand. I put my hand over the phone, grit my teeth and say, "NO! Get. Out." That just causes one to cling to my leg and implore to me, "Please Mommy? Pleeeeeeese?" I try to shake off said urchin as I wander upstairs from room all while brightly following my phone conversation. Once I break free, I head back downstairs where I can converse in peace. In my wake I strategically place roadblocks in order so slow my entourage down. The dining room chair in the kitchen doorway. Hot Wheels cars placed at eye level. Packages of fruit chews next to the TV. All the while making my way to that one place of solitude.

I have often wondered if callers knew that if they talked to a stay at home mom for more than 15 minutes that chances are she was probably locked in the bathroom or closet somewhere. A closet is the preferred choice as there is less echo, but the bathroom is a good alternative during peak conversation hours. There the fan can be turned on to help conceal the noise of kidlings pounding upon the bathroom door. However, usually in 5 minutes or less, the mom is flushed out, fleeing yet to another space.

With beads of sweat on my brow I lower my head and navigate my way through the children, continuing on the search for a that ever elusive noise free area. Once again up the stairs, down the stairs and finally right outside the front door. But in the back of my mind, I am fearing retribution and I can no longer stay on track of the conversation and the phone call must be terminated. Returning the phone to the receiver, stumbling on a Hot Wheels along the way, I survey the damage. Dining room chair turned over. Fruit chews opened and smashed into the carpet. TV turned up loud enough that the neighbors can understand it through their double paned windows. Kids looking somewhat weary and defeated yet otherwise contented and happy.

But I got to listen to a friend talk on the phone, so it was worth it.