Tonight we had a delightful time having a picnic with some friends:
Natalie & John Familia
Jackie & Mike Curteman and kids
Caryn & Curtis Stapp and kids
Kelly & Dave Lee and . . . uh, yes, kids
Ahhhh, kids. To be young again. Phew.
I spent all day shopping, chopping, and prepping, then FINALLY got going on the actual baking.
My baked potatos turned out great, and after being slopped with 'I Can't Believe It's Not Butter," sour cream, cheese, chives, green onions, bacon bits, and croutons, most people could gag 'em down.
I felt quite proud of myself, and have learned that I'm actually a fantastic little cook.
In reality, it was a really fun night. The men and kids played softball while we women caught up on the latest legal news. Then when we all got together to eat, there were some pretty funny stories - mostly involving falling down and pain.
The only bad part of the evening was that with the wind-chill, it was -20 degrees and we were freezing. But those baked potatos turned out to be a double treat - the leftovers were great hand warmers!
Monday, April 27, 2009
and the other shoe drops...
Friday was the end of a long emotional journey.
A family was in tatters as they watched a husband, father, brother, son - one of the church's and city's Golden Boys - handcuffed and led unrepentant from the courtroom where he had just been sentenced to 6 years in prison for sexual abuse.
A dentist who gave up a lovely wife, 7 dear children, 3 grandchildren - for the thrill of walking on the edge. For pulling shirts open and checking moles. For brushing fingers across breasts to pick up tools. For massaging down necks and over breasts to treat jaw pain.
And Sidney and I walked away from the courthouse - me sobbing. Jubilant yet brokenhearted. And Sidney comforting me as she walked me to the car.
Justice was served, and our abuse was vindicated.
God bless his poor, sweet family. And comfort his victims. And help the prisoner return to us repentant, rehabilitated, and whole.
A family was in tatters as they watched a husband, father, brother, son - one of the church's and city's Golden Boys - handcuffed and led unrepentant from the courtroom where he had just been sentenced to 6 years in prison for sexual abuse.
A dentist who gave up a lovely wife, 7 dear children, 3 grandchildren - for the thrill of walking on the edge. For pulling shirts open and checking moles. For brushing fingers across breasts to pick up tools. For massaging down necks and over breasts to treat jaw pain.
And Sidney and I walked away from the courthouse - me sobbing. Jubilant yet brokenhearted. And Sidney comforting me as she walked me to the car.
Justice was served, and our abuse was vindicated.
God bless his poor, sweet family. And comfort his victims. And help the prisoner return to us repentant, rehabilitated, and whole.
Sunday, April 26, 2009
Garage Cleaning Day!
First off, this is not a photo of me. It is a stranger. A random, barely dressed woman who just happens to be doing the same thing I happened to be doing today. In a garage spookily similar to ours.
But amazingly enough, our garage has been even more packed with "stuff" for the past 6 years. Junk we've accumulated over the happy 26 years of our marriage and children-growing years:
~ photos of every event Mark and I attended, as well as every note and card written to one another for the first year of our marriage.
~ boxes of craft supplies . . . paints, rubber stamps, pens, pencils, markers, paper, every kind of tape invented by man (or woman), stickers, card-making accoutrements, boxes of "sheet protectors", scrapbooks, flocking powder. Yes, flocking powder!
~ virtually every paper, project, sculpture, stuffed animal, book and photo taken of our children during their years of schooling.
~ at least 10 boxes of holiday decorations. A large rotating Christmas tree stand, ornaments that span generations; a Halloween skeleton, a string of light-up bones, witches' cauldrons; Easter candy bowls, bunnies, plastic eggs, plastic egg wreath, as well as other seasonal detritus.
~ 1000 medical books.
~ inexpensive but sentimental paintings and drawings and souvenirs that we have collected from all over the world.
~ blankets and quilts.
~ suitcases, train cases, a wooden oil paint case with a handle and hinges!
~ a large box of hand made cards from our "My Pad or Yours?" rubber stamp club - circa 1998 - 2002.
~ wrapping paper and bows
~ tools and screws and nails and "what's this thing for"s.
~ assorted junk that just ended up in boxes because I didn't know what else to do with it.
~ my late parents' ranch.
It's been years since some of these precious things have even seen the light of day, so in some ways it was like opening Christmas presents .... and throwing them away.
Which was really amazingly wonderful and liberating and made me feel as though I was moving on in some undefinable way.
It was a good day.
But amazingly enough, our garage has been even more packed with "stuff" for the past 6 years. Junk we've accumulated over the happy 26 years of our marriage and children-growing years:
~ photos of every event Mark and I attended, as well as every note and card written to one another for the first year of our marriage.
~ boxes of craft supplies . . . paints, rubber stamps, pens, pencils, markers, paper, every kind of tape invented by man (or woman), stickers, card-making accoutrements, boxes of "sheet protectors", scrapbooks, flocking powder. Yes, flocking powder!
~ virtually every paper, project, sculpture, stuffed animal, book and photo taken of our children during their years of schooling.
~ at least 10 boxes of holiday decorations. A large rotating Christmas tree stand, ornaments that span generations; a Halloween skeleton, a string of light-up bones, witches' cauldrons; Easter candy bowls, bunnies, plastic eggs, plastic egg wreath, as well as other seasonal detritus.
~ 1000 medical books.
~ inexpensive but sentimental paintings and drawings and souvenirs that we have collected from all over the world.
~ blankets and quilts.
~ suitcases, train cases, a wooden oil paint case with a handle and hinges!
~ a large box of hand made cards from our "My Pad or Yours?" rubber stamp club - circa 1998 - 2002.
~ wrapping paper and bows
~ tools and screws and nails and "what's this thing for"s.
~ assorted junk that just ended up in boxes because I didn't know what else to do with it.
~ my late parents' ranch.
It's been years since some of these precious things have even seen the light of day, so in some ways it was like opening Christmas presents .... and throwing them away.
Which was really amazingly wonderful and liberating and made me feel as though I was moving on in some undefinable way.
It was a good day.
Friday, April 24, 2009
I'm a murderer.
I confess.
I got impatient. I got sick of moving their little incubators around so I could clean the counter.
So I pulled each one of the stubborn, boring, slimy seeds out of their mismatched glasses, and threw them away like so much garbage.
No avocados for ME!
I got impatient. I got sick of moving their little incubators around so I could clean the counter.
So I pulled each one of the stubborn, boring, slimy seeds out of their mismatched glasses, and threw them away like so much garbage.
No avocados for ME!
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