More Photos from the Pontoon Boat Ride Last July

Above, The Professor really enjoyed driving the rented boat.  Below, our house is hidden behind the trees, but this is a nice view of our backyard, including the new steps to the lake.

 

Despite my lack of use, I remembered my Xanga password!  Yes, I’m still alive.  I’ve just been really down since August and am hoping things are better now.  This is the first time in a long time that I’ve felt motivated to post.

Yesterday was beautiful, sunny and dry.  The leaves still on the trees were bright in the sunshine.  I decided to throw caution to the wind because I read somewhere that sunscreen keeps the helpful part of the sun’s rays from doing a person any good.  So, I went outside to cut the grass, but first I had to rake two bags of leaves from under one of the trees.

I would much rather cut grass with the mulching mower than rake leaves, so I cannot leave the grass alone for so long again this fall.  Fortunately, yesterday the grass and leaves were dry, so it was not a hard job.

It felt so good just being out in the sun that I also cleaned up the dead flowers and leaves from the patio.  It’s not much, especially since the wind blew down many more leaves last night, but at least it’s a start.  I plan to attack the raspberry bushes next.

The Professor and I were so disappointed last night when only six trick-or-treaters rang our doorbell.  However, those six were quite cute, and one of them even had the poise to praise my LED-flashing, incredibly tacky pumpkin earrings (which were irresistible at 99 cents) that I had so looked forward to wearing.  Unfortunately, The Professor and I overbought on the candy.  So, while our taste buds are cheering, “Hurray!”, our last semblances of will power are screaming, “No!”  I’m not sure about The Professor, but, in my case, the taste buds seem to be winning.

This morning lived up to what Mexicans call The Day of the Dead.  Thick, eerie fog hugged the ground.  I could only see about 30 feet until the world vanished into the fog.

Unbelievably, I woke up at 6:00 a.m., raring to go with a aberrantly strong compulsion to go down to my desk in the basement and pay bills.  Whatever strange force that had grabbed me also made me balance a checkbook and write birthday cards.  And, yet, I do not seem to have a physical illness.

After that I ate breakfast.  Then the compulsion forced me out of the house to drive very carefully in the fog to get my glasses adjusted so the earpieces would no longer hurt, to replace the headphones on my iPod shuffle so I could listen to the playlist I had revised so carefully yesterday, to use my 15-20% off card at Macy’s to Christmas shop, and to return my library books. 

While I was at Macy’s with the discount card, I saw the cutest Christmas one-piece on sale.  N?M’s* grandma-to-be couldn’t resist.  I hope our daughter and son-in-law don’t dread my giving them something else for the baby.  The Professor is ready to lock me up, but I rationalized the purchase because I have been good about not buying him anything for about a month.

*  Iltflinthills and IMO are currently debating middle names for NM, so I have renamed my grandson on this Xanga to N?M for the time being.  Of the two middle names under discussion last Sunday, I prefer the one that is IMO’s first name.  IMO has undergone a great deal of hardship during the last eight years so that his future children could have better lives than he had; so, even though my vote doesn’t count, I hope the selected middle name is IMO’s first name.

The photo above is of my mom and dad on the (rented) pontoon boat ride we arranged last July.  My dad uses a cane, and my mom needs a walker, so they certainly were good sports.  The weather was beautiful that evening, and we ate a picnic supper on the boat.

My dad, especially, really enjoyed being on the lake.  He loves the water.

I am really behind in my photographs, but eventually I might catch up.

Recap

Editing this book of World War II letters has taken over my life, as well as making things for Sea Monkey.  However, Sea Monkey will no longer be referred to as such because his parents has chosen a tentative name for him!  From now on, and until a middle name is selected, our grandson-to-be will be called NM.

If his first name is not changed, it will make a number of family members deliriously happy.  Why?  N just happens to be the same name as his maternal grandfather’s (AKA The Professor) father’s.  N has the additional benefit of sounding terrific with his surname and not being in the top ten of popular names for boys born in 2008.

Right now I am making bumpers for N’s crib.  (OK, to be honest, right now I am typing a Xanga entry, but devoted readers will understand what I mean.)  Iltflinthills and IMO have really made their baby’s room bright, cheery, and welcoming.  They are geniuses at obtaining bargains at garage sales although absolutely nothing about N’s room says garage sale.

I get a tremendous kick out of everything Ilflinthills and IMO are doing to prepare for the baby because The Professor and I weren’t able to get that far along before Tremor3258′s arrival.  (Do you think moving into our new-to-us-but-really-almost-forty-years-old home sixteen days before Tremor3258 might have a connection?)

Right now IMO is in Mexico on a visit to his family.  We are all eagerly awaiting his return.  Iltflinthills’s school begins classes on Friday, so she is already busily preparing her classroom.  She is hoping to save up enough sick days to get a halfway-decent paid maternity leave.

Apparently I am improving my usefulness quotient because I wake up every morning with the aches of middle age.  Yesterday I cleaned a little, went to my quilter’s guild meeting, gassed up and washed the minivan, cleaned a little more, got my hair cut, went to the bank, cleaned some more, and cut the grass.  And, while all this was going on, The Professor and I shared laundry duties.  In the evening I rode the exercise bike for 50 minutes and did my therapy exercises while watching the Olympics on TV.  Those gymnasts are awesome!

Today I have to clean off my desk again.

Two things of personal importance happened yesterday:

1.  IMO and Iltflinthills found out that their baby will be a boy.  This halves the number of potential names to argue over; oops! I mean, discuss.

2.  My potential publisher for the World War II letters was not bored out of his skull.  He intends to discuss the book with others.  So, I need to return to work.

You’ve Been Burned!

I should go back to my non-stop transcribing of WWII letters.  However, I thought this was really funny.  Some of you might not agree.

My parents are coming to visit us at our new house for the first time.  They are supposed to arrive late in the afternoon.  I’ve been busy getting ready for them; after they leave for home, I’ll try to catch up.

HAPPY 4TH OF JULY!

Tremor3258 is coming over to spend the day with The Professor, Marisol, and me.  The sun is shining, so we hope to go swimming and/or kayaking today.  Tonight we’ll watch the fireworks by the dam.

Guess Where I Went On My Summer Vacation!

Piles of mail and laundry await, not to mention the shaggy grass outside.  So, today will be brief.

However, once upon a time there was an extremely disorganized boy; he wouldn’t even notice that the other students in his classes were handing in their homework, so he rarely turned his completed assignments in.  It took years to help him find coping strategies.  And sometimes this process wasn’t very enjoyable.

And, so, the boy grew up into a man.  Last March he began organizing a ten-day family trip for himself, his parents, his sister, his grandmother, his aunt, and his cousin.  He arranged for airplane and train reservations, hotel accommodations, special tours, and discount passes.  He could understand unfamiliar subway schedules just by glancing at them.  And everything was completely set up, without any hitches.

In fact, his successful organization of a seven-minute train transfer including the manhandling by himself of several extremely heavy suitcases has now become part of family legend and will no doubt be repeated at holidays for years to come.

Sometimes being a parent is great.

THANK YOU, TREMOR3258, FOR ORGANIZING SUCH A WONDERFUL, MEMORABLE TRIP FOR US ALL!

Tremor3258′s accomplishment is even more laudable if you know where we went.  Can you guess?

For those devoted readers who cannot get enough of the mundaneness of my life, I forgot to mention two other items of interest.

First, I finished the 65-fabric challenge quilt.  Monday after quilting (for me and visiting a friend for Marisol) and snacking with IMO and Iltflinthills, Marisol and I stopped by the Central Library for the Johnson County system on 87th Street to see the quilts on display. 

Bea Oglesby’s quilts were beautiful.  (If you click on the link, you then want to click sequentially on:  Classes and Events; then Art in the Stacks; and Central Resource Library Exhibits.)  I was to surprised to discover that one of the quilts Ms. Oglesby had made was exactly the same pattern as my 65-fabric challenge quilt.

Second, Marisol, The Professor (but only because we were all in the car), and I did shop at Macy’s for internship clothes for Marisol.  Believe it or not, but because of the clearance sale and a coupon, Marisol got a nice new black suit for only $30.14 (which includes the tax).  Marisol and I were feeling pretty proud of our shopping skills afterwards.

I apologize to everyone who thought I was making light of all the flooding in the Midwest when I was worrying about the rain here keeping me from being able to cut the grass at church last week.  It was not my intention to give that impression.  Self-centeredly, I was worried about being able to keep my word.

Happy Belated Father’s Day!

Apparently, McDonald’s Is His Kind of Place

The Professor returned from Shanghai with many photos.  Since I’m feeling a little bit perverse today, let me post a selection of Shanghai images he considered important enough to photograph.

The Professor said that the two McDonald’s below just sold snacks, not full meals.  From the images on the buildings, it looks as though a McDonald’s in Shanghai offers more choices in ice cream than one in the United States would.

Yes, you can find a McDonald’s at a mall in Shanghai.  However, the malls The Professor visited were much, much bigger than the malls here.  He also said that the shops on the lower floors were more familiar to his American eyes; the shops on the higher floors were much smaller and seemed to cater to the local population rather than all the tourists.

The Professor justified his visit to a McDonald’s in Shanghai by claiming that McDonald’s was the only place in Shanghai in which he could find good coffee.  Considering how jet-lagged and desirous of the caffeine coffee offered The Professor must have been, I will refrain from commenting too vehemently about how he traveled thousands of miles to stop at a McDonald’s!  Or, maybe I won’t.

Next time I post photographs I’ll try to be a little more culturally interesting.

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Don’t Miss This Production of Othello!

The Professor, Tremor3258, Marisol, and I attended last night’s opening performance of the Heart of America Shakespeare Festival’s 2008 offering, Othello.  My one regret is that I lack the literary capability to rave appropriately about this mesmerizing production. 

The actors who portrayed Othello and Iago were outstanding; the other members of the cast also gave riveting performances.  Theater in Kansas City is certainly blessed with opportunities to see high-caliber acting.

The play only lasted a fleeting two-and-a-half hours.  (I doubt I would have even noticed the passing of real time if the sun hadn’t set sometime during the performance.) 

This summer’s run seems about a week shorter than in past years, so do not delay (especially since rain will cancel a performance).  If you love attending plays, this production of Othello is not something you should miss.  And, that’s not just my opinion.  The Professor, Tremor3258, and Marisol were all equally enthusiastic.