Yesterday. . .

Yesterday I went to interview on a story that I am writing and I went into The Big City. The interview was great-- as usual I adored my subject and decided to make an adventure out of being in The City. I wish that I could just take a bus to this place which there is one available, but with so many kids, one never knows when one will get a phone call that I have to run back home because someone got hurt and I have to meet them at the hospital, which does happen a few times a year. (One kid has severe asthma and I have four boys who react to life like boys, "You can't play contact football without padding and helmets, just like you don't ride a bike without a Helmut!") Anyway, I got done with class at the college and went to the City for the interview and found a parking spot and decided afterwards to take a walk. Downtown isn't that big and when the weather is warming up like it has been, you just don't want to get back in your car!

My dream house is on the outskirts of the city or even in it-- I live in a rural area, but we came here because houses were affordable, not because I wanted to live out here. I already had three children when my husband bought our house (Oh-- I don't regret it one bit!) for me and of course it's been the best move for us, but there are these little houses in the city that I adore. One is for rent. It's actually office space. It's in an area where everything is expensive. Still, if money were no object and I could do as I wished, I would get the house above with the For Rent sign.

I went to a hotel named for a famous explorer-- I loved going there years ago. It had a great men's store called Boccaccio where I took my brother one year to buy a suit for wearing on a hockey trip-- it set me back a few hundred dollars, but he looked great, then my best friend who was petite and a fox drove him to the airport and picked him up and all his buddies thought they were dating! The had a chocolate shop called Encore! and I personally tried to keep it in business, but the owners still closed it. Encore had lattes and breves (I prefer rich breves to lattes) before coffee got big. They had rich truffles and I would buy them for my family (when i lived at home and had my parent's credit cards) and make nice dinners and surprise everyone. The stores are long gone. I don't really like them ones that are in there now. They also got rid of most of the art galleries.

I went to a sleek women's store that I've not been to in at least five years. I needed a new pair of jeans and I wanted them to fit nicely. I forgot how nice the salesclerks are-- I used to work there. I was lead around the store with the saleswoman throwing things over her arm. I felt like a hick-- I normally don't spend more than $40 on jeans and I was trying on $300 jeans. There is an amazing difference between a $40 pair of jeans and a $300 pair. I chose a $75 pair that was marked down and a new spring jacket (also marked down.) It was the most I've ever spent on a casual outfit but about the same I'd spend on a psychology session to give me confidence, and I get to wear this many more times! I got my money's worth! I felt so out of place, then I stepped out when the saleslady didn't hear me and she was talking to another associate about me, "This lady is so --grateful--! She likes everything I show her and she said that she hardly ever shops for herself-- she has nine kids!" I didn't feel so out of place-- I forgot that when I worked there, some customers liked being snippy an yes, I was grateful for her help. As I was leaving, she told me to come back for the half yearly sales and she'd help me out-- they really do mark down autumn outfits as well and since I may be graduating this December, she said I can start thinking about some nice outfits for work. I know that she gets money from my shopping, but that is a great way to keep me going back with being so nice.

I also went to a little kitchen store. What is is about mortar & pestles? I love them for being so simple and I love drawing them. I have several and am always looking for more. Here is a picture of several at one of the stores. I can't figure out how to post pictures where I want to. It looks like it's the top picture of this post.

Something Cute

Peaches has a really cool science teacher. He's just neat-- I love going to parent-teacher conferences just to see him. He told the class that for extra credit that they just needed to share their latest study on beaver habitats with someone, write down a synopsis of what they shared and have a parent sign off.

99.9% of the kids would have just written something and had a parent sign off. Not Peaches.

She instead had the kids ages 10 and under (six of them) sit on the floor with paper beaver teeth while she told them the story! She took pictures. Dash wanted to go outside to play, but she took them down to the river to gather branches and make a pretend beaver den. Dash claimed that he was afraid of beavers so she took some pictures of him looking scared, being chased, and pretending to sleep with beaver brothers and sisters surrounding him and looking at him!

My husband doesn't want me posting pics of the kids on the internet so I won't upload these, but what she did for her teacher in Power Point is priceless!

My Phobia of Robins

When I was four years old, I was in my big yard throwing out birdseed to the robins. They were near me, but not too close. I had been doing this every day-- it was a good way for my mom to get soem time to herself for a few minutes alone with my new brother and I enjoyed it. One particular day, the day I stopped doing this, there was a robin that seemed to be watching me. I thought he kept coming back to look at me, but in retrospect, you can't tell robins apart for the most part and every robin was probably watching me closely because I wanted to pet them.

I ran inside the house and shut the door and my mother asked what was wrong and I said, "There is a robin out there. He's looking at me and he knows who I am!"

My mom laughed at my absurdity and I think she even told me to not be absurd, but I'd not go back outside because of that robin! A little while later I got into trouble for doing something and she sent me to my room. I was looking out the window and the robin landed on the rhododendron bush nest to my window and was looking at me again! I screamed and my mom ran in and took me out of the room, but she thought that I was just silly. Her logic that it probably wasn't THE robin didn't work on me. I knew what I knew, and that was the very same robin!

This morning I was making breakfast and my five year old wanted to give some magpies some sunflower seeds so I sent her out with a little bag of them. There was soon a flock of five or so around her and she ran in and started peering out the back door. "There is a magpie who is over there and he'd looking at me. He knows who I am!"

I said, "Yes he does! And he's probably telling all this friends about your good birdseed and how sweet you are!"

She smiled and I filled up her little bag again to go give to her new admirer!

In spite of all the years that have passed, my heart still jumps when I see robins!

$3.40 a Gallon!

Gas is $3.40 a gallon today! I bought only $30 worth. I don't know how I will afford school next year if I have to drive into the big city. This is terrible! I need at least 10 gallons to drive to the city and get home for a single round trip. This is terrible! Classes are twice a week!

In drawing class my professor was kind to me. "Tea has just aimed for Jupiter and landed on the moon. She started out in a Mazda that ran OK and ended up in a fast 4X4 pick-up!" She joked that somewhere along the line my Mazda turned into a 4X4 pickup, capable of high speeds! I had this idea in my head to draw my church. I was working with light and I wasn't getting it so I did something that we just learned to do on Tuesday. I darkened the entire paper with my darkest grey pencil, then started lifting up color with my kneadable eraser. I didn't do as well as I'd hoped, but I did better than I did on Tuesday when I started out. I did way better than I did on Tuesday. I got up there to discuss my work and I had a lot of bad things to say-- I was eyeballing something that I should have done mathematically and you could see where my eyes don't work together because of some major mistakes, but given their consistency, they made a "style" of their own. Singers can't have wobbles in their voices, dancers can't have wobbles, but with my drawing, I can have that wobble and it's unique.

It's always a shocker to me when my work comes out looking good-- but I don't know why. I am a decent artist. I loved seeing where my classmates have come from as well. I think they are goddesses-- but what it is, we all have our own unique way of drawing. My style is intense in whatever I do-- lots of intense high lights or dark areas depending on my medium. Another "girl" in there draws in a way that I hear music looking at her pictures-- they are happy people talking, anime people with big heads and giant eyes-- she drew me today in a mini skirt and headcovering with wings and I felt like a super hero! Another girl looks African-American and she is into her culture. She draws everyone in a Kenyan-ish style and it's just cool. I look pretty Irish-Dutch, but drawn in her style, I could have sworn that I had ancestors on the forgotten continent! It looked just like me! My characters have a sparkle to them. Another lady drawn people looking somber. I love how we are all so different, yet accurate with the same material!

I need to draw myself as a final for second semester drawing. We can do it any way we want. I am thinking of drawing myself as a fairy in water color.

Driving Me Crazy & Just Another Day in PAradise

My 17 yo is driving my husband's standard car very well. Bravo Peaches!

I have had a crazy day best summed up in Phil Vassar's Just Another Day in Paradise. This is one of my favorite songs EVAR. Watch it-- that's my life! LOL

I am talking about a lack of money here-- don't think I am whining. This is life with a big family and it seems that all the kids are shooting up in size! Accommodation, adaptation, and ultimately thriving is what matters to me. If I were a flower-- I hope I would be like a nasturtium! The soil doesn't need to be rich for amazing results!

We can afford nothing but variations of chili right now so it's good that we are in Lent. With my car having had issues last week, my husband's car last month needing new everything and still having bills on top of that-- we are broke. On the good side, I am really good at making chili! One of my sons has asked me if we are rich. I was baffled and he said that one of his friends said I am a very good chili maker and he has it every day for lunch and that when he zaps it, everyone comments on how good it smells! I got a note from his teacher today asking if I can do a demonstration on making chili as part of their nutrition "special." Cool! I called her and told her our circumstances and that it's a necessity. She offered to bring in the beans if I couldn't afford them. That was so nice! I have a huge crock pot to make a feast for his class. My daughters and I make huge pans of vegan cornmeal bread. I use real butter-- it's not part of the fast, but margarine makes me gag. Butter is better for you and the cows need a reason to be, right?

We are doing well on the vegan eating-- no meat for two or three weeks now and we've really not missed it. I made hummus the other night with homemade pita. I had Peaches make Indian Naan the other day and she did well but she'd never made it before. We are essentially using the same ingredients for everything but in different ways. My husband made a Thai vegetable soup over the weekend. I like how we are doing this. My 10 year old son asked if he gets to make something since it seems the thing that we are doing now-- everyone had to make something then we sit around and rave over it!

My 10 year old son shot up a full pant size over spring break. He was an average size eight two weeks ago and now he is a good fit for his size ten pants! Gosh-- he'll be taller than his 12 yo sister before the summer is up and she is already tall for her age.

We're planning the garden for this year. I can't afford a lot, but I can't afford not to! This morning my four year old put back four BIG bowls of oatmeal with raisins and brown sugar. (I eat one bowl.) These kids just eat and eat! I have them raising broccoli and Brussels Sprouts, then some lettuces and sunflowers. I want to grow some tomatoes as well-- I want to raise them to grow green tomatoes for verde salsa. We also do an assortment of local berries. I am so ready to get my hands muddy!

These are my hands making Blessed Bread for church. We call it posphora. It means offering!