Cloudland Canyon Campout: Day 4 Cont. (Thanksgiving in June)

Billy's Mom, her friend (Billy's sister's mother-in-law, to be precise) and our niece were staying in one of the park's many nice cabins nearby. They had invited us to a potluck dinner for the night, so everyone wandered off to prepare supplies and drive over. My Dad arrived to stay for the evening, too. Billy's brother-in-law was frying a turkey, and the rest of us provided appetizers and side dishes. It was like Thanksgiving in June!

I threw together some potatoes, cooking them in the microwave first (because I was short on time) and cutting them up, then tossing them with olive oil, salt, pepper, garlic and fresh thyme. Finally I browned them in the oven before serving. Yum!

Some of us sat on the screened porch to eat and chat, and everyone else had fun groaning and offering commentary on some terrible TV movie. Billy's brother had brought their little dog, who was leashed with us on the screened porch. (Dogs were not allowed in the cabin.) One of my nephews' friends sat under the stars and practiced some songs on his acoustic guitar. It was a mellow, relaxing little family gathering.

As we were clearing up and washing dishes, there came a knock on the cabin's door. Yes, it was a park ranger. Yes, we were breaking rules again. What was the problem this time? Apparently we had too many people in the cabin. We weren't making too much noise, we hadn't bothered a single soul, and we weren't damaging any property or otherwise causing a disturbance. The fire regulations limit cabin occupants to 8 people, so apparently that means no more than 8 people can be physically inside the cabin at any given time. The ranger had stopped because there were several cars in the cabin driveway. Bonus for him: we had an illegal dog leashed on the porch. (Who had behaved beautifully, by the way.) Such was the end of our little family gathering. Luckily, we'd been preparing to leave anyway. Oh, well. We returned to camp that night mostly without incident (Except for my sister-in-law, who missed a turn and ended up outside the park gate. Can you believe, they totally lock the park down at 10 pm? It took her 5 phone calls to get the code to get back in. Every time we turned around we felt like adolescents getting caught: breaking rules, having illicit parties, breaking curfew. . . It was a bit ridiculous.)

As a special treat, I made ice cream, and served it up cold and soft with strawberries and syrup. We shared it out under our tarp lit with glimmering Christmas lights, as the barred owls hooted and called all around. A cat came visiting, and I gave it a few licks of half and half and some good ear scratches. It was another pleasant end to an adventurous day.

Crafting for Charity

Today, I mailed off a couple packages. One of them has been a LONG time coming, and is in fact about 10 days late for the final deadline. I hope that's OK. . . I finished it ages ago, but didn't manage to mail it before today. C'est la vie. It was one of several craft-related charity/group projects that I have participated in- specifically, it is a contribution to the installation art piece known as the Milkweed Project. No, I don't have a picture of my contribution. Sorry, sorry! I was so thrilled to be finally mailing it today that I forgot to photograph it for posterity. It was a simple thing though, so you haven't missed much. :) There are many photographs on the website however, of contributions from all over the world. I've enjoyed checking them out, and I really look forward to seeing how it all comes together!

The second package I mailed out was a red scarf for the Orphan Foundation of America's Red Scarf Project. I found out about this project from a friend, who learned of it through Craft Hope. Red hand-knit or crocheted scarves are donated to orphaned foster teens. I had some great red yarn leftover from another project, and it knit up very quickly. Again, I forgot to take a picture. I know, I know! Some photographer I am. It is a simple scarf though, mostly straight garter stitch. It's appealing for it's dense, cushiony softness, it's warmth, and it's deep garnet color, rather than for it's design. :) I hope it's new owner likes it. The deadline for this project is Valentine's Day, so there's still time if you'd like to make a scarf, too!

The other craft-related charitable project which I recently participated in was the Iraqi Bundles of Love (or IBOL) project. I blogged about it early on, but never posted pictures of our bundles. ("Our" meaning myself and a couple other wonderful ladies in a craft group I am in.) So, finally, here's a few photos of our finished bundles, ready to send:





(the above photos are by Kyddryn)



In addition, the boys and I participated in IBOL Sundae. It was delicious!


The IBOL project was exciting. It was so gratifying not only to help, but to see so much of the goodwill unfolding in Art's blog. I really enjoyed that. :)

Hmm. . . maybe it's time for a new charitable craft endeavor. . .
There's afghans for Afghans, or Artists Helping Children, or Project Linus, the local charity Tiny Stitches, or Warm the World. . .
Or, maybe I should just finish the numerous projects I've already got going. :P

Hair, will- and yes, rosemary!

Saturday, March 15, 2008

Hair, will- and yes, rosemary!
Current mood: catalyzed


I think I am going to cut my hair.

No no, hear me out!

I would really like to be able to wear my hair down more, without it getting ridiculously tangled up in everything I am doing. I'd like my hair to frame my face, instead of being pulled back in my ever-present ponytail, doing nothing for my appearance. I'd like to do something to improve my daily appearance, because these days I feel like I always look like hell. (Lack of sleep, ill-fitting clothes, infrequent showers and a frazzled demeanor can do that to a gal). And, (dare I say it?) I think I'd just like a little change. What good is all this romantic, luxuriantly long hair if all I can do with it is keep it out of the way?

I went and asked a really good hairdresser's advice today, and she gave me some good ideas. I think I'm going to make arrangements for an appointment soon- something that will take some planning, as I'll have to find a sitter for the two older boys and an adult to tag along and hold Babyman. (Or some other suitable arrangement). And, don't worry! It will still be long by most standards.

And it will always grow back. :)

* * *

Today Billy and I finally got around to working on our will. This is something we've been meaning to do for awhile- anyone with kids really should have one. Most people can do it themselves with online forms and websites like www.legalzoom.com. We ultimately decided to consult a lawyer, and I think that was the right decision for us. I am looking forward to having it all squared away- it is one more checkbox in my mental list of financial planning goals. Baby steps. Besides, it's no fun to have to think about what would happen if both Billy and I were to bite it too soon. My precious children. . . Even though we have wonderful family who would be ready to help, it's chilling to imagine our plans having to be enacted. As one family member added after agreeing to be an executor, "Drive safe!"

If you haven't made your own will, go ahead and do it. It can make sure your wishes are carried out, it can go a long way toward protecting your assets (and we're not just talking rich folk here; we all have some assets), it makes things much easier on your surviving family as they tie up your affairs, and it ensures that any children you have will be entrusted to the guardian of your choice, rather than someone of the state's choosing. Pretty important stuff.

OK, off my soapbox.

* * *

Today's thumbs-up is for gelato! Specifically, Paolo's Gelato in Atlanta. Still more specifically, for Paolo's rosemary gelato. Yes, rosemary. Ooooooh, Oh. So. Good. ~drool~

grocery success, fermented grape juice and Ron Paul

Tuesday, December 18, 2007


grocery success, fermented grape juice and Ron Paul
Current mood: busy

Well, I did it!
I did in fact hustle all three kids off to the grocery store yesterday evening, and complete my lengthy shopping list. I did not lose my mind, bellow madly at anyone, or run screaming from the store while pulling all my hair out. The boys were on excellent (which is relative, but we'll take what we can get) behavior. Babyman was all cozy in the sling, simply looking around peacefully at all the new sights. Eventually he went to sleep. Littleman and Sweetcheeks were driving the "car" on the shopping cart. Those carts steer like a wounded battleship, but they sure are helpful when you have multiple little ones to shop with. I only had to pop Littleman's skull once (not hard, really!) to remind him to quit touching everything on the shelves as we rolled past. Luckily, nothing fell off and smashed on the floor, but we had a few close calls. Seriously though, they were patient and pretty obedient. I breathed a sigh of relief when we hit our last stop in the frozen foods section. I rewarded them at the end of our trip by buying peppermint ice cream, which I later used as a bribe to get them to eat their dinner. (YUM! I really like peppermint stick ice cream). That was the hard part: getting everyone fed and taken care of at home in a somewhat timely fashion. But I muddled through.

I know future trips won't all be so smooth. But at least I know it's possible.

* * *

Tonight we are eating pasta with spaghetti sauce (the sauce was a gift from a friend, and YUM!! It's good), and I decided to open a bottle of wine that I've had around for some time. (It's white, and since Billy doesn't drink white wine, I was waiting for someone else who would drink it with me. Tonight I decided "screw it", and I opened the bottle anyway. I'm thoroughly enjoying a nice cool glass with my dinner). Anyhow, I bring this up because Littleman was asking me about wine, and what it's made of. I let him taste it. He asked me if there's "grapes in there". I told him that yes, wine is basically fermented grape juice. I wish I had a pic of his expression- he looked at my glass so incredulously, as if to say "Why on EARTH would anyone do THAT to a perfectly good glass of grape juice??" LOL- yes, adults are weird. :)

* * *

The day before yesterday was the anniversary of the Boston Tea Party. To coincide with that, volunteers for Ron Paul's campaign organized a fundraiser to support his bid for a presidential nomination. They raised over 6 million dollars in one day. If I'm not mistaken, that's a record amount. The vast majority of his supporters are individuals and small donors, rather than the big-money sources that pour funds into more likely candidates. This really is an amazing grass-roots phenomenon.

Now, I have heard many people comment that Ron Paul hasn't got a snowball's chance in hell of getting the republican nomination, let alone of winning the presidency. I've been told that supporting Ron Paul is a waste- of time, of money, of a vote if it comes to that. (I've also been told that voting Libertarian is a "wasted vote"). I would just like to note that such comments really irritate me. No vote is wasted, if you make an informed decision and vote for those you would most like to see win. This idea- that you should never vote for an underdog because your choice would be unlikely to win- is mislead, even manipulated. It is why our screwed up two-party system (two parties as unlike each other as two peas in a pod) continues to thrive. People have been bullied, confused and frightened into believing that they cannot vote for a third party, or else THEY (whichever party is "THEY" to the particular voter) will win! You don't want THEM in office, do you? Don't "waste" your vote! In the same way, people don't want to support Ron Paul. They feel he has no chance of getting the presidential nomination, therefore he's not worth paying any attention to- no matter how much they might agree with his platform.

I'd like to say that I sincerely hope Ron Paul's fundraising successes cause more people to seriously consider him as a possible presidential candidate. It's probably true that someone else will get the republican nomination. Probably. But what if? What if someone new, with fresh, more libertarian ideas and a decentralized, grassroots support system actually gives the rest of these politicians a run for their money? Dare I write it, what if he WON? It's unlikely but I'd like to say it is not impossible. I would like to say that hope is not stone-cold dead in American voters. I'd like to think that we could muster up the balls to vote for an underdog. Even if he Ron Paul does not win, if he does well enough to scare the established system, if he opens more eyes to fresh ideas and other possibilities, then he will have done well. I hope he does well.

* * *
I'm thinking I might do a regular "feature" in my blog: my thumbs-up for the day. Today's thumb-up goes to Hotslings, for their fantastic baby carriers. Check them out.
www.hotslings.com

Chaos has erupted around me and I'm typing so fast my fingers are smoking. OK, not really but I do have to go.

Mmmmmmm

Tuesday, April 04, 2006

Mmmmmmm Current mood: enthralled Not much time, but I just want to say: Haagen-Dazs Mayan Chocolate ice cream. Mmmmmmmmmmmmmmm. Makes lots of things much better. :)