A Rockin' Good Time

I hope your weekend was good—mine was just fine, though the time change threw us all for a loop and we were dragging by the end of Sunday.
Friday was a lot more fun than we’d thought it would be. With Tuba Boy off at his state debate tournament (they did OK but didn’t get any awards), and we thought Beccano off to watch some male beauty contest at school, Lee and I figured it would be a nice relaxing evening, which we really needed. But, I came home from work to find three teens in the kitchen making pizza—Beccano, Parker and their new French friend. Then Beccano’s girlfriend arrived. That ensured plenty of giggling. We actually had a really pleasant time sitting on the new patio and chatting. The photo is of French Friend sitting next to our fountain, on which we lit the flame for the first time. This picture was taken at night, but wow, that camera has some fine flash. When Lee came home with pretzels, the party was set. Eventually, Dean of Triskelion also came, and the teens wandered the cul-de-sac shrieking until I told them to cut that out. I may be a cool mom, but shrieking in front of a cop’s house is never a good idea, even if that cop is a former band chaperone, himself. I really do like having the kids around—sure makes it easy to keep track of them, and they are very funny and smart.

Saturday was another good day all around. I had a very nice time at the yarn shop, starting with some nice, quiet time chatting with the owner, and ending with me getting some delicious Italian Crème cake for the gang, to celebrate my birthday and another lady’s. I was surprised to get a couple of gifts, and really humbled at that. I think, because I am not a very inspired gift giver or birthday remember-er, that I get really touched when I get gifts or people remember me. I sort of feel unworthy, but I also feel happy to know such nice people. And that’s what’s important.

After I came home, Lee and I went to the garden supply place and had a great time wandering around discussing various plant choices. It’s so nice that he likes plants as much as me. We ended up choosing two really pretty variegated ginger plants to put in the new bed out by our air conditioning units, and some really pretty coleus plants to fill in around them. We got all kinds of different ones, since it was hard to decide which variety we liked best. The photos show them all planted. We have pink polka dot plant (hypoestes) in the front of them. I don’t know if pink really goes with the orangey coleus varieties, but I am sure it will be festive. Right now the polka dot plants are taller than the coleus, but if these grow like the ones in our back yard tend to, that won’t last long. Lee also put in the ones I rooted from last year. One variety is in its third year—plant recycling!

We actually have a lot of plant recycling at our house. Both our nicest geraniums made it through another winter with little damage, and though a recent wind/cold event did some damage, our poinsettias are also on their third year. It appears as though a lot of our begonias made it, as well. There’s a white one on at least its fourth year, but to my surprise a few that were in the ground made it, too. I see some pinks coming back, and even one or two plucky verbenas. We won’t have to put many new plants in for a while—the pansies are going out in a blaze of glory and I don’t want to pull them up yet.

Saturday night was really special. To celebrate Lee’s and my birthdays, we went to Segovia’s a Spanish restaurant in South Austin. The trip didn’t take any time at all, because it was almost all highway. And the food was yummy. Lee and I drank homemade sangria, which was dry but fruity. Parker and I had some amazing beef stew with cool seasonings in it, like cinnamon. It was so rich and tasty. Beccano had a steak, and Lee had roast suckling pork. I think I liked it better than he did (again, wonderful seasonings). What Lee and Beccano liked most about their meal was the “seasoned vegetables.” Sounds bland, but wow, whatever they seasoned them with was amazingly good. Parker and I practically fought over Beccano’s rejected red peppers (He ate every single morsel of his steak and mashed potatoes, though). But the dessert was best. So glad I decided to have some, because the bread pudding was the best I ever had. And I LOVE bread pudding and order it whenever I can. Honestly, I can only think of one other that sticks out in my mind as on par with this, and that was at a very fancy steak house in Chicago.

But, the reason we went down there was not the food! We went to see the first official gig of JT and the Quartertones, Jeff’s new band. First there was a guy and his sister playing gypsy-style classical guitar, and I liked it a LOT more than I thought I would. The melodies were really catchy and the technique quite wonderful. I was relieved that JT and company also did very well. There was a good turnout, including lots of people I don’t know, which means he’s actually been making some friends. Of course, he later saw all the flaws, but I don’t think anyone else did. It was a nice mix of his songs and cover tunes, and the versions of his songs were fresh and new. His solos really wowed the kids, so much so that Beccano wrote him and told him. Jeff said that was the first time he ever wrote him that wasn’t a response to something he’d sent. Parker took some pictures, but I think most of them didn’t come out. I hope we can get one, anyway.

That was all fun, fun, fun, but we were out really late (for us) on the worst night of the year to do it—by the time we got home it was “new time” after 1 am. That may explain why I am having time transition issues.

Yesterday we went to church, even though we weren’t having to sing or play, because it was the annual youth service. I am disappointed that Tuba Boy didn’t get to participate this year, but they did really good jobs without him. The kids are so grown up. The musicians were amazing. Brenna’s a professional, so that didn’t surprise me, but the two other kids who sang and played were not. And they were wonderful. Made me all weepy on “Imagine,” even. Plus we had a French horn solo to enjoy at the end. And they wrote really well and said great stuff about community service. Yay to all of them and their parents for raising such fine men and women. The day got really long because we stayed for Steering Committee, but I am glad we did it. We are at least contributing again. Or I am again and Lee is doing more than just music. The rest of the day is a blur of knitting, plants and tiredness. Tuba Boy made it home in one piece, and that was good.

Today I have been anxiously following the progress of a fire near a friend’s home in another state via Facebook and Twitter. Love modern technology. And later Lee and I are having dinner with minister Chuck and his woman friend, who I really like. That will be a nice ending to the day, I hope.

Life Goes On, and Is Fun!

I haven’t had time to write about recent goings on, because I’ve been so busy doing stuff. That’s a good problem to have, isn’t it? The weekend was really good—Saturday was spent driving all over the place to look at yarn with Deana and Dawn. It was SO windy that I really felt sorry for Deana having to drive. The wind did a number on my poinsettia plants at home, too. Once I got home, it was fun, fun, fun with Beccano and Parker working on a screen printing project while at the same time, Tuba Boy, Lee and a bunch of high school seniors were playing their role playing game. Lee made delicious burgers that pleased everyone who had one, too. Parker said it was the best burger ever.

Sunday was SO busy that I got pretty wiped out at one point. We had to be at church early, so we fetched band kid Jeremy, who wanted to visit the church, and got there in time and everything. I think the Dixieland Band sounded pretty OK, even with some of the missing solos and such. At least the sound balanced. One woman fled, saying it was too loud. I don’t know how you can get brass instruments any quieter than they were. We had a nice sermon on passive resistance, then another Dixieland song, where apparently my “belting out” on “When the Saints Go Marching In” went OK. There really wasn’t much singing in the arrangement. Oh well. After an endless music committee meeting in a frigid room, Lee and I got to go home for a tiny rest before heading back out to get some spring décor items and hangers for heavy pictures. What an exciting life we lead, I tell you. It was just a bit more running around than I was up for, so I relished the nice grilled cheese sandwich we had for dinner!

Meanwhile, Beccano had gone off to a birthday party for a former Triskelion member. I am glad Parker dragged him there, because apparently they had tons and tons of fun. I guess I was mostly happy to see Beccano doing social things with friends, and was especially pleased to find him on the phone giggling about goings-on at the party long after it was over. Such normal behavior! At his age he deserves to be having some fun with friends, laughing and gossiping!

Yesterday didn’t end up at all like I’d planned. But that’s OK, it was good! I am all about doing things a little differently right now, so when I got home, rather than sitting in front of my email and passing out from post-work exhaustion, I looked down and saw Scrunchy, who was really happy with me for getting some goop out of his eye. I decided to take him for a walk. He sure had a good time, and he only pooped once (I hate carrying poop bags). I think I’ll try to walk him as much as I can, and see if I can get someone to bring Rose along, too. I had stopped walking them when Gwynn went blind, because she went into such hysterics when one of them left. No one could read, watch TV or enjoy being at home if someone took a walk with one or more of the other dogs. But, the dogs need exercise. And so do I!

When I got home, Beccano and Parker had just gotten back, and I listened to the daily high school drama for a while on the lovely new porch furniture. We had decided to go with Parker and her mom to see a band nearby, but just before leaving, Beccano called out to us to look outside. It was one of the loveliest sunrises I’d seen in a long time. We had a blast taking photos and running around in the beautiful orange light. I hope you enjoy them, too! We did head out to see Parker’s dad’s guitar teacher in an R&B band. Lee loved the music—I know that’s the kind of stuff he’d love to perform. It was a bit chilly, but fun to listen to good music (or what will be once the singer backs off a bit—he’s good but was overpowering the system), eat good food, and enjoy the high school giggles between 2/3 of a Triskelion.

I’m glad we did something different last night! We all had genuine fun! More of that, please! I hope Tina comes over this evening, as planned. It might be another fun night!

A Weekend of Triskelion Excitement

Well, we sure had an eventful weekend!

One night Beccano had Parker and his girlfriend over. I have to say that listening to the sounds of their interaction were really nice. I love listening to kids having a nice time with each other, and the peals of girl laughter were really pleasant to hear. I could live without the deafening shrieks some girl children put out, but these two don’t seem to be shriekers. Besides, Parker and I enjoy our little banter, too.

Saturday was perhaps the busiest knitting shop day we’d had in ages, and at least three of us ended up helping teach various people, because there were so many customers. I helped mainly with a birthday party of an 11-year-old. If I’d known I’d be doing that, I’d have brought some props and been organize, but at least they all got going—some doing really well. I didn’t have much time to enjoy with friends, but I did get to teach my own students and it was much less stressful than last week!

Beccano spent all day Saturday at Russia Day on the UT campus, and he really liked it (I recall his intense fascination with Russia a few years back—he surprised his friends at being able to read the alphabet). Lee did a whole bunch of yard work, then he and I went to Costco, where we hadn’t been in a long time. We got a membership, but had hardly any time to shop because we arrived as they were closing (at 6 on a Saturday!). At least we got some nice shrimp pasta that we all enjoyed, even Tuba Boy on one of his brief visits home. He spent most of the weekend flitting from gathering to gathering, when not working. It’s great to see him enjoying his senior year so much. I always know what happens, since his friends post photos of every single event on their Facebook pages.

Sunday was our most adventure-packed day, though. It started with a really fun time in choir, where we sang “The Age of Aquarius” with only a bass (choir director’s amazing son) and a little piano backing us. We had so much fun rocking out that we wished it would not end. That’s us in photo #1. Plus the sermon was even good—all about social networking and how it isn’t ALL bad. After that, we rehearsed for next week’s Dixieland band performance, and it went much better once I knew when to sing the verses! Tuba Boy brought the tuba, and we had the trombone, too. Lots of fun, and since there are two songs I don’t sing on, lots of knitting time.

We dropped by Parker’s on the way home, to see if perhaps Beccano needed a ride from band practice, and Triskelion (currently him, Parker and Dean E.—see photo) ran out, quite excited at their heart-stopping band rehearsal adventures. They’d been rehearsing in the garage, and had decided to film themselves doing “Revolution” by the Beatles (of which they do a fairly calm version). In a fit of poor timing on his part, that was when Grumpy Neighbor of Parker (GNOP) decided to drop on by and let them know how he felt about their performance. As he proceeded to point his finger, F bomb a 16-year-old girl, insult her father, and rail about her effing dogs, the camera continued to roll. He told them to stop rehearsing or he’d call the police. Seeing that they had all this evidence of trespassing and verbal assault, the kids decided to call 911 themselves. I wish you could have seen the glee on all three kids’ faces as they shared how “cool” the police officer was. Apparently, they were playing nowhere near loudly enough to be a problem at mid-day in a location with no noise ordinance in the first place. But GNOP really shouldn’t have wandered over and been all nasty to the young folk. The officer headed on over and explained all that to poor ole GNOP. Anyway, if you are my Facebook friend, you can see a link to the little film clip and here it is on YouTube, which has received rave reviews from Parker’s dad’s friends (who are much more, shall we say, aggressive, than mine, heh heh) and my friends. It’s especially funny to everyone I know who’s in a death metal band. Kids getting yelled at for playing Beatles songs on tiny amps. Hilarious. It's a rite of passage for young rockers in a garage band, though!

To further Triskelion’s musical education, Lee and I later took them to the Artz Ribhouse benefit concert last night. We didn’t get them introduced to too many famous people (just Jeff, Stephen Taylor and Danny Santos, seen here with Parker). But, they got to enjoy the spectacle of me listening to Slaid Cleaves. I couldn’t go into a trance-like state, though, because people we so loud you really could not hear the bands. What do you expect, though, when most of the audience knew each other? It was a real gathering of every Americana and bluegrass musician and fan in the greater Austin area. We did see a bunch of friends there, and enjoyed all the cool stuff in the silent auction. But, we didn’t stay too long. It would have been more fun a) with seats and b) if you could have heard the music. It’s a good cause, though. Blatant ad: If you live here or ever visit, please go to Artz! The music is always good, and you may spot a famous person, or at least someone Suna knows. They have new ceiling tiles so it’s slightly less dive-like now, too.

Lee and I really enjoyed the three teens a lot, so it was worth bringing them. And tonight we see them again, as they are trying for their first open mic night at Nuno’s, which is apparently on the corner of MoPac and Parmer. I hope it goes well for them. From what I can see from looking on the Web, the place is something of a dive and not run by the nicest of folks, but hey, it could be just fine. And the review said it was kid friendly. Triskelion seem to know all their songs, so at least they are ready!

Well, it’s going to be a busy and perhaps rather emotional week, so think of us as we blast through it. I hope by tomorrow we have photos of the band from tonight!

PS: I did want to share this hilarious link to the best review of the Oscars that I have read so far. We didn't get to see the show, but this made me feel like I had been there. It's a humorous one, form the viewpoint of some ancient show-biz Queen.

Long Sickly Weekend

Scrunchy Says Hi
Originally uploaded by sunasak

While I got a lot of knitting done on the weekend, I didn't feel too hot. And I keep trying to think hard about staying calm and how to do so. For me, that means having a plan. Lee and I have talked enough about contingency planning for if the whole employment thing falls apart so that I am no longer as panicky about it as I was a couple of years ago. Between the two of us, we do have more resources. So glad I got married, huh!

I am not sure what my issue is. It may be allergies, or a virus, but I was dizzy and felt "odd" for most of the weekend, even though we were able to eat some delicious meals, and had a lot of fun at a steack place with both kids Saturday night. I really, really love having meals with them. They are so funny together and their tales of school are quite entertaining. This is the main reason for having family meals at home--the great conversation.

Anyway, feeling like crap made for a long weekend. I could barely get off the couch, so I didn't get much of the stuff I'd planned to accomplish done.

I am realizing I have a finite amount of time with Tuba Boy now. I want to enjoy it as much as I can. I am sort of sad he didn't manage to buy anyone in his family a Christmas present, but I'll talk to him about that. I know your peers are important when you are a teen, but you should NEVER neglect to give your parents a gift. Even a poem or drawing would be appreciated. Just griping, so you won't think I think my kids are perfect, ya know!

Today's photo of Scrunchy shows the view we often see, which is his head appearing under our legs. Rose sticks her head up like a moray eel popping out of its cave--that photo will show up later, I am sure. (I will be putting images of things other than pets, soon--it's a slow photo month.)

Band and Church, or a Normal Weekend in October

Here's one of Lee's band pix. That's our kids, with the award-winning Dancing Pilgrims waving the yellow flags. Beccano's the far right vibraphone, which you can sort of see when the picture is enlarged.

So, anyway, another weekend came and went. A fine and restful Friday evening was followed by a long stint of teaching knitting and visiting with knitters on Saturday. It was Yarn Crawl weekend, so I did manage to meet a few people from my knitting email list. And I got to chat with friends. That was followed by the long haul to Kyle, Texas to watch the USBBA contest (one of many they sponsor). Like Lee said, it was very entertaining, and they had pretty good food. And since the color guard and percussion both did great, coming in third wasn't too bad. I know the kids had fun (though today mine are NOT wanting to rehearse for three hours at the Palace). The big deal, the UIL competition, is next weekend. Fingers will be crossed for that one.

And it is homecoming week. I will see if anyone makes their mom or band friend a mum, but mostly I will enjoy what the kids do. It's fun to listen in on their planning. One band friend is playing music at the carnival, and I wish I could see that. I just love the young people, I do. Their humor cheers me up in times o' trouble such as now.

Yesterday after suffering through church (we were so tired...) we spent the day mostly cleaning the house so that people from church could come by and have a potluck and get canvassed. Beccano did he vacuuming, and I am happy that the new one is quieter than the previous one. I am wondering if maybe there was something wrong with the red one all along. At the dinner (ribs, soup, salad, bread and very decadent dessert) we actually did talk a little bit about church, but mostly we talked about politics and world events. Beccano said we laughed very loud. Tuba Boy poked his head out to correct some political information, which I enjoyed. Even though preparing is a pain, I end up happy with having people over. And the music room looked nice as a dining room once again.

Other than all the dogs seem to be less healthy than usual, everything seems OK. I invited more people to the wedding--remember, you can come, too! Just go to the link and say you'll be there! I still don't think Lee has invited his people, but maybe he sent personal emails instead. I hope we have some people! At least guests now outnumber the wedding party! Now I have to think about the ceremony, but can't bring myself to wade through the tons and tons of info Linda the Officiant sent me. I better do it...

Why I am Tired

Visitor Girl
Originally uploaded by sunasak

I am not really rested this weekend, though I think doing some work will rest me up (that's my plan for the rest of the day: earn some money, cause contractors don't get paid holidays). The photo you see is one reason. We had this charming child (really, she WAS cute), her sister with some behavior issues, her two parents AND her ancient neurotic dog visiting from last night until this morning. I am so obviously not used to nonstop talking 7- and 10-year-olds, nor of dealing with the aftermaths of one's partner drinking too much. I need to learn that when people are coming you HAVE to have breakfast options available, but since we never have anything but coffee, I am always thrown on the first day, "What, you don't have milk?" (nope, we only have fat-free half and half). "I am used to eating as soon as I get up" (well, if you'd told me that, I would have gone off and gotten something at the grocery store as soon as you all got up, about two hours earlier than I had planned to get up). It really was a fine visit, and it was good to meet Lee's high school friend and his family. Lots of time to chat and a good meal was had! I think I need to be more flexible. I get myself sorta ready for what I am expecting (in this case, a couple and one child), and then I have a hard time when it turns out there are two children and a dog--I worry someone will get hurt, break something, or not get their needs met, if I am not prepared. I will try to learn to relax.

It's been a busy weekend otherwise, too. The high school football game on Friday was fun, but we had a rainstorm that delayed it a bit. The bus was full of very jumpy friends of Beccano, who really cracked me and Lee up, but they definitely required a bit of supervision. The game was really good--even though, as usual, this school doesn't have a competent kicker, they creamed a nice bunch of large kids from College Station. They drove a LONG way to get roundly defeated (and they had an amazing kicker). Their poor band didn't make it until halfway through the second period, so they just marched, sat for a dismal half of football, and then went on a long road home.We greatly enjoyed the ride home with the kids, but when we got home, Buddy wasn't home--he had broken down our gate during the storm and hobbled off (I can't say "ran" off). Lee wrote more about it in his blog, so feel free to read it there. I was SO worried we'd lose him or that he had injured himself. I am glad he is back.

Saturday, after some fun knitting time, we had a fun time roaming through pawn shops so Beccano could look at guitars, amps and such. I ended up buying a ruby and diamond ring. Not a guitar part, I know. But, it was what I was looking for. The rubies are maybe rhodolite garnets, since they are a bit purple-y, but I still like them, and I got a pretty good deal for a ring with gold and diamonds.

After that excitement, we took Jeff out for a belated birthday dinner. We'd planned to eat at Chuy's, but it was an hour wait. We ended up at the neighborhood Mesa Rosa, and Jeff loved the fish tacos. (I love them, too.) We ate there again with Lee's friends, but that's OK--there is plenty of yummy food at that restaurant! And it is rarely too crowded. We all had a good chat with Jeff, so it was a good Saturday.

All in all, it's been a good weekend. I am, I think, just whiny because I have been having really bad allergies. I plan to go get some allergy medicine! I promise!

On a Different Note

I didn't really report on the weekend, which was actually action-packed and fun. I did the usual yarn shop work on Saturday, then had a fun get-together with my long-time friend Janet, her two older kids, one of whom I had not seen since he was in middle school, and he's like 21 now, our friend Terry, who used to go with us to see Jeff play at Tavern in the Gruene, or whatever the name of that place was, and all their new love interests. It was fun, though Janet appeared slightly manic (I think it stems from having to see her nutty ex). But in any case, she was having fun, her kids were amusing, and the dates were all really nice people. We were at Artz, so listened to some bluegrass and watched a very old dude do some kind of country dancing, I think, or something. Jeff also joined us, since he needed to borrow Lee's bass to do some recording and he really liked those ladies when they came to listen to him play with Edge City and Danny Santos in the good old days when everyone got along.

At this party, Janet's daughter's boyfriend shared a chilling story. He works (or perhaps "worked" by now) at an Italian restaurant in the Triangle trendy shops in Austin. Janet and her daughter had lunch there, and he was their server, by request. He was very professional, by all reports, though at the end of the meal, Janet kiddingly asked if the margaritas came with free refills like the other drinks, and I guess he gave some joking answer. Well. After the family left, he got chewed out for his behavior. He asked, "How do you know exactly what I said? Did someone report me?" And his supervisor responded that no, they have microphones and webcams on all the tables. The employees and patrons were NOT informed of this (as far as I know--if there is a sign saying "your conversations may be monitored" no one saw it). I find it incredibly creepy, rude, and invasive to not let people know they are being eavesdropped on. I mean, people have private conversations at restaurants! For sure, I will NEVER eat at that restaurant or any other that engages in this practice.

I find it one thing to have tech support calls and the like monitored. They TELL you this, and they tell the employees, too. The restaurant thing is underhanded.

Anyway...on Sunday we went to a nice party in the evening. Coincidentally, it was the 25th anniversary of the fine couple who comprise Edge City. So, two days in a row we saw Jeff (who returned the bass after enjoying it greatly--and this is Lee's OLD Fender Jazz bass). We also saw good ole Danny Santos, too, so it was musical old home week. It's nice to still be included in the group of folks I met with Jeff, since I like a lot of them. I got to catch up on a lot of people, and to listen to some good music. I even met a couple of nice new music lovers or Edge City friends. It is good to have a wee bit of social life.

So, why is the beautiful, moody photo of Beccano in Ireland featured? Because the poor boy suffered over the weekend--Tuba Boy didn't shut the front door well enough again, so of course Rose and Scrunchy scooted out and ran as fast as their doggie legs could carry them. Beccano knows that they will get FAR if not caught quickly, so he ran out...with no shoes on. Even in just 5 minutes, the 100+ degree street and sidewalks burned the bottoms of his feet badly. He has a huge blister on one foot. Lee and I bought him a cheesecake to thank him. Poor kid. Now that I have a job, I think we need to fix the door.

I hope to share a couple more of the kids' Ireland pix. The ex got a few really nice ones.

Happy Hippies

My Hippie Son
Originally uploaded by sunasak

I guess our whole family is happy hippies, and I have to say I enjoy that. Here's Beccano in Jeff's really cool old batik shirt, trying to straighten his hair via bandana. My, has that boy grown. We spent most of the weekend together and had a great time while Lee was visiting his dad (a worthwhile pursuit, and I was sorry to miss the chance to meet his brother, who happened to also be visiting when Lee got there).

Beccano spent our Saturday (after I knitted, of course) going to Goodwill so he could outfit himself in Grunge Rock plaid shirts (not all flannel, in a nod to the fact that we are NOT in Seattle). We also got a really cool book on how to play harmonica, in German, and a Presbyterian Hymnal from the 60s (1940s original publication date). I was surprised to look on the inside and see it came from Jacksonville, Florida, not far from where I grew up. I am sure this was the first hymnal I ever used. We plan to use it for practice in reading music and doing harmonies.

Much of Saturday evening we spent geekily looking at Google Earth. I showed him where I grew up, my high school and such. We also looked at all sorts of beautiful places in Iceland and Germany. Google Earth is HOURS of fun. It's like traveling--you just click a camera and see a scene of that place!

I even got him to go to church with me on Sunday. What a boy. Speaking of boys, Tuba Boy has been more communicative lately and we are all enjoying that. He's just at work so much that I don't build up a lot of stories about him. I enjoy it when his large, hulking friends, who act like the boys they still are at heart, come to visit, though.

Things are going quite smoothly at home, and work is at least 75% better. That is a relief. I have lots more responsibilities and that makes me feel more a part of things, which is also nice. We are still hoping Lee finds another job or contract quickly, though I do like his current coworkers--we saw one who is very friendly and has a great sense of humor in the grocery store last night--turns out she is a neighbor. And heck, even the neighbors are being nicer lately, though all are amused we have tomatoes and onions in the front yard. Hey, we're hippies. Go us. Hope they still like us when Lee fires up his new chipper/shredder.

Spring Weekend

Spring in the Woodland Garden
Originally uploaded by sunasak

I know I wrote Saturday, but here's more on this past weekend. The photo shows how the woodland garden in our back yard is looking these days. It's a nice time of year there. It always makes me happy when the false indigo is blooming (the pink flowers that look a bit like wisteria). I am enjoying the begonias, and quite impressed that the one in the gnome pot grew back from last year. We now have three returnees! The gnome is sitting under some of the grapevine we got rid of when Dad was here. The little purple flowers are Mexican petunias, another native, and it is a great ground cover. Much of our "grass" area has this stuff, too. It and the inland sea oats have naturalized really well, and I have to remove them from some places. The red begonia just adds a perky look to the old watering can that rusted out (yay drainage!).

The other photo is the "house turd" that was created when huge volume of oak pollen and flowers was washed out of the trees in last week's big rainstorm. The gutter spewed this worm of blossoms. Really, it is incredible the amount of bloomage the oaks produce. All the cars are very, very green this time of year, and the window screens look awful. The good news is the stuff composts really well, but when it first falls, there is an inch or two of it on all surfaces in our back yard!

So, enough of "spring in the back yard." One nice thing we did this weekend was go view spring at the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center, where I hadn't gone in a long time. We went for a plant sale, but there wasn't much left by the time we got there. Lee, Beccano and I enjoyed walking on the trails and taking pictures of things we'd like to grow some day. And we really enjoyed an exhibit of marvelous 3-D paintings by a Chinese-American artist. They were mostly of Texas wildflowers, and featured watercolors on cutouts that were bent and shaped to resemble the real thing. Just gorgeous.

Before that, we had lunch with Lee's best friend from high school, who was passing through town. He emails all the time, but I had never met him, and Lee hadn't seen him in quite some time. I haven't met many of Lee's friends, so that was a nice thing. I hope I didn't make a horrible impression. It's always a bit awkward being the "new partner," when someone knew the old one for decades. We ate at Artz, so I had a big plate of brisket to keep me busy.

I also had a fun time at church, where we sang spirituals with gusto. Afterwards a guy who was there for the first time came up and said he guessed he ought to introduce himself. It turns out he was the guy who had said good morning to me on the bus on Friday--he's been riding the same bus as me for a few weeks. Another"it's a small world" event! I guess it takes a decade living somewhere for this to take effect. I remember it happening the last few years I was in Illinois, too.

Back-tracking, Saturday was really nice. It was fun to do work alongside Lee in the yard, but a little scary when he climbed a crape myrtle to trim branches that kept hitting the house. Neither of us is good with heights. In the evening we had delicious pork chops and enjoyed listening to Tuba Boy and his friends playing Magic. I like it when they come to our house, so Beccano has some people to hang out with, too. Beccano and Lee were already entranced with Lee's new bass amp. They are trying to work on stuff together. That is fun.

I'd write more, but I must end the break I am taking. Later!

A Fine, Rejuvenating Weekend

Powerdery Disease?
Originally uploaded by ninehermits

We sure had a good weekend—other than Rose getting out of the back yard, not much went awry at all, which isn’t bad. And there were good parts to the dog getting out. First, we found her fairly easily not far down the street; and second when I went to walk her home (she hates being in the car), we came upon two little kids playing in their sprinkler. The little girl was about 5 and the little boy was about 2. Apparently he had not met many dogs. Rose lay down and wagged her tail at them. The sister told the brother to say hi to the dog, so the little boy went up to her and smiled maniacally. Rose smiled back. The whole time she visited, he had this giant grin pasted on his face. He wanted Rose to know he was a friend! Eventually, he did pat her, and was very thrilled with himself. That was fun for both the little boy and the naughty dog.

I had a nice time at the yarn shop Saturday morning, so things got off to a fine start. I got the good news that my friend will be working at the same university I work at starting in the fall, plus I had an interesting class where both students knew how to knit already, so I got them moving on something more fun. They were a mother-in-law/daughter-in-law pair, and those are always fun to have. I also had fun designing a lace scarf for the daughter-in-law to make. And our colleague who had knee surgery came in for a visit, so it was really a nice day of visiting.

Lee and I had most of the weekend to ourselves, since the kids’ dad was in town. In the afternoon Lee washed the cars (see the photo, which Lee took, and his own blog post on why that didn’t do much good—they were covered in oak pollen by Sunday morning), while I weeded the front flower beds, even the one I plan to completely dig up eventually. I still couldn’t stand looking at the weeds. After that, we spent a lot of time sitting on the back patio and enjoying the lovely weather and plants. I worked on my weird socks and Lee puttered around. It was really nice to have some time to ourselves and not be having to “do” something. We barbecued for dinner, and simply enjoyed each other’s company.

On Sunday we skipped church and just sat in the back yard. It would have been more fun without noisy neighbors, but you can’t have everything. Beccano was back home by the time we got back from a leisurely trip to the Home Depot and grocery store (more plants, yay). We had an early dinner (more grilling!) and then headed off to the annual birthday bash of my singing friend Austin. That went as well as could be expected, though perhaps I overly enjoyed the margarita machine, judging by my morning headache. Our group performed quite a few songs and it went over pretty well—I was proud of my singing, anyway, and Lee’s lead bass was good (not lead the metal, lead as in leading the way). My favorite part, though, was when just Lee, Jeff and I were in the performing room, with all that lovely equipment set up, and Lee and Jeff jammed on some guitar ramblings of Jeff’s. It was really pretty, and nice to see Jeff be “big”enough to “let” Lee play with him. I think, perhaps, he got the realization that Lee is not the “amateur” that he probably thought he was.

In one weird coincidence of the evening, I was chatting with two guys when I realized the first one wasn’t someone who looked just like the father of a kid in the tuba section, but WAS the father of the kid in the tuba section (the one I watched all the football games with the year before he was really in the band). Then it turned out he was the brother of a musician I had known a long time via Jeff. Neener neener. I always thought that this kid’s dad looked familiar—no wonder—I had seen him at these events before. And he’d seemed different from the other band parents. Well, duh. He’s a suburban misfit like myself.

I do hope I get some pictures of the event—a nice standup bass playing woman did take some, including me and a silly friend wearing name tags with each other’s names on them. It’s always nice to see the musician friends at these events, and now that I am not in the social circle, really, it’s the only way I do.

Other than Tuba Boy declaring he wants to go to an expensive debate camp this summer, everything is good. Last year I was in a better position to help with that. The new lower-paying job will make these extras harder to come by. I hope he can save up and pay for some of it.

Weekend Snooze

It's been a less than stellar weekend, but at least things got accomplished. Oh, it really hasn't been that bad--I just let the job woes color everything, which is never a good idea.

One reason it's felt weird is that Tuba Boy has not been around practically at all. He had a debate tournament on Friday and Saturday, a "lock in" at church Friday night, then church stuff all day today. He just got home and we had our first conversation since Thursday! I'm glad he is doing the Our Whole Lives sexuality education curriculum at church this year. It's his last chance during high school. I'm even happier because I got to see an old and dear friend at the parent orientation. One of the people the church mess *I* went through had lost to me. The group of kids seems like it will be fun, and there are some good teachers. I hope he gets to finish it this time--he didn't last time he took it, in middle school (it was during the complicated divorce time).

But, while Tuba Boy was gone, the rest of us did some fun stuff. Lee, Beccano and I had a nice Chinese dinner on Friday, then went to IKEA, just for something to do. B. had never been there before, and Lee and I both really enjoyed watching him take in all the sights. He had many home decor ideas--what fun to see his taste developing. I got an inexpensive press coffee maker to use while Lee isn't drinking coffee (he figured out it is taking his blood pressure from normal to borderline high). And some candles. Not wild spending, but I have to be so careful right now!

Yesterday featured the usual teaching of knitting, and that was pleasant--really nice ladies who were great learners. Plus two of my favorite knitting friends showed up and we had calm, cheerful conversation. It was just a nice pleasant interlude.

After that, I realized it was finally sunny and not cold (had rained/fogged all week, and boy am I tired of cleaning up dog footprints in the kitchen). I came home and worked in the yard for a couple of hours. Got old plant matter cleared out so the new can show up, and raked an incredible amount of leaves out of the flower bed where the burr oak is. Every plant in that bed seems to be designed to make leaf removal impossible, too. But, it looks really good in the front yard now, and I feel a lot better seeing some visible results of my efforts. Lee, in the meantime, got a ton of work done in the garage, so those results are also great to see. The motorcycle is back in the garage (whew--I figure the home owner association would be writing us about it soon).

In the meantime, while I was at the yarn shop, Beccano straightened his hair. The photo depicts him attempting to project teen angst. I just about burst a gut watching him do various tricks with the straight hair, which was so full of gel it would go anywhere and stay. There were the "Extra Emo" look, the "Bozo the Clown" and the very special "Looks Like He Has Built-in Headphones" look. I cannot say which I preferred. But it was fun and funny.

Today was good in church, even with an incredibly tedious sermon by a rambling church member, who of course, had the best of intentions. The best part was that I was absolutely thrilled to see another old friend, who had left for another church, back. I had been thinking about how much I missed her just the day before. Heck, I am tearing up just thinking about it. Just having a little bit of "the way things were" back makes me feel good. Now, if only certain fellow bloggers whose names start with "S" would come...both she and Diane missed seeing the new baby of our fellow choir members. He has hair! He is nursing well! He's still mostly asleep! The ideal baby!

After church, Lee, Beccano and I went for a drive in the country. We just looked at stuff and listened to CDs, including Pete Townshend's incredibly weird Psycho Derelict -- one I have practically memorized because it was on an MP3 CD I used to listen to in my old car over and over. It was really nice to see the outside world for a bit. Once we got home, I hit a funk after talking to my dad, but I think I will live. Just have to keep up my spirits somehow while I wait for job action.

Goats, Alpacas and Warthogs

Goat Competition
Originally uploaded by sunasak

Saturday was fun. Jody and I went to the Kid 'N Ewe festival in Boerne (after an endless time getting my car inspected, where I recruited two new knitters). It was a beautiful drive through the hill country and we saw a LOT of new development--looks like my dream of having a cruddy house all alone in the hills won't come true--there will be ranchettes with antelope running around them everywhere by the time Lee and I can buy anything. Every couple of miles along the road between Austin and Boerne, there is a new subdivision of houses with acreage, surrounded by very high fences. All the signs advertising these upscale locales have pictures of the antelope and other exotic African creatures that roam "free" throughout the place. It is apparently the latest trendy thing.

The only exotic animals we saw in person were angora bunnies, cashmere goats and the aluminum wildlife in Wimberly, where we stopped at one of those roadside vendors. This place was pretty funny, and I have a lot of photos on Flickr of them. Oddly, the vendor actually sells some very nice fountains, furniture and such on their website--they just chose to bring along the cheesy animal statues to entice the trendy semi-rural residents of greater South Austin. While the warthog was my sentimental favorite (it's a long story, but that was my nickname in junior high school), Jody was quite enamored of the enormous painted rooster. They are both pretty cute, huh?

We did not spend all our time hugging expensive kitschy statues. We bought yarn, and lots of it. Plus we watched the competition for best cashmere goat (these are the ones that make mohair yarn--confusing, isn't it?) , which is what the top picture depicts. Leftmost goat won, though we were rooting for the white one, who at least should have gotten "loudest and most reluctant competitor"--he was NOT interested in participating, but his elderly handler really wanted to win.

Mostly we stayed inside the rather plain facility and enjoyed touching lovely products (there was some crap, but not too much). I bought alpaca yarn that was hand dyed and came with a photo of the animal who donated it. Maisie. And some naturally tan wool whose contributors' names were also noted. I like that. Jody and I had an incident of "star struck" when we found the woman who distributed Jojoland yarn, who had brought all sorts of incredibly lovely shawls and garments that she had designed and made herself (yow). She was a very nice Chinese woman who seemed very humble but let me tell you, she overflowed with talent! I got a couple of her patterns and a LOT of the yarn. But, this is not the knitting blog, so I'll stop with this. You can read more on the knitting blog, when I get that done!

I got pretty wiped out once we got home, and was not as perky on dealing with family issues as I could have been, but it all worked out. We seem to be having scheduling issues, especially Lee and Tuba Boy. But, Sunday dawned another day, and it was "Suna Has Issues" day. I had to go to church, because I was supposed to lead some songs, but Lee felt bad and didn't go. I corralled the kids into going, but foolishly took an open cup of coffee. Which I foolishly sat on the slanting dashboard of my Subaru. Which then spilled all over the car, Tuba Boy and my hand knitted top. ACK. My Hero Lee took my car in and got it detailed (which of course, caused it to rain just enough to mess up the exterior). But wow, the inside is smashingly lovely now. And does not smell like coffee. You know, I think that was the first time I brought an open coffee container into the car. It will be the last!

The rest of the day was better, though I was a bit frantic about cleaning up in anticipation of dinner guests, but then Lee's poor friend Rick went BACK into the hospital again (he has been in an out with internal bleeding for months), so that got canceled. We fed Debate Boy and our kids the lovely meal, and it was excellent. I even made bread.

I'm all off kilter today due to taking the boys to a dental appointment. So, I am writing this quickly and in a blathering fashion at "lunch" so I can make up time at work. It's one of the last two rehearsals for the Round Rock Community Choir concert tonight, so I am trying to rest up and be ready for that.

Hard Work Pays Off

UIL: Sousaphone Action
Originally uploaded by sunasak

And I mean hard work for both the kids AND the parents. Saturday was the big UIL contest (I forget what UIL stands for, but it is the entity that judges high school students in the arts at various contests). Our young ones practiced like crazy and did their best performance yet of their show. They got a rating of "1", which is the highest you can get. All the bands of our size in our District got 1s, which is nice--getting a 2 is sad for all concerned (and we got a 2 a couple of years ago). Here you see all ten sousaphones marching in tight formation (there is one hiding). We had a very fun day, and it was nice to have Lee chaperoning. He took some good pictures, too.

We sat in the hidden seats way at the front of the Palace, which are near ground level. I had not seen or heard the show from that level before--and the sound was GREAT. You could see the kids' faces, too. Or you could see them when you weren't all teared up with pride, which I was much of the time. Seeing that concentration on all their young faces was so touching. What I did not know at the time was that the kids could see us. At least three of the marchers told me later that they had seen me as they marched, and two actually said it gave them confidence. That felt SO good.

It's amazing the kids did as well as they did, since it was a very confusing day--the band director FORGOT to order buses, so the buses that brought Westwood over had to floor it over to our school, get us, drop us off, take Westwood back to their school, comb back, and get us! We thanked the drivers profusely for volunteering to do that.

Friday, of course, was another band fun day. Yet another football game, the one where we are visitors in our own stadium (we played Westwood, the ones whose buses we borrowed, and where we knew lots of kids). It was a battle of two not-so-great teams, so sort of fun in a "who can be less competent" way. At one point our QB had a 1-1 completion to interception ratio. But, we got better, and our star Aaron "AJ" did some spectacular stuff, so our team won. It was nice to win again. We tuba moms were danding and being goofy.

Knitting on Saturday went OK, though NONE of the students showed up. That is not horrible, because it gave me a chance to help out some others, including a really nice lady who had forgotten what she was doing on her first scarf, so I got her back on track. That felt good, and we think she may return for Chicks with Sticks, too. I truly enjoy helping people with knitting--it makes up for a lot of stuff that makes me feel less than competent and unpopular lately.

Sunday was a challenge, but I enjoyed singing a couple of songs with Trey Bone, my quartet, for a pledge drive event. We really got a lof of applause, and I think I did a good job on the singing. Lee's bass adds so much to the songs, too. And both the other guys did GREAT on their parts--not as nerved out as they sometimes get. So, I was proud of us all. And the sopranos did OK on the Faure Requiem piece, which I think is my swan song as a sop. Back to the low notes.

Tina and Jared came by the church, sorta unannounced, but luckily there was someone there who could book them wedding space. Trying to find an officiant may be harder, but that is being worked on. They seem pretty inseparable. Wedding is 12/29 for them. They have really made a lot of plans. I feel like such a wedding slacker.

It was a long afternoon/evening of doing what Tuba Boy wanted, but I think he is happy to be making homecoming mum thingies for the two girls in his life. He and his best friend really worked hard on it. (I don't get a mum, not enough mum money for a Mom mum).

I was happy to finish a sweater and block it and the previous sweater yesterday--so nice to finish things. But when I went to start the next project, UGH! The yarn was badly skeined! I spent at least three hours trying to wind it into a ball, and got what I hope is more than halfway through. It sure tore up my leg and back muscles. The yarn is lovely silk/wool/alpaca stuff for a scarf for Flo. Yep, back to holiday gifts. Lee was very patient with me while I got in a pity party mood and was frustrated by the yarn. He and Beccano never fail to cheer me up.

It's cool today, so the Festival of the Bands may be sorta brisk. But at least that is our LAST band thing other than the remaining games! And tomorrow maybe I can wear a new knitted item!

Bang-Up Saturday

Central Texas Drumline Invitational: Full Strength
Originally uploaded by sunasak

Here we see Beccano's drumline in a competition in Belton. They came in third, but did very well--they were quite overpowered by the 50-piece team from Cedar Park, which also had a fabulous drum major directing them (amazing job for a high school student). Our piece was "interesting" musically, but the alien touches they were supposed to be giving it didn't really come through, so that was the main issue. Musically, they sounded great. And it was the kids' dad's weekend in town, so he brought Tuba Boy over to see it, too. I know that made Beccano feel good.

We'd been in Belton Friday night for an unexpectedly exciting football game (both teams were not at their best, so there was much fumbling, intercepting and drama, though our school did "win." At least we knew where to go for this event, having been there already! There are lots more photos on Flickr, so click the image to see more, including some of the other schools.

After this, Lee and I wandered a bit in trendy and kitschy Salado. It was a bit late, so a lot of stores were closed or closing. We did look at some pretty jewelry, and I found a lovely ring I wish I could get for the engagement signifier, but being made of 18K gold and lots of it made it one expensive ring. And well, this is not the time for such purchases! I'll post a photo eventually (I have to find it again). I like the designer's style a lot, modern yet warm.

We did go to the lovely outlet mall and get some necessities and a couple of clothing items for my "fall wardrobe." Nice basics. It was good to spend some time together.

Nice Family Weekend

High School Football--Band Perspective
Originally uploaded by sunasak

You can see what we did Friday night--what thousands of Texas families did: traveled somewhere to see their children participate in the great Texas high school football ritual. Beccano and I rode an unairconditioned school bus to Temple, over an hour away (takes even longer in a bus convoy). Tuba Boy was on a better bus, while Lee got a ride up, but suffered with me on the bus home.

But, I love chaperoning the kids, and I love sitting with the band and enjoying the pageantry and fun. The sousaphone section made the lovely "Go Mavz" (that's teen talk for "Mavericks") out of water bottles, and we let it stay until the end, when they very kindly cleaned it up and put it all in garbage bags, without being asked to. It was Beccano's first game as a band member, and you can see that he was having a blast, though not working on his posture.

And we won against a team we were predicted to lose badly to, even after 5 interceptions in the first period. My favorite player, a very enthusiastic and fast kid named Aaron Williams, ended up playing on defense, offense and special teams (he took over as QB for a while) until a late hit on his amazing touchdown run hurt him. After that he "only" played defense. Both teams actually played with impressive energy, especially since it was pretty darned hot. Neither team ever gave up, and they mostly had really good sportsmanship. So, we had a lot of fun.

I must say our band was better, even though our show is a bit weird. Nightmares is an odd theme for a marching presentation.

The boys cheerfully helped Lee move more stuff out of his old house on Saturday, leaving me lots of fun yarn store time.

Sunday we survived singing a rather atonal round, livened up by recorder solos, then had a family photo taken for the church directory and a rehearsal for Tuba Boy, who is playing (duh) tuba in some patriotic medley later this month. I'll share a photo of that later.

Lee worked his buns off straightening up the garage and organizing all the stuff he's brought in, though we did a bit of football watching in the evenings. Our house is eventually going to be really nice, if we can just fit everything in.

Keep your fingers crossed for Lee's job possibilities, please. We hope to hear stuff this week. And I hope it is good stuff.

Another Weekend Comes and Goes

Nothing is horrible at our house, mostly been worrying about the health and issues of others. Jeff's been sick after taking some "bad" medicine, his mother is in the hospital, and that's just a start. A lot of people I know are having health issues or other challenges, so I am thinking of them all. And I haven't heard much from my parents for a few weeks, which is always worrisome.

At home everything was quiet, because the kids' dad was here so they were gone Saturday and much of Sunday. But, when they were home, Beccano was involved in a project of taking pictures of the canine pets. It ended up being a series of photos of their precious doggie heads. He has a way with the animals and can get them to hold still. Unlike me.

First is Gwynneth, the Welsh Corgi who lost her sight last year. The photo is of her good side, because while we were out of town, she seems to have gotten into an altercation with one of the four other dogs in the house at the time and hurt her left eye--it has healed, but the outer eye has a scar and is shaped funny now. Poor thing. She'd already had one of the dogs bite her ear. She doesn't realize where she is or what she is getting into sometimes. But, otherwise she is good.

Buddy is next. He is so sweet, but so scary when one of the boys walks into the room unexpectedly and he launches into his protective barking. That giant head makes a very loud, scary bark. I wish he wouldn't bark at the residents. But I have no doubt he is sort of confused about where he is and what he is supposed to be doing, having spent most of his life around one person, occasionally two, when he was just Lee's dog. At least his massive shedding season appears over. Wow, lots of hair on a giant dog, too.

Oh look, next is Rose. Beccano had a hard time getting a shot of her holding still. She is definitely full of motion most of the time. She is very well trained now except for chewing on things. Lee says he's never had such trouble with chewing. She digs a bit, too, but that isn't a problem unless she is trying to dig out of the back yard. Lee spent quite some time on Sunday repairing the fence so she will not succeed so easily at that. Rose is so affectionate and loving. And silky smooth.

Finally we have Scrunchy, who I already shared a picture of last week. But I found this one so funny that I could not resise. I swear he looks like a manatee in this photo. Not his best look. But then, he has few really "good" looks.


In other weekend news Lee and I did some music at Ye Olde Spiritual Community on Sunday. I sang "Sometimes I Feel Like a Motherless Child" along with Lee on bass and Joe on keyboards/synthesizer. I felt sorta bad because Joe is the one who arranged it and spent hours working up the keyboard settings and sounds, but I am the one who got all the praise. All I did was go over the song a few times with them. Well, I did suggest that Joe not play the melody on top of my singing--I suggested he do some fun accompaniment instead. That worked better.

The nicest thing is that we went over to Joe and his wife's house Saturday night, to rehearse the music for Sunday. They live in Lago Vista, and I had never actually driven down in there before. It was really pretty. Their house had a nice Lake Travis view, and the neighborhood was neat, a mix of old regular size houses and those new McMansions. They took us to eat at the restaurant at the end of a pier near their community marina, which was a hoot. There were literally dozens of deer just standing around staring at us as we drove in--people were taking pictures and they were like, so what? The restaurant was a floating one, so we went up and down a bit from wakes. Most amusing were the channel catfish and ducks that lurked around, expecting to be fed. I think they give everyone extra fries to feed them. There must have been 3-4 dozen giant catfish (about two feet long, maybe longer) all in a big frenzied ball. When they had no food, you'd look down and their pink and white mouths would be all lined up, looking like they were about to launch into a choral number. We had a bit of excitement, too, when a strong rainstorm dumped itself on us (then hail) right as we were finishing. Just BOOM it began raining, no drizzled warning. It was fun jumping to shelter. And Joe and his wife moved pretty quick for retirees. All in all it was fun. I don't get to socialize as much with church people as I used to, since the Bad Times, so this was a special treat.

(For example, there was yet another couple marrying at the church that I was not invited to--so far, I was invited to one out of the 5 I know of. Oh well, it's probably because I am not very friendly.)

By the way, I must really love Lee because I made green bean casserole for him. A dish I usually avoid. But, we put fresh mushrooms in it, and used canned mushroom/garlic soup for an extra zing. Well, he DID buy me some lovely pink roses with cream edges. Aww.

Boy Must Be Boys

Last night was the final middle school band concert I'll ever have one of my children participate in (not saying I'll never go to one, since I had to talk about scholarships at this one).

Here's good ole Beccano dressed up as a Blues Brother. There were a LOT of Blues Brothers at the concert--apparently it's such an easy costume to come up with. But, he had the cutest jacket and the best hat (Older Boy's genuine New York hat shop Fedora that I bought him a few years ago). The hat was great, because you could watch it bob up and down as he kept counting the beat. I think the boy's actually going to make it through middle school without failing, too.

He and Lee have so much fun together (he was posing for Lee here). They must have also known each other in a previous life, because they act like long-lost brothers. It makes me so happy to see how much laughter they generate in each other--they both deserve it. They are such BOYS together!

Now, if I could only find something to to bring laughter into Older Boy's life. Since the relationship with The Girl didn't work out in a rather unsavory way (she went for one of the other posse members), he has been sitting around and moping (or mooning, as we used to call it when I was in high school). He'd been mooning over her before she got friendly, was a bit overly giddy while she was friendly, then slunk into silence and staring at the computer screen for the past few weeks. It has gotten so bad that his band teacher called to ask what was wrong with him, and to say he has fallen down so much in his music that he is being downgraded to the less fancy band next year. Older Boy has also gotten so, so thin, and just doesn't eat. So, I have had series of long talks with him, where I manage to get Jeff away (he goes into lecture mode and won't listen to the child) and talk to him like a person, but let him know what I expect: reasonable sleeping hours, eating, and doing something other than mooning.

The thing is, I care so deeply about this child...and he is so much like me only with better self esteem. It makes me incredibly sad to see him losing some of that healthy self image he used to have. I know he feels like a failure at lacrosse, and he did pretty poorly in debate this year...and now the band thing (note: he wanted the easier band, because he has to devote more time to debate next year). But, he gets to go to the expensive debate camp, which I hope will perk him up and inspire him. It WILL get him away from certain influences. I hope going to Ireland and being with his relatives there will be a nice distraction, too. My poor baby. My truest source of joy in life. Having him in my life saved me when I was so far down, and I want to be there for him now that I am happy and found Lee.

Had to pay close to $2K to get the air conditioning fixed, but that could have been worse, and now the incessant dripping out the back will stop, too. The unit had shifted somehow. Of course, it has cooled down again and we aren't using the a/c!

We're looking forward to a disjointed weekend, the last full one before the boys leave for their Time with Their Dad. Lee is going to spend some time with his own dad, but I can't go because Jeff got a late gig the night I needed him to watch the boys one last time...so I will try to go see Lee's dad while the kids are gone. Sigh, Jeff really has been handy for dog watching and kid minding.

Jeff's moving the stuff to his new abode this weekend. Mostly I am thrilled. A little sad to see the transition, but it's a good thing for all.

Weekends and Looking Forward

I just got back from finally doing some holiday shopping, in which EM and I managed to have a good time buying things like blood pressure cuffs. OOOH--the Younger Son said he wanted to go along with me on my exciting adventures--I hate to tell him what mundane stuff passes for "fun" when you're just enjoying who you're with. And I do appreciate someone who just listens to me when I want to vent about "how I messed up my previous life" stuff.

It's still a lot of highs and lows this weekend--like I posted in my comment from Friday, I think I am having hormonal issues or something--it has that "feeling" like something is making me feel in ways I don't even want to feel. It doesn't help that I had to work today, wah. And that I didn't get as much done as I wanted (no one's fault but mine--any coworkers who happened to also be there were very polite), and well, I actually have a LOT to do on my project!

Probably working so much doesn't help the hormones. I had a lot of knitting work yesterday. Three work folks came in, too, and I got one going on knitting after having a frustrating time earlier in the week trying to learn on the wrong needles and yarn, while last week's new hat knitter had done a GREAT job finishing not only a hat but a scarf (and had made two others). And I got another client going on a hat. I find hat teaching very satisfying. Once you can make one, you are OFF and running, and it's fun to see all the progress and the independence the hat knitters develop.

Our choir program is still not in good shape, and that is sorta depressing--I am having a hard time not having anyone reliable singing my part, but I finally got the CD of the songs, so I can listen. Whew. By the time the rehearsal was over yesterday, I was lucky to have energy to eat dinner and watch TV with EM. (RM conveniently went to a party, which he enjoyed--I am so glad he is socializing and having some fun--he's been really good about everything, and I am impressed.) Nice to just hang out, watch TV, do tarot, laugh at the kids.

I am not sure why I wrote a long sort of reversed chronology of a not-too-exciting, normal weekend, but I think it's because it represents what I want more of (not the extra work or bad choir practices, but the other parts). I look forward to a time where I can just hang out with my loved ones and laugh and enjoy mundane things. With no drama. Whoa, that will be nice.

One more big event: the Older Boy did his first on the road driving this morning, from 6-8am. Poor thing was at a debate tournament all Friday and Saturday, is getting a cold, and then had to get up way too early to go drive. But he did it! I am proud.

Comments

Sandy said...
I hope things work out and you have many quiet weekends ahead of you.
Tuesday, December 12, 2006 12:46:00 PM

Sam said...
I like reading about your weekend activities. It's true that even the mundane can be fun if your enjoy the company.I have a sphygmomanometer too (BP cuff). It is old though and I'd really like to have a fancy new electronic one where I don't have to use a stethescope at the same time. It gets hard to manipulate everything.Have a great week!
Tuesday, December 12, 2006 3:30:00 PM

Weekends, They Are Good

Translation: I believe Lee was who I met on the 17th.

Ah, weekends. They actually do allow you to catch up on sleep, see friends, and remember you have a family. I am all for them.

This one was pretty good, though Friday was spent recovering from the week and vegging. That is also a good thing, of course.

The nice thing about teaching knitting is that, while it is work, it doesn't feel like a burden--and I enjoyed this weekend's class a whole lot. It was so fun to see everyone's projects taking shape and everyone learning new things! Plus I got to do tarot readings AND a trip to the conveniently located Goodwill store, where both Jody and I found excellent brown pants. Hers were extremely excellent.

I started to try to make knitted round coasters but it was too much effort on double pointed needles and I gave up. The ribbon shrug I am working on (cannot believe I am making a trendy ole shrug, but I am) is what I worked on instead. I am now on sleeve #2 but need more yarn to finish. Luckily I reserved it, but unluckily I forgot to buy it on Saturday. So, I'll go as far as I can, then continue on Icarius, who is on the final repeat of the less than fascinating base section. I also finally got past all the yarn I rewound from when I was making Diana's shawl out of the Zephyr.

Sunday was fun--we went to the NAMM show. That is the North American Music Merchandising or Merchandisers or something like that. It is a trade show for people who sell music stuff. Mr. Dear Partner got us press passes, because he plans to do a podcast about what he found new and interesting there. And there was plenty of that! There was so much that was breathtakingly beautiful there that my heart kept leaping. Those handmade guitars are just amazing. The wood is so incredibly lovely, and the inlay so precise, and it is so obvious how much time goes into making a guitar, mandolin, etc. I loved listening to the people who made guitars explaining how they did it, why they made certain decisions, and how choices they made affect the sound in various ways. Very educational, even for someone who doesn't play. There were also beautiful drums, Eastern instruments and accordions. Some VERY festive accordions. The brass instrument section also had wonderful instruments--tens of thousands of dollars for silver flutes and such. And interesting finishes.

After that we ate at Chuy's. This socked me--it is a REAL restaurant. The Dear Partner discovered the food was good, plentiful and not all that expensive, so maybe we can go again. I had not been there since I was divorced. There are a LOT of restaurants I miss. Once finances are all together, I am going to eat some good food!

And, since I have been writing this off and on for hours, I can now report that ALE work today was a bit better. I got to do some useful things, meet a couple of additional folks who were quite nice, and teach/remind a coworker how to knit. All in all, good. I am taking a break from stressful stuff, as my tarot journal is telling me to do, and that is fine.

Comment

Jody said...
Ohhh, Chuy's. Two words...Mexican Martini. Those are good. Very.
Monday, July 17, 2006 10:29:00 PM

A Sane Sunday

I am proud of myself. Today looked like it was going to be absolutely crazed. I had something I had to do every moment of the day. And tomorrow I have to be up early to fly to Chicago. So, I decided to cut some stuff out. I realized I did not have to sing in choir, the children are with their dad this weekend so aren't able to go to church, I do not WANT to hear about the minister's opinions on Terri Schiavo's death and life, and the music committee could stand me missing ONE meeting. So I skipped church. Since we "sprang forward" last night, when I slept in, I really slept in and it was nearly noon when I awoke. But I feel better.

So I will manage to get a bit of work done that needs to happen before I leave, finish the church web page update, pay bills, AND go to the Big Austin Kessler Birthday Party Bash for a while. Yay. And take Kynan to his play rehearsal (I am so incredibly bummed I do not get to play "Rose" in God's Favorite by Neil Simon because the ONE weekend I was scheduled to be out of town was the play weekend. And now I have to get Kynan to rehearsals somehow for nearly two months). Ah well. It is good Kynan is getting the experience. I think he's a natural ham.

Last night, I got to go to the wedding of people I do not know, 50-ish folks who had a lovely wedding at Green Pastures, the restaurant in a big old house in south Austin. The day was perfect. Not hot or cold. Blue skies. The horrid winds were over. Jeff was the drummer in the band for the event (and shared singing duties), which was organized by my friend Eddie Collins (www.eddiecollins.biz). The groom is a banjo student of Eddie's. There was also a wonderful fiddle player and a very good bass player, to round out Eddie's rockin' guitar (really, Eddie ROCKED--I am so used to him doing bluegrass and country that I had no idea!). Anyway, Eddie got spouses/girlfriends of band members invited, so Ann would not have to sit by herself at the meal. Ann and the girlfriend of the fiddle player and I had a wonderful time. The food was delicious, and we got to bring home a centerpiece. OMG, the most beautiful roses, orchids and hydrangeas!! I am so sad I will miss looking at them when I am out of town! The band sounded great--the fiddle player did Charlie Daniels-ish stuff on the rock songs and it was neat. Everyone had fun. I enjoyed the conversation with my dinner partners--the new lady teaches at an interesting alternative school for children with learning disabilities, and she integrates art and music into the curriculum.

Highlights: the centerpieces, the Italian Cream Cake's icing (it was weird knowing the ole Pope died today and we had his favorite dessert), and the albino peacock (the place has a lot of peafowl). The peacock was pretty all day, looking like he was made of lace when he displayed, but at night he went and roosted in a giant oak tree that had some lights in it. The lights shone down on him and he looked like a ghost bird, with feathers shimmering. It was a most beautiful and amazing sight. Everyone kept saying, "thanks for showing me that," when I pointed it out to them. There were lots of babies and children at the event--8 teen/adult kids between the couple getting married alone. One poor little girl baby has some disease that means her muscles will not develop, and is expected to have a very short life. She was happy, though, and obviously so beloved by all. The couple who got married, rich people, were very nice and kind to us, total strangers eating their expensive food!! It was so sweet of the bride to give us centerpieces--they were in beautiful, heavy bowls, too!

Today I look forward to good food and music at Austin's party. I hope the margarita machines are well stocked. My fingers are crossed for my work meetings this week. I hope we make good progress on the computer system and get everyone all on the same page.