L'aventure américaine

I know that you all prefer pictures of my kids. But, I have been watching the snowman melt for a week and it is fascinating. I have also had to rescue it several times from neighborhood boys who can’t seem to stay away from it and just want to kick it. I am not sure how it is still standing, but believe it or not, the head is even lower today than it was yesterday. Amazing. 

A cold and gray day to get a Christmas tree, but we went a friendly Xmas tree farm where the trees were free (if irregular) and the host served us hot chocolate when we were done.  It’s beginning to look like Christmas!

I listened to a podcast about the outrage that pings back and forth between political parties right now and it made me tired.  It also made me think of how little outrage accomplishes. It’s so hard to know the best way to make the world a better place! So, we continue in our little corner trying to spread love. I wrote postcards for a month and have moved to Christmas cards now. And today, we pulled down the Biden signposts down from our little corner of property in Greene county (randal and I bought 8 acres this year). (The Biden sign itself came down after the election.) In its place, we planted a Christmas tree - white pine transplanted from mom and dad’s crop. The kids and I picked up litter along the road and then we decorated our new tree.  I don’t think that the neighbors have forgotten that we’re Biden supporters; there weren’t a lot of friendly looks (zero to be precise). But, the tree looks beautiful and festive and after we put up lights, hopefully they’ll be happy ...

My garden has brought out the highs and lows of my emotions this year.   When I ate my first lettuce, I was ecstatic.  Watching tomatoes redden, zucchini lengthen, and green beans pop out, I am thrilled.  When a chipmunk ate most of my beets and a fungus started to spread, I was devastated.  Seriously, the fungus practically ruined my day.  (Although my dear friend suggested I throw some Vagisil in the soil and call it a day.  It might be worth a try.) When I stepped on some corn accidentally, I quickly said, "I'm sorry, baby!"  Which is the same thing that I say to Marian when I accidentally run her into a door frame. I'm in pretty deep.  Stay with me, garden; the world is dark enough without a fungus destroying you. Milo refused to eat this carrot.  I loved it. The small, but delicious, beet harvest, post-chipmunk ravaging.

I am ready for the warm weather.  A strong frost nearly took out my tomatoes, which I had covered, and I am beginning to doubt that any of my seedlings will ever sprout.  I'm cold cold cold and am ready for that warm blanket of Indiana humidity to wrap me up. I am enjoying my lettuce, although if we are stuck at home next year for the quarantine, I need to plant a lot more.  There is not enough to keep up with our roughage habits.  I was thrilled when Milo loved the spinach I planted and proceeded to eat about half the crop while just standing in the garden.   There is one person who is happy with the rain.  It means that all of the boots are out.  Here is Marian with six boots - her dream come true. And Dad has been working on the dock.  It looks amazing and maybe we'll be able to get this water-averse kid in the pond this summer. This picture summarizes what most of our parenting looks like right now.  Milo is b...

We are back home for our couple nights, so that our babysitters get a weekend. (Man- they are spoiled. It’s good they work for free.) It is nice to be home.  We crashed their Saturday morning though by planting two pecan trees (Randal’s new idea for a cash crop).  Milo’s tree is a Stuart and Marian’s is a Colby. I’m sure they will both be wildly successful.  Then we played in the creek for awhile (before Sidney nearly knocked me in).   Check out those gray roots. This will be an interesting time.  And headed home this afternoon in time for the sun and some chalk art. Like every other sidewalk in town.  A pretty great Saturday all in all. 

(Somehow- this was not posted yesterday- so enjoy it today!) A beautiful spring day today.  I planted strawberries between work meetings and took a call outside. There are definitely perks to working from home.  Marian learned to drive the tractor. It’s always safety first at my parents’. Case in point.  She enjoyed playing in puddles today. She doesn’t enjoy being taken away from said puddles.  We got a very exciting package from our dear friends in Klamath- Glenn and Ursula. They made cookies for us, packed in popcorn. Literal popcorn. It was great.  And Milo and explored the woods. Tromped around, went to the tree house, picked daffodils, and soaked up spring.  I am missing our friends and family and hugs and play dates today. But especially hugs.  Virtual hugs to all of you. 

I was briefly perusing my blog since Milo was born and realized that I have done it...  I have done what I said I wouldn't do.  Namely, cease posting about all of those things that are so important to me (politics, community volunteering, funny Randal anecdotes) and have posted solely about Milo. Obviously, he's a 20 lb, soul-snatching monster (albeit the cutest and best one ever).  So, here goes life outside of Milo. The Wellness Center opened to the public in March , celebrating a year of being open.  (See our front page story!)  We celebrated by adding huge new challenges to our agenda, so while I had hoped that we would coast for a bit, we are exploring the world of marketing, insurance reimbursement, and worksite wellness.  Needless to say, I am not bored, but continually challenged and stimulated by my work. We also continue to work on community endeavors.  They broke ground on the Geo Trail (we received a grant to build this trail in Octo...

Last summer, we were preparing to get married.  I thought that this summer would be calmer.  I'm not sure if it is or not, but I do know that Randal and I have managed to fill our weekends completely with friends and fun and work and play.  So, I'll sum up. Early July: Randal finds a kitten in the plants outside of his building.  He brings kitten inside.  He intelligently leaves for a week so that I have to watch the kitten and become attached to the kitten.  So, we keep the kitten.  He lives in the building and his name is Building Cat or Jigsaw or Jiggy Sawdust.  He likes 1) wet cat food, 2) climbing up your leg, 3) dogs. Building Cat and Juneau.  So stinking cute. Mid-July: Our friend Adam turns 30.  We help him celebrate by going on a sailboat in the Upper Klamath Lake.  Randal helps sail the boat.  The captain of the boat calls him Black Shirt.  The captain of the boat is fond of me be...