Um, yeah

Well, I started yesterday. I got five sentences done and then got busy with other things again. The story of my life the last few days. Well, the story of my life. Period.

Saturday I was going to take Cedric to his game, find him a ride home, take Seth to his game, find him a ride home, take Joseph to his game and come home before going crazy at home finishing up things for the Relief Society dinner. As I thought about this more, the logistics just did not make sense. I would be missing the last fifteen minutes of Cedric’s game to take Seth to his and I would only be able to watch the first fifteen minutes of his before taking Joseph to his.  Sigh. I found Seth a ride, stayed for all of Cedric’s and took Joseph to his. Had I known that Joseph’s game was going to start half an hour late, I think I would have stuck with my original plan because I’d only have missed the last fifteen minutes of Seth’s game which would have been better than missing the whole blooding thing.

Cedric’s game was okay. The first half, they just didn’t play as well as they did last year. It was almost like they were all afraid of the ball and expected to lose. Not good. The second half was better. There was some of the old spunk from some of the boys and Cedric did well. He bounced the ball off his head at one point (he told me later that it made him a little dizzy) and almost tackled one of the boys on the other team. He got called on it, too. Anyway, I like that kind of play—it’s fun and exciting and is the way games are won. And whoever says winning isn’t everything doesn’t know what the heck they’re talking about. I don’t know about you, but I’m not here to lose. The final score was 5 to 1. It’s only their second point of the season.

Seth told me that his team won 11 to 0. His coach emailed and said that he actually had to tell the boys to back off a little because they were doing really well and just killing the other team. He is very pleased with how well they are playing and is cutting practice back to just an hour rather than an hour and a half so it’s now from 5:00 to 6:00 Tuesday and Thursday. That’s wonderful because I’ll be able to get home earlier on Tuesday’s for supper.

Joseph’s game was pretty good other than the fact we had to wait almost half an hour past when it was supposed to start. I don’t know why they were running late but when we got there fifteen minutes early, the game before was still in the first half. When I thought it looked like they were done and we actually walked over to the field, it was only at the half. Holy crud, batman. Joseph did well. He was starting to get in there and gave the ball a few good kicks; great improvement from last year and even the first game this season.

When I got home, I made two apple pies, kolaskis, keugelis, and green beans with bacon. Saying it like that doesn’t seem like a whole lot. We got home from Joseph’s game around 1:30. I had to peel, core and slice apples because they were too soft for the peeler. Twelve cups. Which isn’t as bad as it might sound, but still takes some time. The kolaskis are basically dumplings with cottage cheese filling. Not hard to make but a bit time consuming. I got them going while the pies were baking. Once they were done, the pies were about done so I mixed up the keugelis, which involves grating a bunch of potatoes and the recipe calls for old ones which means they’re harder to grate because they’re soft. Once that was in the oven, I did the green beans and went out and cut wild sunflowers to take. While I was getting flowers, a Hubbardston police officer stopped by to talk to Paul about the Jetta tires. When everything was all ready to go, it was time to go so I went.

Cedric is #2 and you can see him running in this clip. Dominic got the goal.

I stopped at Julia’s to pick up some food that Bethany had left at her house but no one was home and I just didn’t feel cool about walking into her house with no one home even though the door was open and she later told me it would have been fine. I’ll remember that for next time, if there is a next time.

So, I went to church, took everything in, put flowers out on the tables, and waited. Next time I think they should say it is starting at 6:00 even though it actually is starting at 6:30. That way people will actually be on time. If I really put my mind to it, I could come up with a name of women who were there but I don’t feel like it at the moment. Suffice it to say that there were 20 or 25 there. There was food enough to feed at least twice that many. I wanted each table to have its own food but someone had to pipe up and say, “I think we should be able to take a little taste from all of them!” Another added, “Yeah, maybe put it on a long table.” Well, guess what? I was in charge, I didn’t WANT it on a long table. I wanted what I wanted because I’ve seen it done in other wards successfully and I’m tired of Gardner having a branch because-we’re-special attitude. Which isn’t always present but sometimes it’s nice to do things differently than they always are. I don’t believe in the whole ‘because that’s the ways it’s done’ thing. I’m here to tell you there is more than one way to skin a cat. In spite of my attitude, it turned out pretty well and the broadcast was very good.

Yesterday was an okay day. Church was good. Louise Nally, Diana Chunn, Alicia Willard and I were set apart. Jessica Adams left before we got to it and Julia was working so they’ll have to wait. After church we had leftovers from Saturday. I had left some home already and I brought lots back from church because there was so much food. There were so many pies that I didn’t even take mine out and brought them both home. There is less than one left now.

Today has been another fun filled, busy day. Cedric left for Nature’s Classroom this morning so I had to take him to school. The buses were being loaded with luggage from 7:30 to 7:45 and then all the 5^th graders got on and they took off just a few minutes after 8:00. I stayed until Cedric was on the bus and then came home. Paul was just leaving and when I walked in the house, I was assailed by—mess. Trista mess. I already  needed to get a casserole together to take to the funeral at church today and here was a huge mess for me to take care of. Trista had gone from the stairs to the livingroom sometime during the night and while I was gone taking Cedric to school, she completed the circuit going down the hall and back to the kitchen where the dog beds are by the fireplace. All along the way was blood and in the livingroom was a huge puddle of pee and a big poop—I didn’t know she’d been eating enough to have one like that.

I got out the mop and bucket and ammonia and put so much ammonia in the bucket that I was about to cry but I wanted to do what I could to get rid of the smell at the same time I got rid of the yuck. I had to take a break while I was working by the front door because it isn’t finished there—it’s just the stuff you put under tiles and seems like it soaks everything up pretty well. It took some serious scrubbing and I think it needs some more. While I took a break, I got the casserole in the oven and then finished the yuck clean up. Yuck. Is there another word I can use there? Grossness? It certainly wasn’t very attractive and those with weaker stomachs might have been so revolted that they might have lost the contents of their digestive systems. One way or another.

When the casserole was done, it was time to take it so I took it. I hadn’t been planning on staying and it’s a good thing because I didn’t have time to shower or brush my teeth and there were a lot of people there.

I came home, ate and showered and then washed dishes. Trista got up and wanted outside. I let her out and then came in to get a towel to help her walking but she did her thing and she decided it was time to rest so she did. I checked on her a bit ago and she moved into a shady spot. Of course, on the way to the door, she left a trail but it wasn’t too bad and at least she was able to do her thing outside rather than inside. I’ve got the back bathroom ready for a bath when she comes in. She needs one in the worst way.

And I believe that is all for now. I need to do something other than clean yuck, cook, wash dishes, and write blog posts today and it’s already after 1:00. Since Joseph has practice this afternoon and Seth has a den meeting, it’s time to move on and see if I can’t get something else accomplished.

Have a wonderful rest of the day!

Boys, Drug Testing, and Gun Control

Good morning! I was sitting here thinking that I really don’t feel like writing anything this morning but decided that a little something might not be a bad idea.

I sent Seth to school with a note saying that I will be picking him and Joseph up from school until further notice. Paul suggested that I talk to the neighbor behind us and see what their feelings are about Logan. If Amena remembers, she is supposed to ask Adam Stanley (across the street) why they don’t like Logan. I hate to seem like there is a war against this child, but he is a squeaky wheel and we all know that the squeaky wheel gets the oil. I’m tired of my boys being in trouble because this child is not disciplined and makes up stories to get other children in trouble. I get the definite feeling that his mother at least things his poo don’t stink and that is just wrong. My boys aren’t perfect, my girls aren’t perfect, I’m not perfect. We all make mistakes. Our biggest mistake in this instance was to ever let the boys play with Logan in the first place.

This morning, I saw a post on Facebook that said: “LET ME GET THIS STRAIGHT: You want to drug test every person applying for welfare because 2.6% of them are using drugs BUT You feel that mandatory background checks for anyone buying a gun is a violation of rights?!?” That’s certainly food for thought. While I do agree that testing everyone who applies for welfare would be a bit spendy. And I also agree that if we test welfare recipients, we should test everyone who gets anything from the government—including those who work for the government—including our elected officials. Yes, I mean right on up to governors, state legislatures, Congress, the President, every single one. However, due to the expense, there should be some rules. If you are working for the government and make more than a certain amount per year, say $75,000 or $100,000, you have to pay for it out of your own bloody pocket. Everyone else can participate in random sampling and if you make less than $50,000, you don’t have to pay. So, with that, we should also have mandatory background checks in order to buy gun. But they should be more than minimal and less than maximal and they should be the same in every state. Or, if we want to be difficult, we could have minimum and maximum requirements and states could figure out where in there they want be. Or, we could just come up with national rules like this:

1. You have to be at least 18 to own a gun.

2. You have to have a clean background. If you have been arrested for anything, maybe even being drunk but certainly for any kind of drug possession (and some prescription drugs should rule you out as well), you can’t have a gun.

3. You have to take a gun safety course. Maybe more than one depending on what kind/s of gun/s you want to own.

4. Maybe you should have to join a shooting club and keep up with whatever they require.

Please keep in mind that these are just suggestions off the top of my head without doing much (any) research. And by research, I do NOT mean the crap that’s circulating in our very biased idiotic media.

Wow, I’m sitting here at this point thinking, I didn’t want to write and here you are with over 500 words already. I also think it’s time to have something for breakfast.

Have a fantastic day!

A Little (?) Rant

Good afternoon! It is a beautiful day outside and there is a rant inside me waiting to come out but I want to tell you about yesterday first.

Bethany Price took me to Agawam to pick up the bug. We had a nice drive down but when I picked Laura’s GPS up out of the door bucket (or whatever you call the thing at the bottom of the door where you put stuff) the adapter for it came off only I didn’t realize it had come off, I thought it had been left at home. Yikes! So I used my phone which I don’t like to do since Verizon took Navigator off (I still have Verizon Navigator but it costs money to use more than the simple directions). Anyway, I used my phone because I wanted to get there. But, we missed the exit off of 90 so we took the next one and while we were taking the long route, my battery was getting very low so I kept turning Navigation off to save the battery. We finally got there and it only took half an hour longer than it should have and I got to drive the bug home.

I said I might be in a Def Leppard mood and I was. Journey was in and definitely was not what I wanted to listen to. I put in Vault and it hit the spot, so to speak. More about that on my Daniel blog as soon as I get to it after this. I wasn’t able to speed because I kept getting stuck behind vehicles that were only going the speed limit. That might have been a blessing in disguise, I don’t know. I do know that on 202, there was a car pulled over with a police officer going through the car and another standing with the occupants of it. A few miles north, another law enforcement vehicle was on its way in that direction. I don’t know if it was going to that particular spot, but it could have been.

The afternoon was fairly uneventful. Joanna was on my lap top pretty much all day because she had a ton of math to do. She worked all day Friday and all day Saturday and so Monday she had to get caught up. I was kind of going through withdrawals because I was only able to check my email and Facebook twice; once in the morning and once before I went to bed. That really is okay; I think we’re far too dependent upon electronics.

There was a bit of excitement, if you can call it exciting. Seth told me that he got in trouble because Logan (the boy next door) told someone that he, Seth, flipped him, Logan, off. Not bloody likely. What I found out is that Logan, who is a 6^th grader, doesn’t sit in the back of the bus like most 6^th graders. Seth is in 4^th grade. Cedric told me that Seth and Logan often sit together and Seth plays with Logan’s iPad. Joseph told me that Seth did NOT flip Logan off. I told Seth that I was going to call the principal today and talk to her because I’m sick of the whole bus thing.

I called. I found out that Logan’s father reported to the police Friday that Logan has been repeatedly bullied, kicked, hit and bit, by children who live on the same street. I told her that Seth has never done any of those things but Cedric did bite him once. He did. I’m not going to lie. I wish I’d have been doing this blog when it happened about three years ago but I wasn’t and I may or may not have written about it in my journal. After that point, the boys were not allowed to go to Logan’s and Logan is not allowed here. After that point, I collected all of the toys that Logan had brought over here and left and returned them to his grandparents’ home. This included a bicycle that Logan had left over here and then accused Cedric of stealing it. I told her that Logan’s grandfather came over here while I was gone with Cedric at soccer practice and yelled at Amena Friday and perhaps I should call the police and report that. I know what the problem was with that—Seth took to school a Halo MegaBlok figure (that he was not supposed to take to school) and Logan saw it and said it was his. According to what Logan said, Seth was taunting Logan saying that Seth had a bunch of Logan’s toys and that he’d been playing with them. Maybe Seth did taunt him. Logan is an easy kid to bully. I’m sorry to say that, but it is true. When he was told by Paul or myself to go home because the boys needed to eat, he would say, “I’ll wait.” We often had to tell him multiple times to go home and we often still saw him wandering around in the yard while we were sitting at the table eating.

It seems that Seth has been in trouble on the bus before and this is his last warning. If anything happens again, he will be on a three-day bus suspension. I’m thinking about putting him on one myself. I do not want him near Logan. I do not want Logan near him. I do not want any of my boys near Logan or Logan near any of my boys. I do not want any angry grandparents coming over here yelling at my 13-year-old daughter. I do not want to hear about any police reports that have to do with things that happened three years ago. And for goodness sake, how is my 4^th-grade child successfully bullying a 6^th-grader to such a degree that it has to be taken to the police. Seriously?

I will end that for now. You probably don’t want to hear my opinions about bullying right now anyway.

Currently, it is quiet. The washing machine and dryer have stopped so all I hear are a couple of dogs snoring and the refrigerator that just went on and the clock ticking. And my fingers hitting the keys of the keyboard. Which I have to admit I am probably overdoing because my blood is still boiling a bit from the whole Logan issue. If I sit quietly, I can also hear the wind in the leaves outside and that is a nice thing. It reminds me that autumn is here and it is beautiful outside and such a lovely day should not be sullied by unpleasant things.

With that, I hope the rest of your day is absolutely spectacular!

I Never Did Like Coming Up With Titles

“Mom! Mom!” I heard the blood curdling yell from a 7-year-old. “Mom!” it came again.

What the heck, I thought. Cedric isn’t torturing him because he’s already down at the end of the driveway waiting for the bus. What on earth does he need? I open the door and he is holding Kitty and the bus is at the house next door. “The cat!” he yells,  “You need to hold the cat!”

Ah, yes, Kitty is ours and we are hers. She likes to follow her boys down to the road when they go but in spite of the fact that the bus scares the living daylights out of her, she likes to play near wherever they happen to be. She didn’t particularly want to be held; she is, after all, a cat. She perched on my shoulders until the bus came for the boys and then I let her down so she could play.

I get to go get the bug today! So cool! Bethany Price is taking me down and I guess she has a friend in the Agawam area she might go visit after she drops me off. I will be coming straight home. CDs are already waiting on my planner to go and I’m thinking I’m in a Def Leppard kind of mood. We’ll see. In many ways, I feel bad asking anyone to take me that far to get the car. It would be nice if there were someone closer who knew how to work on VWs but this guy is good, knows what he’s doing and is nice to boot. On the other hand, it is nice to have a longer drive on the way home because the bug is fun to drive. On the other hand, because it is a longer drive, there is a greater chance of getting a ticket for speeding so I probably should relax and pretend that I like to drive slow. Is that possible?

What a day we had yesterday! It was a beautiful day; a perfect one for Joanna’s birthday. She brought Zack to church. He was raised Catholic but doesn’t go so I’m curious to see what he thought. During Sunday School, I was in the Family History room with a neighbor of the Nally’s. He has done quite a bit of family history work and was very excited to find the father of a great or great-great grandfather. Pretty cool. The only drawback to helping him is that I wasn’t able to sit with my family in Sunday School which included Joanna and Zack yesterday.

Joanna left the lights on in her Jeep so she and Zack had to come home with us in the van.  Then they took Laura’s car to jump the Jeep so they were late for her birthday dinner. We also had Ryan Sansossio and Jessica Anne Adams over to eat. Paul invited them the previous Sunday, forgetting that it was Joanna’s birthday and I agreed the fact that it was her birthday and we would be doing something to celebrate not even registering. Anyway, it turned out pretty well. Ryan and Jessica are both attending Fitchburg State. Jessica is studying early childhood education and Ryan is in business/accounting. He’s had Dr. Greenwood for classes and agrees that he’s an awesome teacher. Once they left, we gave Joanna her presents which consisted of a bunch of junk food—Oreo’s and two kinds of chips.

Paul tried to convince Joanna and Zack to take the boys and Amena to the ‘wooden’ park in Gardner but they, particularly Joanna, really didn’t go for it so it didn’t happen. Joanna said they wouldn’t all fit in her Jeep but Paul offered the use of the van saying that Zack was used to driving a big truck, he could drive the van just fine. Anyway, they left and then Paul and I went to look at Bethany’s house. She’s got a problem with water getting into the basement apartment that needs to be taken care of and Paul was tasked with looking at the house and seeing what he thought. He thinks that a majority of the problem is actually the responsibility of the city and that the city isn’t likely to do anything so there are some other things that can be done to somewhat alleviate the problem and he is going to look into them.

Seth wanted to go with us so he did and he played with the Price’s cat and froze.  When we were done there, we went to look at the stone church on Elm Street just for fun. It is a beautiful building but needs some serious repair work done. Just from looking at the outside, Paul suspected that there is a water problem in the basement. It seems that it was reroofed in the fairly recent past and when it was, the drains were not reconnected and so water has been seeping into the basement and causing all kinds of problems. As much as I would love to be able to buy the building, I don’t think I’d want to have to take care of all the problems that are obvious and I’m sure there are many more that are not as. Not to mention there isn’t much in the way of a yard and Elm Street is a pretty busy street.

When we got home, Adam and Kim were here. Adam said that Kim’s parents had told him to take her out driving in the Prism because she needs to learn to drive a stick. Since they were here, Paul and Adam took Laura’s car to Ray’s. That is nice because now I don’t have to worry about taking it this morning. Kim and I visited and ate cookies. That was kind of nice, too, although I shouldn’t have eaten any cookies. She said that they, as a Primary presidency, have been worried in the Primary that the Young Women are being reorganized due to the Myler’s moving because they just got everything filled in Primary and are afraid that someone might get whisked away to Young Women. Do you ever know a secret and want to be able to reassure someone, but really can’t? That’s how I felt. I know a secret but couldn’t say anything. Anyway, when Paul and Adam got back, Adam and Paul had some hot chocolate and ate some cookies and then Adam and Kim left. Paul thinks that Adam might be interested in Laura’s car once it’s all fixed and able to pass inspection. Would be a good solution to our wanting to sell it and Adam’s needing a car.

And now I need to be off. I’ve got to get ready to go get the bug and do whatever I get done today. Have a fantabulous day!

Soccer. And soccer. And my 2 cents.

This is from Friday morning. It was foggy and very cool.

So, Thursday afternoon Amena had a dentist appointment at 3:00. In order to get there on time, we really needed to leave within about five minutes of when she got home. I was in the middle of making cookies (oatmeal raisin for Paul because he likes them and I never make any and snickerdoodles because I like them and hadn’t made them for a long time—like since we were in Idaho I think) when she got home. She went upstairs and did something and came back down and looked at the calendar on the refrigerator and said something about going to the dentist. I’d completely forgotten about it and it was about 2:40 right then. I turned off the oven (I had two cookie sheets full and was working on the third—none were in the oven yet) and got what I needed to go and Amena brushed her teeth and we were off. We were fifteen minutes late because we left at 2:45 and it takes about half an hour to get there. I’m glad she was still able to get in, I know some places are really picky about that.

Cedric did really well today.

When we got home, it was time to finish making cookies and then get supper eaten and get ready to go to Open House at school. Cedric wanted to get there half an hour early because Paul and Jacob were going to be there playing on the playground. I knew that Paul was off and on his way home. I wasn’t sure if he would be meeting us there or coming home so we left between 6:00 and 6:15. Paul said he tried calling at 6:00 and there was no answer. It could be that the clock in the dining room is a fit on the fast side.

There he goes!

Anyway, we got to the school and Amena and the boys played on the playground until it was time to go in. I always like to start with the youngest so we went to Joseph’s classroom first. I really do like his classroom this year better than the one Ms. Mankowsky had before. Cedric wanted to get on to his classroom but I wanted to take my time. With only three boys, we had a total of 20 minutes that we could have spent in each classroom. We finally got to Seth’s classroom and looked around and then to Cedric’s. It is pretty clear that Cedric and Seth both like their teachers. I am glad about that. When we were done, everyone wanted to play on the playground again. I was ready to go home but I’m almost always ready to go home so I thought I’d let them play for a while. They did until it was getting dark and we had to leave.

Oh, yeah!

Yesterday morning I had a dentist appointment. The x-ray machine decided to fizzle out so I had to move to another chair for x-rays. That was pretty exciting. We usually get right in and usually get right out so I was on my way home by 10:00 (my appointment was at 9:15). I like that. Still, because it takes half an hour to get home, I kind of felt like my morning was wasted and didn’t get a whole lot done. In the afternoon I did a bunch of laundry and reading and that’s about it. Children got fed supper shortly after 5:00 so they could watch a movie and Paul and I went to SS Lobster when he finally got home at almost 7:30.

Joseph going for the ball.

This morning Seth and Cedric both had games at 9:00. Seth’s was in Hardwick and Cedric’s in Barre. Seth got to ride with Riley and his mom and I took Cedric. The game got started a bit late. When we got there, it was early (there was only one other boy on his team at that time) so I walked across the street to the cemetery that has some cool ironwork and that I always meant to take a camera to one of Seth’s practices in the spring to take pictures of but never did and took pictures. When I got back, most of the boys had arrived. There were at least three boys on Barre’s team that were on Seth’s Quabbin team in the spring including the goalie and the assistant coach of his Quabbin team was the coach of the Barre team. That was kind of interesting.

Joseph and Cedric were passing the ball while Joseph wasn't in the game.

On the way home, I asked Cedric how today’s game compared to last week’s. He said it was better because the score last week was 9-2 and today was 5-0. I asked how the playing was compared to last week and he said worse. He said that they just weren’t passing today and that is true. There were some really good plays but it has to be frustrating knowing that you can do better.

Even though you really can't see Joseph (he's behind the dark haired girl in the maroon shirt), this is an important picture because he kicked the ball.

As we were leaving the game, we overheard the dad of one of Cedric’s teammates saying that they had to hurry home to get a younger brother to his game in Hubbardston. We had to hurry home to get Joseph to his game. We were home for about fifteen minutes before we left. We actually could have waited ten or so minutes longer but it never hurts to get there early. Cedric went with us; Seth was still at Riley’s with an expected arrival time of 3:00. In Cedric’s class he has a friend named Christopher. Christopher has a younger brother on Joseph’s team so Cedric and Christopher kicked an available soccer ball around and sat by the team cheering them on and offering suggestions. At the U8 level, which is what Joseph is at, they don’t keep score. That is a good thing because if anyone had been keeping score, it would have been Hubbardston 2, Hardwick 11. Yikes! But, hey, who was keeping score?

I just have to smile! He did well today.

As we were leaving that game, we saw the dad of one of Cedric’s teammates with the younger brother. They didn’t have to hurry home quite as quickly as we did, I guess.

Cool, yes?

Seth got home just a few minutes before 3:00 and he and Riley’s mom both reported that the game was good. Hubbardston won 5-0 against Hardwick. I am glad that someone won today. Cedric’s game was fun to watch, for the most part, but anyone who says it isn’t about winning doesn’t know a whole lot.

And again. More on Facebook.

During Cedric’s game, I overheard the dad of another teammate who is a teacher. He was talking about, get this, school. This was particularly interesting because I’ve read a couple of articles in the last couple of days about homework and how many parents feel that students have too much and what students are expected to learn. This father was expressing some opinions that I thought were interesting and that I mostly agree with. He said that the federal government decides what needs to be taught without looking at how long it will take to teach it. The school year is 180 days long and if that isn’t enough time to learn, what are they supposed to do? He said he’s not against extending the school day or even the school year but the federal people need to be realistic (in my opinion, that’s a joke). If local school districts don’t agree with what the feds say, they don’t get federal money. Another parent expressed his thought that that is extortion; I don’t remember the exact definition but it kind of sounds like it to me. The father, who I guess teaches math, also said that every three or four years, the whole math curriculum changes. It isn’t a matter of a little (or even a lot) tweaking—it’s a matter of completely changing it.

Ready for my opinion? I don’t think that kids need summers off now like they did a hundred or a hundred fifty years ago. The reason for not having school during the summer was to help out on the family farm. Most people don’t have that now. So, except in areas where they are needed on family farms, let’s extend the school year. Not to take up the entire year because I think kids need some time off (I think everyone needs some time off) but an extra four to six weeks might be fine. Go ahead and extend the school day as well. However, make sure that there are sufficient breaks for some physical activities (like recess or almost anything that isn’t mandatory or school-related) and DON’T GIVE HOMEWORK. One or the other—extended school year OR extended school day—though, not both. And slack off with the standardized testing for crying out loud!!! Stop teaching to test, for goodness sake!!!

And that that’s that. I hope you have had a wonderful day and that tomorrow is as well. I need to go make a cheesecake (it is Joanna’s birthday tomorrow!).

Patterns, Tigers, and Practice

Good morning! This is likely to be cut off sometime because Joanna will need to take my lap top to school with her. As usual for a Thursday morning. Cedric is just informing me that he didn’t completely finish his homework yesterday. He came up with all the answers but didn’t write them out the different ways he was supposed to.

Yesterday morning I didn’t do a whole lot because any big projects would get put on hold due to an early release day. I got the dishes done and took a shower and I think that’s really about it. Well, and got ready to and started cutting out patterns for boys’ costumes.

Joanna is home and my computer is once again mine. I was sitting outside reading with Kitty when the boys got home yesterday. I looked up because I saw boys and then had to do a double-take because I only expected to see two boys and there were three. Cedric didn’t realize he was going to be picked up by Craig Halfrey after school for soccer practice because practice wasn’t until 1:00 and school got out at... I’m not sure. I do know that they got home at 12:20.

Cedric didn’t really want to eat but he did want to leave immediately for the rec field with his bike so he could ride around the trail a few times before practice. We left, but not immediately, and he did ride around a couple of times before Jacob and his dad arrived. I walked around three times and then sat in the van reading.

Imagine my surprise when someone opened the side door of the van! Lo and behold, it was Seth! He’d ridden from the house to the park (without telling Amena where he was going). He played for a while in the playground and then wanted to know if he could play a game on my phone. That was pretty exciting.

When practice was over, Cedric and Dominic ran over to the playground. Dominic’s mom, Beth, said that Dominic had said that they didn’t have any recess because it was a half day so she let him go even though she wasn’t too excited about being there. I can so relate. Anyway, she was telling me about some of the things that Cedric and Dominic have done on the new playground at school. It seems that one day, they were with Chris going down the slide that has three parts (it’s just one slide but has ridges dividing it into three parts so that three children can slide down at once). They had their arms around each other so that they would be going down together and they got in trouble for pushing. I know Cedric had told me about falling off and not being able to play the rest of that day. It seems that there are an inordinate amount of rules and boys being boys, they are determined to push boundaries (not to say that girls don’t, but if you know these boys, you understand—Cedric is, after all, the child who wants to play tackle soccer and thinks that the tops of the playground equipment are better than the parts you are supposed to play on [he is a boy and obviously Daniel’s brother] and he isn’t about to play with other boys who aren’t capable of doing at least what he is).

When we were back from practice, we had less than two hours before Joseph had his first Tiger Scout den meeting. The den leader is Jonathan, Jamison’s dad. Only three boys were there yesterday: Joseph, Jamison, and Roger. Roger’s dad is the guy who gave us laptops after the accident and is exactly who I wanted to see to get rid of Laura’s to see about getting a new screen. Worked out well. I think Joseph is going to like scouts. He has been watching his brothers in scouts since he was born. I have to say, though, that the allergies are really attacking because I would have all four boys in scouts right now and I miss Daniel being here for that. Physically.

Anyway, after Tiger Scouts, we got home and I got some supper warmed up for Joseph and Amena ate and I ate and it was time for me to take Amena to church.  Busy afternoon/evening.

I managed to get breeches and waistcoat linings cut out yesterday as well as Joseph’s waistcoat outside not to mention the rest of a skirt for me. Today I’ve cut out Seth’s waistcoat outside and that is when Joanna got home with my laptop and I decided to finish up in here before cutting anything else out. The shirts are going to require a cutting mat, quilting ruler, and rotary cutter. I’m all for vintage stuff, but I figure if we have the modern day methods of cutting and sewing, we might as well use them. In my way of thinking they really aren’t any less authentic for that and quite frankly, I don’t have time to sew them all by hand.

With that, I will bid you adios. Have a splendiferous day!

Boys and PB&J's

I have a boy upstairs who is taking his sweet time getting downstairs. Hopefully he is getting dressed. Knowing this particular boy as I do, it is quite likely that he is playing with the other boy who is also upstairs and supposed to be getting dressed. The second boy already ate; the first one hasn’t. He made it down, yay! The third boy is sitting at the table finishing up his breakfast. So, I have one boy dressed who hasn’t eaten; one boy who has eaten and is upstairs supposed to be getting dressed; one boy who just finished eating and needs to go get dressed; one girl who is done with all that and should be arriving at school at any minute.

They sure don’t allow a whole lot of time for them to get around. They must drop of their kids at the middle/high school and then leave immediately to get to where they need to be to start picking up again because he’ll be back in about 30 to 40 minutes.

Yesterday was good. No comedy of errors for me. I did forget the grapes that I’d gotten ready to take for the way home and my water. I did also take a video of a flowering tree rather than pictures which is kind of funny. I think I’ll get it on my computer and see if I can’t isolate some frames (I’ve never done it before but I know it can be done—I don’t know if I have the capability).

Today is a half day so three boys and a girl didn’t need lunches. That’s nice in a way but it means they’ll be home all afternoon to torment each other and we’re on our way to a full moon. I have lots of things for them to do when they get home; some they might like, some they probably won’t.

Speaking of lunches, I remember that Papa used to have his peanut butter and jam sandwiches with butter on the jam side to keep the jam from soaking into the bread and making it soggy. After a couple of days of boys complaining about soggy pb&j’s, I thought we’d give Papa’s way a try. Cedric really doesn’t like them so he doesn’t have an opinion on them. Seth and Joseph, however, do like them, and they both really like them with the butter. Yay! Papa is, once again, our hero! (I know that might seem rather trivial to some, but for us, it isn’t.)

Guess what? In order to make my ‘journal’s’ more manageable, I keep them to 100 pages and then start another one. This one is on page 100 right now and as of this word, 67,453 words. Pretty awesome and groovy, eh? I’ve got about four inches left to go and then I’ll be on another page so guess what? We won’t be going over the three inches. In fact, we might not make it even close because I’m not going to come up with something to say just to fill it. Although, I’m doing a pretty good job at the moment.

The sun is up over the trees and is shining in the window and I think I should be off to check on the boys upstairs. Joanna is still asleep and Paul is up and about and I think this is as good a stopping place as any.

Have a fantabulous day!

Quick, Quick

Good morning! Seth is not excited to take the goats out (I can’t say I blame him—I wouldn’t be either). Amena is off. Cedric and Joseph are still upstairs. The goat is milked and Kitty is fed.

Yesterday morning I decided it was time to clean out the goat shed. Paul had a countertop that needed to be put in the basement (it had been taking up residence on the front porch and is one of the things that got moved) that was just leaning against the bank of dirt by the door. It had started to sprinkle so I thought it best to get it in as quickly as possible. I thought about cleaning out the goat shed and moving the hay from the basement, that was in the way of the door, to the goat domicile but decided to get the countertop in the basement sooner rather than later. So I got the door opened enough to get the countertop in. Once the boys were gone to school and Paul had left for work and I’d eaten, I set to work (even though I’d done my best to talk myself out of it).

It wasn’t too bad. Most of the stuff was really dry. I used a flat shovel and an empty garbage can at first. The garbage can isn’t huge but it isn’t tiny either (I’m guessing a twenty gallon size because for sure it isn’t 30 or 33) and I filled it up quickly twice and for the rest decided to employ an ice-thing. It has a flat edge that is meant to get ice up with a longer handle than the shovel and it is meant for ice, not goat sheds. Anyway, I ended up getting what I could of what was really stuck to the floor (which was most of it) and then swept, and called it good. I decided to let some combination of boys and Amena get all the hay out of the basement and into the goat shed.

The rest of my morning was spent doing laundry and washing dishes. That was pretty darn exciting. Then I had lunch and finished up some laundry and finished up the dishes and made hot chocolate and decided to read for the hour I had left before my minions started coming home.

Joseph had practice and I took Laura’s computer with me because I was going to give it to someone to fix it but they never showed up. Then we came home and had fish for supper and it was late enough to do all the evening things. Seth ended up taking most of the hay to the goat shed. Joseph helped a little. Cedric put off finishing his homework until bedtime and thought I was going to let him have the light on in the bedroom to finish it. No way, man. He went to the back room because he wasn’t going to sit at the table because I was there and he’d been misbehaving during prayer and scriptures too much.

And that is about it for now. Joanna has class this morning and will be needing my computer (at least I would guess she will because she has every Tuesday and Thursday morning since classes began. That just means I need to hurry up so I’ll be all done with this before she needs to go.

Julia Froystein, Laurie Orzel and I are going to Boston today. At least that was the plan and I’m hoping it still is the plan. I have my clothes all ready this time—no comedy of errors for me, thanks.

Have a spectacular day!

Porcupine in the Front Yard

All of my minions are gone which is always leaves me with mixed feelings of relief and sadness. The goat is milked, the dogs are dogs, Kitty is a wild woman this morning. Unbelievably, Paul is already out of the shower (right now it is 7:53 am).

Kitty. No, she is not stuck.

I have two things to say this morning other than the usual ho hum everyday events. First, I was going to apologize for my silence the last few days until I realized that I have no obligation to let you in to my life and therefore owe no one an apology (I am, however, happy to let you in for a little glimpse—it does help me feel more connected to my far away family). Second, it is safe to say that we will not be moving to Montana probably anytime soon and I now know the reason why (if you want to know before the 29^th, you’ll have to call because it won’t be public knowledge until then).

The newly cleared off and organized right side of the front porch.

Actually, I don’t have much more than that to say at the moment. I do have some pictures to share with those of you who are able to see them.

Marigolds in the garden.

Have a great day!

This is what Scooter does (and worse) to ripe tomatoes in the garden.

This is what slugs do (and worse) to ripe tomatoes in the garden.

So we built for the slugs Budwieser Cafe.

Jospeh's first game. Joseph reported that they lost but at this point, they don't really keep score--they're just learning skills and how to play. And hopefully having fun.

Joseph's team this year.

Seth's first game. This is from the first half.

This is from the second half when he was goalie. He let the other team (Barre--coached by his Quabbin coach) get a goal but he also successfully blocked at least three (his game was going on the same time as Joseph's so I only got to watch half of each half). They ended up with a tie. Cedric's game was at the same time as well, but in Petersham. He went with Dominic and his mom. I don't know what happened, but they lost 9 to 2. Cedric said in spite of that, it was a good game. I feel bad because I couldn't be on three fields at once.

The slugs coming in for a drink at Budwieser Cafe--darn alcoholics.

Comedy of Errors

I don’t know what I’m going to do with my Seth. He just isn’t cut out for the public school system. He often leaves his agenda and folder at school and I think it is as often on purpose as it is an accident. I’m not sure what else to do other than what I already am but that feels woefully short of what is needed. He did not bring either one home last night and does not remember if he had homework.

Yesterday was my comedy of errors day. Well, morning and afternoon/evening; the middle part of the day was good. It actually started Wednesday evening at church when I was talking to Linda Trivett about going to the temple the following day for Julia Froystein. Linda had told me that we would need to be there at 1:00 while I remembered Julia telling me 11:00. Well, both were right, but 1:00 was too late for Linda because she needed to be home when Sarah got home from school.

Yesterday morning I was getting ready to go (which is a fun story in and of itself because I thought I was going to be leaving at 9:30 and needed to get in the shower and Paul was taking forever and didn’t get in the shower himself until 8:30 so I took one in the other bathroom) and Margaret Armstrong called to see if I’d gotten rides figured out because I could ride in with Sariah for 1:00 but I would have to get to their house between 11:15 and 11:20. I said that I was good but weren’t we supposed to be there at 11:00? Well, Julia was to take care of the things she needed to in order to be ready for 1:00. Ohhhhhh. I seeeeeeee. Okay. Well, then.

I called Linda to tell her I’d led her astray and I thought to myself that I now had time to wash my clothes before leaving and I called Armstrong’s back to see if I could take Sariah up on her offer. Then Julia called and wanted to know if she could pick me up on her way to pick up Margaret and I said, well, I’m going to ride in with Sariah. At that point I should have given myself a quick kick and said, YES!!! because there were things I could have done in order to be ready for 1:00 but my brain wasn’t working to well and my clothes were in the washing machine.

At some point in time, the washing machine stopped because it was done and it didn’t even register in my mind; I was busy reviewing phlebotomy and by that time, kicking myself for not going with Julia. Then I looked at the clock. Holy Batman, Robin! It was almost 11:00 and for the life of me, I couldn’t remember when I needed to be to the Armstrong’s. Yikes! I looked at the clothes in the washing machine and said to myself, well, that was a wasted effort, I’ll have to make do with what I can get. I hurried upstairs, changed quickly, made sure I had my driver’s license and recommend and was out the door. Forgot my water and lip balm. Sigh. BIG sigh.

In spite of the fact that I got stuck behind a very slow moving truck on 68, I made it to the Armstrong’s between 11:15 and 11:20 which tells me it’s about 20 minutes to get there without rushing too much (I also ran into slow vehicles on 62—not literally). Once I was at the Armstrong’s, the comedy of errors took a break. The temple was good. Julia was so excited. It was good to be there.

Me, Julia and Margaret.

When we were done, Julia and Margaret wanted pictures and I decided that since I was riding rather than driving, I would just relax and not worry about the boys being late to soccer practice. Life happens. Traffic from Boston to the rotary wherever the heck it is was pretty crazy. After the rotary, it wasn’t bad. We drove by 95 and it was standing still. So glad we didn’t have to get on it.

When I got home, the comedy began again. I checked my email to see if practice for either boy (Seth or Joseph) had been cancelled. There was an email from Seth’s coach and due to the potential for lightening, there was no practice; nothing from Joseph’s coach. So we hurried to find his other soccer sock, found one, got in the van and left. When we got to the field, there were some of the kids on his team playing, but they weren’t having practice. We stayed for just a few minutes and then came home so we could eat. I checked the phone and, sure enough, there was a call from Joseph’s coach. Sigh.

We ate cottage cheese and fruit (peaches and pears) for supper. I checked Joseph’s folder, which was actually Emma Day’s but with Joseph’s papers in it, for homework; there wasn’t any for which I was grateful. I asked Seth if he had homework and he said no. I should have asked to see his folder and agenda then but didn’t. I had the boys get ready for bed and Amena bring in the goats and then we read Mosiah chapter 28 (I think), had family prayer, and it was then time for brushing teeth and going to bed.

Oh, but wait! Cedric had homework he’d forgotten/neglected to do. I told him he had until 9:00 to get it done. I was a math crossword (would that be crossmath) puzzle. I told him I’d help and I did, mostly checking his answers which were mostly right. Then he went to bed. Joanna got home from class and said that her friend Shayna’s sister was having her baby (a month early), and she was thinking about going over. It was raining like crazy out. Then Paul got home and had some things that needed to be put away and then it was 10:00 and I went to bed with a book. Then Paul came to bed and I turned out the light around 11:00. And that was my day.

Joanna took Amena to Kohl’s after school to get a dress for the dance that Amena wants to go to tonight. While they were there, Amena left her glasses in the dressing room. When I got home and she was telling me about it, I have to admit, I was annoyed; I can’t afford to get her another pair of glasses. She said that Joanna had called the store but they only had one pair of glasses in lost and found and they didn’t sound at all like Amena’s. Joanna thought the girl should go and look, but that wasn’t going to happen. I called while the boys were getting ready for bed and, sure enough, they’d just been found. So, they are waiting and I will go pick them up this morning after I go to the chiropractor at 10:00.

And that is what my day looks like. Chiropractor at 10:00 and pick up Amena’s glasses. It looks like I get to pay an insurance bill because there is a check on my computer. Cedric has practice this afternoon. Amena has a dance if she can come up with $5.00 to get in. If she goes to the dance and I find someone to stay with the boys or she does not go to the dance, Paul and I will go out. If she goes to the dance and I do not find someone to stay with the boys, Paul and I will not go out.

Have a splendid day!

Um, Yeah

Good morning! Actually, it is a too warm and oppressively humid morning. Cedric didn’t have to take the goats out yesterday because it was going to rain and he didn’t want to help Seth do it this morning. I moved stakes and Cedric informed me that they are too far out (they are in the back of the field now—which happens to be the farthest from the house they get). Seth was sent back in to get dressed and was found crawling through the grass practicing being a soldier. Joseph just didn’t want to get out of bed. But, guess what? Amena got up and was ready to go and was out before the bus. Of course, she was yesterday as well. On top of everything else, my glasses are so dirty that I can’t see through the sun reflecting off the many particles of dust adhering to them. Other than that, it’s not bad.

The Jetta got its front end aligned and tires rotated yesterday. I got Joseph’s bed made and clothes put away and drawers organized. I think I already told you that. Yesterday. Such is life. You don’t have to read this if you don’t want. Today is Seth’s turn. I’ll go strip his bed when I’m done with this. Actually, I’ll probably eat first, and then go strip his bed. Then I’ll get on with the other things that I need to do.

Seth had soccer practice in the afternoon and was half an hour late because for some reason I was thinking it was at 5:30 rather than 5:00. His practices are an hour and a half. Cedric’s are an hour and Joseph’s are an hour. I’m not sure why Seth’s are longer but I’d be really happy if they were shorter, at least on Tuesday.

We did not feed missionaries last night and I used that excuse to feed the boys fish sticks, leftover sliced cucumbers, and macaroni salad. I had heart sautéed with onion and mushrooms.

When Paul got home, he showed me some trucks that he found in Tennessee. There’s one that is a really pretty blue but it has a huge ding in the top of the bed on the passenger side. The only way we’d be able to get it would be to finally settle with the insurance on the red van but it would be pretty cool because it’s in Tennessee and we could go down and turn it into a little anniversary trip and I can’t type today.

Today is going to be a lot of the same old stuff that usually has to be done. It should be pretty darn exciting so I hope you all have an absolutely fantabulous day!

Global Climate Change

Good morning! It has been a busyish morning. Without the use of my computer, I managed to get quite a bit done yesterday morning and thus far today.

Yesterday while Joanna was working on her math homework, I finished cleaning out the downstairs bathtub and took most of the stuff that was in it to the basement. I put the tiles for the ceiling in it and Joanna put up a shower curtain to hide the more organized contents of it. Because the boxes of tiles (which are two feet square so the boxes are a bit larger by at least four inches [the ones for the main part of the house are about four inches because they’re metal and heavier while the ones for the back room are PVC or some such thing and lighter so the box is about six inches]) are now out of the library, it is a bit easier to see what needs to be done in there to restore order. We do have a couch we need to dispose of. It’s still in good shape, although in need of cleaning so if you know of anyone local, let me know.

Yesterday I also put clean sheets and blankets on Cedric’s bed and folded and put away the clothes he had on his bed as well as doing a bit of rearranging in his drawers/shelves. Today I stripped Joseph’s bed and put clean sheets on and emptied his drawers, purging them of items of clothing that are too small or that he does not currently need (swimming trunks—just don’t foresee any swimming in the near future). His drawers are all nice and organized and all his clean clothes are put away and I have added to my bags of things to take to Salvation Army. I think that needs to happen today. Maybe when I take the Jetta in for its alignment after lunch.

I washed and dried and folded much laundry yesterday and have done a decent amount today. Joseph has a blanket in the washing machine waiting for the dryer to stop. After that load, there is another of blankets to wash and dry and a load of towels. Once they are done, I’m done with laundry for the day in spite of the fact that there is a full basket of dirty in the boys’ room. and that I think there are two loads of towels; only one is going to get done today and I don’t guarantee they’ll be folded.

While I did not accomplish everything I wanted to yesterday, I did get my 1,000 words written which was very nice as I hadn’t managed to for quite a few days.

Last night I took one of the allergy pills that I got for Amena. When I took one before, I did in the morning and all afternoon I was really tired. I took one last night and I feel kind of loopy. I really don’t like it and don’t think I’ll be taking one of them again.

Recently I read an article about a 1,700 year old sweater that was recently found in Norway ‘due to glacial melt.’ There was also the body of a 5,300 year old man found in the Italian alps. There are other such examples. Some say that we are finding these due to global warming and you all probably know my opinion of global warming. Obviously, these and other finds have been made possible by the receding of ice. What I would like people to think about is how they got there.

Do you think that when the man died, he was fighting inside a glacier and that his killer shot an arrow that somehow made its way to Oetzi through a glacier? Do you think that the owner of the sweater took it off and placed it inside a glacier? It is quite likely that Oetzi and the sweater owner were near or even on glaciers. The sweater may have been left behind for some reason and may have been subsequently covered with snow and thus been entrapped in the glacier. Oetzi may have been fleeing from his pursuer on a glacier and fell and died and been covered by snow and been entrapped in the glacier (although there is some argument as to the possibility that he was buried where he was—if so, they had a strange way of arranging the limbs for burial).

My point is that this man and this sweater were NOT in their respective glaciers when they were killed and discarded. That happened later. My point is that at some point in time, where they were found there might not have been a glacier. What we are seeing is global climate change. It is a normal part of life on this planet and has been happening for eons. To think that we mere humans can make such a huge effect that we have to take action to prevent something that is a naturally occurring process is ludicrous. If you can believe what some scientist say, human activity accounts for less than 1% of the increase in temperatures. On the other hand, if you believe what some scientists say, you believe that we actually are experiencing global warming.

Which brings up another interesting thing. In my reading, I have found that while our hots have indeed been hotter than ‘normal’, our colds have been colder than ‘normal.’ That’s interesting. But consider this: say our normal hot is 100°F and our normal cold is 20°F.The hots that we’ve been experiencing have been, say, 110°F. That is 10 degrees hotter than ‘normal.’ Pretty hot, eh? The colds we’ve been experiencing have been, let’s say, 0°F. That’s 20 degrees colder than ‘normal.’ The point here is that while our hots have been hotter, our colds have been even colder. So, global warming? Don’t think so. Global climate change? You bet.

Have a great day!

Strange

Good morning! It’s a cool one out there today (47° currently at 7:51 am). It is one of those mornings I remember when it was cool enough for a sweatshirt but I knew that by the time to come home it would be way to warm so I wouldn’t wear anything because I didn’t want to have to carry it home. My teachers thought I was crazy but I don’t recall that anything more happened. Today’s world is different. Children aren’t allowed to be children. Cedric fell off of one of the toys (or whatever you call them) at the new playground at the school and was told he wouldn’t be able to play on it. Really? Because he fell off? Kids do that. It’s how they learn what they can and cannot do. It’s how they learn the limits of their abilities and either live with them or push them. Seth and Joseph reported that a boy fell and broke his arm and that there was talk that students wouldn’t be allowed to play on the playground equipment. Really? Seriously, people, this is part of what’s wrong with our society today. We coddle our children in the pretense of safety. We repress their creativity in the pretense of protecting from violence (never mind all the violence they witness when they go home—a few drawings at school isn’t going to make a whole lot of difference). We don’t allow children to be children.

Yesterday was a pretty good Sunday. Church was good other than the fact I really wanted to sleep during most of the last two-thirds of it. We had grilled pork chops, Chinese sausages, and hot Italian sausages with sliced cucumbers and macaroni salad to eat. I made a cocoa cake after and most of us had a piece at some point before bed. Zack came over when he got off work. He seems to be a nice enough young man. He works, I think I mentioned, at the Friendlys in Tewksbury and is going to school. The boys like him and Joanna likes him.

It's really hard getting good pictures of the cat when she's on your lap but this one isn't too bad.

It appears that Kitty is turning into a decent hunter. She caught her first chipmunk either Friday or Saturday. Amena saw her with it so I know it really happened. Seth reported that she killed it but we found no evidence of that and because she’s so small still, I think she would have left something somewhere. Although it is quite likely we wouldn’t have found anything.

It's even harder getting good pictures of the cat when she's on your shoulders but this one is okay. Certainly better than the others.

This morning while I was milking, she was stalking birds in the trees and rocks and just generally having a good time. When I went out to hold her while the boys got on the bus, she was quite content to sit and be pet for a couple of minutes and then she climbed up on my shoulders (she is definitely a shoulder cat which I think is kind of cool). Then she saw movement in the bushes by the screen house and was off. I think it is safe to say that she is adjusting rather well to life here and I am glad because I have so missed having a cat. Even if she can’t be inside, it’s still nice to have one around that actually belongs, as much as any cat does, to us.

Yesterday afternoon was team pictures for soccer. Joseph’s were at 2:45. I wasn’t too thrilled about going to begin with because it was Sunday and the boys were okay with not. Because we couldn’t have made it to Joseph’s it wouldn’t have been ‘fair’ (and I know life isn’t but sometimes it’s nice to make parts of it) for Seth and Cedric so we didn’t go to any. That was easy.

It was time to play with the grass.

Joanna has today off and doesn’t have class. She is planning on getting her books though. She has homework she needs to do as well so I might have to let her use my computer. Paul found one of his old laptops. It’s a Dell and has Windows XP on it so you might have an idea of how old it is. She can get Windows 8 with her student discount to put on it and as long as it works, she’ll be set until she can save enough money to get a new one.

Laura has work today and is walking both ways so I don’t have to look up bus schedules for her. It’s really rather comical that I, in Massachusetts, look up bus schedules for her, in Utah, so she can ride the bus to or home from work. It’s amazing that we have the technology that allows us to do that so easily.

I don’t have much going on today. I want to get some phlebotomy studying done as well as some raw materials ordering for soap. It still seems strange to refer to something as a ‘raw material’ when it isn’t. For example, the bottles I use to put lotion in are, for me, a raw material because I take it and do something with it before I sell it. Still, from an accounting perspective, they are a raw material. Strange.

I think Joanna is even going to take Joseph to practice this afternoon so I won’t have to do that. How strange.

Have a great day!