Friday, March 30, 2007

Spring Break begins

Perhaps you thought I was already on spring break by my limited posting. Life has been rather busy in our household. We've already begun the "end of the year" school performances - chorus and drama club have both had big productions -- and I've been busy interviewing for job and contract positions. It's all good, but always busy.

And now...a public service announcement:
SEND SANJAYA HOME!
Back to your regular post...

We are in the midst of the final push to get on the road for Hilton Head, South Carolina. We are hoping to beat some of the crowd out of town (can you say 'mass exodus'?) and kick start one of our favorite vacations. Grace remembers going last year (though she was only 18 months)and cannot wait to build a BIG sand castle and play. She's the cutest thing talking loudly about the Beeeeeaaach in her very precise toddler voice. I got a few fun toys to enjoy - one lets you build a big dinosaur with sand molds, another lets you view life in the tidal pools. I got a skim board also and pray that we don't come back with some kind of body cast on my daredevils. The beach is great for my three...no matter how hard they try they cannot make more noise than the surf and wind. I think a kid should be allowed to scream into the wind unchided every so often.

Oh yes, someone miraculously guessed the photo of the potter. Jerry Brown is a pottery artist in Alabama and we recently encountered him at an art show while visiting my parents. We ended up buying some pottery from other people at the show and I'll post more on that later. It was a surprisingly cosmopolitan art show for such a small town and the indigenous artwork was inspiring. The kids absolutely loved it.

I've got more news for another post. Right now the beach awaits us. :-)

Thursday, March 08, 2007

friday free for all

First a quiz...who is this man and what type of pottery does he create?



Then a small victory for your average consumer. Dave got me a beautiful rose and lily arrangement for my birthday. About a day after my birthday the flowers just started to fall apart. I nicely called and asked about their policy at the florist and they promised to replace my arrangement with something comparable. Especially if I could wait until after the Valentine's Day rush. Well, today I was at a job fair near that florist so I paid them a visit. The woman remembered me instantly and I simply asked if I could have a live plant like an orchid instead of cut flowers. She got the approval from her manager and then pointed me to the sale orchids. The ones marked $129 and $149 and said that since they were on sale I could get the $129 priced one as my replacement. My mouth dropped to the floor. I was hoping for a little plant and I walked out of there with a 4 foot monster! Dave had a good chuckle when he pulled it out of the car for me. We placed it on my great grandmother's coffee table and it dwarfs the little victorian thing. The plant is literally taller than me when on that table.



Here is Jordan peeking through the orchids. She had been propped up on the chaise playing Nintendo DS games.



This deal beats any product coupon that has resulted from my previous complaining on 800 numbers!

Tuesday, March 06, 2007

we've returned

We have just returned from our "emergency" trip to Alabama to be with my Grandfather. He's still frail and has been in and out of the hospital for months. We had another scare this week which resolved itself. Still, the reality is that his body is less able to function. We got to spend some good moments with him this weekend. I decided to go ahead and travel since time is often precious in situations like this. I like to live my life by a "no regrets" motto and being there for family has been an important part of this. It's so hard for me to realize that there a lots of people who never knew the Grandpa I watched as a child. Most of the people in his life now know him as a stroke victim who is paralyzed and cannot talk. (He can normally sing, but not talk. There have been a few moments of clarity in his speech, but those are rare.) I will always think of my Grandpa as on of the most inventive, original, hardheaded, handy, and smart people I've known. I will always remember his trip to Hawaii to visit Dave and I. We went hiking on the park service trail at night with flashlights to see the volcanoes erupting on the Big Island. There were only reflectors to mark the ever-changing trail. (It was reset each day according to volcanic activity.) He still manages a smile when I remind him of times like that.

I've got much more to blog, but so little energy tonight. I'll leave you with a Grace story. Tonight she looked down through the hallway railing into the family room and said, "Hey Mamma, come up. Let me take you to talk to Jesus." I went upstairs immediately. Who could resist a moment like that?