My Favorite Glasses

Thankful Thursday

2009-07-02T06:23:00.000-07:00

I know there are bloggers out there that faithfully post these lists each week. I am not that faithful, or that grateful for that matter. But I woke up feeling thankful this morning, and after catching up on a few of my friends-that-live-in-my-computer, I feel especially so, mostly because I am not currently sharing their struggles. Here is the list as it pops into my head:

Camp is off to a good start, and although this means long hours and few days off for Beloved, I am grateful for meals, and hard work, and the fact that we can all be together in spite of the his busy schedule.
My injured back is slowly going back to normal, and I am having more energy and less pain.
The children are doing their summer school program with minimal complaints, and seem to be doing a fairly decent job.
None of my children are on any drugs whatsoever, and they are healthy and happy, most of the time. There has been no purely whacky behavior for months, and I have noticed lately that my heart seems to have dropped from my throat back into my chest.
My house is finally coming together. It may be small, but it is well ordered and uses the spaces to their best advantage. We are almost done with the renovations/reordering of rooms. I will give myself the rest of the summer to finish at a leisurely pace, but I am pleased. By the time cold weather coops us up, I hope everyone will be happy with their allotment.
The weather, though wet, has been pretty nice. It's warm, but not hot. We get the occasional moment of sunshine so we don't forget what it looks like. Although the marshiness of my yard makes mowing a challenge, the dirt road stays damp, and is not spewing dust and grime into the house through my fans. The only drawback is a dog that doesn't like to get her paws wet, and prefers a nice dry rug to do her business on. Bad dog!
I am experiencing a sense of relaxation this summer, that I have not for several years. There are projects to tackle, but they are not plaguing me. There are issues to deal with, but they are not unmanageable. And life is never lonely or boring; there is always someone to see, and something to do.

I wish for all my friends, that they too will have some times of relaxation this summer. That the heat of the summer sun, may make some of their troubles and struggles go drowsy and stupid, even for a few hours, and that they might find a moment to enjoy.

An "Up"date

2009-06-16T11:37:00.000-07:00

Yup! Things are looking up. Sometimes they feel like looking up out of a big deep hole, but still I feel as though we are moving onward and upward. Here is a brief "up"date of all the good stuff going on in our little corner of the world.

Our eldest daughter is working as her Dad's assistant at camp this summer. This is a huge help to him since she knows the ropes and is quite competent to fill in for him in a pinch. Plus I get to see her nearly every day, and she isn't all that hard to have to see.
Hippie Boy, who has recently morphed into Mullet Man, is also working on staff at the camp this summer. He is generally amiable, and infinitely entertaining. He seems to be gearing up for a major growth spurt, based on the large quantities of cereal he is powering down. Good thing he's eating at camp all summer!
Boo is also working with her Dad and big sis, in a voluntary capacity. She is very efficient in the kitchen, and enjoys learning new skills, and showing off what she knows. It makes her feel good to be good at what she does, and she certainly does have a food service knack about her.
LaLa is coming out of her Springtime funk, and seems to be relaxed and content. She is loving her new "do"...her tiny afro. She has taken full responsibility for her hair care, and assures me she plans to grow it out into a healthy, soft "little bit bigger" afro. In addition, she is LOVING her weighted blanket, and is settling in for sleep with less difficulty. She says it's like sleeping under a hundred teddy bears, which she enjoys apparently.
Baby Boy is still my baby boy, though he is shaving his lip, and developing some nice muscles. He loves his new room, which he shares with his brother and Bob the cranky cat. He plans to spend the summer doing a lot of outdoor pursuits, including a wilderness camping trip, and helping keep up the yard for his beloved Mom.
Sweet 'Tater is growing like a weed, and suddenly become the family comedian. The new word to describe her is "kaleidascopic" because she is the most changable of all of the children. She is of an age where she flits like a butterfly from activity to activity...from mood to mood.
Dad is healthy and ready for a busy summer in the camp kitchen, and Mom is on the mend, and ready for a summer break from school work, dance, and therapy.
We are all looking forward to seeing friends and family throughout the summer, enjoying lots of pool time, and nights around the campfire.
We have a trampoline. OK. That's a whole different post, under the catagory of "Things That Work".

Chiropractor, schmiropractor...

2009-05-25T18:28:00.000-07:00

This is another post in the category of "things that work", which seems to be the bulk of my blog fodder lately. Lest you assume everything is working just fine, you can skip over to my other blog and check out the thing that has not been working; namely my back. It's amazing all the things you cannot do when your back gets in a snit. Some of these things include sleeping, rolling over, and walking. Also, don't even think about getting up off that toilet. And if you drop something on the floor, consider it lost forever. Showering is a challenge but I'm up for it. I don't really need to dry off from the thighs down. Forget shaving because it's not happening. But...since this is not the whining blog, I am here today to sing the praises of my chiropractic care.

I have to admit I was reluctant at first (translate kicking and screaming), but my beloved persuaded (translate nagged and threatened) me to go. While I was in the kicking and screaming phase, I distinctly remember wailing something about how this "chiropractor" (spit word out venomously), who didn't even know me, was going to twist my tormented body up like a pretzel and break me into bits. And don't you know exactly whose door I'd being laying that at. But beloved husband would not be deterred. He got a referral from a friend, and made an appointment for me. Then he all but carried/hoisted me into the truck and off we went.

It has been nearly two weeks, and though I am not nearly as spry as I'd like to be, I am happy to report that I am totally independent in the bathroom once more, and I can pick things up off the floor, albeit slowly and carefully. Which is to say, that if the thing dropped is edible, the dogs will still beat me to it. I am also happy to report that there has been no pretzel bending, cracking, or breaking involved...because apparently chiropractic care has gotten a whole lot gentler (and high tech) these days.

I can't say for a fact that any one thing has done the trick, because the doctor has had me doing several things, like icing my lower back, taking it very easy, but at the same time keeping moving. At the office, which has become my second home these days, I get a variety of treatments, including electrical charges in my sore muscles, which feel like a deep massage, plus something to do with light, which I have to say I don't entirely understand. Along with this, the doctor has worked slowly up to manually stretching things out and doing hands on adjustments. But the really cool thing he uses is this gizmo called the ProAdjuster. He takes something (I don't know because I can't see it) and goes click, click, click down my vertebrae. Then a series of boxes come up on the computer screen with little hills in them. Apparently this tells him something, because sometime he mutters in a frustrated undertone, and sometimes he sounds like he's congratulating himself. Then he takes out the little jack hammer, which again, I haven't actually seen, but beloved husband is really impressed by it. But it sounds and feels like a little hammer that tap, tap, taps away at your stubborn vertebrae and/or muscles. I have to say I had my share of scepticism, because, well, if a chiropractor isn't twisting you up and cracking you, is he really doing his job? On the other hand, as you know, I did not want anyone twisting me up and cracking me, so I was understandably conflicted. And there was the business of all these little hills, and the gadgets I cannot see. More conflict.

My main problem with all of this, is that I don't really understand how it works, and I can't twist around well enough to watch it working, especially with my back in a snit. I am reluctant to write a review about anything I can't fully dissect and understand. The WhirlyPop was a whole lot easier for obvious reasons. Yet, in the end I have to concede that I was more than pleasantly surprised to find help where I did not expect to. I must also concede that although I don't fully understand how the whole thing works, it does in fact seem to be working, and working well. I think chiropractic care, like your family doctor, is a relationship that grows over time. You can't just walk into a strange doctor's office, recite your symptoms, and demand a prescription. (Well, technically you can, but it doesn't work all that well.) Neither can you walk into a strange chiropractic practice and expect the Doc to crack a few joints and make you limber and pain free again. It takes time and energy to make it work, and if the doctor has a few gizmos that can gently coax your body to cooperate with the process, while he gets to know and understand your trouble spots, then I am happy to be shocked, and illuminated, and hammered upon. I was going to say get a buzz, get lit up, and get hammered, but it just didn't seem to be coming out right, but I digress.

Finally, for those of you who might be offended that I am referring to the chiropractor as "he", this is only because my current one is male. I am quite aware that women can be chiropractors too, since my very first chiropractor was a woman, and a darned good one too. She didn't have all the cool tech way back then, but she was the only person in the medical field who could give me relief during my pregnancies. But this is my happy blog, so we won't think about that right now.

Whirly Pop

2009-05-01T07:43:00.000-07:00

This another post under the category of "things that work". My recent post about food, reminded me of the evolution of popcorn in our home. We are BIG popcorn eaters, partly because it is cheap, and also because it isn't all that bad for you if you limit your oil and salt to reasonable amounts. You can make tons of the stuff, and let the children munch away, and at the end of the night there is minimal mess and no sugar high either. Through the years we have used different methods of popcorn popping, including an excellent microwave popcorn popping bowl***, and your standard stove top method.

Beloved husband grew up shaking the big pot over the hot burner, but I was never happy with the mess, or wear and tear to my stove and pans. The microwave method was a good solution for several years, using a ventilated bowl, a little oil, and popcorn seeds. It was quick and mess free, and the popcorn had a nice light flavor. Rarely did we use the little microwave bags, which were expensive, prone to burning, and very salty and greasy. But the popcorn bowl has its drawbacks. You have to have a larger microwave to accommodate the height of the bowl, and allow it to turn on the carousel. These days we have limited counter space, and don't use the micro a great deal, so we opted for one that was definitely not large enough or powerful enough to keep up with our popping needs.

It seemed we were back to the stove top method, whether I liked it or not. This was when Queen B presented us with (cue dramatic music) The Whirly Pop. She had considered our popping dilemma, and when she saw this contraption in a store that sold goods to the Amish, she figured they were sensible thrifty folk who might be onto something. Yet, I am not exaggerating when I call it a contraption. The pot is light weight which seems counter intuitive to stove top popping, and the top is vented, with clips, trap doors, and a crank that turns gears and a wire stirring mechanism. I was willing to accept the Amish theory, but Beloved actually scoffed at Queen B's offering. He thought the thing was silly, and he was free with his teasing of the foolish woman who actually spent money on such a toy.

To his credit, he was willing to take it home and try it, and to his even greater credit, unlike some men I know, he read and followed the directions carefully. Several minutes later he was a believer. The popcorn was the best and lightest of the stove top sort, and the gadget made an impressive amount as well. Most evenings he turns out two to three batches with ease. Most of the criticism of the Whirly Pop that I have heard, tends to make me suspect that folks are not following the directions properly, especially regarding heat. This popper works best over medium heat, NOT high. Don't be impatient, it will work fast enough. One problem we noted, was the instruction not to scrub the thing, but to rinse and let it "season". This resulted in a sticky, oily mess which I was not comfortable having hanging around my kitchen. So I broke the rules and scrubbed my Whirly Pop shiny clean, and I do so after every use. I don't worry about the inevitable buildup in all the crevices on the top/mechanism, but I scrub the pot in and out, and do my best with the top in hot soapy water. We have never found this to comprimise taste or function. This is my least favorite thing about the WP since it is awkward to scrub and takes over my entire dish drain area. But it is a small price to pay for perfect snack food.

The end of the story is this; Queen B never bought herself a WP, deciding to use me as the guinea pig in her experiment, and although my beloved has eaten his humble pie, and we sing its praises regularly, she STILL does not own one. Gotta wonder about that.

***An interesting footnote; the Amish apparently lay claim to all things popcorn, including the simple and effective microwave popcorn bowl. Since the Amish don't use microwaves, one has to assume the are just selling them to us "English" folk.

For Queen B

2009-04-29T06:30:00.000-07:00

Since Queen B has demanded...I mean requested...a BUMMER FREE post, I guess I had better get to work. It reminds me of one day when one of our therapeutic support ladies was out to the house visiting. She was preparing a new treatment plan for one of my daughters, and as she moved down the form, she asked me to describe some of my daughter's strengths. I paused for a moment, and replied, "She has an excellent appetite." She smiled, twirling her pen. "No seriously," said I, "She always cleans her plate." She seemed to want more, so I thought for a moment, and added, "She has very thick hair. No one can say that girl doesn't have a healthy head of hair." At this point she was laughing so hard she was nearly falling off my dining room chair. But she got the point, and so do I. When Queen B can tell me how her three year old gets poo-doo all over the bathroom, or how the school bus driver flips her the bird, and she sees both in their positive light, then you can be sure of one thing. We are "triangle families", as my friend-who-lives-in-my-computer Brenda the Adoption Counselor likes to say. And most days I am OK with that.

So here we go Queen B, and I apologize for recycling a previously used idea. Today I am going to express my sincere gratefulness for the fact that my adopted daughters are all good eaters. This may seem like a small thing, but since food comes up at least three times a day in our house, and I always seem to be planning, preparing, serving, or cleaning up after a meal, it really is not such a small thing. I often read on adoption blogs about how food becomes another way for our children to express their dysfunction. True, my daughters have tried a few squirrelly behaviors involving food in the past, but as a general rule, they eat what I put in front of them without complaint. Indeed, they eat it with gusto, and loud declarations of joy, which is a great deal more than I can say for the home grown kiddos. They even eat leftovers with enthusiasm, which is a good thing since a large proportion of our meals come off the leftover cart at the camp kitchen.

In addition, three of my daughters and one son, have embarked on a year long mission to eat healthier. Lest you think I am a healthfood nut, this mostly involves cutting back on junk, and controlling portions. At first, this plan was met with much wailing and gnashing of teeth, but as the months have rolled by, all four concede that they are fitter and slimmer, and have been freakishly healthy all year. Now they thank me for limiting their portion sizes, and even make the attempt to do so themselves. In addition, we have eliminated a LOT of sugar and stimulant induced crankiness in two of my daughters, which in turn, makes life easier and more pleasant for all of us.

Here is a list of the few simple changes we made:

No snacking between meals.
Eat reasonable size portions at meals.
Drink a lot of water.
Only eat dessert at the lunch meal.
Eat popcorn (made in the WhirlyPop) for evening snacking.
Cut out sugary breakfasts such as pancakes and waffles.
Eat whole grains when possible.

The Roarin' 21rst Birthday Gala

2009-02-22T11:54:00.000-08:00

A good time was had by all. The food was yummy, the company was good. We had fun...Wii had fun. The weather cooperated, and so did the police, even when we parked on the wrong side of the street. The costumes were creative, with the ladies in dresses and hats, and the gentlemen looking like youthful gangsters. Costumes parties are the best!

The Birthday Girl
Happy 21rst

Snow, Snow, Snow!

2009-02-01T07:58:00.000-08:00

I may have been dreaming of a white Christmas, but my chilblains have been rebelling against all the cold temperatures and icy snow around here. But since this is the no whining zone, I will gloss over the whining part and say that I love the snow. For one thing, it is so amazingly pretty, and just when it starts to get dirty and messy looking, it snows again, and all the mess is blanketed with soft, pure whiteness. Last month, Hanna was running their big, super-duper winter sale, and I was able to get three winter parkas, and three pairs of snow bibs for about the price of one set. They only had one kind in my girls' sizes, so they all match, in brilliant fuscia and mango gold. When they come at you on the sled run, well all you can say is, "Wow!" And if they run you over, you have no excuse, because you sure did see them coming.

Today I am weary, and I have quite a few unappealing chores to tackle. I don't really need five children underfoot while I try and get them done. So I announced after breakfast that they were to suit up and go outdoors to play in the snow. This was met with cheers, and running feet, as they ran to use the bathroom and gather their gear. And now the door has slammed behind the last pink suited child, and my house is quiet for the moment. I must be off. The homeschool cupboard awaits, spilling papers and text books off its shelves.

The Warming Properties of Hay

2009-01-14T16:31:00.000-08:00

Hay is a wonderful thing. I absolutely love walking into our shed, smelling the sweet fragrance of hay. If it wasn't so dusty, I would be tempted to toss myself down in a big loose pile of it and take a nap. My goats love it too. It's the best quality, greenest hay I have ever fed them, and they have never looked better, in spite of the fact that Darcy the Mama goat is about fifteen years old. Recently the temperatures have been dipping into the single digits, with wind chills well below zero. Hay becomes more than fragrant foodstuff, it becomes fuel to fire internal furnaces, and bedding to hunker down in. It becomes the stuff of survival, if you happen to be a goat.

It is the stuff of survival to humans too, though I don't plan to burrow into it to keep warm. A couple of days ago we made a trip out to the dairy farm where we get our supply of hay. The farm is owned by a remarkable farmer named Levi. For a few years now, we have made the trek to get loads of hay, sometimes by the truck full, and sometimes just a few bales at a time. No matter the time of day, Levi always comes to greet us, jogging across the long drive to shake hubby's hand. He waves us toward the barn, and helps us load the bales. Then he sidesteps every attempt to pay him. No matter that his hay fetches some of the highest prices at fancy horse farms down south, he will not take our money. Once we succeeded in paying his wife, when he wasn't looking, but he managed to return our money later.

So in the end we have to thank him for his kindness, and accept his gift to our family. He does it because we work in ministry to youth. He does it because we adopted unwanted children. It is his contribution to the effort. He does more than feed and warm goats. He does more than save us a few dollars. He blesses and encourages our entire family with his kindness and generosity.

I Love My Hannas

2009-01-03T12:23:00.000-08:00

This is a post, written under the new category "Pretty Things". I and my daughters all love pretty things. We love pretty houses, and linens, and dishes, and clothes. We are very traditional in our tastes, though we all tend toward bright colors and fun, fanciful design. When my adopted daughters had lived with us for awhile, it became evident that they were shaping up to be a lot like their older sister and their Mom, passing by trendier teeny-bopper clothing, for a style of their own. This was feminine, whimsical, and most important of all... comfortable and modest for active work and play. In addition, this Mama is a stickler for quality. I would rather save for one fabulous item, than have rooms full of inferior ones.

This is why Hanna Andersson is a almost perfect match for us. I say almost, because the clothing line is a little pricey, and I'm cheap... but there are ways to do Hanna on a budget. So what, you may ask, is Hanna Anderson? Well you can link to the site and look around for yourself, but this is my description. The HA company sells excellent quality children's clothing, made primarily of soft, brightly colored knit fabrics. The pieces of clothing frequently mix and match easily, with bravely coordinating florals, stripes, and polka dots. The effect is charming, and the sizes range from infant to teen. The style obviously looks different on a toddler than a preteen, yet they always look adorable, and best of all, they wear like iron and can be passed from sister to sister (or cousin, or friend). Used Hannas never have trouble finding new homes. In fact, they are a hot commodity on Ebay, and in good used condition, may sell for a good portion of what you originally paid... especially if you got a deal to begin with. In short, you definitely get your money's worth!

And speaking of deals, the HA company runs sales with DEEP discounts at least twice a year, and boy can you save! I just ordered my girls three top quality winter parkas for less than the original price of one. The drawback to sales, is that the largest sizes often sell out first, so if you are buying for the tween/teen crowd, you definitely can't snooze. The same runs true on Ebay... the larger sizes are harder to find, and sell for more. Which proves a theory of mine; that tween/teen girls still love "twirly" dresses, funky tights, and clothes as comfy as your jammies.

As far as sizing goes, HA uses the European sizing system based on height in cm. Thus, a size 160 fits a girl 62-66 inches and up to about 110 pounds. This is pretty accurate, and if your daughter is slim she might stretch that a bit. My Boo is about 64 inches and 115 pounds, and she fits the clothing fine, with the exception of some sleeves. Boo (and 'Tater) have very long arms and legs, and their wrists tend to stick out of their sleeves a bit, even in regular women's sizes. But I can even fit much of the 160 sized clothing, and I am a bit over the weight limit too. Still, bear in mind that the girl's clothing is cut for girls, and not for the rounder curves of most women. HA also carries a smaller women's clothing line, but it is much pricier. I recently ordered a pair of their women's rib-knit tights, and they are gorgeous... all the more since I got them at less than half price.

On a final note, Hannas look fabulous on girls of color. They are inspired by Swedish design, and no doubt they look nice on little blondies, but the intense color just lights up my girls' brown skin tones. In addition, the fact that most of the fabrics are mostly organic cotton knits, means they are less destructive to their delicate skin than wool or many synthetic fabrics, such as many of the popular fleeces. And for older adopted girls, who are still little girls in heart and mind, these clothes can satisfy their craving to wear pretty little girl clothes, getting lots of positive strokes for how sweet they look. For children with sensory issues, or for kids that just like to be comfortable and active, these are the perfect fit. For sisters who like to mix and match, or dress exactly alike once in awhile, Hannas fit the bill.

This is 'Tater, Boo, and LaLa with their former CW.
They are wearing matching appliqued and embroidered tees,
heavy knit hoodies, and pleated denim skirts
with chocolate colored footless tights.
Absolutely adorable for adoption day!

In top photo 'Tater and LaLa are singing "Jam and Bread"
from "The Sound of Music" on a Sunday walk last fall.

Smelly Washer

2009-01-02T09:03:00.000-08:00

This is a new entry under the category "things that work". This blog is where you will find me singing the praises of stuff that actually works, while you might find me railing at the other one about stuff that does not. One of the great blessings of nearly two years ago, was the fact that our Pastor gave us a nearly new washer and dryer. He and his family had just moved into their new home, and in it was the nearly new set. Except they already had their own, so they blessed us with these. They were so pretty... clean and shiny, and still with the protective shrink wrap over the instrument panels. But they were also used, apparently by persons who were unacquainted with the proper use of such technology. The dryer would not heat up, so hubby did surgery on it, discovering that the venting was clogged with a piece of lint the size of a giant layer cake, packed as tightly as felt. This resulted in the heating element eventually going bad...but it was a relatively simple and inexpensive fix, and it has run like a charm, almost continuously, since that time.

The washer was a work horse of a different color altogether. In our house we average two to three loads of laundry every day of the year, and this one chugged along like a trooper. BUT...it stunk. It smelled like a combo of dirty dog, and stinky feet. I tried everything I could think of, to eliminate the smell which would creep through the entire house. Hot water, soaking, bleach, vinegar, borax, enzyme treatments...nothing worked for any length of time. It was so bad, that we were considering junking the washer and buying a new one, though the thought was painful as mechanically this one worked fine, and produced clean clothing.

One day my frustrated husband began researching options online, and he came across a product called Smelly Washer. We decided that for about twenty bucks (including s&h), we would give it a try, and if it didn't work, it was off to the appliance store. The day that the little bottle of salt like crystals came, we merrily set about treating and soaking the washer. True, a little bit of sludge and residue seemed to be released, but after multiple treatments, the stench remained. After about a week, hubby was in the bathroom, hanging over the washer with furrowed brow, and I admit...I rolled over in my warm bed and dozed off, leaving him to ponder.

What he did is this; he added about four gallons of water to the already full barrel of treated hot water, bringing the water level just up to the very rim of the barrel. I'm not sure that the manufacturer would recommend this, but who cared at this point! He told my drowsy self that he was leaving it to soak overnight, and I should run it out in the morning. Well, much to my shock and disgust and joy, when I opened the washer to look at the water come morning light, I discovered that the state of Connecticut was actually floating and hovering suspended in the murky water. The smell was scary. So I gleefully ran a rinse like the over filled wash, pausing the machine to wipe out blobs of sludge with a rag as it spun dry. I immediately ran another hot soak, filled to the top, and repeated, with nearly the same results. Then again, a third time, with odd results. This time the machine release bubble gum pink waxy/greasy material that was highly (and obnoxiously) perfumed. I am assuming a build up of some mystery laundry product that I have never used? That has been lodged in the upper regions of my washer barrel acting like glue for anything nasty in my wash water?

So, "Glory, hallelujah!" Between the secret ingredients of Smelly Washer, and the ingenuity of a thrifty man, we seemed to have solved our ugly washer problem. The year 2009 promises to be sweeter smelling already! And although you may think you don't want to know what lurks in your washer, you know it isn't true. You will be drawn like a moth to the flame, to open that lid and peer into the murky water, and then run for the phone to call all your friends. I only wish I had taken a photo!

Happy New Year!

2009-01-01T09:52:00.000-08:00

A new blog for 2009. Not that I won't still blog at Scraps, but this is the "No Whining, No Worrying Zone". I need a place to leave that stuff outside the door, and put on my most ridiculous pair of pink goggles. And lest you think I'm going to give up whining and worrying, well that, as Mary Poppins says, is a "pie crust promise". (Easily made, easily broken.)

May we all have a wonderfully rose colored year ahead, and I supposed we had better enjoy it since we only have about three of them left, since the world is apparently ending in 2012... according to the History Channel. HA! I'M JOKING! But seriously, what would you do if it was true? Would you spend it fretting and complaining? Or would you focus on the best parts of each day, and count every blessing?