A Little Bit of This, A Little Bit of That

NEARLY WORDLESS WEDNESDAY

This week, it's a little bit of this, a little bit of that. Outdoors and indoors.

Two more of the 100 Species Challenge, and getting the guest room together--which is what I am doing when I am not teaching, preparing to teach, or doing the regular chores that keep the household from falling apart!

First, we go outside for two more of the 100 Species Challenge!

33. Bouteloua dactyloides: Buffalo grass.

Here mixed with weeds and Blue Gramma grass. (counted last September).

34. Atriplex canescens: Four wing salt-bush. Here, it is a brighter spring green than I have seen in June for a very long time. This is likely due to the very strange monsoon-like afternoon rains we have been getting for the past two weeks.




Now, we go back inside to check on the progress of the Library/Guest Bedroom.



Shayna is excited to “help” as I unpack books and order them on the new bookshelves. These books have been packed for three years, and I feel like I am greeting old, half-forgotten friends with every box.






I brought my rocker in from our bedroom, where it was looking crowded into a corner. We got an inexpensive mattress and box springs for the bed, and the bedcovers were one of those sets on clearance at a Big Box store. The set came with the sheets, shams, and decorative pillows, as well as the bedspread. A good deal indeed, I picked it up last January.



I teach this afternoon and evening, a full three classes, so I must get to preparations for a long day on hard floors! (I did get the sandals . . . and that’s another blog entry).


My small “t”, “c” and “h” are not working on blogger, although they work fine in Word. So I am writing in Word and using copy-paste. That’s enough of that for now!

The Room Project

N. will be leaving on Thursday for his long trip. He will be spending two weeks in Illinois with family, and then two weeks at COTE camp in New Jersey. While he is gone, we intend to put the wooden floor into his room. But first, I must get N. to do a major cleaning and re-organization, so that while he is gone it will be easy for us to remove the furniture and the carpet.

Frankly, the Engineering Geek and I have been absolutely stymied about what to do about N.'s pig-pen. We have tried reason, humiliation--the "chazer* lives here" sign was greeted with humor--tears (mine, when I emptied potting soil from his clothes basket), and remonstration. Finally, I resorted to the threat that we would not put him on the plane if he did not get cracking. That seemed to work.

*pig, in Yiddish

But I also realized that I need to help N. with the discarding and organizational part. Aspies are, after all, organizationally challenged, to say the least.

So N. is cleaning his room with our assistance. Among the members of our family, both the Engineering Geek and N. are sl....er, packrats. Neither of the XY members of the family are capable of throwing things away. Add to the mix that I have not entered his room since December, and I have not gone through his clothes with him since last summer, and then add to that the fact that one boy, one dog, a couple of fire-bellied toads and numerous trees all live in N.'s room, and you can picture...CHAOS!

So today and tomorrow are slated for room dismantlement and re-organization. Fortunately--because I have many things to do to wrap up the first term of IRD teaching and get N. on the plane with everything he needs Thursday--N. is good at the dismantlement part. Last night he began. Today, he took his bed apart so that he could get at the certified disaster area underneath. As I write, he is vacuuming under the bed and the parts of the bed. Then he is going to tackle the closet. There he will need my help with sorting and discarding many clothes that no longer fit him. He has grown two inches in the past 6 months and we really need to cull the clothing glut in the closet and drawers so he has room for the clothes that fit him.

Later this evening, I have a trip to the local Big Box planned. We need to get a closet organizer and some interlocking crates so that N. can organize the few--note the emphasis, here--things he keeps. Here, I am taking a page from the boy-room-organizing-book of Thinking Mother, who, like me, has been stumped about what to do about her son's disaster area a.k.a. bedroom. She finally made a decision to go in and do what we are now doing, wholesale dismantling, discarding and then reorganizing.

When N. returns from camp to a clean room with a new floor, new rules will be in force as well. No food or drink, no shoes, no sand or dirt brought in, and daily inspections to enforce the use of shelves, dresser drawers, and closet hangers intead of the floor for storage purposes. So every day the Executive Officer (me) of the Good Ship Los Pecos will perform the inspection. If the bed is not made and the room not picked up, then computer and other priveleges will be rescinded. If we do not get compliance, then a weekly Captain's Mast will take place with other consequences.

N.'s room was not only messy, it was unsanitary and unsafe. This weekend, I got tired of lamenting, critiquing and cajoling. The time for action was more than nigh!

Father's Day: Off to BSA Camp Dobbins

Ah, Father's Day. That really nice summer Sunday when Dads everywhere can hardly wait to get up at the crack of dawn to bring their boys to camp.

Not exactly Hallmark is it? But it is what many dads do.



Here is N. posing with the Engineering Geek in his new Father's Day issue T-shirt.

N. picked out the T-shirt.
He is looking disgruntled because I approached with a camera in hand, and proposed a pose.
N.'s comment: "Mothers! They're positively annoying with cameras." (I think he meant embarrassing).

The T-Shirt lists the 10 most common phrases out of the mouths of dads everywhere when something breaks.

(Note the form of the word--breaks. As if it did so spontaneously).


Men Loading the Vehicle: It is never called a "truck" or "car" or, G-d-forbid, "SUV" in the context of loading for an expidition. It is always and forever in these cases a "vehicle.'

N. cheered up somewhat. Guys like loading vehicles. (And he didn't notice me and the camera). They get to show off some physical muscle by heaving heavy articles of camping gear in an improbable pile in the back of a pick-up. They also get to display their ingenuity by walking around importantly with a clip-board, checking off the essential items, and by arguing over the best way to distribute the load for logistical purposes. (As in, "Hey, put that in last, Will, we'll need it right away when we get there!").



The dads got in some action with vehicle loading, too.
After all, it was Father's Day.
They got to deploy the tarp over the random-looking-but-carefully arranged pile of stuff in the pick-up bed.

Here the Engineering Geek performs the ancient Boy Scout art of knot tying.

At this point, the actual Scouts were engaging in the requisite high-jinks, the rolling bear-cub behavior that always spontaneously happens five minutes before they have to climb into cars and tr...er, excuse me, I mean 'vehicles' for the seven hour drive to camp. (BSA camps seem to always be located at least seven hours away from wherever the troop assembles. This allows for at least two mandatory sugar and junk-food stops to increase adult driving pleasure).


About two minutes before the boys needed to squeeze themselves into the ca...um, vehicles, the troop camp coordinator, Duke Buster (isn't that the perfect name for a BSA troop camp coordinator?)--anyway, Duke lined the scouts up for a list of last minute instructions.

There were instructions about getting to merit badge classes, dressing for dinner--they wear their uniforms in the mess hall--flag ceremonies, and helping old scout masters across the camp grounds (just kidding). The last few instructions were the most important:

• Remember, Scouts who spend all of their pocket cash on the first day are very hungry on the drive home
• Wear sun-screen
• Have FUN!

And they were off!

Packed into SAV's (Scout Assault Vehicles) around the most important stuff--the gear. Settling in for the long drive. Chattering excitedly about the relative merits of the various badges each boy had chosen...

Suddenly the parking lot was very quiet.
The Engineering Geek said, somewhat forlornly, "Sure is quiet around here."

"Yeah, too quiet." I answered.

We stopped at the store.
We met the Chem Geek Princess and her boyfriend for Father's Day Breakfast at Wecks. I went on to teach three reading classes.

The Engineering Geek went home to practice the fatherly art of sipping coffee on the porch with his newspaper.

It sure is quiet around here this week.

Too quiet.

Even In Australia: Multiple Choice, Hitting the Wall, and Henry Huggins

Yes, the things listed after the colon in the title really are connected, but only in a way that makes sense among the sleep deprived.
And I am soooo there!

Last week and weekend I spent my time feverishly finishing papers and studying for a multiple choice test in Child Psychopathology.
Generally, I do not like multiple choice tests.
I overthink the questions almost every time.
For example, consider this question:

"Down's Syndrome occurs more often with older mothers than younger mothers because:
a. chromosomal nondisjunction increases with maternal age
b. women's ova generally become less healthy with age
c. older women are generally less healthy than younger women
d. none of these"

Here's how I tend to think:
Me to myself: "Hmmm. Well, the book is an undergraduate text, so it probably says "a". However, that's not exactly right. It's not that nondisjunction--and isn't that spelled wrong?--occurs more often in older women, it's that older women are more likely to carry a fetus with a trisomy for small chromosomes--21 and 22--to term. So the real correct answer would have to be "d". But of course, she wouldn't expect the undergrads to know that, sooo...."

In my vast experience as someone who is addicted to taking courses, er, I mean a lifelong learner, I have learned to ignore the overanalytical part of my brain, (If I am not sleep deprived) and just go with the simplest answer. And I did that on Thursday and did well on the test.

But I hate multiple choice tests.

And I am now officially sleep deprived. This week, in order to keep up with the 8-9 hours of (paid) training for my summer job, as well as completing the semester's work, and educating N., I have been getting up before the sun and going to bed well after it sets.
I used to be able to do this kind of thing twice a semester--when I was in my 20's and 30's.
Now...well, ah, let's just say it's worse than 'Mommy Brain.' It is more like 'Mommy Brain' and 'PMS Brain' put together.

So today, I was cruising along in my training, and unwisely decided to take a MULTIPLE CHOICE QUIZ while sleep-deprived and before eating lunch.
"It's only a few more minutes," I rationalized (to myself--I'm not quite talking to the walls--yet). "Then we'll take a nice break."

Famous. Last. Words.
The information was somewhat complicated. The assessment system I was using had gotten a step more complex, and so I dithered over the answers for half-an-hour. That, as Bronowski says of Galileo, was my first mistake.
Then, just as I was about to submit the Quiz, I changed my answers.

Those of you who know the conventional wisdom about changing uncertain answers on a multiple-choice quiz are now groaning and throwing popcorn at the screen.

"How could you!" I hear you yelling. "WIth all of your experience being a student! "
Never. Never. Ever. Ever. Change. Your. Answers. When. You. Are. Uncertain.
The first response is most likely to be right.

Of course I did very, very poorly
.
I have an excuse. The training video, with its emphasis on "opening doors" for kids, and moving kids at this level along if there is the slightest reason to do so, misled me.
But, if I am completely honest, there was not the slightest reason to do so. And there were some other clues in the video.
The real problem? I made the right decisions the first time.
And then I changed my answers out of sheer, sleep-deprived paranoia. How could I be so certain? Was I not willing to give these (thankfully fictitious) children a chance? Etc. Etc.

Judith Viorst said there'd be days like this. Even in Australia.

The only sensible thing to do is take a break. Read Henry Huggins, and go get my hair done.

And speaking of Henry Huggins, have any of you read it recently?
As I do, I get the sense that times have really changed.
In this day and age Henry would probably have been detained by the TSA for attempting to bring a large, wriggling box onto a mode of public transportation.
His parents would have been charged with child abuse for letting him gather night-crawlers after dark in a public park.

Oh, and as for actually selling them? That would probably be doing business without a license.

See what I mean? Definitely sleep deprived.

So, it's off to town soon. I've got to get my hair done.
And turn in another paper for Child Psychopathology.

Did I mention that the printer is out of black ink?
Does that ever happen on days like this? Even in Australia?

Tomorrow is another day.

Mom Takes a Summer Job

The guys are off for a camping trip/astronomy fest at Chaco Canyon in the Farmington basin.

The CGP and I, along with the dogs and cats are here to hold the fort. She will be studying for finals.

I love Chaco, but I could not go this weekend. You see, I have to finish my last paper for my university semester. Two weeks early.

On Monday morning at 7:30 AM (Oy!) I start training for a summer job. Why am I taking a job? You may ask. And I'll tell you. We want to send N. to the Children of the Earth camps in New Jersey. He is signed up for two programs that follow up on what he did last year.

Below is a video highlighting the COYOTE TRACKS program in New Jersy.

And we are also buying land. And we want to do all this without borrowing money. So I am taking a job this summer, and the Engineering Geek is taking on some consulting for members of the Green Builders Association.

But this is not just any job.

This is a job that I am nervous and excited about.

I am going to be teaching reading to people who have difficulties with it through

the Institute for Reading Development.

When I read their call for teachers on the UNM Grad Student site, I thought to myself:

"Now this is the job I have been waiting for!"

I love the way they approach reading. What they want to do is develop people's reading skills so that they can become absorbed in the books they read, become part of the book, and make the book part of themselves. Instead of professional educators, they look for people who love books, who eat,drink, and breathe books, who cannot imagine life without them.

And like many of us who homeschool, I am one of those people.

And in my alternative path to teaching, I got very little training in how to teach reading for pleasure and absorption. My two courses in reading (Reading in the Content Field for Secondary Teachers, and Teaching Reading to Children with Disabilities) were good, but did not have the depth I had hoped.

So it's back to work for me. While N. is working on the last few of his math lessons for the year next week, and doing some Kamana, I am going to be getting paid for ten intense days of distance training that involves conference calls, internet work, and study of the teaching manuals for the program. They also sent me 5 books to be read next week, although I have already begun.

They are:

Henry Huggins

A Cricket in Times Square

Banner in the Sky

The Fellowship of the Ring

Dibs in Search of Self.

I am excited.

And nervous.

And I have to complete my last paper before it all begins. The days of pulling all-nighters to write papers are far behind me.

At least if I want to be coherent.

I know this summer's work will be intense.

Teaching is always intense.

But I will meet new people, spend time with kids and adults, and make some money.

And N. will go to BSA camp in Colorado in June, and to New Jersey for two weeks via Illinios for two weeks in August. He will earn 5 badges, then visit his cousins, then visit our former cantor and her children and then go to camp.

Busy summer ahead!

More Floorz: Two Hundred Forty Plus Square Feet Down

The hallway got completely finished today. Bruce and N. glued down the last six rows. That's 51 feet long by 18 " wide, plus a little in the corner.

Well--their job is finished. When the glue had dried--probably Sunday morning--it is my job to take up the tape and clean the floor. I have ordered a special vacuum attachment to dust and polish hard wood floors. And you thought it was only the guys who get new tools for each project! ;)

Here are the guys gluing in the hall between the kitchen and the living room. Bruce is spreading the Bostik, and N. is putting in boards.




Here they are 'finageling' boards at the edge of the living room and the hallway to the bedrooms.

Finageling is a term that in this context means using force to push the boards as close to each each other as possible once they have been put down on the glue. Once the boards are in place according to engineering (read "perfectionist") standards--that is 'finageled' into place--then the blue painter's tape is put on in order to hold them there until the glue has dried.

We will use our stocking feet in the hall until then.





Here is the corner where the last hallway board will be laid. Bruce had cut the last rows on Sunday and Monday.
But the gluing takes a good long time and must be done in one fell swoop, so he waited 'til today to do it.

N. has been a tremendous help with the gluing. It is going faster with his small hands contributing to the job.

My guys do a lot of talking about life, the universe and everything while they work. It is fascinating. When they are seated at the table, for example, facing each other, the talk is all joking and teasing. But when they are working side-by-side it becomes the deep, heart-to-heart talk that women do at the table. It's another "guy thing" that I can't even pretend to understand.



Since N. has been such a trooper--today's work was over six hours total--he got the honor of laying the last board for the hallway.

Viola!

That's one corner board for the boy, finishing about 240 square feet and one "room." At last.

And just in time for Shabbat to start. We'll have a prayer of thanksgiving tonight. One room down.








This is the completed hallway looking from the bedrooms toward the dining room. The living room is on the left. The blue tape is temporary and will be removed soon.

Here is Bruce checking the work for the last corner near the master bedroom door. We are looking from the dining room toward the bedrooms. The living room is on the right.

This is sure taking a long time. Bruce thinks the dining room will go faster because the room is regularly rectangular and he won't need to make so many strange cuts.

The guys deserve a pat on the back. The hallway is done.

And N. has earned money for his camp fund. He doesn't know that yet.

Keep it under your hat.

That's a surprise. His staying power has been astonishing.

SHABBAT SHALOM!

Geeking Out, R3D3, & Why Prep Takes So Long

Some people geek out on Star Trek, Star Wars, or computers. Some geek-out on Harry Potter, science fiction, or even subway schedules.

But my beloved husband gets the geek-gleam in his eye over tools and DIY equipment.
And he has to have just the right thing to do the right job--perfectly.

Which is why, six days past FLOORING--THE BEGINNING, we are still in the preparation stage. I took the above pictue last night. You can see that in the dining room, the carpet is finally out, and the carpet is rolled up under the window. And why did it take from Sunday until yesterday to get this far? Bruce needed just the right tool to get up the carpet tack-strips. And he was just waiting until he could get to Harbor Freight.

Sigh.

But as you can see in the picture to the left, the carpet is completely out of the hallways as of today. It's amazing what a geek can do with the perfect tool.

Yesterday, I finally moved the dining chairs that were stacked on top of each other from the living room. I also removed the basedboards that had been removed. They were marked with mysterious marking on the back in indelible ink. Markings like: "OFF 2 W" (office, 2 west) and "LR 3 NE." I put them in the garage, in one stack, on the other side of the table in the middle. The one we use to hold all sorts of stuff that would probably be rejected by Good Will. Then I straightened up the living room and vacuumed the only carpeting left in the main areas of the house (other than bedrooms).

I just wanted to have one place to sit where things looked (relatively) normal.

When Bruce got home from work and looked at the living room, a worried furrow appeared in his brow. "Where's the baseboard?"

"I put it in the garage," I said. "Zoey nearly punctured her paw when she stepped on one."

"H-h-how'd you move them?" He asked.
Me: "I carried them into the garage one at a time."
Bruce: "But did you vacuum them first?"
Me: "Huh?"
Bruce, starting to breath rapidly: "Well..where'd you put them?"
Me: "By the table."
Bruce, hyperventilating: "But did you use my system?"
Me, with weary patience: "What system, honey?"
Bruce: "D-d-d-did you stack them according to room and direction and number?"
Me; "Huh?"

You get the picture.

So today I went to town to go to the bakery for Challah--it's too hot to bake. I even had a breakfast burrito for lunch, giving Bruce and much time alone with the prep as possible.


When I got home, Bruce had re-stacked the flooring boxes and removed the carpet in the hallways.

While I put the Challah and groceries away, Bruce swept the halls--twice. Then he re-swept the dining room. With a broom!

While I vacuumed the kitchen and dining room, he re-swept the halls.
I thought I'd be helpful and vacuumed the dining room edges. You know, where the baseboards and floor meet, if the baseboards are on. Which they are not. I looked up to see Bruce looking at me, brow furrowed again.


Bruce: I'll just get R3D3."
Me: "Huh?"
Bruce: "You should use R3D3 to get the job done right."
Me: "Is R3D3 related to R2D2?"
Bruce, pulling the gynormous shop-vac into the house: "...Come on, R3..."

Of course, he re-did the dining room with R3D3.
He is now getting R3D3 to help out with the hallways.

I thought they looked pretty spiffy in the picture above.
But apparently not spiffy enough.

The Beam Central Vac is not the right tool for the job.
To get it perfectly spiffy you need...

[Dum, dum, dum-de da-dum da-dum (Star Wars theme)]

R3D3!

I'll let him get it perfect for at least 30 more minutes. Then I'll tell Bruce "Skywalker" that it's time to have a bath for Shabbat.
Han Solo is coming to dinner. With the Wookie.

Returns and Departures

After a very quiet week, I picked N. up in town after his week at Boy Scout Camp in Texas.



The camp was in the Big Bend area, not far from Fort Davis. My boy came home tired and dirty and hot...it was regularly 109 degrees F down there. And very happy about his successful week.

He completed these merit badges while at camp:

• Horsemanship


• Riflery


• Archery


• Swimming

For horsemanship, he had to learn the parts of the horse, the names of the tack, how to groom the horse, muck the stall, feed the horse, and care for and put on the tack, as well as riding. He had to get up at 5 AM and muck and feed before eating his own breakfast. What a great lesson in responsibility for other living things! In swimming he learned water safety, as well as getting advanced instruction in free-style (crawl), backstroke, sidestroke, and breaststroke. For riflery and archery, he had to demonstrate care of the weapon, and safety, as well as marksmanship. He had written tests to complete for each badge, before he rode, got in the water, or used the weapons. He learned that if he was to complete all four badges, he had to use his free time for practicing the skills he was learning. What a great learning experience. And he had great fun and came home with a great sense of accomplishment.

N. will be home all day today and tomorrow, and then he will be flying to Chicago on Tuesday for a three-week visit with my parents, sisters and their children. He is really looking forward to spending a lot of time having fun with his cousins!

And that led me to a frantic search today for his birth certificate! We need to get him a state ID so that he can negotiate the airports and get through security by himself.

And you know how it is...I knew right where all of the legal documents were--in the old house! I ventured into the cave of Bruce's office. Because I knew the documets were in the file cabinet in Bruce's office. No dice. I looked again. Still not there. I found a copy ofour marriage certificate stuck in a very interesting set of documents...but that's a different story.

Then I asked MLC:

Me: "Didn't I give you your birth certificate when you applied for your passport?"

MLC: "Yep. You got it right out of the file cabinet and handed it to me."

Me: "Which file cabinet?"

MLC: "It was about "yea" high (she gestured) and white. You went right to it."

Me: "Where was the file cabinet? Was it in this house?"

MLC: "Yep. You went right to it and handed it to me."

So I went out to the garage. Our garage should park three cars. Our two cars are parked outdoors while all three bays are full of boxes, half-opened containers with the contents leaking out, empty boxes, and the flotsam and jetsam of the move. The one we made last year.

Ahem! Embararrasing, isn't it?

So I went out to the garage--well shod in case I step on a lizard--and climbed over the Christmas lights the previous owner left on the house that we took down because we don't use them; the ones that were deposited between the refrigerator and the stack of astronomy stuff boxes. The file cabinet was next to N.'s old desk, and a stack of boxes of yet-to-be-unpacked books was square in front of the drawers. I moved those boxes, after first clearing away some of the other stuff sitting there to make room--and opened the top drawer of the file cabinet.

EMPTY!

I frantically moved the box in front of the bottom drawer.

EMPTY!

MLC, opening the garage door: "By the way, Mom, you took the file to put it somewhere safe and accessible."

Me: "WONDERFUL! I wonder where THAT would be?"

MLC: "Try your office."

Hmmm. I cleaned my office before Pesach. I looked in the obvious place--the small file box near my desk. I found:

• The expired warranty on my 5-year old Focus


• Pay stubs from my teaching job at Rio Rancho High dated 2000.


• Blank greeting cards for all occasions.


• NO BIRTH CERTIFICATE!

OY! Vey iz mir!

I looked in every notebook on my bookshelf. No dice.

I checked in the desk in the kitchen. Nope.

Then I opened the closet in my office. I had put several boxes of photos and mementos on the shelf. So I got the step-ladder. And brought down the first box. It was full of photographs. I pulled out a few: Counter-clockwise from bottom left: MLC taken 20 years ago, one of N. and his friend Jon-Jon, from 1998. A photo of MLC and N taken in 1995. And one of our cat, Binky, when he could fit into the palm of your hand, taken back in 2002. NO BIRTH CERTIFICATE.

I went through another box that contained my high school diploma, and among other such stuff, my ex's high school diploma. No file!

Finally, I pulled down a box labeled: Hebrew Teaching. And textbooks and my notes for teaching were on top. Then I found files of papers such as "The Lonely Man of Faith" by Soleveitchik. I found copies of Rosh Chodesh Services and Women's Seder Services I had written in the 1990's. And then, toward the bottom, I found my legal papers. Below that were the papers for the purchase of my first house in 1999. And, at the very bottom, a file labeled in red sharpie: IMPORTANT! RE-FILE AT ONCE! THIS MEANS YOU-E! Love, E.

You guessed it. It contains my birth certificate, the children's birth certificates, our original marriage certificate, and all of the other seldom-used-but-very-important-when-needed documents of life.

Later, as Bruce and I were eating some lunch, N. wandered in.

"Did you find it?" he asked.

"N., I am not sure you were actually born," I teased him.

He stuck his tongue out at me. "Where was it?" he asked.

Smart aleck!

O.K. maybe I should follow my own, capitalized, exclaimation-pointed, written -n-red instructions with love to myself.

Bruce is out in the garage now--tidying up a bit. Ya gotta love that guy!

And it's nice to find all-but-forgotten pictures.

I guess I know what I can occupy my lonely days with while N. is in Illinois.

The papers? I've got them somewhere safe and accessible until I need them tomorrow.

Summer Solstice: The Long, Busy Days of Summer

I woke N. up this morning saying: "Rise and shine, sleepy head! Today is the longest day of the year!"

He replied: "All days are the same length. Twenty-four hours." And buried his head under the pillow.

I said: "I mean, today is the longest daylight of the year. It's the..."

"...summer solstice," N. responded. "Yep." And he winked at me. "I may rise, but I refuse to shine!"

Do you get the sense that he is playing with our expectation of his 'Aspie" literalism? I do.

That's definitely progress. He is beginning to understand irony.

Here is a picture of the sunrise from our front porch today. Not only did the sun rise to the farthest north that it will for the whole year--but it is sure rising early. I got this picture at about 6:15 AM MDT.

The summer solstice is the beginning of astronomical summer in the nothern hemisphere in the modern calendar. It is the time when the sun shines directly on the Tropic of Cancer at noon and the time of maximum insolation of the northern hemispere. This is because the northern hemispere is tilted toward the sun at this point in our yearly revolution around our star, Sol.

To the right is a picture of the sunrise on the Vernal Equinox, three months ago. You can see from the position of Henry the truck that the location of the sunrise has appeared to move quite a distance since then.

In the old calendar, the summer solstice was Midsummer, an occasion for celebrations of fruitfulness. Weddings were common around the time of the solstice. This is the time of when the goddess was worshipped in her aspect of motherhood and fecundity. When Christianity came to Europe, the solstice became St. John's Mass. There is no Jewish holy day associated with the summer solstice since we have a lunar calendar. So we mark the solstice and celebrate the joy of summer, but it is not a holiday for us.

The long days of summer have traditionally been a busy time for human beings. We tend to sleep for fewer hours and there is light for many more hours in order to get work done.

We have been in the grand tradition this week!On Monday, we had a BSA Court of Honor for N.'s troop to attend. N. got his Totin' Chip for the use of knives, axes, and saws. Here he is, getting his award!

On Tuesday, I had to get the master suite and the guest suite ready for recarpeting.

Bruce and I then stayed overnight at our synagogue as volunteers for Interfaith Hospitality Network.

And yesterday, we had the master suite and the guest suite recarpeted. It was a long day, even though we had the 'carpet guys' come out to do the work. It was long because we couldn't really do the things we normally do, spreading all over the house. We had furniture in the living room and dining room, and the 'carpet guys' were tromping through to get the work done.

I spent a lot of time catching up on reading blogs, going through mail and trying to keep out of the way of the 'carpet guys.'

There were two of them and they worked most of the day, taking only about 20 minutes for lunch. One of them brought his son who spoke almost no English. But he and N. played on the swings together, climbed the tree, watched movie, and played Rollercoaster Tycoon. It is really interesting how well they got along, playing Horse...or is it Caballo? :)

At one point, I was talking to the little boy and said to him, "Como se dice...?" And pointed at the microwave. (He was heating up lunch for himself, his padre and his companero). N. turned to me and said, " I didn't know you could speak Spanish. I said, "Solamente un poco. But I used to be fluent. I had six years in junior high and high school, and then two more years in college. But I found I could no longer remember the past tense! Oy!

N. and I joined the 'carpet guys' and the boy on the porch for lunch. There was too much furniture in the dining room. They had the burritos. We had turkey sandwiches. I gave everyone root beer.

It was a long job. They were finally done at about 6 PM.

But they still had to move the furniture back inside! See it there outside the French doors?

I think the carpet looks pretty good, though.

Once they were gone and dinner was over, I still had to put the room back together. And I was really tired. So tired that I felt like I couldn't string more than two words together.

And we still weren't done...

Because today, Henry the Little Red Truck got a brand new look!

Just in time for the solstice.

Tomorrow I plan to do laundry. That's it. I'm not going ANYWHERE.

Except out to look at Henry.

Carnival of Homeschooling # 77: Roadtrip!

I'm late! But I won't miss the road trip!

The weeks Carnival of Homeschooling Roadtrip is up over at Consent of the Governed.

I have all sorts of excuses, including an overnight in town last night.

Bruce and I had a commitment to spend the night at our synagogue as volunteers for the Interfaith Hospitality Network.

Today I am having carpet installed in the two bedroom suites--the master and the guest suites. So before I left yesterday, we had to get those rooms ready for the installers.

You know: remove lamps and breakables and the small furniture and throw rugs. Remove clothing from the lower closet racks---etc. Just so we can put it back again tonight!

And I stayed up too late last night. My fault. I reached the climax of Tom Clancy's The Sum of All Fears at 10 PM. My husband sensibly turned in on our roll-away in the volunteer classroom.

I foolishly read on in the synagogue library until worldwide nuclear holocaust was averted.

So I think that this afternoon, I will sit out on the porch with an iced tea and take a virtual roadtrip! It will be fun! It will be relaxing.

I need that.

Close, But No Cigar!

Yesterday, I got three more steps done on the 300 Million Year Stonework Project.

Here they are--close to the top. But...not...quite...there.

It was a beautiful afternoon, albeit warm, so after working three hours in the sunshine--I left the shade behind at the bottom of the steps--I called it quits.

It is taking a bit longer toward the top because the hill is steeper there and it takes longer to clear the dirt that I have to dig out to make a step.

N. planted his pumpkin patch as I was working.

Then he rested on the porch. Then he read in his "hidden spot for reading in the tree." Smart kid--he plans projects that can be completed within his attention span.

Here is the curved path of stairs from the top. Another reason for slower time at the top is that I have hit the "B" horizon. Clay and pebbles, fixed with plant roots. I am running into tree roots, so the curve is a little greater than I had planned.
I just can't bear to pull out very small Ponderosa pines recruited since last year. I plant o transplant them in the fall instead.

I figure maybe one more step and a secure landing at the top.

But not today. I got this message from the National Weather Service:

"HIGH WIND WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 9 PM MDT THIS EVENING.

Southwest wind will reach sustained speeds of 35 to 45 Mph with Gusts around 60 Mph by

early afternoon and Continue through early this Evening...Blowing dust may reduce Visibility Suddenly...

Strong Winds will be Hazardous to Trailers and other High Profile Vehicles...

Take Action to Secure lawn furniture, trash cans...stong winds can Topple Trees...Blow Weakened Roofs off Houses...Down Powerlines...

The NWS has quaint capitalization rules, no?

Anyway, I don't think I want to be out in this. It is gusting already. Today is a good day to get inside work done.

Work Update

We are getting a lot of work done.

Yesterday, Bruce took a few hours of leave and came home at about 3 PM. He and N. undertook to finish unloading the wood chip mulch for the dog run.

N. seemed really enthusiastic yesterday. Maybe because at that point, they were able to open the tailgate without spilling half the mulch on the ground. That meant they could rake the stuff out.

N. likes using tools to do work. It's a guy thing.

They got the unloading done in about half-an-hour.


N. did most of the raking.

Bruce did the wheelbarrow job.

They dumped the mulch in piles in the dog run.

Bruce had prepped the dog run before we picked up the mulch. You see, last summer and fall, the dogs had dug some pretty good holes near the gate and at places along the fence looking for an escape route.
Hounds are amazing escape artists. And both dogs have hound in them.
But the contractor had sunk the CMU three units below ground level, and so the dogs went nowhere. But the holes were there. Bruce weeded the run and leveled the ground inside.



Then, when they had unloaded all of the mulch into the dog run, Bruce and N. got in there and raked it level.

N. had calculated the approximate volume of the mulch in the truck bed. Then he calculated the area inside the dog run. He predicted that the mulch would cover the that area to a depth of about 4 inches if raked evenly.

He was very close. Although it took a while to rake it evenly.



I had begin working on the 300 million year stonescape steps at about 1:30.

As the guys were unloading mulch, I was still hard at it, getting the sixth step in place.

IMHO, it is much harder than the mulch job.
I have to carry heavy rocks, measure steps, get rocks to fit and make the border. Every so often, I have to take the wheelbarrow into the woods on our property in order to collect more rocks. And wheel it back--uphill.

This is close work that takes time. Plus I am learning from my mistakes as I go.


A summer afternoon shower blew up about when the guys finished unloading. I had finished the sixth step.

It was a chance to sit on the porch and take a break.

N. decided that "just in case," he would fetch the wheelbarrow under the porch. No need to have a puddle in it!

Bruce and I sat in our rockers, sipped water--thirst provides the best taste to it--and enjoyed the respite.

As it turned out, it rained for about 10 minutes--we got about 1/100th of an inch all told. Just enough to wet the ground.


Then we were back at it. The guys raked the mulch in the dog run. I worked on my seventh step.

In the picture, you can see that the sixth and seventh steps make a small curve.

According to the landscape books, this adds interest to the steps. In my eyes, it allows me to construct about two fewer steps than if they went up in a straight path.

However, the ground is steeper, so digging out the steps is more work. Gotta move the dirt somewhere else!
But I think it is turning out pretty well.
On Sunday, it rained hard on my steps and there was no shifting. I must be doing something right.
Today, I am hoping to actually finish the steps.

Then maybe my blogs will be more varied and interesting.

Using the Front End Loader to Avoid Divorce

At the end of last week, the contractor finally came out to finish the dog run.

They built it last year and were supposed to come in July to put stucco on the CMU (concrete masonary units), change out the gate (cyclone fencing is verboten by our HOA), and level the concrete floor in the living area.

Due to the early record monsoon and then the rainy and windy fall and then the very snowy winter--plus illness in the contractor's family--they finally got out here Thursday. What is it Robbie Burns said about "the best laid plans"...?

Yesterday, once the stucco was dry, we went down to the East Mountain Transfer Station to get free wood chips. That will be more comfortable for the dogs and keep the weed problem down. Also, if we get a good monsoon it will mean less mud. We pulled up to the little window and Bruce told the guy that we wanted wood chips.

TS Guy: "They are free if you load them yourselves and five dollars if I load them with a front end loader."

Bruce: "Five dollars? Hmmm. Elie, N., are you ready to do loading?"

Me: Stunned silence.

N: "Huh?"

TS Guy: "Look, I'll put a whole truckload in your bed in less than 5 minutes."

Bruce: "Ah...how much did you say?" Looks at me.

Me: "Bruce...."

TS Guy: "Sir, five dollars for the front end loading..." I nodded at him. "That'll be five dollars, sir."

Bruce: "I think five dollars is a reasonable price to avoid divorce." And he paid up.

Of course, we had to unload ourselves back home. We got about a quarter of the way done when a thunderstorm that had been brewing for a while reached the threatening stage. So we still have the rest to unload today. It's dusty work--but you know how much this would have cost at a garden supply store? Or to have the contractor do it?

And it looks really good inside the dog run and against the stucco.

The dog run phase I will finally be finished once we spread the wood chips 4 inches thick across the whole area.

Phase II involves putting a green metal roof over the "living area" where the dog house stands.

I also got some more steps done on "the 300 million year stonescape" project.

It is going slowly but surely.

And Bruce got the chairs out on the porch in time for us to sit outside Saturday evening. I think they look really nice on the porch.