T-Minus 7 Days and Counting!

Okay, so I really don't have time to blog. But I need a break from clothes packing hell! The good news is that the kitchen/linen/uniform stuff is done and ready to go into the trailer. The food stuff is close to done and easy to finish. My civies won't take too long, and most of them are still packed from last summer anyway. That leaves. . . . teenager clothing. Arg.

If we were all four going out at the same time this year, or if two of us go out now and 2 follow later, and if we were all coming back at the same time, it would be a snap to pack. Unfortunately, since we've got an utterly wacky schedule this year, packing is going to be a real trip.

First, DD and I need traveling clothes. No problem. We throw the stuff the 2 of us need for traveling in a big ol' suitcase and call it done. But! I have to be sure he has clothes to wear when we come home for FTD's graduation in June. Okay, so I leave some of his least favorite clothes in the closet. But wait! Then he and DH have to drive back out, so he needs traveling clothes. Okay, pack a separate suitcase for that. Done. But wait! Tommy needs clothes out west, so I'll have to take those now. But he also needs clothes for 3 more weeks of school. Why do you ask, do I need to pack the suitcases for the boys now? Because DH is totally clueless as to what the boys wear, what they like, what they need, what fits, etc., etc.. God only knows what they'd show up with if I let DH pack.

I'm worried enough about letting him pack his own clothes. He keeps saying things like, "Well, I'll be 10 pounds lighter when I get out there, so I'll bring the 'skinny' clothes that I kept/purchased all these years." Take a deep breath, Mama. Think happy, serene thoughts. As kindly as I could, I says, "You know, Love of My Life, that we have no extra storage space out west for clothes. . ." "Oh. Yeah. Well," says he. Says I, "If you loose some weight while you're out there, we'll go buy you new stuff." "Hmmm," says he, "but I've been collecting this stuff for so long, and never got to wear it." "Hmmmmm," says I, as kindly as I can again muster. And so it goes. I've no idea what he'll bring out, but I did set limits on how many boxes he can bring.

The other fly in the packing ointment is that all three of them will drive home in mid August for school. They'll wear uniforms at Penta, so I don't have to worry about getting all their clothes home in August. I'll send traveling clothes, and pack the rest away to bring home with me in the trailer. Three grown size male humans in the butt-ugly Aztec with traveling gear is all the car will hold. (What an odd sentence.)

DH just surfaced to say he's got some of the fishing gear ready. Translation, "I might have it done by Thursday or so."

Back to the pack I go. I'm stalling on getting the office supplies done, I don't know why, but I can't seem to take enough stuff. I don't really need all that much stuff, but what if . . . We all have our Achilles tendon, and mine is office supplies. Oh. And books. Did I mention books. . . .

Madison, Hayden, and Lamar just sit back and laugh at me. Rotten little scoundrels.

More Hiking with Kids!

I've been volunteering with the Metroparks again this spring. For alleged fiscal reasons, they fired half a dozen part-time naturalists. These good folks picked up most of the weekend events, so the full-time permanent staff could cover weekday events, like school groups. While I'm totally aghast and ticked about the action, I also fully believe that the importance of getting kids out into the field is more important that the ridiculous political goings-on of the current park administration. And so, I offer up my talents.

Today, I had the chance to take a dozen energetic first graders from Hiawatha Elementary School out for a romp in the Oaks. They were fun and lively and very very well behaved! Great group! They have perfected their chick-a-dee-dee-dee calls! And they were soooo quiet when we were listening for frogs. What a delightful way to spend the morning.

My group with Madison Wolf, Lamar Bear, and Hayden Bison.
Inspecting a salamander. Cool!
School chaperone who was up close and personal with the salamander. Great find!
The Furries with a new friend! A Timberwolf from Hiawatha Elementary!
Hayden, Madison, and Lamar wishing someone would share lunch with them. Or in the case of Lamar, that someone would be lunch!

Fingerprints! I Now Have Some!

It only took the fibbies 7 tries to read my fingerprints and it seems they have succeeded. At least I'm cleared to begin work. . . I'll double check to see if they were readable or if I was adjudicated out of hand again. At any rate, I'm cleared for take off!



I've painted the inside of the cargo trailer--for no other reason than it's prettier. Sheesh. It's just nicer to be shoveling junk in there. Even Madison Wolf, Hayden Bison, and Lamar Bear like it better than the unpainted version. I put the carpet back in, am gathering stuff like lawn chairs and some other goodies. Tomorrow after school, I'll have DD start bringing the boxes up from the basement.


I've put the sewing goodies under covers for the summer, which was hard to do after visiting the Sauder Village Quilt Show this morning. Holy cow, there was some drop dead incredible stuff. I might go crazy next year and enter something just to say I've entered something. One of my friends won a ribbon in the challenge division. I'll look into that, too.

DD and I pull up stakes in 11 days. It's crunch time, but the things that are left are the hardest. My office box is always out of control, as it is again this year. Packing my clothes will be easy as will DD's but FTD and DH need at least 3 more weeks of clothes here, but DH wants me to take his summer duds with me. That will be a good trick, since FTD doesn't have enough clothes to make that happen. DH does, but he always over packs clothes no matter what. And we need to decide what camping gear to take. We either take too much and don't use it, or none and wish we did. There's not much middle ground here.

Speaking of the boys, we had FTD's final IEP (Individualized Educational Plan) meeting with the Anthony Wayne Schools today. Thank God. It has been a brutal process. I've only heard of one family anywhere who has had smooth sailing through the whole deal. Only one. There's something very wrong with the system still. DD's is next week and that will be much nicer.

FTD will get to walk across the stage for his 'social graduation.' Had AW done their job properly, he'd have enough credits to actually graduate, but they figure kids with special needs don't belong in the AW building, so they don't bother. I've been harsh on the district before and now that we're nearly done with them, I'm not feeling anymore charitable towards them.

But the saddest part of the whole mess is that even after getting job training at the vocation HS for the next 2 years, my kids will probably only be employable in sheltered workshops. The job market totally sucks for able bodied, able minded people--what chance do my kids have?

Did I ever mention that grieving is an on-going part of being a parent of kids with special needs?

The up side is that we're hoping the boys can get seasonal employment in the hospitality industry where ever I work. Cross your fingers. And come on over and help pack the trailer!

It's Countdown Time!

With fewer than three weeks to go, I can really start counting down. Of course, it may be for naught, since I haven't heard about my fingerprints yet, but we'll hope for the best.

I picked up nearly all the kitchen/bath non-perishables today. Just a couple more things to get yet--like TP which will hopefully go on sale soon. Stocking two kitchens is one of those interesting juggling jobs. Trying to guess how much of this or that to take always taxes my puny grey cells. But from today--3 weeks before we head out!

Packing Up, Not Quite Heading Out

It's that time of year! Hooray! I'm counting the days--less than a month until we head back out west. I indulged in some pre-packing this weekend. I did the linens a while back, so I took on the kitchen gear this time.

Packing to go west isn't too bad. There are a few clothing issues (which I could easily solve by just saying "This pile is my out west clothes and this pile is my at home clothes). But I have several favorites that I like for both places. There aren't too many cross-pollinated things, not being a clothes horse, but still more than I like to admit. And I only have one winter coat and I need that in both places. I suppose I could go hit the Good Will to find an out west coat. . . . hmmm.

Linens aren't too much of a problem. This year we're going to try a little foam pad deal that supposedly turns two twins into a king size bed. Three of our four years on the road we hauled out Select Comfort mattress with us and put in on two twins. Worked pretty nicely. It doesn't pack down really small, but smaller than a real king mattress would. One year, we decided to use the double bed that was provided. We barely slept a wink all summer. When you've had a king bed for 25 years, and your girth has significantly expanded in said time, well. . . . This year, since DH will only be out west for about 6 or 7 weeks, we're going to try another route. I'm hoping the beds didn't get moved out of our apartment. We had to do some fancy footwork to get 4 twin bed frames, springs, and mattress last year. We'll see. I'll have plenty of time to round them back up if I need to this year.

The real packing challenge comes with kitchen gear. I've accumulated almost enough stuff for the summer kitchen. DH has a couple of favorite pans, and I have a favorite pot, so I guess I'll take the pot, and he gets to keep the pan until he comes out. We really don't need the pan at home, because I've completed my Calphalon set here (Dang, I'm a savvy shopper--I've never had to pay full price for the stuff! And I think it's still made here in Toledo. Cool.) I'd like to keep it in the kitchen box, but he likes to use it here, so we lug it back and forth. There are a couple of other goodies like that--Pyrex dish in a warming carrier, good apple slicer, margarita cooler. And going out I can pack up all the stuff and still eat. Not the case coming home. Meal planning is an art when it's time to come home, especially since the nearest restaurant is 14 miles away. So I have to plan food we can eat without using real tableware, pots, pans, or microwave. Yea. Cereal it is for the last 2 days in the park.

Here's my packing tip for getting food on the way out. I stock up on all the basics here--flour, sugar, cereal, pasta, etc.. But I also take 2 empty coolers with us. When we get to Livingston or Bozeman, we hit the grocery and stock up on frozen and refrigerated stuff and get as much into the coolers as possible.

When we arrive at the apartment, Job One is put a frozen pumpkin pie in the oven, which means I need to get to a cooking sheet. I use the pizza pan for that. The apartment smells like home again in no time at all. Job Two is get the beds made. That of course means the linens have to be in the back of the cargo trailer, which works out nicely. The next day, the pizza pan is ready to pop pizza in the oven and we're really home.

This is the theory. . . it worked quite well last year, let's see how it plays out in real life!

In My Spare Time

As if I don't have enough to do, I'm re-upping with the Girl Scouts. I loved my 7 years of Scouting as a kid, and my 3 years as a Scout professional. Now I'm playing with the Green Hat Society and getting ready to become a trainer again.

I sort of have some concerns about where Girl Scouting is headed. There is no emphasis on "troop team building" which could be a good thing for some girls, but I think we're missing a huge opportunity for most girls. I've always said that we might accidentally put ourselves out of business by teaching girls that they CAN be doctors, lawyers, rangers, pipe fitters, journalists, and astronauts, among many other things. And now that women are, they don't have time to be Scout leaders. Drat!!

So that begs the question why do Dads have time to be Cub and Boy Scout leaders and Moms don't have time to be Girl Scout Leaders? Studies show that even though women are working the same numbers of hours as men, they are still doing most of the housework. Trust me, it's hard work running a household. And it's work for which we do not get paid, nor can we count it towards our retirement benefits. Did I mention that it's WORK?

So, my gentle men friends, pitch in! Do the dishes without being asked! (By the by, 'doing the dishes' also means clean the kitchen up.) Do the laundry! (My Dad always did the laundry. It reached the point that he wouldn't let my Mom because he didn't like the way she folded stuff. My parents were soooooo cool.) Yeah, yeah, I hear ya whining that you do the mowing and shoveling of snow, but that ain't nuthin' compared to the daily needs of a household. Grab that broom, bro! Come on--the young women of this county need for you to pick up the slack. They need time outside just as much as boys do. They need to learn what it means to be decent, hardworking, giving young ladies. They need the support the Elder Aunties of the Tribe have for them and they need the time it takes to learn the lessons.

The Boy Scouts are celebrating their 100th anniversary even as we speak. The Girl Scouts will celebrate our centennial in 2012. Expect this Scout to be there every fun filled step of the way.

Project: Finished!

We've put the finishing touches on FTD's 'new' room! Hooray! And it looks just grand. Pictures and posters are back up, curtains back up, new lights, the whole works. Man oh man does it feel good to have this one under our belts. DD's room doesn't need much, so unless I get a wild hair next fall, we're done painting for a good long while. (The wild hair might be a new coat of paint in the dining room with it's 17' tall walls. . . . Scary scaffolding would be involved. . . . any takers?)

Here 'tis:

Perfect Weather

Today was the day. Utterly, completely fantastic weather. We don't get them like this very often in Ohio, so we savored it.

Every window in the house is open and it's nearly 10 p.m.. It was the kind of day where curtains fluttered in the windows, and gentle sunshine poured into every nook and cranny of the house. I actually spent most of the day cleaning (still in the process of bleaching every surface I can think of, as FTD is still sick). But even those chores are tolerable when the breeze is warm and gentle, and the sun warm and well, sunny.

It was truly a day to savor.

Yet Another Rock

Yet another issue with having kids with special needs is trying to figure out just how sick the kid is or isn't. This is a tough one for all parents, but for us, it's worse.

Take FTD, for example. He never complains about anything. Well, except he complains about DD a lot. He tries to please everyone. After he hurled on his brand new carpet earlier this week, we just assumed he was over-stimulated by new carpet, new bed, new position of bed, new room color, and so on. We carefully included him every step of the way and took it slowly, letting him absorb all the new stuff gradually. He didn't have a fever and didn't complain about pain anywhere. We let him stay home from school on Wednesday (despite knowing that we'll hear about it later from the school. It's about time for the "Your child should be in school more" letter that we frequently receive. No duh.)

He didn't eat much, but then he usually doesn't eat a lot during the day--a side effect of one of his meds. He seemed a bit off, but again, I chalked it up to nerves. He was starting to have diarrhea the following day, which is never fun. But it kept up. Not alarming amounts, just annoying amounts. Friday there was no school for anyone and he seemed better. This morning it hit the fan again. (On a Saturday, of course.) I finally asked him if he needed to go to the hospital to fix it. Yep, he said, take me now. That's nearly screaming for him. So 2 x-rays, 1 CT scan*, and 4 IVs of saline later, we're still at the hospital. This is his first overnight, and hopefully his last for many many years.

The upshot is that he either has a bacterial or viral intestine infection. Hmm. A type of flu. The type for which he didn't get a shot. I really didn't see this one coming. Had it been someone else, they probably would have been screaming and yelling and moaning and groaning, but not FTD. He's my trooper.

*Add a new funny story to my sidebar list: He got done with the CT Scan and said it was like being stuffed inside a roll of toilet paper! Isn't that just the best description of it you've ever heard? That's my boy!

A Rock and A Hard Place

Having kids with special needs means our lives don't follow anything that vaguely resembles a normal schedule. There is no typical path for us to follow--you know, high school, then college or a gap year then college, then jobs, marriage, family. . .

We have to keep our kids in school somehow until they turn 22, because they won't be covered under DH's health insurance. Yes, they are both eligible for Medicaid, and we do use some of the services available to us from Medicaid, but we still prefer they be on our insurance. (For example, their psychiatrist isn't a Medicaid provider so who knows who we'd end up with--and our guy has been with us for over 10 years.) Neither of the boys will have a great deal of success in a college setting. Despite advances in support for kids with disabilities in colleges, I don't see it happening for our kids. They will forever be in minimum wage jobs, doing something they really don't like. I've mentioned before that being a parent of special needs kids means being in a constant state of grieving and here it is again.

FTD has now been accepted into the Job Skills program at the area 5 county vocational high school. Next summer, and yes I do mean next summer--August 18, which is utterly stupid, he'll start there. He honestly believes he'll be taking at least one or two drafting classes, which he loved at his current HS, but what he'll really be doing is cleaning and sorting and stuff like that in various businesses around town. I truly am thankful that there are programs like this for kids. But it utterly and completely breaks my heart that it's MY kid who needs it.

Part of me just wants to tell the schools to shove it, and to keep him home where I can love him and care for him and tuck him into bed every night. We could chuck all this school schedule crap and get him a part-time job at YNP again like he did last summer. The safety net is there for him, and we'll be able to provide financially also, so why do I put all of us through the torture that schools present? And why do I have this gut feeling that in the long run it won't make one damn itty bitty bit of difference.

One Room~~Coming Along Nicely, Thank You

When we built our "new" house 15 years ago, I wasn't sure what colors to paint the rooms. So I didn't. The light plays very, very differently from room to room and season to season. For example, in the summer the living room seems green, even though it's very white.

So when the time came to do something with FTD's room, paint was necessary. Necessary because when we moved in I faux-painted the wainscoting area. It was supposed to look like logs, but because I forgot to shade the 'logs' to look rounded, it ended up looking like a stable, but there it was. This photo shows his room before, minus the wildlife and park posters that covered the wall.

It started with one of those chains of events: DD jumped into his bed one evening and crash! it's busted and busted good. The way things work around here usually, DD gets all the cool, new stuff. He's always been my 'material girl.' It looked like he'd need a new bed. But many years ago after visiting a friend's cabin in the UP, FTD said he would like to have a log bed like theirs someday. I said great. It's been 6 years and now this happens. DD gets the new stuff again. . .or does he? My brilliant niece, Sally Seam-Ripper, #5/8 (see my Derby posts!) said why don't we give DD FTD's bed and get FTD a new one. Doh. So I painted FTD's bed shiny black at DD's request--"It's Norfolk Southern colors, you know" and ordered FTD a new bed.

If only life were that simple. First I had to worry about the size of the bed. Since the boys are young men now, they really have outgrown twin size beds (DH says, "Well, I slept in a twin bed until I was 28. Hrumph." Yeah, dude, and you only weighed 120 lbs sopping wet.) But the boys' mattresses are about 10 years old and still in great shape, so Scotswoman that I am, I couldn't bring myself to cough up the dough for a full size mattress. He'll need it soon. . . but for a while at least, FTD will be sleeping on a twin mattress in a full frame.

But wait! The new log bed is finished so beautifully (Moon Valley in Clarkston MI) the faux painted stable walls had to go. And this is the room of a young adult, not a little kid after all.

It was time: Put colored paint on the walls! Yikes, what a jump for me! I really do love the serene white of the house, but it's time to go out on a limb. And of course, if we got new paint, well, he needs new carpeting, too. The stuff that was in there was a great industrial grade, very flat carpet that was great for little kids who had all manner of accidents. . . yeah. And it held up beautifully. But again, it's time for grown up stuff. We took the old carpet and put it up in his loft and it looks great up there. The rest will go to DH's workshop in the basement.


My color sense isn't very good--picking material for quilts makes me crazy for example. I know when I love something, but I can't tell if it's blue-green or grey-green the way BeeHive Betty can. So I asked another wonderful friend to help me pick out carpet and paint. We spent several hours at The Anderson's General Store and came home with paint. Our wonderful store associate told us that carpet would be on sale in two weeks--20% off instead of the 10% Geezer Discount I was planning on.

My new nephew said he could help with the painting, but only if we did it a couple of weeks ago. Since he's 6'5" tall, that's a great offer. We moved all of FTD's junk to various other places all over the house--the hall, the dining room, and his mattress went into the living room. Lovely. Just lovely. Not. We painted and then waited for the sale. Then we waited to get it installed and HOORAH! it went in today.

As soon as FTD got home from school, he and DH started working on the new and gorgeous bed.








And here we are now. The bed is put together, his clothes are back in the closet, and tomorrow I hope to get the stuff back on the shelves. In the meantime, FTD is doing that which he likes best. And he's back in the room he loves the best.

NEW POST SCRIPT: Exactly 12 hours after the carpet was installed, FTD woke up and barfed all over it. Poor kid. I think it was the excitement of having a 'new' room. Bless his heart.

Quilts, Quilts, Quilts

Now that I'm home from my first (of many, I hope) quilt retreat, I continue to be humbled by the remarkably talented women I met this weekend. They make it look so easy. (That line was the joke of the night, by the by!) The quilts they make and then give away just boggled my mind. Women from all, and I do mean all, walks of life, sharing a common love (or obsession), coming together to share a few tips with a complete stranger~~what a nice way to spend the weekend. I have several new ideas for my crafty corner, as well as many tips for my sewing work. My hat is off to the women of the Gathering of Quilters of NW Ohio. They only meet 5 times a year, so I hope to join them more often. And they don't meet in the summer, which suits my schedule perfectly.

The Crafty Corner Evolves

Over the last year, DH and I have made a concerted effort to finish the basement. We had hoped to do it many years ago, but the way our lives run, we're happy to be this far along now. (DH is working on his Man Cave, and hopes to have it pretty well along before he comes out West, and the ceiling will be next fall's Big Project.)

My crafty corner is almost complete. After talking to and working with so many talented quilters this weekend, I'm psyched to get my area finished. I need for DH to make a couple of table tops for me, and to pick up a few more necessities (good iron, good task lights, for example) and I'm ready to rock and roll. I rearranged tables, added a wire shelving unit, and fussed with how to store big pieces of material and the bitty bits that are left over. It still lacks the home-y-ness of my old sewing/office/laundry room, but once we get the mechanicals hidden it will come together.

Office/Sewing/Laundry Room Old Ironing Center

New crafty closet

I hope to pick up several of the final goodies tomorrow, including backing and batting for my Badlands Quilt (yes! Finished!) and the Three Bears Quilt. The Three Bears is going to be my YNP quilt. After I get these done, I'm going to make a quilt for FTD's new bed. More on that in a couple of days--the new carpeting should be here Tuesday so I'll get pics posted when we get his room put back together. I'd like to paint the Dining room and the "girls' bathroom" (ha!) but I really need to start concentrating on pre-packing for out west. I need to run through the kitchen boxes to be sure all the stuff is still intact, and the bedding needs to be re-packed, since we're going to try something a bit different this year.

Since I was up sewing until 3 a.m. the past two nights, I'm ready to hit the hay!

Off We Go

Quilts around the house

Well, I did it. I've left my family. I'll be back Sunday around noon, but for me to be gone from home for (gasp) 50+ hours, well that's something.

Beehive Betty and I are at a quilting retreat. Yeah, we rock. One of the local quilting guilds had two spaces left for their annual quilt-til-you-drop funfest, so we've tagged along. It's being held in a very nice facility called Wide Water Retreat, operated by the Methodists. In the main room of the lodge, which is sunny and nice, tables are set up with 3 to 4 women and their machines. I came nearly empty handed, and BB brought several of her bags to sew, but holy cow! You should see how much stash some of these gals brought! And they can sew. While I've never met a corner on a quilt that I couldn't mess up, the work these ladies do is awesome.

The real excitement for today, er tonite, was when someone cleaned one of the many irons, and it set off the fire alarm--it was about 1:30 a.m. so only about half the women were asleep. Well, that and the 20 or so women at the other end of the building. . . So no, we won't clean any irons tomorrow night.

But now I must go try to get some beauty rest--it's 2:37 a.m. as I type, and oddly, I'm not all that sleepy. I have this horrid feeling I'll regret this tomorrow.

How Children Should Spend Their Days

We had a fog cancellation day. It really was murky. So the kids were home, which worked out well, since FTD is sick and can't really afford to miss any more days this quarter. That's one of the many hard parts of having a child who's nearly able to make it on his own in school, but not really. Sigh.

So since my niece's school was also canceled, she needed a sitter for my great-nephew Colin. He's a wild and wacky, bundle of energy six year old. Even though it was a bit overcast outside it seemed warm enough for a little walk. Warm enough indeed. Most of the time the humidity in Ohio is just unbearable. Today, the warm air was absolutely lovely. It was like a moist envelope of air, soothing inside and out. So off we went, DD, Colin, and I. My plan was to walk our road to the corner, down to the next corner and back home. Little boys with spring fever have other ideas.


We got as far as the next ravine over. We have a small ravine on our property, and the one just up the road is deeper. Deep by northwestern Ohio standards is 10 feet or so, but if you are only 3 feet tall, well, that's a huge ravine. And lo and behold, there's running water in the ravine. It's only about 2 feet across, but again, if you're only 3 feet tall, well. . . So here's how we spent our afternoon. It was wonderful. Within minutes, Colin had gone into the drink. Unfortunately, one of his shoes stayed there--and Lord knows they dug and dug to try and find it. Since one shoe was gone, I suggested that Colin give me the other one. He tossed it in my direction and eventually I found it. And oh yes, the boys were both covered head to toes in good ol' mud. Children need more face time with mud. Today was a perfect day for mud.

A Tale of Four Boots, with some shoes tossed in for variety.

I've griped before about my boot situation. So here are the culprits:

On the top left:  My old beloved Wolverines.  The first time I put them on they fit perfectly.  Ah, bliss.  But alas, they are getting sorta grungy, current coating of mud notwithstanding.

On the top right: My new Wolverines--same size, make, and model as the others.  But alas!  They rub my little toe-sies to the point of absolute pain!  Arg!!! (They are for sale, size 6, women's Wolverines, seldom worn.)

On the bottom left:  My Official Work Front County Hiker Boots, in of course, cordovan, no stitching, polishable, and currently filthy.  They do need a good shine. . .  They are size 5.5, the perfect length, but are so narrow!!!!  I had the toes stretched a couple of days ago (along with my new Wolverines and dress shoes). That has helped some.  I also have the very obscenely expensive custom-made orthodtics in those boots.  The left one feels just fine and dandy, like I might actually be able to survive a whole day in them, but the right one still puts me into complete agony.  And did I mention that they squeak when I walk? Again, ARGGGGGGG!

On the bottom right: My unofficial dress shoes.  Made by Timberland called Smart something. Even though they are size 6, they're a bit tight, so I have to wear light weight socks, which is usually okay in the Visitor Center.  Hopefully the toe stretching will help.  They shine up pretty well.

So here's what I'm stuck with.  Boots that fit amazingly well, but are now too scruffy for work or boots that look grand but kill my feet.  Not a good situation.

My solution:  Figure some way to get permission to wear my ski boots!  They are the world's most comfortable things!  I bought them last winter off Ebay.  I have the old-fashioned skiis with three pins in the binding.  I've been through a couple of pairs of boots over the past 30 years, but couldn't bring myself to cough up the dough for new-fangled skiis, bindings, and boots.  So to Ebay I went.  I found these boots, leather, wool lined, three-pins, Norwegian made, worn maybe twice, complete with the original box and original sales receipt for $20.00!  That's twenty dollars!  Wow!!  Better yet, they are exactly like my first pair of boots and were originally purchased very close to the time I bought my first pair!  I totally and completely love them!

So back to the podiatrist I go, working under the assumption that the ski boots won't fly at work.  Drat.  The guy I'm seeing seems to think my issues are shoe related and there's nothing else he can do.  For the amount of cash my insurance company and I have dished out, I should be walking in gold-coated, cloud lined boots.

Most of the boot/shoe issue is related to the tarsal coalition issue I've written about before.  I've made jokes with our resident doctor-ranger-orthopedic guy about finding someone to just whack off my little toes and be done with it. (I've heard rumors that models have it done so they can wear pointy-toed shoes.  Dunno if it's true, being such a slave to fashion as I is and all.)  The aforementioned doctor-ranger-guy laughed and said with the economy as bad as it is, I might just be able to work a deal with someone!  I was making jokes with someone else when DD heard this and just about came unglued.  I had no idea he cared so much!

So I'm on my annual hunt for boots I can wear at work. What else do I have to do with my time?

Oh yeah, I can wait around and wonder how long it will take to get my fingerprints rejected again!

Springing Forward

All sorts of things happening in this time of change. We've actually had very nice weather for several days--odd around here. Warm temps are helping to slowly melt the snow, instead of the one-day-hot-blast that causes creeks to overflow their banks. The snow in our yard is and isn't melting in very odd patterns. I'm also taking bets on when the snow pile in the front of the house finally melts. It's nearly 5 feet high this year. In the past we've had snow there through all of March. This year, I'm guessing the pile will still be there well into April. Send your dollar bills with your pick for a date!

Wedding and Baby Bells

The niece's wedding reception and baby introduction party went well last Saturday. Nice group of people with whom to celebrate. K2's Mom and little bro came up from Alabama, and several other nieces/nephews of the family came to town. I set up the tables, decorated, and ran the kitchen for them, then hung around in the kitchen just like in the old days. A nice time, indeed.

These feets are made for walkin'. . . sorta.

I've been trying to get more walking done lately--which is a good trick as my feet and ankles are giving me fits. I have a congenital condition called tarsal collation, which means two of the bones in each ankle are fused together. The result is somewhat oddly shaped feet with no flexibility. The upshot is that walking/standing just plain hurts. I also exacerbated the situation in December by taking a little bitty tumble on a snowy sidewalk. Doh. I hurt my left ankle and subsequently my right foot developed a nasty little thing called plantar fasciitis. But wait! There's more! Then both feet hurt and it was time to bake cookies. And then I ate cookies, but since my feets were a-killin' me, I couldn't go walking or skiing. So then I gained weight for the first time in years, and then my feet hurt worse. Drat.

The painful solution comes in several parts. A-#1 is to lose some weight. After all, I've gotta fit back into my loverly green-n-greys in just 10 more weeks. So I'm now a member of Weight Watchers and have lost my first five pounds. If I continue at this rate, I'll be good to go when work starts. (And by the time of Miss Molly's party in August, I'll be ready to kick up my heels in cowgirl boots!)

I've also been to the podiatrist to have orthotics made for my work boots. These are basically really expensive Dr. Scholl's inserts. I've been back three times trying to get them to fit. The one in my left boot is pretty dang comfortable, but the one in my right is killing me. Now that I've been trying them, I can add tingling to my right foot. And here I thought it was suppose to feel better, not worse. Round four next week. I also took my dress boots, dress shoes, and regular boots to the cobbler to have the toes stretched. It has helped with the dress boots, but with the new arch killing me, it's a wash.

I'm pretty sure there's no medical procedure that can alleviate the problem. So I have to rely on getting boots that fit. And since we're only allowed to wear either the company issued Vasque boots or other leather boots with no extra stitching which can be polished with cordovan, that really, really limits my choices. I'm thinking about exploring the possibility of getting a medical "excuse" to have to wear some other type of boots. Maybe the back country Vasques would fit. Maybe pigs will fly.

On a Sad Note

A Law Enforcement Ranger with the US Forest Service, Chris Upton, was killed in the line of duty last week. He worked at a the Chattahoochee and Oconee National Forests in Georgia. A couple of guys were hunting coyotes and mistook him for prey. This story could be any of our rangers, anywhere, any time. A heart breaking story. More info here: http://www.fs.fed.us/r8/upton.php

Updated Links I Like

I had a couple of minutes today for maintenance and repairs on the blog. Yikes!!! Glaring error on the link for RareBird! It's fixed now. If you're planning a trip to NW Ohio and birding is on your agenda, check with RareBird first. I've also added several links to other NW Ohio birding stuff. Seriously, this area is one of the "must go birding there" places on the continent.

Too Early to Pack?

Yes, Ranger Anna, mid-February is too early to pack for YNP. I had to stop myself from buying food staples the other day. I did pick up a shelf thingie for the bathroom in the apartment and put it in our cargo trailer for safekeeping.

We sort of have a plan for this summer. Being a seasonal ranger with kids who are still in school is on the unusual side, especially when school and park are 1700 miles apart. If our kids were typically developing, it might maybe be easier. But not by much. In the past, when we went to TR and Acadia, we just pulled the kids from school early and went back late. We figured if the truant officer wanted us, they knew exactly where to find us. Because of the kids' disabilities, they don't attend 'regular' classes per se. Our philosophy is that the kids can learn more tooling around the country than sitting in a boring classroom. Yet dragging kids with autism all over the place runs the risk of messing with their need for routine. Fortunately, very fortunately, for us, this type of disruption to schedules is well tolerated by the boys. I don't know if it's because we resisted tight schedules and rituals, or if they just don't have a propensity for it. School districts, however, want everyone and everything to be on one schedule--theirs. Tough tookies for them.

This year, FTD will 'graduate' from HS. He has more than enough credits to actually graduate, but if he isn't a full-time student, he looses DH's insurance. Medicaid will cover him (as long as he doesn't have more than $1500 in his bank account on the first of every month) and for that we are thankful, but we would still rather he be on our insurance. He'll attend the local vocational HS for hopefully two years. He'll age out then. They have a program for kids with special needs, helping them to acquire skills needed in the world of work.

Since it involves changing schools and learning new routines, we're fairly sure he should be there in the fall. Make that, in the summer. School starts on August 15, which should be criminal for a district that purports not to be a year round school.

DH and FTD will stay in Ohio, while DD and I drive out to work. DD will only miss three, maybe four weeks of school. His teacher sends packets along for him to work on. And I make him take care of the budget, miles traveled, etc.. It looks like he and I will fly back to Ohio a couple of days before graduation.

Then a couple of days after graduation, FTD and I will fly back out. DH will either drive out or fly out with us. We're still working out the issue of one or two cars. We've always taken two before, so the boys could go play while I go to work. I've never had access to a company car to get me to and from the office. At YNP, I can walk to the Madison Station and a car is theoretically available to drive to West. But if we don't get 3 cars for the crew, there might not be one available--maybe. One of the other rangers and his volunteer wife work with only one car, also. Last summer, he usually had dibs. But if DH and FTD need to make a run for something, and two of us rangers need to get to West at different times. . . well, it could get dicey. I'd love to get a scooter instead! We'll see.

But wait there's more! In order for this to work, we have to find someone to stay with DD here in Ohio. He can attend the day program at Bittersweet Farms, a nationally renown community for folks with autism. Best news is that it's just a couple of miles from us. We've got interviews with a couple of fellows, so that's looking promising. The apartment out west is just too small for two boys with such different needs. DD is the center of the universe (just ask him) and having to share a tiny bedroom, which was designed for one person, is tough. He also has issues dealing with both DH and I at the same time. We send subtle and different signals, being, well you know, parents~~ and he has trouble reading reading them. That makes him confused and angry. He takes that frustration out on FTD usually. And as DD would say, that no good.

And he'll go to the vocational HS next year also. Hopefully, he'll be there for four years. Keeping him interested for that long will be a good trick. If he stays home he can start at the new HS with no problems--except for the fact that sometime this summer, I also need to become his legal guardian. I might need to fly home for two trips this summer. I so wish the boys could just both come out and spend the entire time with DH and I. Makes me go back to thinking we either need to look to buy/rent/lease a place in West or just haul them out of school and not worry about full time jobs for them. Or I have to get a real job. Not. I did apply at CUVA, since our YNP jobs weren't posted for so long. I suppose if I got a GS-7 over there, we could make it work. Or a GS-5 or 7 at Perry's Victory. But that is unlikely to happen, since the tower will be closed this summer for repairs. Drat.

All this makes my head hurt. Too much thinking! Way too much worrying. Tomorrow, I'm going back to thinking about silly things.

Ups and Downs, au deaux

The past several weeks have had ups and downs. But today, I introduce our newest "UP!"

Draven Gage Veal (yep that's his real name) finally made an appearance. All 10 pounds, 7 ounces of him. He sprang into the doctor's arms using his 22 inches of springy babyness. My niece is just barely my height, so the docs decided a c-section would be safer for both Mama and Baby. I hope the little guy and his family can get settled and squared away quickly. Let's see, this makes Great-kid #17.

And I get to cross some goodies off my UFO list--curtains for all the windows in Draven's house, and a couple more big baby blankets--done.

Back to School
I've been involved with a grad class this semester, offered by BGSU. There are 20 students in the class who hope to be special educators or school psychologists in the near future. And there are 10 of us parents who are 'embedded' in the program. The idea is to be sure these future educators really get what the difficulties are that we families face every day. I got to tell our story last week. The only way I could sort out what we've been through was to turn to my friend PowerPoint for help. DH and I worked and worked to try to remember which school the kids went to in what year. They've been shuffled and shucked around so much and for what? Going down this road again has been tough. And then we get a letter from the State Board of Ed, saying that our district has been selected for a review of the Special Ed program. We were invited to attended a meeting and if we wished, we could make remarks. Now, I give public programs for a living. Doesn't bother me to stand up in front of hundreds of people and talk. But I was shaking so hard when I gave my remarks that I must have sounded like a complete loser. But when my Mama Bear genes kicked in, I was completely overtaken by emotion. And so very sadly, many, many of the same grievances we had 15 years ago are still happening. Can't this school district learn anything from past lessons? So now I have to prepare written remarks to submit, then it's time to re-convene the Parents of Students with Special Needs group that we started way back when. Back to the trenches for me, I guess.

Back to Work
And to end on an UP note, I got my request to re-up at Madison Junction! Hooray! I'll be happy to see my fingerprint cards get here, so we can get that out of the way.

Hearts for Haiti by BadAmyKnits

My lovely daughter, Betty Beehive, has donated a really cool bag for "Hearts for Haiti" on Etsy. (http://www.etsy.com/shop/BadAmyKnits)

She visited there when she was 19, on a mission trip. An eye opening experience for all of us. So check out her store on Etsy and her blog (via my blog list).

Here on the home front, it's been a day to run the washer full-bore all day. Sheets, blankets, curtains, whatever all needed the proverbial mid-winter deep cleaning. After all this, I decided to treat myself to a beautiful few minutes in our living room. Lots of folks have the feeling of walking into a chapel, and today with the sun streaming through the windows I felt the same. Then the practical Scotswoman in me took hold and decided the windows needed to be washed to fully appreciate the fabulous and unusual sunshine. Alas, only 3 panes were cleaned in and out and 3 just inside, but even that is pretty dang sweet. Now I'm going to go back there and enjoy the thin, simple light of a February sunset.

Adding to the UFO stack

Since the basement finishing had been moving along so nicely, I decided I could actually add to my stash--given that I now have a place for stash. I've picked up a few more fat quarters, always in parkie colors, and a few new accouterments that I've never had before. Then DH, so inspired by his work up to this time, decided to continue to forge onward and inward--to his man-cave. In order to use his man-cave he needs electricity and to do that it meant moving everything all over the basement again. So while the crafty corner is still there, there's also sawdust everywhere, wires running willier and nillier than before, and the boys put all their video game stuff down there. That junk alone has enough cable to arm a small fortress in wires and junk. The upshot is, no sewing for me for a while--and all that material crying out to me!

And still no job posting!!!! Yikes!!!! Let me see, at this rate, if my job isn't posted quickly, I won't be able to get my fingerprints rejected in time to start work in mid-May. Holy cow. As soon as I see the notice, I'll call and try to get my print cards sent out. What a hoot.

Speaking of hoots, I'm going to be a volunteer 'program presenter' for the Mparks. Most of the part-time formerly-known-as-naturalists were fired (while no one at the top of the food chain was, which totally sucks), so there's a definite shortage of trained formerly-known-as-naturalists available. And here's the big surprise, after I get my local-hokey background check, I can start right away. I don't have to take the training classes. Amazing. I guess working for the Big Boys does help sometimes. And DH is going to go back on the Volunteer Trail Patrol. He was kicked off the year we were in North Dakota because he didn't get enough hours logged in. And the alleged-person who was running the show then wouldn't count his 400+ hours with NPS. Sheesh. Our conviction that folks should get out and be in the parks is just too strong to let silly little things like that get in the way. A little thing like running the park for 30 years. . . . . and then being kicked out as a volunteer.

In other news, niece #2 hasn't dropped her kid yet. They are guessing the little beast is weighing in at over 8 lbs. already. This is daughter #2 of my sister. My sister's first two kids weighed 9-3, and 10-4. (That kid came out as a toddler. We affectionately called him Porkchop.) They've got a name picked out and since they won't tell us, I'm guessing it's on the weird side of the road.

Maybe I'll be able to get to that wonderful stack 'o stash tomorrow. Bliss.

The more things change

..the more they stay the same. Cliche, yes, but also true.

Our extended family is changing again. New grand-nephew due any day, while his Grandpa recovers from life-threatening disease and his Grandma gets laid off from her job of the past 4 years. The new kid's Mommy and Daddy are also both out of work. And while I've always been appreciative and cognizant of the fact that my pay comes from the generosity of the tax-paying public, I am also now thankful that the welfare net caught my own kin. Being younger, pregnant, and out-of-work just plain sucks. So does being older, sick, and out of work. When it hits the fan in our family, it hits big time.

Some philosophers say that a life lived with no highs and no lows isn't a life lived, it's a life of mere existence. Most of the crowd we run with live lives of highs and lows, but I do have some friends whose lives are straight and simple. Ever so often, I envy that. But to give up the highs for the times of low, like we are experiencing now. . . . . I'm not sure that would be a good pay off.

So I'll help my family out, yet again, because I know they will be there for me when I need them. And we will share more highs and more lows. As long as we're keeping a balance in there somehow, we'll be fine.

Keep your tailgate up.

Christmas Bird Count, Northwesten Ohio Style

I attended the Grand Rapids/Waterville Ohio Christmas Bird Count again on Saturday. The blustery day (high of 19, winds at 10-15 mph) didn't deter the hardy birders of our region. This is one of the most highly attended counts in the state, in one of the best areas of the state for birding, especially this time of year. With the woods of the Oak Openings Region and the banks of the Maumee River along the 9 mile stretch of grand rapids, counts are always interesting.

Here's the quick recap from our fearless compiler and a good friend Tom Kemp:
The cold Jan 2nd weather (high of 19) did not deter the record number of participants (44, including some Boy Scouts) from tying the all-time species high (82) on the 43rd annual Grand Rapids-Waterville Christmas bird count. Highlights were plenty: Northern goshawk at the Providence Park dam (Stockford and Fausnaugh); Golden eagle over Oak Openings Park (M. Kemp); 7 species of gulls on the Maumee River including 1 adult Thayer's, 2 Iceland, 3 Glaucous, and 10 Lesser Black-backed (Andersons, Kemps, Miller, Fausnaugh, Stockford, Witter); 4 Saw-whet owls (Links, M. Kemp, Stockford, Fausnaugh); Common redpolls in Oak Openings Park (Links); Peregrine falcon; 4 late Killdeers. Nine species were found in record numbers including Eastern bluebird (219 - wow!) and American robin (641).

I was able to get pics of the Thayer's gull. The most amazing part of the story is that Tom looked out over thousands of gulls~~he estimated 1300~~and within minutes picked out the Thayers. I swear the guy can smell birds! The Boy Scouts he mentioned were with me. Three really nice kids gave up a Saturday during winter break to go count birds. They were remarkably impressed with Tom's skill. I'm always impressed with his skills! This is the second year I got to tag along on count day. Given that I'm the World's Laziest Birder, I always learn new stuff with Tom.

In other news, the basement is shaping up beautifully. Really--I'll post pics soon.

Back to the drill tomorrow. DD's excited to return to school, FTD could care less. Me? Mixed emotions about sending the boys off every day. All in all, a very nice break and holiday.

Happy New Year!

Peace and blessings on you and yours for 2010. It's shaping up to be a very interesting year around year.

But then, it's always interesting around here!

Merry Christmas!

Christmas at our house is always, well, odd. We do the same things pretty much, but without my Mom and Dad to visit, it still seems odd. They've been gone 10 years now, but it seems like yesterday. We do miss them so much.

Yesterday, Christmas Day, we got to sleep in until 6 a.m.. A real record for us. For several years we were up at 4 a.m.. The pile of stuff under the tree gets smaller and costs more--a phenomenon known to all parents of teens. DD had a wish list that totaled over a thousand dollars, and FTD asked for one game. I really pushed FTD to come up with something else he wanted, but all he could ask for was the game. And it's Wii Music, which he said he wanted because the whole family can play it together. Way too sweet. (As a side bar, I went to the store to pick it up, and the price dropped $30! So then I really felt crappy for being so cheap with the kid.) We had already ordered DD's Lionel Legacy Remote system, even though he doesn't yet have a train that will run on it. But he got a couple of nearly Christmas Eve firewood sales and ended up with enough cash to order his dream engine: the Lionel Heritage Series Katy Legacy Engine. Sadly for him, it's back ordered so we have no idea when it will arrive. It will run with his new remote. He's thrilled and frustrated all at the same time, knowing the stuff is ready and oh so close. There's a train show tomorrow and he still has some cash in his pocket and is ready to blow it all. Sure beats some of the junk upon which he could spend money.

We did get FTD a Garmin Nuvi thingie. He's a map geek, and even though he will probably never drive, he's still our Chief Navigator. He's been able to read maps even when he couldn't read a book or tell someone his own address. One of those quirky autism things. Last night he set up the Garmin, currently named Greta Pam, to guide us to the Monroe Duvendack's for Christmas dinner with family. And unbeknownst to us, he set it to get us back home safely. We actually had fun trying to trick it, but it recalculated and by jove we mad it safe home. And while the thing belongs to FTD, DH and I will use it.

One of the lessons that we learned years ago about having kids with special needs is that we should try to engage them in real-age appropriate activities, even though their mental/spiritual ages are much younger. We've succeed so far with DD--he can be a geek at any age about Nascar and trains. The adults involved with both of those activities get a kick out of him, and really try to include him. We haven't been so lucky with FTD. Yes, his Scouting activities are great, but when he's home by himself, he doesn't turn to say, BSA online games, he goes to pokemon and you-gi-oh. I would argue that these are not age-appropriate, although I'm finding out that several of his typically developing buddies still play them. The difference is that they are dating and driving cars and visiting colleges, while he isn't. I'm still hoping that he can find something else in his life about which he can be a geek and still a socially accepted geek. We tried baseball and nearly succeed, when one adult at his school sent out a seriously negative vibe, and in one sentence turned FTD off from baseball geekdom. (BYW, I still think the teacher who told him "no" should have to come over and play pokemon to make it up to FTD. Jerk.)

The good news is that FTD seems to be very content with his games and videos. He's still kind and compassionate, just quieter than ever. On one hand he seems to be withdrawing more and more, but in reality it might just be that his friends and brother are becoming more and more outgoing. I hope at least.

Tom and I "exchanged gifts" at the hardware store one day last week. That's a fun story and I'll include pics for that one.

I hope you and yours have a pleasant holiday--as a liberal, progressive Christian, I wish you the peace that comes from the spiritual realm. "For unto us a Child is born." What joyous words indeed.