It's 9:30am and we got back this morning at 3am (yawn). It was a fantastic trip and you will be hearing about it for probably the next couple of years!
Well, we took over 300 pictures, (yes, I said Over Three Hundred) and it will probably take that long to download them!
We are all feeling great and have lots to do with unpacking and getting ready to rejoin the working force of the "real" world.
You know there will be more to come but I wanted to let you know we were alive and well!
God Bless!
Will
Thursday, May 31, 2007
Wednesday, May 23, 2007
Still packing!
Jacob's eye is much better. He still has to wear the glasses, but the swelling is gone and the pain is not so bad any more. He even is getting a little better at taking the drops.
Did I mention that the dog is also having problems with his ears so I am back to the drops for him too?
We leave tomorrow evening and I am not even close to being ready. We went last night and got a memory card for the camera, food for the trip and more junk to use. Of course, I forgot one thing (probably more than that, but one that I remember) Garbage bags.....Good thing that I stop in at Walmart every morning for "donuts" for work isn't it?
Had a fire in the woods here the other night. Lots of fire trucks and the Dept. of Natural Resources. Amanda and I sat out in the front yard watching all the action. It was less than a mile away and Will and I had to call it in. It started with a fireball while I was outside "pottying" the dog. Grew very big, very fast. Kind of scary. The main thing that I remembered the next day is all of those 911 calls that they save for the future. Here I was going to be immortalized on tape and being me right in the middle of the phone call while I had my head out the open window looking at the fire "I SWALLOWED A BUG!!". So now forever more there will be a tape somewhere with me coughing and hacking and actually telling the dispatcher that I had swallowed a bug. Typical!
This seems to be a pattern with me though...not the swallowing bugs part, but the being remembered on tape for goofy things. Once when I was out on a shrimp boat as my summer job, we actually were on our way out of the bay when we came upon an older guy that had capsized his boat and then had a heart attack in the water. He was clinging to his boat. We only had 4 people on board. One jumped in the water, two stayed on deck and helped. That left me to talk to the Coast Guard. Fat chance.
Imagine a 16 year that had never been on a boat before talking to the Coast Guard to give directions......it went something like this....
"This is the Coast Guard, where are you located?"
"On a boat"
"Which boat?"
"A big red and black one."
"Where is the boat?"
"Out on the ocean"
"What location?"
"The water part, by a bridge, next to the guy in the water"
You think I'm kidding? I had no clue. Thankfully the Coast Guard man was very patient. We ended up doing the "I spy" routine and then when they finally arrived it was where do you see us 1 o'clock, 2 o'clock etc. I remember they were at 11 o'clock. What an experience! The poor man probably went home and told his wife "Honey, you'll never believe what happened at work today." The best part is that the man lived. Of course we left there feeling good.
Then when we got out on the big water....I got sick, a hurricane changed course and we were caught in it for about 8 hours. Did I mention that the captain got sick and we had to come in before he died? Then on the trip back in they pulled in some stabilizing weights and one fell on my foot and broke some bones. Then about 4 days later I went swimming at the beach with friends and was stung from top to bottom by a man o' war jellyfish.
Let me tell you those couple of weeks were not my shining moment. Of course truly, I have to admit that much of my life is like that. Will is married to another Lucy Ricardo. If it can happen it will happen to me. I've long ago come to terms with the idea that God has me here for "comic relief".
Should I mention the time that I ripped my pants off my body (well from the pocket on the back down) while on the mail route and all I did was get out of the car.
What about the time that I spilled a whole brand new bottle of oil on the hard wood floors?
What about the time that I poured "bromo seltzer" into the toilet to see what it would do and created a huge volcano of white foam?
Then there's the time that we "toilet papered" Will's car while he was at his bachelor party using industrial brown paper towels. That was not so bad, but being me we decided to attach it to the door knob of Danny's house. Reached out to hook it to the door knob and Danny opened the door. We ran like idiots and they came pouring out of that house like ants.
Just this week I have managed to pour an entire cup (jumbo size) of french vanilla cappucino onto the floor of my car. I wasn't even trying to drink it yet. Just holding it. Thankfully, it hit the mat and no where else so I just took it out and hosed it down.
Things happen to me.....there's no stopping it. You just have to roll with the flow. You've seen the bumper sticker that says "life happens". I'm living proof. I'll be walking down the street next to 10 other people and I guarantee that I'm the one that the pigeon will "bless" if you get my meaning. Believe me I get nervous when a flock of Canadian geese fly overhead.
Case in point.......How many people do you know that can cut the end of their thumb off with a hatchet? Especially when my thumb was not on the top of the wood but on the side opposite the hatchet.
How many people do you know that can get their toe stuck in an escalator?
I'm telling you things happen to me. Poor Will, what he has to put up with......
"Lucy you got some 'splaining to do".
Have a great day.
dea
Did I mention that the dog is also having problems with his ears so I am back to the drops for him too?
We leave tomorrow evening and I am not even close to being ready. We went last night and got a memory card for the camera, food for the trip and more junk to use. Of course, I forgot one thing (probably more than that, but one that I remember) Garbage bags.....Good thing that I stop in at Walmart every morning for "donuts" for work isn't it?
Had a fire in the woods here the other night. Lots of fire trucks and the Dept. of Natural Resources. Amanda and I sat out in the front yard watching all the action. It was less than a mile away and Will and I had to call it in. It started with a fireball while I was outside "pottying" the dog. Grew very big, very fast. Kind of scary. The main thing that I remembered the next day is all of those 911 calls that they save for the future. Here I was going to be immortalized on tape and being me right in the middle of the phone call while I had my head out the open window looking at the fire "I SWALLOWED A BUG!!". So now forever more there will be a tape somewhere with me coughing and hacking and actually telling the dispatcher that I had swallowed a bug. Typical!
This seems to be a pattern with me though...not the swallowing bugs part, but the being remembered on tape for goofy things. Once when I was out on a shrimp boat as my summer job, we actually were on our way out of the bay when we came upon an older guy that had capsized his boat and then had a heart attack in the water. He was clinging to his boat. We only had 4 people on board. One jumped in the water, two stayed on deck and helped. That left me to talk to the Coast Guard. Fat chance.
Imagine a 16 year that had never been on a boat before talking to the Coast Guard to give directions......it went something like this....
"This is the Coast Guard, where are you located?"
"On a boat"
"Which boat?"
"A big red and black one."
"Where is the boat?"
"Out on the ocean"
"What location?"
"The water part, by a bridge, next to the guy in the water"
You think I'm kidding? I had no clue. Thankfully the Coast Guard man was very patient. We ended up doing the "I spy" routine and then when they finally arrived it was where do you see us 1 o'clock, 2 o'clock etc. I remember they were at 11 o'clock. What an experience! The poor man probably went home and told his wife "Honey, you'll never believe what happened at work today." The best part is that the man lived. Of course we left there feeling good.
Then when we got out on the big water....I got sick, a hurricane changed course and we were caught in it for about 8 hours. Did I mention that the captain got sick and we had to come in before he died? Then on the trip back in they pulled in some stabilizing weights and one fell on my foot and broke some bones. Then about 4 days later I went swimming at the beach with friends and was stung from top to bottom by a man o' war jellyfish.
Let me tell you those couple of weeks were not my shining moment. Of course truly, I have to admit that much of my life is like that. Will is married to another Lucy Ricardo. If it can happen it will happen to me. I've long ago come to terms with the idea that God has me here for "comic relief".
Should I mention the time that I ripped my pants off my body (well from the pocket on the back down) while on the mail route and all I did was get out of the car.
What about the time that I spilled a whole brand new bottle of oil on the hard wood floors?
What about the time that I poured "bromo seltzer" into the toilet to see what it would do and created a huge volcano of white foam?
Then there's the time that we "toilet papered" Will's car while he was at his bachelor party using industrial brown paper towels. That was not so bad, but being me we decided to attach it to the door knob of Danny's house. Reached out to hook it to the door knob and Danny opened the door. We ran like idiots and they came pouring out of that house like ants.
Just this week I have managed to pour an entire cup (jumbo size) of french vanilla cappucino onto the floor of my car. I wasn't even trying to drink it yet. Just holding it. Thankfully, it hit the mat and no where else so I just took it out and hosed it down.
Things happen to me.....there's no stopping it. You just have to roll with the flow. You've seen the bumper sticker that says "life happens". I'm living proof. I'll be walking down the street next to 10 other people and I guarantee that I'm the one that the pigeon will "bless" if you get my meaning. Believe me I get nervous when a flock of Canadian geese fly overhead.
Case in point.......How many people do you know that can cut the end of their thumb off with a hatchet? Especially when my thumb was not on the top of the wood but on the side opposite the hatchet.
How many people do you know that can get their toe stuck in an escalator?
I'm telling you things happen to me. Poor Will, what he has to put up with......
"Lucy you got some 'splaining to do".
Have a great day.
dea
Monday, May 21, 2007
Vacation time-EVERYBODY IS SICK!!!
We are getting ready to go on vacation this week, so what happens? Everyone gets sick, including me! Nothing life threatening...nothing earth shattering, just incredibly bad timing. Jessalyn has a cold/cough. Will has allergies. I just am getting over the bug that Will lovingly shared with me (bless his heart). Now Jacob has pulled what I call "a Jacob". We were leaving for church yesterday and he decided to throw on a warmer shirt. Somehow he got something in his eye and we could not get anything out. I don't know if he scratched it or what, but now it's pretty much almost swollen shut. So......I called in sick to work today even though I will still have to go in and go over some weird stuff with the substitute. Jacob has to go to the Dr. again. This makes it once a week for the last 3 weeks. Check up for meds, surgery on toe and now his eye. Add in Jessa having that biopsy on the junk on her legs. I am just thrilled to be heading up there again. Great joy......
I've been cleaning and packing. Now today they start working on the motor home getting it ready to go. They are going to take off the generator that Mom and Dad take with them to Texas for the winter. That will give us more room to pack stuff on the rack outside. We are not taking all that much, but with 6 people going you need as much room as you can inside. We sure are looking forward to this.
I think Will is a little anxious to be meeting more of what seems like a never ending group of people on my side of the family. His immediate family of cousins etc is much smaller than mine. At last count ours was at 105 immediate and a huge network of second and third cousins that all know each other and keep in touch. It can get pretty overwhelming for a person. Doesn't bother me at all, but then again I grew up in it. It's a crazy mess when we are all together but we have a good time and the singing is wonderful. I like to think that when we all sing together it sounds and feels like a mini version of what heaven will be like. I don't expect Will to remember names....remember he has even forgotten mine before (It's the truth! Ask him!)
Well, back to dishes, laundry, packing, sorting, cleaning, cooking and doctors.
Oh, by the way...... I STILL LOVE MY VEGGIE SINK!!!! For my anniversary I am hoping for a new fence or a screened room. I will make due with a new wheel barrow though. Am I romantic or what?
Have a great day!
dea
I've been cleaning and packing. Now today they start working on the motor home getting it ready to go. They are going to take off the generator that Mom and Dad take with them to Texas for the winter. That will give us more room to pack stuff on the rack outside. We are not taking all that much, but with 6 people going you need as much room as you can inside. We sure are looking forward to this.
I think Will is a little anxious to be meeting more of what seems like a never ending group of people on my side of the family. His immediate family of cousins etc is much smaller than mine. At last count ours was at 105 immediate and a huge network of second and third cousins that all know each other and keep in touch. It can get pretty overwhelming for a person. Doesn't bother me at all, but then again I grew up in it. It's a crazy mess when we are all together but we have a good time and the singing is wonderful. I like to think that when we all sing together it sounds and feels like a mini version of what heaven will be like. I don't expect Will to remember names....remember he has even forgotten mine before (It's the truth! Ask him!)
Well, back to dishes, laundry, packing, sorting, cleaning, cooking and doctors.
Oh, by the way...... I STILL LOVE MY VEGGIE SINK!!!! For my anniversary I am hoping for a new fence or a screened room. I will make due with a new wheel barrow though. Am I romantic or what?
Have a great day!
dea
Friday, May 18, 2007
Ever have one of those days?
Have you ever had one of those days when everything went right, and you paid for it the next day?
I did yesterday. I came home from work and started working here at the house. Will got on the lawn mower and I grabbed the weed eater and we started on yard work. I "weed eatered" an area while he mowed. He kept mowing while I went and worked on the side courtyard. With all that has been going on in our lives lately, I had not had a chance to get working on my flower beds. I "weed eatered" in there and then start weeding the beds. Got all 4 done (well close enough to done. Just don't look too closely). Then I planted all of the seeds/bulbs that I had collected over the year. Then raked everything up and moved it out to the compost. Still had a little energy so I started a "new bed" and got that ready and planted some. Found some rhubarb and decided to work up a bed and plant that. I dug a trough on the edge of the house under the addition and then filled it with river rock for better drainage. Then decided it was safe to quit for the day. I'm not done, but I'm much closer. Now comes the pay for later part........
I got into the house and remembered that I needed to run to Tomah for Will's lunch supplies. I ran in and took a quick shower (well, as quick as I could while using the "back scrubber brush on my whole body to get it clean". Today I'm feeling pretty "scrubbed" on some parts of my skin)
Will and Jessa and I went to Walmart. By the time we got out of there I was having problems walking. I made it into the house took some pain meds and crawled to the bed. Ok so I didn't really crawl, but I cannot say that I actually walked either. It was kind of this stagger from one piece of furniture to the next. I fell into the bed and I don't know that I moved for most of the night.
I'm feeling pretty good while I sit here this morning and am able to move lot's better, but I keep having to stop typing to pull slivers out of my hands. My knees are painful, but that's something I live with every day.....now my muscles are a different story. I know that as soon as I stand up again I am going to feel "old". I hate that feeling! I do not have time for old. Who would have thought that sitting on the ground for a couple of hours could age you twenty years?
Today is my day for "catching up". Will and the kids are all gone to work/school. I am running errands this afternoon and then will come home and start more cleaning and sorting. I am trying to have the whole house sorted for the most part before we go on vacation next Thursday. I work better under pressure, so I know that if I have that goal, I'll have a better chance of getting it done.
Well, laundry calls. I'll type more another day (If my fingers don't fall off before then.)
Have a great and wondrous day!
dea
I did yesterday. I came home from work and started working here at the house. Will got on the lawn mower and I grabbed the weed eater and we started on yard work. I "weed eatered" an area while he mowed. He kept mowing while I went and worked on the side courtyard. With all that has been going on in our lives lately, I had not had a chance to get working on my flower beds. I "weed eatered" in there and then start weeding the beds. Got all 4 done (well close enough to done. Just don't look too closely). Then I planted all of the seeds/bulbs that I had collected over the year. Then raked everything up and moved it out to the compost. Still had a little energy so I started a "new bed" and got that ready and planted some. Found some rhubarb and decided to work up a bed and plant that. I dug a trough on the edge of the house under the addition and then filled it with river rock for better drainage. Then decided it was safe to quit for the day. I'm not done, but I'm much closer. Now comes the pay for later part........
I got into the house and remembered that I needed to run to Tomah for Will's lunch supplies. I ran in and took a quick shower (well, as quick as I could while using the "back scrubber brush on my whole body to get it clean". Today I'm feeling pretty "scrubbed" on some parts of my skin)
Will and Jessa and I went to Walmart. By the time we got out of there I was having problems walking. I made it into the house took some pain meds and crawled to the bed. Ok so I didn't really crawl, but I cannot say that I actually walked either. It was kind of this stagger from one piece of furniture to the next. I fell into the bed and I don't know that I moved for most of the night.
I'm feeling pretty good while I sit here this morning and am able to move lot's better, but I keep having to stop typing to pull slivers out of my hands. My knees are painful, but that's something I live with every day.....now my muscles are a different story. I know that as soon as I stand up again I am going to feel "old". I hate that feeling! I do not have time for old. Who would have thought that sitting on the ground for a couple of hours could age you twenty years?
Today is my day for "catching up". Will and the kids are all gone to work/school. I am running errands this afternoon and then will come home and start more cleaning and sorting. I am trying to have the whole house sorted for the most part before we go on vacation next Thursday. I work better under pressure, so I know that if I have that goal, I'll have a better chance of getting it done.
Well, laundry calls. I'll type more another day (If my fingers don't fall off before then.)
Have a great and wondrous day!
dea
Wednesday, May 16, 2007
Forgot my great gift!
I forgot to mention my great Mother's Day gift. My wonderful hubby hooked up my "veggie sink"!! I've had this great veggie sink in the counter for about 7 years that was never hooked up. We just never had the time or money or just plain forgot about it until we needed it. Will hooked it up for me and I love it! It works great and I don't know how I got along without it.
My other great present was that my children got along with each other the whole day.......for you Mothers out there, you know how wonderful that is!
Have a blessed day.
dea
My other great present was that my children got along with each other the whole day.......for you Mothers out there, you know how wonderful that is!
Have a blessed day.
dea
Monday, May 14, 2007
Frustration central here.......
Poor Will......He's having trouble with the computers around here. His parents bought him a new birthday present web cam so that we all could chat easier (the old camera was from when they first came out, pretty pitiful). Somehow the new softwear with the new camera will not work with the old or some such thing. It pretty much confused the new computer (I think that's what he told me). He now has to reload a bunch of the programming. Not difficult I don't think, but time consuming and that is something we seem to be out of around here, "time". He's going to try a new camera and see if another brand will not work better. If not, we'll call out the "big guns" either my cousin Darin or cousin Bill. They both work with computers and I'm sure they would help, we just have to find the time to get them out there.
I am working on spring cleaning. Very time consuming to say the least. I spent 3 maybe 4 hours on just our closet the other day. I pulled everything and I mean everything out of it cleaned it from top to bottom and then put the stuff we wanted to keep back in. Now there is room for other stuff to go in too. We are being very thorough and trying to get rid of lots of stuff. When we gave up our garage to make the apartment for the girls, we lost all of our storage space. Now we have to find places to put all that we want to keep and get rid of the rest. Not an easy task. I think that it will be rewarding in the end, but man I would love to be done with all of this sorting.
My new route addition seems to be going well. I'm having a hard time trying to figure out when to fit things into my day, but I'm getting better at it. I have shifted more house work etc to the early morning and less to the afternoon. Days like today are very hard. I am going in early because I have to be back to the post office early enough to go and play the piano for a group that is singing at 3 of the local nursing homes this afternoon. It's our once a month thing, but now that I get done later, it will be hard to get back in time. Then I will come home and work on more sorting and cooking supper, then it's off to Cranfest meetings at 5:30. Jeepers it's a busy day today. Tomorrow's not as busy though, so I'll get caught up (I can dream can't I?)
We have been concerned about fires around here. It has been so dry, but yesterday brought rain, thank God! I know that north of here on the Canada/Minnesota border it's all and I mean all burning to the tune of thousands and thousands of acres. Now Will's parents are saying that the air in Tallahassee is just filled with smoke from the Georgia/Florida border fires. Scary stuff. Keep Mom Donaldson in your prayers as this smoke really does a number on her and we are quite concerned.
We leave for Canada in 10 days (God willing). I am SO excited. This trip has been one of my dream trips for so many years. I have always wanted to see where my family came from and look through all those musty old records. We are looking forward to New York state and then seeing Niagara Falls. Our cousins Jim and Annette are coming with us and what a wonderful chance to get to visit with them and catch up and also build better relationships. I am counting minutes. I'd better get sorting so I can be done with it.
Yesterday was Mother's Day. I woke up late and then made my hubby's favorite breakfast. After all, without him I could not be a mother right? Then I baked a couple of desserts for fellowship. We were supposed to go on a picnic, but with the rain decided to go to Mom and Dad's house. Then Will, Jessa and I went for a walk. Will picked me a bouquet of wild flowers. We stayed around and talked about the trip and then came home. A good day all in all and I enjoyed it.
Now back to real life.
Did I mention that my sister and her hubby gave us some bushes? We planted them in the front yard. They seem to be doing fine. My lilacs that I planted last year have one little tiny bunch of flowers on them, but boy am I proud of those little blooms. THEY DIDN'T DIE!!!
More yard work later this week, but I love it so it's ok. I'm glad that it stays light for so long, so I have longer to try to fit it all in.
Well, time to get kids off to school and head off to work.
Have a great day!
dea
I am working on spring cleaning. Very time consuming to say the least. I spent 3 maybe 4 hours on just our closet the other day. I pulled everything and I mean everything out of it cleaned it from top to bottom and then put the stuff we wanted to keep back in. Now there is room for other stuff to go in too. We are being very thorough and trying to get rid of lots of stuff. When we gave up our garage to make the apartment for the girls, we lost all of our storage space. Now we have to find places to put all that we want to keep and get rid of the rest. Not an easy task. I think that it will be rewarding in the end, but man I would love to be done with all of this sorting.
My new route addition seems to be going well. I'm having a hard time trying to figure out when to fit things into my day, but I'm getting better at it. I have shifted more house work etc to the early morning and less to the afternoon. Days like today are very hard. I am going in early because I have to be back to the post office early enough to go and play the piano for a group that is singing at 3 of the local nursing homes this afternoon. It's our once a month thing, but now that I get done later, it will be hard to get back in time. Then I will come home and work on more sorting and cooking supper, then it's off to Cranfest meetings at 5:30. Jeepers it's a busy day today. Tomorrow's not as busy though, so I'll get caught up (I can dream can't I?)
We have been concerned about fires around here. It has been so dry, but yesterday brought rain, thank God! I know that north of here on the Canada/Minnesota border it's all and I mean all burning to the tune of thousands and thousands of acres. Now Will's parents are saying that the air in Tallahassee is just filled with smoke from the Georgia/Florida border fires. Scary stuff. Keep Mom Donaldson in your prayers as this smoke really does a number on her and we are quite concerned.
We leave for Canada in 10 days (God willing). I am SO excited. This trip has been one of my dream trips for so many years. I have always wanted to see where my family came from and look through all those musty old records. We are looking forward to New York state and then seeing Niagara Falls. Our cousins Jim and Annette are coming with us and what a wonderful chance to get to visit with them and catch up and also build better relationships. I am counting minutes. I'd better get sorting so I can be done with it.
Yesterday was Mother's Day. I woke up late and then made my hubby's favorite breakfast. After all, without him I could not be a mother right? Then I baked a couple of desserts for fellowship. We were supposed to go on a picnic, but with the rain decided to go to Mom and Dad's house. Then Will, Jessa and I went for a walk. Will picked me a bouquet of wild flowers. We stayed around and talked about the trip and then came home. A good day all in all and I enjoyed it.
Now back to real life.
Did I mention that my sister and her hubby gave us some bushes? We planted them in the front yard. They seem to be doing fine. My lilacs that I planted last year have one little tiny bunch of flowers on them, but boy am I proud of those little blooms. THEY DIDN'T DIE!!!
More yard work later this week, but I love it so it's ok. I'm glad that it stays light for so long, so I have longer to try to fit it all in.
Well, time to get kids off to school and head off to work.
Have a great day!
dea
Monday, May 07, 2007
Ready set GO!!!!!!
Last Thursday Jessalyn and I went to Madison for a 4th grade field trip. It was a quick one. We left at 8:15 am and returned by 6:00 pm. We managed to fit in the effigy mounds at New Lisbon, the Vilas Park Zoo, the Veteran's Museum and the Wisconsin Capitol. It was fun and we saw some great stuff but they sure didn't allow us much time to explore. I would love to take my family back for a longer visit. The zoo was fun and the museum was really interesting, but they both needed much more time to fully enjoy them. The capitol was awesome! I do not know that I have ever seen a more beautiful building. The stained glass windows were beautiful and I could have spent hours looking at them. They are huge and are in the ceilings to give more natural light. Wonderful!
Jessalyn was allowed to sit in the chair of Senator Wirch of Wisconsin. She really loved that one. She and the rest of her class sat in the chairs that the senators sit in when they are in session. Then they went to the chambers for the house of representatives and sat there. What a great experience for those kids. I could see some wheels working and thinking that maybe they could sit in these chairs when they grew up. It was fun to see.
I have posted some pictures from the trip and hope that you enjoy them.
dea
Jessalyn was allowed to sit in the chair of Senator Wirch of Wisconsin. She really loved that one. She and the rest of her class sat in the chairs that the senators sit in when they are in session. Then they went to the chambers for the house of representatives and sat there. What a great experience for those kids. I could see some wheels working and thinking that maybe they could sit in these chairs when they grew up. It was fun to see.
I have posted some pictures from the trip and hope that you enjoy them.
dea
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