Winter in Southern Oregon:
Winter in Michigan:
Winter in Idaho:
Winter in Wyoming:
Actually, Easter in Wyoming.
Showing posts with label michigan. Show all posts
Showing posts with label michigan. Show all posts
Tuesday, December 18, 2012
Tuesday, June 7, 2011
What To Do In Daze Of Time-Off
Four days a month, we house parents get "time-off." This means you pack up any belongings you find necessary (coffee, books, suntan lotion, chocolate bars) and any and all small children you may have birthed yourself (one without drugs, thankyouverymuchcanIgetanamen?) and GET LOST. Us being the lone wolves we are and being so very far away from the people who are related to us, whether in blood or in spirit, we only get lost as far as across the driveway, to the little cottage we lived in a for a few weeks when we first moved here. We rent movies and check out lots of books and eat whatever we please without having to submit our menus to the state of Michigan so that they can see we do indeed eat a well balanced diet. We spend time with the mini-Williams who don't have to share their parents with anyone, and scratch Milo behind the ears more often, and hold up the laptop next to the window in the hopes that we can get enough of a signal to have the internet. Here are the other things we do:
1. Eat cheeses, French bread, salami, and apples for supper. Gianni said and I quote, 'This was the best dinner of my life!'
2. Mike conquers the world in Civilization.
3. I blog.
4. The kids watch Gnomeo and Juliet. Fourteen times.
5. We eat chocolate donuts dunked in tea.
6. I realize all three books I brought were from the YA section. I think I'm having a midlife crisis. I'm just thrilled there is nary a vampire in any of them. So far.
7. Talk with that guy I married over a dozen years ago and actually get to finish a sentence.
8. Send the kids out to catch turtles and frogs.
9. Go find new parks to visit.
10. Go stroll downtown with Anna, who is my antiquing partner.
11. Hit the farmers market for the first time this year!
12. Go to dinner at a friend's house and watch O Brother Where Art Thou?
13. Rent more movies. Suggestions, anyone? I just got Red, because I have a fondness for Brucie. Also want to look for Waiting for Superman.
14. Ride bikes to this country cemetery we recently found. I have strangeness in my blood and so do my kids. We love cemeteries. We race around trying to find the oldest tombstone and make up stories for all the deceased. We look for names the same as ours for shivers-up-our-spines moments and everyone politely waits while I cry over any and all children's tombstones. Told you I was strange.
15. Smoosh bugs with shoes. I bought a twin pack of fly swatters but Schroeder and Moose used them immediately as light sabors and destroyed them in five minutes flat. We get these crazy box elder bug invasions in the summer. Plus, the skeeters are getting fierce; poor Cora's legs look like she was chomped halfway to the bone and left for dead.
That is all for now...I must drink more coffee and finish The Hunger Games...
1. Eat cheeses, French bread, salami, and apples for supper. Gianni said and I quote, 'This was the best dinner of my life!'
2. Mike conquers the world in Civilization.
3. I blog.
4. The kids watch Gnomeo and Juliet. Fourteen times.
5. We eat chocolate donuts dunked in tea.
6. I realize all three books I brought were from the YA section. I think I'm having a midlife crisis. I'm just thrilled there is nary a vampire in any of them. So far.
7. Talk with that guy I married over a dozen years ago and actually get to finish a sentence.
8. Send the kids out to catch turtles and frogs.
9. Go find new parks to visit.
10. Go stroll downtown with Anna, who is my antiquing partner.
11. Hit the farmers market for the first time this year!
12. Go to dinner at a friend's house and watch O Brother Where Art Thou?
13. Rent more movies. Suggestions, anyone? I just got Red, because I have a fondness for Brucie. Also want to look for Waiting for Superman.
14. Ride bikes to this country cemetery we recently found. I have strangeness in my blood and so do my kids. We love cemeteries. We race around trying to find the oldest tombstone and make up stories for all the deceased. We look for names the same as ours for shivers-up-our-spines moments and everyone politely waits while I cry over any and all children's tombstones. Told you I was strange.
15. Smoosh bugs with shoes. I bought a twin pack of fly swatters but Schroeder and Moose used them immediately as light sabors and destroyed them in five minutes flat. We get these crazy box elder bug invasions in the summer. Plus, the skeeters are getting fierce; poor Cora's legs look like she was chomped halfway to the bone and left for dead.
That is all for now...I must drink more coffee and finish The Hunger Games...
Thursday, January 6, 2011
What I learned in 2010
1. I don't like moving. I don't like Uhauls. They wiggle. It freaks me out. They're really loud and bumpy. They make my jowls shake when you are on a rocky road. They eat my possessions. They're ridiculously expensive and that's before you do the math for their gas guzzling habit.
2. I secretly enjoyed the government benefits of food stamps for a few months. I should feel ashamed but we have never eaten so well in our lives. I now miss medium rare steak more than I miss the size 4 I used to be.
3. Going through difficult times in life, it's very helpful and recommended to have a life partner with a sense of humor.
4. It's very helpful and recommended to have a sense of humor when going through difficult times in life.
5. It is possible to live out of one half of a suitcase for 6 months. Not screamingly thrilling, but possible.
6. If you're low on furniture or things to do, nekked drumming is always an alternative to the humdrums.
7. My dog is neurotic, but I learned to love the mutt more.
8. It's 2,013 miles from Nampa, Idaho, to St Louis, MI.
9. Approximately 1,013 miles of it is corn.
10. Homeschooling is so the way to go if you're unemployed and traveling!
11. I can drive a huge van like a bad mambajamba. I don't know what a bad mambajamba is actually. I think it might be a Star Wars term.
12. Gianni likes the ladies. The ladies like Gianni. And she didn't even get to witness the nekked drum show!
13. You can sell my bed. You can sell my couch. You can give endless boxes of my very own stuff away to Goodwill. But if you lay a hand on my book collection I will come at you like a spider monkey.
14. Goodbyes stink.
I miss her. I had a picture of the two of us, but I looked jowl-y.
There are others I miss (Jen, Anna) who evidently hide from cameras as well.
15. Gianni grew hair.
16. Michigan is humid. Speaking of hair reminded me of that, thank you very much.
17. I'm not ashamed to say I heart texting, emails, Facebook, and phones, so I can keep in touch with all my fruitloops.
18. The first three weeks of being a mom to teenagers I did not sleep at all. We're talking full-on zombie, night of the living dead. Can you say, anxious?
19. Baptists are just Christians. Shhh.
20. It is not advisable to do Pilates on the floor when your toddler is perched precariously above you on the tip of the recliner.
21. Public schools make me nervous. They're full of oversized toddlers. I want to put my fingers in my ears and shout at the top of my lungs, 'I'm a homeschooler!' But I don't think this would do much for the reputation of homeschoolers in general. Especially if I'm wearing my Star Trek shirt tucked into my sweat pants tucked into my moon boots at the time.
22. If nekked drumming isn't your thing, due to a lack of musical ability, there's always nekked biking. A few scant seconds after I took this shot, he ate the geranium.
23. This picture has nothing to do with anything and wasn't taken in 2010, but it somehow seemed appropriate for this blog. I want him back. I want to chew on his nose cuz back then he let me chew on his nose.
I'm ending there, partly because dinner is about to boil over, and partly because I like ending my list on #23 for all you OCD people who will not be able to sleep at night because I didn't end on an even number.
Love,
me and my jowls.
2. I secretly enjoyed the government benefits of food stamps for a few months. I should feel ashamed but we have never eaten so well in our lives. I now miss medium rare steak more than I miss the size 4 I used to be.
3. Going through difficult times in life, it's very helpful and recommended to have a life partner with a sense of humor.
4. It's very helpful and recommended to have a sense of humor when going through difficult times in life.
5. It is possible to live out of one half of a suitcase for 6 months. Not screamingly thrilling, but possible.
6. If you're low on furniture or things to do, nekked drumming is always an alternative to the humdrums.
7. My dog is neurotic, but I learned to love the mutt more.
8. It's 2,013 miles from Nampa, Idaho, to St Louis, MI.
9. Approximately 1,013 miles of it is corn.
10. Homeschooling is so the way to go if you're unemployed and traveling!
11. I can drive a huge van like a bad mambajamba. I don't know what a bad mambajamba is actually. I think it might be a Star Wars term.
12. Gianni likes the ladies. The ladies like Gianni. And she didn't even get to witness the nekked drum show!
13. You can sell my bed. You can sell my couch. You can give endless boxes of my very own stuff away to Goodwill. But if you lay a hand on my book collection I will come at you like a spider monkey.
14. Goodbyes stink.
This one stinks.
This one was rotten.
This one was tear ridden.
This one was-
well-
I don't miss this nut all too terribly.
It's his wife I miss.
But she won't sit still for pictures.
Like me.
So we've known each other for eleventy seven years and have like, no photos of each other because we each duck and yell and take cover when someone takes out their camera. And if I do get a photo of her she complains about her hair, or her shirt and makes me delete it. And if she does get a picture of me I complain about my jowls. And she deletes it. At least she tells me she deletes it.
I suspect she lies.
I miss her. I had a picture of the two of us, but I looked jowl-y.
There are others I miss (Jen, Anna) who evidently hide from cameras as well.
15. Gianni grew hair.
16. Michigan is humid. Speaking of hair reminded me of that, thank you very much.
17. I'm not ashamed to say I heart texting, emails, Facebook, and phones, so I can keep in touch with all my fruitloops.
18. The first three weeks of being a mom to teenagers I did not sleep at all. We're talking full-on zombie, night of the living dead. Can you say, anxious?
19. Baptists are just Christians. Shhh.
20. It is not advisable to do Pilates on the floor when your toddler is perched precariously above you on the tip of the recliner.
21. Public schools make me nervous. They're full of oversized toddlers. I want to put my fingers in my ears and shout at the top of my lungs, 'I'm a homeschooler!' But I don't think this would do much for the reputation of homeschoolers in general. Especially if I'm wearing my Star Trek shirt tucked into my sweat pants tucked into my moon boots at the time.
23. This picture has nothing to do with anything and wasn't taken in 2010, but it somehow seemed appropriate for this blog. I want him back. I want to chew on his nose cuz back then he let me chew on his nose.
I'm ending there, partly because dinner is about to boil over, and partly because I like ending my list on #23 for all you OCD people who will not be able to sleep at night because I didn't end on an even number.
Love,
me and my jowls.
Wednesday, July 28, 2010
I love history
We got our first time off this month and went to the Yoop. You know, the U.P.? No? Yeah, I didn't know what anyone was talking about either when they referred to this. Turns out there's this part of Michigan called The Upper Peninsula which is basically, but not really, Canada. You have to cross a five mile bridge over the tippy tops of Lake Huron and Lake Michigan to get there, AND you have to pay a toll so it kind of feels like you're entering another country. Anyway, we went there for a couple days and of course, knowing us, turned it into an educational field trip for our offspring who we forget to homeschool half the time. Here's what we learned:
When you use a spray-on sunscreen, don't be fooled. You still need to rub it in, just like you would the regular ol' lotion type. Why? Because if you don't you will end up with a sunburn in the lovely pattern of a lace doilie or knitted afghan.
Other things we learned:
There's a fort called Michilimackinac. It's the longest on-going archaeological dig in America right now; they've been digging it up since the '50s. It was built in the 1700s, so we're talking colonial times, people! My favorite time period! Now I have an uncontrollable urge to watch my very favorite movie ever, The Last of the Mohican's. I can hear Daniel Day-Lewis calling to me actually...No matter where I go, he will find me. No matter how long it takes...no matter how far. Sigh. I could watch that movie everyday and not get tired of it. But anyway. For a mere $30 we got to spend all day inside the fort, soaking it up. The fort was originally built by the French and was used for the fur trade (getting all those beaver skins back to Europe for high fashion was a major trade) via the lakes, which were the international highway of the time. After the British overtook the French during the French and Indian War, the British got their redcoat rumps kicked by the Indians who were annoyed by the British lack of gift-giving (the French were good gift givers it turns out). During a game of Baggatiway, which is like lacrosse, the Indians "accidentally" hit the ball over the fort walls and the British didn't think twice when they rushed in to retrieve it. The Indian woman pulled out knives from underneath their skirts and blankets, handing them to their men, and after a large handful of soldiers met their fate and the rest were captured, the point was made. Afterwards, the British remembered to give better gifts and friendly relations were resumed. Well, until the next war: the American Revolution. Right around that time, the general decided the fort was not super well protected and for two years, they dismantled it and sailed it (summer) across Lake Huron, or sledded it (winter) across Lake Huron, to Mackinac Island. What wasn't worth taking was burned so the French couldn't have a comfy place to camp out while they plotted and planned their attacks. So what didn't burn completely is what they're digging up now. The rest of course, is replicas.
A typical hearth. Imagine keeping this going 24/7 because it was also your oven and stove top! And then imagine you're wearing a corset and skirts that each have three yards of material in them. Interesting facts about the clothes: by the age of 7 the girls made their own, and by the age of 9 the girls made all their younger siblings as well. Because the washing and scrubbing on a washboard would pop off buttons, the women would snip off every single one EVERY SINGLE TIME they did laundry, then sew them back on. This is why the ladies clothes had less buttons and more ties and ribbons. I guess the saucy flirty look was just an added bonus.
Part of the fort. See the bridge in the background?
Also shy, my girls.
And short.
Oh, if you were shorter than 5'6" you couldn't join the British army. Unless you 'promised to grow.' True story.
So, that's the story of Michilimackinac (silent C at the end). Actually, that's only some of the story, but I forgot to grab a brochure on my way out so I'm going on my flawed memory. That concludes the history part of my blog, at least for now, and until the next field trip. If you're hanging around for a math or science blog, you'll be waiting a loooooooooong time, my friends. The very thought sends shivers down my spine.
When you use a spray-on sunscreen, don't be fooled. You still need to rub it in, just like you would the regular ol' lotion type. Why? Because if you don't you will end up with a sunburn in the lovely pattern of a lace doilie or knitted afghan.
Other things we learned:
There's a fort called Michilimackinac. It's the longest on-going archaeological dig in America right now; they've been digging it up since the '50s. It was built in the 1700s, so we're talking colonial times, people! My favorite time period! Now I have an uncontrollable urge to watch my very favorite movie ever, The Last of the Mohican's. I can hear Daniel Day-Lewis calling to me actually...No matter where I go, he will find me. No matter how long it takes...no matter how far. Sigh. I could watch that movie everyday and not get tired of it. But anyway. For a mere $30 we got to spend all day inside the fort, soaking it up. The fort was originally built by the French and was used for the fur trade (getting all those beaver skins back to Europe for high fashion was a major trade) via the lakes, which were the international highway of the time. After the British overtook the French during the French and Indian War, the British got their redcoat rumps kicked by the Indians who were annoyed by the British lack of gift-giving (the French were good gift givers it turns out). During a game of Baggatiway, which is like lacrosse, the Indians "accidentally" hit the ball over the fort walls and the British didn't think twice when they rushed in to retrieve it. The Indian woman pulled out knives from underneath their skirts and blankets, handing them to their men, and after a large handful of soldiers met their fate and the rest were captured, the point was made. Afterwards, the British remembered to give better gifts and friendly relations were resumed. Well, until the next war: the American Revolution. Right around that time, the general decided the fort was not super well protected and for two years, they dismantled it and sailed it (summer) across Lake Huron, or sledded it (winter) across Lake Huron, to Mackinac Island. What wasn't worth taking was burned so the French couldn't have a comfy place to camp out while they plotted and planned their attacks. So what didn't burn completely is what they're digging up now. The rest of course, is replicas.
A typical hearth. Imagine keeping this going 24/7 because it was also your oven and stove top! And then imagine you're wearing a corset and skirts that each have three yards of material in them. Interesting facts about the clothes: by the age of 7 the girls made their own, and by the age of 9 the girls made all their younger siblings as well. Because the washing and scrubbing on a washboard would pop off buttons, the women would snip off every single one EVERY SINGLE TIME they did laundry, then sew them back on. This is why the ladies clothes had less buttons and more ties and ribbons. I guess the saucy flirty look was just an added bonus. 
Moose in a tri corner hat. I am concerned about how shy and introverted he is. Should we seek help for that? It must because of how unsocialized and weird us homeschoolers are.
Part of the fort. See the bridge in the background?
Also shy, my girls.
And short.
Oh, if you were shorter than 5'6" you couldn't join the British army. Unless you 'promised to grow.' True story.
So, that's the story of Michilimackinac (silent C at the end). Actually, that's only some of the story, but I forgot to grab a brochure on my way out so I'm going on my flawed memory. That concludes the history part of my blog, at least for now, and until the next field trip. If you're hanging around for a math or science blog, you'll be waiting a loooooooooong time, my friends. The very thought sends shivers down my spine.
Thursday, May 6, 2010
Michigan
Several years of daydreaming and whining have finally come to fruition with the Williams' girls: they got to ride an airplane. The countdown started when the tickets were bought approximately 5 weeks ago. Gianni however got stuck on the phrase, 'I'm going on a big airplane in two weeks!' so that was his answer (and will continue to be) for the past, present, and future of air travel. As anyone knows, getting there is half the fun. Unless you're the parents and then getting there is a headache of logistics, luggage, directions, time, tickets, hunger, expense, pockets stuffed with items bribery, and the occasional wet underpants. The take-off was everything their fevered imaginations had concocted and we did well until we all remembered Anna has a tendency to get car sick. 'Nuff said. Moving on.
We were very pleasantly surprised to learn that Michigan (which I may or may not had to learn both to spell correctly and to find on a map) is quite loverly. Everyone I told our destination to only had this to say about it,
'It's flat.'
People there however have this to say about Idaho,
'Isn't that the potato place? Are there any cities there?'
So, I guess I learned we all need to get out more.
I also may or may not have offended the locals when I snapped a photo of not one, but two, tractors getting gas at the Quicki-Mart. Sorry about that, locals, I couldn't help but find it funny.
Gianni discovered a fierce loathing of vans. Odd, since we in fact own a said minivan. But you never heard so much howling in your life as every time we switched vehicles. 'I don't like the green van! I wanna get out!' Since his future involves a lot of vans packed full of a lot of kids, we are hoping to get past this mental block of rectangular shaped automobiles without full-on head-shrinking help. I'm thinking tapes played at night on a continuous loop encouraging him to love the vans, embrace the vans, find joy in the vans...
The humidity and the mosquitoes are something for an Western-er to reckon with. Suddenly my husband looked like Harrison Ford in The Mosquito Coast and I couldn't help but worry that he was going to go bonkers and our tale would take a tragic turn for the worst. Then I remembered Harrison Ford is a looker and so it couldn't be all bad. Which made me think of River Phoenix. Which in turn made me think of Corey Haim, whose death I am still not completely over. Please wait here while I go grab some Cheezits for comforting.
Our entire week was a bit of an audition and we felt like we were in a fish bowl. A parenting fish bowl. One where the guppies were alternating between various degrees of naughtiness. There was a lot of saying the right things while simultaneously shooting laser beams out of our eyeballs and whispering threats to shorten their life spans considerably. In spite of that, we enjoyed our trip immensely and look forward to moving forward in this adventure that is life.
We got to spend time with all the group home kids. At first I was terrified to think of being Mom to teenage boys whose feet are bigger than my legs, but after meeting them, most fears diminished. Teenagers kinda crack me up actually. Mostly they wanted to know if I can cook. That seems to be the only prerequisite for mothering in their book.
Our move there will consist of driving exactly 1952 miles which I had cheerfully been complaining about until the person I was speaking with casually mentioned his missionary son who lives on the Amazon with his wife and four tiny adopted children and recently traveled 1000 miles in a wooden canoe, killing deadly snakes along the way and fearing for their lives, and loving every minute of it. And probably not complaining. So I gather from that no one will feel sorry for me in my air-conditioned minivan complete with snacks and dvd players. I will still complain and beg for sympathy. Naturally. And you will give it to me, my loyal readers. All four of you. 'Cause that's how you roll.
As far as the certainties and for-sures and the whens and the whys, the directors are not in a rush to hire people in a business where turn-over is high. So, we wait. Waiting on the Lord. Much like the waiting room in Beetlejuice...hmmm, first The Mosquito Coast and now Beetlejuice. I need slightly less off the wall movies to parallel my life. So for the next few days we are once again at the mercy of friends and family for floor space, table space, and showers. It's amazing and amusing what you learn when you live with people and I considered writing a whole blog post on just that, but then I was afraid that my muses would rebel and write their own blogs on having me as a house guest. And no one needs to read about my weirdness. They might learn about my ninja skills when you put a dirty dish in the sink I just cleaned (sorry, Ike, I feel I may have wounded you for life and also given you a tic when you approach your own sink), or my frightening bed-head in the morning, or my knack for canceling your dvr recordings behind your back (sorry, Sadie). I also may or may not, snore. I do wonder if our respective hosts and hostesses are secretly starting a support group behind my back...
'Hello. My name is (insert your name here). And I'm a recovering Williams' family host.'
There probably should be a 12 step program.
We were very pleasantly surprised to learn that Michigan (which I may or may not had to learn both to spell correctly and to find on a map) is quite loverly. Everyone I told our destination to only had this to say about it,
'It's flat.'
People there however have this to say about Idaho,
'Isn't that the potato place? Are there any cities there?'
So, I guess I learned we all need to get out more.
I also may or may not have offended the locals when I snapped a photo of not one, but two, tractors getting gas at the Quicki-Mart. Sorry about that, locals, I couldn't help but find it funny.
Gianni discovered a fierce loathing of vans. Odd, since we in fact own a said minivan. But you never heard so much howling in your life as every time we switched vehicles. 'I don't like the green van! I wanna get out!' Since his future involves a lot of vans packed full of a lot of kids, we are hoping to get past this mental block of rectangular shaped automobiles without full-on head-shrinking help. I'm thinking tapes played at night on a continuous loop encouraging him to love the vans, embrace the vans, find joy in the vans...
The humidity and the mosquitoes are something for an Western-er to reckon with. Suddenly my husband looked like Harrison Ford in The Mosquito Coast and I couldn't help but worry that he was going to go bonkers and our tale would take a tragic turn for the worst. Then I remembered Harrison Ford is a looker and so it couldn't be all bad. Which made me think of River Phoenix. Which in turn made me think of Corey Haim, whose death I am still not completely over. Please wait here while I go grab some Cheezits for comforting.
Our entire week was a bit of an audition and we felt like we were in a fish bowl. A parenting fish bowl. One where the guppies were alternating between various degrees of naughtiness. There was a lot of saying the right things while simultaneously shooting laser beams out of our eyeballs and whispering threats to shorten their life spans considerably. In spite of that, we enjoyed our trip immensely and look forward to moving forward in this adventure that is life.
We got to spend time with all the group home kids. At first I was terrified to think of being Mom to teenage boys whose feet are bigger than my legs, but after meeting them, most fears diminished. Teenagers kinda crack me up actually. Mostly they wanted to know if I can cook. That seems to be the only prerequisite for mothering in their book.
Our move there will consist of driving exactly 1952 miles which I had cheerfully been complaining about until the person I was speaking with casually mentioned his missionary son who lives on the Amazon with his wife and four tiny adopted children and recently traveled 1000 miles in a wooden canoe, killing deadly snakes along the way and fearing for their lives, and loving every minute of it. And probably not complaining. So I gather from that no one will feel sorry for me in my air-conditioned minivan complete with snacks and dvd players. I will still complain and beg for sympathy. Naturally. And you will give it to me, my loyal readers. All four of you. 'Cause that's how you roll.
As far as the certainties and for-sures and the whens and the whys, the directors are not in a rush to hire people in a business where turn-over is high. So, we wait. Waiting on the Lord. Much like the waiting room in Beetlejuice...hmmm, first The Mosquito Coast and now Beetlejuice. I need slightly less off the wall movies to parallel my life. So for the next few days we are once again at the mercy of friends and family for floor space, table space, and showers. It's amazing and amusing what you learn when you live with people and I considered writing a whole blog post on just that, but then I was afraid that my muses would rebel and write their own blogs on having me as a house guest. And no one needs to read about my weirdness. They might learn about my ninja skills when you put a dirty dish in the sink I just cleaned (sorry, Ike, I feel I may have wounded you for life and also given you a tic when you approach your own sink), or my frightening bed-head in the morning, or my knack for canceling your dvr recordings behind your back (sorry, Sadie). I also may or may not, snore. I do wonder if our respective hosts and hostesses are secretly starting a support group behind my back...
'Hello. My name is (insert your name here). And I'm a recovering Williams' family host.'
There probably should be a 12 step program.
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