Becky's Bits and Pieces

Such a helper

2010-02-14T09:56:00.000-08:00

Spencer loves feeding the dog his dog treats. The other day he decided to take matters in his own hands. The funny part is our dog's strange obsession with lines on tile. Tongua calls him our "high-functioning autistic dog". Kirby is convinced the evil tile lines will get him if he walks on them too much, so it took all his courage to get near enough to eat the treats. Spencer couldn't understand this, so he kept pitching treats to him. Funny stuff.

Let it (not) snow, let it (not) snow, let it (not) snow!

2010-02-10T19:07:00.000-08:00

Snow. Oo, pretty! Okay, over it.

Today I broke down and called the pediatrician and begged for some form of drug to give my child. His nose has been leaking like a faucet, albeit a gross one, for 6 days now, and it's time to get down and dirty with it. All the child advice says Thou Shalt Not Give Babies Antihistamines, but I am all about it if it helps this baby sleep. I am not keeping Spencer out of Mother's Day Out again if it means I have to shove corks up his nose! So I called the pediatrician first to see if I could dodge the bad mother police. They advised Benadryl. Ahhh...drugs... So I hotfooted it to Kroger, and whattya know, it really does help. I'm so relieved. And so is he, I can tell. Ferris asked if he could have some too, so we might all be taking baby benadryl before long.

I also got some top secret birthday presents for Ferris, so next week should be fun. He's cooking something delicious for Valentine's day on Sunday evening. He grumbles that Valentine's day is a Hallmark conspiracy to make up a reason to force men to spend money in February, so Ferris bucks the system by refusing to get me flowers or bears with heart t-shirts or even cards, usually. But he cooks me lamb chops, so I have no complaints. Ferris can tear it up in the kitchen when he puts his mind to it. He hasn't told me what the menu is, but 5 bucks says it's lamb chops, asparagus, and a glass of wine. Mmmmmm.......

The Saints Went Marchin' In!

2010-02-08T10:40:00.000-08:00

It's rare that I pay attention to the actual Super Bowl over the ads, but this time I sure did. What an exciting game! We went over to Ferris' mom's house. She was taking a break from the hospital, and we got to spend some time together. She hadn't seen Spencer since Paul checked in 2 weeks ago, so we were due. He was very suspicious that I was going to leave him at Nana's, like so often happens, so at first he was clingy, but he warmed up quickly and had a ball. Donna got to bathe him, feed him, and laugh at him, which was the most important thing. We would tell him to bring this toy to Nana, and off he would go, waving his Elmo figurine like it was the Heisman trophy. Then we gave him his stuffed monkey to give Nana, and he got right to her and did a u-turn, with a mischievous twinkle in his eye. Wonder where he gets that.

We woke up this morning to a winter wonderland. Ferris put in a Christmas cd, it was so pretty and white. Then he tried to drive in it. Now it's just raining, and the magic has worn off. Mother's day out was cancelled, but Spencer would have missed anyway, with his runny nose. Grumblemumblegrr...

Joy comes in the morning

2010-02-04T07:02:00.000-08:00

After another bad night (read: little sleep), Spencer woke up fever-free and raring to make up for lost wiggle time. Cats, watch out!

Mother's day in

2010-02-03T20:33:00.001-08:00

Well, Spencer's day has not gotten much better. He stopped vomiting, but by evening he ran fever and was very fussy and unhappy. Finally we got him in a bath and asleep with some Tylenol. He can keep the Pedialyte down, and some bananas and toast, so at least I know he isn't dehydrated.

He will not be going to Mother's day out tomorrow, needless to say. *sigh*

On a happier note, he did learn how to hiss like a snake. He has developed a liking for Dora the Explorer, and he will even drag a toy to the tv to be his "backpack" like Dora's. I am now entering the world of children's television. As long as it's not Barney, I will be ok.

Womitin' bad, sir.

2010-02-03T05:03:00.000-08:00

The title of the post is from James Herriot, a family tradition. Womitin' is what Spencer has been doing all night, so we're all a little fractious this morning. He's been doing better this morning, so hopefully we are past the storm. I have now learned the reason why you only give liquids to vomiting babies in small sips. He didn't have fever or any other symptoms, just a restlessness that I could tell was from discomfort. He is playing with his daddy now, so we seem to have bounced back. Whew!

Snow baby

2010-01-31T19:26:00.001-08:00

Well it seems we won't have our snow around much longer. We've had a balmy January that felt pretty much like spring, until this weekend. We had over an inch of snow fall, after a day of freezing rain, so Spencer and I have been housebound for 2 days. Ferris managed to make it to work on Saturday, but "whistle britches" and I preferred to stay home and play in the snow. Spencer saw a teeny bit of snow a few weeks earlier, but he seemed to have no idea what was going on. This time he was more aware of things, and he loved it! He noticed the peculiar muffling quality of the sound, so he was squawking at the top of his lungs. The crunching under his feet excited him, until he stomped his feet hard enough to fall down. He wasn't wearing mittens, so he was surprised at the cold and wet. He would shake his hands vigorously, as if to say, "I did NOT expect this to stick!". Then I would rub his hands until they were warm and dry, and off he would go to do it all again. I didn't have a camera with me, but I did take pictures of the first time he saw snow, so that will have to do. This Sunday morning, I have never been so determined to go to church as I was today. I am LEAVING THIS HOUSE! Spencer was not at all happy to have me leave after 2 straight days of 100% mommy time, but when I came back to pick him up, he was happily munching snacks and flirting with the nursery ladies. That's my boy, no problem too great to be solved with snacks.

Spencer's new tricks

2010-01-29T08:25:00.000-08:00

Spencer's first word was "light", but he hasn't been interested in saying it for a month now, so we were pleased when he came up with a new one. (see video)

And since Grandpa Paul is such a Star Wars fan, particularly of Jabba the Hutt, here is a little something we like to call Divine Justice. (see video 2)

Enjoy!

P. S. I am tinkering around with ways to get the video to play correctly online, so ignore the type across the movie screens. I'll get it fixed eventually.

Back from the void

2010-01-28T07:33:00.000-08:00

After a year and a half of neglecting my poor blog, I have a motivation to update it more regularly. Part of my reasons for not blogging is that the small things that make up my life didn't seem important enough to share with the internet at large. Now, however, we have a child, and a grandpa with leukemia that won't be able to see him for at least a month, so I will take more pictures and videos and post them here so our entire family can stay current with Spencer's ups and downs.

The funny thing that happened this morning was over our Star Wars pop-up book. Ferris actually got the book for himself, but it is a fun way to entertain the baby. He is fascinated with it, (the baby, that is) and has learned to expect when I open the flaps to show him the different characters. I make a sound for each character, so today when I opened the Jabba the Hutt page, he laughed like Jabba and pointed. Ho ho ho ha ha.... Only 14 months, and already Spencer is strong in the ways of the force...

Heeeeeeere's Spencer!

2008-08-29T01:57:00.000-07:00

Hi, friends! Sorry I'm so slow about posting. Back-to-school is wild around here. One of my adult piano students is an ob-gyn, so she snuck me in for a 3D ultrasound. It was such a cool experience. Here he is, gang!

And here's me at 26 weeks.

Belly or no belly?

2008-06-15T16:43:00.000-07:00

So do I look pregnant or not? I still can't decide.

Our little angel

2008-06-15T16:21:00.001-07:00

Well, stinky angel.

Ode to Sprite

2008-06-08T18:22:00.000-07:00

How do I love Sprite? Let me count the ways:

One: So cold and sparkly sweet,

Two: A luscious morning treat

Three: I keep you on the bedside table

Fumbling for you when I'm able

You bring my nausea to an end

At midnight or at 8 a.m.

Four: When lunging for the door,

you keep me off the bathroom floor,

I gulp you and then gulp some more

and settle down again.

I could write this on and on,

but I've finished up my song,

I'll be needing you before long,

Sprite, a girl's best friend!

Peanut picture!

2008-06-08T18:21:00.000-07:00

Here's our little peanut at 10 weeks. I'm 15 weeks now, so hopefully I'll have a new one soon.

Furniture project

2008-04-12T12:44:00.001-07:00

My artiste friend Jeanetta came over and helped me paint my furniture. It turned out great!

Before:

After:

Oh, and by the way:

Winding things down

2008-01-07T18:41:00.000-08:00

Well, we woke up to our last day in the Peak district. The dogs were out sniffing around, and the owners let us take them for a morning walk. We had the best time walking around the fields and blackberry hedges with these sweet dogs.

We went down into the nearest town, Matlock. Yes, Matlock. And no, there weren't any white-haired Southern lawyers there. We found the carriage house that loaned its carriages for use in Pride and Prejudice, as well as lots of other films.

Later we took a cable car up to the top of the surrounding cliffs. There was a park there called the Heights of Abraham. There were lots of gorgeous views, and a cave tour that we didn't take.

We thoroughly enjoyed ourselves. We wound up our day at a wonderful tea shop where I got to finally find out what treacle tart tastes like. It's thick and molassesy. Harry Potter can have it. The tea was fantastic, of course, as well as the other biscuits we sampled. We survived our trip back down the A-1 to The Acorns, some minor detours here and there, but we made it. The next day I lugged my stuff back down to London and made it on the plane. God bless Virgin Airlines, they served a good meal, and poured Bailey's Irish Creme afterwards. That was the best drink I've ever had. I really needed it right then. I arrived back home safely, full of the trip of a lifetime. I'm getting back someday, just you wait.

We found Mr. Darcy!

2008-01-04T13:15:00.001-08:00

Yes, after a long time of pining, we found our Mr. Darcy. He was a little cold and stiff, but he was still great to look at. We tore ourselves away from the homegrown strawberries at breakfast and set off for the Peak District. Mom had gotten a Pride and Prejudice package through the local tourism bureau, and we had tickets to two of the great English houses used in the films. The first was Chatsworth, the home of the Duke of Devonshire. Being Duke of Devonshire means that you own the county of Devonshire, evidently. A whole county. He was one of the wealthiest men in England, until death taxes made off with 80% of his estate. It's not healthy to be richer than the king, they take it personally. Anyway, it was every bit as grand and impressive as Buckingham Palace. It was also Garden Weekend, when all the local garden clubs decorate the grounds and inside the house, so there were 40 busloads of elderly people all examining things. It was hot and stuffy inside, and you were shuffled along in a mass of people, but it was still amazing.

The entrance to Chatsworth. We weren't asked to hoot, which I found disappointing.

The family chapel. I know it's blurry, but you get the idea. I wanted to see the area at the end of the film where Elizabeth and Mr. Darcy have their final scene, but it was a private family area, and roped off. Dang.

The statue garden was incredible. I loved this one.

Finally! *sigh*

So, after being drizzled on, we went to Haddon Hall, which was used as the inn at Lambton, where Elizabeth gets the news that Lydia has eloped. I love that scene.
Haddon is completely different in feeling than Chatsworth. It is much older, more serene, and you feel as though you better not fall asleep for fear it will be 500 years later when you wake up. It truly is preserved as a medieval hall, and it made the stories I've read about those times take life. There are rooms with panels carved into likenesses of Henry VIII and Queen Elizabeth, and the original furniture and tapestries. The gardens are beautiful and eccentric, which makes them more beautiful to me. The warden on duty there was present during the filming, so he was able to tell us about Keira Knightley, it was fun. We loved Haddon Hall, much better than Chatsworth to be honest. It was what we had hoped to experience in an English country manor.

Mistress of the hall

We Americans are so good at following directions.

Views from Haddon's tower

We had dinner in a wonderful pub called the Hanging Gate. Mom ordered iced tea. The waitress had never heard of it, so she took a glass of hot tea and put ice in it. We were amused by that, but the food was fantastic. We got back to Danna farm and fell asleep to the sound of rain on the roof. I am beginning to sense the end of the trip coming, and I don't want it to. Surely they won't notice if I don't show up for work for another month or two.

Off to find Mr. Darcy

2007-12-17T14:28:00.001-08:00

I woke up early again to have another breakfast in the fairy garden before we left to go look for the Bennet family in Derbyshire. I went in the vegetable garden to look more closely at the veggies, and I found lettuce, zucchini, carrots, and cucumbers, so we had a salad ready and waiting. I picked another bouquet just because I could, and went in to load up the car.
We were going to go several hours north to the Peak district, which is said to be what Jane Austen was thinking of when she wrote her novels, especially Pride and Prejudice, which is Mom's and my favorite.
We made it through hedge and curb and roundabout by the grace of God, and made it to Shottle by way of Leicester (pronounced lester) and Belper. We had so much fun with the village names.

Finally we made it to Danna Farm, a working farm that had expanded into a small bed and breakfast. Guess what we sang when we got to the parking lot. You guessed it, Praise God From Whom All Blessings Flow. Our rooms weren't quite ready, so we sat out on the patio with the 3 cats and had our picnic lunch. The farm house was built in 1799, so it had the Old World charm we came to England to find.

My new friend Cracker

Our room was ready very quickly, so right after lunch we got to go up. The housekeeper was tickled to see how amazed we were at the beauty of our room. You just have to see the pictures. We were blown away. We walked all over the room exclaiming over every detail.
When we had had some time to rest and recharge with a cup of tea, we were ready to explore.

We took a quick walk around the grounds and met the New Zealand Kune Kune pigs,

named Sally Longlegs and Charming Andrew. Soon it was dinnertime, so we went downstairs knowing we were in for a treat. We weren't disappointed. Home-cooked salmon, garden fresh veg, buttermilk garlic mashed potates, drool drool drool.
After our fabulous dessert we went to the main room for a final cup of tea, and met a family from South Africa. It was a very interesting discussion, they were old enough to have been adults when apartheid was ended, and they were very much still of the old mindset. Mom and I
couldn't believe our ears when they were telling us how the "blacks" weren't able to handle running a government, and they were ruining the country. They basically had withdrawn and formed their own private society with its own transportation and police and left the others to fend for themselves. "How about them sports?" we'd say to distract them. World travel really does expose you to unexpected opinions. We were glad to go to bed after that. Hang on, Mr.
Darcy, tomorrow we'll find you!

Charming Andrew says hello

Loving The Acorns

2007-12-16T14:28:00.000-08:00

I woke up and leapt to the window to reassure myself that I really was here. Yup, not dreaming. I crept downstairs as not to wake Mom, and made a cup of tea and toast. I sat out in the so garden having a glorious breakfast. There was a crisp chill in the air, it was hard to believe we had left 90 degree weather back home. I walked around the garden and acquainted myself with all the different plants and flowers. Bluebirds flew past me, which I don't see back home, and the vegetables were bursting and ripe.

I picked a handful of flowers and found a vase for them inside. Then I went for a walk down the lane. I passed pastoral farms, quaint gardens, and a construction crew building a barn and cussing up a storm. Even English cursing was charming to me at that moment.

I found blackberry bushes everywhere, with the most delicious berries hanging ripe. I ate a bucketful, and stuffed my pockets with more to show Mom. When I got home she was up, and liked the blackberries very much. We met the neighbors, they were nice people. We didn't see much of them the rest of the trip, and I don't remember their names now. Anyway, we watered all the flowers and sat down to make our battle plans. In the home exchange we had given each other permission to drive each other's cars, so we were working up our nerve to hit the road. Mainly all we were striving for was the grocery store, but it was still a big goal for us.

The countryside in England is beautiful, and great if you are riding horseback. The streets are a car and a half wide, with tall, thick hedges lining most of them, or drystack stone walls. If a car comes toward you, it's a matter of who has a driveway on their side to duck into. Otherwise, the smaller car has to back up until they find somewhere to pull aside. Luckily, the family had left a basket of brochures, and an atlas, so we took a deep breath and got in the car.
We had some escapades, and LOTS of careening around, bumping into hedges and curbs before we settled on a system, Mom driving, me navigating. It was the roundabouts that gave us the most trouble, we got several firm honkings before we made it into the parking lot of the Tesco.
We paused in the parking lot to sing "Praise God From Whom All Blessings Flow", we were so grateful to make it. Tesco was loads of fun, it's sort of a small scale Wal-Mart, without the cheap clothes and welfare moms. We saw all sorts of cool stuff that we would never see at home, and we bought every bit of it. Gooseberry fool, yumberry juice, wensleydale cheese, shepherd's pie, chocolate digestive biscuits, the works. If it sounded English, we got it. We somehow managed to careen home, with a fresh rendition of "Praise God From Whom All Blessings Flow" for when we got back in the garage. We finished our mounds of laundry in the teeny washing machines, had a yummy dinner, and packed for our excursion further north to the area in which Pride and Prejudice was filmed. Mr. Darcy, hold on, we're coming!

Off to The Acorns

2007-12-14T15:45:00.000-08:00

It is time to say goodbye to the minibar and hello to our home exchange. We've had a great three days but we are definitely ready to slow down and enjoy things more leisurely. The home we are exchanging in is near Northampton, roughly 2 hours by train north and west of London. The trains don't run all the way to Northampton on Sundays though, so we go halfway by train and catch a bus the rest of the way. What with dragging the crazy amount of luggage 2 women pack for a 2-week trip, we were definitely not bored. The people we were exchanging with had prepaid for a cab to pick us up from the train station, and he had never heard of the village we were going to, so we were crossing our fingers. We wandered this way and that, and finally stumbled on it. The village was named Farthingstone, and it's so small that they don't have numbers on the houses, only names. Our house was named The Acorns, and luckily Mom recognized it from the pictures she had seen, because there was no other identification. The Acorns! How awesome is that? Farthingstone consists of about 25 houses, a pub, and a church. Definitely my kind of place. The houses and pub are made from the old brown bricks that are so typical of 19th century English buildings, some even had thatched roofs. It was straight from the pages of James Herriot, and the plumbing and electrical fixtures haven't changed much either. Much of England feels as though it were frozen in the 1950's.
Our taxi driver, Sean Mulligan (a very interesting guy, more on him later) was (to be English about it) gobsmacked at the size of the house. European houses are much smaller, and by American standards this house was quite a comfortable size. He said he had never seen a living room (in England it's a lounge) that large.

What I was amazed by was the garden. Such a garden! I felt like I had stepped into the pages of a Jane Austen novel. You just have to look at the pictures to get the storybook feeling of it. There was a vegetable garden with a picket fence, a greenhouse bursting with tomatoes, and masses of gorgeous flowers. I can hardly believe it still, it seems like I imagined it. The family had the neighbor put fresh eggs, bread, milk, and bacon in the teeny fridge, so we had breakfast for lunch, and I say huzzah for English bacon. It's big, meaty, and delicious. We started laundry in the teeny washing machine, with biological washing powder, whatever that is. We ran from room to room exclaiming about the cuteness of everything, and finally settled down to explore the wonders of the BBC. There were homemade soups and dinners in the freezer, so I got brave and tried a steak and kidney pie. I had read about it, and I always assumed the kidneys were kidney beans. No, they're actual kidneys. They weren't really that bad, it's basically a beef pot pie with organs in it, but it's not something I would order every day. We had several gallons of tea and some digestive biscuits from the pantry, basically vanilla wafers, and called it a night. I laid down in my cute little bed with the window overlooking the picturebook garden, and I thought, I can't wait to wake up tomorrow!

My fairy tale garden.

Last day in London sigh

2007-12-11T19:18:00.000-08:00

We woke up raring to go and drink London to its fullest. Okay, it was more of a trudge, but we had London passes and we weren't afraid to use them. We went to the Tower of London first thing in the morning before the lines were too long. It was nice to wave that pass at the entrance and walk past everyone. London passes are a good deal, you can pick them up at the tourist offices or on Expedia, but you have to be very active to get your money's worth. The Tower could easily take a full day, and we only had 2 hours, so it was very compacted.

We caught the tail end of a beefeater tour, and he was hilarious! You really do feel the touch of history there, things come to life for you. Plus they have costumed actors running around. The crown jewels were so huge and glittery that it was difficult to believe they were real. I still think surely they have fakes for the public display, but they say they're the real thing. We had brunch in the cafe on site and were on to the next stop.
London has public transportation barges up and down the Thames, and the dock is right by the Tower, so we hopped aboard and sailed down to see St. Paul's Cathedral. The barge driver also narrated a tour about the various buildings, so we actually got a tour for free. That and beef broth coffee are about the only free things you'll find in London, but we appreciated it. The dock for St. Paul's put us out right at Shakespeare's Globe, so we snapped a quick picture. We walked across the footbridge over the Thames, and St. Paul's was right there. I stopped and had my Mary Poppins feed the birds moment on the steps, and we went in. It was truly breathtaking. Everything is so ornate and carved and gilded, it's hard to believe you're still on the planet Earth. At the back of the sanctuary is a memorial in gratitude for the American soldiers that fell in World War II, and it was very moving. We considered climbing the 400something steps to the top of the dome, but nah.
Since the Queen of England was on vacation in Scotland, we figured we'd drop in on the palace and make ourselves at home. Seriously, the queen is only vacant 2 months a year, so it's rare to be able to see the palace, so even jaded Londoners get excited over this. It is a crowded madhouse, with serious security to get in, but once you make it past Guido with the xray wand it's well worth it. Wow, serious bling. They don't allow pictures because they want you to buy the $15 program, which I did *sucker*, or I would have them posted for you to see. The rooms are color coded, the green room, the blue room, etc., and dripping with brocade and 20 foot gilded ceilings, real gold leaf. It was the queen's 60th wedding anniversary, so there was a special exhibit of her wedding clothes and wedding presents. I actually like her dress better than Princess Di's 80's extravaganza, but that's just me. I can't imagine being a kid and growing up around world masterpieces of art and sculpture laying around your living room just as familiar as the coffee table. It was mind-blowing.
Once we finished our tour of Buckingham we went to Leicester (pronounced Lester) square and had a great steak dinner. We were in a hurry to get to the Lion King, and we couldn't get a taxi, so Mom hired a Polish guy to take us in a rickshaw powered by bike. Talk about careening, cars were zooming by, we were cutting across sidewalks and through pedestrian crossings, gripping the rickshaw for dear life. We arrived a little shaky, but gosh darn it we were on time.
The strange thing to me about London theater is that you can eat a 3 course meal while sitting in your seat and no one thinks a thing of it. Heaven help you in America if you bring food in the theater, but in London, go to it, my lad. Just buy it at the concession stand. The show was fantastic, I had a great time. It was much more creative than the movie, I was impressed at the skill with which they brought it to the stage. We got back to the hotel worn out but ready for a new chapter in our trip. And no we didn't eat the 8 dollar
jellybeans this time. We just had the $3 juice.

Our Polish rickshaw driver

Our second day in London

2007-12-08T11:48:00.000-08:00

Well, Mom had a busy day booked for us. We headed down to the lobby for a shuttle to take us on a bus tour. We were there early and waited quite awhile, and sampled the only free thing in the hotel, black coffee that we think had been spiked with beef broth. Of course it turned out that the shuttle driver had come 20 minutes ahead of when we were supposed to meet, and left. So, we dashed for a cab and did some more careening (seems to be a pattern) to Victoria Coach station, where we slid on the bus in the nick of time.
Our tour was to Warwick Castle, Stratford-upon-Avon, and Oxford.
Warwick Castle is a gorgeous place that really was an inhabited, working castle until recently. We could have spent all day there, but in the 3
hours we had we toured a section of the castle reenacting a house party in the 1890s that Winston Churchill had attended, watched an expert archery demonstration, and had tea with scones and clotted cream in the medieval dining hall. Beef broth coffee just wasn't gonna cut it, you know?

Well, we had so much fun that we lost track of time and had to sprint for the bus. They had given us a talk focusing heavily on We Will Leave You Behind If You Are Late, so hence the sprint. We were the last ones on, but we made it to the next leg, Stratford-Upon-Avon.

It is a beautifully preserved Elizabethan village, well at least the part they allow tourist buses to park in, and it is packed with tourists of every nationality. We walked through Shakespeare's birthplace wedged between Japanese and Italian tour groups, with Scandinavians not far behind. It was so cool to hear so many languages together in such small rooms. We learned a lot about the time period of Shakespeare as well, there are costumed guides in each room with an encyclopedic knowledge of the era. If you go to England with a readiness to learn, you will be amazed at how much you can get. What I liked most about Stratford is the passion for beauty and pride in their history, everything was spotless, and the flowers were wonderful. Plus Shakespeare's not so bad in his way (just kidding). We ditched the recommended route and went to look for the church where Shakespeare is buried. We found it, and were nosing around when we checked the time. Yes, time for another Miss The Bus sprint, and we weren't quite the last ones on, but we were close.
We were taken to a nearby pub and served good hearty food. We had a good time talking to all the Australians at our table. Get an Aussie talking about sports and you are good to go. I learned that in a pub if you want a dessert, any kind of dessert, order a pudding. If you want a Sprite, order a lemonade. If you want lemonade, order lemon squash. Ah, those English. I finally had an explanation for what it was Lucy had to drink in the magician's house in the Voyage of the Dawn Treader. Sorry, I nerded out for a minute.

So, we lined up, sorry, "queued up" to pay, and guess who was last on the bus.

Finally , Oxford. The land of learning. All I cared about was the choir. After my taste in St. James' yesterday, I was mad for more. We were at Christ college, where Alice in Wonderland was inspired, and where Harry Potter was filmed. We were enjoying ourselves, when the choir started their service. MAN it was spectacular, and just as they were getting into it, the tour guide dragged me off. AARRGGHH!
Well, we drove back to London, me listening to a Patton Oswalt stand up routine on my iPod and trying not to make a spectacle of myself exploding with laughter and trying to keep it contained, so I kept shooting things out of my nose and having to get the kleenex out. When they dropped us off we walked several blocks and found a great fish and chips shop. Once you acquire a taste for orange soda that's not so sweet, you really get into it. Finally we were done sprinting and we made it back to the hotel, had some 8 dollar jelly beans and went to bed.

Our first day in London

2007-11-27T13:13:00.000-08:00

When we finished our tour of Boston, we drove/careened to the airport. Now, we had heard that Virgin Airlines was working to revamp their image, but that's just ad speak, right? Well, first let me say that it was worth the bump in price to buy "premium economy" seats. We ran up to the gate, petrified that we had missed our boarding, and pulled up short when we saw the room packed with people. We were settling ourselves in for a long, drawn-out process, when that very second, all the premium economy boarders were given first boarding! Yes! They served us champagne the minute we sat down, we had extra room to store stuff, the on-flight meal was recognizable, and actually tasty, and there is an entertainment center built into every seat that lets you watch movies, tv programs, or video games for free. They had me at champagne.

A word of advice. Heathrow airport has now established stricter immigration guidelines, so don't arrive at the airport midday. You will stand in line to get your passport checked for an HOUR. Arrive in the morning or evening, you'll be fine. End of soapbox.

So, we took a cute English cab to our hotel. Every cabbie we rode with was friendly and knowledgeable. Practically everyone we spoke to in England was polite at the least, and the majority were fun and talkative. We found that if you approach an English person with a request for help, they warm up to you very quickly. And as often as we were lost, we had no shortage of requests for help. We found no dislike of Americans, just curiosity and interest. Our hotel was beautiful, with doormen in Dickens outfits, the whole nine yards. Those were the best nine-dollar jellybeans I've ever eaten. At the moment we were just interested in the bed, and man it was worth the wait. The hunky concierge left our bags in the room for us, and we collapsed. This is our hotel room.

When we woke up a few hours later, it was time for our tea at Fortnum and Mason's. F & M's is a high end department store solely devoted to food. How could you not love it? We had bought tickets for it, but it turns out the store was under renovation and they weren't serving tea. We were just about to be really disappointed, but they showed us to their new dining parlor, so we still got our girly tea. Mom had duck and quail's egg sandwich, and I had a smoked fish salad sandwich. They were actually delicious, as was the pistachio sundae we finished with.

Quail's egg anyone?

Girly tea!

Pistachios...mmmmm.........

It turns out that directly across the street from our tea was the Royal Academy of Arts, which had a major Impressionist exhibition, so we went on the spur of the moment. The Royal Academy is typically free, but this exhibit was extra, but it was worth every penny.

Next we had to go to Harrod's, so we took the tube. The public transport in London gets a bad rap, but we had nothing but good experiences, and it's certainly cheaper than taxis, which are $4 just to open the door. Anyway, Harrod's was a blast. The Egyptian stair has a memorial to Princess Di that was thronged with people, and the food court was so fun. There is a soda counter that you can have a meal at, or you can buy just about any food from any country in the world, all surrounded with marble and gilt carving. I loaded up with interesting cheeses for my dairy addicted husband, and we set off.
The trademark Harrod's bear

On the way around London, we had noticed an ad at St. James' cathedral for a benefit concert that evening featuring an a capella choir. Now one of the vows I had made to myself was that I would not leave English soil without experiencing some fantastic English choral music, so here was my chance. It was one of the most beautiful concerts I have ever experienced. The choir's music was so beautiful that I cried. The rest of the concert was fantastic as well, several really good pianists playing Chopin, I can't get enough. Concert patrons were treated to champagne at intermission. Can you beat it? I never wanted to leave. Artisanal, locally made champagne, no less. *sigh* God's country, this. There was a second half, but it was already 10, and we had had 3 hours' sleep, so we turned in and washed down our champagne with $8 bottled water. Tune in next time when we attempt to catch the bus to Oxford. Will we make it?

Trip of a lifetime, part 1

2007-11-25T15:23:00.000-08:00

For the first part of our journey, we stayed in Boston for 2 days before we flew to England. Boston is a great place, the city is beautiful and historic, the people are outgoing and friendly, and the food is fantastic. We went to Plimouth Plantation, a recreation of the original Puritan village, and the Indian settlement as it was before the white devils arrived. It was very well done, the reenactors were very good at their craft.

The "Mooflower", heh heh.

The Native Americans were not in character, but they were dressed as their ancestors would have. It was a little uncomfortable, because America has not been kind to its original inhabitants, and it's tough to come face to face with it. However, one of the ones I talked to had grown up in Louisiana, he even was a Tigers fan, so it was easier to talk to him.

Cutest baby ever!

The actors in the English village were in character, they pretended not to know what a camera was, they were very well trained in the history of the period. It was fun to mess with them. We really learned a lot about the period of time, the whole museum was very well done.

There was a companion exhibit in the town of Plymouth itself, a recreation of the Mayflower. There were more reenactors explaining how awful the voyage over was, Mom took a shine to one called John Craxton and tried to marry me off to him. Plymouth is a gorgeous New England seaside town, all white clapboard houses with beautiful gardens. We had a gigantic chocolate shake and called it a day.

The next day we explored on our own. Mom rented a car, but I tell you, Boston traffic was evidently designed by whatever loonies wandered out of the booby hatch and happened into Ye Olde Urban Development office. Trying to drive around Boston is a whole category of memories to itself. It was rainy, so we drove/careened to the Boston museum. We enjoyed the Winslow Homer exhibit, there are fantastic Impressionist exhibits and way too much to explore in one morning.

The entrance to Harvard
We walked around Harvard, and went to one of the best seafood restaurants I've ever been to. That Boston cream pie will live on in my dreams.

John Kerry's house in Beacon Hill
The morning we left, we took a walking tour around downtown Boston. There is so much cool stuff crowded into a small area. Our walking guide was very friendly and knowledgeable. He had met his match with my mom, though, she is a history lover, and the revolution is her favorite era to learn about. The guide told her she wasn't allowed on any of his tours, she knew all the answers. We saw all kinds of famous stuff that you take for granted, reading about it in school, but seeing it in real life makes connections that you never would have made otherwise. I love Boston! I would go back tomorrow if I could. Then we got on the plane. I'll leave off here, my next post will be England!

I think this would be a cool job.

The site of the Boston Massacre. This pretty much sums up the impression of Boston for me, modern and bustling but still maintaining its connection to history.

Our cool guide Alan

Mother Goose's grave in the Old North Churchyard.

I live!

2007-11-24T19:05:00.000-08:00

Okay, lots of catching up to do. Since the last time I wrote, school started, I went to England for 2 weeks, I took over as director for a piano lessons company, Ferris has been to another grad school session, and now I'm wrapping up my Thanksgiving vacation.

Wow, that was easier than I thought.

I came home from England with WAY too many pictures, so I'll post a few of my favorites. My mom and I did a home exchange with a family from England, so they stayed at my mom's house in Shreveport, and we stayed in their house. We exchanged cars, watered each other's plants, took care of pets, just like we were house sitting. Except we were on another continent. It was SO wonderful. I will start a running log of posts from each leg of the journey, but for now I want to show you a few of my favorite pictures of the whole trip.

Me and Cracker, the English Belton Setter at Danna Farm in the north country.

We went to Chatsworth manor on Gardener's Weekend Festival, so all the statues were decorated with beautiful flowers.

Later we went to Haddon Hall, and walked around the newest addition to the house, built in 1630. We also made time for the girliest, Englishiest tea ever in London at Fortnum and Mason's. *sigh* Fabulous.

2007-07-23T20:07:00.000-07:00

You Are Kermit

Hi, ho! Lovable and friendly, you get along well with everyone you know.
You're a big thinker, and sometimes you over think life's problems.
Don't worry - everyone know's it's not easy being green.
Just remember, time's fun when you're having flies!

The Muppet Personality Test

I could make a million bucks

2007-07-11T11:11:00.000-07:00

If I could harness the antigravitational fields that cats put into their hair to make it float endlessly around the room, there's no limit to my future wealth. Ditto for the magnets they put in the hair that can detect color and attach themselves like superglue to my darkest clothing to show it off to its best advantage. If any of my smart physics friends want to take this up, I claim royalties.

Airborne!

2007-07-09T08:20:00.000-07:00

Well, Ferris is officially in Scranton, PA starting his final year in grad school. Here are his projects:

This is to advertise America as a benevolent provider of food for the nations instead of a warmonger:

This is a project to update a band from the '70's and bring them into the present day. Disclaimer: I didn't influence this decision at all, Ferris decided to use the Electric Mayhem from the Muppets on his own. Yet another reason why I married him.

Before:

After:

So cool!

New favorite internet video

2007-07-03T20:08:00.000-07:00

Piano Lessons in Your Home promotion

2007-07-03T07:58:00.000-07:00

I have been promoted! When I moved up to Little Rock in such a hurry, I needed an income ASAP, and to build a good piano studio you need time and exposure and lots of word of mouth. This just doesn't happen in 3 weeks, so I found Piano Lessons In Your Home, a company that does all the marketing to find students and matches them with teachers that come to their houses. Hence the company title (gotta watch me-smart cookie here). Once I contracted with them, I got a list of 11 students right off the bat. The driving was fine at first, since I was living with my brother- and sister-in-law, and I hated to offer their house as a place for piano students to come, so it was ideal. The driving did get old, but income is income, can't complain. So, I got to the end of this school year, and I was ready to change the schedule. Lo and behold, my director called and asked me to take over as director, since she was being promoted to Chicago. I get to work out of the house and get a commission off of all the students in my branch, which motivates me to grow the company to the point that I can just depend on this one income. Yay! This is a really good company, reputable, efficient, and the people are all good people. Thank you Lord for new opportunities!

Music conference

2007-06-26T15:17:00.000-07:00

This is why I love what I do. I get to hang out with nut cases like this for a week at a time. I went to Atlanta to meet with some of the top people in the sacred choral world to present some songs and learn about the publishing biz. My father-in-law Paul is the one on the front row left with a beard. There was a top arranger (Brant Adams), an editor from Shawnee press (Joe Martin), and a Nashville contract songwriter/arranger from Word Music. The last guy, Rob Sterling, had written and produced for Point of Grace among other groups. Ah, the six degrees of separation from OBU has begun. I thoroughly enjoyed my week, I learned a LOT about publishing from the inside. I got to meet with the editor from Shawnee, who saw a lot of potential in one of my songs, Home. He's going to take it and work on some fine points of piano accompaniment and choral part-writing (not my native gift, I'm the first one to admit it), and once his name is associated with it it'll be a matter of time before it's published. Meaning, in about 2 years, if past patterns hold true. But hey, published is published, I'm not knocking it, I can't tell you how excited I am!
I presented a new piece to the whole conference panel, the one I posted earlier, and got a lot of positive feedback on it, lots about good lyrics and love your melodies. So the next day I'm feeling good and proceed to my private meeting with Rob Sterling to show him my favorite songs like King of All of Me and You are More. I got a large slice of humble pie handed to me, so you can never keep too big a head about you in life. It was all true, dangit, so I can't pretend that he was just a stuffed shirt ripping on praise and worship music. Anyway, even humble pie goes down well with lots of Cool Whip, yet another use for my favorite topping.
I also got to hang out with some of the most fun people, from as close as 5 minutes from the conference area to all the way from Korea. Who knew Korean opera composers like to do the maraca dance and ride around in convertibles with the top down? I love it! It was a truly inspiring, enjoyable conference (who gets to say that about business conventions?), and I'm SO there for next year. Craig Courtney and Mark Hayes will be there, I'm all over it! Do you like my street cred? Word.

Darnedest thing

2007-06-26T08:28:00.001-07:00

We washed our car and let the towel dry outside overnight. We could do away with the need for towel bars entirely.

Malibu Tad

2007-06-16T15:29:00.000-07:00

My friend Tad is currently in Malibu right now teaching at a vocal workshop, so I thought I'd take the inspiration to market a new product...

Hats

2007-06-14T19:36:00.001-07:00

Ferris sketched these cool bonnets, I really liked them. I finally twisted his arm into letting me show them to you.

Camping fun

2007-06-12T07:45:00.000-07:00

Last weekend we went camping on the Buffalo River. We had such a blast that we invested in some real estate. If anyone wants to come use our cabin, feel free!

We stayed on a national park, so we had bathrooms and showers, even a restaurant. Remember that restaurant. So, as soon as we got our tent up (which we did very smoothly, I might add, Grizzly Adams watch your back), we rented a canoe and had a great float, we saw lots of birds and a beaver waddling up the bank. We only floated sideways a few times, after which we got the hang of the whole steering thing. As soon as our float was over, we pulled up on the bank and the thunder and lightning started, so we dashed to the car. It was relaxing, laying in the tent, listening to the rain, until we got hungry. I had only brought grillable stuff, and I'm not thinking rain steak sounds too appetizing. So, we went to ...the restaurant! It had a gorgeous view of the river, so we dried out, warmed up, and ate well. Fortunately the sun came out just as we finished, so we got to walk around and work off the meal. We found out about a historic mining town nearby, so we went and took some interesting pictures of mines and stuff, and just enjoyed walking around in the mountains. We saw a mother deer and her fawn, and of course they dashed off by the time I got my camera up. The next morning we hiked to the scenic overlook, passing places that I mentally named Weathertop, Lorien, Rivendell, you know, serious geek stuff, but the hike was gorgeous. We passed two more deer on the way back, and they stopped 30 feet off and watched us. Finally they made a trumpeting sound, it sounded as though they were telling us what they thought of us. We took the hint and left. We had a wonderful time, and saw so much more beautiful scenery than we have pictures of, but you'll get the idea. Enjoy!

Our tent!

Natural Bridge.

The mine we found

Cool stuff

Hot off the presses

2007-06-08T09:40:00.000-07:00

A Love For All Seasons.aif

Nekkid dog pitchers

2007-06-06T15:56:00.001-07:00

Well, Kirby couldn't stand the heat any more, so we got him shaved.
He's so funny, here are the pictures:

Before:

And after:

Paula Deen live

2007-06-05T07:41:00.000-07:00

Hey, y'all! I'm quoting Paula. I am ravenously addicted to cooking shows, and I really enjoy Paula Deen's shows. She has such a Southern country flair, it reminds me of so many people in my life. Well, she now has a live traveling show, and I went to see her in Shreveport. What fun! She has a surprisingly earthy sense of humor. The funny thing was, cooking was the lowest priority. She made pork chops, collard greens, and mac and cheese, but she would get as far as a stick of butter (she tossed a stick to a lady in the audience) when something would come in her mind to say. She would just walk off and go to the edge of the stage and talk with someone, leaving her assistant to do all the real cooking. Her husband and brother were there too, chatting and making funny comments. My Mom and I had a lot of fun. She filled the CenturyTel arena, so she's doing all right. Paula is a person whom I feel deserves everything she gets because she went through such rough, low times in her life, and turned her own destiny around with determination and God's help. Go Paula!

What else would you be?

2007-06-03T20:16:00.000-07:00

My friend Jerusalem asked what else would you do as a career if you could change. I love music and dealing with kids so much that if I weren't a music person of some kind, my first choice would be bag lady. I don't know if I can do anything else, or would want to do anything else on a long-term basis. I've tried to run from myself a few times, working in a vet's office, waiting tables, or not working period (that lasted a month, partly from boredom, partly from necessity). They were such dismal failures I've learned to quit fighting it. The first time I waited tables I was HORRENDOUS. I still hesitate to go into an Olive Garden because of bad memories. The vet's office started all right when I was an animal assistant, holding cute kitties, but then they put me in the office, and all that common sense multitasking stuff sunk me.
I'm interested, what would you do if you could have a dream job?

Fuzzy Kirby

2007-05-29T09:42:00.000-07:00

Puppy picture!

Here's our dawg, we got him from the pound, and we've never had a dull moment since. Kirby is part border collie, part mystery dog, boxer maybe? So, he constantly thinks he should be herding something, but he doesn't know why or where. Our cats get the most of it, when they sneak out on the patio he'll chase them back in. The squirrels all know to scoot when he comes around. We'll be shaving him soon, so we'll post before and after pictures. So funny!

Cricket sings the hits

2007-05-28T19:44:00.000-07:00

Cricket we love you just the way you are.aif

Animal introductions

2007-05-28T08:41:00.000-07:00

Next in our rogue's gallery is Butterscotch, a.k.a. Sheba the Jungle Demon, as she likes to think of herself. When we moved into our first dump/rent house, she singlehandedly took care of the spiders for us, so we appreciate her jungle skills.

She'll drape herself on any high surface and imagine she's in a rainforest. If you have hands that need licking at 4 a.m., she's your girl. Sadly, she is addicted to tape, masking tape or lint roller tape especially, she's in a 12 step program, but she keeps relapsing. We're worried she'll slide to harder stuff like duct tape, which we all know is the gateway drug to Superglue and God knows what else. *sigh*

Ferris' bright idea

2007-05-26T07:08:00.000-07:00

Ferris likes to wake me up with his bright ideas. Today's was saddles for dogs to put cats in so they can take walks with us.

Seven Weird Things About Me

2007-05-25T09:53:00.001-07:00

So, I've been tagged to share seven weird things about me. Yes, Jeanetta, the hard part is keeping it down to seven. Hmmm.
1) I love a good snack of whipped cream and Wheat Thins. It started when I was in Starlite apartments, and that was literally all that was in the fridge, but now I actually put it on the grocery list. Ferris told his mom about it, and she had it waiting for me on the table the first time I ever visited their house.

2) I always have a tune of some kind in my head, always, 24-7.

3) I go barefoot all the time, even when I'm walking around the backyard watering or weeding, even around the holly bushes. I just love being outside so much that I don't want to take the time to find my shoes.

4) I will let dishes sit in the sink, sometimes for several days, I hate doing them so much. I'll clean the toilet rather than do dishes. Lucky for me Ferris doesn't mind doing dishes, and he hates cleaning toilets, so it works out.

5) I have worked out a system on my hand so that I can tap out tunes one-handed without looking like I'm playing the piano. If you catch me drumming my fingers, that's me tapping out the tunes in my head on my one-handed system. You'd think I'd have better things to do.

6) I make up words to talk to the pets, shmick and moop being two of the words. They seem to understand it.

7) I own every Muppet movie, tv special, tv show, Pez dispenser, and soundtrack. Well, the only one missing is the soundtrack to the Great Muppet Caper, and soon it will be mine...

There, that's my limit. Next I tag Liz Evan to share 7 weird things about her.

Lost thoughts

2007-05-25T09:14:00.001-07:00

My cool church small group are all Lost addicts, so we dash out of our study to make it home in time. Last time we just gave in and called it a Lost finale party. Here are my questions.
Okay, who's in the coffin? So far it makes sense to think Sawyer. Who is Naomi connected to? Why has Richard never aged? Why can't we kill Mikhail? Naomi heals pretty quickly too, suspicious? Is this whole future timeline an inevitability, or can we change the future? The nod to Heroes was funny too. I love the Hurley bus! Walt has returned, so evidently we have to have Michael back, dangit. Is Charlie really dead? Are the diamond thieves really dead too? So many questions...

Program's over!

2007-05-25T07:24:00.001-07:00

Well, the gigantic 5th grade program that I've been rehearsing and worrying about since January is over! I feel like I've been let out of jail. I've been volunteering extra days to go up to school and practice, and hours and hours of free time to organize and plan and coordinate and it's finally paid off. The kids did a great job, and I'm rewarding myself this morning by sitting in the living room in my pajamas watching Disney cartoons. Yup, good stuff. I woke up early this morning to have more lounging time. This weekend will be extra concentrated fun, we'll go see my friend's band play at Riverfest, good times. Plus more lounging around in pajamas. Ooh, that was the last cartoon on the DVD, time to change it. Back to lounging.

Blog dunce

2007-05-22T19:06:00.001-07:00

I can't figure out how to put a picture by my user profile, so here's me:

Tentative beginnings

2007-05-22T18:40:00.002-07:00

Well, I thought I'd get started with a look at funny things that happen around here. With no kids we get our laughs from our 2 cats and 1 dog, as well as our great friends and family. Our animals' personalities are so different; this is Cricket, our sweet-not-particularly-smart cat. I got her when she was 3 weeks old, some dogs had dragged her out and shaken her around pretty thoroughly when she was rescued. I have a suspicion she might have a tad of brain damage, anyway, she's a lover not a fighter. Exhibit A: THE VICIOUS TOE VICTORY

1: Blissfully sleeping

2: TOE ATTACK!

3: Maybe a toe truce...

4: Sleeping with the enemy

2007-05-22T18:40:00.001-07:00