Yes, I Was That Groovy Blur You Saw Zipping Past You

HiHo. I am back.

Actually, I was back from vacation a week or two ago. But now my brain is back here in Blogland too - very important if I am going to write.

So, what did you miss? Oh not much, just a funeral where I screeched into a parking place, sprinted across the cemetary and arrived breathlessly - just in time - to sing the opening hymn (Can you say "embarassed"?), followed by a looooong drive to a Navy military training ground deep in the heart of Maine to learn survival skills in a cold, steady rain (fire, anyone?), a looooong drive home for packing/Mother's Day/Silly-Head's preliminary birthday celebration (Look, Presents! and Pictures! and Insanity!) followed by a road trip to Rochester, NY, Silly-Head's next birthday party at the illustrious Chuck E Cheese (Yes, that LOUD, excited screaming that is causing all the patrons to stare would be my daughter; my 26 year-old daughter!), a road trip (Krispy Kreme - Woot!) to Richmond, IN to visit friends (Fun!!!) and buy a fabulous used tandem bicycle (Daisy, Daisy, Give me your answer, do...), a day trip to The Creation Museum just south of Cincinatti (I just KNEW the Garden of Eden was in Kentucky!), a road trip back to NY (more screaming and insanity), a visit to the Lilac Festival (the big butterfly scoop!) and Niagara Falls (Don't forget your cheap tourist sandals!) and a road trip home to Maine (Are we there yet?).

Let's see, then we were home and there were 4,000 urgent emails and a pile of snail mail that went to the ceiling and an ant infestation and a garden that needed planting and a husband who wanted (and still wants) help fundraising for the Trek Across Maine and the American Lung Association. There were families who needed meals and orthodontist appointments and piano practices followed by the big recital and there was, most exciting of all, an actual deployment for Search and Rescue. Yep. Last Saturday evening I got the call that our SAR team was on stand-by. I packed my gear and paced until we got a further call that were definitely being deployed. A hiker was lost in Baxter State Park and an all day search on Saturday had failed to find him. NavyGirl (AnnieOakley's teen daughter) and I met the rest of the gang near midnight and trekked out to the state park. We got there around 3am. There wasn't a ranger in sight, so we decided to try to sleep in our 3 vehicles (4 people to a car!) until the briefing in the morning. We had tents, but thought it would be too much trouble to set them up...

You may commence laughing now.

After about 2 hours of sighing, swatting mosquitoes, listening to classic rock, sticking legs out windows, growling at those who snored and shifting position every 12 seconds we all gave up and started patrolling Millinocket for anywhere open at 5am that might have bathrooms, food and coffee. It may have been the first time, as an adult, that I was glad to see a McDonalds!

The rangers and other searchers arrived around 7am. By the time we were all briefed and made the long drive to Mt. Katahdn it was 8:30am. We broke up into groups and basically scoured the area assigned to us for 12 hours. And by scour I mean scaled rocks and forced our way through puckerbrush while peering over, around, and under rocks and trees and stream beds yelling "Michael"!

35+ searchers on the mountain all day long and no luck. Not a sign of him. One searcher did get hurt and had to airlifted out amid much ado, but no lost hiker. We were exceedingly tired and somewhat discouraged when we plopped into our tents that night. The next morning we all headed home, glad there were fresh searchers to take our places.

I was so relieved when I got the news that he was found the following afternoon - injured and bug bitten and embarassed, but very much alive. I cried as I watched the video of him talking from his hospital bed. Hopefully, the publicity and Michael's humility will help other hikers to avoid his 3 major mistakes:

1. He hiked alone - never a good idea. Even if you are familiar with the territory, it is wise for two-three people to hike together so someone can get help if one hiker gets injured.

2. He left the trail looking for a "shortcut" and he had no map. Baxter State Park is ginormous and Katahdn is the highest mountain in Maine. You NEED to know where you are going!

3. Once he realized he was lost, he kept moving. Though it is OK to move to a stream or open area where you can be seen, in most cases it is better to STAY PUT and put out something bright colored that searchers can see. If he'd had fire starters with him (he did not) he could have started a fire. The rangers would have been able to use the smoke to locate him the first evening!

At any rate, this searcher is thrilled that Michael is alive and well. I'm looking forward to our team's debriefing tomorrow!

Now, Let's finish out this whirlwind review with some photos. Enjoy!

Tis GrammaJ and I on Mother's Day. I gave her a much coveted morter and pestle.

Mulletman and his mom celebrate Mother's Day witha spin on the old tandem!

(The new one is WAY nicer!

The girls gave me cards and homemade fairies and - oh joy of joys

-a rearview mirror for my bike!

This picture in Erie, PA says it all. (Sadly, there are no Krispy Kremes in Maine. *sigh* So we stopped here TWICE and bought a total of 3 dozen donuts!!!)

Oh Looky! Silly-Head is NINE!

Our beautiful Silly-Head.

The handsome J-Man with Funsocksgirl (at Chuck E. Cheese, of course!)

I think the birthday celebrations wore them out!

WE had the privilege of taking Girly-Girl's longtime friend, IndianaGirl, to the Creation Museum with us. The botanical garden there is outstanding!

There was also a petting zoo there. Mulletman made special friends with this camel.

Funsocksgirl had a bit of a wardrobe malfunction at Niagara Falls.

Yes, those top four VERY wet people belong to me. I was down below with cameras and belongings and dry hair. ;-)

The Lilac Festival in Rochester, NY was loads of fun. Mulletman bought us fruit smoothies to share. We had three different flavors and loved them all .

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And let me conclude with this happy news: Mulletman did it: He raised $1,000 for the American Lung Association!

Thank You to ALL who donated!!!!

In Which Groovy Discusses Suicidal Vaccums and Anything Else That Wanders Into Her Mind.

Yes...you SHOULD be frightened!

;-)

Mr Hoover apears to be having some "issues". No, no, not that Mr. Hoover. Not the one I used to lament the purchase of in older posts that I cannot locate because that was B.T. (before tags) That Mr. Hoover died long ago. I was not fond of Mr. Hoover - he was far too quirky for my taste - so I was excited to look for a new vacuum. Sadly, my dreams would never come to fruition. My frugal hubby insisted that one large household does NOT need two vacuums. We can just share with The Folks. The Folks live in an apartment attached to our house and they just happened to own Mr. Hoover's cousin, Mr. Hoover2.

*sigh*

Our first hint that Mr. Hoover2 was temperamental was when he ran away from home like a dissatisfied teen. I made an errand run and when I got home, I found Mr. Hoover2 hiding in my entryway.

(Note: In Maine, many homes have a double entrance. You go through one door and into a small porch or room or perhaps even the garage before you go through a second door into the house. This called a mud room for reasons that are quite obvious in winter and early spring. Since we're "from away" - ie Florida and Missouri - we persist in calling ours an entryway.)

I coaxed him and wheeled him back next door. Next thing I knew he was back in MY entryway! Apparently he was feeling abused over there because they made him bathe after every use and because the small but fierce Dirt Devil was taking his place far more often than he liked. So we, being the softies we are, let him stay. When Grammy needs him she comes and grabs him. He never cries, but he makes the saddest face as he backs through the doorway. And he's always spotlessly clean when he comes back. It's rather like having a groomer for our vacuum!

Then I guess he got to feeling somewhat insecure. Admittedly, I was not (am not) shy about pointing out his faults to anyone who would (will) listen. The door to attachment compartment always falls open (we've duct taped it), the attachment for cleaning hard floors will only clean about 3 square inches at a time (if that), the attachments frequently UNattach themselves, and the screen filter has to be hand cleaned - usually 2-3 times per room. Gross! He plays favorites with the dust bunnies - mercilessly devouring some while letting others off without so much as disturbing the air around them. Now the living ones are all scooching under the couch and plotting their takeover of Groovydom. I know this because I can hear them whisper at night. But back to Mr. Hoover2: The replacement HEPA filter is $30 (so we just wash ours - not as easy as it sounds!), and is a nasty, dusty, disgusting mess to clean. And don't EVEN get me started about the bagless dustbin.

*cough*cough-cough*AAAAH-Choo*wheeze*snort*

*G*A*S*P*

Can someone get me my inhalor, PUH-LEEEEEEASE??

It was Grammy who first noticed that not all was well. "Groovy, there's a hole in the vacuum cord. Do you know where Mulletman keeps the electrical tape?" Strangely enough I did know. So we got the tape and doctored Mr. Hoover2's tail for him.

A week later there was another bare spot. Then another! What was going on? Finally, after weeks and weeks of covert spying him, I discovered that the little twerp was doing it all himself!! Every chance he got, he'd grind down with his beater bars onto the cord and chew another hole. I brought him into the kitchen for a show-down.

"Look," said I, "I know what you're doing. You're chewing that cord on purpose. That's naughty! You should be ashamed of yourself! According to standard vacuum cleaner etiquette you're supposed to shut off that beater bar when you are in an upright position. You know that don't you? DON'T YOU???"

Would you believe he wouldn't answer me? He just stood there with this smug little Hoover smile and kept his trap shut. Stupid vacuum!

Now he's not allowed out unless he's under constant surveillance...

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I sleep better at night knowing there is kosher salt and Mrs. Dash in the cupboard and cheddar cheese in the fridge.

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It makes me sad that I have to peel my supermarket cucumbers because they're waxed.

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The girlies have been learning to type with Mavis Beacon on the computer. Mavis does a lovely job. So much so that even I am taking lessons. I can type all the letters now and some punctuation, but I'm soooooooooo slooooooooooow (8 WPM!) that I'd go insane typing my blog entry "correctly". At least for now.

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I am excited because I got a call awhile ago from the USArmy letting me know that Scout would be arriving back in the States today. They told me the exact time he'd be landing at his home base. There's a big welcome home from Iraq party and banners and all sorts of fun festivities planned for their unit. None of which we'll be able to attend because his base is far, far, away - 2107.01 miles by car.

*sigh*

Anyway, 10 minutes after the call I logged on to Facebook and saw that he had posted only a few minutes before that he WAS IN MAINE enroute to his base. He was only an hour away at the airport in Bangor! I opened all hailing frequencies, but I couldn't get him back online.

So close, and yet so far...

*double sigh*

Oh well, I'm glad he's home from the war. He's supposed to come up here for a visit next month to see his kiddos and his friends and his groovy old parents and sisters. Then he'll be off to NY to visit Funsocksgirl for a bit.

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And now...some fun from my birthday:

First GrammaJ, knowing my near-famous love of dark chocolate, bought me these for my birthday:



Yes, that's right; TWO bags of yummy Lindt dark chocolates. Pretty Groovy, eh?

Well, it gets even Groovier because this is what I got as part of my gift from The Folks:




But wait...Then a package came in the mail from Funsocksgirl. What can it be? WHAT CAN IT BE??



uh-oh, the view is obscured by the pretty ribbons. Here, let me pull them back to reveal:



Does my family know me, or what?

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Next time Mulletman looks at our photo program he's going to wonder why there are 9 diffeent pics of Lindt chocolate packages. (Good thing I deleted the really blurry ones!)

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For some reason I am now experiencing an intense craving for dark chocolate...

A Happy, Cutesy, Cheerful Spring Post

The plans for today? Hot Cross Buns (yummy!), "fluffing" my front perennial garden, making an Easter skirt for Girly-Girl (Silly-Head's is done...), lifting weights (no aerobics; my shins need a rest), and teaching school later when the next batch of April showers kick in - Because, ya know, it MUST be a crime to keep children inside doing math when it's gorgeous outside!

I'm feeling better now. Yea!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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Saturday was our little Cookie's second birthday. Ain't she a cutie???



Ji-Ji was in rare form too. He was very silly and giggly! (Sorry he's so "white" looking. My camera and I are NOT friends.)


And here's big-sister, Fireball, torturing her Grampa!


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This week also found us coloring Easter eggs. We decided to use all natural dyes. I'd read some discouraging reports about dull and listless results, but we were not deterred. See, here are all our concoctions, steaming on the stove and counter...



The girls wrapped some of the hard boiled eggs in rubber bands, colored a few with crayons, and left a couple plain. We selected our dyes: turmeric powder, purple cabbage, grape juice, blueberries, onion skins, orange zest, redbush tea, and beets. We simmered the veggies and heated the juice and poured boiling water over the rest. I added 1 tsp vinegar to each bowl, then the girls dropped in their eggs. We made sure they were completely immersed and then let them sit in the dyes overnight. We're not going to eat them, so we didn't worry about refrigeration.

The next morning when we got them out, we were very pleasantly surprised; They were beautiful!!!





Our favorites were probably the spotted beet eggs. The biggest surprise was the redbush tea. Even though the tea is a fabulous golden red, it dyed the egg GREEN! Another shocker were the grape juice eggs. The acid in the juice ate 1/2 way through the shells and rewarded us with sparkly crystals all over the egg! Here are the egg by egg results (You can double-click the pics to see them more clearly):










And finally, here they are displayed in our best Easter fashion.


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Ok folks, that's all for now...I've got to get in the mud and dig before the clouds move in!!!!!

And it Just Got Better and Better

Wow. What a Birthday!

Thank you to all of you for your kind wishes and sweet remarks about my youthful looks. I guess it helps that I took that picture 15 years ago.

Just kidding!

Novel wise I am up to 10,748 words. That's behind target, but it's the best I can do without locking myself alone in a room and ignoring my family. I still like the story, but I am amazed how long it takes to get from point A to point B. I had to stop yesterday and remap my characters because more are jumping in and I need to know who they are. Otherwise, later on, they'll change from black to white (sans plastic surgery), or go from living in the country to in town without ever having moved. You know, those little inconsistancies that make a novel look like it was written by a drunk and her three invisible friends.

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Well, I need to get going. I've got a busy day planned, but I need to share a couple more awesome moments with you first.

On Friday, GrammaJ had some birthday plans for me too. We went out to lunch at one of my favorite local restaurants. Silly-Head was thrilled to take pictures. Fortunately, at least one of them came out fairly nice:



We had a wonderful meal with dessert (naturally) and she gave me dark chocolate; LOTS of dark chocolate. Does my mama know me, or what?

Then we betook ourselves to the Salvation Army Thriftstore and scored a brand new Britta pitcher for $3 and filters for $1 a piece!

Afterward, we decided to attend the grand opening of our local Goodwill Industries Thrift Store. They had just moved into a larger, nicer location and were throwing a big shindig to celebrate. We got there at 1:55 pm and the last doorprize drawing was at 2:00 pm.

There was a lady handing all the customers (and my gracious, there were ZILLIONS of them!) a ticket each to enter them in the drawing for the prizes. GrammaJ grabbed the lady's arm and leaned close, her voice insistent, "Today is my daughter's birthday, so you make sure you give her a winning ticket!"

5 minutes later they called out the winning ticket number. Guess who won?

Yep. Me. I got an awesome Happy Birthday Present from Goodwill!



Cool, eh?

The nifty backpack basket contained a laprobe/shawl and some very nice, brand new men's socks. They also threw in a cloth shopping bag.



The next day was extremely busy and culminated in driving down to Southern Maine to pick Scout up at the airport. Here he is with his little sisters...


A few minutes after we got back home, PrettyMom arrived with the grandkids. They had a wonderful time getting reacquainted with their daddy.

Here's Fireball, age 4.



And Ji-Ji (with a long I sound, please), who's 3.



And Cookie, at 18 months.



A couple of the pics are from a couple of weeks ago because my stupid camera from hell that I hate with all my heart was giving me ugly fits as I tried to capture the moment. I know I should be thankful that I even have a camera, but...well, I am only human! I so wanted some pics of Scout WITH them, but everyone was running and screaming maniacally and my camera was always .4 seconds too late.

Oh well...Suffice it to say we had a wonderful day.

In SPITE of my dumb, stupid, idiotic camera.

Scout has been out and about visiting old friends and hanging with his family. Next week, Funsocksgirl and J-Man will come dive into the confusion and we'll have a marathon of old memories and photo shoots (It's been a loooooong time since we've had all four kids together at once) and food.

Now, I'm off. I have school and cleaning and exercise and laundry and errands with GrammaJ and a late evening training session for 4-H in Augusta. I'd better stop blogging and start working!

A Groovy 45

Well, my friends, today I celebrate 45 years of life.

:D

Here was my groovy self at the tender age of 8. I still remember how upset my mom was that I didn't have the presence of mind to take my purse off my shoulder before this school photo was taken.



The festivities continued yesterday with my in-laws bursting into the house bearing gifts and singing loudly and delightfully off-key to me.

Today, I'm cancelling school. (Hey, that means more writing time! Yippee!!!) GrammaJ is taking me out to lunch (MORE free food...Score!) and then we're going to the grand opening of a relocated Goodwill store.

Hey, nothing says says Happy Birthday like shopping for used clothing, right?

Then, we'll swing by and pick up Grammy and head over to an open house at "The Coloniel Keeping Room". This place is only a mile or so from my house and I've been passing it for years. But I never went in because I never knew exactly what it was - A bed and breakfast? A craft shop? An antique store? Then I noticed that they have a new, more explanatory sign up. They sell pine furniture and quilts, etc.

I love pine furniture and quilts, etc.! Even better, they recently had an ad in the paper announcing an open house this weekend with free wassail.

Isn't wassail fun to say?

Wassail, Wassail, Wassail, Wassail, Wassail, Wassail, Wassail.

I'd be a fool to pass up free birthday wassail!

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What can it be? What can it BE???



The gift is a way cool watch. It's shiny and pretty and water proof and has a glowy dial and it won't turn green because my sweet family spent more than $6 on it! Better than the gift, though, are the gift givers. :D


Ooooo, Looky! A word puzzle book from Funsocksgirl and J-Man. I justify the time I spend puzzling by reminding everyone that it helps prevent senility. (Where have I heard that before?) I justify the time I spend puzzling by reminding everyone that it helps prevent senility.




And here we are admiring the itty bitty birthday candle holder.


Here it is in action. Ooooooo. Aaaaaaaaaw. Isn't pretty with my birthday flowers?


A pretty Shirt from the Folks. They also gave me some groovy socks and earrings to match!


It's been (and still is) a very Happy Birthday indeed!


Ah, and I have yet another day of celebration tomorrow because Scout FINALLY got his plane ticket and is coming home for a visit. I know we won't see much of him - he has an important agenda while he's here - but we'll get in some precious time and LOTS of photos in between his runs to see friends and hang with his 3 beautiful children.

Happy birthday to ME!

I am Both Shocked and Amazed

The first shocker? That I have actually been able to work on my novel while Mulletman is home. He said he'd be supportive of my NaNoWriMo attempt and he has been amazingly so. And shockingly so.

In the past he has always viewed my time on the computer with grave disapproval. The whole concept of blogging is completely asinine in his view. You're writing what? for who? Do you get paid? What's the point? Who ARE these people? You can't call them friends! (He's quite wrong there. While some of you are just pleasant acquaintances, a few of you are my sisters. You care about me and pray for me and give me wise counsel. You are friends in the truest sense of the word!)

He rolls his eyes at Squidoo (even though I'm making regular money there).

He totally doesn't understand Facebook, though that can't be TOO bad because it allows me to goof around long distance with Funsocksgirl. Besides, our pastor's wife has a Facebook, so that makes it cool, right?

He tolerates the Writers Weekly forum and even lets me send them Christmas Cards to my fellow writers all over the world. However, he's still trying to work out exactly what it is I write and where I'm trying to sell it and who cares.

So am I.

Ahem.

Anyway, he really seems to be on board with this whole novel-in-a-month concept. So much so that he's saying bizarre things like, "I'll take care of (laundry, lunch, phone calls, dusting), you just stay there and write."

Maybe he's hoping that just this once, I will FINISH a project that I've begun.

So do I.

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Something else surprising? God seems to be taking a sad situation we know of and appears to be doing something miraculous there. This has our hearts filled with hope and tentative joy. I have a quote on my desk that says:

God wants to work the miraculous out of the ridiculous.

I very much think we are witnessing that.

:D
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I am amazed at all the attention I got from family yesterday, two days BEFORE my birthday. My sweet Mil took me out to The Olive Garden for some incredible food and a rich chocolate dessert. We hung out and talked and shopped a wee bit. It was a lovely time!

I came home to an empty house. Mulletman usually does some work at our church on Wednesdays, so I didn't think anything of it. However, when he and the girlies got home they burst into the house loudly singing a birthday ditty. They hugged me and gave me flowers and a perfect watch and homemade cards. Then they let me open my gift from Funsockgirl and J-Man. They got me a word puzzle book. Whoo-Hoo! I LOVE word puzzles. I justify the time I spend puzzling by reminding everyone that it helps prevent senility. I justify the time I spend puzzling by reminding everyone that it helps prevent senility.

They (they being SG and J-Man) also gave me this AWESOME itty bitty card with 2 itty bitty hand dipped candles and a teensy tiny candle holder. It is amazingly cool!

Next they (They being Mulletman and the girlies) Took me out to eat at our favorite Mexican restaurant. Olé!!! Even more startling? He, Mulletman, my shy let's-not-draw-attention-to-ourselves husband had the restaurant staff sing the stupid, embarassing clappy song and bless me with a genuine Mexican sombrero.

Photos will be posted on Friday, which is my actual birthday. If you overnight express the chocolate NOW, then I will receive it on time.

I'm just saying...

I am still full from all the deee-licious free food and I find myself reminded of a chapter in an Alexander McCall Smith book, "Free Food Makes you Fat".

I justify the time I spend puzzling by reminding everyone that it helps prevent senility.

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I am rather astonished that Woman's Day entered me in a contest where I might win a $100 American Express gift card. Approximate retail value? $100

I know, you are shocked too. I assumed the approximate retail value would be, like, $25.95 or something.

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I am utterly dumbfounded at what lousy photos our camera takes. I keep trying be thankful that I HAVE a camera, but I am failing miserably. If you are ever tempted to buy a Sony DSC-S650...DON'T!

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I am flabbergasted at how quickly dust can build up. Didn't I clean the whole house just yesterday?

I justify the time I spend puzzling by reminding everyone that it helps prevent senility.

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I am astounded at my characters have taken over my novel. They are calling me now, their voices rising and falling and growing into a demanding cacophony of dialogue and action.

Gotta go! I'm shooting for 12,000 words by Friday night.

Toodles!

Stressed or Blessed?

I've been feeling pretty stressed this week: Too much to do, not enough time to do it, PMS, the unexpected death of a friend, pondering NaNoWriMo, that stupid extra 15 pounds, dealing with an on-going high maintainance issue with the hubby. You know, tough stuff.

But is it? No...it's nothing. Most of my "stress" is self-imposed through overbooking myself. Once this weekend is past (concert, rehearsal, women's conference, another BIG cake, accompanying party) 90% of my stressors will be removed.

So, SO many other folk have it no where as easy as that. My friend Em, having to face life without her husband of 28 years. Unbelievable. Two other dear women who are literally trapped in an ongoing tour through Hell as they try to go to college, raise children, and engage in endless legal battles with "difficult" (and potentially dangerous) exes, as well as constant fights with their respective states for financial help.

These three ladies are in my prayers right now, night and day. And as I am praying for them, God is reminding me to count my own blessings instead of dwelling on my "stressors".

The very first thing that comes to mind is the immense blessing and peace and joy that comes from knowing I am redeemed and knowing, because of what Christ has done for me, I can boldly appeal to and trust the King of all Kings to care for me and my family. The Lord is my strength and my song! He is my protector and shield! He is my provision and joy!

Following close after is an immense thankfulness for my husband's presence in my life. Mulletman does have his faults, he is a worrier (I call him "The Pitbull" because he has trouble letting go!), he can have a bad (very bad) temper - though his temper has been, well... tempered as he's grown in Christ and as he's matured in age and experience. He also can talk a topic (particularly one that's consuming his pitbullish brain cells) to DEATH.

BUT he has never been abusive to me or the kids (unless you count really long and repetetive lectures as abusive :D ). He has never threatened us nor ever threatened to leave us. Even his long lectures are a product of his loving concern for his family. And when he does blow his top or screw up he truly is repentive afterward, not just remorseful.

He doesn't drink, use drugs or spend more time with his buds or his job than he spends with us. He is a hard worker, but not a workaholic. He ALWAYS has time for us.

He has never demanded that I go to work so we can buy/afford more stuff. Nor has he ever demanded that I stay home with the kids. He has, however, encouraged me to stay home AND done all that he could to make that feasible. He's worked very hard to provide for us and been wise with our money. He has gone out of his manly way to lift MY burdens at home by doing laundry and dishes and by insisting that the children help bless me by keeping the chores done.

He is thoughtful and romantic and sweet. He can be funny and logical and creative. He is steadfast and faithful and true and painfully honest. I feel totally secure in his love. I feel completely safe leaving Girly-Girl and Silly-Head in his care - even if he doesn't do everything the way I do it.

He doesn't just think of his own goals and wants and concerns. Instead he tries to lead us as a family to walk in God's ways. He is stubbornly and persistantly steadfast in this even when the rest of us mutiny! :D (Fear not, we're coming around!)

He puts up with Groovy's many, not-so-groovy failings and inconsistancies, and does so kindly and graciously (most of the time). In spite of our occasional tussles and struggles, the word "divorce" has never even been considered. I can say with GREAT confidence that he and I are truly together until "death us do part".

He has encouraged me to spread my wings and use my talents. He has also risked my anger by wisely telling me "No" when I was ready to dive into too much or my priorities were askew. He is the love of my life. How I praise God for so blessing me!

Today is Mulletman's birthday. He is 45 - just tapping middle-aged on the shoulder. May God grant that we grow old together always mindful of how blessed we are!

Hello...My Name is Groovy

Greetings, I am Groovyoldlady and this is my blog.

No really, it IS. And I DO write in it (on it? for it?)......sometimes......on occasion.....once in a while.

Actually, I cannot believe how incredibly busy I have been. TOO busy.

I have been wriding my bike instead of writing my blog. We have been Mother's Daying and Silly-Head Birthdaying and catching up on schoolwork and gathering items for our yard sale and working with goats and planning camping trips and wreading books and preparing for GrammaJ's upcoming surgery and dealing with a high-maintainance husband unrevealed family member.

Sadly, I have not been gardening. Once again I fear I have excitedly bought seeds only to have them sit in their cute little packets in the garage all summer because I never dug up the soil in the veggie garden. Perhaps I shall pretend I PLANTED those dandelions out there ON PURPOSE to, you know, eat them or brew them or something.

Nah, even I don't have that much imagination!

Oh well, at least my perennials are looking good. For the time being. Because the weeds dandelions are still so short.

I really need to get those girlies out there to do some weeding!

Speaking of weeding, I've been wreading the Tolkien books again. They never seem to get old.

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I'm still $180 short on my fundraising for the Trek and time is flying by. Mulletman is $315 short. If you can help Mulletman or me (and the American Lung Association), then click those links on my sidebar. It's painless, it really is, and you'll be helping folks with lung disease! You will also keep us encouraged to ride even when we feel like crap (which I did today - feel sorry for me. PLEASE!).

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I hope you all had a lovely Mother's Day. I certainly did. Little Silly-Head was born on Mother's Day in 2001 so we had a combo celebration this year. After church we all went out to Applebee's for some yummy food. We didn't have to wait, the service was awesome and the food was quite tasty. This was good because last year's "celebration" at a nearby seafood place was pretty much a fiasco and we were lucky that Gramp didn't make front page news by killing or maiming the waiter. Yeah - no one wants to have that much fun two years in a row.

After lunch we and all the grands converged at our house for a party. Gifts and hugs were given to all the moms. Girly-Girl and Silly-Head gave me chocolate (Way to go, Girlies!) and Funsocksgirl bought me Hubert, a blue phrog for my pansy garden.



Then, of course, we did a Mother's Day photo shoot:

Me and GrammaJ



Grammy and Mulletman



Me and the Girlies (My, what a stunning and versatile, LLBean, grey sweatery-jackety thing I am wearing!)


MORE Me and the Girlies ('cause they're so darned cute!)

Then, of course we all blew up balloons and had cake and presents for the birthday girl -my BABY - who will be SEVEN years old tomorrow. Un. be. liev. a. ble!


Funsocksgirl called with well wishes for her groovy mom and her silly sister, and her beloved J-Man sent me an ecard - in Norwegian. So THAT really made the day special.

But the crowning point was that I was hoping Scout would call and was, at the same time, trying NOT to expect him to call because he's forgetful, because he's busy, because he's such a bonehead and I didn't want to get all disappointed.

But he called. And we talked for an hour. And it was wonderful.

I'm getting all teary now. *sniffle*

He's still a bonehead in many ways, but he's MY bonehead and I love him. *sniffle* *sniffle*

And he's going to Mosul, Iraq an undisclosed, top-secret middle eastern destination in December. *sniffle* *sniffle* *sniffle*

(Actually, bad mom that I am, I'm not all that worked up about him going to war. I'm much more concerned about his daily lack of wisdom in living than in the possibility of him becoming a war casualty. If you think to pray for him, please do! Pray that he will bend his knee before the King of Kings.)

Tomorrow the festivities will continue as we join our 4-H group on a field trip to the DEW Animal Kingdom in the morning and a camp out in our backyard in the evening, complete with hotdogs, roasted marshmallows and one of Mulletman's extra goofy ghost stories.

OK...it's been a tough day - hormones running amuck and a sinus headache and all that. I think I'm off to soak in a nice hot tub and wread about Frodo and Tom Bombadil and Aragorn. Oh, how I love me some Aragorn!