And So The Truth Comes Out...

Alright, I admit it.  I am not thrilled with the idea of another cross-country camping trip.  We did it 2 years ago.  It was incredibly fun.  We made it through the whole month together with nary a fight, no sickness, no mishaps, and oodles of terrific experiences.  However, the trip was sooooooooooo looooong.  And, as much as I like the idea of adventures, I prefer to be HOME.  In fact, Girly-Girl and I both started sobbing when we finally saw the sign for the bridge into Maine.  We were SO GLAD to be almost done with the trip!

But the BHE truly needs this trip and he is so right that this is probably the best year for it.  Soon the girls will have jobs and cars and "lives" and will be next to impossible for us all to get away together. Not to mention our parents' deteriorating health and goats in milk and homeschool science classes at our house, etc.

Unless the Lord throws up a BIG roadblock, this is the time.  But I haven't been on board with the plan at all - except for the fact that it would be good for my hubby.  In fact, I was praying that the whole idea would just "go away".  At least, I was until yesterday when I actually posted about our potential plans.  It is like writing it down made it real somehow.  And desirable.  And maybe even FUN.

Last night I started making lists of what we needed to pack and food ideas and secret plans for Girly-Girl's 15th birthday.  I woke up this morning with sudden ideas for how to make things run smoothly for our folks while we're gone.  In other words, yesterday's blog post tripped a switch in me.  I'm ready to plan and load up and GO!

Right after we finish all these 4-H Goat Shows!

More details to follow, so stay tuned...

The Good, the Bad, and the Unsettling

Hiho and Happy Summer to all of you.

Here in Groovyville, things have been extremely busy.  We've got it all going on - the good, the bad, and the unsettling.

Let's start with the GOOD:
     -God has blessed us all with good health.
     -Both the girls placed super well in their 4-H Dairy Goat shows!  Silly-Head got 2 firsts as a "Junior" and Girly-Girl got 2 seconds against some steep competition.  They both worked very hard, jumped in whenever anyone else needed help and had wonderful attitudes.  I am a VERY proud Groovy 4-H mom!
     -There are still 2 exciting fairs for us to show dairy goats at!  We are all looking forward to the shows!
     -The weather has been lovely thus far with very few "Too hot" days.   We've had rain interspersed at perfect intervals, so there has been no need to water the garden at all.  I must say that our part of Podunk, Maine is lush and beautiful right now!
     -Speaking of my garden; it's doing quite well except for the returning tomato blight.  We've harvested garlic and carrots and the onions are almost ready.  I'm drying parsley and basil now.  And a friend gave us many strawberry plants to plant.  FUN!
     -All the goaties are healthy and full of vinegar.  They keep us very entertained with all their antics.  *sigh*  I love my goaties!  We are praying earnestly for success in getting them all pregnant this fall...with multiple doe kids...It's our turn!  Please!!!
     -I actually wrote and submitted an article to an online goat related website!
     -I've got another fun idea for a short story that I need to crank out.
     -My long, thin, straight and stringy hair has started to curl more and more as I've aged.  Totally GROOVY!
     -Both the girls were able to attend a 2-day horse camp in June.  It was extremely affordable and they had a blast!
     -I feel like our homeschool time has gone really well this year.  I am very laid back - in fact, we almost "unschool" - but the girls have flourished and learned and grown by leaps and bounds.

Now the BAD:
     -Um, OK....so I can only think of 2 things.  And I can't really elaborate on either one since they involve personal family details.  Suffice it to say that caring for aging parents can be difficult at times.  And that being the parent of an adult child can also have its unpleasant challenges.

Then there's the UNSETTLING:
      -Girly-Girl starts highschool this year!!!!!!!  That means A. she's growing up! and B. I gotta start keeping more serious and permanent school records!
 
      -The Best Hubby Ever has his sights set on taking another month long, cross-country camping trip in September.  Wait...September?????  That's less than 4 weeks away!!!!!!!!!!  This is exciting (At least, that's what I keep telling myself...)  And I'm sure it will be fun once we actually get on the road.  However, the planning process stresses me considerably and the thought of being away from all our needy elderly parents concerns me.  But the BHE is right that this seems like the best year to load up and go.  The needy elderly folks are only going to get needier and elderlier.  (Elderlier IS a word, right?) The next two years (possibly three) I plan to be teaching high school sciences, so I'll need to be here in September to start classes .  We also have no goats in milk right now, so their care should be minimal.  Next year I'm hoping and praying for THREE does to kid and be milked.

At any rate, the scramble is on to find someone who can sit with Grampy so Grammy can get out of the house and someone to take GrammaJ out shopping once a week and maybe help her with housework AND someone to back-up Grammy if goat care gets overwhelming for her.

And that's about all for now.  I have a bit of a stomach bug and my energy is flagging fast.  But before I go, let me point you to these hilarious and sweet goat comedy videos.  VERY creative!  In fact, they've inspired us to write out some plot lines for OUR goats!  So please enjoy The Goat.  We sure did!

In Which Bad Karaoke Can be a Good Thing (Sort of...)

Hiho. Groovy has returned safely from the wilds of the woods and her much anticipated BASAR (basic search and rescue) Class.

I anticipated the class. What I did not anticipate was the pouring rain. Or the c-c-c-c-cold classroom. Or that I would forget my sleeping bag.

So much for being prepared!

However, I did remember blankets and we were uber blessed in that the campground owner felt bad for us and allowed us to divvy ourselves up into 3 cabins with beds and electricity. Since I am a member of the host team I got to stay in the big cabin, aka "The Palace". It had a kitchen, full bath, 2 large bedrooms and a loft with many beds and couches sprinkled throughout. It also had heat.

SCORE!!!!!

Of course, we did have to sort out how to separate the boys and girls, but it all worked out in the end. The first night I slept on the couch. The only problem with that is that this groovy gal is not a night owl. I am usually ready to crash around 9pm. Since I was out in the living room, it was a little awkward "going to bed". Around 10:30 I donned my modest jammies (aka long johns), plugged in my i-pod (aka my sanity saver) and actually went to sleep.

The second night I got to sleep on a bed/pallet sort of set-up in the "girls"' room - very comfy!

Most of our course work was classroom style: Lectures with Power Point slides and a few search or safety scenarios to work through. We took several breaks and I got to know people from all over the state. SAR draws out a facinating array of interesting folk. There was "Military Mike". He's ex-military (duh!) and has all the grooviest equipment - and he has so. many. stories. I followed him around like a puppy dog and hung on his every word. When I grow up, I wanna be just like him! (Except prettier...)

There were several college students (one of whom was a young lady who had finished the A.T. last summer), an ex police officer who wanted to train search dogs, several firemen and EMTs, a construction worker, a guy who wanted to be a forest ranger and the A.T. girl's dad, who did managerial stuff for a large company. There were also dogs there. Ripley was 1/2 beagle and 1/2 jack russel terrier and loved to eat yellow jackets. *snarl* SNAP*sting*YOWL!* He was just there for fun and we all enjoyed his company.

The former police lady brought two german shepherd puppies with her. They were 14 weeks old and SO CUTE!!! I was smitten. Alas, she was keeping one to train and was selling the other for $800.

My dog budget is, like 80¢. Ya know what I'm saying? *sigh*

Anyhoo, we did do some practical training outdoors in addition to the classroom work. We packaged pretend patients (aka "volunteers") and practiced transporting them in various types of litters and stretchers and what have you. We carried people up and down and over and around. We joked about leaving them strapped there...

;-)

On the last day we split into two groups. 1/2 of us learned how to build shelters and start fires (aka survival skills) and the rest of us practiced grid searching. I was pleased to find myself in the second group since I need more practice there. I've only grid searched once - and that was on an actual search. So a lengthy practice with much explanation and correction was quite welcomed.

Our team also added in an optional skills session on night navigation. That was the grooviest of all! We were sent out in teams of 2 or 3 into the dark night woods. We were given compass bearings and distances, patted on the back and sent on our way with the hope that we'd come out in the designated spot in a reasonable amount of ti

me.

I was paired up with FiremanB. This was most fortunate since he was an experienced navigator and I can't find my way from point A to point B in broad daylight with a guideline and a map.

Yeah.

Happily, FiremanB was big and strong and, best of all, very patient. He had to be very patient because, while Groovy can set her compass and decide which way to walk, she absolutely CANNOT remember how far she has walked. EVER.

Is this important? Well, it all depends on where you want to end up. I can go west and get to the mountains of Maine or I can go west and get to the Rockies. Ya know what I'm saying?

At any rate, distance is measured by paces with each double pace equalling a certain distance. Keeping track of paces is every bit as imperative as following the right compass bearing. Needless to say, our woods outing was punctuated by FiremanB telling me how many paces he walked, then a moment later, after we'd reset our course, asking, "So, how far have we gone?" and my groovy self answering, "Ummmmmmmmmmmmm."

To his credit he did not roll his eyes and give up on me. He just stepped up the quizzing until I was able to bark back the right answer at least part of the time. Our conclusion? Groovy must needs carry a pen and paper when using a compass. Or...I could buy one of these:

These are "Ranger Beads". You use them like an abacus to keep track of your pace counts. Though I haven't yet figured out how they help you remember that our last count was, oh, say 27 since they work in increments of 10.

In reality, all of this was moot because, my dear friends, there was no way under God's beautiful sky we could have EVER gotten lost in those nighttime woods. Yes, there were streams and a bazillion look-alike birch trees and marshy areas and little hills and ridges that all seemed the same. But none of that matters when you have karaoke.

Bad Karaoke. LOUD Karaoke. Because, as you may have surmised, it was karaoke night at the campground. And the coveted karaoke campsite was located directly across from the picnic table where we both entered and exited the woods. They started caterwailing at 7pm and that's precisely when we started reviewing proper navigational procedures.

The karaoke started out with a fellow singing some rock and a whole lotta country in what was a moderately tolerable voice. But as the beer consumption continued, the singing quality suffered a marked decline. Other patrons began grabbing for the mic and it was a good thing there were no hunters out that late in the evening or someone may have been tempted to put those karaoke fiends out of our misery. It was extra special when several folk went to the mic together and belted out emotional tunes. In "harmony". Brought a tear to my eye.

No, really. It did.

At any rate, FiremanB and I came out of the woods EXACTLY where we were s'posed to. I was so proud! Nonetheless, I am far from confident enough to go out and try that in the woods alone.

Unless I have Ranger beads AND there's Karaoke...

In Which Groovy CANNOT Contain Her Excitement! (Or Her Illicit Punctuation...)

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

See? That's how excited I am. I am using the exclamation marks before I even begin to write!

And just why is Groovy so excited? I am so glad you asked! (and so amazed you took the bait...)

First of all, Groovy is excited because she got to go camping at Bradbury State Park this past week.

Unfortunately, things were a bit tense for an hour or so the first evening when the fellow in the campsite across from us started swearing profusely and verbally abusing his wife/girlfriend. I was tempted to go over and give him the Hey-knock -it-off-you-loud-mouthed-creep lecture, but it occurred to me that if he were truly abusive, I could be making things worse for her by butting in. I was glad the girls were too busy riding their bikes to notice the broohaha. The BHE was on a trail ride, so I used the time to pray for the couple and to ask the Lord if I should say anything.

Things only flared up once more and we had the kids pray with us for the couple. Finally, the guy quieted down. It was an awkward situation, but I am happy to report that the next morning, both the loudmouth and his wife/girlfriend came over to our campsite. He apologized to us most humbly and profusely - in fact, he was so ashamed of his behavior he was almost in tears. It was super groovy! Needless to say, we thanked them and forgave them.

So, what'd we do for camping fun? We got introduced to trail riding on mountain bikes. BHE is a big fan. He rode our older tandem (it has mountain bike tires) with Girly-Girl while Silly-Head and I gutted it out on individual bikes. The girls and I aren't quite on board. Frankly, I'm not overly impressed with a bike riding style that requires me to pedal slower than I walk! Still, it was fun to try something new.

We also did alot of hiking and playing. We climbed Bradbury Mountain (pretty easy) and dug groovy rocks out of a quarry. We also ran into town (Freeport) to visit LLBean and go to our favorite beach. Alas, Silly-Head had taken a spill on her bike and had a shredded leg. So we had to ditch the beach idea when they attendant told us there was a high bacteria count in the water.

What-oh-what should we do instead? The answer showed up in moments as we tooled down U.S. 1. We've lived in Maine for almost 20 years and yet have never stopped to see Eartha in Yarmouth. Eartha is THE largest rotating and revolving globe in the world. Clearly, it was time for a Semper Gumbi (Always Flexible) moment. So, on a sudden whim we turned into the parking lot. We had a very fun time looking at the globe (it. is. amazing.) and perusing the DeLorme Maps Gift Shop. It was so groovy we had a hard time dragging the girls away!

After that we went on to Portland for an exciting time at Chuck E. Cheese. Silly-Head and Girly-Girl played one particular driving game SO MANY TIMES that I am postive they could just jump behind the wheel of the van and go. Of course, they do still have to learn that crashing into things is not the object of real driving...

Secondly, Groovy is excited because she got to see her grandkids and their PrettyMom for lunch as soon as we got back from camping. Seeing the Grands is always a wonderful thing! And THEN I went to the farm with Girly-Girl so she could finish trimming her goat whilst BHE and Silly-Head unloaded the car at home. They came back with some sandwiches from Subway and there was much swimming and kayaking (we didn't check the bacteria count of the pond; Sometimes it's better not to know!) before we went home and settled into post-camping zombiness.

Thirdly, Groovy is excited because she got to attend a Christian Writer's Conference this past Saturday. It required rising Waaaaaay too early after our exciting week, but it was so worth it. I learned so much about how to avoid neophyte writing mistakes such as overusing exclamation marks and elipses and CAPITAL LETTERS. Of course, I NEVER do any of those things in my writing...EVER!!!!!

I also got the opportunity to read some of my YA novel aloud. The reactions were quite encouraging! Yes! I am using MORE exclamation marks!! Seriously, several people approached me tell me that they liked my writing, that they wanted to know what happened next, that they thought I was creative and funny. I really do believe that this conference has given me the inspiration to get back to some real writing - writing that moves beyond the occasional pithy comment on FaceBook.

Right now the plan is to set aside 15 minutes a day to just brainstorm and write. That doesn't sound like much time, but it's manageable and right now that's what I need. Besides that, I know me and once I start writing, that 15 minutes will turn into more, hopefully much more.

I'm going to focus on Through the Molasses Swamp for now. That and on creating a few new Squidoo pages. I have so many ideas right now that my head is spinning!

Fourthly, Groovy is excited because Girly-Girl just told us she is ready to be baptised next Sunday. Woot! We wanted her to be baptised, but strongly feel she must do so because she loves God and wants to follow HIM, not because she wants to please us. God is so good!

Fifthly, Groovy is excited because Girly-Girl and her friend Peanut got to show goats at the State Fair yesterday. They took fourth and sixth, respectively. They had wonderful attitudes and both were very open to learning from the judge so they could do better at the next fair. They helped other kids move goats and show goats and all-in-all it was a wonderful day!

Girly-Girl and Peanut are the two on the far right.

Silly-Head did not show this year, but she was a terrific helper. She ran errands, held waiting goats, cheered, and encouraged. She said she definitely does want to show next year. (Little does she know we'll have our own goats then!)

And Finally, Groovy is excited because she won a prize! My dear internutty online pastry chef friend, Jenni Field, had a contest. And my entry Won! The prize came today. Whatcanitbe? Whatcanitbe?

Oh Groovy! It's a book on "high fun, low stress dinner parties for 6 to 12 people". That's right up my alley. I am going to have a lovely time reading this new addition to my kitchen library and trying the author Bob Blumer's suggestions on guests. :-D Thanks, Jenni!

Whew! I think that's enough EXCITEMENT for one blog post, don't you? It's also enough elipses, CAPITAL LETTERS, and exclamation marks! *wink* (And let's not mention the overabundant use of the word "groovy", K?)

Now I'll use the rest of my exciting day off to read and write. In the meantime... tell me one or two exciting things that have been happening in YOUR life! (Dang. Did it AGAIN!)

*wink*wink*

Turbo Typing...

...because I want to fill you in and haven't much time to do so. First of all, Wayne and Wanda , the wasps have informed me that will write their little story for you while I'm away camping this week. (*I don't like the commas in that sentence, but I'm thinking and typing too fast to pinpoint what's wrong with them.)

Which brings me to the news that we are camping this week. A feat that will be made all the more "special" because Groovy had a very non-groovy reaction to the sun and is now rashy and itchy, though not as itchy as when these PMLE attacks were a regular occurance.

Last Friday, Mulletman's folks celebrated their 51st wedding anniversary. :-D HAPPY ANNIVERSARY, MOM AND DAD! (I have no idea why I just typed that. They never read my blog!)


Today, we did much work at home and had some fun too. Mulletman and Girly-Girl went on a tandem-bike-to-Pizza-Hut date while Silly-Head and I had an impromptu tea party. We didn't dress up, but we did talk fancy and practice our manners. Then we played several wild games of Old Maid and Connect Four. (If you don't consider those as wild games, it's only because you've never played with Silly-Head, the rule changer) And THEN we went outside and sprinted in uphill races against automobiles. I gotta tell you, the cars beat us every stinkin' time!






Tomorrow, we're off to spend the day at Funtown in Saco, ME. (That also will be made more interesting by a long sleeved sunshield shirt and sun hat. *sigh*)

Wednesday - we'll start a 3 day camping spree. The weather looks good (thus far), so we're hoping to have a lovely time.

When I get back? Many stories and photos and much silliness before we buckle down for...

A VISIT FROM SCOUT!!!

He'll be here on leave from Iraq and this Groovy Mama will greet him with MUCH HOMEMADE FOOD!. :-D

No, I'm not excited at all...

OK. Gotta run. The blueberry pie is done and Mulletman and the girlies will be back any minute now with the ice cream!

Mmmmmmmmmmmm!

Whoa...Who Am I? Have I Been Here Before?

*pant*pant*pant*pant*pant*pant*pant*pant*pant*pant*pant*pant*pant*pant*WHEEZE*

*pant*pant*pant*pant*pant*pant*pant*pant*pant*pant*pant*pant*pant*pant*WHEEZE*

*GASP!*

Oh hi! *pant*pant*

Groovy here. *pant*pant*

I'm still alive. But I've been busy, Busy, BUSY! *pant*pant*

Here's the short list (heh-heh) of recent goings-on. Afterward, I'll regale you with tales of our recent camping adventure:

Biking, more biking, fundraising, MORE fundsraising (Hey YOU, it's your turn to send in $5+ for the American Lung Association. See HERE for details!), yard sale, barn dance, Silly-Head's birthday, Mother's Day, gardening, gardening for GrammaJ, loads of 4H-ing, goat milking for a friend, visiting the nursing home, quilting (gotta have 'em all done before June 7!!), shopping for bike accessories, fighting asthma and horrific allergies, homeschooling, camping, alternately freezing or sweltering according to the crazy Maine weather patterns, tracking down the source of evil itty-bitty ants in the cupboard, watching the robin's nest outside our door, talking to the birds at our feeder (UPDATE: Mr. Nutty has finally chilled out.), hitting wild turkeys with our van, swatting at black flies (curse them!), doing housework (sort of), cooking, planning some "event" cakes, and occasionally combing my hair (three cheers for hats and bandanas!)

Obviously I have NOT been blogging! I think up ideas and then sit down at the computer and my brain just turns to mush. I post a quick update on Facebook -usually along with a plea for money for the Trek and then I just stare into space.

Into spaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaace.

*************************************

Huh? What? Oh sorry, I was drooling.

Life is good right now, but it's very tiring!

*************************************
We finally have gotten a few emails from Scout in Iraq. In his last one he said:

happy mothers day!! i know it is late but i remembered. thank you for being there for me through the good times and the bad. And being patient with me through all the rough times i put you through.
i would tell you what i do here but i would have to kill you. it's classified. i have always wanted to say that. hahahaha.
love, scout

:-D

*************************************
Silly-Head is a Mother's Day baby. This year we had a surprise party for her on (surprise!) Mother's Day. It was a great success! After our Mother's day meal etc., Girly-Girl took her down into the basement to play while we decorated and snuck in the party guests. Then Mulletman called them both up and...






My baby is EIGHT now!
******************************************
One of Silly-Head's favorite things to do is camp. So Mulletman asked for time off and had last week free and clear. We packed up all our gear and bikes and headed for a private campground near Sebago Lake. Problem was, it's NOT camping season here yet and the campground was closed!

No sweat, we turned the car toward the Sebago Lake State Park. There was absolutely NO ONE there except the camp "hosts", so we had our pick of the campsites! We got one near the sand beach and the playground.

Advantages to camping out of season:

- Rates are lower
- NO noise from late night karaoke campers! (or vehicles driving in and out, or other folks' kids)
- We get the run of the whole place.
- Clean bathrooms. :-D
- It was cold out, so the mosquitoes and black flies were practically non-existant.
- There was a veritable plethora of easily accessible downed wood for tinder and kindling.
- No security fears; the girls could run hither and yon without one of us with them all the time.
- The girls had the entire beach to themselves. They could sing, dance, build, play without disturbing anyone, without fear of someone laughing at them, or destroying their creations.





Disadvantages to camping out of season:

-It was COLD!!!!!!!!!! Cold, as in shivering and wearing winter coats!


Ironically, it is supposed to be almost 90ºF today!

-No swimming, boating, or fishing (too cold and no rentals available).

-No local restaurants were open. We usually just eat our own food at camp, but it was so chilly that we ate our warm supper for lunch on Day 2 and then had nothing but cold food left. We hoped for a local diner, but ended up at Applebees!

-No park rangers to give your money to or buy firewood from or ask questions of. We had to calculate our own fees and then go find an atm so we could pay in cash. The Mulletman had to hunt up some firewood. Lots of firewood...because it was COLD!

Highlights of the camping trip:

-We were on the way south on the interstate when a wild turkey hen ran out right in front of our van. SPLAT! She broke the front grille, the headlight mount, and one of the brackets on the bug shield. We praised God that it was a turkey and not a deer or moose!

-We saw a whole flock of turkeys AND a flock of goldfinches right next to our campsite.

-A bold crow gang tried to make off with our dirty dishes!

-We saw and heard several loons. Never heard a loon? It is the weirdest, creepiest sound you can imagine - especially in the middle of the night. The first time I ever heard them, I thought it was some strange, hungry wild animal coming to eat us. I hardly slept at all that night!

Now I find the sound soothing and lovely. :-)

-Mulletman did, indeed, almost hit a deer while on his atm and firewood trek.

-I got off track while traipsing in the woods and my 30 minute hike ended up being an hour and a half hike.

************************************
Ok folks, believe it or not, I have many things I'm s'posed to be doing today. I'm going to try to get in a blog post at least once a week. So hang in there, I haven't deserted you! At least, not completely! Hopefully, I'll be able to get around and visit a few of you before the next 3 days are over.

Have a lovely Memorial Day!

Sleeping With Goats and Other Hairy Tales

The folks insisted that we bring their computer over here and use it whilst ours is being repaired. This is probably because they pretty much never use their computer and because every time one of them pops in for a visit, ole Groovy is typing away on hers. Their generosity could also be attributed to the fact that they are a couple of sweeties!

So...Goat Camp. I don't want to bore you with a blow-by-blow. This 4-H stuff can send you to snooze land pretty fast if you aren't involved yourself. Just ask my dear freind Notcon4med who actually sat through the girlies' goat show last summer at one of the fairs. She claimed she was enjoying herself, but I distinctly recall glazed eyes and drool gracing her demeanor. Good friends like that are hard to come by!

Instead, I shall give you advice so you shall be prepared should you ever have the opportunity to attend a weekend long 4-H camp.

1. Segregation is mandatory in 4-H. Goat people DO NOT associate with sheep people or dog people. Steer folks are completely ignored. Horse people are especially anathema.

2. All segregational boundaries are erased during the famous Saturday night potluck supper and during Zumba dancing.

3. Zumba dancing is a surefire way to burn off all the many desserts that you WILL eat at the potluck supper!

4. Girls and boys will self segregate of their own accord when it comes to craft time. Girls = flower faeries and friendship bracelets. Boys equal very cool and fun stilts made out of large coffee cans.

5. Be prepared for complete sleep deprivation. Campers are loud and Nubian goats are even louder. All night. Loud. Noisy. Irritating. Maaa-aaa-aaa-aaa-aaa-aaa. Some Nubians even sound like elephants in heat. So did some of the teens...

6. The midnight storm that brings only rain to the fairgrounds (blissfull rain that shut-up the aggravating goats AND the excessively loud campers) will bring thunder and lightning to your house. Said lightning will blow the bathroom nightlight right out of the socket and across the room to shatter. It will splinter a glass lamp shade. It will fry two microwave ovens and a window air conditioner. It will blow the computer modem and router and sizzle your ethernet drive. You won't be concerned about these things because you are going to immediately repack and take off on vacation; the folks will take care of all the repairs. Except, when you finally get home from NY, you will discover that they got the modem replaced and let the electrician in to check the circuits and that's it. It is 96º F with 90% humidity and the folks are sitting there miserably sweltering because they never called anyone about the AC.

7. Serving spaghetti with meatballs whilst standing next to a vegan serving noodles is an endless source of fun!

8. Taking a shower at the fairgrounds facility is a risky endeavor. The floor is slimy wet concrete and your naked body will provide an ample feast for the plethora of starving Maine mosquitoes. AND, unless you time your shower just right, there will be no hot water.

9. The shower situation will especially laughable if the weather is hot and humid and people are handling many hairy livestock. Even more so if they are shaving said livestock and the goat hair is sticking to their sweaty bodies.

10. Plugging 8 small appliances into one outlet in an effort to cook hotdogs and popcorn and coffee etc. for your club's snack bar? Not a good idea.

11. Giving your animal hating husband a goat kid and having him run the agility obstacle course with your 7 year-old provides wonderful entertainment!

12. Goatmilk ice cream is surprisingly yummy!

13. Washing an aggravated goat with cold water from a garden hose requires an amazing amount of brawn and persistence.

14. Just because the large tent shelter (There are two of these huge structures where campers can set up their tents to help protect them from the weather) LOOKS high enough to drive your van under doeasn't mean it is. You might lose that nice roof rack...

15. Maine's 4-H Days at the Windsor Fairgrounds is probably the funnest 4-H event available. So if you get the chance to attend, please do so (unless you are one of the loathesome horse people!) and...BRING EARLPUGS!

A DISCLAIMER: Shhhh, don't tell the goat tribe, but personally, Groovy thinks dog people are fun and sheep owners are hilarious (Whaddya mean their loose AGAIN?????). She even met some very nice steer folks. She also has absolutely nothing against the horse group and secretly wishes she could be counted among them.

Me Again...

Hiho,

I'm back in the saddle again. Sort of.

Yesterday, I rode my bike for the first time in several weeks. That went well, but my allergies are about to drive me into insanity. My sinuses are going haywire. I've had some minor allergy problems before, but this year is awful! I'm doing the whole sneezing, stuffy/runny nose, itchy eyes, hoarse throat thing.

Worse yet, my face and neck (and sometimes my arms) are still swollen every morning and they are still itchy. I have a gen-u-ine allergy to the sun. Oh yes.

You can't imagine how special this makes me feel. Now I can live in Maine and miss the sun 12 stinkin' months a year. O lucky me.

Vitamin D and St. John's Wort, here I come!

Actually, I can keep most of myself out of the sun. It IS the face and neck that are tricky. I had this reaction even after using 45 spf sunscreen and constantly wearing a hat. Now I'm going to switch to sunBLOCK. No, not the lovely white zinc oxide - although that does have possibilities if I put together a miming routine. I thought I'd try the more translucent titanium dioxide. Aubrey makes an all natural sunblock with TiO2, so I'm gonna give it a try.

OK, enough about me. Now it's time to talk about...um...ME, because it's my blog!

Last weekend we camped at Smuggler's Den Campground on Mt. Desert Island. That's pronounced Mt. "Dessert", even though it is spelled "Desert". This drives me bananas, but apparently, no one cares.

It was a lovely campground and we had a (mostly) lovely time. Unfortunately, I was doped up on Benedryl for the entire time, so I may not be remembering things accurately. We camped Thursday, Friday, and Saturday nights. Then we packed up Sunday morning and visited Calvary Chapel in Orrington Maine on our way home.

We hiked, helped the girls ride their bikes (they're still a bit shaky), went to the coast to look for tidal pools, found some groovy rocks (I LOVE rocks!), and went to an over-priced, but quaint little oceanarium. (ie. we had a "school" field trip!) We also swam in the freezing heated (supposedly) outdoor pool with the girlies several times a day.

Actually, Mulletman swam. I sat in the shade like a good girl and zoned out watched.

Here are the requisite camping photos that I know you are just DYING to see so that you'll be firmly convinced that we had mounds of fun while you sat home twiddling your thumbs:

Here's our home away from home:



Now it's pool time. Aren't those BRAVE girlies? Isn't that a cute Mulletman?




There was the coolest cemetary right in the campground:



One of the tombs was for Jacob Lurvey who was a hero from the Revolutionary War. He was a prisoner of war twice, but he lived to be 92! Unfortunately, the inscription on his tombstone didn't show up the photo very well. The stone next to it belongs to a couple of his later relatives.



Oh Look! The Groovy Fam, having school during vacation! (They're SO dedicated!)



What can this be? Is it an actual photo of a female swollen-faced groove? Note her her colorful, sun-reflecting plumage. Note also how her "bill" hides her face!



And here are two cuties goofing off after a grueling search for tidal pools. We found crabs, barnacles, snails, millions of rocks (beautiful rocks!) and a dead jelly fish.



We'll be off again either tomorrow evening or Friday morning, depending on the weather. We'll be tenting at the Windsor Fair Grounds for Maine 4-H Days. It's all free and it's reportedly just LOADS of fun. Besides, if the girls make it through a couple of goating classes and shows and help sell snacks in our Caprine Crew's snack shack, we can call it "school".

It works for me.

We'll be coming back late Saturday. I'll have Sunday for church and recovery, then Mm has his surgery on Monday followed by TWO MORE weeks at home with us.

The anticipation is almost more than I can bear!

In the Meantime...

I'm not feeling great. I had (sigh) an allergic reaction to the sun (double sigh) and my face swelled all up and itches, etc.

I also started my period early (ie. unexpectedly), WHILE WE WERE CAMPING, and I'm bloated and grouchy and foggy and weepy and moody and... (triple sigh). Here's a pic of the camp from our tent site. If you look REALLY hard and use a magnifying glass you'll see a building WAY off in the distance. The bathroom is beyond that (quadruple sigh).



The only thing that saved my sanity was the absolutely incredible 4 serving brownie from Heaven that I bought when I was out scavanging feminine supplies.

Yes. I ate the whole brownie by myself.

All of it.

By. my. self.

In ONE SITTING.

Get over it.

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I'm sure I'll be back to my excessively chipper self quite soon, but in the meantime, here are two new products our family took on our Benedryl laden camping trip. They each received 8 thumbs up for texture, taste, and overall awesomeness.

You'll definitely want to try them - not at the same time, though. Maple syrup and garlic/herb is not a Groovy approved food combo.



By the way, I als have a BAD case of husband-on-vacation. I don't get much 'puter time when the Mulletman is home. For some strange reason he thinks I should be paying attention to him. Go figure!

That reminds me...I need your HELP.

Mulletman is scheduled for surgery on July ninth for a repair job on a failed hernia patch. This means he will have even MORE time off AND he won't be able to lift or do anything strenuous. He is going to DRIVE ME NUTS be bored, Bored, BORED!

This is a man who is either busy or asleep. He has no in-between setting.

I need some "busy work" for him while he's recovering. He'll be able to do suduko and play guitar and fold laundry.

Any ideas for some more productive couch activities I can give him so he won't make me crazy he'll feel like a useful member of the family?

THANKS!!!