I have another rash. An ITCHY rash. I have no idea where/how I got it. Apparently while out shopping in Augusta with GrammaJ I touched something noxious and POWIE! It started on my chin (my chin?) and spread into 2 large spots on my right leg (How did it get from my chin to my leg?) and there's a smaller spot on my left wrist and various itty-bitty pinpoint bumples scattered about.
So, I'm back to living on Benedryl. Well, actually, I never buy Benedryl. We have "Equate Allergy Medication" which is, essentially, diphenhydramine HCL.
I knew you wanted to know that!
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We've had very, VERY few hot, summerish days in Maine to date. The cool weather doesn't bother me at all. I'd be thrilled if it was between 65ºF and 75ºF all season. Heat does not make me revel in the joys of summer. Heat just makes me cranky.
Totally off topic, let me point out that the AC in our van is shot... (No wonder no one wants to ride with me to run errands!)
What we have had is bucket loads of humidity from all the RAIN. The rain in Maine has mostly been a pain! In June, most of the state had record breaking amounts of precipitation. I'm betting July will be the same. Right now it is not raining, but the huidity level is, oh, about 320%.
So sitting here at the computer is pretty much like typing underwater. Literally!
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On Saturday evening, I always take the time to lay out whatever we'll need for church in the morning. If we're on the worship team, we will be at church from 7am to 11:15am or so. Thus packing includes Bibles, breakfast for the girlies, a snack for after first service, my regular glasses (Can't see the music stand well with bifocals), Mulletman's earbuds for drumming, and my claves.
I also lay out my clothes and jewelry and shoes and make the girlies do the same. This preparation saves us much time and energy and stress on Sunday mornings. I imagine if I worked outside the home, I would do this every day.
Yet Mulletman mocks me for my efficiency.
This Sunday, we weren't doing the music at our church. In fact, we decided to visit another local church and their one service wasn't until mid morning. Nonetheless, old habits die hard and I laid out my clothes the night before. I went downstairs to exercise since we had so much time. When I came up, this it what I saw on the bed:
At least he makes me smile while he makes fun of me!
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One thing I can say about humidity, it really enhances the smell of a rodent cage! Consequently, I've been having the girlies clean the cage more often. Our usual routine is that one child cleans and then "decorates" the cage while her sister entertains the displaced hamsters.
Silly-Head worked very hard this last time and made it through the entire cleaning process without any assistance from me. (Yippee!) Next on her training list? Bathroom cleaning!!!!! :-D
Workin' Hard!
The scrubbing is almost done...
The finished project. Didn't she arrange it nicely?
Meanwhile, back at the ranch, Girly-Girl is "entertaining" the hammies. The wooden interpretation of entertaining is "Keeps them from escaping". However, Girly-Girl always tries to exceed our expectations.
Here she is entertaining Ruby and Rebekah:
Oops, let's see if I can get her face in the pic...
OK, Can you see what Girly-Girl is doing? Here, this pic makes it a bit clearer:
Yes, she was READING to them! :-D
And here are both of the hammie caretakers with their babies:
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My BFF in South Carolina, Notcon4med, arrived here late, late on Wednesday evening with her daughter, Kerry-On. We are the early-to-bed-early-to-rise sort, so dear friends Magnolia and Peanut also came to spend the night. Magnolia is a night owl. She stayed up to let our guests in and show them to their rooms. Peanut just came because she is BFF with the girlies and hey, who wants to miss a slumber party!
I can't believe I just used "BFF" twice in the same ¶. Eeeew!
I love NC4. She loves the Lord with all her heart and is always up for Biblical discussions of epic proportions. Of course, she is WAY smarter than me, so I end up smiling and nodding alot...
She is also such a techno geek. She has an ipod, a cell phone, a laptop, a GPS, etc. I, on the other hand, as a certified techno PHOBE, have one corded telephone and one desk computer that's only on a couple of hours a day. We make a nice pair!
Some people carry their cell phones everywhere. NC4 does that, but she also carries her laptop everywhere. When I laughed at her for taking her laptop with her on a short visit to some local friends she retorted that she "might need to show them pictures or something"!
Of course, as I joke about her dependence on electronics, I realize that I am probably the oddball in this scenario. There is something decidedly anti-American about my lack of technology. Even after the tidal wave and all, I still find myself avoiding the thought of getting a cell phone...
Mostly, NC4 and I just "hung out". We ate scones from Jorgenson's and donuts from Hillman's and pizza from Korner Store and dessert from Freedom Café. And, since NC4's birthday had just passed, I made her a yellow cake with fudge frosting. We invited a few gals over and had ourselves a party! My husband, driven to the far reaches of the house by all the estrogen afloat in the air, had this to say afterwards:
Mulletman: looking a little wild-eyed and edgy How can you women stand that?
Groovy: Stand what?
MM: All the interruptions!
Groovy: What interruptions?
MM: Ever time one of you started to talk, another woman would interrupt and start talking a mile-a-minute on a totally different topic. She'd only get 2-3 sentences out and someone would do the same to her. In fact, half the time, nobody even finished a...
Groovy: ...Sentence? I never noticed...
The fact is that 2 of our group most definitely have A.D.D., 2 clearly don't, and one especially groovy one is in denial. This made for a lot of chit-chat and crossfire and, in my opinion, tremendous fun!
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NC4 and I also went to a pre-wedding Pounding for sweeties Nate and Betty down in the southern part of Maine. The idea was to give them pantry staples by the pound to start their kitchen off right. They got rice and beans and tuna and sugar and spices and penny nails and a mallet and duck tape - all kinds of fun stuff. Many of the gifts were packed into reusable grocery bags, too. Very groovy! It was a family party with hubbies and children in tow, but I didn't know that ahead of time (we kind of crashed the party) so Mulletman and the girlies missed out. There were party games - I won the eggwhite whipping contest. Whoo-Hoo!
After the shower, NC4 and I went our separate ways. She and Kerry-On and Magnolia were off to meet a youth missions team that had come up from South Carolina to help out some ministries in Lewiston and Portland. I'll get to see tham again tomorrow at a nearby BBQ, providing it doesn't rain. Again. Which it's not supposed to...
Riiii-iiiight.
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Believe it or not, I can think of plenty more to say, but I think I'll leave off here. I wouldn't want anyone to die from a heart attack. You know, from the bloggy excitement and all. Besides, I have some Squidoo lenses to work on and school curriculum to research and order and phone calls to make and laundry to do.
So, until next time may God keep you in the palm of His hand!
