Tuesday, February 27, 2007

PEACE Quote

I wanted a perfect ending. Now I've learned, the hard way, that some poems don't rhyme, and some stories don't have a clear beginning, middle, and end. Life is about not knowing, having to change, taking the moment and making the best of it, without knowing what's going to happen next. Delicious Ambiguity.
-Gilda Radner (passed away of ovarian cancer at age 42)

Monday, February 26, 2007

Maggie is Three!




We had a wonderfully low key birthday for Maggie, and she had a great day, too. I figured it would be the last year we could get away with just the essentials, so that was our theme. a beautiful and totally delicious fancy cake on clearance from the bakery, homemade pizzas and pink lemonade, and a few different toys from the local childrens consignment shop. And just the four of us, which I think was my favorite part.



Maggie and Henry and I had more birthday cake the next day. Here is Maggie wearing her birthday gift from Henry. Purple Camo, naturally!





Sunday, February 25, 2007

Another smart guy named Henry said...

“Life moves on, whether we act as cowards or heroes. Life has no other discipline to impose, if we would but realize it, than to accept life unquestioningly. Everything we shut our eyes to, everything we run away from, everything we deny, denigrate or despise, serves to defeat us in the end. What seems nasty, painful, evil, can become a source of beauty, joy, and strength, if faced with an open mind. Every moment is a golden one for him who has the vision to recognize it as such.”
Henry Miller (American Author and Writer, 1891-1980)

Friday, February 23, 2007

HRH Puppet Master



This afternoon I whipped up some puppets for Maggie to use when she plays with her puppet theatre. I had some paper dolls of the Royal Family from back when our friend Jon turned 40 an we used them as decorations, with his face where the Queen Mum was supposed to be. Was a very funny and effective little twist for his birthday party. I'll try to find one and then post a picture of it later.

Anyway. I cut out a bunch of the royal family, a few of their outfits, and then hot glued them onto chopsticks. The tabs on the outfits are too tricky for Maggie to manage successfully, so I put a little Vel- dot on the chest of each doll and it's corresponding -Cro dot onto the outfit, and now she can manage just fine. Although since I finished the dang things, she's not interested in playing with 'em. Go figure.

Thursday, February 22, 2007

You Need a Thneed



There is a giant tree clearing machine churning it's way through the woods near our house. Not the woods directly behind our house, but southeast of here. They're clearing enough space for something like 6 houses, so the Lorax machine is roaring and belching all day long right now. Sounds like a monster. I feel like a deer or something whose life changes forever the day that awful grinding sound came. It's usually so quiet out here in the country. I predict we will see a dramatic increase in wildlife in our little woods in the coming years as all that habitat is cleared away for McMansions. Boo.

Wednesday, February 21, 2007

Back Home Again

Hi there... it's taken me a strange long while to get back to my blog! I guess I have a lot to say, but no idea how to say it!

We got dad settled into a nursing home on my last day in Seattle. It was a long, difficult day for me personally, but I had my oldest and dearest friend katie at my side every moment of the day, and she was so wonderful and good to all of us. When I tell the story of having gone home last week, I say that it was difficult and beautiful. Painful moments here and there, but also really beautiful and full of opportunities to grow and be human. And to see my family as we all live through this and care for dad, to see everyone's essential nature still firmly in place, my daddy included!, was just what I needed. I love everyone in my family so much.

I think I've hit upon why I've been hesitant to update my blog! I have a lot of gratitude to be sharing, with specific people in my life who are so fantastic and supportive and love me so much that they would do what they have done these last several weeks so that I could go back home for a week to be with my family during this time in our lives. It feels a bit like writing an oscar speech or something. I feel this intense need to call out names in a trembling voice while clutching a sweaty slip of paper that's covered in names while the band tries to play me off.

although in this case, it's a poopy diaper that needs changing. anyways. you know who you are, and I love you for it. Watch your mailboxes!

Thursday, February 15, 2007

Lanie and Nora


Here's a cute picture Lanie just sent me.

Wednesday, February 14, 2007

Operation Bo Bo

yesterday we took Jocelyn's dog Bo into visit with Dad at the hospital. Dad has really been missing his dogs, so we got him a couple of stuffed animal dogs that resemble dogs from his life. One looks like Toby, a dog from my teenage years, and another looks like the typical type of rat dog (as dad would call them) Dad would most prefer. He really responded well to them, even saying at one point, "When they see me in here with these things, they're gonna KNOW I'm crazy!" which is just so funny and so Dad.

so here are some pictures of the adventure. Brooke donated an old gym bag, which we cut a hole in for Bo Bo's head to poke out of when he was in transit. Popped him in, and he was ready to go!



Jocelyn and Brooke walking in to the hospital...


Jocelyn brazenly makes her way to Dad's room with her contraband secured.




And here are dad and Bo visiting. you can see how happy dad is here, I just love this picture.


And another pic with mom in it this time...



Otherwise, things are going okay out here. The prognosis for dad is not the rosiest of pictures, but we are grateful for every tiny smidgeon of whatever there is to be grateful for. his doctor is a wonderful, caring man who knows both mom and dad well and counts dad as one of his favorite patients. The hospital has pretty much done all they can for him, and we are hopeful that he'll be able to get into a nursing home on Mercer Island within the next few days. Jocelyn and Mom and I went to tour the place yetserday and feel hopeful about the care he'd receive there. We'd tried to get him in there earlier in this most recent period of trials, but they hadn't been able to take him due to a concern about wandering off. Now that that isn't the case anymore, we're very hopeful they'll be able to admit him. So keep your fingers crossed, throw pennies in the fountains, send good vibes, say a prayer - whatever you can do!

Thursday, February 08, 2007

Thursday morning

My neice Brooke goes home today. It sure was great to see her. what a feast for the eyes! It's nice knowing I'll be seeing her all next week in Seattle, too.

I'm not sure how much I'll be posting next week. I know I'll be able to post if I want to, but will I want to is the question. Check back and find out, I guess!

Friday, February 02, 2007

"Collect the laundry, and get on with your duties."


That's a line from "Cinderella", another movie we watched recently. The stepmother greets Cinderella with this in the morning when the movie opens. It gave me a new, much needed perspective on how to manage my laundry. If you know me, and you picture my laundry room, you know what I'm talking about. For many years I have been very behind in my washing, and have always struggled with feeling resentful towards the collecting, sorting, washing, drying, folding, putaway of it all. I'm sure you know what I'm talking about.

So I've made the effort to catch up on my laundry, and now I'm attempting to maintain the situation, and I'm learning a lot about what's required and how best to manage, etc. And for a week or so I was really struggling and thinking about how to smooth out the process. I cleaned up the room, organized the supplies more thoughtfully, and trained Henry to be my load switcher, and had been dealing with the collecting/sorting aspect of things. first I had three baskets up in our bedroom where the family was supposed to put their dirty clothes. but moving them down to the laundry room was a hassle.

So surfing the internet the other day, studying commercial laundry processes while watching cinderella with maggie, I heard the evil stepmother's less than warm greeting: "Collect the laundry, and get on with your duties, Cinderella." and it came to me. Every morning there will be yesterdays clothes to collect, and if I simply incorporate collecting those clothes from the bedrooms into a single laundry basket before heading downstairs, if I "collect the laundry and get on with my duties", I will have solved the problem most elegantly! When I get down to the laundry room, I can sort yesterdays laundry into my darks/whites/brights laundry baskets and then start the load that most needs doing. I can decide then if I need to power through a couple more loads or whatever, or I can call on my loadswitcher to work his magic and be done with it!

I'm sure more than a couple of you are chuckling to yourself, as I describe this fantastical new work flow concept that I seem so sure is the world's last original thought. But it's quite a revelation to me. and an example of how important personal revelations can be. you can lead a horse to water, but you can't make it drink, in other words.

and walt disney movies.