Some things never change.

Luke has always liked to harass the animals, and that hasn't changed. He couldn't resist chasing the Canadian geese at Annie's grad party. I enjoyed that as much as seeing the geese graze, squawk, and fly away.

Congrats Annie from OSU

Bachelor of Arts finally complete. Hurray for Annie

The edge of Irene

I managed to get an early flight out of Newport News, well ahead of the storm. I got lucky again in Atlanta, going standby.

As we took off the pilot pointed out that we would be flying through the outer edges of Irene.

A bit bumpy but you can see the upper and lower layers of the storm, and off to the left a good bit if thunder and lightning. We were flying in between thise layers.

Such a beautiful view, even lovlier since I know I'll make it now to Annie's graduation.

Dinner on the river

Last night I did something I rarely do: I ate at a restaurant alone.

When I arrived in the area I passed a sign that said Yorktown Riverwalk and that sounded nice.

It's been a few years since I was in Yorktown. I was first here with Stephen, when he wanted to see some battlefields. Yorktown in the site of the decisive battle of George Washington, during the Revolutionary War.

 I wanted to come down here before the weather got bad. Norfolk is being evacuated in many areas, and outlying towns as well. Roads are no longer traveling in both directions, to make outbound travel easier main highways are traveling only west.  Hurricane Irene is on its way, and cities are taking extra precaution.

Seafood in Virginia is lovely, and I had my favorite; sauteed scallops and shrimp. I thought I'd better enjoy it, since I don't usually eat out by myself.  Luckily the place was deserted, people all getting prepared for the hurricane.

Today Yorktown is, of course, restored. Many shops line the streets but it's all in old-fashioned style.  Statues of our famous forefather stand in the middle of town.

Ground shaking discovery

There I was, conducting my workshop, just about ready to jump in to the last segment for the day.  As I began to give out instructions, I noticed the attention span of the entire class oddly faltering. No one was paying attention. No matter how much I raised my voice, they were not about to listen.

"Is that an earthquake?" I heard someone ask.
I thought to myself that, it did sort of feel like that, but it was probably nothing more than a passing truck.

Except it wasn't.

While everyone in the class started to freak out, someone turned to me and said, "Just a couple of months ago, one of our buildings was demolished by a tornado, so people are a little on edge."
That did explain things.

Over the sound of ringing cellphones and people calling kids at home, I announced a 15 minute break, to get their heads back on.  Then I went to to USGS website to find out if we did, in fact, just feel an earthquake.

I found the USGS information and was a little surprised. The initial earthquake, which was centered northwest of Richmond, was about 100 miles from us in Gloucester, and much larger than I expected - 5.8 according to the US Geological Survey statistics.


People here tell me that, at least in this part of the state, earthquakes are not at all common. Most people had never felt one.  They made fun of me for not even noticing, but after living in California, you just get used to reacting very little. That is not the case, though, for earthquake newbies.


for more (hyped) info read Quake Rocks the East Coast 

For a much more informative article on why the eastern quakes seem more intense, this article is far better. Why Quake Rang Like a Bell

Two too many

It's a good thing I don't have a green thumb. Because the three tomato plants we put out this year have yielded far more tomatoes than even an abnormal family can eat. I think one plant would have been plenty.

We eat large salads nearly every day (when I'm home, that is). Some people think that makes us abnormal. But I love chicken-caesar salad with Newman's Own Caesar dressing, I could eat it twice a day. I especially love that salad with crisp romaine and red peppers on top of my chicken. I rarely buy tomatoes - greenhouse tomatoes just don't taste that great. But fresh, vine-ripe tomatoes?  Nothing like them.

This year I put out two Better Boy plants and and Early Girl. I'm kinda glad I did that, because I found out that I really don't like the Early Girl. The skin is too thick and the flesh is too grainy - but the tomatoes have tasted fine in salad, so we keep eating them.

I took this picture before picking again - now the pile is so high, and I left five tomatoes sitting on the lawn - guess I got side tracked.

We have made tomato sandwiches, pots of spaghetti sauce, and William concocted a pot of vegetable soup that the baby loves - I think he used over a dozen tomatoes for that. Still, we've got 40 or so left.
Anyone who needs tomatoes, I'd be happy to share.  They are especially yummy. I ate 5 of them by myself just today.

I won't even talk about the zucchini. 

Are tomato plants usually over 6 feet tall in Tennessee? 

North sun

I'm really not fond of shopping, except for Lowes and the feed store, those are places where I can spend hours. Oh, and I really like OfficeMax or Office Depot - I'll get lost in there all afternoon, too. But mall and department store shopping just don't agree with me. Unless I'm in Michigan.

I've been working in Michigan pretty much all summer this year. So... well, that's all I'm going to say about that. :-)

View of my hotel from across the pond on my walk

This week I'm in a little town outside Saginaw - Mt. Pleasant - and the name is a perfect fit. I'm staying just down the hill from Central Michigan University. My hotel overlooks a "pond" where I go walking each evening. All week the weather has been perfect and cool, the sun shining and a little breeze. I don't remember summers like that when I grew up, maybe Detroit weather was different.

There's a trail where college students play something called "disc golf" and each afternoon I see small groups walking the trail, tossing their discs. It seems like a quiet, relaxing sport, and the players walk on this grassy trail around the lake, no pavement, many trees. It's very earthy feeling.

View of the pond just outside my hotel on the trail

I nearly went to college in this little town, having visited CMU on the recommendation of a counselor, and I did like it. It's probably a good thing, though, that I didn't go here because I might never have left. This is a lovely, quiet area, and had I come here, I might never have posted the blog entry from Sunday.

I had no idea the rest of Michigan was so nice. Detroit was a pit - actually it still is, and that was all I had seen. I was glad to leave - anxious to get out and never return. I don't think I'm alone.

I'm glad to have been able to come to the 'mitten state' so much this summer. I've seen parts of Michigan I never saw all the years I lived here. Seems sad, because the state is only about 4 hours wide. Still, I suppose everything happens for a reason. I'm glad I've had opportunity to live in so many places. I like to think it's made me a better person.

Happy Anniversary

Thirty-five years ago today Steve and I committed to a lifetime with one another.
While neither of us really understood what that meant, we've had such an adventure finding out. We still are.

Thirty-five years.
Wow, time sure flies. 
Has it really been that long?


Happy Anniversary, honey. I love you.

New do

I'm sporting a new eyeshadow.

It's a good look, a lovely deep purple-ish shade. The best thing about it is, I don't have to put it on in the morning.

No, it is NOT a tattoo - don't even go there with me. This fancy shade is a gift from one of my little kidlings, Denver.

Since puppies can be annoying (not to me, but to other animals), Denver was trying to escape being chewed by Molly, and hopped up onto my lap.

But he didn't stop there, he kept climbing right up, past my shoulder and walloped me in the face with his hard goatling head. He's got tiny little horns coming up, and maybe that's what hit me. I didn't even notice it until much later in the day, after I woke from a nap. That's when I noticed a slightly sore spot, and looked in the mirror.
That was yesterday.

Today the edges are starting to turn lovely shades of yellow and green, matching my eyes. The purple has turned even darker.  If I put some soft brown around it, and then some on the other eye, it's not too noticeable. Well, not with my glasses on anyway.

No, I would not rather fight than switch, but thanks for asking.

Fun in OC

We got to the OC fair early in the morning, before the animals were tired of all the people. My favorite part of the fair, of course, was the animals.  Not the fake animals who rode the ski lift, although I did find that amusing. What I really like though, is the Farm animals. As if I don't see enough of them.

I was so happy to pet a jersey cow and have her "pet" me back with her long, rough tongue. I scrutinized the Boer goats, and had fun letting the angora goats lick me with their soft tongue. We watched the petting zoo areas where goats, deer, and wallaby greeted children and families who wanted to pet animals they'd never seen. And the beer Clydesdales were spectacular! Such giant animals.

We watched two young women carve giant blocks of ice into beautiful sculptures of fish and a horse, in just a few minutes.

Then we walked into a giant freezer to see the ice museum, where many carvings were displayed. This one of Zeus was the most detailed. It's over 10 feet long and so intricate. Along the floor under each carving were the chunks of ice left over from the day they did the cuttings.

The people who did the carvings were from Harbin China, who are world famous for their ice carvings. Harbin is a city where William spent too many months working during his last year in China. It's located just south of Siberia.

It was a perfect day, and we left just as the nigh partiers arrived.

Veritable smorgasboard

Orange county fair - the theme this year was "Let's Eat!"

And eat we did.

Although I could not bring myself to buy any of these rather odd tasties. Apparently though, some people do buy this stuff.

 

 I don't think I've ever eaten this much at any fair before. Orange county does have a great fair.

 The garden area had all sorts of vegetables, I wish the pumpkins we planted at home had gotten this big. 

This is the first time I've seen brussel sprouts growing. Do people really eat these things?

So big!

The kids are getting so big!  I was able to pop by and see them yesterday. It's been six months since I've seen them, and they've grown so much!  Alyssa doesn't even look like the same little girl.

Just like his uncle Luke, Ethan has always loved cats. When he used to visit my house he loved playing with all my cats, and has wanted his own for a long time. 

Momma finally agreed to a kitten and the kids are all enjoying her. She doesn't have a name yet but Ethan is working on it.

Alyssa might have changed in looks but she's still Alyssa, just as goofy as ever. 

Alora has gotten so big, and is now able to tell everyone (mainly Alyssa), how she feels about things. She does it very loudly.

They're all so cute, it was fun seeing them. But too short.

Earthgirl

When all my children were little, I liked to see them play outdoors. A former tree-climber and bug-handler myself, I wanted my kids to appreciate the earth and everything it has to offer; like snowballs, and mud pies, ant hills, and earthworms. At the age of two, Michelle got stuck in her very first mud puddle, and I was right there taking pictures (which I still enjoy looking at).

I think it's adorable when a baby is outside, mud on her face, sticks in her hair, playing with a pile of rocks. Some people think this behavior is OK for boys, but not so good for girls - an idea that never went over big with me. If it's good for one, it's good for the other.  And it's definitely good for both.

I forget sometimes, that a lot of people don't like their kids to get dirty. So when I meet these people I gasp a little (on the inside) and wonder how we might ever be friends. 

Stevie never did well outside. He loved to climb - trees, swing-sets, piles of logs, houses. He was always up on the roof. But as soon as the neighbor (or his dad) started mowing the lawn, he'd run for the house and lock all the doors and windows. Stevie's still that way really, he says sneezing is just about the most painful and annoying body function there is.  I'm not really sure I'd agree with that....

All the kids liked digging. They must have inherited that trait from their father, who was a former tunnel digger as a child. When we moved into our Cowley house, Luke decided they should dig a pit deep enough for all four of them to get into, along with the dog. The put a board over part of it to make a roof, and they'd sit out there with their sandwiches and eat lunch. I took them iced tea and sat on the porch, just listening to them chatter underground, and wonder what they'd dream up next.

Rosie is on her way to something similar. Luckily, she did not inherit Uncle Stevie's allergies, and can be outdoors in all seasons. She loves the outdoors, and it doesn't take much to make her happy.  With the animals around her, she has company, yet she barely utters a sound. When she does, it's adorable.

This video I took yesterday, just after Rosie woke up. She's still wearing her pajamas, and isn't doing anything particular. But she wanted to go outside and nothing else would make her happy until we went out. If the temperatures are under 90 Rosie would stay outside all day.  That's my little earth girl!

(Don't expect this video to be exciting. It's 6 minutes of mostly nothing, but it's the kind of nothing Rosie likes to do every single day.)

 

Puppyville

I like dags. My mother always said she thought I'd grow up and have a petting farm. She wasn't that far from right.
Wednesday I drove out to a farm in Arkansas that had a dog I wanted. Just because I like dags doesn't mean I want just any ole mutt. Don't get me wrong, mutts have their uses, but not really on a farm with animals. A farm needs a working dog; being a pet is only secondary.

Yogi came from Kentucky, and is a good guardian, often surprising me at his protective nature. But with my herd increasing, I wanted a second guardian, one that would stay with the younger animals. Guardian dogs work best in twos or threes. I'm happy right now to have a 2nd guardian. She's an Anatolian Shepherd who is nine weeks old. We've named her Molly. She should be about 100 pounds when she grown.

Baby Rosie and Molly are getting along very well.

Andy is tolerant, as long as he can come back in the house to get away from Molly. Yogi, on the other hand, is not impressed. He's not happy having a new dog close to his goats, and right now, he doesn't really like the idea of sharing his space. That will change.