Hit and Miss Care'n

I know, I know... blogging is fun. So much fun. Very fun. Some fun. Who's fun? I shouldn't complain, I DO like to enter, but with my schedule, I just am wipped out after work so my creativity gets waylayed and I crash at 8. No film at 11.

I came home from the Jim and Jessica wedding in one piece to a devoted husband. Not much had happened while I was away. But the first ever crop of peaches went unpicked and so there they were...crowding the weeds at the base of the tree. Boo. I was so looking forward to : a: sliced peach on my cereal b:sliced peach on vanilla ice cream and c: 1/2 cup of a peach cobbler to share with David. Next year.

We are in a whirlwind mode of organizing our home and garage, to live more simply. It is so rewarding when I can say, "David, please go out to the pantry and get me a can of pineapple (because the peaches didn't make it)" and he can go directly to the shelf, didn't have to pass GO or pay to get out of the maze! He has made incrediable movement on the house. I love it!

Work is more or less.... make that LESS than interesting. We are finding files and sending them to archives. Whoopee. We are all just bidding our time for the big layoff in December. I don't know the plans beyond that, except I have made noises about going back to school so I can learn how to poke people in the arm and draw blood. I VONT YOUR BLOOOOD! It could take a year, which I may not have. This is the part where I panic, but it doesn't look as good on the screen as in person. Quite the sight... mouth wide open, eyes squinted, heart visably beating out of my chest, hair being pulled, and small little steps in a circle as I chase my tail! I guess you have to be here..as a matter of fact, you should be here! Anyone reading this is welcome to come and pay homage to the dead peaches, cheer me up about my future *or not* job, or pick up a clear plastic box and store it on the shelf for us! We are leaving the light on!

ROAD TRIP!! WHOOO WHOOO

Well, we are off on an adventure... it is Stephanie, Jimmy, Kaitlin and me! Unlikely foursome on to Utah to go to a wedding! Jim's to be exact.
We rented a van big enough (almost) to carry all our stuff and other people's stuff and most important, CAR FOOD! Car food is a science really. You should chose food that will not look to bad when someone gets motion sickness....... not! Really, healthy car food is a blasphmy.... it has to be Ding Dongs, Cheezeits, string cheese *ok I'm not that insensitive to healthyfood*, Carmel and Strawberry rice cakes, sparkling water, and so on and so on. Maps are optional on a road trip. Adventure a must!
We left David at home due to the fact he doesn't travel too well, gets wrinkled you know. So I will miss him, but we are filling the time with family, dinners, more family and driving, driving.
We will leave very early in the a.m. and travel all day.
I made a dress for the wedding, but unbeknowst to me, my body decided to add some weight and when I finished it, it didn't fit! Help! So shopping will be in the agenda as well.
I hope to add to this blog during the week, so stay tuned and remember, car food is good only on the road!

Father

My father (sometimes hard to use the more familiar term "dad") has come up in the more recent "LOOPS" (see earlier blog) with my mom. She has referred to the way they met, at night school in the library. Their courtship was brief and then my father proposed. However, my grandmother did not approve the pairing because she needed the "room and board" my mom provided and the impending nuputials would cut off the funds. That and the fact that my father was not Catholic did not sit well with my grandmother. Well, then WWII made the news, and my father was drafted and sent off to North Africa as a general's clerk and editor of the "Screaming Red Asses (as in donkey)" unit newsletter, and the wait was on...four years to be exact. Upon his return in August of 1945, they planned their wedding. On a bright and sunny Saturday in November, they wed.
Long story, to bring you to the point of my entry today..and that is that my mother's patience was life long. You see, my father traveled the entire time we kids were growing up. He started his career in 1947 with the Military Sea Transport Service, aboard a ship that carried 4400 troops to the Pacific Rim. In the early days, the troops and their families would make the 6 week trek to Okinawa or the Phillipines aboard this large ship. The Army owned ship made a concession to the families and had a 10 ft by 10 ft cage on the deck that had a swing, slide and hopscotch drawing inside. That was were the kids could play when sailing. Pretty sad, but necessary in high seas. My father was a purser. Chief purser. He was in charge of all payroll, ship's bills, and supply orders. He was very well respected by his peers. This is were things get interesting. After their wedding, my sister was born almost a year later. My father was antsy, he wanted something other than working for my grandfather's accounting firm. He signed up for MSTS and the rest is (my) history. He sailed the high seas for 38 years. Sailing for 6 weeks, home for 3 days, gone again for 6 weeks, and on and on. Not exactly an ideal life for a family. The family suffered. Sometimes in silence sometimes in protest. I did try that once. I was 16 and decided that I wanted an explanation for the absence. Well, that didn't go over very well as my father did not see a good reason to justify his choice. It was sad. I thought that he would want to reassure me that he loved us, wanted to be with us, but that didn't happen. I believe that he felt trapped by my confrontation and just walked away. I never did get a good explanation from either my mother or my father. This is the kind of thing you have to forgive and move on or it will haunt you.
Despite the trama, my father was an incrediable man. Self educated. Would be reading 2 or 3 books at a time. Had a full typed record of all American and National League baseball players: runs, times at bat, trades, etc on 3 x 5 index cards. He was meticulous with this hobby. He introduced us to classical, country, jazz, big band music. Even The Supremes. He taught us about Japanese farmers who wrapped silk bags around each apple blossom as a form of protection from insects. Also, he showed us how to stain a redwood fence, and the proper way to eat an ear of corn. These are small examples of his way of parenting. He was a very complex man. I am sure that when we are united in the next life, he will be more prepared to welcome us into his heart. I am ready.