Dreams

I had an epic dream last night. Let me set the stage.

Charles, the boys and I were at some kind of event. There was this long building, one third of it was a cafeteria style food bar and the other end was a theater, but it was a crappy theatre. There was an aisle down the middle and the seats on the left and right of the isle all faced toward the middle. Behind this building was a baseball diamond with really high bleachers that went straight up but had no stairs to get there. In front of the building, across the street was a Burger King. Charles and I went to BK to get us some cheeseburgers while the boys stayed behind. We noticed that something was going on across the road. People had gathered around the building and all of the windows were closed and their shutters had been rolled down so you couldn't see inside. Odd, we thought, so went back to see what was going on.

Gunmen had taken the people inside of the building hostage. I was terrified. Where were the boys? I started to search frantically, and I found Chucker right away. Whew good, now where were his brothers. I tried to look into the building through the open doors at the end to see if they were in there. I couldn't really see so I decided to go in anyway. My babies needed me. Just as I was going to go in I was stopped by Jeff Semple. He had been here to go to the event, but was now covering the fast breaking story, live. "You can't go in there", he said," There are professionals coming who will take care of the situation. It's just too dangerous. Stay out here."

Every few minutes the gunmen let out a few more hostages, the little kids, the sick ones. I kept hoping to see Bob and Dan come out, but no. Finally I couldn't stand it. I went in. The gunmen stared at me, unbelieving. "What do you want?" They screamed! Bob and Dan!! I yelled back. All guns were pointed at me as they tried to decide what to do.

Then, as sometimes happens in dreams, I could see an aerial shot of where everyone was. I was in a run down theater with a dozen guns pointed at me. Charles and Chucker were outside, as was my bag of cheeseburgers. Bob and Dan had gone to the bleachers and somehow figured out how to open the secret stairs, made out of Lego, that allowed them to climb right to the top of the bleachers and were sitting there having a great old time with Homer Simpson.

Groundhog Day's a'comin'

I love my kids. They amuse me. They each do things that I love and crack me up. Today I wanna tell you about one of the things that Dan does that I love. When we sit around coming up with hair brained ideas, we usually just laugh and never get off of the couch. Dan, however, just jumps right in there and says let's do it and then proceeds to make the idea hairier and brainier.

I really wanted to built a snowman, but no one would help.....but Dan. So off we go with green boxes and shovels in hand. We start making blocks so that they can freeze and we can stack them. Then we come up with the fact that we never did get Christmas lights out, but groundhog day IS fast approaching. That''s one holiday that can't go uncelebrated!

While working on our blocks, decide to spray them with water so that they'll freezer harder, and Dan suggests adding food colouring to the water. Brilliant! Our lawn is now littered with blue and red blocks of snow randomly scattered.

Today or tomorrow we'll have to put our snow dude together. Then we'll wrap him in lights, scatter a few beer bottles around and put up our "Happy Groundhog Day" sign. I expect we'll have the nicest display on the block. I just hope we'll have time to do all of that before the second. It's just so busy around the holidays. It's hard to find the time. Is it too early to start baking the groundhog day cookies?

I'm just not sure who's cooking the groundhog this year? I must ask Uncle Brian.

Manic????

OKOkokok... so.... I got some yarn and started a new afghan.... I got some cloth and started a new baby quilt...... I ordered some crocheting books to try these new techniques cause I knit well but my crocheting needs improvement..... I bought some material to make a new night gown..... I got a new cook book cause I really should start eating better and I made there great roasted pepper and pine nut appetizers and roasted the peppers myself...... I started making the outsides to my new pillow cases..... and today I'm hoping to start cleaning up the couch pile and the kitchen....and ..and...and...

Somehow it came. It came just the same!

Well Christmas is gone again. It comes so agonizingly slowly and rushes by so quickly. It comes and goes whether you're "ready" or not. This year was interesting.

I haven't been feeling by best and it's all been too hard, yet I've enjoyed this Christmas so very much. We didn't have any lights up outside this year. Probably for the first time ever, no lights. I'd made some ice lanterns to put out Christmas eve, but it was too warm and rainy so, nothing. The tree went up and stayed undecorated for many days. It was lovely and smelled amazing. Then one day I came home from work and Dan was putting lights on the tree. He got to the bottom and still had a handful of lights left so he tied them in a ball and hung them from the bottom. Then he took the garland that is so careful arranged each year into lovely swoops and just tossed it randomly all over the place. It was beautiful. Then I hung one ornament on the tree and "vi-ola" it was done. Best tree ever!

It's funny cause I worried about this and stressed about that but time just keeps ticking, you know? Like on Christmas eve. We had about 20 songs to play, but I watched the list sitting next to my music, checking the songs off one by one. Here I am to worship, check, joy comes with the dawn, check, silent night, check, o come all ye faithful, check.... and so on. Song after song, check after check, tick, tock , tick , tock. the evening passed.

So it's gone again and what do I remember. Well best tree ever! I love my boys. I love it when they are around, all of us together. I love seeing Charles so happy and the boys so goofy and mouthy. "Who's wearing the beard now? huh? huh? huh?" hahaha Maybe the trick is to just enjoy those I love and let time take care of the rest.

Random thoughts

I don't like to eat crusts on sandwiches cause they are dried out and crusty and yucky, but i don't like to eat the middles of pancakes cause the edges are where the crispy, yummy goodness goes.

you can't make yummy french toast with only one egg. You can't make pancakes with out milk. Cupboard mix needs extra butter and syrup to make it not taste cupboardy.

When you open a bag of white powdery stuff, like flour or pancake mix, it always goes poof, all over your counter, no matter how hard you try not to poof it. There should be a warning on the bag.

When you only have enough stuff to make a few yummy cupboard pancakes you gotta make em fast and eat em fast, least you have to share.

It you make em fast and eat em fast you also gotta clean up fast lest someone yell "What! There were pancakes?"

Christmas (no) time?

Ok.... The pies are done and the whipped cream bought. The chocolate cherries are in the can the Bailey's mocha truffles are ready to be rolled. The cookie dough truffles won't set so I'll have to add more white chocolate. The tree now has lights on it and garland, and one angel ornament. My music is in a binder and i still have to check that it's in the right order, and in the right key. I have to roast a chicken, peel potatoes, carrots, but first I have to clean the kitchen cause once again I'm knee deep in dishes. We have to either get Bob or drop him a car so he can come home. I should probably shower and make myself pretty for church, and remember to pick up Ann who wants a ride.

Lord, are we doing all of this stuff to celebrate your birthday? Well here's the thing. I'm too busy right now, so when this "Christmess" is all over, I'm gonna find time to show you how much I love you. Help me through this crazy time and for now I'll show your love in the quiet things I do that no one but you will notice. Happy birthday dear friend.

It's time, I guess

It's getting close to Christmas. I'm really not in the mood for it tho. I decided to haul out the under the bed Christmas stuff to dress the place up a bit thinking it's time, I guess. Charles and I put up the silver tinsel to hang the Christmas cards.......

My mom always mailed hundreds of Christmas cards. She just loved mailing them and getting them. I remember every year dad counting how many cards came and just smiling and shaking his head, feeling so lucky to have so many friends. So every year I send out about 30 cards or so. It gets more expensive every year, but I just can't help myself.

Then I put up the plastic canvas wreath my Reka neni made.....

She loved to do crafts and she'd make just about anything you can think of from plastic canvas. It amuses me to put up the cracked old things up. I picture her stitching and laughing. She had the best sense of humor, and always had chocolate in her purse for any kid that might be around.

I pulled out the advent wreath....

I made it years ago and it's falling apart, but still I just can't see parting with it.

I pulled out the place mats that mom Gale gave me and the calendar thingy and the ginger bread hanging thing that I made when the kids were little...

It's all up now. I still don't feel overly Christmasy, but it's kind of nice being surrounded by all of this old, cracked, and dusty stuff made by all of the people I love. I guess part of the Christmasy feeling is in the memories of loves gone.