Take the Fifth

He thought he might find Christmas underneath the doormat. I had a look at my multilayered mat today and found that it could use a good cleaning to remove leaf fragments that have escaped previous autumnal rakings and sweepings. Afterwards I stood back to look at the door and realized that it looks pretty welcoming at this time of year--a very country wreath, a snowman beside the door, Santa welcoming visitors from the wall, a post wrapped in red tinsel and bows, and the icicle lights dangling all around. Visitors welcomed...

p.s. If you feel like you are so busy you might as well be standing on your head...it's better than being a doormat!

The Front Steps

Decembear is looking on the front steps today.

Appropriate, I think, since many of us are focusing our attention on our outside decorations for one and all to enjoy. Isn't it nice that the Season brings out our hospitable side?

We not only decorate for our neighbors to enjoy, but we give to our local charities to help those in need of food or shelter as well as those international groups providing education or medicines to our global neighbors.

We admire the work our local Food Bank does in providing food for families. My scrapbook store is helping them by collecting food for babies (apparently this is an area that not many people think of when they are contributing to a food drive) and I had a blast in the babyfood aisle in Safeway. Doctors Without Borders is also getting a contribution from us this year--a well-run group providing essential services in places throughout the world. I am especially drawn to their work in Africa. I feel so helpless when I hear of the tragic events that have been much in the news this year and Doctors Without Borders has provided me with a way to help.

Decembear's Annual Trek

Welcome, Decembear!

Our favorite countdown to Christmas is hung. Decembear has already looked for Christmas in the sleigh (it wasn't there) and at the skating pond (cute little bear-ette, but no Christmas). He's checking the mailbox right now in hopes of finding some holiday. I don't think it would fit in there, myself--but then who would think a slightly overweight elf would regularly slide down the chimney? So...maybe.

We are getting in the holiday mood. Our Christmas lights looked wonderful in the crispy air tonight as we came home from a walk with Kharma. In fact, the whole neighborhood looked festive as each neighbor finds the time to unravel their string of lights and house by house. Looking for the Decembear wallhanging meant that all the boxes of Christmas paraphenalia had to be opened and searched. So as long as we had them unpacked, we decorated the whole house--fireplace, china cabinet, kitchen window, front door...well, you get the idea. Our whole house is red and green now!

Don't think that there is nothing more to do! I still haven't grabbed the odd items from the attic and the wreaths and Christmas star are still up high in the garage. They are on the list for tomorrow. And it will be a while before we go out and find a tree.

Having Decembear at the mailbox reminds me that I need to begin composing our annual holiday letter. Naturally we send it to let family and friends know what is happening in our life, but old versions have become a favorite tradition to re-read for a reminder of what life used to be when the boys were young. Cub scouts, violin recitals, band concerts, young fishermen and novice mountain bike racers, a parade of pets, vacations, both parent and kid sports--how wonderful to look back and realize how lucky we were although we may not have had to time to pause in the mad rush of parenting to reflect on our good fortune. How time has flown! So on this third day of December, our hope is that you have time to think about an earlier time and smile gently at your memories. Cheers!

Why didn't I put on my muffler?

Happiness is a warm house, a heavy jacket, gloves and a hat.

Temperatures rapidly switched from Indian summer to full-on winter during Thanksgiving vacation. Our day's have been in the 30s with icy breezes that swirl under coats, pants and collars. The mountain passes all require chains and deft driving around all the spinouts from the crazed SUV drivers who have no clue that there is a difference between steering and braking. We are expecting temps in the teens overnight. We've had little spits of snow for three days now. The smart folks put up their Christmas lights and decorations the day after a turkey dinner. It was relatively balmy and windless then. Now...let's just say we're in no rush to get those lights up.

Kids see it the process very differently. My kindergartners burst out of the classroom for recess today and screamed in delight, "Snow!" They didn't pay attention to the winds or the piercing cold; they were totally focused on the occasional snowflake that the weatherpersons reported as "lake effects snow" from Tahoe. And my favorite kindergarten quote for the day has to be, "It's a MIRACLE! I never even made a snowflake before!" from an astonished little girl unfolding her first-ever cut snowflake.

I'll welcome winter when it gets here because it won't be a cold as this change of season. We'll see snowy sparkling yards rather than a dusting of dry snow swirling along the sidewalks. We'll see neighbors shoveling driveways rather than deserted streets as we all huddle at home. We'll hear the excited yelling of children rather than gusting winds blasting against windows. It will be calm and peaceful even if it's also cold. And we'll be used to cooler temps and working in the yard when it's 35 degrees out, not huddling inside.

(I'm feeling a little guilty about leaving Kharma outside during the day while it alternately snows, sunshines, gusts, clouds--but my wonderful neighbor reports that the puppy takes it calmly and apparently ignores the weather while she plays in the yard.)

The Up Side

Indian summer leads to the first hard frosts. I'll spare anyone the photos, but it's so nice to have dog waste that is frozen solid. It doesn't stink, it doesn't stick to the grass, and it picks up nicely.

Hey, I'm just sayin'...

The Downside

There are many wonderful aspects of living with a dog. However, some things we could do without especially this occasionally rainy Autumn.

Rain, unlike snow, is wet.
Rain means a dog with muddy feet.

Rain, unlike snow, is not frozen.
Rain means soft soggy dog presents on the lawn.

Autumn is also called Fall for a good reason. There are leaves everywhere in our backyard, and if you don't keep them raked every day, then those soggy dog goodies are hidden.

Things hidden in leaves are easily stepped in and soggy things stick really well to shoes.

The family feels that puppies shouldn't be left out during the rain, even if they have a lovely dry doghouse. When puppies are left alone, even with toys galore, they find new things to play with. One rainy day, ours discovered toilet paper. This was a double roll--one of those wonderful rolls about 6 inches thick that just barely fit on the dispenser. Apparently those are the most fun to play with. We came home to find our downstairs bath looked like a freak blizzard had just roared through. Kharma looked very satisfied, entertained and ready for more fun!

We're so glad she doesn't mind being shut up alone.

Home Means Nevada

Home means Nevada.
Home means the hills.
Home means the sage and the pines.
Out where the Truckee's silvery rills,
Out where the sun always shines.
Home means the land that I love the best,
Fairer than all I can see.
Right in the heart of the Golden West
Home means Nevada to me.

Happy Nevada Day!

Well almost...it's technically the 31st of October, but certain misguided citizens voted a few years ago to designate the last Friday in October so as to get a three-day holiday. So Friday is the holiday, but Saturday is the parade in Carson and the 31st is a few days away...so I guess we can just regard it as one long party. I'm happy because it gives me more time to go around humming our state song!

Happy 143rd birthday to my favorite state. I'm proud to be a Nevadan.

Fourscore

I don't know the best way to celebrate a milestone birthday like Mom's 80th, but we did our best to make sure she enjoyed it. Pooh flew down from Portland and we drove up the Mt. Rose Highway to do a little sightseeing. Here's the birthday girl as we visited some aspen groves along the creeks. (We told her that the aspens were her birthday candles.) She sure doesn't look like she's 80!

Just having a family gathering was nice. We christened her new dining room with a birthday dinner. She may have made her own cake (guess she wanted to be ready!), but at least she let Pooh decorate it for her and she was surprised at the extra large birthday candles we found. There were balloons and flowers and long distance phone calls and gifts to open.

Happy Birthday!

Cinderella team

Here we are at the Fall Friendship Tournament this weekend. The Soccer Chicks had a roller coaster of a tournament. They got a hard-earned win on Saturday morning, then looked with disdain at the much-younger and much-shorter coed team later that afternoon and got their donkeys kicked as a result. So much talk, so many tears.

But one loss doesn't lose a tournament, so they put in a serious effort resulting in a win on Sunday morning and an advance to the championship game.

We tied the Championship game, went to overtime, and eventually a shootout. We had our most relaxed goalkeeper in the net and she saved penalty kicks time after time. Our best kickers shot hard and accurately. We could hardly believe we had won the division. So we all screamed and jumped up and down and thoroughly enjoyed ourselves.

We have a large trophy that is making the rounds of players' homes and each girl is wearing her medal with pride.

These girls have kept their spirits up and had fun even though they have lose our league games. They've kept working and had a great attitude. This tournament win was a surprise and an ego boost. They earned it and they deserved it. They earned their moment in the sun.

It went where?

Just today I remarked that this month was passing by way too fast. It's the twenty-second of September already! I just looked at the calendar...and found it's way worse than that!

It's the first day of Autumn.

I love the fall, but where did summer go? Just a week ago, we were still wearing sunblock and shorts in 90 degree weather. In the space of a heartbeat, the thermometer dropped, the sumac leaves began turning scarlet, and it's autumn.

Journal Jog #2

Last year, after a long summer of walking and talking, complaining and teasing, sore muscles and nice glutes, we ended the summer with our first-ever Journal Jog. The adrenaline kicked in and we stretched our leg muscles to their limit. The reward--we were thrilled to find we won silver medals in our team walk division. We all wondered why we'd never done the Journal Jog before--it's right in our neighborhood and we've lived here for ages. We had a ball and agreed to do it again.

Fast forward to last Saturday.

This is no time for modesty...with pride I can announce that our team kicked butt. We took 3 minutes off last year's time (okay, GinaMarie took 4 off her time, but then she's a teenager and therefore more fit even if she does complain more than the rest of us together). Yes, indeed, Carmelite Hill smoked the competition.

We now have gold medals to flaunt. Okay, they are tinier than last year's and look more bronze than gold, but they are indeed the celebration of friendship and triumph.

What's in store for next year's 40th running of the Jog? Well, we plan to actually train on the course for one thing. We will carry a stopwatch to check our splits. My personal goal is very ambitious. I want to do the 8K in an hour. That's a 12 minute mile, folks, and ya gotta be moving. And it would be nice if we all placed in our age groups.

I love my walking buddies. I'm grateful for all the laughter and support and the fun they
provide!

Best Friends

Remember when you used to be the center of the universe? Then your child grew old enough to want nothing more than to play with the kid down the street as many hours of the day as possible?

Turns out puppies do the same thing. Kharma will do anything to play with Echo. She hears her across the street and the whining and pawing and jumping and barking begins. If I make the mistake of opening the gate, she flies across the cul-de-sac as I give thanks yet again that we don't live on a busy street. If she's on leash, I'd better have a firm grip before my little freight train decides she wants to jump the track. Even our daily walks begin with her begging to go to Echo's house instead.

When they are together, they play till they drop. This photo was taken an hour and a half after they began their playdate in our backyard. That's how long it took for them to stay still for thirty seconds. About one minute later they had their second wind and were romping again.

In the park/pasture, they must run for miles as they either chase the frisbee or each other. Then they head for the black muck of the irrigation ditch for a refreshing drink and dip. Echo doesn't show the dirt, but Kharma can't just be hosed off, she actually has to be soaped clean before we can enjoy her white go-go boots yet again. And it frustrates me no end as she slurps a well-fermented slurry of cowpoop patty and nitrogen fertilized H-two-Oh. I don't really object to the patties; I think eating manure is a dog's inalienable right. It's more the idea that combine a little fuel oil with the nitrogen and you get a really nice explosion and here is my precious girl drinking it as well as splashing it all over her body. Makes me wonder why we shell out extreme amounts of money for a really high-quality, organic puppy food.

We're signing up for doggy classes although they don't start till later in October and we really could use them now. Perhaps we should just harness Kharma to a modern-day turnspit with Echo in front of her. We could undoubtedly generate enough electricity to run our house and Echo's too.

Mt. Rose

Yes, indeed, that's us with our friends on the tip top of Mount Rose at 10,776 feet!

The perfect September weather made for an excellent hike and even the breeze died down long enough on its notoriously windy summit for us to dine al fresco and enjoy the incredible 360 degree views.

It was worth the five steep switchbacks and the three long ones, the slippery talus slopes coming back down. On the positive side, the hike included the Galena waterfall halfway up as well as columbine and angelica and a chance meeting with three former neighbors also hiking to the summit.

We got to look down on Slide Mountain and the Chutes. Tahoe gleamed in the near distance. Peavine Mountain seemed so small that it took awhile before I realized what I was looking at. The Truckee Meadows seemed insignificant when viewed from such a height. We spied Mt. Lassen like a snowy mirage in the northwest.

What a perfect way to spend a day!

Pat and Vanna

If every cloud has a silver lining, does every old car have a gold one? Apparently!

The old blue car needed an expensive operation to cure its highway shakes. They knew they would have to go auto shopping this summer. But looking forward to car dealers about the way most of us also look forward to a root canal, they put it off until after their vacation.

That might have been a mistake, because then their late and unlamented white vehicle threw a temper tantrum (and a piston) when asked to accelerate uphill around a truck. The fix for that one would have been roughly the same amount as the resale value. That's exactly the news all of us want to hear when we're a whopping two hours into their much-needed two week vacation. (Must have been tempting to just turn around and go home instead of making a million adjustments so they could continue on and visit grandparents and The Mouse.)

So...whether they wanted to or not, they each had to shop for a reliable car when they returned home.

The result is the gold lining to their garage if not their bank balance.

Election Day and Three Moons

Gerald Ford is in the Mayo Clinic for tests. He is 93! That is seriously making me feel a little old since I remember him swinging a golf club while he was president.

The press loved it when his shots went astray (more frequently than he would have liked, I'm sure) and hit onlookers (who probably were not as thrilled as the press). Gee, doesn't that make you yearn for the good old days when politicians only had a club and golf ball, not a rifle and buckshot like Dick Cheney?

I'm positive that getting hit by a golf ball really hurts and I would hope that at least they saw it coming. But I think I'd rather take my chances on the golf course than anywhere near the VP when he has a gun in his hands. It's interesting that the two events got similar amounts of airtime. Of course, back then there was no War in Iraq (and Afghanistan) and maybe press fodder was scarce.

Anyway, think before you vote today!

Moving on to what I really wanted to blog about--the better part of getting a little older is that you get to be proud of your nieces and nephews!

We were so proud of Leelee when she donated money from her FFA lamb to the American Cancer Society last summer. It's only been this last year that so many friends have had cancer of one sort or another that it's a bit overwhelming and has revved up our support for cancer research--and here was our niece showing us the way all along.

This summer we have enjoyed watching the closing credits for the new show Three Moons over Milford because they show our nephew's name as production assistant. We know he worked really long hours, partly to do the best job he could and partly as a favor to a friend. Well done, JT.

You've both made us proud with your compassion and intelligence. (And yeah, now you've raised the bar and we expect even better things!)

The Incredible Flying Summer

You would think that when school ended for the summer, I would have more time to post happenings on the blog. Wrong!

We have kept busy and busier. OK, here comes the excuse...

My entire family was here and we have been preparing for the combined visits. We have dug, shovelled, carted, trenched, watered, sodded, glued, shelved, filled, unhinged, sawed, cleaned and sweated.

No! The inside of our house isn't that bad! That was all Grammy's brand-new, pristine, hard clay backyard.

We wanted her to have a nice place for all the family visits. So as soon as the paver hardscape was finally in place (after way too much waiting on the landscaper), we wheeled in 18 cubic yards of nice triple mix, dug up and moved untold wheelbarrows of clay filled with cobbles, gravel and assorted construction remnants, dug trenches for a new sprinkler system and installed said pipe, valves and sprinkler heads, laid sod for two nice lawn areas known as the kidneybean lawn and the lima bean lawn after their respective shapes, dug a pond and waterfall area and put in liner, pump and filter, watered everything (including ourselves as we were quite filthy by that time.)

Credit where credit is due. "We" includes Erkie and Miss Mandy, Pedro, my sweetie and the Grammy much more than she should have.

Having all her children and grandchildren here plus an assortment of significant others was a delight for the Grammy! It was great visiting, enjoying Pedro's barbecue expertise, admiring the new place, exchanging ideas on future projects, collecting landscaping rocks, watching the dogs and/or kids rough-house, and seeing how everyone has grown and changed. Kudos to all the grandkids for finding a way to be here--not easy with all the activities and jobs that young adults have. It says something wonderful about our family that it is important enough to get together that we will do whatever it takes.

Family, I love you all! I'm pooped, exhausted, out of gas, dog-tired, but I love you.

Lines and Circles

I have begun making my annual summer list of projects, both large and small. It has large things like "clean the garage" and small things like "pull weeds" and medium things like "prune pussywillow branches."

I've even started checking off some of those items. My shady corner in the backyard is now weed-free. I started with the tallest thistly-dandeliony things and worked down to weeds with yellow flowers disguised as octopi. I have no idea how the weeds became two feet tall or grew tendrils creeping into the mini-roses. Honest, I had it pretty well cleared out in early Spring! It is so bare after the snow melts that it is easy to see and attack the unwanted multitude. I can only guess that there were some seeds that germinated when my back was turned, or possibly some few uninvited guests were teensy and didn't get eliminated on my first pass. I'll admit that it's not perfect even now, but it's a lot better. I'm grateful for all the gloriosa daisies, feverfew, daylilies, sweet woodruff and violets that returned and shaded or choked out many of the intruders. It could have been a lot worse. This is only of the small items though.

The large items are not faring as well. Every time I begin on one of the major items, I get sidetracked. I'll head out to the garage to begin reorganizing so Kharma can eventually spend time without either endangering herself with bags of lawn fertilizer or making my gnash my teeth when I find chewed remnants of soccer gear. On my way out, I'll clean the coffee table and put another load of laundry in. I'll move two boxes into the car for transport to the SPCA Thrift Shop and find myself pruning the bearded iris that have finished blooming and watering the tomatoes. Then it's lunchtime and I never return to the garage.

Even worse, the list is not growing. I may need to have it surgically attached to my body so that every time I see a potential project as I cruise through the house, garden, or garage I can write it down. I know I'll never get lots accomplished unless I have possibilities written down. Lists keep me organized. They keep me focused. It worked last summer.

On the other hand, I have only two items on my daily do-it-for-myself list and I did them both today. I walked the trails for 45 minutes and it felt good. And I snacked on yummy strawberries and blueberries.

I also accomplished some training time with Kharma. She almost has the dead-dog pose down when I point my finger and say "bang!" Isn't that an awful trick to teach the cutest pup in the world?! Her new favorite toy is the box from my two-pack of Costco milk. I literally choked on my saliva when I looked up from weeding and saw her cavorting across the yard wearing it on her head. Oh my!

Bittersweet

School is out. I am officially on vacation. I need this time to unwind and I deserve every free minute of it. My watch is hiding in a drawer, the alarm clock is off, I've stashed the school teacher clothes in a box and broke out all the shorts, tees and tanks. I'm making a list of a million fun things I want to do. I am one happy camper!

But. (Why is there ALWAYS a but? Why can't life just be simple?) As I was saying. But, all this comes with a price: I had to let all my precious kindergarten babies grow up into first graders. I try to console myself. Yes, I'll get to see them next year at recess. Yes, they'll come back and visit us. But (again!), it'll never be the same. I'll never have those lovely smiling faces each day. They will grow tall and lose more teeth and learn to read and practice jump-rope and learn new songs and improve their handwriting and add new journal entries and I won't be there to enjoy every second of it.

Why can't those adorable little babies who enter our classroom each September turn into gangly, evil-tempered brats that we would be glad to see leave? Instead I looked around with only ten more minutes of kindergarten left and thought that they were just as cute on Day 180 as they were on Day 1.

It doesn't help to know that next September a whole new crop of younguns will arrive and steal my heart again.

I love you, boys and girls! I miss you already! I feel as sad as Nikki's monkey.

The Casita

Pierre is getting settled into a new place. He is sharing a newer house with his significant other and her daughter. Although he'd been dreaming for nearly a year about place with a garage that he didn't have to share with a million roommates (all of whom would borrow and lose his tools), he'd been so busy that he never seemed to be able to find a housemate. Recently he needed to find a place quickly and unexpectedly, and his girlfriend really wanted a house, so they combined their resources and found a place close to her parents and the school.

It seems to be working out well for them. He doesn't have a good track record when living with girlfriends, but he warned her beforehand...at least he has his communication skills up and running! He's finding out that he is saving money by living here and he has dreams of a down payment on a place of his own sometime soon.

He is loving his two-car garage. He has so many projects going--car, wordworking, yard--that he makes good use of the space. He brings home work and now has an office in which he can spread out (as opposed to a basement bedroom that was cramped at best).

As you can see, Dee has really worked to acquire some furniture and make their space into a home. And little Ally is enjoying a very cute little bedroom all to herself.

We hope they continue to enjoy their new nest, new neighbors, and new lifestyle together!

Street Legal

Kharma is 15 weeks old now and we wake up in the mornings and wonder how she managed to grow overnight! We've let the collar out 2 notches and her paws now look almost small compared to the long legs that have arrived.

Best of all, she got her last puppy shot almost a week ago. We have been so busy now that she can go anywhere.

She has had a zillion walks around the neighborhood (and is doing great on the leash). She has had her first couple puppy playdates with our neighbor, Echo, who was a teensy puppy at this time last year and has matured into a large friendly lab. Kharma wasn't too sure about this very large dog at first (and neither was her over-protective mom), but we have both relaxed. Echo seems to know the limits with a younger pup and Kharma just loves playing with her. I enjoy watching them.

Home Depot is another favorite spot. We get dog cookies from the lady at the return counter and lots of petting. It's fun talking with other dog people and like any proud parents, we are happy to chat about the apple of our eye.

Maybe the most fun was taking her to soccer practice. She was so good about not jumping up on the girls and not using her mouth on any hands. She came when I called so that I eventually felt comfy letting her off leash. She decided that scrimmaging was the most fun ever as she chased the ball all over and pretty much outran and outmaneuvered my girls. In return, the girls were fabulous with her.


I will hate to see the school year end, but I'm happy that there are only 3 more days and then I can spend my days with Kharma.