Virus- Free At Last

Thanks to a lovely lady in India, after 7 hours total of tech support ( not kidding!) I am finally virus-free, and the computer is up and running again. Just in time to go to Turkey! I'm not ready yet. Ack!

The Last Summer (of You & Me)

I am taking a short break from organizing our closet, while DH is out doing a side security job. He dragged out everything that was so tightly packed in there since we moved in in December, after we found a moldy leather belt. Stuff is strewn all over the bedroom in a manner to best take advantage of the day's sunshine and wind. Now, I have to sensibly put it all away, and get back to organizing my stuff. Tomorrow, or maybe later tonight when he gets home, we'll start packing suitcases. So many decisions to make when you're leaving for a month. One suitcase just for gifts and hand-me-downs. What to take, what goes together, what do I still have to buy? Don't want to take too much, don't want to get stuck without something I can't buy there...

sigh...

And so, I spent 20 minutes reading the beginning of Ann Brashares' The Last Summer (of You & Me), loaned to me yesterday by DD, for the trip. I didn't want to save it totally for the airplane, just in case I didn't like it. But I do. So, now I am forcing myself to stop reading it and putting it on the "carry-on" pile. So far, it gets a thumbs-up from me. I'll keep ya posted.

Happy July

I haven't blogged in awhile. So much has been happening. The college year and school year came to a successful close, Little Sir graduated from kindergarten, DH, No. One Son and DD are busy with summer work and I am joyfully not working, except for a few private summer music students.

The evening of the last day of school, June 29, we started work on the house. Serious work. We had been doing little jobs on the weekends, as we could, redoing the kitchen step by step, installing ceiling fans in the bedrooms, shopping for supplies for summer construction. The family has pitched in as they could. Now the big stuff starts. DH is going to be ripping out the kitchen floor and laying a new one. Various contractors are coming with estimates and we're doing prep work and as much as we can on our own. Ripping up the wall-to-wall carpet was a chore, to say the least, but now the hall has clean hardwood floors, and freshly repaired and painted walls. The carpet is removed in the living room, and work has begun there as well. The sliding glass door will be replaced, and the flooring repaired where condensation and termites have taken their toll. The front of the house is getting a facelift, too.

Getting a mortgage was enough. We don't need another loan for home improvement (although that was offered...no more loans, thank you!) So, we've been really careful, spending lots of time researching options, what's the best flooring, kitchen choices, etc., seeing what we can do ourselves, what we can afford to hire out. The big thing is getting all the decisions made and prep work that require me, because Little Sir and I are going away for a month, leaving DH and my dad (Papa) here in the construction zone.

I am going to attempt another travel blog on our trip to Turkiye, but I may not be near a computer as much as last trip. We are planning to go to Istanbul, where you fly in, and stay with family for a few days, then with DH's mom (Baba-anne), grandmother (Yeter-anne), sister (Fatma), and a few others, we are headed to the village where the family originally came from. (They're not really city people. DH's parents came to Istanbul when they got married.)

When Little Sir was born, DH's father celebrated by building a house on the family property in their village. We were supposed to go see it last trip, but he was not feeling well enough to take us. (After we returned to the States, his health took a turn for the worse and he eventually died that August, saddening us all.) This will be our first opportunity to visit. Everyone tells us it's in a beautiful place, with a mountain stream flowing through the property, deep enough for wading and swimming, with fish ready for the taking. Little Sir is looking forward to lots of cousin-time, playing there at the new house and getting in lots of hours playing soccer.

5 more days to get the house-planning and prepping done, paperwork squared away, life-stuff to deal with, as well as our trip-shopping and packing. And then, we're off!

Delaware

DH and I just realized we are both off, unexpectedly, for 3 days...that SAME 3 days. Amazing. This has not happened in a really long time. So, what are we to do? Work on the house? NO!!! Get caught up on real life stuff, erranding, etc.? NO!!!

We need to get away, DH, Little Sir and I, someplace where we can just BE, relax, have fun, enjoy each other, have no responsibilities or stresses, no work-related issues, someplace a little warmer than here, but not too far to drive.

DH is thinking Delaware, but neither of us has really been there. I've driven through on my way to D.C., but not stayed there, ever. Never even eaten a meal there, I don't think. Been doing a little net surfing, and so far have only come up with the Great Delaware Kite Festival, which sounds interesting.

So, dear Blogworld...does anyone have any ideas? Someplace good for a 5-year-old, too? Not too pricey, not too fancy. Please respond.

Tired of the Virus Cycle

Ugh! I have spent most of the past winter fighting one virus after another with Little Sir. The last one went on and on and on...and the doctors? Don't get me started.

The on-call ped. ""No point in bringing him in. It sounds viral, so just give him Motrin/Tylenol..."

ER dr. "After 4 days of 104, should be on antibiotic...prob. strep...we'll do a culture...also bloodwork for cocsachi, mono, etc., follow up on tonsillitis."

ENT: "Def. not tonsillitis. Yes, they're really enlarged with white spots, but that's just 'debris'"("debris?!??") "Culture's pos. for strep...here's a diff. antibiotic."

Ped: After 7 days 104 fever "Yay! It's not strep!" (but the ENT said it was and we're on another antibiotic.) "Ok, come in."

Ped. After 8 days 104 fever, "Yes, you do need to see someone else..." hook up to Infectious Diseases.

Inf. Dis. "Well...it wasn't strep. Never should've been on antiobiotics..." (after 3 rounds of that)..."prob. mono, but you're past the worst of it now , anyway. After 2 days fever-free can go back to schl. No recess or PE, tho', for a few weeks. Keep following up with Ped for liver/spleen check."


Are we done yet?

On the upside...we've been fever free for over a week now, he's eating again...lost about 7 lbs, ane when you're barely 44 lbs. to start with, and underweight, this isn't a good thing.

It's spring. I declare Health reigns!

IRS

After struggling with a computer program to do my taxes, determined not to spend $500 to pay someone to do them for me, I ended up at the IRS office. I have found the workers there to be very helpful, patient, understanding...real people!

I recommend that if you are not sure of what to do, or have any questions at all, trot on down there to the Riverhead office. I'm sure you'll be glad you did!

My Life Really Is In The Middle

When I first called this blog "Life in the Middle," I meant because I am chronologically in the middle of my family. But lately, it is abundantly clear to me that I am the only one who understands the separate people in this family of mine...I can empathize, sympathize, see each one's point of view. But none of them seem to see each other's point of view. I feel like I am the hub of a wheel, with each spoke facing in a different direction, only joined by me.

It ain't easy bein' a hub.

All Moved In - Sort Of

Well, it's been awhile, but I think it's ok to take a minute and blog.

We are all moved in...sort of. If you can say that sleeping in a bedroom that's freshly repaired, spackled, painted and very clean, yet with suitcases and assorted storage containers piled up "moved in", then we are.

So much has been accomplished, yet there's so much still to do.

So, how did you spend your Christmas vacation away from school?

We spent ours MOVING!

And I think it's safe to say we'll spend the February break UNPACKING and trying to settle in.

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas, dear Blogworld! I am so happy to have a day off from moving!
We did our annual family dinner on Christmas Eve, which is just the way I like it, allowing little
people the chance to play with new things in relaxation, not amidst scurryings to get ready for
something.

I have hauled a ton of stuff curbside, and am hoping the town's gonna do the Friday pick up
tomorrow. I still have some stuff at my dad's for sale if anybody's interested:
waterbed $100
upright piano $200
30' Silverton cabin cruiser $200

and, in Calverton
full size schoolbus converted into an RV...absolutely perfect inside, outside needs work. Please come and buy this severely reduced baby so we can move! No reasonable offer refused!

Merry, Merry, Christmas to one and all,

and a Happy Hanukkah, too.

Cleaning, Sorting, Blah Blah Blah

So, I'm trying to get ready for the Big Move. Yuck. I absolutely hate moving. As if December doesn't have enough going on, already. I wish I could just fast-forward to the first week of February, and all this was just a memory of great success!

You never realize how many things you save, until you look at those things and say, "In my deepest heart of hearts, is this thing worth packing and moving and then finding a new place for?" As a teacher, I do accumulate a lot of stuff, all to be used for school projects. I also have 3 sets of encyclopedias. One set we actually bought for No. One Son many eons ago, and two I inherited when another school was throwing them out. (I just can't stand to see good books thrown away.) So, I've decided to regift them to the school I'm currently working in. (I recall a 4th grade teacher recently bemoaning to me their lack thereof...so...Happy Holidays, Mrs. M., hear ya go! The last set will be used for my students.)

My goal today, after I'm done with a mountain of paperwork I am currently taking a break from, is to fill up two big garbage cans outside with non-give-awayable stuff. There shall be freebies on the curb soon, too.

ok

back to work

sigh

Again?

So, yeah, I'm whining again. About precipitation, again. I know we need rain for all the various reasons, but a big chunk of my day is spent outdoors, schlepping from building to building on our campus. I have been soaked to the skin repeatedly. My shoes all look like the dog chewed on them, I'm getting an earache from the wind pounding me on that side, and my hair??? I'm trying to remember the last Good-Hair Day I had. So, yes, I am thankful we don't have drought, and that it's not hail or sleet, or feet of snow, but...


sigh...

I'm sorry, I'm just so tired of being soggy and cold.


brrrr

Precipitation

Ummm...

Can we please knock it off with the precipitation, already? I left the house this morning in snow, which turned to hail, then rain, then sleet, then rain again...oh, no...sleet...back and forth, back and forth...driving with the wipers on, with the defroster on...getting soggier with every stop...

I'm tired of walking around in soggy clothes and squishy shoes.

Just sayin'...

Thanksgiving

Happy Thanksgiving, everybody.

I am feeling very bittersweet pangs on the morning of this, our last Thanksgiving in this house. In the middle of complex issues, we will be moving very soon...less than 20 miles away, but a move is a move. This little house has been a godsend to us in so many ways. A blessing. As annoyed as I got with its 100-year-old issues, the good has far outweighed the bad.

I am thankful for my little family, and my extended one. We have weathered many storms of late, and have survived.

I am thankful that I have successfully entered my new career field and become gainfully employed, and that I have gone from student to teacher, both K-12 and college.

I am thankful for my health, and that of most of my family.

I am thankful for the many friends, contacts, and resources that have been here to help during recent crises.

And I am thankful for the food in my kitchen, ready to share with loved ones.

Happy Thanksgiving, one and all!

Forgiveness

I am currently dealing with a complicated and complex family issue which is consuming 'way too much of my time, energy and resources. Got an email from an old friend that, along with co-miserating, suggested that this season of my life might be a time used for dealing with forgiveness...of issues that go back many many years.

And, I agree.

But I find that forgiveness is a process, not a one-time act. And, for me, there seem to be layers, like with an onion. You deal with one forgiveness issue, and then a memory pops up, which presents its own bitterness baggage, and I must face and forgive that incident, that thing that created specific problems, started dominoes falling...and then, SMACK!, there's another memory of another incident that requires forgiveness, which leads to another layer...and so on...and so on.

And, I find this whole process rather uncomfortable.

Just thought I'd share.

Still Alive

Yikes! It's been a whole month since I've posted. Doesn't feel that long. Life is just zipping by.

Been absolutely swamped with family paperwork issues...I hate this, dread this...taxes and forms for all kinds of things, that shoulda been done a while ago, but I kept putting off...appointments for things I don't want to deal with. Yuck. It's a full-time job trying to do this part of my life, on top of the 1 1/2 full-time jobs I already have!

And, thanks to new medical benefits (yay!) we are all going to lots of doctor appointments for things that have been put off 'til we could afford it. (How do you say, "I love my new root canal?" like you mean it?)

Misprint

For some very odd reason, the title last posted here for my blog, on NorthForkBloggers, came from a partial blog-post I never finished and never posted...and the last one I did post, on The Shoe Books, never showed up on NFB. If you click on the misprint title, you get told it doesn't exist.

Very odd. Very, very odd.

So, sorry for this misprint. Please read about the Shoe books, and comment!

The Shoe Books

Ever since I saw You've Got Mail (the first time) I've wanted to check out the "shoe" books. Remember the part of the movie, after Meg Ryan's character has already lost her little bookstore to the big Barnes and Noble-type, where's she's just browsing around, like a customer and ends up in the children's section? A customer asks one of the sales-kids (who has no knowledge of anything bookish whatsoever) about the "shoe books," and Meg pipes up with the author and the titles.

Well, I finally got to them, I don't know how many years later. (I love that movie, and I've seen it several times.) Even tho' I am still plowed under with necessary reading for my school jobs, I just had to squeeze them in.


So far, I have read Noel Streatfield's Ballet Shoes and Theater Shoes. (Sorry, I can't figure out how to underline these titles with this program.) I got them through interlibrary loan, of course, and you can, too! I am waiting for Dancing Shoes to come in, but I expect it to be just as lovely as the first two.

I recommend these books particularly for girls (altho' Theater Shoes could be for a boy,) probably between the ages of 8-13, depending upon reading ability. They're really good stories, intelligent, and moral without being preachy, if you know what I mean.

j-m's rating: **** (4 stars!)

:)

Ahhh - Choo!

I have been sneezing and sniffling and itchy-eyed for days. I thought I was sick with an early cold, but then bumped into a few people (and, quite literally "bumped" into them...my head is in such a fog I can't think straight) who are complaining about their allergies. And since the roof of my mouth and my eyes are so itchy, it must be allergies. But I don't usually get allergies now. What's up with this?

And I apologize to everyone to whom I have been excessively cranky (particularly those closest to me), and I'd like to say that I'm as disappointed as everyone else that our lovely plans got ruined (by more than just the allergies.) And I would like to apologize to the poor drivers stuck behind me for the past few days. I keep forgetting where I'm going, and practically veer off the road when in the middle of a sneezing fit.

I would like to thank Kleenex for their generous support, and would like to tell all the pharmaceutical companies that they really need to get their collective act together and make a product that will remove the effects of allergies without making one into a zombie.

And I would like to know why I left my wallet home when I went out to the store on an errand that absolutely had to be run and which I absolutely did not want to go on. I knew, when I took my wallet out of my purse, to check my library card for the phone number of the library, that it was a stupid thing to do, and that I would end up forgetting my wallet, which I NEVER do, and leave it on the computer desk...which is exactly what I did. As soon as I pulled into the parking lot of said errand-destination, I realized the wallet was home. And realized, forthwith, that my pockets were empty, there was no hidden change in the little pockets of my purse, and the cupholder was empty as well. With a deep sigh of frustration (for now I had no time to re-run the errand, which I had barely time to complete as it was), I headed back home. And, as soon as I pulled into the driveway, I realized that I had a bank envelope in my purse containing $30 cash, which would have been plenty of money for the errand-running.

Sigh.

Just thought I'd share.

Sniff.

Statue of Liberty

Ok, little Readership, whoever you are...

I am looking for info and can't find it on the huge Web. I want to see if the Statue of Liberty will be open on Columbus Day. I'm assuming it closes on holidays.

Anybody know or can help???

More Farm Outings

D.H., Little Sir and I tried to go peach picking at Davis 2 weeks ago, but the crowds were insane! By the time we got through the lines, they'd closed the U-pick peach orchard, and had the next section roped off. Those weren't ready yet. We coulda picked plums, but we figured out the price per pound and it was definitely NOT worth it. Plus, it was just wall-to-wall people. Sort of puts a cramp in that whole going-to-the-farm feeling.

So, since we'd had our hearts set on picking, we decided to find SOMETHING to pick. We settled on a smaller farm which had tomatoes, eggplants and peppers $1 a pound. We had a great time, and there were lots of varieties...much more than we'd planted in our garden, which is pretty much done for the season, with the exception of a few tomato stragglers who will be used as fried green tomatoes (mmmmm!) The cherry tomatoes were especially yummy, and have kept well in the fridge. Still haven't used up all of the eggplants, but the bigger tomatoes have been turned into sauces and soups.

But I keep thinkin' about those peaches. I really wanted to pick a big basketful and make compote and things. Think there're any peaches left on trees around here? I think we'll try again.