July 4th Kickoff

You don't need a calendar to know it's coming up on July 4th weekend on the lake. All the signs are present:

-- for the last few nights, we've heard sporadic fireworks from all around us. Everyone's gearing up for the big night.

-- tonight, on a Thursday, there were as many boats buzzing by at sunset as there usually are on a typical Sunday afternoon.

-- our little lane is busy with cars going in and out of our peninsula. There are only a few of us who live on this lane year-round, and about 75% of the houses are occupied on a summer weekend. But on the 4th, everyone's here.

This weekend, we'll hear the sounds of boats non-stop, our dock will rock in the waves like it's on an ocean, we'll probably hear a boat siren or two as the lake police try to keep drunken boaters off the water, and there will be fireworks everywhere you can see.

I have a love-hate relationship with the Fourth on the lake. I love the feel of a hot summer day, I love cooking out (of course, we do this several times a week so it's not just a July Fourth thing), I love seeing all the American flags flying by all the docks around the lake, it's nice to sit on our porch and watch fireworks all around, and yes, I do love going out on the boat around 9:00 pm to get a good view of the big fireworks show a couple of coves over.

But we don't go anywhere near the water at other times on the weekend of the Fourth. Taking a boat on that bumpy water is too much like punishment, especially our little boat. You can't enjoy a ride, and you certainly can't ski or tube, so we don't invite friends over that day, either. For full-time lake dwellers, July Fourth weekend is the time you almost want to leave town.

I guess it's kind of like folks who live in Augusta, GA who leave town during Master's Week. A lot of folks even rent out their homes to pay for their own week away. Hmmmm.... there's a thought....

San Francisco

Well, we're home! We had a terrific time sightseeing and walking around that beautiful city. We were struck by how much there is to do there! Here are some of the highlights from our trip.

First, we flew Southwest Airlines, on buddy passes. Let me just say, trying to get 4 people all the way across the country on buddy passes in the summer is an adventure in itself. We all got bumped from our first choice flight to Phoenix, and ended up going to Chicago instead. Once there, we were split into 2 groups with My Girl and me going to LA and then to SF, and My Man and My Boy going to Albuquerque, then to LA and then to SF. We left our home at 8:30 eastern time that morning, and arrived in our hotel room at 11:30 Pacific time -- that's right, 2:30 am eastern time. But we were grateful for the passes, and the folks at all the ticket counters were terrific. I highly recommend Southwest's customer service. They all went way out of their way to help us get where we needed to go.

In fact, things were looking doubtful for our getting out of SF on Saturday at all, but thanks to a group that was (no lie!) trying to smuggle in a small dog, we got to board at the very last second. We have no idea how they got that dog past security, but there it was in the line to board!

On day 1, here's what we did:

-- we decided to rent a car so we could go wherever & whenever we wanted. I'm glad we did that. Part of the time we drove the "49 mile Scenic Drive" route. That's a great way to do a self-guided tour that hits all the good spots.

-- we couldn't get the line out of our heads from "Elf" where Buddy meets a guy named Francisco at his dad's office. "Francisco! That's fun to say -- Francisco!"

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-- our first stop was the Japanese Tea Garden at Golden Gate Park. These gardens were gorgeous, and the weather that day was perfect. We had tea and cookies at the outdoor Tea House. As we were sitting at a counter overlooking a pond, sipping our tea and munching our cookies, we were shocked by a bold squirrel who just walked right up and took a sesame cookie out of our bowl! It was so funny, because we all just sat there in shocked silence and watched him do it, without realizing what he had done until it was too late! He sat in a tree not 4 feet away from us and munched happily on that cookie until it was all gone. And then, yes it's true, he came right back again. This time, I snatched the bowl away, but that pesky squirrel grabbed the sesame cookie right out of My Girl's fingers! He knew exactly what type of cookie he wanted, because he got the same kind both times, and left us alone once all of those were gone. The Tea Garden was the second-favorite thing we did on our trip.

-- next, we drove to the Ocean Beach and saw Seal Rocks and Cliff House. We ate a late lunch at a Mediterranean restaurant in the Marina district. We drove through several areas, including Presidio and Pacific Heights, and then took a short visit to the gorgeous hiking trail area at the base of the Golden Gate Bridge. We decided not to walk out on the bridge that day because of the thick fog, but we did drive across it and through Sausalito. We spent the rest of the afternoon driving around places like Lombard Street ("crookedest street") and Coit Tower. We finished the day at Ghiradelli Square with hot fudge sundaes from Ghiradelli's and cupcakes from Kara's.

-- the highlight of the trip was the tour we took Thursday morning to Alcatraz. My Girl was secretly dreading this, but even she said later that it was the best part of the week. So interesting! My Boy bought a book while there that he's been reading non-stop ever since, and My Girl is trying to be patient for her turn with it. Today, they rented the movie "Escape From Alcatraz" to watch later tonight!

-- after Alcatraz, we walked to Chinatown and ate lunch at Brandy Ho's Hunan restaurant. It was very good, but oh so hot & spicy. I ordered "mild" but around the places I'm used to, that would have been "medium" or "hot". We shopped some and ventured into a Chinese bakery. We did NOT make good selections at the bakery. Ick. I can't remember what they were called, or I would tell you and warn you. Just remember, if you go to an authentic Chinese bakery, it's not Krispy Kreme ;-) Thursday night we went to the Asian Art Museum to see the "Lords of the Samurai" art exhibit.

-- Friday morning we drove to Muir Woods and saw the awesome Ocean Redwoods. We hiked around the Cathedral path, and that was probably my favorite part. Just beautiful. If only there hadn't been so many people, but I guess you can't help that.

-- on the drive back from Muir Woods we stopped at a roadside stand where a fellow was selling almonds, plums, cherries, and apricots that were out of this world. So that's what really fresh, huge plums taste like! mmmmmm.....

-- from there, we went to Japantown for lunch. We had sushi, tempura, and teriyaki dishes. We drove around a little more, and then My Boy requested one more visit to Ghiradelli Square for another hot fudge sundae. He said those were his trip highlights :-) After our sundaes we walked to Pier 39 and watched the sea lions for awhile, and then it was back to the hotel.

It was a great trip, and we all had a terrific time but now we're all exhausted! It was a fun 5 days!

Here's a slide show of our photos, in case you're really interested :-)

Simple Woman's Daybook

FOR TODAY (June 22, 2009)...

Outside my window... Hot!! The sky is clear, but there's a vague haze already at 7 in the morning. I'm watching another house finch building another nest in one of my ferns on the porch. This is family #6 in houseguests born at our home this spring. The most recent, another set of house finches in a different fern, said goodbye to their fledglings over the weekend. I could hear them chirping words of encouragement all morning last Friday.

I am thinking... about our trip tomorrow to San Francisco. We're flying out with 4 "buddy passes" so I just hope we all get to board the plane and actually get out there (and back).

I am thankful for... those buddy passes. What a blessing they are to us -- vacation probably wouldn't have happened this summer without this generous gift from a church member.

From the learning rooms... Summer break has finally arrived. ahhhhhh....

From the kitchen... nothing happening right now. I need to get some coffee going, though. Dinner tonight, probably burgers on the grill. I don't want to heat up the house cooking!

I am wearing... pink flowered pj pants and a t-shirt from a youth retreat my kids went on last summer. The theme of the retreat last year was "God Most High -- the Musical." My kids won't wear these shirts in public, though, because the design of the words makes it look just like it says "High School Musical," and no thinking teenager would be caught dead in something that could be mistaken for that.


I am creating... piles of laundry to be folded as we get ready for packing tonight. I hope no visitors show up today -- there's no where to sit. The couches are covered in clothes!

I am going... to San Francisco tomorrow! (did I mention that?)

I am reading... books on, can you believe it, San Francisco! I'm trying to plan a loose itinerary. Our plan is to cover the west-side stuff (Golden Gate bridge, Golden Gate Park) on Wednesday, the east-side stuff (North Beach, Chinatown, Fisherman's Wharf, Alcatraz) on Thursday, and rent a car and go to Muir Woods and Point Reyes National Seashore on Friday. Then we're supposed to fly back home on Saturday.

I am hearing... the gurgle of the coffeemaker. I did get that coffee started a minute ago :-) Also, I can hear the clothes tumbling in the dryer.

Around the house... My Girl and My Boy are still sleeping soundly. I expect My Girl to arise first, probably any minute (it's 7:30 now), and I'll probably have to awaken My Boy around 10:30 or 11:00.

One of my favorite things... The Closer. I just love that show. It comes on tonight at 9. If you like strong Southern women with a weakness for chocolate, you'll like Brenda. Just try to overlook Kyra Sedgewick's southern accent. Very few actors can get it right, and she's no exception.

A few plans for the rest of the week... I think I've already bored you enough about our plans for this week :-)

Here is a picture thought I am sharing... Here's a picture of My Man with his buddy Princess. We had a nice Father's Day yesterday. Believe it or not, this was the first Father's Day *ever* for my kids to have him home with them all day. He's usually long gone on Father's Day Sunday mornings by the time they awaken (he's a pastor, remember, and he likes to get to church long before anyone else so he can get his thoughts together), but this year he's on vacation. It was so nice! No special breakfast, though (see My Boy's sleeping habits, above). We had a nice lunch of his favorite Wilted Spinach Salad, then we all went to see Up at the matinee.






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Back from the Mountains

We just got back from spending a couple of days in the mountains. My Man, who is a United Methodist pastor, attends the UMC Annual Conference every June in Lake Junaluska, west of Asheville. Sometimes we go with him, and go play while he goes to meetings.

This year we went up on Thursday afternoon, spent all day Friday playing, and then came home Saturday morning. We had fun!

First thing Friday morning, we drove through Haywood County and onto the Blue Ridge Parkway en route to our hiking spot. Here are some of the scenes from the overlooks we passed: (btw, you can click on any of these photos to enlarge them)









We went to Graveyard Fields Trail to go hiking. It's called Graveyard Fields because, well, you can read about it here if you click on the picture to enlarge:



This trail is listed as "easy", and it really is. The loop totals 3.1 miles, all at a very slight grade. You get to see & climb on two sets of falls, and walk a nice hike following a stream. There are gobs of wild blackberry bushes in bloom now, and wild blueberry bushes that they say are in fruit in the fall.

These are pictures from the first set of falls we saw, called "Second Falls" :-) They aren't really big, but they are nice for climbing on. I was sort of in the middle of the falls, so my pictures of the falls themselves aren't very impressive.









Here are some pictures of the hike:





And these are from the second set of falls, called "Upper Falls". If you'll click on these, you'll see My Girl and My Boy had climbed up to the base of the big falls to put their heads under the water.












After we finished our hike, we drove on to Sliding Rock. The kids had fun here, even with the frigid water temperature!











And we finished up at Looking Glass Falls. My Boy went swimming at the base of the falls, but My Girl had had enough cold mountain water by this point.





This was a terrific day -- just enough exertion and just enough water fun. We can't wait to go back!

Simple Woman's Daybook

FOR TODAY (June 8, 2009)...

Outside my window... It looks to be a beautiful day. The water is so still it looks like glass. A couple (man & woman, middle aged) on a fishing boat drifted past this morning -- they were as quiet as the morning. It was 6:30 when they went past my house. I wonder what time they got started?

I am thinking... how blessed I am to be able to have my quiet time and a cup of coffee on my porch overlooking the lake.

I am thankful for... my friend Carol, who offered me a project -- painting her office. What a blessing that was -- getting to do something fun, and getting paid for it to boot!

From the learning rooms... My Man and I have been taking the Dave Ramsey Financial Peace University class at our church. We're most of the way through it, and we have learned so much. The words "financial peace" have much meaning for me, and this course is allowing me to finally have some! I recommend it for anyone. It has given me information and techniques that may be common sense, but I never knew a lot of it. Even more, Dave's upbeat presentations are not only entertaining, but so motivating. He really makes you believe you're going to be just fine, and even wealthy in the future. We've got a plan to be debt-free (except for the house) by this time next year.

From the kitchen... I smell coffee brewing. Plans for dinner tonight are spaghetti and salad.

I am wearing... Old blue & white pj pants that used to belong to My Man, with a pink Land's End pj top. My toenails are bright red :-)

I am creating... lesson plans for TOG next year. I'm giving Homeschool Tracker Plus another try this year. I used it somewhat this year, to keep track of attendance and reading lists, plus My Boy's assignments. But I only entered them after the fact. This year I'm trying to enter all the assignments this summer and save them so I'll have them for My Girl when she gets to this point in a few years. I think I'm about done with TOG assignments, now I'm deciding if/how to enter the other subjects.

I am going... to paint Carol's office in about an hour. I've got to waken My Girl, because she wants to help me so she can earn a little summer money, too.

I am reading... the book of Revelation. I don't think I've ever sat down and read the whole thing -- it's always intimidated me. I don't usually get symbolism. I'm very black and white -- just tell me what you want me to know, don't make me have to infer meaning from symbols! I always failed at that in high school english :-) But I'm taking a few days to just read it through, without a commentary, to see what God wants me to learn.

I am hearing... only the ticking of the clock and the whir of my laptop fan. I love this time of morning.

Around the house... there is still a pile of sleeping bags in the great room, from My Girl's birthday sleepover Saturday night.

One of my favorite things... tomato sandwiches made with garden-ripe tomatoes, Duke's mayonnaise, salt & pepper, on white bread. Heaven! and my tomato plants look really great right now. They've got some blooms, at least. I was late setting them out, and I'm trying out container gardening this year. I put my plants on the deck, in full sun, hoping the deer and bunnies won't have the nerve to climb the steps to eat my bounty this year.

A few plans for the rest of the week... The first half of the week I'll paint Carol's office, then on Thursday I'll take the kids and go to Lake Junaluska to join My Man. He's up there the last half of the week for Annual Conference, a yearly meeting of Methodist pastors from western NC. Lake Junaluska is in a beautiful area of the mountains, and we'll go up for a day or so to enjoy a hike and play in the streams.

Here is a picture thought I am sharing... These are pictures from My Girl's party. She's 13 this month!












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Checking In

I saw my sister yesterday, and she said it was high time I updated my blog. It's been nearly a month since my last entry!

So what have I been doing all this time?

* traveling to speech & debate tournaments. My posting really slowed down once tournament season started. We traveled to Acworth GA, Raleigh NC, and Fayetteville GA within about 5 weeks of each other, missing 4 days of school with each tournament. Of course, those days *counted* as school, but subjects like math, writing, and science suffered. So we've been trying to catch up in those areas while trying to just keep up with our TOG reading schedule. We love speech & debate here, and I will go to my dying days believing in the huge positives of the activity, but there's no denying it's tough finding the balance. We need to do a better job planning ahead for the busy-ness of the early spring.

* traveling to Brosnan Forest. My dear brother-in-law works for Norfolk Southern Railway, and that company owns a huge forested resort in SC near Charleston called Brosnan Forest. During the winter months it is used as a hunting preserve for company meetings and entertaining clients; during the spring & summer months it is available to employees to vacation there. Wesley reserves the largest cabin (sleeps 24!) every other spring for a large family vacation time. Word "cabin" is used very loosly here -- don't picture camping or hardship! It is more like a log hotel, with every amenity except room service. Satellite tv, free wifi, all linens provided. Then in the resort itself, there is a pool, lots of stocked fishing ponds, skeet shooting, tennis, badminton, golf, and unbelievable wildlife. We watched a family of bald eagles all week. It was amazing! Even though we were so behind in school from all the debate travel, do you think I would turn down this opportunity? No way! Of course I took all the school books with us. How much schooling do you think got done? You're right -- not much. So that was another week out of school.

* Curriculum selling & shopping. Yes, that's right -- it's that time of year again. Time for plowing through catalogs & sell/swap boards online looking for school books for next year. And writing up ads for books I have that I need to sell in order to have money to buy books for next year. And packaging up books I sold. And driving to and from the post office to ship them out. And standing in line at said post offices. (I've already bought one book twice. Ug. Now I have another one I need to sell!)

* Neatening up my flower beds. When I got home from one of my trips out of town (can't remember which one) I found dh had left me a surprise of 21 bales of pine needles stacked neatly in the carport. The stack is down to about 6 bales now; I'm slowly but surely making my way through it. The yard looks so much better with neat beds and fresh pine needles, but goodness I'm sore! My back and leg muscles are groaning.

I know there's more, but for now I've got to go get ready for church! I'll post again soon, I promise!

Simple Woman's Daybook

FOR TODAY (May 4, 2009)...

Outside my window... It looks to be a beautiful day. Bright blue sky, wispy white clouds, gentle breeze fluttering through the leaves. I can see the mamma house finch busy going back and forth from the hanging fern on my back porch.

I am thinking... that I hope we recover from these allergies or respiratory gunk or whatever it is. My Man, My Girl, and I have been coughing non-stop for a couple of weeks now. A good night's sleep would be heavenly.

I am thankful for... the beauty of springtime. I just love it when all is green. My mom planted the azaleas and iris and forsythia here 30 years ago, and they are just lovely this time of year.

From the learning rooms... today is the last day of My Boy's biology co-op. They're finishing their dissections -- a frog and some fertilized chicken eggs. Ick. I'm thankful we have a homeschool mom in our group who is a nurse, and is working on her teaching degree. She does a terrific job teaching this class.

From the kitchen... I smell coffee brewing.

I am wearing... blue & white pj pants with a pink t-shirt my sister brought me years ago from the Cayman Islands. It's getting just about perfect in worn-out softness.

I am creating... plans for our TOG co-op next year. We have 19 families who have signed on to be a part of it.

I am going... to the local high school today or tomorrow to sign My Boy up for driver's ed. Unbelievable.

I am reading... Tom Sawyer. My Girl just finished it, and was surprised I'd never read it. "You really should read it, Mom! It's really good!" So I'm reading it on her recommendation :-)

I am hearing... Princess gnawing on her chewbone.

Around the house... I spent Saturday constructing a landing at the bottom of our deck stairs. My Man was busy at work most of the day, so he was only around for part of it. He got out the chain saw and started it for me so I could cut the timbers the right length. Then he drove me to Lowe's and helped me load the sand and gravel into the truck. And he helped me dig out the dirt. The rest I did on my own. And I'm sore to prove it!

One of my favorite things... is roast beef cooked the way Aunt Doris cooks it. I fixed some last night, and it was yummy (though not quite as good as Doris' :-) The only other thing I can cook like Aunt Doris is macaroni and cheese. It's delish but incredibly fattening. Aunt Doris is a fabulous southern cook, and I really really need to go spend some time with her so I can learn to do her biscuits and corn.

A few plans for the rest of the week... we might drive down to SC to spend some time in a (huge) cabin with my brother-in-law and other members of My Man's family. They rent it out every-other-year, but not many folks are going down there this year. My Man can't even go -- but it's a fun, relaxing place to be so maybe I'll take My Boy and My Girl down for a few days.

Here is a picture thought I am sharing... These are some shots of the landing I made on Saturday. I had to build a frame with timbers, dig out the dirt and level it about 3", then put a layer of sand, place my stones, and then fill in with gravel. I'm pleased with how it turned out.











Now I just need to continue by making steps go up the hill!



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