Thursday, August 30, 2001
Not sure whether this will show up as Thursday or not--it's only 11p here, but time means nothing on the internet, as we all know.
Caro and I went to Parent's Night at Mike's school tonight. There was an amazing cross section of people there--our fellow parents of third graders in Mrs. Fazziotto's class include one of Caro's fellow middle school teachers, a Lamar policewoman, and a guy who looks a LOT like Tim Allen. Mike proudly showed up many details of his classroom we probably would have missed just observing on our own. He's off to a really good start so far this year, and I hope we've got enough new ideas and energy and patience to keep him on a positive track. I guess only time will tell.
Caro and I went to Parent's Night at Mike's school tonight. There was an amazing cross section of people there--our fellow parents of third graders in Mrs. Fazziotto's class include one of Caro's fellow middle school teachers, a Lamar policewoman, and a guy who looks a LOT like Tim Allen. Mike proudly showed up many details of his classroom we probably would have missed just observing on our own. He's off to a really good start so far this year, and I hope we've got enough new ideas and energy and patience to keep him on a positive track. I guess only time will tell.
Wednesday, August 29, 2001
Okay, so posting while on vacation didn't work out that well. This obviously proves I need a laptop!
But, no regrets for the past. Let's move onward! I am now fully and officially in "back to school" mode. Not me personally, of course. Just Caro and Mike. But here I am, posting in "pieces of quiet" (Mikelang) from the house which has only me, the two cats and the huge algae eater in residence. All of us on the silent side. I have virtuously and productively started cooking the boxes of canning tomatoes we recently bought into sauce. Smells good in here!
But, no regrets for the past. Let's move onward! I am now fully and officially in "back to school" mode. Not me personally, of course. Just Caro and Mike. But here I am, posting in "pieces of quiet" (Mikelang) from the house which has only me, the two cats and the huge algae eater in residence. All of us on the silent side. I have virtuously and productively started cooking the boxes of canning tomatoes we recently bought into sauce. Smells good in here!
Tuesday, August 07, 2001
Well, here I am in Arlington, Texas at my brother Doug's house. This has been my first chance to write anything since leaving Sunday. I'm hoping to be able to access the internet from libraries as we travel into the wilderness.
Sunday morning I finalized loading the truck, which I couldn't do before as I was including my top foam mattress, and didn't want to not have that to sleep on Saturday. My packing style was not unlike some people's methods of saving treasures from a burning house, half-wrestling, half-dragging the goods out the door in a furious sweaty frenzy. Threw everything in the back figuring I could just resort it that night at the campgrounds.
That turned out to be a good choice, because I had to take everything out of the back of the truck then anyway. Some of the cheap popcans did not successfully cope with the heat of the Texas summer. and they exploded in the truck bed. Luckily, nothing vital was splortched.
Palo Duro Canyon is amazing and beautiful, a huge maze of ancient river-carved rock hidden down below the ordinary looking surface of the prairie. Being Sunday night, it was very nearly deserted. Mike and I had a good time cooling off by lounging in the very shallow Red River, being nibbled by minnows.
Sunday morning I finalized loading the truck, which I couldn't do before as I was including my top foam mattress, and didn't want to not have that to sleep on Saturday. My packing style was not unlike some people's methods of saving treasures from a burning house, half-wrestling, half-dragging the goods out the door in a furious sweaty frenzy. Threw everything in the back figuring I could just resort it that night at the campgrounds.
That turned out to be a good choice, because I had to take everything out of the back of the truck then anyway. Some of the cheap popcans did not successfully cope with the heat of the Texas summer. and they exploded in the truck bed. Luckily, nothing vital was splortched.
Palo Duro Canyon is amazing and beautiful, a huge maze of ancient river-carved rock hidden down below the ordinary looking surface of the prairie. Being Sunday night, it was very nearly deserted. Mike and I had a good time cooling off by lounging in the very shallow Red River, being nibbled by minnows.
Saturday, August 04, 2001
Tomorrow is the big day! Mike and I are heading out on the road to adventure and will be travelling in our trusty rusty pickup and camper until, oh, the 16th or 17th.
I had considered leaving today, but there was an auction scheduled so I went for that option instead. It turned out to be a rather meager one, and that after an only fair morning at the yard sales. But as if to make up for it, it turned out the Las Animas library was having a book sale, so we scored a big useful haul after all!
By the time we were all done, I was nearly so. The old familar "Who has been hitting my legs with hammers while I wasn't looking?" feeling. But some aspirin and a nap got me straightened out, and now I only have a few little chores to finish before I go to bed.
I had considered leaving today, but there was an auction scheduled so I went for that option instead. It turned out to be a rather meager one, and that after an only fair morning at the yard sales. But as if to make up for it, it turned out the Las Animas library was having a book sale, so we scored a big useful haul after all!
By the time we were all done, I was nearly so. The old familar "Who has been hitting my legs with hammers while I wasn't looking?" feeling. But some aspirin and a nap got me straightened out, and now I only have a few little chores to finish before I go to bed.
Friday, August 03, 2001
Well, looks like the experiment was a success--and the patient lived, too.
Today was not quite as insane as the rest of the past week. The major chores that needed completing before Mike and I take off Sunday got finished yesterday. Today Mike and I went to get a side view mirror on my truck, to replace the one that has been missing since I bought it, what, 4 years ago or so? Up to now, he had not been aware that there was a race car track nearby, but NOW he knows, and we are committed to attending at least once before the season ends. Well, you gotta expose kids to culture....
Caro and I went out to a few yard sales in the afternoon. To our surprise, Maple Street was blocked off with cones AND flashing emergency vehicles and guys striding around importantly in fluorescent vests. We circled around to get to the sale we'd been aiming for, but couldn't tell what was going on from this vantage point either. Then a fellow dealer showed up, and she told us that somewhere at the center of the excitement, there was a live grenade! Just not something you expect to turn up on a hot, sticky summer afternoon in a town of only 9000 people. But then, we didn't expect to find a skeleton at a yard sale last week either....
Today was not quite as insane as the rest of the past week. The major chores that needed completing before Mike and I take off Sunday got finished yesterday. Today Mike and I went to get a side view mirror on my truck, to replace the one that has been missing since I bought it, what, 4 years ago or so? Up to now, he had not been aware that there was a race car track nearby, but NOW he knows, and we are committed to attending at least once before the season ends. Well, you gotta expose kids to culture....
Caro and I went out to a few yard sales in the afternoon. To our surprise, Maple Street was blocked off with cones AND flashing emergency vehicles and guys striding around importantly in fluorescent vests. We circled around to get to the sale we'd been aiming for, but couldn't tell what was going on from this vantage point either. Then a fellow dealer showed up, and she told us that somewhere at the center of the excitement, there was a live grenade! Just not something you expect to turn up on a hot, sticky summer afternoon in a town of only 9000 people. But then, we didn't expect to find a skeleton at a yard sale last week either....
OK, I wasn't going to try this out until I got back from vacation. But I was curious, and decided to check it out, and now here I am! But it's late, so I will put off adding anything more tonight.
