The November Trip

The Thanksgiving (US) Weekend Story:

We rented a Recreational Vehicle and "camped" at Lake Cachuma, California for the Holiday weekend. This could be a very long story. I'll try to summarize/condense it because, after all, it is kind of old news.

The rental company ran out of the 25' long RVs and upgraded us to a 30 footer. It felt so very big, and my very dh did a great job of driving all weekend. "Long and wide," we were told, "always think, 'long and wide', which DH did.

After four stops, (gas, potty stop, something flapping on the side of the vehicle, and a snack), we made it to the campsite at around 8:30pm Wednesday evening. About 1/2 of our group was there, and we sat by the fire for a little while, got all set up with beds ready for our weary bodies, and tried to go to sleep in our new "habitat."

We did not sleep very much that night, but the next morning's brilliant sun and clear blue sky awoke us anyway. What a gorgeous day awaited us! Boat trips, fishing, cooking, eating and eating and eating, having a huge Thanksgiving dinner at the picnic tables, with massive amounts of desserts, in the beautiful forest air, hearing all kinds of birds, including wood peckers, bluebirds, magpies and of course ravens, and that was just breakfast! (nah--it was at least 4pm when we finished Thanksgiving dinner.) We played badminton and cards; we sewed, napped and read. We talked and joked and really enjoyed being there with our friends and their families.

At night, a family of raccoons nosed around and scuttled from their tree-homes (either under the trees or in them, we never quite figured it out) through our campsite and to the lake, then returned.

Friday morning brought us the jaunt to Solvang for breakfast and shopping, and lunch, too. The women split off from the men and children, so that the men and kids could go back to camp and play, while the women knocked off some Christmas shopping and souvenir hunting. Another beautiful day's sun shone on us. We dressed for winter, and it's just a good thing we had layers of clothing, because we stripped a layer at a time since it got so warm. We found bargains, not such bargains, and beautiful expensive things, plus delectable delacies from the delicious bakery.

We waited for our "limosine" driven by one of the husbands to take us back to camp so we could prepare dinner for the group. It was my turn to make the main course, and I had made lasagne. Our RV had a convection/microwave oven, and it worked quite well to warm the lasagne. It was nearly all gone by the end of dinner. I made it with my own home made sauce, my own secret ingredients (only secret until someone asks for it)--a recipe not written anywhere, and no measurements except a palm full of this, a handfull of this, a pinch of that. Even I liked it.

Full and happy, but cold, we retired to the campfire once again, to share stories and jokes and yes, some gossip even.

Sleep came a little easier to DH and me, but to BD2, strange surroundings were difficult on her. I ended up sleeping with her in the dinette-set/kids' bed, and wasn't sure if I'd be able to straighten out the next morning. We had nicknamed DH "Dances with Blankets" because he tossed and turned so much that he kept getting tangled in the blankets, leaving me with none. So, sleeping with BD2 was nice, since I got to keep a blanket, and also, she is a great heater!

Saturday brought some clouds and winds, but it was still tolerable. We had planned to do the birthday boy's celebration at the picnic tables. He turned 12 on November 25. However, It began to rain. So, since we had the biggest RV of the group, about 17 of us crammed into our dining room and sang "Happy Birthday," he blew out the candles, and opened his prezzies. It was a very cozy birthday party!

That afternoon the park ranger came around and told us they expected 50 mph winds that night, and since we had tent campers with our group, it would be advisable if we left. The most experienced among us, a man who had been coming for about 25 years every Thanksgiving, plus some other occasions, decided that he and his wife would leave. If he was going, we were not staying, and the whole campground, 2 RVs, a minivan, a truck & camper, a truck & tent trailer, kids, toys and everything were packed in one hour. Record timing for packing up to leave!

Because one of the vehicles had become disabled, DH, the girls and I, plus one other family, stayed for nearly 3 extra hours, until after dark waiting for a tow truck. We then called the towing company and found that all of us did not have to stay, only the driver of the disabled truck did. So, off the last of the camping group went, one stop to McDonalds for "dinner".

We got home at about 9:pm Saturday night. Tired but really happy we got the opportunity to go on a great trip like that. We unpacked the RV mostly Saturday night, but left the rest for Sunday. Sunday, my wonderful DH cleaned out the entire RV, including vacuuming and wiping the counters, as well as unpacking all the rest of our gear. What a pleasure I got walking inside the thing! It looked brand new!

I had to return the RV the next morning. It was just shy of the 1/4 tank of fuel we were supposed to return. I thought I'd just return the thing because I felt uneasy enough just driving on straight roads and freeways with it; I did not want to chance the gas station. The rental guy convinced me it would be less expensive to go get some gas "right around the corner." So off I went, leaving BD2 with my good friend who had followed me to take us home.

You might imagine my horror when I heard an ugly scraping sound when I pulled up to the gas pump. Yup, I had scraped the side of the RV with a pole set at the end of the pumps in order to keep people from driving into the pumps.

I went ahead and put gas in the RV, sobbing, cursing myself, and thinking that it wasn't worth it to come over here and get the fuel. What will DH think??? This will certainly give him good ammunition for his thoughts that I am not a good driver. Hell. It was a thirty-foot long, 8 ft wide vehicle! I had hever driven anything like it before (and may never again). I do just fine with my old SUV thank you very much. But mostly, I cried and wondered what the cost would be and if this would affect my auto insurance. Inadequate, I silently screamed. Not good enough still, I yelled in my mind. I was so proud of myself for getting it there undamaged, and then this. Can not do anything right. Again, the old dismal inadequacy voices erupted in my head.

Returning to the dealer, I was still in tears, especially after realizing that the money I had saved by getting the fuel was only $8 from the cost of what they'd charge for not having enough fuel in the tank. When I told the guy what had happened, he felt bad that I feld so bad, and said he had the parts necessary to fix it himself, so it would not be too big of a deal. I told him to keep the $300 deposit toward fixing it. I was visibly shaking. When I got in my friend's car, waiting with BD2, and I cried some more, and told her the whole story. Then I called DH from the cell phone, and told him.

He began to say something about me needing to be more careful, but I stopped him, saying that I had already berated myself enough for both of us; I didn't need his scolding, too.

So except for the very last hour of the whole weekend, we enjoyed a great, happy, healthy time. I keep trying to remember the other 91 hours.

Holiday!!

Five glorious days!!

We are actually going to "camp" on a lake (the name sounds like a sneeze, Cachuma) with friends and celebrate Thanksgiving there. So, as if you are not used to it by now, there won't be an update for another few days, when I return with campfire stories, apfelskivver stories, and what other things I can think of to write.

I am so looking forward to this get away. I won't have to think about the garage, the damn playroom or the kitchen, for that matter, in my house. We are renting an RV, and my husband is waiting ever-so-patiently for me to get up from the computer, and go get it.

So, with that, I'll leave now.

Happy (American) Thanksgiving!

Friday's Feast

I am a copycat. I admit it freely. So, here, copied from my favorite East Coast Editor, is Friday's Feast. I figure that since I didn't blog last Friday (11/19/04), I can get away with doing this today. After all, it's only Sunday!

Appetizer: What do you think is the perfect age to get married? To have a first child? To retire?
married: 28; first child: 34; retire: 50

Soup: If you could change occupations tomorrow, what would you want to do for a living?
Teach English at a local college

Salad: What does the color green make you think of?
Rest, The Nordic Godess' verandah, trees, peace

Main Course: What is something that has happened to you over the last year that you didn't expect?
Gaining so much weight, dealing with grief, marriage issues, and a body that just won't cooperate anymore.

Dessert: How old were you when you had your first kiss?
14--sort of a first crush kiss; 18--first "real" kiss (late bloomer? No one to play spin the bottle with?)

I Love Memes!

Copied from my friend the West Coast Wine Connoisseur and finest Researcher I've ever come across...

1. Grab the book nearest to you, turn to page 18, find line 4. What does it say?
"style. A jacket or blazer fifteen hundred, a waistcoat six hundred." (The Tailor of Panama, John le Carre)

2. Stretch your left arm out as far as you can. What do you touch first?
Websters New World Dictionary

3. What is the last thing you watched on TV?
Mission: Organization on HGTV

4. WITHOUT LOOKING, can you guess what the time is?
about 4:50 pm

5. Now look at the clock, what is the actual time?
4:19 pm
6. With the exception of the computer, what can you hear?
cars traveling by our house, Mulan on the TV in the family room

7. When did you last step outside?
at about 2:30 pm today

8. Before you came to this website, what did you look at?
my email

9. What are you wearing?
3/4 sleeve aqua v-neck pullover with white cuffs and collar, jeans and socks

10. Did you dream last night?
yes--several times
11. When did you last laugh?
this afternoon when my 2nd daughter got herself stuck in her chair and needed help getting out.

12. What is on the walls of the room you are in?
Photograph of Venice, Italy that I shot in 1984, vintage floral calendar, 1 year old portrait of my 1st born, two framed airplane prints.

13. Seen anything weird lately?
yes.

14. What do you think of this quiz?
thought provoking--entertaining, time wasting

15. What is the last film you saw? In the theater?
Matewan (Thank you Net Flix)
The Incredibles in the theatre

16. If you became a multi-millionaire overnight, what would you buy first?
an environmentally friendly car, then a hummer...for emergencies (joke)

17. Can you tell something about you that no one knows?
what I weigh.

18. If you could change one thing about the world, regardless of guilt or politics, what would you do?
End war and the threat of nuclear destruction.

19. Do you like to dance?
yes

20. George Bush: is he a power-crazy nut case or some one who is finally doing something that has needed to be done for years?
power-crazy frat boy

21. Imagine your first child is a girl, what do you call her?
Sweat Pea

22. Imagine your first child is a boy, what do you call him?
Buddy

23. Would you ever consider living abroad?
Yes, oh yes--somewhere in Polynesia especially.

from: http://norling.blogspot.com/ who got it from:
from: Res Ipsa Loquitur

News from the Norse Goddess's Husband

Well, I couldn't take it anymore and phoned my Norwegian tour guides for information on my great friend, the Norwegian Goddess.

It seems she's very comfortable in hospice (a very nice-looking place indeed). More testing continues, especially to find out if the nerve damage in her leg is an end-result of the chemo she endured earlier this year.

My Norwegian Tour Guide (the husband--who actually did take BD1 and me on a very nice tour of Oslo last June), assures me she is doing fine, so is he, and so is their son.

It's all I can do to wait to hear from her.

Arafat

Usually I am not one to either pontificate or even state my political opinions. With that said, you probably think I'm crazy to start with Yassir Arafat's death.

What will this do to relationships with other countries? No successor previously chosen, complete unrest and disagreement within the state about who might be "the one"---any chance that a woman would be chosen?

Will "negotiations" have to start all over with Israel? Will chaos (which I guess is already there) ensue? Will this affect Al Qaeda, Iraq, Iran, other middle eastern countries and the so-called "War on Terrorism?"

Will this truly be an opportunity for fresh peace negotiations between Palestine and Israel? Could there perhaps be a peaceful conclusion to this way-too-old conflict?

I do give my sympathy to Arafat's wife and especially his eight-year old daughter. No matter what, I'm sure she loved her dad.

Lost and Broken Crayons

Yesterday I noticed that my very old Crayola box was empty. Now, when I say "very old," I mean about 35 years old, with the old colors (the not p.c. ones). I had tried to take good care of this box, but in the last seven or so years, it has been challenging. This was the box I usually referred to when I couldn't identify a color, or found one whose name I couldn't quite remember. Now it is empty and torn.

When I asked my 7-year old BD1 about it, she showed me that they emptied into her other crayon/art box and sort of merged with the others. I found one crayon (remember "Indian Red"?) from the old box, and gave up. So much for having a child's collector's item hanging around. My fault for putting it away within reach of any child. Oh well.

Odd thing to find

Odd thing to find on Dad's car this morning...writing in the frost of the rear windshield. The writing is not so odd as what was written. I didn't think I lived in the kind of neighborhood where this sentiment could flourish. I guess I was wrong. Anyway, on the rear window of Dad's car, "White Power" was written on the left, and a Swastika was drawn on the right. Dumb kids. I guess they don't realize a police officer has moved into the house across the street from me.

More Film Quotes

I've just thought of a couple more favorite quotes from movies...

1) "Are you sassing me?" Michael Douglas in "Romancing the Stone" (I think)

2) "Your...mocking me, aren't you." Buzz Lightyear in Toy Story

I won't publish anymore...promise.

Things to do/think about

I borrowed these from my good friend the East Coast Editor...(Thank you, K!)

Ten on Tuesday

Ten Things You Want to Do Before the End of the Year (There is supposed to be a hyperlink to http://verbatim.blogs.com, but I'm not going to take more time and try to figure it out right now.)
Not in Any Order:
1. Finish any two of the twelve or so books I've started
2. Finish redecorating the play room in time for the Christmas party
3. Lose 10 pounds (really, I want to lose 60, but then that's unreasonable, isn't it)
4. Finish cleaning the garage (mostly trash anyway)
5. Finish the painting, cementing, tightening, details of our bedroom/bath remodel
6. Finish Nancy & Barbara's pillowcases
7. Finish my special sewing project
8. Go to Disneyland
9. Have a nice, quiet dinner date somewhere decent with my DH
10. Plan BD1's 8th birthday party--Build-A-Bear, anyone?

Me-Me-Me-Meme!

15 years ago today, I was... still getting used to living back in the US and owning a home of my own

10 years ago today, I was... still paying of debts from owning a home of my own, agonizing over my job and whether I ought to leave it to finish my degree.

5 years ago today, I was...Mother of a 2-1/2 year old and one semester away from obtaining my degree

3 years ago today, I was...mother of a 4 month old and a 5-1/2 year old, mentally foggy and overwhelmed

1 year ago today, I was...mourning the loss of my mother, planning for my father's living arrangements, visiting him in hospital, trying to get Dad accustomed to his new home, getting my daughters used to not having Nonni around and mommy being pretty sad

So far this year, I have...started several home improvement projects that are yet to be finished,

Yesterday, I...worked on getting the playroom some floor space so I could assemble the shelving that I'm putting in it, assembled one of the shelving units for the baby dolls and put them in it, gathered and sorted Christmas presents, actually cooked lunch and dinner, did dishes 3 times, took the dog to the vet and walked for 35 minutes.

Today, I...plan to do laundry, work some more on the play room, update my blog, clean the kitchen and sew. Oh, and take BD1 to her piano lesson.

Tomorrow, I...will have a day off...going to meet another mom in the morning who has similarly aged children. The kidlets can play together while the mom and I drink coffee and catch up with each other, and again, I will take a nice long walk with the dog.

Angels?

The mind does treacherous things to the heart. A scripture in the Bible says that the heart does treacherous things to the mind, but I do think it's the other way around. Last night, while out to dinner with my father and waiting the hour for a table, I turned away from him for a moment. When I turned back, for a split second I saw my mother sitting next to him, in between him and the lady in the chair next to him.

Brings up obvious questions in my mind, is she with us? Is my mind playing dirty tricks on me, making me remember when she actually was with us, then making me painfully realize that she is not. Then I hurt for quite awhile, grieving on many different levels for her. Is she an angel like the "psychic" woman in Arizona said?

I realize that as long as she's in my memory, she is with me. That is a small comfort, anyway. I can conjure in my mind and heart, the hundreds of times we all went out to dinner, the family parties we attended and for which we cooked, her jokes, her laughter--her joyous laughter, her operatic voice, her hyper-sharp sense of humor. Which I do often.

But when my mind tricks my heart like that it is especially painful. I so want her to be with us, instead of her being dead and my father so ill. It wasn't supposed to be this way. No No No. It wasn't.

Postcard

Received a very special postcard today from France. From her blog and her posts, as well as her postcards, it sounds as if my Norwegian Tour Guide had a great time there. (Yes, the Norwegian Tour Guide is actually the Nordic Goddess.)

It warms my heart to hear from such a gracious, inside/out beautiful, loving and endearing friend.

From the bottom of my old black heart I am wishing for a miracle. "Never give up. Never surrender" (from Galaxy Quest).