Grackles

Last year I really, really disliked the blackbirds living in our yard. I hated seeing them gather things for their nests. I took to shooing them away from the bird feeder. They are loud and big and for some reason seem to find the four trees in our yard a great nesting ground. But this year, I haven't felt the same angst watching them that I did last year. Maybe it is the growth of my overall appreciation of birds that has lessened my dislike. Maybe it is because I have investigated and found out the specific black birds living in our yard are called Common Grackles (what a great name). Or it could be that the squirrels have taken their place as public enemy number one in our back yard. Whatever the reason, I can look at a black bird this year without cringing. I've even started to think they are sort of pretty when the sun shines on them, at least the ones who share our outdoor living space. The Grackles are not all black, but have pretty iridescent colors on their heads and wings. They also are longer and more slender than the ugly old crows I had viewed them as before. Overall, a very pretty bird. I'm so at peace with the Grackles (and I really like saying their name) that I'm even going to post a picture of one here today.

Common Grackle in the front tree- Thursday, March 22.

(Common dogpile on the trampoline- Thursday, March 22.)

Meeting in the Back Alley

I took Little One on a field trip this morning with her preschool class. We visited one of the thousands of snack food factories in our area. (I just Googled to see if I could give you an accurate number so you do not think I am exaggerating, but couldn't find a sure figure. Okay, I am actually exaggerating, but just a little. In my search, I did find the link to the Sweet Treats and Salty Eats Trail, which leads you from one snack food factory to another. I'm thinking of trying this with the kids sometime. With all those free samples, we shouldn't need to eat for the rest of the day.) Today we were touring a "factory" that still hand rolls all of their pretzels. It was started in a garage in 1935 and is still operating in the same building, which stands in the midst of the complicated alley system in town. Before I moved here I had never seen alleys with stop signs, one way arrows, and do not enter signs. It is like a labyrinth of secret roads (some even have names), hiding houses and businesses I had no idea existed. We met up in one of the alleys and actually started our tour there. The owner of the business, before filling us in on the long version of the history of the company (not sure he's given many tours to preschoolers before), just asked us to be ready to scamper to the side and hug tight to the building if a car turned down the alley. When we did head inside, we were greeted by the three people hand rolling the pretzels (on a good day each one twists 3500 pretzels, in addition to pretzel rolls and sticks), the dipper (the person who dips the pretzels in some sort of liquid that makes them turn brown when they bake), the baker, and the cashier. It was really pretty interesting watching them work with the equipment that had been part of the big upgrade in 1965. Little One loves soft pretzels, so this was a pretty good morning, even if we did start out in the back alley.

The "new" rotating oven, circa 1965- Wednesday, March 21.

When the pretzels are done baking, they get to take a ride on the pretzel slide. We got to try a pretzel fresh out of the oven. It was strange- hard on the outside, still warm and chewy on the inside (sort of a mix between a soft pretzel and a hard pretzel). After they bake, the pretzels go to the pretzel sauna where they sit in bins all night at 125 degrees to remove the moisture from the inside and make them into the hard, crunchy treat we all know and love- Wednesday, March 21.

Little One couldn't be happier, pretzel sticks in both hands- Wednesday, March 21.

P.S. This is a picture that Little One took last evening. She said something to me about there being a really nice picture outside as she went out the front door. I assumed she wanted me to follow with my camera, but a few moments later she came inside with the kid camera in hand to show me the picture she had just taken.

By Little One- Tuesday, March 20.

A Few Days Now

It's been a few days now. A few days since I've posted, a few days since life has felt all together normal. A few days since I've felt much like trying to reflect on my everyday life with a camera and a dose of humor. But I am starting to realize as the hours slowly turn to days that there is great beauty hidden, like diamonds in a dark mine, deep in the midst of mourning. When Solomon wisely told us of the time to weep and mourn and the time to laugh and dance, I had not realized before now that those times are much less distinct entities, one following the other, but are so much more two strands of a rope, spiraled together. As we shed tears over things that will never be, and cry because loss really does hurt, I am finding myself surprised at the sweet and the beautiful that I keep encountering. A bright sky piled with clouds spoke hope to me today. The pear tree that usually doesn't bloom for at least a couple more weeks opened up its first buds on Sunday. That was special to me, a small reminder of the beauty of new life on a day all I could see was loss. I know our lives will not now be what we had imagined they would, and that really makes me sad. I don't know how long it will be until the tears stop welling up in my eyes when I think about an adored uncle and treasured brother-in-law. It's easy to say that I know he is in a better place, a place full of light and beauty and joy, but harder to be truly happy his time to go there came so soon. To lose one you love is very hard, especially when it feels as though he has been taken before his time. But the small glimpses of beauty that I see sparkling out from what feels like a pile of ashes gives me hope that healing and joy will come with time. It's been a few days now and I am determined to continue looking for all that is beautiful as I learn what it means to truly mourn. It's been a few days now...

"I will wait for you, Jesus
You're the sun in my horizon
All my hope's in you, Jesus
I can see you now arising" 

taken from I Will Wait by Jason Upton

Sunday's Sunset- Sunday, March 18.

Everybody helping to fold laundry.

A horribly flash-taken picture, but a precious moment to me in a day when we found strength in being together- Monday, March 19.

Images from a beautiful evening- Tuesday, March 20.

Teeth Cost a lot of Money

The kids had appointments at the dentist yesterday. That is pretty normal, to see the dentist on a Friday morning. At least I think so. But when we were getting ready to leave, the receptionist said, "See you tomorrow." I did a quick mental run through of the appointments I had just made- 6 month check ups, sealants in three months, follow up on The Oldest's back right molar in a couple of weeks, but nothing for tomorrow. The receptionist noticed the confusion on my face and quickly rephrased, "We'll see you at the movies tomorrow." The movies, yes, we would be at the movies tomorrow, thanks to a kind invitation from the dentist a few weeks back to welcome the new pediatric dentist with a showing of Alvin and The Chipmunks: Chipwrecked.

 Little One under the bright light- Friday, March 16.

 Free popcorn at the free movie compliments of the dentist. Hopefully everybody went home and flossed- Saturday, March 17.

The kids were pretty excited to be going to the movies today. I, on the other hand, sort of wished I was going to the dentist to get any sort of procedure done instead of having to sit through an annoying kid movie. I really don't enjoy kids movies. Usually My Husband is the one who takes the kids to the movies, but he works Saturdays this time of year, so I had to take one for the team. There are a handful of kid movies that I have actually enjoyed. Despicable Me would be my favorite. I chuckled multiple times throughout Gnomeo and Juliet. I liked Up. But that's all I can think of right now. One kid's movie that I can not stand is Alvin and the Chipmunks. To be totally fair, I never watched it with sound, but it was one of the in flight movies on our trip to Ethiopia and I thought it was really dumb.  Even without sound, I could tell every time Dave was yelling "Alllllllviiiiiiiiinnnnnn" because his face got all twisted and red. I swear they played the movie 40 times. (Yes, our flight was 80 hours long. I didn't time it, but I am pretty sure that's how long it was.) That experience, plus my general disdain for kids' movies, made me predisposed to brush off any small hint the kids had previously made about seeing one or more of the multiple Chipmunk movies. And when we got the invitation from the dentist inviting us to a free private screening of Chipwrecked, I almost didn't tell them. Totally selfish, I know, but true. Then I realized that the kids happened to have dentist appointments scheduled for the day before the movie and I figured there was no way we would get out of the dentist's office without them finding out. So I sucked it up and RSVP'd for four. (Had I known there was going to be free popcorn and drinks, I might have been a little less hesitant in my initial reaction.) Plus, as I thought about it, I figured we had really already paid for the movie and the popcorn and the drinks though our regular bi-annual contributions to the dentist, so we might as well get our money's worth.

Kind of like the new, giant salt water aquarium they just installed on the pediatric floor of our dentist. Though there is no honorary plaque, I am sure we were some of the largest donors for the project. I must say, seeing it makes me feel at least a little happy about the piles of money we paid to the dentist two years ago to get me a new tooth. Happier anyway than me thinking about financing my dentist's ski trip to the alps and the fancy watch he showed me that he bought while he was there. 

I had to have one of my front eye teeth pulled about two years ago. Then I had to get a screw in my jaw, but before that they had to actually give me some new jaw bone, so they used something that was a 'bovine derivative'. Yes, some bone-like stuff made from cow bone. I have never yet starting mooing, so I think it is all good. Anyway, between my tooth being pulled and getting my new fake tooth, I had to wear a partial denture that is called a flipper in the dental world. I took to calling mine, "Sheila". I wore her all the time, except at bed time. Then I just had a big hole where my tooth should have been. I was pretty self-conscious about it, which seems silly now, but I am guessing that is the reason I have no pictures of me missing my tooth. I really wish I did, and am pretty mad at myself for being so lame. Oh well. Anyway, the whole process took over a year to complete and cost a lot of money. Money, which I like to imagine has given some fish a nice home and some kids (and a few parents, I am sure) a fun morning at the movies. (I will admit I didn't totally hate the movie, but that could have been in large part because of the butter coma.)

 Best authentic picture of my dental nightmare. This is right after the metal screw and cow bone were put into my jaw- Taken Friday, January 8, 2010.

Best silly photoshopped picture of my dental nightmare- what I would have looked like without Sheila. Even without the fish tank and the free movie, I think it was money well spent- Taken Thursday, March 18, 2010.

I Rock!!!!

At least First Grader thinks so.

 She also super loves me. I am one lucky momma- Thursday, March 15.

A Leprechaun, Vanity, and Pork Chops (Finally)

I went to pick up Little One from preschool today and instead was asked to take home this leprechaun for the day. Her teachers said it was some sort of child-leprechaun exchange program. I figured why not participate- maybe Little One will come home with a pot of gold when I get her back.

A mighty cute leprechaun- Wednesday, March 14.

We have a female cardinal who has taken to positioning herself on some perch on our deck (it had most popularly been the grill, until we moved it yesterday) and then repeatedly flying into the sliding glass doors. From what I have read, this is a fairly common behavior, particularly for cardinals and robins during mating season. It is believed that these birds do not have the ability to differentiate between a rival bird and their own reflection (even after repeated personal contact with the glass), so they continue to attack themselves over and over. I was a bit concerned for the overall safety of the bird, and was only slightly comforted when I read the following: "Despite the violent appearance of this behavior, from the other side of the window, the birds very rarely kill themselves, all though there could be injury to the bird's beak if the behavior continues."

Here is a still shot of her just about to crash into the glass door- Taken Saturday, March 3.

This is my first attempt at posting a video. Here's hoping it works. Female Cardinal attacking the door- Saturday, March 3.

But then this morning, I heard a familiar sound at the front window, though more subdued than usual. When I went to investigate, I found a cute little female cardinal, perched on the window sill quietly tapping on the glass. No violent, life-threatening approaches, just a quiet flight in, some pecks on the glass, and a curious eye. There was clearly no motive of scaring away a rival bird this morning. I think she was flying in to check herself out. Territory all defended, she wanted to be sure she was looking her best for the potential suitors who might come her way. Vanity suits this bird, she is a beauty. And I was very glad to see her feeling quiet and pretty instead of like she wanted to bang her head against the wall- Wednesday, March 14.

 The pork chops. They were worth the wait- Wednesday, March 14.

Getting Ready to Grill

I've got pork chops marinating in the refrigerator and thoughts of an easy dinner on the brain. Since two out of the my three children came inside today acting as though they had heat stroke, I figured it is warm enough to grill out tonight, which makes me happy (the grilling out part, not the heat stroke part). It obviously was not heat stroke in either situation, but it made me think that a 75 degree day in what is technically still winter might be almost as shocking to the system as a 100 degree day in the summer. Thankfully both children have fully recovered and one of them is outside again as I type. It's all good! In fact, it is really good because I can grill out tonight. The ONLY two kinds of cooking that I view with mild enthusiasm are using a crock pot and grilling. But of the two, grilling is way better because I don't have to clean the remnants of a day's worth of slow roasting from the heating surface. I've found if I just keep the grill on low while we eat, what's left on the grates gets thoroughly charred and easily brushes right off when the grill cools down. My kind of cooking!

This picture has nothing to do with grilling out or late winter heat stroke. Just some great puffy clouds and trees with buds small enough I can still pretend the branches are bare- Tuesday, March 13.

(Time lapse of 5+ hours...) I had purposely waited to post this so I could include a nice shot of the pork chops on the grill, but I encountered one small problem in the meantime. Between thawing and marinating the chops and stepping outside to actually turn on the grill, I realized that the grill was still perched in its winter storage location, our deck, which happens to have a plastic ceiling. I had gotten pretty excited about eating grilled pork chops for dinner, so I kept telling myself it would be okay to go ahead and grill on the deck, but then I thought of the patch of siding on the back of the garage that is bubbled and buckled from a previous grilling mishap, and decided I better not risk melting the ceiling, too. So, since My Husband would not be coming home until well after dinner-making time, I decided to try to round up one of my neighbors to help me move the grill down the two steps to the patio, where it sits for the non-winter months. My go-to neighbor did not answer his door. My second choice was not outside and I didn't feel like knocking on his door to ask for help because I always second guess his wife's name and was worried she might answer. There was a big, strapping teenage boy out getting the mail across the street two houses down, but I didn't know his name and I thought it might be a bit awkward yelling, "Hey you, can you come help me move my grill so I can cook dinner?" So, after hovering a bit longer in the front yard pulling weeds (Man, there are a lot of weeds already!) with no helpful neighbors in sight, I decided to save the pork chops for tomorrow night and go with everybody's favorite, leftovers. I couldn't complain, I got to use my third favorite cooking appliance- the microwave. And now I have a nice and easy pork chop dinner to not dread making all day tomorrow, thanks to My Husband, who helped me move the grill when he got home from work. Well, I guess it was more like I sort of helped him, but not really. In fact, as we were in the middle of trying to get it down the steps, he was reminded once again of what he says every year when we attempt this very thing. And I quote, "I should get one of the neighbors to help me move this thing." Good luck with that!- Tuesday, March 13.

Spring Feet

We had our first case of Spring Feet show up at bed time last night. It seems to be a seasonal condition that plagues the children beginning this time of year and ending sometime around the close of summer. Its symptoms are few, really just one tell-tale sign that can't be missed- feet that are a much darker shade than they started at the beginning of the day. The cause can be traced back to hours of play in the warming grass with feet happy to be encountering the coming of spring without the encumbrance of pesky socks and shoes. Thankfully the treatment is simple- add a squirt or two of liquid soap to a few inches of warm water in the bathtub, throw in any afflicted feet, wipe with a wet wash cloth, remove, dry with towel, and repeat as necessary. Which in this house will be nearly every evening for the next couple of months, but I can say this is one condition I don't mind treating at all!

 First Grader working on a welcome sign for spring. Look closely and you can see Little One's socks sitting behind her in the driveway- Monday, March 12.

Spring- Monday, March 12.

Some buds on my mini-rhododendron- Monday, March 12.

Too Tired for Too Many Words

I would look up the history of daylight savings time, because I am sure that there was a good reason that blessed somebody whenever it was initiated, but I am too tired because of the hour of sleep I didn't get last night to even type it into a search. And I'm too tired to type much more, so I'll let the pictures do most of the talking today.

The first and second songs written by our in house composer, The Oldest- Friday, March 9.

Two beautiful daughters and one handsome daddy all ready for this year's Daddy-Daughter Dance- Saturday, March 10.

Sunset over Gettysburg- Saturday, March 10.

The girls, home from the ball and back to the real world, muck boots and all- Sunday, March 11.

A bird house in the woods- Sunday, March 11.

Good night. Sleep tight.

One of Many Lessons Learned

I've learned a lot being married for ten years- a lot about myself and a lot about how to live with someone who, in certain ways, if very different from myself. One of those lessons learned by experience has to do with odd jobs around the house. I have come to discover that if I have enough muscles to complete a project without having to ask My Husband to get involved, I should go ahead and do it. Not that My Husband is not handy, nor does he ever deny his assistance when it is requested, but little fix it jobs are very close to the bottom of his list of enjoyable ways to spend free time, right there with having to go to the dentist or listen to country music. So, over the years I have gotten pretty handy, if I do say so myself, especially with a drill. I used to be scared to use the drill, thinking I would send the bit through my hand or get it stuck in the wall or something. Now we are pretty good friends, the drill and me. I still get a bad blister every time from trying to change the bits, but I've come to look at them with pride, sort of like war wounds gained in daring exploits with an old pal.

When we have a big project to do, My Husband and I work really well together. I like to sit and plan how the floor planks will fit in and how we will trim the edges, while he likes the measuring (always twice) and cutting (only once, due to careful measuring) and cleaning up when the job is done. But when the job is something small, that should take just a few minutes (but usually takes longer because something goes wrong or we have to make multiple trips to the basement because we didn't bring up the right tools to start with), I have found it is best to just jump in and try to start and finish it while My Husband is at work.

 Like today, for example. The threshold to our basement steps has been crumbling apart for the past couple of years. Today I decided I had had enough and determined I was going to fix it using supplies I could find in the basement. My method of working on a project usually involves thinking as I go, getting out way more stuff than I will need, and digging through the pile to make things work. My Husband does not thrive in this sort of a setting. He is much more the work it out in a neat and orderly way kind of guy (the reason I will jump into this sort of a thing only when he is not at home). I am happy to report that the threshold is currently sitting under two ten pound hand weights and a pile of books while the glue dries, and the tools and all the rest of the stuff I pulled out are neatly tucked away. A project complete and no mess to cause stress- two things My Husband will like very much- Friday, March 9.

 I also decided to patch some holes in the upstairs hallway. The fix-it juices were flowing and I figured- why waste the home improvement adrenaline? While I was at it, I glued and nailed up a broken section of trim, too- Friday, March 9.

Because of our very opposite working styles, I actually have my own set of tools. I am not always the best about putting away all of the things I use when I am finished with a project, so in order to help maintain domestic felicity, I avoid using My Husband's nicely organized tools as much as possible. I still have to use his drill, though. If I ever get my own, it will be pink, not orange- Friday, March 9.

All About Mom's Camera

With nowhere we had to be, and the only real conflict to overcome being that today is supposed to be pajama day, we decided to take the morning and go exploring. One of our favorite places to explore on a beautiful day such as today is Lake Codorus. We strapped on our muck boots (the trail we love is actually listed as being 'usually muddy in several locations') and headed out. The kids ran ahead and I took the opportunity to snap some pictures along the way.

 Little One and The Oldest forging ahead- Thursday, March 8.

 Little One stopped for just a moment, turned around to see me taking a picture, and said, "Look! This is all about mom's camera!" The Oldest turned briefly to confirm the scathing accusation, shrugged, and continued on. Little One shook her head and soon followed- Thursday, March 8.

Explorers, undaunted by Mom's photojournalism, acting natural and moving deeper still into the wilds of nature- Thursday, March 8.

Skipping stones- Thursday, March 8.

Geese. I realized today I'm not really a water fowl sort of bird lover- Thursday, March 8.

 A cool collection of trees we spotted along the way- Thursday, March 8.

 After a misstep that landed him in a little creek, The Oldest figured there would be no harm in doing some wading along the shore of the lake- Thursday, March 8.

I threw this one in just to prove that I did actually leave the house dressed in clothing today. We look like we are staring off into space because The Oldest showed me how I could flip my view finder screen around so I could see the picture while I was pointing the camera toward us. The problem with that is it's really hard to remember to look at the camera lens instead of at the adorably funny people crowded onto the little screen- Thursday, March 8.