Ahh, almost out the door...

I came home from the pool on this nice sunny morning, excited to be going camping!  The refrigerator stuff is packed, all of our vitamins and supplements packed, and shh, I am bringing:  the vacuum cleaner.  Paul said, "The BIG vacuum cleaner?"  It's not THAT incredulous!  We have an electric site, and it's very sandy, so why not?  I did go out and vacuum that camper the other day, but there were chairs in there, and the bunk ends weren't unfolded so the bed cushions that go on them were stacked in the way, so it really needs a better cleaning.  I actually like vacuuming, and it's vacation, you should do what you like.  I do feel like Mrs. Potato Head from the Toy Story movie...

A frying pan?  Garbage bags?  Pot holders?  I have a brand new table cloth and table cloth clips:). Ben and Ashley got us a new outdoor rug for Christmas, which will be nice to put under the awning.  I have my new chair too.  Oh, this is first world camping! (am I allowed to say that?). Well, it is, because I bought a new coffee grinder from Amazon, so we don't have to leave the girls without one.  oh dear.  Fresh ground coffee, twenty bucks...fresh ground coffee...yup.  

After a while my brain won't work anymore, and what we have is what we have.  I'm taking a nice break now, while Paul goes to town to gas up the truck, and get a bag of ice.  Our little refrigerator/freezer in the camper runs on electric and propane, so we can turn it on for a few days before we go, and start packing it.  It's not a fancy camper, and it's 13 years old, but I do love it so much.  It has a three burner propane stove, an oven which we haven't used, a sink (we fill the tank with water when we get there), and a little bathroom with a shower, which I have used for really quick rinse-offs, the campground is a state park and actually has really nice hot showers.  The camper has air conditioning too, but I don't think it'll get that hot this trip.  (My favorite is having that bathroom!  We tent camped for a few years, and ugh, I barely made it to the bathroom some mornings!)

Did I every tell you about my dad?  He was kind and generous and hard working and honest, but he had a temper.  He had mood swings.  My mother figured out that he was bi-polar (can we still say that?), but he wouldn't see a doctor for it.  He'd get in a really good silly talkative mood, then he'd crash and be miserable and quiet for days.  We avoided him on those days, and my mother would warn us.  My little brother didn't always get the message, and he would throw a tantrum and my dad would yell and it would be so stressful.  My father:  he basically ignored me my whole life.  I adored him.  I would kiss his stubbly cheek goodnight, and he'd wave me away.  I'd bring him his dinner because he always ate in his chair in the living room, and he'd say in a grumpy voice, just put it down!    But I never gave up, and sometimes he would give me the time of day and it would be worth it.

I thought all dads were like that.  Then I'd go to a friend's house, and her dad would look right at her and talk to her!  And to me!  hmm.

I'm bringing this up because it shaped who I am.  I look back and feel sorry for the little girl that I was.  And I find myself continuously testing the waters with Paul, expecting him to yell, but he never does.  When he's quiet I'm tiptoeing around wondering what I did wrong, but he is just quiet sometimes, and has nothing against me.  Believe me, I've asked.  He's in a very good mood today, he's glad to be going camping too.  My dad loved camping, but my goodness, when he had to back up and hitch it up, we heard every bad word there was all strung together.  (we could imitate him pretty well too!).   We tried to stay out of his way....but then when we got into that station wagon and started down the road, he would sing The Bear Went Over The Mountain!, and all would be well.  

Anyway, I think this is why the gospel has so much appeal to me, why it's apprehended me.  For people to live before God's face in their daily life, and be kind to one another, forgiving one another...it's how I want to live!  My favorite verse:  Oh how good and blessed it is when brethren dwell together in unity.  (Psalm 133).  I've been blessed to be married to someone who lives like this too.  It doesn't mean it's always smooth sailing, we need to work for our salvation, and for peace.  He's different than I am, and I don't always understand him.  (I think the "spectrum" is on both sides of our family).    But.  I am learning more and more to let it be when he's quiet or seems uninterested.  I am learning to give him freedom and to love him as he is, without having these demands that he is this way or that way.  It's good this way, and freeing, and happy.  

I had no intentions of going so deep on this fine day, but then I never know what will be coming out when I start typing.  It's my therapy.  

Sunny knows something is up.  Paul put her bye-bye collar on her, and she sees us bringing stuff to the camper.  He's not here, and she's not letting me out of her sight.  Of course I told her there are special treats in the camper, and she did that little head tilt.  She's a giant pain in the rear end, in the tiny little camper.  She has assumed the couch as her little throne, so we gave in and just put towels on it.  She's a giant Lab and the camper is 17 feet long (not including the bunks).  But this time I can at least vacuum up the dog fur!  To be fair, she does make it fun.  She's getting old and it's sad, but she does love the beach.  

Ah well.  I don't know what to make this evening for dinner...I have four meals packed and we're going for  five nights, was thinking to make a quick beef stew in the instant pot and heat it up when we get there...

I really really want to bring this MacBook.   I really do.  I'll have electricity, and I can get wifi through my phone.   I am not sure...it's nice to get away from it, in a way, but also nice to blog...I might need the therapy ha...

You all have a really nice day!!!

the department of motor vehicles, ny state....

 New York likes to keep us safe, and they like to tax the living heck out of us too.  We have to get our vehicles inspected every year, and who knew that campers also had to have a yearly inspection?  shh, not me.  I thought maybe big huge-0 ones, but not teeny ones like ours.  

I did know they need to be registered, then re-registered yearly, for a fee of course.  Of course it wasn't as simple as doing it online, Paul and I both tried and got an error message.  Our county DMV has moved out of the city (the building had a calamity during a storm, then asbestos was discovered)...over to near the county jail, on a nice country road.  There is plenty of parking, no parallel parking or parking meters to deal with.  It's a temporary set up, but oh my goodness, are they efficient!  They are so nice too, no Patty and Selma here!  

All I had to do was give them the license plate number, my driver's license, and of course the good old credit card, and in less than half hour, I was walking out with registration that lasts for the rest of the year, and a ten day temporary inspection, for the bargain price of thirty two dollars!  (I did contact our mechanic down the road, and he can inspect it for us before our next camping trip, which isn't until August).  So we're all legal.  

 Oh, and I saw a random act of kindness:  in NY state, when you turn in your vehicle's license plates, you have to pay one dollar.  A guy turned in his plates, and handed the nice lady his credit card.  Oh no, she said, cash only.  Well, he said, I'll have to come back, I don't have a dollar...he walked out, and a nice man ran after him...then came back in, then the guy returned with the dollar in his hand...and returned his plates.  He didn't have to make a whole 'nother trip, because a stranger gave him a dollar.  It made us all happy.

I was all by myself, and nothing on the agenda, so I went into the city, and to the thrift store.  I browsed and meandered, bought two books, a toy cash register (kids love them!), and two baby outfits.  

Then to Aldi for chicken, fresh mozzarella, nuts, lime juice, thick sliced peppered bacon for camping (mmm!), cherries, salad mix, and one lovely blue gingham tablecloth that I didn't even know I needed!  Oh, and a lovely potted begonia.  I did behave though, I wanted these hanging solar lanterns, but I didn't need them.  

Then, I went into Marshall's, because why not?  I found a little Father's Day gift for Paul, two outfits for Evelyn's baby shower, some rooibos chai tea for the girls, and that's about it.  

So the bridge on the main road here that leads to the small city is being replaced.  This means all traffic has to detour to either a small rickety one-lane bridge over the river, or go a bit farther and go over a different bridge.  I choose rickety.  Well.  On the way home, there was a big box truck, a Home Depot delivery truck, in front of me.  It stopped as it entered the bridge, and one of the guys got out and looked up, must have figured it would fit, and over it went...I was behind it, in the little red car (my car is having some issues), and that truck stopped again at the other end, and I was almost pooping my pants, picturing myself backing up over that entire bridge.  It's wiggly wobbly driving on it, and this car was my mil's car, it has no back up cameras, and I am a TERRIBLE backer-upper.  Thankfully the truck fit the exit part of the bridge too, phew.  

Home....ahh, home.  I put some things in the camper, then into the house with a comforter that was left in the camper, to put it in the wash.  I started that load, put things away, and here I sit in my comfy chair.  It was a good day so far.  

getting there!!! small victories!

 So this fine morning, I got up and went to the pool, without the cane, for the first time!  I know, it's been over six months, it's about time, right?!  But.  It's still a giant celebration for me!  I didn't bring it to the beach yesterday, either.  When we were leaving, I walked across that sand in bare feet, which is a glorious thing.  Lake Ontario in May:  the sand is warm on top, cool underneath, just wonderful to walk in.  I got to the sidewalk, dropped my Birkenstocks, then realized I had to step into them without leaning on anything.  Easier said than done, but I managed to do it.  

Even though it has taken so long to reach these milestones, I am so happy about them, probably even more-so because they've taken so long to accomplish.  My walking is still wonky, my knee still feels mechanical sometimes, but I CAN walk, and for that I am grateful.  A few months back, I would imagine camping, and the part where I walked to the water:  I couldn't fathom being able to do it!  I worried about if my camper has a handle to help get up the steps, and yes, it does.  I can go in and out easily.  

After the pool, I parked in Emily's driveway, and Kathryn picked me up to go Wegmans with her.  We each pushed a "car-car cart", those carts with the seats and steering wheels...so all four of her kids got to drive.  I got Rhys and Jamie, she had Achilles and Ellis.  My car-car cart swerved and bumped into things and took corners rather crazily, those crazy driving kids.  They loved it so much!  Jamie and Rhys told an older gentleman, pointing at the other cart, that their baby brother was so funny.  They chatted to him, and he said, "You have made my day!"   

I did forget to get Ezekial bread, and wandered willy-nilly around the store, but I had fun, and I did buy steaks for camping, and burger, and a huge-0 bag of popcorn, blueberries, and a loaf of bread for the girls.  I splurged on diet lemon Snapple iced tea for camping too.  

Home...I put the camping food in the camper, and put the rugs back in there that I had shaken and dried in the sun...Paul said the leaking came from around the antenna on the roof and that he patched it up and we should be good. You have no idea how happy that makes me!  I hate that I love my camper so much...:). (Seriously though, if a camper gets leaky and damaged by water, it's not worth anything, and it's not like we could just replace it...so we need to keep it nice!)

I'm going to get up and get moving and get some things packed.  You all have a really good day!

beach day, grandchildren day, yay!

 "All the grandchildren are here today, we should get a picture." " Yes, we should. " But, those grandchildren were having a happy day running about Ben and Ashley's beautiful yard!  Swing set and sand box and trampoline, yard games, and trees to climb!  They were about worn out and the party was breaking up, tired children whining that they didn't WANT to go home!  So, we gathered them up willy-nilly, and took a really quick picture.  Some of them were all smiles, a few were glum, and one cute little two year old Denzel was NOT having it...he's crawling out of the picture here while his sister Ophelia sat there with a smile.  And, Rosi was in the house with baby Emilia so she wasn't in the picture either.  Baby Samantha was already in her car seat, Rhys and Ruth were making silly faces, Anya got to hold baby Kaia!  Wulf standing in the behind Tenny who thought Denzel was hilarious, Grant holding Maeve, with Blythe and Jamie,  who are cousin-besties, smiling big...Elise, Lydia, Anya in the back, Declan in front of Anya in his hat, then Achilles and his baby brother Ellis in the front corner.  

Aunt Emily with Ellis...Newton in the background, Sunny too

Blythe

Jamie and his little brother Ellis

Aunti Charlotte with Rhys and Ruth, who are cousins and besties and trouble:)

Molly, Mariel in the background...

Benjamin and Emily each manned a grill...

Oscar with his little Kaia

Two year old Maeve, Two year old Blythe, and Jamie just turned three.

Jonathan with Emila

Margaret's cookie cake

Now Ellis is in the wagon with Blythe and Jamie, with Maeve and Declan behind

Elise, Lydia, Anya...

Thirteen of my kids were there, 9 of the eleven daughters, and 3 of the five sons, with 8 spouses.  It went by too fast.  They played badminton and yard games and ran around and went on the swings and trampoline.  We totally enjoyed that the sun came out after a few days of cold rain.  

This fine morning, I had my coffee, then went out to the camper.  I vacuumed, and cleaned, and took inventory.   I was going to go to the DMV to register it, but...Sonja was going to the beach, so....hmmm...beach, DMV...beach, DMV...

You can see what I chose...and look at that swan!

Look at that baby!  She was wearing her hat, a long sleeved bathing suit, and plenty of sunscreen.  Cam was holding the fan on her.  It wasn't actually very hot out, high seventies but low humidity.  We stayed for about three hours, then home....ahh, home.  I put a load of laundry in (I found my sweatshirt and rain jacket in the camper, oops!  I also washed some bedding that was left in there...).  Then, I grilled pork chops that were marinating in lime juice and steak seasoning.  Cam made mashed potatoes, then Char reminded her they were signed up to mentor the Activity Club tonight, so out the door they went without dinner.  

So I am starting to pile stuff on the table to pack in the camper.  Clean bedding and towels, a new tablecloth, a bag of whole bean blonde roast coffee...shh, I ordered a new coffee grinder today...we had two but one of them broke, and I didn't want to leave the girls without one, so I just got a twenty dollar one...we're roughing it, but not THAT rough, ha.  I also ordered something I always wanted but thought was frivolous, but finally shelled out five whole dollars:  table cloth clips.  I usually do the put-the-cooler-on-the-table trick, or a jacket in the corner, maybe a candle or a rock...you know, the wind starts blowing and the lovely table cloth starts blowing too.  I feel so fancy now.  

We're going for five nights, and the weather forecast borders on dismal for this time of year.  It'll be high in the sixties, with a few days of possible rain.  60 and sunny is nice, but it's not swimming weather.  I'll probably go in anyway, Lake Ontario in late spring is refreshing, to say it nicely.  

I'm still in the meal planning stage, have to go buy some food, and finish packing.  The DMV trip has been postponed until Thursday morning.  

Ah well, you have a good evening!

a family picnic!

So the sheet cake I made for our Memorial Day picnic is all right...I mean, it's marble cake with buttercream, yum, but the writing on it, oh dear!  I want a do over!  Camille said it looks like the a comma after the L.  But to be fair, Paul had just realized that we haven't registered the camper, and was trying to do it online, but you know how those government websites can be, and it wouldn't let him.  "You'll have to go to the DMV", he was telling me.  So that's my excuse for the messy writing.

Cam did this little cake...

 I should have looked up a template or something to copy, but no, I just had to go freehanded...oh well.  It will taste good.

Today Benjamin and Ashley are having a family picnic at their house.  Badminton, cornhole, softball...coolers full of drinks (soft drinks, seltzers, water, iced coffee, not alcohol!).   We'll be grilling hot dogs and barbecued chicken, and there will be watermelons and fruits and salads, chips, cookies...all the good stuff.  

Best of all is that the family will be there.  I think 14 of the kids, spouses, all the grandkids...I'll try to take some good pictures!  You all have a very nice Memorial Day!

but on Fridays!

 On Fridays, we get up in the morning and go to the pool!   Monday, Wednesday, Friday.  This past week, for various reasons, I had to get up early on Tuesday and Thursday too.  wah, poor me, I know, most people have to get up early every single day, and yeah, for like 30+ years being a mom I always did too. But these last few years, well, I have been able to at least take it slower in the mornings when there's no swim class...

Anyway.  This fine day, after swim class I came home, put my feet up, but only for a few minutes, then I vacuumed.  The dryer is on the fritz, so Paul went to pick up a new part, which didn't work, so I am not sure what is happening next with it.  Sonja came over with baby Kaia, Cam and I went to Target with her.  I tried on a few things, but nah, nothing to bring home.  I did get some drinks, and applesauce, potatoes, corn dogs, tootsie pops, and olive oil.  so exciting, ha.  

Home...ahh, home.  I decided to get that sewing machine out.  I'm rusty, guys!  I need more patience and precision.  I did part of my project, but have the lion's share to go, but I was just rather done.  I have to leave soon to drive Camille to Kathryn's house, as they are going up to the lake for a girls' gathering.  I love love love my sewing machine, it's a Husqvarna, which I got used from a sewing machine dealer when Covid first plagued us.  It was a real clandestine deal, where I called them from the curb with my card number, then the guy brought the machine out and put it in the back, no contact.  The nice lady from the shop said she would teach me how to use it when things got back to normal, but at that point we thought just a few weeks?  Anyway.  I have an instruction manual and you-tube.  It sews so smoothly.  

Now it's Saturday morning, I had to get up early, again, to drive Miss Cam to work...she does have her driver's permit, but not her license yet, and Char is in Utah, so...

I have a cake to bake for Monday, thinking if I get it done today, I can frost it tomorrow.  I have to clean the camper, as we are going camping in SIX DAYS!!!!  I have to food plan and pack for that too.  I need to vacuum, as I do every day, and it can use a mop in here.  Outside projects are on hold, as it's going to rain soon.  I hope the rain has a nice time today and tomorrow and leaves us alone for our grand picnic at Ben's house on Monday!  I would request it make itself scarce for the camping trip too, but ha. 

Sleep evaded me in the early hours, truth be told.   I have a lot on my mind, and you know how it is, once you wake up, you have to use the bathroom, then you're wide awake.  I have a nightlight in there, so I don't have to turn on a light, that does help, but I'm trying to do this sewing project, so my mind is whirring...there isn't a pattern, it's a figure-it-out scenario.  This is where I miss my sister, she was a pro at these things!

Tennyson called me yesterday while I was in Target.  I bought him a little toy computer at the thrift store a bit ago, and he really wants to come over to get it.  So I invited them over today for dinner.  :)

I have pork chops, potatoes, applesauce, and either Brussel sprouts or broccoli, or maybe a salad...

Ah well...I am going to move it move it...besides, the cat is meowing incessantly to come back in, again!!!!  Have a good day!

oh no it wasn't easy...

 Looking back on life with lots of kids in the house, all sentimental about those squishy baby cheeks and bedtime stories, and going on adventures with oodles of kids all excited about the littlest things...it's easy to forget how challenging it really was.  Sleep was a precious commodity, and going to the bathroom alone was a rarity...well, I could sometimes manage to get in there and shut the door, but small children like to bang on bathroom doors and put their hands under them, and ask if you're almost done.  I've been known to choose either the one year old or the newborn to bring in with me, for safety reasons...I remember having to decide, on a case case basis, whether it was wiser to bolt down the hall quickly and just go while they were busy and maybe they wouldn't notice I was gone and decide it was a good time to dump the sugar bowl, or to announce it and warn them to be good.  

I had a Couch Monster of clean clothes to put away, things got put away, more came out of the dryer, and it was never 100% gone.  There was a Laundry Mountain in the doorway of the laundry room too.  I tried to get to the bottom of it, I did try.  

Dinner time was a three ring circus.  We used to drink milk with dinner, a gallon a meal.  I'm not sure there was ever a meal without at least one spill.  We used two high chairs and two booster seats, so the smaller children were contained, and the older ones had to ask to be excused, the younger kids wore bibs and got washed up before getting down.  Sometimes when Paul wasn't home for dinner, working late or traveling, I would give them a snack or dessert so I could quickly clean up while they were still at the table.  The floor HAD to be swept after dinner, I assigned it to different kids, and if they didn't do it properly, they had to come back in and do it again.  I tried to be nice about it, but they had to learn to sweep a floor.  I hated crumbs and sticky, still do.  I'm not the best big family mom candidate.  :)

The homework and folders and papers and school clothes and projects...then appointments (braces!  dentist appointments!  well check-ups!)...and every single night, dinner, again!  I remember running a frozen block of chicken under hot tap water, trying to break it apart so I could put it in the oven, good planner I was.  

The shoes and sandals or boots, over by the door were astounding, when 18 of us still lived here.  The coats and jackets and sweaters and snowpants and 9 or ten backpacks at any given time...

The kids could only eat at the table, except when they came home from school, they could sometimes have a snack at the coffee table and watch an afternoon tv show.  It was hard enough to keep the house clean without having yucky sticky hands on the furniture and crumbs everywhere!

Showers and baths...the little ones had recreational baths with toys and bubbles, but shower nights, especially after a day at the beach or the park or somewhere they got really dirty, they lined up in the hallway and had their turns.  I liked clean kids, and the babies and little ones got baths every day.  

Somehow, my sister and I managed to talk on the phone every day.  :). We also managed to go out and about quite frequently:  shopping, whole day excursions to the mall (she had seven girls).  We went to visit our mom, and brought her out and about too.  We went to the zoo, and berry picking, and on picnics, and sometimes she just brought her girls over here and they ran wild in the woods with my kids.  

My favorite thing was rocking a baby to sleep, but I do remember sitting there thinking of all I would accomplish when I laid that sleeping baby down in their little bed...oh, I would go to the bathroom!  I'd wipe down the counters, throw in a load of laundry, maybe change the toddler's diaper, get something out for dinner, make a stack of sandwiches for lunch...then I'd stealthily head down the hallway with that sleeping baby, and a fight would break out, the baby would wake up, and all my dreams of what I would do would slip away.

We didn't have cell phones, and the home phone was it's own version of hell when you have a baby to rock to sleep, or if you're outside with your kids.  I have a confession:  one time I was in the back yard with a bunch of small children, pushing them on the swings and watching them climb the steps and go down the slide, when the phone started ringing in the kitchen...it rang and rang, and I wondered if one of the older kids was sick at school, or something bad had happened to my parents...so I ran up those deck steps and into the house, and it was a spam call...I don't know how they knew I had a baby, but it was a marketing call asking how the new baby was, and I was so mad, I said, "The baby died..."  The poor person sputtered and apologized, and I felt horrible.  I hung up the phone, and prayed to God for forgiveness.

Okay, enough reminiscing for today.  I had a wonderful day...first the pool, then out to lunch with Becky and her two younger children, and Susan, and Grace.  We had a nice time and I missed my sister, but I told Becky she's just like her mama, and that's a compliment.  

Home...I had to vacuum and straighten up a bit, then pick Miss Cam up from work.  We had bacon and eggs for dinner.  It's a beautiful evening, with the windows open and the birds singing, I love spring and summer SO much!  

Emily and Mariel love to hike, they so nicely took Charlotte Claire to Utah with them! 

Char, Emily, Mariel...

Ah well...time to clean up dinner...you have a good evening!