When the power came on last night just before 11 Don and I were out in the front yard and I was responding via cell phone to a lovely FB post my sister sent out to her Ohio friends. She wanted her friends to be aware of our hurricane ravaged powerless state. Her friends responded instantly with thoughts and prayers and boom the lights went back on immediately. Apparently Ohio has some powerful prayer!
Nikki began hootin' and hollarin' and Yon stepped onto the back porch to do a little happy dance. For us- the moment the power returned- that is when our hurricane experience ended. Quite frankly if you can flush your toilet you got nuthin to complain about.
All told we got thru with no power from Sunday morning at ten a.m. to Monday night at 11pm. Only a person who has an extended outage can even comprehend all that goes into that.
For those of you who do not have well water, during a power outage perhaps you do not fully comprehend that it takes just over a gallon of fetched water to flush during no power. Our livestock take 15 gallons a day of fresh water. The water to keep 8 people in basic hygienic state is also substantial....we will not even discuss the laundry needs for us all as it does not even bear thinking about.
We were luckier than some neighbors in that although we lost a lot of brush and limbs, our yard was a carpet of pine boughs, only our bunny roof sustained some minor damage. It was fun the day of the storm to check up on animals and brave the gusty wind. Don and I were a bit intimidated when we watched a huge tree just miss our neighbors house. But mostly it was fun playing cards in the dark, eating melted ice cream, and having steak as a midnight snack.
The party was over when on Monday 3 of us had to work, no lights were on, ice was scarce, and we lost most of the contents of our fridge/freezer.
Our family lives a complicated schedule as you can imagine. 8 of us are here full time, but Corey in college still has to be fit into our schedule. (Last night he came while the lights were still out to borrow a vehicle. He has to be out of his summer housing today and cannot move into his fall housing for a couple of days, uggggg). Mary too although married had to be looked after and Don spent part of today taking care of her falling branches.
Between the 2 4H fairs the imminent start of 3 of us in college, back to school for 3 high schoolers, jobs, animals etc etc ect.....well there is simply no time to achieve all that and keep track of the myraid of things that need electricity in order to accomplish anything. By the end of last night my nerves were frayed enough so almost every child at least made an attempt to help out!
But of course they had their own worries. Poor Nikki for instance tried to straighten her hair while hunched in the car with one of the chargers. (We have a gadangus that you can hook up to a cigarette lighter and then plug a regular electric wire into it.)Joe was busy trying to get his summer reading done! The others were trying to fit work schedules in around school needs and oh boy it was STRESSFUL in the extreme.
To top it off our poor Lily, the decrepit Beardie was TERRIFIED and only today was brave enough to go down the backyard stairs. She actually held her water for 16 hours because she could not make herself get off the porch and go into the pine bough strewn yard. Every sound of limb or generator or wind caused her untold horrors. She is mostly deaf and blind but what did get through caused her doggy nightmares.
But the yard is mostly picked up, the tape removed from the picture window, and the emergency box returned to its cubby. The kids use to make fun of my little emergency box and my insistence that we practice things like fire drills. (In full disclosure what they made fun of was my thunderstorm and tornado drills!)
I sat at a work meeting today with friends who are still without power and as the stress emanated from them I could fully empathise. I love big wind and rain and snow but I. have had my full in 2011 I believe. I am ready for crisp fall days and indian summer
Tuesday, August 30, 2011
Saturday, August 27, 2011
Storm Prep
I love the whole 'batten down the hatches' routine. Checking on batteries, flashlights, candles and matches. Is there enough food, prescription meds, beverages? Where will everyone be - home or at work? My preference of course is that everyone remain home so I can indulge in my whole weather love affair without worrying about where my peeps are. (This time around it is Jamie who is furious with me. He feels comfortable sleeping over Marshfield fair in the barn because he feels its his job. I veto this as a mother because no one needs to put an 18 year old in harms way in charge of anything during a state of emergency. But I have not been on his good list in a while and this is just another reason for him to be disgusted with me. On the other hand he will never see that my keeping him home all day tomorrow could save his life or the very least his precious truck....PS: All animals are to be removed tonight and the fair is closed tomorrow but these small details mean nothing to a teen who needs to be mad at his mom. le sigh...)
Don finished the roof on time but went up there again to make certain all the gutters are free of debris. Nikki, Julie, Yon, Joe, Tim and I walked the yard removing lawn furniture and toys and other miscellany that might blow in the sustained winds that surely will accompany this mega storm. Tim and Julie worked diligently to help over at the East Middleboro Fair and Jamie has worked tirelessly at the Marshfield fair. Everyone has something to do on the Eve of a great storm.
Of course at our place the big concern is for the animals. Their homes and play areas are weather tight for every day storms. But wins blowing from the south and sustained circling wins over 40 miles an hour offer some tricky challenges. The birds are all out wandering now because their quarters have their winter boards up so that when they are locked in their coops they are storm tight. They do not seem to realise a storm is heading their way but perhaps they have every confidence in their needs being met!
I have decided that tonight I will remove bunnies who live in free standing hutches and put them in carry cages in the bunny barns. They will not be thrilled to be in that small space for 24 hours but they will have food water and be dry!
The big decision is trying to decide what to do about Cloudy and her nearly week old babies. She and they and their nest box will not fit into a carry cage. She will not be pleased however if I move her and her family to another doe's cage as that doe's scent will be everywhere.
The hutch they live in is just out the front door, low to the ground, and snug to the garden fence. Perhaps it would be best to tarp them in but good! I shall have to consult with Don about this....
For now I have the TV on as the constant updates and dramatic maps and reports feed my fascination for blowy weather. I have a horror of both thunderstorms and tornados. But wind rain and snow je adore!
I sincerely hope the storm finds all my friends and family snug and safe. We intend to sticking to home and Joe wants to try to make Irish Stew (Guiness stout and all!) C'mon Irene!
Don finished the roof on time but went up there again to make certain all the gutters are free of debris. Nikki, Julie, Yon, Joe, Tim and I walked the yard removing lawn furniture and toys and other miscellany that might blow in the sustained winds that surely will accompany this mega storm. Tim and Julie worked diligently to help over at the East Middleboro Fair and Jamie has worked tirelessly at the Marshfield fair. Everyone has something to do on the Eve of a great storm.
Of course at our place the big concern is for the animals. Their homes and play areas are weather tight for every day storms. But wins blowing from the south and sustained circling wins over 40 miles an hour offer some tricky challenges. The birds are all out wandering now because their quarters have their winter boards up so that when they are locked in their coops they are storm tight. They do not seem to realise a storm is heading their way but perhaps they have every confidence in their needs being met!
I have decided that tonight I will remove bunnies who live in free standing hutches and put them in carry cages in the bunny barns. They will not be thrilled to be in that small space for 24 hours but they will have food water and be dry!
The big decision is trying to decide what to do about Cloudy and her nearly week old babies. She and they and their nest box will not fit into a carry cage. She will not be pleased however if I move her and her family to another doe's cage as that doe's scent will be everywhere.
The hutch they live in is just out the front door, low to the ground, and snug to the garden fence. Perhaps it would be best to tarp them in but good! I shall have to consult with Don about this....
For now I have the TV on as the constant updates and dramatic maps and reports feed my fascination for blowy weather. I have a horror of both thunderstorms and tornados. But wind rain and snow je adore!
I sincerely hope the storm finds all my friends and family snug and safe. We intend to sticking to home and Joe wants to try to make Irish Stew (Guiness stout and all!) C'mon Irene!
Thursday, August 25, 2011
Up on the roof
House roofs are normally guaranteed for 20 to 25 years before they need to be stripped and re shingled. Our home was built in 1972. You do the math.
Like everything else around here it is always the worry of when to spend a big chunk of money and how to prioritise the myriad of projects that should get done. Don finally decided this was the week and we had some promise of help. But as often happens, the folks that hoped to help could not and it was left to Donnie to figure out what was needed and how to go about it all.
As he and I wandered the corridors of Lowes I marveled that he even knew where to begin and what to buy and in what quantity. Apparently I should have paid more attention in geometry class because measuring and angles has a lot to do with it.
I find shopping a drudge and very little captures my attention in Lowes or Home Depot. I mean there are no animals, food, or even books so really whats to look at? But he knew right where to go and pulled out a little stub of a notebook where he had jotted down various items and numbers. After consulting it a few time we put in the order and I wrote out the jaw dropping check and boom it all appeared at our door step the next morning.
The checkout girl was nice I guess. But she was quite shocked that we were using regular roofing nails and not nail gun nails. But Don knew that Tim and Joe would be our roof installers and a hammer is easier to swing. I think a nail gun weighs half of Joe's weight anyway.
By the way it takes 36 packs of shingles to cover our roof and each one weighs 90 pounds. It has to be picked up, hoisted over your shoulder, and then balanced while you climb a ladder, and then put the pack on the roof and drag it into place. WHEW.
Oh and you shovel the old stuff off of the roof and onto a tarp below where the old stuff gets shoveled into a wheelbarrow then dumped into a plastic bag like dumpster that later gets carted away. Did I mention I could do NONE of this stuff? Vertigo and no health insurance prevents me from being up on a roof. My back and neck prevents me from hoisting 90 pounds of anything, and shoveling is what got my neck to require a couple of cadavar bones last summer. So.....
I was left to do EVERYTHING ELSE THAT POSSIBLY NEEDED TO BE DONE, while Donnie shingled like a madman.
Julie tried to help up on the roof but the height and angle reduced her to tears. She and Yon did the lion's share of on the ground shoveling. Last night after Yon returned from work he even went out in the backyard to continue shoveling because at work he heard about the possible hurricane threat and wanted to help Donnie get the roof done.
Don felt so guilty seeing him out there. These past few days our normally laid back Pater has been a grouchy worrying guy. He felt his fretting about being done before the thundershowers today drove Yon out there after dark. But it was all the Shaws customers loading up on hurricane supplies that got Yon thinking.
Thankfully the rain held off and the roof is done. Wow what a great job they did too. Tim and Joe (and Nikki for a bit) really were big helps up on the roof.
We were very lucky in that the leaks that happened this winter (and anytime recently during a big rain) were not due to holes in the roof but instead due to a line of shingles slowly separating.
Finally we are snug and dry and ready to take on the hurricane thanks to Donnie and his crew. Should one of our big pine trees drop on that roof when Hurricane Irene rours in this weekend however .... well I think Donnie will have a coronary!
Like everything else around here it is always the worry of when to spend a big chunk of money and how to prioritise the myriad of projects that should get done. Don finally decided this was the week and we had some promise of help. But as often happens, the folks that hoped to help could not and it was left to Donnie to figure out what was needed and how to go about it all.
As he and I wandered the corridors of Lowes I marveled that he even knew where to begin and what to buy and in what quantity. Apparently I should have paid more attention in geometry class because measuring and angles has a lot to do with it.
I find shopping a drudge and very little captures my attention in Lowes or Home Depot. I mean there are no animals, food, or even books so really whats to look at? But he knew right where to go and pulled out a little stub of a notebook where he had jotted down various items and numbers. After consulting it a few time we put in the order and I wrote out the jaw dropping check and boom it all appeared at our door step the next morning.
The checkout girl was nice I guess. But she was quite shocked that we were using regular roofing nails and not nail gun nails. But Don knew that Tim and Joe would be our roof installers and a hammer is easier to swing. I think a nail gun weighs half of Joe's weight anyway.
By the way it takes 36 packs of shingles to cover our roof and each one weighs 90 pounds. It has to be picked up, hoisted over your shoulder, and then balanced while you climb a ladder, and then put the pack on the roof and drag it into place. WHEW.
Oh and you shovel the old stuff off of the roof and onto a tarp below where the old stuff gets shoveled into a wheelbarrow then dumped into a plastic bag like dumpster that later gets carted away. Did I mention I could do NONE of this stuff? Vertigo and no health insurance prevents me from being up on a roof. My back and neck prevents me from hoisting 90 pounds of anything, and shoveling is what got my neck to require a couple of cadavar bones last summer. So.....
I was left to do EVERYTHING ELSE THAT POSSIBLY NEEDED TO BE DONE, while Donnie shingled like a madman.
Julie tried to help up on the roof but the height and angle reduced her to tears. She and Yon did the lion's share of on the ground shoveling. Last night after Yon returned from work he even went out in the backyard to continue shoveling because at work he heard about the possible hurricane threat and wanted to help Donnie get the roof done.
Don felt so guilty seeing him out there. These past few days our normally laid back Pater has been a grouchy worrying guy. He felt his fretting about being done before the thundershowers today drove Yon out there after dark. But it was all the Shaws customers loading up on hurricane supplies that got Yon thinking.
Thankfully the rain held off and the roof is done. Wow what a great job they did too. Tim and Joe (and Nikki for a bit) really were big helps up on the roof.
We were very lucky in that the leaks that happened this winter (and anytime recently during a big rain) were not due to holes in the roof but instead due to a line of shingles slowly separating.
Finally we are snug and dry and ready to take on the hurricane thanks to Donnie and his crew. Should one of our big pine trees drop on that roof when Hurricane Irene rours in this weekend however .... well I think Donnie will have a coronary!
Wednesday, August 24, 2011
First Day of School
I am not quite sure why I was so nervous to start my first night of the Masters in Education program. I have been down this road before. In 2006 I went back to Bridgewater to finish my undergrad senior year. Maybe because Bridgewater has such a comfortable familiarity for me, while Curry is a whole unknown commodity. Or perhaps because a "Masters" seems so much more daunting than a "Bachelors." Or perhaps its that whole finance thing.
Whatever the reasons I arrived at Curry's Plymouth campus in a flop sweat. As I trudged up the stairs, making small talk with one of the other students (who was a good 20 years younger) I tried to slow my heart rate and relax. Walking into the classroom gave me a boost when I saw 3 men sitting in a row who were clearly older than I. But in opening my Curry packet the notes about the program read that there were 11 students, 10 female, 1 male. Turns out the 3 older gentleman were professors! The youngest student was 26, the oldest 48....that makes me.....
We had to introduce ourself, state our major (either elementary ed or special ed) and share one unique thing about ourselves. I thought of sharing my bunny showing hobby but went with my guaranteed ace in the hole. "I have had 50 children." Then I list birth, adopted, and foster. Not by name although like reciting the 50 United states in alphabetical order, I can do it. At any given moment of course I cannot say the proper child's name without stumbling over their siblings names (and occasionally tossing in a dogs name as well) but I can list every kid.
Naturally I won the 'unique thing' although I must admit I was most impressed with the girl who jumped off the second highest bungee jump in the world.
Turns out she and I took classes together at Bridgewater so the youngest and oldest Masters candidates bonded during break.
My biggest thrill was in discovering a wonderful invention called the 'ebrary' where I can check out and borrow 1000s of books and articles and get them instantly for free right on my cellphone. This is a geek girls ultimate fantasy.
Plus I once again have access to the latest research, oh, on everything. I kept having to stop myself from looking up current studies on Retts Syndrome or updated cocaine studies. It would not look good to be seen trawling the Internet during orientation even if it was in scholarly pursuit.
The first 3 classes look very interesting and very challenging so I am eager to get cracking. I shall keep you posted. The one sad part seems to be the whole satellite learning. While the drive to Plymouth is far more convenient than Milton every day, we have classrooms above a bank. Guess I wont be invited to any keg parties or get to write for the student newspaper!
But I am in good company. In addition to my 10 other cohort Masters mates I have a number of FB friends in Masters programs. Margo and Theology, Keri and Social Work, Jane and Elly and Christina in Teaching, and my darling Neil in Costume Design. So when I am dawdling on FB at least my other Masters friends will not shoo me back to work!
Whatever the reasons I arrived at Curry's Plymouth campus in a flop sweat. As I trudged up the stairs, making small talk with one of the other students (who was a good 20 years younger) I tried to slow my heart rate and relax. Walking into the classroom gave me a boost when I saw 3 men sitting in a row who were clearly older than I. But in opening my Curry packet the notes about the program read that there were 11 students, 10 female, 1 male. Turns out the 3 older gentleman were professors! The youngest student was 26, the oldest 48....that makes me.....
We had to introduce ourself, state our major (either elementary ed or special ed) and share one unique thing about ourselves. I thought of sharing my bunny showing hobby but went with my guaranteed ace in the hole. "I have had 50 children." Then I list birth, adopted, and foster. Not by name although like reciting the 50 United states in alphabetical order, I can do it. At any given moment of course I cannot say the proper child's name without stumbling over their siblings names (and occasionally tossing in a dogs name as well) but I can list every kid.
Naturally I won the 'unique thing' although I must admit I was most impressed with the girl who jumped off the second highest bungee jump in the world.
Turns out she and I took classes together at Bridgewater so the youngest and oldest Masters candidates bonded during break.
My biggest thrill was in discovering a wonderful invention called the 'ebrary' where I can check out and borrow 1000s of books and articles and get them instantly for free right on my cellphone. This is a geek girls ultimate fantasy.
Plus I once again have access to the latest research, oh, on everything. I kept having to stop myself from looking up current studies on Retts Syndrome or updated cocaine studies. It would not look good to be seen trawling the Internet during orientation even if it was in scholarly pursuit.
The first 3 classes look very interesting and very challenging so I am eager to get cracking. I shall keep you posted. The one sad part seems to be the whole satellite learning. While the drive to Plymouth is far more convenient than Milton every day, we have classrooms above a bank. Guess I wont be invited to any keg parties or get to write for the student newspaper!
But I am in good company. In addition to my 10 other cohort Masters mates I have a number of FB friends in Masters programs. Margo and Theology, Keri and Social Work, Jane and Elly and Christina in Teaching, and my darling Neil in Costume Design. So when I am dawdling on FB at least my other Masters friends will not shoo me back to work!
Sunday, August 21, 2011
When I showed bunnies... for Elly and Carolyn
When I showed bunnies with Donnie: well the first question he always asks is, are the kids coming? Because you see he much prefers bunny shows without having to watch the children. But when they were small he came to shows to help corral them (the children not the rabbits!)He often brings his guitar. He prefers summer shows when the fair goers wear inappropriately revealing clothing. Once as a sign of great love and a special gift for him, I had a young mother move over so her toddler son could 'see the bunny better'. This also put her in direct line of Donnie's vision and her shirt was, well how to put it? Well filled and barely there. Now when we go to shows together we try to combine them with an overnight somewhere.
When I showed bunnies with Mary: well she really got us into true showing with her keen interest in genetics and genealogy. We traveled together to two National Conventions and enjoyed many an intimate conversation with her as my copilot. She got her first Holland lop at age 11 and through her I met some of my most cherished bunny friends. Although she no longer shows she does have one little bunny and she is always willing to discuss breeding pairs, color genetics and all things bunny. When she was accepted into Brown they offered her lab space to set up her bunnies!
When I showed bunnies with Tim: well my boy has driven me to many a far away show and never balks at highway driving. He names many of his bunnies after weather words and once had a litter of Dutch during a terrible thunderstorm. He and I shared a poignant moment when Rainy, his cherished 11 year old bunny suffered a stroke and died in our arms. She is buried under the beauty bush and when it blossoms I still think of her and the love Tim felt for her. Showing rabbits is something this shy boy could do and be totally accepted. He no longer shows but still has 2 pet Dutch.
When I showed bunnies with Corey: well he had a rabbit named Houdini who could get out of any cage ever devised! Corey did not show long but once, as his interest was waning he asked me over breakfast if there was such a thing as a 'chinchilla netherland dwarf.' He dreamed about one the night before with such vividness that it was all he could think about. I knew no one who had any or even where to look for one. But later that morning as I checked nest boxes, what do you think I found? Our only born in our barn chinchilla! Corey was thrilled and remained showing for a while after.
When I showed bunnies with Julie: well our rabbit habit is all Julie's fault, isn't it? When she was four we got our first bunnies and have never looked back. I still can picture her, at 5 years old, hiding under one of the long benches at Camp Kiwanee pretending to be a bunny and insisting we feed her carrots. Our 'Deliverance' experience in the wilds of Maine I wrote about in this blog (see August of 2009!) Her French Angora won at the National level in 2004. She still has one re-homed Lionhead.
When I showed bunnies with Jamie: well Jamie showed his first bunny, a Red New Zealand, in a basket when he was only 3 years old. His bunny Present, a little Dutch torte received for his 4th birthday, got our whole family into Dutch. Jamie helped me out as the older 4 outgrew rabbits. He was a great travel companion and never complained about lugging rabbit cages and such. He has always been a favorite with adult rabbit breeders because of his willingness to help out at shows. Both Jamie and Mary wrote for the National Holland Lop magazine! He no longer does bunnies although he spends the week at the Marshfield Fair cleaning up after cows!
When I showed rabbits with Nikki: well Nikki also showed her first bunny at the age of 3 and she has been a dwarf girl like her mother. She has never really been into the bunnies but she has always been into traveling with her mother and getting prizes. She went to 2 conventions and had good luck winning at the rabbit raffle tables. She no longer shows although she does have one spoiled pet bunny Duchess who used to sleep in her room and has a rhinestone collar. When she and I were alone in the hotel room at the Ohio convention (Mary was at the youth banquet) she began to jump (she was 4) up and down on the big bed. I was deeply depressed, having just blown the engine in our van (a very long story!) and trying to figure out how to feed us for a week and get us back home. "Come jump with me mom it will make you feel better." So I did and we had a great time jumping and laughing and falling on the bed. Then, next morning I stepped outside our hotel room at the exact moment our neighbor was stepping out his door. Our rooms shared the same wall. He looked me up and down (he was gay) and giving me a big grin he said "You go girl. It sounded like you had a great time last night" with a waggle of his eyebrows he sashayed off (he really did sashay!) Apparently he did not know I had kids in the room and assumed I had gotten VERY lucky. I was mortified.
When I showed bunnies with Joe: well we still show together. We just spent 2 hours tonight after the show, re breeding bunnies, sorting out and sexing babies, and making breeding plans for the next year. We cleaned water bowls and nest boxes and joked and teased and played with rabbits. His knowledge of color genetics is growing and he offered great insight into our next steps. We shared one of the most horrific moments in our bunny career, when years ago his little orange bunny Carrot was torn to pieces by a husky that had ripped through our barns. There were bits of rabbits everywhere and oh the blood..... 4 bunnies were killed but the true tragedy was little Carrot who spent the mornings watching Spongebob with Joe before kindergarten. When Joe saw the blood he had a flashback, reliving some painful past memory of his abusive past. I could not reach through to him. Even waving my hands in front of his face and shaking him did not stop the flashback. I finally brought him into the bathroom and began running cold water over his hands. I could see his face in the mirror and saw the moment he came back to the real world by looking into his eyes. I had never as a foster parent been trained to deal with a flashback. He had others over the years but never anything so complete as that day.
When I showed bunnies with myself: Well that happens much more often now especially since Joe is the only kid currently still showing. I love my bunny friends and I have a great time at every show. But always I have some little memory about this child or that one or some adventure we shared. At Marshfield today I remembered the time Tim fainted while standing in the hot sun waiting for the judge to make his decision. Also Mary's first BOB was at Marshfield.
When I am at Topsfield I remember my glorious victory in Worst in Show! Or the time we all slept in a tent there when my kids were little. The fair was not going on and I was told it was not only safe but very peaceful. Except the Boy Scouts of America had rented part of the fairgrounds for a jamboree and 900 Boys Scouts camped 600 yards away!
So this is a snippet of bunny showing.
When I showed bunnies with Mary: well she really got us into true showing with her keen interest in genetics and genealogy. We traveled together to two National Conventions and enjoyed many an intimate conversation with her as my copilot. She got her first Holland lop at age 11 and through her I met some of my most cherished bunny friends. Although she no longer shows she does have one little bunny and she is always willing to discuss breeding pairs, color genetics and all things bunny. When she was accepted into Brown they offered her lab space to set up her bunnies!
When I showed bunnies with Tim: well my boy has driven me to many a far away show and never balks at highway driving. He names many of his bunnies after weather words and once had a litter of Dutch during a terrible thunderstorm. He and I shared a poignant moment when Rainy, his cherished 11 year old bunny suffered a stroke and died in our arms. She is buried under the beauty bush and when it blossoms I still think of her and the love Tim felt for her. Showing rabbits is something this shy boy could do and be totally accepted. He no longer shows but still has 2 pet Dutch.
When I showed bunnies with Corey: well he had a rabbit named Houdini who could get out of any cage ever devised! Corey did not show long but once, as his interest was waning he asked me over breakfast if there was such a thing as a 'chinchilla netherland dwarf.' He dreamed about one the night before with such vividness that it was all he could think about. I knew no one who had any or even where to look for one. But later that morning as I checked nest boxes, what do you think I found? Our only born in our barn chinchilla! Corey was thrilled and remained showing for a while after.
When I showed bunnies with Julie: well our rabbit habit is all Julie's fault, isn't it? When she was four we got our first bunnies and have never looked back. I still can picture her, at 5 years old, hiding under one of the long benches at Camp Kiwanee pretending to be a bunny and insisting we feed her carrots. Our 'Deliverance' experience in the wilds of Maine I wrote about in this blog (see August of 2009!) Her French Angora won at the National level in 2004. She still has one re-homed Lionhead.
When I showed bunnies with Jamie: well Jamie showed his first bunny, a Red New Zealand, in a basket when he was only 3 years old. His bunny Present, a little Dutch torte received for his 4th birthday, got our whole family into Dutch. Jamie helped me out as the older 4 outgrew rabbits. He was a great travel companion and never complained about lugging rabbit cages and such. He has always been a favorite with adult rabbit breeders because of his willingness to help out at shows. Both Jamie and Mary wrote for the National Holland Lop magazine! He no longer does bunnies although he spends the week at the Marshfield Fair cleaning up after cows!
When I showed rabbits with Nikki: well Nikki also showed her first bunny at the age of 3 and she has been a dwarf girl like her mother. She has never really been into the bunnies but she has always been into traveling with her mother and getting prizes. She went to 2 conventions and had good luck winning at the rabbit raffle tables. She no longer shows although she does have one spoiled pet bunny Duchess who used to sleep in her room and has a rhinestone collar. When she and I were alone in the hotel room at the Ohio convention (Mary was at the youth banquet) she began to jump (she was 4) up and down on the big bed. I was deeply depressed, having just blown the engine in our van (a very long story!) and trying to figure out how to feed us for a week and get us back home. "Come jump with me mom it will make you feel better." So I did and we had a great time jumping and laughing and falling on the bed. Then, next morning I stepped outside our hotel room at the exact moment our neighbor was stepping out his door. Our rooms shared the same wall. He looked me up and down (he was gay) and giving me a big grin he said "You go girl. It sounded like you had a great time last night" with a waggle of his eyebrows he sashayed off (he really did sashay!) Apparently he did not know I had kids in the room and assumed I had gotten VERY lucky. I was mortified.
When I showed bunnies with Joe: well we still show together. We just spent 2 hours tonight after the show, re breeding bunnies, sorting out and sexing babies, and making breeding plans for the next year. We cleaned water bowls and nest boxes and joked and teased and played with rabbits. His knowledge of color genetics is growing and he offered great insight into our next steps. We shared one of the most horrific moments in our bunny career, when years ago his little orange bunny Carrot was torn to pieces by a husky that had ripped through our barns. There were bits of rabbits everywhere and oh the blood..... 4 bunnies were killed but the true tragedy was little Carrot who spent the mornings watching Spongebob with Joe before kindergarten. When Joe saw the blood he had a flashback, reliving some painful past memory of his abusive past. I could not reach through to him. Even waving my hands in front of his face and shaking him did not stop the flashback. I finally brought him into the bathroom and began running cold water over his hands. I could see his face in the mirror and saw the moment he came back to the real world by looking into his eyes. I had never as a foster parent been trained to deal with a flashback. He had others over the years but never anything so complete as that day.
When I showed bunnies with myself: Well that happens much more often now especially since Joe is the only kid currently still showing. I love my bunny friends and I have a great time at every show. But always I have some little memory about this child or that one or some adventure we shared. At Marshfield today I remembered the time Tim fainted while standing in the hot sun waiting for the judge to make his decision. Also Mary's first BOB was at Marshfield.
When I am at Topsfield I remember my glorious victory in Worst in Show! Or the time we all slept in a tent there when my kids were little. The fair was not going on and I was told it was not only safe but very peaceful. Except the Boy Scouts of America had rented part of the fairgrounds for a jamboree and 900 Boys Scouts camped 600 yards away!
So this is a snippet of bunny showing.
Tuesday, August 16, 2011
Whirlwind getaway
Busy day today. After milking the goat and feeding the ducks and chickens, and gathering eggs I tried with some success to get my brother up and moving before noon.
When Yon first moved in with us I figured we would all learn to compromise as we adjusted to having our family expanded and he adjusted to leaving every familiar thing and beginning life in a new town.
Well after nearly 9 years he is fully part of the Carver community, working at Shaws, haircuts at Roonies, walking his dog around our neighborhood daily, voting, church etc.
Somethings though he has never been able (or chosen not to) adjust to. So no matter what our schedule is he insists on being up late and sleeping in late. For instance if left to himself he would roll out of bed after 11 and it would take well over an hour for him to eat breakfast drink 2 cups of coffee and get dressed. He never ever combs his hair and shaving is only begrudgingly done at my insistence.
Even if he needs to wake up early for something he truly wants to do, like Special Olympics, or his summer shed building project, he cannot on his own get up and go. If he must be up an adult needs to dedicate themselves to this task of moving him along, pulling out his clothes, food etc.
His normally cheerful countenance is replaced by a surly adolescent grouchiness guaranteed to make you crazy! Aggravating enough to have to get an adult up and going let alone have to deal with attitude! After a couple of hours of course he is full of good cheer and apologies.
We have tried a number of techniques to move his bedtime back with no real success. This is simply who he is. The price we pay for the honor of his living with us....
Today it took the combined efforts of Don, Nikki and I to get him going because we were getting him a new wardrobe. Once we were at the stored he could not have been more charming. He readily tried on the new jeans and offered his opinion on styles and colors. I spent time teaching him to use his own debit card and the cashiers at each store were very patient and helpful. We even talked him into an electric razor thinking that might make for an easier shave for him and he seems pleased.
Now he is putting his stuff away and Very happy that I remembered batteries for his Wii as he has been dying to try out his new cars 2 game.
I am trying to pack for an overnight getaway with the girls. Every year in August Mary, Julie, Nikki, and I try to do something just the 4 of us. Someday we will go on a exotic cruise of soemtihng! this year with money so tight we are lucky to be able to stay FOR FREE in Wareham right on the pond at a Friends summer place. (Thanks Jen!)
We will bring our own food and spend the day tomorrow kayaking and swimming and lounging around. Or if we are motivated Mary can get us into the Audubon places for free with her museum pass. If its very hot we may even head to the beach...or perhaps a walk along the canal.
Just the 4 of us, myself and my 3 wonderful daughters. They grow too fast we are very lucky indeed to have this chance to getaway
When Yon first moved in with us I figured we would all learn to compromise as we adjusted to having our family expanded and he adjusted to leaving every familiar thing and beginning life in a new town.
Well after nearly 9 years he is fully part of the Carver community, working at Shaws, haircuts at Roonies, walking his dog around our neighborhood daily, voting, church etc.
Somethings though he has never been able (or chosen not to) adjust to. So no matter what our schedule is he insists on being up late and sleeping in late. For instance if left to himself he would roll out of bed after 11 and it would take well over an hour for him to eat breakfast drink 2 cups of coffee and get dressed. He never ever combs his hair and shaving is only begrudgingly done at my insistence.
Even if he needs to wake up early for something he truly wants to do, like Special Olympics, or his summer shed building project, he cannot on his own get up and go. If he must be up an adult needs to dedicate themselves to this task of moving him along, pulling out his clothes, food etc.
His normally cheerful countenance is replaced by a surly adolescent grouchiness guaranteed to make you crazy! Aggravating enough to have to get an adult up and going let alone have to deal with attitude! After a couple of hours of course he is full of good cheer and apologies.
We have tried a number of techniques to move his bedtime back with no real success. This is simply who he is. The price we pay for the honor of his living with us....
Today it took the combined efforts of Don, Nikki and I to get him going because we were getting him a new wardrobe. Once we were at the stored he could not have been more charming. He readily tried on the new jeans and offered his opinion on styles and colors. I spent time teaching him to use his own debit card and the cashiers at each store were very patient and helpful. We even talked him into an electric razor thinking that might make for an easier shave for him and he seems pleased.
Now he is putting his stuff away and Very happy that I remembered batteries for his Wii as he has been dying to try out his new cars 2 game.
I am trying to pack for an overnight getaway with the girls. Every year in August Mary, Julie, Nikki, and I try to do something just the 4 of us. Someday we will go on a exotic cruise of soemtihng! this year with money so tight we are lucky to be able to stay FOR FREE in Wareham right on the pond at a Friends summer place. (Thanks Jen!)
We will bring our own food and spend the day tomorrow kayaking and swimming and lounging around. Or if we are motivated Mary can get us into the Audubon places for free with her museum pass. If its very hot we may even head to the beach...or perhaps a walk along the canal.
Just the 4 of us, myself and my 3 wonderful daughters. They grow too fast we are very lucky indeed to have this chance to getaway
Saturday, August 13, 2011
Mastering
In ten days I begin an intensive Master's Program culminating in a MEd. After December 2012 you can just call me Master.....
Hmmmm, while I look forward to the studies I just do not see myself as the master, that term is reserved for my sisterinlaw who completed her Master's in Reiki. She truly is The master.
I look forward to it with much the same joy and trepidation as I did back in the Fall of 06 when I went to complete my undergraduate degree. After 25 years since my Freshman year, that undertaking felt VERY odd and wonderful and frightening. I blogged about it here and in rereading those posts (and the articles I wrote for the college newspaper) the excitement and nervousness all come back to me. That and the joy, the pure joy of learning something new, of questioning and exploring and delighting in academia.
I have always been fascinated to learn new things and my curiosity is always peaked when I sit in a classroom where a professor or student is really invested and involved in something. To have the opportunity to be back in that atmosphere yet again is awesome!
I wonder how different it will be going to a satellite school as opposed to a regular campus? Bridgewater State was very familiar to me even with the physical changes that had occurred in the 25 years since my first year there. But I loved that school and had even gone there for PCC. My son went there, we lived next to the college as newlyweds, so it was as dear and familiar to me as my own small town.
Now I will be enrolled as a student at Curry. I wonder how their philosophies will differ from Bridgewater? What will my fellow students be like? When I went back to finish my senior year I went during the day so not only was I the oldest student but I was also the older than most of my professors!
Now I imagine I will be with people who remember the 80s, not have been born in the 80s. I suppose it will be a group of people much like myself ,who work in education or who are career changer whose degree in undergrad work was something other than education. (The program I am in is not only a Masters in education program but it is also a teacher prep program.)
Last night my Mary spent some time with me sharing what her Masters program was like. Northeastern like Curry has a cohort philosophy so the folks in your class are in all your classes straight through. The theory is this develops a great support system of fellow professionals for you. Mary is close friends with a number of those in her cohort, she even got one of them a job at her place! So apparently it works!
She and I also spent some time discussing PhD programs and how to do research and how to pick the right person to work under and all those other corollary things that go into Academia. She is looking into continuing her studies but the original person she thought to mentor under, well it turns out he is an Ass. Smart and innovative he may be (although he apparently steals his students work as his own) but ass nonetheless.
There is only one other person in the country working on what I want to explore, and he is at Brown. But I am jumping ahead of myself. Right now I have to make certain the financial aid is in place for This program and then juggle the course work, two part time jobs, and parent 3 teenagers while my other 2 are still in college. Then there is my brother (who may be doing some outreach for ARC in addition to his special Olympics stuff) and Tim and Mary . Of course we cannot forget the animals on our little farm. Ah yes and Don's continued work search for full time/benefited employment while he simultaneously gets his handy man business going (so far so good there, thank heavens.)
Fall is always anticipated with great enthusiasm. This looks to be a back to school season busier than most. I feel invigorated and eager and a little apprehensive. (OK my truly dread moment is having to take the math portion of the General Education MTEL. All my studying paid off and I passed with ease the other MTELS, but oy vey the math is hard!)
I picked up a few back to school outfits (all on sale of course and nikki approved) and I am clearing my computer desk in preperation for 'student study spot' mode. Wish me luck.
Because I am truly in a SCHOOL DAZE.
Hmmmm, while I look forward to the studies I just do not see myself as the master, that term is reserved for my sisterinlaw who completed her Master's in Reiki. She truly is The master.
I look forward to it with much the same joy and trepidation as I did back in the Fall of 06 when I went to complete my undergraduate degree. After 25 years since my Freshman year, that undertaking felt VERY odd and wonderful and frightening. I blogged about it here and in rereading those posts (and the articles I wrote for the college newspaper) the excitement and nervousness all come back to me. That and the joy, the pure joy of learning something new, of questioning and exploring and delighting in academia.
I have always been fascinated to learn new things and my curiosity is always peaked when I sit in a classroom where a professor or student is really invested and involved in something. To have the opportunity to be back in that atmosphere yet again is awesome!
I wonder how different it will be going to a satellite school as opposed to a regular campus? Bridgewater State was very familiar to me even with the physical changes that had occurred in the 25 years since my first year there. But I loved that school and had even gone there for PCC. My son went there, we lived next to the college as newlyweds, so it was as dear and familiar to me as my own small town.
Now I will be enrolled as a student at Curry. I wonder how their philosophies will differ from Bridgewater? What will my fellow students be like? When I went back to finish my senior year I went during the day so not only was I the oldest student but I was also the older than most of my professors!
Now I imagine I will be with people who remember the 80s, not have been born in the 80s. I suppose it will be a group of people much like myself ,who work in education or who are career changer whose degree in undergrad work was something other than education. (The program I am in is not only a Masters in education program but it is also a teacher prep program.)
Last night my Mary spent some time with me sharing what her Masters program was like. Northeastern like Curry has a cohort philosophy so the folks in your class are in all your classes straight through. The theory is this develops a great support system of fellow professionals for you. Mary is close friends with a number of those in her cohort, she even got one of them a job at her place! So apparently it works!
She and I also spent some time discussing PhD programs and how to do research and how to pick the right person to work under and all those other corollary things that go into Academia. She is looking into continuing her studies but the original person she thought to mentor under, well it turns out he is an Ass. Smart and innovative he may be (although he apparently steals his students work as his own) but ass nonetheless.
There is only one other person in the country working on what I want to explore, and he is at Brown. But I am jumping ahead of myself. Right now I have to make certain the financial aid is in place for This program and then juggle the course work, two part time jobs, and parent 3 teenagers while my other 2 are still in college. Then there is my brother (who may be doing some outreach for ARC in addition to his special Olympics stuff) and Tim and Mary . Of course we cannot forget the animals on our little farm. Ah yes and Don's continued work search for full time/benefited employment while he simultaneously gets his handy man business going (so far so good there, thank heavens.)
Fall is always anticipated with great enthusiasm. This looks to be a back to school season busier than most. I feel invigorated and eager and a little apprehensive. (OK my truly dread moment is having to take the math portion of the General Education MTEL. All my studying paid off and I passed with ease the other MTELS, but oy vey the math is hard!)
I picked up a few back to school outfits (all on sale of course and nikki approved) and I am clearing my computer desk in preperation for 'student study spot' mode. Wish me luck.
Because I am truly in a SCHOOL DAZE.
Monday, August 08, 2011
Falling Down and getting up
I am in need of some retroactive sympathy. Yesterday while walking down my back porch steps I slipped third from the top and landed smack at the bottom, after skidding down every single slick tread on my back.
When I stopped, and really not even a second of time had gone by I fell so fast, I burst into noisy tears and clambered clumsily back up the stairs into the kitchen. Poor Don was just finishing a phone call to his mom, he hastily hung up and grabbed an ice pack for the worst of my lower back.
It took me a few moments of real sobbing and blubbering for me to get out the key words which were that I did not think I had done serious damage. My neck surgery was just 13 months ago but as the doctors explored the extent of my disc damage it was discovered that my entire spinal column is riddled with arthritis, other discs have some damage, and the right side of my back has smaller holes through which the nerves to my right side of my body exit. Falling on my back on the back stairs is contraindicated to say the least!
As I reflected later on, I wondered why I reacted so differently than I normally do. I think I was just plain scared. Fast, hard, and horizontal is not the way to take the stairs. I was industriously in the midst of farm chores when it happened, and even with a soft warm rain falling I was very happy to be engaged in that pursuit.
My mind had been filled with a variety of bunny thoughts, having just come back from the Midnite Madness show in Topsfield and I wanted to do all the work of the day. I did not lie down for a while like Don suggested although I did follow his advice (ok it was more of a command, something he rearely does!) and I left the raking of the goat area until tomorrow.
Instead I took some motrin and carefully stretched and then avoided the stairs like they were the plague. I was very conscious anytime I lfted anything heavier than a bunny and I moved with careful deliberation.
This morning I woke to some stiffness and soreness and some interesting looking bruises! The fear came in about how fast it happened and how much worse it could have been. These are not the kinds of thoughts I normally engage in. But I must admit I fretted about a lot of what ifs before getting a grip and letting it go.
Now I am about to go outside and rake out the pen although I will leave the two piles to be shoveled into a wheelbarrow for one of the younger folk around here. Then I head off to work with my special little girl.
Believe you me SHE has certainly been on my mind. On Wednesday when I cared for her we had a great day. We took a long walk, watched Celtic Thunder and The Wiggles, read books, and played silly games with her balls and cards. We even took a long walk and her neighborhood is all hills. Pushing a 47 pound child in a sturdy carriage around there REALLY builds muscle.
It had been a fun day and she was fully engaged and gave the impression of someone who really was comprehending what was going on around her and what we were doing together. But the next day her legs wobbled as if made from spaghetti. Her attention span was almost nil and even with a nap and carriage walk she was unable to marshal any sort of meaningful concentration. I6 seemed as frustrating ot her as it was to me. It was as if she was well aware that her body would not cooporate and it really bothered her. But unlike myself she had no verbal way to express it. She fell that day 16 times in the 5 hours, and I caught her 13 times. But that meant 3 times she hit the ground hard.
As I move about a little gingerly today I think what it must be like for her. I vow I will catch her everytime she loses her balance but we all know that is just not possible. One day at a time is all you can do but as I cautiously rake today and do my daily routine I will appreciate a body that most of the time does what I need it too.
When I stopped, and really not even a second of time had gone by I fell so fast, I burst into noisy tears and clambered clumsily back up the stairs into the kitchen. Poor Don was just finishing a phone call to his mom, he hastily hung up and grabbed an ice pack for the worst of my lower back.
It took me a few moments of real sobbing and blubbering for me to get out the key words which were that I did not think I had done serious damage. My neck surgery was just 13 months ago but as the doctors explored the extent of my disc damage it was discovered that my entire spinal column is riddled with arthritis, other discs have some damage, and the right side of my back has smaller holes through which the nerves to my right side of my body exit. Falling on my back on the back stairs is contraindicated to say the least!
As I reflected later on, I wondered why I reacted so differently than I normally do. I think I was just plain scared. Fast, hard, and horizontal is not the way to take the stairs. I was industriously in the midst of farm chores when it happened, and even with a soft warm rain falling I was very happy to be engaged in that pursuit.
My mind had been filled with a variety of bunny thoughts, having just come back from the Midnite Madness show in Topsfield and I wanted to do all the work of the day. I did not lie down for a while like Don suggested although I did follow his advice (ok it was more of a command, something he rearely does!) and I left the raking of the goat area until tomorrow.
Instead I took some motrin and carefully stretched and then avoided the stairs like they were the plague. I was very conscious anytime I lfted anything heavier than a bunny and I moved with careful deliberation.
This morning I woke to some stiffness and soreness and some interesting looking bruises! The fear came in about how fast it happened and how much worse it could have been. These are not the kinds of thoughts I normally engage in. But I must admit I fretted about a lot of what ifs before getting a grip and letting it go.
Now I am about to go outside and rake out the pen although I will leave the two piles to be shoveled into a wheelbarrow for one of the younger folk around here. Then I head off to work with my special little girl.
Believe you me SHE has certainly been on my mind. On Wednesday when I cared for her we had a great day. We took a long walk, watched Celtic Thunder and The Wiggles, read books, and played silly games with her balls and cards. We even took a long walk and her neighborhood is all hills. Pushing a 47 pound child in a sturdy carriage around there REALLY builds muscle.
It had been a fun day and she was fully engaged and gave the impression of someone who really was comprehending what was going on around her and what we were doing together. But the next day her legs wobbled as if made from spaghetti. Her attention span was almost nil and even with a nap and carriage walk she was unable to marshal any sort of meaningful concentration. I6 seemed as frustrating ot her as it was to me. It was as if she was well aware that her body would not cooporate and it really bothered her. But unlike myself she had no verbal way to express it. She fell that day 16 times in the 5 hours, and I caught her 13 times. But that meant 3 times she hit the ground hard.
As I move about a little gingerly today I think what it must be like for her. I vow I will catch her everytime she loses her balance but we all know that is just not possible. One day at a time is all you can do but as I cautiously rake today and do my daily routine I will appreciate a body that most of the time does what I need it too.
Sunday, August 07, 2011
Testing Testing Testing one two three...
I have written two blogs recently and tried to post (from 3 different computers) and each time the post got lost, deleted, or sent out into the stratosphere. I have no idea how this has happened. I is not like I have suddenly changed the way I write or post.
Therefore this blog will be short and sweet until I am certain that whatever glitch has occured was transitory. Lets see how this posts. First I will 'save' then I shall commence to 'post'.
Therefore this blog will be short and sweet until I am certain that whatever glitch has occured was transitory. Lets see how this posts. First I will 'save' then I shall commence to 'post'.
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