Busy Little Bee

It's been a fantastic, crazy, itchy, eventful summer here. I'm taking lots of family pictures (for us, of course, but also for other families), and I had so much fun taking these the other day. This is Joe-Henry's third (and FOURTH!!!) grade teacher and her amazing, beautiful family.

Enjoy!

The Title of This Photo Is:

Nine year old becomes youngest CEO of major bank while wearing his bathrobe and pajamas.



My hubby brought home my Valentine's present a few days early - a Nikon sb 600 speedlight flash. I'm taking a group photo for a couple friends later this month and needed one. The weather here in the northwest is notoriously iffy and cold and rainy, so if we can't go outside, I needed to figure something out for an indoor shoot. Charley knew this, and called to ask if it would be "sweet enough" if he got me one for Valentine's Day. Lord, I love this man.

The boy and I were both sickies yesterday, but I got him to pose for me a couple times while I tried to play with the light. If you look close you can see the purple spots around his eyes from where he broke blood vessels dry heaving.

I only work with the most glamorous models.

Seriously though: I can't believe this beautiful, soulful kid is ours. How incredibly lucky are we?!

You CAN Go Home Again

I spent so much of my growing up time tapping my foot, waiting to blow the small town dust off my britches, and then spent the NEXT twenty years looking over my shoulder heaving a sigh of relief that I HAD escaped. Last weekend, I roadtripped with my sister and Joe-Henry back to the old stompin' grounds to hang with my brother, his daughter and her sweet family, and to catch up on the lives of friends, some of whom I hadn't seen in at least 30 years. And I realized how much I had missed it - this town where I grew up. It seems more beautiful to me each time I visit.

We packed baseball gloves and ice cold pops and I took my camera. I burned some cd's for the road, and both coming and going we sang and soaked in the gorgeous scenery. The Columbia Gorge is one of the most beautiful places on earth, and just outside the Dalles, we saw a herd of Big Horn sheep grazing the narrow rock wall above us. There was no stopping to take pictures, the road was too narrow, but suffice to say that we were all in awe. I did manage to get some pics once we hit the Palouse, but mostly the camera was used to take shots of sweet Isaac, my nieces two year old boy.

Joe-Henry fell in love with Isaac, and although they'd met before, Isaac is more mobile and talkative now, and Joe-Henry really relished being like an older brother. It's a role he'd be very, very good at, and I loved seeing him have the opportunity to be a good role model. He also wore out all of our arms playing catch, and one evening he was just so close to driving me crazy that my brother suggested a drive. I took my camera, and we went up to a big ball field and while Joe-Henry and my brother and sister played and JH ran and ran and ran, I managed to get some shots of the most amazing sunset I've ever seen. The hills surrounding the valley I grew up in are so luscious and voluptuous. I never saw them that way before, but this time they just took my breath away.








We played a killer game of Monopoly, and now I'm convinced that my fairly quiet, sweet brother has a secret cave of money somewhere. He truly has a killer instinct at that game, and should he ever decide to do so, he'd be an EXCELLENT land baron! We also laughed so hard we all leaked from somewhere. Drooling, weeping, peeing - we did it all. My stomach hurt the next day from laughing so hard.

Our last night there, Joe-henry and my sister watched Isaac while my brother went to his Fantasy Football meeting and I went to have dinner with friends I hadn't seen in forever. These were the people that started me on the path to the Theater, people that even all these years later I feel completely comfortable with and truly love being around. We met doing Babes In Arms at Lewiston Civic Theater in 1977, and even though the years have taken us all in different directions, it took no time at all to feel as though no time had passed. It filled up my heart to the brim and over just to sit around the table and tell stories and laugh. My fondest hope is that it won't be another 30 years before I see them again!








Coming home that night, I was swinging on a star, and I guess Joe-Henry was a big help to my sister, because as you can see, Isaac pooped out before his mom came to get him!



We made the drive back the next day, taking our time stopping to stretch and take in the charms of the small farm towns along the way, marveling at the changes in the scenery, what with the wind turbines and the millions of wineries populating what used to be miles and miles of nothing.





But the best part of going away is always coming home, and my husband, who should win some sort of prize just for being a sexy kilt-wearing beast, surprised me by painting the dining room while we were gone. He had two whole days to himself, and he chose one of those days to do something he knew would make me smile. I love that man to the moon and back again.





And now the countdown to our next trip begins. Less than a month to go, then SCOTLAND! My traveling shoes are so happy.

Dear Sweet Baby Jesus, It's Hot

Triple digits. No air conditioning. Visiting in-laws, who I worry are miserable and wilting in the heat. Trying to figure out how to rectify it.

But... but still there is magic. We went to a Mariners game yesterday in Seattle. It was hot, but our seats were amazing, and in the shade and breezy, and even though the Mariner's played horribly, Joe-Henry, they had a Mariner's jersey giveaway for the kids (sweet!), Joe-Henry got to have cotton candy, and the kids got to run the bases after the game, and we had a great time.

After that we headed to Charley's cousin Sam's house for a mini family reunion. It was amazing - their home is so beautiful and homey, and sitting in their backyard chatting was so relaxed. Some of them we hadn't seen in years, and some I'd never met. Stories told of childhood memories, while our children made memories of their own. Just an incredibly special time.

A bit of sight seeing in Seattle today before we came home to the hottest house on the planet. (Have I mentioned that it's hot here? )



Tomorrow is sort of a relaxed day - JH has swimming lessons, and then tomorrow night we're supposed to go to a Portland Beaver's game, where we have really good seats in the setting sun, where I'm sure we'll be slow roasted like spinning pigs on a spit, but then WEDNESDAY, we go to Astoria, OR, my favorite seaside town in the Northwest to cool off for the day. Wheeeeee.

Then my in-laws will head out on Thursday. At which point the heat spell is supposed to break. I'm sorry, Mom and Dad. If it's not too cold here when you come, it's too hot. I promise we don't arrange it that way on purpose.

Small Town America

Growing up in a small town, there were things I couldn't wait to shake off when I left. The gossip for one. I hated the feeling that people just didn't have anything better to do than talk about everyone else. The conformity for another - the most important thing to be was just like everyone else. The older I got, though, I realized that those things happen in the city, too, just on a bigger scale.

So now I'm a grown-up, and by some circuitous route, I wound up back in a small town. I loved the big city, I miss the big city - the pace, the culture, the friends I made there. But I've fallen for the charms of this little burg we call home. I've got some wonderful family here, and friends that I love, and my son is enjoying the charms of a small town - riding his bike around town, playing baseball, and excelling at a public school where everyone knows his name (and not because he's in trouble!).

Yesterday was one of those perfect days. There was a baseball game, first of all.

He's been playing machine pitch baseball this summer and LOVES it. The first three games there are no outs, they don't keep score, and they keep pitching until the kids get a hit. The coaching staff is fantastic, and the emphasis is on learning, teamwork, and most of all, having FUN. It was the second game yesterday, and the thing I love most about watching these kids is that they are all heart. They cheer for each other from their toes, and it's magic to see the looks on their faces when they get a hit, or catch a ball. The field staff always acknowledge a job well done, a good effort and encourage them when they are struggling.

After the game, there was a nap on a big bed by a breezy window, and then we hopped into a car loaded with instruments and headed for Pop Culture, our little mainstreet soda shop hang out for an open mic.

Joe-Henry hasn't performed at an open mic by himself in almost three years. He's going through a serious perfectionist streak, and it's breaking my heart. But he decided he wanted to perform on his yamaha electric piano. He practiced some songs he composed, and he killed. He had his own cheering section - my brother and his girlfriend came, as did two of our good friends. A kid couldn't feel more supported. But it was the rest of the crowd, the ones he didn't know that really made him feel proud. It was a pretty eclectic group of musicians and they all cheered and high-fived him, and his smile couldn't have been bigger when he was done.

Charley performed two of his original songs, too. His songwriting and performing skills are so amazing, and I love hearing him in front of a crowd.

Afterward we stepped outside to see our little mainstreet packed with people watching beautiful vintage cars "cruising the gut".

It was a step back in time, and it made me remember and appreciate all the truly GREAT things about growing up in a small town.

Summer. It's official.

Do you remember when you were a kid, and summer days went on forever? There wasn't a time to wake up or go to sleep and days unfolded with a delicious, lazy richness? That's how our last couple days have gone. Charley was off yesterday and wanted to paint one of his kilts. He had a serious wild hair, wanting to have everyone in the family contribute to it, making up a sort of family tartan. I couldn't really picture it, but I trusted his idea and went along for the ride. It was a balmy, breezy eighty some-thing degree day, and we had a blast being all crafty. You can see the results of it here.

Then we needed to catch a bite to eat, so we hopped in the car and headed for our favorite local burger joint, Burgerville, and there, standing in line was my brother! He'd taken a bike ride and was going to call us but had forgotten his cell phone.

So we convinced him to ride down to our picnic spot: across from Pearson Air Field.

It was a gorgeous summer evening, and there was a run going on,

so we ate our burgers and then cheered on those who were chugging along in the heat.

Charley headed back to work today, and JH has a friend over for a playdate/sleepover. I was cleaning out my closet, when I happened to look out the window at our garden. The raspberry bush looked like it was on fire, there was so much fruit!

So after I snapped a few pics, I grabbed a bowl and filled it up with a bumper crop of ripe, juicy raspberries.

Now, I guess it's back to the bedroom to finish the project I started. But I just had to share. If you ever happen to make it to Vancouver, USA, meet me here,

and we'll have a picnic! I'll bring the raspberries!

Headsong Friday: Willy Was A Whale

Today's headsong is inspired by one of our favorites, Justin Roberts. From the time Joe-Henry was an infant, whenever we ran errands, I'd put in a cd. Someone had suggested "Wee Sing", and I purchased it, then quickly realized that I wanted to tape cinnamon rolls to my ears so I wouldn't have to listen. When Joe-Henry was not even a year old, I picked up Justin's cd Great Big Sun, followed quickly by Yellow Bus. I'd put Joe-Henry in his highchair while I got dinner ready, and he'd rock out. One of his first words, after listening to "In The Car" was "AGAIN!", until he learned how to say "REPEAT!"
To add some icing to the whole deal is Justin and his band genuinely love meeting their little fans. We've been to several concerts and he always remembers Joe-Henry, even though it might have been a few years and many concerts for him. The thing that I love the most about his music is how rich it is. It's not simple little tunes - the orchestration is full and peppy, thanks in part to his collaborator Liam Davis and the amazing Not Ready For Naptime Players, and he doesn't "sing down" because his target audience is smaller than he is. His music is full of imagery, and it makes you want to hear it over and over. And it doesn't hurt that his voice sounds just a little bit like James Taylor.

I love this song in particular because I'm a huge fan of puns, and the visual pun of the Weno sign just makes me giggle. Give it a listen, then head over to his website to check out more of his music.

AGAIN!

Oh My.

That about sums up our weekend road trip.

Let's see what we had going on:

Good travel companions - check!


Roadside Attractions - check



Beautiful Scenery - check


Naughty Road Food - check





The destination was my home town. The place I grew up (well, as much as I did), and the place my brother still lives. My parents are buried there. It's a fairly small town, and I was eager to leave when I got out of highschool. But driving back, I felt like something inside just opened up. I soaked up the scenery. I took about 8 billion pictures of the clouds - the way they cast shadows on the hills and the water, the pictures they make in the sky. Here's just one, if you desire more of this, hop over to my flickr page, there are 7,000,000,999 more.



And being with my family, with Joe-Henry along for the ride was... I can't put it into words really. It was more emotional than I bargained for. One of my siblings didn't go, and he was so missed. It's funny to see the picture of us - who are those people? We're still "the kids"! Being with them made me wish that Joe-Henry wasn't an only child.

Luckily, he has cousins, who are older than he is, but younger than I am, doing their part to keep him supplied with fresh playmates! My niece Amber, my brother's wonderful daughter, and her brilliant and funny and beautiful baby came over, and Joe-Henry was completely smitten.



He feels the same way about my brother that I do, too. He just loves to be around him. He's mellow and funny and kind, and he makes the best spaghetti I've ever tasted (with apologies to my MIL, who runs a close second). I don't know how I managed to leave without the recipe, but I'm making it my mission for the next trip.

And there will be another trip this summer. Somehow. Because it's not just a drive, it's a roadtrip. And it's not just a place. It's home.

So Proud, Part II

Last night at a large family dinner for my brother, who is having a milestone birthday this week, Joe-Henry was doing his usual dawdling. His nose was running, and he kept wiping at it with his sleeve, AND eating his enchilada's with his hands. With Charley and I at opposite sides of the table, he got two different directions at the same time: "Use your napkin to wipe your nose" and "Use your fork".

Without skipping a beat, and because he knew it would make us proud, he stuck his fork up his nose.

Sure it hurt a bit, but he knows that in this family, funny isn't funny unless it's slightly dangerous. So he took one for the team.

As we like to say around here, the ham doesn't fall far from the tree.

All Creatures Great and Small

We took to the air this weekend, to celebrate my mother-in-law's birthday in beautiful Carpinteria, CA. I won't tell you how old she is, but I will tell you what Joe-Henry says about her. "You're the perfect age, Grandma. Not too old, and not too young." She has always looked gorgeous, and aging doesn't seem to be on her agenda, ever. She will always and forever be a dish.


We've been spending lots of time lavishing love and attention on the dogs. Joe-Henry loves to help Grandpa walk the dogs, and this guy needs extra special attention.


He's only eleven, but he's had a siezure disorder for the last six years, and is on heavy duty meds. But his nose still works the way it should. He can smell food from miles away.


He weighs a ton, and smells like, well, a basset hound, but he's family. He brings grown men to their knees with his sweetness. And this little girl is smart enough to do your taxes.


It's nice to get a dose of family here, and to fill our senses up with California. There's the beach, of course, and the little creatures that thrive here like nowhere else. I am determined to get at least one decent shot of the hummingbirds that seem to be playing a game with me.

"Where's your camera NOW, lady! Haaaahaaahaaaa..." and they speed away while I futz with the lens cap. I did manage this one shot, but it's my mission to get a better one this weekend.


I love the lizards, of course, but this little frog was so cute. He was about as big as my thumb, and he hung on to the adirondack chair for dear life.


We'll see lots more family today, and there will be baseball and birthday cake. Then it's home tomorrow to my sweet hubband, who had to work, but then was felled by something nasty that seems to have crawled up his nose and stayed there. On the phone he sounds like he might have tried to stick an orange up there. I'm glad he's got the house to himself to rest up.

We miss you, sweetie. Feel better soon.