As The Butter Churns

July 18th Sunrise - Sunset

(seagull on point)

We all got up early and fed the animals, had coffee and showed Craig around. Instead of jumping right into our usual project mode, we decided we should take a day to just be a family. We stopped at the new café on Mt. Baker Highway (that used to be “Carol’s Coffee Cup” and then “Carol’s Girls”) for lunch, sat out on the patio enjoying the sunshine and Pellegrino™. Afterward we headed into to do some kayaking off Chuckanut Hwy, the PCH.

Lisa and Chris bought a sea kayak and its just a short jaunt from their house to Larrabee State Park where there is a small boat ramp. Craig and Tom donned their life vests on and hoisted the kayak on Chris’s Honda™ Element and in two shakes of a lamb’s tail they were off on their sea adventure. Henry and I too were off - to his eleven-year-old routine physical. I’d waited a month for this appointment and I wasn’t going to give it up for love or money. So we looked on the bright side and thought this would give Tom and Craig to have some father/son time before we returned. Not that they needed it as they drive to and from work together an hour and a half each way every day, but a rationalization is a rationalization and it was working for me. And Henry.

The physical went like most do, a cough here a shot there, but there was one notable exception. A frustrated nurse complained while taking Henry’s blood pressure that the sleeve was too small for his muscle, she’d have to get an adult-sized one. A sly smile crossed Henry’s face and hung there for a long time. He was so proud.

(Self Portrait)

We called when we were on our way back. Tom and Craig were having a great time tooling around the bay watching all the crabbers empty their pots.
(Craig, Henry & Proud Pea)

It was then the brothers went out together while Tom and I sat on the beach enjoying the sand, squirrels, seagulls and constant boat traffic. The boat dock wasn’t empty once while we sat there. Tom said it was busier than SeaTac. The crabbers would pull in set their traps and leave for a while and then come back and pick up their traps. It’s a wonder there is any crab left in Bellingham Bay.

(Henry & Craig) (more brotherly love)

Our next stop was Quinn and Phoebe’s Broadway Extravaganza. A grand finale for the singing camp the girls attended - given by BAAY (Bellingham Arts Academy for Youth) on State Street. We were a little late and Lisa text me there was limited seating so Craig and Henry went on a walk around town headed in the direction of Mallard’s Ice Cream while Tom and I went in expecting to endure the performance. Instead, we were bowled over by some of the performances. Not all were fabulous, but all were wonderful. The very idea the kids had the confidence to get up in front of an audience and sing. I can tell you right now I lip sync in church.

(Quinn -12 and Phoebe 7)

(Quinn & Phoebe with David Post)
The director, David Post is certainly teaching kids confidence and stage presence. Neither Tom nor I could believe seven-year-old Phoebe standing on stage singing a solo. Quinn! Well, she doesn’t look twelve in my old sequin dress leftover from a bazillion years ago. She was frustrated because she didn’t have time to memorize the lyrics to one of her songs, “Hear the Bells” and so she was rushed and didn’t feel she did at all well on that song.  I was frustrated I couldn’t get any good camera angles. (may Caleb Deschanel  forgive me - my camera and editing work film is far below par, but the girls are sweet).

The girls pestered me at intermission about where Henry was and why he was missing their show, but they were happy he was spending time with Craig.

When we finally got home, the evening proved to be just beginning as Craig came prepared with “Talladega Nights”. Henry popped it in the DVD and we all sat down for family movie night. Imagine my surprise when Karen roared on the screen – a wild  cougar.

I may have forgotten to mention but our doorbell has about 50 different “rings” and one of them is a cougar snarl. Henry has found it great fun to “ring” the doorbell when he feels I’m at my most vulnerable.

June 15th Wishin' & Hopin' & Thinkin' & Prayin'

Having rolled out of bed, Henry and I slopped through the wet grass to the car at about 6:30 AM, loading Tom’s suitcases while he finished a few last minute things and wrote a host of instructions for me regarding a myriad of projects.

On the way to the airport, we listened to Sissy Spacek drawl “To Kill A Mockingbird”. No one wanted to admit we were going to have to say goodbye. Again.

We stopped at Starbucks™ and picked up a couple of coffees. Tom insists on going through his medium routine.

    “You mean a Grande, Sir?”
    “A medium black coffee.” He delivers this with a straight face.
    “A Grande.”
    “A medium.”
    “I think you want a Grande.”
    “I want the medium-size coffee.”
    “Any flavoring?”
    “Just a medium black coffee.”

    The baristas get a little nervous and confused, but he won’t play. He stands there deadpan, firmly ordering his medium coffee. He’s always been this way – he says. But I remember back when he used to brew “Irish Crème”.

    “I don’t like those fruffity-doofity drinks”

    We sat sipping our mediums in front of the airport terminal. Henry had made a huge rhyming card covered in tools, which ended by suggesting Tom might want to change Henry’s name to DeWalt™(a power tool brand).

    When the inevitable came and Tom got out of the car and we were ready for a weepy parting of the hearts Tom spotted some guy in a NASCAR shirt. Suddenly, he was giving the guy garbage about his driver versus Tom’s driver in his “team” over my shoulder as he hugged me goodbye. Henry rolled his eyes and said, “That’s my dad; he’ll talk to anyone about NASCAR.” True. He hasn’t been into NASCAR for very long, but once his son, Craig, got into it Tom made a Herculean effort to find out about it and somewhere along the way he got completely addicted. I could see him still yucking it up with the guy in the NASCAR shirt in my rearview mirror as we drove off.

    We just made a quick stop at Home Depot for a few cans of paint to paint the guest room and a can of spray paint. We're going to outline the new walkway Henry and I decided we have to have. We've gotten our feet wet one too many times. Resolved, we headed home to do chores and clean up. (proposed outline)
One father down and one to go, we were actually putting on some town clothes and heading back into Bellingham to watch my dad play at Boundary Bay Brewery.

    Henry couldn’t sit in the bar so we hooked him up with a chair just on the other side of the divider where he could see his grandpa. I sipped my glass of wine and watched my father perform as I’ve done so many times before. This time was different. He looked distracted and a bit sad. I could tell he really wasn’t recovered enough to play, but that never stops him. I watched and realized why he wanted to go back to Paris so much. Although he really enjoys the other musicians, they don’t play a lot of traditional jazz. For the first time I understood what he was talking about. I only hope he can go.

My favorite memory of Father’s Day isn’t of my dad, Tom or even my grandfather, it’s of Chris. Years ago, Lisa, Chris, Quinn and Henry were driving around in the Valley heat on Father’s Day looking at houses - Phoebe wasn’t even born yet. We’d spent the day in and out of places and Chris finally complained he was starving and it was, after all, Father’s Day, didn’t that mean anything?  Lisa promptly drove through McDonalds™ and ordered up some food. When all was said and done, poor Chris crumpled up in the back seat had to share his cold fries with both kids. He’s a damn good sport.

Lisa, Chris and the girls strolled in out of the sunshine. Tired of sitting by himself, Henry and the girls got their own table in the back – we tried to order fries for both tables– now the traditional Father’s Day food in the Donaldson home. They didn’t have any. Chris was able to console himself with the sampler platter.
 

Boundary Bay - 2008

May 1st Twinkle Twinkle Little Star

    (HMZ - Zach, Miles & Henry)

    Still extremely sore, I hobbled into to the school auditorium and was struck by the difference between the talent show at Woodland Hills Elementary and this one.

    At Woodland Hills, a few teachers, spend unending hours selecting, coordinating, rehearsing, encouraging, disciplining and choreographing and fine tuning the acts for the talent show. And that doesn’t include getting the audio-visual set up, the decorations, costumes, make-up or ticket sales or publicity. Woodland Hills talent show is an amazing event with an intermission and refreshment sales. The acts are put in order to keep the show moving, the master of ceremonies is rehearsed and integrated with the program. The event lasts two nights because the crowd can’t be accommodated in one. It is an extremely enjoyable performance from start to finish. The show usually begins and ends with extraordinary musical numbers choreographed for the whole cast. Woodland Hills is after all –  Hollywood.

    Tonight’s show was much different. I walked in and there weren’t any tickets. You just sat down. No velvet curtains hung promising glamour, no signs, and no theme, no glittering stars– none of the trappings.  There was a small well-worn wooden stage with a white board behind it that no one even bothered to erase and a few student desks surrounding it. A blue program was placed on all the seats. Every kid who wanted to be in the talent show was in the talent show. There were no tryouts or rehearsals.

    I found a chair near the front. I couldn’t believe that just a short time ago Henry was in the hospital and now he would be doing his dance like nothing happened. And I was just happy to be able to hold my coffee cup. I took an aisle seat so I wouldn’t have any trouble seeing and because I like to take pictures as well as video. No teachers were involved, a couple of hardworking parents who always volunteer helped out. Before the show began there was very welcome announcement of free ice cream from Mallard’s after the show. Free? Nothing in California is ever free.

    Some of the acts were really cute, a couple acts were good, but more than most were painful to watch. Partly because the kids didn't have a routine or thought out plan, it was if we were sitting in their living room while they were doing something spontaneously. At one point I wished I didn’t have such a good view. Checking my watch every few minutes and sipping on coffee, I couldn’t help but think of the teachers at Woodland Hills. I wondered what they would think. Kids who had barely rehearsed and weren’t really sure what they were doing jumping around on stage. But as I watched one bad act after another mediocre one, Lisa’s friend, Diane leaned over and said, “You know what I think is nice is that every kid who wants to get up there gets a chance. The talented kids will always be on stage, but this is a chance for every kid to get up there and have people clap for them.”

    The sentiment struck me. I felt a little ashamed as I watched the children and saw the happiness in their eyes. I wasn't in Hollywood, but it felt like I could be watching a school talent show anywhere else in the country. This was Norman Rockwell.

    I looked at everything differently afterward. I saw the innocence of these kids and thought how happily they would remember this special night years from now. I watched Henry beaming, so absolutely thrilled to finally be a part of something after being the lonely new kid all year. This talent show really was quite beautiful in its own way.

    The kids sang and danced with complete abandon. We hooted and hollered and clapped ferociously. And although these little performers were full of excitement, let me tell you for most of them this should be their last performance on any stage anywhere - unless it's their livingroom. But tonight they each got their chance to be a star.

Henry - Miles - Zach - Kick it to "Two-Step" - the clean version

April 29th On A Clear Day You Can See Forever

   (Alfred and the rest of the flock)

    Not completely confident in Alfred's last diagnosis, my sister put me in touch with another doctor friend of hers who has been checking into Alfred's condition. As doctor's do she asked many questions regarding Alfred's legs, his ability and of course his living conditions. The doctor asked me if Alfred has been getting enough sunlight.

    "No." I replied, "Alfred, lives in the Pacific Northwest, there is no sunlight. We've had rain and snow almost since he arrived. Even the tulips haven't had enough sunlight."

    Well, after that I went and got Alfred a full -spectrum light bulb which is what many people use here and in the mid-west to ward off  S.A.D. - Seasonal Affect Disorder-.

    (Henry covered in gosling poop with his flock)
    Today however, is a screaming sunny day. And so all of the goslings: Mabel, Ruthie, Clara, Matilda, Lloyd, Quackmire, Alfred and Cleveland are all venturing outside for a little sunshine therapy.

(Henry & Mabel - after  Henry changed his shirt- Wimp)

(Henry getting love from the girls)

(Ruthie loves Henry)

(Snuggled up)

"Hey, Hey, Hey Everybody!!"

April 28th The Long & The Short Of It

(Phoebe just before entering the salon)

    This weekend we all gathered at Elysium in Fairhaven to witness
a big event in our little Pheeb’s life. Lisa came with her coffee in hand and Chris, armed with his video camera, ready to document the event – (in case Phoebe changed her mind and allowed him to make it into a documentary). Today was

{Chris, Lynda and Phoebe)

a moment we’ll all remember, Phoebe was fulfilling a promise she made to herself over a year ago. You see, Phoebe vowed to grow her hair out long enough to donate it to Locks of Love, an organization that provides hairpieces to financially disadvantaged children who have lost their hair due to a medical condition.

    This is not a blip in Phoebe’s personality, rather it defines who she is. Oh, she can stretch the truth, she'll take the last sip of Quinn's drink and she’s horribly stubborn, but Phoebe has a heart the size of the Grand Canyon. When my dog, Gladys, had to be put to sleep, it was four-year-old Phoebe who wanted to go and pet her until the end, because she didn't want Gladys to be scared. When Lisa delivers puppies, Phoebe is the one who wants to “catch” them and help them warm up and breathe. Quinn and Henry, like many people, hide under pillows at the thought of pain or the sight of blood, but Phoebe is one of those who can deal with the hard situations and give of herself thinking only of the other person, puppy, dog, rabbit, hamster, opossum or squirrel.

     I wasn’t sure she’d really go through with it. I always wanted long hair when I was her age. I had long hair but not Swiss Miss™ long hair, not Phoebe long hair or in the case of my childhood not Kathy Obradavich or Tracy Felger long hair. To tell you the truth, I was more reluctant for her to cut it than she was. But I think the whole process was made easier for all of us because Lynda cut her hair. Lynda is a friend of the family so she understood why Phoebe had such an audience documenting this occasion. Especially since her own daughter Erika donated her hair to Locks a couple of years ago. Lynda, a very experienced mom, was complete in her knowledge that sparkles will lift almost any girl's spirits and was quick with the glitter spray to head off any feelings of regret.

    I suppose she was a bit sick of all the snags on zippers, snarls after swimming and tangled mornings when she didn’t braid it. I guess Phoebe was ready for the freedom of being able to care for her hair on her own. Independence.

   (Lisa messing around with Phoebe's donation)

I’m sure in the next weeks there will be a little sense of loss. After all it’s a part of her she unselfishly gave away. In fact, she says she’s going to do it again because it takes several donations to make one hairpiece.

    Faith, Hope and Charity, but the greatest of these is Charity.

April 11th Pie-Maker Pie-Maker

   
    Since their last great escape, Pancho and Lefty have been serving time in cow jail. And since we haven’t had to go out day after day rounding them up, we can remember what snuggle bugs they really are.

    Having them in the barn creates a completely different set of problems. It may be interesting to note the size of the cow pie is in direct relation to the size of the cow. That being said, it is important to remember that Pancho is the same size as my Honda Odyssey. Needless to say, we spent the day cleaning their stall and filling and filling and filling their water buckets. We don’t have a ginormous water trough up in the barn so we have to keep a close eye on the water levels.

    Much like caring for an infant or anything else, it’s through the diaper changing and constant feedings that you create a close bond. I’d had that feeling after working them on the yoke, but lately chasing them down the road in the rain and mending fences they’d shattered, I’d forgotten it. Until today. Brushing them, talking to them and giving them lots of cow cookies brought those maternal feelings flooding back.

    Realistically, I know we can’t keep them. I made a mistake. They’re just too much for the pasture and me. But I don’t regret them, I met Maryruth Monahan, I learned how to drive oxen and I gained a great deal of cow sense. They taught me a lot and they deserve a good home where they’ll have more room and - hopefully higher fences.

April 10th Splish Splash

    I'm not sure if I've completely lost my mind, but Quackmire, Lloyd, Alfred, Mabel, Clara, Matilda, Ruthie and Cleveland seem to be growing before my eyes. They've more than doubled in size in less than a week. Actually, I'm not all that surprised when you consider how much lettuce they've been plowing through. They started out eating some Flock Raiser and a head or two of lettuce - they seem to prefer Romaine. Now they're eating bowls of Flock Raiser and if we let them I think they'd eat 12 heads a day. Except Cleveland, when they zig, he zags. If they're eating, he's watching. When they all snuggle up for a nap, he's off on his own sleeping with one leg sticking out from under him. He's what you might call "the odd duck"

    The kids' new favorite activity is putting them in the bathtub winding them up and watching them go.

January 26th Old Friends

    We came back from Henry’s competition at Stanford University this evening. It was a great meet.We got to reconnect with the whole team at Victory Gymnastics Academy in Newbury Park. Howie and Cheri the owners were kind enough to ask Ray, Henry's old coach, if he could compete with the Victory team. Henry's current team in Washington does not care to travel this far, but it's one of our favorite meets and a chance to see our friends. What’s even better is we’re going to see them again in just a couple weeks at the Black Jack meet in Las Vegas. It was wonderful to meet Tom there and it was better for Henry that he didn’t have to wait so long this time to see his daddy. It was just a more normal visit, because it hadn’t been less than a month.

    Henry felt good about his gymnastics. He had a little trouble with sticking some of his landings. And truthfully, he has slipped a bit in comparison to the boys he used to work out with, but he did beat their scores on high bar, so he’s still in the hunt, which is good. It may make him work harder.

    Being in Washington is great, but it was so nice to see friends. Friends who you don’t even have to talk to, friends you can just sit next to. People you’ve known for years and traveled with from gymnastics meet to gymnastics meet, from one gym to the next. That’s how it was this weekend. We were with the Iversons, the Coopers, the Peters and the Sweetermans a group we’ve seen through so many events, grades jobs, moves, and illness. We didn’t have to do anything or say anything. We just sat there most of the time watching our boys and cheering them on together like always.

    After our flight home, I didn’t want to go out to the barn, but I couldn’t stay away. I hadn’t seen my little ones in days and I just had to check on them. Mike wasn’t home when we got there to tell me they were all right, so I went out. I was shocked to see the barn flooded. The floor was one big puddle. Luckily, it was flowing away from the animals. I’ll have to have the plumber out. I looked all around and I still can’t figure out where it’s coming from. One whole wall is wet and there are drips of water coming from the ceiling in a little side room where I have the sink and a refrigerator, the weird thing is there isn’t any plumbing in that ceiling so it’s coming from somewhere else and leaching into the ceiling. Wonderful, I wonder how much that’s going to cost?

January 14th Bainbridge Island

This weekend we all, Lisa, Chris, Quinn, Phoebe, Mike, Henry and me went to Bainbridge Island for Henry’s gymnastics meet. We decided to go on Saturday take the ferry over and spend the night because the meet was first thing Sunday morning. The drive to Seattle was nothing special. Henry watched “Star Trek” episode after “Star Trek” episode. Including the one where Kirk battles the giant reptile thing, alligator Gorgon guy. I don’t know, I’m not an official Trekkie by any means.
    The excitement began when we boarded the ferry. I’d never driven onto a ferry before. It felt so East Coast. We left our car and went up to the snack bar, Mike and I got a cup of tea and Henry got a stale pretzel with processed cheese. He was disappointed with the food, but we all enjoyed the view. As we began to cross the sun was setting majestically over the Seattle skyline. It was stunning.
    The Donaldsons got a later start than us and therefore missed the ferry and had to wait for the next one. Once on the island we found our motel and started looking for a place to have dinner. We dined at the “oldest” restaurant on the island. We were expecting something like 1800 or something; instead we saw that it was established in 1982. Hmm. We tried to go to a movie, but the show times were wrong, so we went back to the motel and played cards. I didn’t want Henry to stay up too late, so we all went to bed around 9:30PM. Mike despite his denials went straight to sleep. How might I know this you ask? His room sandwiched between ours, Lisa and I could both hear snoring through the walls. Henry couldn’t sleep he was giggling so much. He kept saying we had to buy Mike a pack of BreatheRight™ strips for his birthday. Finally, I had to wake Mike up so Henry could go to sleep. I felt bad, but Mike could read for a while and go back to sawing logs a short time later.
    The next day, when we arrived at the competition we were all pleased to see a Latte truck in the parking lot. This was a high-class operation. We cheered, calling Tom before, during and after each event. Henry did well, getting a 9.1 on the rings and coming in second all around. The highest he’s ever placed in all around.
    Afterward, we decided to walk around Bainbridge window-shopping. Quinn, now suddenly a reader needed a book. And the rest of us enjoyed looking around. We went in to one shop where everyone found something they liked and had to have. I restrained purchasing the red chinoise china buffet I salivated over. Henry found a beautiful chess set that was unbelievably cheap. I wasn’t going to buy it, I didn’t want to spend any money, but I could hear Tom and what he’d have said in the back of my head. I knew without question he’d have bought it in a second. It was ornate, unique and quite lovely, the price was right and so to honor Tom’s wishes because he couldn’t be here and to make Henry happy I bought it.  We’d have something to tangible to always remember his second place finish. Chris kept saying we were “burning daylight” he had something he had to work on and needed to get back. So we headed home.
    Very, very early this morning Lisa called and told me to check my email. Begrudgingly, I did it as I barely had my first sip of coffee and was trying to manage opening my eyes in the darkness. There was a link:

I clicked on it and tears started streaming down my face. Cranky Chris had stayed up late and made a video of Henry at Bainbridge. It was so sweet I couldn’t believe it. No wonder Lisa married him. I emailed the link to everyone I knew before I took my next sip. Then I called Tom and woke up Henry.
    Henry called Chris and excitedly told him “Chris, You Rock!”