Rock To Wind A String Around

It’s been so long since I’ve offered a post of any merit, I thought I’d post a laundry list of current happenings and we can pretend that you gleaned all of this information from several thoughtful, witty posts.

A.  fencing camp:  Elliott finished his two weeks of fencing camp with a strong measure of enthusiasm.  We were warned that 3 weeks of 9-5 fencing camp would be too much for the lad, so we opted for two, but Elliott had energy to spare at the end of the day and daily reports suggested that he worked hard–so I should start saving my pennies now to fund the third week next year.  At the end of week 1 we received the unhappy news that Astrid Meklit’s main squeeze aka Elliott’s fencing coach would be leaving the gym for a new job in Texas.  We are happy for him, but sad for us–Sergey is an amazing coach–he knew exactly what Elliott needed to push him without frustrating him.  The gym is closed for classes until labor day (although private lessons now with Sasha will continue)–I may take up a foreign language or a new hobby in all of the extra time I will have each week.

Oh wait, instead I will attend to my volunteer duties!  Enkutatash (Ethiopian New Year) is just two months away (celebration on September 18th here in Cowtown)–lots to do for that and The Dead of Winter Gala is being planned in earnest.  So many fabulous items are rolling in for the silent auction, now the team needs to work their magic and help me find sponsors and libation donations.

In addition to these delightful events, I am also co-planning 2! baby showers for the month of August both to be held here at Mary Poppins.  MP’s spacious living area makes her a popular gal at parties.  I tag along for the ride–Mary doesn’t seem to mind.

With fencing camp is over and my mom  still visiting, we’ve opted to make this last week together ‘Vacation Week.”  Fencing camp ended Saturday at noon and Elliott was immediately whisked to a 3D showing of ‘Creature from the Black Lagoon’ at the Drexel, and then off to the splash pad/playground with the rest of us to kick off the week.

Sunday was filled with all of the best sorts of 4th of July activities:  a parade, water ice, a cookout with friends, and fireworks hours after bedtime. 

That should be enough joy for anyone, but wait!  there’s more…

Monday was my dad’s birthday.  I wisely planned a day-long outing to The Wilds which proved an excellent distraction.  It really is beautiful there and we got several terrific photos (as well as loads of bad ones) of animals out in the open. 

By the end of the day we were very hot, and tired and blissfully distracted.  My mom and I agreed that my dad’s birthday, while sad, was much easier than Father’s Day.

On Tuesday we hopped over to Chuck E Cheese (AM wants you to know that she loved it as much as she thought she would) and then my mom and Elliott went to the movies while the little gal took a much-needed nap.  Which is good, because today we toddled off to Holmes County to see all things Amish, which was fun, and involved horses and buggies but there was no nap to be seen and we didn’t make it home until almost 9.

Tomorrow’s vacation week activity will be much lower key.  Certain girls will nap.  Certain mothers (mine) will probably join certain girls in this activity.

Rounding out the rest of the affairs:  Albert was scheduled to work in town this week, but is in, yep, you guessed it, 103 degree DC instead.  We are hosting an Art Party on Saturday  to gather submissions for EOR’s art contest. And, there is BIG news, but you’ll need to tune in tomorrow to find out all about it.

And that’s the state of the state…

This last weekend was crammed full–Albert & I were asked to be motivational speakers at 2 different events, the boy had social commitments (a mall excursion planned with the fencing camp kids–his first without a hovering parent to guide helicopter over him), a movie at The Drexel, a library tournament thingy (again for the boy), half a dinner on the deck (the other half inside because it rained, oh how it rained), and all of the usual weekend stuff too.  By Sunday, I wanted a family outing that was reasonable in scope–no zoo trips, or baseball games, just something pleasant we all could enjoy, even my mom, who was a little under the weather.  I’ve wanted to take a trip to one of the local waterfalls for awhile, so we chose the one with the easiest paths and set out.  We were parked at Indian Run in less than 15 minutes, but waterfalls were in short supply.  My mom and I walked all over the upper trail while Albert, Elliott, the ever-uneasy Astrid Meklit hopped from rock to rock in an attempt to get close to the falls.  They gave up as AM began to panic on the slightly slippery rocks and joined us in time to report the lack of a waterfall, although a water trickle was evident (must go earlier in the spring, I think).  In the meantime, we continued to “hike” the trail, musing quite loudly about the lack of animals (I wonder why)…

We did find a fabulous photo spot before the walk was over.  Elliott preened and mugged, pretending to fall off the edge of the world.  I joined him for a quick tango before he plunged to his untimely demise.  See how pleased he appears!

All of this hiking (and dancing) left us in need of refreshment.  A Jeni’s splendid icecreams was sighted and a Sunday family outing was made infinitely sweeter.

We’re back from our month in Florida and are slowly settling back into our real lives.  Normalcy is creeping in as I begin to plan Enkutatash and the Dead of Winter event, shop for groceries, reschedule our many canceled appointments and weed, weed, weed. The lack of fencing lessons removes a good bit of the structure of our regular week, but fencing camp begins Monday.  In the meantime, we’ve filled in the gaps with haircuts, cookie baking, and the aforementioned weeding (seriously, the well-manicured beauty of our yard became a jungle in our absence.

Grief is a funny shape.  Blogging has become non-existent, my insomnia seems pretty reigned in, what with the need to sleep for 7-8 hours at a time (maybe too much contentment = insomnia?  because it hasn’t been a problem since the beginning of May, and my nutritional plan has relied all too heavily on the sugar group. The sleep is a plus, the sugar and lack of communication with the outside world is a big minus, but I’m hoping for more balance in the next few weeks.  In the meantime, friendly faces and some time on the treadmill seems to be good for what ails me.  Yard saling helps too–the kids and I bounced around the north part of Cowtown for most of the morning.  My wallet is a little lighter, but so is my heart.

So I may have mentioned (a time or two) how incredible Mary P’s yard is.  The people who owned the house last were amazing landscapers–there is balance, 4 season color, and a measure of restraint (there is also a surprising lack of spring bulbs–odd!).  The yard is, well,   daunting.  Our primary goal the first summer was not to kill anything.  We added a few trees, but mostly worked to keep things alive and fairly tamed.  Last year, we were eager to add our own stamp to the yard, but we also thought we were moving.  We again focused on plant preservation, replaced a few dead items and enjoyed the R family’s efforts.

This year we’re staying put so we’ve been more aggressive in our efforts.  We’ve added trees and bushes, ripped out plants ill-suited for their space (pleased to note that even the most experienced gardeners don’t always get it right) AND in a fit of brilliance or madness, found an out-of-the-way spot in the yard to put in two raised garden beds.  We’ve wanted a vegetable garden since we moved in, but the yard is so beautiful, it seemed like adding a toilet planter to Longwood Gardens.

Yesterday, a landscaping company dumped a load of soil and a load of mulch on the driveway.  Heavy crazy rain was predicted for the weekend and into the week but yesterday morning dawned fairly clear, although cloudy.  Albert & Elliott returned from the fencing lesson around lunchtime and the work began–lunch forgotten, nap time forgotten–we worked with a fervor I didn’t know we possessed.  By the time I brought Astrid in around 6:30, I had loaded and unloaded more than 55 wheelbarrows of mulch, enough to cover every bed in the front yard.  Albert and Elliott had one raised bed built and the other staked and Elliott managed to mow the lawn.  Astrid Meklit did her part by playing happily and shoveling a fair bit of mulch and dirt herself (although I can’t say much for her aim).  By the time we staggered inside, we had blisters on our blisters and all sorts of muscles registered complaints.  The heavy rain began to fall (dramatically) as Albert hung the last tool on its hook…

This morning, I was hoping the rain would continue–I was so sore, I thought I’d work on the tasks throughout the week.  Instead, there was sun, SUN to be reckoned with.  A hasty breakfast was finished by mid morning and we were back at it–the first bed is complete, the second is built, and I loaded a ton of dirt and mulch again.  Oy!  As unpleasant as it was to think we might not get around to everything this weekend (the next two are jammed with activities, including a trip to Portland), I’m glad the rain held off long enough to get some real work accomplished.  Mary P is sweeter than a spoonful of sugar, but she is a pretty high-maintenance gal.

This poor neglected blog!  I’ve committed to NaPoBloMo for the month of April at the EOR blog, and well, it seems to mean that I never blog here.   All manner of things to chat about–my birthday surprise from the boy, the boy’s fencing tournament, etc. but for now, a repost will have to do.  Sorry!

So, I’ve begun (along with a fabulous team) to plan the Dead of Winter costume gala for March of 2011.  We have a million things to do, and a million different ideas about how to make this the best fundraiser/event ever.  I’d like to ask for help though.

Many of you?  Most of you?  have attended multiple fundraisers in your lifetime.  I’d like you to cull through your various experiences to help me  plan this event.

This is a typical silent auction item.  It is cute, thematically-appropriate, and thoughtfully put together.  I’d like to put together baskets that are just as good, if not better (e.g.  more likely to bring in larger donations of cash).  This is where you come in…tell me about amazing baskets you’ve created.  Tell me about the great items you won at the Cystic Fibrosis silent auction.  Remember (with a mixture of nostalgia and embarrassment) the great bucket put together for your own elementary school fundraiser.  Think back to the silliest item that fetched the most cash.   Do all of these things, and please share them with me!

After all of that, think about the elegant chow served at these various affairs.  Was there a shrimp dish that wowed you?  An appetizer that looked good on paper, but was too messy to eat? Is there some fabulous food served in some region of the country that I’ve missed?  Seriously, if you know a great dish–well… dish!  I have a few ideas, so does the team, but we are eager to hear from YOU!

Ideas about food/beverage/auction items/decor, etc– all will be gratefully received.  As an added incentive, I’ll throw in my  2 cents (x 100) for each comment shared.  12 good ideas will add up to a 24.00 donation to EOR,  100 good ideas will add  up to an amazing event AND an awfully big donation to EOR.

Don’t say no right away–you DO have knowledge to share.  Sleep on it, and tell me in the morning–I really want to know!

Hey kittens!  Go share some love with Ali and posse. Their sweet family of three became a sweeter family of four today.

It’s time for another shower, I think!

jumping into the Subaru for our 8 hour journey of joy back to Cowtown.  I hate being out of touch for the day, but I’m sure when I emerge from this cross-country cocoon there will be all sorts of referral news to delight me.

Fingers crossed, applesauce!

What will you be doing toward the end of next year’s cold and snowy winter?  I hope you and 120 of your closest friends will join me at EOR’s first Dead of Winter gala.  We’ll say good-bye to winter (and raise a good bit of money for one of EOR’s partner projects) with a costumed event.  Attendees who arrive dressed as:

or:

or any other famous dead person could win fabulous prizes!    Expect great food, great drinks, great prizes and great fun when you attend EOR’s Dead of Winter gala  next March 5th, at  The Wild Goose Creative in Columbus OH.

You’ll feel warm and fuzzy all over when you attend–what better way to drive away winter’s chill?

If you have mad skillz (or a hidden diamond mine) and would like to contribute an item for the event’s silent auction, please, please, please let me know.    Thanks kittens!