Memorial Day

Remembering...

Thing Two loves this pic

I've no idea where the photo came from, Thing Two found it somewhere online.

A little kid lost his binky over the fence while admiring the seals at a zoo somewhere and this guy decided he would make use of it. How stinking cute is that, hm? Possibly cuter than kittens and baby monkeys even.

This is a tree

that grew in very difficult circumstances, heavily filtered light and surface soil with bad drainage. When a tiny seedling this tree found a safe place on a nurse log. The nurse log provided nourishment, a boost from the underbrush, a bit more access to light, and protection.

After a time, the seedling developed its own roots and could take care of itself, and later still, as is inevitable in the circle of life, the nurse log disappeared completely, leaving a healthy, thriving tree behind.

I was asked to find a picture from a magazine, etc. that I felt illustrated my relationship with my mom. When I saw this one, it kinda spoke to me. It's not a perfect anology, but there is no such thing, is there?

Home again, home again, jiggity jig

My papa had quadriple bypass surgery on Monday. He had some trouble but finally got to come home with me today. We've rented a hospital bed and brought the ejector seat (lift chair) that my mom had over to my house for dad. We have converted our breakfast room to a temporary bedroom and he will be here for about a month.
I'm so so so tired.
Na'night

Stuff that happened Friday

1. My family headed out at about 10 to go catch a super-cheap matinee showing of Iron Man 2 in a town about 40 minutes north of us.
2. I received a phone call from my dad saying...
3. He DROVE HIMSELF to the emergency room that morning because he was having chest pains.
4. They had determined he was in the early stages of a heart attack.
5. They had given him Plavix and were sending him on to a bigger hospital, in the same town as the theatre to which we were going.
6. I dropped my family off at the movie and went to the hospital where dad was.
7. They did angoplasty but it didn't have much effect.
8. The doctor informed me that he had two completely blocked arteries and one at 80% blocked and he was sending dad on to ANOTHER hospital, larger yet, for open heart surgery.
9. I had to call an innumerable quantity of people to pass on the current information.
10. I picked up my family and took them back to my house so my husband and his buddy could go get my dad's car from the hospital parking lot, lock up dad's house, and grab his toothbrush and some other stuff.
11. I packed an overnight bag, cell phone charger, and book.
12. I received phone calls from an aunt, and a friend of my father's, who were already at the hospital, asking where he was.
13. I called admitting, where seemed to be puzzlement regarding his whereabouts.
14. I called the nurses' station; they had him.
15. I drove 45 minutes south to the larger hospital with my neighbor/superpal.
16. I answered my text messages and voice mails (13 total), passing on the complete lack of information I had.
17. I met the man who will be giving my dad a double, triple, or quadiple bypass (as the case may be).
18. I relaxed for a while in a family waiting area with two of my best friends, my mom's two sisters, and my sister.
19. I send my sister off to my auntie's house to get some rest after her 6 1/2 hour drive across the state.
20. I curled up the best I could in a hospital lounge chair and tried to get some rest between nurse visits all through the night.

**********

This morning an intern, or resident, or something let us know that dad is stable enough that they are not feeling they need to do an emergency bypass. They are going to take a day or two to do all the tests they like to have and let the Plavix work its way out of his system so he will heal faster from the surgery.

Barring complication, the plan is to do the surgery Monday morning. I am now going to go take a nap, then make a thermos of tea to take to my papa, and head back to the hospital.

Dear Arizona,

I find myself increasingly disappointed with your choices.
Regretfully,
Logo

Soooooo...

this is a brochure for an art tour my mom and I did together on Mother's Day weekend for several years. We would tour art studios in the morning, do Thai food for lunch, and then tour more studios and galleries in the afternoon.

I decided I really wanted to be...
not here
this weekend.
So my most awesome Mr. Logo took me away for the weekend.
We went to Banks Lake in central WA. We camped at Steamboat Rock State Park and brought along a camper and boat. It was a 14 ft. boat with a 25 hp motor.
bruuuum bruuuuum
I did a lot of reading and of course, as you undoubtedly know, there is nothing - simply nothing -half so much worth doing as messing about in boats.

Sunday afternoon we all went out and had a water picnic and beached on a very quiet and secluded sandy beach in a deserted alcove of the lake and it felt as if we had a corner of the world to ourselves.

Thing One and Mr. Logo hiked up to a sort of mesa affair overlooking our private beach. The grandpapa and Ariella did a fair bit of walking along the shore (and some racing and splashing on occasion, at least for the canine). Thing Two occupied his time with sand castle building and shell collecting.

We visited the Rocky Reach Dam while we were over there, and

of course,

we consumed more smores than seemed entirely decent.

It was a lovely weekend.

Hope you all enjoyed yourselves!

I am from

This is an OOOOOLD meme I've taken out of cold storage.
______________

I am from books,

from Red Rose tea,

and hand me downs.

I am from the pale grey corner house with the red front door and the enormous, gorgeous tree pushing up the foundation while it littered the narrow back yard with fragrant, delicious cherries.

I am from the towering evergreens, the sturdy yet delicate tulips whose annual visit heralded the coming of brighter skies.
I am from patriotic warriors and lovers of family, from Laura and Elizabeth, from Vaughn and Alfred.
I am from the practical and the caring.

From “If you your lips would keep from slips five things observe with care: of whom you speak, to whom you speak, and how, and when, and where.” and “Rest your voice.”

I am from straightforward, unornamented, “be there when the doors are open” faith.

From honest love, true generosity and from insidious self-righteousness and conformity as a conviction. From closed minds and open hearts.

I’m from western Washington, whose temperate climes spoke of home to an Englishwoman and offered welcome contrast from strident weather to wandering east coasts sons.

I’m from Yorkshire pudding and leg of lamb and

flat apple pie,

from chicken a la king with plenty of tarragon and from whole wheat pizza.

From a dark encounter in a London bomb shelter that led to a 50 year marriage,

from a blind date with Vietnam Vet,

from an ancient woman of prayer and a man of airplanes who sacrificed dreams for family, from a woman of foolish fears and words of wisdom.

I am from a five foot long shelf stuffed to overflowing with mismatched photo albums and memory books, where my face and others somewhat like it are preserved in time over one hundred years and are periodically brought out with smiles, tears, and laughter.

———————
I got this from Lime, who liked it so much, she did it twice.

T shirts

these make me giggle.
Thanks, Noisebot. Ace Ventura humor anyone?

That is so wrong, and yet still funny.

I do love me some Flight of the Conchords

Awwa, too bad for you.

No, really, even if I can have another year free, I'm still done.

If music be the food of love, play on.

I was recently encouraged to direct my attention to The Freelance Whales.
I can't find an embeddable song on youtube but if you follow that link you can hear several of their tunes.
I LOVE them. They have a vaguely Decemberist feel to them on occasion and we quite like that band as well.
I feel a need to get Weathervanes (their CD).

Mayday, mayday, mayday!

Hope it was a good one.
Thing One has been in a local theatre production and tonight was his last performance.
He is, of course, a dramatic genius but I am glad the run is over.