Headline: Mockingbird's Clock Needs Cleaning

Have you ever heard of a bird with jet lag? I did, early this morning.

We're enjoying this cooler weather. We've had our windows open nearly every night since the cooldown a week or so ago, and when I wake up in the morning, I hear the sweet song of a mockingbird who lives in the near vicinity.

And, of course, the barking of our neighbor's dog when they let him out at 6:30am. (*grumble, grumble...*)

Early this morning, I once again awoke to the mockingbird's song. It was unusually loud this time - he was in the tree just outside my bedroom window. I stretched, yawned, and noticed that I didn't really feel like I'd gotten much sleep. I also noticed that it was still very dark outside, and that Gary wasn't up, yet. I turned to look at the clock, and that's when I realized...

TWELVE FORTY-SEVEN A.M.???????

Something is wrong with this bird. I can just hear him thinking, "Hey, how come the only one up and singing is me, huh??

"Oh."

He stopped after only a minute or two, likely rather embarrassed. He and I got several more hours of sleep before he started up again around 6:30 am. We both felt better.

Until, that is, the dog added his own clumsy and overpowering notes to the song.

Seeing PURPLE

We started school this week! Every year, I say we're going to start school in the middle of July simply because the kids are bored and have too much time on their hands. Well, it's never happened.

This year, I said we'd start school around the first of August. And, it wasn't because the kids were bored, but because I thought it would give us:
...activities to engage the children's minds while they're stuck indoors out of the heat;
...a few extra weeks of school under our belts so we (meaning, "I") don't feel quite so guilty when we have to take whole weeks off for Christmas preparations in December, and the flu in January, February, March, April...well, you get the picture;
...the ability to quit for the summer in April, when there's still a few weeks of nice weather before South Texas heats up and drives us indoors.

Well, once again, it didn't happen! And Granny, this time it really wasn't because I was slacking!!! :) We had a very full summer with the return of Psalty the Singing Songbook, and also the immense blessing of my parents moving here. Suddenly it was August and I found myself gasping for air as I realized that I hadn't even done my April homework - deciding on curriculum for the year; searching the Internet and local book sales for used materials before I have to buy it new; searching the Internet and local book stores for all the stuff I couldn't buy used; ordering everything, and then spending the next week and a half watching the tracking numbers online. All these things usually happen, as I mentioned, in April and May, so I can spend the latter part of my summer actually looking at those books and materials and preparing for the school year! I had no idea just how much time all that actually takes until I had to do it in this last three or four weeks. Next year, I'll be better prepared...

Anyway, we started school this week, in spite of the fact that I wasn't completely finished getting things ready. It went really well, too. I think it worked out better this way, kind of like the difference between reading an instruction manual and actual hands-on training. I think this next couple of weeks will be an adjustment period as we work out the kinks in our schedule and get to know the new curriculum. The boys plunged themselves into their work and really did a good job - even though they had made a lot of negative remarks about schoolwork beforehand.

Tim is doing a lot more work now that he can read. He loves writing and was actually asking for writing assignments. We've added spelling, grammar and composition to his list. Now, if only Collin had that kind of attitude!

We all had a good laugh this week as Collin noticed something unusual: his school books are almost all purple. His Biology book is purple. His grammar books are purple. And his math books are purple. So, we carried it a little further - when he asked me for a bookmark for his Biology book, I gave him a purple post-it note. He made an extra effort to find a purple eraser for his pencil. And, he likes to say, his favorite Jedi has a purple light-saber.

I really didn't plan it this way - every subject is from a different publisher, so it's an amazing coincidence that all his books are purple! I asked him today if purple is his new favorite color. He said, "No, blue is still my favorite color."

Maybe next year all his books will be blue!

I really haven't forgotten about this blog!!

It's just that I've been a little busy lately... where do I begin?

Amy, our oldest lamb, GRADUATED on June 14th! We had a wonderful time with our family and friends that day - pictures coming soon!

Since the Christmas play that our church did, Psalty the Singing Songbook has gotten married and had three kids! So, for the last several months, I have had the privilege of making costumes for all of them. I did, of course, have a LOT of help, but the job still took up most of my time since the last week of April. The performance was yesterday and every one of the kids did a FANTASTIC job. Stay tuned for another post on this, complete with pictures! I hope to get them posted sometime this year.

It's been nine months, and I'm still struggling with the aftermath of my gall bladder's rebellion and subsequent dishonorable discharge. The doctor calls it "Bile Acid Gastritis" and the bottom line is that I can't eat anything that has fat or oil of any kind, no spicy foods, and no caffeine. That pretty much eliminates everything from my diet except chicken breast, granola bars, and sugar snap peas. I've literally lost all the weight I have gained since getting married 23 years ago, so I'm not complaining about that part of it, but it would be nice to have a bite or two of steak without fear of reprisal. The doctor says it'll get better, but it can take a long time. Define "long", please?

Since the end of May, all of us except Gary and Collin have had some sort of virus that has knocked us out, one at a time. I just KNEW that Collin would be next, and I've prayed for the last two weeks that he wouldn't get it because of his big part in the Psalty performance. Anyhow, now that the play is over with (just yesterday!) and we thought we had a chance to recover and get our lives back in order, Collin came to me this afternoon and said those dreaded words: "Mom, I don't feel very good." He had a fever of 103, aches, chills, etc. I'm so glad he waited until after I took a nap this afternoon. Any suggestions on how to sanitize the whole house at once to kill off this thing once and for all? Stephanie suggested taking off the roof and just dumping in a few truckloads of bleach...sounds like a plan to me! How does one sanitize furniture and carpets, without ruining them? I also think we need to bleach all the chairs at church.

Amy had a minor car accident on July 7th - she wasn't hurt except for some minor stiffness and a sore neck, but that went away a few days later. I'll let her tell you more about it on her blog. The blessing of it all is that now God has provided us with a really nice van. It's a '98 Chevy Venture. Yeah, it's over 10 years old, but it's in excellent condition. It's definitely never spent a winter in northern Illinois (so there's no rust), and has only 66K miles on it. And, it has A/C vents in the back, so the kids are REALLY happy!

I finally, for the first time in my life, read all the books in the Chronicles of Narnia series. Mandy likes to have me lie down with her for a little while every night when she goes to bed. So, since I couldn't sit at the computer during my evening moments and update this blog, I decided to start reading books again. Now I'm close to finishing the second novel in the Mitford series, by Jan Karon. Only six more to go...

And, my parents' house has sold and they are moving here from Tulsa this coming weekend!! For the first time since I was 18, we'll be living in the same state! It will be such a blessing to have both sets of grandparents nearby. What a blessing that their house sold so quickly - God's hand is definitely at work here.

Here it is, late evening, and since I'm gonna have to set a timer to wake myself up every three hours to monitor Collin's temperature, I had better get some sleep. I'm looking forward to a normal life again, but I don't think it's going to happen this week. Honestly, though -- when I look at so many others close to me and compare my own struggles with some of theirs, I think I live a rather idyllic - no, blessed - life. We are truly blessed beyond measure.

And speaking of Jack Webb...

Here's a favorite video clip we got from someone a long time ago:

Dog Police

(Dragnet theme song plays, Jack Webb starts talking...)

The story you're about to read is true. No names have been changed, because none of them was innocent. (anyone remember Isaac Air Freight?)

This is the city. Lots and lots of houses on postage stamp lots. And in almost every back yard, a dog or two. Except for mine, just about every yard in my neighborhood contains at least one dog. I am completely surrounded. My name is not Friday, but I'm beginning to think I ought to carry a badge.

Most of the dogs are peaceful and civilized, but all of them make a lot of noise, especially when sirens or C-5's go by. And in every neighborhood there always seems to be at least one troublemaker. Here, that troublemaker is a rather unattractive bulldog named Lola, who lives next door.

I was minding my own business, watering my flowers this morning, when I heard a commotion in the yard next to my own. This is not an uncommon occurrence, due to the fact that Lola is the local bully. (This must be how they came up with the name, "bulldog".) She is perfectly friendly to people, but not to other dogs. And when she's in a rage and fence-fighting with a neighbor, she becomes just about the most mindless piece of meat on four legs I've ever seen.

A week ago, Lola the bullydog was shouting insults at the dog on the other side of my yard (her name is Daisy). Daisy hasn't yet learned the folly of returning evil for evil, and started yelling insults back. This infuriated Lola, and she got so worked up that she managed to bulldoze her way THROUGH the slats of the fence into my yard. She then started fence-fighting with Daisy. After I herded the local gawkers (my children) back into the house, I got a rope around Lola's neck and literally dragged forty pounds of dog back across my yard, through the gate, and back into her own yard. I then spent the next hour with a cordless drill and a box of deck screws, repairing the nearly useless fence.

Lola's yard-mate, a little brown escape artist named Stewey, has learned how to dig holes under the fences and also how to squeeze between any loose boards. He makes the rounds of the neighbors' yards, stealing their dog food and treats. I don't think he and Lola are really working together, because he never seems to be listening to her barking orders through the fence.

This morning as Stewey made his usual rounds, his last caper before heading back to his own yard was the yard directly behind mine - the home of a three-month-old puppy named Brody. Apparently, Brody followed Stewey back through his hole into Stewey's yard, where he was immediately assaulted by the bullydog. This was the commotion I heard as I came outside.

I knew that puppy wouldn't last long if I didn't do something, so I went over there and looked for something with which to lasso the bullydog. The only thing available was the neighbor's garden hose. It didn't work too well as a lasso, but I was able to get it around her neck just enough to pull her off the puppy. (It was hard to tell just where her neck actually was.) Finally, after about ten minutes of fighting with her, she backed off just enough that I was able to safely pick up Brody and carry him out of danger.

First, I set him down in my driveway while I had Collin open up the garage door so I could get a rope for Brody. I also had Tim go upstairs and retrieve my slippers, since I had stepped in a big pile of leftovers during the rescue (the things a cop has to endure to protect and to serve!) and had to remove my shoes.

Brody came out of the ordeal badly shaken, but not injured. In fact, there wasn't a scratch on him, but he did have a LOT of dog drool all over his throat. Seems the bullydog's face is more flab than teeth; I wonder if she has any? No, I don't really want to know.

After Brody had somewhat recovered from his scare, I took him around to the front door of his house and rang the doorbell. No one was home. So, I felt it necessary to take temporary custody of the puppy. I left a note on the door, which read,

"Hi,
I have Brody in my yard. I had to rescue him this morning from the bulldog next door. Please call me or drop by as soon as possible. We need to talk."

I also left a note on Lola's owner's front door, asking her to contact me so I could talk to her about the dogs. I haven't heard from her. (I don't know whether she talked to Gary while I was at HOPE tonight, but I doubt it.)

I took Brody back to my yard and tied him to a tree so he could rest. I was afraid to put him back in his own yard since I didn't know whether or not he'd learned his lesson about crossing boundaries and I didn't want to find out. Plus, I wanted to make sure I got a chance to talk to his owner. I sent Tim over the fence to get some of his dog food, but the dish was empty - probably stolen by Stewey.

We all enjoyed playing with him all day until his owner came to get him when she got home from work. I told her all about what had happened and she thanked me profusely. I suggested that she keep him in his crate in the house while they're gone, rather than leaving him outside all day. I hope she'll do that. He's a really sweet puppy but he'll start learning a lot of bad habits from the other neighborhood dogs if he's left to himself all the time like they are. The proverb that says, "A child who is left to himself brings grief to his mother" is true for dogs, too!

I have been wanting an opportunity to get to know my neighbors a little better, but I didn't expect it to have to be like this. I don't want to be the one to be complaining about their dogs, but I am honestly getting tired of being the dog police around here.

I don't even own a dog!

Resurrection Day Picture

I know it's two weeks overdue, but it's been a lot longer than that since we all had our picture taken together. Thank you, Beth!!! So, here it is - our family with both sets of grandparents, all together for Resurrection Day, March 23, 2008!

I always seem to find things to comment on when I look at a picture of our family - things like:

Gary's dad, as usual, has something profound to say.
Collin, as usual, needs a haircut.
Mandy, as usual, is making funny faces.
I, as usual, am wearing the same dress I wore for a family picture in October of 2000 and for several other pictures since then. After more than seven years, I think it's time for a new one...sigh! I have the pattern and the fabric ready...

But, don't take this the wrong way - I have NOTHING to complain about! How many families can say that both sets of in-laws get along so well? And look so good in the same picture together? We're more richly blessed than I'd have ever have dared to imagine.

Fourteen months is WAY too long!

That's how long it's been since we last saw my mom and dad - fourteen months! The last time we saw them, they helped us move across the country from northern Illinois here to southern Texas. They stayed almost two weeks and helped us get settled in our new home. It's been such a blessing to have them here this past week for our Lord's Resurrection Day.

Our heart's desire is for them to be able to move down here, too. All our married lives, we've lived two states apart from each other, and it would be such a blessing to all live close enough that we can see them more than once a year. We've spent a lot of time this week driving around looking at houses and neighborhoods, and getting a feel for what is available and what they're looking for. It's probably not quite time for them to move down here, yet, because we saw a lot of what they can't afford, and nothing very appealing that they might be able to afford. We looked at a few model homes, all of which are sitting on lots the size of postage stamps. We're amazed at how densely packed in they are. You have literally five feet of yard on each side of the house, and if you're lucky, you get ten or twelve feet of yard in front and in back. The house itself takes up the rest of the lot. And some of the houses aren't all that big inside - they start at around 1100 square feet.

One of the model homes was obviously built in a real hurry. I think this was definitely a case of too many cooks in the kitchen, or something like that (not that this house's kitchen had room for that many cooks!). There were also three full baths in this very little house...one in the master bedroom, and the other two right across the hall from each other. Very intelligent. This house wasn't really big enough for a family that would need three full baths, as far as I'm concerned.

And I think it might have been that same house that had another goof which my dad noticed - the access hole for the attic had a rafter that went directly across the hole, and electrical wiring strung across the space as well. One obviously wasn't supposed to have access to this attic, at least not through this access hole. Hmmm...

So, we looked at a few more model homes, and then decided to come back to reality and drive through some more established neighborhoods. They need a place where my dad can do his woodworking, so a one-car garage isn't an option. It would be nice to have it near my neighborhood, or better yet, IN my neighborhood - please pray that one of our neighbors will move out and sell their house CHEAP (and take their yappy dogs with them).

We're praying that the market in Tulsa will pick up and they'll get a good price for their house there. We're convinced that God has a house already in mind for them here and when the time comes, He'll make it possible.

Girls' Day Out!

On Thursday, Amy and I went out for a Girls' Day Out - for the first time in I don't know how long!! First, we had lunch at La Madeleine, then we went downtown. We parked the car, took a nice, leisurely walk on the Riverwalk, and then went to the Majestic Theatre to see "Phantom of the Opera." It was absolutely incredible! The sets and costumes were amazingly elaborate. I think the most interesting set was the scene where the Phantom is taking Christine on his boat across the lake to his hide-out. They used fog machines to cover the stage with fog, and with the lighting and all the candlelights that came up from underneath the stage, it really created an amazing effect of water.

I took some pictures of the theatre, though they didn't turn out all that great. The setting I used really requires the camera to be on a tripod. Of course, I took them BEFORE the performance started, because they'd have confiscated my camera if they caught me taking shots of the actual play. I'd love to have taken some pictures of some of those costumes, though!

Amy posted her thoughts about the performance on her blog, too. I agree that the main characters' voices were more to our liking in the movie than in this production, but there's just nothing like seeing a Broadway musical live on stage. No matter how elaborately done, the screen just doesn't do it justice.

I was blessed to have been able to buy the tickets online at a group rate, for a limited time in December! You have no idea just how hard it was to keep it a secret for two months! Well, it was actually a month and a half. I finally broke down and told her a few weeks ago. I got these tickets for her birthday present, so it was nice to be able to celebrate her birthday a second time!

A new blog for you to visit!

Amy has started a new blog! Go take a look:

http://airhead90.blogspot.com/

New post below...

I just posted a new entry about Mandy's haircut, but it's below "Eureka". That's because I started it three weeks ago and this site thinks it should still be dated as three weeks ago.

So, scroll down and take a look! Mandy's hair is shorter!

Eureka!!

I've been searching for my jump drive for almost two weeks. The last time I'd seen it, it was in my shirt pocket and I was carrying my laptop downstairs to sit on the couch and work on lesson plans. I didn't get them done, though, due to other things that demanded my attention that evening (like the movie Gary was watching...). And that was the last I remembered about the whereabouts of my jump drive.

I wasn't too concerned about it being stolen, as there wasn't any sensitive information on it. It just has some of Collin's schoolwork on it and a copy of my lesson plans for that week. It has a keyring with a little tag that says "school" on it, so there's no mistaking that one with the one Gary has from work. I use it to transfer schoolwork and lesson plans from my laptop to the desktop upstairs for printing. I'd really like to have all our computers networked so I can just send things from the laptop in the schoolroom to the printer upstairs, but that's going to have to wait until Gary has the time to do it.

So, it wasn't that big a deal, but it was really driving me nuts! What in the world did I do with it??

I searched my purse, Mandy's purse (because one never knows), my church bag, my other bags, all the pockets in all the clothes I've worn for the past two months, both vehicles, all the desk drawers, and everywhere else in the house I could think of. No jump drive.

Finally, today I called in the troops. I offered a reward of a free lunch from Sonic for the person who finds my jump drive. That caused Tim to launch into search mode. (Collin would have, too, but he was working on an English essay, and Amy didn't seem too interested.)

I didn't really have much hope of anyone finding it, but to my great surprise ten minutes later, I heard Tim call out, "I FOUND IT!!" It was under the cushion of the couch in the living room. I hadn't remembered sitting there so I didn't look there. ( *smack on forehead* )

So, if you'll excuse me, I'm going to Sonic with my very happy son, and a four-year-old who needs some fries, too. And, just to be nice, I'll probably bring back a slushy for Collin who was stuck doing schoolwork when the missing jump drive search was still on.

Hairdresser-in-the-making

I've been meaning to get this posted for over three weeks, now. Sorry for the delay!!

Yesterday, a certain four-year-old decided she'd waited long enough for her haircut and took matters (a.k.a. scissors) into her own hands.

I intended to get her haircut done that weekend. I really did! It's just that so many other things got in the way that I didn't get it done. Never mind the fact that I'd been taking care of two boys with the flu!!! -- but that doesn't count, does it? I had told her on Saturday morning that I would try and give her a haircut (first mistake) but it would have to be after her bath. I don't like cutting dirty hair, you know. Well, I did what I could that day, and I barely managed to get her bath done.

After her bath, I was just sitting down to rest and she came up to me and said, "Now can I have my haircut?" I'm telling you, this child doesn't forget ANYTHING!!! I had to tell her that I was sorry, but I was wiped out and I just couldn't do it (second mistake). So, she went on her merry way and found something else to do until bedtime. And that was the end of it.

Or, so I thought.

On Monday afternoon, I was downstairs doing something in the kitchen. And after awhile, I noticed things were awfully quiet in the house. I was downstairs alone and Mandy wasn't anywhere in sight. Time to investigate.

Amy was in her room on the computer. Collin was busy doing something, off by himself somewhere. Tim was watching a movie in my room (I don't remember whether or not he actually had permission to be in my room to begin with, but that's a moot point, now). And Mandy was playing with her toys...in my room, too. All was well...

Then Mandy looked up and saw me looking at her, and with a great deal of pride she said, "Look, Mom! I cut my hair!!"

I didn't notice it at first. I wouldn't have noticed it at all if she hadn't made such an effort to show me. "You did? Where?"

"Here!" And she pulled the hair on the sides of her head around to the front so I could see. There was a lot of hair missing.

I didn't see any suspicious items (like scissors) lying around, so I asked, "What did you use to cut your hair with?"

"Your scissors."

"What scissors?"

She grabbed my hand and led me to my bathroom, and pointed to the drawer where I kept my hair-cutting scissors and electric clippers. "Those scissors," she said. The scissors were in the drawer. Further observation revealed hair all over Mandy's shirt, the bathroom counter, and the floor, but not enough to have made me too concerned. Then I saw the HUGE wad of hair in the garbage can. She had cut her own hair, put the scissors away, and tried her best to clean up the mess! I took a closer look at the back of her head, and that's when the reality of it all set in. I had work to do to fix this. *sigh* So, I gave her the rest of her haircut. And she was happy.

However, when I was done, she wasn't quite so happy. She looked in the mirror and said, "I'm a boy, now." She had lost over six inches of beautiful brown hair.

The funny part of it all is that the hair that was really bothering her wasn't touched! Her bangs had been hanging in her eyes for a couple of weeks but she didn't cut those at all, much to my relief. The hair-cutting scissors are now kept safely INSIDE the box with the electric clippers, and I'm pretty sure she can't get that box open. I have a very hard time getting it open myself.

Since then, she has mentioned that she doesn't really like her hair short and she wants it back. I told her that she'll just have to wait until it grows back and that she shouldn't cut it again.

I wonder if she'll remember that!

Tag with a twist...it's new to me!

I used to love playing Tag - but now, I just don't like running because it makes my lower back hurt. So, when I found out that I was "tagged" by Tiffany, I thought, "What an interesting twist!" I'm just gonna copy and paste the rules from her blog:

The rules of the game:
(1) Link to the person that tagged you.
(2) Post the rules on your blog.
(3) Share six non-important things/habits/quirks about yourself.
(4) Tag six random people at the end of your post by linking to their blogs.
(5) Let each random person know they have been tagged by leaving a comment on their website.

Six things about me:

1. When I'm angry, I clam up and pout. And I usually hold an imaginary "conversation" with the object(s) of my anger, spelling out all the reasons I'm right and they're not - unless it's one of the kids. Then it's not very imaginary.

2. I used to be addicted to milk. Really addicted. I went through genuine withdrawals for three months when I discovered that Mandy, whom I was nursing at the time, started showing signs of a milk allergy. After that first three months, I was fine. Now, I don't even like milk. I eat cold cereal with vanilla rice milk. It took some getting used to, but it's not too bad. It's better than soy milk, I think.

3. I am really blessed that the only thing that reminds me of morning sickness is the smell of a paper mill. That smell still remains indelibly impressed in my nose and it doesn't take a hormone overdose for the odor to have its usual effect on me. That's another story for another post at another time. Not right now - I just had a nice Sunday dinner and I'd like to keep it.

4. I never wear high heels. Arthritis in my feet won't allow them.

5. Tiffany wrote: "I eat cold cereal super fast because I can't stand it if it is the least bit soggy."
Neither can I. In fact, I have even considered making the child who interrupted my meal FINISH the now soggy cereal. Never actually did it, though.

6. I really love to sew, but more than once, my children have outgrown patterns I had bought for them and clothes that needed mending before the sewing and mending ever got done. I need do something about that.

(Can I write seven things about myself instead of only six?)

7. I like creative writing.

Okay, now I'm supposed to tag someone else. Since my group of blogging friends is still rather small, several of you have already been tagged before. So you don't have to go through all this again, unless you have six more "unimportant" things you can tell us about yourselves!

So, here goes: Sheri, Gail, Tami, Aubrey, CJ, and Cody. Let's get one of the dads involved here - he hasn't updated his blog in a little while!

Mandy doesn't like tomatoes!

When we have salads with our dinner, one of our favorite things to put on them is those little sweet grape tomatoes. Only thing is, Mandy thinks they're grapes.

We've told her over and over and over again they're NOT GRAPES!! They're TOMATOES! We've also reminded her that she HATES tomatoes. She just can't seem to remember all the tomatoes we've found on the counter with little teeth marks in them because she thought they looked like apples. And the grape tomatoes, lightly chewed, that we've found in the garbage can because they looked like grapes. It usually only takes one or two tastes and then she decides that batch isn't any good. But the very next time I get tomatoes, she tries them again.

The other day, we had salads with our dinner. And, true to her tradition, Mandy had to take a grape tomato. Before we could stop her, she had popped it into her mouth. And then the "fun" began.

Her face started the usual contortions, and she said, "I don't like it."

This, time, my compassion had come to an end with this issue. I decided to make her remember that she doesn't like tomatoes. "You will not spit it out. You will swallow it."

Talking with a full mouth, she said, "But I don't like it."

"I know. I told you that it's a tomato and you don't like tomatoes. You decided to grab one anyway and so you're going to eat it."

Face turns red. Mouth desperately wants to eliminate its contents without involving the throat in the unpleasantness of the situation. She looked at me again. "I don't like it."

"I know. Swallow it."

By now, I'm hoping that Mandy is thinking that maybe she really doesn't like tomatoes. ANY tomatoes. They're not going to get any better if she waits until the next batch comes.

She looked around the table at everyone else. No one volunteered any sympathy. Everyone else had lost interest in her predicament and was involved in other conversation. She was stuck with her mouthful of tomato.

"Swallow it."

I could tell that she was suffering, but like a good girl, she finally managed to choke it down. I praised her and gave her a drink of water. "Now," I said, "you're not going to help yourself to any more tomatoes, are you?"

"No."

"Do you know why?"

"Because I don't like tomatoes."

The really funny part came when Amy, who had been watching the whole episode, commented about what Mandy's face looked like with that tomato in her mouth. "She looked like she was meeting eat loaf."

We all got a huge laugh at Amy's little slip of the tongue. I don't think I'll ever look at meat loaf the same way again!

Music Practice

My kids are watching too much TV lately, I think. They're singing a song from one of their favorite movies:

"Git along home, Cindy, Cindy

Git along home, Cindy, Cindy

Git along home, Cindy, Cindy,

I'll marry you sometime."

Mandy started it. She doesn't know all the words to the verses, but she sure knows the chorus. And the boys joined right in so all three of them were singing just now. They sound good, too! I hate to make them stop to get busy with schoolwork. I'll log it in as music practice for today!

In case you're wondering, that song was from Rio Bravo, with John Wayne, Walter Brennan, Dean Martin, and Ricky Nelson. I'd rather it be that than some of the garbage on TV these days!

Gone Fishin'

Friday was a day to remember - we all went to the coast to go fishing! This is the first time in my life I've ever done any salt water fishing, at least that I can remember. We had a great time. The weather was perfect - 75 degrees and a little windy, but not too bad.

We went to Port Aransas where Gary had gone out with his co-workers back in November. The first place we considered was right out on the Gulf, and that wouldn't have been a great location because of the wind and high seas. The waves were extremely high and I'd have been a nervous wreck worrying about Mandy falling off the pier into the surf. So, we continued on a little way and found a nice spot on a pier in the shipping channel, where it was well protected. The water there was perfectly calm (except whenever a really BIG ship went by) and by the time we arrived, several people who had been there for a while decided they'd had enough, and they made room for us.

We started out with mud minnows, and while everyone to the right and left of us was pulling in one fish after another, we were getting a lot of nibbles but didn't catch anything. Then, a little while later, a kind gentleman asked us if we wanted his leftover bait, and we gratefully accepted. It was squid, and that seemed to be what the fish were really after! At that point, we started catching more fish than we could count. They were all hardhead catfish, and there were so many of them out there that we didn't catch anything else, with ONE exception - Tim caught an eel! Several people on the pier took pictures of him with his eel! We gave it to a couple of guys who wanted it for bait. They were even kind enough to take it off Tim's hook for him, which was good. I can deal with the catfish and their spines, but I wasn't interested in tangling with that eel's teeth.

I shared my pole with Mandy, because she wanted to catch a fish, too. She reeled in a couple of them and boy, was she happy!

Later in the day, I counted at least five fish that I caught on the same squid. I was amazed at how resilient those things are! During the course of the day, though, we lost quite a few of our hooks. The fish kept swallowing them. That was kind of aggravating because they were on steel leaders.

We each caught more fish that day than we've ever caught before. We threw all but one of them back, of course, because Gary hadn't brought a fillet knife and we really don't eat much fish anyway. But a very nice guy helped Gary fillet one of the biggest fish, and we brought home that and cooked it on the grill last night. Those who like fish said it was pretty good.

Another highlight was watching the dolphins out in the channel. I wish I'd had the equipment to get pictures of them, but they were too far away for that. But, we could see them quite well and they were really fun to watch.

We came back that night very late, very tired, and very happy - God allowed us to have a fun day and kept us all safe! We'd like to go out on a boat one of these days - maybe we'll catch something other than hardheads!