Vacationing

I've been loving the last few days. The presence of the new Game Cube has kept Clint and the girls so busy that I've felt free to do whatever I want to do.

This included;
Playing Animal Crossing until Noon in my nightgown
Writing a letter to my good friend in California
Not cooking
Not cleaning (OK, I've done the dishes, taken out the trash, and made my bed, but that's only because I wanted to!)
Blogging
Hauling and stacking wood(it felt great to be outside)
Typing recipes into Publisher (the start of a project that could take some time)

I'm loving taking a vacation in my own house. It's something I NEVER feel like I can do. Maybe that's why I'm reluctant to go to the cabin. I know it will be great there, but I will have to decide in advance what stuff I feel like doing, and then I will have to bring it with me. There will be no phone, computer or satelite. Usually the absence of those things is what I love about the cabin but this time I feel like I will miss them.

Clint will get very grumpy if I keep resisting. He's been terrific this holiday. I took a 2 1/2 hour nap on Christmas Day, and he cooked dinner. I could say "Sure, we'll go to the cabin when you get everything ready". But I'm vacationing, and he's out working in 30 degree weather. I should be willing to help get our family to a place where we can all do something we like.

After all, with no phone, computer or satelite, I could finally get somewhere on Pride and Prejudice, and when the kids are sleeping I can play Animal Crossing. I could even scrapbook, if I have the energy to pack it all up to bring.

Gaming

I thnk I'm just not a big gaming person. Clint and the kids love the Mario Kart racing game. I think it's fun for about 10 minutes. Then I get bored with not being able to stay on the road. My driving sucks.

Rhiannon loves the Game Cube. She is far less into Gameboy Advance than Shelby or Gillian, so it's been interesting to see her so into the Game Cube. I've realized it's because it's social. She plays it as an interaction with several other people, instead of solo like a Gameboy. It makes perfect sense, because she does prefer interacting with others to solo pursuits most of the time.

Rhiannon wanted me to try Mario Party 5, because she knew Kart didn't do much for me. She got a little impatient with me, because I have no interest in playing if it will make the other kids unhappy because they can't play. And EVERYONE wants to play. It's been on pretty much all the time, except when I strongly suggest they take a break.

We sat down last night to play. Shelby graciously sat out so I could play with the other three girls. I liked it much better than the racing game. It reminds me of a 3D Candyland. You move around on spaces like a game board and play lots of mini games that are just a riot. The hardest part is that Tamzin is pretty much never the winner, and she cries about it. I keep trying to deemphasize the winning part, but the other girls get excited to see their skill improving, so they talk a fair amount about how they are doing in comparison to the others. Even Gillian cried last night, after spending much of the game in the lead, she had some unlucky breaks and lost almost everything. It really sucked. Obviously, winning is less about skill and more about chance, but how to help them see that? I can tell them, but it doesn't mean they will accept it.

The other game I tried and liked is Animal Crossing. Unfortunately, only one player at a time can play. Gillian taught me how to play yesterday morning while the others were sleeping. They all woke up and tried to get me to try Party, but I was obsessed with figuring out how to sell my peaches and shells to the storekeeper on Animal Crossing, and told them it was only fair that I get a turn on the Game Cube they'd all been on pretty much non stop!

After they went to bed last night, I played Animal Crossing again while Clint dozed on the couch. But all the Animals went to bed and shut me out of their houses, so I still haven't figured out how to sell my peaches and shells.

Computer Improvements

I installed Windows XP, MS Office, Publisher, and Norton AV on my old computer. I am trying to get it up to speed so someone will want to use it now and then, instead of having a waiting line to the new one. I decided to install XP because for no reason the old computer stopped recognizing the new one on the network. Very frustrating. The connections were still there, because it could get to the internet, and the new computer could recognize the old. But short of calling the tech out again (for $60 minimum) it occured to me that with Windows XP, the network wizard would get things running with a minimum of effort, and I know with that I could muddle through on my own. I also had to have XP to run my version of Office and Publisher, so it seemed like the best way to go.

Of course, after installing, everything was fine, and then for no reason the wireless adapter completely stopped working. Tech support at D-Link was incredibly rude, for the first time ever. They said the slot must be bad. So I uninstalled the drivers, had Tech Clint open up the computer and move the adapter to the one remaining slot, reinstalled the drivers, and...nothing. Called D-Link again, got a much nicer tech who said sometimes the connection disables itself for no reason. He explained how to enable it again, and I was good to go.

Clint was grumpy about the computer problem. He thinks the solution is to go a wired network. I am convinced this will work. We just have to be persistent. Eventually I will know all the things that can go wrong with it, and the fixes for them.

To Go, or not to Go?

Normally we head to the cabin immediately after Christmas, sometimes even on Christmas Day. In the past, this was because the Cabin belonged to Clint's Dad, and we would all meet up there for a very fun holiday of visiting and snowmobiling. But now, Clint's Dad is unable to meet us at the cabin. Sadly, his physical conditon is such that long trips are not comfortable for him.

Without Clint's Dad there as an anchor, none of the other extended family members have an interest in visiting the cabin. Last year we went up after Christmas anyway, and spent a wonderful long holiday snowmobiling, sledding, playing games, and just enjoying the pleasure of being together.

This year I was elected to host Clint's families' Christmas Eve function. Between preparing for Christmas Eve, and Rhiannon's birthday(12/23), and last minute Christmas preparations, I felt stressed about getting us all packed to go to the cabin as well. When we realized there was no snow there, we decided to wait and leave today, since that would take the pressure off me to have everything packed (it's not just the clothes, it's needing to prepare for a week's worth of cooking and activities that is so time consuming!).

But today, enjoying the morning here at home, I'm not sure I want to go up there today. We surely will head up there at some point this week, because after this week our regular schedule of activities starts up again, and it will be harder to get away. But I don't know when we will go. I kind of like leaving it as an unknown. Everyone always chastises me for not being more spur-of-the-moment. So now that I want to be spur-of-the-moment, I guess I'm confusing. Why should I decide? How about if we just go...later!?

The Happiest of Holidays

This Christmas has been the happiest holiday I can remember in ages. There was no moment when I felt unhappy, or overtired, or overworked, or overburdened, or disappointed, or unappreciated, or stressed.

As I cuddled up with Clint last night, and we recounted the highlights of the day, I was filled with an intense wave of Joy and Contentment. It was the pleasure of having spent a holiday free from sadness or negative feelings.

Which caused me to reflect on why that feels so rare and special. Is it something I am doing that causes there to be unhappy or negative moments in almost every holiday we have?

I will think about that later. For now, I am going to continue to enjoy my perfect holiday, and stretch it out for as long as I can!

Now I KNOW I'm boring!!

I had a great time at book group last night, as usual. I was half an hour late, becuase Shelby had her piano recital that afternoon. I had invited my brother over for dinner afterwards, forgetting it was book group night. Then, Clint had to work late, and didn't walk in the door until 7 p.m.

When Clint walked in I said a quick Hello/Goodbye and headed to book group I figured they would visit briefly, and that Chris would then head home.

So I was pretty surprised to walk in the door at 10 pm to find the two of them opening up a second bottle of wine and watching King of the Hill. I sat down with them to visit and we popped in a movie to watch. Fifteen minutes later, I made a comment on the movie and got no response. Dead silence. I looked over at Chris, and...


I started giggling. Then I looked over at Clint...


Hmmm. They must have been having a pretty good time while I was gone. Obviously they were all tuckered out!

The Nutcracker Ballet

I love the ballet. Someday I'd like to take the girls to Seattle to see the ballet there. I used to go when I lived in San Francisco. It was wonderful. So beautiful, and magical. It always left me feeling enthralled.

I love being able to take the girls to the Nutcracker here in town. It's such a fun story, one they can relate to well. I think that's the best way to learn to appreciate a fine art like the ballet. Have it tell a story that means something to you. The fact that it's familiar to them helps to make it meaningful. Our friend Lorena Perkins and her brother Casey were in the ballet, too, so it was fun to see them perform.

When it was over, Tamzin said "But what about the Little Red Hen? I thought the Little Red Hen happened at the end?"

She was remembering The Dance Class's production of Nursery Rhymes from a couple of years ago! She was very disappointed when I tried to explain to her that The Nutcracker doesn't have a Little Red Hen!

The Heat is On

It's old news now, but we had big excitement last weekend when the chimney caught fire. Clint was driving home from Louisiana. I was getting ready to go Christmas shopping, just heading out the door in fact, when we smelled burning plastic. I puzzled over it for a few minutes, and then remembered that the wood stove always smells like burned plastic when it gets too hot. It's a remnant from last winter, when I lit the first fire of the year, neglecting to notice Clint's singing Billy Bass sitting on the stove until it had melted into a steaming heap of stinking plastic. But that's another story.

When I went to check the stove, the damper bar and the chimney flue were RED HOT. I mean, like a blacksmith's forge. I could hear the sizzling of the creosote burning on the inside of the chimney. That's not uncommon, so it didn't freak me out, but the red hot iron sure did. The air vent had been left on high, so I turned it all the way down, to cut the air to the fire. I opened up the stove to find glowing hot creosote raining down from the chimney within. I ran outside to look and see if there were flames coming from the chimney, but it looked fine. I went back in to fool with the stove some more, to try to figure out how to cool it down. Then the girls, who had stayed outside watching the chimney, called out "Mom, the chimney's on fire". And it was.

Flames were leaping out the chimney, and the grate at the top of the chimney(it's to keep sparks from getting on the roof) was glowing red. I started to call 911, then changed my mind and called Clint instead. I just knew if he was here, he would know what to do without calling the fire department. If he could tell me what to do, we would all be saved a mess of trouble. He told me to call the fire department. 911 couldn't figure out which fire department to refer my call to. Funny, I thought the reason they changed our address to a funky 5 digit number 5 years ago was to put the county on a grid system so addresses could be easily identified by rescue vehicles. Well, it took at least 15 minutes for the fire department to arrive.

Clint called his father-in-law, who lives right across the river, after he hung up with me, and 70 year Gary was there hauling a ladder, climbing my roof and putting out the fire before the fire department even got there. Actually, he shut the damper on the stove first, and that was what cut out the flames. I guess I'd left the damper open, even though Clint told me to shut it all down.

When the fire department arrived, they really arrived. Three trucks and eight firemen. Gary was on the roofand there was no fire visible at that point. The firemen said they would have to get into the attic to make sure nothing was on fire. Clint, via phone, told me to tell them their was no access to the attic, and that they could see the chimney by removing the panelling in Shelby's room. They ignored that and decided to try to get into the attic, which had been sealed after the insulating company shot it full of loose insulation up there years before. While we waited outside, our brave heros found a firefighter small enough to fit through the small attic access door, cut the seal on the access...and determined it was not possible to get into the attic because of the insulation.

Instead, they used their handy dandy heat reading gun, shot it through Shleby's wall, and found that the temperature of the chimney was only 100 degrees. So they climbed on the roof, removed the grate, looked down the chimney, and said "This chimney looks pretty clean." Well, now it does. All the creosote has been burned off!

The grate that was protecting the top of the chimney was covered with creosote. That was what was flaming and red. What must have happened was that when I shut off the air to the overhot stove, the heat jumped up into the chimney and set it on fire, igniting the creosote that had built up on the grate. Had I turned it all down and left it down, it would have gone out by itself. I felt pretty dumb for not being able to figure it all out myself. But, I'm glad to know the fire department is there to help out. If anything else had caught on fire, we would have been glad to have them there.

Grandpa Gary's the real hero, though. He got to my house in less than five minutes and put out the fire in two minutes more. Then, he told me I had done the right thing to call the fire department, that we needed them there just in case. Still, I'm glad Gary was there.

Cavities for Christmas

Our Dental Adventure started in October when Gillian started complaining about her mouth hurting. Clint took a look in her mouth and pronounced "She has a cavity." I was amazed at his knowledge, never having seen one myself, and not realizing they would even be visible to the uneducated.

I made an appointment with our dentist, and took her in immediately. He found not one, but seven cavities! I was horrified! Shelby and Rhiannon have never had any cavities. Immediately guilt set in. I've let Gillian have too much sugar, too many sweets. I didn't brush her teeth for her til she was five the way I did with the older girls. She has soda several times a month...Guilt, guilt, guilt.

The dentist said she would need four appointments to fill the cavities, since they occured in all four sections of her mouth. Over the next few days, Gillian had two appointments, and they filled four cavities. Then I got the bill. $700! Ouch! I cancelled the appointments to fill the remaining cavities until I could regroup and figure out what to do. How were we going to pay the bill we'd alread incurred, let alone pay for three more fillings? And why didn't the dentist warn me what it was going to cost? They knew we were paying out of pocket!

Coincidentally, I had scheduled an appointment for the girls to visit the CBC Dental Clinic later that month. Turns out the Dental Hygiene program there does a children's day. For $30 they will do x-rays, a cleaning, flouride treatment, a dental exam, and even fillings...if that happens to be one of the areas of study for the students at that time. All of the girls were overdue for a checkup, and I thought this option would be cost effective. I decided to wait and hope they would fill Gillian's remaining cavities. The appointments were impressive. They did a good job, and the price was right. Unfortunately, they didn't fill Gillian's other cavities. And even worse, they also found that Tamzin had three cavities as well. They told me they wouldn't be doing fillings until February, and that I shouldn't wait that long to get them taken care of.

I was paralyzed. I called a number of dentists in town, trying to find someone less expensive, but couldn't find anything affordable. Finally, I decided to apply for state low cost medical insurance. I had been debating it for some time. We pay $349 a month for catastrophic insurance. That means hospital and accident insurance only. It doesn't pay for illnesses, dr. visits, well visits, prescriptions, vison, dental. And even if we need hospital care, there is a $1000 per person deductable before they will cover anything. Medical insurance options for the self employed truly suck. Since our income lately has been, well, low, I thought perhaps we could qualify for the state's $15 per month per child insurance program. So, I applied, and waited on pins and needles to hear if we'd qualified, feeling guilty the whole time that I was procrastinating on these fillings.

Last week I was ready to give up and just take the girls back to our regular dentist. I decided I was crazy to think we would qualify. I called them one last time... and was told my my coupons were on the way! I'm struggling between feeling elated to be able to get this stuff taken care of at a low cost (actually free) and feeling guilty because I don’t feel we’re that poor. I was just looking for something that would pay a portion of the expense!

I had to call a dozen dentists to find someone who would take medical coupons, and ended up at Dental Care Northwest in Pasco. They have been very nice, and gentle and kind to the girls. They actually found several more cavities on Tamzin than CBC did. They did half the fillings on both girls Tuesday, and will do the rest next week. They were able to do Tamzin’s first two without anesthetic, so she didn’t have to have a shot. She left the office thinking fillings are no big deal. I'm not so sure she will be so lucky next week. I think they did the easy ones first, maybe to get her comfortable with the procedure.

I'm just so glad it will all be over soon. I have been so worried about the whole thing for more than a month now. It's a great feeling to be getting it all behind us. We are now diligently brushing their teeth with straight floride every evening.

Interestingly, both Shelby and Rhiannon had no cavities, and not even much calculus buildup. The dentist said they both looked great. Maybe it's true, and everyone had a different tendency towards cavities. But I'm still planning to cut back on the sugar.

Hubby's back

Clint's been on an 11 day trip to Louisiana. He drove all the way there, fished a tournament, and drove home. Before that, he was home for 5 days, one of which was Thanksgiving, and before that, he was gone on a 9 day trip to California. We have missed him a lot! A few days is fine, I usually appreciate the space, but how do you go three weeks without sharing stuff with your best friend? We talked on the phone more than usual this time, mostly because we were both so worried about him driving cross country in December that I felt it was important to keep checking on him. But I couldn't tell him any of my good news or bad, because he's too distracted to respond much to the good, and it would only worry him if I told him the bad.

It was a really big deal tournament. It was the BASS Open Championship. The top 5 finishers in this competition go to the BASS Classic, which is the superbowl of bass fishing. He finished 20th, so he doesn't get to go to the Classic. Disappointing, but still a respectable finish.

He tells me he doesn't have another tournament until JUNE. I am putting it here in my Blog so I have WITNESSES. So, when he tells me in March that he has a really important tournament and he absolutely must go, and why am I surprised because there are always tournaments in March, I can say..."You said you didn't have another tournament until June. It's in my blog."

I know. It won't matter. Sigh.

That's OK. Probably by March I'll be ready for a couple of days alone anyway.

Maybe if I play my cards right I can get him to finish the remodeling before he takes off again!

What am I thinking? The remodel will never be finished!

Am I Boring?

I know, I know, I never blog anymore. I don't have an excuse...I just haven't been getting around to it.

There's been lots of stuff going on, but I haven't been inspired to jot any of it down. It seems like anything I could tell about what I've been doing would be ...boring.