The View from our Hotel

We went to Bremerton to see Clint's dad last weekend. He was in the hospital recently and had just returned home. Thankfully there was nothing seriously wrong with him. He's not been taking great care of himself, and was weak and malnourished. He had a stroke last year and has been depressed and anxious ever since.

After ruling out other options, we decided to bring Chico, our chihuahua, with us. This meant staying in a motel instead of with Clint's dad and stepmom. We found a great hotel close to Clint's dad's place, but it was unavailable Friday night. We decided it would be worth it to switch lodgings after one night if we could stay in this hotel, which had an excersise and game room, indoor pool, an ocean view, and a killer rate. For Friday night, we made reservations at a nearby motel that would take dogs, but when we got there, the room was unacceptable. Linoleum flooring and only 6 inches of clearance around the two queen beds. With 6 of us in a room, 2 have to sleep on the floor, so it just wouldn't work. We sat in the parking lot calling places, trying to find someone that could accomodate all of us and the dog.

We did, and things worked out great, but it was stressful in the meantime. Rhiannon had been feeling poorly prior leaving on the trip. I had suggested it might be better for the two of us to stay home and let Clint and the other girls go without us. We couldn't expose an 83 year old man in poor health to a virus. But Clint and Rhiannon felt it was possible that her looming sick feelings were temporary, so off we went. It was clear by the time we reached Ellensburg that Rhiannon was pretty sick. She was feverish and dazed. She doesn't travel well anyway, so she felt pretty awful. Waiting in the car while we struggled to find accomodations after a 4 1/2 hour drive was agony.

In the end, we got a great deal on two rooms at a Comfort Inn in Port Orchard. We've never stayed in two rooms before, so for Clint and I it was like a mini holiday. We haven't been in a hotel room without a child since our wedding night. We all ate out at a really nice Mexican Restaurant, trying to make the best of an uncomfortable situation. Rhiannon was like the walking dead the whole time, but had vetoed the idea of ordering a pizza in our room. In the morning we ate their continental breakfast with homemade waffles, and then Clint and the girls went to see grandpa while Rhiannon and I spent an incredibly boring morning watching motel TV.

At checkout time Clint returned to the motel and moved us to the other hotel, which had allowed us to check in early due to Rhiannon's illness. After unpacking and getting the girls settled, we left them there at the hotel, and Clint and I went to visit Clint's dad. Then, I came back to the hotel to watch over Rhiannon, and he and the girls went back for dinner with his dad. After they got back I went out and picked up some dinner for Rhiannon. In the morning I swam and had breakfast in the hotel with the girls while Clint went to visit his dad on his own.

Tamzin had a great time collecting shells on the beach outside our room. We had a first floor room with a sliding door and a fireplace; the girls had an adjoining room with it's own sliding door looking out on Puget Sound. Gillian and Tamzin loved the pool, although we didn't have much time to swim with all that was going on.

Clint's dad was grumpy and uncommunicative. He would often interrupt the conversation to say "I don't want to talk about that". Clint was tense and worried after seeing his used-to-be-genial dad. I was concerned about Rhiannon, whose fever was very high and who was having difficulty getting rest under the circumstances. We ended up arguing our last night and morning, which was a bummer since we were staying in such a nice place, and it should have been great.

The last time we visited Clint's dad we stayed with them, which was great because we could help with the cooking, and had lots of time for visiting. While staying in a hotel had the potential to be fun, it made it harder to have a meaningful visit. I don't think Clint felt better after seeing his dad, and I'm not sure his dad did either. He seemed to be aware that Clint was struggling to manage his family and his sick daughter, and so insisted that Clint not return after his Sunday morning visit, but instead take Rhiannon home. I had wanted to make this trip with Clint so I could help keep his stepmom entertained, so he could have one-on-one time with his dad. But I ended up being no help at all.

Clint worked so hard to make the trip comfortable for me and the girls, when he should have been focusing on his dad. But he's a problem solver, and making things nice for his family was something he could DO, while I think at his dad's he felt quite helpless. It's been 9 months, and no one has been able to figure out how to cheer up his dad, and they understandably worry about his unhappiness sending his health into a downward spin.

I think we will all have pleasant memories of this trip (except sick Rhiannon) but we didn't really accomplish what we had hoped to with Clint's dad. At least we got to visit.

F in Blogging

I'm not very good at blogging, I guess.

I think I'm losing interest, too. I had envisoned my blog as a way for me to keep in touch with friends and family that I don't talk to all the time, people who might want to know what I'm up to. It hasn't worked out that way, though. My faithful blog readers are people who already know what I'm up to on a regular basis, more or less. And those I thought would be interested in knowing my day to day activities? Not interested, I guess.

So, given the always overwhelmed state of my to-do list, blogging has become less and less and less of a priority, until now I wonder what the point is at all.

I was going to post a half dozen pictures detailing how I've spent the last month, but I can't get blogger to upload them. Must be a temporary glitch.

Turkey Day

Thanksgiving was perfect. Relaxed and laid back. No company, just Clint and the kids and I. Clint, Rhiannon and I spent the morning cooking companionably, while the other girls played GameCube together.

An early dinner, a meal of all the traditional favorites, voted on by the family so that everyone got to have what they most wanted. Turkey, gravy, mashed potatoes, cranberry apple stuffing, rolls, fresh green beans with bacon, sweet potato casserole, fruit salad, pumpkin pie and dutch apple pie.

A game of Apples to Apples over dessert, followed by a family movie and an afternoon doze. Who could ask for anything more?

November's Project

As if I don't already have enough to do, I made a promise to "make over" Rhiannon's bedroom for her next birthday. I know she would let me put if off if I said I was just too busy, but I figured I just needed to get it over with, or it would be yet another project hanging over my head.

Painting paneling is soooo much work. It takes 3 coats of primer to cover the wood stain, then 2 coats of the color coat. Plus, the ceiling hasn't been painted in 45 years or so, so it takes several coats to cover that as well. To do a truly good job, the base trim has to be removed and painted separately, then replaced. Then there is the edge trim that hides the panel edges at corners and ceiling. Plus, you can't forget the closet, which has to be completely dismantled to really get in there and cover all the surfaces.

On the positive side...it's done! She is now moved back in to her very pink bedroom. I wish I could say the job is over. But painting is just the beginning of a room "makeover". Next we painted her dresser and hanging shelves, purchased and installed a closet organizer, spent several days sorting through her old stuff, deciding what to keep and what was not "new room worthy", and finally, set out shopping for bedding and accessories. Here we have run into a snag; the style of bedding she wants is nowhere to be found. We will have to either figure something else out, or (horrors) sew it ourselves.

To make things even more challenging, Rhiannon and I often butt heads about the best way to do things, or what we think will look or work the best. So while in theory I believe that it's her room, and she should be able to do what she likes with it, in practice I'm only willing to shell out the big bucks for something I also feel comfortable with, which means I get lots of unhappy vibes from a diva who feels I'm messing with her groove. Ouch.

It's tough to take after working so hard painting a bedroom, while my bulbs languish in the laundry room because I don't have time to plant them.

Pastry Chef

More goodies baked by Rhiannon.
This time she made homemade cream puffs. Sooo Yummy!

Baking has become the activity of choice for this girl when she's bored.

It makes keeping to a low fat/sweet lifestyle challenging. It's hard to eat just one!

Truffles

Thursday was an in and out day for me. One child to the dentist, another to dance class, another to driving lessons.

Somehow, in my absence, my resident chef and truffle fairy, Rhiannon, managed to make chocolate-covered, coffee liqueur-flavored truffles. The process involved a number of stages of cooking and cooling, yet she managed to keep it all a secret until the moment when I walked into my bedroom to find a wrapped box of the little delights waiting for me, with a note that said I'm the sweetest mom around.

Of course, moments before, I was telling them, in an irritated tone, how uncool it was that they all kept looking at me, whispering, and giggling. I felt like I was in high school. Then I found the box, and the note, and I cried. I so rarely feel really appreciated, even though I know they all do, that I was just overwhelmed, especially since I had not been at my most loving.

The truffles were amazing and delicious. I can't believe Rhiannon whipped them up by herself. She is so confident and adventurous with her cooking, it amazes me. Tonight she made a cheese souffle for dinner. I've been meaning to make a cheese souffle for 12 years, and still haven't gotten around to it. She's got talent.

Halloween with Friends

I am so lucky to have such a cool bunch of people to hang out with on Halloween. It's more fun every year! I enjoy Halloween as much now as I did when I was a kid. The creative costumes, the spooky houses with elaborate and scary decorations, walking around the neighborhood after dark, warming up afterwards with hot apple cider and conversation...what's not to like?

Oh, and just check out the spoils of the evening. It's enough to open up a candy store!