June 2005 Archives

Anyone besides Angela and Christina have plans for the holiday weekend? I'm thinking standard BBQ fare (Update: We are also having a double decker almond cake with raspberry filling) on Monday at CrabAppleLane. What's up with you?

It's Moonlight Graham Night at the Metrodome. If you saw Field of Dreams, Archie "Moonlight" Graham was played by Burt Lancaster and Frank Whaley. He was a real and quite awe-inspiring person.

I don't have any memories of the ceremony, but I do have plenty of happy memories spending time with y'all over the last 25 years. Congratulations and may you live happily together for the next 25 years.

I arrived home from work yesterday at around 4:30. As I pulled in front of the driveway, I heard lots of yelling. I thought that Patrick must have at least tens kids on the trampoline with as much noise as I was hearing over the car engine and radio playing. Then I saw Patrick and his friends running across the street from the cul-de-sac where they had been playing, and also, Scott running out of the garage. I realized something must be wrong with Ray. Scott looked over the fence and yelled that a raccoon had hold of Ray.

It was terrifying! I was screaming at Scott to help Ray and then screaming at Patrick and his friends to stay back. Scott finally got Ray to let go of it and Ray ran out of the yard all bloody. Scott shot at the raccoon, but he only had snake shot in his gun so it didn't hurt it. He went to get different bullets but the racoon got away. Scott said it was probably sick. The raccoon was scrawny and for it to come into the yard with a big dog in broad daylight, it must have been sick.

Scott loaded Ray into the jeep and rushed him to the vet. The vet cleaned up the bites and gave him an antibiotic. Ray's shots are current, but the vet said they don't always work if he was exposed to rabies. So now, Ray is in quarantine in our backyard. It is very sad. We have to watch him closely for ten days. The vet gave us a print-out of signs to look for. I am reminded of the scene in "Old Yeller" and had several long periods of sleeplessness last night thinking of it. Please say a prayer that our dog does not get rabies. Thank you.

Posted by Rob for Sue.

Some photos are perfect. Put this one in the category of "Wish I could do that".

Last year, while I was in Minneapolis for the Reunion, I asked for guest blogger volunteers for my CrabAppleLane Blog. It seemed like a fun thing to do. It was quite successful and I enjoyed the guest bloggers entries immensely. I'm extending that invitation to the bloggers and readers here as well. I am taking a break from blogging next week (June 27 through July 1) although I will still be reading and participating through comments. The CrabAppleLane Blog has a different audience and you would quite probably find it as fun as I do.

If you’ve never blogged before, here’s your chance to see what it is all about. If you already blog, here’s a chance to do something different and shamelessly plug your own blog to maybe some different readers. If you’re interested, email me for details.

I really didn't want to post this picture on the blog but I wasn't able to paste it in a comment. Angela - this is for you. I used this sling with all five of my kids and wouldn't think of taking care of another baby without one. It not only carries the baby leaving your two hands free - they love facing out, but it is great for your back, making you stand up straight. I once carried Hamzah for six hours at the State Fair. Let me know and I can make you one or you or one your seamstess sisters can make it in no time flat. I have step by step pictures of how to tie it as well.

View image

While we were painting, Elizabeth, Julia and I were throwing names out for the twins. I don't remember any boy names if Elizabeth mentioned any, we mainly came up with girl names and I said I would post my suggestion. If I were having twin girls, I'd name them Regina and Rachel. Since that isn't within the realm, or remotely it is since my mother told me Aunt somebody had Uncle Walt at the age of 47 years old, you may feel free to use them, Mary and Eric.

I’ve been going to physical therapy for two weeks now and don’t see a bit of difference! I have a “winging scapula.” My right shoulder blade sticks out as though it were out of socket. The doctor said carrying too much weight on my right arm caused it. It stretched out the muscle and now I have to do strengthening exercises to get it back in place. I go to therapy twice a week and do daily exercises at home. I’m giving therapy one more week and then I’m just going to do the exercises at home. “What type weight was I carrying?” you might ask. Well I was carrying Samuel in his car seat, the huge diaper bag suitcase, his apnea monitor, and my 20lb. purse all on my right arm. I have since reduced the weight and size of my purse and the diaper bag, but Samuel is only going to get heavier in that car seat. I wonder how I’m going to be able to do all of this when I get pregnant the next time. Mary, how are you making out carrying Murphy and all that accompanies her while you’re carrying twins? I think about you often as I’m lugging things in and out of places with Samuel in my arms.

Mary Catherine and I returned at 10 p.m. last night after an uneventful and fairly quick flight. Two hours and seven minutes I think is what the pilot told us. We had an all-male staff of flight attendants, all approaching retirement age it seemed to me. I didn't realize the men had been at it that long. I'm still surprised to see one, and here I was with three. One had dimples. I tried not to stare though.

I don't know where to begin exactly, so I guess I'll start with Terri picking me up at the airport. Thank you, Terri. Thank you, too, for taking me and Pat to lunch at the Convention Grill in Edina and picking up the tab, for heaven's sake. You didn't need to do that, but it was such fun I can't be peeved about it. And thank you for the wonderful meal that evening. I loved it, just being there, but the food was really good too.

Okay, that was Tuesday, June 14. On Wednesday, Mary Ann picked me up and took me to a restaurant on Lake Minnetonka, along with Molly. It was a beautiful place, but we didn't eat outside. I'm just not into that. The food -- I had a grilled chicken salad -- was excellent. I thank you again, Mary Ann. Then that evening, Catherine and Dick and I dined at Olive Garden, one of my favorite places. I always eat chicken marsala there, but I talked Catherine out of meatballs and spaghetti or lasagne, saying you can eat those at home, and she countered that she didn't see me branching out if I only eat chicken marsala . . . but we didn't come to blows over it, thank goodness. She had a point, so I have decided that next time I will try something different.

Thursday night Pat and I went to a wonderful movie that we both just loved, called "Ladies in Lavender." If you get a chance, don't miss it, especially if you're in the next generation in our family. It was so good.

Saturday night there were five of us at dinner at the Sunshine Factory, Pat and Katie and JoAnne and Anna and I. We arrived at 5 and left shortly before 10. Our waitress couldn't wait for us to leave, so she left saying someone else could bring us what we wanted, if we wanted anything. Which we didn't.

On Sunday, Pat and I went to the Basilica for Mass and it was beautiful and I loved being there. 53 years ago I walked down that long aisle to receive my diploma from St. Margaret's Academy. Where does the time go? Or, as Henry Fonda said in "On Golden Pond," how did it get here so fast? when he was told he was 75 years old. After Mass we went to a lovely place in the heart of the city called Monte Carlo and had brunch for $6.95 which was very good.

And then home. But let me tell you about that. Whilst I was gone, by children painted and repaired some wall damage in my bathroom, kitchen, and office. It was so sparkly and clean-looking and I know they worked very hard on it. They also had flowers in every room, which is always a treat. This was a well-kept secret plan. They'd been talking about it for a couple of months. I did find out Mary Catherine knew about it, but she never said a word. I am so appreciative of this lovely gesture.

Today I picked out a new floor covering for my kitchen. I had looked at it two weeks ago and thought I might mull it over for a year or two, but now with everyone making such an effort to make it look good, I decided I shouldn't wait to make up my mind. The lady will come Wednesday to take the measurements.

So that's my story. I love being in Minneapolis. It is a truly gorgeous city

Most of these pictures are of Mary Catherine, Maddie, and Isabella. There's a girl in the first photo we don't recognize. Maybe Mary Catherine, Isabella, or Maddie can help?

Pictures courtesy of Terri Tompkins

Michael and I liked "Sideways". It won't go down as an all-time favorite, but it did make me laugh a few times. It was a well-told story and had the action-adventure, romantic-comedy I have been craving. There was one interesting and brief car chase with the chaser being on foot.

I like nice wines too. Last night, we dined at Copeland's where I had two glasses of Kendall Jackson Sauvignon Blanc; one before and one during my seafood and linguini dinner. I could have done better with seasoning that dish, but the wine was delicious. I kind of related to Giammetti's character's passion for wine in "Sideways". I forget who was up for an oscar for that.

Added a couple of birthday links on the right just below the calender. Added all of the birthdays I knew and the ones I could glean here. Please add more and email me to verify that it was you that added them and not some internet surfer. Also, email me if there are corrections to be made. Some of the posts here were belated birthday wishes and I’m not sure what the actual date should be.

Just use the blog's URL: http://www.crabapplelane.net/ftb_blog/

Haytham graduates from preschool (He'll go for another year before Kindergarten)

My five week condensed course is done and I can actually sleep in these days. The kids and I have been off since the 9th but because of my class I didn't have any free time. I still have one online class but that will be done July 1st. The kids have been busy on the internet trying to figure out where to go for our first camping trip, they want to try somewhere new. Omar is in summer school and should finish his credits after one quarter in the fall. His back is much better but he's still on medication. We are looking into alternative solutions to his problem so he can get off the medications. Aminah entered one of her poems in a poetry contest and is a semi-finalist for a chance to win $1000.00. She is very shy about her poetry so I was happy to see that she entered the contest. I'll keep you updated on the results.
Although I don't always post on the blog, it has become one of my daily routines to read it. Happy Birthday to all those in June, Laura, Carol and Joey and Rob keep posting the pictures - their great!

Today is Amy's 15th birthday. The Erickson's are without a PC at this time, so I will have to call to wish her a happy birthday.

Michael became 46 on the 16th. We stuffed ourselves at the Empire Buffet on Thursday, a Chinese feast. Tonight, the children will be spending the night with friends'. We magically get another date. It may be time for that action-packed, romantic comedy with language, adult situations, and maybe a car chase or two (for Michael). I am interested in Highway 61 since Kelly - the hungry photographer - wrote that suggestion. Michael has agreed to "Sideways" so that may be what we get.

Mary Catherine and Julia went digging in the archives and were mildly insulted that their birthdays were not broadcast in the past - May 27th and Sept. 15th, respectively. Mary C. just joined the ranks of teen-hood. Blessed be. I hope some of you Minnesotans got to tell her "hey" while she is up there spending time with Maddie and Isabel. And also a big "hey" to my Mom. I miss our morning phone conversations since she has been gone. We should have plenty to talk about next week. She isn't returning until tomorrow night, so there is still time to let her look at you.

This is the fun time of year. A little bunny scooted out of my tomato garden the other day. I think its been nibbling on the lower tomatoes that it can reach. I lose 10-15% of my tomatoes every season to insects or critters. I still have enough left over and they gotta eat, too, so I don’t bother trying to keep them away. The only way to do that would involve pesticides. I prefer to just grow more than I need. I was offered a fantasy football player for some of these yesterday.

I survived a 5.6 earthquake! Yesterday was my last day in San Diego and I was woken up by rumbling and shaking. Nothing fell off the walls but we definitely felt it. It was a little scary because I was afraid that it was just a preview for a bigger earthquake but thankfully, no. My friend Aimee has been in San Diego for two years now and never experienced an earthquake. It definitely made my trip memorable.

We went to L.A. for two days. The first day we went to Universal Studios which was a lot of fun and afterwards we went down to the Santa Monica Pier and ate on the Promenade. The second day we ate lunch at the Ivy Restaurant, a popular hangout for celebrities. We saw George Lucas eating lunch with his family. We also saw Nia Vardalos (sp?) doing some shopping, she's the star from My Big Fat Greek Wedding. And I saw Halle Berry as I was leaving the Ivy. My friends didn't see her so they're not confirming that I actually saw her, but I know it was her! By the way, I paid $26 for a hamburger to have the privelege of seeing those celebrities.

In San Diego, Aimee and I went to La Jolla which is host to a colony of sea lions. That was neat and extremely smelly. Then we went to a huge outdoor mall in the GasLamp District and saw Mr & Mrs Smith (the movie). It was okay. All in all, my trip was a lot of fun.

There's a tropical storm in the Gulf. Kevin (Katie's husband) is in Trinidad, working offshore. I wonder if the storm will have an impact on him. I'll have to ask Katie. The storm, named Arlene, is supposed to hit land around the Mississippi gulf coast somewhere, but here in New Orleans the weather people are past hyper because IT COULD TURN. If it did turn westward, we could get a lot of rain which always causes some streets to flood. I have never experienced high water here, thank goodness. I'm just not up to shoveling mud from my house. Or replacing furniture and carpeting and and and . . . My main trouble when we have a lot of rain is getting the girls to go out in it, to do what they need to do.

Speaking of the girls, I put Gretel in the hospital on Monday because she had another back episode. I have been careful about the jumping and I haven't seen her do any, but somehow she injured herself and I had to take her in. She's fine now. It just takes a steroid shot in the spinal area and an antibiotic for a few days. But it's expensive and I don't know what will happen if I have to do this every other month. And yet, how can I not?

Also, while I'm on this dog subject, I want to say thank you to Katie Tompkins for sending me a picture of the very handsome Oliver. Thanks, Katie. I lost the return address, sorry to say. He is very beautiful. I know the doctor is pleased at his weight. Liezel has maintained her 10 pound weight and I'm always praised for that when I take her in, but Gretel, because of her inactivity, is up to 14 pounds and I was told to cut her food. She eats her portion and then goes to sit behind Liezel, to watch and wait. Liezel gives up the bowl in frustration over the scrutiny, walks off, and Gretel dives in to finish it off. If I'm watchful, I take the bowl and put it up, but sometimes I'm careless. I do have a life that doesn't involve dogs, you know.

I'm leaving for Minnesota early Tuesday morning. I think I'm to be picked up around 6, so I will have to be packed the night before. I usually pack in the short hours before I leave; Sam and his mother were always packed way ahead of time and it drove him nuts that I couldn't get it going. I work a little better under a time constraint for some reason.

My house is very quiet these days. The boys are with Phillip and Christina is visiting her friend Amy in San Diego. She'll return late Sunday night and I'll be glad to see her.

For those of you who continued reading, hoping for something of substance, thank you!

I will have a beer tonight in your honor. And because that's what the 4-wheelers left behind in my driveway the other night. A toast - May you live as long as you want and never want as long as you live.

I got busy yesterday and didn't get this posted timely. Happy belated! I hope you enjoyed your day!

This movie was only mildly entertaining. I like happy endings and this one had a predictably happy ending. Ice Cube produced it. It was a family movie and Aaron is funny about not seeing anything bolder than a PG rated movie. It isn't one I'd see again. Like I said before, I want violence and language, maybe nudity and situations unsuitable for kids for the next movie. I am thinking of borrowing "The Matrix" from somebody. I actually prefer romantic-comedy or action-adventure.

Some of my all time favorites: "A Fish Called Wanda", "Waking Ned Devine", National Lampoon's "American Vacation", "Groundhog's Day", "Lost in America" and "Defending Your Life"... That's about it off the top of my head.

Or, I should say Michael did. A few weeks ago, we put up a gate to our driveway and posted "No Trespassing" signs all over the property to prevent 4-wheelers from using our driveway for their passage to the woods in the back. They can ride for miles back there and our nearest neighbors dammed up their passages so it left only us as their way to get in and out. There were many of them that rode through at all hours of the night, they tore up our driveway and Michael would rake rocks back in place, they knocked down blockades, the dogs would go crazy for barking and we feared that one day harm might come to either of them. Michael stopped groups of them on two occasions and told them not to come through our property.

After he dialed 911 last night, which is the second time he made a formal complaint, he was going to just go back to bed after calling. But being the fan of "Cops" that he is, he kept vigil. I fell asleep. I am not sure if the kids were still up or not. When Michael finally came back to bed, he told me "they got three of them." I knew he slept more peacefully then.

It isn't the same level of excitement that Elizabeth had in her neighborhood last week, but it's the best we got here.

It's that time of year in Bush. Butterflies are coming out. Caught this gorgeous creature spreading its wings on the back deck a few minutes ago. He/She had a companion but I couldn't get them in the same shot after I went outside.

Where's the food lady?

First tomatoes of the year. Picked yesterday afternoon. Didn’t want them staying on the bush overnight. The night critters like red tomatoes. There were four but one had a good-sized wormhole in the top of it. Naturally, it was the biggest and ripest of the four. We’ll be off later to get some bacon and bread for sandwiches. Bacon and tomato sandwiches for dinner tomorrow night or maybe even tonight.

Upgraded to Movable Type Version 3.17 this morning. Did something else at the same time. Brain freeze on my part disabled comments for a time. My brain thawed out in about 4 hours and things are back to semi-normalness.

Scott, Jim, and Joe left yesterday morning for Ron and Nancy's house in Florida. Jim was driving. I am very afraid of Scott and all of my people dying and leaving me alone. I am not sure if Scott has ever driven all of the people anywhere without me before. Anyway, I have gotten much better about not dwelling on morbid possibilities. It did not really occur to me that I may have a problem with all of my men being gone....until I saw Jimmy having trouble backing out of my driveway. He almost hit the mailbox across the street and then he almost went into the ditch in front of my house. My heart hurt and I really started to wonder what was I thinking!! It was my idea to let him drive. Scott let him drive for the first hour and 30 minutes and said that he could not relax the whole time. It is our hope that Jim will get plenty of practice with his Grandpa while he is there for the next month.

Scott and Joe went to Disney World today. He said that they had a fantastic time even though it rained on them the whole day. Disney World is about 1hr 15 mins. from Ron and Nancy's house--a little further than he thought. I talked to Joe tonight and he told me that he wasn't going to call Scott "Dad" anymore. I was surprised and asked him what was he going to call him,then. He said, "Only the best Dad in the Universe!!" He apparently is very high on his daddy because he told me how nice he was being to him, NOW. Nice meaning that he got to eat Burger King and get all of the Star Wars toys and new toys from Disney World as well.

I haven't spoken to Jimmy. They were all in the middle of a game. I guess Jimmy isn't missing me much, however. Scott had to chastise him because he has already used up 120 minutes on his cell phone and he had his phone turned off for most of the day yesterday! I am not particularly surprised that I didn't even rate one minute!

Did everybody hear of the excitement on the North Shore, specifically my neighborhood? There was a man hunt for a man suspected of arson. The police were in my neighborhood asking everyone to get inside. I had a front row seat to all of the excitement. There was apolice helicopter swooping down over my house and policeman and police dogs behind my house between the two ponds. I sat in my kitchen window watching the police search while talking on the phone. After a few hours, they found the man about a block over in a backyard. A four year old boy was looking out the back window and told his mama that there was a man in their backyard. She called police and they picked him up. He was an illegal alien from Mexico. He started a fire in his apartment and two people were killed. I was never scared. It was very surreal.

I was scared of the wasp that was in my house earlier, though. I really hate that Katie has a job now because I knew she wouldn't take off of work to come kill it for me. She has always been very sweet in the past and I could count on her to take care of any "situations". In addition, I was also really scared of the wasp condo I had in the garage. I blame Sue for all of my bug phobias and weirdness. Luckily, the big 15 year old girl next door has no bug phobias. (I had asked her big college age brother to take care of it and he pointed to his sister. Evidently, he has a few bug phobias of his own.) I got her to kill the wasp nest, with 4 visible wasps hanging out, and to knock it down and then dispose of the whole mess. I had picked up a friend's son to come and take care of the one wasp in my kitchen, earlier. He was very sweet about it, but lost of few points when he couldn't find the carcass. When I was taking him home, Mary Catherine screamed that there was a wasp in the car and pointed at me. I screamed, threw the car in park, and hit her in a vain attempt to get her to tell me where it was. It was on my window outside the car. It reminded me of the locust incident on the causeway. What terrible, evil thing (involving bugs) happened to me in my childhood do y'all suppose I am suppressing?

Polina started her summer camp this week and she loves it. I love it, too. She has about 14 kids in the class. She is one of only two girls! She and the other little girl immediately became best friends. After camp today, I took her and Mary Catherine to the pool. She is a natural swimmer. She loves to go underwater. She especially loves to jump in the pool. We had an audiologist make the ear plugs to fit her ears and they have worked great. I don't have to try and keep her head above water. She has a bathing suit with floaties built into it and it is perfect(except for the occasional wedgie it gives her)---much better than the swim sweater. She is really learning to swim.

While she was at camp, I went shopping with my friend, Wendi. We first went to see Angela and Samuel. He is looking especially cute. We only stayed for a minute. We were on a time frame (needed to pick Polina up at 3pm). I was dress shopping for Stephen's wedding. I lucked out and found a dress at the very first store. I had Wendi along because she could be a "professional" shopper. She had me try on dresses I wouldn't normally have looked at. I am very pleased with the dress. I have never worn anything like it. It is a halter style--showing lots of skin. Mama, you will just love it.

While I was shopping, Mary Catherine and her friend, Jamie, were busy cooking and baking. First, they decided they wanted something "exotic" for lunch. They looked in one of my cookbooks and decided that Herb Pasta sounded good. She told me that the cookbook instructions were not very clear at all. She said that it tasted very good but didn't look very appetizing. I am unclear about what actually happened, but I got the impression what they really ate was just pasta with melted butter on it. I confess I wasn't really listening because I was busy pointing out the huge mess the house was in. She and Jamie also baked chocolate chip cookies that were very good. I was incredulous, however, of Mary Catherine's definition of clean. While I love my Mary Catherine deeply, I am also deeply aware that she is a PIG. I think that Mary Catherine must have made a HUGE mess while I was gone. By comparison, the moderate mess that was left really should be considered(in her delusional mind)clean.

Ok. Did I bore y'all all to tears? Scott really shouldn't leave me. I am bored and this is the result.

Good Thursday morning. June 2. Twelve days before Mary Catherine and I take off for Minnesota. I hope the weather will be good. I keep hearing how rainy and chilly it is and I don't even like that kind of weather. Why would I spend thousands of dollars to come into that when I could stay right here in 95 degrees with humidity of 100%? Sheer bliss I tell you.

I keep checking this blog, looking for my morning's entertainment. We had a wonderful, 20-entry, flurry over Mary's ultrasound. That was such fun, reading everyone's response. Didn't you enjoy it?

The reason I don't make many entries is because of my bland existence. Nothing much going on. But I know all of the rest of you are doing wonderful and exciting things that the rest of us would love to hear about.

Okay. I do have something to report, now that I think about it. I saw a wonderful movie last week with Angela and Samuel, called "Crash." Angela didn't care much for it, but I thought it was excellent. Very compelling. Very thought provoking. Samuel loves going to the movies. After a few minutes, he gets very tired and goes off to sleep and that's okay because he gets in free so it's not wasting money. Sometimes I have slept through an entire movie and that IS a waste of money; even worse was when Uncle Sam/Daddy slept through it with me!!

That's it for this morning. I've spent enough time here that it may be too late to start my day's work. okay, I see that it's 10:24 and I'm pretty sure that's too late. What about my book? What about my nap?