the return of llama grrrl

I was very happy she couldn't hug the llama this time...he was a bit more than just this side of pee-ewww. BUT joy of joys! She did get this special treat:



She was crying at bedtime & I attributed it to overtired. I asked her why was she so upset. Guess what she said?! "sniffle, sniffle, I want to bring a llama home & keep it forever...waaaaaah!" hmmmmmmm, I wonder what the city ordinances are for llamas?

gimme five!

got the wireless back up & running! Yay! My laptop is all mine again!!

And...

"anticipation is making me wait..."

11am & it's only 87!!

Apparently we're into a 90+ degree streak in Denver. "How long can this go on?" the newscasters wonder. It's July. It's Colorado. They say 90 like it's a bad thing. What temperature would you have it be? Be glad it's not an 100+ degree streak.

Oh & still no rain. 3 inches & some change for the year so far. Yeah, it's dry as a bone. The rain clouds roll in, we get some noise, & they roll on to KS. Throw in some sporadic lightening to start a wildfire here or there. My lawn is so unhappy. Makes me want to dig up everything & plant all xeriscape. Really, it would be the sensible thing to do -albeit costly at the get go.

the games we play

I started this with Snick: me: "I love you more than popcorn". Snick: "I love you more than sunshine." etc, etc, etc. until we ran out of steam. Mad joined in when she was a toddler: me: "I love you more than snowboarding." Mad: "I love you more than snow."

Fast forward 6 years and add Fi & Lib to what has evolved from a bedtime ritual into an anytime ritual. Fi & Lib have changed it into an "I love you all the way to ___________." For instance today Lib turns to me & says, "I love you all the way to London." (It's the farthest place she's been -although Boulder & Nikki's apartment often make the cut for "far away places" category too). "I love you all the way to China," I replied, thinking about the Olympics not far off now. "I love you all the way to God." Wow. How do I top that one?

more jo bro happiness

don't forget about the opening act: Demi Lovato -aka "Tickly Saurus" in our house: after watching "Camp Rock" one night, the next day the girls were playing -what else- "camp rock". "I'm Tickly Saurus", said Lib. "What? Who are you?", I asked. "Tickly Saurus", replied Fi. It took me a minute or two to think & then I realized it was the character "Mitchy Torres" from "Camp Rock" to whom they were referring. Lib was most excited to see her in person...it was a surprise b/c they didn't know who -or if- the opening act was to be.

Saturday night special pt #1

used to be lighters we held high above our heads...










Jo Bros

I love synchronicity!!!

So Auntie Lindsay randomly entered this Verizon contest to win 4 tix to the Jonas Bros sound check b4 their show tonight at Fiddler's Green (what is it now called? Coors Amphitheatre, or something?). And she won!!!! She took the girls today on a "surprise" trip. They had no idea. I can't wait to see their faces & hear their reactions when they get home. BUT GET THIS! Out of the 200 some people at the sound check, Lindsay won 4 tickets to tonights concert. Can you believe it!?!?!?!

Update: Maddie & Fi came home & immediately wanted to make posters. Lib was kinda ambivalent about going to the concert because it's so loud unless she had "things to put in your ears that is like styrofoam but small". I mangaged to scrounge up 3 pair of earplugs. Off they went with G. I hope hope hope it's fun for everyone


Thank you, thank you, a million thanks, Auntie Lindsay! Don't know how long the littles will remember this, but I'm pretty sure Maddie will. What an awesome first concert experience!!!!

We will rule the world!

Bucs vs Rocks tonight in Denver. Be there or be square! The Rocky Mountain News box is specially reserved for Buccos fans tonight...mwahahahaha!

curses!

Friggin' American League. And G for making me watch it when I was blissfully unaware until the 13th. And for his jinxing McClouth's could-have-been winning HR.

hear ye hear ye

more brother Ben's musical musings for the Boulder Weekly

New England random

shaking my fist at the heavens

why oh why oh why do things happen "for a reason". How to "reason" that Linda's stroke is "purposeful" and not just random. What kind of "lesson" is to be learned here? How is this lesson helpful for Linda? How is a person's physical pain & suffering any kind of "God only gives you what you can handle" crap? I went to the hospital again last night (it's been my ritual, after work visit). Linda is off the respirator & on lower dosage of sedation. So she was awake periodically. And I have to say, selfishly, that it was alot easier to pretend she was just sleeping when I visited the other times. Last night I had to liken her wakeful behavior to that of inebriation. It's hard to see, hard to be there, to talk to her. It's easier to pretend she's drunk than to actually think about the converse truth; that she's had a freaking massive stroke & she won't ever be exactly who she was before. How is it "that which doesn't kill you only makes you stronger"? WTF??? How is this better than death? How is this going to make Linda a stronger person? WTF.

I've been here before. It's like deja vu. My great aunt Dee Dee had a stroke when I was about 11 or 12. But she was old -elderly. It was difficult then to deal with. The lack of communication, the lack of self-sufficiency. The look in her eyes that she was STILL there, but trapped inside her head; that she wanted to talk, to move, to do, but she couldn't.

And now my friend has come to this same fate, but she's so much younger. So much the more reason to question the "purpose" behind this happening.

Again, I'm at a loss for words.

the Mayflower II

leaps and bounds

I measure the girls' heights every so often, usually when they "look" taller, if you know what I mean. So on the 3rd, Maddie looked a bit taller -and she was about a 1/2 inch taller than on her birthday the month before. Of course the littles insist on also being measured. Fi was about a 1/2 inch taller too. Lib had no change since February. This past Friday the 11th, Lib slept until 11:30 a.m., no kidding. When she woke up, she was 1 & 1/2 inches taller!!!! No kidding!

Last night Fi crawled in bed with me & she threw her leg up over me. Her foot "felt bigger". This morning, her hand felt bigger in mine. She IS a 1/2 inch taller!

One morning a couple weeks ago, Maddie was in the shower & her feet looked bigger. Her feet have looked a bit smallish for her body for some time. Sure enough, NONE of her shoes fit except her Crocs. It looked like her feet had grown about 2 -2 1/2 sizes -overnight! She immediately went out to the garage to raid Snick's stash of shoes; found a pair of flats & a pair of cons. Both were only about 1/2 size too big! Her previous shoes were size 3 1/2 & 4. You know what we'll be buying next month for school. And she's outgrown most of her clothes too. She skipped right over size 12 & is into size 14 now. And NOTHING at Old Navy fits. It was a blow to her self esteem. She refused to try on junior's clothes. How to make a self-conscious pre-teen understand that it's not HER, it's the store that caters to only a certain (slim) body type. The ONLY bottoms that fit her are from Target & Gap...and we've tried EVERY store, every style, every brand. Seriously.

prayers for Linda Lowery

A good friend has been in hospital since Wednesday. She's had a stroke. She's not much older than I. I'm going to visit tomorrow. I've never been good at hospital/illness type visits. I think I had some kind of traumatic experience as a small child. Could be the whole near drowning experience. Could be even earlier than that when my paternal grandmother (?) was in a "home". I think I was about 3 or 4. Really this will be the first time I've had a friend my age in hospital with such a serious condition. And I'm kind of freaked out. I spoke with her daughter briefly this evening. She sounds to be holding up well. I don't know I would have had the same composure at 23. I don't know if I'd have composure at 41 if my mom were in the same place, God forbid. Linda's condition has been weighing heavily on my mind. I've been feeling a bit weepy, a bit out of sorts. The girls have all made get-well cards -with butterflies, Linda's favorite. Even now, just thinking about the visit, I'm feeling anxious, a tightness in my chest. I don't know what else to say....

peas in a pod

yes, Angela that is your godchild

or the "known comic"


and fun with lobsters in RI

FYI

The things I miss because I'm not living in Boulder: my brother's Stevie Wonder write-up

brief(?) update

I've been busy gardening...alot. It took freaking forever to get all the river rocks out of the garden bed. I swear it was at least 4 inches deep in rock. We've gone ahead & planted even though it's a little late in the season. I figured that because we have such a long season, it'd work out okay -as long as I water every day. So far so good. So far, we've planted: cucumbers, carrots, purple bush beans, lavendar, pumpkins, rhubarb, lupines, tomatoes, mint.

The Juliet tomatoes are doing extremely well -lots of little fruits. The Patio Tomato plant is stunted, for some reason: Two little fruits but it hasn't grown more than 8 inches tall! I also have an heirloom tomato plant that I can't remember the name of. It's growing strong, but no fruits.

The cucumbers are sprouting; yesterday there were 3, today there are at least 7. So far two pumpkins have sprouted.

Oh, Fiona was on a planting kick one day & spied the cantaloupe seeds cleaned from the fruit we were eating. She took a cupful & planted them all in a pot. So far there's one sprout! Same day she planted an avocado pit. She has plans to give the ensuing fruit to Lindsay to feed Roisin when they visit...too cute!

We also put the Lamb's Ears & the 3 Hens & Chicks plants in the ground. They were immediately happier than they'd been in the plastic containers from the nursery ('cause I bought them in May but only just planted them last week). (Hens couldn't send out chicks horizontally, so they grew vertically! It was pretty cool -and they flowered!).

I have the mint in a pot, so it doesn't take over the garden. I still have other herbs to plant, but I'll do those in pots too so I can take them in over the winter & continue to harvest as long as possible.

Instead of fighting the grape vines the former residents had planted, I've decided this year to just roll with it & try to train them up. I have a money bush I want to plant there too.

Something is eating one of my rhubarb plants. Anyone have suggestions?

I've pruned all the lilacs & the forsythia. I still have a few things to plant in the backyard, & that will be it but for maintanence this year. Next year should be a little easier since everything will be set up & ready to go; I can plant earlier & maybe not have to worry so much about the heat.

This week I'll do some planting in the front of the house.

It's been a lot of work, but it's satisfying as all get out.

I rearranged the t.v. room seating yesterday. Next I'm working on the craft/dining/computer room. Eventually I'll kick the kids out of the playroom & turn it into a craft room...ti-i-i-ime is on my side, yes it is! But for now, I've got to work with that open area that houses 3 separate activities.

What else? Mad continues in Sharks this week. She is also interested in checking out swim team tomorrow morning (yes!) Her feet have grown 2 sizes -I swear it was overnight a couple weeks ago. She raided Nikki's shoe stash in the garage yesterday. She was sporting my Steve Madden summer platforms -and they fit. Garrett of course said no way to her -and warned me to hide my shoes hahaha! I bought her a counted cross-stitch kit & after she got the gist of it, she didn't want to put it down. She's been reading voraciously...and staying up way too late in the process. Maddies's also started being a mother's helper for Lindsay a couple hours a week. She really enjoys playing with Roisin. After the last session, Maddie said she wants to buy a toy that she can bring for Ro to play with specifically for their time together. She'll be a fab babysitter in a couple years.

Feefer is becoming quite adept at the monkey bar on the swing set. She'll be doing front & back flips in no time. I've started her on a needlepoint project & she loves it! She does a fine rendition of a body snatcher scream, after we watched the first 2 versions of the flick last week.

Olivia is getting faster & is giving Fi an actual race. Of course it's only made Fi all that much more competitive. Also breaking out in a body snatcher scream and point -but very spontaneously. Fi only does it after Lib has. Lib also sings constantly, making up little songs for whatever she's doing, wherever she goes. E.g. we were walking home from watching the Glendale fireworks last night & as she walked on the edges of each lawn, she sang "I'm walking in the pie. I'm walking in the pie. I'm walking in the pie again...."

I saw
yesterday evening with my friend Linda. It was pretty good; I give it a "B". Never judge a movie by it's bad reviews. It was entertaining & worth the price of admission...and I don't say that often (as Garrett pointed out when I got home.) (BTW, Will Smith is hot as ever)

What else? Oh yeah, the number 1 daughter. She'll start her junior year at CU in the fall. Her declared major is Speech, Language, and Hearing Sciences. It sounds like she has found her passion. We're hoping to meet her bfriend sometime this month (hint hint).

That's all from the Front Range for now. As soon as everything is in the ground, I'll have more time to post regularly again!