Feel Good Friday - The Sunday Edition

Oy! It's Sunday... I don't want to go back to the routine tomorrow! Weekends need to be 3 days! One for fun, one for helping Mom, and one for doing our own stuff! I told That Man the same thing earlier and he laughed at me! Ha!
Anyways...
Here is the list!
1. Friday night frivolity with That Man! We talked, I wrote, we chilled... It was good.
2. Saturday's Bridal Shower for my niece. It was a fun time that included Grandma being chosen for the toilet paper bridal gown, hanging with K2, K4 deciding to go to the shower, bottomless mimosa's, and general silliness!
3. Today, despite a miscommunication between That Man and I, we worked at Mom's. Her car is now snuggly in the garage. Her tables, chairs, couches have been rearranged. We made significant progress. She now has attic stairs (I had nothing to do with that, except for transporting said stairs). We're getting there.
4. K3 doing some of the grocery shopping. He does very well. He's a smart shopper! And I love that I don't have to go to the store!
5. Our beach trip soon! Kitty Hawk! And days off work with just the four of us in this house! AND! Yay for house sitters, too! No dogs allowed, so having someone who can stay at our house is priceless!
6. Stuff getting done around here. It's a slow process, but we are making progress! We spend a lot of time at Mom's helping her get stuff done, too, which is good and no one is complaining about it at all. My truck is being worked on. K4's truck is being worked on. The bathroom is being worked on. The roof... soon. The tree still needs to be taken down... OY!!!
7. My bed. It's wonderful and I love it!
8. Working OT. Because how can you not like that? (I will admit, I am a little braindead, though)
9. October!!
10. Writing! I am almost there!!! I have brainspins of what I am going to work on next! It's time to finish and move on!
That is all!!
Behave!!

Bad Movies....?

My Top Bad, but oh so good Movies...
10. Forest Gump - as K4 said tonight, it's not about Forest. It's about Jenny and her story, told through Forest's eyes. Hmm...
9. Twister - classic story of a relationship that went off the tracks.
8. Pretty Woman - Classic Cinderella story...but a hooker? (but I love it)
7. Ghost
6. Dirty Dancing
5. Roadhouse
(Do you sense a Patrick Swayze theme?)
4. Footloose (the old one, NOT the new one)
3. The Stand - because it's awesome and amazing!
2. Frozen - I love it. K4 hates it and trashes it every time we watch it. She has her issues with it. Though so do I. The grandkids absolutely love it though...
1. .... My favorite bad movie of all time....
Robin Hood Prince of Thieves with Kevin Costner... Don't hate and don't judge.... There is a lot to love about this movie and I guess I watched it at a time in my life that it totally impacted me! I love this movie... and will watch it every single time it's on. I own it on VHS, but need it on DVD....
That is all...
Behave!

It Can't Be Tuesday....

But it is...
It's been a long week already. OT, the cold from hell circling its wagon and kicking my ass all over again... My God! Really? I feel like a bug squashed on a shoe and then scraped on the sidewalk... Seriously...
But... I have a list... (not all things are good...)
1. Dad's birthday celebration going well. The spaghetti sauce was awesome - like awesomely amazing. We found pictures, letters, and made progress cleaning out the garage so Mom can get her car back inside before the snow comes. We had a lot of fun hanging out "just us". We needed it. Being together is the only way we're surviving...
2. Baby B on Sunday. He's hysterical!
3. Writing. I'm on the last pass now. Yay progress!
4. K3 cooking his own vegan food after he shopped for it.
5. So stinking tired.... too tired.. .and I've been in bed early. Apparently not early enough, though I don't know how much earlier I can go to sleep...
I don't think I have more list now... Like I said, I'm tired. And I'm brain dead.
My night - arrived home (remember I don't get home until late), helped finish dinner, helped with trash and recycling, laundry, cleaned kitchen, including dishes - washing, drying, and putting away, sweeping floor and scrubbing down cupboards, wrote, watched a movie with the family (kind of), listened to barbershop music with K3 after he did his own vegan grocery shopping, surfed the 'net for a few... now bedtime... That is all...
Behave!

Feel Good Friday!

Oh Wait! A real Feel Good Friday? Seriously?
Okay... Well... Here we are and here is the list...
1.Living through the week with the plague... Yeah. I ended up with the crud. I made it through every work day (and even worked OT), but man.... I so wanted to call off... (Oh wait.. .but I have to work tomorrow too... UGH)
2. Being able to come home and sleep... (yes, I felt that sucky for all evenings (and mornings) this week. I didn't write, do laundry, check email, Facebook, or anything...) (I tried in the mornings... I sent birthday greetings...but that was all...)
3. Trying to catch up...I am so far behind. Facebook is so messed up... I don't know that I have any idea what I'm doing or that my settings are right... I don't see anything but stuff that apparently posted 3 days ago... wtf??
4. Whatever Facebook. I hate you and am ready to quit you anyway.
5. Having lunch with the big boss today. We had fun! It was a good lunch where we got to talk about work stuff and plans and ideas. And we got to bond - which is awesome! I love working with these people! We all have the same ideas!
6. Talking to K2 about the baby! I am so excited!
7. Some writing time this week! I am so far behind though (and considering the crud... I have no idea if any of my time writing was good... lol) ! I do feel good about my progress though... but I wish the crud hadn't stopped it from being more or made me feel more confident in what I have done....
8. That Man taking care of the cooking and grocery shopping this week. I never had to think about what to make for dinner... It was done when I walked in the door. Nice.
9. Being able to be with my family tomorrow. Tomorrow would have been Dad's 75th birthday. We were going to plan a fantastic celebration for him... Now it will be us siblings and mom... the way we want it... just us, celebrating and probably crying a lot... But we'll be together and that's all that matters. And we will be okay...
.... There is nothing more...
Behave....

The Week Goes By So Fast...

Sorry. Again.
I seem to have a real issue with getting on here any day but Monday! I'm not sure why. Except, things have been a little crazy around here. Let's do the Feel Good Friday on Monday list, shall we?
1. K2 and J making their official announcement. My new grandbaby will be here in March! We're so very excited. We've known for a little while, but they wanted to wait before posting on social media.
2. Having Baby B overnight on Saturday. Forget the fact he didn't sleep. He was adorable and we had a blast, despite him ending up with a fever before his mommy and daddy got here. He's fine now, but he was pretty miserable for a little while.
3. The cooler weather and my "Tree of Gondor" sweatshirt.
4. Writing time. Still making progress. I'm so close to the end, but am filled with uncertainty...
5. Last weekend going well, even though Mom and I stayed up way too late Friday night going through stuff and cleaning out her pantry.
6. Weekend plans coming up. It's going to be a rough one. Saturday would have been Dad's 75th birthday. We're all getting together to be together and at least we have that.
7. My bed. I am so very tired.
8. Fall arriving soon. I know that's similar to #3, but it's different. We have lots of stuff coming up, too.
9. Our bathroom almost being fixed.
Okay. That's enough. I'll try to come back before Monday.
Behave!

Tuesday? Wait!

I don't know how it happened! I'm sorry I missed the weekend postings!
Let's see...
The weekend was insane! Writing meeting on Saturday, which was awesome! Then, staying with my Mom on Saturday and getting to park my truck in an actual garage for the first time ever. That was super cool!!! (I don't know why, it just was) We had a really good time hanging out. Sunday was laundry, grocery shopping, treating the animals for potential fleas after That Man found one! Yuck! (We haven't seen a flea since)
We also paid for our mini-vacation and locked it in with days off work and school schedules, which is super cool! A few days at the beach is just what our family needs! It's just those in this house that are going, which feels weird, but our deal was only for a max of four. I am excited though. Things are coming together for animal care and house setting. These kids that live here have not had much of a summer, so I'm excited for the relaxation days. We're only a few minutes from the beach in our "resort" and only an hour or so from our "real" beach.
Oh and guess what? Only 15 Friday's until Christmas! That was rude. Sorry.
Okay... anyways... our new roof will go up soon. Our porch will be done soon. Front and back. That Man's car will get picked up from the shop soon, even though it's not fixed and is frustrating the heck out of all who try to work on it. Argh.
Also, I am writing. I am 2/3 done with the book I am submitting to my awesome publisher. I worked a whole bunch tonight. It's obviously I have to re-train these people that live here with me... lol. But I am excited to be back in the groove.
Okay. That's all for now.
Behave!

It's Thursday...

Thank goodness.
One more day of the work week.
It's been an insane week. In so many ways. In more ways than I can even describe.
I might be back tomorrow with a Feel Good Friday post. It will depend. I'm on deadline and I'm sucking big time!!
That's all for right now.... Deadline... Remember?
Behave!

Feel Good Friday - The Tuesday Edition

...yeah, I know... It's Tuesday...
It's been BUSY! I can't even tell you how much! Well... I guess I'll try...
1. I now have my truck back! I can't tell you how much I've missed it! Yay! Of course, the first day I drove it, the power steering fluid leaked out. Or maybe it already had after sitting for so long... either way, it was rude. What is also rude is how That Man's car is not fixed yet. He is so disgusted...
2. Camping! We had a blast in The Wilds! I had to work the day job Saturday, but I picked up K5 and we headed to camp. She had so much fun! She said everything was her favorite part! And we got to keep her an extra night! So much fun! She's such a great kid! I'm so glad she got to spend time with her aunts, uncles, cousins, and her Gigi. Gigi slept in our camper and K5 tucked her in Saturday night, then woke her for a potty trip Sunday am. It was cute, and K5 is awesome!
3. Fall is coming!!
4. Elsa being so good over the weekend!
5. Some writing time, though definitely not enough.
6. Writing meeting coming up! Yay!
7. Hanging out with people we haven't seen in way too long.
8. Hot tub time!
9. Hopeful vacation plans...
10. Sleeping in my own bed with the a/c on. Man... it was hot today. It was way too humid over the weekend. It's nice to sleep in comfort. LOL
That is all... Except... I'm really missing my dad...
Behave!

Blog Visiting...

I'm over at Julie Doherty's blog!
She put together some questions for Ben, the hero in Cursed Fate.
I had a lot of fun with the questions, though things were so crazy when I was answering them...
Stop by and learn a little bit about Ben!
Behave!

Monday Random...

1. Today is the first day of school. Which means earlier mornings for all of us, more planning and organizing, less sleep, and a schedule. I'm looking forward to the structure, but almost shed a tear at the fact that my babies are a senior and a freshman.
2. We had an absolute blast at the Renaissance Faire this weekend! We stayed all day, then stopped for dinner on our way home. It was an exhausting, but amazing day!
3. Sunday dinner at Mom's was good. Not all of us could make it and we didn't get to stay long due to getting ready for today, doing a ton of laundry, grocery shopping, and the work waiting in the bathroom (painting, mirror hanging). But I got to be with all four of my K's, which was very good.
4. Baby B is a riot.
5. The dog is weirded out by the new schedule. She's been walking around here crying for the last several minutes. Funny, because the kids were usually never up at this time.
6. I can't tell you how much I'm looking forward to Fall.
7. Writing. I had enough time this morning to get a few words done. Awesome.
That's enough random. I'll be back later to let you know where to go and check out my guest blog spot.
Behave!

Feel Good Friday - The Last Friday Before School Starts Edition

Hey! Look at that! It's actually a Feel Good Friday!
Here's the list:
1. Living through the busy work week! Crazy! But I do still love my day job!
2. Shopping with K4. We had fun even though we were both exhausted and it cost a small fortune, and I didn't get the right notebooks for K3.
3. That Man getting his car back, even though it's still not quite right.
4. My truck coming home next week! I have missed it so very much!
5. Weekend plans!
6. Weekend plans, that include having to do the Ice Bucket Challenge. I've been nominated twice, so has That Man, my sister, and my brother-in-law, K3, and K4. We will do it, but also donate, because that's how we roll...
7. A new grandbaby on the horizon!
8. Kitty Boys and Baby Puppy! The boys are getting big and they are very bad. And the baby puppy isn't so much a baby anymore at close to 90 lbs, regardless of being in her second or third puppy stage... Oy! She's so adorable and she really is a good dog, even though she has to go outside on a leash right now!
9. Writing. I miss it so very much. I so very much want to be able to stay home and write!
10. The New Normal. Routine will be good. Routine is what we need. And looking forward to Christmas at Mom's... Yeah, it's August, but we're already making plans...
That's all for now...
Behave!

Winding Down...

Summer, that is...
We have precious days left... Tomorrow. Saturday. Sunday. That's all.
Tonight we went to Back to School Open House. Dealt with some frustrating information relating to K3's summer school - none of it makes sense, but they're investigating everything and have promised us they'll make things right. K4 got to meet a few of her teachers and some other students, she finally chose her electives and despite the classroom structure being different from what she expected, she's willing to give it a shot and see how it goes. K3 is happy to get back to his friends and his senior year!
Tomorrow night is school shopping. We haven't had time to do it yet. K3 doesn't need much. K4 needs pretty much everything. It's going to be a long night.
Saturday is a trip to the Renaissance Faire. We are so excited! We haven't been yet this year. This won't be our last trip. I got our tickets today!! I'm very grateful we have someone to stay with the pooch all day. Otherwise...
Sunday... well... That's kind of up in the air at this point. We're supposed to do Family Dinner at Mom's, but with everyone going back to school and a lot of us having to complete The Ice Bucket Challenge -- I don't know what we'll end up doing...
Writing... Yes, I am writing. It's slow, but I am.
The new routine will be welcome, I think. I hope. I think it's time for the new normal...
Behave!

An Award...

Okay, so I was actually nominated for this ages ago. It all came down while Dad was sick and then I lost the link and then ignored the repeat email for far too long, but here it is now...

SO HERE ARE THE RULES (CUE ECHOING EFFECT)

1. Link back and thank the blogger who nominated you in your post. Thank you, AVA! (Ava has apparently been kidnapped by Carnies, again. It's a trend. You learn to live with it! lol) 
2. List 11 random facts about yourself.  (I'll do the best I can...)
3. Answer the 11 questions asked by the blogger who nominated you. (Okay, then...) 
4. Pick 5 – 10 new bloggers to nominate. (Everyone I know has already done this... especially since I'm so late with this...)
5. Ask them 11 new questions. Do not re-nominate the blogger who nominated you. (not going to happen....)
6. Go to each blogger’s site and inform them of their nomination. (Also... not going to happen...)

Eleven Random Facts About Me:

1. I am the middle of five children - two older brothers, two younger sisters. I like to think that I'm the boss of them - always have - but that's not true.

2. I married my high school sweetheart. I didn't like him when I first met him. I like him a whole heck of a lot now... :)

3. We have four children, and a son and daughter-in-law who our like are own. 

4. I miss my truck! It's been in the shop since May. Anyone have any tires for cheap?

5. I have a secret that I can't tell you yet...

6. I can't sing. Luckily, my kids can and they're good!

7. I hate crowds and tight spaces.

8. I love camping. 

9. We have three cats (2 kittens and an antisocial grown cat), and a puppy (10 month old Elsa - who is in her second puppy stage at the moment...OY!) I don't know what we were thinking...

10. Oh, Really? Only at 10? Ugh... I was once bitten by a shark on the North Carolina coast...

11. Ten is a lie... No really...

So onto the next part...

11 QUESTIONS From ava: 

1. What is the most unusual thing you've had a character in your stories do? Step on a skull. (That one is still a work in progress...)
2. What is the craziest thing you've ever done in your life? I really don't think you want me to answer that... 
3. Using the ancient form of Haiku (17 syllables) describe your blog. Suck, suck, suck, I try, But mostly suck. Want not to suck. But I still do...
4. What type of a vacation would be absolute torture for you? A stuffed-full amusement park with two hour long wait times.
5. Why did you start to write? Because I couldn't not. 
6. What is one thing on your bucket list that you haven't crossed off yet? Too many... Biggest one could be Venice. 
7. What is your favorite comfort food? Captain Morgan. (not food, but should still count.)
8. What charity or non profit is closest to your heart? Cancer Research. 
9. What movie had the best movie kiss ever? That's a complete toss up. There are so many... Most favorite though... Aragorn and Arwen in Return of the King. 
10. Star Wars or Star Trek? Old or new? Old Star Wars and New Star Trek, but I do love the old Star Trek, too. There are good things about all... Don't get me started...
11. Make up any question you want and answer it here. Why am I doing this? I don't know... LOL  

Okay, so that's it.

Behave!

Wow... I Suck... Feel Good Friday... The I'm Trying Not to Suck Edition...

I thought I posted at least once this week, but as I think about it... I didn't. This week was crazy! But... let's focus on the Feel Good part of the week...
1. Hanging with Mom tonight. It's been nice. Pizza for dinner. A little Captain. Teaching her how to use her new smart phone (K4 is mostly in charge of that.) The boys are at home - working on stuff and dealing with the pets, and us girls are hanging. Nice.
2. K3 finishing summer school! Yay! The deadline is today and he finished at almost 9pm! I am so glad he's done. The poor kid has had no summer whatsoever. He's spent 97% of his time (when he wasn't sleeping) working on school. UGH! (and there are only two weeks until school starts again! How unfair is that?)
3. It's Friday. This was a very, very long work week. OT and insanity. I still love my day job though. I'm just glad for the weekend rest.
4. Writing time this week. Not much, but it's a start. My hope is that once school starts, I'll be able to get into a real schedule. I'll probably write in the morning once the kids leave for school since I'll have about an hour and a half until I have to leave for work... We'll see how that goes... I'm not setting anything in stone at this point...And I'm not stressing out about it yet.
5. Renn Faire in our future. Don't know when yet, but I can't wait! It must happen for all of our sakes!
6. Our chimney being repaired after the tree damage. Next is the roof... But, we're ready for that. We need it to happen soon.
7. Hearing awesome news from an awesome friend!
8. Granddaughter time coming this weekend! I miss my girl!
9. Grandson time this week. He is so adorable and has started to say NaNa! Aw!
10. And... ummm. Shawshank... Love this movie!!
That's all for now... I do have a blogging award to do. Hopefully I'll get to that tomorrow...
Behave!

It's Been Almost 3 Weeks...

Since Dad's funeral. Tomorrow is three weeks... I think I'm finally ready to share what we wrote for the funeral - what my siblings and I wrote and couldn't get up to actually say... The closing of the casket was way, way rough. For all of us. It is something I never want to do again, and something I am so glad I did.
So here it is...

Thank you for coming out to show your support to our family as we struggle with this difficult time.

We wanted to tell you a little about our dad.

Dad didn’t always have much to say. Sometimes – most of the time -  you knew what he was thinking just by looking at him, especially when he was amused, disappointed, or mad. Or teasing... You just had to look for the twinkle in his eyes - it was there most of the time. In some of the pictures out there (on the picture boards we made for the funeral), you can see random shots of him being not sure of what us kids are up to. We never liked to see the disappointed or mad face, but because we were such “angelic” children all too often we did see that face. Often all he had to do was give us “that” look and we were silent and doing our best to behave. Or, he’d reach for his belt – which instantly brought five quiet, completely behaved children. The funny thing about that is – he rarely, if ever, had to use the belt. And when he did, you can bet your butt we deserved it. (side note - not me, because I was a true angel child. LOL)

For the most part, though, he simply rolled his eyes and shook his head. And… he did that a lot.

One of the things we learned from our dad is that there is humor in every situation. He hated funerals – hated wearing black, hated having to be so somber and stoic. He didn’t like to see people so sad. We don't think he wants us to be so sad now... We're not saying he wants us to be happy, but we think he definitely wants us to remember with a smile and be glad that he's not suffering his pain anymore and be celebrating his awesome life. That's easier said than done. Right now and probably for a long time. 

The month and a half leading up to Dad’s death were rough. We watched him go from walking with a limp, then to a cane, then with a walker. He suffered through urinary tract infections, having to have a catheter, falling, and having to drive with mom. J (just kidding, mom. We know it was harder on you than it was him.) When he went to the procedure that was supposed to make him feel better, the doctor refused to do it because his pain was so great. Things went from bad to worse in the following weeks, resulting in a nineteen day hospital stay before finally coming home with Hospice care. Hospice was awesome and took wonderful care of him and taught us so much. He was home with all of us caring for him - taking turns being there and doing meds and cleaning up - for his last ten days.

We tell you his journey so we can also tell you how he still had his sense of humor. He teased the nurses, teased mom, and us, and ended up with a toy his great-grandson left behind – this talking cookie monster (that is now beside Dads ashes at Moms). It amused him and one night in the hospital he put in under his sheet to scare the nurses. Even though we were all worried and distressed by the constant flow of bad news, we had a lot of laughs. He laughed so much the weekend before he passed. We all did. 

And we had a lot of hugs and love.

The past few days we’ve been looking through pictures of the past – camping trips, birthday parties, holidays, random gatherings, vacations. Pictures of Dad playing with the grandchildren, holding newborn grandchildren, playing games, random football games, baseball games, horseshoes, and badminton, or quietly sitting in the back ground and taking it all in, laughing. Always laughing. They were some of the best times we’ve had through the years – you’ve seen some of them in the picture boards sitting around, but there are so many more great memories in our hearts. Things we couldn’t even begin to explain or describe. Times where Dad would just sit with us in silence, offering his quiet support and gentle guidance. The times where if one of our families had a crisis – our parents would be the first ones there. Whether it be Dad watching grandkids on Christmas morning so his new granddaughter could be born and Gram could be there for her birth, to rescuing us when we were stranded motorists, driving for miles to help fix a broken down truck in a deserted boy scout camp, not freaking out “too much” when we wrecked or dinged the family car, handing out cash, picking us up and taking us to the doctor when we were sick and our spouses couldn’t be there, helping in our yards and homes – with tree removal, painting, renovations, or taking time from work to come to school when one of us got into trouble for doing something stupid. (There might have been more of those times than any of us care to remember, especially with the older two.)

And we did the same for him – driving him to work when he had a broken foot, picking him up when he got sick after eating something bad, not wrecking his tractor when we helped clean up their yard after a particularly bad storm, but that’s what you do as a family. You work as a team.

We’re going to miss him more than we can ever say, but thanks to him, we have a strong family and a lot of wonderful memories to hold in our hearts and share.

 *That's what we meant to say, but couldn't. It's still hard for me to read. I still want to edit it a bunch of times and add so much more, but what's there is raw and from the heart. It's a mix of my siblings and I. We talked about it, edited it in our emotional state... 

Speaking for myself alone, I had a really good childhood. I have a lot of awesome memories, some of them weird because I remember weird stuff, but Dad was always the one thing that never changed. Whether he was laughing hysterically because I picked up a garden snake with the hose, or him laughing at me making gigantic chicken feet prints in the dirt when we camped, or when he told me what I deserved in a relationship and helped me be strong enough to demand it. I could go on... 

But I can't. 

I miss you, Dad. 

Behave! 

Summer Survival: Year Six: Entry Two

The natives are restless...
It has been a weird season at our camp. We have yet to break off and do many fun things just us beyond hanging with the family, relax just us, or be spontaneous. We do have plans, but nothing concrete yet...
The natives know we are in transition, but the stress in our camp is outrageous. The natives are at each other like crazy! Neither can say anything without the other taking offense. Both complain endlessly. I am confused and weary of all of the complaining and whining. Earlier this evening, I said our camp felt like it was full of dynamite and would explode at any time. That Man agreed, but the natives just offered to light the fuse. 
One native is still working on summer school and is stressed beyond reason. The other native is bored out of her head. The clock is ticking for school to start and while one native is excited and ready to do school shopping, the other has yet to have a break and does not even want to discuss...
We are a quandary camp.... 
We have ten days of the summer school camp to get through. I hope we will live. And that my house doesn't get blown up. Oy! 
Tonight was insane. We had the grand-native and he was so cute and funny, but crazy wound up. The natives here were like bee stings to each other and us - complaining, judging, making remarks and complaining about things we have already discussed and decided on. I am weary. So very weary. 
I am hopeful the next few weeks ease up and we get some stress removal here before the educational camp begins...The bottom line is that all natives, including the senior ones, need the beach! 
Behave!

Feel Good Friday (Shh... I know it's Saturday)... The Date Night Edition

So That Man and I went on a date last night...
It was funny how it happened. On my way to the day job on Wednesday, I was thinking about how much I missed him and how little time we'd been able to spend together lately... wondering when the last time we did anything "just us". I was going to call him when I parked at work to ask him if he wanted to go out just the two of us Friday night, but ran out of time. He texted me an hour later to say the same thing I'd been thinking and ask if I wanted to go out with him Friday night. (of course, I said yes...)
We talked while I was on lunch, trying to decide what to do... where to go. By Thursday, he had a plan and he wasn't telling me... Just that I needed to come straight home and be ready to go the second I pulled in. He said he had everything covered.
I, of course, had to work a little later than normal. I rushed out and ended up behind him after he made an emergency grocery store run. Apparently, the K's went through all of the food we'd just bought. They were *ahem* starving. I pulled in. We unloaded the groceries and uploaded the things That Man purchased for our evening into my car. After making sure the kids were good, we left and hot-footed it to our destination. I had no idea where we were going. That Man said I would figure it out, but I never did. I knew we were going to a winery, but had no idea where.
I was pleasantly surprised. We went to a small, but awesome, local winery - voted 6th in our state, though they haven't been open very long. He had to call on our way because they were ready to close, but he'd talked to the owner and he told him to just come on over.
By all means, they were closed when we got there, though the "open" sign was still lit. We were welcomed with open arms, tasted wine, talked to the owners wife for a long time, bought wine and cool glasses, then went on their deck to drink some wine. We felt a little awkward because they were closed and it was late, but that didn't last long. We were joined on the deck by one of the owners and we laughed and talked and I drank the rest of the wine in our bottle. (No worries, we bought two more! Ha!)
On our way home, we ate the dinner That Man had gotten us (we felt weird eating there because the one owner told us she hadn't eaten yet...). So good. Stopped for gas, ate some chocolate, then went home.
It was a really good night. That Man is awesome.
When we got home we hung with the K's, did some laundry... I drank more wine. Though I will say, I was completely fine. I drank slow, with plenty of water, and I don't think the wine had a high alcohol content, because otherwise I would be on the floor. And I wasn't at all... Even a little.
I slept in a whole lot this morning, which was awesome. We cleaned the house, did laundry (all caught up), cut grass, and waited for the insurance adjuster. (Did I tell you that the day of Dad's funeral a big hunk of our tree broke off and landed on our house and did a crap-ton of damage? Oy!! (more on that later). By the time we left the house to come to Mom's for dinner, the house was awesomely clean - still is and it smells good in here.
We had lasagna thanks to our awesome friends. That Man's mom came over to hang with us. K4 stayed home for dinner because she wasn't feeling well. K3 drove his g'ma over and then home.
It's been a good few days.
Tomorrow I write again. I've been working up to it all week. I want to. I need to. It's just still been chaos...
I'm coming back. I swear.
Behave!

Summer Survival: Year Six, Entry One

Summer is now half over...
The day the natives return to the educational camp is marked on the board in red. And it's not that far away. One of the natives has yet to have any enjoyment of his vacation due to finishing his work from the previous camp, and heading straight into summer school camp. He is working hard and hopefully will get a little bit of time away from school before he must go back. The other native is excited to start her new adventure at her new school. She'll be a theater major and can't decide which electives interest her yet. 
The major outlay of shells and beads for proper attire needs to happen, but not before we have some fun... Whatever we decide to do... 
Camp is so different this season. Obviously. The loss of the family patriarch has been rough and hard and we're still dealing. We've come together as a family unit though, and the result, while tough, has been good. We all enjoy spending time with each other and we actually enjoy staying with Mom and making sure she's okay. 
The youngest native and I are here with Mom tonight. We're all on our electronic devices - catching up, playing games, checking stuff, but we're together. Watching old television shows and laughing at them. It's late and I have to go to the day camp tomorrow, but I'm so far behind on everything...
The baby native was here with us earlier. We watched him while his momma went to another camp to do some stuff. He's so busy. I'm so so tired. 
There are natives in another country at the moment. K2 and J are on a mission trip to Guatemala. We miss them. We worry for them. They'll be back next week and I cannot wait. 
This journal used to be a lot more amusing...
Sorry about that...
Behave!

I'm Coming Back...

My Dad passed away last Monday.
I'm still trying to adjust.
We had a very awesome weekend with my siblings and being home at the 'rents house. We had a lot of very good times, a lot of tears, a lot of food and beer, and a lot of making Dad laugh.
I will always remember that weekend as one of the best. I would never change it for any other weekend or memory. Even though we all knew Dad was dying, we were all there together - talking, laughing, playing music, telling stories, supporting Mom and each other. It really was an epic weekend.
I miss my dad. I always will. But I am so very grateful for the time we had together. I'm so glad I got to tell him how much I love him and that I could be with him every second in his final days.
Missing my dad sucks! I want him here. I miss him so much.
I will be back... I'm still trying to process and get my crap together... I appreciate your understanding through this horribly tough time...
Behave!

The Way It Is...

The siblings who can take shifts staying overnight at the 'rents. The spouses stay when they can. It's not ideal, but it's working for now. We can't leave Mom alone. We can't leave Dad.
He's restless and on heavy pain meds. Every day it's something different with the meds. And the pain.
I'm here tonight. That Man is here too, but has gone to bed because he works much earlier than I do and I had to give the pain med dose at almost 11. He will be up and checking things before he heads to work. My sister will be here before I leave for work. I can't remember who is on shift tomorrow night. Frankly, every day is running together right now. Wait. I think it's my brother since Friday is the 4th. We're having a cookout here and when I told Dad what we were doing he was happy and looking forward to it.
Tonight we rearranged the living room where Dad is so Mom's chair is right beside him. I also did some work in her kitchen to make it easier for all of us to cook and clean up while here. All of us kids (and our spouses) are very cooking oriented and the kitchen is kind of small. Space was needed. She was scared of my plan and told That Man and K2 that I was hiding all of her stuff. (ha! She cracks me up!) It looks good though! She helped and we talked and it was good.
Dad had a hair cut tonight. One of That Man's good friends is a barber and he came after hours to cut Dad's hair. It went well, though it took a while because he was "this" side of being a wholly mammoth. (ha!) He was sore afterwards, but pleased with the results. K2 and J stopped by. That was good. K2 was silly and made Dad laugh a lot.
We finally (I think) made him comfortable, but I'm waiting a few minutes before I try to go to sleep. I'll be sleeping in the living room with him, just in case. There is so much noise in this house I would never hear him call me. There are air conditioners, fans, fans, fans.... And it's freaking hot outside... Geeze!!
Tomorrow is everyone's Friday though. That's a good thing. A very good thing.
One day at a time...
Behave!