10!

~Brian~

Strong.  Funny.  Talkative.  Loveable.  Silly.  Smart.  Wise.  Kind.

  Thanks to you, mornings are joyful.  Thanks to you, evenings are joyful.  Thanks to you, everything in between is joyful.

Happy birthday, my little one.

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Trees

This morning we got up really, really early and drove off into the gloom of the morning.  We drove and drove and drove for over an hour in a car that lately gets only 12 miles to the gallon.  

Alex did this.  So did Brian.  I wanted to, but someone had to drive the car that lately gets only 12 miles to the gallon.

I sang, loudly, pretty much the whole way.

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We were in search of a church that we had heard would have awesome music...and we found it.

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The choir had a fun retreat, sung for a church this morning and then loaded the buses for the ride back to school.  I stole my husband and along with Brian and Alex, we drove back towards their camp in the mountains...searching for apples.

The kind on the trees.

First, the kid with the blood sugar issues needed fuel...and fuel he got.  Let's see...he started with steak and eggs, hash browns, and the most ginormous pancake I have ever seen.

Ate every bite PLUS some of my lunch.  He kept talking about man food and starving and bring it on in between bites.  

Crazy kid.  

Off to the orchards.  No apple picking at the 1st, but they did have apple cider donuts.

Oh my.

OH. MY.

OH. MY.

2nd stop...apple trees.

With apples on them!

We picked both galas and spartans (my fav!)...good thing Mr Saggypants could reach the top of the trees.  Brian talked to all the workers and told them all about lady bugs...I even learned something, too.

Brian really, really wanted to pick raspberries, so that was next.   It's slow work, especially when someone kept eating them, plus it was prickly...OUCH, but a really good lesson in how hard someone has to work in order to put food on our table.

In the end we had a flat...picked in 90 degree weather.  Without gloves.  In flip flops.

Hot and in need of a diet coke, we made a stop on the way home.
OK, so a 1/2 bushel looked so small in the orchard, but it's a bucket load of apples.  Like 80 some apples.  Applesauce, anyone?

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Saturday in September

It's time again...soccer time!

M is out of town, so #10's cheering section consisted of me and Alex.

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All of the above pictures are courtesy of Alex, who says he wishes he could take pictures of himself during his games, rather than the blurry ones that I take.

Slam.

OH, and he informed me that there is a mother out there in the world who is cooler than me.

Which kind of made me happy because I didn't know that I had ranked on the 'coolness chart' until now.

Anyway, this other mother doesn't laugh at her own jokes...she just tells the jokes and waits for everyone else to laugh.  I, on the other hand, think I am hilarious and crack myself up - his words, not mine, so other people laugh only because I am laughing, but not because I am funny.

I told him I will work on that.

And then I laughed.  He rolled his eyes in the 'see, I told you so' way that only a teenager can do.  It's ok...I can handle 2nd place.

=0)

Not much else going on today.  I picked another 2 shopping bags full of tomatoes and will turn most of them into marinara for the winter, plus I've got a pot of roasted tomato soup simmering away...that'll be supper, even though it's a warm day.  I have a whole large bunch of bananas that are over ripe...Matthew isn't home to eat them, so I'm going to turn them into banana bread for the freezer.

Other than that, it is a very, very quiet day.  Almost too quiet, if there is such a thing...

Pied Piper

I have 3 women on my regular meals on wheels route that I think are pretty cool and have gotten to know quite well over the last few years.  They are all very different and in all honesty my very favorite is, and always will be, Josephine.

Josephine is soon to be 95 and from Poland, though she lived for many, many years in Chicago.  Pauline is from the Bronx, New York and is 88...she is kind and quick to laugh. Betty is a California native, is also 88 and is a tiny, tiny thing with a warm smile and an ultra mean bite.  She's a spitfire.

I decided that every once in awhile, these ladies needed to get together for lunch.  I provide lunch (not meals on wheels, but real lunch) and the wheels and basically transport the two most portable to whomever is the least portable's house.

Make sense?

Yesterday, I picked up Betty and Pauline...quite literally as it was a challenge getting them in the car, and then listened to Betty comment on everything from my car (too dirty), to my skirt (too black), to the roads (too noisy), to the sun (too bright), and to the wind (too breezy).

We travelled 5 blocks to Josephine's.

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Once there, they talked and laughed and smiled and listened and gave advice.  It's so easy to forget that the person behind that walker was once me, with a husband and kids and laundry and bills to pay and a home and a garden.   And that they are still amazing, vibrant, strong women who have survived so much and have so much to share.

So yesterday, with my basket of cucumbers from my garden, I had 3 women with walkers teaching me to make pickles.  They chopped and sliced and boiled and in the end, I have a dozen jars of pickles that I am not sure I ever want to open...because while canning them I listened to stories of wars and hunger and even concentration camps, and stories of family picnics and canning parties and Sunday suppers.  No complaining...except that life is too short.

Strong, amazing women...even Betty, whose bite is far less when surrounded by the other two.

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My boys both had good 1st days.  Alex likes most of his classes, but especially 6th period basketball.  It was confirmed that on game days he needs to wear dress pants, shirt AND a tie...and that there are ususally 2 games a week.  He's thrilled.

Brian could not understand why the teacher had to talk so much.

Enough said.

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I came home from lunch to a big box of skirts from my favorite store.  All on sale...even better!

This morning I met Katharine for breakfast and a trip to Barnes and Noble.  M is out of town this weekend so it will be a quiet one around here with no real plans, which is kind of strange....except Alex wants tuna casserole for supper.

And pickles.

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First Day

Summer has come to an end, which is sad but means one thing...it's time to go back to school.

Come on...give me a smile.  You're in high school now!

Thanks...I appreciate it.

Want me to drop you off?  Want me to pick you up?  Want me to go with you and help you find your classes?

=0)

An hour later, Brian was ready to go...at least I could still walk him.  He has a new teacher this year and she looks young and pretty and fresh as a daisy.

I am now in a completely silent house.

Silent.

Silent.

=0)

Car Talk

Hi.

My name is Michele and I have a problem.

A BIG problem.

My children are still NOT in school.

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Today, I completely ruined the lives of 2 boys in my family.  

Today, I took them to the dentist.

On summer vacation.

It's OK, they survived.  (And have you ever heard of a dentist who hands out cookies on your way out?  Kinda strange...)

Alex's front tooth is indeed dead and he has to have a root canal.  At 14.  

sigh.

Other than that, we are in the midst of bedroom swapping...which is a nightmare in my eyes.  Alex is moving into Matthew's old room and Brian is moving to Alex's side of the closet and Matthew is going into Brian's old side.

Did ya follow that?

Not sure I did, but I am sure it will all work out.

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Dropped Brian at soccer and Alex at basketball...and had car talk with my lovely friend Tina in the parking lot.

Tina and 'my' Anna, whom I adore.  ADORE.

So that is how we see each other...in parking lots while dropping kids off here and there.  Pathetic, but we WILL get together soon.  In one of our homes...NOT one of our cars.  Let's see, last time we were together we did shot glasses full of aloe.  Yep, aloe.  Can't wait to see what we do this time.

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Early Celebration

Brian's birthday is one of those days that almost always falls on either the 1st day of school or while Michael is away on choir retreat...so this year we are celebrating early.

No big party this year, even though the littlest shrub is entering the double digits.  We decided on a family trip and he chose go-karting...the grown-up version.  He barely made the cut-off height wise, but we put him in thick soled shoes and spiked his hair...and still had to throw in the 'it's his birthday'.  Which probably wasn't safe, but it worked.

It's a HUGE warehouse with tons of long tracks to race on.

My boys, applying for their licenses.

Helmets on, ready to go...and no, I didn't go.  Too scary...those karts go up to 40 miles an hour.  Matthew met us there (there's no way I'm missing that!) and told us if his music plans fall thru, he's going to become a race car driver.

I am pretty sure we are not related to the NASCAR family that shares our name, but you never know!

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Brian had a ball...and got a new t-shirt, too.

Came home and continued the task of putting the house back together, plus I have a Bible study I need to prepare for and a big board meeting in LA that I am supposed to present at next week.

Not sure what I am going to present, so if you have any ideas, send them my way, but make sure they are good ideas first.

=0)

Working hard, I fell asleep on the couch and woke up at cocktail hour.  Man, I love cocktail hour.

Figs, prosciutto and a little asiago cheese.  Oh my.  

This says it all...hope we're hungry for dinner.

My racing boys...zoom, zoom, zoom!