Survival

Cabin fever.  The Shining.  Not too far off the mark.

Luckily, I have a great bunch of neighbors. 

Yesterday, I left the house and walked around the corner.  Found Dottie nearly diving for safety behind her mailbox as the neighbor tried in vain to get his truck up his ice encrusted driveway.  Repeatedly.  Leave the car on the street, fool.

Pass by Kristen's.  She sprints out the door as her husband and two small sons stand on the porch saying "Wait!  Come back!  We still need you!"

"Hurry!" Kristen hisses.  "Go, go, go, go!"  Down the road we slip and slide, destination Denise's house.

Sanctuary.  Warm fire, other women, thankful to be in each other's company rather than texting all day, "Can I duct tape my kids in their rooms?"  "Is it too early for vodka?"  "Does anyone know if they will ever come take our trash away?"  "Whose power is still on?"  "Low on dog food - help!"

Besides the fire and the women, there is the World's Largest Crockpot full of delicious chili, several bottles of champagne, and gourmet jello shots.

Yes, gourmet jello shots.  If Carolyn were your neighbor, you'd know what I was talking about.

These lovely little nuggets are a layer each of chambourd and vodka lemonade.  Yummmmm......

Lunch was delicious, the company and conversation just what a bunch of snow-bound mommies need on a cold winter's day.  Thanks, Denise!

Ice Station Zebra

Greetings from Ice Station Zebra.

I am a scientist engaged in the study of global warming (ha!) and it's affect on moderen suburban families.

In this experiment, we will cut a small cluster of families off from civilization by encrusting their roads in ice and creating a hostile environment.  We will monitor the behavior of the trapped subjects.

The suburban offspring began the experiment by spending a lot of time out of doors, attempting to slide down glaciers.  While there were varying degrees of success with this behavior, due to the perpetual cycle of returning to the house for warmth and sustenance, and always forgetting to close the doors, their habitats now look like this:

This phenomenon has caused the suburban housewife to consume alcohol.

Seriously though.  What a mess!  Our roads have been frozen for three days, and it will not get above freezing today either, and then more snow is expected for Friday.  At this rate, with the "snow days" piling up, the kids will be in school doing makeup days until the Fourth of July.

I am about to run out of milk and am contemplating walking to the nearest convenience store just for the novelty of it.  Note to self, call first to make sure they DO have milk.  Rumor has it the grocery stores are running low.  Other than the milk (and I do have powdered), I am glad I have a well-stocked pantry.

The only friends the kids see are those within walking distance, and it is a cold, cold, walk!  Ray goes out daily to break the ice on the pool.  Aidan, obviously, hasn't been able to train at all, so I nag him to spend time on the stationary bike - it's about the only way I can get him away from the TV.

One of the neighborhood mommies kindly invited the rest of the neighborhood mommies over to a chili lunch today.  I am certain there will be wine involved, and so I may not be home until the spring thaw.

Disorganization

I am a bit disorganized lately.  Still recovering from the busy March and I just know that I'll barely get it together by the time I get hit with the End Of The School Year Whammy.

So, in typical disorganized fashion, here are a bunch of odds and ends for amusement and to catch you up on the Glynns.

We had visitors a few weeks ago - Ray's sis & her family from NYC.  More photos to follow once I download them from the camera, but meanwhile enjoy this one of our neice, Kailey.  She's three and adorable.  We went to the rodeo, and being a city kid, she wasn't used to the wonderful aroma of horse and cow poop.  Which Bridget and I find delicious, by the way.  Kailey held her nose the entire rodeo.

In the midst of the visitors, we had Bridget's (belated) "friend" birthday party, and Aidan's (on time) "family" birthday party.  Aidan's "friend" party will be belated too - because I'm disorganized.

For Bridget's party, we took a handful of girls to see Alice in Wonderland.  The cake is supposed to be an homage to Johnny Depp's hat.  And you'll never guess what Aidan's cake is.

Spring has sprung in Texas, and it is as glorious as ever. On my walk the other day my neighbor and I decided to go down to the lake to see if there were any Texas bluebonnets blooming.  There are usually several nice-sized patches, good for the traditional photograph of your children.

Oh.  My.  Goodness.

I don't know what grand alignment of the Texas bluebonnet planets happened this year, but there are banks and banks of bluebonnets as far as the eye can see.  It was stunning. 

Since I didn't have a child with me, I photographed my faithful companion, Scamp.  Isn't he cute?

Another outing we took when our visitors were here was to the Dallas World Aquarium.  I've got a camera full of awesome photos including getting up close and personal with a sloth, but until I get organized, this photo will have to do.

We were awaiting feeding time at the shark tank.

And, because I am in love with TEXAS IN THE SPRING, just a few more photos for your viewing enjoyment.  Ciao.  I must go get organized.

March Madness

As Ray said when I showed him the calendar for March, "Oh, crap!"

It's a little busy.  So, I doubt I'll be posting much, but I'll try.  I'll tweet more, so if you want to follow me on Twitter, that's where the info will be.

A few updates.....

Bridget tried out for the school talent show and.......  made it!  She'll be singing "Forever and Always" by Taylor Swift (who else?).  No, like last year, we haven't heard her sing.  also, like last year, there was a bit of self-imposed drama surrounding her decision to try out.  It's the journey.  Repeat.

Aidan's arm is still broken.  It still hurts.  The Very Big Swim Meet still starts on Thursday as scheduled.  We'll do a "test run" with no cast Wednesday afternoon and he'll make a decision on the "pain-to-performance" ratio.  Our Good Doctor is a saint to put up with all our cast shenanigans, but he's a former swimmer and knows we're weird.  And he knows how to make a cast that will be considered "legal" at the meet and has allowed Aidan to practice AND be able to still swim pretty darn fast.  We're hoping he's fast enough to keep his relay spots.

While Ray and I are cheering Aidan on down near Houston, Bridget will be seeing the sights in New York City with Captain and Nonna.  Lucky girl, and I am so glad that my little country bumpkin will get the opportunity to be amongst skyscrapers, art, and something other than livestock and wide open spaces.  There's a whole 'nother world out there, my little girl!

Open That Bottle Night was a few weeks back.  We opened that bottle, and that one, and that one, and.... all in the company of fellow wine enthusiasts.  Note to self:  Whites do not keep.  Duh!  Clean out wine collection more often.  That 20yr old Cakebread Sauvignon Blanc smelled like feet and tasted worse.  Fortunately, there were many more wonderful bottles than lost ones, and it was great to taste some of the older and pricier stuff we usually don't think to.

OK.  Next stop, The Woodlands (near Houston).  I am looking forward to the drive, as spring seems to have appeared and Texas can be durn purty in the springtime.

Cheers!

Snow Day!

Global warming my ass foot!  This snow stuff is gettin' to be a regular thing around here!

I just heard a big "thump" from out back.  It was our awning (which was on it's last legs) collapsing into a big mangled heap.  Well, at least I know that the corner pieces make excellent trelleses for the beans and tomatoes in the garden.  Maybe I'll have to build a few more beds.

Aidan left for a nearby friend's house and Missy B was feeling lonesome, so she and I walked the mile down to her friend's house and I pawned her off on them for the day.  Thanks Paula!  'Cept I'm going to have to walk that mile again (and it's uphill, both ways) to get her back.

We saw these horses on the way.  Don't they look cosy?

Scamp really enjoys the snow.

Aidan and friends are building an igloo.  Pretty creative, eh?

Fortunately, Ray's flight home wasn't cancelled and he made it from the airport to home without incident.  It will probably freeze solid later tonite, so the streets around here will be like ice-skating rinks.  Luckily, we've got plenty of liquor food and don't need to venture out.

Crazy Weekend

Aidan's vomiting pumpkin 

This was my kind of weekend.

The highlight was a visit from Kelli. Thanks, Kelli, for making the trek to The Republic of Texas and hanging with us. As I was tucking him in last night, Aidan sleepily said, "Kelli is my good luck charm" because he had such a fun weekend.

After the kids got out of school Friday, we headed to the pumpkin patch. It's a yearly ritual and it was left so late because it's been raining for the last 40 days. But the skies cleared 1 hour before Kelli's plane landed, the Texas prairie and woods were in all their beautiful fall glory. The kids played in the hay maze, and did all the other stuff and we selected our pumpkins and headed home.

After the pumpkin patch it was time to get on our fancy duds (the clean jeans) and head out to dinner. Another marvelous dinner at our new favorite restaurant, the Lonesome Dove Bistro. Just love seeing Picky Boy order rabbit off the menu and I enjoyed my elk sausage and foie gras sliders. Then we sauntered down the street to the Stockyards Rodeo for a couple of hours or bull ridin', ropin' and watching the kids participate in the Calf Scramble.

Saturday dawned early for Aidan and I as usual, and he headed off to swim practice and a team Halloween party. Kelli got to accompany Bridget to her riding lesson. It was a crisp fall morning, and she got out of the car at the barn, looked around, and said "Am I in heaven?" Yeah, that's exactly how Bridget and I feel about the barn. Especially on a glorious fall day like that. She had so much fun watching Bridget work with Cherry Bomb and watching the psychology play out among the other riders and their horses too. I left the two of them to attend other errands and they finished their morning with a visit to the tack shop and lunch at the local Mexican restaurant.

Once we all rendez-voused at the house, we began what was probably the busiest and craziest 8 hours since this weekend. Ray, Kelli and the kids pulled out all the Halloween decorations and proceeded to turn our place into The Scariest House in the 'Hood. I started rolling dough to make my soft pretzel amputated finger hors d'oeuvres. We carved pumpkins and crimped Bridget's hair.

4:30 and the festivities began! We hit the first party of the evening, and it was a hoot to watch the Daddy Squad play football. Ray even got grass stains on his knees. We abandoned Bridget there and moved on to the next party where we stayed until dusk. Ray, Kelli and I then quickly ran back home and got all the strobes, torches, black lights, candles and scary music fired up before the Parade of Trailers began.

Since we live in a semi-rural area with no sidewalks or street lights, the best and safest way to get the kids around is in hay-filled trailers. There are several that slowly make their way through the streets, attended by a flotilla of golf carts. All vehicles sport lights, streamers and other Halloween decorations.

We three big people had fun answering the door and seeing the little one's reactions to all our scary decorations. It's fun to sit in the dark dining room and watch them tenatively make their way up the walk. Kelli and I would hand candy to the kids while Ray would ferry trays of absinthe shots out to the adults.

Once Bridget's trailer arrived, Kelli and I abandoned Ray to accompany the trailer to it's second-to-last stop of the evening, a Very Posh Horse Barn where we all went in and gave the perplexed horses treats and loves. The stop at the Very Posh Horse Barn gives Mr. Haunted House Guy time to get the last stop of the evening prepared for our arrival.

On to Mr. Haunted House Guy's place for a tour through his foggy, spooky place. By this time, the trick-or-treaters were done and Ray had caught us up. Then back to the party for the Great Candy Swap and way too many sugar-loaded kids.

Then back home to collapse.

Random Updates

Monday monday, and no school.

No school all this week, we're calling it Swine Break '09. Rumors abound about how many cases in Denton County, whether or not there are any confirmed cases in Flower Mound, and whether or not the school closure will be extended another week.

Pretty much every kind of organized activity or community gathering has been cancelled upon the advice of the health department.

Our swim team is cramming the 600 kids that normally practice in 5 pools into the 2 pools that still remain open (as of this second).

So, in light of all that, the kids and I are going to go play Texas Tourists for a few days and give Ray some peace and quiet so he can work without wild kids tearing through the house. Of course, we'd rather he joined us, but somebody's gotta earn a livin' around here as he says.

I didn't want to head to someplace like Austin or San Antonio and suddenly have the health department close down Sea World or somesuch, so we're "goin' country" as the song says. Yeah, yeah, yeah... most of you would say that I'm already there.

Our target: Glen Rose, TX. Our agenda: Dinosaur Park which has a lot of dinosaur artifacts (footprints, fossils, etc.) in a pretty concentrated space. Also, Fossil Rim Wildlife Center which is a drive-through safari type place with animals from the African Savannah. Optional activities will include fishing, trail riding, reading, bird-watching, etc. We're staying in a little cabin in the woods with it's own kitchen and hot tob, and it sounds just perfect to me.

There is no in-room WiFi, so you won't be hearing from me much for the next few days 'cept from Twitter (upper right side of this blog).

Other updates.... Ray and Aidan killed a two-foot copperhead out back today. Ray's been trying to get that darn thing out of it's hole for several days now, I'm glad it's finally good and dead. I found a smaller one the other day while moving a rock pile. I very nearly didn't see it, and ONLY saw it because I was being incredibly careful, as moving a rock pile on a hot day is a SURE way to see a copperhead.

Had a fun weekend... joined some neighbors for their annual "Derby Party" and enjoyed mint juleps and plenty of good company. Lost a few bucks on the races betting on the WRONG long shots. Headed to the "after party" at some other neighbors and eventually left that when we'd lost a few more bucks at Texas Hold'em. As we were among the first to leave, and this particular crowd has a reputation for mischief, Aidan and Scamp appointed themselves to guard duty and Aidan stayed up until 3am by the upstairs balcony with his AirSoft gun awaiting the middle-aged toilet papering party which never materialized due to the rain.

Speaking of rain.... it looks like we quite possibly could have white-water rafted down the gulley in our back yard, had we been awake at 5am when the storms were at their worst. All that rain thoughtfully washed away all the dried leaves we'd dumped in the gully after raking this fall. Fewer hiding places for the darn copperheads.

And ALSO speaking of rain... my poor garden. Ray keeps telling me not to panic, that I'll be grateful of it's location in the heat of summer. But right now I say, "Heat? What heat?" as any heat is but a memory lately. It almost feels like Seattle around here - very little sunshine and intermittent rain. The mushrooms (which I did NOT plant) are doing quite well. The tomatoes, lettuces, carrots, etc. (which I DID plant) are water logged, sun-deprived, and rain-flattened.

All for now. Stay healthy and don't kiss any pigs!

Bug O' The Month

During the cold, dry Texas winter, I almost completely forget..... the BUGS!

They're baaaaaacccck!

I saw my first red wasp mud dauber thangy today.

For all of spring and summer, each month seems to bring the emergence or arrival of yet another variety of bug - cicadas (deafening!), June bugs (they usually show up in July, go figure), and grasshoppers (like the plague!).

To the bugs: I didn't miss you.

It's coming....

The air is no longer dry and bitter cold.

The weeds are sprouting through the crew-cut dormant St. Augustine grass.

Baseball practice has been scheduled to start Saturday.

The well-grazed pastures are hazing from gold to green.

Pitch black has been replaced by pearly gray when I awaken the kids for school at 6:30.

The birds are wooing, chasing, preening and courting.

And THIS appeared suddenly in my flower bed today in joyous juxtaposition with the skeletal black leafless trees.

A hopeful reminder that the leaves and grasses will soon follow and our winter bleak landscape will re-emerge, green and lush.

I can't wait.

Snow Day

AGAIN.

Sigh.

Today, I can understand. It sleeted all night, with temps below 20. I bet my driveway is a solid sheet of ice. Yesterday was just sort of a gimme, I guess the school district was being hyper-conservative after the fiasco last March. It really wasn't all that bad out there.

So. The kids say home, lazing in front of the TV while I nag at them to work on the Very Big Project for English class or finish the (boring!) Lincoln biography for the book report. And they glare at me as if I am The Meanest Mother In The World.

So... today will include a little more nagging, mixed in with a little bit of cleaning, and maybe a little sledding on the rock-hard driveway. Best get the first-aid kid out.

Mood Swings

We are fortunate. We live in a very beautiful area, a fact that I appreciate every day.

I try to walk 3+ miles several times a week. I don't have to go anywhere but right out my door to have a beautiful, ever-changing place to keep my eyes and thoughts occupied while I walk. There are lots of birds (red cardinals, grey herons, bluejays, etc.) and lots of animals (squirrels, sheep, horses, llamas, chickens, etc.) to see too.

The surroundings change with the seasons. A few months back, I began taking a picture at about the same spot most mornings, to record the many moods of High Road throughout the seasons.

Check the slideshow!

Texas Weather

"If you don't like the weather in (insert location here), just wait, it'll change!"

This holds true for Texas, for sure!

While thunder and lightening are a pretty regular occurrence, last night's storm was a cut above. 3am found all 4 of us crammed in our bed, with a laptop showing the latest radar pictures. That big, ugly, dark spot was right over our heads and boy! was that thunder loud!

Bridget was shaking under the covers, Reba was going insane out in her crate. Reba hates storms. She goes completely psycho, poor thing.

Then, the hail started. 'Bout the size of ping-pong balls. Car-damaging size, unfortunately. Noisy, too.

Next, came the sirens. I need to correct the kids thinking.... they believe these are tornado sirens. They are, simply, severe weather sirens and usually start up just after the storm cell has passed beyond us. Thanks for the warning.

I don't think I told y'all (love that word!) about our blizzard a few weeks back? Two of 'em, actually. The first was on a Monday night and getting Aidan home from swim practice was quite a trial. The last 7-8 miles to our house is a one-lane road with ditches on either side and no streetlights. It was VERY dark, with my car lights ONLY illuminating the snowflakes. The center line and sides of the road were completely obscured. Made it home safe and sound and the kids stayed up late out back building a snow man and making snow angel.

(would insert cute late-night snow photo here if the camera hadn't been (ahem) dropped that night and is now in the repair shop)

The next storm was just a few days later and it was a true blizzard. At least 6 inches of snow in just a few hours. On a community that is completely unprepared, that is crippling.

The kids had quite an adventure. That 7-8 mile stretch of one-lane road? So many cars were wrecked in all manner (into each other, into the ditch, etc.) that the school bus couldn't get to our neighborhood. The driver pulled over and had all the kids share the 4-5 cell phones that were on the bus and call any available adult to come retrieve them. Kids wound up going with the first known adult who showed up, but couldn't get back home so wound up at houses all over the place. Ray got smart and headed towards the lake where he knew of a road that got real close to a trail that backs up to our neighborhood. Abandoned the car back there and hiked the kids the rest of the way home through the woods.

A few days later, it was sunny and 80 degrees.

Texas weather sure keeps life interesting!