Update

For those of you who might be worried and/or praying, Spencer got home at about 2:00 am and I was finally able to get a look at his hand. Nothing appears to be broken. He was able to flex and bend all of his fingers, though it really hurt. However, it is still a very painful injury. I splinted it for the night and today I’ll see if I can find a brace for him to wear while it heals.

A Seminar and a Mishap

I was up at my usual time this morning, but not to go to Walmart. Instead I got ready to go to Bossier City with Robin for a First Place 4 Health seminar. I am the so-called leader of our tiny group and Robin and I both felt that some fresh inspiration would be welcome. I almost asked Robin if I could toss my jousting chair in the back of her van, but then I thought that would make me look like a pansy, so I didn’t.

My back still hurt from the chairs at the banquet last night, so you can imagine my dismay when I saw that the chairs at the seminar were of a folding variety that I know are almost intolerable for me. To be honest, I don’t know how I made it through the day. I got up and walked around whenever I could, but by afternoon I was really in agony and that affected my ability to focus on the teaching. I finally remembered that I had some ibuprofen in my bag, so I took it. I started feeling a little better right around the time we left!

But anyway, the seminar was excellent and it was also a treat for me to just get to spend so much time with Robin. We shared a table with two sweet ladies from the host church. The location was the youth building of a large church. It was so creatively decorated and thought out that Robin had me take some pictures to show to her architect husband.

When I got home I did rest for a while. Five hours of sleep is just not enough and I was so sleepy for most of the day. Lucy made some gluten free pretzels and they were pretty good–just not as good as “real” ones!

After supper I helped Lucy in her room and we made a little more headway. The deadline is fast approaching! Then, as we were watching a video late in the evening, I got an ominous text from Spencer: “Do we have health insurance?” The answer to that question was “no,” followed by “why?”

He responded that he thinks he has fractured two of his knuckles, followed by a photo of his right hand. It’s definitely injured, but how badly it’s hard to say. He was at a concert and was apparently flailing around during a number by his friend’s band when he hit his knuckles on something very hard. He doesn’t really remember doing it and he was so full of adrenaline that he didn’t notice that he had injured himself until someone pointed out the blood streaming down between his fingers. *sigh*

Having suffered multiple broken bones myself, I sympathize with him. When he gets home (he’s still out) I’ll see if I can splint the hand and get him to take some pain meds so he can make it through the night. Tomorrow I’ll talk to one or more of my nurse friends and see if we can figure out what the cheapest way to get him treated is. Since it’s his right hand and he’s a tennis player, it will have to be taken care of.

This is so incredibly discouraging. We finally scraped together the money to pay our taxes and I thought that maybe we could start thinking about the wedding, and then this. Please pray that we’ll be able to find an affordable solution.

A Fish Out of Water

Way, Way Out of Water

Possibly the Fish Doesn’t Actually Remember Water . . .

Today was the big day of the high school banquet. I was up early to work some more on Lucy’s underskirt. In fact, it was ready for her to try on by the time she got up, and after that it only needed hemming. Lucy spent most of yesterday and much of today sewing beads on to her dress. They really added an elegant touch and enhanced the beauty of her dress.

Soon after Lucy and Spencer got up we headed to Walmart because Spencer just realized last night that he didn’t have pants to wear tonight. Well, he did have pants, but they were well above his ankles. Lucy also needed one final thing for her ensemble. Spencer ended up getting a black shirt and a red tie. We looked through every pair of black pants they had trying to find his size (32/34). In the end, he had to settle for a pair that were too big in the waist and plan to belt them tightly!

After lunch I lay down for a short nap because I was so very tired . . . and then had a really, really hard time getting back up. I had to race to the bank to take care of some business and then race back home to hem that underskirt! I got it done about 45 minutes before we had to leave.

At Lucy’s request, I wore my black velvet “medieval” dress. There was some discussion about what vehicle to take, because we are currently borrowing a little Mazda from friends until the van is a more reliable. The kids felt we should take the Mazda so that’s what I decided to do, despite having never driven it before. It runs fine but it does have a couple of interesting handicaps. The driver’s side door cannot be opened from the inside, and the window won’t go down either. So if you are driving by yourself, you have to roll down the rear window before turning off the engine, reach back through the rear window and around to open the door from the outside. Then you can roll the window back up and turn off the engine.

The other problem with taking the Mazda was that Spencer had not expected me to agree to this, so he had put all his “after banquet” things into the van–which had gone to work with Walter. So we had to try to figure out a way for Spencer to get his stuff.

We made it to the banquet site without incident. It happens to be right next door to my favorite yarn store, but alas the yarn store was already closed. So anyway, in we walked. I have to admit I was very intimidated from that moment. As an introvert, this type of event is painful for me at best. I do so much better in small groups. Fortunately I found a table to sit at with people I actually know–three couples that I have known for many years–at least three decades in one case!

Spencer and Lucy both looked great. Lucy, as I had expected, was by far the most modestly dressed girl there, but she looked beautiful in her flowing blue dress. This is the same outfit she will be wearing as a bridesmaid in her sister’s wedding in June. What a relief to have that done! Some of those kids I barely recognized with their fancy hairdos and formal attire.

Meanwhile, I was a little worried because Jasper would be home alone virtually all evening, and I know he does not really like being by himself at night. I tried repeatedly to text Mercy, but could not get through. By the time the main course was over and the seniors had been presented, my back was in agony. Some chairs just seem designed to torture me. So, I decided the best thing to do was leave early, especially since I had to stop to buy groceries on the way home. The kids had already arranged to get rides to the after party, which is being held on the property of a family in our homeschool group.

As I left the banquet, I saw that the gas tank was almost empty and I prayed I’d have enough gas to make it to Sam’s. I did. The attendant was standing right there, and watched with great interest as I pulled up, rolled down the rear window, reached around and opened the door, then got out in a floor length velvet gown to put gas in the car. Except that I had no idea how to open the gas tank door. It took several tries, actually.

As I pushed my cart through Walmart in my evening gown, I attracted a lot more attention than I’m used to. Picture Ursula from The Little Mermaid only a lot more modestly dressed and you’ll have a pretty good idea of what I looked like wallowing through Walmart in yards of black velvet. This is when I discovered that my “dress” shoes, which are actually glorified neoprene slippers, are not made for the rigors of a Walmart shopping trip. They became increasingly more painful as I limped my way up and down the aisles. I was tickled, though, when a sassy looking young girl with lip and nose piercings made a point of coming up to me and telling me that she liked my dress. I also heard a very little girl telling her mother all about my pretty dress.

None of that could make me like shopping at Walmart on a Friday night, though. What a madhouse! And a lot of the shelves were distressingly bare. Why did I shop tonight, I hear you ask, instead of before dawn tomorrow morning? Because Robin and I are going to a seminar tomorrow, and we need to leave at 7:15 in the morning. That’s why.

It was such a relief to get home and put my feet up. It turned out that Mercy had arranged for AJ to stay with Jasper while she was at her meeting. I’m glad he didn’t end up being alone for too long.

Who Moved My Cheese?

Today started off with a trip to the dentist. Despite the fact that I haven’t aged at all in the 33 years that I’ve been going to him, he has become quite elderly. Still, he’s just as entertaining and skillful as ever. My crown was quite easy to replace and they used a new “super” glue that hopefully will hold because this is the second time that this crown has popped off. It is an expensive mishap!

Back at home, I had a class to prepare for despite the fact that I had a whopping headache. When my students arrived after lunch, I was still really struggling but we managed to get through our class all right.

Then I had to make the dough for our pizza. I made the “regular” sourdough and then the gluten-free dough. I went to more trouble than usual making the sauce. Then, when I was ready to top the gluten-free pizza and put it in the oven, we had a little crisis. Jasper couldn’t find the bag of mozzarella cheese in the fridge–or the pepperoni either.

At first I wasn’t worried. Jasper is notorious for not being able to see something that is right in front of his face. I went through the fridge methodically, knowing I’d find the missing ingredients because I clearly remembered buying them. No cheese. No pepperoni. We have a “backup” fridge in the laundry room and that also was free of cheese and pepperoni. Lucy also remembered seeing them in the fridge after I got back from Walmart on the weekend.

We were forced to conclude that either both Lucy and I had hallucinated the same cheese and pepperoni, which never actually existed–or that they had mysteriously disappeared from the fridge on their own. We took inventory of what cheese we did have: a small packet of parmesan, a small piece of cheddar, and four cheese sticks. For two pizzas, one of which was very large. We grated the cheddar and the cheese sticks and mixed them with the parmesan. Having no choice, I topped the gluten-free pizza with this scanty mix, and added a few scraps of ham left over from our Easter dinner.

Lucy, meanwhile, offered to walk across the street and see if she could find some mozzarella at Dollar General so the big pizza would be a little cheesier. (I had to bake the GF one first so I would be able to have supper before my Bible study.) So the rest of the family had our normal pizza and I burned my tongue on the boiling sauce on my pizza.

While we were having class this afternoon, Lucy began sewing beads on to her dress. We’re all about last-minute deadlines here. The high school banquet is tomorrow, and by then Lucy’s dress needs to be beaded and I need to have finished sewing an underskirt for it which will make it appear to be floor length on my six foot tall girl. Lucy is doing quite well on the beading, but I didn’t get a chance to even start on the underskirt until 9:30 this evening. Yes. 9:30.

Oh, and Spencer informed me tonight, when I was finally working on the underskirt, that I need to take him clothes shopping in the morning. Surely he could have seen that need coming sooner!

One More Week

Today was our last “real” geography class. Next week we have review and the obligatory party. I cannot tell you how ready I am for that! Especially since Lina is coming home that same day.

Today we had to cover Australia, New Zealand, Antarctica, and assorted Pacific islands. It is ludicrous to try to cover this much material in one lesson, but I did the best I could.

I had promised the kids we would go to Chick-Fil-A for one final time today, since I didn’t have to tutor right afterwards. Last time I went, I ate alone. This time I sat with the other moms, but did not eat. I bought the kids their lunch but decided I don’t like fast food enough to pay money for it when I can just come home and make a salad or an omelet out of ingredients that are already paid for. So, it was nice to sit with the other moms and the kids enjoyed visiting with their friends also.

I spent part of the afternoon and evening watching The Wizard of Oz. I have a history with this movie. It used to be broadcast every Halloween when I was a kid, and after my first disastrous viewing, I was forbidden to watch it for years to come. That green witch scared the living daylights out of me and gave me nightmares for weeks! By the time I finally saw it again as a teenager, of course, I wondered how I could have found it so scary!

So why am I watching it now? Well, in my ongoing efforts to improve as a writer, I am going through a book that has been highly recommended, and one of the first things the book does is to recommend The Wizard of Oz, even if you have seen it before. So, since I had to watch it anyway, I assigned it to two of my tutoring students so we will have a common experience to use for the critique essay they will be writing. I hadn’t seen it in decades, and I was surprised at how much I had missed when I saw it as a kid and teenager.

Tomorrow I have to go to the dentist. During our ladies’ brunch on Saturday, one of my crowns came off (again) so I hope it can be re-glued without too much fuss. Other than that, all I have to do is sew an underskirt for Lucy’s dress by Friday, write a test, prepare for tutoring, get caught up on my Bible study, and continue working on Lucy’s room to get it ready for Lina’s arrival. 

I’m More of a “One Event a Day” Kind of Girl

It seemed like such a good idea at the time. Since we had no transportation on Thursday, we couldn’t go to the zoo with Mary as planned, so we had the bright idea of going to the zoo today on the way to the airport. That actually wasn’t such a terrible idea in itself. It’s just that it required us to leave the house by 9:00 if possible, go to the zoo, go from there to the airport in Dallas, and get back in time for our Literary Society dinner, which I pushed back to 6:30 “just in case.”

We left a little later than we wanted to, but that was okay. We knew we could speed through the zoo if we had to! It was just me, Mary, Lucy and Jasper. My first misgivings came on the way to the zoo. The brakes on the van were, shall we say, rather ineffective. There were a couple of very scary moments when I thought I would not be able to stop our behemoth before it hit another car.

We had a great time at the zoo though, despite the quick pace and the hordes of schoolchildren we had to put up with. Fragrant wisteria was everywhere except where it was really needed, which was anywhere near the odiferous rhino enclosures.

And now it’s time for “embarrassing admissions with Linda,” the part of the blog where Linda comes out and makes an embarrassing admission.

While Mary and I were trying to get some photos of the warthog and a splendid kudu, we found ourselves leaning over a herd of red-shirted first graders who were pressed up against the window looking out over the African wildlife area. One little boy expressed his admiration of the movie The Lion King, only to be ridiculed by a classmate, who had a low opinion of that movie, but offered to show his naïve friend a  “real grown-up show” called The Walking Dead. Here’s the embarrassing admission: I had never heard of The Walking Dead and had no idea what it was, but I was quite certain that it wasn’t suitable material for grade schoolers. Since returning home I did just enough research to discover that I was right. What kind of parent lets their kid watch a show like that? I’m pretty sure that I am not yet grown up enough to watch that.

The zoo was really spectacular today. In addition to the wisteria, there were azaleas by the hundreds, sweet williams, begonias, dogwoods, snapdragons, violets, redbuds, and pansies. And yes, there were some animals too!

We made a quick stop for lunch after leaving the zoo and headed straight for Dallas. The sun disappeared and clouds covered the sky. By the time we reached the outskirts of Dallas, a steady light rain was falling and we were in heavy traffic. I tried to control my anxiety, but those driving conditions were hardly ideal for a very heavy vehicle with iffy brakes. I began to get a headache, especially when the traffic slowed us down to the point that I wondered if we would get Mary to the airport in time. It didn’t help that I was fighting extreme sleepiness and fatigue also, despite plenty of tea and a Dr. Pepper with my lunch.

I was more than a little relieved to finally drive into the airport! This was followed immediately by the sadness of saying goodbye to Mary yet again. It gets harder, not easier, as time goes by. She is off to spend a month in Nashville so she can have some time with her soon-to-be-husband.

After leaving the airport, I popped into a fancy grocery store to see if they had something I’m going to need for Mary’s wedding cake. They didn’t. But they did have an amazing deli, a bar, an internet café, and a massage booth. I am not even kidding.

Traffic leaving Dallas was even more stressful than it had been on the way in, and as we reached the outskirts of the city it started raining harder. And harder. This was only partially offset by the sight of numerous patches of blooming bluebonnets.  By the halfway mark I was driving down an apparent riverbed and under what appeared to be a waterfall. I have rarely driven in such heavy rainfall, let alone with sketchy brakes. I could not make out the headlights of the car ahead of me even fifty feet away. My pace slowed to a crawl while other idiots drivers splashed past me at twice my speed, having no idea what was ahead of them because there was no visibility. It seemed like twilight rather than mid afternoon. It was mentally exhausting. I would have happily pulled over to let the storm pass, except that I had to make it home in time for Literary Society, so I drove grimly on.

To our amazement, as we approached our home town, the rain tapered off and then stopped. The ground and road here were dry. We had outrun the storm. Lucy and I had all of five minutes to change for Literary Society and were still ten minutes late arriving at the restaurant.

I admit it was real work to focus on Pilgrim’s Progress when my back and head were aching and all I wanted to do was lie down. However, we made it through and by the time we finished our meal, the rain had arrived here. It was pouring as we drove home, but still nowhere close to the intensity we had experienced earlier.

Then, of course, I had to help Jasper finish his homework. Now I finally get to finish my homework!

Someone Has a Birthday

Someone Else Gets Breakfast in Bed

Today is Flynn’s birthday. Yes, twenty-four years ago today, on a Saturday morning, I gave birth to my first son and second child just a couple hundred feet from here in a house that no longer exists. Of course, I wish I could have made Flynn breakfast in bed this morning, but I couldn’t because he was all the way over in Dallas oversleeping by two hours.

What I could do was to make breakfast in bed for Mary, whose birthday is later this month when she will be in Nashville. This year’s breakfast menu, I’ve discovered, takes a full hour to make. Stuffed gluten-free crepes, bacon, egg, orange juice, tea or coffee, and Greek yogurt topped with granola. Mary seemed more than a little bewildered when Jasper and I walked into the room singing, but I think she enjoyed her breakfast! As a matter of fact, the whole breakfast in bed tradition started with Mary 16 years ago on her fifth birthday. We had no money for fancy gifts and I wanted so badly to make her birthday special. I remembered the boarding school tradition of making breakfast in bed for your roommate on her birthday, and I thought Mary would get a big kick out of having breakfast in bed. Instantly, a family tradition was born!

Yesterday, of course, was Easter and it ended up being a pretty good day, starting with the heavy rainstorm that hit in the early morning. We went to church and then came home and ate lunch which included colorful dyed eggs, tea, and hot cross buns. Then we called Lina. It is so incredible to think that next week she is coming home!

AJ and his cousin Jonnie were here for the big meal at suppertime, as was a friend of Spencer and Lucy’s. We don’t often have 11 people around the table anymore! I had been so frustrated trying to think of what to serve for dessert on Easter. I am so very tired of making two versions of everything. I wanted to make something that was naturally gluten free. I had asked my friends in Australia to send me photos and recipes, and my friend Joy sent her recipe for pavlova–something I had not made for many years. It struck me that this was the perfect thing to serve for Easter as it contains no flour. It was both beautiful and delicious!

The boys all went off for a Nerf gun war after supper. I think they had a good time. I was busy researching for geography all evening.

Most of the day today was taken up with schoolwork and with teaching my English class. This is an insanely busy week and I am wondering how I’m going to get it all done.

This evening Mary and I tried to go and look at fabric but alas–both fabric stores were closed. What this means, in practical terms, is that I will have three weeks in May in which to design and sew a wedding dress. No pressure, right?

Christ the Lord is Risen Today

Charles Wesley

Christ, the Lord, is risen today, Alleluia!
Sons of men and angels say, Alleluia!
Raise your joys and triumphs high, Alleluia!
Sing, ye heavens, and earth, reply, Alleluia!

Love’s redeeming work is done, Alleluia!
Fought the fight, the battle won, Alleluia!
Lo! the Sun’s eclipse is over, Alleluia!
Lo! He sets in blood no more, Alleluia!

Vain the stone, the watch, the seal, Alleluia!
Christ hath burst the gates of hell, Alleluia!
Death in vain forbids His rise, Alleluia!
Christ hath opened paradise, Alleluia!

Lives again our glorious King, Alleluia!
Where, O death, is now thy sting? Alleluia!
Once He died our souls to save, Alleluia!
Where thy victory, O grave? Alleluia!

Soar we now where Christ hath led, Alleluia!
Following our exalted Head, Alleluia!
Made like Him, like Him we rise, Alleluia!
Ours the cross, the grave, the skies, Alleluia!

Hail, the Lord of earth and Heaven, Alleluia!
Praise to Thee by both be given, Alleluia!
Thee we greet triumphant now, Alleluia!
Hail, the resurrection, thou, Alleluia!

King of glory, Soul of bliss, Alleluia!
Everlasting life is this, Alleluia!
Thee to know, Thy power to prove, Alleluia!
Thus to sing and thus to love, Alleluia!

Hymns of praise then let us sing, Alleluia!
Unto Christ, our heavenly King, Alleluia!
Who endured the cross and grave, Alleluia!
Sinners to redeem and save. Alleluia!

But the pains that He endured, Alleluia!
Our salvation have procured, Alleluia!
Now above the sky He’s King, Alleluia!
Where the angels ever sing. Alleluia!

Jesus Christ is risen today, Alleluia!
Our triumphant holy day, Alleluia!
Who did once upon the cross, Alleluia!
Suffer to redeem our loss. Alleluia!

Oh, the Cleverness of Me!

Just kidding. Though I did have a clever idea today, which will be forthcoming before this post is over.

Jasper was my Walmart buddy this morning, and he scored a deal that he’ll be talking about for a while. While I was looking for plant pots, he was scouring the clearance aisle, and he found a mini-Nerf-gun that he dearly wanted. However, it had no price tag on it and it was the only one on the shelves. In the course of our wanderings, we passed one of those price scanners and scanned the gun. The scanner had no idea what it was. When we got to the checkout, my determined son once more presented his prize for pricing. Once again the scanner was stumped.

The cashier put out a call and before long a perky young lady arrived to help. Her verdict? “If it’s not in the system anymore that means it’s been deleted and there’s no telling what the price was. Is it okay if you just pay a dollar for it?” It was very okay with Jasper! We’re not sure what the original price was, but we’re sure it was more than a dollar!

When we got home, I was not feeling all that great, so I lay down on the couch, only to have Walter tell me that a friend from church had called asking if I needed a ride to the ladies’ missionary brunch. The brunch that I kept reminding myself about all week up until yesterday when I forgot all about it in the midst of all the Good Friday goings on. The brunch for which I should have bought or made food.

Well, that got me up off the couch! I had less than half an hour to make something to take out of what I already had in the house. I threw together some scrambled eggs enhanced with bacon, onions and cheese. I remembered I still had hot cross buns! Hallelujah! So I took some both regular and gluten free because one of the ladies at church is also gluten free.

Lucy came with me and we had a lovely brunch with the other ladies. My friend Angie was the honoree today, as she and her husband are preparing to return to Kenya. Then, when I returned home there was a package waiting for me–a package from my friend Cyndee with some Kenyan tea in it! That improved my day instantly!

The rest of the day was spent preparing for a long list of sewing projects, making gluten free bread, potting up some herbs that I bought this morning, pruning a shrub, and doing some geography.

So what was my clever idea? Well, I was thinking ahead to making our holiday breakfast casserole, which is assembled the night before. The casserole requires two layers of bread, which is why I had to make a new batch of gluten free bread. Instead of making it into loaves which would have to be sliced and cut to fit the casserole dish, I took some of the dough and put it right into the casserole dish itself and baked it into a flat layer about an inch and a half high. When it was done, I sliced it into two layers and there I had two perfectly fitting layers of bread that did not have to be trimmed to fit! I’m pretty proud of myself. The “regular” casserole was made from store-bought bread which had to be trimmed to fit, but now I’m wondering if I should try baking bread in a 9×13 pan next time I plan to make this casserole.

Walter and I watched some of “The Ten Commandments” with Lucy and Jasper this evening and will finish it tomorrow. Jasper was very absorbed by it. It brought back some memories for me–the first time I saw that movie it was in a theater in Salisbury, Rhodesia–now known as Harare, Zimbabwe. I was awed by it just as Jasper was tonight.

Flynn, Mary, and Mercy have been at Six Flags all day but are returning late tonight so we will all be together for Resurrection Sunday. I wish Lina could be here with us!

Good Friday

Somehow, I had this idea that Good Friday was going to be a nice relaxing vacation day. Then I remembered that now I have to make two kinds of hot cross buns–regular and gluten free. Then I remembered that we were going to have a birthday dinner for Flynn tonight, which meant I needed to make a cake. Then I remembered that we always dye eggs on Good Friday and that Spencer’s friend Tiffany was coming over for that. Then I remembered that we were having pizza for supper, which meant that I had to make regular and gluten free pizza dough, which made me remember that I did not have enough gluten free flour left, which made me realize that I needed to go to the health food store.

Suddenly I realized that I was going to be on my feet in the kitchen all day! I think I washed out my mixer bowl six times by supper time! I really need to make gluten free bread too, but honestly I just don’t want to do it tonight. It can wait until tomorrow.

Walter had to work this morning, so as soon as he got back (and the van was still running!) I took off for the health food store and the grocery store. I came home in time to start 3 dozen eggs boiling, punch down the hot cross bun dough, and start forming it into balls. (Thank goodness the GF ones were already done.) Then while the buns were rising again I had time to bake the cake.

Tiffany came and the kids all worked on dyeing eggs. We couldn’t find a single crayon in this house, can you believe it? So we had to use birthday candles instead. They worked fine.

Flynn was so late arriving that we started our Good Friday tea without him. The GF hot cross buns were good, but I gotta say, not as good as the “real” kind. Mary helped me with the pizzas and we had a fun family dinner together, topped off with Red Velvet cake and ice cream.

Then, sadly, Flynn, Mary, and Mercy took off for Dallas, where they will spend the night at Flynn’s apartment before heading to Six Flags for the day tomorrow. I am very tired and dreading my trip to Walmart in the morning.