Buggy
Had a great week. Last Thursday had dinner with my friend from B.D.'s World at Bamiyan for Afghani cuisine. Terrific food, and a little pricey. Our waiter was terrific as well, and reminded me of Serge, but was many times better in every way. He made you smile. I don't see how you could not enjoy your time there.
Friday was a short day, not by much. Enough to get out of the office early and be on the road for a short vacation with the family at the Duckabush river, adjacent to the Olympic National Park. It was a beautiful night, the Milky Way standing out as though it had been lightly spray painted on the heavens. I watched for meteors as I waited for sleep on the deck. It was a short wait, but I still saw some shooting stars which left short lived glowing trails across the ebony sky.
The next day I had to run into town to pick up a sleeping bag. In my packing I forgot that last trip into the house and made do the first night with some blankets which the family's owning shares of the cabin keep up there. The first little burg, Hoodsport didn't seem to have any so on to Shelton. A lovely drive along Hood Canal. All the old dry goods places in Shelton are vacant. Two streets of nice local businesses put out of business by WalMart. I did all my other shopping but still had to go to WalMart or spend another couple hours on the road to get sleeping bags.
Second, maybe third time in my life in one of those cesspits. Why is it most of the customers look to be morbidly obese or underweight. Something about the place gives me the feeling I'd imagine a crack house would give you, though that is thankfully a simile born in ignorance of the latter. One thing that I can say for sure, is the fumes emanating from cheap plastics gave me a ripping headache. I kept the visit short and managed to get out of there pretty quickly. Hopefully that will be the only time this millenium -- next time I'll make the two hour drive.
After the beautiful Friday evening, the steel barometer running the length of my tibia told me foul weather was likely on it's way. Yup, my second vacation this Summer, and the second one enjoying myself in the rain. It cleared up as I was packing Tuesday afternoon.
Don't think I didn't have a great time. I had a blast. My sister's family, two of my step sibling families, and majority representation of the other step sibling familyies were all there. It was great seeing them, and even greater to see the nieces and nephews. Reading, playing, talking with infants to adults. It wasn't long ago I dreaded having kids bring me books to read. Now it is a dream come true. I even bring my own books. They were in a cloth shopping bag on the floor, and it wasn't long. It was quite a surprise though it should have been obvious kids would see them before I broke them out. We all knew we were having fun -- I brought along books and they brought them to me. I think that adds a bit to the enjoyment when you know it something all are enjoying.
The older kids, three adults and one seventeen year old were great to talk to. Far ranging thoughts going to new areas for them. An exciting place to share, giving fresh perspectives on those same things for me. The biggest surprise is they came to watch their younger cousins when we were reading, and I suspect like the older adults they liked listening to Dr. Seuss too. The older adults were a little more circumspect in collecting around Dr. Seuss. I picked areas where there weren't people congregated to start reading, but they kept getting crowded after I started.
It is fun to play with voices, and I didn't hold back when other adults wandered in. That is my little personal triumph. My biggest stage fright for that kind of thing has always been with family and friends. Going on without pause or concern is a big change. One of those things you later wonder why it ever bothered you in the first place.
You know the saying, "You can choose your friends but not your family." I don't go along with that. There are any number of people I don't see in my family. My mother and her brothers, by my choice. My brother and his kids by their choice. My folks (Dad and my step mom), my sister's family, my step siblings and their families I see and stay in contact with by choice. I don't think you can attribute this to the extended step families which have become more predominate over the last fifty years, as nuclear families used to be much larger. You do get to choose your family. Of course, I don't have much of a line between family and friends, other than most of my unrelated friends don't have kids. So, I got to spend the weekend with my chosen family.
At the end of the long weekend with my chosen family my allergies started acting up. I suspected it was a result of eating a bit of food with small amounts of dairy or wheat. That was part of it, but mostly because I was coming down with a cold. Better than catching a bug at the beginning of a vacation.
I made some of my modified chicken soup (atole), but instead of okra I used diced summer squash and I mad a lot for those nights when there was food I needed to avoid. The nephews and nieces were cautious. Habanero, red/yellow bell peppers, and squash didn't sound appetizing to them. Well the pepper's bite mostly disappears in the process as it is part of the stock. It was a hit, and didn't have anywhere near the leftovers I expected. Then they kept getting bowls for hefty snacks the rest of the vacation. I brought some black bean soup as a back up for them, but it got ruined during the reheat. It was frozen and while thawing it burnt so badly it tasted like charcoal briquettes, and I was worried people would have to make special meals for the fussier eaters. No need to have been worried.
I had a great time, one of those gatherings where you get to spend a little time with everyone there, and are happy to see them all. I think the younger nephews and nieces were glad of the adult companionship. Some weren't sure what to make of me, but after watching their cousins they relaxed very quickly, realizing silly voices mean play. It is fun for me, and fun for them to have someone who doesn't have to focus on their own kids, and who crave the older people to connect with for a while.
I did feel badly at one point, but quick enough to fix the situation. When the first of the families were leaving, we were steeped int the ritual of packing the car and saying goodbye's for 15-30 minutes. It does go on a bit, but is still fun. My stepbrother Kevin was heading out and one of the younger nephews was acting out a bit, so I distracted him with a couple simple stage combat moves, to keep his boredom from getting the better of him. Before I knew it, I had pretty much all the kids and most of the adults focused on how to make it look like you were punching someone in the face or nailing them in the groin in a safe way. As soon as I realized I'd totally drawn focus, I stepped aside to say so long to Kevin, and the kids were left to their own devices while we finished up our goodbye's and the kids joined in again as they really started to leave. Aside from my embarrassment I think it worked out well, and kept a nephew or two from getting time outs while their Uncle Kevin was leaving.
Tuesday afternoon I packed in the early afternoon to head home. I like to get home with time to relax and get a good night's rest before returning to the grind. I did just that and got to work mostly relaxed on Wednesday. You know, there was something that irritated me that day, but quickly seemed humorous and now I can't even remember what it was. It's beginning to feel like I'm getting back to normal. Maybe my next vacation (in just 2 weeks!) will actually have sun filled skies. I'm going to try going up to Canada again. This time I'll be more sedentary. That is, I'll have one destination and spend some time writing. More if the weather prevents kayaking or horseback riding.
I remembered my irritating, then humorous event. I was drinking my morning coffee, which is black as Satan's waistcoat. (I don't really picture that simile, but I've always liked the sound of it.) On the last sip I felt something non-liquid. Like a bit of jello skin and as I'm spitting back into the cup I'm thinking, "Now where would that come from? I don't add anything to my espresso, and it certainly doesn't have time to form a skin. Besides there's no dairy. Ewww!" It was an earwig. Spit. Spit. Spit. How did it get in there? All I could think of was the hole in the spout of the holder for the little metal sieve. Well I learned something. Earwigs have soft shells. Because of the scary looking pincer arrangement on the tail I'd always assumed they'd be hard shelled. Nope. They're pretty soft, at least when they're cooked.
Friday was a short day, not by much. Enough to get out of the office early and be on the road for a short vacation with the family at the Duckabush river, adjacent to the Olympic National Park. It was a beautiful night, the Milky Way standing out as though it had been lightly spray painted on the heavens. I watched for meteors as I waited for sleep on the deck. It was a short wait, but I still saw some shooting stars which left short lived glowing trails across the ebony sky.
The next day I had to run into town to pick up a sleeping bag. In my packing I forgot that last trip into the house and made do the first night with some blankets which the family's owning shares of the cabin keep up there. The first little burg, Hoodsport didn't seem to have any so on to Shelton. A lovely drive along Hood Canal. All the old dry goods places in Shelton are vacant. Two streets of nice local businesses put out of business by WalMart. I did all my other shopping but still had to go to WalMart or spend another couple hours on the road to get sleeping bags.
Second, maybe third time in my life in one of those cesspits. Why is it most of the customers look to be morbidly obese or underweight. Something about the place gives me the feeling I'd imagine a crack house would give you, though that is thankfully a simile born in ignorance of the latter. One thing that I can say for sure, is the fumes emanating from cheap plastics gave me a ripping headache. I kept the visit short and managed to get out of there pretty quickly. Hopefully that will be the only time this millenium -- next time I'll make the two hour drive.
After the beautiful Friday evening, the steel barometer running the length of my tibia told me foul weather was likely on it's way. Yup, my second vacation this Summer, and the second one enjoying myself in the rain. It cleared up as I was packing Tuesday afternoon.
Don't think I didn't have a great time. I had a blast. My sister's family, two of my step sibling families, and majority representation of the other step sibling familyies were all there. It was great seeing them, and even greater to see the nieces and nephews. Reading, playing, talking with infants to adults. It wasn't long ago I dreaded having kids bring me books to read. Now it is a dream come true. I even bring my own books. They were in a cloth shopping bag on the floor, and it wasn't long. It was quite a surprise though it should have been obvious kids would see them before I broke them out. We all knew we were having fun -- I brought along books and they brought them to me. I think that adds a bit to the enjoyment when you know it something all are enjoying.
The older kids, three adults and one seventeen year old were great to talk to. Far ranging thoughts going to new areas for them. An exciting place to share, giving fresh perspectives on those same things for me. The biggest surprise is they came to watch their younger cousins when we were reading, and I suspect like the older adults they liked listening to Dr. Seuss too. The older adults were a little more circumspect in collecting around Dr. Seuss. I picked areas where there weren't people congregated to start reading, but they kept getting crowded after I started.
It is fun to play with voices, and I didn't hold back when other adults wandered in. That is my little personal triumph. My biggest stage fright for that kind of thing has always been with family and friends. Going on without pause or concern is a big change. One of those things you later wonder why it ever bothered you in the first place.
You know the saying, "You can choose your friends but not your family." I don't go along with that. There are any number of people I don't see in my family. My mother and her brothers, by my choice. My brother and his kids by their choice. My folks (Dad and my step mom), my sister's family, my step siblings and their families I see and stay in contact with by choice. I don't think you can attribute this to the extended step families which have become more predominate over the last fifty years, as nuclear families used to be much larger. You do get to choose your family. Of course, I don't have much of a line between family and friends, other than most of my unrelated friends don't have kids. So, I got to spend the weekend with my chosen family.
At the end of the long weekend with my chosen family my allergies started acting up. I suspected it was a result of eating a bit of food with small amounts of dairy or wheat. That was part of it, but mostly because I was coming down with a cold. Better than catching a bug at the beginning of a vacation.
I made some of my modified chicken soup (atole), but instead of okra I used diced summer squash and I mad a lot for those nights when there was food I needed to avoid. The nephews and nieces were cautious. Habanero, red/yellow bell peppers, and squash didn't sound appetizing to them. Well the pepper's bite mostly disappears in the process as it is part of the stock. It was a hit, and didn't have anywhere near the leftovers I expected. Then they kept getting bowls for hefty snacks the rest of the vacation. I brought some black bean soup as a back up for them, but it got ruined during the reheat. It was frozen and while thawing it burnt so badly it tasted like charcoal briquettes, and I was worried people would have to make special meals for the fussier eaters. No need to have been worried.
I had a great time, one of those gatherings where you get to spend a little time with everyone there, and are happy to see them all. I think the younger nephews and nieces were glad of the adult companionship. Some weren't sure what to make of me, but after watching their cousins they relaxed very quickly, realizing silly voices mean play. It is fun for me, and fun for them to have someone who doesn't have to focus on their own kids, and who crave the older people to connect with for a while.
I did feel badly at one point, but quick enough to fix the situation. When the first of the families were leaving, we were steeped int the ritual of packing the car and saying goodbye's for 15-30 minutes. It does go on a bit, but is still fun. My stepbrother Kevin was heading out and one of the younger nephews was acting out a bit, so I distracted him with a couple simple stage combat moves, to keep his boredom from getting the better of him. Before I knew it, I had pretty much all the kids and most of the adults focused on how to make it look like you were punching someone in the face or nailing them in the groin in a safe way. As soon as I realized I'd totally drawn focus, I stepped aside to say so long to Kevin, and the kids were left to their own devices while we finished up our goodbye's and the kids joined in again as they really started to leave. Aside from my embarrassment I think it worked out well, and kept a nephew or two from getting time outs while their Uncle Kevin was leaving.
Tuesday afternoon I packed in the early afternoon to head home. I like to get home with time to relax and get a good night's rest before returning to the grind. I did just that and got to work mostly relaxed on Wednesday. You know, there was something that irritated me that day, but quickly seemed humorous and now I can't even remember what it was. It's beginning to feel like I'm getting back to normal. Maybe my next vacation (in just 2 weeks!) will actually have sun filled skies. I'm going to try going up to Canada again. This time I'll be more sedentary. That is, I'll have one destination and spend some time writing. More if the weather prevents kayaking or horseback riding.
I remembered my irritating, then humorous event. I was drinking my morning coffee, which is black as Satan's waistcoat. (I don't really picture that simile, but I've always liked the sound of it.) On the last sip I felt something non-liquid. Like a bit of jello skin and as I'm spitting back into the cup I'm thinking, "Now where would that come from? I don't add anything to my espresso, and it certainly doesn't have time to form a skin. Besides there's no dairy. Ewww!" It was an earwig. Spit. Spit. Spit. How did it get in there? All I could think of was the hole in the spout of the holder for the little metal sieve. Well I learned something. Earwigs have soft shells. Because of the scary looking pincer arrangement on the tail I'd always assumed they'd be hard shelled. Nope. They're pretty soft, at least when they're cooked.
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