Here's Sophie and one of her knights at MT.  For those counting that would be her 4th visit.  I don't think I blogged about it.  This time she opted to wear the Kyrgyz dress that we bought from Sappora at Tsum.  The orange was very eye-catching and between it and her dazzling crown (which Princess Esperanza admitted to liking better than her own!) and her natural charisma there weren't many people that didn't know that Sophie was in the castle!!  As the picture indicates, Sophie once again was given the ribbon, but interestingly enough she actually wanted to get the flower.  Since we were visiting for her birthday, we had her name announced and she was beyond giddy!!  She even got a little wax-sealed scroll proclaiming her a princess of the realm.  It's one of her most prized possessions.  She says she's a Knight-Princess.  So at least she's not just waiting around for some guy to rescue her ;)

Apparantly the festivities were overwhelming as this was Sophie shortly after getting into the car.

For her actual birthday, she asked to have a cook out at Rainbow Castle.  So Jim made a campfire (with lots of help from the kids) and we had hamburgers and sausages.  It was delicious!

We've been spending a great deal of time outside.  The boys have enjoyed playing in the water and helping Jim wash the cars.  This picture was only slightly staged (I thought it would be cute for a post-placement pic) as they really were helping to wash Martha's car as Jim was finishing up on Landy.

And since he was in a car washing mood, Xander was sure to detail his own wheels too.  FYI- Xander hasn't suddenly bulked up, he's wearing a swimsuit with floaties in it.  He had been playing in the pool prior to carwashing.

Just the other day we had the hint/promise of rain, but it only rained for about 5 mins.  Afterwards we had a spectacular full rainbow that seemed to be just over our farm.  It was so large that we couldn't get a single shot of the whole thing.

Do you know what's at the end of the rainbow?  Why Fantine of course!

And finally, here's something from the garden.

One of M's co-workers offered us a few dozen (10) ears of corn, so we spent an afternoon shucking and silking corn, boiling it and cooling it, and then cutting it off the cob.  We opted to just make whole kernel corn for the freezer instead of making creamed corn.  It's quite tasty!

I also made apricot jam... a first for me, which turned out divine!!  I made dewberry syrup as well.  I had planned to make dewberry jelly, but the boys keep eating all the berries!

Anyway, look for the pool post coming soon... maybe even today!!

I saw this on Rosemoon's blog and thought it was too funny!

97 As a 1930s wife, I am Very Superior Take the test!

"we are going to die."  only the words didn't actually make it out.

What am I talking about?  Let me backtrack.

Last night I was calmly sitting in my big comfy upstairs gaming chair, finally finding an opportunity to catch up on FolkLore, enjoying the fact that all the children were snug in their beds, and having a non-sensical conversation with Jim on some random topic.  When suddenly I didn't so much hear, as feel a sound.  A low rumbling sound.  The sound akin to the low grumbling growl of a vicious dog about to attack.  The kind of sound that stops all amusement.  The sound got progressively louder, in an unidentifiable way.  I remember looking at Jim and thinking this is what it feels like right before you die... seriously, I really thought that.  And then when the sound was unbearable, and the house was shaking, and I felt certain that we were truly going to die, the sound faded.  I remember Jim and I looking at each other with huge round eyes and then we both bolted down the stairs to try to catch a glimpse of whatever it was that had just flown over.

Jim is an incredible airplane buff.  He comes by it honestly as his Grandpoppy was a pilot in the USAF, and his g'grandparents were both pilots.  So it was with great faith that I followed Jim out into the dark driveway at 11:15pm to get a id on that plane.  But alas, I was to be disappointed as Jim was unable to get a clear view of it and ascertained that it was a helicopter.

Now, I'm no slouch with airplanes either.  My dad worked on airplanes in the USAF and loved to go to airshows and you just don't live with somebody who loves planes without some of it rubbing off.  So I begged to differ with Jim, it was no helicopter.  Helicopters don't sound like that.  Jim gave me his I-know-more-about-this-than-you-do look (which, in his defense, he rarely unleashes) and stood by his helicopter prediction.  10 minutes later it flew back over again, same as before painfully, house-shakingly, scarily low.  We assumed it was one of the medical helicopters and went to bed. 

And that was that, only....

Tonight as we were settling down for bed and I was once again trying to figure out the trick to beating the HellsRealm level of Folklore, I heard that same low distant rumble.  This time Jim didn't wait and dashed down the stairs to the driveway to get a quick visual.  I followed more casually, fussing and fuming as it had awaken Xander and he was fearful that it was crashing into the house.  And seriously, it did sound like it was!  It only took a moment to get him back to sleep and then I was off to join the rest of the family on the porch. 

We were definitely going to get a visual tonight!!  So we waited.  Now, you have to understand, my family notices things.  Little things.  It's annoying, but it's what we do.  When the plane had flown over the first time, we all marked the time, mentally.  When it flew over again, we noticed it was a 10 minute lapse.  So M went to check the clock and just as she was coming back out to say it was time, we heard the rumbling start up again.  This time, we got visual.

I must say I have never in my life seen an aircraft fly that low over our property.  It's flashing red and green lights literally lit up the tree by our house.  Literally.  I yelled at it that it was entirely too low.  Like it heard me.  But I felt better for it.

That's when I noticed Jim doing his happy-guy-that's-so-neat-I-could-pee dance in the driveway, punctuated by his periodic outbursts of "Sweeet!!"

Jim had id-ed our night-time disrupter.  It flew over 2 more times so Jim was able to confirm, but we are apparently in an exercise pattern for a V22 Osprey.  So Jim and I were both right.  It's kind of a helicopter, and it's kind of a plane.  But it's definitely LOUD!

Here's a video I found, be sure to turn your volume way up and imagine your windows shaking!

I'm planning a get-together for the Kyrgyz adoptive families on July 12 from 4-midnight at Bonclarken in Flat Rock NC.  Anyone interested in coming please email me (the link is on the left, under the stick horse) and I'll give you details.  I've rented a community building that adjoins a playground so there's a place for the kids to play as well as an air conditioned meeting area for the families.  I'm also working on some kind of snack/light supper, so ideas are appreciated.  Also if anyone needs lodging, Bonclarken has a nice new lodging complex.  The rooms have 2 Queen beds for a very reasonable fee (less than $75/night).  If interested please contact Holly at Bonclarken and mention you are with the Kyrgyz group (or mention that you're with Shea's group). 

I hope many of you can make it!!

I got to thinking how a lot of people would've collapsed with grief over the happenings this week.  I'm still very sad.  A little (or alot depending on the hour) angry, but mostly very sad.

But, as my title indicates, there's no time to cry.  There's the basic running of our insane household that takes up parts of my day, cooking, "cleaning", laundry....  Then there's the myriad little emergencies of the day.  Today's included un-sticking a lamb's head (it was stuck in the fence) and de-fusing Sophie's attempts to sleep in the tent again tonight.

Since I was in the sheep paddock anyway, I ended up helping M feed the sheep and donkeys.  I ended up getting mugged!!  The sheep, who are not so petted really, will overcome all fears if they think you have a tasty grain in your hand/pocket/ponytail.  The donkeys were mad at me as they thought I gave too much grain to the pony and brayed their discontent (even Josie) to M who was not amused.

Speaking of M.  She's been letting the chickens out to truly free-range during the day.  Watching her walk across the paddock with a flurry of little red hens chasing after her is truly hilarious!  I'm determined to get a video!! 

I missed the moon-rise tonight.  It was supposed to be one of those optical illusions where the moon looks huge on the horizon.  I caught it just above the tree line here and it was still quite large looking.  I read the boys a couple moon poems tonight and we sang "Moon, Moon, Moon" (Laurie Berkner... we love her).  They were unwilling to go to sleep until Jim came in and cast his sleepy spell on them... I don't know how he does it... I think it has something to do with his slow heartbeat. 

Sophie's scar is not healing so well, probably because she won't leave it alone.  We got a call from the derm's office saying that the mole was benign, so that's good news.  I just hope the hole in her leg heals! 

Yesterday she was stung multiple times by paper-wasps, about 6-7 times.  The hub-bub of the whole affair had her face inflamed again, but it's since gone down.  She's doing fine bee-sting-wise today and hasn't complained of the places whatsoever.  Tonight, for some reason, she decided to wash her hair with toothpaste.  Seriously!  What was she thinking!!  So now her hair has a minty-fresh scent even after multiple rinses and rewashing!! 

Sigh.

Insane household remember?

Well that's not entirely true.  I have things I want to blog about... I just haven't because the moment passes and any attempt after the spark just seems blah and dull.

We're all doing well-ish.  Most of you were privy to the week of sickness which resulted in multiple trips to the ER and a couple different doctors.  Briefly:  Everybody's had a chest cold/congestion/runny nose.  Beckett had some weird bite/???? on his ear that caused it to swell to 3x it's normal size (ER trip 1) and then had an allergic reaction to the Amoxil.  Sophie was playing outside and came in contact with some sort of airborn allergen that made her whole face swell and break out in a horrid rash that required a trip to the ped and the dermatologist.  While at the dermatologist he happened to notice her mystery mole (which is why we started going to him in the first place) and went mental over the fact that it's changed color and size again.  So we were scheduled for an ASAP removal (which Sophie handled brilliantly).

Ummm... I think there's more, but it's fleeting in my mind!!

M's going mental with the gardens as the lack of rain means lots of watering.  Every year she says she's not going to go crazy with the tomatoes.  At last count she has 11 more trays to plant (you read that correctly... ELEVEN more TRAYS).  And that's not counting peppers.

Oh Sophie suddenly developed an ear infection which we think is because she was on Prednisone (it suppresses the immune system making it easier to develope infections etc).  She's now on Amoxil.  It's pink.  Like PINK pink.  She's been on a red#40 buzz the past couple days and is nearly intolerable to be around.  The Prednisone made her moody now the Amoxil is making her hyper-crazy.

Sigh.

No, I'm not complaining (although I might add that Martha is on a downswing health-wise and is having trouble communicating her concerns to her doctors' respective staffs as they keep scheduling her appts for 3 weeks from now, like that will help) even though it seems like it.

Jim is off taking his final exam for this session, then he'll be off school for 10 weeks which makes me very happy!  We have gobs of chores that we're hoping to get done (fencing and starting on reclaiming the basement from the clutter demons that currently inhabit it!).

Look for pictures later today!

Every morning I've been getting up and peering bleary-eyed into the donkey paddock to see if Pearline has had her baby.  Today I was rewarded with a glimpse of a beautiful bright white spotted baby!  On inspection it is a girl and she's just perfect!  Don't be alarmed by the funky leg angle in the picture as she's still learning how to use her legs! 

Sophie has now decided that she wants this and this for her birthday and has totally ditched the trip to Atlanta (even to castle!).

I held off ordering the sleeping bag until I could go by Sunrift to see their selection, but they didn't have a pink one and it had to be pink you understand.  So upon returning home I checked the site again and found the price had dropped from $59 to $39 so I promptly ordered it.  She has watched the mail like a hawk even though I told her it wouldn't be here until later in the week... it's too cute really.

I'm not sure about the tent.  Obviously that would be a whole family thing so not something just for her birthday.  REI is having one of their anniversary sales so we're thinking of going to their Pineville NC store to see what's available. 

And if you're wondering where all this camping stuff is coming from... well I wrote a whole post about it on Monday, but it disappeared into the nether reaches of the internet and I was too frustrated to retype it (since the save function obviously didn't work either).

In a nutshell:  Jim's an Eagle Scout (think Michelle's Hubby only not still as active in Scouts) and he loved camping.  I grew up camping at the beach with my family.  Sophie recently started talking about going camping and a trip to Sunrift on Monday (to get shoes for the boys) prompted her to ask for a tent.  She didn't know that Poppy already has a tent so when we got home, I asked him to set up his old Scout tent.  Sophie was delighted with it and we even camped out that night (not the boys, they decided to stay inside with M!).  She's been so good about listening to Jim while he teaches her about camping "rules" and how to take care of the tent and all that jazz.  We had a campfire meal courtesy of Jim on Wednesday that was so good Xander (my picky anti-meat eater) ate 2 hamburgers!!  So obviously the camping bug has bitten us.

She's now asking that we all go camping for her birthday party, so we'll see how that goes.  It may be another night out in the tent at rainbow castle, or we may actually take her to a real campground, regardless I'm sure she'll have a blast!  The boys... may not so much ;)

I have this love hate relationship with the horse racing industry.  I can't deny that every year I religiously watch the Kentucky Derby, that I even visited Churchill Downs once in my teenage years during a off-track racing day, which was kinda cool because there was nobody there and you could just walk around.  I got to see the track that day by pulling a chained door open a crack and peering through.

It's an odd thing.

At one time I wanted to do one of the equine programs in Louisville.  I never wanted to be a trainer and I'm way too big to be a jockey... I just wanted to be a groom.  Horses were my life.  I would've given anything just to live in a big barn and take care of horses for the rest of my life. I don't like that horses are raced so young.  I don't like that horses are bred so much for speed and not so much for surviving.

Some years ago M and I were flipping channels and caught a race.  There was a horse named Hello.  I remember telling M that I had a bad feeling about that horse, its legs were too spindly.  I went so far as to say it wouldn't finish the race.

It broke its leg shortly after the start and was euthanized on the track.

Even I was a little shocked.

Today, as I was watching the post parade and trying to guess which horse would win (and totally falling in love with Big Brown and his "old" stockier build) I noticed Eight Belles and commented to Jim that I thought she was too fine, too narrow and too willowy for the race.  I said: she'll push too hard and she doesn't have the legs for it.

So as I was watching the race I was thrilled to see Eight Belles surge near the end to place second.  I was talking to M and started to say something along the lines of "hey maybe I was wrong about that filly" when Kent Desormeaux fell off of Big Brown.  There was a bit of a to-do over that and then the camera panned around and showed a horse laying on the track.

It was Eight Belles.

Just after the finish she broke both her front ankles and was euthanized on the track.

Is the money and prestige worth racing animals that are not mature?  And here I am, not boycotting the industry, but sitting rapt in front of the TV, watching the pre-show and race, silently endorsing a industry that asks these horses to race hard when they are just barely 3 years old. 

It's like an addiction... but is it worth it? 

edited to add:  I found this article tonight written by Paul Moran.  It's a nice eulogy for a racehorse  without getting into the ethics.