So here we are in a part of the world that people call paradise. Views and vistas everywhere. The speed limit reflects the 'hang loose' attitude of this state. By that I mean that even on the highways the speed limit is 45 mph, that's not to say that people go 45, they usually go much, much...slower. But that is because, even in paradise, traffic is an issue.
This is the view of Hanalei bay from our condo.
The boys hiked the Napali coast, 8 miles of hard hiking for unbelievable views and scenes.
I'll post more photos later, the internet connection here absolutely sucks.
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Finally, what is up with the chickens here. There are chickens everywhere, at the airport, in town, around the condos, even along the side of the road. When I saw the chickens at the side of the road I thought we'd finally get to answer the age old question of just why the chicken crosses the road. Alas, we witnessed why that question may never be answered...
When you open the door for 'Trick or Treaters' don't you expect the 'Tricksters' to be shorter than you. I mean, I know I'm short but even I expect them to be shorter than me. How old is too old to Trick or Treat? I mean, in your head aren't Trick or Treaters short kids in cute costumes?
Last night a 'gang' of about 10 teenagers knocked on my door (well, they actually pounded repeatedly - I answered the door with 911 keyed into the phone and my finger on the send button.) and in unison said 'Trick or Treat'. I looked in the vicinity of their knee caps for their younger siblings, but no, it was just them. I gave them two candy bars each and sent them on their way grumbling. (I was giving out mini chocolate bars, it would have taken 4 bars to make one regular sized bar.) Well, excuse me if my little chocolate tokens didn't fill up their PILLOWCASES!
Kids today!
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“Well, I’ve been watching the squirrels and they’re burying low this year, so you know what that means?”
The cashier is talking to the woman in front of me, who is, annoyingly enough, writing a check.
“Well, I’ve never heard that one.” Says the check writer, pausing, her pen hanging completely motionless over her check which she has so far only managed to date.
“Oh, yes, see if they hide their nuts (all sorts of quippy comments come to mind but I behave) higher up then it’s going to be a very cold and snowy winter, down low means it’ll be mild.”
I groan inwardly, Toto, I think we’re back in Kansas, ok, Illinois, but you see my point.
“Well, I always heard that about Wooly Bear caterpillars and their stripes." (Is there such a thing as a Wooly Bear caterpillar?) Says the check writer staring down at her check as if she’s forgotten what to do next. “See, if their stripes are thick then it’s going to be a long winter, and short if they’re thin…or the other way around…or is it the number of stripes?...Oh, I forget, but I think it’s in the farmer’s almanac.” She finishes lamely, while signing her name (at last) with a flourish.
I’m aging; I feel my bones becoming brittle as I turn 90 standing in this line.
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I was back in Illinois to visit with Jess. I was there for three weeks and thouroughly enjoyed my fall 'fix'. We went to the apple orchard and the leaves were turning and the weather was cold (after the first week, which was still summer.) I had a great time and miss everyone already.
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The infamous cooking class. The best way to bring family together is to make them all cook together. There were 12 of us, brothers, sisters, husbands, wives and cousins. We made up about 1/2 the class. It was really fun, more fun that I expected, but then they did serve wine.
Movie is courtesy of my brother-in-law Rich. Thanks Rich.
Did Jodi Foster have some work done? Becuase I'm telling you, every time I see the previews for her new movie it looks like Jodi, but it doesn't. She's also on the cover of 'More' magazine this month (the magazine for women over 40.) and I didn't recognize her there either. Her nose and chin look pointier, she lost some of the fullness in her face or something...
Do you remember the doctor you saw when you were a kid? Didn't it seem like you saw that doctor forever? Like he was a part of the family practically. Doctor's just don't have that level of commitment anymore.
Aidric's pediatrician is changing practices, we've known the man for a year and now he's starting up a practice for teens and young people. Concentrating on 12-26 year olds. Se we have to find a new pediatrician. I hate finding new doctors.
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Aidric thinks he's two now. He has learned to skillfully and willfully use the word 'No'. These days he uses it most at meal times. Not because he doesn't like the food, just because he realizes he can choose not to eat. When presented with a spoonful of food, no matter what it is, he turns his head away and says 'No'. When a plate full of food and an eating utensil are placed before him, he pushes them away and says 'No'.
'Aidric, come here'
'No'
'Want to go for a walk?'
'No'
'Do you want some juice?'
'No'
'Are you trying to drive mommy crazy?'
'No'
Well, at least that's comforting.
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We've been in CA for a almost a year and our insurance company has been more and more insistent on our acquiring a California Drivers License. So finally on Friday we made appointments at the DMV and went down to comply with the insurance who sent us some threat of cancellation or something if we did not comply within 30 days. Sheesh, take a breath or something we're working on it, I thought California was the layed back state or something. Doesn't it say it on the state crest?
Anyway, it turns out that we had to take the written test. With no prep other than we had taken the California written test when we got our first licenses, many, many, many years ago, we took our tests to a table and set to work.
Knowing what an overachiever I am I'm sure you're thinking 'Here goes Missy, shooting for a 100% without having studied - just like being back in high school'. Honestly, I was not shooting for 100%, I was shooting first of all to pass but most importantly, to not miss more questions than Sean. I know, real mature.
Well we both passed and we both missed 2. The first one I missed was just one of those over thinking mistakes. The second one was a trick question.
12. When driving on a multilane street with two-way traffic:
a.) Drive alongside the other vehicles so the drivers can see you.
b.) You should drive ahead of or behind the other vehicles.
c.) It is safest to drive in the lane next to the center line.
A video slideshow of our famly vacation. Get comfy though, it's 10 minutes long. It's a bit blurry in this format, sorry, but you get the idea. I can burn it to DVD from my computer and send it to you, it's way better quality.
Ok, funny joke, but who sent me 'Redbook' and 'ESPN' subscriptions? They are not magazines I ever would have ordered and they are coming to my house addressed to me. And ESPN is either weekly or bi-weekly, I lose track, but it's piling up. Anyone out there want them? I'll send them to you. ESPN!?? ME??!! Not funny people. Next time could you send me 'Real Simple' or 'Bon Appetite' or something. Thanks
Since I don't want to blog just to yell at you all....here are some pictures of my cute boys.
"Dolphins" the cry goes up and I turn to the water. Sure enough I turn just in time to see two graceful gray backs disappear in the waves and two more spring up just behind them.
"La!" I shout; you always shout at the beach because the sound of waves paired with a wind that whips your words away from you, makes it hard to be heard. "Look!"
As she turns to where I'm pointing we see the most fabulous sight ever. Inside a translucent green incoming wave we can see the shapes of six dolphins zigzagging over each, riding the wave towards the beach. As the wave crashes into the sand the dolphins disappear and seconds later reappear swimming parallel to the beach now. Diving in and out of the water looking like large gray stitches sewing the wave to the beach. There are six teenagers up the beach from us and two of the boys run for the water a dive in hoping to swim with the dolphins.
"Get the camera!" my sister shouts back. Holy crap, I forgot I had the camera. We see dolphins at this beach all the time and I never have, and always wish I had, the camera on hand, though the dolphins have never been this close to the beach before. Today I'd brought the camera just to get some shots of the boys in the water. I'd stashed it in it's case and then in a zippered compartment of the beach bag to keep it safe from wind, sand and spray. I fumble it out and finally get it turned on and pointed to the water, but most of the pod is gone, I manage to click the pictures below. As you can see Aidric was not exactly riveted by the sight as we were.
"Take a movie!" shouts my director. I flip the camera over to video mode but looking at the footage later, it's clear that only I would know what I was looking at.
We found this little beach just on the south end of Pt. Mugu, completely by accident one day. We were headed south toward Malibu when we saw it and decided to stop. We've been coming here ever since. It's about a half mile long bordered on one side by a fence that runs from Hwy 1 (PCH) into the water, this marks the southern edge of the Navy base, and on the other end by a mountainous hunk of rock that reaches into the water effectively closing off this little section of beach. It's never crowded and I'm not sure why. Maybe because it really is in the middle of nowhere. I mean 10 minutes north on the highway is Oxnard and 20 minutes south is Malibu and behind it to the east, just across the highway, is the Santa Monica Mountain nature preserve. Yet there are two, always manned, lifeguard towers here. There are never more than 20 or so groups here which is great because you can keep plenty of distance between you and your neighbors. This aids in not having to eat your northerly neighbors sand every time they move.
We leave the beach happy and toasted and with sand in places we didn't know sand could go. Sand is a fact of life at the beach, heck I'm just writing about the beach and I can feel grit in my sandals.
If you click on the photos they'll open in a seperate window and be a bit bigger.
I am constantly surprised when I go out these days and find that the stores, malls, banks and other businesses in general are empty. I am now able to get things done more quickly while everyone else is at work.
I’ve never been a stay at home mom before. I have always worked. I liked working, it gave structure to my day, and it gave me something to bitch about. So now Aidric and I have to make our own structure and I find new things to bitch about.
Like grocery shopping for instance. I now shop with the senior brigade and I'm not talking your average retirees, no sir, these are honest to goodness octogenarians, or older. Yup, I hit the grocery store right after our morning visit to the YMCA. Which puts us inside Vons right around 11-ish, me sweaty and smelly and Aidric crabby and ready for his nap. It seems that the only other customers in the store at that time of day are the old people and sometimes they are also smelly and cranky and ready for their nap. I think that the local assisted living place must drop the lot of them off by the bus full at the same time every day.
I love the old people as much as the next person, but sometimes they work my last nerve. They double park their carts in the middle of an aisle while they chat about the fiber content of peaches. They berate the butcher because the price of the beef is too high and the labels are lettered too small to read. They harass the guy stocking shelves because the bran cereals are on the top shelf and they can’t reach them and the sugary cereals are on the bottom shelf and they can’t bend down to reach them either. They park their carts in the middle of the aisle while they read labels with a magnifying glass and are annoyed if you move their cart aside for them.
I, being young and of able body, have been enlisted to help reach things on the high shelves and the low shelves. I have been pressed into to service to read the sodium content of a can of sardines (just put them back on the shelf lady, you don’t want to know.) I have been roped in to interpret what the produce manager has just said to them, i.e. I speak louder and point. And on more than one occasion I’ve stepped in to help them with the new technology of card readers at the checkout, all the while listening to a ‘in my day’ rant.
On the other hand, they love Aidric and pat him and talk to him and tell me how handsome he is. They pat me and thank me and tell me I’m pretty. One old guy made Aidric laugh by speaking to him ‘in his own language’. Aidric and the old guy spoke gibberish back and forth to each other the whole time we waited at the checkout, Aidric loved it.
I could shop later, like after Aidric’s nap, but then I’d miss the old people and I’d have to shop with the soccer moms and they REALLY irritate me.
