Angie: August 2006 Archives

I drug everyone off with me Saturday to Mount Vernon in Fairfax Co., Va. About a 45 minute to an hour drive from our house. On the front veranda of Mount Vernon.I packed a picnic supper for us to have later in the day. I packed a cooler of drinks. I packed the diaper bag for the baby. There was nothing anyone had to do at any time in the day. It was for once a truely 'free' day. I loved seeing everything there was to see. The house, the outbuildings, the gardens, the farm, the wharf, the washington's tombs, the view of the river. Everything was just as I expected and wanted it to be. Except - To my huge disappointment everything was "General Washington this" and "General Washington that" so much so that only at one point was Patsy Washington mentioned and she wasn't mentioned in a nice way. The historic interpretors only mentioned her contribution to the plantation as the decorations in their personal bedroom suite -and not in a nice way. (FYI - The Washington's bedroom is the most lovely in the house. Cool white walls, pale blue trims, beautiful flowing white bed curtains and linens, the seats of chairs covered and the furniture polished.) My Martha with Martha.I found it offensive that no one thought to mention that George had little personal wealth. It is because Martha married him that he came into the money (her money) to restore and build Mount Vernon into what it was in his life. Martha had great wealth and no need to marry again. She chose to marry him and in his personal writings he is always concerned with her choices and wishes when things were selected for their home. Now for the times, I am sure Martha would have never wanted the spotlight on herself. She would have stood back and let George shine -as she did all the time. In interpreting history there is a responsibility to tell a story as truthfully and completely as possible. At Mount Vernon no one seemed interested in telling the part of the story that was Martha (Patsy). My children on the Potomac River.I had a long discussion with Steve as we walked the grounds. We discussed many facets of her life and what it must have been like to live at Mount Vernon. The day grew late and Steven woke from his nap. He needed to nurse. I headed to a bench far from the foot traffic, tucked inot the wall near the upper gardens. Down at the entrance to the garden sat a woman in period dress. No one approached her. Steve struck up a conversation. Finally someone wanted to talk about Patsy Washington. The living history interpretor did a beautiful job in character and it was the highlight of our visit. Steve and Steven picnicing on a saturday evening.We chose a spot along the Potomac River north of Mount Vernon, south of Alexandria and had a wonderful picnic supper. The wind blew off the river and smelled of salt and the sea. Gracie loved it and stood with the force of the wind on her face and inhaled deeply trying to save the scent for some memory to be tucked away. Steven laughed and squealed. Colby was smiling and happy. Steve was relaxed. We supped on cold fried chicken, cheeses, fruits, breads, sweets and many drinks. I had a wonderful Saturday with my husband and children. How was your weekend?

Go ahead take a guess. I'll give you a hint - she stood just under 5 ft tall and her husband was 6'2". The answer is behind the cut.

When Colby was growing up she unfolded in front of me much like flipping the pages of a book. Neat and tidy. Conservative and conventional. Smart and wise beyond her years. Beautiful and so very nurturing. Searching and finding her way slowly, never in a rush to be finished with childhood. With my Gracie it is so VERY different. It is almost like I am watching her unfold her wings and stretch for the first time. She already knows who she is. She is just on the path of growing into that young woman. Monday we went down to the school house and she met her new teacher. Before going she primped and preened. She was dressing herself so that "the teacher can see my style and know who I am." Huh? Growing up much too fast - but very much with her own "fashion and style". Yesterday (Tuesday) as we ran errands, just her, me and Steven, she asked for a pair of shoes like converse all stars but not converse because she didn't want a brand name. "People might think we are rich or something and won't like me because they think I am snotty." Huh? Gracie is my gypsy. She wants her hair cut short but loves wearing it long tied with long scarves, beaded and flowing. She loves pop music. She loves Barbie. She loves fashion. This summer with my neice. Orlando Bloom tops the list of "hot guys". Huh? She loves jeans. Long and short. She would not be "caught dead in tie dye". Crocs "make me want to vomit." She is opinionated. She is wild. She is free. She loves her life. She tries so hard to enjoy every single minute of it. Yesterday was the first day of 3rd grade. Her wings spread just a little farther and I felt a pang in my chest as I looked at this girl who was leaving the 'little' part of little girl behind and turning into this young girl who was ready and willing to meet the world head-on. Ready to take on the world -not without me but with me standing a little farther behind her.
Her Target bag is full of black and white marble composition books.
She needed 6 for school this year. What are you teachers doing with them?

Setting: Kitchen, evening, getting supper on the table. I am standing at the stove making plates for everyone. Colby is at the table feeding Steven mashed potatoes because he can't wait when he smells food. Steve is wandering about the kitchen because he never takes his seat at the table until I do. Gracie is in the fridge getting out steak sauce and other things when she says, "I am trying to get the condoms for the table. You know, all those sauces and things we need to eat proper." Steve made a very good attempt at the transition to the word condiments by way of condo's but he was about to hyperventilate when he thought he might have to address the subject 'condoms'. He was quite red in the face and bit sweaty in a matter of just a few seconds. All I could do was laugh. Today is the first day of school for Gracie. We leave in a few minutes. I'll be back later to post a photo. First day in third grade.
She can't believe I brought the camera to school and not real impressed with me at the moment.

Yesterday started with lovely cards from all the children and my sweet husband. Remember, I vetoed gifts because I got myself the pink bike and I went on a shopping spree wherein I added 9 pieces to my wardrobe (all for under $107!!). After a long leisurely breakfast/brunch where the kids consumed as much sugary goodness as they might normally consume in a month we set out to do something I have been wanting to do for ages but have never taken the time. We went to Old Towne Fredericksburg. For over 2 years now I have been wanting to see one thing. And I did see it yesterday. Can you guess? I bet not. ;-) Mary Washington's House. We walked many blocks in old town, stopped in shops, and otherwise meandered our way through the afternoon taking in and seeing all there was to behold in historical content. Including the haunted stone warehouse at the river bridge on William St. The guy who rents the building from the city and has set up an exhibit of things they have found on the premises says he refuses to stay there after dark. He is seriously frightened to be there. For there be ghosts! The warehouse was used by the confederates to store the bodies of Yankee soldiers. Nearly 400 stacked up like kindling in that place. Not most people's idea of fun but, me, the War Between The States buff and writer of a nonfiction 1861 - 1865 book, it was my kind of thing. Next door to this place is an antique and rare book shop. Pardon me for asking but why would an antique book dealer who had really nice quality books be in a shop that is 100 yards from the river and said river has been known to flood the 2 and 4 storied building above the 3rd floors? My answer? Ummm, not all books are antique, rare or old. You know most antique places are really just junk shops. So --- ahem. Leaving old town we stopped in and each got a GIANT drink because dang was it hot and humid near the river yesterday! I believe had we seen a 7-11 we might have indulged in one of those double big gulps - you know, half a gallon of cola goodness. Instead we got gatoraide and icey's and a giant diet coke -and the baby had apple juice. By this time the kids were hot and tired and ready to move on so we headed back out toward our neck of the woods and along the way we stopped at Chancellorsville Battlefield. While the kids took in the 30 minute movie and Steve and Steven wandered through the exhibits I took the time to search through the small book store. I picked up each of the children a National Parks Passport. I have been wanting to do this for a while so they would have something to commemorate all the things we do and see. Steve decided we all needed one so we walked out of there with 6 passports all neatly stamped with their first stamp. I also picked up something I have been wanting to read and never would splurge on to purchase- The Children of Pride by Robert Manson Myers. The books can be found abridged and unabridged. (I highly suggest the unabridged editions.) Then we came home. Yesterday was also the last day of summer for us all. J. went back to her mother's and we will resume every other weekend visitation from now until next summer. Colby returns to her phlebotomy classes today. Gracie and I will go down to the school and meet her teacher later this morning and she start back to school on wednesday morning. And life goes on. I am wondering what I shall do with these days ahead of me. I am thinking of places I want to see and I just might take myself and little Steven on a weekly outing. Mayhaps we will find ourselves here in the days to come. Or here. Or there. Or maybe here. So many to choose from! What a shame to miss out on such great things less than 30 miles from doorstep in any direction! We should plan a weekend out with our children at one of these places! - When the weather is a wee bit cooler. Anyone?

Thank you all so very much for the birthday wishes. I was grinning from ear to ear when I sat down this morning and saw all of you who had stopped by yesterday! You all are just the best! :-) Oh. And photos yesterday? FORGOT. TO. BRING. THE. CAMERA.

... Angie's forty. I was born at 8:20am forty years ago today. My mother, age 19, pregnant with me.
My mother and baby me 1st day home.
My mother's first bundle of joy, 3 days old.
Thank you all so very much for the birthday wishes. The wishes have come from people who are near and people who are far and people who are even farther away. You all make me feel very special today.

If you have your wisdom teeth removed these are some things to have your mother make for you to eat for the next couple days. Make sure you tell her thank you. Roasted Potato Soup Tomato and Basil Bisque Broccoli and Cheddar Soup Tapioca pudding Chocolate pudding Jello Fruit and Yogurt Lots of icey cold drinks After eating these good things and realizing that you have to eat some things that need to be chewed so you can exercise your jaw you can then whine and be on the verge of tears about how mean and hateful your mother is.

I don't think I have shown you all my hollyhocks we grow out here in the country on the farm. This is the path out to the koi pond. Nice full leaves and loaded with blossoms -most of which are waiting to open. Hollyhocks are coming up everywhere. They are self seeding it seems. To give you a better idea of the size of my hollyhocks .... Steve is 6'2" -and these photos are a month old. By the end of summer I am sick of them and can't wait to cut the whole mess down. And we did. Last weekend. Colby is having 3 wisdom teeth out this morning. I'll be making jello, soup and mashed potatoes this weekend. Alot. Poor Colby.

We are now overflowing with seats. Seats for a baby. Seats and seat covers for a baby. Just to warn you this post is mostly about baby products and if you are not interested I suggest you scroll down and enjoy the pictures of the baby. I own all of these seats. I chose the Profile Travel System (Tahoe Print) by Baby Trend as our infant seat stroller of choice. I chose color based on what matched my Excursion. Steven chose the brand and model due to safety. Every other brand of stroller with baby seat if you grasp the front with baby seat attached the babyseat would tilt and the stroller would slam to the ground. Not this one. This stroller is heavy. It has rubber tires not plastic formed wheels. It is not as easy to fold and stow as it takes 2 hands and you can pinch your fingers if you arenot careful. I wouldn't trade it for any other stroller. It has served us very well. The baby seat also has the car seat base with latches that hook to the frame of your vehicle. This thing isn't going anywhere once you have it installed. I have never felt better about having my baby in a car. Roomy undercarriage for lots of shopping bags. Steven is now over 20lbs and 29 inches long. He is too big for the baby seat. We now have had to buy a bigger infant/toddler car seat that can be rear or forward facing. In Virginia a baby has to be 20 lbs AND 1 year old to ride forward facing. I have a Brittany Spears problem because my baby is too big for an infant seat and too small for the regular carseat. He is already too big for a rear facing seat at 6 months old. His feet push against the back seat. Time for a new seat. I have purchased the Triumph DLX Convertible Car Seat in Marimba Print by Evenflo as the new car seat for the next stage of growth of my baby boy. It has a cup holder! He will eventually out grow this seat and I will have to purchase yet another car seat to accomodate him but no expense is too much when you are talking about the safety and life of your child. I do not have a review of this carseat as we have not used it to be able to base our opinions an every day experiences. This seat was chosen for comfort, Consumer Reports rating (as good as ifnot better in some cases than the far more expensive Britax) and the fact that is it rear and forward facing and should contain my son safely for the next year or more. Next in our musiucal chairs line up is the Bumbo Seat. Who invented this thing? It is fabulous! NEVER WALK AWAY AND LEAVE YOUR BABY UNATTENDED!!!! DO YOU HEAR ME????!!!!! Once your baby is old enough to hold his head up without wobbling you can put him in this foam support seat and the baby will be able to sit upright keeping your hands free. It is perfect for those times when you really need to do a few things but the baby is crying to be held or to be near you. Folding laundry is easy as pie when you put this on the table top right beside you and put the baby in it. NEVER WALK AWAY AND LEAVE YOUR BABY UNATTENDED!!!! DO YOU HEAR ME????!!!!! The baby can sit on the countertop or tabletop or on the floor while you are doing immediate chores. NEVER WALK AWAY AND LEAVE YOUR BABY UNATTENDED!!!! DO YOU HEAR ME????!!!!! If you have a new baby or will be having a new baby put this on your list of items to have. You will be glad you did. We also have a floppy seat. Oh, the floppy seat! No more germy shopping carts! I get so grossed out when we go places and see the nasty shopping carts. I refuse to let Steven anywhere near one. Now that he is able to sit up on his own I purchased a floppy seat so I won't have to gag and cringe at the thought of putting my baby in a filthy shopping cart seat. Steven loves his Johnny Jump Up. The first few months of his life the Carter's Bouncy Seat was heaven sent. Nice soothing colors. As he got older and before he could sit up we used the bouncy seat in the upright position to feed him and to let him play. One thing about this seat though is the vibration does nothing to sooth a baby and the music makes you want to scream. They should continue to make this seat without those things. I chose this seat because I hate loud garish colors for baby things. Primary colors are great for toddlers but they overstimulate babies and no one needs an overstimulated baby. We have lots of other seats. The high chair is used from when J. was a baby and the grandparents had the seat at their house to use and they gave it to us. It is not attractive but perfectly functional. Steven sits in it just fine at meal times. The walker he is using to scoot all around the house is from when Gracie was a baby. It works just fine. No need to buy a new one. The bathtub ring is awesome! It is also from when Gracie was a baby. It is the FisherPrice stay n' play. I don't think they make these any longer. Hence why I saved mine. I was always hoping to have one more baby. Maybe one could be found on ebay if you want the retro baby goodies. (Yes, I am a saver of things. I even have Gracie's pack n' play. The original portable play pen. It is still in excellent condition.) Tapioca at bath time - yummmmm! There are things I wish I had never wasted money on. The biggest being the Circle of OverStimulation and Frustration. After about 10 minutes he is completely over wired by this thing. It is for ages 4 months and up. At 4 months he hated it -and still does. Two other seats we have ordered have not come yet. We chose a very inexpensive (yet safe!) standard rear bike seat for Steve's bike and for myself I got the european Bobike Mini seat so Steven can ride up front and I can keep an eye on him. Plus he can see where we are going and not my big old butt. Do we need this many seats? Heck no! But they sure make life a whole lot simpler and easy. BTW, my baby is not in a seat all of the time. Many days we use only 1 seat and maybe even no seats. Over time we have collected these things. The bouncy seat is now put away and not used. The bathtub ring will soon be retired as he can now sit on his own. Steven plays in the floor with his toys and he rolls over and flips on his tummy and gets mad when he can't sit back up but does a good job of struggling to try to sit up. Any day now I suspect he will be sitting up from his laying down position all on his own. When he sits up if he can get a grasp of a solid object he tries to pull himself up. I do wonder if he will be like Colby and walk at 7 months or more like Gracie and walking at 8 1/2 months. P.S. A baby bathtub is a big waste of money and does nothing but take up space. I learned that with Colby, tested it again with Gracie, and proved myself right with Steven. All my kids hated the exersaucer type things.

When I was a teenager at the ripe old age of 15 I went down to the local Armory where the Georgia State Patrol had a tiny office and took the written portion of the driver's test and got my learner's permit. During the school year I took a driver's ed class because I needed a class to fill a slot and I was really looking for a class I didn't have to do anything in that was remotely like real school work. Back in those days the gym coach(es) did the driver's ed and I can still spot one of those guys from a hundred paces. The following summer when I turned 16 I went down and took the driver's test and got my license. So all told I have been driving for the past 25 years. (That is -25 years after my birthday on Sunday.) When I drove a school bus the licensing was very similar to that of my 16 year old self. I had to drive a route, parallel park, back through cones, safely park on an incline, etc, etc. Long gone are those days. Imagine my surprise when we moved to Virginia to find that in order to get a driver's license you had to go to an accredited driver's school course AND be approved by the circuit court. It was such a pain in the ass of jumping through hoops for a person who was homeschooled we just sort of let it ride. Colby waited until she was 18 to get her learner's permit. It was far less of a hassel plus she was intimidated by the traffic up here. Driving in northern Virginia scared the beejesus out of her. This summer she called around and got herself into a driver's school. What a freakin headache that turned out to be. Several school's did not ever bother to call back. We called so many places it is unbelievable. Finally one guy called back. The guy was (and is) an arrogant, condescending asshole of gigantic proportions. He was (is) a loud mouth know it all. The minute I looked at him I told Colby I would bet just about anything he was or once was a high school gym coach who had to do driver's ed for the school as part of his contract. After three lessons, and I mean lessons from hell, lessons where he would not return a phone call for a week and a half even though he had our money. Lessons where he was supposed to pick her up and drop her off but always found a reason or a way to get someone to meet him at some place nearby. Lessons where he was rude and down right nasty. Lessons where other parents were VERY upset with his verbal bashing of their kids but what can you do when the only way to get your kid a driver's license in this state is to complete the driving school and have the certificate approved and filed in the county circuit court. Lessons that really where NOT lessons because he did not teach the kids how to drive he monitored their skills and they only got drive about 30 minutes for maybe 7 'lessons'. So anyway. Yesterday was Colby's lesson #3. He called me about 20 minutes into her driving and said "Colby is doing well. There is no need to continue on. Take her to the DMV and let her take the test. I think she will pass." He did not sign off of her license. He seemed to want to wash his hands of having to come out this far for another 4 lessons. I did not think she drove nearly well enough to get her license. But I took her to the DMV anyway. On the way there she told me he made a comment about before he opened his own driving school he was a high school gym coach who had to teach driver's ed as part of his contract. Ha! I knew it! She passed. (She didn't even have to parallel park!) I have NEVER in my life been more worried about my child than I am at this very moment. People get killed in car accidents every single day. I will have no control over what happens when she is driving alone. I do not want her to drive alone. I am scared shitless someone will hurt my child because people up here drive like insane maniacs. People cause accidents because they are overly aggressive. I am scared to death for my child to be on the highway driving alone in this mess called traffic. Anyone who lives up this way can vouch for the insanity that is Metro D.C./Northern Virginia traffic. I have never seen anything like this traffic in any other place I have ever visited -not even check-in day at OBX. I am going to need a prescription for valium to get me through this period in life where I have to let her go out on her own in car. Maybe 2 prescriptions. It is 2:17am. I am awake worrying about this right now. My head hurts. So does my chest.

Tend your orchard very well in the fall. Prune and apply insecticides to prepare for winter. In late February tend your trees once more. Feed them and if needed prune them after the winter weather. In spring the orchard will put on its best dress to show off for you.
In late spring your orchard will show signs of fruit. The fruit will grow and grow and grow all throughout the summer.
At the end of summer the fruits will begin to ripen. When you can smell fall in the air some of the fruits will ripen before the rest.
Send your husband out to pick some of the early ripened fruit with his handy dandy fruit picker.
Pick a small bucket full. Bring them in and wash them.
Peel and core the apples. I stopped at about 7 cups of sliced apples -just over a dozen apples.
Soak the apples in lemon juice or fruit fresh to keep them from turning brown.
Mix together in a large bowl: 1/4 cup flour 1/2 - 2/3 cup sugar 1/4 cup brown sugar 1 Tbsp cinnamon 1 dash of salt
Drain the apples from the lemon juice/fruit fresh water. Toss them in the dry ingredient mixture. Then pack them into a pie shell.
Dot the top of the apples with 2 - 3 tbsp of butter. (I do not use butter substitute or margarine. I use real butter.)
Cover pie with dough top. Brush with egg wash. Cut slits in the top of the pie to vent the steam while baking. I also sprinkle with coarse sugar to make it pretty. A note here about pie crusts: Unless you are hell bent on perfecting a homemade crust and have lots of time to learn to do so I suggest the deep dish frozen shells from the local grocer. There are so many to choose from and they are almost always fail proof. They come in packs of 2. Lay them out and let them begin to thaw while you prepare everything for the pie. Once the deep dish is filled use the 2nd crust from the package as the top crust. Ease it out of the tin, lay it over the pie and pinch the edges together. As good as from scratch and far quicker than making pastry dough.
Bake at 425 degrees for 40 - 50 minutes (maybe longer -depends on your oven). If the edges of the pie are browing to fast make a ring of foil and cover the edges.
Cool. Serve with vanilla ice cream or whipped cream.
Speaking of apples - Steven is the apple of all our eyes. *Start to finish this pie takes 6 - 8 months to complete. If you do not have an orchard and go out and procure some apples, your pie could take as little as 30 minutes to prepare and 40 - 50 minutes to bake. **P.S. This is the first time since Steven was born that I actually feel like myself. Imagine that. 9 months + 6 months = a very long time. ***P.P.S. They ate the whole pie. I'll bebaking another one today and one for Steve to take to work to share. Imagine a kid telling you that your pie is better than any pie Mrs. Smith's could bake. LOL

Next weekend I will officially be aged to 40 years. I bought myself a present. (I hate to be ungrateful but I do not enjoy birthday presents from other people because 99 times out of 100 the gift is not something I would choose for myself. I vetoed all presents this year and chose my own.) And to go with it I got Steven a baby helmet and a baby bike seat. Yes, you are seeing correctly. It is pink. And girly. And just for me.

- Steven is 6 months old. He weighs 19lbs 7oz and is 28 1/2 inches long. He has 2 teeth and is VERY verbal. He lets it be known he is around. Scrumptuousness!! - I donated my hair to Locks of Love. - Next week is a week of mostly dental appts. Gracie is having a baby tooth extracted before it causes harm to a permanent tooth. I have to have a crown. Colby is having 3 wisdom teeth out. Yayyy us?!? :-s - The following week is Back To School week. The kids are ready to get back to school and have time with friends. They are currently bored of reading, swimming, bike riding, movie watching and the like. - I am making a trip to Georgia at the beginning of September. My aunt will be home from Washington and I want to see her. This will be Steven's first trip to Georgia. I am hoping he will travel well. Colby is so excited to be going back home. Gracie is just happy she will be seeing my mother. - The heat has wrecked my pool chemical balance. - Fall is in the air. The leaves are beginning to drop from the trees. Some leaves are already turning. The nights are getting cooler. There is something in the air. I can smell it. Fall is close at hand. - The countertop for my island came in this week. I will have new photos of the kitchen soon. - I am at a brisk pace trying to get alot of small chores completed before the end of next week. - J. goes back to her mother's next weekend. Her six weeks with us will be over. She is ready to go back. Steve gets depressed about it but like I tell him every summer, she is ready to go home, she is excited and happy, he should be, too. The only reason to be depressed would be if he had to send her back crying and upset wanting to stay here, which is not the case. - The damsons are ripening! - Pumpkins and watermelons are growing. - I want to plant collards and turnips as well as other fall crops VERY soon. - I have had to close the comments on MANY past posts because of spam. I am sick of some of the disgusting things that get spam linked! Who are these sickos?

I forget how many days in a row it has been 100 degrees or higher here. It is sinfully hot and miserable. The pool temp is hovering somewhere around the 90 degree mark. It is so hot and humid if the laudry isn't removed from the washer almost immediately it turns sour before it gets dry. Yuck. It is just plain hot. Want to know how hot is hot? We were doing yardwork at 7:30 am. By 9am we were in the pool trying to cool down. It is that hot. I also have done something and I don't know why. I cut my hair. I cut 12 inches off the length of my hair. My hair is still long and hits me around my shoulder blades. When it is dry it curls up and looks about 5 inches shorter. It feels strange. My hair hasn't been this short since sometimes around 1997 or 1998 just after Gracie was born. I blame my lapse in judgement on the heat. Or maybe the grabbie hands that is always snatching hunks of it out. Do you know how many little details there are in a kitchen makeover/renovation? Today I plan to paint the stove pipe to the wood stove that heats the kitchen in winter and to also 'massage' stove black into the stove to prevent rust on the cast iron. What a messy job it will be. Everyone will be back in school starting the week of Aug. 21st. I am trying to get all of my little projects finished by then because I won't have much help with keeping the baby entertained. Thank you all for being patient with me. I promise I will be around to vist very very soon.