Cinco de Mayo! Big deal. What is a big deal is the rising temperatures and the huge amount of stuff going on this week. Second weeks are always crazy, but this one takes the cake! Just thinking about it all makes me tired and gives me a headache.
I don't think the heat is helping. Upon retrieving Jonathan from the airport today, the banks' thermometers were reading 104-106. The a/c is on, the fans are on, but it's a struggle.
And the poor bunnies are so hot, sprawled in their cages, panting. However, I had the foresight to freeze water bottles for just this occasion. They don't sit right on top of them, but with the fan blowing and the icy bottles, it keeps them a little more comfortable. Keeping them watered is so important, too, as they dehydrate easily.
Ken & I were supposed to go out tonight to Wal-mart (so romantic) to get Jonathan's birthday taken care of. But, while I was away at water aerobics, he fell asleep on the sofa. (Question: Why wasn't he in his recliner? That is it's purpose.) He works so hard and I don't have the heart to wake him up. He slept until about 8:00, after which he went straight to bed. I can figure out the birthday; Ken needs the rest.
Tuesday, May 6, 2014
The heat continues, but I can't let it slow me down. For one, I have to make sugar cookie dough, chill it, and then bake it into stars for tomorrow's Talent Show with the Activity Day girls. Being in charge of refreshments, Analiese voluntold me I needed to make them!
On top of that, I have been busy putting together a resume and a Creative Writing curriculum. Why? Because WOSC, the local college, is having a Kids' College this summer and they need classes and instructors. I felt drawn to it...I like to teach...I like to write...I work well with kids. I talked to the gentleman in charge last week some about it and have spent the last couple of days working on my proposal. It's not easy, and I don't have a lots of time since the program starts in June. It's been a long time since I was in the work force, so I've had to go back and do some digging. Still, I hope they accept my proposal, because I think it could be fun!
Wednesday, May 7, 2014
Besides morning lessons, I am frosting cookies this morning. I need the icing to set before this evening. I have a great recipe that I used a couple of years ago so that I could sent cookies to Ken in the mail. They don't get all mushed up that way...and still taste good. The icing was colored yellow and then Analiese sprayed them with a gold food coloring so they glittered. They were cute (and tasty - I added a little lemon flavoring to them).
The afternoon was mainly about getting Analiese ready for the Talent Show. She had to assemble her materials and make last minute adjustments to her costume. We had dinner in a rush and off we went to the church.
The Talent Show was sponsored by the Activity Day girls, but the Young Men & Women were invited to participate. It wasn't very long, barely an hour, but was full of fun. The Young Men did a couple of skits (loosely based on Studio C), some kids played instruments or sang, and the Activity Day Girls wrote an unusual (but cute) skit about Un-super heroes. Analiese dressed up as "Spider-Bunny" a cross between a rabbit and Spiderman. She had me paint her face like a rabbit and had rabbit ears and a tail over a Spiderman costume. They were cute.
But the unusual talent that really stole the show was Analiese. She decided to take Alice and show everyone what Rabbit Showmanship was. After the show was over, we were bombarded with rabbit questions...and all the little kids wanted to hold or pet Alice. I can imagine that several children went home that night to bug their parents about getting a rabbit! Luckily, Alice is a very patient, even-tempered rabbit and was good with all the attention. Our other rabbits wouldn't have been quite so nice!
Thursday, May 8, 2014
We had a thunderstorm last night (the crashing and flashing woke me at 3 in the morning), which dropped about .5 inches of rain on us. Hoorah!
It meant everything was damp and green; you could almost hear the collective sighs of relief from the plants. I went out in the cool morning to do a little weeding. How can you wonder why I like gardening so much when the scent of honeysuckle wraps around me and a dove coos in the tree above?
Ken took a half day today and a full day tomorrow (he needs it). He went with me to one of my Visiting Teacher's home to help her pack up to move back to Indiana. She has asthma and for some reason Oklahoma does not agree with her. She's been very ill and can hardly speak. Poor dear, I hope she gets better rapidly!
Friday, May 9, 2014
Today we have been in Oklahoma for a year. Not all of the foreign-ness has worn off and I can still get lost, even in town, but it is starting to feel comfortable. I have a better idea of how life goes around here.
Water aerobics tonight was a hoot, as usual. I don't just go for the exercise; it's a place for gossip, advice, and lots of laughs!
For example, one gal, Donna, is helping me figure out places to take my family. She has been telling me about this place, Sulphur, which is about an hour and a half away and has springs and rocks to play on. Her kids have always loved it. Anyway, she tells me, "While you're up there, don't forget to get some fried pies." Me: "Fried pies? Is there anything you don't fry here in Oklahoma?" And they all laughed at that. But it's true. They fry EVERYTHING here.
I baked Jonathan's birthday cake tonight. He decided on a cake recipe I'd found on Pinterest: blueberry lemon cake with cream cheese frosting. The recipe makes a three-layer cake, but I put it in a 9x13 pan, since I'm serving it tomorrow and the elders will be here. Much easier to cut up that way!
Saturday, May 10, 2014
I woke up this morning as Ken walked into the bedroom after his Wal-Mart shift. He wanted to take me out to an early Mother's Day breakfast. We went to a local place - Araceli's - where he had hot cakes and I had a Belgian waffle. It was okay - no IHOP - and I was stuffed. Ken was decidedly unimpressed.
Garden club was today and, as I'd forgotten to go last month, very enjoyable. But the best part was the field trip following; we went to see Barbara's garden! Barbara is the head of the Garden Club and our super garden Sensai Guru Master. No, really. If they ever teach a master gardening class at the extension office, it will be her that teaches it.
I was in Seventh Heaven. She has a small farm, but it's her fascinating vegetable garden that awed me. She grows her veggies in old horse watering troughs. She also has a stock pond (very small) with fish and turtles in it and a visiting Canadian goose; two Purple Martin houses, complete with purple martins; and a huge chicken coop for her twenty (more?) chickens. Plus, she has several pecan trees and has really mentored me on how to care for mine. In fact, one of her trees is a transplant from a sapling on my street...maybe even a child of my tree! Goodness knows, I'm always pulling up starts out of my boxes!
That extra field trip put me behind time and I had to rush home to make lasagna (Jonathan's choice) and frost the cake. I did manage to get everything done in time for the elders to come, but I had to hustle! Still, the birthday boy was happy...with two huge helpings of lasagna and a good size piece of cake (which, by the way, turned out spectacularly!).
Sunday, May 11, 2014
I woke up this morning to a breakfast my daughter had made for me: toast, scrambled eggs, and orange juice. She was very proud of having done the whole thing herself. Also, the table had my gifts on it...two pots the kids had decorated for me and flower packet seeds. Analiese was eager to help me figure out where I could plant them, especially the morning glories. There's a small piece of chainlink fence between our house and the neighbors and, as chainlink always is, it's unsightly. So, it's a good idea.
Church was nice and the talks on Mothers Day very touching. I ended up picking up Enriqueta Cruz for church and helping interpret. Actually, she understands a good bit of English. So, I only had to do a little guiding and show her in the Spanish manual on my iPad where we were in our RS lesson.
Oh! I need to tell you about one of the talks in Sacrament meeting. This sister, speaking of her mother, told us her mother's story about becoming a mom. At 13 years of age, she was basically traded by her father to a 30-year-old man as his wife for a pick-up! He was a widower with an eight-year-old son and needed a wife. Her dad lied to the judge about her age, saying she was sixteen. She gave him five more children, divorced him, remarried, and had two more kids. Wild!
The rest of my Sunday was peaceful, with an hour-long Skype to my folks in CA. We miss them, but technology makes the world just a little smaller. It's hard to believe you aren't right there with them. Though, as my kids would tell you, they know it's not nearby because they don't have access to Grandma's cooking. Hey! I'm a good cook, too!
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