....And Wiser? We Can Only Hope.

Hello. I have gained another year. I'm not sure what comments I should make regarding aging, or birthdays, or life wisdom. I am nearly certain that not much has changed in my observation power. However, from now until my memory fails me, I am equipped with, "Oh, yes. I know what it is to be 31...." (You will note that having only been 32 for a day, I don't really list it among my achievements.)

Just sort of as a mental Checking In, I will declare the following:

I still believe that people should be considerate. They should consider the needs and preferences of the people they encounter, and they should also spare some considerate thoughts and deeds for the other plants and animals who share this planet with us (it really wasn't their choice, you know).

I still think that students should be required to actually learn (which includes retaining what information they have previously covered), not just get the right results for their schools on standardized tests. I also believe that Universities allow pretty much anyone to attend. How then, does an "education" indicate someone with specialized knowledge these days?

I still think that the United States of America is in need of a cultural revolution that takes us away from our tolerance of things that are not healthy. I'm working on the details.

I still think that at some point a person is responsible for his/her own actions, regardless of the quality of his/her upbringing. I still think that age is about 14.

I still think that the scariest thing on Earth is the other people in it, but I would rather be victimized by the evil of man than take on qualities of those who survive at the expense of others.

I still think that you should follow the rule or change the rule, not break the rule.

I still think that Welfare as it is only rewards the lazy and the selfish. But you have already heard my genius plan for solving that problem.

I still think that what passes on the tv as "appropriate for all audiences" is horrifying. Especially the commercials.

I still think that exposure to the flaws or sometimes crimes of mankind through the various media, we have been conditioned to think that flaws and crimes are unavoidable, necessary even. When the shocking fails to shock us, is it normal, then? I should hope not. We concentrate so hard on being appealing, but no one concentrates anymore on being worthy. I have a strong desire to go live on a farm in a far away country some days.

Well, I seem to be pretty much the same as last year. Except now I have waged mental war against school fund raisers, and can add that to my list. I do not believe that kindergartners should be asked to sell anything, unless they made it. It's INSANE what they ask those kids to do, and unless my kids have aspirations to grow up to be lobbyists, these fund raisers are teaching them nothing of value, and plenty of things I don't agree with. For instance: Let's learn to push our responsibilities off on someone else, by sending order forms with Mom and Dad to work. They will pressure their friends and co-workers into buying stuff they don't remotely want in order to maintain a pleasant environment, and the school will reward me for it. And that's only the beginning!

But I digress...

You want to hear about the festival last weekend, don't you? We went to Gran's on Friday, and spent the night. It's a good thing I packed the warm clothes, it was very cold! The kids rode ponies and we had apple cider and Nanny even found chocolate-dipped fruit on a stick! Whoever decided that this was good fair food deserves to be richly rewarded. Yum.

There was a parade, and if I hadn't been freezing and on my knees in a street, I would say that it was a great parade. As it was, I still had fun. The kids caught lots of candy, and the Shriners were great, as usual. The Clowns for Jesus, were, admittedly, a little much, but were very nice. And there were lots of tractors and some horses and bands and dance teams and politicians and the Knights of Columbus. Good parade.

I had a brisket sandwich for lunch and it was so good. I love brisket. Love it. As the day wore on, the weather became very funny, although not so much convenient: anytime the sun was out, it was quite warm, and we would all peel off our layers, but as soon as the clouds came back, it was cold to the point of my needing both hat and gloves! (Okay, actually they were mittens.)

Gran got me a pack of soup mix for a Hash brown Soup. You buy the cubed hash browns and and them to a pot with the soup mix and Velveeta cheese, and you end up with a pot full of yummy comfort food. I can't wait for the next frost. I'm going to try it out. For herself, she grabbed a roasted ear of corn, dipped in melted butter. I heartily approve of that, as well. We also bought apple pies. One large crumb crust, one small (which got eaten in Versailles), and one small regular crust. I gave the small one to my mom, and we've been eating the large. It's very meg-y and fragrant. I told Gran that if I had been making a pie, I would have been going for something completely different, but it was, in fact, a delicious pie! Love it! The hypothetical pie I was making would have probably been inferior. I gave the kids two dollars each to spend as they chose, as well. Naturally, since it was a fall festival, they ended up both getting inflatable purple alien toys. Why not? Abbie very nearly got her face painted instead, but she says she will do that next time, maybe.

After the parade, Gran took us to B&B's for ice cream. Grant got a chocolate shake, and Abbie got an ice cream cone, and then dumped it in her lap. We helped Gran fix one of her wind chimes, and set the table for fall, and change the sheets... I actually wish I had been able to do more, but she declined help with most things. For lunch on Sunday I made the vegetables. We heated up some small sweet peas in butter, and then I sauteed some green beans and onion. That one was a particularly big hit. I gave Nanny the banana nut muffins I had made.

We stayed as late as we could on Sunday, giving Josh time to sleep in. Then, the long drive home. I didn't actually sleep too well at Gran's. Shh! The kids slept most of the way home, so that's good. It turns out that Josh was awake watching the football game, though, so the second we got home, he declared that he was now going to go to bed. Hmm. I made dinner and bathed the kids and unpacked. My grandmother really did give me all her Agatha Christie books. We counted them, and there were over 70 of them. She has already borrowed one back. Isn't she funny?

Monday was dance class, Tuesday was taiko. It is so cold in that room!!!! I got a new blister and I hit my left pinkie finger, but the good news is that I can play Tenchi now! Well, I could muddle through it, anyway. Fun practice. Wednesday, my mommy came to take us all to Olive Garden. She had to leave right after dinner, but it was still so nice to see her!!! (I sent here off with that pie and some school pictures of Grant, at least!) She brought me some presents, and Josh got me my first iPod! I feel so grown-up! Then, later that night, he we had a huge fight that started because he didn't believe me that iTunes set up required credit card info. I told him, "Go look for yourself." He interpreted that as, "Hey, why don't you close the window that I've been working in for an hour so I can start over again."

Are all husbands like that? Just curious.

Well, all is fine now. Had good taiko on Thursday, although I don't really like leaving early. Fortunately, I-70 wasn't one lane like it was on Tuesday. That would have made Josh late for work!

Today, I am doing as little as possible. It's my one day of nothing. Tomorrow we are picking apples (So excited!!! Already recipe shopping!) and Sunday after I'm done with beginner taiko we are going to visit our friend Chris, who has been off the radar lately. I don't know how I'm going to get out of bed on Monday morning!!! I bet I'll be babysitting at some point, too. Eeep!

Wishing you a wonderful and fun weekend. I hope today is just as you would have it.