The Big Island

A few posts ago, I talked about how much I love Maui. It's my favorite place in the world. I would go and live there in a minute if I could. But I also like the Big Island of Hawaii. It's very different from Maui... rather dramatic looking, with all the lava on the landscape. Here are some photos from the Big Island. If you click on the last photo to enlarge it, you get a sense of how the car is dwarfed by the giant cloud.

California Dreamin'

I have spent most of my life living in the midwest... Rust Belt, Bible Belt... all the "belts". I have survived too many "Great Lakes snow events" while living in Chicago and Cleveland. I have survived tornadoes and hail storms. I have survived steamy, hot, humid summers in river valleys. It seems that every time there was a big blob of bad weather on the weather map, it was right over the midwest. I am ready for a change!

We spent sixteen years in Philadelphia. Believe it or not, the summers were not as hot, and the winters were not as cold (for the most part). There weren't many tornadoes. There was no remnant of "Appalachia" there. I had friends who read the New York Times. I felt at home there. I would like to move back, but our families are mostly here.

My husband has relatives in two places: Michigan and California. He has always wanted to move back to Michigan, but I don't want to be anywhere near the Great Lakes. Yes, they are nice in the summer, but the winters are brutal. I never liked the idea of Florida (too hot and too many bugs, I hear) and I wouldn't like to live in the desert because I love trees.

We go to California several times a year to visit his family there. Usually, we go to northern California: San Francisco, Napa Valley, Sonoma, Palo Alto, Sunnyvale. This summer we went to southern California. Husband's nephew was getting married on a beach in Malibu. We stayed in Santa Monica, then spent some time in Santa Barbara. I am posting some photos from this trip. I have fallen in love with California. I know, I know, real estate there is more expensive than anywhere else in the country. (Except Hawaii, and I love it even more!) Both California and Hawaii seem like other worlds to me. They are nothing like the midwest. They have flowers year round. Citrus grows on trees, not grocery shelves. People don't own snow boots or winter parkas. I love it!

The Gloves are Off!

From the newspaper this morning:

"The gloves are off!"

"Get ready for a wild October!"

"Buckle up for a wild ride until Election Day!"

"Watch for October surprise!"

That's it for me. I can't take any more. It's too upsetting. I have the feeling that we are going to see the "Swift Boats" of 2008. My television is staying off until Election Day!

I will go and vote on November 4th, but until then no more politics for me!

A New Day

Do you ever have a morning when you wake up and look around you, and feel a need to change? That happened to me this morning. I have been so preoccupied with financial news and politics recently that I have neglected living my day-to-day life. There are books to take to the used book store, clothes to give to charity or consignment, and just mountains of "stuff" to get out of the house. I have been hearing about how clutter in your life holds you back, makes you feel suffocated and uneasy. I feel that way every day.

I am going to start today. I've had my coffee. I've read the newspaper. I have posted this blog. Now I am going to tackle the clutter. Today's photo is a double rainbow that appeared near our house last spring. I was looking for inspiration to get going, and for some reason a double rainbow fits the bill.

Never Discuss Politics or Religion

As stated above, I tend not to discuss these outside my own home. (Inside my home is a different matter... my husband has endured many of my rants.) You see, I am surrounded by people who disagree with me, many of them in my own family. I am not going to change their minds, and they are not going to change mine, so why cause hard feelings?

My mother and step-dad went to the McCain rally in Dayton, when he announced Palin as his V.P. pick. They came away very excited. They loved her... said she was "a breath of fresh air". Another family member (who lives in Ohio) told us that it doesn't matter how we vote, because Kentucky is already in McCain's pocket. This still won't stop me from voting for Obama... maybe a miracle could happen in Kentucky.

I doubt that we who support Obama will see Kentucky go our way, though. I do see an occasional Obama bumper sticker around here, but I'm pretty sure most people in these parts do not agree with my way of thinking. After all, this is the home of the Creation Museum, which exhibits man coexisting with dinosaurs. Sarah Palin would approve.

I'm not going to go into a rant here, but I need to express a few things:
1) I am still angry about the "Swift Boat" thing
2) I can't believe there are people who voted for George Bush twice
3) I thought Sarah Palin was "snarky" in the debate last night, and wish Biden had challenged her more

According to John McCain, his and Palin's critics are those who "attend cocktail parties in Georgetown". That's not true. I have never been to a cocktail party in Georgetown.

Stone Steps along Forbidden Drive

I couldn't resist, one more photo from Fairmount Park in Philadelphia.... doesn't it look like a scene from Middle Earth?

Happy October, everyone!

Tuesdays with Nieces

My sister works on Tuesdays, so that's my day with my three nieces. They are seven, nine, and eleven now. In the summer I have them all day. During the school year, I pick them up at school, take them to eat, go to their house to do homework, then off to gymnastics at 5:30. I've been doing this for three years now. So when I started, they were four, six, and eight. At that age, they always wanted to stop at McDonald's for "Happy Meals". I think it was more for the toys than for the food! (Smart, McDonald's!) According to Mommy's rules, they could have chicken nuggets, but they had to have apple dippers and milk, instead of fries and soda. Of course, they always tried to talk me into breaking the rules and ordering fries and soda. The younger one would argue... "but Daddy lets us have fries and soda". The older one was the stickler for rules... "but Mommy said... "

The middle child has an aversion to fruits and vegetables. We soon discovered that she would eat the chicken nuggets but leave the unopened apple dippers in her little backseat trash bag. So, the rule became to withhold her chicken nuggets until she had eaten the apples. Big sister never failed to remind me of the rule... still, she checked her sister's box before passing it back to her... "big sister, the rule enforcer"! Also, big sister always checked the expiration date on the apples. If it was one day past, we would have to go back and exchange them for fresh ones. (That only happened once, McDonald's!)

Big sister outgrew Happy Meals last year. We had to order her "adult food". But she still wanted to know what the toy was... if it was good enough, she might want it! This year, I had three of them having three different opinions on where to eat after school. Of course, they never agreed. I had a brilliant idea (if I do say so myself!). I had them draw numbers out of a bag... number one got to pick where we went that very day... number two next week, and number three the week after that... and the same rotation every subsequent week. They loved that idea! No complaints at all! It seems kids like things to be spelled out in a clear, definitive way.

That's just one issue that we have faced together. We have also dealt with cleaning up toys, picking up clothes, eating snacks, doing homework, watching television, shopping, and fighting. Of course, all of you who are moms have dealt with these issues all along. I have never had a child before... I am learning on the job!