Award Nomination

I would like to nominate Reagan and Jake Breinholt for hostess/host of the year 2008. For the past 5 weekends they have entertained company in their apartment there in NYC, and done a fabulous job. One of the top draws there is the quick trip to Westchester to see the fabulous and incredible Piper. She is doing so well, it's amazing. I think she's soaking in all the love and attention from her parents and others who visit her and take care of her. Plus she's just a little bit plucky! (Okay, a lot plucky!) She is drawing from wells of courage and determination and is doing whatever her little body allows her to do. Whenever her parents walk into the room, she whips her head around, makes eye contact, and starts her little voice noises to give the report of what's been happening in her life. She loves being read to, and hates to have her nose wiped. She allows us all to try hats or socks on her or change her outfits, but she is very quick to grab the intrusive hand and quickly pulls it front and center to examine it and try to see we are doing to her. The hardest part about the visit is leaving, which is sad, wondering when we will be there next.
The other part of the visit was to see a Vincent Van Gogh exhibit at the MOMA there in NYC. (In the above picture you will see Piper reminding us to go see Starry Starry Night) Mimi was able to cross something off her "things to do before i die" list after our visit and admiration of Starry Night in person. The exhibit had about 40+ pics by Van Gogh and it was really awesome. I loved it. The Potato Eaters was featured, too.We saw someother displays there, too, including a few Andy Warhol pieces--his famous Marilyn Monroe and also the soup cans. Another exhibit was very awful (artist? unknown)--it was a room full of murdered stuffed animals, or so it appeared, all their stuffing was spread across the floor and mirrors were propped up throughout the carnage. I started getting anxiety and left. It could have been dryer lint, I don't know.
But if you ever need a traveling partner, choose Mimi. She is easy going but knows how to make a decision, has great ideas, and doesn't complain about sleeping with someone who snores intermittently. But watch out for her quick fingers on the airplane--she will create a music playlist for you that you may or may not like before you even find your glasses to read the screen!

What a day Dad had

from Dr. Seuss: "Dad is sad, very very sad. He had a bad day, what a day Dad had."
Wally started out his day flying, which was good, and got into the groove of hanging out with the guys from his old work. They decided to have lunch, and sat down together at the Jasmine, when the phone rang, and Alex said, "Wally, where are you?" He had forgotten his assignment downtown, and he left in a panic, unprepared (no badge, improper dress) for the tabernacle. Around 3:00 things were winding up there, and he got another call, this one from Laura, scolding him for not being home when she got there, and where was he?, etc. He headed for home, feeling a little out of sorts because of his error, and ending up breaking his 40 year status of no speeding ticket. By the time he got home, he was a little on the down side, and to make an end to a not-so-perfect day, he got a call from our Realtor in Alaska telling him that the pending sale of our house fell through.

Apple Peeler demo by Kelton

When is a happy face sad?

I used up the last of the salsa and got ready to chuck this container in the garbage when i noticed the little happy face on it. Some good memories came flooding back--Pete was the one who put the face on it with marker of course. I started thinking about the time this summer when we had people here and when we got to see most of our family (minus Piper ;( ) and then I began to contemplate some other things.
I have a very full life with lots going on, many worthwhile, stimulating projects, some stuff that's just fun, etc. and as I did a mental evaluation, i realized that all the things i do now pale in comparison to what my life was when i was raising children. Granted, i am still raising a child, who will always be a child, but this one left really just needs a maintainence officer and director.
Interesting. I also thought about when my mom left-- she was 54, and next year I'm there, too. I wonder how much longer I'll be hanging out and taking up space on this planet. If i do even half the work my mom did I will probably have done enough.