Sparkling

As I mentioned earlier, our house is officially for sale now. You can find the MLS listing for it here.

I have spent the last few days making it look like no one lives here. At this very moment, my house is cleaner than it has ever been. Sparkling, I dare say. The floors are clean enough to eat from (I just tested them out) and there is not a crumb or dust bunny to be found. The photos and art are off the walls, fresh paint to repair their nail-holes. The windows are spotless, and my kitchen sink is gleaming.

I'd take a photo to prove all this, but I don't know where the camera is. I'm pretty sure it's in one of the boxes that I filled in a rush. I did a very bad thing: As people were coming to walk through the house, I literally swept my arm across the kitchen counter and just shoved everything on it into a box, and stashed it away. The kitchen is now clutter-free, but I have no idea where a bunch of stuff ended up.

So, we are showing the house a few more times in the next couple of days. I really hope it sells soon (hope I'm not jinxing it!) if for no other reason than the fact that I can't live this way very long. Tonight at dinner I was a little obsessed about the crumbs that the kids were dropping from the table or off their laps.

We'll keep you appraised of the situation as it unfolds.

Meanwhile, where is that camera?

What's up

Nothing big to report here.

There is a volcano erupting in our backyard.

My husband has pneumonia.

Our house is officially "on the market."

You know, the usual. What's going on in your neck of the woods?

Scandal, Revealed

As a part of my small hobby/business, I have somehow become a sign maker for a few of the merchants in downtown Palmer.

For those readers who have not had the pleasure of wandering through our little village, you should know that P-Town (as we hip locals occasionally call it) is known for being a farm town with down-home values. As opposed to our fast and easy cousin, Wasilla, we are a town that takes life one day at a time, with an eye toward the weather, keeping track of the crops in the fields through the summer and the snow on Pioneer Peak year round.

Anyway, one of the largest buildings in Palmer is on the main drag. At one point, it housed such various offices as the USDA meat inspection division, and the Fish and Game satellite.

Now, it's been all gussied up, and is home to a few upscale merchants.Among them, a shop for women, named Dressed By Celeste. I was hired to create exterior signage for Dressed By Celeste, to alert their clientele to their wares.

As I spent last Saturday afternoon perched atop an icy ladder, in the famous Palmer wind, fighting with the large and sticky vinyl, I was suddenly laughing out loud.

Here I stood, freezing in the falling snow, putting up letters for all the public to read, and among them is the word:

BRAS.

As in, Custom Fitted Bras.

For some reason this struck me as hilarious: My sleepy little hometown, a place with nowhere (save a small selection at the local grocery store) to purchase underwear for any members of any family, would suddenly have a large and obvious statement to the masses:

Buy Your Bras (Bras!) Here!

I remain a wee bit apprehensive that this will offend some member of our community, and the resulting scandal will force Celeste (she of the "Dressed By" fame) to rethink her advertising strategy. My only consolation is that if the occasion arises that requires me to edit and remove the offending lettering, there is little chance the weather will be as extremely cold as it was when I was installing the thing.

So, there's the story of the scandal.

Or potential scandal.

I hope you find it was worth the wait.

SCANDAL

Want to know about a SCANDAL I'm involved in?

I'll post a photo and story about it tomorrow or the next day. Check back then.

Don't get too excited, though. This is Palmer, after all, and SCANDALS are usually pretty small-scale.

Still.

Smokin' Hot *REVISED*

Chris was at early morning meetings on Sunday, so my job was to get the kids up and ready for church. Casey (like her mother) is notoriously slow to awaken and arise, so I had everyone else dressed and fed before Casey stirred. When I finally went in to pull Casey out of bed, she squeaked from her pillow that "Mom! I'm so hot, I can't move!" She was, indeed, found to have a fever of 103.1. Medicine, cool water, and a trip to the doctor for a Strep Test, plus a long, sleepy day, and she is a bit better.

Brian called out this morning at about 4:00 AM: "Mom! I'm too hot!" and was found to be boiling in his own way. 102 degrees, this time. While I was cooling him off with a cold washcloth and soothing words, I let him know that our local volcano (Mt. Redoubt) had just erupted.

As Brian had been tracking the volcano progress for some time now, this news was a bit exciting, even in his stupor.

He turned his fever-glassed eyes to me and said "Does that mean we don't have to go to school tomorrow?"

Aw, little guy. While you are so excited about the possibility of ash-fall cancelling classes, the reality is that boys with fevers stay home, ash or no ash.

I was able to be the awesome Mom and tell him with a surety: "You will not be going to school tomorrow."

We are off to doctor's appointments, hopefully will find some answers there. I hope you are all having good days!

**REVISED**
So, the reports came back: Strep for both of the big kids. After a stop at the store for prescriptions, jell-o, juice, and a new DVD, we were on our way home for a cozy day on the couch at home. So thankful for insurance: The prescriptions were each $140, although we only had to pay $10 each for them. Yikes!

Pinewood Derby

Brian finally got to participate in the Pinewood Derby.

He's been building cars every year for the past few years, just because he wanted to. Now, he finally got to participate in the real race as an actual Scout. Chris and Grandpa gave him some pointers and helped him with the more dangerous tools, but he designed the car and did most of the building himself.

Here's Brian and the "Pit Crew" waiting for the races to begin.

The Photo Finish... Brian's is the blue car in lane 1. You can tell that he's just barely beat the car in lane 2. That car went on to win first place, so we know Brian's car was fast!

Bri got 3rd place and is looking forward to racing again at the District competition. I am happy that he is happy. :)

Growing

Because I love reading, I love finding my kids reading. I snapped this photo of Brian finishing "Fantastic Mr. Fox" on Saturday night. Looking at the picture later, I was taken by how big his feet are getting.

Winter Survival

When you live in Alaska, knowing your way around the outdoors in winter is part of survival. This past week, the Second Graders at Brian's school headed up to Hatcher Pass to practice some of their newly-acquired winter survival skills. They had already built emergency kits, so they had these metal cans (containers for the kits) on hand to dig snow shelters in the deep snow. The kids were exhausted by the time they were done with these deep holes. They somehow found energy enough to try out cross-country skiing.

Also, the garbage bags in the emergency kits were useful as sleds.

Needless to say, Brian came home from school that day exhausted. The day was a success, though, as Brian said,

"That was the best day of school ever, Mom!"

This video is of Brian shooting down the sledding hill. His teacher is the one giving him the "starting shove" at the top.

Casey the Photographer

Casey took a series of snapshots around the house the other day. I didn't know she had, until I downloaded the memory card. This is some of what I found:
Photographer self-portrait, in the mirror.

Stuffed hampster on the kitchen table.

Wind-up chick, enclosed in a glass and metal lantern/cage thing.

Practicing new fingering for piano lessons later in the week.

Book Club

Casey's reading group has been functioning as a "Book Club" this year. Her classroom teacher has her hands busy with a crazy-full class, so a few parents and I got together to facilitate this group as an enrichment option for some of the top readers. So far they've read "Sarah, Plain and Tall" and "Freckle Juice."




Anyway, to celebrate the end of one book, we went off-campus to a local ice cream shop. It was a wonderfully sunny day, and the kids were all in good moods. It's still winter here, but the promise of Spring is just around the corner. Gotta love the sunlight streaming in through those windows!

Casey's Dance

Casey's first-grade class performed a concert and dance the other day. It began at 2:30, so Chris and Grandma Clawson were able to attend this one with Abby and me.

This clip features Casey and her dance partner at the head of the reel.

Apparently Casey likes to dance fast, fast, fast.

Just thought you'd like to take a look at our Twinkle Toes.