Unexpected Things & More

So. Much. Going. On.

Unexpected things. 

Things that are changing my routine and causing yesterday's "Gone riding" post.

And so on.

Wednesday I had a follow up appointment for my bilateral sacroiliac joint injection. After showing me a model of the human spine (complete with rubber nerves...), I was told that the leg weakness and the week long terrible headache I'd had post-procedure had not been caused by the injection - the (rubber) nerve pathways showed me why.

So what caused that reaction I'd had? She didn't know. I have had a lot of leg weakness and I do get a lot of migraines. But the weakness this time happened while I was on the table - I'd felt the flush of weakness travel down my legs. And the headache, while really bad, wasn't a migraine.

Another mystery that she and several other specialists are trying to figure out.

But she did recommend that I get a tens machine and try that to help another spot higher up on my spine that has become painful. She showed me several models that she felt would be helpful, and mine arrives tomorrow.

Yesterday, I had an early morning physical therapy assessment. When you walk into the treatment room and you know six, SIX of the physical therapists because they've worked with you before, you know you've had a lot of physical therapy. And have I ever. 

That appointment was so early that I had no time to write and I knew I'd also be getting home too late to write due to other things I needed to do. So, I posted a new "Gone riding" photo, one I think better reflects where I am in my life in a couple of ways. (Did you notice she has grey hair?? Me, too!)

I was only home for an hour after PT when I hopped back in the car and met Curt in downtown Lafayette for lunch - his Mother's Day gift to me.

Sometimes I order appetizers as my meal; Curt did the same and then added a salad and soup. Needless to say, we both took home "dinner" in boxes.

Such a great gift and we chatted for over an hour. In a big family, one on one time to just talk can be in short supply. He and I plan to begin meeting for lunch more often so we can talk again.

I wasn't the only one having a medical appointment. Nashie had to go under anesthesia to have two broken teeth checked and then get his nails trimmed.

He was SO mellow when Craig picked him up and he immediately lumbered onto the couch and was out like a light.

Tammo was so disappointed. He wanted to play but Nash needed to sleep off the anesthesia.

Finally Tammo clambered up onto the couch next to his buddy and napped, too. (Same with Pepper.)

After my doctor's appointment, I stopped by the craft store.

I found so many things for the quiet book, as well as things I might be able to use in future books.

And, this definitely non 18th century mold for a Highland Cow. 
 

I can't make ornaments from it for Kalamazoo or the Feast, but I plan to use it for this year's Christmas ornaments for a few of the grands, including Cambria and Titan who made those Highland Cow keychains last Fall.

Guess who else will get one? A couple of lucky readers!! The Highland Cow blackened beeswax ornament is the May give away.

I won't be pouring until June at the earliest, so the winners will have to wait a bit for their prize. But I will keep the winners posted as to the status of their ornament.

As usual, comment to enter. You can begin with this blog post and any/all that are posted from now until Monday, May 18, 11:59 PM Eastern.

Best of luck to all who want one.

Stay 'tooned!

Ghosts of Scrooges Past: Into the Classoom!

First Post of the Day

This is the first of several posts on The Christmas Carol.

When I read the Yuletide Challenge prompt, There Goes Mr. Humbug, my heart wanted to revisit all those happy times I spent reading A Christmas Carol aloud with my students and the activities we'd do with it. Lucky me, this year I am actually getting the opportunity to participate in that activity again.

It started when Lisa's Thanksgiving illness lingered and she lost her voice. Like me, her big December project is centered around A Christmas Carol and she reads the story in all its 19th century goodness aloud to her kids. Then they create characters, costumes, and have a big party celebrating the reformed Mr. Scrooge.

Being the one who is actually reading aloud to her class, at least until she has a voice again, has been a dream come true for me!

Just look at these kids!

I never had a class that was not riveted by the story, and Lisa's class is no exception. The other day I read with her students for an hour (Fezziwig!! Oh, I love how his calves "wink" when he dances!) before she stopped me and said they had to move on to another subject. (Yes, the kids groaned. So did I.)

I had had no idea that an hour had passed. That's what a good book can do.

My own first "Ghost of Christmas Past" was Curt. I needed someone to play Mr. Scrooge for my own activities, and Curt was happy to step in.

Curt and me (as Governess Isenbarger) in 2009.

He returned again in 2013, leading Governess Isenbarger into the banquet hall during the grand processional.

You can read more about the 2009 and 2013 New Year, Mr. Scrooge! celebrations here:

With Curt playing Mr. Scrooge for the party.

A short one with Curt again.

Happy times and happy memories, and to be getting the opportunity to spend time with children again, children who are loving this book, is a delight. 

There's more to come, so stay 'tooned!

And It's Up!

Thanks to Craig, Curt, and Rick, the Jolis Chevaux tent is up!

This is my fourth year at spot 353 so finding my place is easy peasy. 

Rick and Leslie set up their tent yesterday, too. She had to leave for an appointment, but Rick hung around for a bit to see if we needed any help.

He and I put the tent poles around the perimeter and then laid the canvas roof down while we waited for Curt and Craig to arrive. He went off to do other things to get Chien Noir ready when they reassured him that they would be fine.

My role at this point was to sit at a corner pole and hang on to it for dear life, keeping it upright while they set the other three corner poles in. Yeah, hanging onto a pole while two men pull it away from you. While seated on a walker. Which has wheels. Yep!

Once the corner poles were set, then two interior poles and a brace were set, raising the roof. The corner poles were straightened and tightened and the tent roof was finished.

After that, the minor poles went in all around the perimeter. That was something I could help with, although I could not put in the tent stakes or ropes.

Across the field from us, another group was setting up, and a young man was having fun with the stakes by throwing them into the ground. Curt decided to try that and he accomplished it with every one!

Until I started filming him. But you can see enough to get the gist. 

And I have to share this video of Lukie helping set the tent up three years ago. 

We'd given him a stake and a hammer to keep him busy while we worked, and that kid got his stake into the ground so firmly that none of us could pull it out! We had to borrow a stake puller from a neighbor and even then, it was tough!

Fond memories that still make me smile.

After the top was up and all the side poles in place, we set up the tables that were provided for me.

"These are HEAVY!" Curt exclaimed. "They must be 50 years old!"

And they probably are - this is the 58th year of The Feast of the Hunters' Moon. 

The last step? To put up the sides. I love this shadow play of Curt as he works.

UN-hooking them to get inside will be hard for me. The canvas is very heavy and you have to lift it to unhook the canvas and open the tent. Plus, I am short enough that it's a real stretch for me to grab the hooks. Luckily, re-enactors are a friendly group and willing to help, so if I need to, I can ask a neighbor.

Finally, all the things I'd brought out were unloaded into the tent and the clothing racks put together and we were done.

Some pictures as we finished up - I am so grateful for the help.

The front of the tent - those ties behind Craig's arm are the door's opening. 

Today I will bring out all the clothing I have made, get that onto the racks, set up the beeswax ornaments, sleeve buttons, and prepare the space for the maple cakes. (Those I will bring out tomorrow.)

There is still a lot of work to do, but I have two more days of set up and am surprisingly calm at this point.

Tomorrow is Feast School Days (3,000+ students are registered to attend) and so I want to set that up today, too. (I'll bring the saddles out tomorrow.) Belle and I will be heading out tomorrow morning at 8:00 and talking with kids until 2:00. 

Hope I have a voice left!

More on Curt's Birthday

I was clearing out my cache of photos on my phone and realized that, while I had shared about Curt's surprise birthday party with his friends, I hadn't yet written about our family celebration.

Cole came up from Nashville to surprise Curt. We were so happy to have him here for the weekend and held a family gathering Sunday evening.

My nephew, Eric, lives in Lafayette and he and Curt get together a lot, so he dropped in for a BBQ and cake.

Lisa made the birthday boy a Skor cake liberally topped with carmel sauce and Skor chips.

Er, I didn't have any candles (oops!) so Curt had to pretend to blow them out when we finished singing.

Afterwards we gathered around the dining room table and played games.

I don't shuffle cards well, but I have a mechanical shuffler which is always fun to use. Except that it was on the fritz and throwing cards, flipping them, and leaving some unshuffled. Everyone else shuffles well, so when it was my turn to be the dealer, someone else shuffled for me. Hah!

Some of us also watched the Packers game. I tried but 1) someone was in my seat, and 2) that someone was also blocking the view!

At the end of the evening, Curt thanked me and then sent me a meme that he keeps handy. "This always makes me think of you, Mom," he said, "so I have kept it."

Thanks, Curt. I'm glad you shared it and I love it, too. And Happy Birthday!

Happy Birthday, Curt!

 Second Post of the Day

Today is Local Son Curt's birthday. 

He is our fifth child and middle son.  

I cannot imagine our family without his wonderful sense of humor and kind, helpful nature.

He is also the child who got injured the most. Why? Who knows! But the family joke became (and remains), "Never name a child a name that rhymes with 'hurt.'"

He was pretty irrepressible as a child, and I mean that in a good way. He enjoyed finding the fun in anything we were doing.

Dancing with Cole at a family sock hop.

Delivering newspapers with Craig, Kyle, and Cole. (Our family had the neighborhood covered - we did five routes daily for years! It was very much a family project.)

He played soccer from childhood through high school and captained Urbana High School's boys' team while his long time friend, Ella captained the girls'. 

As an adult and parent, Curt coaches soccer. He is an excellent coach and I like to sit on the sidelines and watch, incognito as his mom, and hear the parents talk about his skills and how kind he is as he works with their kids.

Happy Birthday, Crut. (LOL Family joke.*) Not only is our family better off because you are a part of it, but you make a difference in so many ways in this world.  It needs more Cruts Curts in it!

* When Curt was little, he often misspelled his name on schoolwork as "Crut." It was an endearing error and one that still makes me smile and even get a bit teary!

Time for Some Mish Mosh!

It's been a while, but it's time for a mish mosh post - little things that I'd like to include in my journal but which don't make for a full blog post. So, they get combined into one post as a mish mosh!

Between Torlinie and Ella, I've mentioned soccer several times this month. Ian, Mila, and Lukie are all on teams again this spring, with Ian playing on a traveling team down by Indianapolis, and then Mila and Ian on teams coached by Curt. 

Vanessa's photography business, Pearl, is sponsoring both Mila and Lukie's teams, so it's a real family activity.

Guess who scored a hat trick in his last game? (A hat trick in soccer is three goals in one game.)

Lukie! And then Mila scored a goal in her game later in the day. Congratulations, you two!

It took us some time to convince Tammo that, while he was staying with us, it was okay to sleep on the bed and the couch. Not any more!

Now, it is not uncommon to go looking for him and discover this.

That sixth grade boi makes us smile all the time.

Lisa invites him over occasionally to spend the night with Nash. She has a doggie door and a fenced in back yard, and those boys run in and out of the house, playing hard for HOURS.

Tammo has spied Craig and me walking up to Lisa's door.

Of course, he has called an alert and now the pack is milling at the door in excitement. (Not that we will be able to get in without some effort!)

I took a quick snap of Lisa's "wall o'dogs" in her office. Gifts from us, an artist friend painted them from pictures I sent her.

Top to bottom: Millie, Nashie, and Mama.

Some of my students have chosen to stay in touch after leaving my classroom. This gal, Ryan, is one of them.

She texted me a few weeks ago, said she was going to be in Indy with her folks, and asked if Craig and I could meet her and her parents for dinner. Of course, I said yes!

I was her 4th and 5th grade teacher and she was one of those kids you are delighted to have walk through your doors every day. (I also taught two of her brothers and a sister.) Lucky me to have gotten two years with Ryan, and how fun it was to see her again (taller than me!), hear what she's been doing, and what her future plans are. 

These gaudy buttons have been sitting on my desk for weeks. I'd ordered a bunch of buttons to make sleeve buttons, and someone goofed at the warehouse.

These are enormous and not even remotely 18th century!

Still, they made me laugh and the company told me to keep them. (And then sent the buttons I'd actually ordered.) Leslie thought they were pretty funny, too, and we made a lot of jokes about them and how I could use them in my 18th century sewing. After all that, now I am trying to come up with a trick to play on her with them sleeve-button wise. Stay 'tooned on that.

I've gotta scoot - Ian has a soccer game at 8:15 this morning and Mila's game is at 11:00.  (Lukie's was last night.) 

Ian last night watching Lukie play. 

Mila chose to watch the match from a different vantage point - up in a tree.

It's also Ian's birthday today so the plan is to give him our gift after the game, but it's raining and the games may be cancelled. We may need to make alternate plans for that.

Stay 'tooned!