Our yard has provided a steady supply of flowers, in spite of the heavy rain that crumpled flowers in other parts of the state. Sandra has put tulips and now lilacs on the table by the window in the family room, where we have our meals. The lilacs, white, have a rich, sweet smell.
We'll try again today to get the water on at the camp and to get the boat in the water. We will have four generations of Hakkarainens, plus Andy, the boat guy. (When Andy isn't working on boats, cars, or other vehicles, he's selling a bug repellent called Andy's Bug Juice.)
One of the fundamental laws of the camp is that, at some point, you'll need something that's at the other place. Last week, we needed the set of locking pliers that are in the cupboard at home. (We might have used one of these.) My father has a chain wrench that would have done the job, but his was at his house. Adam had the right wrenches also, and also at his house. This week, we'll have three of the right tools and will need something else.
Camp fare, as you might expect, tends toward the simpler choices. Our favorite supper is eggs and beans. We'll have hot dogs for lunch. HJ Heinz, ever on the cutting edge of cuisine, is test-marketing a new frozen-food delicacy - beans on toast. Pop it in the toaster and, a minute later, you have, well, you have beans on toast, a nice side dish, perhaps, for a gummi t-bone steak.
During a discussion in the North Carolina legislature regarding ethics and how much money can legislators can receive from whom, one representative put everything in perspective. "Even the baby Jesus accepted gifts, and I don't think it corrupted him," said Rep. Drew Saunders, a Mecklenburg County Democrat.
There's a good chance for more rain tomorrow. So, to keep the kids entertained, it's a good idea to have coloring books on hand, such as Tommy Tsunami and Ernie Earthquake Coloring Book.
The summer forecast in Britain isn't good. Those lovely English roses won't do well when it starts raining frogs and fishes.
Until the showers or the BFOs (Bizarre Falling Objects), we'll enjoy this sunny day. The rain or jellyfish or coal will find us soon enough. Even if they do, we'll be ok.
Happy Anniversary, Sandra. We still got it.
Saturday, May 20, 2006
Thursday, May 18, 2006
Sunday, May 14, 2006
Remember when you sang "Rain, rain, go away"?
This is that other day. Rain came today. And yesterday. Most of the days in the coming week will be that other day, too. Let's stop singing that song for a while and let the rain catch up with itself.
There is an Outback Steakhouse across the street from hotel where I stay in New York. This week they had a large sign over the main entrance, letting all the children know that Outback would be open at 11AM on Mother's Day. Think Mom would like the 22 oz. Porterhouse steak. After all, "it's a bonzer." Oh, and don't forget the Bloomin' Onion® - 800 calories and 56 grams of fat goodness.
It's hard to get Mother's Day right. Other holidays, such as Christmas and birthdays, have their own challenges, but Mother's Day is something special. Could I have been a better kid? Could I be one now? How would she like to celebrate the day, particularly when she says, "What ever you do is fine, dear."? Sometimes, flowers and a card work very nicely. Sometimes, it's appropriate to champion large causes.) Sometimes, the mother just wants a nap. At day's end, as my mother's friend would say, "We do the best what we are."
"Beat your swords into ploughshares and your vacuum cleaners into lights."
This might work, as long as your mother doesn't know your handwriting.
Yesterday Adam, Jennie, and Lilly met us at the camp. The original plan was that Adam would bring his truck and help get the boat into the water. But, the guy who was unwinterizing (summerize?) the boat couldn't finish his work in the heavy rain. (We'll try again next weekend.) Adam and I had plenty of work to do anyway. Our mission was to turn on the water. Sometimes, it's a task that takes an hour, sometimes it takes three. This year it was three and it's still not done.
The hose that draws water from the lake has a leak where we join two sections of hose with a PVC union. Either it is operator error where the operator (yours truly) cross-threaded the connection or the rubber gasket inside the union is worn or torn. When we take the union apart to inspect it, all of the water will drain out of the water tank. We'll have to prime the pump again next weekend.
In addition, we were having a heck of a time figuring out why the water system wasn't keeping its pressure. After retracing the lines, Adam discovered that a section of plastic pipe in our nearly new toilet had water trapped in it last fall. The water froze, splitting the pipe. We could get a replacement part, but what good is it to replace a badly designed part with another. This one, as my father says, needs some pondering.
It was fun to work with Adam. There isn't a lot I can teach him about home maintenance, but this was one area were I had something to offer. He made a good suggestion about installing a ground-fault breaker on the outlet where we plug in the water pump. Just because I've always done this work while standing barefoot on a wet floor doesn't mean that it's always been a good idea.
Once we got the water system to a known state, I had a chance to visit with Jennie and Lily. Lily and I had a nice conversation about her idea to paint Marley's toenails red and why that might not be a good idea.
We'll go to Mike and Lynn's this afternoon, arriving with pizza and gratitude. This will be the third time that we've been over there recently. Last Sunday was the party for Tess's first communion. Thursday night was her birthday. We keep showing up and they keep acting like they're glad to see us. What a kick.
There is an Outback Steakhouse across the street from hotel where I stay in New York. This week they had a large sign over the main entrance, letting all the children know that Outback would be open at 11AM on Mother's Day. Think Mom would like the 22 oz. Porterhouse steak. After all, "it's a bonzer." Oh, and don't forget the Bloomin' Onion® - 800 calories and 56 grams of fat goodness.
It's hard to get Mother's Day right. Other holidays, such as Christmas and birthdays, have their own challenges, but Mother's Day is something special. Could I have been a better kid? Could I be one now? How would she like to celebrate the day, particularly when she says, "What ever you do is fine, dear."? Sometimes, flowers and a card work very nicely. Sometimes, it's appropriate to champion large causes.) Sometimes, the mother just wants a nap. At day's end, as my mother's friend would say, "We do the best what we are."
"Beat your swords into ploughshares and your vacuum cleaners into lights."
This might work, as long as your mother doesn't know your handwriting.
Yesterday Adam, Jennie, and Lilly met us at the camp. The original plan was that Adam would bring his truck and help get the boat into the water. But, the guy who was unwinterizing (summerize?) the boat couldn't finish his work in the heavy rain. (We'll try again next weekend.) Adam and I had plenty of work to do anyway. Our mission was to turn on the water. Sometimes, it's a task that takes an hour, sometimes it takes three. This year it was three and it's still not done.
The hose that draws water from the lake has a leak where we join two sections of hose with a PVC union. Either it is operator error where the operator (yours truly) cross-threaded the connection or the rubber gasket inside the union is worn or torn. When we take the union apart to inspect it, all of the water will drain out of the water tank. We'll have to prime the pump again next weekend.
In addition, we were having a heck of a time figuring out why the water system wasn't keeping its pressure. After retracing the lines, Adam discovered that a section of plastic pipe in our nearly new toilet had water trapped in it last fall. The water froze, splitting the pipe. We could get a replacement part, but what good is it to replace a badly designed part with another. This one, as my father says, needs some pondering.
It was fun to work with Adam. There isn't a lot I can teach him about home maintenance, but this was one area were I had something to offer. He made a good suggestion about installing a ground-fault breaker on the outlet where we plug in the water pump. Just because I've always done this work while standing barefoot on a wet floor doesn't mean that it's always been a good idea.
Once we got the water system to a known state, I had a chance to visit with Jennie and Lily. Lily and I had a nice conversation about her idea to paint Marley's toenails red and why that might not be a good idea.
We'll go to Mike and Lynn's this afternoon, arriving with pizza and gratitude. This will be the third time that we've been over there recently. Last Sunday was the party for Tess's first communion. Thursday night was her birthday. We keep showing up and they keep acting like they're glad to see us. What a kick.
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