May 30, 2007

• Weekend of Wow!

  First of all, it appears my demo Fridge Tour video is in the contest. This time, the winner actually gets something–free premium Xanga for a year!  If you are so inclined, you can vote once a day until June 4th right HERE.  Of course, you may find Jack’s Beer Fridge Tour much more exciting and will wish to vote for that!

  I am really writing this entry for myself. Usually, I write entries for you, my dear and faithful readers. But, this one is for me.  Sure, you can read it.  I’ll try to entertain you as much as I can, but there will be people mentioned and jokes referenced that might leave you saying, “Hmmmm.”  My apologies.  Despite my gloomy caveat, I hope you enjoy the tale!

  I will refer to Xangans by their Xanga names, and everyone else gets his or her real name, unless of course, said person is a child, and then I will make up a name.
  
  

  Friday: In which we see a dress rehearsal, eat out, and attend a baseball game

  Friday late morning found me sitting at the State Theater waiting for the Pride and Prejudice dress
  rehearsal to begin and waiting for Ruth G, avaricewrex, and
  Erik-with-a-K Evans-with-a-Texas-A&M to arrive. They were stuck on
  I-80, also waiting, but on road construction. Since the start of the
  rehearsal was delayed by an hour, they arrived right at intermission.
  (Does anyone else delight in calling intermission “halftime”?) 

  After the excellent performance, we took Hunter and headed to that State College tradition, The Corner Room, for a late lunch.  I discovered Erik was a delightful person, just the sort I like to know. He and his love of hot sauce are welcome to visit my house again any time!  While we were finishing our sandwiches and fish and chips, TGD called: the Hatfields had arrived!

  I leapt from the van to engage in a flurry of hugs and how-are-you’s.  Soon, the Ulmers pulled in, so there were two 15-passenger vans in my driveway.  Gockle had a baseball game at 6:00.  We packed a cooler with lunchmeat and cheese, grabbed bags of buns and chips, filled a five-gallon water cooler, loaded everyone back into the vans, and took the arduous two minute drive to the baseball field.

  LindaUlmer in her van

  
  

  
  To be honest, I can’t recall if Gockle won or lost his game, but I do know that I had a wonderful time visiting with everyone.  We have the most wonderful baseball fields.  There are two fields, and in between the two of them is a nice playground, just large enough to amuse an older child, but small enough that a little person wouldn’t get lost. 

  My memory is a bit vague on exactly what we did upon returning to my house after the game, but it involved a lot of chatting and watching the many little people who were there. (In addition to the four moms and TGD, the others at my house were ages 17, 16, 15, 15,  14, 14, 14,  12, 12, 11, 11, 8,  8,7, 6,  6,  4,  4,  2,  2, and 6 months.)   Around 11:00, it struck me that one of my guests, natureg0d, had not yet arrived.  I thought it would be kind to make sure he wasn’t lying in a ditch on the side of the road somewhere. Thankfully, he was just visiting with dance4eternity and kleinekatze after watching Pirates.

  At 1:15, I turned the lights out and requested that the older boys be asleep by 2:00 since Hunter had to be Darcy the next day.  They were all snuggled up in sleeping bags on old mattresses in the basement amidst a mound of dress up clothes, toys, and chaos that would have had me cringing in embarrassment if it had not been teenage boys sleeping there. 

  LindaUlmer and I stayed up and chatted and had tea. She treated me to five books! One of them is a cartoon collection called Tequila Mockingbird. I didn’t get the joke at first. Do you? (Tequila=To Kill A) She also gave me a lovely little candle with my name on it (Mary, not Teacherperson) and this saying: “A wise and generous lady. A cosy have to comfort all.”  Awwww!
  
  

  Saturday: In which we attend two performances of Pride and Prejudice, swim, eat pizza, and make a commercial

  
  Saturday dawned clear and sunny and warm.  It was a great day for doing just about anything, and I suppose we just about did.  The young folk (which includes the teens) jumped on the trampoline, swam in the pool, and disported in a holiday humor.  The teens decided to make a commercial for Heinz ketchup. Judging from the excellent editing job Godzgirl91 did on an earlier “just for fun” commercial, I’m quite keen to see the finished product!  I think the highlight of their filming was when Max the cat jumped up onto the unguarded picnic table and absconded with the weiner. 
  
  

  “I think this hot dog needs some ketchup.”

  

  
  

  Around lunchtime, words_are_things and her dad arrived. Unfortunately, her arrival meant it was time for the Greens and Erik to leave for the AP picnic (which Hunter could not attend due to being Mr. Darcy).  Farewells and hugs all around (excellent job on the hug, Erik!), and we bid them a fond farewell. Ruth left me with a most delicious box of chocolates. I have already eaten two caramels, the caramel pecan, and bit into the coconut. Where it wound up would distress the coconut lovers, so I shan’t say. 

  Ruth and the #1 AP Econ Team
  

  
  

  
  

  The giver and spitter-outer of chocolates

  
  

  
  Around 1:00, we loaded many folks into vans and headed to the first performance. Cindy and her youngest children stayed behind, but the rest of us had a fine time watching Elizabeth and Darcy and Wickham and Mrs. Bennet.  Afterward, the Ulmers headed to Mass (should that be capitalized?) and to visit some other friends.  Since we had so “few” people for supper, I got Domino’s pizza instead of rushing home to make chili. Gockle and LittleMiss were most grateful. In my absence, Cindy had cleaned the house (got to LOVE friends like her!) and made salad.   We ate. We chatted. We left for the evening performance.

  This time, Cindy, my boys, my parents, and natureg0d came along. All the rest stayed at home and watched a video.  The second performance was even better, and we all enjoyed chatting and exclaiming over how good everyone was.  But, I told you all about the play in my last entry. Old news, eh?

  Wit models Lady Catherine’s hat with encouragement from natureg0d
  

  
  

   

  Home again, home again, jiggety jig.  We had another fine, late-bedtime night. Natureg0d entertained and impressed with excellent card tricks. I’m quite content to believe it is magic and not prestidigitation!

  “I’m picturing your card. I’m getting a dark feeling. It must be clubs…”
  

  
  

  

  Cindy gave her sweet, sweet baby (whom linaldawen called “The Bug”) a bath in my kitchen sink.

  
  
  
  Sunday: In which we all go to church, play Ultimate Frisbee, almost blow up the house, and laugh ourselves silly. Also, Teacherperson loses at Boggle.

  We woke, ate, and left.

  The cheerful lady bakes chocolate chip muffins
  

  
  

  
  

  TGD taught Sunday school for the adults on the book of Acts as he’s been doing all year. After church, we headed back home for spaghetti and meatballs, salad, bread, and cheesecake brownies. 

  I hope we all wiped our mouths!  Cindy, Linda, and Mary      
  

  
  

  The afternoon was spent in fun, with lots of swimming.  M, Little Miss, and G pose on the ladder.
  

  
  

  

  
  

  Cindy, her two youngest, and I took a drive around several neighborhoods to look at houses. This issue was important, as Cindy is in the process of house plans.  Plus, it gave us an hour of relative quiet to chat. Linda wisely took a nap in preparation for her long drive home on Monday.
  

  
  Teacherperson drives! (Um, maybe that should be Teacherperson chats and unwisely takes her eyes from the road while driving?)

  

  The Sunday party started at 5:00ish. We invited the Kroekers, BluSmurfGirl, and Julia S. over for a cookout. (Cheesepuff had to work. Boo.)  I turned on the grill and began to cook the burgers and hot dogs. Cindy was sitting by the grill and noticed flames shooting out of the bottom toward the propane tank. Uh-oh.  I turned off the burners, but the fire continued.  Would I blow up the tank? Eeek!  I got a hot pad and turned off the propane tank, thus avoiding potential death.  Thankfully, a stove and frying pan will cook burgers as well, and bkroeker doubled as Emeril, even though we had already avoided the BAM!

  linaldawen on the porch

  
  

  Victoria and LibbyK in the kitchen
  

  
  

  
  

  Ya-Ya (And she was Ya-Ya before the Sisterhood!)

  
  

  

  
  After our feast, we played Ultimate Frisbee. A sleepover was happening across the street, and Kitty and Lydia of P&P were there, so they joined us in the game. I actually ran, which is something I don’t do very often.  I forget which side won, but it was close. (Are you picking up a theme here?)

  bkroeker, Victoria, Morgan, Godzgirl91, linaldawen, E, R, Teacherperson,  and two sleepover girls watch the Frisbee as it flies toward them.
  

  
  

  

  The fun didn’t stop at Ultimate Frisbee. Oh, no! Flutemom38 headed home with C (which wasn’t the fun, in case you thought it was), and the rest of the crew stayed and played until 1:00 or so. I’m not sure what everyone else did (guitar, Capture the Flag?), but I played Boggle. I have this reputation as an amazing Boggle player, but I lost repeatedly. “It must be the contacts,” facetiously said I. (Did you notice that I’m wearing contacts now? Got them on Wednesday.)  Once again, I don’t remember who won, but it was not Teacherperson.  While playing, we told the dumbest jokes. Poor Helen Keller.  LindaUlmer got kudos for best joke deliver–ever. She was laughing so hard she couldn’t even speak. 

  What do you call a potato that gets all the cheese sauce?
  Spoiled O’Gratin!

  After the Kroekers and others left and the majority of wise folks went to bed, Hunter, natureg0d, and I played a version of Cinch. It was great fun, even though poor NG was so exhausted the hardwood floor looked cozy.  How about that happy chicken? Or was it gay…?

  Monday: In which the Ulmers and natureg0d go home, Cindy and Mary eat at Quaker Steak, and the girls go shopping
  
  Memorial Day began with the Ulmers leaving. We were sad to see them go, as we always are.  When they left, Cindy said, “Let’s get all the kids busy and clean the house.” (You have GOT to love that woman!)  We did, they did, and the house was back to its normal state.  Natureg0d woke up, ate, and went back to bed. He woke up a second time and went home, still tired.  I wonder what his parents must think when he returns home after a visit to our house. “What DO they do there?”  Of course, we miss him wildly and hope he returns soon. I’ll throw another party!

  Around 4:00, Cindy, Godzgirl91, Morgan, LibbyK, Baby Bug,  MK (who is two), and I headed for the mall. TGD, who is SUCH a good man, watched all the rest of the kids, in the pool even!  We shopped at Christopher and Banks (great store) where Cindy bought four skirts and I bought a sweater which makes me look like a librarian. (Which is a good thing in my mind)  We left the older girls at the mall to do girlie things and eat their own supper while the rest of us ate a yummy meal at Quaker Steak and Lube and had equally wonderful conversation.  In our absence, the girls certainly had fun.

     My future’s so bright, I gotta wear shades!

  

  Where does this meal land on the food pyramid?

  

  Mad hatters

  

  
  Ooh la-la!

  

  After our lovely evening, Cindy packed up all her things as best as she was able, as she wanted to leave by 7:00 a.m. on Tuesday.  She did, and I even pulled my sleep-deprived carcass out of bed to hold BabyBug for a bit and wave good bye. 

  It is sad now that everyone is gone. Gone but not forgotten. How can you forget a face like this one?

  

  Did I have a wonderful time? Indeed I did.  As Ulmdog said, “You must be having a good time, if it is keeping Mary from blogging.”

  
  So, how was YOUR Memorial Day?

  
  

  • 5:31 pm
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