End of September

Catching up on odds and ends …

We visited David at Evansville last weekend, Family Weekend. What a rainy Saturday it was! We didn't join in on any of the college activities but instead visited the Evansville Museum of Arts, History and Science. http://www.emuseum.org/.

I would have never imagined that Evansville was a major shipyard in the 1940s, building LSTs (Landing Ship, Tanks) for the war effort. Even the boys found it interesting!

David seems to be doing very well. After a bit of poking and prodding we got to hear tidbits about his classes, his teachers, and what he is learning. He could even speak some Japanese already! But he's definitely not homesick and by Sunday afternoon was more than ready for us all to leave. I guess that's a good thing?

My poor fern … first Copper decides it's THE place to sleep. Then the Fluffies discovered it and now it seems like the bed of preferences for several cats and kittens. I'm not sure it's going to survive. It was so dry and hot this summer that it didn't grow as much as usual and was just catching a second breath in September. Soon it will be cold enough that I will have to move it inside, but it really doesn't get enough sunshine when inside, so I hate to move it in any earlier than necessary. But somehow I've got to keep the kitties out!

Here's a new pic of Miss Munchkin, taken two weeks ago. A drooling baby, cutting who knows how many teeth! Today Kat says that Miss Munchkin is "cruising," which is a term for standing up, holding on to things, and walking around those things. You learn something new every day, Miss Munchkin how to cruise and Grandma what it means! It's only a matter of time before she takes those first steps and walks on her own!

Pics of Great-Uncle Eric and Miss Munchkin

These were taken Labor Day weekend. When Miss Munchkin first met great-uncle Eric Saturday evening, she was not at all sure she wanted to know someone with all that facial hair! At first she screamed, then she just gave him looks and tried to keep her distance. But, by Sunday afternoon he had won her over, as you can see!

Free Time?

So what happened to all this free time I was going to have after David went to college? Obviously, I was delusional. There is no such thing as "free time." The universe expands to absorb all free time. Anyone with free time is living in another dimension. They are certainly not living in the same dimension that I am living in!

Last year my mornings were spent on the road and sitting at college, waiting while David took his college classes. I was able to read and crochet while David was in class and converse with David while on the road. Now my mornings seem to disappear into laundry, dishes, e-mail and phone calls, with occasional hours here and there working on my website and listing books on e-bay. And I don't feel like I am accomplishing any more than I was last year. At least last year I was able to tangibly see and feel results. Afghans crocheted. Book titles added to my "books read" list. How do you tangibly see and feel the dishes done or e-mail sent?

My mornings are also being absorbed by another hour of sleep and sometimes by some morning exercises. So I am feeling more rested, I am less cranky, and might possibly be slightly more fit (but only very slightly!). And I have exchanged my "getting David to college" project with "finding hubby a new job" project. So I guess I should not reasonably expect to have more free time. But it sure was a nice dream! Maybe free time will appear when all the children have left home? But then, the eldest child and the grandchild seem to be absorbing a fair bit of my time also, so maybe I should just resign myself to the fact that I will NEVER HAVE FREE TIME!

David update

It sounds like David has settled in well at Evansville. I called him last night and then passed the phone around so everyone (Bill, Charles, Kat) could talk to him. He told me about the robot he has in Computer Science class and a bit about the Japanese alphabet (or it's three alphabets). And also said I should see the movie "Accepted" because it was funny and had a very unschooling slant to it). He told his dad that everyone seems to gather in his room and he's not sure why. It did sound a little bit like there was more than one or two people in there! But definitely it sounds like he is having a good time and not terribly homesick.

We're still trying to decide whether we'll go up for Family Weekend later in September or combine visiting David with a possible trip to New York in October. I guess the first decision to be made is whether we're going to New York or maybe the decision to be made is who is going to New York. It's my aunt and uncle's 50th wedding anniversary celebration, so I definitely want to go!

Sunday my dad had a get together at his house and my brother Eric drove over from Atlanta with his family. Daniel spent Saturday night here playing X-Box with Charles and Shawn. I took lots of pics, so maybe later this week I'll get one posted up here of Eric with Miss Munchkin. She was frightened of Eric when she first saw him Saturday night, but my Sunday afternoon she was having great fun with his beard.

Oh, and it looks like my kittens have all found homes! I just need to decide if I want to keep one of them or not. We've been talking of possibly moving in the semi-near future and it is going to be difficult to find a place where I could have my six cats roam freely outside, let alone adding another one to that number. Do we really need to keep any?