Hello Baby, So Long Canterbury, and My Cranium HurtsSaturday I attended a baby shower for the K-2nd grade teacher. Tina is a sweet lady and she and her husband Chris are expecting their first child, a boy. They have been calling him “blue bonnet.” I guess it is some reference to a western movie, but when he arrives his real name will be Zachariah. Because there are no doctors or birthing centers in Hoonah, Tina and Chris will spend the last month of the pregnancy in Juneau. They leave next week.
That evening was the closing performance of “Canterbury Tales.” It was a good final show with a responsive audience. My husband, who has a multitude of skills, admits photography is not one of them. This was the best group shot he took. All others consisted of people futzing with their costumes, looking down or talking to each other. In this shot, Jen is actually laughing because I was “swearing” at Steve through by ever-ready smile.
After the show, we struck the set and had our cast party….we ended up playing “Cranium”…. silly game in which I had no hope of winning…not my idea of fun.
Family Time, a Hail Mary and “The Eleventh Hour”
The frenetic pace of being consumed by the show had come to a screeching halt. Sunday was our day to recover together. We all relaxed, read and played games. The three of us divided the load
and carried home $200 worth of groceries. We made brownies and watched the last quarter of the Super Bowl…what an incredible ending.
We started a great book this week. It is called “The Eleventh Hour” by Graeme Base.
Andrew just finished reading the entire “Encyclopedia Brown Boy Detective” series. I was doing some research online to see if there were some comparable series out there for him to begin. While I didn’t find a series, I did come across “The Eleventh Hour.” It is an easy read. We finished with the book in about 10 minutes BUT the author is also an amazing illustrator and puzzle master. He gives the reader a mystery to solve and clues in each picture to uncover. Plus there is a message in the back we had to decode as well. It is a beautiful book with a challenge. Andrew gives it five stars:)
American Heart Association, Snowy Sky, and Stupid Movie
Monday was an in-service day ….Andrew and I lounged around and played most of the morning. The afternoon was spent going door-to-door getting pledges for the American Heart Association “Jump for Health.” On February 12 the elementary students have a jump-rope-a-thon, all the money goes to research and diabetes prevention. He practiced his “sales-pitch”, knocked on doors and in just a couple of hours raised $130.00.
We ended the day with a great snowball fight. We played so hard that at one point we stopped and lied in the snow, staring up at the sky, feeling the flakes fall on our face and watching the clouds turn to night. It was a beautiful moment…ending abruptly due to a snowball sent in my general direction…from none other than me sweet son. That night we watched an awful movie…“Milo and Otis.” It had four stars rating on Netflix...but Andrew said it didn’t even deserve one!
Soft Snow, “Booger Biscuits” and “Blonde Indian”
Tuesday after school Andrew and I had fast and furious snowball fight. Trying to get the fresh twelve inches of soft power into an instrument of attack was tough…we had to dig deep. When we arrived home, we took off our snow encrusted gear, and made green oatmeal and chocolate chip cookies…Andrew was trying to make them “teal”…but was having difficulty adding the right amounts of blue and green to the batter. He decided his shade of green was perfect… and we named them “Fred and George Weasley’s Booger Biscuits” (a Harry Potter reference to the twins in the story that are always making practical jokes using odd food concoctions).
I finished the Book Club’s read, “Blonde Native.” It is a memoir written by a woman of half Tlinget, half Caucasian descent. I disliked greatly the format of the book and some stylistic things she did drove me crazy. In addition some of the content was disturbing. For example: the claim that she believes her ancestors mated with the brown bear and that’s why they don’t eat them. The thing I appreciated most about the book was the way she attempted to describe nature with great care and intense observation.
Cub Scouts Farse, Heavenly Bodies, and Curious about College
Wednesday Andrew went to Cub Scouts…which isn’t really Cub Scouts…it’s more like a boys play group where Major Loni gives them money to buy junk food, watch Bible movies and walk around the hardware store. Andrew loves it, but he is in for a shock when he gets back to the Medford and joins a real club.
Andrew and I started studying the solar system this week So far we are learning about axis, rotation, revolution and eclipses. I am sad to admit that I had no idea there were two types of eclipses…thank goodness for my son and his thirst for science… cuz now I do.
I started this week’s writing homework interviewing the high school “academic counselor.” I am working on a feature article. I am curious about who is going to college and the availability of funds for an Alaskan Native student. (I will send the final draft of my class and teachers comments in an email on Tuesday.)
Trip to Juneau, A Different Piece of Sky and Lego Wars
Steve hopped a flight to Juneau Thursday morning (but first here is is doing his "Fiddler on the Roof" impression). He will be there a few days and weather permitting will be on the last flight back to Hoonah on Saturday. After he landed in the Capitol city, he shared with me that the pilot made a slight detour during his flight over. He took the plane down around a small island where a hundred or so sea lions were resting on the shore. He said it was an amazing sight seeing these immense creatures enjoying the blue sky and cool sunshine. He added that it gave him a welcomed lift in his perspective. Sometimes Steve becomes so consumed with the problem solving the insanity of this place that the reminder of God’s glory was an appreciated gift.
To distract myself from the sadness that comes when Steve leaves, I too gave myself a beautiful reminder of God’s handiwork. I went for a walk but this time in the opposite direction of the water…I went to the tall trees. I posted the pictures in the last post of the day.
Andrew had a new friend over named Zach. Zach was recently adopted from a foster care situation in Washington State and came to Hoonah a month ago. He has a younger brother and
sister , both, I believe, are adopted as well. They will soon move to an Alaskan town called Craig. Zach brought a back pack full of Lego stuff and Star Wars items, include a light saber. The two boys had a great afternoon building and saber fighting. Andrew is keeping his fingers crossed that Zach will come over again today.
Two Bald Eagles (I found this photo on Google Images)
Friday I worked all morning and into the early afternoon on my writing class homework. I sat at the small table by our big picture window researching Alaska’s dr
op out rates, grant funding and tribal scholarships on the internet. I looked up and was lucky to see, through the wet snow, two bald eagles flapping and soaring over the water. They dove and dipped, riding the wind’s path, sometimes jockeying from the left to the right to gain the accurate perspective… always adjusting their position with ease and grace. What glorious birds they are.
I see the two of them often, perched together at the top of the hemlock tree overlooking the icy straight, aware of me walking the snowy path to Andrew’s school. When I don’t see them or am lost in my thoughts, their screams and cries shake me out of my I preoccupation. I stop in the street and search for them, and reply to their greeting by saying “Hello” or “Thank you.” Thank you for helping me to be awake. Thank you for the reminder of all that is majestic and perfect in the world. Thank you for sharing the dark day with me.
Waiting, Raining and CountingAndrew and I are anxiously waiting for Steve to return today. It is very windy and the rain is coming down at a fast tempo….the prospects of his arrival are dim, but we pray for a break in the weather and contiue to listen for the roar of a small plane flying over head.
My sweet son, who is now cuddled up in bed reading "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory," sits up to share the moment when Charlie finds the golden ticket. (How I love him. )Steve, Andrew and I will engage in another day of being, learning and listening…truly thankful for the hours of life that we are given…and the abundant life of countless blessings.
Thank you for reading. I wish you a week of beauty and peace. Enjoy the pictures below...
He and his class decorated cookies, made valentine card holders, distributed Valentine greetings, enjoyed a spread of healthy and sweet treats. I brought a bunch of veggies, cheese, crackers and pink colored rice crispy treats. At the end of the school day, everything but a few celery sticks was gone. After feasting on all the goodies, most of the students played “Head’ Up Seven-Up” and I played the game “Sorry” with Andrew’s friend Brandon.
