Halloween

I have been home for 2 days, cleaning, getting laundry caught up, watching Netflix dvd's and working on my svenska lessons.  I am loving Swedish.  Det kanner jag inte ingen.  This know I not again.  I don't recognize this.  I love the way the words are arranged, how they sound, even how close many are to English.  Torstig for thirsty.  That the word for sick is pronounced whook.  A baby is bebis and the word knakebrod is so fun to say.  En sak is 'a thing'.  Daughter is dotter.  Your mother's mother is your mormor.  I know I am only at level 2 and more concepts and alternate words will come into play, but for now, I am really enjoying the simplicity of having often a word-for-word exchange.  I feel good.  Jag mar bra.  Big, green tree.  Stor, gron trad.

Anyway, Monday night we were at Amanda's for Halloween.  Lots of food, a hayride to trick or treat and back at the house, more candy for the kids!  I behaved REALLY well, I am still a little surprised I didn't eat 3000 calories in one night. hahaha!

I did a few photos, the lighting was SO low, they are blurry as heck, but that's mostly my own fault.

What are the odds of two giraffes?  (Whier-raffen)

I caught this guy in a cup!

My van is at the dealership to get recall repairs done, there was a list of about 10 things.  I go pick it up in an hour.  No plans for the rest of this week, but next week looks busy and the week after is Sea Lab!

Mailed in our ballots today, I am SO glad we did their first election from home. It was easier to answer questions and look up info and even show Jake how to fill in a bubble!

There was an option to vote straight Democrat, but there were only 2 democratic options on the ballot.  So it just saved filling in a single bubble.  FYI, voting straight for one party or the other on the AL ballot does NOT cover the presidential vote.  That is a separate thing.

Looking forward to the end of this election mess, this is the most fucked up election in the history of the country and I, honest to God, can not understand how ANYONE with a modicum of intelligence or self respect can see their way clear to voting for Trump.  It's the equivalent of voting for hate.

That's it for the week.  I wish I could say Ben has been hard at work to graduate early, but he's actually been doing CrossFit and can't move his arms.  So we've been doing ice and heating pads and he's been eating vast amounts of beans and rice because somewhere he has read that will help.  hahaha

 

Things

I either have a need to sit and write a bit, or else I have had too many B vitamins today.  Sometimes, it's a gamble.  And this isn't my only blog so sometimes it gets messy as well.

This morning I got up to get Chan up and she was up already and showered to boot.  Her interview was at 10.  I said elsewhere it was the first, but she did interview for a job last summer with the park service.  

We arrived on time (yes, she's 18 and can drive but around here, you don't get your license until you get a job and can pay for that insurance JUMP) and in she went.  The only thing I told her ahead of time was to answer verbally, don't nod or say mmmhmmm.

She was in there an hour and 20 minutes.  I sent Matt a message saying I'd had 2 heat strokes and developed 3 ulcers.  He said he was to busy throwing up (from nerves) to reply.

Chandler, and Ben, but Chandler is quiet and calm, there's no jitters or apparent thinking things through until every bit of potential mayhem has been thoroughly mapped.  I recall birthing them both, so I don't think they are adopted, but they are neither one a thing like me. Or Matt.  We both run our mouths and play Worst Case Scenario.

Anyway, out she came, her usual Sphinxy self.  I pried, some.  Sometimes a direct question yields results, sometimes she totally ignores me and hums.  After her whole life so far of this, it's just part of it.  I could get mad, but that's hardly going to help.  It always requires a direct question, there's no just opening up and telling anything and after the question is answered, she offers no more.  Except the occasional nugget like, "I always wanted a Barbie Jeep".

She allowed it 'went fine' and the interviewer used flashcards and told her about an engineer who made an electric skateboard once.  Yes.  That IS all the info I have about it.  Oh, and they made her fill out an application on paper exactly like the online application and she didn't know any of the phone numbers off hand.  I only know the number for my mechanic off the top of my head and she'd be a bad reference.  I don't come in at 3,000 miles for an oil change.  I think 5k is just fine.  My 24 year span of non-burned up engines would back that up.  OMG I am old.

We had lunch at Taziki's because food is the one area Chan has never balked at being perfectly clear on.  Even in her years-long non verbal phase, she would at least point when it came to food.  She had the stuffed grape leaves.

And, that's all I know so far.  On the way home we got boring groceries, which means none of the junk food was for me.  I mowed the front yard and where we park so that when it rains all week and the grass grows 6 inches in 3 days I can narrow my focus to the recently clipped area.  This works well for many things, BTW, not just grass.

Update when I have anything TO update.  It's a data entry position on an aerospace and defense contract with the government.  Which is a little cooler than making burgers and required a shopping spree at the thrift store for office wear.  And which means I can never see even a pic of her cubicle or a blueprint of the building or park anywhere other than directly in front of the guard shack.  But they do pay for college and she can move up the ladder if she does the work and puts in the time. So...fingers crossed.

If she doesn't get it, we are going on a road trip.

42 and beyond

The answer to life, the Universe and everything.

My birthday coincides with that of Harry Potter, a fictional boy who is far more popular than I will ever be.  This cracks me up.  It's also World Ranger Day, which is awesome because I truly appreciate rangers.

I have very few plans for this year, I am on track to finish my new year goals of 52 hikes, 1000 miles of walking and camping out 30 nights.  I don't have any big travel plans, beyond our usual fall trip which is only taking 3 of us and only 4 days.  Chandler and Jake will both be at work. Things, they are a-changing.

We didn't do much for the Big Day, it's sort of ceased being a thing, but I feel like 42 may be the last birthday to celebrate at all, and that only thanks to Douglas Adams for writing the Hitchhiker series. So, I mention it.

In other news, 'being active' plans are coming along nicely, I have 3 backpacking trips on the calendar as well as a marathon in October, of which, I am only shooting for the 12 mile option.  And walking it.  I am not anything close to ready to run half a mile, never mind 24 half a miles!  The other day I was running on the treadmill and thought, "This is awesome!  I don't think I have ever gone this long!"  I looked at the clock,  39 seconds.  Hrm.  I keep hoping it was a glitch, but really I think time slows down on the treadmill and 39 seconds takes roughly 11 minutes.  But, it's just as likely that 39 seconds is the record to beat.

We mowed and did home-type stuff (but oddly no laundry or vacuuming) for a couple days and yesterday, went swimming.  The boys did some synchronized...something.

Then Ben did the classic 'knock your sister over' manatee manouver

His hair is borderline insane

Emma's hair refuses to mermaid but is dramatic nonetheless

Have our initial dates set for the JMT, which I won't even post since they will change 9 times and there's still the permit to get my hands on.  So it could even change years.  :(  But, there's still the goal of being ready.  Which I am not.

I have a friend who is, out of the blue, wanting to walk the first 200 miles of the AT.  In March.  I told her, "You have fun, take loads of pics!"  because, no.  Cold AND crowds and not enough ground cover to hide my shiny hiney is like a trifecta of uh-uh.  Plus, the people who start the AT and drop out during that period are almost all total idiots.  So unprepared crowds at that.  The lack of LNT principles alone would give me hives.

I am hating this heat and am ready to be outside walking up something or seeing a view.  We have been doing 3 miles nearly every night, Matt's phone keeps dying because...Pokémon Go.  So they are not all tracked, but they are happening.  To get the e to have an accent, hold down alt and type 130 on the number pad. I know this because I once knew this mom who insisted I use the accented é in her name in the club newsletter,

Heard yesterday that your brain can't tell the difference between excitement and stress, that how you perceive the situation is all stress really is.  But stress can kill.  So...if the same chemicals are coursing through your systems whether you are excited or stressed means...happiness kills just as fast.  That was a little depressing.   Moral of the story-stay calm.  Which is the same as Don't Panic. Which is a good way to end a blog about 42.

Shoal Creek, TN

Andrea has not paddled down a creek before, so we decided to go back to Shoal Creek at Iron City, TN and do the 8 mile trip on kayaks this weekend.

There are several reasons we chose Shoal Creek: their rates are really good, they are less than 2 hours away, they have lots of info on their website and they take you right to the creek and leave.  Then when you are done, they come down and get the boats, the whole time on the creek is all up to you.

The water was a little low, but we only had to drag our kayaks once at the very start of the trip.  Every other time I got stuck was because I paddled into shallow water.  Chandler pulled me out once, Matt the second time and Ben rammed me off a rock the last time.  So, yay family!

We got on the water around 10:15 and got back to the cars at 2:30, we stopped to play in the water 3-4 different times.

When the trip (we did Factory Creek to Iron City) you pass lots of houses and camps set up along the creek,  After about a mile, maybe 2, the banks get more steep and the creek is flanked by fields and woods.  There are rocky beaches and deep spots to pull over and take a dip.  We all got out to swim in one spot and there were gar EVERYWHERE.  We got back in and kept going!

The banks are dotted with turtles on logs, heron, dragonflies and butterflies that dive bomb at hats or heads, I was fluttered into more than once.  In the reeds are tadpoles and bullfrogs occasionally let loose with a 'bonk' that sounds like a banjo string badly out of tune.  Floating on your back, you can hear the clink of rocks as the current moves them along the creekbed.  Flashes of tiny silver fish, splashes from bigger fish out hunting, the stillness of gar in the dappled shade, it's a lovely way to spend a day!

Andrea is pretty sure she's a professional kayaker now.

I kept putting the camera in the water to see if I could get any fish.  There's one!

Caitlyn, Andrea's daughter, came too!

Another fish!

The water was surprisingly cold, I enjoyed our stops to take a dip.
I am not sure what's going on here, looks like the guys are staring off upstream while Chandler dramatically drowns.

Lots of these, we think baby dragonfly

Another one I have no idea what's going on, and I just took it yesterday.
Ben is pushing his 'yak upstream and Chandler is in the background looking for life sustaining grubs on that tiny island.  Where is her kayak?  hahaha!

Well, she found it.

Several heron sightings

The kids are really ready for some 'bigger' water, I am looking at a trip with some technical spots, like whitewater lite. 

Whew, barely made it through the riffles!

I was thrilled with my corkscrew pigtails.

And a couple quick shots from our sunset swim last week:

Matt had a 4 day weekend, he took Thursday off after a late night gig Wednesday.
We lazed around mostly, but managed to get in about 10 miles of walking and a minor grocery shopping trip.

Chan will likely be starting work full time in the next couple of weeks, so she and Ben are off to stay with Phoenix for a few days on an extended sleepover.  I am hoping to squeeze in one more trip with her next week, I knew August was the plan, but it got here so fast.