Uncategorized

July 12, 2012

The 4-H Report

Entomology is all the way done. He did the activity in his project book yesterday and the insects are arranged in the cases.

We made the stingray pattern for non-clothing fleece yesterday – it’s a visual art class, not a sewing one. I’m making the first stingray to test the pattern and see how the (forgive me) damn thing goes together.

His Write A Book is special AND it’s a surprise. Getting closer…

Fudge we won’t make until the day before judging.

That’s four…
(or somewhere around the 20,000,000 mark)

Electricity is “in the works”. I have a shopping list from my father for my oldest son’s electricity project. My son and I will be sure to go together to buy those items before his Papa is back in town to build it.

A new international project one of his aunts is helping with. They brainstormed at the last fair to do the Philippines together this year. That’s where she’s from. It seemed like a good idea at the time…

Photography isn’t “hard”. I got the project book out yesterday to look over…just gotta do it!

Balsa airplanes is a bear. They are working on it…my amazingly patient husband and equally diligent sons. Both my boys are taking this one which means there is not just one, but two delicate balsa wood airplanes under construction in our basement. Did I mention projects are due the night before the fair on July 31?!

Rockets may be the one that’s dropped this year. We shall see. Eleven just feels like (at least) one too many.

Plastic models is close to being done…this one they started early, father and son, surely they will finish it soon. Maybe while the glue is drying on that mega balsa plane…

LEGOs is built. He just has a 3” x 5” card to do.

Gettin’ there…that’s all eleven, or 50,000,000 if you ask me. It’s 4-H countdown time. It’s 4-H project crunch time. Fourth year with my oldest and the first for my youngest (who wisely chose five projects which are practically all complete). This too shall pass.

~ Janean
(I was a ten year 4-H’er from age eight to seventeen, so it sort of runs in the family.)

July 3, 2012

tonight

tonight
the moon is full
with a pale orange tint
the nighttime air is cooler
less thick
without humidity
to be expected
on a midwestern day
in July

tonight
the breeze blows gently
yet persistently
I wish
for a screened in porch
a sleepin’ porch
like summers growin’ up
at Grandma and Grandpa’s

tonight
I see a flash a light
hear the leaves rustle
and feel a storm
gathering power
we need the rain
but it’s more than that
for a storm’s been brewing
and it’s time
to let it all go
tonight

July 2, 2012

July 3, 2012 Image

I’ve been building a mountain
in shades of gray
with a dab of brown too
numerous pieces of paper
held together with glue
these are the scraps
in pieces and bits
they aren’t recycled yet
I may still need them
mountain building takes time
and more patience
than I knew I had
I can see the finished artwork clearly
in my mind
until then
it’s considered
a work in progress
sorta like the woman
using scissors, paper and glue
to build the mountain

July 2, 2012

July 2, 2012 Image

NOTE TO SELF: When the nine month old puppy is out of sight and quiet for too long DO NOT assume he is napping. Because when you ask your children, “Where’s Blue?” he may come trotting from around the corner, carrying a piece of couch upholstery in his mouth, grinning his wolf-like grin. So, I doused the couch in green apple spray and pushed it up against the bay window, shutting down his favorite hangout/barking spot in the center of the window. This is when I’m thankful the couch is from 1999. I think my usually sweet and charming pup has officially entered The Teenage Years. Lord help me!!!! Now he’s sprawled out ready for a morning nap. Grrrrrr That’s me growlin’, not the dog…maybe I need a morning nap too. ~ Janean

June 27, 2012 Image

Outside again. Fourth time since 4:30am. Love the sunshine on my face and birdsong. Crazy woofing dog didn’t need to go, he found a stick and plopped in the shade to chew. “Stress?! What stress?!”, says Blue as he grins at me with his tongue lollying out one side of his mouth, looking crooked and quite hilarious. Sometimes I give in, and lie in the shade next to him in the grass and look up at the sky through a canopy of leaves. A Dog’s Eye View. He’s a smart pup, my Blue.

June 20, 2012

too damn much

sometimes when the phone rings
the news you hear next
is like a punch to the gut
with a simultaneous slide tackle
so that your legs crumble
and you can’t catch your breath
your vision is blurry
due to tears from the news
not physical pain
sometimes it’s just too damn much
and then a little more
just to see how much it takes
before you double over
crying
in racking sobs
and can’t stop
all because the phone rang
with news you didn’t expect
and you have to make an appointment
the breaks your heart
and depending on the results
it may break even more
no
not this too
it’s just too damn much

June 20, 2012

June 18, 2012

zig zag

looking back
because that’s what we do
there are times
we could have zagged
instead of zigged
visa versa too
we can’t go back
there are no do overs
I’m just glad
I’ve spent these years
with you

looking forward
we have more questions
than answers
and when we get them
we may wish
we didn’t know
so let’s zig more
and zag less
and remember
to laugh and love and live
for as long as we have left
together
could be you’re stuck with me
for many years yet
so I can baffle and perplex you
with more poems
about zigging and zagging

June 18, 2012