hutch off the cuff

The name is Bond. James Bond.

Some things just make me happy.

A Game

TB did this on his blog, and I'm all about trying it out here to quench the dry spell that parches my blogging wilderness.

Instructions:
1. Go to www.flickr.com.
2. Type your answer to each question in the “search” box.
3. Using only the first page, pick an image.
4. Copy and paste the html into your blog.

So here we are:

1. What is your first name? James. This is the James River. Yeah, I don't know where that is either.

2. What is your favorite food? Curry. I love me some Curry.

3. What High School did you attend? Grantsville.

4. What is your favorite Color? Can you guess? By the way, I think this is a very interesting photo for discussion seeing that the woman on the right is a law-enforcement officer.

5. Who is your favorite celebrity crush? You know, I'm not much of a crusher, but when this woman sings, she moves my heart. I'd be grateful for just a fraction of the musical-emotion connection that she emotes. Not the strongest vocalist, but she's so sincere, and I respect (read: envy) that tremendously. For those of you who don't know her by sight, this is Brooke White, and she took a fifth place finish in American Idol this year (ROBBED, I tell you, ROBBED!) Let it be said: I really don't like American Idol. I just like Brooke White.

6. What is your favorite drink? Rich, dark, intense, hot chocolate.

7. What do you want to be when you grow up?

8. What do you love most in life? Gotta be my family, no question.

12 of 12—April

Better late than never? That is such an overused phrase.

12:06 pm—an example of the articulation I wanted in the Mozart. I think it worked, unlike the marker.

12:06 pm—the seat I occupied for our three hour rehearsal yesterday. The time really does fly when you're the director.

2:05 pm, 3:17 pm, 5:04 pm—The boys have had these out for days playing Go Fish. I think that doll is the essence of youthful creepiness.

5:05 pm—Jacob is shocked at something. Or maybe he just thinks that the face you make when the camera comes out. I'm thinking it's the latter.

6:06 pm—We went shopping as a family, and Michael was extremely helpful, darting from place to place to be the first to grab the items on our list. One thing about family shopping, though, when we put a child in the seat, the bananas end up in the cart instead of the seat. Yeah, that's a problem.

6:07 pm—Surprise! Another game of Go Fish!

6:13 pm—I won. And I did it without the 1970s-era horror doll.

6:13 pm—Michael's photo of his hand. I think he moved. Do you concur?

6:13 pm—Joshua couldn't be the only one without a photo of his cards, could he? Of course not.

6:16—With a brilliant victory under my belt, I decided to quit while I was ahead and take charge of the evening's treats. Jacob and I popped up some popcorn the old fashioned way, with a little oil and a big pan.

6:25 pm—A minefield of calories. OK, not really because I only made half the caramel, and Michael ate half the finished product. Every morning I wake up wondering if today will be the day he hits 6 feet.

8:41 pm—With everyone tucked into bed and Liz off to the gym for a little weekend workout, I hit the books for my project I'm presenting Monday. A little Buxtehude never hurt anyone, especially a little that sounds as beautiful as what I was studying. Ah, In dulci jubilo, indeed.

And there you have it. April 12, 2008. It was a good day. A lot of work, a lot of play, some bruised bananas and a happy family. What more could one ask? Not much, say I.

Study Break

This is what interrupted my study. You can see a video here.

yup. hail.

Building shelves

As one might expect, we have a multitude of books in our home: big books, small books, fat books, thin books, funny books, sad books, silly books, and glad books (I just couldn't help myself!) Yesterday Michael organized his collection of personal and library-borrowed books into his own library, separated intelligently by category, and in neat piles all over his desk. He even created a discard pile for the books that needed to be reshelved after he enjoyed them. Today he announced that he needed shelves for his library, so he and I went to the store, intelligently shopped for "the best deal that met our needs" and came home to build shelves. Not to be left out, Joshua and Jacob joined in for what would prove to be one of the longest, but most most fulfilling Sauder experiences of my life.

Planting Flowers

Outside our front door we have a 1 ft. x 3 ft. patch of "garden" that the boys have been begging to fill with flowers. They want to plant, grow, tend, and harvest, and finally, after 19 months I helped them get started. Here's my boys starting the seeds for Larkspur, Zinnia, Cosmos, and Impatiens. They are thrilled with the already amazing progress of the Cosmos—we have 2 inch seedlings after only four days!

Spring Break

Spring Break has been a bundle of different, unexpected, strange, and moving. We took off Saturday for Heather's house to help after her procedure. We did our nontraditional Easter celebrations with homemade tortillas, and fresh fixins, Joshua especially loved the sour cream,

then had a very small Easter egg hunt.

Monday and Tuesday we spent cleaning up and helping organize Heather's house. We made an amazing change in there, and here is photo as proof:

From there we sped home, during which journey we decided that rather than zip back to Missouri, we should head the opposite direction, so we jumped on I-80 and made a beeline for Indiana to visit Friends. After a few short stops and one amazing farm-fresh "breakfast for dinner" meal, we headed down to Indianapolis where we scored an unheard of rate on a 2 room hotel suite and bedded down for the night. Wednesday we head back home (again!) but instead of a direct route via I-70, we took the Northern route so we could stop at the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum.

This was the true treat of Spring Break, and the entire family enjoyed learning about Lincoln, his life, and his legacy. There were incredible displays of technological mastery coupled with moving depictions of slavery, conflict, emancipation and assassination. It was an incredible experience as well as an appropriate and timely educational opportunity for our family. Having to talk to your four and five year old about slavery while standing in front of a life-size re-creation of a family being sold apart, seeing the pain in their eyes and the horror across their tired faces, is a priceless and moving moment. Try it some time and let me know at what point you could no longer speak because your voice was choked with disbelief, emotion, and tears. You can't replicate those times, and you must cherish them when they come.

Not so much a 12 of 12

I always want to do the 12 of 12, but today I left my camera at home, so a few photos from my day will have to suffice.  Oh well!

Some beautiful morning tunes for my run.  You know you like Renaissance music . . .

Joshua was up early to say "Good morning!" 

The important thing here is not the car, it's the license plate.  You see, we've lived here in Missouri about 19 months, and I never titled or registered my car.  There's a whole horrendous story involving the stupidity of the government of the State of Indiana, the inability of Wells Fargo to communicate and my own lazy attitude about the whole thing.  As you see, I finally got it done yesterday, so today is my first full day as a legal Missouri driver. 

This was once a lovely, sturdy plastic storage bin.  Then one day my creative boys whisked it away for outdoor play.  Now you see its remains.  And my cool new shoe.

The item is not so much important (although I adore these jeans and shirt) but the fact that it arrived in the mail is rather significant.  You see, Mom never send things in the mail.  Special thanks to you, Mom.

This kid's just plain cute.  That's all there is to it.

Happy [not quite] 12 of 12!

Rain, Rain, Go Away

This guy was hanging out in our yard in the rain today.  A spot of winter color as the temperatures plummet once more.

12 of 12: January

Thanks to Chad for this great snap-shotting adventure.  By the way, if you're unfamiliar with the WGA strike, you can catch up with things through his blog.  I'm sad to leave our shows in jeopardy, but I do think the writers deserve money, credit, and opportunity for the ever-expanding market.  And here we go:

11:14 a.m., The Kitchen.  Jacob is showing me "up" while we together prepare an exciting lunch of macaroni and cheese.

11:14 a.m., The Kitchen.  Not to be outdone by "up," "down" is on its way.

11:18 a.m., The Kitchen.  I've been meaning to put this beauty in my blog for some time, but I've just put it off.  Perhaps another post soon will explain why I have a Giant Sequoia growing on my countertop.

11:28 a.m.,  The Dining Room.  Light filtered through blinds creates just great the right ambiance for Joshua during his classy "macaroni-and-cheese-with-apples-and-broccoli" lunch.

1:27 p.m., Macaroni Grill.  Liz and I enjoyed a nice afternoon date.  Here she pores over her menu looking for just the right thing.

1:28 p.m., Macaroni Grill.  My own menu.  She decided on the lasagna, so we ordered a side salad with it.  I ate the salad while she enjoyed the lasagna.

2:10 p.m., Hollywood Theaters.  Don't I wish it was really in Hollywood?  We decided on Juno, and it was a delight, although the dialogue was a little harsh for my taste.  Ellen Page and Jennifer Garner turn in amazing performances, however.

5:40 p.m., Grocery shopping.  I wanted to make chili for dinner tomorrow, but lacked the necessaries, so I ran to my least favorite place on the planet.  Really, I loathe my necessary trips here, the store itself, the unhelpful, often unfriendly staff, and most of the crap they sell.  What a waste of America.

6:15 p.m., Dining Room.  Joshua does love this place, this time for a little fake banana split.  Oh, the bananas, hot fudge, and nuts are real, but the ice cream is really cool whip.  I am not ashamed.

6:16 p.m., My Shopping Bag.  Before lunch today, we stopped at Old Navy to spend a gift card, and I left with this fantastic fake velvet blazer for only $9.  They were having some great 75% off sales, so we grabbed some stuff for us and the boys.  Good timing on our part.

6:42 p.m., Living Room.  Michael's not feeling especially well tonight, so he asked if he could have some cuddle time.  Mommy is always willing to cuddle with her boys.

6:43 p.m., Living Room.  Shortly before his night time meltdown, Joshua begged to take a photo of me.  I obliged, and showed him how to carefully hold the camera and take a photo.  It's one of the least flattering photos I've seen of late, but his camera technique is not bad for a four-year-old!