Month: May 2010

  • Ascension Day

    http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_pMqNaWEUTt8/SBlkGgHlI4I/AAAAAAAAAc8/MbJ6eED7MTk/s400/Ascension.jpg

    9And when he had said these things, as they were looking on, he was lifted up,
    and a cloud took him out of their sight.
    10    And while they were gazing into heaven as he went,
    behold, two men stood by them in white robes,
    11    and said,
    “Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking into heaven?
    This Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven,
    will come in the same way as you saw him go into heaven.”
    12Then they returned to Jerusalem from the mount called Olivet,
    which is near Jerusalem,
    a Sabbath day’s journey away.

    Acts 1:9-12 (English Standard Version)

  • When life hands you lemons… and more lemons!

    Well, my fine feathered friends, I have been out of rotation for a few days.  Much has been happening, much indeed.  Usually that implies a heavier-than-usual blogging cycle… however, I wont lie to you:  the events of the past days have increasingly been the sort that one would rather forget.  I wouldn’t want to leave you with the impression that the only time I disappear without warning is when life unexpectedly takes a turn for the tragi-comical, however … now that I think about it, that actually seems to be the pattern!

    Here is a brief rundown, for the record:

    • The minivan needed some work done.  Paul, my handy man, knew just what it needed.  It needed a new water pump.  So, he set about the job of pulling out the old water pump in Friday morning.  Pulling the part always takes the longest because it involves finding all the right sized sockets, etc… Anyway, he got that off, then discovered the fan was cracked in several places.  So he had to go to the auto store to buy the new pump, and to the dealer to buy a new fan.  Got home, got it all put back together around 4pm, only to find that it was still leaking.  That turned out to be the fault of the cheap gasket they included with the water pump kit.  So he had to go back to the auto store, where they replaced it with the really expensive kind, the kind he always buys when he does things that involve gaskets.  That was around the time I had to leave with The Boy for karate.  By the time we were finished and on our way home, he called to say he was now walking home from Network Alignment (about a mile from home), where he had driven the van after he finished his job, to get the struts replaced and get it aligned.  Great.  So that was Friday evening.
    • Saturday, sometime in the middle of the day, he heard from them that they were finished.  Turned out the struts were fine so that was good.  Then, driving home from the shop, something seemed to be going wrong.  He got it home and fiddled around with his gizmos and computer thingy-ma-bob and determined that the alternator was shot.  So, he had to go buy a new alternator and put THAT in.
    • Finished the job, took the van for a test drive, about 4 miles… and it was getting worse and worse as he drove.  He managed to get off the main streets and about a block and a half from the house, it died completely.  So he called me, and I came in the suburban and towed him home, then switched to the van and steered while he pushed it into the driveway with the truck.
    • He now has no idea what is wrong, or if he can fix it.
    • Sunday, we took a break from tragedy to enjoy some celebratory fun for Mother’s Day.

    The Party Table


    Zucchini-Walnut Bread
    Apple Turnovers
    Chocolate-Marble Pound Cake


    Everything Bagels
    Cream Cheese


    Strawberry-Banana Punch
    Bananas

    While waiting for Paul to arrive home with Miss Susan,
    I snapped youngsters
    thusly:


    Boy and Dog


    Two lovely ladies-in-waiting.


    Another lovely lady-in-waiting,
    at her computer.


    Susan did indeed arrive,
    and we had a most festive party!


    Some of which Jacob spent wandering around with a
    book in one hand
    and
    turnover in the other.


    (There was more to this picture, but this is all you get to see.)

    ~*~*~*~*~

    • Sunday night, we discovered another problem.  In the girls bedroom (the master bedroom), there had been a wet spot in front of the bathroom door that I noticed a couple of times.  My assumption had been that one of the dogs had been locked in there by accident while we were out, and had an accident.  But every time it got cleaned up, it seemed to come back.  I thought maybe there was a leak, but there was no water on the floor of the bathroom, and I couldn’t figure out how water was getting to that strange spot.  I mentioned it to Paul, but it was at the end of the day, and he needed to hit the hay.  So we girls did our best and used the shop-vac to pull as much liquid out of the carpet as we could.
    • It was after Paul had gone to bed that we also discovered that the shower head in the master bathroom had begun to drip nonstop.  No matter what we did, it wouldn’t stop the fast running drip… yet another problem to be solved.
    • Monday morning, the wet spot was back as squishy as ever.  When he got home from work, Paul finally had a chance to investigate (for the wet spot had nearly quadrupled in size by that time) and he determined that the 11-year old water heater, directly on the other side of the master bathroom wall in the laundry room, was leaking, and it was coming through the wall into the girls’ room.  So all bathroom traffic was redirected to the main bathroom until a new water heater could be installed.
    • Today, Paul left work at noon so he could get home and tackle this thing.  First thing he needed to do though, was take the trailer full of junk to the dump, so that he could then go to Sears and pick up a new unit.  While he was doing that, the girls cleared EVERYTHING out of the laundry room to the living room floor, and commenced to sorting through the mountains, culling out anything with holes or ill fitting or what have you.  We managed to get rid of two full garbage bags, which will hopefully streamline the laundry processing a bit!
    • When he returned from Sears, Paul had to remove the old heater (full of water) — I helped a bit, pushing here, steadying there, till he was able to roll it out the laundry room door to the garage, out the garage, tip it over on the driveway and dump the water out.  That made shifting it into the trailer considerably easier.  I am constantly amazed at the heavy lifting my guy does, mostly by himself.
    • Next, he had to install the water heater.  That didn’t take long at all, as he has done it before.  He was finished by about 4:30, got it all ready to go, and then made a dismal discovery:  The water heater had NOT, in fact, been what was leaking. 
    • The leak.  Was in.  The wall.
    • At that point, he turned off the water to the bathroom, and we went for supper.  We hit Home Depot on the way home, Paul went to the plumbing department to acquire pipes for the broken spot inside the wall, and I went to the shower faucet department to find something suitable, sturdy, and not very expensive.
    • Inexpensive and sturdy are mutually exclusive, unfortunately.  We ended up getting something sturdy.  The $$ were by this time bedazzling our brains…
    • So we got home.  We had all the equipment.  Paul began carving into the laundry room wall (squinched in between the new water heater and the washing machine, to get at the spot where the break is) – and then, as I was typing on this very blog entry, I heard a loud “OH NO!!!!  AHHHHH!!” and I turned around, leapt toward the dining room, saw Paul come racing out of the laundry room toward the front door, sliding on the tile as he ran, and I heard a gushing sound coming from the laundry room — the main water shut off is right outside the front door, and the gushing stopped quickly… he came marching back in exclaiming “I nicked a copper pipe!  Now this is going to be three times as much work…”

    And that, my friends, is where we sit right now, at 7:44 pm on Tuesday.  The water is shut off.  The dishes will wait.  Showers will wait.  I will go buy bottled water if we need some for drinking.  If you are of a mind to say a prayer, I know Paul would appreciate any petitions or intentions raised on his behalf for an expeditious resolution to this debacle!

    ~*~*~*~*~

    *****UPDATE*****
    9:00 pm
    Copper Pipe is fixed,
    Water is on!
    Thanks be to God
    who answers prayer!

  • Wildflower Photography

    Just want to give a shoutout to
    a wonderful photographer,
    Aimee Schirado
    at
    Wildflower Photography
    Do check out her site and
    her beautiful
    natural light photography.

  • A late night project…

    For several months I have been feeling the ill effects of forced inactivity brought on by a knee injury in early spring.  Gradually (oh.so.slowly) my strength has returned,
    and I have been able to go for more,
    and lengthier, walks.
    (This, by the way, gives me an incredible emotional boost!!)
    However,
    scheduling such walks can be difficult when you
    a.  are not, and never will be, a morning person, no matter how much you strive to change,
    b.  have a busy and very full schedule already with the running-a-household-and-homeschooling-four-kids thing,
    c.  live in the city where it is highly imprudent to walk after dark without a male escort,
    and
    d.  have a husband who gets up, and therefore goes to bed, hours before the rest of the family.
     
    Thus, I was inspired last night to kill two birds with one stone.
    I had, a few months ago, stashed the exercise bike in the girls’ bedroom because I was utterly frustrated with having it clutter up my living room, and having no other floorspace on which to stow it, there it got stowed.
    It was completely impractical, couldn’t be used where it was, and was in the way.
    But I didn’t know what else to do!
    Last night, I got creative.
    I decided if I could somehow move the bike to the office, I would have accessibility if I wanted to hop on for a few minutes during school, or even sit on the bike and watch a dvd or online show on my computer, after everyone else was in bed.
    But how to accomplish that, when my office looked like this?

    See that big bookshelf stuck in the middle of the floor?


    I had no idea where else to put that.

    However,
    necessity is the mother of invention, they do say.
    Looky what the kids and I did!


    What a lovely, wide open space for the bike!
    And I can swing it around in whatever direction I need to in order to focus on kids, or even plug in my earphones to play dvds
    - with the fan blowing on high –
    after bedtime.

    And the shelf?

    Completely reorganized
    (thank you, thank you, my library angels)
    and shifted down the office corridor
    in front of the kitchen window
    (how many of you were readers back when this office was still an enclosed porch?)

    I am so delighted.
    And I put the new arrangement to immediate use last night,
    biking for 45 minutes
    while watching the latest episode of LOST online.
    (The intensity of that show is perfect for getting a great workout! )

    ~*~*~*~*~

    And in creative news,
    my place-mat project is coming along as well.


    Each one has its own design.
    Open Shells,

    Single crochet with a border,

    A couple of variations of alternating rows of
    criss-cross/single crochet,

    and popcorn border with single crochet sections,

    Don’t know if I will think up any more variations, but
    I have 3 more to finish off this set, then I’ll post a pic of them all together.

    ~*~*~*~*~

    So that is that for the morning.
    I’m off to roust the little people and get the day rolling
    Have a lovely one, people!

  • Simple Woman’s Daybook – May 4th

    Outside my window…….
    At 7am, an Arizona Sunshine Day is on tap.  I think we may have come to the end of our extended spring coolness, as we’re looking at 94° for a high today.  It had to happen.  I will not complain – this is the longest cool spell we have had in the twelve years I’ve lived in Arizona!

    I am thinking…….
    about creative genius and its various manifestations, all of which amaze me as I watch them unfolding in my children.

    I am thankful for………
    every new day that is a new beginning.

    From the schoolroom…….
    While Laurent has her Great Books class, we will begin the day with music and art.  Hayden is our composer of the day, so we will also look at some 18th century artists.  Then it’s off to the races with history, science, and vocabulary.

    From the kitchen…….
    Geneva is even now mixing up some scones to serve with eggs for breakfast.
     
    I am wearing……
    my shoes, at this unusual hour… with clothing of course, but the shoes, that is atypical.  Necessary  though, in view of the 2 scorpions that were found in the house within an hour Sunday night.  The neighbor over our back fence has been rummaging and banging around in his yard the last few days, and clearly has discombobulated the local pest population, and they have run to my house for refuge.  There is no refuge here!!  You will all be smashed one by one with the bottom of a metal measuring cup or stabbed with a pencil, just like your evil cousins!!

    I am creating…….
    placemats for the new table in flamboyant rainbow hues.  Pictures to come.

    I am going…….
    to be walking more and more!!  Huzzah for getting my legs back!!  Went for a stroll with my honey after sundown yesterday evening, struggled for the first mile and then things loosened up.  Thanks be to God – I have felt like a complete sludge!!

    I am reading……..
    well… I am still reading the same stack of books, a little here, a little there… but I have one new fun-reading book that Jeff sent home with me Saturday:  The Sorcerer’s House, by Gene Wolfe. 


    Always love Gene Wolfe.

    I am hoping…….
    In the spirit of the day*, I will paraphrase Yoda:  “Do, or do not.  There is no ‘hoping’.” 
    I am not “hoping” — I am “doing the next thing.” :)

    I am hearing…….
    A large fan situated 3 feet from my desk drowns out any possibility of sound from the rest of the house.  I don’t actually know why it is on since the outside temperature is still a balmy 64 at the moment.  Probably absentmindedly walked away and left it blowing after sitting here for a post-walk cool down last night.  Typical.

    Around the house……
    Only half of the creatures are stirring, because I am blogging instead of rolling them out.  I must roust my lefties!

    Four of my favorite things…….
    The daughter who writes in her journal in a strange angelic script from right to left…
    The daughter who draws Tim Burtonesque landscapes…
    The daughter who sees the world through a poet’s eyes…
    The son who surprises me every day with his inventions and comedic wit…

    A few plans for the rest of the week…….
    Nothing but the usual this week.  School, and lots of it.  Karate 3 more times, (which gives me lots of focused crochet time), keeping the home in some semblance of order, healthy meals around the table, and -hopefully- definitely restoring the exercise regimen to its proper place in the scheme of life.

    Here is a picture thought I am sharing with you……


    There’s always something like this…


    Sitting on my keyboard tray…

  • Overnight Backpacking in the White Tanks

    Yesterday, after scattering to the four winds for a morning of shooting class for the girls and karate for the boy (and some sweet crochet time in the car for me outside the dojo)
    the Heidmann clan converged for bite of lunch at Jack’s.
    Paul and Geneva each had a big burger,
    since they were about to embark on a Big Hike!
    After lunch, we zipped home and the two of them cleverly packed up everything they would (or might) need to spend the night in the mountains.
    Paul’s pack was 55lbs when all was said and done!
    I got a quick pic before they took off:

    And with that, they were off to the White Tank Mountains for their adventure!

    The following pics were taken along their journey,
    and I include Paul’s pithy commentary for your amusement.
    ~*~*~*~*~
    Mudgy has been bugging me to take her backpacking, and I finally got around to it. Mudgy picked the place, and it was the White Tanks. Good choice. Lots of climbing (not so fun when wearing a 55lb backpack), and very pretty. We hiked up Ford Canyon, and slept up on top of the mountain. The trip had its problems, however. See below.

    Just starting the hike, near the Ford Canon trail-head.


    Me.


    Here was our first problem. A bit hard to see in this picture and the next (these things always are hard to see), but we came across this rattlesnake. He was mad, and let us know about it, too.


    Silly sign. No amateurs we.


    Part way up.


    Aw come-on Mudge! It can’t be that wearying.


    Pretty flowers.
    (Nettie note:  Paul is a good photographer — but there was  stiff wind blowing and these were bobbing around like crazy)


    I think Mudge took this. Not sure what it is.


    This is why they call this place the “White Tanks”. This is a tank, and it is white (imagine that). Recent rains have left the tanks all full of water (skanky water, to be sure).


    Another tank.


    Somewhere in Ford Canyon.


    I would never have guessed that spiders came in the purple variety.


    Here is another of those problems. I packed neither fork nor spoon. We had to eat our meals using strange and not very efficacious utensils.


    Our campsite. I thought that the sand would be comfortable to sleep on. Wrong. It was more comfortable than a rock, however (yes, I’d slept on a rock more than once before).


    Eating with a strange utensil.


    Sunset.
    (Nettie note: Their hike and campsite were on the east side of the mountain range.)


    More flowers.
    (Nettie note: I love how the light is hitting the flowers from the side while the rocks are in shadow behind….)


    HI!


    Pretty scenery.


    Eating granola and blueberries for dessert (pretty yummy) with a knife. Wonder why she doesn’t use a spoon?


    A few tanks.


    Here is yet another problem. I was trying to crawl around this tank (the rock was steep), and I fell in! This tank was much deeper than I expected, and that water was COLD!


    On the way down, the next morning.


    Pretty bug.
    ~*~*~*~*~
      I am very very happy that Geneva (aka “Mudgy” — a nickname from her baby/toddler years) had a fun and memorable outing with her dad.  She has been waiting for a backpacking trip for several years and since the onset of our ranching excursions, backpacking has been on the back burner.
    Obviously they had a great time.