As Free as His Hair

I know that Gaga lyrics make good pop music, but I don't get the literal translation.  When my hair is free it totally drives me nuts.  It gets in my eyes and my mouth (not to mention other places!).  The shades of gray it turns around my temple wash me out.  My hair is a lot of things, but a metaphor for liberation, it is not!

Falcom tried to explain the concept to me.  "She can do whatever because she is free like her hair."  Still not getting it I responded, "Your hair is always giving you a hard time!  Dreading up in the back and poofing everywhere."  I didn't mention that it caused people to look at him and express gender confusion, to which he and his sister were having to correct in other people all the time.  "I guess, if I stretched the concept of freedom...or if I embraced it in a Buddhist way, like, the more freedom the more restraint."  Falcom wasn't following my train of thought.  At all.  "Anyway mom, I saw a picture where her head was shaved 'cuz she's just wearing wigs all the time anyway."

Somehow, Falcom decided that indeed, he was tired of dealing with his long curly hair.  But what would he do with it?  The day he came home and told me he was going to give himself a wedge up the back to come down long around the front, I pinched my lips together and called Cherish in a panic.  You see, my motherly opinion holds little weight, but Cherish...fashion maven with a huge closet full of shoes and designer handbags...Cherish's opinion holds weight. 

Cherish gave Falcom this picture.  Falcom was delighted.  Oh!  This will work fantastically!  Now, to find a hairdresser who knows curly hair.  (Now that Jerami is gone.)  In steps Brett!

Brett is an amazing woman!  She is the other Girl Scout Leader at McNeil.  She and Jerami used to work together.  She prefers recieving gifts or wine instead of cash for her services.  Her daughter is Falcom's Kinder-buddy.  Oh...the list of things that makes her fantastic goes on and on!  All of this, and she knows hair!

 And off it came, one curl at a time...clip, clip, clip...

Thank you Cherish and Brett, for unleashing Falcom from under the weight of all that 'freedom' .  He looks great!

Weekend News!

  TedXHomer happened this weekend.  TED is a group devoted to the expansion of new ideas and information.  This year, the local group asked Falcom to perform.  This was a live streaming event.  It was fascinating to have Vince and I texting with friends and family all around the world as they watched him sing his songs.

He was fabulous.  We are looking forward to having the performance on the internet for those of you that were not able to see it because of streaming difficulties or timing issues to be able to see it.

On Sunday, while Willie was at work, the rest of us took the skiff and a raft to Mallard Bay for a picnick.

We set up this fire and went about collecting hotdog sticks.  The tide was coming up.  I asked Vince if we should move the fire to higher ground.  "We are at higher ground."  He said.

The water kept coming up but no problem.  We cooked hotdogs and taught the kids about wrapping them with those canned crescent rolls.

The water kept rising.  Vince decided I had been right and that we should move our fire. It was not long after this picture that the water had engulfed our fire.

And the water keeps rising.  (behind Fal is the previous fire ring).

Marina wasn't quite done cooking her hot dog so she kept at it.  The water kept rising.  See the water coming around the back side of Vince and his new fire location?

Here is a picture of our second fire going underwater.  Vince and Falcom rowed out to the skiff so that we could find another beach to try to make a fire at.

Marina used this eagle feather to tie her hair up with.  She looked so cute!  Like the princess that she is.  We stood by the bluff waiting for the guys to come get us.

Marina spent the rest of the afternoon practicing rowing around the bay.  She got good at it.  At one point she rowed out to 'Marina Rocks' with Vince (for back story on Marina rocks click here:  Marina Rocks   ).  As she stood upon the rocks looking out into Kachemak Bay she said, "Dad there goes our fire."  "What are you talking about?"  responded Vince.  "Look, our fire!" and floating out to sea, Vince found 5 pieces of firewood stacked up and floating out with the tide.  They were still a little warm.

Falcom Performs for TEDx Homer

If you explore around this website http://tedxhomer.org/ you will find how to watch Falcom on Saturday Evening performing at this event!  You can even see his sweet face and bio. 

Check him out!

Iris Starts Preschool!

Today was Iris's first day at Head Start! 

She was so excited.  She jumped right out of the car and headed in to her new school. 

Once inside she saw her fill-in Grandma, Mema.

She ran right into Mema's arms.  Maygen took her to her cubby and helped her take off her shoes and put on her inside shoes.  Kids were mingling all around.  The staff was there greeting and talking with all the new students and their parents.  There was a delicious smell coming from the kitchen.  Iris and I went to check it out.  What did we find?  Cassie was making pancakes!  Iris's favorite food!  There were pancakes on the griddle and a bowl of berries out for the kids to put on their pancakes. 

This took me back to Falcom's days as a Head Start Student.  This picture of Iris with her new teacher Pat was very similar to a picture I have of Falcom and teacher Pat.  I told Pat that Falcom would be there to have lunch with Iris on his first In-Service day next month.  Please tell Cassie to make sandwiches!  Pat laughed at me.  Cassie bakes the bread and makes the sandwiches from scratch.  Delicious.

After a bit Maygen left.  Mema and I watched Iris for a bit longer.  As soon as Maygen left, Iris headed over to the play house area and saw all the things that were stocked in the kitchen.  We said good bye but she couldn't have cared less.  She is thrilled with her new school. 

Congratulations Iris!  We love you!

In other child rearing news, Daisy's babies have doubled in size in the past week.  With the gale force, typhoon wind we have been experiencing, these little ducklings have been blown all over the yard and back.  Very amusing for us; not amusing to Daisy and the ducks.

Family Day Continues

After writing my last post, Marina called me from school. She was too sick to be there. Right!  I had a choice to make: be the mean mom who makes her stay at school:  and then who aggravates the staff by making them clean up the vomit which the girl who wasn't actually lying spews everywhere 5 minutes after I leave:  Or reluctantly take her home. She came in the door of our house, took off her boots, put on her skates and had at it. Barely a week of school has gone by and she has figured out how to get out of it!  Perfect!

We mellowed out at home until it was time to pick up Piper and have dinner with Maygen, Iris, Mema and Priscilla. The girls played on the beach for 30 minutes before their food came. We sat down and ate and everything was going fine when Piper and Marina shouted "whale!  Orca!"

We all jumped to our feet. The entire restaurant jumped to it's feet. Those orca were swimming right past the restaurant  along the beach. Their dorsal fins rigid standing high out of the water, with a grey patch on their black flanks.   Marina grabbed this camera and ran out to snap this picture.  

I was right behind her pleading for her and Piper not to stand to close to the water line. (you've seen the films of orca coming up in shore and grabbing a seal right?). There was a mamma and a baby out there and when the girls loud excitement exited the building the whales tuned and went away from the shore and back to the sea.

After about 5 minutes, the girls stood at the shore, still looking for orca, when a seal went by, on it's side, looking at them. It was maybe 5 feet away from them and the waterline. I imagined it was thanking them for chasing off that family!  Then the otters came out. It was like the entire ocean community was breathing a sigh of relief.

I breathed a sigh of relief too. In all the years I have lived here I have never been in a spot on the day the orca came to town that allowed me to see them. Now I was seeing them on a day that had seemed glum and full of disappointment!  I saw the blessing and am taking it for what it is!  Now we are on Saturday and as soon as everyone wakes up we will begin our Family Day!