Regular Tuesday Without Irene

DeeJay went to school this morning in the rasta dread lock hat that Vince brought back from St. Maartin for Falcom. Looking good dude!

Yesterday a fun friend (M.P.) told me a story about her two children, a boy, age 10, and a girl, age 8. These two know our family and have played with us, but we are not hang out friends with them. M.P. told me they were buying crocks at the store and they were picking out the flourishes that are so popular to add to the shoes when the girl said to the boy, "Do you think those might be too girly?" and the boy said to her, "I don't know, they might be." The two of them stood puzzled looking at each other when the girl said, "What would Falcom do?" The boy said, "Falcom would wear them." They bought the clip-ons and went home happy. Falcom... an orange among apples. Let freedom ring!

Today was the last birthday celebration Falcom will enjoy at Otter Beach School. It is such a sweet ceremony. The parents walk around the circle of children one time for each trip the kids have taken on the earth around the sun and they tell stories from each trip. We always tell about the first time I saw Falcom, sitting in the collapsible stroller, under the breadfruit tree. He had such radiant brown skin and those wide eyes looked at me with a puzzled expression and then he broke out in laughter! Four white teeth sparkled from inside his mouth and laughter rolled out of his heart, as if to say, "What a strange looking (white) lady!" O Happy Day. The beginning of our love!


I finally got up the gumption to jog this morning. Made it to Valda's driveway when it started hailing! Hail... in May... May 6. Nice. I love you Alaska, but you are very aggravating!








Had a lovely coffee with Priscilla today. She is a good stand in for Irene. Not as edgy as Irene, of course... She got goosebumps only a couple of times and I only became sentimental for Sarah Palin once. That's good for us.


Topics Discussed with Priscilla:

• The Boys
  
• My new handbag (she likes it)


• Possible ways of overcoming the high cost of prescription drugs


• The high cost of fuel oil/propane


• Heidi having to go to the vet and how exactly Priscilla knew there was a problem to begin with and how if it had been my dog Scratch, he'd be out of luck!


• Maya and what a tiny little thing she is


• How amazing technology is that we can see right into Vietnam while we talk


• When I should start mowing the lawn (the lawn being her lawn)


• How Elton John is going to do another show in Anchorage since he did sell out in less than an hour
• How she will be unpacking Maya's clothes for Irene this weekend, and how when I pressed her for a time that she might be doing that she said, "I'll be working alone. It is my job!" and I said, "I don't want to work. I want to take pictures of it for my blog!" You'd think she would know me after all these years. hee hee hee

Tonight, I got home and installed my camera! I am so high tech now I can't believe it. I also can barely use it because it was giving Irene so much feed back she either gets to see me, or hear me, not both together at the same time. We talked right as they got home from breakfast, omelets. Nice. We talked about whether Maya is just a person who can not eat when she is stressed. Possible. And then we got cut off. Damn. So here is my open letter to Irene.

Dear Irene;

Mindy called me tonight and did an excellent job standing in for you. Although we could not meet for coffee on Regular Tuesday she did tell me that she choked on her coffee as she was driving to work this morning and shot the entire mouthful out over her entire car and it was loaded with sugar and cream and so it made quite a mess. She wishes I could have been there to witness it.

Karen gave her a gift certificate for a double massage at Lands End for her birthday, you know the side by side one, thinking that she and her husband would enjoy it, but he said, 'Never!' and so Karen wants me to share it with Mindy. That should be fun.

Oh, oh, here goes my ADD again... Did I ever tell you the story of when Vince and I had side by side massages in Bali with the flower bath after? Maybe you will remember that. Um no, it was not an exhilarating experience for us...and then the farm animals outside the window started screaming... And then his father could hear us through the walls. If I haven't told you about that be sure to remind me when you get home.

Anyway, then Mindy and I will go get the pedicures you gave us after the massage. She thinks I should try again for that Elton John concert because she feels it's a phenomenon that I should be a part of. She even says that she'd seriously consider driving to Anchorage with me, not to spend a minimum of $60 on the show, but to see her brother who is doing an ER stint up there for the summer. She says she needs to see him in the window of time before TSB sets in (a term not suitable for a family blog) but before his girlfriend arrives in Anchorage and turns his mind to mush. She was a good choice for you to send me as a temporary guardian of the best friendship! She really cracks me up. I think I will skip Elton though because by that time you will have just gotten home and I want to be here to see you and talk with Maya.

Thank you for telling me that the new camera makes me look super thin and that Matt thinks I bought the fancy one that makes you look 10 pounds lighter. Fake it till you make it baby! I am loving your baby. See you in Hanoi.

Alana

Another Day Revolving Around Food

I had so many fascinating thoughts this morning. The sun, the moon, the sunlight reflecting off the ocean. The way our road is still covered in snow. The way my daughter is already wanting to take a day off from everything. Of course, all these lofty thoughts escaped me during the throng of the day.

Veggie boxes came right on time! Great things are happening at Moose Run Metal Smithing (where I pick up the boxes). Their creative energy is awesome. And then off to Two Sisters where the women have repainted their oven room and the place looks and smells out of this world! I told Marina that I would not buy her a sticky bun today and she said, "I'd better stay in the car so I'm not tempted." Two Sisters has a great blog which I've listed on the side of this. As many of you know, most of my early days in Homer were spent in this very bakery eating those white trash rolls. Ah! The life PK (pre-kids). By the way, that baker in the picture is the infamous Sharon of delicious coffee and mud driveway lore.

Many people are shocked to learn that although we live in what they think of as a palace on the hill we still have to haul water each week for drinking and cooking. We carry jugs to town and load up at the free water spicket at the Safeway. This is what I love about Alaska, there are some truly great class equalizers that still hold us together as a community. These include: the dark, the cold, the ocean, and iron and arsenic in the water. I used to think that the atmosphere of our community would change the day they installed a traffic light. Now, I believe the atmosphere will change when Safeway gets rid of this spicket or starts charging people to use it.

Calimari with Ginger Martini

Irene and Matt scheduled a birthday party for Vince and I last night. They brought all the kids and their own personal babysitter to our house and then we drove to Wasabi's for dinner. I'm pretty much getting over the idea that my Weight Watchers 10% celebration is going to happen anytime in the next month. Irene got drunk very quickly. We ordered salads and sushi. The salads came quickly...and then we waited...and waited...and waited... and the waiter kept coming to apologize, and then it arrived. Looking lovely, but on an over sized plate. Yes, it was good, but then Irene said, "Not as good as that that we had in the 5Th Avenue Mall. You know when we went there to celebrate your weaning Marina?" and I suddenly remembered some kind of kick ass thing we ate there, and then Matt said, "It's been so long since you two have gone on a trip alone together. You should do that this weekend. And do some shopping." I am always playing straight man for that guy. I said, "Matt there is no way we can do that before you leave for Vietnam?" and then after like a minute it all came together...
When Irene and I were last in Anchorage I made her and K.R. take me to an adult store on Spenard (a seedy part of town). It was part of my weaning ceremony plan. That and bra shopping. Anyway, K.R. found it un-Christian and decided to stay in the car. Irene and I hopped out and before we knew it Kim had come into the store as she realized there was more 'un-Christian' folk roaming around the outside of the store than inside.
I looked over at Matt who had a definite smirk on his face knowing that I realized what he was talking about. I looked at the tipsy Irene and we both started totally laughing. We finished the evening with a great story from Matt about how he and his wrestling team used to harass the hookers in Anchorage whenever they went there for a meet.

As we were walking out we ran into Sharon's massage/Jacuzzi friend Red and Red told us that we could have the birthday party at the preschool that she owns. Might be a solution! Time will tell. (I want to mention here that their food was ordered after ours, was way more, and way more beautiful and arrived before ours did. Next time I go I will get the Poke Martini. It looked killer!)

Thanks Matt and Irene for another great night out!

Regular Tuesday with Irene

Regular Tuesday with Irene is going to have to change for a while. Read this email I got last night:


Tuesday does not look good
From: m. w.
Add contact
Sent:Tue 4/15/08 12:03 AM
Reply-to:


To: Alana Greear





Okay, I’m off to a bad start. Tuesday’s agenda:

Get new fillings at 11:00am

Staff meeting 12:00 to 1:00pm

Chris’ spring concert 1:00 to 2:00 pm.



Maybe we can have coffee Thursday?



TO DO LIST:

Buy plane tickets

Get travel visa

Organize Maya’s room

Organize guest room

SET UP WISE FAMILY BLOGSPOT!



Irene

It is funny, I always complain about how the routine in raising young children is mind numbing to me and how routine just takes all the magic out of life. I've said more than once, that having too much routine disables God's ability to slip miracles into the day. Now look at me, my Regular Tuesday gets messed up and I become a little sullen. Well, we will have to see what the day brings!

Later

Is this salad starting to look familiar?

Right after I wrote that the phone started ringing. First C.P. called asking me to meet up to hang out with her daughter and her new grand baby. I hung up with her and my wonderful husband called and asked me to go out to lunch with him-without any of our children! So, I went to town hooked up with C.P. and family, (who are very cute and healthy!) and then dropped Marina off at school and then picked up Vince and off to Fat Olives I went.

Wouldn't you know that in the middle of all that Irene calls me to tell me that all of her day plans got changed and so she would be home and I could drop by.

Lunch with Vince did not go as I had hoped. He has too much on his mind and was doing that man thing where they can't talk and they can't hardly look at you because they are thinking too much. I took him back to work and proceeded directly to Irene's.

I couldn't stay long, and we couldn't really get down to business because Chris was sick and listening to our every word. We did get Maya's room clean a bit.

From there I was off to the Council of the Arts where I signed both kids up for Bluegrass camp and to find out the news we'd all been waiting for.... Did Falcom make the show?

Yes and no. He and Mystique made it in for the Proud Mary. He did not make it for his interpretation of Hallelujah. I was bummed. I really wanted him to do something different. But, this is the life as a preforming artist. I am sure that James Taylor would love to do something different...but... Look what happened to Garth Brooks when he tried to go top 40 from country western. Falcom cried the whole way home when I told him but we focused on the positive and both he and Mystique are very excited to be doing their show at the Jubilee.

Regular Tuesday with Irene

I am starting to get a bit disheartened by our frantic schedules in life. Irene could not meet me for Regular Tuesday at the regular time because he owns a Mini-Van and had to drive a field trip for Riley's class. Education getting in the way of drinking coffee and gossiping! Ah the sacrifices we make. Will Regular Tuesday ever be Regular again?

So, we met at Mema's Shack and drank coffee with soy milk and she had tea and we sat on the beautiful Burgundy couch and caught up a bit. Sadly, I am so burnt right now I can not remember all we discussed! Here are a couple.

-Riley's birthday is this coming weekend and she has a call in to the bowling alley to rent a party spot.
-Husbands and things about them that you can't blog about.
-Did her mother kiss J.H?
-The delightful conversation I had last night with my Carolinian sisters in Saipan. And how they told me that Betelnut comes in a new flavor (they will not tell me what it is) and how I have to go there to be re-initiated into the culture through betelnut chewing.
-Yes, living in Saipan would suck, but it would also be great.
-How I am realizing that I am having performance angst along with Falcom and that I am not doing a very good job managing him in this.
-My trip tomorrow to the dermatologist.
-Her work
-Other things I can not blog about.

After talking for an hour Marina was ready for her promised Bike Ride Through Town.
We cruised down the road to Pioneer and then down the trail to Safeway. Even though the snow is gone it is still very cold and we were both a bit wind chilled. At Safeway we had soup. Then it was off to her school. You know she is really a trooper because it is such a long ride from Safeway to her school, but she made it and was very traffic savvy.

I dropped her off and went to Priscilla's for some water and some chat. She is a very fun friend. I can not blog about what we talked about without permission. But I am happy that she is happy.



It really is a dirty time of year in Alaska. This picture is a common site. Sports teams from school earning money by sweeping up the massive amounts of sand and dirt that had been spread over the ice all winter long. They have to wear face masks it is so dusty.

We picked up Falcom from the carpool and the two kids wanted to ride bikes from the high school to Mema's Shack. It's a nice enough trip, but after I drove away to meet them at the next block, I found them arguing on the trail where I had left them. Both of them were mad and freaking out and so I told them to go ahead and walk together home and to not get home without getting along! Well, I watched them mope off together.

I drove around to the next block street crossing and their attitude was great. After one more block they had taken it upon themselves to start picking up garbage! The two of them were totally working together to pick up the garbage on the trail! I was so proud to have such a wonderful pair of kids. They picked up a huge bag of garbage.



Yes, Falcom met Judah tonight (What a super nice man!) and they did the song together for the Jubilee and his first crack at it he killed it and made it his own. Let's see how things go on Friday.

Regular Tuesday with Irene

Are these the coolest feet you've ever seen? All scarred and pretty. Irene took our friend M.P. for a pedicure after M.P. started to recover from her mastectomy and this is the outcome. Some nice looking toes on well used feet.

Today, I almost freaked because Irene had a staff meeting at the same time as my REGULAR TUESDAY that I so desperately need! Luckily it was manageable. It started late and was not quite fulfilling and so I will have to go over to her place Thursday for Regular Tuesday Part 2.

Topics Covered Today:




-This completely stupid display at the Safeway across from the greeting cards.
-How when we were in Anchorage this weekend we were all staying at the same hotel and had children awake at the same un-Godly hour of the morning and that they walked right past us while we were swimming! We could have been together all weekend! The cosmos was trying to bring us together!
-How my mom is a super hero for going into a situation that was way beyond what she thought she was going to be doing.
-How we are in the midst of another grey week in Homer, AK.
-How I was sadly provided with proof this week that I am capable of providing an intervention on Irene if I had too.
-Our husbands complete job dissatisfaction and how getting jobs in Saudi Arabia is just not an option at this time.
-Did Irene create a Weight Watchers violation by bragging about me to patients and co-workers, using me as an example for her overweight patients? Did she get narked out at the meeting this week?
-Where's the Wellbutrin when you need it?
-My birthday is coming and the party is planned and I bought a sequin dress for the event.
-How her kids had a great time in the wave pool at H2Oasis and how it made her feel that Saipan life would be good. (Yea, it would suck, but it would also be good).
-The new pants I had to buy at Goodwill to fit my 16.5 pound lighter body (see picture).
-'The bourgeoisie things we do'.
-Things we can't blog about
-Strong coffee being good, even for Skinny Bitches.
-Chris's very cute, very funny list of things that are in the fridge that he made for his father. "Ber" was on the list.

Regular Tuesday with Irene

Ah! Back to the mundane... What a calm relief to just clean the house and take care of pre-trip, pre-birthday party details. And then to Irene's for a strong cup of coffee. She is settling for Chai now. That is how Skinny Bitches find the middle ground between coffee and green tea she says.

Topics Covered Today

-Her FANTASTIC meal of veggies and polenta
-Why I decided to wear so much BLING today (It's because I've lost 15 pounds)
-How her husband said to me, "the reason you don't want to be in Long Term Care with J.D. is because Vince dated her before the two of you hooked up" with a grin
-Jr. Seavey died
-Our husbands serious job dis-satisfaction and the potential need to leave the country and go to Saipan where we could swim in a pool and live on a little commune for a while. "Yea, it would suck but at least the sun would come out regularly!"
-How it has been grey here for a week
-How Irene called Vince at work today and learned that there is an amazing amount of medications she can prescribe for that she didn't know she could prescribe for
-Getting Maya out of Vietnam
-Falcom's choice of music he wants to sing for the Jubilee
-Things we can't really blog about
-How we love Bono
-My summer in Wyoming and how, looking back on it from here, it was a little too wild and dangerous, including that whole hitchhiker thing
-How that is a Horny Toad on her jacket
-How we will use the stories of me and that hitchhiker thing to upset J.D. when we are all in LTC
-How we are getting old and looking a little stoned in all of our pictures

After leaving Irene, I had a delightful and wonderful coffee with Priscilla (Irene's mom). I realized I'm going to have to find something for her to do at my house while she is over for the birthday party because usually she can only sit and visit for 20 minutes at someone else's house and since she is riding with Irene...


The sun is shining somewhere in Homer. Too bad it is over the ocean.
Now tonight I will make dinner and start the cupcakes and get ready for the 17 year olds birthday!