My husband got one of those nifty navigation nerdules.  He’s in heaven.  And I have to admit I’m glad he got it because it really is pretty handy and helpful.  I drove two and a half hours to Chattanooga to pick up this Carr:

Isn’t she cute?

Anyhow, on the ride down, the TomTom was very helpful; my driving companion was “Jane” who has a very classy British accent and told me exactly when to turn, where to turn, when to get over to the left lane and confirm when I was to continue forward to get onto the ‘motorway’.  Except she says it “Mow-teh-way”.  We only got into a fight once, and that was when I had to pull off to get gas and bottled water.  She got a little snippy with me and kept telling me, “Tuhrn around as soon as pah-sibble and head back teh-wahrds the mow-teh-way”.   I had to keep snapping back, in my own British accent “No, Jane, I need petrol, stop being so deucedly bossy”.  We made up, though; we’re cool now.

Me and Geoff the Great will be dropping back the Carr on Sunday, and at that point we’ll be swapping that Carr for a new car.  Is that not brilliantly exciting?  I can’t wait to drive around as a big family all together in one vehicle again.  I still can’t believe our friends are just GIVING us their Suburban.

In the meantime I am gearing up for the rest of Emmiko’s little friends to come over for a birthday sleep over.  They are all sleeping outside in the tent which will make things remarkably less noisy.  I’m a great fan of less noisy. 

And, this was a surprise, when we were driving home from Chattanooga, Ryann called me about a very mysterious package addressed to Emmiko which had been delivered by UPS from a music store in Ca.

Is it not beautiful?  It had no card, but it didn’t take long to figure out from whence it came.  My dad sure knows how to get a household worked into a frenzy.  Emmiko is very excited – she has wanted to learn the violin for a long time.  I was content to let her just work on clapping or snapping.  Snapping and clapping is much cheaper, plus it’s easier to learn.  Last night she told me that she was gonna learn the violin really fast and then start playing songs with me (on guitar) and Ryann (on piano).  I will not be afraid of turning into the Partridge Family.

July 25th, 2008 - Posted in Mr. Grand | | 23 Comments

I am plum tuckered.  I can’t remember being as tired as I have been these last couple of days.  This week will be nice because I aint got nothin’ going on.  I am going to lay around and be lazy until Saturday.  It will be a smidge harder being lazy, though, because my left arm is in SC for the week.  Me, Coie, James and Dippy drove Ryann out so she could spend the week helping the Carrs pack up and move to GA.  Isn’t it ironic that the family who is giving us their Suburban is named “the Carrs”?   Ryann was thrilled to go.  From what I heard, they have some special things planned, like swimming and horseback riding.  We have the greatest friends ever.

In other news, did I mention how tired I am?  I hope I liven up soon, because we have a LOT scheduled.  This week we need to get everything in order because my dad (affectionately called Mr. Grand by my family) is going to be here next Sat.  We are *so* looking forward to it.  He has been writing letters back and forth to my kids for about six months.  It will be the first time my dad ever meets any of my kids and also the first time he will meet Geoff the Great.  It’s going to be very sweet.  And fun.  My dad’s a groovy guy. 

And then as soon as my dad leaves, Coie and I take off for Ohio.  This time we are going to bring Emmiko and Bobo with us.  They will be a great help, plus it will just be fun spending two on two time with them.  They are very excited and I am, too.

And then when we get back, our friends from MO will spend the 4^th of July weekend with us, and then the following month the Carrs are spending a week with us.  I love having so much fun stuff to do, and it’s even better now that Geoff is down to only one job.  It’s weird having him here so much.  And I mean ‘weird’ in an uncommonly fabulous type of way.  I like that fellow.

Lastly, guess what happened to me when I was about to leave to return the rental car?  Bobo locked the keys inside the PT Cruiser.  And it was stressful because I only had a short amount of time before getting charged for an extra day.  That was the first time I ever called a locksmith.  And I ended up getting a lady locksmith.  I didn’t know that locksmiths came in “lady”.  And she was normal, too. After calling the office, I sort of imagined a big burly bertha tearing up my drive way in a pickup truck to rescue my keys, but no, it was a girl around my age who seemed average and ordinary.  Except that her name was Opal.  I have never met anybody named Opal before.

Lastly last, I am *trying* to upload the video of me and Winona singing our heads off on the way up to IL, but my crummy computer is rebelling.  I might not be able to post it after all, which, in reality, would be lucky for you.

So, in the meantime, here is another video (that Jess showed) me, which you are sure to enjoy:

June 10th, 2008 - Posted in Mr. Grand, video | | 18 Comments