Mini Ha Has and Great Big Smiles

Several years ago my book group in TX decided to read Longfellow's "The Song of Hiawatha" thanks to Jennifer Kay's suggestion. Although this part of the poem starts in chapter 3 it seems to be the one we all know:

By the shores of Gitche Gumee,
By the shining Big-Sea-Water,
Stood the wigwam of Nokomis,
Daughter of the Moon, Nokomis.
Dark behind it rose the forest,
Rose the black and gloomy pine-trees,
Rose the firs with cones upon them;
Bright before it beat the water,
Beat the clear and sunny water,
Beat the shining Big-Sea-Water.

Little Hiawatha grows up and falls in love with the lovely Minnehaha. During my vacation to Minnesota a few weeks ago Brittany and I took her kids over to Minnehaha Falls. It was beautiful to see. I didn't see this statue of Hiawatha and Minnehaha but it's apparently nearby. I did, however see all of us having a wonderful time playing in the the little pond farther down from the falls.

Nannie Joy with Juliette, Annie, and Jake

Brittany and Baby Jewels

This looks easy but it was actually quite slippery

They made it to safety

Previously on this day of adventure we stopped by Lake Calhoun in Minneapolis. They just happened to have a sand "castle" contest the day before. We took pictures of our favorite sculptures and did a little more wading and tree climbing.

Can you tell what this is?

Annie's favorite

This one's just kind of interesting

Jake's favorite

Juliette was happy with all of them

my favorite

Isn't this what summer's all about?

In getting from point A to point B we also made 2 great discoveries: 1) a Batman bench next to a liquor store which required an immediate slam on the brakes by the driver (me) for Jakey since I knew he'd want his picture taken on it and 2) the world's best corn stand. We didn't know it had the world's best corn but Brittany wanted some for dinner and we all agreed it really was the best corn on the cob we'd ever had.

Now for a little trivia. At Indian Art Camp where Annie and Jake made Indian purses we learned that the Dakota Tribe is known as the Dakotas east of the Mississippi River and the Lakotas west of the Mississippi River (I like to type it all the way out so I can say M I crooked letter crooked letter I crooked letter crooked letter I humpback humpback I). However, they personally don't like to be called either. They prefer Sioux. We also learned when we were at the Falls that when President Johnson and Senator Humphrey visited there in 1964, Minneapolis was in a drought, so the city had to open up many fire hydrants upstream and out of sight to feed water to the creek. I think that's hilarious.

As we drove around I found myself singing (to myself), "From the land of sky blue waters, comes the beer refreshing, Hamms the beer refreshing, Hamms". Talk about a successful advertising campaign. Fifty years later and I'm still thinking of Hamms Beer when I think of the land of 10,000 lakes. I learned that "minisota" is a Dakota, or should I more appropriately say Sioux word that means "water that reflects the sky". I also learned that Minnesota has more shoreline than California, Florida, and Hawaii combined.

I like Minnesota. I like where Jordan and Brittany live, just 20 minutes outside St. Paul. (Apparently, everything is just 20 minutes somewhere.) There is very little traffic and it's easy to get around. I was there in November and January and it wasn't that cold. But then, of course, it was considered a mild winter. They say the summers make the whole state worth it. I think I agree.

Daddy Does his Duty

Life has been a bit hectic. I had a little vacation in Minnesota that I'll blog about later but just for tonight I thought I'd post this video. Brittany had to make a quick weekend trip out to San Francisco to see her dad. Eli stopped in the day before she got there. Chelsea, Sawyer and I flew up yesterday for the day. Lynn's not doing well and is now in a nursing home.

Jordan emailed this brief clip to my iphone on Sunday. While holding down the fort with 3 little kids and Mommy M.I.A., he was able to experience the bright side of self-sufficient children getting themselves dressed for church.

Ye Have Done It Unto Me

On a delightful Saturday afternoon at Doheny State Beach when my nephew and niece were learning to surf I happened to observe the following scene just a few feet away from me. As these girls started walking across the sand and positioned themselves nearby, I was so disturbed by what I saw that I started taking pictures as a reminder of how cruel we can be, how uncaring and thoughtless and unkind. And also as a reminder to be more aware of my circumstances, no matter what age, and watch out for the one on the "outside".

When I was in 6th grade my teacher had us look at pictures from Life Magazine and then write a story about them. Upon seeing these girls I wanted to write their story. I wanted to know what the girl on the left was feeling. I wondered what pain and self-consciousness and insecurity she was experiencing. Whose mother’s friend's daughter or cousin or sister was she? Who encouraged her to wear what she wore and tag along? And who would be there for her when she went home, trying to be brave and say she had a wonderful time at the beach? Who would believe her brave smile and ignore her tear-stained eyes and humiliation? Or who would be there to comfort her?

I wondered all sorts of questions. And in the end I decided not to write the story. The pictures tell it all.

Capturing the Spirit of Independence

What could be better than gaining your freedom by learning how to walk and celebrating the 4th of July early with a march around the livingroom? Viva life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qjI52Oxj5Wc

It's the American way!

"What Tempo, Captain?" "Tempo, Tempo...a Tarantella!"

I get a perverse pleasure thinking about my daughter, Brittany’s, daughter, Annie, taking piano lessons. Although she is not quite 6 years old, she started with her teacher 2 weeks ago…Wednesday mornings around 10 o’clock. In Minnesota. Annie played for me the other day her first 2 pieces that she’s learning. Because it was on speaker phone I also heard Brittany try to gently correct her and heard a little almost-6-years-old prideful retalliation from Annie of, “Mother, I know how to do this.”

After she was done and I gave Annie all the normal Grandma “oohs” and “aahs” of being greatly impressed, Brittany then got back on the phone. I think she heard me snickering, possibly snorting.

“Brittany,” I said. “Do you know what great joy I take in hearing this little interchange?”

“Really, why?” she wondered.

I then proceeded to remind her that in all the states we lived in and of all the music lessons I involved my kids with, saxophone for Eli, flute for Chelsea, and piano for all three of them, ONLY Brittany insisted, from a very young age that she really didn’t need to learn the notes. When I would sit next to her while she practiced and I’d try to explain what a low C or low E was, she’d get all indignant, huffy, insulted, impatient, and brush me off. She neither wanted nor required my help—thank you very much! Her teachers (there were several) all notified me that she didn’t know her notes. How can that be? I would ask. She’d been taking for years. They all pointed out that she’d learned to memorize what the teacher had played and try to copy it. I would write the names of the notes next to the letter. I bought flash cards and asked her to review them with me. I’d point to the notes and ask what they were. This always led to open rebellion. I candidly admit here that our little conversations on this subject were not benign and were often punctuated with loud voices. And I’d eventually slink away.

The idea of Brittany being such a little radical when it comes to learning the piano seems hard to believe in the present day. She is such a wonderful loving mother and wife who desires to be obedient to God and serve everyone she lives with and meets. But that old piano thing. It caused many years of frustration on my part back then. And now it makes me laugh.

Because it’s true…what goes around comes around…payback is heck…and Karma is a Beach. I can’t wait to hear more of Annie’s lessons. I rub my palms together, back and forth with glee in anticipation and let out a cackling howl. Cruella De Vil ain’t got nuttin’ on me!

Annie Girl, granddaughter of my heart---go get 'em, tiger!

Sand

Sand

Sand in my swimsuit,

Sand in my hair,

When I go to the beach

Sand gets everywhere!
I wonder, I wonder,

Oh, how can there be

Sand left at the beach

When there's so much on me?

-Helen H. Moore

Celebrations

Picking up Chelsea from work at 4:30 on Friday afternoon, I drove her and Sawyer up to Granite Bay for the Memorial Day weekend We knew we’d run into lousy LA traffic but we wanted to get on the road, the sooner the better. It really wasn’t that awful. A trip I’d made before alone with Sawyer in 7 ½ hours only took 9 hours, and that included rush hour and 4 pit stops. I told the Gallachers I thought I’d be in around 1:30am and amazingly, we arrived at their long driveway at…1:30 exactly. My brother-in-law, Kelly, was sleeping in front of the TV, being kind enough to “stay up” for us. I felt special. No one waits up for me—ever. The drive on I-5 is a cakewalk for me and while Chelsea and Sawyer slept, I enjoyed my itunes mix on my iphone, after first catching up on last week’s “Car Talk”. I LOVE LOVE LOVE that show. No matter how gloomy the weather or I might be, Tom and Ray can always get a laugh out of me. http://www.cartalk.com/menus/show.html

Saturday morning, my sister, Marlene, and I took Sawyer for a 2-mile stroll down Itchy Acres. It’s a walk we used to take many mornings when I lived up there, a walk that allowed us to share many ideas over the years, and I wanted Sawyer to see the chickens at the end of the street. Needless to say, he was very excited when I pushed the stroller right up next to the coop. We also saw the most beautiful giant purple clematis up against a rock wall.

Eli and his cute girlfriend, Carrie, along with his long-haired German Shepherd, Belle, arrived in the afternoon. The Gallachers, as usual, had a fabulous feast prepared for all of us which also included their youngest kids, Cami and Briggs, my sister, Sandy, her husband, Bill, from Woodland, and our parents. We were celebrating Eli’s 36th birthday on the 27th and Mom’s 86th birthday on the 28th. Eli was Mom’s first grandchild, he was born on Memorial Day in 1974, exactly 1 day before she turned 50. Belle and the Gallacher dogs, Mirabelle and Sam, ran like crazy across the acreage. We sang birthday songs, ate birthday cake, and later played mucho rounds of Mexican Train and The South African Dice Game (that’s not the real name but that’s what I call it).

Carrie and Eli

Sandy and Bill

Kelly, Carrie, Bill, Eli, Sawyer, Chelsea...Yummers!

Marlene, our very own Ina Garten

Dad, our very own WWII Vet, me, Mom

Sunday church started early at 8:30. Sawyer and Chelsea stayed home and went on a nature walk and looked at the horses. I really enjoyed being able to see my friends from my former ward. It was strange sitting in the row I always sat in by Cami and Briggy with Marlene and Kelly behind us, no Sawyer on my lap. I kept thinking to myself, “So this is what my life would be like if I hadn’t moved to Orange County two years ago. Still sitting here with all these fine people. Still attending the same Sunday school class. Still appreciating all the goodness in Loomis”. Yet for all I’ve been through since that move, I couldn’t imagine my life without my new ward in Monarch Beach and my new friends and my new neighbors. And my little Sawyer, sharing the sacrament with me on Sundays, sitting on my lap. Another classic Gallacher feast of the Austrian type and 5 of Cami’s friends for Sunday dinner along with our folks and many more rounds of Mexican Train completed our Sabbath. The weather was the most perfect of all on that day, not too hot, not too breezy, but really just perfect.

Choo choo

On Monday we all got a late start due to more Mexican Train. Marlene and I finally made it to the grocery store to pick up food for the yummy cheeseburgers in paradise. We dallied when we should have dillied and got home later than expected. Chelsea was trying to get organized and I packed up so we could get on the road. We hugged good-by to Mom and Dad and hugged all the Gallachers and wished we could stay longer. We finally pulled out around 4:30 (this seems to be the magic hour of departure) but made it home an hour sooner than before, arriving by 12:30. Once again, an easy drive, less traffic, and a stop at the cherry stand near Patterson. I can drive a long way with fresh cherries, sunflower seeds, and a bottle of citrus water.

Briggs with Sawyer

Cami with Sawyer

Chelsea, Sawyer, me, Mom, Dad-4 generations on Memorial Day

Thank you, Gallachers, for your wonderful hospitality. Thank you for letting us come to the oasis and letting us drink. Thank you for letting us slumber peacefully and awaken refreshed. Thank you, thank you, thank you. It was only 3 days, but a respite well-needed and graciously offered.