House Sitters

I returned home to find a furiously scubbing mad woman, a full litter box, litter strewn about the back yard -directly outside the back door where the children play- and various damage and mess. None of the animal goods, she took the money for, had been bought. Atleast some part of her realized what an atrocity she had committed, as she was still there, scrubbing, in fact she didn't even remove her stuff when she left. We thought she wasn't going to leave. I found her incense burners, my measuring cups, stashed in drawers and burnt with resinous herbs, her underwear, etc, and was able to simply move it to the pile of stuff she left in the garage, or the one she left in the front yard. Nice to have options. Though I eventually consolidated the two piles. When the garbage people wouldn't take all the garbage she had left, I thought I would try sorting it to get some into the recycling possibly, and voila, that is when I found my house keys. She is trying to 'make good' on the money she took. She bought some stuff for the animals yesterday, despite the fact that I was unable to take the "hundreds of dollars worth of energy work" she had done for me as compensation. Someone came in and fixed the broken towel rack, now we just have the floor to sand and re-finish, unless it goes so deep that we have to re-lay it. Last time we had a house sitter, we returned to a still warm crack pipe and lighter on our counter and a house full of cigarette butts, to find our identities even had been stolen. We got a call from the Santa Rosa cop shop a couple weeks later, when they found our marriage certificate, which we had failed to notice missing. It was the passports and account numbers we were concerned about. Now that was an odd one, and this one falls short, by comparison, but house sitters may not be the answer for us in the future. Travel less, scale back on the furry creatures. None of these are really options with my family living on the other side of the continent, not to mention our general wander lust, and we're aquiring new bunnies shortly, as Sofie needs a pet. One of our guinea pigs died while we were gone, so we may have to replace it, unless Anja gets a rabbit too.

A Little Pick Me Up

These pics are from the hour we spent on I-80 in Cheyenne the other day. I am probably talking to my friend, and massage partner Laura who happened to call, between calls with AAA and the local tow truck company, when we were in need of a little pick me up. The sky here in Wyoming has looked remarkably similar for the last couple of days, with interemittent thunderstorms, that don't really amount to a lot of rain as you can see by the dead looking grass. The garage ordered the wrong part and hopes to get the right one in tomorrow morning putting us out of here, at best, the morning of Saturday August eighth, the day after tomorrow. This has given me time to acclimate to the elevation which is over 6000 feet here. I am slow to adjust. We took a ride in a horse drawn carriage complete with tour of downtown Cheyenne today. We also managed to locate the used bookstore, and Safeway where we purchased some dog food. We thought Brutus was happy with the hot dog fare but as it turns out he was quite excited to receive the ole lamb and rice doggy chow. The town here has almost 60,000 residents of the about 400,000 in the whole state. Wyoming is huge, 402 miles across, 300 the other way, and largely uninhabited. This must be what the Europeans are talking about when they dreamily exclaim about how awesome it must be to live in this magnificently large land. Something most of the people I know, don't really realize, as we live in such highly populated areas of this gigantic country. Still, we are all looking forward to returning to our over populated part of the world soon. Our carriage driver didn't envy us in having to still travel through Utah and Nevada, neither of which he approves us, but wouldn't fill us in on the details of his angst, whilst the children were present. In the above photo (left), one might wonder, where lies Brutus. He is riding high in style in the front seat of the Volvo, as the tow truck does not accomodate dogs, with barely room for the family in the cab.

Halfway Home

Due to the huge number of people migrating by motorcycle toward Sturgis, South Dakota for the annual rally, we decided to take I-80 and avoid the actual rally itself, as well as Yellowstone. We were intending to spend a few days camping at Medicine Bow in Wyoming, but that will only happen if Zeus, the Volvo has healed in time for us to make it back to sunny Sebastopol on our regular ETA, August tenth. Besides mourning the loss of power to Zeus, we are also mourning our smallest and youngest guinea pig, Brownie. The only survivor now is the mother, Spot. What a bunch of inbred piggies they were. Spot was pregnant when we bought her. Brownie was the runt and longest lived of the litter of four. We are now in Cheyenne, Wyoming where the people are generous and the sky is hella large. Thunderstorms, mixed with intermittent sunshine, railroad tracks, paths through dead tall weeds crossing freeway on ramps to convenience stores mixed with cold outdoor pool and hours of media at our disposal. The kids have a cold anyway. The night staff at La Quinta put us up at the governnment rate, so Caleb wears his ipod like it's top secret during the day shift. They gave us the handicapped room to make life easier for us so we make Anja feign a limp. All kidding aside. That's twenty bucks off the regular rate per night, so we scored, just for the asking, in a situation, of course. La Quinta is my favorite hotel anyway. They always accept dogs for no extra fee, have free breakfast and wifi, a pool, and normally one can find a coupon at the truck stop. It's not medicine bow, but we can make quesadillas in the microwave and I was wondering how the rice noodles would taste out of the coffee maker. Actually, we have two lovely restaurants within walking distance as well, and being forced to take a big time out in a clean safe friendly place is not such a bad thing. We are sharing the motel with many friendly bikers who are dog and child friendly as we are still in the path of the northern traveling Sturgis bound crew. We are almost exactly halfway home.

Hearts all a flutter

We're all readying ourselves for the next leg of the journey which happens to be an almost cross country road trip for five.

-Sofie is now quite well travelled for a six year old and knows what she is in for this time. Still, she is game. She has even okayed a trip to Europe next summer, but mostly is looking forward to going home, to California, to receive her belated birthday bunny.

-Anja is madly doing Mad Libs, and being generally wonderful.

-Caleb is hanging in despite an unconfirmed bout of the West Nile and a broken Hobie Cat.

-I am hoping to sleep better tonight. I tried to donate blood today with my friend Lynne, but was told my heart beat irregularly too many times in a minute, according to my wrist pulse. Shouldn't have drinken that coffee at the diner? They are so picky.

Tomorrow, we go to Aviva's for dinner. We will camp in her yard. Saturday or Sunday we will hit the open road. This time we are taking I-90, the northern route, and going through Yellowstone. We will be home on August 10th.

It Ain't Florence Street

More Heidelberg project.

Preston Woodward, lead singer of punk rock band, "The State," playing a tiny pink acoustic guitar after dinner.

Caleb and Sofie hanging out with some guy at the Elvis festival on the left, and one of many scenes that one can behold at the Heidelberg project, in Detroit, on the right.

Where the Volvos Roam

We've been to Elvis fest here in the park in Ypsilanti, and the air show just east of us here. Some of the planes could actually be seen flying by Lynne's house. Aviva, Nikki and I saw the blue angels in formation flying over Lynne's a couple of days prior to the event my whole family attended with Lynne. We received free tix from Lynne's friend Heather who lives by the show. We also went to the Science museum this past weekend. They had a great IMAX movie about the great lakes and a planetarium show about the seven wonders of the galaxy, the sun not included... Brutus managed to get to a lake for a quick dip with his buddies, Brooke and Tasha. Caleb is laying a hardwood floor, and I am off to do the laundry with the girls. We've put offers on two houses, both unseen, and in Sebastopol. Neither of them have come to anything, but it is an interesting process, and we are learning a lot. Mel and Jesse have had more success, maybe because they are old hat by now. They have beaucoup des maisons maintenant. I just added a two unit conversational french class to my schedule for fall as I couldn't bear going without. I am also taking Physio and Nutrition for a total of ten units. Hopefully this is not too much what with schooling the chitlins, working a bit, and generally enjoying life, as I am prone to do. Lynne's car hasn't been broken into in a few days, but we're still parking in back. We took the Volvo in to be repaired, but the mechanic couldn't find enough wrong with it to warrant changing out the drive shaft as the first mechanic wanted to do, so if we are stuck in Iowa on the way home laid up at some KOA, I hope noone is too upset when I set up camp at the Holiday Inn, or preferably La Quinta, as I was all for doing the work when the prices were good, here in Ann Arbor where other Volvos roam.

We spent the fourth at my mom and Mac's house on Bass lake with my step-brother Eddie and his wife Sherry and their four boys. They had a lot of friends and some other family around. The neighbors and our large group had a potluck and a huge amount of amazing fireworks. My favorite firework was called, "Life's a Beach." It looked particularly brilliant over the lake. The neighbors on the other side of the fence however had one that I thought should be called, "Life's a Machine Gun." I suppose that's the sort of thing fireworks are intended to mimic so I really can't complain. I usually don't appreciate fireworks as they are scary and smoky and wasteful, but I really did enjoy them this time. Perhaps it helps to drink yourself silly first.

Just registered for Physiology and Nutrition-two classes. Anatomy was full again, despite the priority 1A registration. I could still go and try to get in as people drop, or just do that Spring Semester when a friend of a friend will be teaching??? Anatomy before Physiology is the recommended order, but it may not make that much of a difference... I hope. Had lunch with the aunties at Seva and then went to the Bead store so we are all adorned and on our various ways now. Mary goes back to England tomorrow, Karen is back to work, the girls and I are back at Lynne's, and Caleb is on a bike ride. He is yet unadorned, atleast with jewels like the rest of us. He does have on a new Eddie Bauer shirt though. Anja chose a large Tiger's Eye stone and had it made into a necklace on a silver chain. Sofie is wearing a lovely strand of Mother of Pearl, and I have not one, but two pair of Czech glass earrings. It is interesting how we have chosen french postcards and Czech jewels on our Michigan trip. The more we familiarize ourselves with something, the more attractive it becomes, to a degree, of course. I never was attracted to France until I spent six months there, and now it seems I can't get enough of it. The Czech glass originally was Mary's idea for her own earrings and she has such an eye for things, I quickly copied her design idea in other colors. We have an offer on a house in Sebastopol that we have not yet looked at which is entirely our own fault as we could have seen it before leaving. We should find out soon whether it's a go or not. Thank you Boz for photographing it and giving us a sort of photo walk through. We looked at three houses here in Ann Arbor this morning. The most interesting one was a fixer upper that was already being converted from a duplex to a single home. If we did buy it, we would likely convert it back to a duplex.
No trip to Michigan goes without discussing our family's dirty little -no longer- secret incestuous behavior. So over our hippie hashbrowns and gluten free noodles we discussed taboos and their insidious nature. Or I should say, I lectured the aunties on the topic with much disapproval from the one who thinks perhaps she chose the British lifestyle simply to avoid such uncivilized honesty in the first place. I feel sorrow in the fact that my open honesty is often met with disapproval almost as if I am the one doing harm when in fact, I was the victim of the crime that everyone would still wish I'd shut up about, so as not to hurt the pedophiles and the people who love them. The message I am getting is that it would be advantageous to stay silent and allow these men to continue molesting children so long as noone has to know about it. Silence destroys!!! Now the other auntie was astonished, shall we say, at the fact that I would discuss my uncle Tom's behavior at the table with the children present, that they would lose respect for men from listening to me. I am expected to not mind sitting out of all activities that involve the pedophile(s) including weddings, funerals etc... I am of course (sometimes) invited, expected to show up and shut up so everyone can have a good time. Then if we are all there together, one big happy family, I am supposed to not bat an eye at people hugging the man and laughing at his jokes, though if I were to engage in such illustrious behavior with him, what would that make me? I should scowl at him periodically to make sure all those in the know understand. Then my irritatable behavior will be described as PMS or some other sort of woman's problem directly related to the uterus no doubt. If I can't take it anymore and shout or storm off for a walk, that would then be hysteria, a well-known women's disorder due to weakness and general malalignment of the brain and uterus which are directly linked and extremely unstable in the female of the species. I am expected to not tell my cousins what he's done despite the fact that they have children and noone else is going to warn them. Above all stay silent and not tell my children about pedophiles so they won't be "manhaters". How else can one work to end a taboo, but to out it? Who is going to feel bad at not having said anything when the cousin's kids are molested? My children are in no danger of becoming "manhaters", as if there is such a thing in this patriarchy, as they have plenty of positive male role models in their lives, my uncle and father not included. We are all just learning, and I have had plenty of time and motivation to think on the subject, so I will continue to just teach my truth. To stay silent is furthering the behavior, aiding and abedding... ha ha

My Fabulous Friends, who happen to live in Ann Arbor

On the right we have Angela, who is not an Ann Arborite by her definition, despite the fact that she has lived in Ann Arbor pretty much all of her life, give or take a year or two here and/or there. I find this intriguing. Clay, on the left, did not readily claim to be one of them either, though to my knowledge he has resided in Ann Arbor most of his life. Are there people who do call themselves Ann Arborites? Or Sebastapudlians? I know there are New Yorkers, but are they self-proclaimed and truly from there? Who do you identify with and how does it influence your thoughts and actions?

Bigger is better in Motown

More sights on the way to and in Detroit. We went to Rocky's which is a great nut shop where I was able to buy plenty of nut meals to bake with. Almond, Walnut, Hazelnut, and Pecan. YUM! Tasty fresh stuff there!

Ypsilanti

This is the big dick of the city formerly known as Ypsitucky. It holds the water. Recently efforts have been made to disallow our fond name as it is derogatory toward the southern element, ruling that we should come up with a new pet name atleast for the festival. Rust belt roots revival has been proposed. Ypsilanti is truly a diverse area. It is what Sebastapudlians and Ann Arborites claim they want, atleast for their children's education, if not for their actual neighborhood.

All Up In The D

We were all up in the D last weekend. This is Caleb at Eastern Market and me on Belle Isle, with our water supply in the background, here in the city of Ypsilanti. Lynne was our tour guide. She told us a story of some Dutch reporters who came to report on the D as it is very popular currently in Europe. They were carjacked on their trip, but survived, and she made sure to tell us that it was their fault for driving on the wrong street. They were in the Brewster projects on their way to see where the Supremes grew up. These projects are now abandoned like many other buildings up in the D.

Rhymes with Varmint

Last night was Cheyenne, Wy KOA by I-80. Loud! But it was nice to be outdoors, especially for the Bru. Tonight he and us are at the super animal friendly favorite hotel, La Quinta, where they have windows that open and free breakfast, for not that much more than the KOA by the highway. We just got out of the little pool and are relaxing in our room here in Lincoln, Nebraska. Hard to believe we have made it this far taking the scenic byway yesterday- Medicine Bow- Wyoming - went up quite high. Serious snow. Sofie was so excited we had to stop and play in it, in our snow sandals. We tried to stay there in the snow, but the guy with the cabins wouldn't take pets, so we had to go down down down to where we wouldn't freeze in our tent, past Laramie cause we'd heard they had two confirmed cases of H1N1 and a population of only twenty something thousand. Just before we hit the snowy tip of the mountain we came across a hella hot hot spring called Saratoga--120 degrees but maybe 110 on the other side. Of course had to stop and get in it. Anja got over heated but Sofie and I had better boundaries, or limits, or whatever you want to call it. I feel bad for not making her get out sooner, but I was already in the shower with So and her and Caleb were like lobsters. Today we saw some real old stage coaches and were grateful for our Volvo. It was an elaborate museum in miniature of Wild Bill's show which looked quite elaborate. Outside they had the stage coaches, Injuns, jails, and crazy cowboys. Sofie was able to spend her allowance there, it being Friday. She is an amazing traveller this year. They have appreciated both the books on tape they found at the two acre wood sale and the little television grandma Janet gave them for Christmas. Anja has made a beautiful map of the United States with our route on it. They are also working daily in their new Math books, first and fifth grade. So the first night was Sparkes, NV, then Salt Lake City, UT, then Cheyenne, WY, now Lincoln, Nebraska. The states we have left to pass through are Iowa, Illinois, Indiana, and then we will land in Michigan. Maybe we'll try to hit that organic farm restaurant near Des Moines tomorrow. I just got my french grade / evaluation. Made me feel good. My mind is so scrambled at the moment. I'd be hard pressed to speak with my teacher now. Something about the vibration of the vehicle, or maybe the Pinot Grigio? The cowboy poetry convention in NV that I missed is still haunting me. Will I ever know what rhymes with 'Varmint'?

Sparkes, Nevada

We are now in Sparks, NV at the Holiday Inn. Much nicer than Winnemucca was last year. Caleb got online and found that NV is about 400 miles wide where 80 runs so we will be in this odd state for a long time tomorrow and with determination eventually reach Utah which doesn't exactly strike me as normal either. Though it is practically the polar opposite of Nevada in some ways. It is funny how Californians stand out once one enters Nevada. I'm sure this continues on beyond Nevada, but they grow fewer till it is only us being stared at which we of course don't notice. My ears had a hard time with the pass over the mountains, but feel better now. The hotel is not so expensive though they do have a dog fee and he's not even allowed in the pool. Poor thing. He did have a bit of delayed car sickness on their carpet. I figure he paid for that privilege. Sofie fell off the treadmill in the exercise room, and her two front teeth are feeling rather loose.

Voyage bientot

J'ai fini ma presentation ce soir. I took my final in Medical Micro yesterday. Aahh -What a relief. Tomorrow is Sofie's sixth birthday. What an incredible person she is. The children never cease to amaze me. I love them sooo much! It's been a stressful week, thinking about taking off on Tuesday, Sofie's party, my finals, the children finishing up at their pseudo school (public school home school program) has all been keeping me from sleeping as well as I like. Sofie too. She fell asleep on top of me last night after an hour of tossing and turning and trying to fall asleep next to me at a much too late hour. Everytime I tried to sneak out of the room, she caught me and dragged me back. She really feels our stress. She is also very excited about her too big party this weekend. And understanding the idea that she is now a first grader is pretty big- to her. So much to complete, and so much to look forward to. Life is beautiful right now!!!

procrastination

Anything to avoid studying. I will even blog again. Three tests this week. How can that be? I only have two classes. One is in a lab. Wouldn't it be easier if I could just take Microbiology in French? Well, maybe not. Caleb's gone biking for two nights and three days or so with his brother and his dad. I hope they are having a great time. I am. Sofie had a birthday party for Wolfie or was it Horsey and we all ate muffins. The girls finally finished cleaning their room. Sofie learned to jump rope. She has to learn something new pretty much every day. Last week she learned to write, and before that to read. She also rides horses, and a bike now. Tomorrow she's going swimming. Hope she remembers how. I have read about bacteria and viruses, diseases of the skin and urogenital tract many times over. Have to read it once a day until test day I figure. Though I should be avoiding studying by preparing for my next presentation which is on Bordeaux. My partner is covering the wine aspect. I'm doing the general overview. My allergies are much better now that my strep throat is being treated. hmmm.... Tired now. Goodnight beautiful world.