The Dynamic Duo

Macbook Pro black screen on wake from sleep

Fri, 20 Jul 2012 08:26:00 +0000

I am putting this here in case someone else runs into the issue that plagued me for probably more than a year until I found a fix(?) for it, and their google search terms line up better with what I write than with other stuff on google. My google fu widely failed me on this one.

When I close my screen and cause my macbook pro to fall asleep, frequently when I open it back up the screen is black. If I look really really closely I can see that there is a login window there, the screen justas the brightness all the way turned off. To make it all more endearing, the brightness keys have no effect. No effect that is unless you hold down the command key. Holding the command key and hitting the brightness up button will light your screen back up and you’ll continue on your merry way, wishing that the aluminum didn’t warm up quite so much, and that you didn’t suddenly have a new issue where sometimes the machine seems to get bogged down and ignore some of your keystrokes, making writing a blog post such as this a little bit frustrating.

When you feel up to trying to debug this latest issue, may your google fu prove up to the task!

You’re welcome Internet.

A decade of consistent in-depth, hard-hitting, god-fearing apostrophizing

Thu, 12 Jul 2012 07:59:00 +0000

Just noticed that this website turned 10 years old back in February. Where’s my f’ing parade?

How do I do this again?

Tue, 24 Apr 2012 05:42:00 +0000

So, how are you? It’s been a while. It’s been long enough in fact that we are back in that stage of the relationship where every new conversation we have starts haltingly, cautiously. I’m shy I can’t help it. I would like to declare that I’m going to start writing regularly now and we’ll be back to the unconsciously comfortable back and forth enjoyed by friends that meet often. I’m not going to. That would be astoundingly over-optimistic. The truth is I almost never think of this site anymore when I am looking for a creative outlet, and since I moved the site out of a server in my house, I’m less in touch with the technical aspects of it. I’ve been aware for a long while that some of the images here are not working properly, but I’ve been too busy with too many more important priorities to do anything about it. The truth is this site has probably largely been killed by parenthood, facebook, twitter, and changing interests; but I’m not giving up. I will write when I feel like it, and it turns that today I feel like it. I want to tell you a few things about my kids.

Linc will be 4 years old in two days. I really should draft a letter to him as I did on a birthday in the past. It is tough to find the time to do things like that these days. I’m really enjoying the boy that Linc is becoming, although I wish he had a little bit more understanding that other people (his sisters in particular) feel pain. He now has a constant storyline going when he is playing, and it is fun to watch.

As you might expect, the girls are changing much more rapidly than Linc is currently. LaeAnn and Keena both walk on their own when they feel like it, and it turns out LaeAnn feels like it a lot more often than Keena, who prefers knee walking as a mode of transport. As mentioned in another venue, Keena took her first steps first, but when LaeAnn started she went full throttle with it. LaeAnn has been saying Daddy for well over a month, but she would only say it to me and would never say it when UltraGirl admitted she was listening. On Sunday that changed, my picture was showing on our computer screen and LaeAnn pointed and said in a voice so clear it could not be denied, “Daddy!” That girl really has a way with words!

Speaking of speaking, Keena also got to that first, but in a similar sense LaeAnn seems to be quickly overtaking her. Keena’s spoken vocabulary includes dog, Anpanman (bean paste donut-head man), and food. She also has a pretty servicable collection of baby signs that serve her well and outpace both LaeAnn’s and Linc’s collections at that age. LaeAnn seems to be really really good at mimicking sounds she hears. Her vocabulary now includes Daddy (expect that to be mentioned a few more times before the end of this), Stand up, dog, food, possibly anpanman and I think one or two more that are escaping me now. She also sings silent night. Yes really! Well, yes kind of. I sing the first line, and then she sings “ah ah ah night” but she gets the tone right! That’s still better than what we can coax out of UltraDad, both in amount and tonefulness.

Finally the girls fight like late career Mike Tyson, which is to say primarily through biting, headbutts, and making a ruckus. If anybody has tips on how to get 1 year olds not to bite each other, I’m interested. Competition over prime toys is fierce and they primarily see each other as competition right now. When UltraGirl instructed them to pet each other (a concept familiar to them with their stuffed animals), the concept seemed completely foreign at first.

So that was my first attempt at writing at any length in quite some time, and I’m well aware that it is rambling, and takes a long time to say everything. Thank you for getting through it. Oh yeah, and LaeAnn says Daddy now!

A Walk in the Woods aka a Harrowing Hike in Lamoille Canyon

Mon, 01 Aug 2011 05:53:00 +0000

Most weekends UltraDad and I do pretty much the same thing: watch TV, have a big breakfast, grocery shop, an occasional movie or card game and more TV. The weekend goes by and we have done, well, nothing. We decided this weekend would be a little different. So, we got up early (usual for him, an effort for me!) and headed for Lamoille Canyon, a beautiful and popular area we had not visited for a number of years. I drove as we made our way up the winding road. UltraDad pointed out picnic areas, waterfalls and other objects of interest; usually I had to make the choice between viewing the wonder or staying on the road, so he saw a lot more than I did. We arrived at the circular parking lot at the end of the road, which was already nearly full of vehicles, a little after 9 am. By 9:30, we were at the trailhead ready for an adventurous hike. UDad had his fancy Cabellas walking stick, and I had 2 leashed poodles and a small backpack containing water, apples, string cheese and 2 small candy bars. I almost brought Bug-Sun lotion, but decided it made my little pack too heavy. That decision I would later regret.
The signs at the Trail Head showed a couple of 2 mile hikes. We set off on the trail towards Lake Lamoille. The last time we had been on this trail, probably 4 years ago, it had been much earlier in the year. Water, mud and snow had made the trail treacherous and detrimental to nice tennis shoes, so that time we had not gone far. Now it was nearly August and a very warm day. How bad could it be?
To be fair, most of the trail was wide and well marked, complete with sturdy log bridges over wide streams. But as we climbed higher, it soon became clear that not all the snow was gone. I especially hated the transverse snowy patches on the hillsides. The snow was just melted enough from the weather plus the foot traffic to make it hard to gain a firm footing, at least for a clutz like me. UltraDad had no trouble at all and soon made it a policy to leave his walking stick for me at the start of each expanse of snowy trail. That helped a lot, though I still slipped and slid and had to catch myself as I got off balance.
There were a lot of people on the trail that day in every possible combination: singles, pairs, families, groups, and lots and lots of dogs. Many people stopped and gave Murphy and Rowdy a pat on the head, wondering if these two small pampered-looking pets could make the hike. I believe that people tend to underestimate poodles, especially such finely conditioned ones as my handsome pair☺ They showed their ‘toughness’ by barking at each dog we encountered along the trail, seeming to say ‘do you want a piece of me?’ No one did.
We finally came upon a series of several small lakes. These were the ‘Dollar Lakes’, I learned later, reviewing the sign upon our return. They were beautiful; I especially liked the small island with picturesque fir tree on one of them, and we took a series of pictures of it from many angles. It was about then that I realized my left ankle was really starting to hurt.
It had been twinging for a while, probably since crossing the snow fields, but I tried to ignore it, hoping it would just go away. There had been no single memorable incidence of twisting or rolling it.
Several return trip hikers assured us that Lake Lamoille was just around the corner, and soon we were gazing on a spectacular panorama of a glacial lake surrounded by snow-clad mountains. I was happy when we arrived at a spot where we could sit and rest for awhile. I removed my left shoe and packed snow around only slightly puffy ankle as we ate our cheese and apples. I don’t know how all this snow remained because it was really hot up there! This was when I regretted leaving the sunscreen behind.
When it was time to leave, I put my shoe back on with great difficulty and needed help to stand. When I put weight on my left foot, the pain was intense. Somehow I had managed to sprain my ankle. UltraDad took the nearly empty pack, took charge of the poodles and handed me his walking stick. Further down the trail, he found me another one. At first I could only go a few steps before I felt like I was going to pass out. I did this several times, but was finally able to keep going for longer stretches. Poor UltraDad would walk ahead with the dogs and wait for me to catch up. This would be our pattern for the 2 miles back. On the way up, I was careful of my shoes, trying to avoid the mud and water. Now I didn’t want to take any extra steps; at one point I slid down a hill of snow rather than try to walk a snowy trail. After awhile it got easier, though the progress was still slow. UDad and the ‘boys’ were infinitely patient. It was 3:30 when we got back to the car, and now my ankle was really swollen. I immediately zonked out as UltraDad steered the car towards home.
At one point on the trail UltraDad remarked on how pale I looked and remarked curiously, “I think you have a low tolerance for pain.” I couldn’t argue with him. “But,” he continued kindly “that doesn’t make you a bad person.” Thanks for that.
Now after a day of RICE (rest, ice, compression, elevation) it is feeling much better, though still very puffy. I have a cane, crutches and a walking boot (the later two borrowed from a friend). I am feeling sorry that I will miss my early morning walks with my friends. But it was definitely not our typical run of the mill weekend. In fact I think we wil remember this one for a long, long time.

UltraMom the cripple

The UltraParents enjoy a fun Independence Day Weekend

Tue, 05 Jul 2011 16:48:00 +0000

Well, here we are, 4th of July 2011. I am sitting in my back yard at near dusk enjoying the sights and sounds of my waterfall/pond. There is a slight breeze blowing, and I am enduring only the occasional mosquito bite. The sound of a neighborhood firecracker just sent Rowdy, my 7 lb. ball of macho, fighting-poodle quivering onto my lap. His brother Murphy seems frozen into a ‘point’ some 10 yards away. This is NOT their favorite holiday.
UltraDad and I have just returned from a fun, if a little driving-heavy weekend in Idaho. I have to take my hat off to UDad, who spent all of Friday afternoon loading up a pickup-full of possessions-left-behind-in-the-move, including a currently-not-running riding lawnmower, to take to sister Pat, who very recently moved to Arco, ID from our town of Carlin, NV. He then loaded up our trip-luggage, instructed me to set the alarm for 3 AM, and did most of the driving while I dozed. Arrival time in Arco? 10:45 AM, Idaho time! I love Pat’s new place. Her house is perfect for her, and there is a nice, big fenced yard for the dogs. She has been busy planting flowers and decorating, and really seems to be enjoying her retirement. She took us out to lunch at Pickle’s Place, which was a total nostalgia thing. Back at Pat’s house, we stood around in the front, saying goodbye. Murphy and Rowdy were being particularly well-behaved, and I was thinking how nice it was that they seemed to have gotten over their bad sometime-habit of chasing cars….and then the motorcycle drove by and it was all over. Murphy only narrowly avoided becoming road kill. I have GOT to stop trusting those conniving poodles.
We got to Jim and Jessica’s house in Rigby mid afternoon. Their puppy Zeke is really growing. He is sweet, but rambunctious. He wanted to play with the poodles; Murphy and Rowdy wanted to kill him, but as Zeke now weighs over twice their combined weight, they had to content themselves with growling, snarling and taunting from the safety of a lap.
So, after the yard tour to admire the numerous new trees, shrubs and flowers, what to do with a few hours of a lovely summer afternoon? Why check out famous Rigby Lake of course….which we attempted to do online with very little success. I defy you to find out anything about a 4th of July celebration except that the local police would have a booth there. Once we arrived in person, we found a regular jamboree of summer fun. The panorama reminded me of a crowded “Where’s Waldo?” scene with paddleboats, canoes, fishing, camping, picnic tables, a karaoke stage, food booths, craft booths, kids diving off a platform into the lake, the promised police presence, and lots of folks with dogs. At $5 a car or $1 a head for walkers/bikers/buses, tiny Rigby lake was doing a booming business. As we skirted the most congested area, walking the perimeter of the lake, it was interesting to note Zeke’s reaction to all this, given his heretofore limited contact with people. “Hi,” he seemed to say with his wagging tail and lolling tongue to each admirer who stopped to pet him, “I’m Zeke! Do you want to take me home with you?” Following in his wake, Murphy and Rowdy, contrary to their usual ability to charm children and middle-aged women, seemed to be on the fight. “So,” they seemed to radiate to anyone in the vicinity of another dog, including Zeke, “What’s up? Do you want a piece of us? Don’t make us come over there,” and so on. It was a little embarrassing, to tell the truth. Jim wanted to see how Zeke would take to the water; after all, he is, ostensibly a pointing-retrieving bird dog. And he did well, swimming a small, safe circle each time Jim lured him away from the shore. Good dog.
UltraMom had been fighting a creeping crud since the morning of July 1st, so was talking in a low, sexy voice and attractively coughing and sniffling every 5 minutes or so. And so, her half-hearted offers to help with meals were turned down, darn it. It did not stop her, however, from taking full enjoyment of Jessica’s yummy steak dinner and fantastic breakfasts. She also gamely trooped along on the nightly property walk, which is Zeke’s favorite time of the day, as he is off-leash and free to explore smells and sounds and terrorize small poodles. ‘The Sheriff’, the large, orange neighborhood cat, whose main job is to quell unruly rodents, put in an appearance also.
The next morning was a lazy one; we were not due in Pocatello for a BBQ at Heather and Heath’s until noon. We played a couple of games of CLUE; twice Jim just beat me to the punch and the WIN, but the final game of the day went to Jessica. I was still trying to narrow down the weapon when she swooped into the middle of the board for the win! Good job, UltraJess!
We had been trying the poodles out in Zeke’s kennel, with mixed success. The hour they spent there on Saturday, they howled and whined, but it seemed they would at least be contained. And then I spotted a small, light shape halfway up the wire enclosure. Someone was climbing the fence, and on closer inspection, it proved to be Murphy, who based on past experience would NOT have been the usual suspect, as Rowdy was the most renowned escape artist. But each time he neared the wood at the top of the enclosure, he fell back down. He certainly was determined! The plan had been to leave them there with Zeke when we went to Poc, to keep from stressing out Heather’s cats, especially Callie who had been quite sick, but in the end I just couldn’t do it. I would have had visions of escaped, or mangled poodles running through the periphery of my mind the entire time we were gone, so the spoiled little brats got to come along.
We made a quick stop for beer and cherries (my impulse purchase) and arrived to find Heath mowing the lawn, and Heather looking more beautiful than I had ever seen her. I was happy to see she was wearing the black top and jeans I had bought her for her birthday; she looked great in them and she said they were very comfy.
At times like this, it is quite nice having a daughter who works for Sizzler: the steaks, salads, and rolls were delicious, and Heath perfectly cooked each steak to each one’s liking, including my WELL DONE. We were soon too full to move, or even much think, and we had a nice time just talking and enjoying the back yard view, largely maintained by Don (Heath’s Dad) and Marsha Christensen, who live in the upstairs of this duplex. UtraMom and Dad particularly enjoyed the NO MOSQUITOES aspect, as Carlin, NV is the disputable (by someone who has never lived there) mosquito capital of the world. Murphy and Rowdy were quite good at times, and fooled, as they so often do, UltraMom into thinking they could be unleashed. In the end, the leashes became a permanent fixture, much to the relief of Callie and Rocky.
Towards evening, a couples’ pinochle tourney was suggested, and a table was hauled out. Heather/Heath and Jessica/Jim took the first round, while UtraMom rustled up some grub for a light, snacky dinner and UltraDad kept an eye on the unpredictable poodle brothers. The game was a long one; I think the bids were often larger than the cards, as the scores took a while to land solidly in the region of positive numbers. Jessica/Jim took the win, but the most amazing hand of the day goes to Heather/Heath with a Family/4Aces/Double Pinochle and assorted other meld in a game with Ultra/M&D. But the highlight of the day, for UMom anyhow, was feeling my precious granddaughter move!
Monday morning, the 4th of July, saw the UltraParents preparing for their long drive home. We were happy when Jim suggested a joint breakfast at McDonald’s in IF, as they had a little shopping to do in town. He also picked up the tab; thanks UltraJim!
As on the trip out, UltraMom spent most of the trip in dreamland, and besides a brief stop at the Pocatello Walmart for a pit stop (maybe something to do with UltraDad’s 4 cups of coffee and large glass of iced tea), it seemed no time at all before we were nearing Twin Falls. A quick, light lunch at KFC, a quick turn through PetsMart so Murphy and Rowdy could bark at some cute Yorkies and get petted by some cute kids, and we were on the road again.
Once back in Carlin, poor UltraDad had only a brief stop before turning back around to head for Ruby Valley. He had to work the next day. And UltraMom? In the backyard, watching fireworks alone: I long ago let Murphy and Rowdy back into the house as they were both quivering like jello. Which leads me to ponder fireworks and 4ths of July in years past……but that’s for another post.

Happy American Independence Day to you, wherever you are,
UltraMom

Eating Rocks Again

Sun, 19 Jun 2011 22:30:00 +0000

Related Post: Eating Rocks I’m aware that some of the images on this old post are broken. I’ll try to look into it.

Integrating Levelator and Final Cut Pro

Thu, 16 Jun 2011 02:10:00 +0000

Note: This was originally written for an internal audience at work. Since most of the intended audience will not get any direct benefit from it, I thought I'd put it here to hopefully let it help someone out.

Levelator is a very simple, yet very effective application for analyzing a piece of audio and adjusting it to keep levels roughly the same throughout. This is especially useful for things like GDLN VCs where a number of factors, from site-configuration to speaker microphone technique can result in differing audio levels for different sites/speakers. It is part of my standard workflow to run VC archives through Levelator at the end of my editing process, and then do further noise reduction as necessary for audio segments that ended up too noisy when their levels were brought up. The problem with this is that Levelator doesn't have any configuration options, and Final Cut Pro doesn't offer any good path for integrating other software for non-developers, and the required process for running material from FCP through Levelator was long-winded. The solution I found doesn't remove all of the complexity, but it gets us partway there, and it feels quicker and easier to me. If Final Cut Pro offered applescriptand/or automator action support this could be taken quite a bit further.

some background

I'm running Snow Leopard, and that does make a difference, but not in the way you might think. I think setting this up in Leopard would be a little bit easier. Snow Leopard brought an update to automator that removed finder file filtering capability that would have been really handy for the folder action I created in Automator.

Over time I've found that the easiest way to make sure that I'm able to keep track of project assets is to put them in the same place every time -- divided by memory type and following a file naming convention. This means that I have an "audio sources" folder that all of my audio source files go into. Most projects I handle won't have any audio files at the outset as the audio is encapsulated in the video file, but Levelator takes an AIFF or WAV file, so running through Levelator requires one to export an AIFF file. It is perfectly ok to (and I recommend doing so, my process automates it) get rid of the file originally exported, but the Levelator output needs to be kept.

Finally, Levelator takes an audio file, lets call ours audio.aif for this explanation, and creates a levelated version in the same folder as the original with the same filename except for .output inserted into the filename right before the file extension. So the manual process would look like this:

Right click the sequence to be levelated in the Final Cut Pro browser, Export -> Audio to AIFF(s)...
Select filename and location to export to and click save (audo.aif for our example)
Wait for the export to complete
Navigate to the file location
Drag audio.aif onto the Levelator app
Wait for Levelator to complete (likely doing something else while you wait if the audio is long)
Get back to the finder window where audio.aif is
Find audio.output.aif in the same folder
move audio.aif to the trash
drag audio.output.aif into the FCP browser
drag the levelated audio into your sequence and replace the original audio for the clip.

This can get more complicated with multiple audio tracks in your sequence, etc, but let's keep it simple.

the new process

Here are the steps I follow with my automation in place:

Right click the sequence to be levelated in the Final Cut Pro browser, Export -> Audio to AIFF(s)...
Keep the filename the same as the sequence name, and select the levelate folder inside my Audio Sources folder (elaborated on briefly later), click save
Wait for 5 minutes, doing other work, or having a quick coffee break, while levelate does its thing
find the output file in the Audio Sources folder that will have popped up (the original export file should have been trashed automatically)
drag the file into your browser
replace the audio in your sequence

The real advantages to this are that it does all the file management for you and runs Levelator as soon as the export is done.

now onto the Automator folder action

I create a folder action in automator for a folder called levelate inside my Audio Sources folder. This folder will be where I export all of my audio files. Files will be removed from the folder almost instantaneously, this folder should almost always be empty.

In Leopard it may have been possible to do everything in the Audio Sources folder without the levelate folder by using the Filter Folder Items action in Automator, unfortunately there is no way to select files with filenames not containing... in Snow Leopard:

So here is the Automator action I came up with:

Automator goes on to the Move Finder Items action immediately after passing the file to Levelator, it doesn't wait for Levelator to finish which is what allows the File manipulation steps to work. Moving the original file to Audio Sources causes Levelator to output the leveled file to Audio Sources (if we write it back to the levelate folder the output file would trigger the cycle all over again, this s where the Filter Finder Items action from leopard would have come in handy). I've found that Levelator is almost always finished within 5 minutes, so I build in a 5 minute pause to ensure the output file gets written before the original gets trashes (if you trash it first, the output file will be written to the trash too). I inserted the Reveal Finder Items action write before the trash step to pop up the finder window and remind me that it is time to move on and make it easier to find the output file. I don't think many in the network are editing in Final Cut Pro, but hopefully this serves as inspiration for finding ways to make your own workflow a little bit more automated/efficient. Thanks for reading, what are your tricks for maximizing your efficiency?

So what are their real names?

Fri, 25 Mar 2011 00:24:00 +0000

If you are seeing this…

Tue, 15 Mar 2011 16:05:00 +0000

If you are seeing this, I have successfully migrated my websites onto a server in the United States, and taking my server down locally should no longer remove my sites from the web. It is your job to click around the site and point out the things that are acting weird.

BLT with lots of lettuce

Mon, 14 Mar 2011 18:05:00 +0000

After a lot of deliberation, Tomoko and I have finally come to a decision on first names, now Tomoko has to figure out what the kanji should be, and I have to think about middle names. The naming process for the girls went much the way it did with Lincoln, except that Tomoko’s early hospitalization delayed the process. What do I mean by that you ask? First let me congratulate you on following on with the narrative so well, that is exactly what I wanted you to ask at this stage. What I mean is that we had narrowed down a long list of names to a shortlist which, through careful consideration and a very scientific process, we then threw out and came up with entirely new names.

We decided in the end to name them after two very important women to us, our mothers, and then we had to find a way to do it. Kathy is a name that just doesn’t work well in Japanese. Tomoko’s mother is named Yuri, and we didn’t want to use the same name, nor did we want to go the traditional Japanese route of using one of her kanji in the new name. So what did we end up doing you ask? Give yourself a gold star and a pat on the back, you are really helping me out with this.

Let me present to you from left to right:

LaeAnn and Lily formerly Thing 2 and Thing 1

How do those names relate back to our Mothers you ask? You are so much smarter than you look, excellent question! My mother’s name is Kathy Ann and so we decided to go with the Ann. Yuri means Lily so it was fairly straightforward to make that leap.

Now do I hear you asking whether we gave all of our children ‘L’ names on purpose? You offend me sir or madam, that would be tacky, I assure you that it came about naturally, and that we debated with ourselves whether to scrap it all and come up with a new idea because of the fact that they ended up that way, but in the end we decided that on the whole it was a much better idea than a run-on sentence as ponderous as this one, and I’ve gone on with this heedless of the danger so what the hey. Since you’ve done such a good job asking the right questions up to this point, I shall leave you license to ask your own.

The New UltraGirls

Sun, 13 Mar 2011 17:24:01 +0000

UltraGirl Speaks

Sat, 12 Mar 2011 05:11:00 +0000

This is hours after the surgery, it took me a few days to be able to get it up.

The Update

Thu, 03 Mar 2011 22:34:00 +0000

Roughing it in Ruby

Mon, 28 Feb 2011 11:10:00 +0000

Roughing it in Ruby

I am out in Ruby Valley at UltraDad’s house; he is in bed asleep which is no small wonder since he has been up since the wee hours of the morning plowing snow. In a way, having no Internet kinda feels like ‘roughing it’ almost like camping out; I sometimes have to remind myself that I used to go about my life without Facebook, email or the Google and was perhaps even happier, and certainly more productive.
I stopped and got a RedBox movie, since UDad has no TV channels out here; on most days, Netflix helps him cope. I have to admit I was feeling entirely selfish when I rented “Julie and Julia” having no illusions it would be the sort of film that UltraDad would like. But he watched the whole thing with me, (except for the part I slept through☺), even the ‘how the movie was made’ extra feature. After all, there WAS a lot of beautiful, yummy looking food, and at my house UDad seems addicted to the Extreme Food Channel: Man Vs Food, etc. He found Julia Child’s voice (as portrayed by Meryl Streep) quite annoying and asked me if the actress was the one who played Edith Bunker in All in the Family, which I thought was pretty funny. Inspired, I actually breaded and fried pork chops in UDad’s cast iron skillet. At least I started them, and instructed my assistant cook to slice in an onion before I left to take a much needed phone call from my sister, Panther.
I have never thought of myself as a neat, tidy sort of person (nor has anyone who much knows me), so I was rather taken aback that I felt the need to clear off UltraDad’s cluttered kitchen table, rewash the stack of dishes in his drainer, wash rugs, towels and sponges, sweep the floors and clean the bathroom. Compulsions like this rarely strike me in my own house, where I seem to have a higher tolerance for dust and disarray. Probably that darn Internet.

Day 2 at UltraDad’s house:
A very nice day; sleep in and scrambled ham & eggs for breakfast. Put ham & beans in the crock pot, and we went over to Currie for a visit with UDad’s sister and family. We arrived at the Lear Ranch just in time to say goodbye to nephews Bill, Wyatt, and Wyatt’s fiancé Amber: meeting her was one of the reasons for our trip, but 2 minutes wasn’t really enough time to get to know her much. The wedding, I am told, is planned for May, near Memorial Day weekend. We had a lovely visit with Cortney, Wynn and Jade, wife and kids of UDad’s nephew Bill and, incidentally, his coworker. I had never seen Jade, who is now 6 months old. She was adorable, smiling and laughing as I held her and baby-talked and made funny faces. 4-year old Wynn is a riot. He may remember us a little from the few meetings we have had, but in any case, is not at all shy. Soon he had UltraDad building a tower with giant legos, and me making domino chains, admiring his cars and playing hide and seek. He always asked me to count to 15, and then he always hid behind the couch, of which he informed me prior to hiding. It still always took me a very long time to find him; wonder what that says about my intelligence☺? Cortney makes lovely quilts and tote bags; by admiring profusely, I score my favorite bag! I think she and Jessica would have fun comparing their projects, and Cortney claims that the next time the family goes to visit her grandparents in Mennan, that they will stop by Rigby and see Jim and Jessica’s new house. Finally, we had a short visit with UDad’s sister, Kathy, who had only arrived back home a short time before; she had been to Elko to ship out puppies. There were the usual plethora of small MinPins about, including one or two females in heat, which greatly interested Murphy & Rowdy, who seem not to remember that they have been ‘fixed,’ and whose advances were firmly and thoroughly rebuffed. The visit was cut even shorter when Kathy’s husband Kay noticed that the cows were getting into the stackyard, where they most definitely did not belong. Upon our arrival back at UDad’s house in Ruby Valley, we were welcomed by the smell of our pot of ham & beans, which we ate while watching ‘Salt’, one of UDad’s recent Netflix selections. If you like action movies, and in particular, watching beautiful and athletic Angelina Jolie jump onto moving semis, perform feats of derring do from breathtaking heights, and beat up/maim/kill more people than can easily be counted, get this one.
Since I don’t need to be at work til tomorrow afternoon, it seemed a good idea to stay one more night.

Well, it has now been several weeks since my untimely expulsion from Nursing School. I received the certified letter making it official and roughly outlining the terms by which I may be considered for readmittance next fall. I am still so very emotional about the whole thing, and still burst into tears when I have to retell the story to my hairdresser, to my well meaning friends at Weightwatchers, or even when discussing it with my family. Some friends and family who already know avoid mentioning the subject, probably to avoid my unpleasant tears, but to me it seems always there, like the elephant in the room that everyone tries very hard to ignore. I heard from a lot of people at first, including many of my, now, former classmates. It was very encouraging, when I gave a shout out on facebook for positive-thought mantras, to hear from SO many people, including friends I had not heard from in years.
My biggest support, which comes as no surprise, has been my family. UltraDad is supportive without offering advice; he will support whatever I decide to do. But I must give special commendation to certain family members who have gone the extra mile with a brief synopsis of their award-winning support (prizes yet to be determined; probably a sticker or something☺) My friends have been supportive, particularly Debbie in Carlin. My kids have been great, particularly UltraBob, and Jimbo, both of whom will allow me to expound ad nauseum and have offered some helpful advice.
My brother, UltraUncleDave, gave me a lot to think about in his phone call the other night “Think of this as an opportunity to improve your skills and come back better and stronger. Enlist some nursing staff members to your side by asking, in the right way, for their advice on how to improve your skills. Be the slightly squeaky, but not super annoying wheel.” Can I wrap my mind around this event as an opportunity instead of a setback? Hmmmm….
Next was my sister, UltraAuntFrancie. I told her about my phone conversation with our brother. “The biggest problem I see with his scenario is remaining calm and unemotional when I speak to the nursing instructors,” I told her. I can’t even talk to YOU about it without my voice getting high and quavery and tears welling up in my eyes. She wondered if I had a prescription for some nicer calming medication, like a benzodiazepine or even better, propanolol, which she takes for her blood pressure, and which keeps your sympathetic nervous system from kicking in so forcefully. “It can really help me when I have to face a stressful situation,” she told me helpfully. Not entirely ruling it out, but I think I’d rather try some mental rehearsing, positive self talk and cognitive behavioral therapy first…if I only knew how!
And the numero uno, top support award goes to (drum roll) Panther, Since there is NO way I can quantify how much she has helped me, I will just quietly hand her the award, and take her up on the offer of an overnight sister trip in Twin Falls next weekend.

This week, I really need to work on my game plan. So far I plan to:
1) Keep Tues appt I made with counselor in the career center
2) REALLY work on being able to discuss this calmly, without tearing up or undue emotion. REALLY would appreciate tips on how to do this.
3) Make appts with Nursing Dean and/or instructors when I can discuss calmly
4) Have already sent off app to get my CNA license back. Need to ask at Nursing Home, or other agencies if possible to get some part time work for experience; also to show Nursing Program that I am serious about this.
5) Touch base with some of my former classmates; I really miss them, and I really want to know what kind of experiences they are having.
6) Start a study program reading my Nursing texts and running through my skills
7) Exercise 45 min to 1 hour daily
8) Keep my food journal
9) Prepare WW lesson for Wednesday
10) Get together with friends
11) Take movie back
12) Stop at Smith’s; buy more oranges
13) Get gas
14) Don’t forget peppers, rice & beans, ground elk from freezer, etc.
15) Work on project for Technology class: Research paper
16) Call Francie!!! Her birthday is Tuesday!!
17) Send late BDay card to Mary: gift card?
18) Make dentist appt
19) Make appt for John: hearing aid
20) Make appt Dr Deguzman; follow up nerve conduction test
20) Remember Rowdy teeth appt
21) Finish up tax info for Jessica
22) Write to Tomoko

Funny; this game plan, written late last night, seems to have degenerated into a ‘to-do’ list. I am leaving it all because today I find myself bemused by how my mind sometimes works. Insight into self? Hmmm………
And also, I really need to do all this stuff.
If you have stayed with this convoluted post to the end, let me know you and you will join the ranks of award winners to whom I owe undying gratitude….or maybe a sticker.

Ciao,
UltraMom

Down, but not for the count

Fri, 11 Feb 2011 06:53:00 +0000

Failure is only the opportunity to begin again, only this time more wisely.”
| | ~ Henry Ford

Yesterday I felt kinda brave and ‘chin up’ and let’s make lemonade out of these lemons.
I got an instructor to let me into her Technology class three weeks late, which will get me a general AA degree at the end of semester. I talked to Financial Aid, the Registrar’s office and emailed Nursing Instructors to see if I could remain in Nursing Trends and NCLEX Review, the online classes. I talked to friends, family and I was optimistic, not weepy or poor me. I went to work and my two inmate workers went out of their way to cheer me up and make me laugh.
This morning, awake at 6 AM though to bed after midnight, with scratchy throat, stuffy nose, GI upset and chronically cold and numb hands I am keenly aware of what I have lost and all of the ‘not to be’s I will not be attending the Student Nurse’s Convention in Salt Lake City in April. I will not be planning a Pinning Ceremony and Reception with my fellow students. I will now be an outsider on all the FaceBook postings of ‘Clinicals all done! , This assignment sucks. How did you do on that last test?” I look in the mirror and see every one of my 56 ½ years etched in the lines in my face I turn on my computer and click on the discussion panel on WebCampus, out of habit? out of longing? it feels like a punch in the stomach when I read my former group’s postings “Now that Kathy is gone, we need to divide up her role.” I get a totally impersonal email from an instructor “Since you are not in the Nursing Program, you will not be allowed to continue taking Nursing Trends. We’ll let you know about NCLEX Review.” I am so used to putting everything else on hold, to thinking/sleeping/breathing/ nothing but school. I feel aimless and unsettled as I look at the mess of Nursing books and papers that cover my dining room table. I have no ambition to clear it all away.
I am confused about my status and feel like I am hovering, neither altogether in one world or the other. I was told I could come back next year, repass my skill exams and enter the class in good standing. But until that time, apparently, I am not in the program. This means I cannot get a job as Nursing Apprentice, and my CNA license is long lapsed. Yesterday, I said ‘maybe this is for the best. I can have more time to work on my clinical skills,’ and it seemed reasonable and doable. Today it seems so unfair. Today I think for the thousandth time “What if, and if only.” This bump in the road from yesterday now looks like a long, uphill climb and I doubt if I have what it takes to climb it again. Today, I think of all the people I have NOT told: the sweet friend from church who, only yesterday, sent me an uplifting card stating ‘You can do it! The end is in sight!’; the people from work and I feel another knot form in my stomach.
Today, at this moment, I am discouraged and weepy and poor me. Again.

Tomorrow, my throat will feel better, friends will make me laugh, my sisters and my children will make me proud and assure me of my worth. Tomorrow I will immerse myself in my new class and I will know that what I am experiencing is nothing compared to so many other people’s trials. Tomorrow.

I think this cycle will continue for a long, long time.

UltraMom

| |

UltraMom is down, but not out

Thu, 10 Feb 2011 07:28:00 +0000

I haven’t posted for a very long time; I have been so focused on school, and I truly believe that nursing school has been slowing sucking away at my creativity. Anyway, I wrote this letter to my kids last night, and decided that what I have to say in there pretty well reflects the situation.

Dear ‘kids’ (actual names were inserted here:)

For this semester, I am, as of today, out of the nursing program.

This is a hard thing for me to have to tell you. I know you have been very proud of me and we have all been looking forward to the day when I could get my nursing license and get a better paying job; maybe even move back to Idaho.

I will try to explain to you how this happened, but you will not completely understand. Just know that it is what it is and cannot be changed.
This semester, we have 3 clinical days scheduled at the hospital. I was sorry to see that one particular instructor, let’s call her Instructor #1, was to be my group’s clinical instructor, because she is intimidating, does not smile much and does not give much positive feedback.

In my first clinical, I was not well organized. I had 2 patients, and spent a lot of time going back and forth between the 2 rooms, and looking for things, like the medication room. (you know my sense of direction!) Then, at the medication cart with Instructor #1, I was getting my patient’s medications and got very rattled. I was holding the sheets that listed the medications in my hand, but did not realize it. (have you ever looked for something you were holding or already wearing) She had to tell me to stop and take a moment.

After that clinical, I was called in for a conference. She gave me several subpar scores on my clinical performance and asked for a plan of how I was going to keep from getting rattled and for being more organized, which I did after talking to several of my better-organized classmates.

Yesterday was my 2nd clinical. I was doing great, on top of my assessments, my charting, etc. I gave several medications with no problem. Then it came time to give one particular medication that had to be mixed with saline in a syringe and injected into the patient’s IV port. I drew up the medication, and thought I had got all the air bubbles out. I went into the pt room (with instructor) and connected the needleless syringe to the IV port. The instructor had to tell me there was an air bubble in there. And then I just could not think of the correct procedure to get it out. I told her ‘I am going to be honest with you, this is not something I have done much.’ She ejected the air bubble, handed it back to me. I connected it, gave the medication and we left the room. Outside the room, she stated, “This is not something you have not done much; this is a 1st semester nursing skill. I am concerned about this. I want you to leave this clinical.
I argued, but finally, after the 5th time of her asking, I left.

I need you to know that no patients were even close to being harmed. The patients I took care of that day seemed happy to have me caring for them.

To make a long story a little less long, I had a mtg with the instructors this afternoon. They informed me that they were concerned about my clinical performance safety. Instructor #1 related the incident, and she remembered it a bit differently than I did. She said I should have asked her for help, which I thought I was doing by saying “this is not something I have done much.” She said she would not interpret that as asking for help. They (the instructors) ‘liked me’ and knew how smart I was and how well I did in the theory portion of the class. But as a 4th semester student, my clinical skills were not where they needed to be. Even if I got all perfect scores on the 3rd and last clinical, I could not bring my grade up enough to get a passing clinical score. Their minds were made up, and nothing I said made any difference. The only positive (and I am looking for positives) was that they are not expelling me from the program; I can come back next year without reapplying and without retaking the 3 semesters worth of classes I have already taken, and retake this class that I am failing now. If I choose to do that, I would potentially graduate next year. In the meantime, they said, it would be a good idea for me to get some experience as home health aide or CNA at the nursing home to gain more clinical experience. They wished me good luck and said they hoped to see me back.

I am in more than a bit of shock. I want you all to know that I tried my very best. I am not used to failing at things I try to do, and this is undoubtedly one of the hardest things I have ever tried to do. I thought I was on the homestretch, but it is not to be.

One of the hardest parts about all this is explaining to people. And they all say, ‘they can’t fail you for that! Can’t you explain that…….” And the answer is ‘yes they can, and no I can’t.’ I’ve got to face it and take responsibility: I blew it.

I have been on the phone with my sisters, with fellow students a lot today and I have cried a LOT, but am proud of myself that I did NOT cry in the mtg with the instructors, though my voice got a little shaky.
I am sure I will get through this, but for now I just feel really bad about letting us all down.

One of my classmates sent me this great quote. It is quite applicable!
Failure is only the opportunity to begin again, only this time more wisely.”
| | ~ Henry Ford

Love you so much,

Mom

Okay, readers, hopefully I struck the correct balance between ‘my instructor hates me and was always out to get me’ and ‘i nearly caused a patient serious harm’, neither of which is true. Who knows, now that I have some time, I might actually post once in a while:)

UltraMom

Watermelon Thief

Sat, 22 Jan 2011 08:33:00 +0000

At my OBGYN visit last week, the doctor suggested that I should check into the hospital for an “administrative” hospitalization soon, and so I set the date. I’ll be hospitalized late next week, and most likely won’t be able to get out until the twins are born in March. Administrative hospitalization is for the purpose of making sure the twins stay put until they are developed enough to be born without complications. Twins tend to come early.

Since my belly is already so huge, I often feel tightness which almost suffocates me and makes me feel panicked. I can’t eat much at a time these days so I’m trying to eat small meals five times a day. I involuntarily laugh at myself when I look at my belly in the mirror. When I walk, I look like I’m carrying a big water melon inside my shirt. I was shocked when I tried on UltraBob’s pajamas the other day and they fit me perfectly! He says they are a little loose on him.

Of course I don’t want to be separated from Linc, but something tells me it might be a good choice to get into the hospital.

Looking back on this time of pregnancy with twins, it has been a real tough experience for me. It was totally different from how it went with Linc. The morning sickness was twice as severe, things that are often written in books for you to enjoy while you are pregnant, such as maternity yoga, swimming, going for a short trip, and other fun stuff, are totally not appropriate for multiple pregnancy cases. When I realized the morning sickness was going away, my belly was already getting big and tight and I couldn’t take Linc on a walk by myself anymore.

Just as mentioned in the multiple pregnancy book UB read to me, I was tired all the time and was supposed to get plenty of rest, but how could you do that if you have a kid already? Well, I was lucky that my parents live not so far from our home and they were devotedly helpful.

Without their help, I couldn’t come to this point with all those discomforts. They let me have enough rest by watching Linc, fixing meals, and even helped clean the house. More than me, Linc is actually the one that needed the help; They (taking turns mostly) took Linc to places like parks or play areas inside department stores depending on the weather. And I appreciate the most that my mom makes sure Linc eats plenty and healthily.

I guess you can say I’m spoiled, but I really really needed the rest, and I think because of that the twins and I have had no problems so far and we are growing big as we should.

I also appreciate that my husband UltraBob has been understanding and supportive. UB took care of Linc and me on weekends. And he puts Linc to sleep by reading books every night. Linc is getting lots of English words now! UB made a bed for thing 1 and thing 2 and it’s just right size for them and height for me.

There is one more guy I appreciate so much for being there; Yes it’s my son, Linc. He is cheerful and smart, and I don’t think we had “terrible twos” with him. He comes to me when I’m laying down, rubs my belly saying “hang in there” or “cheer up mommy”. He loves reading books, singing songs, playing outside, and he can now solve a 30 piece puzzle meant for a 4 year old without help! He gives me so much joy and happiness. I think he will be a good big brother.

I just wanted to post one last time before the twins are born. And hopefully you’ll hear a happy report from us in the near future. My tenants got neatly knitted blankets from Aunt Jessica and Uncle Jim, and I’m looking forward to putting them on the newborns!! I just love the blankets and I wish I could knit like that! Again, thank you guys!

Really?!?

Wed, 19 Jan 2011 20:56:00 +0000

The scenarios I can imagine that would lead to a shopping cart like this are few. A limit of my imagination? Apparently! These are reportedly frequently ordered together.

What we’re thankful for this year

Wed, 10 Nov 2010 16:56:00 +0000

It’s a smidgen early for Thanksgiving, but I think you’ll all agree that it is never the wrong time to reflect on how fortunate you are and feel grateful. Well we’ve been doing so a lot in the last few months, and I’m finally ready to share the reason(s) with those of you who we haven’t already told:

*insert drumroll here*

You guessed it, Tomoko’s pregnant again, but don’t be looking all smug over there. There’s more to it than that. One more to be exact. We are slated to become a family of 5 next year, and we couldn’t be happier about it.

Lincoln has brought nothing but joy to our lives since he was born in 2008, and I am absolutely certain that he will be a fantastic big brother. It will be rough for him too, he has been the uncontested center of attention pretty much everywhere he goes up until now. I’m planning to let Tomoko handle all the care of the new kids so that I can focus my attention on playing with Lincoln, but beyond that I would love any advice on how to make this as painless as possible for him.

Lincoln was born by c-section and we’re looking at twins this time. That means we’ve already got a scheduled birthday if all goes well, and it is three days before their Aunt Heather’s on March 23rd. That’ll be at week 37, and twins do have a tendency to try to come early so please pull for them to be able to stay in until they are expected out.

At the hospital where the babies are to be born, they have a policy of admitting mother’s to the hospital early and putting them on bedrest fairly early on. That can often last until the babies are born, which’ll be rough on all of us, but particularly on Lincoln and his Mommy, so keep them in your prayers.

So that’s the big news. I’m really excited about it, but now it looks like we need a car that can take 3 car seats, the aforementioned car seats, cribs, a stroller for two (or three), and all kinds of stuff. Anybody got a spare savings account that they’ve been dying to get rid of? I guess that brings me around to giving thanks for being successful in applying for a job in my restructured workplace. So how about you, what’s new with you these days? (and about that savings account…)

Site may go down over the weekend

Thu, 28 Oct 2010 05:56:01 +0000

I (Bob) will be on a business trip over this weekend, and we will be getting an update to our fiber connection so if a setting change is needed there is some likelihood that the site will go down over the weekend. If that happens, be brave little ones.

Better late than never

Sun, 24 Oct 2010 05:54:00 +0000

Tear Jerker

Thu, 09 Sep 2010 17:42:01 +0000

Apparently this makes the ladies cry. I had expected no more than one lady to cry.

Fishing on Ruby Lake

Tue, 10 Aug 2010 09:05:01 +0000

We usually have a very predictable, sort of ‘nothing’ kind of weekend, and sometimes is gets kind of depressing going back into the workweek with nothing memorable to think back on. Let me just say that this past weekend was interesting and memorable and even occasionally fun!
I started thinking earlier in the week that it might be fun to go camping (we have a tent now after all); maybe even somewhere we could take the bikes, if the roads were good enough. UltraDad dutifully hauled the tent and camp chairs home, but he had a better idea tied upside down in the bed of his pickup: the 14 ft aluminum boat that had once belonged to his dad. On Friday while I was at work, he licensed it and procured anchor, life jackets and battery for his 10 HP electric motor.
Ruby Lake, or more accurately, Ruby Marshes, was, he heard, the place to go. People were catching and releasing 40-50 bass and easily filling their limit of 10 bass over 10” long. And the lake was only a short 40 minute drive from his home in Ruby Valley.
On Saturday, about 4 PM, we arrived at the Ruby Lake Visitor Center. Following the confusing direction arrow, we ended up on a row of park ranger homes. The nice park ranger told us how to find the actual visitor center and also gave us lots of good information and advice. The popular 1st boat launch area, just over the hill, was the best one; the water was deeper and you didn’t have to go too far to find some good open water and good fishing. The 2nd dock, less widely used, was about 8 miles further on, and you had to boat for a long stretch on shallow, swampy water to get anywhere.
We pulled into the parking area at the 1st launch, and gaped in astonishment at the long row of vehicles and boat trailers on one side, and the long row of trailered boats waiting to be launched on the other side. As we were eating our lunch and considering our options, a young, bespeckled, skinny-legged Ranger approached us. We had seen him earlier near the actual visitor’s center, where he had somehow talked UDad into agreeing to fill out a survey of his personal recreational habits. Ranger boy was still carrying his clipboard, and I had watched him working the crowd, looking for more survey candidates. “Doesn’t look like you are having much luck getting launched,” he sagely observed. “ You might want to give the other boat launch a try.” I was leery; it was after all, our maiden voyage and I had visions of spending the night lost in a swampy maze, but in the end it seemed our best option if we actually wanted to get on the water in the next 2 hours. And, as UDad had informed the ranger, we did have a GPS.

Crowded 1st Launch Area

Launching at the 2nd Boat Dock

After the metropolitan aura of the 1st launch, coming up on the all-but-deserted 2nd launch was a bit surreal. There was one other vehicle there, and we were alone as we (mostly not me) hauled, righted and shoved the boat into the water and tied it to the dock. Now for the hard part; as I lugged out tackle box, cooler, anchor, life vests, etc., UltraDad got out the motor and battery. Just then we saw a boat approaching the dock: the other vehicle was now accounted for. Hurriedly we moved our boat to the front of the little pier so the other boat could come in. In the craft were ‘Dad’ and ‘Jerry’; we never formally introduced ourselves, though in the next hour or so, we heard much of talkative ‘Dad’s’ life story. It seems they had burned their gas motor up (from too many weeds?) and had come in to get a different one. UltraDad sat on the dock in an attitude of apparent rapt attention as ‘Dad’ informed us that he was 85, his wife was 83 and his son was 65. They used to have a little dog, but it died, and someone had recently given his wife a fake dog that breathed when you turned it on and she treated it like a real dog. He had been married in New Orleans, and his son was born 9 months and 1 day after his wedding; everyone was counting the days, but nowadays noone even gave it a second thought.
I sat on the dock with the dogs and tried to drop a few hints: “We don’t want to hold you up.” “John, do you want me to put this stuff in the boat?” and in my head “John, could you work while you talk?” When he finally got to it, it took a good half hour to get the motor and battery all hooked up. I threw in an old blanket for Murphy and Rowdy, and they gratefully curled up in it for most of the voyage. Over UDad’s protestations, I insisted on bringing the cooler. If we did spend the night on the lake, at least we wouldn’t starve!

Dad and Jerry

Sea Dogs

Jerry and Dad had earlier cut a nice swath through the swampy reeds, and we tried to follow it. Still we ended up rowing a while before we found an area deep enough to give the propeller a try. If you watched for them, once in a while you caught sight on a long pole, which were the channel markers. Dad and Jerry had warned us that we should take flashlights. In the dusk, we would need them to spot the reflector tape on the channel markers to find our way back. It soon became apparent that we wouldn’t get out far enough to fish and still make it back before dark, so after an hour or so, we turned around and successfully found our way back to the dock. The scenery was amazing, especially the way the clouds reflected in the water. The GPS had been of little help as neither of us knew how to use it.

Captain John

First Mate Kathy

Getting dark

To my surprise, Dad and Jerry were still there, and Dad came forward to tie our boat to the dock and lend a hand to help me alight. They had decided against going out again that night, but were having trouble trailering their boat. It was crooked on the trailer, but strong UltraDad soon helped put it aright, and as we drove home we made plans to come back early the next morning and give the 1st launch a try.
As we drove back early the next morning, UDad informed me that he had slept little the night before. “I kept thinking of ways to shorten our launch time. I don’t want to keep people waiting.” He is more considerate that way than I am; I figure everyone takes their turn, and I am as entitled to make someone wait as the next guy. As it turned out, his fears were ungrounded. A lot of boats had been anchored near the pier, but there were very few people around as we got underway, and noone was kept waiting on our account.

Boats anchored near the pier

Underway

Murphy

Again the dogs huddled on their blanket in the bottom of the boat and I was glad I had worn my jacket; the morning was chilly. The water was much deeper here, and I enjoyed the ride as John powered the nearly silent electric boat motor through the reedy channels. We were passed numerous times by other boats; their loud gas motors seemed to violate the morning tranquility. This was nice, I thought as I snapped photos of the passing scenery: again the amazing reflection of clouds, mountains and water reeds; duck families paddling by; John at the tiller.

“You know,” John remarked after a while, “I probably should have charged the battery last night, but I was just too tired.”
“WHAT??!!” I thought, but what I said was, “You have to charge the battery in a boat? It doesn’t recharge itself like it does in a car?” “No, of course not,” my husband replied in the tone of voice he would have used had I suggested that the moon, indeed, was made of green cheese. “There is no alternator.”
We kept getting passed, so it seemed logical that the best fishing was still further up ahead. I tried to put on my game face, but as we sped out past yet another marker pole, my enthusiasm was tempered by thoughts of a long row back to the dock. And John had made me leave the cooler behind. And I was starting to have to pee.

Heading out

Notice the marker pole near the duck

Reed Reflection

“Hey, I have been a little worried since you mentioned the battery,” I said with a little laugh. “Maybe we shouldn’t go so far out.”
“Oh, don’t worry, I’m sure it will be fine,” said my husband, examining the object in question. “Oh, maybe not. It says ‘recharge needed.” And then it died.
And so we rowed, with fishing along the way. First, as usual, UDad had to unsnarl the line around my fishing reel. He ended up cutting it at last and starting over, as I urged him to forget about it and go ahead and fish. But it was fun to string on a shiny lure and cast it out over the water in hopes of a bite. We often had to back up and bring the boat alongside some reeds that had snagged our silly lures, and even more often hauled in a line dripping with mossy water plants. In the end, I brought in one fish and UDad hauled in three, all well under the 10” criteria for keeping, so back in the lake they went.

John’s first fish

Kathy’s usual catch

A real fish!

An amazing sky

When I finally got a turn, I found the rowing was kind of fun, though I wasn’t very skilled at aiming the boat in the directions I wished to go. I rowed an artistic zig zag pattern with the occasional running aground in the ubiquitous reeds.
As we approached the dock, there was Park Ranger, still clutching his clipboard. As we related our experiences he said, “You would be surprised how often that happens. I hear it all the time.”
And so an eventful weekend, and I have finally finished a post. I have 2 half begun and I promise soon you will be able to read about my Lavender Selling weekend in McCall and my beautiful daughter Heather’s wedding to handsome Heath. Well, semi-promise.

UltraMom

Here Comes the Bridal Shower!

Sun, 27 Jun 2010 16:33:01 +0000

I wonder if I still remember how to do this posting thing? It’s been a while! My intention was to be a more regular Duo contributor once school was on hiatus for the summer….but I have a lot of intentions that don’t turn out as planned!
My summer if flying by, and mostly I’m not even aware of it until I catch a glimpse of the calendar and see some landmark date passing or looming.
It is less than two weeks now til the wedding of the year: my beautiful daughter Heather and her love of many years, Heath will make it official one day before my 56th birthday. The wedding will take place in most scenic locale, Long Dog Lavender farm in Emmett Idaho run by the capable farming team of John Ryder and Debi Ryder, who also happens to be my amazing little sister.
A couple of weeks ago, many of us journeyed to Idaho Falls to Jim and Jessica McDonald’s new townhouse for a bridal shower. I love how Jim and Jess have fixed up their place, and I especially love the table Jim made out of many, many different types of wood, including Russian Olive cut on his Dad’s sawmill in Howe. The table is counter height; chairs have been ordered but not yet arrived, but we WERE able to STAND around the table by partake of Jessica’s delicious breakfast waffles.

Jim’s table full of party delicacies

The walls in the living room are decorated with the standard McDonald hunting theme, and I seemed to have, if not a death wish, then at least a ‘severe injury’ wish as I repeatedly nearly missed gouging out an eye or incurring head lacerations on the massive elk antlers conveniently hung at eye level☺

Living Room Decor

UltraDad and I arrived on Friday, the day before the party; our thoughtful kids took us out to eat at Dave’ Famous BBQ, a newly opened sister chain to the one we had so enjoyed a meal at in Nashville. We had a 45 minute wait for a table and the waitress had just taken our order when Jim got a call from Johnny. We knew he was driving in that night also, but had not planned to be in the midst of a restaurant meal when he arrived.
Jessica had gone to a lot of work to make sure Heather’s Bridal Shower was fun and memorable. Party games were ready to go, along with a tiara and apron reading ‘Queen of Everything’ for Heather to wear.

Jessica hard at work in the kitchen

Party games ready to go!

The Queen of Everything! At least for the day. Notice the striking elk antlers apparently growing out of Heather’s shoulders!

The food………how to describe it? It was a wondrous! Chocolate cookies, sprinkled with powdered sugar, nut bread (originally slated to be banana-nut bread before the bananas went bad, yes even too bad for that!), the most wonderful cake/pudding cups with pound cake in the bottom, strawberries, kiwi and blueberries in the middle and whipped cream (NOT Coolwhip), sour cream and white choco pudding on top. We rounded out the refreshments with chips, dip and salsa; and elk salami and cheese. (I made the salami for Jim and he graciously agreed to share it).
The Shower was tons of fun. Heather got lots of cool gifts; Chenoa’s daughters Rowan and Djouli were lots of help decorating everyone and everything (mostly themselves) with tissue paper and ribbons. Pat won the wedding word scramble, though I got just as many right as she did……….after cheating just a tiny bit. Patty won the other two prizes by 1st:giving Heather the best wedding advice “Be each other’s best friend,” and by catching the rest of us saying the forbidden words of ‘bride’, ‘groom’ or ‘wedding.’

Djouli, Jessica and Heather posing with the bridal bouquet that Jessica crafted out of tissue and ribbons

Some of the shower attendees

After the shower, the guys came back, including Patty’s husband Bill, Chenoa’s husband Mike and son Snaider for more food: Jessica’s homemade Chicken Enchiladas.
Another thing accomplished on the trip was getting UltraDad a new bike for his birthday. He has been wanting to get more exercise, and after test driving Johnny’s new Hybrid Carmel, discovered this activity, unlike walking or the Elliptical Machine, did not hurt his feet. We drove to Bill’s Bike Shop, that elusive establishment so often driven past in days of yore as we searched for UltraBob’s Orthodontist (He once told Aunt Joy that he always knew we were almost there when I drove past Bill’s Bike shop for the third time). This was the first time I had been inside, however, and the sheer number and variety of bicycles was astounding. In the end, UltraDad wanted one just like Johnny’s only an ‘extra large’ frame instead of merely a ‘large’ one. We also purchased a bike rack, so we could haul it home. I am amazed at how much larger it is than my own mountain bike, and also how much lighter! I have quickly discovered that I cannot keep up with this new man/machine combo!

If I used this artistic angle, I could fit both Udad and Bike in their entirety into the picture

The day after the Bridal Shower, Heather came back into Idaho Falls, and she, I and Jessica went shopping. I needed a new dress for Heather’s wedding and I did not want a repeat of Jim’s wedding where I found one I liked only 2 days before! It was a lot of fun, and I felt like the star as the girls brought me armloads of dresses and gave me feedback as I modeled each one. And I was thrilled when I went to buy our selection from the Dress Barn and found out it was on a half price sale!
UltraDad and I spent Sunday night in Pocatello with Heather and Heath. It was a lot of fun, and they fixed us a delicious dinner of steak, seafood wraps and corn on the cob. I was impressed to see Heather give her diabetic cat Callie a shot of insulin like an old pro.
The real hero of the weekend was my sis in law Pat who kept my poodles with her at Chenoa’s house and then hauled them home with her on Sunday. Jim’s appt is strictly no pets and at Heather’s place live 3 cats who are a bit traumatized by 2 small active, yappy, cat chasing dogs. All in all, it was a great family weekend.
Okay, that wasn’t so bad, and I only got sidetracked about 10 times. Maybe I will become an active part of the duo once again!

UltraMom

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Thu, 03 Jun 2010 23:56:01 +0000

This site has extensively not been tested with Internet Explorer. As this is my personal site, and is done in my spare time, I shall endeavor to do things that enrich my life as opposed to things that leave me a hollow soulless husk. For this reason I have not tested in Internet Explorer to heretofore unexplored lengths. If things work in Internet Explorer it is sheerly by coincidence. If it doesn’t work in your browser, none of the links below is likely to lead you astray: