Howe to Work

I hope you aren't getting tired of this Howe title stuff...because I am just getting started. Ha,ha.

And I do so love finding double meanings in words. I's one of my favorite games! That's why I'm so in love with our new Photography business name....BIG SHOT SPORTS! The website is up at www.bigshotsports.org and that was a learning experience..setting that up took 8+ hours. The photography website--the one at which photos can be purchased--is more complex and I am making slow progress. Hopefully by the end of this week we will have something more to show you than just the slideshow and intro info.

Eventually, once I have photos uploaded to it, there will be a list of galleries to click on. The galleries will be the names of the games Dad has photographed, and the photos will be in the galleries for purchase. (Does that answer your question, Rachel?) I had planned to upload the photos Friday after I took the website training session, but I missed the class because we were out in the cold (25 degrees--Brrr!) vaccinating the heifer calves against brucellosis--or bangs as we call it.

Dad finished the book Friday. One more edit, for the latest revisions, one more reading, and it is ready to go out in public! Ready to market. Ready to join the Western world. (I'll let you in on a secret...Dad writes in 3s. And it's starting to rub off on me. He doesn't say something once...he says it 3 times, in 3 different ways. Just like I did above.) You'll see, when you read his book. Maybe you'll catch yourself talking in 3s...maybe it's not as unusual as I think. I only noticed it because it takes a lot of serious punctuation when you do it in writing.

So, between the new photography business and the new writing business we have been busy, busy, busy. I have been putting in 10-12 hour days on the computer alone. Wish us luck...we are still on a learning curve here. And with so much to learn. it is exhausting.

The Howe Lectures

I just read my last blog...and it does sound a little bit like a lecture. So be it. I believe that I'm not done parenting yet....so if I can share a few insights via blogging, then I can say I am still providing some guidance or some wisdom. And as I keep hearing..."you're the Mom. You're supposed to know..."

So that was Howe Lecture No. 1. Be happy.

Dad has given his share of Howe Lectures....I don't think I've given mine though. His run along the line of action: Solve the problem. Mark your own scorecard. Give 'em Hell. Tough guy stuff. All good.

I think mine are going to be more personal. Starting with be happy. Be unselfish and more forgiving. Be grateful for every little thing....even the smallest act. Be personally responsible for the affect you have on others....from personal hygiene (take those showers, Will, even though you hate them, and your shower is too short for you) to sending a note or card, (or calling your Aunt Grace, Emily, to thank her for the kitchen dish towels she embroidered for you--I'll text you her number).

I am so proud of all of you. I am so happy that you all love each other and get along so well. And that you are all speaking to me. You should hear the stories I hear from other parents! So much turbulence! I am very grateful to have 5 + 3 + 1 winners in the Howe clan!

Bet you can't wait for lecture no. 3!

Howe A-musing

Blogger's note: November 16: I wrote this 3 weeks ago.....though it sounds like just yesterday.

I have so many ideas running through my head...each blogworthy...so I am just going to run through them here.

Yesterday I was reading the thesaurus looking for just the right word. I started in the A s and was amazed at how many descriptive words there are for dispositions. In just the first 4 pages I came across abject, able, abnormal, abominable, aboveboard, abrasive, abrupt, absent-absentminded, absorbed, abstemious, abstruse, and absurd. Each of these words has approximately 15 entries --that's about 200 descriptive words. Who cares? you say. Well,I was so impressed at how many positive words there are--so many cheery, and glorious attributes that I decided that far too many of the negative downtrodden words were operating in my life. I'm going to give them all up. I think it is, after all, all about choice.

Choice? You know I always hated that quote from Abraham Lincoln. The one that goes something like this... "A man is just about as happy as he makes up his mind to be." NO, I would say. It's not MY fault that I am unhappy! I didn't DECIDE to be unhappy! But, again, I didn't decide to be Happy, either. And you know I think that it is easier to be unhappy than it is to be happy. Not better. But easier.

I mean think about it. It is so easy to be mad. It is so easy to be disappointed. It is so much easier to get angry than to keep your cool. It is easier to hate than to forgive. Get my drift? And it is easier to be lazy, than to make the effort to choose a response.

This has been a hard year for me, personally. I have learned a lot about making choices. And I have made some hard choices,all of which seemed to only have negative consequences. And I accept that. Instead of complaining incessantly--a very strong pull I feel--I have been learning how to choose to respond, or act. Not easy. I am not always successful. Sometimes I choose happiness for the wrong reasons--avoidance, say. But there are other reasons to choose happiness as a point of view. The obvious one is that you feel better being happy. Life goes along more easily. People enjoy being around you. It actually is more peaceful, and uses less energy. And it may just safeguard your health. Also, it feels good. And finding the good in something bad is just about the only compensation for having gone through an ordeal.

So, I'll let you in on the big secret....you can be Happy. In the middle of all the stress, the disappointments, the infuriatingly frustrating actions of others. Just shut that door, and open a new one. The stuff is all still there...it is true, but you can put it out of your mind, and function much better. This I know for sure.

I think I should have learned Meditation and the whole Zen thing when I was young. I'm sure it would have helped me enormously.

HOWE TIME FLIES

I read everyone's blogs this morning, and then I looked at mine. August 24th! That was my last blog? Whoa. I have really been asleep at the wheel! I got so caught up in my projects while I was home this summer, I didn't even take a breath. I worked steadily on them 5 hours a day, because I was afraid I wouldn't have time to finish. And I was right.

Now, I am back in my gypsy world with a box full of incomplete projects in the trunk of my car that require my full attention, and uninterrupted thought. And I have 60 days to complete them. Today is the first day I have even thought of working on them...the house is quiet, Grover/Dad is writing on his novel. As soon as I finish this blog, I will get that box out and determine what needs to be done.

But, I digress. I was discussing the lengthy silence. The blog silence from August 24th to mid September is clearly due to my projects. The blog silence from mid September until today is due to VISITING.

A word about VISITING. I don't know how other people do it, but my idea of VISITING is talking, running errands with people, shopping, eating, telling stories, watching TV or movies, and helping with cleanup. All good things.

Things that get in the way of VISITING are: phone calls, computer tasks, including email and blogging, paying bills, cleaning the car, laundry, and entertaining the GROVER. He has his own category. He doesn't do VISITING very well. His idea of VISITING is: what are we doing? when are we doing it? when will we be done with it? What can I fix? Where is "the library?" (For those of you who don't know..."the library" is his pseudonymn for Barnes & Noble.)

In the past the longest we had ever visited anyone was probably about 4 days, and our shortest visit may have been 1 1/2 days. Surprisingly, so far, we have broken our 4 day record in each of our visits, to Rachel, and to Aunt Diane. We stayed 8 1/2 days at Rachel's house, and we have been at my sister's house a little over 2 weeks. And we have 5 more days until we pick them up from the airport. Did I mention they are not here? So, technically it may not count if we visit people who actually have gone to visit others. We took Aunt Diane and Uncle Glenn to the airport on Monday to fly to Phoenix and visit their friends there. We are housesitting. Hence, the blogging.

And coincidentally, and ironically, Jess has been visiting our house while we have been gone. Is this just so insane? They had a stopover on their way to Erin's brother's wedding, and popped into Lovell for a few days. Yes, I was very sad I wasn't there to play with them. But I am learning to control my emotions. And I was happy they had a warm/cozy place to stop, and they could see where we live. When we are living there.

So, this is HOWE TIME. This is the HOWE life. And this is how it flies. In circles, and in loop de loops and with zigs and zags and sudden turns. Sometimes it is a seesaw, and sometimes it is a roller coaster. And sometimes I am sick to my stomach, and sometimes I am gloriously happy to see my loved ones. But one thing is sure...it is never DULL.

See you soon. For now, I have to finish my XMAS projects. Shhhhhh! Don't tell.

TO BE OR NOT TO BE....

You all know that I am a stickler for correct grammar. Heaven knows I have corrected most of you a few times in that area, even Richard, who I do not have direct responsibility for in the area of language. Thank goodness he is a good sport! Being an unrequited lover of the English language does not necessarily make you popular or comfortable with the attack and demolition that happens quite regularly to it. But I have tried not to be a language snob and to recognize that there are many ways to communicate...not the least of which is Will's slang, Em's texting, and Dad's comical assault on words just for the hair raising effect of it.

That being said, I am finally putting into words one of my biggest grievances. And that is the disappearance of two words...to be. Oh, you haven't noticed? Sure you have. The first place I ever noticed this was in Lovell. In 1994. Are you amazed I can remember? It is because of Emily's 1st grade teacher. Now, I give normal, average, regular people some slack....but not teachers. Because they are so formative..especially in the early grades. This lapse in the use of "to be" by her teacher and others was one of the compelling reasons for our relocation to CA. What? some might say. Correct grammar in CA? You betcha! I never had a single conversation with one of the teachers wherein I heard them use poor grammar. And I had a lot of conversations over the years. But, I haven't showed you what I am talking about yet, have I?

Here it is. But, I caution you....I am only putting this into print so that you can help me curb the ongoing evolution and acceptance. Please do this for your mother! friend! mother in law! and sister!

"The car needs washed. The house needs cleaned." These are the most common usages I have overheard. But you can hear it everywhere...I am afraid it will soon be on your own television and radio. Here is the formula: Noun + the word "needs" + (drop the "to be") + a past tense verb = the criminal act. Your job now is to listen to people talking and see how many times you spot the poor little "to be" words dropping out of circulation. And, if you can, to stop the madness. Maybe we can do it in a funny way. Maybe we can stand up tall and immediately say, TO BE OR NOT TO BE! That should get some attention. And laughter. And then you can say truthfully, "Oh, it makes my Mother insane when people leave out the words "to be." And she begs us to campaign for them." Blame me. I have considered writing to NPR as one of those viewer comments to address this issue.

Why do I care? Aside from the nails on the chalkboard feeling I have whenever I hear it? Well, I feel like a keeper. Like there needs to be more keepers. Keepers of the language. We are already losing "fewer". That word has been replaced without a backwards glance with "less" in so many instances. The first time I heard it done on the radio I nearly drove over the center divider! And now I hear it constantly, and I see it in print, in ads, on the television, the radio and in common communication. That war is so far gone, I don't think we will even see the word in use soon. I'm sure you know what I am talking about...but in case you have forgotten. Less is a word you use for things you can't actually number. Like peanut butter, and sunshine. Words that you don't put an s on to make them plural. Fewer is a word you use for things you can count. Like apples, bills, even people. Check it out. I always test it by saying: fewer peanut butter, or less peanut butter? I think it's obvious.

You will soon see that advertising agencies are the biggest villains in that war, because they are using the idea of the alliterative series. One or two of the uses will be correct and the third will be shoved in to make it match. i.e. the basic look is something like this is: purchase our product: less time, less trouble, less headaches. OUCH! You can tell which one is wrong. It's the one that is plural. Except I am afraid it is getting less obvious as it becomes more widespread. (You wouldn't say "fewer obvious", ha ha, my own private joke!) Not funny, I know. You might have to ask yourself the peanut butter question, when you hear the word from now on. Is it measurable? can I count it?

I don't think we can save fewer. It is on the fast track to oblivion. I wish it wasn't so. I am losing the fight. The next victim is at hand:

To be or not to be? That is the question.

Log Cabin Move

Well, everyone, it's finally happening. Dad's dream dark room made from the old log cabin is beginning to look like it might come to pass. As you may remember last Summer we poured a foundation. Dad's plan was to lift up that old little one room log cabin and move it to the pad 100 feet or so from the garage. I wasn't so sure it could be done. But Dad spent a long time thinking about it, and he got some house jacks and jacked up the house off the flooring. It wasn't attached. Then he got a tractor and pushed the flooring out from under the house as far as he could, and then hooked a chain to the extended edge and pulled it the rest of the way out. Then he hoisted the floor straight up. Check it out. I took pictures.

You should have seen him driving the tractor backwards down the road at 2 miles an hour, the floor bumping along as it dragged. Once at the site he lowered it onto the slab. Isn't that amazing? After we figure out the floor insulation, we are going to go back and lift up the house and set it on a trailer and drive it down to the foundation. Sounds impossible, doesn't it? Aren't tractors great? You can do such impossible stuff with them.
Moving the house is just the beginning...there is so much other work to do on it, like the roofing and flooring, the plumbing and the electrical outlet installation. It is a big project...but we are getting closer....slowly.

Moving the house

Well, everyone, it's finally happening. Dad's dream dark room made from the old log cabin is beginning to look like it might come to pass. As you may remember last Summer we poured a foundation. Dad's plan was to lift up that old little one room log cabin and move it to the pad 100 feet or so from the garage. I wasn't so sure it could be done. But Dad spent a long time thinking about it, and he got some house jacks and jacked up the house off the flooring. It wasn't attached. Then he got a tractor and pushed the flooring out from under the house as far as he could, and then hooked a chain to the extended edge and pulled it the rest of the way out. Then he hoisted the floor straight up. Check it out. I took pictures.

You should have seen him driving the tractor backwards down the road at 2 miles an hour, the floor bumping along as it dragged. When he got next to the slab he lowered it onto the slab. Isn't that amazing? In the next few days we are going to go back and lift up the house and set it on a trailer and drive it down to the foundation. Sounds impossible, doesn't it? Aren't tractors great? You can do such impossible stuff with them.

We are getting closer to the end of the project. I'll keep you posted.

A New Occupation

Well, Linne called me out on being a farmer. Nat's Mom apparently knows the truth about me. I did try it out. Last year. I put on my jeans, I even bought overalls, and I put on my work boots and my blue cotton work shirts, grabbed my gloves and my hat, and reported to the kitchen for work at 8 a.m. every day. For a year. It was the year Glen and Ruth were working at the sugar factory in the winter and the Ditch in the spring/summer. That was the year I thought Grover needed help and I was his only hope. After 10+ months of that routine, I discovered something. Farmers/Cowboys are solitary workers. They have tractors and big equipment to do the work we amateur farmhands think will be help to them.

I spent more than a month clearing the corral of wire and wood and debris. Not too long after that I watched in amazement as Glen drove a bulldozer through and shoved it all into one big pile. In 15 minutes or less. Boy, did I feel stupid. I did the same thing, tearing out a quarter of the brush behind the corral so we could get to the fencing to tear it down. Again, since I had started the job, Glen came through with help and took out the whole fence and all the remaining brush with....the bulldozer, again. Now, I know why the farmers love their equipment! All those farm sales are just heaven to them. And I know, too, why their wives go with them happily to the auctions. They are just as happy to stay in the house making some dinner for their dynamos.

I guess the real value was this: Start something too big to finish on your own, and maybe someone will get it done. At least I got things started. Fighting inertia is a real uphill battle. Especially 10+ years of it.

After that first year, and this year with the help of Glen and Ruth, the real deal farmhands, Grover has been just fine working on his own...farming and ranching. And yes, Linne, you are right. I live on a farm. Occasionally I have to go out and encourage (we call it herding) the cows to go through the open gate. Once in a while I have to drive a tractor to fertilize a field--30 minutes max. But I am no farmer. I think that is in the blood. I would rather stay indoors to tie a quilt, or read, or blog. Don't even get me started on the mosquitoes!

At heart, I am a still a California beach girl. Sadly, the closest thing we have to a beach is the sandy shore of the lake at Horseshoe Bend. And somehow I can't seem to talk my best friend into going out there to play. I'd go alone, but it's 12 miles plus and kind of deserted. I would like some company. Anyone?

My only wish....sun and sand, and it's so close and so far.

Oh Howe I miss the good ol' days

Don't you?

I went through my pictures today and found this one. It was just one year ago that we posed for it. I think it captures the essence of the farming adventure. If you take a good look at everyone's expressions you can see how it is. And notice the attire. It just might be that everyone is wearing a pair of Dad's jeans. Maybe not Martha...but if you come to WY we'll certainly find you a pair of pants, a pair of gloves, a workshirt, and a hat so that you will fit right in.

The best part of the farm life is .... well, there's a few right answers for that one. I like the peace and quiet. I like the scarcity of neighbors. I like the idea of working by your own clock, and stopping when it is too hot, or it is time for a nap.

Oh, and tractors are kind of fun to drive...for about 30 minutes. After too long they become monotonous...although that is kind of a hard label to place on a bumpy ride. Maybe long and arduous is a better description.

I think it's interesting (and annoying, I must admit) when you are standing in your kitchen and look out the window at a stampede of cows. You pick up your cell phone and dial the cowboy and say "We've got cows!" and he knows you are talking about them being in your front yard...and not twirling through the air. (You remember "Twister" don't you?) And he tells you to run outside and open the gate and try to herd them into the back pasture. And he sends his brother and sister in law over to help. That is one of the unexpected adventures. Though it happens often enough that you should not be so surprised when it does.

And don't you miss the fresh tomatoes and cucumbers from the garden? I know I do. I didn't get to plant anything this year.

Howe I miss the good ol days

 

Howe 'bout that!

Hi Everyone. I am sitting somewhat precariously on a pallet on a lift about 30 feet off the ground or more, painting the eaves of the roof on the house. Concentrating.

Painting is the theme for June and July. When, what, where, if, how and when, again. There is so much painting to be done, inside and out, that it seems like almost everything needs a coat of paint. Porches, windows, siding, facings, ceilings, walls, posts, shutters, trim, moldings, baseboards, doors. The few items of clothing I have are paint spattered. And my glasses have little specks on them. Not to mention my arms, legs, hands, elbows, and even hair. But I love painting. At least I love the finished product of the painting. What a difference a couple of coats of paint makes!

Tomorrow we get to paint inside! The entire upstairs. The downstairs on Tuesday. Wish us luck!

P.S. This is my life

I just thought of something. It's really more than just a postscript. I think it is more of a soapbox. I was sitting in church Sunday listening to a tearful rendition of appreciation from a daughter for her mother's life choices...one of which she was sure, and maybe it was so, was the choice to put her life on hold while she raised a wonderful family. When her last child left home, she enrolled in college and became a teacher. She got her life back. Ok. Lovely sentiments. I respect that.

Only, what if what we so often call putting our life on hold is really not that at all? What if the choice you make to have a family is your life. Oh, I know it is obvious that it is. But I mean, what if all that sacrificing and time devotion was really what you most wanted in life. Wouldn't life look different to you then? You know I am addressing the ubiquitous you. Only it is really all about me.

For me, it was a different era, maybe. I graduated in the late 60s, but being Mormon kept me pretty much out of the revolutionary part of that era. And I knew what I wanted to do with my life. I wanted to be the best Mom. I wanted to stay home and never work at a job a day of my children's lives. I wanted my career to be raising them. I wanted to be their best friend. I had no other future goals on hold. I went to College to become educated....but I had little intention of working.

I had good reasons for these goals. I intended to be a better Mom than my Mom. My Mom had to work...she had no choice in the economics of the family situation, but I resented it. My Mom had a career. She was a nurse. She wanted me to be one, but I am not strong stomached enough to deal with needles, body fluids, including blood, and trauma. I barely got through the calamities of children's care...the swallowing of coins, head gashes, dislocated shoulders, choking, and ear surgeries. I tossed a choking child to Grover once, and wished he was around for the coin swallowing, and the head gash. But I digress.

Motherhood seems often to be about trying to right the "wrongs" of one's life. I think it is a little like natural selection...we keep improving on the species. You set the world right and give your all to your children and it makes everything "all better." It seems to be a common goal, almost an unconscious drive.

So, my point is, I didn't put my life on hold. I didn't give up my life for my children. I don't want anyone crying at the pulpit about what I didn't get to do. I got exactly what I wanted. I did exactly what I wanted to do. I got to have 5 amazing children and be their best friend.

I admit that it was a little disquieting when the last one...Emily...left home, because my career felt like it ended. But in actuality it just relocated. Now it is more like an independent study course. The teachers are all far away and you try to figure out how to do the work from afar. Only there is little if any work to be doing. Or maybe it is more like study abroad. You have to go somewhere to visit to learn the culture and be of any help. The culture is your child's new home, and family, or their life at college, or after college. And the challenge of being the Best Mom evolves from being good at cleaning and cooking and driving, and cheering 24/7 to staying in touch, but not intruding, and giving enough of yourself to them and getting enough of them for yourself.

So, this is my life. I wouldn't change it. I am not interested in a new career...since this one just keeps evolving. Ok, you can have your soapbox back.
Love, Mom

Howe Invisible

Did you ever wish you could be invisible? When I was little I used to think it would be a very handy thing. You could go into the kitchen for cookies, you could listen to what your parents talked about with their friends, you could sneak outside if you needed a breath of fresh air. Oh, there were all kinds of things you could do, if only you were invisible.

Nowadays I wish it again. If I could just be invisible I could get on with my life. I could do the things I normally do, and finally enjoy doing them. It takes losing your comfortable old boring routine to really appreciate how comfortable it was for you. I am engaged in an uphill struggle to finish a project bigger than any other project we have worked on. And if it were just Grover and I doing it, we could, maybe, get it done. But, alas, we are working on it with friends. Friends who are about as spaced out as they get. And our work ethic is making our friendship more than just a little bit precarious. And this is when I most want to become invisible...and to have a magic wand. With it I would make the project complete, collect my earnings, don my invisibility, and go home.

If this post seems too obligue for you, there is a reason. Don't ask. Remember, I am trying to be invisible. At the same time it is extremely hard to blog and recede from view. Grover should be blogging..he is very good at taking a word or a moment and spending a hundred words on it. I would like my blog to be somewhere between sharing each day's moments, a la Natalie, and philosophizing about them, a la Erin. I love both of your blogs, and wish I were there, so to speak.

The Howe Generation

ooh, oooh, talking about my generation..... well, here is my lame attempt at rock and roll classic punning. Today we discovered that we do in fact have a generator! We were blatantly misinformed by the last owner of our little old RV about what did and did not work. Today, wonderful news, we discovered she was all wrong! Everything works! We have electricity! I am laying in bed blogging on my laptop! And it is 10:43 p.m. I can stay up late! til all hours of the night, even! And I didn't have to spend megabucks buying a generator--we had one all along!

Life just got better! Just think of all the things I can now do, that I couldn't do yesterday. I can use my computer whenever I want to. The microwave works! I can watch movies for entertainment! TV shows! I can do Blogging check-ins. I can even download my pics. And you thought your life was dull! Think of how much you love your electricity! Think of doing without it for 4 weeks! Now the big question will be who gets to use the laptop and when!

Will asked me what I do and am I totally bored. A very good question. Today was not a boring day. Today I visited Martha, I went out to breakfast, I did my laundry, I bought vitamins, and filled Grover's prescriptions. I went out to lunch, where the waiter accidentally sent Grover's full cherry coke spilling across the table in my direction. (I wish I had had that in video slow-mo.) After getting some tips from the RV expert at Camping World, I did not spend $2000 I thought I was spending! I bought real homemade tamales on the way home and I got electricity! I'd say it was a pretty productive day!

Tomorrow is a new day! What in the world shall I do? Hmmmm, I have so many choices now. I'll keep you posted.

off the planet

If you are a reader then you will be shamelessly jealous of my situation. I am still traveling, but I have endless hours to read. I am, at this very moment, sitting in a library considering what great treasures I can take home and peruse. Grover is writing and while he writes, I read. Periodically, he comes into my room and gives me a "reading by the author" of the fiction he is creating. I have my very own real live audio book! I am really lucky. And he is a really good author. He makes us both laugh, and when I ask the reader's natural question about why or what happens next, he is very pleased. It's just what he wants a reader to do. Get hooked, ask questions.

My little old RV has very little in the way of upkeep--so household chores are practically non-existent. I have no guilt over grabbing a book, a chair, and situating myself in a breezy spot to read at my leisure. The worst thing is when the sun goes down....we are conserving our limited battery powered electricity. But I even thought of a good solution for that...audio books. I don't need to see to enjoy my audio books!

So, for those of you who think I have dropped off of the face of the planet, I have. I am reading.

Banner Island, Belize

February 1st and boy was I happy to be in Belize! The weather at home was in the teens....brrrr. As far as vacation destinations go, I picked a good one this time. Oh, I know, it's pretty obvious, isn't it?

Las Escobas Waterfalls in Guatemala

Hola! I am in a rainforest in Guatemala, and playing in one of the waterfall ponds! Hot day, cool and refreshing water. Some said, cold, but I'm telling you, the water in Ventura is much colder. Dad is taking pics. He's no waterbaby. Or, hmmm, maybe he is. At least I have my own photographer along.

Howe to Travel

We are back from our most recent adventure, a 3 part wrap around cruise trip. The first part was the visit to Jess and Erin and children in Atlanta, GA. The 2nd part was THE CRUISE. And the 3rd part was the visit to John and JoAnn in Tennessee. 18 days of traveling! Throw Mardi Gras into the middle of it and you can only imagine how many different kinds of fun we had. Family fun, Parade fun, Exotic sightseeing fun, more Parade fun, and catching up with friends fun.

What I learned is: take more stuff. Take more gifts for the children, more clothing for the cruise, more money for the exotic sightseeing, and more pictures to share with old friends.

I did one thing right though, I took more cameras on this trip than ever before. I think I had a total of 5 with me. Let's see, I had the digital, I had the SLR--the 35mm that you take the film to the store to develop--the underwater camera, for the snorkeling, and the disposable camera for places I was nervous about, and hmmmm, I took Grover and his major digital camera set up, lenses, etc.

Oh, and I tried new foods. We had catfish and hushpuppies, red beans and rice, po'boy sandwiches in New Orleans. We had gourmet food on the cruise, like eggs benedict and beef wellington. In Tennessee we went to a Japanese "beni'hana" style restaurant where the chef pretends to singe your eyebrows at the table and builds volcanoes out of onion rings, with smoke and fire, which is very fun, and I tasted JoAnn's octopus sushi order. Surprisingly mild.

And I learned to sleep on the plane. Oh, I never liked to do this, especially since I snore, but you know what? People snore. More than you think. You might even snore. It's ok. Sleep is more important, and plane trips are BORING. Not that I'm complaining about flying...driving is MORE BORING. But you know, there is nothing to really see out of that little tiny window, but clouds, and dark depending on the time of day. So sightseeing is out. That leaves reading, crossword puzzles, and sudoku. All of which I do, and will eventually put me to sleep....thank goodness. And before you know it, you are there, where you wanted to be all along, ready for part 2 or 3. Hooray.

So...that's enough of a start. I am sure I learned much more, and when I get the pics downloaded, I will be back.

Howe to Begin...

No, it's not a typo. It's my name. Well, actually, my last name. And after so many years of writing it and wearing it, I cannot type the word how without an E on the end. Funny, that. I write a letter and I say, Howe are you? Howe's it going? Howe did it end? That little 3 letter word became the mispelling, and my name its correction. It is unintentional. It is automatic. It is routine. I think I will play with it more. I used to be embarrassed. How are the Howes? was a favorite question when my husband and I showed up anywhere. We rolled our eyes...well, maybe not visibly. Internally.

The funny thing is I started out with a name that lent itself to also, somewhat, embarrassing comments. Joy. Starting with my Mother who always introduced me with "she's such a joy" (more squirming) to the most obvious Xmas references and roommates calling me Joy to the World for at least a month of the year. And lots in between. Oh, it could be worse. I am sure of that. I mean, really, it's nothing. So now, finally, I think I will play the name game. I think I am ready to join the fun. My friend Vicky tells me whenever I encounter any emotion to "embrace it." So we'll see how far we can go with it, and maybe everyone else will roll their eyes, visibly and/or internally. That's ok. Be my guest. I've been doing it for years.

So this is Howe I will begin a new and nervous endeavor...blogging.