There's always one...

We went to see the movie, "Act of Valor" yesterday.
I bought our tickets online because I didn't want to have to sweat standing in line at the theater. It costs an extra $1.25 per ticket, but when you are driving as far as we are to see a movie, you want to be sure you've got a seat.
Anyway - at 11am, I pushed submit to purchase the tickets.
At 11:01, they printed out on my printer.
The show was due to start at 2:20.
We arrived at the theater at about 2pm.
We went to walk into the designated theater - Number 9 for those of you who care - when a lady yelled to us, "The show's not over! Line forms in the back down that hallway!"
We were a bit shocked that the previous showing wasn't over and that there was a line.
We decided that we'd just wait off to the side, and when the others had gone in, we'd mosey in and sit. We also decided that if we couldn't sit together, we'd just split up. LLB's friends were there and we had Gram and Grandpa with us, too. Finding 7 seats together might be more difficult than finding a group of 3 and a group of 4.

Another family came up and went to walk into the theater.  The lady yelled at them, "Hey!! Show's not over! Line's in the back! I got my tickets an hour ago and I've been waiting!"
I rolled my eyes at Gram and thought, "OMG, Lady!  Chillax.  It's a movie. I am sure there are seats available - besides... no offense, but really, I've had my tickets since 11:01am... but what.ever."
The family looked at her funny and moved aside.
As the Theater Staff went in to clean the theater, the Lady got her family and moved towards the door. She was GOING to be FIRST.
They finally opened the doors and the Lady sprinted in.
We hung back for a moment - we didn't want to be accused of cutting the line.  As we went in with other people, I asked (no one in particular), "Did that Lady get her seat? Heaven forbid she not be first in the theater and have her choice of seat - you know, she's been waiting for an hour..."
A few people around me giggled...
We never saw her after we went into the theater, but I will tell you that the theater was not full.
There were plenty of seats for everyone and everyone had a decent seat. No one was stuck in the front neck ache section.  There were empty seats all over the place.
As we sat down, I said to Gram, "That Lady is going on my blog." Gram snickered...
And here she is... The Crazy Lady from the movie theater.
FYI: The movie was phenomenal.  Act of Valor -- put it on your "must see" list.
Go see it.
And after you see it, say, "Thank you!" to your servicemen and women.

Blind as a....

My LLB went for her annual eye checkup last week.  The doc said her eyes hadn't changed very much - just 1/4 step worse. This is really good news since just a few years ago she was stepping into the realm of the extremely nearsighted at a much faster pace.

We looked at frames, but decided to use the ones she has until next year when our VSP will cover new frames.  That was until they told us she'd have to leave her glasses at the shop so they could send them out to get the new lenses installed.  My first thought was, "You're kidding me, right?"and that's what popped out of my mouth. (I have trouble with that sometimes.) They assured me that they weren't kidding. I bit my tongue - hard. Obviously, the people who work in they optometrist's office, don't actually live their lives in the fuzzy world of diminished sight.

Even if LLB wasn't off the next day to USC for an Honor Band and there was NO WAY I could allow her to walk around for a week her without glasses!  She gets lost with them on - can you imagine what would happen if she didn't have them?? 

Fast forward to Saturday. We'd been trying to find out her vision number for a form for the USAF.  They wanted to know if her vision was worse than 20/50.  I knew it was because the kid can't see the big E on the top of the eye chart... But, what do I know?

Mr. called the optometrist to find out her number.  

Let's just say if her vision were an SAT, she'd be all set!

So - this morning, we were chatting about her vision or lack thereof and she wanted to know her numbers. I told her.  Her response, "Wow! That explains a whole lot."

"Yes, yes it does, but it does not explain why your room is a disaster."

"Oh, but it does. Technically, I can't see the mess." 

"Yeah... that's it."

What a busy weekend!

I was going to write about something completely different, yet related, but I'm not convinced that I'm still not being watched, stalked, talked about, and generally being spied upon.  Some of you are asking if I might be paranoid... Yeah... maybe a little. It's sad to think that I can't express my feelings on my own blog because people - and they know who they are - think they have the right to tell me what I can and can't write about.

I'll fill you in on the weekend instead.

As many of you know, LLB was off at USC for an Honor Band Clinic. She LOVED it! Her favorite part was having a master class with Allen Vezzutti. She learned a ton, had a great time, and arrived home at 3:15am this morning.

On Saturday, the rest of us went to VMI to see the boy and his girl.  We had a quick picnic lunch and then headed off to the basketball game. We got to sit with the band and it was awesome! Can I say that the band director is just as much of a kid as the college kids? He is a scream!  Heck, I want to be in his band. He is everything that the high school director isn't. And it just blows my mind every time I see him in action.  What a breath of fresh air! Anyway, it was a very close game and it was fun to be in the stands.  The band played a lot and I really wish that LLB had been there to see how much fun they all had. The best part? VMI actually won against William and Mary.

After the game, we unloaded the car of all the microwaveable mac and cheese and ramen noodles that one boy could eat in a week and most people could survive on for a month. I included in that care package a new ski jacket, a box of plastic spoons, a tiny bottle of dishwashing soap, a set of measuring cups and THE most awesome mug ever!

It's a 20oz Corning Ware microwaveable mug. FYI:  I found it at Walmart for less than half the price Amazon has it.  It's perfect for Easy Mac -- one packet of EM, 2/3c water, nuke it and you're done. He tried it out yesterday and even called to tell me how wonderful it is!  Mother of the Year!! Thankyouverymuch!!

Anyway, after that, we went to a great Italian sub place in Lexington. They had the best Italian sub I've had since we moved here.  I'm definitely going back and I'm going to try the Calzone and the Pizza and whatever else is on the menu. It was wonderful!  

We had coffee hour at church yesterday. When we do coffee hour, we do it up because we figure we've had lunch on others for the past few months and it's only fair.  I must say that our coffee hour rocked!  If there's one thing our family does well, it's food. We had Mr's chili with rice on the side, spinach and strawberry salad, ravioli, shrimp salad mini sandwiches, mini crab sandwiches, crunchy snacks, and more. Everyone seemed to enjoy their lunch and hopefully everyone went home with a full belly.

From that point in the day, my life becomes very ordinary again with making up LLB's bed, a bit of vacuuming,  putting laundry away, doing the dishes, and generally sitting around until 2:15am when LLB called to tell me she was a half an hour out from the school and to meet her there.

Today, I've hauled in some firewood, had a cup of tea, and driven LLB to meet her friends so she can go Snow Tubing.  My kitchen counter is awash with Calculus and History text books, a calculator, a few notebooks, pencils, and the remnants of her lunch.  So as much as life is busy, life is ordinary... and that's how I like it.

Happy Valentine's Day!

I can't believe it's already February 14th!  Happy Valentine's Day, everyone!

I've kind of neglected this blog over the past couple of years. But I'm hoping to get back to it now that some things have changed and a few people have moved on to bother other people and have hopefully stopped stalking me and my writings.  (We shall see, won't we?)

We've had a great winter so far. LLB is starting to take her SATs and ACTs. She's thrilled with all of that -- NOT!  This week she's off to an Honor Band with some of her classmates -- we are hoping the weather will hold and that she can get to and from without hitting any snow or bad weather. Upon her return, she's got big plans that include tubing, visits from old friends, directing the pit orchestra for the musical, and more! She's one busy girl, but she wouldn't have it any other way.

My boy is doing well. VMI is a challenge, but he is enjoying his time there.  He made the Deans List for the first term-- no surprise there.  He's being inducted into the National Honor Society for College Freshmen. He's just received a letter stating that he is being considered for a scholarship, too! His hard work is paying off. We are so proud of him.

My boy is a great kid, unfortunately, another cadet doesn't appreciate him or his work ethic and has decided to try to make his life miserable. (I've got my eye on this person and I can make a phone call at any moment if I decide things have gone too far. For now, I'm watching it all play out.) This particular cadet has taken my boy's food stuffs, moved his things around, and even took a swing at him. This kid is on my list and those of you who know me well know that the one place nobody wants to be is on my list.

So now we have this:  My Cadet was given a Rat Ring by his senior when they had "breakout" at the end of January. It turns out that the ring is now missing - along with the ring given to him by his girl at Christmas. My Cadet - who is very careful with his things and is trying desperately not to wrongly accuse - doesn't want to say they were stolen, but will say that they are both missing and nobody seems to know anything. I'm a bit upset that this sort of thing happened - especially with such special items -- I can only hope that I am wrong about who I think took the rings, but my gut tells me that I'm right...  And my gut isn't wrong all that often.

We are all hoping that the rings just appear one day before the end of the term in May.  As I told my boy, we can replace both items. They won't be the same, but at least he'll have a Rat Ring to pass down to his Rat one day. I reminded him that those who love him and support him are what really matter -- stuff is just stuff...  (except when it's stuff that means something - then it's harder to remember that it's still just stuff.)

So as we move into spring, we'll be visiting colleges with LLB, getting ready for the musical and the HUGE cast party that goes with it, and generally being the busy people that we are. Stop by and I'll fill you in on our day to day excitement... well, I'll try for once a week, to start, ok??

He is a Cadet

My #1 son has finally broken out of the VMI Rat Line and become a full-fledged Cadet.  His girlfriend took this picture of him looking all "studly"... (her word, not mine).  He is a Cadet - he was a boy when he arrived in August... now -- now he is a Cadet.

Breakout was HARD.  They worked together and succeeded.

He is tired and dirty! Boy, am I glad I don't have to do his laundry!! Getting that red clay out of their clothes is not easy.

The Rat Mass is now officially the Class of 15!!

This honor comes with privileges! They can refer to themselves in the first person. They can walk through barracks in a normal fashion - no straining, no following the line, no pushups. They can call home whenever they want. They can eat like normal people and they can walk pretty much where and how they want. The best part? They can take afternoon naps! (Not that my boy can take naps, he's got class in the afternoons... doesn't it figure?)

Congrats, my boy!!
Thanks to Courtney and Jake for the use of their pictures!

Fractals on the Pool

I love the way the ice formed on the pool cover. The texture is amazing.

I like the way you can see some leaves in the ice, too. It almost looks like the leaf is blowing off a branch.

Cars

I love my car - my sweet CR-V, but it's getting old... and it's having issues...

#1 loves his car, but it's getting old and it had a big old nasty issue...  His clutch gave out on the highway yesterday. (All are safe and well.) We had the 1990 Camry towed to the fixit.  It will be more than $900 to get it fixed, but the car is worth it.  It only has about 70k miles on it.

My car, on the other hand, has more than 177k miles on it and they want $2,000 to attempt to maybe fix it.  I'd rather fix it and let my LLB drive it, but $2,000 for a "maybe it will work" is almost too much to risk.  They think that my issue might be the catalytic converter disintegrating.  Oh yay... not!

I've been researching cars and done a bit of car shopping.  I will be purchasing a new CR-V.
I am SURE that the best pricing is happening now - as in today... I am also SURE that when Mr. finally decides that we need to purchase the new car (next month or in May) that there will be no bargains... As is what happened last time I needed to purchase a car.

Alas, this is the way things go and it makes me crazy!

 

Presents I've Made this year

So -- I've been busy crocheting.
I thought I might show you all what I've been making.
This year I started making baskets -- It's my new thing and I'm thoroughly enjoying modifying the patterns I've found...

 I modified the basket above -- I put a little ruffled edge on it and then we gave it to a very sweet friend of LLB's for her birthday.

 This basket above is made with clothesline... It was such fun to make! It went to the Bus Driver -- we filled it with goodies.
The basket below is big!!  And floppy!! And fun... I might keep it for myself because I love it!

The clothesline basket below went to R.  She got to choose which one she wanted and she chose this little lovely.

This wee basket - perfect for pocket change - is awaiting a new home... My dresser?  Your dresser? We shall see, won't we?

 This little lovely went to LLB's Secret Santa person.  She's a lucky girl!

I've made scarves galore and I have one more to finish for a very special lady who likes green...   This purple gem is on it's way to England!

 This green one is currently with a Band Mom.

I made other scarves and mittens... I have one more pair of mittens to make -- in giant size -- for a Band Dad.  :-)  He'll get his mittens in January (or February).  :-)

I also made the cutest little purple basket...

My sister and I have decided that from now on, our gifts to each other have to be homemade... I think it will be fun to figure out something new to make her every year. This year she got an afghan in her choice of colors for her birthday.  Next year? We'll see.  I've got a bunch of nifty ideas up my sleeve already.

If you have ideas of things I might create, please leave me a comment and let me know.

For the Sake of Tolerance

I received this in my email this morning and thought I'd share...  If you disagree, push the little red x at the top of your screen.

I am truly perplexed that so many folks are against a mosque being built at or near Ground Zero.  I think it should be the goal of every American to be tolerant.  Thus the Mosque should be allowed, in an effort to promote tolerance.

That is why I also propose that two nightclubs be opened next door to the mosque, thereby promoting tolerance from within the mosque.  We could call one of the clubs, "The Turban Cowboy", which would be gay, and the other a topless bar called "You Mecca Me Hot ."

Next door should be a butcher shop that specializes in pork, and adjacent to that an open-pit barbeque pork restaurant, called "Iraq o' Ribs."

Across the street there could be a lingerie store called "Victoria Keeps Nothing Secret", with sexy mannequins in the window modeling the goods.

Next door to the lingerie shop, a liquor store called "Morehammered."

All of this would encourage the Muslims to demonstrate the tolerance they demand of us, so the mosque problem would be solved.  If you agree with promoting tolerance, and you think this is a good plan, please pass it on.

For the sake of tolerance, of course.

You wanted change??

After two years of Obama ... 

Here's your change! 

The top numbers are from when he took office...  The bottom numbers are current...

Avg.. Retail price/gallon gas in U.S. 

$1.83 

$3.44 

+84%

Crude oil, European Brent (barrel) 

$43..48 

$99..02 

+127.7% 

Crude oil, West TX Inter. (barrel) 

$38..74 

$91..38 

+135.9% 

Gold: London (per troy oz.) 

$853.25 

$1,369.50 

+60.5% 

Corn, No.2 yellow, Central IL 

$3.56 

$6.33 

+78.1%  

Unemployment rate, non-farm, overall 

7.6% 

9.4% 

+23.7% 

Unemployment rate, blacks 

12.6% 

15.8% 

+25.4% 

Number of unemployed 

11,616,000 

14,485,000 

+24.7% 

Number of fed. Employees increased 

2,779,000 

2,840,000 

+2.2% 

Real median household income 

$50,112 

$49,777 

-0.7% 

Number of food stamp recipients 

31,983,716 

43,200,878 

+35.1% 

Number of unemployment benefit recipients 

7,526,598 

9,193,838 

+22.2% 

Number of long-term unemployed 

2,600,000 

6,400,000 

+146.2% 

Poverty rate, individuals 

13.2% 

14.3% 

+8.3% 

People in poverty in U.S. 

39,800,000 

43,600,000 

+9.5% 

U.S.. Rank in Economic Freedom World Rankings 

5 

9 

Present Situation Index 

29.9 

23.5 

-21.4% 

Failed banks 

140 

164 

+17.1% 

U.S.. Dollar versus Japanese yen exchange rate 

89.76 

82.03 

-8.6% 

National debt, in trillions 

$10..627 

$14..052 

+32.2% 

Just take this last item: In the last two years we have accumulated national debt at a rate more than 27 times as fast as during the rest of our entire nation's history. 

Over 27 times as fast. Metaphorically speaking, if you are driving in the right lane doing 65 MPH and a car rockets past you in the left lane 27 times faster, it would be doing 7,555 MPH! 

So, tell me again, what is it about Obama that makes him so brilliant and impressive? Can't think of anything? Don't worry. He's done all this in 29 months -- so you'll have one year and five months to come up with an answer! Every statement in this email is factual and directly attributable to Barrack Hussein Obama. Every bumble is a matter of record and completely verifiable. 

And...He's started campaigning again!!!

EVERYONE SHOULD READ THIS... 

I WONDER HOW MANY WILL FORWARD THIS ? 

And...He's started campaigning again!!!

Sources: 

(1) U.S. Energy Information Administration; (2) Wall Street Journal; (3) Bureau of Labor Statistics; (4) Census Bureau; (5) USDA; (6) U.S. Dept. Of Labor; 

(7) FHFA; (8) Standard & Poor's/Case-Shiller; (9) RealtyTrac; (10) Heritage Foundationand WSJ; (11) The Conference Board; (12) FDIC; 

(13) Federal Reserve; (14) U.S. Treasury 

THE BASIC RULES FOR CLOTHESLINES:

(if you don't know what clotheslines are, better skip this)

1.  You had to wash the clothes line before hanging any clothes -

      walk the entire lengths of each line with a damp cloth around the lines.

2.  You had to hang the clothes in a certain order, and always hang "whites" 

with "whites,"

      and hang them first.

3.  You never hung a shirt by the shoulders  - always by the tail!. What would 

the neighbors think?

4..  Wash day on a Monday! . ... . Never hang clothes on the weekend, or 

Sunday, for Heaven's sake!

5.  Hang the sheets and towels on the outside lines so you could hide your 

"unmentionables" in the middle     ( perverts & busybodies, y'know!)

6.   It didn't matter if it was sub zero weather  .... Clothes would 

"freeze-dry."

7.  Always gather the clothes pins when taking down dry clothes! Pins left on 

the lines were "tacky!"

8.  If you were efficient, you would line the clothes up so that each item did 

not need two clothes pins, but shared one of the clothes pins with the next 

washed item.

9.  Clothes off of the line before dinner time, neatly folded in the clothes 

basket, and ready to be ironed.

10. IRONED?!  Well, that's a whole other subject!

                        A  POEM

          A clothesline was a news forecast

          To neighbors passing by,

          There were no secrets you could keep

          When clothes were hung to dry.

          It also was a friendly link

          For neighbors always knew

          If company had stopped on by

          To spend a night or two.

          For then you'd see the "fancy sheets"

          And towels upon the line;

          You'd see the "company table cloths"

          With intricate designs.

          The line announced a baby's birth

          From folks who lived inside -

         As brand new infant clothes were hung,

          So carefully with pride!

          The ages of the children could

          So readily be known

          By watching how the sizes changed,

          You'd know how much they'd grown!

          It also told when illness struck,

         As extra sheets were hung;

         Then nightclothes, and a bathrobe, too,

         Haphazardly were strung.

         It also said, "Gone on vacation now"

        When lines hung limp and bare.

        It told, "We're back!" when full lines sagged

       With not an inch to spare!

        New folks in town were scorned upon

        If wash was dingy and gray,

       As neighbors carefully raised their brows,

      And looked the other way .. . .

      But clotheslines now are of the past,

      For dryers make work much less.

      Now what goes on inside a home

      Is anybody's guess!

      I really miss that way of life.

      It was a friendly sign

      When neighbors knew each other best

      By what hung on the line.

What has America become?

This was in my email when I got home today.  I happen to agree with what it says.

Has America become the land of special interest and home of the double standard? Let’s see: If we lie to the Congress, it’s a felony and if Congress lies to us it’s just politics. If we dislike a black person, we’re a racist and if a black dislikes whites, it’s their 1st Amendment right. The government spends millions to rehabilitate criminals and they do almost nothing for the victims. In public schools you can teach that homosexuality and lesbianism is ok, but you better not use the word God in the process. You can murder a child in the mothers womb, but it’s wrong to execute a mass murderer. We don’t burn books in America, we now rewrite them. We got rid of the communist & socialist threat by renaming them progressives. If you protest against Obama’s policies you’re a terrorist, but if you burn an American flag or George Bush in effigy, it’s your 1st Amendment right.

You can have pornography on TV or the internet, but you better not put a nativity scene in a public park during Christmas. In America, criminals are now called sick people. The government takes money from those who work hard & gives it to those who are lazy. Parenting has been replaced with Ritalin & video games. The land of opportunity is now the land of hand outs.

And how do we handle a major crisis today? The Government appoints a committee to determine who’s at fault, then threatens them, passes a law, raises our taxes, then tells us the problem is solved so they can get back to their reelection campaign.

Do you agree? Pass it on.

If you disagree, please click the red button up at the top of the page and go away.

The Trumpet

My LLB has a new Xeno trumpet as many of you know. She needed to step up to a professional model and it has made a HUGE difference.  The new trumpet requires far less air to make music, and therefore, can produce a much larger sound with less effort. We could definitely hear her on Friday night.
She used it in class last week and found that she was a bit... umm.... loud.  The director kept telling her to "LLB, SHH!!! I can only hear you!"
She didn't think that was such a bad thing...

Friday!

So tonight my LLB plays her solo to start the half time show with her brand new trumpet. I think she's nervous, but one can never tell as she hides it well.  This new trumpet requires so much less air to play, that she gets amazing sound out of it with very little effort.  I am SURE we'll be able to hear her quite well tonight - even if all the people in the stands can't be quiet...
Speaking of quiet - I've got to make some posters for the band dads to hold up like they do at the golf games!!  I'd best get going on that this afternoon...
My dearest oldest friend is coming in for a visit today. I'm so excited! We have a great weekend planned including football, band uniforms, polo, wineries, and seeing a cow -- she want's to see a cow... It's not my idea of excitement, but if that's what she wants to do - we'll go see a cow.  :-)
 

It's been a while...

So it has been a while since I posted. Sorry about that, but life takes over when you least expect it.
My #1 is off to VMI.

He is really enjoying it - although the first 9 days were pure torture.

When we saw him at matriculation, he looked like this:

Check out the poor kids behind him... they look like they might just puke!

He took the Cadet Oath at New Market. This is a very special occasion and the first time we get to see the kids since we left them at matriculation. When we saw him at New Market, he looked like this:

His requests have been simple:
1. Mom, can you send me a Swiffer?

Now, how many college students do you know ask for a Swiffer? Yeah... mine is probably the only one.  BUT - they passed room inspection with those nifty Swiffers I sent. I sent the Swiffer wet, the Swiffer dry cloths, and the Swiffer duster. There was no dust or dirt to be had in that room.  I think Swiffer ought to do an advertising campaign at VMI - those kids sure do know how to clean!!

2. Mom, can you send some of LLB's cookies and some other snacks? I'm starving. The food sucks!

We have sent cookies, peanut butter cups, granola bars, slim jims, chips, and more. Friends have sent brownies. I guess mess hall food is not what it's cracked up to be.

3. Mom, can you send brass polish?

How many of you out there with college kids have ever even thought about sending brass polish? Well - I sent the best: Simichrome.  I haven't had any complaints about polish that doesn't work since I sent that stuff. That stuff is magic!!

By the way, under that hat, he looks exactly like he did when he was six and had a buzz cut. He looks like this:

An Interloper

We found this itty bitty froggy floating on the pool thermometer this morning. I think he wanted to celebrate LLB's birthday with us today.  We are a few months late celebrating -- we were waiting on the pool and then we had to wait for everyone to come home!
Hopefully, the rain will stop and the sun will come out. If not, we'll swim between the raindrops.

Think about this:

Since the Democrats have held the majority in the House of Representative for about 46 of the last 60 years since 1950 and The Senate has been controlled by the Democrats for about 40 of those 60 years and the Democrats have controlled at least one or the other of the 2 branches over 50 of the 60 years and the Democrats have controlled both Houses since 2007 until recently - exactly the period of the current Economic collapse from an all time "high" in July 2007 - how can the failed economy be the fault of the Republicans?

Democrats controlled the House 44 years
Republicans controlled the House 12 years
Democrats controlled the Senate 38 years
Republicans controlled the Senate 18 years

Happy Birthday, America!

Today is the last day my #1 will be home and able to sleep in.  Today I will let him sleep because I am nice and because I know that every day for the next 25 days or so, he will be up early and in class. This little tidbit brings me great joy as this is payback for all of those years he was up at 6am without fail.

Later this morning Mr. will help chop the tree that fell at the church last night. He gets to use his chainsaw -- how manly!  #1 will finish packing his trunk. He has a few items that he needs to put in there like a fan, a bathing suit, and his running shoes. LLB hopes to spend the afternoon with HP playing video games and chatting it up. As for me, I hope to be sipping a mimosa and chomping popcorn with a dear friend while we watch the frogs hop around the puddle in the bottom of the pool. It's not exactly what we had envisioned -- sipping mimosas while floating around the pool on our noodles -- but it will do.

We head off to VMI tomorrow morning - bright and early.  Because we are good parents, we will haul his stuff in, help him find and purchase his required textbooks, have lunch, and wave goodbye.  He will have wanted us to leave as soon as we got his trunk up to his room!  We have a Parent Orientation which we are required to attend in the afternoon.  It will be a fun and informative day, I'm sure. :-)

On a separate note, the pool is due to be plastered tomorrow morning - beginning at 6:30. Let's hope that by the time we get home it is done and full of water.   I want to be dangling my feet in there tomorrow night.

The Pool

Is still empty and gray.
They did not show up to plaster it on Friday as promised.
Alas, patience is a virtue.

Yesterday I packed my #1's trunk for his first stint at VMI.
Spacebags are my friend and his. It's amazing how much one can stuff into a spacebag when one can only bring one trunk... His clothes and his comforter have been vacuum packed. He even had room in there for his lamp, his clock, his pillow - which I could probably have put in a spacebag, too -- and I still might.  All that's left to put in there are his flip flops, his running shoes, and is external drive. :-)  How he gets it all in there to come home is his problem.

As I was packing, I realized that I need to purchase him 2 more sets of towels - he only has 4 sets and they require a minimum of 6.  This will require a C*stco run, but that's not a huge deal and I like C*stco.

We haul him and his trunk to VMI on Tuesday. He is excited. He is nervous. He will be just fine, I'm sure. This first stint is similar to summer camp with homework. He is taking English Composition. He can write. He will excel. While he is there, he will be issued his combat boots and a pair of socks - he was already told that he had to break them in. In my minds eye I picture him dressed in plaid shorts and combat boots - that's attractive -- hahaha!!! :-)

Hey! Check it out!

First thing yesterday, Grandpa was out in the yard snooping around. He found this and asked if he could keep it. Hah! I should think not.

We went from this yesterday morning...

To this....

It makes the whole pool look larger and the pool area so much more beautiful.
We are very very pleased with the progress...
After speaking with the company's owner, it's thanks to his wife for pushing him to get this pool done. He and his family live across the street and are really terrific people.  It seems that she made him sit and watch all the kids, cars, and people pile in here for all the events we have had. He said she made him stay up for the cast party. She made him watch for the graduation party. She makes him stay and watch the kids come up for the Wednesday Sectional Rehearsals. I had no idea they even noticed. He said it gave him perspective - he saw it from the consumer's side of things. That alone is worth the parties we had without the pool. As long as something good comes out of it - besides my learning to be patient - it was all worth it.
Now -- if they don't show up to plaster and fill today, I'll be absolutely crushed. Patience is a virtue, but I still want the kids to swim on Monday!