Trip Log: Brief Update, Winter Wonderland Edition

So, we've been without Internet up at a little cabin in South Fork (home of Kamp Komfort of Griswold fame), having a great time relaxing, sledding, and skiing*. Now we've moved on to Pueblo to see family, and I have no time for a real update, and no time to read blogs.

Just wanted to say Happy Holidays, and I'll be back with a proper post soon.

Hope everyone is having a great and barf-free holiday.

*Hubby is a great boarder, the kids had their first time at ski school, but GEW has yet to have a lesson. Next time, it's my turn!

Trip Log: Barf Edition

Day One of Giant Road-Trip:

8:20am: Departure! This is a record for us.
8:25am: Return some library books.
8:30am: Back to house to retrieve Pink Panther DVD (it is a staple for road trips, and regular readers will remember that the Girl one claimed that God is the Pink Panther, but I can't find that particular blog entry to provide a link for you).
8:35am: Dropped some mail into U.S. Mail box.
8:40am: Starbucks.
8:57am: Driving!
Noon: McDonald's playland in Tehachapi. The boy is sad that there is no snow (as in previous year).
1:10: Back on road.
5:15pm: Arrive in Kingman, AZ without any stops!
5:30pm: Family swim at the Comfort Inn indoor pool.
9:00pm: Dinner delivered.
10:15ish: Kids and hubby in bed. Son and hubby asleep. Daughter watches me read.


Day Two:

6:30am: Kids awake. (Whaa?)
6:50am: I take kids to free continental breakfast and loiter in the breakfast room so hubster can sleep.
8:30am: Waking up hubby. Kids watch Sponge Bob while I read The Glass Castle.
9:15am: Hubby and kids swim while I shower and pack up.
11:07am: Hit the road.
1:00pm (ish)--lunch in Flagstaff.
2:30ish: Hit the road.
3:30pm: Take Griswold-like detour to see Meteor Crater, which is actually quite cool, in spite of the exorbitant entrance fee.
4:30pm: Hit the road.
6:30pm: Gas up in Gallup, NM. Kids are watching October Sky.
8:00pm: Boy begins to complain of a headache and a stomachache.
8:30pm: Boy is really uncomfortable. We tell him to hang in there. Only about an hour to Durango. I, of course, ask if he's nauseous, but since the boy hasn't barfed in 3.5 years, he has no idea.
8:47pm: Hubby asks boy if we need to stop. Boy says "no" but starts coughing. I say, "Yeah, pull over, pull over. The coughing means . . .

Barfing begins. Hubby pulls over. Barfing continues. Cleaning ensues.

9:15pm: Back on the road. Boy has the dog's food bowl in his lap. Which he uses.
9:25pm: Boy falls asleep with bowl of barf in his lap. Girl is also asleep now.
9:30pm: We pull over to empty bowl, and soon cross into Colorado.
10:00ish: Voila! We make it the the Doubletree in Durango. And we make it upstairs before boy barfs again.
10:30pm: Kids asleep. Room service closed for the night. Hubster and I eat saltine crackers for dinner, followed by port, chocolate, and an episode of House Hunters on cable. No more barfing, thank the Pink Panther!

Which way? Which Way?

I considered boring you with a "To Do" list, but there are so many different things to put on it that I really don't have time to type it. The short version:


By Saturday, I must . . .

Finish Christmas shopping, shipping, wrapping
Finish drafting a conference paper
Serve as a judge for a poetry contest (i.e., read poems and meet with other judges)
Clean the house
Take care of various time-dated bill and insurance type things (bleh)
Pack the family (dog included) for the big road trip to Colorado


Oh, look! I bored you with a "To Do" list after all!

Chillin'

In the midst of the holiday madness (er, I mean, spirit), let's learn from the animals, shall we?

Dear Santa

(From the Boy to Santa [see illustrated version above]*)

To Santu,

For crismis I wont

1. The dome habutat.
2. Trieops.
3. The fac venis flichrap.
4. This haBtat and net ---->
5. Bug wlld.
6. Helcoptr and aer craft carier.
7. Bug braslit.

(From the Girl to Santa--as told to GEW):

Sear Santa Clause and Mrs. Clause,

I hope you catch this letter because if you don't, I would be so sad about it.

I want the Original Barbie, a bottle for Bitty Baby, and some diapers for Bitty Baby. I also want a toy ice cream set and the makeup set with lights.

I also want a new ballerina suit and a tiara, and a Glitzy Getup dress-up set. I would also like Tubtime Pirates and Kitty Corner Playmates.

You can not give me some of it. I won't care.

Have a Happy Christmas. I hope everything is easy for you. Have an easy and fun Christmas.

Love,
The Girl


*I found my camera! Well, actually, hubby found it on the floor behind the bongo drums while looking for his battery charger, but he didn't even know he'd found it because he thought it was his helmet cam. Then when I went over to show it to him, I spotted his battery charger. Which was all followed by much rejoicing, thankfulness, and self-congratulation.

P.S. If you haven't checked it out yet (and I'm sure most of you have), go see the Mall Santa hilarity over at Chez Kitchen Witch.

A Few Small Leeks

I have never had a green thumb. Sometimes I wonder if I have this weird subconscious urge to neglect my plants just to see if I can bring them back to life again. In general, I'm not good at any kind of detailed upkeep. So this year, when I planted my first garden in a while, I figured I'd just put the seeds in the ground, water them a bit, and see what happened. No $64 tomatoes for me. My hopes weren't too high since I live in a cool, foggy place, and sometimes tomatoes never even turn red here. It turns out I had both success and failure. Here are the results of my harvest:

• Eight beautiful, delicious green beans
• Bok choy that matured while we were out of town (the lizard ate the sad remainders)
• Just a little bit of lettuce that provided for a couple of salads
• No sweet peas (the plants all died from some kind of pest)
• Four small, precious pumpkins

And tomatoes! I have three cherry tomato plants that were volunteers from last year's rotted fruit (from a small garden my husband had planted but that had not produced much). These volunteers have been quite productive and completely resistant to all pests and disease. In fact, I am still getting cherry tomatoes even though it's December. I've also gotten a fair number of full-sized tomatoes (they're called Mountain Time--or something like that). At first, they were getting weird spots and had problems, but as the weather cooled, I think the disease or pest was killed off even as the plant kept living and bearing fruit. Therefore, I'm still getting full-sized tomatoes. In December!

In addition, we have harvested from two of my son's experiments. Experiment #1: He took a sprouting red potato and buried it next to the calalilies in the front yard. A few months later: Voila! Two beautiful, delicious red potatoes. Best potatoes I've ever eaten.

Experiment #2: He planted leeks. (So did I, but mine failed.) First he put them in a little critter keeper until they sprouted, and then he put them next to the garden in a reservoir planter. He planted them in July. This weekend, he harvested his leeks. There were only three, and they were small, but they smelled wonderful, and I used them to make potato leek soup. True, he didn't like the soup. But he was proud of those leeks. And I was proud of him.

Orangutans

Like most other fortyish people in this country, I have vague memories of Every Which Way But Loose. I haven't seen it since I was a kid, but the images in my mind included Clint Eastwood looking muscular and irritated in junkyard-ish setting, with Ruth Gordon standing in a truck bed telling him what's what. I have no idea if my memories are accurate, but that's what I see. I also see Sondra Locke, and, of course, I see Clyde the Orangutan.

I don't remember wanting an Orangutan when I saw the movie. In fact, I've always been convinced that monkeys are mischievous--in a poltergeist sort of way--and dirty, and I've never considered them pet-worthy.

Until I saw this video that my mom sent me. Now I kind of want one to go with my dog:

Grubalicious

Although my mom cooked the Thanksgiving dinner (thanks, Mom!), I did make this last week. I used it for burritos the first night, and then I made enchiladas for guests with the leftovers the next night. Muy easy, and muy bueno.

And then I made these on T-giving day, and everyone loved them. And they were especially easy since I have a giant rosemary bush in the front yard.

And I also made this, but I accidentally left it on high while we all when to the beach, so the corn got rubbery. And I didn't have cayenne pepper, so I tried to substitute, but in general, I just didn't get the spices right. I will try again.

And now I have the ingredients to make this, which I will do this week. I'm thinking of doing it today, but I really need to get busy reading The Hermit in English Literature: The Beginning to 1660 by Charles P. Weaver, so, you know, I have competing obligations.

But thanks to all of my bloggy friends for the recipes! My family thanks you, too.