Tales from the Steppes

2006-06-20

3:28 p.m.
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So I get these emails every couple of weeks, about "Living in the Season." Go Google it - it is kind of a neat concept. And I am all for the concept myself - I think we lose something by disconnecting ourselves from both time and the planet. Which leads to poor decisions about where to live (barrier islands - you never really own them, merely rent that sand) and hilarious over-reactions to the weather. Anyway, I really enjoy the topic and try to practice seasonality as much as I can. For example, I sweat in the summer instead of hermetically sealing myself away from the heat. And I still go outside in the winter, for more than just the sporadic snowball fight. And I eat seasonal vegetables. But some of these ideas are just a little .... (what's a good non-pejorative word?) much?

"Consult your soul while creating your schedule"
Yes, I'll give that one a try. Ok soul, what do you think about meeting with the internal audit committee tomorrow morning? Well, I don't think "I'd rather be dead in a ditch" is going to work. What? You say tomorrow is a good day to go pick strawberries or ride my mountain bike? How about my paycheck on Friday? Can I pick that up, as it will be my last one if I start listening to you?

Slow time down
Have we been watching a little too much Harry Potter?

and finally
Create Gardens of Adonis
Built it and he will come?

The war between reality and ideology continues, with neither side gaining much ground. Well, that is not completely true. The SU and I had a brief conversation, in which he agreed with me wholeheartedly about the problem. However, his thoughts center on my job as being the culprit. Hrrrrrm. I can't say I agree.

Saturday morning, I had to have the EM to the pool by 7:30am for warmups. I stayed until she was done swimming before going home but left her to cheer on her team. Later, the boys and I went to pick her up adn headed out to go shopping. Aaaah, shopping with three children! What could be more fun? Or less expensive? First we went to the Amish market and bought stuff and had lunch. And then on to Kohl's for clothes shopping. Sigh. I bought sandals for all mongols, 3 beach towels, 11 mongol shirts, 8 mongol shorts, 12 pairs of socks, and 2 Father's Day shirts. And 2 battery powered personal fans for Pennsic. And now I am broke. Good thing the YM didn't need anything more than sandals.

This little expedition took most of the day so we had to rush around getting the EM packed for the beach. As well as make a trip to Target for last minute items, a couple of books to read, and rafts for raft night at the pool. Whew!

My find of the day came at a dollar store. I guess I had never ventured into dollar stores much but that might have to change. It seems that I can buy hairclips 3 for a $1 to give to my daughter instead of having her borrow and then break my more expensive ones. The cheap ones will not hold my hair but she doesn't have quite so much yet so they work fine for her. And cards, 2 packs for $1? What a bargain! I guess I feel a little stupid because usually I avoid places like that. Generally speaking, I am not interested in cheap crap. But perhaps there is a time and a place for these things. It will be a special treat for the mongols. The MM bought two "plastistone" tiki statues to start a collection. I had to explain that "plastistone" really means "plastic", not stone. Didn't seem to bother him a bit.

The EM called from the beach last night and is having a wonderful time. And is not even sunburnt yet, miracle of miracles. I think she is enjoying the break from her brothers about as much as they are enjoying the space. The number of squabbles has greatly reduced as has the amount of drama in the house. Which is not completely attributable to her but more due to the interaction among the mongols.