International Dinner to Benefit Heifer

Before Jimmy surprised us, I was very involved with Heifer International. I still think it is the most sensible approach to ending hunger I've seen. August 5, a benefit international dinner will be held at Iona Highschool in Iona from 5-7. The food will truly come from everywhere--Japan, Vietnam, Thailand, India, Middle East, China, Italy, Mexico, Ethiopia, Korea and more. Cost will be a donation and all the proceeds will go to Heifer.
It's a fun night for a great cause.

Beatrice and Harriet

I pull this picture out for inspiration. It was taken only a few months after the period I'm currently writing.

I'll do the credits.

Writer's make great parents. OK, there's probably a few examples here and there of writer's being really crappy parents, but I was thinking about bed time stories. My kids are spoiled. Everyone has their own story line and they all gather together to hear what will happen next to everyone's alter egos. Last night a 'smore covered sea turtle saved a family reunion gathering by convincing a space dragon that he wanted to try calamari. Jove, Job and Joe all attended a star gazing party that was much enhanced by the giant and his telescope. The architect fairies got drafted to help the bad behavior fairy cure a naughty family of abusing their home. Last but not least an ice princess came and froze some flower fairies' garden out of sheer boredom. They convinced her to try the South Pole since the North Pole wasn't working for her. We'll see how it goes.
Last night was also the first time that I had a Greek chorus chipping in their own two cents about how the stories should go. Exasperated I asked the worst offender if he'd like to tell the story for me. "I'll do the credits," he says. This tickled my funny bone, so I duly finished the story and he did the credits. At the end of early Pixar movies they would create bloopers. This is my kids favorite part of the movie. Suddenly the space dragon was blowing his lines until I made that little chirpy noise. Next someone had eaten all the marshmallows. It was so funny.
Sometimes the credits eclipse the film.

Meducation

Emerge and see
It's awl for the doorpost Time
Spread those broken wings and cry
What a Present birthday

(I wrote this last birthday. It's a bit dark. I've revised it recently, but I'm in a good mood. I just couldn't think any new poetic thoughts, so I'm trotting out some old ones. I try to work a poem in every five or six posts.)

Toothpicks are evil.

Previously on this haphazard chronicle of our family life, I have declared pancake mix and dish soap to be evil. Toothpicks make those villains look tame. We ran out of the devious little stabbers, so I picked up the Sam's Club package and shoved them in the cupboard. Anytime such a handly little item is that abundant it gets noticed and experimented with. In this case grapes and other fruits were being organized into edible art. Then snack time was over, but no one bothered to put the toothpicks away. Our youngest got ahold of them and then they were everywhere on the floor. My oldest lost her balance and one of them went up into the pad of her foot and broke off.
I took her to the hospital, and they tried to remove it. They couldn't find it, so they put her on antibiotics and sent her home. As soon as we got to the end of the antibiotics she started having pussy leakage. After consulting with her pediatrician we made an appointment with a surgeon to have it removed. This time they found it. It was a full third of a toothpick. Her foot is wrapped in a huge dressing and she'll be spending most of her days lying on the couch. What a tiny thing to cause so much pain.

Life wasn't Good

Laundry has been my job since elementary school. My parents each took a week and then as my sister and I grew older we 'd take on a week. As chores go, the laundry is actually one of my favorites. I worry about the delicates and tackling the stains and we're at a point where laundry is more of a constant than anything else in our lives, but it's clean work and satisfying. We bought a Kenmore for our first washer/dryer set. Having only one little girl to wash for I opted for a smaller load size, but fancier features for delicates and stain removal. They were great until we had our fourth child. The wear and tear of constant use broke down the washer beyond repair and the dryer was acting funny too.
I went to the store with a plan. Whirlpool is the name we trust and they'd just begun selling the really hot front loaders. Once we got there we were informed that Whirlpool was changing the design and all they had was the old model. I don't why, but I was swayed to consider the LG washer/dryer set. It had a large capacity, great features, and adorable retro-modern styling. There was also an extended video about how we were going to be happy now that we'd bought the LG washer/dryer. We bought it and the repair policy. I'm happiest with the repair policy.
The features are nice. The sanitary load is such a relief for the nasty laundry that little people produce. I like throwing the items in and pushing one button to get rid of it all. The capacity was right on. I liked being able to store my favorite customized load instructions.
None of that matters though when the machine begins to leak, and the repair man's best suggestion is to change laundry soap. Kurt told me to start thinking about and looking for replacements a while ago. Sunday he took matters into his own hands and we're expecting Whirlpool's highest capacity washer to be delivered this Saturday. It's a top loader which should help. It doesn't have the features I've gotten used to, but who cares when the capacity is large enough to do most of our king size blankets. Sorry, LG, but life wasn't good. It was smelly and given to mold. I don't think I'll be trying them again.