Kajsa conversations

Kajsa has, as usual, been keeping us laughing… last week there were many funny conversations, and I actually wrote down two of them, so here they are:

Kajsa: I’m going to text Dee Dee…

Me: Ok.

Yeah, because I love her!

Oh, she’ll like that, then…

Yeah.. (then making texting motions and noises..)

What did you write to her?

Dear Love Mommy Daddy…and Dear Love Kajsa I love you. Dee Dee.

That’s really nice, KAjsa. Dee Dee will be so happy to read that.

Yeah. And I pressed the green button so that it send.

Oh.

Yeah. And, the mailman can give it to her.

Oh, that’s great, hon.

Mommy?

Yes, hon..

I just pretending.

Another day, Kajsa was walking around the house making a huge mess—pulling out toys, clothes, etc.. Jim and I were both slightly aware that the house was being quickly messed up (more than usual!), but so far nothing and nobody was being harmed in the making of the mess… and frankly, we were enjoying a little time to do our own projects, so we let it happen.  At one point she turned over a bunch of puzzles, and packed a small purse with the pieces and a few other odds and ends. She grabbed her sunglasses and said,

Mommy… I going to college to see Bean.

Ok.. have fun. Tell Bean I said hi.

Ok. I will. Bye, Mommy!

A few minutes later… Ok… Heeere’s college… !

Then a few minutes after that.

Mommy?

Yes.

I going to college to see JoJo.

Oh.. But JoJo’s not at college.. she’s in Chicago.

Oh, you’re right. (laughing.) Then I go to Chicago to see JoJo.

Ok.. have fun. Tell her I said hi.

Ok, I will.

Later on, we were cleaning up a bit, and as we were putting away her puzzles, we couldn’t find the purse with the puzzle pieces.

What were you doing when you remember last playing with that bag?” I asked her.

Hmmm. I was here, in the dining room… I was at Go-Cubs-Go with JoJo.

Go-Cubs-Go?

Yes. With JoJo.

Ok.. then after that, where did you go?

Hmmm. Let me think. (tapping her finger on her chin..) After Go-Cubs-Go, I went to my bedroom. And I made this big mess with my clothes. Then I was with Abby… I can’t remember.

A few minutes later, Jim found the purse with the puzzle pieces… he gave it to her, and she exclaimed,

Oh, Daddy! I SO happy… Thank you!

palms, ready and waiting

palms, ready and waiting

Originally uploaded by cathyse97.

Thanks to Emma, (new Emma) for the use of her camera this morning, and emailing the photos to me! When we were at church for the Community Breakfast, I realized that the palms were out in the narthex, waiting for Sunday.. already torn apart by a volunteer, ready and waiting. So I asked E & L if one of them had a camera I could borrow.. they did. Thanks!

Palm Sunday can be so fun and celebrative…palms, celebration, praise, Hosannas, singing, kids marching/entering the sanctuary… Every Palm Sunday, though, I can’t help but remember the coming Holy week. The cross, the crown of thorns (pictured in the photo, etched in the glass)…

So tomorrow we both celebrate and anticipate. And remember.

“Catch-Up”: Monday

Light. light through tiny holes, light through funky and fun decorations. These stars are from Margarita’s, a restaurant in Keene, NH, that we ate at on Monday evening.

Mon., March 15th

The women clergy retreat at Pilgrim Pines brought light into my life in countless ways– including reconnecting with old friends, meeting new friends, laughing a lot, eating together, hearing stories, etc. But on Tuesday, the next morning, the light of this group of friends truly shone for me. I woke up a headache. It started out as a manageable one. or so I thought. It quickly became vicious, despite my efforts to ward it off. It was one of those really really bad ones. The women were incredible! It was one of those mornings when you know that people around you know what a headache feels like… they got a cold wet towel for my eyes; gave me a long, deep head and neck massage; went out to buy me seltzer water and excedrin migraine; made Plans A, B, and C for how to get me and my rental car to my destination that day… And then they accompanied me to parts of CT, making sure that I was ok. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you! Incredible.

so these lights in starts in a restaurant in Keene… make me think of the many lights shining through the actions of my many friends. Specifically these friends at the Retreat, but also all my friends. Thank you.

pictures

We’re here. We left Madison on Dec. 28th, left Chicago on the 29th, arrived in Harleysville, PA on the 30th. A great welcoming crew was here, waiting for us and the moving trucks. It’s so surreal, and yet strangely normal, to arrive at your new home, your new town, your new church. The few days have become a blur, and should be blogged at some point, but tonight I’m just happy to even get some pictures on the blog! So, more later. pictures now.

Tower of boxes, Kajsa inside the bottom box

Packing and Moving Help..

Trucks (yes, notice the trailer as well) leaving Alder Road

Christ Covenant Church, from our house (with the luminaries)

Kajsa and Anna, New Year's Day

Anna and Kajsa laughing with AJ

Retreat at Harbor

This past weekend I was at Covenant Harbor Bible Camp, in Lake Geneva. 8 other women from church and I attended the annual Womens Retreat. The weekend was fantastic. Great. And a superb speaker, even if I am a bit biased. Karen Hinz, one of my good friends, was the speaker, and did a phenomenal job at speaking to the issue of waiting… waiting on God… waiting with God… waiting with others… God waiting with us…. Way to go, Kar.

Sunday morning I walked outside before breakfast, to take a few photos, and I took this one. Of course, I love to be at Harbor, because of having worked there for two summers, but it is a gorgeous location.

our little pilot

Today we had an incredible experience! We went for an airplane ride–in a private airplane. A 2-seater… so Jim went up first, then I went up. And in between, Kajsa tried on the headphones and sat in the passenger seat… looking very cool, of course. Hopefully I’ll post more photos later this week, but suffice it to say, for now, that this was incredible. Fun. Beautiful. Gorgeous. I could have stayed up there for a loooong time. At least I think I could have. Thanks, Nancy and Steve!

this is my knitting…on drugs

During HR (Hysterectomy Recuperation), Jen taught me how to knit. I used to know how to knit slippers-I made several pairs of slippers for Christmas presents when I was younger. Much younger. But that’s all I knew how to knit. And I have long envied Jen’s cool felted knit projects. So Jen taught me how to knit, and I knit a fun bag.. with handles, that I then (with Jen’s help) felted–which means you wash the wool-knit-project in hot water until it has shrunk to the desired size… squeeze the water out, shape it, and let it dry. It’s great.

The bag I did fairly well on. Not perfect, but not bad for the first time making a bag. But the handles? I could barely keep the seven stitches on the needles, I added extra stitches, I dropped the needles several times, I knit the wrong way. It was a riot, only because Jen was there to watch me knit the first handle, and to correct my mistakes. I felt dumb, and told Jen, to which she replied, “Cathy, you are on Vicodin right now.” oh yeah.

The next day I knit the second handle. No problems. Jen wasn’t even around to help, should I mess up–but it was, basically, a breeze. I laughed, remembering that for handle #2, I was NOT on Vicodin.

Can you tell which handle is which?

Camp pies and a rummage sale…

I’ve heard about the camp pies. Sandie has bragged about the camp pies. They sounded like they might be good, but honestly, it’s one of those things that you have to experience, I think.

a pie iron in the fire

So don’t worry, friends of mine who live close by… I will buy one of these cast iron pie irons, and make these for you at some point. (Except I won’t try the spam and velveeta camp pie that some brave souls ate yesterday, here in the Lawrence back yard.)

On Thursday evening, Sandie made camp pies for us.

"oozie goodness"

Cheap bread, buttered on the outside of each slice, and cherry pie filling in the middle, squashed into a pie iron, cooked over a campfire. On Friday, Sandie experimented with cheddar cheese to make grilled cheese sandwiches. Also fantastic. In fact, Sandie’s term for these is now “oozie goodness”. For those of you who don’t like the sound of cherry pie filling, insert any filling you want. Camp pies simply rock.

One of the great things about camping is fun people you meet. We had some fun neighbors: the 2 Danes and San Francisco friend; and the couple from Montana…. one of the not-so-great-things about camping is your proximity to loud people you meet. I’m all for having fun while camping, but honestly people…  GO TO BED! or at least be quieter for those of us who are already struggling to sleep because it’s freezing… Needless to say, Thursday night was a rough night of sporadic sleep.

Friday morning’s breakfast was instant oatmeal, bacon, and camp coffee.

the tent Jim, Kajsa, and I slept in

Yum. Camping with the Lawrences is fun, because they have fun camp gear. It’s also fun, because the Lawrences are fun. But that goes without saying. The camp gear part is wild. It’s not like they have a mini-REI in their house full of camp gear, but I’ve honestly never been camping with such cool gear.

a little wildlife exiting the tent

And Dave says this is nothing, compared to friends of his. I love it. I should also mention that I have not been camping a ton.. some, but not a ton.

After breakfast, we were all pretty excited to walk up to the Methodist church in Seward, and go to the rummage sale.

the rummage sale gang

The campground bathroom house had a flyer on the wall, advertising the sale. Since most of us froze Thursday night as well as stayed awake thanks to loud neighbors, we decided to rummage for more clothing and blankets. Fun. Who’d of thunk… we go to Alaksa, and to a great rummage sale. Loads of fun. The photo I’m trying to insert in this paragraph should show the funny photo of the gang, loaded up with rummage gear. Jim found a mattress pad, a foam pad (both for putting under our sleeping bags), and a sheet, I think. Sandie got more blankets, I got some awesome pants that are warmer than anything else I have here. Etc.

By the time we returned to the campground, Jim and I had to get ready for our 5-hour “cruise” to see wildlife out on the sea. So we packed up our backpack, bundled up in our rummage-sale gear, Dave packed us a lunch (because we’re too cheap to pay for the salmon/prime rib buffet on the boat), and we all took the long walk along the sidewalk down to the small boat harbor. Entropy was the center of attention, of course… loads of tourists taking loads of photos of him. He tolerated it.

Camping in Seward

on Thursday afternoon, we loaded up two carloads of camping gear, kids, Little E., and adults, some snacks, etc. and drove to Seward, down south. I will admit to some apprehension about camping. It had been ages, since I’d camped. But I’m all for adventure, and thougth this might be fun. As it turns out, it was. Not only fun, but beautiful!! We drove to Seward, along a coastal highway for a bit, then on a highway surrounded by snow-capped mountain peaks. Really, it’s gorgeous. It helps, of course, that we saw another moose and 5 bald eagles on the way to Seward. But the photos of the distant moose and distant bald eagles are hardly worth posting. Still, we saw them.

What did not help the trip much was the camera lens catastrophe. Kajsa was on my shoulders, and I was about to hand off my camera to get her down, when she fell. Fortunately I held onto her leg, and she slid most of the way down my back, fell a short distance, then after crying a bit, did her normal routine of blaming whatever “made” her fall, or what “broke” her fall.. in this case, the ground. Pointing to it, crying, shaking her head and her finger at the ground. Unfortunately, in the process of Kajsa slipping down my back, and my fear of her falling harder, I dropped the camera. With the zoom lens on it. The zoom still works–but only at that outermost zoom length. Which is good, I guess. If you’re going to break your zoom lens, I suppose it’s best that it breaks at the greatest length possible. The bad part is, it’s stuck there.. and can’t move. So, it involves a lot of switching of lenses, when I’m wanting to capture a distant shot, then a closer shot.. oh well. As I have said numerous times, “I dropped my daughter, and I dropped my camera. I saved my daughter, not the camera.”

Here are some pictures…

dead trees, dead since the 1964 earthquake.. the trees are dead because the ground sank and saltwater entered these parts.

somebody Hooligan fishing in 20 Mile River, on the way to Seward

a stone's throw (a good throw) from our tents... in Seward, on Resurrection Bay

Kjell, Sunny and Broder, in Seward

the campsite, enjoying the campfire

2 Seagulls and a Sea Otter. The otter hung out in the water by our campsite for ages, it seemed.

besides the moose…

there’s not much else to say. No, just kidding. The moose pretty much trumps anything else. But given that, it’s incredibly fun to be with the

Broder, Kajsa and Sunny at Earthquake Park

Lawrence clan, to see Entropy, and to be in Anchorage.

We arrived Monday night. Tuesday morning, before Dave arrived home from Prudhoe Bay (work) and Sandie came home from work, the kids and Jim and I walked (with Entropy, of course)

Sunny, spinning and spinning and spinning

to a park nearby, where the kids enjoyed spinning on some funky playground equipment.

On our way to the airport to pick up

Jim, spinning and spinning and spinning...

Dave, we stopped at Earthquake Park, where all sorts of displays tell the story of the 1964 Good Friday earthquake. Lots of mosquitoes. Lots of fun for Kajsa, holding hands with Sunny and Broder.

After picking Dave up at the airport, we all went to Moose’s Tooth for dinner. INcredible pizza. Moose’s Tooth is my third favorite pizza in the world. That’s right, the world. of course my other two are also in the US. (1: Giordanno’s, Chicago… 2: a place in New York City). But still.. out of all the pizza I have eaten, Moose’s Tooth pizza is my third favorite.

Little E, while Jim is driving

Can’t hurt that the restaurant has “Moose” in its name. But also, the pizza rocks.

The other night we were headed out to see some Falls, but it looked like rain that direction, so Sandie said we could go on our moose hunt instead. (See the “I saw a MOOSE” post.)

Kajsa, spinning...

We drove around. Or, I should say, Sandie drove around, while Jim, Sunny and I peeled our eyes open, searching the highways, byways and woods for moose.

Sandie and Entropy, at Chugach State Park

Kajsa was basically in her I’m-so-tired-I-can’t-fall-asleep funk.

Sunny and Kjell, at Moose's Tooth

But eventually settled down. We ended up at Chugach State Park, where we hiked part of FlatTop Mountain. Only part, because there were too many dogs off-leash, and Entropy was with us–ON leash, let me add.

Sandie's, Entropy's, Sunny's, and Cathy's feet in the snow... at Chugach

So it was a bit frustrating that other dogs kept running up to Little E. That, and the girls were freezing cold. Sunny only had a sleeveless shirt on. And Kajsa was in the backpack, but we didn’t realize how cold she was getting.

a cold Kajsa, and Jim

Of course, there was snow. But not a ton of snow. So we wrapped up Kajsa in Jim’s long-sleeved shirt. Anyhow, gorgeous walk. Besides the cold.

I’m liking Alaska.