Matt's Day

Another year has evaporated, at least from my perspective. For Matt, it makes him just one step closer to his driver's license (and another gray hair pops up). Time just seems to fly. My baby is now 8 inches taller than me and has nearly a year of high school under his belt. He's hitting his mid-teens--just think of all of the things I have to look forward to: girlfriends and broken hearts, insurance for 2 teens at the same time, college visits, more sports (yay!), adolescent attitude (so far so good with this one!)...and in a few short years, the empty nest. I guess I better enjoy it while I can. Here are a few pics from Matt's past year. Happy Birthday Matt.

Rememberies....

My sister sent me a video clip this morning. It was a couple of chimps telling an off-color joke. Very clever. But it brought to mind one of the revered shows of my youth... Lancelot Link, Secret Chimp. They just don't make shows like that any more. My kids would never get that show... it was really pretty bad. Somehow, at the time, though, it was amusing; must watch TV. Along the same lines were shows like Lost in Space, HR Pufnstuf, Lidsville, Banana Splits, the Monkees... Who could forget Land of the Giants, Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea, or Time Tunnel? OK, so the special effects were anything but special, at least by current standards. At the time (considering I was probably no more than 10 when any of these were on!), it was possible to view them in state of suspended belief. Ah, the sweet memories.

I once rented the Rocky Horror Picture Show to view at home. I have seen this movie probably 100 times in the theater. The Westwood, known more as a XXX theater, used to show it as the midnight movie on Friday and Saturday nights in the late 1970's and early 1980's. I became a true fan. Who can resist Tim Curry in fishnets? Really? But I digress. Viewing this at home lost the impact. The guys actually tried to follow the plot line (and yes, there is a plot line, weak as it is). They missed all of the subtle comments and nuances. Of course the demise of different product lines makes it difficult for them to understand why people would want to throw toilet paper when someone said "Great Scott." Also, they thought it was a bit strange when I pulled out the toast and started throwing it around.

Last night, I watched a retrospective of Dean Martin on the Biography Channel. Ah Dino. I can recall watching Dean in the Matt Helm movies and remember liking them better than James Bond. Matt Helm was pure camp and exceptionally cheesy. That's probably why I liked the series. I looked them up on Amazon. One of the "raters" mentioned that anyone who never viewed these movies just wouldn't get them. The acting wasn't the greatest and the special effects were poor, but for me, these movies will always be near and dear.

I wonder what my kids will remember about their youthful viewing when they near the mid-century mark.

Brigadoon Pond

We did not purchase waterfront property when we built our house eight years ago. Instead, we found a beautiful wooded lot that would remain fairly private, even as houses were built around us. However, the back part of our property and the wooded area behind us should probably be designated as wetlands. The builder could only go down 2 feet for our foundation, then we backfilled and graded the remainder. Each year about this time, Brigadoon Pond emerges. With the snow thaw and spring rains, we have a rather large swampy area for about 10-12 weeks. Luckily, it tends to dry up before mosquito season hits. In the past, we have had ducks swim around on their trip back north. If you look closely at the picture below, you will see a pile up of twigs between the two cottonwoods. I'm thinking maybe we had some beavers building a dam out there recently. (I can't believe one of the guys actually would have stacked them up, but I could be wrong).

This year, our ghost pond has been a bit oversized. The ground is pretty saturated from the massive amounts of snow we had over the winter, and the 4 inches of rain we had last week didn't help matters. It's dried up pretty well right now (it should since there is a drainage system under it!). Luckily, we didn't have any flooding in the house but the sump ran steadily for several days.

This is just another harbinger of spring.

Another Change of Season

I'm not sure if the snow is done for the season, but it's nice to see the signs of spring starting to creep in. I'll be glad for the extra hour of daylight after today as well. I don't mind winter, really, but there is something special about spring--it always seems to bring a new burst of energy and I am SO ready for that. Maybe I should go gather up my outside Christmas decorations and get them put away now that they are unburied from beneath the snow (and it's warm enough to go out to get them!).

Matt's basketball season ended on Thursday. The varsity boys still have at least one district game. I'd like to see them win that..Mark German will look so nice in a beard. It gives me a chance to watch the seniors one more time...they are a great bunch of kids and I will really miss them next year. Baseball tryouts start on Monday, at least for the freshmen. I get a break for a month (keeping my fingers crossed that Matt makes the team), but Matt doesn't.

Second trimester also ended. Both boys did well again this term...at worst they each got a 3.8. Matt still has an outside shot of keeping his 4.0 depending on how he did on his geometry final. Craig has a big week ahead of him...MME's (and the ACT) loom on Tuesday. I know he'll do well as long as he stays focused. While I wasn't too thrilled when he got really sick during exams this week, I'm just glad he's gotten it through his system before this week's major milestones.

Maybe the change of season will signal other changes along the way. Here's hoping the sunshine brings a bit more enthusiasm to the economy and all other ills that we seem to be encountering.