Hola, San Juan!

(This is all sung.)

I'm going to Puerto Rico! I just got a great deal on plane tickets! It's going to be so much fun! I just cannot wait! We get to lay on the beach and eat good food and see lots of cool colonial things. I'm going to Puerto Rico -- I'm just not thinking about how expensive the hotel is going to be yet!

The GOPreschool

I think I am accidentally raising a Republican. It's probably no secret that I lean left of center, though not at a dramatic angle. And it's also no secret that I live in one of the most Republican states in America, where the crazy Christian Exodus people want to build their utopia.

I guess I shouldn't be surprised that my child loves Mike Huckabee.

Or at least his signs. See, we are blessed to live in an early primary state. So our roads are blessed with lots and lots of signs. Interestingly, though, only Republican signs. We've got Mike, Fred, Mitt, Rudy and McCain (he doesn't have hist first name on, strangely). As for Democrats, there are a few Hillary signs at her campaign headquarters, but that's it. Now, I do live in a rather WASPy part of an already WASPy town, so maybe there are some Democratic signs in other areas, but I haven't even seen any near the shopping centers. Proof of how Republican my county is, I guess -- and it is, by the largest margin in the state, I believe.

Anyway, there's a very prominent Mike Huckabee sign on the way to Abigail's school, and it was one of the first signs up more than a month ago. She was fascinated: What was the American flag sign about? What does running for president mean? What does vote mean? Her first civics lesson, from her car seat in my Civic no less. Ever since she first saw it, Abigail has made a point of shouting delightedly "Mike Huckabee!" And she was thrilled to actually see his face last week on the evening news, when the announcer's voice pulled her attention from a very intense game of Uno.

She's noticed the other signs, too, but they're only in blue, and of course her favorite color is red. RED. I should have seen it coming.

On the fourth day of Christmas

my true love gave to me a meme about music to fill out.

But I'm just not inspired. And I don't quite know what to write about, though I feel I should. Our holidays were mildly merry. Since mom was in London, we didn't do anything particularly special. Met with my father-in-law's family, went to Christmas Eve service, met with Brad's immediate family, met with my mother-in-law's family. A whole lot of eating with people I only see twice a year and that I generally know nothing about. Abigail did have a fabulous Christmas morning, and I'm proud to say our gift was the biggest hit. But overall, this Christmas was a bit of a non-happening. We didn't play our music much, I didn't make many cookies since we weren't having company, and we couldn't go to the one Christmas party we were invited to. At least Abigail and Daddy had fun shopping.

And now the dreariness of January is about to set in. We have no New Year's plans, and the concert I wanted to go to is sold out (Dang Avetts, why do you only come to your hometown once a year?!). There is a bright spot on the horizon, though. After Brad turns 30 in February, we're heading to Puerrrrrrrrto Rico! That is if I get in gear and actually buy our tickets and find a hotel. The flights aren't very expensive -- it'll cost us more to go to a wedding in April -- and we won't have to exchange our money, so it should be a good deal. And all Brad wants to do is hit the beach with a bottle of rum, so it shouldn't take much planning!

And speaking of, this would actually be a decent time to call the travel agent I know ...

Geriatric jail bait

Why? Why do I still attract older men? In college, it was men in their 40s who would offer me drinks at the bar. Then it was French men in their 40s who would try to chat me up in a park.

And now? Now it's the late-60s gentleman who I say hello to at the park! Today he told me how pretty I looked in pink. In the same pink sweatshirt I've been wearing for two months, with my unwashed hair pulled back into a ponytail and yesterday's eyeliner still smudged under my eyes. Yes, I'm gorgeous.

That's what I get for telling the most cheerful man on my walking route how much I appreciated his friendly "good morning."

I "heart" blogs

The Internet is a helpful place. There's lots of information, it keeps me from having to make some business phone calls, which I'm not a fan of, and it keeps me up-to-date on the small happenings in my friends' lives.

The Internet is also a horrible place. E-mail has reduced our ability to write lengthy correspondence. Blogs have reduced communication to keeping tabs, checking in once a week to fulfill your duty as a friend. I know the minutiae of my friends' lives, but not the reality. I learn of their pain far too late.

My dear friends, if I have not written, called or e-mailed you at length in at least a month, I am so sorry. I love you very, very much, and you are always on my mind. I am a terrible friend, and I cannot stop weeping at how I have let some of you down. Please forgive me.

Can you imagine being the neighbor?

These people need lives. Now. It's amazing and all, but really, lives.

Still working on the spirit of giving

So I tried to do the "Let's pick out toys to donate" thing with Abigail, and I guess it sorta worked. She immediately picked an old Elmo, which I'd been hoping would go away, and then a small doll. And then a broken puzzle. Um, we can't do that, sweetie. Are there any other stuffed animals we could give away? (She rarely plays with stuffed animals) Nope. That's all she wanted to give away. And I didn't want to force it. She should give freely and not feel like it's a punishment.

But is it really bad if I sneak into her room while she's at school and thin the stuffed animals a bit? Hmmm ...

We gather together

I must soon be off to buy cider for the big kindergarten feast, but all this talk of Thanksgiving has me a bit nostalgic and sad. Thanksgiving was a huge event in the Buxton family. The many, many cousins and second cousins and who-knows-how-they're-related cousins gathered at the family homestead, where enormous folding tables stretched the length of my grandparents' basement, leaving the littlest kids (me and my three male cousins for a while) to make do with an old sofa and a coffee table. There was of course tons of food, including at least four or five varieties of pie with lots of Cool Whip.

But what I really miss was the long afternoon after lunch. The adults would play endless games of pinochle, leaving us kids to devise our own fun way out in the Missouri boonies. If the weather was warm, that meant a wagon ride from Grandpa out into the woods and down to the creek, past "Daniel Boone's" bed springs. If it had snowed, there were cardboard boxes to sled in down the steep front yard. And there were always the games in the garage, one of the few ways the older cousins mixed with us young ones, deigning to allow us to join the Blind Man's Bluff and Red Light, Green Light. We played our own card games, too, usually 21 or Gin. Ahh, fond memories of teaching little Trae 52-Card Pickup, which he adored and wanted to play again. My memories of my grandparents' house really have little to do with them, much more about the cousins.

This year, I won't even see my mom. We'll do a couple of gatherings with Brad's family, but they're always a bit strained. There won't even be pumpkin pie (though I'm making a fabulous pumpkin cake). And mom is going to London for Christmas. It's going to be a very strange holiday season lacking any connection to my family. I adore traditions, am really a very conservative person when it comes to institutions and history, and losing all of mine this year makes me sad.

I don't even have a Black Friday shopping buddy.

But we'll start new traditions. One I'm stealing from an acquaintance, Abigail and I are going to go through her toys Friday and pick out a few to give away -- both to make room for Santa's goodies and to give a Christmas to poor children. Then we'll take our choices over to Goodwill, our final acts of thanks.

Happy Thanksgiving.

The purge

So it's time to update all this. I thought I'd start chronologically, but then, heck, everyone just wants to see Halloween anyway, right?



I made that (with Mom's help)! Isn't it great? Okay, so it's not PC, but it's great! (And I'm going to take Abigail to the Catawba's Yap Ye Iswa Festival this weekend, so she'll learn about real Native Americans soon.) She had a wonderful time, really getting into the candy hunt this year. She raced from door to door and down driveways (saying "Steep hill! Steep hill! Steep hill!) and got through Nana's street in no time. She also loved giving out candy again, standing on the porch shouting, "Hey, kids! Come get candy! Blow pops for the big ones! Nerds for the little ones!" Halloween is such a great expression of the pure joy of childhood.

And so for the big news -- Employment! Yes, I have a job. I am going to be the editor-in-chief of a new lifestyles magazine. It will publish bi-monthly and I'll only be working 20 hours a week, so I'll still be able to pick up Abigail from school and screw around online and in the house. I'll be overseeing editorial content, assigning stories, managing freelancers and getting on their cases about deadlines. It should be a lot of fun! And it will set me up so well for a year or so down the line, when I want full-time work, hopefully in a university setting. And the best part, I found out about the job just by running into my old boss at the grocery store. It's amazing how things just work out sometimes. (okay, yeah, and I'm giving a lot of credit Upstairs for some answered prayers about what I should do)

Hmm, what else? How about more pictures!! Who needs to be thoughtful when you have pictures?!

We went to an atrocious Clemson football game last month, where the crowd went wild in the third quarter when we finally got our first first down. It wasn't pretty. But it was wonderful to see my college family again. And we took Abigail for the first time, so I got to show her around campus and show her off to my friends. She had a blast and still talks about being waaaaaay up and seeing Lake Hartwell.



I know other things happened in the interim, but they have slipped my capricious mind, so I'll just jump to last weekend, when Abigail, Mom and I went to Carolina BalloonFest in Statesville, N.C. Once the hot air balloons started going, we had a great time. Abigail was mesmerized for a while, then went to jump in the FREE moon bounces (note to similar festivals, that's BRILLIANT!). Her day was truly made complete, though, when she got to ride in a balloon. It was a two or three minute ride, but she was thrilled.

Things! Stuff! Stuff and things!!

This is a promise to blog soon. Real soon. I have pictures of a Clemson football game. I have pictures from Carolina BalloonFest. I have a JOB.

But I do not have time. Thus I will post! And soon!

Dental dexterity

I am officially a soccer mom.

The (temporarily blinded) Abigail is a member of the Might Molars (sponsored by a dentist). Saturday was her first practice and mini game. Now, Abigail has an amazing foot. She can kick that ball hard, straight and aimed. Unfortunately, she spent much of Saturday wandering aimlessly and talking to her teammates rather than chasing the ball. As did most of the kids. One boy kept picking up his teammates. Another chased the ball down the field toward the goal -- while he was supposed to be goalie. At that point, they figured he shouldn't be goalie anymore and put Abigail in. And she made a great save! Hooray! Soccer talent! If we can just remind her that the point is to follow the play of game, we'll be set! Come on, scholarships!

It was a big day. After we got home and changed clothes, the family trooped off to Historic Brattonsville for the Piedmont Pottery Festival. There was so much beautiful pottery -- though also a lot of very similar face jugs and the like. There was one vase with the most gorgeous irridescent, silver-blue crazed glaze. It looked like snowflakes. I wish I had a pottery allowance.

Of course, we also went through the preserved homes. Mama's girl did her proud. Abigail loved going through the "houses from a very long time ago." She loved the classroom from "a very long time ago." She loved the clothes from "a very long time ago." She kept on insisting that she must see more "houses from a very long time ago." History was a bigger hit than I expected!

As was the brick making.


And the barbecue.


Carrots, I hear you always share my photos with your spouse. Be sure he sees that one :)

The Strode Tower of Power!

This gorgeous edifice is the home of the Clemson University English Department -- and Department of Languages, and pretty much every other department I was heavily involved in. It was ancient and musty and had the most terrifying elevator, a tiny contraption that fit maybe four people and sounded like it was held together with rubber bands. When the door opened, you heard a creaking succession of pings, like plucking a rubber band instrument very slowly. Visiting your adviser was a death-defying feat.

I show you the fabulous Strode because I got the best postcard yesterday. (I must confess my title was stolen from the card, which has a stylized picture of Strode on it. ) "English Majors? Tailgating?" They're doing a pig pickin' for homecoming! Now, I didn't have a whole lot of friends in English, actually, and the ones I did have probably won't be there, but I really want to go! Just to see how English majors tailgate! It would just be way too amusing. Plus several friends are going to homecoming anyway. But alas, that also coincides with mom's visit, and unless kickoff is at noon, there's no way. And that's just too much rushed driving. Oh well, maybe they'll post pictures online!

EDIT: Wow, I just went to the Languages site, and I don't know ANY of the profs! Anyone I ever had is gone, and all but one of the profs my friends' had are gone! Crazy! I know I'm getting old, but it's only been eight years! Comfortingly, I did know several English folks still. The only ones missing were a couple that really needed to retire and one that I know passed away. Good ol' English.

Trade ya!

Oh my goodness, I have a new favorite place: Trader Joe's. What a fabulous store! (The first one just opened last month in Charlotte, for those of you who live in hipper places and are laughing at me.) I wanted to buy everything, all the international sauces and the delicious-sounding prepared foods and the marinated meats and the WINE! Oh my, the WINE! I actually caught myself staring with my mouth open at the insanely cheap prices!! I can justify a 25 minute drive once a month or so for that!

A., have you been yet?!?! You would LOVE it! We should go some preschool day and just spend a couple of hours oohing and ahhing!

Fond farewell

I said goodbye to some old friends today. I've known and loved them for 8 years now, have been intimately familiar with them, but it was time. Goodbye, Let's Go Europe and Let's Go France. You served me well. You gave me hostel advice and suggested cheap, tasty eats. You pointed me at the highlights as I tooled around cities. But you are not written in Euros, and I am too old for hostels, so it is time we went our separate ways.

Plus you took up too much shelf space.

I also steeled myself to thin my L.M. Montgomery collection. The books were filling Abigail's shelves, and she's starting into the brave new world of chapter books herself, so we had to make room. No, no, I kept Anne and Emily and some other favorites, but the short-story collections are being donated to the library. Hopefully an adolescent girl will find them and give them a good home.

Musical smorgasbord!

Wow, Charlotte is actually going to be a happening place in October! And all at one venue!

10/19 -- Jay Clifford (of Jump, Little Children)
10/22 -- Guster
10/25 -- Squirrel Nut Zippers (didn't even know they were still about)
10/28 -- They Might Be Giants

And my mother is going to be here that whole week! Argh!

I'm listening to the snippets on TMBG's Web site right now, and it's really good! Really different and really good! And really different from their kids' stuff Abigail loves! But I bet they still do "Istanbul" as an encore.

Almost Splendid

I really ought to be doing other things, but it's been a while since I've posted and I've already been quite productive today, so I don't feel guilty. Plus I'm posting about a book, and that's redemptive in its own right.

This weekend, I finished reading "A Thousand Splendid Suns" by Khaled Hosseini, the author of "The Kite Runner." While Afghanistan and its turbulent recent history are always fascinating, I was disappointed about half-way through this book. It seemed too pat, a bit contrived. There were too many coincidences. But it was still a good story, so I kept reading. And, satisfyingly, a plot twist arrived that made the earlier concerns no longer relevant, plus a nice bit of come-uppance for one character. Overall, I probably liked Kite Runner better since it was my first encounter with Afghanistan, but this one was also interesting as it presented the female point of view. If you're curious about Central Asia and are looking for a fairly fast read, I'd say this is a good one.

Five!

My little girl turned 5 on Friday, and she was so excited! A few of her "friends" didn't show at her party on Saturday, but she didn't even notice and had a blast, especially with a couple of the little girls. But my public service announcement for the day, please RSVP for parties and then show up when you do!



And to top the big birthday weekend off, my monkey masterpiece!

The first day

I know I've been photo-heavy lately, but how can I resist the first day of kindergarten! My big girl! She was so excited. We met her teacher yesterday, and Abigail was jumping up and down and telling the teacher, "Tomorrow is my first day of kindergarten!!!!" She made a big impression; just wait until they find out that she always talks that much!

Now, what to do with six hours a day?

Suzy Homemaker

Abigail will be 5 on Friday (how?!?!?!?!), and her party is going to be at Monkey Joe's, a warehouse-like place with tons of inflatables for the kids to go wild on. Intelligent mommy that I am, it's an afternoon party, thus only cake required. Since it's a loosely themed party, I decided on Curious George books as the party favor and a monkey cake. Or at least I'll be attempting this cake. It is a Martha recipe, and I just don't have piping bags and various kinds of tips lying about, so I'll be making some adjustments that may not be "a good thing." But I generally pull off baking, and mom will be here to help, so it should be fun.

Chim chim charee

No, Abigail's prophecy did not come true; I did not turn 30 and die. I just got busy for a bit, then couldn't get to the computer, then just got lazy. It happens.

Oh, where to begin? Well, at least Abigail is watching "Mary Poppins" right now, which is a nice, conflict free, funny, long movie, so I've got time! Actually, I do want to get down there and watch some of the movie. It's still so funny, even as an adult! And lots of subtle lines that went way over my head as a kid. Did you know Mr. Banks references "noblesse oblige"?

So, quite a long time ago, I went on some trips. In early July, I went to Myrtle Beach, which was, you know, Myrtle Beach. But it was relaxing, and pleasantly overcast, so we got to spend a good bit of time on the beach itself. And putt-putt is always good.

After a quick trip home for laundry, it was off to High Hampton Inn in Cashiers, N.C., for Brad's bi-annual managers' meeting. Man, that was a sweet place. Three gourmet buffet-style meals a day, i.e. eat as much as you want, but be sure to save room for the smorgasbord of desserts. The grounds were beautiful, and our cabin was right next to a little lake, within earshot of the dam. There was no air conditioning, but the weather was absolutely perfect, and we got to sleep under a ceiling fan. Abigail and I met some nice moms and their kids, both from Brad's work and just other guests, and we were able to get out as a family on the weekend. We went to Whitewater Falls, though I did not let Abigail venture anywhere as near the edge as we used to get in college! We also went to the much smaller Silver Run Falls, which has a lovely little swimming hole beneath it where Abigail would have been happy to spend hours. She also thoroughly enjoyed gem mining, which was surprisingly worth the cost. It was such a nice getaway.




Then, after returning home for another laundry day, Brad took me on a surprise birthday weekend up to the Yadkin Valley in N.C. Bet you didn't know there was wine in them thar hills? We were only about an hour or so from home, but it's a totally different region. We stayed in a bed and breakfast in the little crossroads of Union Grove, in the foothills of the Brushy Mountains, which we were informed are the oldest in North America, but I'm not sure of that. Our hostess made wonderful, three-course breakfasts -- have you ever had broiled grapefruit? You should! -- which left us stuffed, needing only a light picnic from the nearby Amish store for a late lunch. Yes, there are Amish in N.C. wine country, and they make the most amazing bread. We got some rolls while they were still warm and just about died right there. We enjoyed that picnic at Laurel Gray Vineyards, Brad's favorite of any we've been to so far (we were near the vineyard we visited last year). It was all lovely -- except perhaps for the extremely loud gaggle of ex-sorority girls out for a stag weekend. But they eventually left, and all was relaxation again. It was a wonderful surprise. Three cheers for Brad!


The week after that was vacation bible school, for which I had somewhat foolishly agreed to be photographer. It was fairly fun watching the kids, and Abigail loved it, but man, by the end of the week we were all burned out. And this week, we've just been trying to keep busy. Summer has hit that point when everything is boring, no toys are exciting anymore, and don't even try to suggest crafts. Unfortunately, this is also the week from hell -- really, a nice furnace blast straight from the underworld. It was 104 yesterday, supposed to be the same or hotter today. Oooh, oooh, but we cool off Saturday with a chilly high of 97! At least I'm not in Columbia, which hit 107 with a heat index of 115. Truly the armpit of South Carolina.

And to cap off this disjointed post, a quick Abigail story. A couple of Sundays ago, the pastor asked all the children if they'd heard of the Lord's Prayer. Then he asked if anyone could say it. Guess who's precocious little angel piped right up? She stumbled slightly on the second line, and the pastor was obviously ready to say "good job" and move on, but oh no, Abigail was not to be deterred. She picked right back up with gusto and breezed through the rest of the prayer. The pastor had the other children and congregation join in, which only made Abigail get louder. With every line. She could have been on stage at Carnegie Hall. Everyone applauded when she finished. The pastor said, "I don't think I've ever heard applause for the Lord's Prayer, but I think it was merited this time." After church, at least a dozen people came up and congratulated me on what a bright daughter I had -- and wagered she'd be into drama one day.