I Never Want to Marry a Man Named Arnold

I'm in a state of mild depression right now. My recent studies of the American Revolution have led me through David McCullough's excellent book, "1776" and David Hackett Fisher's "Paul Revere's Ride" along with other lesser known books. I'm understanding more now what a great man of character George Washington was, and how providential it was to have young leaders such as Nathaniel Greene and Henry Knox in the North, and Charles Coatesworth Pinckney and Francis Marion in the South. But what got me depressed was the last two books I've read, which were about Benedict Arnold, the brilliant and tempermental American General who in 1779 defected to the side of the British. It's pretty depressing to read about how an American hero turned into an American traitor. Whew.

I need to get my mind on other things. I started my first petticoat today, and since they're really pretty easy to make I hope to have both my plain white petticoats done within a few days.

Mission Relaxation: Vacation 2009

Last week our family took off for vacation 2009; actually part 2 of vacation 2009, since our trip to Des Moines for the Fatherhood conference qualified as the first half. Especially since we stayed in a hotel then, even paid for two rooms. Part 2 was actually another trip to Iowa, to spend five days in a one room cabin with no bathroom. Isolation and relaxation was the goal; at least it was Mom's goal, for our trip this year. I guess Iowa is a pretty good place for that. Mom grew up tent camping across the country for weeks every summer, and so she has always had a vision for summer camping trips. I have come to detest camping over the years- the crowded quarters, the leaky tents(it always rains), bending over a campfire, walking miles to the bathrooms, which are dirty. It's a love/hate relationship actually; camping is the only way we could ever afford to travel and see the historical sites, museums, and cemeteries I love to visit. But this year we didn't do any of that- we just sat at our cabin for five days. I took four books to read, one for each free day there, but I ended up getting a cold and was sick for two and therefore only got two books done. Overall, the weather was beautiful, the one room cabin survivable, you really couldn't see the cornfields from the cabin, which had a great view of the lake; and even though I still had to walk to the bathroom I did accomplish the Vacation 2009 mission: Relaxation.

The boys did get a little bored, since they don't know how to relax; they went fishing a lot and caught two teeny fish which we had to throw back. I guess we need some advice on fishing techniques.

Now that I'm back I'm hoping to finish my other colonial undergarments besides the stays: chemise and petticoats. How hard can that be, right?

Summer Surprise: I have no free time

I've been terribly lax in posting, and I regret it. The past four weeks have been a blur, but as near as I can remember here is what I've been doing:

• We had our relatives, Mullets of Ohio, stay with us for two weeks. Josiah and Eli reminded us what it was like to have toddlers in the house and in turn we got to hug babies every day, much to our brothers relief. Apparently our house isn't really baby-proof. We girls got to watch "North and South" with our cousin, Josiah got to see a cow up close, and we had a mini-family reunion for two weeks.

• I babysat for two days, which is good because I need the money. The one child, an almost two year old boy, needed some discipline. This is why I hate babysitting: The kid needs to be spanked, and I can't spank him. But temper tantrums aside(his, not mine), it was a pretty easy job because he napped during the afternoon and all I had to do was sit and watch TV.

• I had a guest for a day: Natty the farm girl. I don't have much experience with sleepovers, and I think Jen was very disappointed with my lack of desire to do things like curl hair, paint nails, stay up until one in the morning, and generally be chatty and frivolous. But we did watch eight hours of "Little Dorrit", and Natty showed us her longbow, which we all got a chance to shoot. I do hope she had fun!

• We went to a Good Cheer family conference in Des Moines over the weekend. The conference was on Biblical Fatherhood, with Kevin Swanson and Scott Brown as speakers. I feel like we got to a lot of conferences- it's like a annual home school family vacation-so I guess I don't really get excited about conferences anymore. But the speakers were good, and the boys loved swimming in the "fake chemical water" hotel pool as opposed to our "natural lake water" pool.

• Yesterday I made stays. Stays are like a corset, only not quite. Stays are what ladies wore in the 18th Century. Mrs. T, A lady who has historical knowledge and great sewing skills, was gracious enough to let me come to her house to make the stays. She worked with me for eight hours at no cost. We used zip ties for the boning, and it's really quite stiff. You can see in the picture the patterned inside lining; the outside is plain white. It was a long day, but it would have been much longer and harder without Mrs. T's valuable help!
  

Wisdom

Jen had her wisdom teeth out last Friday, same as I did three years ago. Three whole years since I graduated from high school. I am so old. I looked back on my blog to see what I posted about having my teeth out, and I must have deleted that post because I didn't find anything. I should probably delete more of those old posts. Some of them are so silly. My memories of the wisdom tooth experience are fading; I do know I got them out on a Friday morning; came home, watched a movie, took a nap, got up and ate ice cream and was fine. I don't remember any extreme discomfort, I didn't take any painkillers, and I went to Church on Sunday in good health.

Jen's experience was not so rosy. She, too, had hers out on Friday morning. We stocked up on ice cream, pudding, soft fruit, etc. The one thing that made me mad when I had my teeth pulled was Mom(albeit accidentally) bought ice cream with almonds in it- very frustrating to eat. We were all hushed and excited when Jen finally got home, wanting to know how it went. She laid down on the couch and was a zombie for three whole days- swollen, not speaking, no facial expression, hardly any eating. Nothing. She was just starting to get better yesterday. And she had to use painkillers.

Have I just forgotten how bad it was, or did I have it easy? The one thing that did plague me for more than six months afterward was tightness in my jaw and pain when I ate popcorn. And I love popcorn, so that was an affliction.

I'm In the Mood

I had the privilege this past weekend to visit Clarinda, IA, for the annual Glenn Miller festival. An elderly lady asked me to take her(she was tired of bus trips) and so I had basically no expenses. The price I had to pay was to listen to the lady talk talk talk for two whole days... See, I'm still being sanctified.


I was glad to go though, because I had family reasons to go there- my grandpa(who died before I was born) was born there in 1916, and served as a "flower girl" for his Uncle's wedding at this house:

I enjoy Glenn Miller music, too. I got to go to three concerts- the Glenn Miller Orchestra, Glenn Miller "Live" from Cafe Rouge, where they reproduced a Miller TV show, and the 312 Army Reserve Band. That SPC Reynolds is the Army version of Michael Bluble- He was great!

Currently Reading:

I am trying to read up on women of the Revolutionary War; unfortunately most books on that topic are incredibly feministic in style and therefore demeaning to the women they are addressing. I'm forging ahead though, and slowly making progress.

Details

Let me update you on my life. Since my last post, I have:

• Met an overly friendly male "tour guide"(???) on my last day(sob sob, session is over) at Capitol. I tried to politely not answer his questions about where I live.... always after one of these weird conversations I wonder if I should have been more reserved, and if I said to much.
• Went to a family reunion, which I hate to say wasn't much fun, and on the way home we were stopped by a man in the middle of the road waving his arms. A young man driving a van that wasn't his, with no driver's license, no insurance, no registration, no money, no food, no one to call for help, and nowhere to go. In the end we had to just leave him at an all-night gas station. Then when we were almost home late at night, we barely missed hitting a deer.
• Finished sewing projects for Jen's ballet recital, which is on Thursday. Panic!
• Had my teeth cleaned, no cavities, Yay!

So there you have it. My life is currently consumed with Recital details and plans for the next month, since I am organizing a mini Tea party(Taxed Enough Already) for July 4th and our cousins are coming for two weeks at the end of June. Oh, we also have two birthdays, a Swedish festival, and a trip to Clarinda, IA in the next week. So many details!