Mulberry Trees, Locust and Friends
Green
240 accomplishments, 107 health and body, 22 work and home, 19 mind and soul
'Went out to karaoke again last night. The logistics were a bit of a nightmare but I couldn't resist the invitation Mz K-- left on our machine Tuesday night. ('Found it on Wednesday.) I corralled another friend, Mz D--, into giving my boy and me a lift into town ... as long as she was within 20 miles of our house anyway. ::Rueful, slightly guilty grin::
After making arrangements to go into town, I continued a good, involved science lesson with Ch--. I probably should have set that aside to take care of some cleaning and chores but we were having a great time which included me watching my son learn the miracle of outlining a text and using the outline to write a great paper.
Mz D-- arrived a little earlier than I expected to find me in the shower and the chicken chores still undone. She waited patiently enough but I was frazzled so I managed to blow off my husband's quite reasonable request to bring him a pair of jeans. (And, if I'd been thinking properly, I would have realized that he would need his ear drops and might like to have his contacts.) Then there was a mix-up in who was going to tend to Ch-- while I wandered off to play. In the end my daughter M-- got him (and his friend, Mz D--'s son) for about an hour before we took them over to Mz D--'s house where Mr. D-- watched over them. I must admit that I was regretting the decision to go out for a while there because the evening seemed rather doomed once I realized how scattered I'd been.
Even after all that, though, the evening went marvelously well. M-- reinforced her hero status with both of the boys. As we were driving into town, I overheard Ch-- telling Young Master M-- that he knew his sister has been missing him lately. He was thrilled when we pulled up in front of her apartment. After Mz D-- and I went on our merry way, M-- took the boys to the park and set them up with an obstacle course of a kind. I understand that Y.M. M-- would have won handily (due to his superior performance in the play-structure tubes) IF ONLY he'd been able to remember the nonsense phrase that he was supposed to recite upon reaching the summit of the structure.
Meanwhile Mz D-- and I connected well over two beers at the nearby VFW. I asked her to continue the evening with me. She phoned a generously compliant Mr. D-- who agreed to tend the boys in exchange for a delivered pizza. We moved the boys, she left a check and we toured the volunteer plants that mysteriously pop up in her yard. (I have a branch from a fruit bearing tree that I'm supposed to try to identify.) Then we whirled on to my favorite patio bar. We got an opportunity to discuss the recent graduation party of her elder son among other things. After another hour passed my husband appeared. He'd already stopped at our daughter's apartment and given her a ride to the grocery. (This was the "payment" she accepted in exchange for entertaining the boys -- which was a great deal for me. Now I can square things with my husband when I get the chance and all will be well.)
R-- enjoyed a tasty burger while the three of us talked. My beloved husband was feeling rather puckish. We had the strangest "argument" about his last-Saturday activities which left me visibly flummoxed. Then he made some crack that indicted a second wife (I'm his first) should be a tiny-little-thing. I suppose I should have felt genuinely insulted but the sparkle in his eyes made it clear that he was messing with me. I asked him what he was doing and he admitted that he was just trying to say The Wrong Thing as often as possible. Eventually he settled down a bit ... which is probably for the best.
We moved on to the karaoke bar at about nine o'clock. Mz K--'s S.O. was already in attendance . We introduced Mz D-- to him. (It's probably too soon to give him the Mr K-- title so I'll just refer to him as G-- for the time being.) Much banter flew and then the music started. R-- sang well despite the ear infection. G-- is great fun to be around ... I can't tell if he's cocky or nervous or gregarious or all three. He certainly engages well with my husband and he managed to hold his own with Mz D-- who, for a while, was giving him a challenge.
Funny-sweet detail: Late in the evening, while G-- was singing, Mz D-- told my husband that she had modified her aggressive behavior for HIS sake. She said, "I went off to the bathroom and thought, 'Hey. R-- doesn't like me when I act like that.'"
My husband still has a tendency to say that all of these people are my friends. I've been trying to call him on that attitude lately. It's true that my relationships with these particular girlfriends predate my relationship with him. It's also true that the men in our shared life seem to come and go ... and those relationships are more prone to significant ebbs and flows. After all this time, however, I often think that "my friends" like my husband at least as much as they like me. In a way, we women are stuck with each other but no one had to bond with my husband. He undervalues himself and his contributions to our social dynamic.
Anyway. After having a lovely dance with my husband and one last sort-of-karaoke-roulette song, we left at about midnight. We stopped to fetch some still-wide-awake boys who promptly crashed on the long ride home. Oddly R-- and I both settled in at our computers for a half-hour or so before heading up to bed. I was allowed to sleep in but my poor husband is likely to come home in zombie-mode.
In other news:
Party--
We'll be having a party on Monday, July 3rd. Mr. D-- purchased some scary-good fireworks which he wants to explode in the relative wilderness, Mz K-- and G-- are available, we've invited J&C (but haven't heard back yet) and I'm considering additional options. A part of me would love to invite some of the family members out but that's always such a crap-shoot that I'm reluctant. It's unlikely that they will come and if they do, they might bring a great deal of stress along. Our daughter, M--, can come out and might bring a friend or two. I plan to make that Mediterranean thing I "invented" ... and some bruschetta. It should be fun but I have some stuff I want to get done before we have guests. I'm not too stressed but I've got some yard work and mowing to do before then.
Mulberry Tree--
I think I've correctly identified Mz D--'s tree. It's a Red Mulberry. At first I was quite excited because I thought I could transplant some out to the near-meadow. The fruit is delicious and attractive to wildlife. Sadly, a little further research revealed that it is an invasive species. I can't very well deliberately bring it out to this environment. And here I'd thought I'd found a good source of free fruit. :(
Locust--
I'm currently reading Locust: The Devastating Rise and Mysterious Disappearance of the Insect That Shaped the American Frontier. Fascinating stuff. It turns out that my fore-bearers may have dealt with the problem. I know that my German grandfather immigrated in 1870. Apparently, the locusts came in 1874. Now my family settled in Northern Minnesota and in the river valley so it's quite possible that the locust never made to their homesteads but they must have been aware of what was happening in the southern prairies of the state.
SWEET! Just called Gmom, where my daughter answered the phone. (She's working of course.) I asked M-- to see if Gmom remembered if her father or grandfather ever told stories of locust. The answer? Yes! There's not much detail yet, because Gmom is getting old enough to need time to stir her cauldron of memories, but she does recall listening to her dad or grandpa talking about the locusts coming. All she's said so far is that they said that the locust ate everything. Then she went off into discussion about the biblical locust. She might, however, come up with more stuff after she's had a chance to reminisce to M--. At least I've confirmed the link. I love it when I can do that.
240 accomplishments, 107 health and body, 22 work and home, 19 mind and soul
'Went out to karaoke again last night. The logistics were a bit of a nightmare but I couldn't resist the invitation Mz K-- left on our machine Tuesday night. ('Found it on Wednesday.) I corralled another friend, Mz D--, into giving my boy and me a lift into town ... as long as she was within 20 miles of our house anyway. ::Rueful, slightly guilty grin::
After making arrangements to go into town, I continued a good, involved science lesson with Ch--. I probably should have set that aside to take care of some cleaning and chores but we were having a great time which included me watching my son learn the miracle of outlining a text and using the outline to write a great paper.
Mz D-- arrived a little earlier than I expected to find me in the shower and the chicken chores still undone. She waited patiently enough but I was frazzled so I managed to blow off my husband's quite reasonable request to bring him a pair of jeans. (And, if I'd been thinking properly, I would have realized that he would need his ear drops and might like to have his contacts.) Then there was a mix-up in who was going to tend to Ch-- while I wandered off to play. In the end my daughter M-- got him (and his friend, Mz D--'s son) for about an hour before we took them over to Mz D--'s house where Mr. D-- watched over them. I must admit that I was regretting the decision to go out for a while there because the evening seemed rather doomed once I realized how scattered I'd been.
Even after all that, though, the evening went marvelously well. M-- reinforced her hero status with both of the boys. As we were driving into town, I overheard Ch-- telling Young Master M-- that he knew his sister has been missing him lately. He was thrilled when we pulled up in front of her apartment. After Mz D-- and I went on our merry way, M-- took the boys to the park and set them up with an obstacle course of a kind. I understand that Y.M. M-- would have won handily (due to his superior performance in the play-structure tubes) IF ONLY he'd been able to remember the nonsense phrase that he was supposed to recite upon reaching the summit of the structure.
Meanwhile Mz D-- and I connected well over two beers at the nearby VFW. I asked her to continue the evening with me. She phoned a generously compliant Mr. D-- who agreed to tend the boys in exchange for a delivered pizza. We moved the boys, she left a check and we toured the volunteer plants that mysteriously pop up in her yard. (I have a branch from a fruit bearing tree that I'm supposed to try to identify.) Then we whirled on to my favorite patio bar. We got an opportunity to discuss the recent graduation party of her elder son among other things. After another hour passed my husband appeared. He'd already stopped at our daughter's apartment and given her a ride to the grocery. (This was the "payment" she accepted in exchange for entertaining the boys -- which was a great deal for me. Now I can square things with my husband when I get the chance and all will be well.)
R-- enjoyed a tasty burger while the three of us talked. My beloved husband was feeling rather puckish. We had the strangest "argument" about his last-Saturday activities which left me visibly flummoxed. Then he made some crack that indicted a second wife (I'm his first) should be a tiny-little-thing. I suppose I should have felt genuinely insulted but the sparkle in his eyes made it clear that he was messing with me. I asked him what he was doing and he admitted that he was just trying to say The Wrong Thing as often as possible. Eventually he settled down a bit ... which is probably for the best.
We moved on to the karaoke bar at about nine o'clock. Mz K--'s S.O. was already in attendance . We introduced Mz D-- to him. (It's probably too soon to give him the Mr K-- title so I'll just refer to him as G-- for the time being.) Much banter flew and then the music started. R-- sang well despite the ear infection. G-- is great fun to be around ... I can't tell if he's cocky or nervous or gregarious or all three. He certainly engages well with my husband and he managed to hold his own with Mz D-- who, for a while, was giving him a challenge.
Funny-sweet detail: Late in the evening, while G-- was singing, Mz D-- told my husband that she had modified her aggressive behavior for HIS sake. She said, "I went off to the bathroom and thought, 'Hey. R-- doesn't like me when I act like that.'"
My husband still has a tendency to say that all of these people are my friends. I've been trying to call him on that attitude lately. It's true that my relationships with these particular girlfriends predate my relationship with him. It's also true that the men in our shared life seem to come and go ... and those relationships are more prone to significant ebbs and flows. After all this time, however, I often think that "my friends" like my husband at least as much as they like me. In a way, we women are stuck with each other but no one had to bond with my husband. He undervalues himself and his contributions to our social dynamic.
Anyway. After having a lovely dance with my husband and one last sort-of-karaoke-roulette song, we left at about midnight. We stopped to fetch some still-wide-awake boys who promptly crashed on the long ride home. Oddly R-- and I both settled in at our computers for a half-hour or so before heading up to bed. I was allowed to sleep in but my poor husband is likely to come home in zombie-mode.
In other news:
Party--
We'll be having a party on Monday, July 3rd. Mr. D-- purchased some scary-good fireworks which he wants to explode in the relative wilderness, Mz K-- and G-- are available, we've invited J&C (but haven't heard back yet) and I'm considering additional options. A part of me would love to invite some of the family members out but that's always such a crap-shoot that I'm reluctant. It's unlikely that they will come and if they do, they might bring a great deal of stress along. Our daughter, M--, can come out and might bring a friend or two. I plan to make that Mediterranean thing I "invented" ... and some bruschetta. It should be fun but I have some stuff I want to get done before we have guests. I'm not too stressed but I've got some yard work and mowing to do before then.
Mulberry Tree--
I think I've correctly identified Mz D--'s tree. It's a Red Mulberry. At first I was quite excited because I thought I could transplant some out to the near-meadow. The fruit is delicious and attractive to wildlife. Sadly, a little further research revealed that it is an invasive species. I can't very well deliberately bring it out to this environment. And here I'd thought I'd found a good source of free fruit. :(
Locust--
I'm currently reading Locust: The Devastating Rise and Mysterious Disappearance of the Insect That Shaped the American Frontier. Fascinating stuff. It turns out that my fore-bearers may have dealt with the problem. I know that my German grandfather immigrated in 1870. Apparently, the locusts came in 1874. Now my family settled in Northern Minnesota and in the river valley so it's quite possible that the locust never made to their homesteads but they must have been aware of what was happening in the southern prairies of the state.
SWEET! Just called Gmom, where my daughter answered the phone. (She's working of course.) I asked M-- to see if Gmom remembered if her father or grandfather ever told stories of locust. The answer? Yes! There's not much detail yet, because Gmom is getting old enough to need time to stir her cauldron of memories, but she does recall listening to her dad or grandpa talking about the locusts coming. All she's said so far is that they said that the locust ate everything. Then she went off into discussion about the biblical locust. She might, however, come up with more stuff after she's had a chance to reminisce to M--. At least I've confirmed the link. I love it when I can do that.