So what if we’re moving in two days? If it didn’t get packed, it ain’t coming with.
Besides, why spend the last of our Norfolk days inside when we can wring out every last bit of summery, sand-filled, sun-soaked fun right up until the moving truck arrives?
This whole turn of events — wanting to see more mermaids, finding out about another mermaid — got me to thinking. What’ll happen if I say, “I really hope someone leaves a large bag of money (preferably twenties) on my front porch before we leave.”
If you need me, I’ll be sitting on the front porch.
The girls are on spring break this week and somehow, I haven’t been as pro-active as I need to be in keeping us occupied with activities. The fact is, I’m tye-red. Not tired, tye-red. My groove has been off since daylight savings and we sprung forward. Losing that hour has really knocked me off kilter. I’m out of orbit, out of sync, out of joint, and out to lunch. It wasn’t that I didn’t know that spring break was coming. It just caught me off guard, like when you think you’ve got a few sheets left on the roll and really, you don’t have a square to spare.
I also decided to go for two that were affixed to the sides of buildings. We’ve driven past them time and again, and there really wasn’t a valid reason not to include them on our tour. They’re just up really high. True, there are two others that we missed (one on the Scope marquee and one precariously close to the Waterside Overpass). I didn’t think investing in ropes, anchors and carabiners for a few frames was worth it.
This one, Techno Maid, I had spied through an office window over the years as I drove through town. I had never seen anyone go in or out of the building. I didn’t know what was going on in there, but I thought, “The answer if no, if you don’t ask.” I’d go in, state my case, pushing the girls forward with their big pleading eyes and we’d get our shot. I hadn’t expected to need a swipe card to get in the building. Luckily, someone had propped the door. Still, it wasn’t easy. The elevator worked by swipe card. The stairwells worked by swipe card (SN: isn’t that a fire hazard? What if there’s a fire and you can’t use the elevator? What if the power goes out? You’re stuck). Anyway, a few employees were out smoking some butts and were kind enough to let us hitch up to the second floor.
Our House
March 2, 2011
Happy Birthday, Dr. Seuss!
Both of the girls have been talking non-stop about Dr. Seuss’s birthday today. It’s been all things Seuss for the past several days as their respective teachers have been reading Seuss books, doing Seuss related arts and crafts and the like. Coever came home yesterday and said that the Cat in the Hat actually came to her school. And he brought Fish!
Morgan’s class not only had a Seuss themed day, but they also got to wear their pajamas to school and read Dr. Seuss books to their stuffed animals. There were Cat in the Hat handouts, coloring pages, and Scholastic Newspaper Magazines. We’ve read about the Places We’ll Go, the Butter Battle Book, and Marvin K. Mooney. If Craig were home, we’d be Hopping on Pop!
If we do any more Seuss-tastic stuff, we’ll be talking in rhyme every day, all the time!
Ooops. . .
Quite a bit of time has passed since I last posted, which surprises me because in the thick of the winter festivities, I was throwing up all kinds of posts with a steady regularity.
I think I’ve got the winter doldrums. I’ve lost my groove, can’t find my mojo, forgotten how to get to my happy place. I’ve just been feeling out of sorts lately. If I were a child, it would be classified as cranky. Too bad I’ve got no one to hand me a snack trap of my favorite snacks and then put me down for a nap.
Part of me thinks this funk-tastic attitude may have to do with my New Year’s Resolution. It takes work to be nice to yourself! You’ve got to stop the negative self-talk, stop the self-deprecation and re-direct your behaviors. It so much easier to correct someone else! Believe me, I’m a pro at that, just ask Mo and Co.
I’m trying to spend less time on the computer and more time being engaged in activities I like and people I enjoy. I took this phenomenal photography workshop through Virginia Photo Safari earlier in the month. While I’m not quite ready to hang out my shingle as a portrait artist, I have a better understanding how my camera works and how I can get the shots that I want, when I want them. It is going to involve springing for a new lens, but in the interim, I like being able to truly “get” what those buttons and knobs on the camera do. I’ve got two willing subjects in Mo and Co, which means practicing the techniques is a great week-end activity. I gave the girls their flashlights, I slowed the shutter speed, and I turned out the lights.
Three years ago, I posted about a quest to find a Black Santa Claus in our area. This year, not only did we find one, we went to visit him at the Newsome House in Newport News. The Newsome House is a historic landmark and a living museum where patrons can learn about the civic and social work of Thomas Newsome, a prominent African American lawyer at the turn of the 20th century.
I have to admit, I was pretty excited that I had the foresight to look into this Black Santa, or should I say, “The Soulful Christmas”, as it was billed on the event website. I told two of my other girlfriends about it and we planned to meet up with our kiddos in tow. I didn’t know what to expect much beyond having them see Santa and maybe taking a brief walk through the house itself to learn about its significance to Black culture and to the city of Newport News.
I will say, though, there is something supremely hypocritical about encouraging your children to totally throw off all of your hard-pressed pleas to “not talk to strangers”, then watch them vault upon a random, red and white clad lap and use a laser pointer to emphasize the salient parts of their Christmas Wish List Power Point.
I think Santa may have agreed to that tattoo set, hence the giant smile on Morgan’s face. As for Coever’s smirk? Well, she always looks like that.
After the kids bombarded Santa Claus with their requests, they each received a free Scholastic book courtesy of the Newport News Public Library. Then, we were told that there was going to be a puppet show performed off of the foyer within the half hour. We were welcome to tour the house while we waited.
Our kindly docent took us upstairs where we viewed a series of family quilts created by members of the African American Quilters Guild. In the adjoining room there was an extensive exhibit about Thomas Newsome and his family. The docent very patiently explained to us who Thomas Newsome was and what he had meant to the community. Then, she asked if there were any questions. Let’s just Morgan had that woman drawing upon every fact, however small, to flesh out the purpose and significance of the Newsome house for her 5 year old satisfaction.
