Odds and Ends, Again

Yesterday was a different day than many of the previous. Son # 2 left to return home to his new wife in the Caribbean. She is taking a summer school class and had to return early. He has been here in limbo because he has a wedding to attend in Michigan this weekend. He left yesterday morning and flew to Chiraq then will drive around Lake Michigan to the wedding. He also is the best man.

For a few weeks now he has been staying with us and it has been nice. He is an excellent cook and we ave benefitted from that, but our food budget has blossomed. Should have been no surprise. It has been a nice surprise. We have been able to get together as a family as much as we can. Having three or all four children and their significant others has been a hoot. Having four plus intelligent adults with different opinions has led to some fun "conversations." I think one S.O. was taken aback one night. Welcome to the G'zoo.

Summer school is over for this year. I feel like a person caught in a blender when I think of school. The money is good at the end, but I sure feel thrashed during the process. Some of the reasons I left teaching such as treating education as a business and not a people business are still evident. Starting class at 7:10 am for students that are repeating a class doesn't seem wise, and then to sit through six hours of schooling? Oy vey! When the six weeks was done everyone was happy for the coming break. Hopefully each student took at least one thing out of the time. We did read some literature that most wouldn't otherwise.

In a repeat of a nearly annual ritual, Son #1 and I are going north to prune grapes next week. Their Tio to the North always has some work for the children and I usually tag along. I think it is important for our children to work in farm labor to understand what it takes to grow their food. Working with Tio's crew also introduces them to another culture and we have become friends with the men. I'll be coming off a weekend of work with Son #3 in the park, so a week or so of farm labor will be interesting.

We also are going north to meet with Son #2's new in-laws. They are traveling to Northern CA for some food and wine. We will meet with them and do some tasting ourselves. That will be fun and a chance for Tio to show off his vineyard to some new people.

Being done with school also means I have time to work on some projects around the house. That I am truly looking forward to doing. I have started the climbing wall. The shop needs much organization. The outside fence and deck near the bbq is now on the front burner. After brewing beer for the first time, and it tasting good, more brewing is on the agenda. Sounds like many things will keep me going.

And that is good.