Ramble on,
And now's the time, the time is now
To sing my song...
Led Zepplin -- "Ramble On"

I've been "tagged" by Deana at Friday Night Fish Fry, so it's time to stop writing about the Short People and focus on myself for a bit. Here goes:

1. You have to post these rules before you give the facts.

2. You must list one fact that is somehow relevant to your life for each letter of your middle name. If you don’t have a middle name, use the middle name you would have liked to have had.

3. At the end of your blog post, you need to choose one person for each letter of your middle name to tag. Don’t forget to leave them a comment telling them they’re tagged, and to read your blog.

BROOKE

B: Bold. I am a strong person who doesn't mind speaking out. I've held presidential or chair roles in several organizations and I think it's because I don't have a problem with being the bad guy when necessary (not to mention no one else ever wants the job...too bad there is no "S" in my name for "sucker"). I try to tone down the aspects of this part of my personality that can be unpleasant (bossy, another "B" word), and turn it into a strength. I hope I succeed most of the time.

R: Radical. A friend once described me as "unconventional". I don't know if she meant it to be flattering, but I sure took it as a compliment. Who wants to be like everyone else?

O: Open-minded. While I am not shy about sharing my opinions, I truly don't expect everyone to agree with them. I love to engage in good-natured discussions about politics, religion, or anything else. I have friends who range the entire continuum and I love that.


O: Organized. Not as much as some of my friends (this means you, Janice!) but I am a list queen and I can carry a lot of info in my head. Every once in a while I slip up, but I am usually prepared, on time, and neat. "Organized" does not equal "clean", however. I am a terrible housecleaner. On a positive note, even though a given item may be covered in dust I know exactly where to find it.



K: Keen. Keen often means razor-sharp. I can certainly be sarcastic and even cutting at times. But keen can also mean perceptive; I am highly attuned to others and their feelings/needs, which comes in handy being a therapist. Keen is also synonymous with clever. I don't know about clever, but my brain is almost always switched to the "on" postition ( drives poor Tracy crazy). I can't just sit and watch TV; I will do crossword puzzles or read at the same time. The only other definition of keen I can think of is to howl or wail...I don't do that one, promise!



E: Earthy. I love the outdoors, flowers, the beach, nature, animals...the whole shebang. My house is full of rocks, shells, driftwood, birdsnests, and anything else I find and can use to bring the outside in. If I could have the windows open every day I would do it in a minute. Exceptions: humidity, mosquitos and greenheads, and poison ivy.




Whew! That was a tough meme. Okay, now the tagging part. I will hit up Brooke at Joycekids because she has the same name, my sister Clare at the Sunday Night Buttermilk Waltz, who's first name is Katherine. I will also hit up my friend Janice who doesn't have a blog but will, for the sake of our friendship, play along in the comments even though I outed her organizational skills (you know I worship your abilities). Thank you, Deana, for the challenge!

You say it's your birthday

It's my birthday too--yeah

They say it's your birthday

We're gonna have a good time

I'm glad it's your birthday

Happy birthday to you.

The Beatles -- Birthday

I want to ask everyone to visit my sister at The Sunday Night Buttermilk Waltz (see link above) and wish her a very Happy Birthday. I am working on two "tags" and will post them soon. I am hosting our playgroup tomorrow (imagine your house overrun with 20+ Short People and their mothers) and watching a friend's daughter at the same time. On Thursday I am watching another friend's daughter. Just a little preoccupied right now, but I will finish the tags, I promise.
Love you, Katie Clare!

That low down man of mine

Mistreats me all the time

He sez he loves me only

Then turns around and

leaves me sad and lonely...

Squirrel Nut Zippers --

"Low Down Man"

Meet William, India's betrothed. Cute, isn't he? India has been insisting that she was going to marry William for half of her life. Okay, she's only 5 so half her life isn't really that long, but she's been consistent in her adoration. So what's the problem? India's got to step in line.

William is a hot commodity; he is also pursued by two other little harlots, ehem, I mean little girls. They have made their marital desires quite plain. Poor William. What's a man to do? The other two girls frequently fight and argue over him. Thank goodness India knows to step out of the fray...she is not a cat fighter. When the claws come out, William advises that he will not marry any female who fights and argues. Good boy.

Since William's mother and I are not fans of prostituting out our children when they are in preschool, we have tried to discourage this talk of marriage. I'm not even sure where it even comes from, since I don't talk to the Short People about boyfriends and the like. I'm blaming it on the Disney Princess marketing machine. Anyway, when I try to steer the conversation away from marriage India tacitly ignores me, but like any good son William has taken his mother's advice to heart. If India brings up the "M" word he sweetly answers her with "I will have to think about that".

Today William came for a play date and as I sat nearby I eavesdropped. I learned that dating is the same at any age. The conversation went like this:

India- "What's your favorite undersea animal?"

William -"Shark"

India "Mine is the turtle. I also like alligators, but they don't live under water. I also like..bla bla bla (this goes on for some time)...what's your next favorite?"

William - Falls out of his seat in a stupor, ears smoking.

I assume this is the equivalent of "what's your sign" or "what's your favorite color". Later the conversation progressed from the "Getting to Know You" stage to what I like to call "The Thrill Is Gone".

William - makes obscene gas sound effect

India - "WILLIAM! What do you say?"

William - "That was funny!"

India - "No, William. You say 'excuse me'!"

Hard to believe these two are 5 and 6. Perhaps India has just crossed to the front of the line. Sounds like they are already married to me!

Don't push me

I can do it myself

Watch how high

I can swing myself

ha ha ha

Sugar Hill Gang --
"It's Like a Dream Sometimes"










What the hell is happening to the music scene? They Might Be Giants, Dan Zanes from the Del Fuegos, and now the Sugar Hill Gang have become children's musicians? I suppose they have all watched Laurie Berkner make a mint and are trying to revive their failing careers, but I never thought that one of the first rap groups would go from bustin' a rhyme to nursery rhymes. By the way, just in case you were wondering that is NOT the Sugar Hill Gang pictured on the left.

Unfortunately, I actually heard this terrible ditty. I pray I never do again. I am so grateful that the Short People listen to what Tracy and I like. I'n not sure they really understand that there are CDs and even whole radio stations filled with music just for kids, and I consider it my moral obligation as their mother to keep that information a secret for as long as possible. Right now Kate's favorite song is "Statesboro Blues", which India sings along to belting out "Wake up MAMMAL, turn your lamp down low". I couldn't be prouder. They also love Dee-Lite's "Groove Is In The Heart" and Paolo Nutini. I so much prefer these to "Bananaphone" ("Ring, ring ring, ring...." put that in just for you, Derek).

In an effort to further cultivate our children's ears for good music (i.e. stuff their parents can tolerate) we recently visited the 73rd Galax Fiddler's Convention. My parents, my sister and her boyfriend Derek, and some of my sister's friends (Hi Sue!) tagged along and we had a great time. Our hands-down favorite band was Special Ed and the Short Bus (also wins for best band name, with Pink Lloyd and the Wahl coming in second place). My father purchased Special Ed's CD and Derek fervently burned several copies for us all to enjoy on the ride home. I received a frantic call from my parents, who worried that we had tried out the CD in front of the Short People. They were clearly relieved that we hadn't, and suggested that it would be best to wait until the Short People napped to pop it in the stereo. I understood where they were coming from as I listened to lyrics that included some rather graphic descriptions of why the Special Ed needs to "get me some of them pills" (Viagra) and waxes poetic about his "Dirty Baby"'s nether regions. I don't think we'll add this one to the "shuffle" function of our CD player.


One of the most entertaining parts of any music festival is wandering the crowd, llistening to the pick-up bands and people-watching. We witnessed some sort of RV red-carpeted bluegrass award ceremony (they really had a red carpet), lots of pickers, fiddlers, cloggers, flatfooters, and even the odd harmonic player which reportedly inflamed some of the serious old time musicians (harmonicas were not used in true old time music). My favorites were these enormous unmentionables pictured on the left that provided both shade and entertainment. When Tracy escorted the Short People past and asked "Girls, have you ever seen underwear that large?" one of the inhabitants patted the girls on the head and drawled "well, I guess you haven't seen my wife".


After the Fiddler's Convention we just kept heading west to Abingdon to visit Tracy's family. The first night we pulled out Tracy's brother's karaoke machine and I think I made Patsy Kline spin like a rotisserie chicken in her grave. We had such a good time that I forgot to pull out the camera and take any pictures ( I am quite thankful there are no photos of my rendition of "Crazy"). I also neglected to take pictures of my father, Clare and Derek or Sue and Mark. I always do this; when I am just hanging around I will snap away with vigor but give me a party and my focus is having fun. I apologize to all my neglected family and friends and will make an attempt to do better next time, but I can't make any promises. A party is a party!