Why?

Why are we spending $10 billion in Iraq each month?
Why do crows eat spoiled luncheon meat?
Why is Hannah's purr so loud when Chloe's is so quiet? (I've never heard it, only felt it.)
Why do my feet swell so badly when it's warm?
Why do I think about school so often when I'm on vacation?
Why haven't I received my diploma yet? (Why does it take 3 months to process it??)
Why exactly did Pete's brother build a giant womb for a recent art show in NYC? (I guess people could go in it, hear "womb-like" sounds, and attach posters of their experiences to the inside walls. Very weird if you ask me.)
Why don't more people recycle?
Why do people fail to obey general traffic rules (i.e. speed limits, right turn on red after STOP, etc.)?
Why do people let their addictions get the better of them?
Why am I here?
Why don't more parents read to their children?
Why are teachers looked upon in such a negative light?
Why is there such hatred in the world?
Why exactly were my grandparents still in the house after they passed on? What did they want? Where are they now?
Why does the general public have to be so rude?
Why are there only two major parties in this country?
Why the theory of "separation of church and state" if religion still plays such a major role in so much that we do?
Why are so many of my students unfamiliar with God?
Why do people still spread pesticides and fertilizer in their yards?
Why haven't I seen any snakes in my yard?
Why do people continue to use plastic bags in stores when most grocery stores offer reuseable bags? (They're usally $1.00 a bag and well worth it.)
Why are humans so destructive?
Why are most of my questions on the negative side? Why can't I think of some postive ones?
Why am I sitting in front of this computer when I could be reading??

The Last Few Days~

Here it is, Monday morning, with a whole new week ahead of me. We had a pretty good weekend (now that I'm on summer vacation, I consider my weekends the time that Pete has off -- Thursday, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday). Thursday was our anniversary and, although there wasn't much fanfare, we had a pretty good day. I managed to get Pete to come with me to my new classroom. He and I spent over 2 hours doing things in there (I had already spent 2 days earlier in the week getting things ready). Later in the day, we went over to his mother's house to celebrate her birthday. While we were there, some awful weather came through, including some pretty serious tornado warnings. We scrapped our plan to eat out in Manchester and chose to stay close to home "just in case."

Friday was a beautiful day so we spent it tackling a few "around the house projects." We've been needing to fix one of the slate steps in our front walkway so, after taking apart some of the steps and surrounding stonewall and then traversing several towns to find a place that sells slate, we finally picked up a piece (99 lbs!!), came home, and finished up the project with no hitches. Driving time aside, the project took about an hour and a half. After that project, we decided that we wanted to do more around the house. Pete and I decided that we should probably start on our woodpile project (we heat our house with a woodstove). We spent the rest of the afternoon and early evening cutting down some scrappy lilac bushes and digging out the stumps.

Saturday morning, after I baked a homemade banana-date bread, we headed back outside and took some measurements of how big we wanted the woodpile area to be. After much discussion, we decided to make it 20' x 10'. We also talked about the wood racks that Pete wanted to build (enough to hold 4 cords of wood at a time). So, off to Home Depot! We needed 15 2' x 4's and some edging wood. Once home, we began to scrape, dig, and rake away at the earth. We needed a level spot and where we chose to go was anything but! While I leveled, Pete went to go get the crushed stone (for drainage and a base). When he returned, the bed of the truck was full!! 2,700 pounds worth of stone! With shovels, Pete and I unloaded the entire truck and spread it all out in the area we cleared. Ugh. What a lot of work!! We finished up around 5:30. We were beat! We had a nice dinner of steak and fries (Pete's favorite!).

Yesterday was MUCH more relaxing! We went for a walk, visited Wal-Mart, and enjoyed our time out on the screen porch (Pete on the laptop and me with Harry Potter). I made baked spaghetti for supper (new recipe -- yum!) we enjoyed the rest of our evening out on the porch (again!).

Now it's Monday so it's back to work (laundry, cleaning, etc.). I'm not complaining though -- it sure is nice to be home all summer! :)

Back From Vacation

Vacations are always long awaited for but so is home on the last day of vacation. Isn't that funny the way that works?

After a year of reading Amish related stories, I knew I just had to go to the Lancaster area in Pennsylvania. We had been planning a trip to Carlisle, PA for the All-Chrysler Nationals (a giant car show and swap meet) so we decided to make a vacation out of it. To prep myself on some Amish facts, I read "The Riddle of Amish Culture" by Donald B. Kraybill. This text provided many answers to questions that I had and proved to me that the Amish are not simple at all. While in the Lancaster area, I purchased several more informational books including "The Old Order Amish in Plain Words and Pictures" by T.J. Redcay, "The Puzzles of Amish Life" by Donald B. Kraybill, "Why Some Amish Communities Fail: Extinct Settlements, 1961-2003" by David Luthy, as well as 2 Amish cookbooks, "Cook Books from Amish Kitchens: Cookies," and "...Soups," both by Phyllis Pellman Good and Rachel Thomas Pellman. After breakfast at Lapp's Homestyle Restaurant, I picked up Wanda Brunstetter's newest book "A Sister's Secret." It's the first book of the "Sisters of Holmes County Series."

Aside from purchasing books, we did a lot while in Lancaster County. My favorite day was when Pete and I took a ride all around the county on the back roads not located on the tourist map we were given. It was beautiful! We stopped at two roadside stands, one to buy jam and pickles, the other to buy a handstiched "Quillow" (a quilt that's tucked into a pocket that then becomes a pillow). We took lots of pictures but never any of the Amish. I respect them and their beliefs and quickly told Pete that pictures were a no-no.

After several meals at buffets and family-style restaurants (yes, we went to the Good 'N Plenty!), two shoo-fly pies, two half gallons of Amish homemade root beer, a visit to the Bird-in-Hand bakery (those whoopie pies are HEAVEN), the Bird-in-Hand farmer's market (more jam and a quart of chow chow), and several quilt shops (wanted a queen sized quilt but knew my kitties would get up on it and make picks so I refrained), we finally headed out to Carlisle. I was sad to leave such a tranquil place (off of route 30 that is). I made a vow that I would return in a few years. Pete, surprisingly, really enjoyed his time there and came to hold a great respect for the Amish and their lifestyle.

Carlisle: a hustling, no frills town. We were there for one thing and one thing only: the All-Chrysler Nationals. As Adam couldn't come with us, we didn't have his Dodge Coronet to show. Our Dodge Challenger leaks transmission fluid like there's no tomorrow and it's not ready to be in the big leagues. That left one other option: the Sebring. Yes, my nine year old car with several shopping cart dings and 100,000 miles. My beloved Sebring that I am never getting rid of. The car that has grown old around me. My baby. Well, for being a 1998 with almost 102,000 miles, that car was a star! Pete took her in to work a week prior to us leaving and had it done up by one of his detail guys. When we got to the campground in Carlisle, we washed it (against campground rules -- oh no!) and spritzed her with gloss spray when we reached the show. My glass was clean, my carpets looked 8 years newer, the boot was clean (although I haven't used it in about 6 years), my tires were done up with Black Magic, and I even made a sign for the windshield. I was so happy to have her in the show! The Sebring was part of the "Convertible Reunion" section of the All-Chrysler Nationals so I was parked in a pretty good spot. We (Mom, Pop, Pete, and I) set up our red sun tent right behind the Sebring and enjoyed ourselves for two long, full days at Carlisle. During the time that we weren't eating or scouring the swat meet area (i.e. junk yards on wheels) for parts for the Challenger, we were just sitting back and enjoying ourselves under the tent. It was great!

So, our trip to PA (long awaited and gone in a flash) is over. We're already talking about going back to Carlisle for the 2008 show and Pete's been mentioning that he'd like to go to Lake George in Upstate NY. For now, I'm back home on my summer vacation, trying to stay out of this terrible heat (it's 94 with oppressive humidity) while my cats are slowing turning into furry dishrags out on the porch.