THE Freeway

I am supposed to be doing some lesson planning for the classes I am teaching on Monday for our new homeschooling co-op.

Instead, I am sitting here nursing my caffeine addiction trying to recover from the field trip I just took my kids on.

This is my first year in this co-op.  I know not one, single person.  I am sure I am going to impress the co-op peoples' socks off, seeing as how I am using my planning time to blog.

We went on a field trip today to an old mission/church.  Now, this church is about 90 minutes away from my house.  About halfway there, I have to get on THE freeway.

Yes.  There is only ONE freeway in our whole section of the universe.  Everyone just calls it THE freeway.  I was born in California and we would oft go visit our relations from that area and, oh my stars, how do those people live with all of those different freeways?

"Yeah.  You're gonna take the 5 to the 14 and then catch the 220 till you get to the 7 and then merge onto the 86 before meeting up with the 395."

Makes me need more coffee.  No!  Here in these parts, we just say THE freeway.  And we like it that way.

So.  I get on THE freeway and it takes me a minute but I realize I am going the wrong way.  I am going west, when, alas, I need to be going east.  Of course.  There is just ONE freeway and I get it wrong.  I cannot wait to tell David.  It's going to make his night.  David was born into this world with a GPS Navigator pre-installed in his brain.

What was I trying to talk about?  Oh!  The field trip.

(Ask me how my co-op lesson planning is going.)

So.  We are going the right way and it is a L-O-N-G ride and I got to thinking about that whole scenario with my dad and the flowers and the ladies apparently inquiring of his relationship status and I got to laughing.

Why?  Because it is humorous and it reminded me of a story about Auntie Datenut.  Auntie Datenut is my mom's sister and she came to stay with my parents for Christmas one year.  At one point, we were all going to watch a movie when my mom did what she does every night and said:

"Grant!  Can you pop some popcorn?"

And my dad always looks so bewildered and confused, almost as if he did not know one could pop corn, and he scratches his head and says:

"Anything else, dear?"

But the best part of this is that my dad, for my entire life, always wears a robe at night.  Always.  Yet he never has the tie thing.  So, he walks around every night, holding his robe closed.

Every.

Single.

Night.

Because who needs the tie that comes conveniently looped in the robe?

So, there he went, up the stairs, holding his robe, to make his wife the popped corn.  And Auntie Datenut looked at my mom and I and said,

"I'm sorry.  But Grant is just a handsome guy!  I've always thought so!"

I nearly died a thousand deaths.

Field Trip!  Focus, Taylor!

So, I get to the field trip after driving many miles EAST on THE freeway.  And it was fine and lovely and informative.

Since I am 30 now and all, I marched right over to the guy who gave the presentation and told him that he did a great job and I really liked it.

If I was in my 20's, I would have done no such thing.

Also:  Since I have turned 30, my arms have grown a new layer of fat that jiggles whenever I stir something vigorously.

But that is neither here nor there.

The people who built the old mission took HUCKLEBERRIES and squished them to make a dye and colored the ceiling with it.



You don't squish huckleberries!  My inlaws would be aghast.

Speaking of huckleberries, we only harvested about 6 cups this year.  David and I decided to be all martyr-ish and offer our bounty to David's grandma who makes huckleberry pie for the holidays.

It's what my in-laws live for.

So, I tell David's sister, Lisa, that we have some berries for Grandma.

Her response?

"Oh.  That's ok.  I have at least 3 gallons from previous years that I save in case of emergencies."

3 gallons?  Emergencies?  She's a hoarder!

This is their passion, my inlaws.  Their passion for the huckleberries.

This post was really scattered.  Surprisingly, I have not gotten anywhere with my lesson planning.

Off I go!