Crazy Quiet House

 

This morning I snuck out of the house at 5:50 am and jumped in my friend Karyn’s car. Normally we walk to Jamie Atlas’ ski conditioning class (just 10 blocks away) but today even the snow had frost on it. Brrrrr.

An hour later I return to find that the kids (niece and nephew) were still asleep.

The taxi to the airport arrived at 8:30 am and the last of our 9 family visitors departed.

Now only the lonely sounds of the washer and dryer keep me company, at least for now. The inspector for our new electrical work and the carpenter will be over before the end of the day. 

We enjoyed the time we spend with family and friends this holiday season and are VERY thankful for all their work and company! This was a really fantastic holiday season!

 

 

Dec 24, 2008 Josh and our friend Mike take down the scaffolding in the evening!

Dec 25, 2008 Men's Sewing Circle (stringing cable railing) and mom cleaning a mop

 

Grauer Family Christmas Eve 2008

Cooking Christmas Eve Meal at the Grauer House

Mom and Josh making gravy

Pop cutting while brother, Jochen, samples the lamb he cooked

Mom and Henry... even the cats had bows on them

 

Dec 27, 2008 We put Hadley and Guntra (Josh's brother and sister-in-law) right to work

 

Harry (Josh's brother-in-law) and Josh hang the bathroom doors on barn railings.

Dec 31, 2008 Watching the Monster Production: Guntra, Libby, Gene, Dan

The Monster Production

Writers, producers, and voices for the Monster Production: Hilda and Charlie

Chef Charlie of Charlie's Diner

Gene and Josh work on the railing while Hadley takes a snack break.

Libby and Guntra (Gene in the background)

Mimi (Josh's sister) and Hadley (Josh's brother) unpack old wine

 

Hilda and her Uncle Dan

 

Guntra, Libby and Jen (inside the bathroom) remove blue tape from the bathroom doors

 

Josh is exhausted!

 

Jen and Josh enjoying their new upstairs space with Gene (Josh's dad) and Libby (Gene's wife).

Libby and Gene (aka Grandmamama and Gumpy)

Happy Holidays 2008

 

Hope your holiday season continues to be fabulous!

For the Solstice and Hanukkah weekend we escaped the house remodel and went to Santa Monica, California for Josh’s cousin’s wedding. The weather was fantastic and I also got to see my cousins and a friend, Mary, whom I went to school with in Alaska. 

Josh and I are STILL trying to get phase one of our remodel completed.

The evening of Dec 24th Josh and I spent at my parents and my brother… who actually came down from the mountains despite all the nice new snow. If he hadn’t agreed to bring the lamb for dinner we might not have seen him. Ha! 

Dec 25th and 26th my parents (and our friend Mike) came over and helped us with the house. In a matter of days we went from construction zone to clean and livable (although not complete). There is no way we would have been ready for visitors without their help.

Last night, Dec 28, I finally put up a few decorations with the help of Libby and Guntra (Josh’s family). Josh, his brother Hadley, and our friend mike, worked on stringing cable in the railing frames. Today the remaining five family members show up, including a 10 and 7 year old so we really hope to have railing installed before they arrive.

Today a whole bunch of contractors show up ( tile guy, glass guy, carpenters, plumbers) to entertain our ten house guests with a show called “A Taste of What Life Has Been Like at the Raleigh House The Last 6 Months But Without All the Plastic, Dirt and Dust.” 

Have a fun New Years Eve!

Nature or Nurture: A Tale of Two Cousins

Lisa is three years younger than me. She grew up in Iowa and I grew up a traveling military brat. We saw each other rarely, except for the times she visited us in Alaska and Europe. We did not keep in touch but, as my cousin, she did receive a few of my nice dresses when I grew out of them. 

Then one day Lisa moves to Colorado to attend Naropa University. A relative of mine attending a Buddhist university in Boulder? A first cousin? A first cousin from IOWA?

We find out that as adults we have very similar ideas about the world that differ significantly from our grandparents, parents, siblings, and other cousins. 

We even both enjoy a good single malt scotch!

Should we credit nature or nurture?

Shocking News!

It had been my personal goal to get my father to vote Obama, a seemingly impossible task. He is a vetran, life long republican and cousin of Tom Dorr, the Rural Development Under Secretary for the Bush administration for crying out loud!

In the last month we have been furiously sending emails back and forth full of links to articles and YouTube videos on the issues. He didn’t seem to be budging at all. Since getting my father to change his vote was my idea of “volunteering for the cause” I decided to donate money as my efforts were proving futile.

You make one small, and I mean very small, donation to a political campaign (I finally received my Obama magnet in the mail this weekend!) and suddenly they think you’ll do anything for them. Hello, I gave money because I don’t want to volunteer so quit call and sending me emails. Powell supports Obama but he’s not volunteering for the campaign and neither am I.

Then the other day, out of the blue, my father emails that he voted for Obama. What?! Really?! Are you kidding?!

After questioning him twice in dumbfounded disbelief this is what he said:

“I did vote for Obama, mainly because he will continue to fund veteran and healthcare programs better than McCain. It will continue to add to our national debt and unfortunately your generation and those that follow will suffer big time. The longer we go at accumulating debt, the more painful it will be.”

Now that both of my very conservative parents have mailed in their vote for Obama, my work is done. I’d like to say that I directly influenced them but I know better. They don’t have much influence over me and I don’t have much influence over them. It’s just the way it is in our family, at least that’s the way we play it.

Even the threat of moving to Canada was like threatening a child with candy if their room doesn’t get clean… my Pop would be the first to come visit. That threat could have been very effective on my mom, who hates the cold, but only if we would have had kids. 

I don’t know how my father reconciled the damnation of future generations but I’d like to think that my donation dollars indirectly helped to fund that message that won him over.

Since I now know that the Universe works in extraordinary and convoluted ways to help us reach our goals, if we want them badly enough, I’m going to start focusing on my next goal of getting this home remodeling construction completed before December 28… when the droves of in-laws show up. Hey, if my father voted Obama anything is possible!

Anything is possible!

Humpty Dumpty…

 Gumpy-Gene has adapted a few familiar nursery rhymes to suit the state of our Nation.  Grandmamama-Libby wrote them down and made  some corrections and improvements.  We hope y’all will have as much  fun reading them as we did composing them.

GUMPY-GENE’S 21st CENTURY NURSERY RHYMES (non-political)

1) Bye – Bye Big Bank,

Have you  any Cash?

No Sir, No Sir, we’re gonna Crash.

Give us a Billion Dollars

So we’ll start up again,

And then we’ll steal Your Money,

Like Honest Gentlemen.
 

2) All our Nest Eggs sat on a Wall.

All our Nest Eggs had a great Fall.

All the Fed’s Horses and all the Fed’s Men

Are ready to start up and do it again.
 

3) Old Missus Hubbard lived in a Shoe.

Her Loan Rate went up; she didn’t know what to do.

Her Lender came by,

Told her to get out.

And now she is Homeless and wanders about.
 

4) Freddie and Fannie

Climbed up a Hill

Made of Worthless Paper.

The Hill fell down

And ruined the Town.

We All came Tumbling after.

In Terror they fled

And ran to the Fed

As Fast as they could Caper.

Just Give us some Money

We’ll do something Funny,

The People will Pay for it Later.
 

GUMPY-GENE’S 21st CENTURY NURSERY RHYMES (political)

1) Georgie Porgie, Money and Oil,

Helps the Rich Guys keep their Spoil.

When the Poor Folk ask for their Share

Georgie Porgie isn’t There.
 

2) Little Bo Peep

Has abandoned her Sheep*

To go to the Big City.

And If she gets through,

Then for Me and for You

The Future will not be Pretty.       *(Caribou)
 

3) Old King McCain

Has Much to Explain.

He runs every Whichway

Like a Trackless Train.

He chases his Hat

Where the Winds Blow.

His Mind is inside it;

Where next will it go?

Does he know where he’s going?

Does he even Care?

He’ll puzzle it out

If he gets Anywhere.

Presidential Hopeful No More

 

Tim Grauer for President!

My mom had told me she was going to write my father’s name in for president because she didn’t like either candidate.

The other day she calls me excitedly with the news that she received her ballot by mail and voted. And, after having watched the last presidential debate, she decided not to write my father’s name on the ballot. 

Sorry Pop. Maybe 2012 will be your year.

The good news is that my mom voted for Obama.

The “interesting” news is that she still likes Palin.

Let’s focus on the good news.

I Like Mine Unnaturally Blue, Thanks

The power in Houston, TX had returned.

I had my swimsuit with me.

Josh scooped out leaves and scrubbed the stairs. 

The pump and filters worked overtime.

The water was still too green for me. 

“You can kind of see the bottom of the pool,” says Charlie, who runs in to put on his swim trunks. Hilda is ready and Josh–in a brave attempt to dispel my germaphobe non-sense–jumps in too.

“I’ll just take pictures from this lovely swinging bench.”

I am still waiting to see if anyone gets sick from that water. That upcoming January cold could be attributed to the green pool, right?

How to Look Like a Retired Floridian in 20 Minutes

We were headed to Texas to visit Josh’s sister and her family. There was a possibility that their backyard pool would be clean and filtered before we arrived since the power had recently returned after the hurricane. 

I was told to bring my swimsuit but it was somewhere in the garage–the storage for our belongings during the remodel, the abyss. 

I purchase a new swim suit and a pair of white shorts that are on sale. It is difficult to tell where the shorts end and my legs begin. Tan in a bottle or… 

I opt for the spray on tan. 

Maybe next time I won’t have my face sprayed. 

Anywhere or Texas?

Houston, Texas was my latest travel conquest. 

Over a long weekend Josh and I went to visit his sister and her family in Houston, Texas. This was my very first trip to Texas and I was excited to experience new territory. 

“Hey, that looks like the new strip mall in South Denver.” 

“Ya, lets sit outside for lunch. The weather is great!”

“A salsa bar and fresh tortillas? We need one of these in Denver!”

“Good Lord! This frontage road is actually a second highway that parallels the “main” highway. These 24 lane highways make it difficult to see if there is any scenery.”

“Where are the sidewalks? Walking to school with the kids–as ginormous SUVs (saw a yellow hummer twice… the full size type) barrel down the neighborhood roads–would be much safer with sidewalks.”

Mostly Houston looks like any other mid-sized city with surrounding suburbs. Something about Houston was just a little different. But what?! 

Houston’s strange uniqueness is that it combines all the concrete of NY with the flatness of Kansas and the Palm Trees and Plumerias of California. Now that isn’t just anywhere, that is Houston.

7. ewww! it looks like a worm!

At the end of a Q-tip it looks harmless. Just yellow. A really satisfying digs bring out more substance that is a little darker yellow. Yes, I know the rule: “Don’t stick anything smaller than your elbow in your ear.” But it just feels SO good. 

I assumed that what I bring out on the Q-tip looks the same as the wax inside my ear. Ya, no. 

Actually, I didn’t even know I had this assumption until it was challenged today.

Today Josh brings home his “look inside the ear” kit to look in my ear cause I was starting to complain of a sore throat and ear pain (damn drink luge). It’s fun to date a doctor… except those times when I can’t get the upper-hand in a two sided discussion. It’s amazing what he knows… without having to google it.

He pokes around in my ear and exclaims, “Wow. You have really small eardrums.” Glad to know they aren’t out of proportion with my really small ears, feet, hands, etc. Wait. I’m thinking I would like my eardrums to be out of proportion, instead of my butt. 

I then ask to look inside Josh’s ears. He lets me! How cool is this?

YIKES! Not cool. It looks like there are worms in there… speckled brown globular things! I quickly pull out the cone. Same with the other ear. It’s like a horror movie.  

He assures me that it is wax and it’s in my ear too. 

What?! 

I start having thoughts that I should have gone to medical school so that my life mission would be removing all the wax out of everyones ears. Now that would be daily job satisfaction! Seriously, I think that could have been my life’s calling. Who knew.