Cameron went to the east coast in 2005 at age 15 with a large group of Boy Scouts to attend National Jamboree. He was going to be gone for a little more than two weeks and one of the items on the packing list was detergent so they could wash their clothes.
When Nick went in 2001, I could buy pre-measured packets and did so. I looked high and low when Cameron went four years later and couldn't find anything. No problem. I'm resourceful and imaginative. I measured out eight or ten small load's worth of detergent, vacuum-sealed them individually, put them all together into a gallon zip bag, and gave them to Cameron to pack.
A couple of weeks later, we were standing in one of many long lines of uniformed Boy Scouts at the Eugene airport waiting for their luggage to be checked. I'm thinking 'checked' as in 'checked baggage, not carry-on' and it was 'checked' as in the TSA officer having the boys open their bags so he could check the contents. Not a problem. I knew Cameron didn't have anything he wasn't supposed to have.
Cameron's checked bag was a very large duffel stuffed fairly full. He shoved it along with his foot as the line inched closer to the officers. Eventually, he came to the front and the officer asked him to open his bag. Cameron obligingly reached down and, with one smooth, quick motion, zipped it open. The sides of the bag promptly fell wide, revealing a gallon zip bag full of smaller packets containing white granulated stuff lying right on top.
The officer stood there transfixed and I instantly realized what he thought he was seeing. I practically gibbered as I tried to explain what that packet was and offered to open one to prove it. I think I might have even asked Cameron if he had his knife on him to open one.
After a moment, the officer seemed to come to himself and waved away my offers. "You're Boy Scouts," he said. "I trust you."
"Besides, it doesn't look like drugs, really," he added.
Monday, August 17, 2009
Thursday, August 13, 2009
Birthday
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Today was my birthday and it started out in a unique way by Richelle sitting me into a chair and giving me a hand-lettered breakfast menu complete with appetizer (applesauce), entrées (scrambled eggs with my choice of bacon or sausage and whole wheat or oat bread toast; hot oatmeal; and cold cereal of my choice from Cap'n Crunch, Lucky Charms, or Honey Crisp Medley), beverages (water, coffee, teas of several varieties, hot chocolate, or milk), and dessert of apple with or without caramel. The menu came complete with prices and a baggie of play money.
She left me to make up my mind and then returned a few minutes later wearing an apron and carrying a small pad of paper in one hand and a pencil in the other. She took my order rather professionally, I thought, and went back to the kitchen. A few minutes later she brought me my applesauce and left again. In due course of time, back she came with a plate of Scrambled Egg Supreme with bacon and a slice of oat bread toast and a cup of vanilla chai, all done to perfection. I don't even recall teaching her how to properly scramble eggs or how to fashion and cook a sausage patty (husband of the birthday girl was also waited on) from bulk sausage! There are times I'm convinced that child learns by osmosis.
She came once to ask how everything tasted and if it was to our liking and then returned once more to present the bill...which I paid for with the play money provided.
I made lunch since Mike is on swing shift but at supper time, Richelle led me to the table which had a candle burning in the center and was set with one placing of silverware wrapped up in a napkin and a supper menu. The appetizer was peanut butter and honey on wheat bread toast; entrée was my choice of a Sandwich Slam (whatever I wanted between two pieces of bread), cheese toast, mac 'n' cheese, cheese quesadilla, turkey wrap (turkey slices rolled with sliced cheese), and Bacon a la Cheese (crumbled bacon and grated cheese); drink choices were Mountain Dew, Kool-aid tropical punch, Kool-aid lemon-lime, milk, and Kool-aid orange; dessert was fresh, homemade oatmeal cookies. We don't really consume that much cheese and certainly not that vast amount of Kool-aid but she went with what she could make.
What a hoot! I loved it and am saving those precious menus with the date lightly penciled on the backs. Those meals was her gift to me and a wonderful, thoughtful gift it was. I will always remember it. Such a darling daughter!
The little grand piano at the top of this post was Mike's gift to me. It's a trinket music box that plays "I Just Wanna Be Loved By You." I know each year that I'll get a grand piano figurine of some sort. It's not the piano that's the gift but the reason for it.
You see, years ago when the kids would whine about not having something they wanted, I'd point out that I'd always wanted a baby grand piano but they don't see one in the front room. That was always my standard retort....until Melissa gave me a little grand piano figurine at Christmas in 2000. She was so tickled that the house almost couldn't contain her and when I opened her gift, she squealed, "Now you can't say you don't have a grand piano anymore!"
I received two more from her and Mike has carried on in her memory.
Busy Times
It doesn't seem all that long since I posted about our camping trip but it's been a couple weeks of busy-ness.
The week after camping was day camp for our local Girl Scouts. Richelle was a Program Assistant this year instead of a camper - a mile-stone she's been looking forward to reaching. Program Assistants are Girl Scouts going into seventh grade or older who help the leader give the day camp program to the younger girls. Richelle's goal was to give the younger girls the same wonderful experience she had. She was a splendid PA, working hard and never complaining even though it was very hot and the girls were demanding.
Our day camp is a week long outdoor event located on a private semi-developed park area. There is a large concrete pavilion, flush toilets, running water, picnic tables, and a fire ring. I say semi-developed because the road is gravel and the lawn is mowed down native grasses and it isn't well-watered. There's also poison oak around the edges and little green frogs in the bathrooms.
The temperatures ranged from 103 up to 108 that week. I made it clear to the leaders and PAs that I wanted everyone drinking water like little fishes and I wanted everyone hosed down four or five times each seven-hour day. I wasn't the first-aider -my job was to crack the whip over the heads of the PAs- but I didn't want any girls not having fun because she was ill with heat exhaustion. So I told my PAs that it was their job to keep the girls drinking water and getting wet. They had no problem spraying the little urchins with water and making them shriek. And the little urchins had no problem shrieking for more water. All together, great fun was had by all. I didn't see any girl dodging the water. Instead, I saw girls standing in front of the hose, water coming down their faces in sheets, shoes squidgiting, yelling that they weren't wet enough. Not one girl came to the first-aider for heat-related problems.
Last week was the local fair. I posted earlier about Richelle's entries so won't repeat except to say that her Lego house ended up with a garden roof instead of having an attic full of attic-y stuff.
The judging for her category (Science, Electronics, and Technology) was on Monday before fair so her jitters were over with early and she could enjoy things. We attended every day because the 4-H SET program is fairly new to this area and we wanted to give as much exposure as possible to the public. With that in mind, we gave demonstrations for two hours each afternoon and allowed any youth who wanted to program a robot and run them. We especially wanted Richelle and her female club member there to help attract girls who were interested. Legos and robots still seem to be a boys domain and it was good to have the girls there demonstrating, tutoring, and being knowledgeable.
I didn't take pictures of her house and my camera is acting up right now (I got some pictures of what could be ghosts but is really the light coming in the sliding door between the curtains) but here is a picture of her robot.
This is a Butler Bot and his name is (appropriately) Jeeves. He was designed to carry a plate of goodies to a guest in their room. The basic bot with the motors, wheels, and 'brain' placement was put together from a diagram. The rack to hold the plate and the touch sensor placement was Richelle's own construction. She wrote the program and built in a delay so the robot wouldn't move until the plate was loaded on. All of the motors the club had were being used on other kids' projects so she didn't have a third one to allow Jeeves to knock on the door. Instead, she programmed him to say, "Good morning" repeatedly until the plate was removed. He says a quick, "Thank you" and returns to base. Then it is all done again for room #2. Jeeves has a bit of an English accent and it's the cutest thing to watch.
All her entries got blue ribbons meaning they exceeded expectations for her category. All her entries were also selected for state fair and her robot got champion and reserve grand champion. She did well.
State fair runs from August 25th to September 5th. I'm curious how well her robot will do against the best in the state.
The week after camping was day camp for our local Girl Scouts. Richelle was a Program Assistant this year instead of a camper - a mile-stone she's been looking forward to reaching. Program Assistants are Girl Scouts going into seventh grade or older who help the leader give the day camp program to the younger girls. Richelle's goal was to give the younger girls the same wonderful experience she had. She was a splendid PA, working hard and never complaining even though it was very hot and the girls were demanding.
Our day camp is a week long outdoor event located on a private semi-developed park area. There is a large concrete pavilion, flush toilets, running water, picnic tables, and a fire ring. I say semi-developed because the road is gravel and the lawn is mowed down native grasses and it isn't well-watered. There's also poison oak around the edges and little green frogs in the bathrooms.
The temperatures ranged from 103 up to 108 that week. I made it clear to the leaders and PAs that I wanted everyone drinking water like little fishes and I wanted everyone hosed down four or five times each seven-hour day. I wasn't the first-aider -my job was to crack the whip over the heads of the PAs- but I didn't want any girls not having fun because she was ill with heat exhaustion. So I told my PAs that it was their job to keep the girls drinking water and getting wet. They had no problem spraying the little urchins with water and making them shriek. And the little urchins had no problem shrieking for more water. All together, great fun was had by all. I didn't see any girl dodging the water. Instead, I saw girls standing in front of the hose, water coming down their faces in sheets, shoes squidgiting, yelling that they weren't wet enough. Not one girl came to the first-aider for heat-related problems.
Last week was the local fair. I posted earlier about Richelle's entries so won't repeat except to say that her Lego house ended up with a garden roof instead of having an attic full of attic-y stuff.
The judging for her category (Science, Electronics, and Technology) was on Monday before fair so her jitters were over with early and she could enjoy things. We attended every day because the 4-H SET program is fairly new to this area and we wanted to give as much exposure as possible to the public. With that in mind, we gave demonstrations for two hours each afternoon and allowed any youth who wanted to program a robot and run them. We especially wanted Richelle and her female club member there to help attract girls who were interested. Legos and robots still seem to be a boys domain and it was good to have the girls there demonstrating, tutoring, and being knowledgeable.
I didn't take pictures of her house and my camera is acting up right now (I got some pictures of what could be ghosts but is really the light coming in the sliding door between the curtains) but here is a picture of her robot.
This is a Butler Bot and his name is (appropriately) Jeeves. He was designed to carry a plate of goodies to a guest in their room. The basic bot with the motors, wheels, and 'brain' placement was put together from a diagram. The rack to hold the plate and the touch sensor placement was Richelle's own construction. She wrote the program and built in a delay so the robot wouldn't move until the plate was loaded on. All of the motors the club had were being used on other kids' projects so she didn't have a third one to allow Jeeves to knock on the door. Instead, she programmed him to say, "Good morning" repeatedly until the plate was removed. He says a quick, "Thank you" and returns to base. Then it is all done again for room #2. Jeeves has a bit of an English accent and it's the cutest thing to watch.
All her entries got blue ribbons meaning they exceeded expectations for her category. All her entries were also selected for state fair and her robot got champion and reserve grand champion. She did well.
State fair runs from August 25th to September 5th. I'm curious how well her robot will do against the best in the state.
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