Epiphany

Earlier today we drove past a Missouri town called Peculiar. I was just sitting here wishing we had stopped so I could get a shot of the kids standing next to the sign with the arrow ponting to Peculiar (anybody remember my Deviant pic of them in France?). I thought, "Oh, well, we can stop on the drive home," and then it hit me: Mike won't be with us on the drive home! Ack!

Progress

It has been so long since I blogged from my phone that I have almost forgotten how. No Internet at the house yet though, so this will have to do. I just wanted to check in and let you know that the house is coming together. I hope to be able to post pictures soon!

I wound up putting Christmas china and wine glasses in the butler's pantry. Patty was right--much nicer than pots and pans!

We leave tomorrow to take Mike to college by way of Jamaica. I am looking forward to having 3 days on the road of doing nothing but reading People magazine and knitting.

Island living?

I went into a neighbor's house yesterday to see how she had things arranged in her kitchen. This was Annabelle's idea, and it was a good one. I feel like knocking on doors up and down the street and doing surprise kitchen inspections today, but I'm not sure what that would do to my reputation, first impressions and all.

My mom and my friend Ivy both suggested a free-standing island for the kitchen. My neighbor does have such an island in her kitchen, BUT she also has a rectangular table next to that wall of windows, whereas we have our old round butcher-block table, which sticks out more into the room. I'm not writing it off, but I don't know that it's my first choice.

Ivy asked if that was it for cabinets. No, there are two small cabinets over and one skinny cabinet next to the fridge, which is directly opposite the sink and right next to the pantry. Speaking of pantry, that is going to be a good place to put stuff, but I need to do some serious organizing in it. The previous occupant had a rack in there for storage containers:



I'm going to add a couple more photos that my friend took when the last occupants were moving out, just so you can have all necessary information to keep the good ideas coming. This is in the butler's pantry, which is right outside the kitchen. I wish it came with a butler! I like the idea of putting pots and pans in that top cabinet, but I'm not sure how to use all those drawers. Annabelle unpacked my cookbooks last night, and instead of taking up precious kitchen counter space like they did in Kentucky, they are neatly lined up on this counter:



The dining room also has a really nice built-in cabinet (the white one on the left):



We also have the china cabinet that goes with our dining set, as well as a smaller cabinet that belonged to my great-grandfather. I generally keep a lot of Polish pottery in those.

One other bit of information that might be helpful! Take a look at the floor plan for the first floor of the left side of the duplex (click to make it bigger):



See the butler's pantry (called "hall 1" on the plans)? You can see where the cabinets are; now look directly across at that little alcove. SOMETHING could go here to help with storage. For now it's just going to be my microwave cart with the cats' food on it (in order to keep the dog out of it), but I'm thinking I'll look around for something with extra cabinet space to go there.

While we're on the topic of decorating, check out the "reception" area on the floor plan. See the coat closet that backs up to the butler's pantry? Yeah, it doesn't exist in this particular house. I have put a European shoe cabinet behind the front door in the "vestibule," but we are going to need a place to hang coats! I want to get a second-hand armoire to put on the reception wall that backs up to the living room. I am lusting after this one that I found for $160 on Craigslist, but really getting the coats put away is the least of our worries for the next 2 days:

Everything's up to date in Kansas City

We arrived in Kansas City Saturday evening and checked in to the Residence Inn out near the airport. Since then we've been making numerous trips over to Fort Leavenworth to work on getting things set up on that end. We signed for our house on Tuesday, and our household goods were delivered today (with a minimum of damage, so yay for that!). We're spending one more night at the hotel though, as we figured--rightly so, it turned out--that the house would be in no condition for sleeping in tonight.

The house is amazing, but it is a challenge. I saw a picture in the housing office of a house on our street that was built in 1901, so I assume ours is of similar vintage. Old homes have a lot of character but also a lot of quirks. In our case, I'm having trouble reconciling a disturbing lack of space with such a huge house. Things are chopped up funny though. Our kitchen is not a bad size, but it has next to no cabinet space. Meanwhile I have a reception hall that I could probably play badminton in. Why???

The kitchen is haunting me. It feels like a puzzle, and if I just wrack my brain hard enough, I will suddenly remember a bank of cabinets I have somehow overlooked. Not yet though. Basically the kitchen in Knox had 22 cabinets and 17 drawers. Whoops, no, 24 cabinets--I had forgotten the ones over the fridge. Here are pictures of the Leavenworth kitchen that a friend of mine took when the previous occupants were still living there:





How am I supposed to make 24 cabinets and 17 drawers worth of stuff fit in there? Looks like I have some more downsizing to do!

The animals came through the move just fine and seem to be quite at home at the Residence Inn. Mr. Stinky's blossom unfortunately has given up the ghost. I think he is getting ready to try again though, so maybe this will be the one?

We are checking out of the hotel in the morning and moving into the house. We have exactly 2 days to do whatever it is we are going to do before we leave for our 2-week odyssey of vacation and taking Mike to college. Never a dull moment!

My old Kentucky home, good night

We moved out of the house Wednesday night when the moving van pulled away. Fred and I moved out to Brandenburg to Phil and Amy's new house, Annabelle spent that first night with a friend before joining us the next night, and Mike went to stay with his friend Mark. Since then we've been busy taking care of last-minute tasks and getting signed out of the house and Fort Knox in general. Tonight we went to see Jersey Boys with dear friends, and it really was the perfect way to end our time in Kentucky.

I feel like I should be more broken up over leaving. So many of our friends from on post though have already left, either this summer or in previous ones, and there is comfort in knowing that our friends from off post will be here for years to come. There are changes afoot at Knox, some big, some small--for example, they moved the flag from the parade field to the new human resources building, and I could no longer hear the bugles from my house. It just feels like time to set out in search of new adventures.

Saying good bye tonight was tough though, and I'm feeling a little sentimental. Here's a picture of our mailbox, which I took when we went back on post one last time this morning:



If you go here and click play, you can have a little mood music.

Inconvenient timing

Remember Mr. Stinky, my Hawaiian plant with the allegedly odiferous blossoms? He started to bloom last fall but then petered out. I think he is serious about it this time:



I keep telling Fred that on Saturday, I'll drive the car with all the animals, and he can drive the car with Mr. Stinky. So far he doesn't seem to be buying it.

Funnies from the vault

In cleaning out my desk yesterday, I found a couple newspaper clippings that I have carried around for years. They had the misfortune of winding up stuck under a corroding battery, so they won't be making this move with us. Thought I would share them here before I toss them in the trash.

This is an "Off the Mark" comic that my parents sent me ages ago. I love Dr. Seuss and I love sushi, so I love this:



And this was a headline in the Fayetteville Observer from at least 16 years ago. I can't see it without giggling, which proves that I really am a 10-year-old boy:

From the vault

This is our last weekend in Kentucky, and we continue to work hard preparing for the packers, who will be here on Monday and Tuesday. For the past few weeks, we have been systematically going through our belongings and paring down the stuff that we just don't need. Today we said goodbye to an old sofa and 2 old chairs. They were in such sad shape that I had a moment of panic that perhaps Goodwill would refuse to let them in the door.

Even though we'll have movers to do the physical part of the move, it takes a lot of planning and coordination to get things ready. Tomorrow we will take a car load of items that we will move ourselves out to Phil and Amy's new house: things like the bassoon, the guitars, and my photo negatives. We figure that if they are already out of the house, we don't have to worry about them accidentally getting packed up with everything else.

I spent the better part of today working in my office. There were so many projects I had hoped to have finished by now, but the time has come to stop working on them and to just get them ready for the move. For example, I packed up the photo album I'm working on of all of our professional portraits and set it with the other stuff we're moving ourselves. I also have given up (for now!) on getting my computer files into a more tidy arrangement and am focusing on just getting a backup copy on my external hard drive so that I can turn the desktop off tomorrow and get it ready to be packed.

As I've been going through my office, I have come across some cool stuff that I never got around to sharing before. Back in February, both Mike and Annabelle were chosen to represent their grade-levels as "Eagles of Excellence." Basically this got them a certificate and a couple of dress-down days, but the coolest part was being included on the bulletin board with the other excellent Eagles. Each kid had a photo posted along with a page of quotes from teachers. Such nice comments (click to see the images larger):

Paparazzi

Mike's recent turn as Conrad Birdie caught the attention of the local newspapers. First he was featured on the cover of the entertainment section of the Elizabethtown News Enterprise:



with the accompanying article:



The next week the Turret ran this photo to promote the show:

Majority

My baby boy is 18 today! We had a very low-key celebration: he went to lunch with a friend, and we made his favorite grilled chicken for supper. While he was out this afternoon, he bought a lottery ticket in order to experience one of the many thrills of adulthood, but he just wound up one dollar poorer but wiser--yep, sounds like adulthood to me! The cashier at the gas station asked if he wouldn't also like to buy some cigarettes, but fortunately he took a pass on that one.

My how times do change! This was in September 1992:



And just the other day:



Cue the "Sunrise, Sunset" music!

Parents' night videos

The kids are off at the strike party for Bye Bye, Birdie this evening, and I am feeling nostalgic for the show. Seems like a good opportunity to share the videos I made at parents' night. Parents' night is the final dress rehearsal for the show and is the one chance that we get to bring in our cameras.

"Overture"--Mike plays the guitar solo at the beginning, and Annabelle is one of the unhappy Birdie fans:



"Telephone Hour"--Mike plays an ordinary teen-age boy (dressed in green), and Annabelle is in her blue skirt and white top (look at the top left at the beginning of the song):



"Put on a Happy Face"--Annabelle starts off the number sitting on the floor at the right side and is in the first set of tap dancers:



"Healthy, Normal, American Boy"--Annabelle is in the second row of the fan club girls when they line up at about the 1-minute mark; Mike is wearing a cream-colored jacket and black pants:



"Honestly Sincere"--Annabelle is in a blue skirt and white blouse, but she tends to be on the outside edges in this number and isn't easily seen (Oh, I just found her. Look far left at 2:50.) You would have to try to miss Mike though:



"Breakfast Scene"--Not a musical number, but pretty funny:



"Gloria Rasputin"--Annabelle's big scene! She is an aspiring secretary and tap dancer with questionable fashion sense:



"One Last Kiss"--This song ends with Kim's boyfriend Hugo running in and punching Birdie out. I wish I had known not to stop the filming when Mike hit the floor, because Kim's father steps up and finishes off the final word of the song in a very funny way:



"Lotta Livin' to Do"--Mike sings as Birdie, and Annabelle is in the chorus, wearing black pants and a yellow top with a black belt:



"Finale and Curtain Call"--Annabelle is back in her Gloria Rasputin duds for this one, and Mike is handsome in a WWII-era Army uniform:

Bye Bye, Birdie--A Family Affair

We just got back from the next-to-last performance of Bye Bye, Birdie. Hard to believe that this time tomorrow night it will be over! I've got a ton of pictures, video, and even a couple newspaper articles to share, so I think I will start tonight with family pictures.

From last weekend when my parents and sister were here:



From last night after Fred's first viewing of the show:



And from tonight with Fred's parents:



I'm so thankful that even with our families as far away as they are that so many relatives have been able to see the show. I'm especially happy that Fred got home in time to watch the kids shine on stage!

The missing week

I'm still here! Computer time has been severely limited, but everything is fine. Fred got home on Sunday evening, my parents and sister had a great visit, and the play is amazing. The kids had a 2-day break and then went back this afternoon for a brush-up rehearsal. The final 3 shows start tomorrow, and then we will be really working hard to get ready for the move. Packers arrive a week from Monday!

The end is near

The end of the deployment, that is. I suppose that one could argue that it really ended when Fred arrived in Kuwait today, and it does take down the tension by a fair bit. It won't really be over though until he's home, which should be early next week.

We are having a great time visiting with the Mitchells. I wish we were going to have more overlap time together here at Knox. It's so cute to see Ginger romping around with their dog Pickles!

Amy and I went to the final dress rehearsal for Bye Bye, Birdie tonight. It's so good! I have some video to put up, but there's just no time right now. We have to get up early tomorrow to pick up my parents and sister from the airport, so a cast picture will have to suffice for tonight:



As with most of my pictures, clicking makes it bigger. See the stud in the uniform? That's my little boy! And see the sultry vixen with the green boa? That's my baby girl!

Bye Bye, Birdie: The Mall Show

Each summer, shortly before opening night, Youth Theatre of Hardin County takes its show on the road and performs a mini-showcase at the mall in Elizabethtown. This is the first chance any of us who aren't working on the show get to see it, which is always a thrill. Yesterday was the mall show for Bye Bye, Birdie, and it was fantastic!

"Telephone Hour": The kids of Sweet Apple, Ohio, tie up the phone lines discussing the gossip of the day--Hugo and Kim getting pinned. Both Mike and Annabelle are in the chorus in this one:



"Put on a Happy Face": Albert attempts to cheer up the Conrad Birdie fan club members, who are devastated to be losing their idol to the Army. Annabelle is the "girl so gloomy" and is also to the far right in the first set of tap dancers:



"Honestly Sincere": Mike channels his inner-Elvis in this one. He starts singing at around the 1-minute mark, but you can't really see him until about 1:40. It's worth the wait though:



"Spanish Rose": Rosie expresses her frustration with Albert's racist mother:



"Kids Today": Kim's parents hold forth on the sorry state of the next generation:



"Bye Bye Birdie Finale and Curtain Call": Annabelle didn't get to show off her comedy bit at the mall show, but she has a great spot in the curtain call--first curtsy in the fifth set of bows. Mike finishes off the show with a snappy salute:



I can't wait for opening night!

Pomp-pomp-pompadour!

Mike got his official Conrad Birdie hairdo today! He took in pictures of James Dean and young Elvis as a guide, and Katie set to work. It was kind of funny to watch, as Katie had to wash him out and start over 3 times before she was satisfied. She also called her co-worker Dana in for a consultation. The finished result was awesome:



Oh, look, Mike's got a car to match his hair:





Just kidding--it belongs to our friends Phil and Amy, who are moving here to Fort Knox. Couldn't resist the photo op though!

Uniform search

Mike and I have been meaning for a couple of weeks now to go out in search of an old Army uniform jacket for him to wear as one of his costumes in Bye Bye, Birdie. Something always seems to get in the way though, and we have been consistently putting it off. It suddenly hit us yesterday that costume parade is Saturday (where the director approves all the costumes) and the show opens next week! We needed to get a uniform and FAST!

The theater had a uniform, but it was too small for him. He had a picture of it on his phone though, and we showed that to the fellow at the Army surplus store just off post. No, he said, he didn't have anything like that, but he could tell us who could help us out: Collector's Corner, in the shopping center near the movie theater in Radcliff.

We stopped there, and sure enough, it was the place to go. The proprietor helped us find a uniform from the appropriate era. I tentatively asked how he felt about renting, as I was dreading spending $300 on clothing that he would wear a grand total of maybe an hour. Sure, that wasn't a problem, he said--did I think $40 was too much? I thought $40 was a darn good deal, especially considering that it included the cleaning when we return it in a few weeks. He was so friendly and eager to share his knowledge of uniform history. He even gave us a Vietnam era jacket to use as a source for buttons that are missing off the WWII jacket!

Bourbon legend

I spent today in Frankfort, touring the Buffalo Trace bourbon distillery with 5 friends. This wasn't just any old distillery tour, however; my friend Sandy won a special behind-the-scenes tour and luncheon at an auction last fall and took us along for the ride.

Throughout the tour, I kept making mental notes of different items of interest to make sure I mentioned here on the blog, but somewhere along the way, my mental notes got splashed with bourbon and the ink ran. I'm probably getting this only half right at best, but I'll see what I can recall.

Our tour guide, Fred, did a wonderful job:



We learned, for example, that Buffalo Trace was one of only 4 distilleries to be allowed to continue production during Prohibition for [wink]medicinal[/wink] purposes. Another interesting bourbon fact: where a barrel rests in the warehouse has an awful lot to do with the final product, with shorter-term bourbons hanging out in the (hotter) upper levels and the finer stuff "aging gracefully" down low:



We got to watch bottles of Blanton's being filled and capped. Blanton's is a single-barrel bourbon (aged in one barrel rather than created from a blend from multiple barrels), and each bottle is topped with the most adorable little racehorse stopper. There are 8 different stoppers, each representing a different moment in the Kentucky Derby, from the horse entering the starting gate at the beginning to the jockey raising a hand in victory at the end. Think of these as Happy Meal toys or Pokemon cards for the more mature collector, the kind of collector who has $50 to drop on less than a liter of booze:



I found this tiny warehouses to be positively charming. It has room for only a single barrel (also note the "barrel crossing" sign):



This shiny surface provided an awesome opportunity for an artsy-fartsy group portrait:



And a more normal one:



I wish I had thought to get a group shot in front of this really cool truck, but by that point all I could think about was lunch:



After the tour, Fred led us up to the historical home that overlooks the distillery grounds where we were treated to a bourbon tasting led by an expert who tastes bourbon all day every day for a living (I'm sure my Fred is wondering how he might break into that line of work):



They had the tasting glasses set up on a sort of graph, with the y-axis representing age and the x-axis representing ingredients:



I'm still not a huge fan of bourbon, but it was interesting to get to experience first-hand the difference that age and ingredients make. After the tasting, we were treated to a delicious lunch of BBQ sandwiches, green beans, and the most amazing potato salad that any of us had ever eaten. Two of the women who work in the offices there joined us for lunch, and over a dessert of luscious cheesecake, they shared ghost stories from the area.

It was such fun to go off the reservation, so to speak, and spend time learning something totally new with good friends! Here are all my photos from the day:

Weekend update

Let's see . . . the last you heard from me, my car was in the shop and I was trying to get Annabelle an appointment at the ophthalmology clinic to see about the recurrent infection in both of her eyes. Thursday morning I got a call from Sears informing me that all the van needed was a new battery and NOT a new starter as well, so that was good news. Then Thursday afternoon I managed to get an appointment with the eye doc (after ophthalmology told me to take the referral to Tricare and Tricare told me to take it to the peds clinic and the peds clinic sent me back upstairs to ophthalmology), and we found out that not only does she NOT have an eye infection, it is highly unlikely that she EVER had an infection in the first place. What she does have is a tendency to wear her contacts for too long and a prescription for lenses that are probably too tight on her eyes in the grand scheme of things. So yay for the car and yay again for no eye infection!

I have been working on getting my office ready for the move. Unfortunately, I think I could work in there every day for a year and still have more organizing to do. I took a break from it this afternoon to help Mike clean out his room, and THAT was satisfying! By the end of the day, we had touched literally every item in his room and made a decision about whether it should stay or go. We filled the back of my van with boxes for Goodwill and put out several bags of paper in the recycling bin. It felt good to see such progress in such a short period of time. Next mission: linen closet!

It's always something

I spent part of today working on getting Annabelle a referral to the ophthalmologist here on post, which was much more frustrating than it should have been. I'll continue working the system tomorrow and hope to have an appointment within a couple of days.

This afternoon I was having a lovely time down in E'town while the kids were at rehearsal. I got a junior-sized peach milkshake at Steak 'n Shake and sat in the car in the shade, reading my magazine and knitting once the shake was all gone. I called my friend Laura E. and made plans to pick up Panera and take it to her house for supper after rehearsal.

I stopped for gas on my way to Panera, and when I went to turn the car back on, all I got was this annoying clicking noise. A nice man at the next pump pulled his truck around and tried several times to jump start it, but it didn't work. I called USAA's roadside assistance number and put in a request for a tow truck, and then I called Laura to pick up the kids from rehearsal and then come rescue me.

All's well that ends well. The car is at Sears, and they suspect it is the starter and battery. Laura and her son Mark came to get us, and we wound up enjoying our Panera at the restaurant instead of getting it to go. We shall see what new adventures are in store for us tomorrow!