enjoy the third quarter of 2008 by having one NEW and FULFILLING experience in July, August, and September

It is RIDICULOUS that September is over already! A hundred projects jabbing at me has made me feel overwhelmed, but there have been tons of New and Fulfilling experiences going on, too.

We’ve gone to and hosted several family gatherings this month that involved lots of relatives on all sides. None of those festivites were accompanied by a funeral, either, so that in itself is fulfilling.

I had the opportunity to have friends over here for fun activities. Usually I assume the role of teacher, as was the case for “craft day” on the 24th, but my Brazilian friend is teaching me Portuguese, although we both want to learn Spanish now because it is more useful in Arizona.

I’ve been to several baseball games. Unfortunately, that was not so fulfilling because I got to witness the Diamondbacks’ freefall from 1st place in the NL West to so far out of it that they don’t even get to play in the post-season. The games were still fun, though; Chase Field is a beautiful stadium.

The NEWest of my adventures this month was going to an Israeli Restaurant with my niece. I “chickened” out and stuck with what I knew, but I did have falafel for the first time. She even picked up the tab. THAT was really new! Next time I’m having the tzatziki. I’m all about the cucumbers!

Today, I started writing my own arrangement for a song I will play at a piano recital in December. I have been taking lessons for 8 months now.

Oh, and I am wearing size 10 pants. Woo Hooooo!

Today we went to the Labor Day afternoon game at Chase Field. The Diamondbacks beat the Cardinals in a come-from-behind home-run-fest! It was great. Steven Drew hit the first-ever “cycle” in the park’s history (not to mention his own … history), we got to sit in the Diamond Level, intermingled with the suites, and we ate in the on-site restaurant, which overlooks the field, during the 4th inning.

It was awesome!

Then afterwards, we went over to my mom’s for a visit. My Dearest hooked up her converter box and showed her how to use it while I secretly brought in her dry laundry, hung the wet laundry out to dry, and changed her big water bottle so she wouldn’t have to lift it. She noticed none of this while I was doing it because she was too busy learning about digital television, so after we left and she went back to the laundry, she got a nice surprise and I got a chuckle out of my sneakiness.

We went to the sold out Diamondbacks game tonight. They lost to the Dodgers. That was NOT the fulfilling part. Actually though, I don’t think I’ve ever been to a Dodgers game before, so it was NEW. Dodger fans are really rowdy and in-your-face, though. We are not accustomed to that in Chase Field.

Despite the beer-laden fan behaviour, however, sharing this game with them was a fulfilling experience. Phoenix and LA are close enough to each other that there were just about half and half fans from both cities. I know you guys in Chicago and New York (and even LA) are used to cross-town rivalry games, but in a whole state with only one team, we don’t have that here.

It was like high school. Every time one team’s fans would start yelling a chant, the other side would start it up, too, and then TAKE TURNS. It was crazy, “Let’s go DBacks!” “Let’s go Dodgers!” back and forth, back and forth.

I’ve never heard “Take Me Out to the Ballgame” sung with such gusto before—tonight we had a rousing chorus of over 49,000 people each trying to shout THEIR team’s name loudest.

It was a riot!

I spent last weekend with all 3 of my girls. No daddy along this trip. I flew up to Utah to retrieve the youngest daughter so she can go back to school here in Arizona. She had her car up there, but she’s never driven the trip and 18 is too young to be out on the road alone for 13 hours. So it was a good excuse to take a weekend away.

We had lots of fun doing Utah things and I got to meet the boy … the wonderfully perfect boy who has become smitten with my 21-year-old daughter … and his parents.

Thinking of my little girls as possibly being of marriageable age is New, and knowing what excellent taste they have is definitely Fulfilling!

I have been looking for a one-quart saucepan in which to prepare a single serving of oatmeal.

{{{Oatmeal?! That’s not new or fulfilling! Get off of here with your oatmeal!}}}

Now just wait. I have gone years without eating the gloppy, gelatinous goo even though it’s good for me, but I have recently discovered steel-cut oatmeal and I like it.

However, my smallest pan is too big to cook just a little. It gets all fried and gross, and cooking it in the microwave just makes a huge boiling-over mess. What I needed was a smaller pan. Not easy to find a one-quart saucepan for cheap!

Well, yesterday I visited my local Deseret Industries thrift store and found one… for a dollar. The lid was an extra 50¢.

The N&F part is that it’s a $30 Calphalon pan and the oatmeal cooks perfectly. Also very fulfilling is that while I was in the kitchen aisle, a little old lady with fragile skin asked me to help her find forks in her pattern from a huge bin of pointy silverware. I even bought a spoon for myself in the same pattern to remind me of her and of my nice day.

I have been tutoring a little girlie over the summer. She comes to my home and we work on literacy skills. Her spelling is up to 95% most days, her fluency is above grade level now, and she is currently doing a writing project for me.

Today, I asked her if she realized how much she had been learning in the past few weeks. She’s 9, so I didn’t expect a detailed answer, but she came up with a list of at least a dozen things that she didn’t know a few short weeks ago, that she does know now because I have sucessfully taught them to her.

Wow.

It was really fun and OH, SO COOL in the forest! I SO needed a break from this heat!

The aunts (grandmas) planned lots of activities for the kids and it rained quite a bit, which got everyone under the canopies to bundle under blankets and talk and talk and talk. It had to rank up near the top of successful family reunions.

I took the big snowcone machine and all the flavors and of course we had to take the generator because there is no electricity in the forest. That was a hit with the kids and the grown folk!

Everyone packed in their own food and contributed to the cost of renting 4 porta-potties so we could all be comfortable.

It was an amazing weekend. No bickering. No stupidity. One little injury when a 2-year-old wearing sandals in the forest stepped too close to some smoldering coals

(ouchie! We were all practically in tears for him, all searching for remedies. He finally ended up with the poltice I made for him of crushed potato chips and freezing cold water. Keep that in mind, people! It really does take out the burn. Pringles are now for medicinal use!)

Even though the whole “Reunion in the Forest” thing was new and fulfilling, I might say that my favorite part was being “Queen of the Lake.” On Friday morning, the Dearest and I went fishing. We sat there for quite a while and saw a few people catch a fish or two, then give up and leave. After trying bottom fishing, bobber fishing, worms, corn, lures and power bait, we were about ready to give up, too. Then I pulled my two little dead worms out of the water and added corn to both hooks. Tossed the line back in and BOOM! Got a huge rainbow trout. My husband tried it, and caught two smaller ones. The people next to us were cheering. Then I caught another big one, then another! The guy on the other side of the tree wanted to know what I was using for bait. I told him. Then my Dearest caught one more footlong one and then I caught the biggest fish of the day. We had enough to eat and some to share, so we packed up and the neighbors moved in on our spot. It was so fun. And we have a clockwork system to get those trout cleaned and ready for the pan in minutes, so we were eating them within 20 minutes of returning to camp!

We polished off about 3 of the fish and gave the rest to his uncle who had gone fishing the day before but didn’t catch anything. He appreciated it, and we were glad to be of service.

Yesterday, my mom and I got to spend a day out on the town together. She has not had the opportunity to leave home like that for a year and a half! The state, fortunately, lets caregivers for the elderly have a 5-day break once a year, so the other day, the ambulette came and carted my grandma to the care center. (When my mom went in to see her, g’ma started yelling and swearing about being left there).

We went shopping and to the movies (Hancock) and out to lunch and then just sat around talking without having that blasted bell ringing every 5 seconds.

It was nice to see her ENJOYING the freedom. I think these little tastes of it will make it easier when the time comes for it to be permanent.

Spending the day having fun with my mom is hardly new, but we had a string of fulfilling adventures, except for the part when I was accosted by a creepy beggarman who wanted to ‘thank’ me for a handful of pocket change. That was new but about as far from fulfilling as imaginable!

Not sure I should have written about that. I would rather not ever remember it.

OK, so on to the next N&F experience: Camping with all of my Dearest’s crazy relatives at a family reunion in the forest! I leave in a couple hours.

In July, we are going to a family reunion. The aunts of my Dearest have been putting it together for over a year and now it’s all coming together during 4th of July weekend in the forest of central Arizona.

August is probably our most expensive month. Two of our girls’ birthdays and back-to-school shopping. It’s always fun, though. Also, I may be starting the school year as a long-term sub for a teacher who is having knee surgery in July.

September seems like a good time for a getaway. Perhaps Cancun. . . ?