August 16, 2011  7:38 a.m.

Remember the movie Out of Africa, starring Robert Redford and Meryl Streep?  To this day I always feel a special connection to Meryl Streep because she was the speaker at my college graduation.  She began her address to us by singing:

Que sera, sera

Whatever will be, will be,

The future’s not ours to see,

Que sera, sera..

Then she went on to tell us about how she never could have imagined her future when she was our age.  She never guessed that she would be washing Robert Redford’s hair in the African savannah.  It wasn’t a particularly erudite speech for a college graduation.  Rather, she was reminding us, in her movie star way, of the sovereignty of God.  Of how God weaves us into His story in a way that we can never predict, and never fully understand, until all is revealed.

Well, I am happy to say that we are finally out of Africa.  In sixth grade Geography, that is.  We had a particularly trying day yesterday, a day in which too great a percentage of Chips’ work was offloaded until the end of the day.  There are certain things I expect of him to do the first time through his work; I have told him repeatedly, and yet he still claims not to remember.  Again they were not done, and I had to keep at Calvert with him until late in the evening, and I was very unhappy about it (because it was all preventable) and I was unpleasant and the evening was unpleasant. 

I am trying to teach Chips study skills, so that he (and I?) do not have to suffer so much in the grades to come.  I want him to take notes on his reading, gosh darnit, especially on Geography, because Geography is not easy to remember and keep straight in your mind at test time.  Chips has been doing great on his Calvert tests, but Geography weighs him down.  Especially as we have been stuck in the African continent for the past two months (or so it seems).  One can’t help but get all the facts about all those countries confused.  I hate to say it, but with only a few exceptions, those African countries do blur together in one’s mind.  Chips is very happy to be out of Africa and moving on to Asia.  He feels certain that he will be able to keep those countries straightened out in his mind much better.  I hope so.  The fact is, he needs to take notes on his reading, that’s it.  I have been urging him to do this for Geography since January because I could see the difficulties coming.  Fast forward … he still ain’t taking notes, or very (VERY) slim ones at most.  He is able to get away with little to no notes much better with Science and History, but Geography – well, that’s another story.

On a brighter note, we have finally gotten to the point in sixth grade where we are reading The Phantom Tollbooth, and this book is going to last us through the rest of the course.  Hooray!  This is a book I remember enjoying very much as a young person, and Chips is liking it, too.  Lot’s of fun in this story, clever, and lighthearted. 

P.S. Part of the reason our day was so long was that I had a doctor’s appointment.  But that’s a topic for another post.  Nothing serious.

August 15, 2011 10:34 p.m.

If you haven’t checked into this blog for awhile, if you thought I wasn’t posting for weeks, the reason is that this is a private blog, and as such, it has no RSS feed.  Therefore, even if you are subscribed to this blog, or “follow” this blog, you will no longer be notified of new posts.

Sorry about this, but it cannot be helped.

To stay up on the new posts, you need to become a Follower over at my public blog, http://breezypointer.blogspot.com .  It’s sole purpose for existence is to point you to my new posts over here.  Thank you for your attention to this, and I am sorry my blog has to be so darn inconvenient.

Have pleasant dreams.

-- BPM

August 15, 2011 10:18 p.m.

I apologize for being so silent for so long.  I think I have been encumbered by a severe case of “writer’s reluctance”.  This is a condition in which I found myself thinking about many things, but not especially caring to set pen to paper.  I have to admit, as I continue along with this blog, I find I am getting more careful and selective about what I write about.  In the old days of this blog, about three years ago, I would often write about anything I was thinking about with little filtering.  But now I feel a greater conviction about being selective.

Well, I must tell you about a way in which we were blessed this summer, behind the scenes, with little actual effort on our part.   It was truly the Lord’s doing.  But to understand this, I need to refer you to an old post from two years ago regarding a situation that has prevented our kids from becoming direct students at our violin teacher’s studio.  Basically, she has had a no-compete clause with the owner of a certain music school we’ve been part of for eight years now.  This means that we have been stuck paying the high rates of the music school in order to stay with our teacher. 

Things are a bit different this year, though.  Chips and Sweet Girl have now become the only students of Miss S.  who are still part of that school.  All the rest of her students are her “private studio” students.  In addition, she had earlier notified the school owner not to send her any more new students; that she was only going to take private students from now on.   (Corollary: if our children leave the school, this effectively terminates our teacher’s employment by that school).

We just wrapped up the summer quarter at the music school, and I was dismayed to note how high the tuition rates have gone up.  I asked the school owner if this new price would be sustained into the Fall quarter, and she said that it might be lowered some; that summer brought low volume, so they had to make up for that somewhat.  But at least she realized that we were “price-sensitive”.  I also asked Miss O, another teacher at this school who also teaches violin at our church.  I asked her whether or not she would be able to temporarily (legally) take my kids on as students at our church.  After all, seeking lessons from Miss O at our church would save us $26 per hour of instruction time!   Can you imagine how that adds up in a year?  (We get about 90 minutes of instruction a week).

Well, she (Miss O) didn’t answer my email, and she avoided seeing me at church for a few weeks, so I read that as reluctance on her part to entertain my question.  I knew she had a sense of loyalty to our present teacher, and wouldn’t want to take our kids for that reason alone.

What I didn’t know was what she was doing behind the scenes on our behalf.

When the summer term ended, we went to our supposed “next-to-last” lesson with Miss S and told her that we could no longer afford the high rates of the school and would have to terminate our lessons with her for a year until her contract period was over, before we could go back to her.  In the meantime, I had started asking around to find a possible temporary (one year) teacher.  I dreaded this task, but figured we had no other choice.

And then a miracle occurred.  Miss S told us that a few days prior, the owner of the music school had called her and told her, rather “out of the blue”, that it would be okay for her to take our children as her private students.  Just like that.  Her explanation was, “It’s time.” 

And, Miss S also told us that she would even match the discounted rate at our church!  (due to insurance issues, our church is unable to hire Miss S).

All we can conclude is that Miss O had gone to bat for us with the music school owner.

Well, to say we were happy and relieved  is an understatement.  All I can say is that we have truly been blessed behind the scenes.  The Lord, working in people’s hearts, on our behalf.  He took care of us again.  And the resulting cost differential more than adequately covers the new tuition for orchestra and for additional competitions. 

Simple miracles that mean much.  How neat is that?

August 4, 2011 7:07 p.m.

A homeschooling mother of eight children I know has been treated for leukemia this year and just recovered from a stem cell transplant.  Yesterday she posted a status update to her Facebook, something like this…

Liver ultrasound this morning, a couple short errands, reading lesson with R, cleaning up our bedroom, signing up for homeschool P.E., ordering school books for the fall, made ham scalloped potatoes for supper, sending a wedding gift, finishing up a scrapbook... days like these make me feel like... SHE'S BAAAACK!

Lord, forgive me for any time I have complained about all the meaningful tasks that I have to do in a long day.

God created us for work.

Last week when my children were in music camp, it was a change to my routine.  I had a few hours to myself each morning for four mornings.  On three of these mornings I visited different branches of our county library.  Each morning, I noticed that the computer areas were always about full of people sitting at a PC and staring at the screen.  They stayed there the entire time I was there.  They were doing seemingly serious work on the computer, except when I stood behind some of them, I discovered that they were playing computer games and wandering around Facebook.  Grown adults in their most productive years.  Adults who were either unemployed or underemployed.  It made me wonder how many such adults were filling the computer screens of the libraries of America.  ??  How many such adults were filling the computer screens of their homes in the same way.  ??  Today’s computer has become yesterday’s daytime TV. 

Cruel punishment.  I think of stories I read about prisoners in work camps in Eastern Europe back in the early 20th century.  How their captors would make them sweat and slave away over several days moving a huge mound of dirt from the west end of the compound to the east end.  Right down to the last shovelful.  And then how they were made to move that dirt pile back again to the west end.  Meaningless, hopeless work.

I thought about how I am not unemployed, nor am I underemployed.  No, I might not be on any company’s payroll anywhere.  I might be considered by the world to be a retired electrical engineer, a stay-at-home mom, a homemaker, a housewife.  But I am definitely not underemployed.  As long as I have to pick and choose what I have time to do among many tasks that I would like to do, as long as I have to be thoughtful about the number of activities that I schedule into each week so as not to overload us, as long as I struggle to shore up time for private reading and exercise, as long as I go through most of the day without getting a spare moment to collapse into my recliner, then I am definitely not underemployed. 

Our violin teacher yesterday reported to me that one of her other students has just begun to be “home-educated”.  She was curious about this, and asked me what my home teaching day was like.  When I told her, she sat shaking her head with a smile.  Meaningful work.  I am blessed with much meaningful work.   I am very blessed.  Thank you, Lord, for giving me plenty of what you created me to do.  May I always stay employed by You, always doing construction work for Your Kingdom.  Thank you for filling my days with so many important tasks that I have to prioritize.  Thank you for sparing me from the horror of too many hours to fill, like those unfortunate souls in the public library.  I am among the most blessed of all.

Thank You for meaningful work. 

We will probably have much meaningful work to do in heaven.  We should start to enjoy it here.

The LORD God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it.  Genesis 2:15.

For you yourselves know how you ought to follow our example. We were not idle when we were with you, nor did we eat anyone’s food without paying for it. On the contrary, we worked night and day, laboring and toiling so that we would not be a burden to any of you.  We did this, not because we do not have the right to such help, but in order to offer ourselves as a model for you to imitate.  For even when we were with you, we gave you this rule: “The one who is unwilling to work shall not eat.”

2 Thessalonians 3: 7-10.

Go to the ant, you sluggard;
consider its ways and be wise! 
It has no commander,
no overseer or ruler, 
yet it stores its provisions in summer
and gathers its food at harvest.

How long will you lie there, you sluggard?
When will you get up from your sleep? 
A little sleep, a little slumber,
a little folding of the hands to rest— 
and poverty will come on you like a thief
and scarcity like an armed man.  

Proverbs 6: 6-11

The lazy do not roast any game,
but the diligent feed on the riches of the hunt.

Proverbs 12:27

August 3, 2011  7:42 a.m.

Miss Emily bears down on Hispaniola.  Pray for those folks; they have had a bad couple of years.  Doesn’t look like it’s going to become a hurricane.

Forecast is looking better for our state, though.  I am thankful for that!

August 1, 2011 9:53 p.m.

We’re in for a hurricane this weekend.

Be afraid, be very afraid.

Not of the storm, but rather of the homeowner’s insurance hikes which are certain to follow.

August 1, 2011  1:24 p.m.

It’s the first day of August, and that means another hot month is done and gone, and 2-1/2 more months of heat are left.  In other words, we are just past the halfway mark of our hot and humid season, and I, for one, have had quite enough by now.  Even our swimming pool is warmer than it ought to be.

We have completed all our summer camps, including the music camp at our church’s music conservatory.  I still haven’t been given a photo of Sweet Girl, but she spent part of her camp time learning a few tunes on the harp.  It was her first experience playing a real harp, and she enjoyed it quite a bit.  One day, she even got to play a full adult size harp.  Also, Chips got to play the church organ, and he really liked this.  A highlight of camp for him was getting to climb up at 18 ft. ladder to enter one of the organ chambers, where many of the 4,000 + pipes are installed.  He thought this was pretty neat.  Only 5 children in his age group had signed up for organ, so he got a lot of personalized attention that week.

One special event we enjoyed last week was a summer field trip with our homeschool fellowship group.  I don’t have any photos because we weren’t allowed to take any, but we had the privilege of visiting an air traffic control tower!!  This was completely up Chips’ alley, and the rest of us, too.  We thoroughly enjoyed this tremendous sneak peek into the daily experience of such a very important career.  I wish I had photos to show you all!!!

We are now back to the Calvert routine, and this has always been difficult because we have had three different Mondays that were first lesson-days after camp, and that has always been an adjustment.  But for now, all is well.

I must include some photos from these summer months. 

Earth Science was part of the Calvert 6th grade course this summer, and although I am not a great fan of this branch of science, I have to say that the series of science texts used in Calvert’s middle school courses goes a long way toward making even Earth Science interesting.  Chips has a rock exhibit all ready for our homeschool “show and tell” day.

Sweet Girl continues to be our budding and willing writer, and often will retreat to her room and desk to do so.

When it is too hot to even go in the pool (yes, this does happen some days) we are thankful for air conditioning and old toys that we haven’t pulled out in awhile.

On Sabbath mornings, Chips has been known to pass the time waiting to leave for church in creative pursuits.  Here he has learned that he can earn two tokens at the same time by combining mental and physical exercise into one activity – earning him a red token (for physical exercise) and a green token (for mental exercise) simultaneously.

Sweet Girl is always so happy on those days following a library trip.  Here, she is reading The Wind in the Willows.

Even an optometrist visit in the rain can be an adventure.  Especially when you get those crazy looking “post dilation” shades.  Like who needs them when it’s raining?!?!?  Goofy kids!

One evening, we saw the Winton Family  at our church for an evening of Christian bluegrass music, and a southern style supper.

And now, a few Calvert highlights.  For those of you who haven’t seen our word wall in awhile, it is still alive and well.  We have had a word wall since Chips has been in first grade.  This is its sixth year in service, and its last year, too.  Sweet Girl will not have a word wall in Fourth Grade.  She really doesn’t need one now, but it really makes our school room look productive, don’t you think?  (And I think she would be disappointed if we didn’t keep it going).  After each ATS test, I always clear off the old words to make room for the new.  Or else, our wall would have long been overrun with words.

I was so proud of Chips volunteering to help Sweet Girl with her research report.  He offered to type it up for her if she dictated it.  There they are going at it together.  It turned out to be a great research report on our local community’s history and geography.  This was a Calvert third grade project for Social Studies.

We still do these little art assignments, too.  Like making clay pinch pots and coil pots.

While waiting for Daddy to get home from work, a break away from electronic technology to rediscover a tabletop game.

And here is the photo we were given of Chips playing the organ inside our church sanctuary.   You can see the delight in his face!

So that is how we have been enduring the heat.  How about you?

July 23, 2011 4:10 p.m.

Okay, so Self-Reliant Man had the central air conditioner working by about 10 this morning.  Didn’t cost us a cent, either.  Not even a replacement capacitor.  Try getting results like that after calling the A/C Man.   It would probably be $75 just for The Man to drive up to your house. 

I told him he had a free day and he could sit in his chair and wait for something else to break. 

At lunch time, he wanted to take the van out for a drive, so we all joined him, and that’s when the passenger window broke wide open.  We also discovered the satellite radio had no signal anymore.

Fast forward to four o’clock in the afternoon.  The window is completely repaired.  Self-Reliant Man took the door apart and jerry-rigged the repair just as he had done a year or so ago on the driver’s side door.  Actually it is better than a jerry-rig.  His fix is stronger than the original factory contraption was.  Works great now.

We also put a replacement satellite antenna on order for $11.

Self-Reliant Man is now finally sitting in the chair and everything works!

Just another Saturday at Breezy Point.

p.s.  I am so proud of Self-Reliant Man for being able to save us so much money.  I don’t know what I would do without him.  I’d have a repair person here for something every week.

July 23, 2011 p.m.  11:28 a.m.

I saw this blog post this morning about an oft-quoted Proverb for Christian parents.  I appreciate the blogger who took time to publish this sermon, and I think it is definitely worthy reading.

July 21, 2011  10:29 p.m.

Technology, both simple and complex, is intended to add convenience to our lives, but it sure has its own demands.   We have had to repair things every weekend.  Each time, Self-Reliant Man has sought to employ the most economical methods of getting it working again.  It’s just life at Breezy Point.

4 Saturdays ago, the wheelbarrow had to be fixed.  $7 inner tube + $3 can of spray paint.

4 Saturdays ago, the lawn mower blades also had to be replaced.  $33 replacement steel blades +  $25 new battery.

3 Saturdays ago, the ice maker in the refrigerator had to be fixed.  $21 replacement switch.

2 Saturdays ago, a hole in the In-Sink-erator had to be repaired.  $4 tube of cold weld.

1 Saturday ago, the vacuum cleaner had to be fixed.  Same tube of cold weld, and a replacement belt we found in a closet.

And now …. drumroll ….  this coming Saturday, Self-Reliant Man gets to figure out how to fix the AIR CONDITIONING!!

Whoo – hee!  You go, Self-Reliant Man! 

July 21, 2011 6:53 p.m.

At 5:55 this morning, we were woken up early by the final twin sonic booms of the Space Shuttle Atlantis, of any Space Shuttle.  We won’t ever hear them again, it is said.  Then we listened to the radio as Atlantis made its final landing at the SLF (Shuttle Landing Facility).  And the astronauts did return safely.  And incidentally, a day after the anniversary of our landing on the moon.  Remember that?

So why did I actually weep over this event today?

Maybe it is because it is not only the end of the Shuttle program, but may also signal the end of something even bigger.  Our entire  lives, including the most recent 30 years with the shuttle program, have had a background of American dominance in space exploration, at least in my mind.  (I saw the first shuttle landing on TV in my high school French class, 30 years ago).  It is unfathomable to me that we would roll up and throw away one tube of toothpaste without having another new one already in the drawer.  It makes no sense to me.  For decades we have seen this moment coming, and yet have nothing new in place to lead our exploration further into the future.  Worse, we are going to be dependent on others for access to the ISS (International Space Station).

[As an aside, I still think of Kennedy Space Center (KSC) in terms of acronyms because I worked there as an electrical engineer for a couple of years.  I actually did a study for the replacement of runway lights to restore it to enable nighttime landings.  I guess they went ahead and did the project.  I wonder if my cost estimate was realistic?]

I guess I worry about the fact that such a huge chunk of people with very specific skills are going to be out of a job in our part of the state.  I heard it would be 9,000, and there will be others in other states as well.  I guess I worry that this termination of the shuttle program is a symbol of the end of something else in America.  After all, it is possible that the reason we don’t have that new tube of toothpaste is because it costs too much now.  We’ll just have to smile our best and reminisce about how nice it was to have clean teeth back then.  With the cost of everything else today, it is to be expected that the cost of new designs, retooling, tearing down old and building new facilities to support a different kind of craft –—heck, it all would cost way too much money.  Our government is in such debt right now, and even without the space program, there is no way it can cut spending enough without failing to replace everything else in the bathroom drawer, and the pantry, as well.

Even if we charter a private company to develop what we need for space, our government simply isn’t used to not having their intrusive hands in the batter, too.  So involving private companies might not really save the government any money at all.

I guess I worry that in some way our failure to have another project in progress already symbolizes the loss of the greatness of the United States of America.  Have we passed our peak in this past generation?  Have we already seen our best days?

Self-Reliant Man says that if the shuttle program were really important enough, we would have definitely had something else in place by now.  That the shuttle program has truly outlived its usefulness.  True, without it we couldn’t have built the ISS, and repaired the Hubble telescope, but the everyday return on the shuttle program has long diminished in its importance, real or perceived.  We also have more unmanned vehicles now, launching every few months without much fanfare, and accomplishing some things.  And that’s why there isn’t a replacement.  Keeping our teeth clean is not as important as keeping fed and sheltered, so we aren’t worrying about our teeth for now. 

So you see why I worry.

UPDATE: Here is a good article with great photos about the end of this last mission / program(me).

July 20, 2011  10:07 p.m.

Chips was very happy to find a certain small package inside our mailbox today.  It was his new pair of eyeglasses from Zenni Optical dot com.  I cannot tell you how many times we have purchased glasses from Zenni over the years, very economical eyeglasses, and we have never been disappointed.  I think Chips pinned the coolness meter with this new pair.

What do you think?  Do his new glasses suit him?  I think he will look great wearing them in the orchestra this year.  And he is happy that he will be able to actually read the notes on the music stand!  Whoo hoo!

Poor kid – his prescription is already    –4.25 and he is only eleven years old.  Our optometrist joked with us, that today’s parents not only have to save up for their children’s braces, but also for Lasik.  Too crazy, right?   I think she was semi-serious.

As an aside, through some miracle of genetics, Sweet Girl still does not need eyeglasses, and her vision is near perfect.  What a blessing.

July 18, 2011 1:26 p.m.

In these modern digitized times, I didn’t know how portrait studios stay in business anymore.  But now I guess I do know …… because of churches.  We had professional photos taken of us for the church directory.  We were taken in by the promise of a “free” 8 x 10.  We ended up adding in three more 8 x 10s, one for us, and one for each grandparent.  Let me tell you, the cost of doing that was over the top.  If we keep this up we won’t be able to afford to be in the church directory anymore.  What a racket!

Since they are professional photos, it is wrong for me to scan them and show them to you.  So I won’t.  However, nobody said I could not take a snapshot of the immediate part of the family room where they are on display, right?

July 17, 2011 10:50 p.m.

Lately, it’s been an On Again, Off Again kind of summer.  Our weeks alternate.  We are in the middle of..

• a week of Orchestra Camp (and no lessons) followed by
• a week of Calvert lessons,  followed by
• a week of VBS (and no lessons)   followed by
• a week of Calvert lessons again,   followed by
• a week of church Music Camp (and no lessons) followed by
• the remaining summer with Calvert.

Just so you know, returning to lessons on Mondays after a tiring week of camp ain’t easy.  I know.  We’re in for one of those days tomorrow.

We are just coming off the VBS week, and I was too pooped to pop every afternoon after getting home.  Why is VBS so exhausting????

I just have to share with you the nice photos we received of our children from VBS.  It was a very low key VBS, but that didn’t matter.  All 75 children who attended seemed to really enjoy it and get a lot out of it.  The children had gone on a Faith Expedition!

And the memory verse of the week was “Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see”  -- Hebrews 11:1 

On a somewhat bittersweet note, Chips attended his last VBS as a “kid” this time.  He is now considered a YOUTH and will be serving next year as a helper instead.  How did we get here already???

July 17, 2011 10:21 p.m.

For Calvert School’s 3rd grade course, Sweet Girl has been assigned a research report on the history and geography of her local community.  It turns out that there are many resources available to her for this report.  Our little country hamlet is certainly proud of its history!   There are several webpages with the history of our community, there is a local history museum, and our county library has some well written books about the history of our county.  I have to admit, researching for this project has been interesting.

First we printed out some 11 articles from the internet, and Sweet Girl read them all, highlighting the most important details.  Then we made a visit to our local history museum and spoke to the docent there.  She was happy to learn that Sweet Girl would be writing a report, and she asked for a copy of the completed project for displaying in the museum.  We learned about a time capsule that was placed underground in front of the museum in the year 2000 – to be opened in the year 2025! 

Throughout the visit I took several photos of the museum.  Since the visit, Sweet Girl has written part of the first draft (the history part) and this week she will continue on with the geography part of the report.  Calvert provided guidelines to assist her in creating an outline plan of the report.  I can’t believe that Sweet Girl is actually doing a research report. 

Here are the pictures of our visit to the history museum.

First, we set the scene.  This is the front entrance of the museum.

Sweet Girl is taking notes (drawing pictures) after viewing a Union Army uniform from the Civil War.  Don’t ask me why there is a Union Army uniform and not a Confederate Uniform.  That’s a mystery on me.

This was a display of old toys from past residents of our area.

A genuine Edison phonograph – the kind that used wax cylinders.  A far cry from the modern MP3 file.

Sweet Girl writing on a slate typical of the old school house days.

There used to be a train line going through town about 70+ years ago.  Here is the original sign from the depot.  It is hard to believe there was once a train here.

Admiring some artifacts of a former woman’s lifestyle. 

Imagine a washing machine like this in your home!

Thinking about bread making in the old days….

….. and ironing, too.

This museum is pretty “hands on”.  I cannot remember what Sweet Girl was doing here.

Farming tools from “back in the day”.  There on the left is a taxidermy sand hill crane.  We have plenty of them here (live ones, that is), even now, especially at this time of the year.

Sweet Girl was especially interested in the old telephones.  She thought dial phones were pretty neat.  The black one on the extreme bottom, and the beige one on the right, were just like the phones in my house while I was growing up.  Sweet Girl could hardly believe that.

We stayed in this museum until we “closed down the place”.  It was a nice outing and it is not often that only the two of us go somewhere together by ourselves.  Now this week, as we approach lesson 110 in Calvert’s 3rd Grade Course, we will finish up this assignment.  And yes, we will bring a copy to the museum, too.  Sweet Girl will be proud of that!

July 8, 2011 7:22 a.m.

This is a morning tinged with regret for me.  This morning could very possibly be the final space shuttle launch, if the weather cooperates (and there is only a 30% chance that it will). 

My regrets are that I never took the children out there to see a launch.  By “out there”, I mean out to the area near U.S. highway 1 to view a live launch.  This would be a physical distance of about 12 miles from the launch pad (our yard is 32 miles from the launch pad, but still provides a view of the launch if clouds do not obscure it).   Even back as recently as February, a fellow church member opened his yard to the church family for a viewing, and I declined to go because I thought we would have been away from home for ten hours, not returning until ten at night, and always with the possibility that after all that effort, the launch might be scrubbed.  You see, back in my younger days, I would have been one of those people in a car driving all the way out there, claiming my viewing spot, and standing and waiting until 34 seconds before launch, when something would go wrong and we would have to fight the traffic returning home, having seen nothing.  I can’t tell you how often that has happened to viewers through the years, but it only happened once (or twice) to me before I stopped trying.

On an earlier occasion, I had driven out highway 528 (then called the BeeLine, now called the BeachLine) and taken a left onto highway 407, thinking it was the most direct way, only to be stopped in my tracks a couple mile down due to traffic, and finally having to view the launch from the side of highway 407.  That was my first attack on the launch; I had evidently left home too late that day.

The highlight experiences happened only because I used to be an electrical engineer at Kennedy Space Center.  As a result, I would acquire special passes that enabled me to take guests out to the causeway to Cape Canaveral Air Force Station to view the launch from there.  It was in this way that I was able to treat my husband and my father to the experience.  That was nice.

And on one occasion, while working there, I got to view a launch from as close as the launch pad side of the Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB).  I’m talking a mere 3 miles from the launch pad, about as close as the press is allowed.  Much closer than this would be considered unsafe, due to the noxious gases eliminated from the craft during launch.  Anyway, the rumble of the launch from that location is indescribable, especially as the sound bounces back at you from the VAB behind you.  The intensity and energy of the launch from this distance goes right through your body and brings tears to your eyes from the moment it begins.  That was an unforgettable experience.

And no, I have never gotten out to the coast to see a night launch, although I imagine that would have been awesome, as well.

So I can’t escape this final launch without regret that I didn’t get the kids out there, although we always saw the launches from our yard, whenever we could, and I always was excited when it happened, causing my kids to be excited as well.

And besides, when we all one day see the Glory of God, that space shuttle launch will look like a cheap 4th of July sparkler in comparison.  So, in retrospect, the kids wouldn’t have missed out on much.

and p.s. No, I would be insane to try to take the children out there today or tomorrow.  Everybody in America (and outside America) who realizes it is the last shuttle launch has already head out there early this morning.  That’s alotta people.

July 5, 2011 2:48 P.M.

Not guilty.

Not guilty of anything except lying to the sheriff.

Didn’t we all “watch” this trial?

I am speechless.

For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive what is due him for the things done while in the body, whether good or bad.
2 Corinthians 5:10

July 4, 2011  10:34 p.m.

Let me begin by saying that it was a full day here. 

I began it by taking down the Christmas wreath; this has become a July tradition of mine in the past two years here.  I guess that means that Summer has truly set in at Breezy Point.

We followed that up by putting out our beautiful flag.

After Self-Reliant Man made us a breakfast of Belgian waffles, we packed folding chairs and took off to see our community’s Fourth of July Parade.  I am sorry, I forgot my camera for this parade, but let it be known that there were several “warbird” flyovers, marchers, decorated horses, tractors, and floats that truly brought home to us afresh the fact that we do, indeed, live in the rural South. 

One new addition I couldn’t help noticing was a small contingent of TSA marchers in formal, military-style uniform, carrying a U.S. flag and the Homeland Security flag as well.  I don’t really know what to say about this, except that they didn’t receive any more applause than the Sons of the Confederacy had a moment earlier.  Just a reminder of the times we are living in, but I have to say, a little creepy.

But other than that, this part of the day had its feel- good moments.

After that, we drove to a salad buffet restaurant, had a healthy and complete lunch, and then went to a budget movie theatre to see Rio.  That movie was entertaining, made me laugh out loud several times, and made me want to make a trip some day to Rio de Janeiro.  Oh, and the music was good, too.  (Chips perked up when he heard The Girl from Ipanema, a song that the orchestra just played at camp last week).

Afterwards, we stopped at the pet store for supplies, returned home, did some simple yard tasks, and I swam eleven laps in our pool.  Also had some watermelon.  We thought about playing a family game of croquet, but couldn’t fit it in before dark.

Finally, we lit some fireworks.  It truly was a complete Fourth of July.  Except…

…. I was really hoping that today would bring the verdict in a certain highly publicized murder trial that is going on near us, a trial which has interested me a great deal.  In fact, last week our orchestra camp was located literally down the street from the courthouse where the trial has been taking place.

But unfortunately, this jury would not be liberated from their task on this Independence Day.  I feel sorry for the jury, and I certainly hope that they exercise wisdom in their deliberations, and that  justice is served before long.

July 2, 2011  9:19 p.m.

It looks as if Chips’ photo was used for the cover of the advertising brochure for a certain arts school in the metro area.  Chips was surprised to see his picture (and that of two other boys) had been taken, and chosen for the brochure. 

I said to him, “Do you know why your photo was chosen?” 

He said, “No, why?”

“Enthusiasm,” I replied. “Your face had enthusiasm written all over it. That is why.”

Do you agree?

July 2, 2011 4:30 p.m.   

Yesterday was the conclusion of a week long youth orchestra camp in downtown Orlando.  It was our family’s first experience of a youth orchestra.  Until now, the only group playing our resident violinists had done was Suzuki group classes and Chips’ Chamber Piano Trio.  So this was new and exciting.  I will say that Chips arrived home most afternoons pretty wiped out.  I think his tiredness was due to the fact that he was working very hard hanging with the more “senior” level orchestra to which he had been assigned.  He did find some of the music pretty challenging.  

It was incredible how much music all the kids did learn to play together in just a week’s time.  There were four orchestras at different levels, and several small chamber groups.  There were also theory and composition classes, and each class got to perform the music they had composed together during the week.  I thought that was a pretty neat idea.  Yesterday, all the kids performed the music that they had learned during the week, resulting in a 90 minute concert!  Whew!

I think one of the best things was that Sweet Girl really “came into her own” during this camp.  At first she was assigned to the entry level orchestra, but after that first day, it was decided that she should move up one level.  This made her feel pretty good and competent, but the best part was that she got to participate in a quartet.  She got to play the first violin part in the quartet, and this made her feel pretty good, too.  As you can see from the picture, she looks pretty small in the group she is in.

The bottom line is that all social events, especially camps, are really all about character training, and we were proud of Chips’ conduct during this experience.  Self-Reliant Man and I had coached him before attending the camp about his attitude toward his fellow musician.  We knew that there would be all levels of musicians at this camp, from beginners up to the very skilled.

When we signed up for this camp, my mind flashed back to old Suzuki classes when Chips was five years old.  There were a few really sharp five year olds in those days who tended to show off in front of the other students by spinning off fragments of their relatively advanced repertoire at improper times during the class.  Chips was among them at that time, about six years ago. 

So we coached Chips about his conduct at this camp.  The goal was to make friends, not to show off.  We advised him to only play the music he was asked to play, to play it as well as he could, but not to set himself apart from his peers in any way that might come off as arrogant or prideful.  Violin skill can be a beautiful thing, but when arrogance and prideful-ness are present, it becomes ugly.  He was to practice humility and Christlike behavior.

And so he did.  Never once did I see him show forth any tendency to think of himself more highly than he ought to.  In fact, he never even played any violin solos the whole week.  He did happily perform (for the group at large) a piano piece that he had taught himself, but nothing more.

I think I was most proud of him when he told me about the boy in his group who had just been playing his instrument less than a year, but who came off as very cocky about his musical skill and knowledge. All week long, this boy criticized Chips’ playing, telling him that he was playing at the wrong time, the wrong volume, or the wrong pitch (on notes that Chips fully knew were in perfect tune).  Chips grew tired and annoyed by this boy, who may have been younger than himself, playing the role of the music teacher.

In Chips’ chamber trio, Chips and another boy were both assigned to play the first violin part.  The third boy played the cello part.  Chips knew that there ought to be a second violin part, so on the second day of camp, he sought out this music, and it was found for him (thanks, Tara).  Chips was then willing to take the second violin part instead of the first because he didn’t want the other violinist in his group to have to learn a new, different part on the second day.  On the third day, the cocky boy (not the other violinist) made a comment to Chips like “you have been playing for eight years and you still can’t get this part down?”  Hmm.   It was a good thing it wasn’t me he had said it to; I’d have had a few choice comebacks.  But Chips tried to shrug the comments off, saying nothing more to him all week than “hey, you’re not my teacher”.  There were a lot of things he could have said, but chose not to.  Anyway, I thought Chips showed a lot of Christlikeness and self-restraint under the circumstances and I was really proud of that.

As a final comment, I have to give the orchestra directors a lot of credit for being accepting of all children’s sincere music making efforts and for treating all the children equally, no matter their level of skill.  They always kept in view that it is all about having fun, playing together, enjoying music, respecting one another, and making friends.  I saw that these values were put forth and taught very well.

And yes, Chips and Sweet Girl did indeed make new friends this week.  Friends that share something big in their lives – playing great music using stringed instruments and a bow.  How cool is that?