I have blogged about living in the land of church bazaars but I have to admit – with six kids, they get expensive. That being said, I always support my own church’s bazaar. That would mean this weekend.

Our Lady of Angels is having its annual bazaar. It is not the same timing as it has been in the past so I am not sure how well it will be received but all is in order. How do I know? I have spoken with the chair of the bake sale. I have been by the church and have seen the tents going up. I have looked in the social hall and seen the tables set up.

Today at 5 pm, I will load whoever is home in a car and off we will go. It will be about 7 hours today and 4 or 5 tomorrow. Then, Sunday, we will have breakfast at the pancake breakfast (providing my pocket book as survived Fri and Sat).

Go out this weekend! Have fun! Spend time outside!

Yes, I have previously let my oldest son “entertain” or “host” a sibling but the first time I did this, he was living in a dorm room and his sister was looking at the college he went to. He didn’t do the actually rooming with him but found a female friend for her to stay with so she could decide if she liked the school or not.

Monday was the start of a new part of parenting. My oldest graduated from college in May. He has a job at a CPA firm that starts September 4th (he had interned at the firm for two years and they wanted him to have the summer off ). He has an apartment in Syracuse that he is sharing with a friend from college and is working at a grocery store over the summer . So, lo and behold, he invited his 16 year old brother to come up and spend three days with him. The grocery hours are hit and miss. Seems he had Tuesday and Wednesday off this week and only worked four hours on Monday.

The apartment complex is nice. It has tennis courts and a pool. So off went the 16 year old for three days. I was a little hesitant. Oldest and roomie have three channels at the moment as they do not have cable yet. They have no phone in their apartment but both have cells. I was not sure the 16 year old would manage but it was summer vacation and he wanted to spend some time with his older brother.

Well, when I get there to drop him off, I find out that they have another visitor as well – a college friend who has been there for the weekend but not heading back downstate until Tuesday sometime. That’s okay. I have met all the guys before so I trust them somewhat. I am hoping that in the six weeks since their college graduation they have matured greatly. The 16 year old thinks this is great. He can play tennis with his brother. They can jump in the pool afterwards. They can eat pizza and stay up until all hours watching movies .

Much to my surprise, the 16 year old came out of this with some additional knowledge. He has recently decided he wants to get an education in sound engineering. He has had some trouble doing research on this particular field but it is not unheard of with the friend whose visit overlaps with his. He comes home with some new information and new colleges to look at. The trip was more than spending time with big brother – it was truly a good and a learning experience.

It’s a rite of passage into summer. Ever summer, I head off to the bookstore – or, in today’s case, Sam’s book aisle – and purchase about $20 worth of books for summer reading. While I love reading nonfiction, during the summer my genre of choice is definitely light fiction that I can go through quickly while watching the kids at the beach or pool.

Today was the day.

I bought four books for about $20. I have a Jane Green novel I haven’t read before and three others that I have heard about either the book or the author.

I am headed outside to read with a glass of Pinot Grigio. Have to tell you that my favorite summer read is Jimmy Buffet’s A Salty Piece of Land which I will, undoubtedly, re-read this summer – maybe with some homemade sangria.

When my mom and stepdad moved to California, I was 15 – soon to be 16. I did not go with them. I had lived with my grandmother since I was 5 and I was staying put and finishing high school. They moved to San Jose and I visited occasionally.

When my mom and stepdad moved to California, they purchased some land in Lake Tahoe. When I would visit – my younger sister eventually moved to California for a time, we would go to Lake Tahoe. They never built on the land. Building up there is a lottery system or it was in the 80s. But we would always go up to Tahoe.

I remember a crystal blue lake. Even being in an outdoor curriculum in college and going to school in the Adirondacks, I had never seen a lake this color. It was truly blue and a sapphire blue at that. It still is this crystal blue, just not today.

I sit here on the east coast and watch the news. At one point in my life, I could have been in Tahoe fighting the fire. I have a degree in forestry and one of the things I looked into, before going on for a four year degree in business, was working in the forest service on the west coast.

At one point in my life, I could have been visiting Tahoe at this time of year. I ski but not well and not often. When I visited Tahoe, it was almost always summer and it was to escape the heat of the city below.

So here I sit almost 3,000 miles away. Here I sit watching the news and praying for those in the wake of the fire. Here I sit hoping containment is close but know it is not. Here I sit hoping for cooler weather in Lake Tahoe.

While the talk about this will undoubtedly be along the lines of Angelina Jolie getting an Oscar, I am amazed at the number of people in my small town/city that showed up to see the movie this past weekend. I went to a 7:15 pm showing on Saturday night in a fairly conservative upstate NY city. There were probably around 75 other people at this same showing. It was an intimate setting as it was in one of the smaller theatres in a 12 theatre location. Most were sitting in the upper portion so it felt like a closer, smaller setting than it was.

I found it very hard to concentrate on the movie. I didn’t go watch those other movies that were based around history that I have lived through. I have stayed far away from movies about Vietnam. I have very strange memories of that time in this country’s history. I remember my cousin’s husband’s draft number coming up. He was a psychiatric nurse so was truly needed but still, it was traumatic. I remember the news breaking into television to report the results/conclusion of the Lieutenant Calley courtmartial. I have vivid memories of the flag-draped coffins. I have vivid memories of those who ended up in the Phillipines for help after the war.

I found the events of September 11th hit too close to home. Too many of my son’s friends have been to Afghanistan and Iraq. Too many things remind me of that time. Yet, something about A Mighty Heart drew me to go see the movie. I didn’t see Fahrenheit 9/11 and I didn’t see United 93. I did see A Mighty Heart.

Watching the chaos in the streets of Islamabad and Karuchi, I have a new appreciation for US cities. I have always loved San Francisco, which – for its size – is a clean and quiet city. I have always loved Boston as it too, at least pre-Big Dig, was clean. I have never loved NYC but I visit frequently or use to. I like Atlanta but enjoy the suburbs there more than the actual city. The cities shown in A Mighty Heart were dirty. They were very crowded but not crowded with businessmen trying to hail a cab or run to the subway. They were crowded with dirt and beggars and people who were struggling to survive. While I think of NYC as dirty, it is not. You can see the streets. On the streets of Karuchi, you could see the dirt.

Watching the ability of the police in Pakistan to barge into residences with guns drawn gave me a new appreciation for the rights we have in the US. I know that these very rights are being slowly eroded in the name of the “war on terrorism,” but I do not see these rights going away ever. I do not see police in the US being able to barge into the home of the relative of a suspect with guns drawn. I do not see police in the US being able to torture suspects or those who have information without repercussions.

I found it hard to watch a movie where I had watched the real event unfold in the news. This may be the largest drawback to A Mighty Heart being a box office hit. A lot of people will find it hard to watch for that reason alone. Yet, the quiet that was in the small theatre in upstate NY last Saturday brought respect to the movie, to the dead and to the living involved.

I have decided I truly have no life. Last night was the first Friday of summer. You would think, being single and all, that I would have wonderful plans. Well, I had a good night but I am sure the plans were not what people would expect of a single person.

My youngest was at a party until 10 pm. This did leave enough time to catch a movie or some such frivolity. But no – I sat at home, in front of the “big” tv (a relative term) and watched the NHL draft!

What a blast!!

About 200 7th and 8th grade band, chorus and orchestra students loaded on to four charter busses on Thurday and were off to Hershey Park for the day. I went as a chaperone and had a wonderful day with nine very active seventh grade boys.

We rode coasters. We rode water rides. I watched bags and cell phones and kids while some rode a wave pool. We ate dipping dots, or at least the kids did. We ate pizza and subs. We used sunscreen – at least some of us did, including me. Two meals and several snacks and an absolutely gorgeous first day of summer and we were done with the eight hours of park and on the busses coming home. I was a little pink even with the sunscreen but what fun.

What a great day!

This should make you laugh but some of you will understand – it is chancey, even with the calendar telling me that the official start of summer is Thursday, to say summer is here. I live where it may still get cold at night so hopefully, I don’t jinx anything.

Summer is here. It is hot – and humid – and, my bet is come tomorrow morning, a bit hazy. That is summer in upstate NY. The three H’s are the common thing and seem to stay that way through August and occasionally September, too.

My first day of summer – Thursday, remember – will be spent as a chaperone for a music trip for 7th and 8th grade band, orchestra and chorus members. We load the busses in back of the middle school between 6:30 and 6:45 with leaving time being 7 am. Then, we are on our way to Hershey Park for the day. We should hit the park just about opening time and be on our way to rides and water and FUN!

The weather is suppose to be great so I am going to finish off the cleaning of my house that has been hit or miss all week and spend the rest of the weekend outside.

I have a few organizational items to deal with in my room. Then, I want to put an exercise machine I have in there so I can use it daily.

Next, I have some clothing bins (big plastic things) to put in the garage. I have been waiting to do this but now it is happening because they are annoying me.

Then, it is off to make lunch and get ready for a big to-do tonight. I am chaperoning the high school music department’s end of year “banquet.” In the past, this event has taken place at a country club. This year, it is at a local park and is a dish-to-pass. I can’t wait!!!

Today is Flag Day!

One, possibly both but I only have experience with one, of the elementary schools in our district has a huge Flag Day celebration. The entire school participates with the younger classes doing a march, or such, that is age-appropriate, while the older classes have fewer kids in them as most are in band, chorus or orchestra. All of these groups perform.

The population of the school just about doubles with all the relatives that come to watch and to celebrate our flag. In the past recent years, there were members of our military who had recently returned home and members of the local VFW present.

Regardless of what else you do today, take a good look at a flag! Realize what it symbolizes and how much we have to be thankful for.