a plague dialogue

Many of my blogging friends have been incredibly productive lately (or in some cases, reproductive). I am feeling inadequate. But, I am still here, in what has become land of many plagues. We started with the heat wave/drought last summer. 100 days over 100 and almost no rain (leaving people exposed to deadly bacteria strains if they dared to try to swim in whatever lakes remained). This led to a spring filled with moths. Moths everywhere. Moths in the air ducts. Moths on the ceilings. Moths playing dead. Moths really dead. Then came the birds. Beautiful red tailed black birds and crows. And the lovely caterpillars that will eat all the green things from this year.

I wonder what the rest of the summer will bring.

Mouse House and ABQ

Well - it has been an eventful couple of weeks. Here goes: March started with Mickey Mouse. We went to Disney Land. Stayed at the lovely Grand California Hotel and Resort. Eileen ate breakfast with Mickey and her cousin Ike, Uncle and Aunt and grandparents. Awesome time was had by all! Somehow Eileen grew to be 40 inches tall on the airplane arriving tall enough for any ride she could tolerate. On the Saturday that we had early access to the park, there was a bomb threat and so no one who was in the park could leave and no one who arrived after the threat could enter. We had the park to ourselves on a Saturday morning.

Then we returned, Eileen got stomach flu, and we turned around and headed to Albuquerque. We visited three Jewish preschools and one Jewish dayschool. I am comfortable that we belong at the dayschool -- and that next year Eileen will be at Temple Albert early childhood center. I picked up her stomach flu (and so did Eric) while we were in Albuquerque.

Now we have been home for more than a week. I seem to have forgotten our routine between all of the travel and all of the illness this family has had since January.

Moving -- again and again

Eric and I married in June of 2005. The next week he decamped for a year sojourn in a volcanic island called Ascension Island. We found out the following spring (2006) that we would head onward to Colorado Springs. After discovering no base housing was likely available for a while, I purchased a lovely home for us (Eric was still overseas). If you are interested, the price is right and it is on the market. In January 2008, Eileen arrived. In June of 2008, we moved to Volkel, the Netherlands. In July 2010, we moved to Wichita Falls. If you are doing the math, we are due to move again this summer: Albuquerque, here we come.

Eileen will be attending Solomon Schechter starting either next school year or the following one. At least with our current insight into Eric's career, we may be there until retirement. This is especially true once I have my career rolling again. So, for my east coast friends, I look forward to business trips/vacations to see you all! For my New Mexico friends, let's meet in Santa Fe for books or opera, or in the mountains for hiking. For my Colorado friends, we are close enough for weekend trips back and forth!