Bits and Pieces

We are trucking along here... though the dogs are really testing my patience. I will count it as good practice for having another child, but they are truly unbelievable at times. I have been extremely consistent with ensuring they get at least two 45 minute walks a day. Usually one walk is about an hour in length, and I try to take them to the dog park to run around off the leash once a day, too. Only on one day has the dog park visit failed, as I avoid it if any other dogs are there. I know my limits, and I just don't go there.
I am really fortunate that this solitary period has landed right in the middle of the Dutch vacation time, because the dog park is usually deserted; a real bonus for me. Anyway, despite all the walks they are not all that satisfied. They are not wild-- the way they act when they clearly are not getting enough exercise, it is more like they resent not having just a bit more. I guess this whole post is just showing that I am spending too much time with them!

I know they will survive, I know they are getting what they need (though maybe not a lot more than that) and I need to just not feel bad about them. It has been overcast and rainy off and on since our return. Yesterday was the most dramatic, with bands of fast-moving rainclouds moving across a clear blue sky. We had to retreat into the neighborhood park for shelter mid-walk, but then it cleared again. I have certainly changed my definition of the amount of rain necessary to keep me from walking the pups. There are downpours, which we avoid, but it is possible to take a pretty reasonable walk in a light spattering of rain if that is your only option for the day.

On to better subjects-- James is doing really well. Working on his Dutch and his English. His caregivers at school tell me that he is teaching them a little English, too. I am glad he is getting consistent exposure to another language. I know he is unlikely to retain much if we leave at the end of this year, but I am glad for the basic introduction regardless.
He asks at least once a day to ride in an auto, and the only bone I can throw him is a nice ride on the bike. That usually seems to suffice. I keep telling him he will get his chance when we return to America. So many chances...
I realize now there were a lot more airplanes in the Atlanta area than there are here-- he is constantly pointing out birds and saying "airplane". That is tough to explain, though he corrects himself after I show him it is a bird. Today's highlight was a low-flying helicopter. What a treat-- it went over us three different times as we walked the pups. He was still repeating "helicopter.. helicopter" as I put him to bed.

The weather is still chilly (lows in the 40s). Those in the know tell me that things should be much sunnier for the rest of the week. Hooray.

As for Mike, we have had slightly less contact since my return-- his internet connection is dial-up, which makes emailing inconvenient and the time difference makes planning phone calls more difficult. I do know that Dot and Tom just left after a visit of about 5 days. It sounds like (from Mike's end) that is was a good visit and that his parents really enjoyed seeing the school.

He began his final course this week (it is a 2 week long class) on the topic of building one's own timber frame home. I cannot wait to see his notes and hear all the details. They really give the students all the information they need to plan/design/build a home. I know it is exciting for Mike, and it certainly makes us both itch to settle into new jobs and get started on the next phase of our lives. In many ways we are both eager to return and find our place in a community stateside. Mike continues to get a lot of positive feedback from the people he is meeting in the area. So-- it is all very exciting. I realize this is not exactly a stellar update. Once he returns I know he will blog repeatedly, so his loyal followers will just have to wait until then for the full story.

As for the photos above-- all apologies for the OLD shots. These are from the US trip-- we have not been taking pictures the last few days. I may be wrong, but I am assuming nobody needs to see shots of James and I in raincoats standing in the rain with two disgruntled dogs

WIT Shower

James (in flasher costume) with Jesse, one of the other newer WiT babies and his mum Hilde.

Last weekend James and I attended a baby shower for my international women's group, Wereldvrouwen in Twente. It was honoring Mayumi, who is due in late October but will be returning to Japan in the next weeks. It was delightful. I was not sure we would be able to attend until the morning of-- having just flown in the day before it was not certain that either of us would be conscious by midday Sunday. However, James and I both slept through the night our first night back, so things seemed fine. I also knew that going and doing something would be more entertaining for him than sitting at home. He napped for about the first hour of the party, which was nice-- then woke up ready to play.
When the sun was shining it was warm and gorgeous in Letteke's garden (well, it is always gorgeous in Letteke's garden). Occasionally the clouds would roll in, and we even had a light spattering of rain, but for the most part we were all in the open air and really enjoying the day. Nobody more than James, who loved the party. He spent a great deal of his time naked standing in one of Letteke's birdbaths-- of course he didn't strip down upon arrival. It happened gradually, going from wet shoes, to no shoes, to just shorts, to only diaper, to buck naked. Then some of the concerned mums worried he was too chilly when the sun went behind the clouds, so we put his rain jacket on. That is why he looks like a flasher in some of these pics.

Everyone gathering around Mayumi

Mayumi showing James one of her gifts

The food is always AWESOME at these events, and this was no exception. There were delights from all over the globe.

A view of Letteke's garden. For a Dutch garden she has a lot of space, and a much more natural, wilder, landscape. We always enjoy our time there.

How cute is this guy?

While in Roswell, Mike's mom Dottie gave me a few photos of Mike as a little boy. People often tell me they think James looks like Mike. It is hard for me to see, because I do not think Mike as a child looked like a miniature version of adult Mike. Maybe it is the goatee-thingee that is throwing me off?

I CAN see that James looks very much like Mike's brother's kids, especially Bill and Madeline's boys Cole, Mathew and Kevin. Anyway, seeing these photos really brings it into focus! I can totally see James in there.

This must be Mike's second birthday:

And this is an older version:
Enjoy!

De Methode Bradley

Greetings! Things are going well here. I had an appointment with the vruchtvrouw (midwife) yesterday. It went well. Because 'natural childbirth' is the default option here I think I expected things to be a certain way last time. In other words, I expected the midwives to know about the Bradley Method and the home birth was actually much more medical than I imagined it would be. It is not that they are ignorant of the Method, but more that they don't call it such. They are of course familiar with just about everything in the world of birthing. Anyway, last time I ended up pushing while on my back, which was exactly what I did not want. I'd requested a birth stool, but the midwife forgot to bring it. At that point, it wasn't exactly a good time for her to dash off and pick it up. When the labor was happening I sort of went into the zone and just got the job done, but I would much prefer to communicate more with my midwives this time. I saw Mylene, one of the six women in the practice. She has been there since James was born, but we didn't see her much last time. I think she said she herself was having a baby for part of my last pregnancy.

She said all looks great with the little bean. Head down, with his/her back on my left side and the feet on my right. She listened for the heart and checked by blood pressure and weight. I am a little worried the baby may be low weight because I am now riding my bike several times a day and taking at least two 45 minute walks with the dogs (albeit not at a fast pace). However, she said for now it is perfect, growing well, and that is good enough for me. In the interest of the baby I decided to just buy some Ben and Jerry's ice cream yesterday. It is the least I can do.

I decided that after my trip home I would start explaining at every visit exactly what I wanted for this birth. It is important to me that I not only let them know what I want, but also let them know that I have been actively working and practicing to give birth in this way. Part of the Bradley Method involves relaxing your body while in the early stages of labor. Last time, the midwife saw me "lying around" and suggested I get up and get things going. In fact, by that time I had worked so hard at relaxing my body that I was fully dilated, effaced and ready to push. I had her check me and she realized this. But at that moment, with so much going on, it is not a good time to describe what you are doing and why; I literally could not explain anything at that point, so I would like to avoid that this time.

For this week's visit I took my Bradley Method book and spoke with her about my plans/ desires for the birth. She was great, understood immediately what I was talking about, and was completely supportive. Hooray! It made me feel much better about making the communication clear this time.

So, in that vein I have been actively practicing all the suggested Bradley Method exercises so that I feel confident on the day. With only about 6 weeks to go I did not mean to leave it so late, but working on your goofy birth stretching exercises is not exactly conducive to being a guest in other people's houses. Now I have been working on it all daily and feeling really good about it. The absolutely most difficult part is making your body relax without falling asleep. Of course in labor it is not hard to stay awake, but on a normal day it is difficult to relax to that level (when already tired and overworked) and not completely crash out. I try to hold on as long as possible, then just go with the sleepy flow.

Otherwise I have been organizing anything that will sit still inside this house. Knowing this is probably my best chance (time wise) before our end of the year move + the nesting instinct have made me totally out of control. I hope Mike recognizes the place. I am considerate enough that I would never throw anything that isn't mine away, but I have certainly made some executive decisions about arranging things. It is addictive and exponential. The moment you get down on the floor to rearrange the cabinets you get way too close a view of some other disorganized item or see something in need of cleaning. I am enjoying myself, and it is probably better that Mike is not here to view the manic whirlwind.

James just keeps talking and talking and talking. He is sprinkling a little Dutch in with the English. After just three mornings back at school I know he has gotten an earful.

He has a way of repeating just the highlights from any given sentence.
For example if I say:
James is a very brave boy (because he fell down on his face, bit his lip and got a mouthful of dirt at the playground).
He says:
Mames. Brave. Boy.

If I say :
Let's go outside and take a ride on the bike
He says:
Outside. Ride. Bike.

Or if I say:
Ghost and Keska have issues.
He says: Ghost. Kesksa. Issues.

I have also noticed him doing things that I then realize I must do-- it is hilarious. Today we were playing upstairs and he left my bedroom to walk to his bedroom to pick up more books. The whole time he was walking around he muttered under his breath:
"Right back. Right back. Right back."
It was pretty endearing, because I am always saying that to him when I leave the room for a minute.

I have been practicing my dutch, too-- the ladies at the kinderopvang (daycare) just speak Dutch, which is great for me. I found out this AM that one of the kids upstairs in an older group has chicken pocks (waterpokken, which I had to ask about in English)-- but they said it is just a formality to inform everyone. Or I think that is what they said!

That is about it on this front. We are well-- tired at the end of each day, but doing just fine.

And now, on to the photos of James! This is his plumbing repair viewing station, and a shot of him outside on the bike-- this was almost bedtime, as you can see from his quite tired eyes.

Plumbing the depths

Well, an exciting day around these parts. As I posted earlier I decided to just go ahead and seek the help of a pro for our plumbing woes. I had a helpful neighbor who was trying to lend a hand, but of course it can be a lot of extra work for someone with his own job/family/house. So, I called the closest plumbing company first thing this morning. They were on vacation-- I have to assume because they did not answer or have a machine on. I called them for about an hour just to make sure because I spoke with three people and they all recommended the same place. But alas, it was not to be and so I went to plan B, which was choosing the first listing from the online telephone guides under the heading plumber (loodgieter in Dutch). I do not like to be SO unscientific, but I really had no other choice. The first guy answered, a major breakthrough, only to tell me that he was already on vacation and busy. I asked him to recommend someone not on vacation and he gave me the number of the helpful Ronnie. He was GREAT-- this is not your typical plumber-- there were no loose pants with an inadequate belt on Ronnie-- he was the most kempt, neatest plumber i have ever seen-- just polished and precise and very kind. He even spoke English. He put a jumpsuit on over his clothes-- they are big on jumpsuits here, and crawled right under the house and got to work, making crazy bumping, banging, and ouch noises along the way (he told me later he now has a few holes in his back from the nails coming in from the floor above. Yikes! I hope he is up on his tetanus shots, but I didn't go into it because his English was not quite that good).
Anyway, he found this doozey of a busted pipe, which he left for us as a memento. He said my husband would want to see it. He said there were some other weak spots within the system, but to combat this he put some stuff in the pipes when he refilled the radiators with water, which should strengthen any weak spots.
Sorry I cannot be more specific, but it made sense when he said it and my pregnancy brain cannot make much more out of this information at this point in time. I have hot water now, this I know

Finally, you should know that this is how we like to sit sometimes when we are relaxing

JUMANJI

I was excited to see how the plants might grow and change while we were gone. The back garden is a little Jumanji-- especially the sunflowers, which are SO nice and bright and lovely. Fortunately they had a great headstart when it was warm and sunny earlier this year, as it has been primarily rainy and gross since we got back. One of our cacti is also blooming, which is a real treat

The house has been having plumbing issues since our return. We have no hot water-- apparently when we were gone our neighbors found a leak in their basement (sort of more of a dug-out root cellar than a finished basement, by that I mean he literally dug it out himself) and traced it to our radiator. So, as they have a spare key they turned off our hot water to stop the leak. It is driving Mike nuts that he is so far away and cannot just simply solve this problem. Our neighbor has tried to help, but of course they are busy with their own things. Anyway-- after getting some help here and there over the last days, I made an executive decision yesterday to just go with the plumber. So, I will be calling one today-- which should be interesting to say the least. I am not sure the average plumber will speak much English. Will update here after what is sure to be an adventure...

Flight of the Disconcordants

Just to inform the masses I will give details about our latest journey across the great Atlantic. I was definitely more tired before this flight than on the way over. Partially this was from shouldering the childcare solo (though I did get LOTS of help along the way) for 5 weeks, and also probably from the pregnancy progression.

We needed to arrive at the airport right about naptime (1:45PM), but I hoped James would just be tired by flight time (4:45 PM). This kind of strategy is hard to play, because you can only do so much, and hope that the balance is not pushed past "tired" to the dreaded "overtired" stage. Or as our favorite sleep doctor calls it, upcited-- the combination of upset and excited.

I climbed into the long KLM line behind a mission trip of about 35 people. There are often missionaries on these flights, because I think you have to go through Europe to get to Africa. They just don't do a lot of direct flights. After standing in line for about 45 minutes a very kind Australian guy told me I should not be in the regular line in my state. In Amsterdam, where we usually depart, they will pull you out of line if you have a kid or are pregnant, etc.-- but I really don't know the policy, and I didn't want to lose my place in line. I also didn't want to make too big a deal out of my situation-- because this was also my first time flying so close to the cut off date for pregnancy. I knew I was completely within their published guidelines, but I didn't want to make such a big deal out of it that they questioned my abilities to take the flight. This gentleman was so kind though, and he went forward to speak with the staff and they immediately put me in the 1st class line with no waiting. Then I was funneled into the first class/military/special needs security check as well. The counter assistant told me I had a bulkhead seat again, which was very exciting to me. I made it through security with no problems, then James and I proceeded via the train to our gate. We went to the bathroom, we ate a sandwich, we strolled around and then waited and waited for our flight. In the meantime it began to storm outside, and the crew mentioned this may cause delays. I was able to keep James occupied by looking out of the window as airplanes took off and they loaded our plane with food, luggage, etc. Then a nice but seemingly semi-neglected kid sort of glommed onto us and played with James for at least an hour. Finally when it was time to board I convinced him it really was time he found his family (who were just sort of staring into space nearby and eating McDonalds). This kid was basically nice, and it was a good distraction-- he also offered me helpful input about James' Dora watch from Target-- which he said was definitely not a boy watch (it was blue, how should I know?)
Anyway we boarded and James wanted to get down and explore, and he began to fuss and cry. Now he is not immune to a meltdown, and often when he hits that stage-- he does not want anything I have to offer. No teething gel, no milk, no snack, no mamma, no nothin'. When not on an airplane and he gets this way, I simply put him down, let him get upset solo, and then he always hits a point where he soon wants to be picked up and held. Unfortunately on the airplane I could not put him down because people were loading themselves and heavy bags all around us. I tried to remain calm and happy, and told my fellow passengers that he would fall asleep soon. But James became more and more upset, and soon it was time for him to be buckled onto my seatbelt. He was just crying out hoarsely "no no no" over and over again. He was getting hotter and more red and sweaty with each passing moment. I tried taking him to the bathroom, but he was just too far gone to settle down. When I emerged from the bathroom the flight attendant said-- we have another idea! They cleared a center row for us and gave us four seats together so that he could lie down. We had to get through the takeoff first-- you have to be all buckled then-- but then he totally crashed out for four hours of decent sleep. All told he only cried for about 1.5 hours, and it could have been much worse. In the beginning you could see panic in the faces of everyone around us-- they were definitely thinking "is this kid going to cry for 8 hours", but it was fine in the end.
Thankfully another kind Australian, Kylie, met us at the airport to drive us home. James is pretty much back on the proper sleeping schedule-- mom is not too far behind I hope...

East Atlanta.. tales from Zombie Alley

Zombie Alley is what Anne calls one of the streets leading to her street, this is because of a guy who hangs outside on said Alley in front of his house-- lets just say he has some issues. Anne assured me my visit was fortuitous because I saw the Zombie not once but three times, and even got a glimpse of his roomate, the Fatman. James and I headed to Anne and Todd's house (and Rollie and Tiller's house, too) for our final night in Atlanta. Anne offered weeks ago to help get us to the airport. As she lives a mere 20 minutes from Hartsfield Jackson International, and has two kids just waiting to entertain me and my two kids... well the decision was simple.

The Johnsons live in East Atlanta in a great house that is roomy, well planned and oh so cute from the outside. I guess it is craftsman style, but a new build, so would that be neocraftsman-- the neighborhood is a mix of several styles, but there are some Victorian homes and lots of new and original craftsman houses. Great architectural details that are completely foreign to me now. There were TONS of charming places that Anne assured me are no longer going for a song. It always seems to be that way.

We had a great time. The Johnson clan are just as fun and kind as Anne's blog would lead you to believe. And Rollie and the Tiller were a hoot. Rollie gave me a glimpse of the future, when those first words turn into lots and lots and lots of questions. Hilarious and entertaining. Both kids are ADORABLE, and Tiller (though quiet compared to Rollie) is like a ray of sunshine when she flashes that smile.

We met up with Camille and friends/kids for a swim date at her neighborhood pool. It was awesome. My pregnancy brain was especially dumb that day. I think I managed to call Camille both Camilla (I'd just read an article about Parker-Bowles) and Carmella, which is the name of Natalie's child. Hopefully she does not think I am a total moron. We spent the final morning at Chandler Park and had such a nice time. It was shady under the equipment, the air was clear-- I couldn't have ordered a more perfect day.

Here are some photos, including the series of them all standing up, then copying each other as they all squat down, then get back up again.

keksa is de Baas

That means keska is the boss, and for anyone who still doubted it, this is now official. According the the fine folks at Dierenhotel Het Hazewinkel Keska was "the boss" for the five week period she spent there.

Whoisourlittlepackleader!

We like this place because it is run from a veterinarian practice, they exercise the pups well, and the dogs always return happy. Most of the dog exercise comes from getting to play in the "big group" with the other dogs. The assistant and the vet told me that Keska thinks it is "her group" now, and even had an altercation with another dog who thought it might be his group. Apparently this is not enough of a violation to keep you from playing with the big group, because they allowed her to stay after this fight (see her wounds above).

I just returned from picking them up-- it is a madhouse there because it is the busiest time of year, the bouwvak, when most people have holidays and the kids are out of school. There was a kennel to the left full of about 25-30 tiny dogs, and a kennel to the right full of about 25-30 large dogs. The assistant just walked up to the gate and I guess the plan was to just hope my dogs came out first. As you might imagine, instead there were at least 25 dogs pushing to also be let out. Keska wormed her way out immediately, Ghost took some time, and in the process about 6 other dogs were in the outer kennel area jumping about as the assistant tried to force them back in. All the while I worked to get our dogs to sit and have their leashes put on-- though of course this is nearly impossible due to the excitement at seeing me and the chaos of dogs jumping all about. Whew! It was crazy!

But we survived, and are home now. Everything is covered in hair again-- it happens instantaneously when they cross the threshold. Both pups are resting quietly by my side as I type and I am so happy to have almost the whole family back in place again. In just three weeks Mike will return, and then we can await the newest addition to the group. Two dogs, two parents, and soon to be two kids. That is enough for now!

Photos are in

The shots from the photo shoot day are in-- they turned out very well. I am impressed with Natalie's work. I would not have imagined she could create those images from that situation.

Here is the site access.
Just enter
Username: River Bottom Plantation
Password: 15674

I should take this opportunity to plug Natalie Vondersmith. I am telling you, she is GOOD. If you could have seen these sweaty kids running around in different directions (especially James), you would truly understand her skills. One of her specialties is meeting families at the beach for photos, but we just did these out at the farm.
And yes maybe I am biased, because my cutie pie nephew and nieces are on her website, and her blog has a few photos of the session with us.

Roswell days

counting to five with Grandma Maier

Discussing the beautiful landscaping with Grandpa Maier


Dottie found this pull along puppy for James to play with that belonged to Mike, called the "little Snoopy"

Where to begin? I have not posted any real photos of our trip to Atlanta, Part 2. As those who read The Gouldie Zone may know James and I (with the kind transportation and company of Bammy and Peppy Owens) traveled to Marietta to visit and lunch with the Goulds first thing. Those cousins together are just so funny. Since getting back James routinely mentions the names of everyone from our trip. At the funniest times he'll bring up some new friend or family member. The Goulds sent us some Valentine's art from Sophie months ago featuring all the kid's photos. It is still on the fridge and James picked up on it immediately. He now routinely says "Micheal, Emily" then shouts "Sophie Gould!" It is pretty cute.
We had such a quiet and fun time at Grandma and Grandpa Maiers. I kept threatening Dot and Tom I would "Southernize" them by re-christening their grandparent monikers, with something catchy like Pip-pop and Moomzie. Of course it is all in jest, because when you are grandchild number fifteen the name is established-- and they much prefer the standard "Grandpa/Grandma". Those two can make a game out of anything-- they are truly the parents of nine children. Here are some shots of James filling buckets from the rain gutter in a light summer shower (no thunder or lightning), and sitting on a bulk pack of paper towels.Here also are some images of James and Dottie livin' it up at the Babies R Us in Alpharetta. He doesn't realize that things from the store can come home, so we had a great time testing the floor samples
I will leave off with this for now-- and post more soon...

Extremely short post

Hello All, this is Katharine just letting you know James and I are safe and back in Enschede. I will give a detailed description of the plane ride when I can describe it in a humorously offhand way. I think I need one good night's sleep first. We just had dinner, James is down, and I am next. I may make it to 8:30PM, but I am not counting on it.
When the camera batteries recharge I will supply some nice shots from the end of our American excursion. Until then, the directors of the barn raising/restoration in Ohio that Mike is participating in have a nice daily web report that could be found through an earlier link. Here is the direct link for anyone interested in what is going on.
The Heartwood apprentices arrived around Day 14. As his sister Dorothy pointed out, you can see Mike occasionally in the background. Don't let the timber jargon throw you off--- I doubt many people get all their references. I certainly do not have any clue about a good portion of the timber-y details.

Oh, and playing hard

Here are a few more shots my mom just sent from the Valdy trip.

First James had a GREAT time getting very dirty on Mimi and Pablo's farm for the 4th of July. We were trying to get him to show just how filthy his hands became after running them up and down the posts around the grape vines.

And also documentation of his first McDonald's play place visit, which took place in Perry GA, where he befriended the interesting Jasmine and Lilla-- who go there a lot apparently-- bless their hearts.

ATL

back in Atlanta for a few days before the plane trip on 20 July. We are having a nice visit. My parents carted us back up I75 on Saturday. We visited the Valdosta Starbucks before heading to Marietta and the Gould's for lunch, nap, and playtime with the cousins. It is so fun to see those kids together. Sophie is great with James and such a sweet cousin. The twins and James are hilarious-- he and Emily kept standing face to face and squealing directly at each other. He and Micheal had minor toy sharing issues, but for the most part got along famously. Yesterday was downright comfortable in Roswell. A morning rain and overcast day kept things pleasant. It was delightful. We took a neighborhood walk, visited the Lazazos, even managing to catch a quick visit with Marilyn while she was in town, and played on the deck in the afternoon.

We all took naps at different times midday-- and I mean every single one of us.

At my parents house, whenever James heard the phone ring he would start repeating "Hello Lizzie, Hello Lizzie". Is this an indication that my mom and sister Elizabeth talk often? of course its not always Aunt Lizzie but he thinks it is now. Last night one of his Grandpa Maier's fishing buddies called to chat and before I knew it he had picked up the extension and was repeating "Hello Lizzie" into it. We don't have any extensions in Enschede (and honestly get very few phone calls anyway-- so I was not prepared). I managed to pry it away from him and hang up the phone before too long. I also caught him walking around saying "Hello Lizzie" into the remote control this morning.

Around grandma Maier's house there are several photos of James (or Mames) and lots of pics of his mom and dad. We have talked endlessly about each one, and also kissed a few of them since our arrival. Mike arrived safely in Ohio and is loving his time there. Venison burgers are on the menu tonight, and they are busy and learning TONS.

We went to Babies R Us for the first time today. The Alpharetta store is about as big as the entire Netherlands. It was astounding. We went in to look at books and James had fun sampling the toys. Thank goodness baby #2 is a surprise, so there was no pressure to buy anything for him/her-- though I was impressed to see they have an organic cotton line. He rode around on a little bike/car floor model and enjoyed himself thoroughly. It was like we went to the park without leaving the AC.

Here are some photos of James having a birthday celebration in Valdosta, with all his cousins enjoying watching the present opening (Lindsey Kate, Micajah and Heyward). Heyward helped me open all the packaging-- which honestly had totally stumped me.

Micajah living vicariously through James' Thomas the Tank accoutrement. And to tell you the truth, I thought the Thomas stuff was a little weird and creepy at first-- with those gray clay-like faces stuck on the front of the trains, but I have now gone totally over to the dark side. I like Thomas the train. I want to get a dvd with British English while back in the NL, because I bet it is even more charming in Brit-speak.

Another of james and Micajah-- and trust me, you haven't fully experienced adorable until you have heard Micajah read "pat the bunny" to his cousin.

james really understood more about gifts/opening gifts this time

Tropical Adventures

Well, I have been meaning to mention all the critters we have seen since our arrival in the deep South. The insects alone have been a new experience for James, who is accustomed to the Dutch insect diversity. Nothing against the Netherlands, but it is hard to compete with the swampy nearly tropical biodiversity of South Georgia. Since our arrival we have seen dozens of insects and other invertebrates, including spiders (wolf, jumping, and my favorite, the spiny crab-like orb weaver), bees, butterflies (whites, skippers and two swallowtail varieties), beetles (ladybird, stag, scarab to name a few), and more. And we have not been looking for bugs yet, we've just run into all of these. In the vertebrate category we have enjoyed Bammy and Peppy's yard full of squirels, birds, and anoles.

But honestly today took the cake. This morning after breakfast I heard Bammy calling from downstairs with a funny sound in her voice. I brought James down the stairs to hear that Bammy had a snake in her bathroom. I asked first if she heard it rattling, she said no. So, I went in to check it out. It was a little bitty thing, possibly a black racer jeuvenile. I should be able to identify a snake, after my two plus years working for the snake master Dr Fauth in Charleston. As my Aunt Nanny said (because you know my mom called both my sisters and hers immediately), "Katharine should be able to get it, didn't she use to work in a snaketorium?" We actually call it the National Forest, but you get the idea. But anyway, I can only tell you if a snake is venomous or not-- I just stick to the basics. I knew it wasn't a rattler and it wasn't a moccasin. Venomous or not, I do not pick up unknown snakes with my bare hands.

So, I look down, only to find this guy heading straight for my mom's closet. James, my mom amd I are all there either shoeless or in flip flops. So we all went off to put on close toed shoes (except Bammy, whose shoes were in the closet) and then Bammy tried to entertain James while I looked for this little guy. My mother's closet is a walk-in, but as she is vertically challenged there are lots of things in the bottom half of the closet. It is stuffed really. I found some gloves, then tried to get him out from behind some storage boxes. Long story short, eventually I couldn't find him anymore and felt pretty confident he'd gone out through the other closet door (conveniently located behind a chest of drawers with wrapping paper and a sewing machine on top if it). It had been about an hour of me, 7 months pregnant, getting up and down from the ground and looking under stuff, and I hadn't seen him in quite a while. I took off the gloves and asked my mom what we could organize while I was here. Of course I am a bit of an organizer anyway, plus pregnant-- I was ready to go. So, she found a few boxes we felt she wouldn't need access to in the near future and I put them on the topmost shelf. Then I sat down and helped put all her shoes up in their little cabinet. By this time my mom, James and I are ALL in the closet. If you want to write a recipe for getting a snake to appear, that has to be it.

So, the snake pops out by my mother's (still uncovered) foot-- she "Lord --Jesus'd" her way across the floor as the snake made its way behind her into the bathroom. James was behind me on a stepladder in the closet, so I moved mom aside and put on the gloves. The snake went through the bathroom toward my dad's closet. Did I mention James has been saying "Bammy's snake-- Bammy's snake" on and off for the last hour?

Just as he was heading under my dad's closet door I put a glove on him and got him to stop. Of course thick gloves make it hard to grip anything, and that poor snake emptied his entire excretory system on the floor. Bless his heart, he was probably very frightened. So, then I asked Bammy to find her camera, because I knew I wanted a photo of this event. To be perfectly honest, we placed him near the legendary T-bone's fence. We didn't dump the snake over his fence, but after discussion, we thought he would be happier in that area of the yard.

Unfortunately the photos are not stellar. Rack that up to the excitement of Bammy (our photographer)