The Toby Show

Pickin' and a grinnin'

About 5 years ago, my 85 year old grandmother took up the electric bass. 

Do you know how much I love typing that sentence? 

Meme goes down to the senior center and plays with the Bedford Ramblers every week.  They play country, western swing and old boogie woogie tunes.  They pass the mic, take turns singing, and have a great time.  All comers are welcome to sit in or sing a song.  And Meme's boyfriend Mac is the fiddle player.  They also have a standing gig every Tuesday night at a little BBQ joint in Fort Worth. 

Now with a set up like that, surely you know where I was last Tuesday night...

This woman has been dancing and enjoying music for most of her life so it makes perfect sense that as age started to slow her down (a little) she took a seat and learned how to play. 

I remember a story she told me once about being a young girl listening to Willie Nelson when he was playing with Bud Fletcher and the Texans.  It was at a tiny place outside the town of West, Texas waaaay before he was famous.  She told me she sat on the edge of the stage and thought he was kinda cute.

My mom remembers that when Elvis was big and lots of parents were scandalized by those gyrating hips, Meme paid a teen-aged neighbor to come over and teach her how to dance to it.

I know how to two-step, square dance, and polka because of her and, although I don't have an ounce of her skill on the dance floor, I've learned a lot more by watching Meme have a good time... 

Moss don't grow on a rollin' stone.

I hope I'm doing something like this when I'm 85.  In fact, I think I'll reserve the banjo, right now.  I won't even consider learning it until I'm at least 75.  But after that...look out!  

Square Ware

Um, I've been saving this for you.  It's like a little welcome to 2009 gift. 

I was in about 5th or 6th grade here and was in a square dancing club with my Meme.  She made us those matching square dance outfits. 

I just don't know if it gets any cooler than this. 

What's strange (I mean strangER than a skinny tomboy decked out in gingham and petticoats) is that I was a decently popular kid.  But only because nobody from my school ever saw me in this get-up.  And stranger still?  Despite the fact that I was the only member of our square dancing club who wasn't also a member of the AARP, I really enjoyed being a part of "The Swinging Singles."

I still have my club name badge tucked away in a special box. 

And my Meme can still cut a rug.

R & R

Stephen's coming home from the movie shoot today for a little R&R.  He'll be here this evening, all day tomorrow, then he and our niece leave Sunday afternoon.  She's going to be a gofer on the movie for the next 2 months.  So not much to say today as there is much to do but it will be a nice weekend for me and Huck with our guy home.

And then...the abyss. 

I've had a companion/nanny/extra set of hands for this entire first month he's been gone.  These next 2 months will really test my metal.

My china & plans for next week

This is my china. 

It's been mine since I was a little girl.  It's kind of a funny story. 

When my Mom got married she registered for a lovely pattern with gold trim and a single rose.  But then some family friend who was on R&R in Thailand sent her a complete 12 piece set with serving pieces that she had never even laid eyes on before.  I mean the whole dang set.  He bought it at some Army PX and it was probably about $50 bucks all in back in 1968. 

So my Mom ended up with two sets of china--one platinum & one gold.  And then, miraculously, she ended up with two daughters, too!  How perfect is that?  You know what's even better?  My little sister and I didn't like the same set.  Anyone with kids knows what a godsend that little accident was.  We decided when we were probably about 5 and 10 that one day the gold roses would be hers and the platinum "snowflakes" would be mine. 

The truth is, beyond that story the china has very little sentimental value.  In my entire childhood we never ate off either set.  Not even once that I can recall.  We just weren't a china kinda family.  My Mom might have used a serving piece or two but nothing that really sticks in my memory.  No, it was just something that sat in the back of the cabinet, but I always knew it was mine.  And that one day I would actually EAT off of it. 

That day has come.  I have claimed my birthright.

In honor of my china, I'm doing a week of recipes starting tomorrow.  Okay, it's not really because of the china, it's just cause I've been making some stuff and plan on making some more stuff and that's what I wanna do. 

Regardless, this week, a whole week of new yummy stuff I think you'll really like.  Be there. I mean here. 

Be here.

Catching up...

Well we got back from Texas over the weekend.  It was a rough visit but I must say, we put on a lovely funeral that Stephen's Mom would have been happy with, and it was nice too to see everyone.  Funerals do bring people out.

And on Tuesday Stephen left to produce a film (not one of ours, it's just a gun for hire gig) and will be gone for the next 3 months.  Yes, 3 months.  Before you're too horrified, it's a good thing.  We're all taking this one for the team because he'll be making in three months what it took me a year to make when I was working, and then some.  It won't be fun but it's doable and it totally relieves the crunch from me going Stay-at-home Mom. 

We used to do this kind of thing all the time when we lived in New York and one of us would go off on a gig.  And as you know, I relish the alone time.  At least at the beginning.

But it's really the only separation longer than 2 weeks since Huck was born, and that's odd.  We've both got MacBooks with built-in cameras though and have set up a nightly video conference at 6:30pm to visit and say goodnight.  It's not the real thing but we've been prepping Huck for "Daddy's Long Trip" and are hoping a little nightly visual contact will mitigate any of his concern.  I told Stephen that if nothing else, it will certainly endear him to his crew that he breaks away from the shoot every night to iChat with his kid before bedtime.  Awwwwww.  He'll need to fire someone the first week so don't think he's just a big softie.

And on Saturday our 19 year old niece is coming up for a month to be my part-time nanny and companion. I'm thrilled about it.  Besides loving her to pieces and always enjoying her company, it will be a huge help to have an extra set of hands for some of time Stephen's away.

The other pertinent news is that I had my Level II Nucal Translucency Ultrasound on Monday and this old lady's chances of having a baby with a chromosomal abnormality went from 1 in 160 fro my age, to 1 in 3000.  So that's all good.  Plus we got to see a super wiggly little baby that was doing the wave and pulling on it's ears.  Not that they could have seen much with the baby's position, but we've opted not to find out the sex this time around.  With Huck we wanted to know but this kid will be wearing hand-me-downs either way so why not let it be a nice surprise?

That's all for the big update.  Thanks so much for all your concern and well-wishes.  The Circle of Life, huh?  I wish it was all as nice and clean as a Disney movie, but that's life.  We muddle through.  I'll be back up and running now, thanks for sticking out the wait.

A death in the family

My mother-in-law died.  It was sudden and unexpected.  I had a great relationship with her.  Nothing at all like those contentious mother-in-law/daughter-in-law relationships I know many women have.  For any of her faults, she was a woman who was comfortable with appropriate boundaries.

We're back in Texas now planning and attending services and dealing with the inevitable aftermath.  So, I'll be taking the rest of the week off.  I'll be back online next week with a report from my Level II Ultrasound and a few fun pictures, projects and stories.

Thanks for understanding.

Yeah, I buried the lead

Thank you all so much for the well wishes and support.  We're all thrilled here in the middle of nowhere. 

Had my first ultrasound on Tuesday and I'm the proud host to a blinking gummy bear with a tail.  We're thinking we won't find out the sex this time around, but Huck is adamant that he wants a sister and would like us to name her "Blue Car" or "Sister."  Though the second is so very Tennessee Williams of him, we'd probably lean toward the first since we like a name that's a little left of center anyway.

As many of you have probably guessed by now, it's the previously unmentioned reason for the drop in posts, our trip to Texas being stressful and ultimately cut short.  I was sick for a lot of the time we were there.  Unfortunately, I'm still sick now that we're back.  But at least I'm barfing in my own toilet, which is some comfort.

It was also the main reason for weaning Huck now.  It's maybe a little crunchola to have said I just felt like it was the right time.  What I felt was extreme exhaustion, sore nipples and an overwhelming jickey vibe every time he latched on.  But, not quite ready to spill the beans to the www yet, I just swept all that under the "it felt like the right time" rug.  You'll have to forgive me.

And yet, I never dreamed it would go so smoothly, so maybe the timing was just right for us both.  We've turned the page on Day 4 of No Booby and Huck is fantastic.  No sleep disruptions, no fits or whining, no child clinging to my leg begging for the last drop of my very essence.  In fact, he didn't even mention it once for the first 3 days.  I was a just little offended--Jeez buddy, I thought it was the sun and the moon and all.  This morning he did ask for mommy milk but when I reminded him that he was a big boy now and the mommy milk was gone, he was perky and said, "Oh wight.  I have cupa cold milk." 

So, I guess that's that.

I'm sure I'll be keeping you posted on my progress creating a new human being and all.  For now, I'm smack in the middle of the first trimester and having ALL the expected symptoms.   If there's any truth to the old wives tale about carrying a girl making you sicker, then little Blue Car this may well be.

We're baaa-aaack!

It was a LOOOOONG trip.  Too long. 

Hucks' sleep got progressively worse as the weeks went on, we got crankier, he learned to scream at us when he wanted our attention, and to hit us at restaurants when he was ready to get up.  He also had his first trip to the ER (head injury, I'll tell you about it later). 

By the way, what the hell do you do with a toddler who hits you precisely so that you WILL yank him up and take him outside?

We also weren't really able to write as much as we had hoped while there.  It was just difficult without a quiet, dedicated space.  And, while I love my parents dearly, it's hard to live in someone else's house for that long.  There were other factors that also created stress but suffice it say, we cut the trip short.  In fact, we actually got back last week and I've been laying low and trying to get my groove back before jumping back into the blog.

On the bright side, we did get to spend a lot of time with family and Huck had a blast most of the time. 

Still, we're glad to be home and getting back into our life.

Though some of the snow has melted it's definitely still winter up here.  There's about a foot or two remaining in the yard and it's supposed to snow off and on all week.  Sigh.

But hey, onward with The Toby Show.  Lots of cool stuff coming up--news, recipes, stories & pictures of our travels--so grab some popcorn and enjoy the show.

Greetings!

From the capitol of titty bars and mega-churches!  We do so many things so well here in the Lone Star State.

We're here, we're back on a normal schedule, and we're THAWED OUT!   The morning before we left Idaho it was 5 degrees.  The day after we arrived in North Texas, it was 85.  How's that for a point spread?  We even left a day earlier than planned (I was a basket case with a day less of prep) because "big weather" was on it's way and we wanted to cross Wyoming before it hit.

Huck is my hero.  I would never have imagined that a 2 year old could do so well on such a long car trip.  He was a trooper.  Kept to his regular nap schedule in the car and slept great in the hotel bed with us.  The only fussing we got was when we left his little buddy's house in Colorado on the second day and the last hour in the car--he was trying to sleep but the freeway lights were really making it hard.  Poor little country boy isn't used to those dang things.  He did so well in the car we actually pushed through and did the trip in 2 days instead of 3.

I honestly think that knowing we were going to Texas is what made him so easy-going and happy the whole time.  He loves it here.  My mother has a ton of toys and he's treated like a god by everyone in both our families.

Right now he's is off at story time at the library with his Jazz (my Mom) for those of you who didn't get a proper introduction.

I am thrilled to report that with all the plastic balls and Little People sets and Tonka Trucks, Huck's absolute favorite toy is a giant cardboard box that Jazz had Pop cut a door, windows and a skylight in. 

That's m'boy!

Return from Plastic Land

I neglected to make it official in yesterday's post, but I am back. 

I'm bringing it to you daily and in real time, baby.  No more stockpiled posts--though I worked hard on them and don't think the content suffered for them being posted on a timer.  I truly hope you enjoyed learning about my love affair with reusable bags and my favorite robe, but I'm glad to be back.

We returned to a huge dump of snow and almost didn't make it in.  The plane that landed before ours skidded off the icy runway so we had to circle while they plowed and cleared the landing area.  We could feel the wheels slipping as we touched down and there were applause for the pilot when we finally came to a nice controlled stop.  Our ski hill got over 70 inches in just the 10 days we were away and we've never seen the snow so high on our deck.

The trip was grueling, but fun.  My mother had hit the 75% off post-Christmas sale at Target and bought $200 worth of plastic crap (one whole shopping cart piled high) for 50 bucks.  It looked like she had converted her dining room into a daycare center.  I figure he got his full lead and PCB load for the year there.  Of course, he loved it. 

He went to the zoo, had his first ride on a train, a carousel, and a real horse, fed ducks at the park several times, and was worshiped and presented bright, noisy offerings at every house we visited.  Muffins and treats were also plentiful.  Stephen's mother even threw him a birthday party at her country club complete with cake, ice cream, a slew of kids she rounded up from friends and family, and a mini ball pit. 

It was all insanely over the top.  But seeing as we lead a pretty restrained and reasonable life up here, we said what the hell and let everyone go as nuts as they wanted to.  I'm sure he thinks he's some sort of deity in Texas.

We're glad to be home but it was really sad to peel him away from all his adoring fans.  It's the price we pay for living in paradise but, plastic crap and country club parties aside, when we see him enjoying his grandparents, aunts and uncles so much, we can't help feeling like it's just not worth it. 

He loved everyone to pieces and showered the state with his warm, sticky kisses.