mommafitz

Well, lizards eat spiders. I have lots of Western fence lizards and geckos around my house, but not many spiders. What kind of spiders do you have?

Thanks everyone for the help with the quilt pattern. I printed them and will show them to my mom next weekend.

As you may know, I went to Great Lakes, IL last Thursday to see my youngest son graduate from Navy bootcamp. We flew into O'Hare by way of Salt Lake City with a 2 1/2 hour delay before take off. Friday morning was wonderful though because I saw my wonderful, handsome son for the first time since the end of January. He was part of the rifle drill team which performed at the ceremony. We took him out to a movie and to eat. Saturday we went into Chicago for a tour of the city and a trip to the Field Natural History Museum. While we were downtown, the anti-war protesters were getting ready to express their views. It heartened me to see the number of police officers in riot gear encircling them! Saturday evening all Adam wanted to do was take a long, hot shower and eat pizza in the hotel room. His sister and I gave him a nice back, scalp, and foot massage and he fell asleep for awhile. The poor guy only had about 3 hours sleep the night before because he had to stand watch and the daylight savings time kicked in. Happily, he is moving to his next phase of training, a technical school, tomorrow so he won't be run quite so ragged. On Saturday night, my oldest son called us on the cell phone. He is also at bootcamp at Great Lakes and he managed to get a phone call. He was so proud because he got to be a Division Yeoman and is in charge of other recruits. Sadly, his chosen specialty, sonar didn't work out for him because they decided after he got to bootcamp that his color vision is not good. Personally, I think they could have told him that before he signed up. I will be back to see that son graduate at the end of May or the beginning of June depending on how quickly his division fill out.

I am leaving Thursday morning to fly to Chicago for Adam's graduation. I wouldn't think of missing it. As I told my principal, no matter what, I will be at my sons' graduations!

My mom has been looking for a quilt pattern called the Little Dutch Girl. It's one she remembers from her childhood. It's not the Sunbonnet Sue. This one has the Dutch hat and wooden shoes. If anyone has it, and would be willing to share, I'd be happy to pay any expenses involved in getting her a copy. She is 71 years old and crafts and gardening are the things she enjoys most in life. Since she lives alone and I don't get to visit as often as we'd both like, little things like a new quilt pattern keep her happy.

My two sons, David and Adam, are currently in Navy bootcamp. Adam, who is 18, graduates this Friday. David, who is 22, just shipped out for Great Lakes last Thursday. Even though they have two years of state side training ahead of them before they can be put in harm's way, I do miss them and worry about them. Sadly, trainees do get hurt or killed in accidents. I am keeping all of the young men and women who are bravely serving our country by putting their lives on the line overseas and hoping this insanity is finished long before my sons complete their training. Thanks to everyone who has offered their support as I struggle with my 'empty nest'.

Last Thursday my oldest son left for Navy bootcamp. Today I did the last of his laundry. I think putting his things away and knowing that it will be a long time before he wears them again is one of the saddest things I've ever done. I started writing him a letter today even though I don't have his address yet. It's all I can do to keep from crying. His younger brother is at Navy bootcamp right now. He graduates this coming Friday. I'm so happy that I'll be able to see him for a couple of days. He was supposed to have at least two phone calls, but I didn't get a call until the day his brother was leaving. He called me at school, so I could only talk for a few minutes. Fortunately, he could also call his sister who could talk longer. Right now I can hardly think straight. Things are so quiet without my boys. We are a very close-knit family and it breaks my heart to have them 1400 miles away. I can only imagine how parents of young people who are overseas must feel. At least mine are safe for now. My heart goes out to all the parents of those in the war. I don't know how they bear not knowing whether their child is safe or not. I hope all of this will be over soon without any more losses of precious lives.

Last year I planted a plum tree and an apricot tree. The gophers promptly came into my yard from the neighboring school grounds and ate the roots! This year I replanted, but first my son dug large holes which we lined with chicken wire. So far, the gophers have tunneled into the yard but haven't attacked the new trees. My dogs have had a good time digging up their tunnels and the cats have kept vigil at the holes. My dear little girl cat, Persephone, even peed in one of the holes! I guess all of the carnivorous animal activity discouraged the nasty little rodents because I haven't seen any tunnels in days.

I think goats are great animals. I owned one when I was just a kid (no pun intended). My question is, is there a way to avoid having milk that tastes like a wet goat smells?

Is anyone out there currently using solar or wind power for generating electricity? We are looking at buying a 40 acre parcel that does not have power available and being off the grid is something we've thought about for a long time. Now it looks like we may take the plunge. Ideas? Comments?

Thank you all for the warm welcome! I'm happy to know my beautiful dragonfly can still be used. As for enjoying having the house all to myself, no, I am certainly not! My oldest son does not leave until the end of March, but I'm already depressed. Some days I don't even want to get up and some nights it's hard to sleep. I've spent my whole life raising my kids and now I feel like I've lost my job! What do people do when suddenly they don't have their family anymore? Just dealing with storing my boys' things is terrible. Waiting to hear from the youngest is torture. I waited all day yesterday just in case he got a chance to call, but he didn't. Anyway, I do appreciate the thoughts and prayers.

I'm not really "new" but my username has changed. I used to post under "dragonfly" but when the new system began, I messed up. So I guess I have a new name. Anyway, I am a 42 year old single mom of three. My daughter is 25 and my sons are 18 and 22. The 18 year old just shipped for Navy bootcamp the 27th of Jan. and the 22 year old is shipping the 27th of March. Then it will be just me and the critters. At least my sons have 2 years of training before they are assigned to ships. Right now I live in Glendale, AZ and teach 8th grade science and math. I would love to move out of the city. I am an AZ native and a true desert rat, so I hope to move to a desert location, perhaps south of Kingman.

I'm an AZ native, but I've only lived in the Phoenix/Buckeye/Yuma areas. Now that my daughter is out on her own and both my boys are shipping for Navy bootcamp, I feel that it is time to get out of Phoenix. Which areas of the state do you all know about first hand? I'm considering the Kingman/Yucca area.