Ryan's Sick
Topic: Ryan
Ryan is sick. It started with fever on Tuesday, then starting 2am this morning, he's been throwing up. I took him to the doctor, but the doctor said it's a virus so there's not much to do but wait it out. The last couple nights have been pretty rough. I'm wondering if it's even worth it to go to bed.
On a slightly brighter note, we got an inch of snow here. It's really pretty. I took Ryan out on the front porch and his face just lit up. He stuck out his hand to catch snowflakes.

Snow
Topic: Harrogate
I am amazed. It is snowing quite thickly out, and yet there is still golden late afternoon sunlight through it all and blue sky overhead. It's quite beautiful. The snow is a dry snow. It is snaking across the road in ribbons.

I'm Spartacus! Oops, I mean Harry Potter!
Topic: Silliness


Yep, that's me - special and important! :D
Okay, okay, silly I know! But it's not every day I get to be Harry Potter. *grin* I am now into the fourth book (Goblet of Fire). I don't know why I didn't read these a long time ago. They are great fun and very entertaining, and those are two things I definitely need in my life.

Happy March
Topic: This and That
First I would like to say a belated happy birthday to Dylan! (He's the son of my good friends Mike and Casey.)
I can't believe it's March already.
I would like to call the photo to the right, "Let's See Who Called." I just thought it was funny the way Ryan was leaning back on the couch and looking at his toy phone.
Speaking of Ryan, he's got a fever today. Of course the clinic at MHS AND the one on the economy are closed. I called the Tricare advice line and they reinforced what I'd been planning on doing: giving him some Tylenol and waiting and seeing. Tylenol seems to have done the trick. Ryan's not given to having fevers, so I will definitely keep a close eye on him (as if I don't anyway!).
I would like to mention that I completely skipped over a personal anniversary. On Feb. 11, it was twenty years since I first started my paper journal. Crazy! I still keep my paper journal now, even though I have this blog. I haven't added up how many spiral notebooks and blank books it takes up, but I know it's a fair amount. I love journaling and actually feel a compulsion to do it. Also, my recall is so bad that if I don't write everything down, I'll wind up forgetting most of my life! :P (Actually, once my memory is jogged, whatever it is usually comes flooding back to me. It's just the jogging part that's the rub.)
I've been thinking that I would have liked to have had a blog while I was in Germany. I have my paper journal of course, but it would have been kind of neat to have an online daily record of my time there.
It's been clear and sunny the last couple of days here, but windy and COLD. We're talking freezing and below, cold. Brrr!
One of the days on the weekend, I walked to Starbucks (had Ryan in the stroller). The barista teased me a little. I said it had been a while since I'd come in and he said, "What, like three or four days?" :) I said, "That's a while!" (I really do think it was longer than that, though.)
Yesterday was the first meeting of the new playgroup on post. We only made it about halfway through. Ryan seemed tired and a bit overwhelmed. There were a lot of kids (and adults) in a relatively small space. It was nice, but just too many people. Also, I think Ryan was coming down with his fever, but I didn't realize it at the time. Another thing I was thinking, was that at the time I thought it odd that at the last few gatherings of children and adults that we'd been to, Ryan seemed to want to leave after a little while. I always thought he enjoyed people, noise and commotion, the change of scenery. It dawned on me that Ryan likes gatherings of adults. Well, can't say I blame him. I am much more tolerant of kids now, but I am still not exactly what I would call a kid person.
Today the landlord came over. She's going to get the most drafty window in the house redone and probably will get some of the radiators replaced. She also suggested switching gas/electric providers. Hope that helps with the heating bill! It will be nice if we can stay in this house. Moving is such a pain and I like this location.
Hope March finds everyone healthy and happy.

The Week
Topic: This and That
I would like to begin with a belated happy birthday to my very good friend Teresa, and an on time birthday wish to her daughter, Abby!
I hope everyone had a good week, and is having a good weekend.
For those of you interested in Larry's doings, I have a story for you. Larry sits in the back of the room in class. A week or so ago, he was leaning back against the wall, and managed to trip an emergency shutoff for the power to several rooms in the building. He wasn't embarrassed at all. To the contrary, I think he was quite proud! He said there were people wandering around wondering what was going on. Someone had to be called out to turn the power back on. Apparently the class was dull, so people appreciated the break and thanked Larry! What I want to know is why would someone put a switch like that somewhere any moron could accidentally trip it? :) Larry said it was a big red button, too. You know what they say about big red buttons...
The weather's been wacky here. We had hail one night, and some snow flurries yesterday morning. It's been really cold, and also windy. The weather is very changeable here like it is in Germany. It can go back and forth between sunny and cloudy several times within just an hour. It can also be raining with the sun shining through. A couple of times during the week, I would look outside and it would be sunny. By the time I got myself and Ryan ready to go for a jog or walk, it would be completely overcast and even drizzling.
I'm starting to have more of a social life, which has been nice. Wednesday Ryan and I went over to Ivy's house on post. (Ivy is part of the babysitting co-op on post and watched Ryan last week.) After a while we went across the street to Sarah's house and got some lunch. After lunch I was able to leave Ryan at Sarah's and managed to go four places on post in under half an hour. Power errand running! When I came back, Sarah got out water colors for the kids to play with (Sarah's got two little ones, and Ivy's got one). I think Ryan is a bit young yet for water colors, but not by much. He mainly wanted to play with the water. At that point I just wasn't up to trying to keep Ryan from spilling water everywhere, and didn't feel like dealing with the aftermath of a wet, watercolor soaked child, so we went home.
The next day there was a meeting of babysitting co-op members at Sarah's house. It was nice to get out again. Then yesterday Ivy gave me a call, and Ryan and I went over to her place again. We got some pizza. It's been so nice to be able to have a social life here. I've even been running into people I know here and there on post. It's a general consensus with army wives that it takes about six months to start to get situated in a new place. I would have to agree. It seems like that's about the length of time it's taken me in Germany and here to start feeling like part of the community.
It looks like we may have to move on post. I'm not sure if I've mentioned it or not here, but it's a lot more expensive to live on the economy than we realized. Gas and electric prices here are OUTRAGEOUS. We got a bill we thought was for the quarter. It was for one month! Our house is really hard to keep warm. I called the gas/power company (they're lumped together here) and they were helpful. Basically the landlord needs to replace the windows so that the house is more energy efficient. I need to speak with the landlord about that. Our lease isn't up until June, so we would stay here until then. However, unless something is done, we just can't afford another winter in this house. I'd hate to leave the location. I really like where we live. Also, we'd have to move ourselves, which is a major pain. However, I'm not sure it's worth literally hundreds of dollars to stay put.
Has everyone been watching the Olympics? I've managed to catch some of the skating. I enjoyed watching it. It's great having British Eurosport coverage. Since we're only an hour behind Torino, we get it all live here. Also, they don't break it all up like I've heard they're doing in the States. The best part: no Bob Costas!
Not sure if Ryan and I will do much today. He's been a little out of sorts and I think he's fighting off yet another bug. I'd like to get out, but it's freaking cold and windy and that's no fun to walk around in. Today has the feeling of a day you just feel like not doing anything.

Valentine's Photos
Topic: Holidays
I can't help it. I think Ryan's the cutest little guy ever! Here are his Valentine's photos: Valentine's Album Enjoy!

Almost
Topic: Geocaching
This morning was bright and sunny, so I thought I would get out and try geocaching again. I just didn't quite have the energy for another adventure like yesterday's (even though it was fun). I loaded Ryan into the car and set the waypoint in my gps. We went to Killinghall Community Park. It's mostly just a couple of soccer fields with moorlands you can walk around in. It's nice. Definitely NOT stroller friendly though. That didn't stop me. I was excited because this time the gps said the cache was just a few yards, then feet away. I felt optimistic. I at least had the thing set properly this time. I got within a few feet of where the cache was supposed to be and just could not find it. Luckily Ryan found watching me look for it amusing. Finally I saw a group of about five kids (I wasn't counting) coming my way. One of them was holding something. Turned out it was the cache. I would love to say that's why I didn't find it. However, I was looking a few feet in the wrong place, so I can't blame it on the kids entirely. I said hello and watched them put it back where they found it. I'm starting to think that I will never find a cache on my own!
Once I got out of the moors and back onto the main trail back to the parking lot, I let Ryan run around. He got muddy and stepped in a big mud puddle of course.
I stayed up too late last night and was tired both from our trip yesterday, and tramping around the moors today. After a snack and cleanup, I put Ryan down for a nap. He hasn't been napping much lately. Thank goodness he seems to be now. I need a break!
I forgot to mention yesterday that while at the castle I ran into a family I know from MHS. It is indeed a small world.
Speaking of MHS people, I am happy to say that Friday, one of the ladies from the URG called me and invited me over to her house. She was watching a little one in addition to her own. We wound up taking the kiddos outside to run around. It was a glorious day and fun to be outside. It was also nice to socialize.
When I got home yesterday, there was a message from the lady who watched Ryan last week, inviting me to lunch. Unfortunately I got home too late, but it felt good to be invited. It helps me not to get lonely knowing there are people here I can socialize with.

Skipton
Topic: Day Trips
It's Saturday and it's beautiful out. Definitely got to go somewhere.
Today Ryan and I went to Skipton. It's about twenty miles west of Harrogate straight off the A59. It was a pretty drive, with rolling countryside. There are farms, hedgerows, and brushy areas dotted with shaggy sheep. I felt a bit of a thrill upon the realization that I had just started to go farther on the A59 in that direction than I'd ever gone before. New territory!
I found a car park that was rapidly filling up. Parking was a bit expensive, but there's not much of an option.
I put Ryan in his stroller and walked back out to the main drag. There was a lively market going on outside on both sides of the road, in addition to the usual businesses there. The roads were mainly cobblestone, so that made pushing the stroller at times.
I wandered around a bit in search of an elusive Tourist Info. center that I never did find. I think they just put up signs to make tourists wander around strange backstreets. I saw signs for canal cruises. It occurred to me that Ryan had never been on a boat. He'd been on a plane and a train, so I thought, "What the heck? Let's go for a boat ride." We left the stroller and got onto the boat. The skipper was nice and friendly. When we began our half hour cruise, there were only four other people on the boat. It had a capacity for 12.
We saw a beautiful swan at the start of our cruise. I was to see one. Click here for photos from our day: Skipton
The cruise went down a side canal around the back of Skipton Castle. It was pretty and nice. The boat was small, so it was fairly quiet. (I've been on some noisy boats.) Ryan of course wanted to be practically hanging over the side looking at things. On the way back I saw a scene I wish I'd gotten a chance to photograph. We were passing a stationary canal cruiser, that I suspect may have doubled as a small houseboat. In a window framed by white lace curtains, there was a vase of pretty yellow flowers with a black cat lounging next to it. With the sun shining on it, it just would have been a relaxing image to capture.
After our canal cruise, Ryan and I went to Skipton Castle. Click here for the website: Skipton Castle I couldn't take the stroller on the castle grounds, so Ryan was going to have to hoof it most of the way. Luckily he's got lots of energy! The castle was a nice size for us to explore. It wasn't too big, so we could see pretty much all of it. There were plenty of places Ryan could run around. I did have to carry him up and down some of the steeper, spiral staircases. Luckily there weren't too many of those.
After a while we took a break at the tea room and got some refreshment. We went back out for a little longer, then headed back to the car.
All in all it was a really nice afternoon. We're very fortunate that there is so much to do in this general vicinity. As the weather keeps improving, it will be fun to get out and see more things.

Ryan Report, or, That Ring Really Socks
Topic: Ryan
I can't even tell if Ryan is over his cold or what. His nose is a lost cause until summer, I think.
Anyhow, when I put lotion on Ryan after his bath at night, I take my wedding ring off first. Sometimes I forget to put it back on. One morning I left Ryan in his room while I went to the bathroom. I realized I hadn't put my ring back on. When I came back, Ryan had it on his finger. He had his fist curled up so it wouldn't slip off. Clever lad. He didn't want to relinquish the ring. I did however, get it back. It looked weird on him, I must say.
Today I found that Ryan can match his socks. He likes to pull all his socks out of the sock drawer and either put them on the floor, or stuff them into different drawers. From the pile he made on the floor, he picked out a perfectly matched pair of socks and brought them to me to put on him. The socks did not, however, match his outfit. :) The socks he likes are white with red, and have little red reindeer on them. They go with his fleece reindeer outfit. I don't know why he likes those particular socks so much, but he does.
Lately he's been very good at communicating his desires. He still isn't really speaking English (he just says, "chee" instead of "cheese," for instance), but he gets what he wants. He goes over to the fridge, has me lift him up and open it, then he points to or grabs what he wants. One morning he wanted ravioli for breakfast, so I heated up some for him. What the heck? Another morning he wanted a slice of chee.
I'm not as worried anymore about Ryan climbing out of his crib. I don't know what possessed me about that for a while. It helps though that we have a baby gate in the doorway to Ryan's room. The other day we were upstairs, and I'd taken the baby gate down and leaned it against the wall. Ryan went over to the baby gate, and tried to put it back in his doorway! Not sure what was up with that.
I've been meaning to note for a while that I used up the last of the Dreft and have been using normal detergent on Ryan's clothes. It's not really a big deal (especially because before Ryan was born, I washed all his stuff in Tide before I realized you're not supposed to - it turned out fine though), but it's a mini-end of an era. I love the way Dreft smells. It's just one more move away from baby stuff, so that's why it made me a tiny bit wistful to let the Dreft go.
Something very cool happened the other day. I was talking to my Mom (hi Mom!), and told Ryan to say bye bye to Grandma. Ryan did! He also waved at the phone, which I thought was cute. I think that is the only time he's ever said, "bye bye." He doesn't wave very often, either.
I want to get my next post up before I go to bed, but in saying that I probably just jinxed myself. Check back in about an hour from the time this says it was posted. If it's not up then, it won't be tonight. If it is... enjoy!

Use Your Illusion
Topic: Featured Link
Now for something really different...
My Mom just sent me this.
Pink Dot Illusion
Click on that and have fun!
(I was "lucky" when I looked at it.)