Tag Archives: travel plans

camp awesum

14 Monday Aug 2017

Posted by in Educating Julia, Growing a Daughter, Travels with a Daughter

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IMG_6143Camp Awesum. Monday morning.

Independence. Julia wants it. I think she is ready for some. The question is always how to arrange it and keep her safe. An opportunity at camp has arisen.

There is coffee in the mornings starting at 6:30, breakfast is not until 8:30. I made it down for coffee at 7:30. Before I left the cabin, I told Julia, mostly asleep, that I would telephone her. Hopefully, she will wake up, get out of bed and start getting dressed.

I called, explained what I wanted and she wanted to meet me by the beach, dressed and ready for breakfast. T minus 15 minutes. Continue reading →

noticing

09 Friday Sep 2016

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Julia’s interpretation.
The garden.

I notice rain. Just after dawn, coming down in buckets, like cats and dogs, teaming.  Or is it teeming?  It thundered and lightened and made an awful fuss before coming down.  This rain has been in the offing for 24 hours, announcing itself over and over again with two brief showers yesterday, neither long enough to be “rain” and mounting humidity until I turned on the air in the late afternoon.  We’ve slept in the cool, manufactured air for which I am grateful. Continue reading →

lessons, gardens & travel plans

09 Thursday Jun 2016

Posted by in Growing a Daughter, Journaling My Days, Travels with a Daughter

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The days just move along and move along.  It is all a-whirl.

Seventh grade ends tomorrow.  This is only the second time that Julia has greeted summer with enthusiasm.  She understands enough about time to appreciate breaks.  I find the transition from school to vacation unnerving.  Work in school has been on the wane.  Her big “country project” for social studies was finished two weeks ago.  Her last book review and spelling test about a week ago.  Math has dribbled to a close. Continue reading →

curmudgeon cracking

15 Sunday May 2016

Posted by in Growing a Daughter, Journaling My Days, Travels with a Daughter

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julia swinging in the apple orchard.

I’ve been wallow-y lately.  Lots of stuff going on and little of it easy or smooth.  Last week, I cried to the universe: Can’t anything in my life go smoothly!?  I think the universe answered: no.  Honestly, when I get like this, I’d really like to climb out of my skin and give it away.  Who in their right mind would take it?  

Self pity.  Ugly, messy stuff.  A gaggle of quotations run through my mind.  I get it.  Self pity. A dangerous elixir.  

Pouts:

The school year is not winding down gracefully.  Julia was late to school six days in a row.  A lack of focus on doing the tasks at hand is the raison d’être — redressing a doll, picking up some reading, working on a lego piece has all taken precedence to getting washed, dressed and ready.  The loss of focus happens in an instant, my back turns, I make my bed, I run downstairs to start the kettle.  And Julia has been disrespectful to teacher twice this week — refusing work, speaking inappropriately, being generally mean.  I live in dead fear that this will escalate and mark her as a trouble maker.  I fear alienating the very people, her teachers, who are her lifeline to the world. Continue reading →

hunting airfare – part 2

22 Friday Apr 2016

Posted by in Travels with a Daughter

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Julia waiting for a cab to leave Torino, 2015.

Travel News:  (1) I bought summer plane tickets. (2) I pricelined a Chicago hotel room for the weekend to visit Julia’s vision therapy doctor and her naturopath.

Travel News Fallout:  Julia, on hearing of the travel plans, is ready to spend our entire week in England exploring Harry Potter related sites.

I have been hunting and gathering for a few weeks.  I waited a week too long and saw airfare prices creep up, not by much, but, related to that, flights filled up.  There was slim pickings for our seats to Milan.  After I chose ours, there were another 8 seats left in the economy section and the only two seats together did not recline.  I bought ten weeks before travel.  There were no incredible deals that I could find after the  twelve week point.  And definitely less choice.  To be sure, there are last minute deals to be found if one could wait it out but I begin talking to Julia about a weekend in Chicago a few weeks before we go.  A month in Italy is not something to spring on her. Continue reading →

hunting airfare – part 1

12 Tuesday Apr 2016

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Vernazza in Cinque Terre, 2015

Yipee!  It is time to go a’hunting for summer!

I’ve been talking about my nascent travel plans for this summer among friends and a few folks asked how I find somewhat economical airline tickets for summer travel.  When I began planning last month, I dug out last year’s notes but what I had saved was slap dash not not useful.  I had to do some reinvention of the wheel and, in order not to repeat that exercise, I’m writing it down now. Also, I’ve been reading travel blogs and websites and frankly, I don’t agree with some of what I’ve read.  I am always trying to squeeze an extra mile out of my travel dollars and this is what has worked for me.  (If any reader has suggestions to do better, please comment.) Continue reading →

eggs, tarantulas, travel

16 Sunday Mar 2014

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I begin blog entries and get dead ended after a paragraph or two.  I’ve been writing letters and trying to complete a scholarship application for the online course that I want to take next.  Also, it is tax time.  I have my way of preparing and I usually get down to it at exactly this time of year.  How predictable is that?  I always imagine that I am getting started this year much later than last year, but looking at my prep documents from previous years . . . Yes, same process, same time.

Julia and I are making eggs in the evenings a few nights a week.  Julia finished her first egg and I cleaned off the wax.  She was satisfied with the result, not astonished, not disappointed.  She had already started a second egg and while that was in dye last night, a third.  She has no interest in looking at pictures — I’ve said this before.  I am so dependent on the traditional designs.  Julia has her own ideas.  I’ll post pictures soon.  I’ve made three eggs and ready to begin challenging myself.  I am not using any guiding elastics on the eggs to begin designs this year.  It is changing what I can and want to do.  Again, I’ll put up pictures. Continue reading →