Now That Was Fun

Not much will get me up at 6 a.m. without being cranky, but I'll bet you can guess what one of those things would be. ;) I took this photo with my cellphone camera, which isn't the best in the land, but you can even tell that it's early morning sun on the plane. And I didn't complain at all. Actually, I thought it was kind of pretty on the drive out to the airport with the sun just coming up and a little bit of ground fog here and there. It may be true-I may be becoming one of them. Morning People. Nah...

I made sure to do my Right-Seat Duties, which includes stopping for donuts and drinks on the way to the airport-I'd packed a cooler with ice packs to keep our drinks cold. Got the hangar open and the plane tugged out to its shown position, locked up everything and we were ready to go as soon as the boss arrived. It was a gorgeous day for a flight. As you can tell by looking at the sky. And up at 36,000', it was so cool we had to turn the heater on. It was an uneventful flight, which is always a good thing.

We headed to Stuart, Florida first, which took us just over 3 hours, picking up Nathan's aunts and cousin along with a tasty catered luncheon sack. This was no ordinary lunch, this was fancy pants lunch. Their plastic ware...was SILVER. Not real silver, but if you saw it sitting on your dining room table, you wouldn't be able to see that it was plastic, not silver. We were both amused by this. (We are both easily amused in case you can't tell.) They had a huge sandwich with ripe tomatoes and big leaf of romaine lettuce, tons of meat, real cheese, crackers shaped like butterflies, Gray Poupon (I kid you not), an incredible pasta salad and a fruit bowl with fruit that was firm and ripe. I mean, this was quality restaurant stuff. And they delivered it out to the plane for us, handing it up the steps off of the carpet they laid down in front of the door. ;) While we were in the FBO, the gentleman behind the desk said to me, "You are one of the passengers on this plane, are you not?" I responded with "Yes, I'm on that plane." He said "Do you know where the crew is?" I smiled and said "One is in the other room, and I'm the other half of the crew." He looks at me with one eyebrow up before he recovers and says "Would you like the catering delivered now?" I said "Well, we need to fill up before we leave, so how about we wait on the catering until we're walking out." He nodded a "very well"...and later I heard him ask Nathan the same thing-and get the same response. ;)

So we take off out of Florida, and there is some bad weather we'd be going right through the middle of. Neither of us care to do that, but me being easily amused thinks it's funny that we're actually on top of a lot of it. Not too often am I on top of thunderstorms in what we usually fly. But we still had to divert quite a ways to avoid the worst of the activity. At one point we had a hole between two cells, and we took it, got a little cloud time for awhile, and then broke out to the big blue yonder. After things settled down, we got out our lunches and drinks, and enjoyed a sumptuous lunch at 34,000'. Now let me interject here that I was working hard today. Here we were, autopilot engaged, GPS navigation coupled in, flying along in a clear blue sky at 34,000' with XM radio playing over my headset and fancy food to keep me going. Such a difficult way to spend the day. Really. It took us about 2 and a half hours to get from Stuart, Florida to Sikeston, Missouri to drop off Nathan's family, and that was a delay of a bit due to winds and weather.

Last leg-Missouri back to Indiana. I broke out a Diet Mt. Dew and we were home in 56 minutes.

Don't let me fool you-we had some stuff that was actually work. Route changes to look up (find) and plug into the GPS, weather to monitor, deviations to figure and make, radio work to do, monitoring things like the right engine fuel gauge that failed shortly after take-off, etc. But it's the best view for an office I can think of. ;)

Landed around 4:30 pm, put everything away and headed out to Glenndale to grab Kaylee, and by now I *am* getting a little sleepy. Up early and working hard, you know. Besides, it's not every day you go from Indiana to Florida to Missouri to Indiana, and are back within 8 hours. I think it's called 'jet lag'. Tomorrow will be more of the same, only at half the speed, as Kaylee, Steve and I take the Baron from Indiana to Missouri, then me & Kaylee & mom continue on from Missouri to Kansas in one day. Probably another 5 hours flight time or so.

So I'm going to head off to pack for me and Kaylee. Our luggage is still sitting out from last weekend, so this shouldn't be too hard...

Again, I doubt I'll be able to be on here after I go to bed tonight until Monday night, so have a good weekend and I'll talk at you soon!

Thursday Again

It was a pretty busy one. I dropped Kaylee off at school and was supposed to fly, but the weather was only good for practicing instrument approaches in the clouds today. So I cancelled the flight, was tempted to go up myself and do the approaches for practice, but Steve needed help with the end of the month time sheets being entered, so I went to Glenndale and did that all morning instead.

We went to lunch, then I flew Nathan over to Muncie and dropped him off so he could bring home his Cheyenne. I kind of enjoyed flying the Baron by myself for a few minutes as a change of pace. :) Steve picked up Kaylee from school and took her to gymnastics, and I arrived 15 minutes later for the rest of the hour. I guess Kaylee told her teachers she had poison ivy. They pulled her out of the class, but Steve had just left and I hadn't gotten there yet. Parents don't have to stay for these classes, but the one time nobody was there for a whole 15 minutes, they had a little crisis. Kaylee then mentioned it had been "three days ago", and they let her back in. Brother. Apparently she "got" her round-offs today, the teacher asked me if she'd been practicing at home. I laughed and said I didn't have the foggiest clue how to help her practice those, so no. The girl replied with "Well, then today she just got them down perfectly." Kaylee was pleased with that.

Now I'm finishing up our laundry so we can pack for the weekend, and Kaylee is playing with the little neighbor girl and happy as a clam about it. I don't know when I'll have computer access again after tomorrow night. Probably Monday. I may be headed to Florida and back tomorrow in the Cheyenne, and then Saturday morning early it's time to head to MO to drop off Steve and pick up Mom, then over to Kansas to visit my grandma since I couldn't be there at the family reunion because of Kaylee's ballet recital. Grandma doesn't have a computer and I doubt the Eureka Motel has wireless, so...I'll see you tomorrow and then catch up with you after the weekend. ;)

The Day

Couldn't wake up this morning, and when I finally did, I had a swollen right eye. The fluid under my skin had moved into my eye socket, which was a little creepy.

Flew the Baron over to Muncie with Steve and Chuck to pick up Nathan and have lunch, picked up Kaylee from school, headed back out to Glenndale for a flight lesson that ended up postponing until next week. Started to finally feel better at some point late afternoon and into evening, as swelling went down and the heat cooled off and I quit feeling either in desperate need of a nap or some medicine.

Kaylee and I are working on addition flash cards, and she's getting a little faster. I've taught her a couple of tricks to be able to add faster to hopefully win at "Around the World". In just two practice sessions at home she's already more than doubled her speed, so this is good. Hopefully she'll have a chance to at least advance a desk or two in the game. The game is played where one child stands next to another child's desk, and the teacher whips out a flash card. Whoever answers first correctly moves to the next desk, and the goal is to get "around the world". Kaylee hasn't won a challenge yet, and I didn't even know they were doing that, so I hadn't been practicing with her. But now we'll see how it goes as we keep practicing. :)

Starting tomorrow, Kaylee's school is going to be doing Fire Drills, Tornado Drills, and Lock-Down Drills. The sound of screeching brakes is me saying "Lock-down drills??" I had to ask Kaylee what that meant, and her response was "You know, so if somebody robbed a bank and then came to the school to rob it, they would lock down the school so the robber couldn't get in." Oh wow. Growing up we had fire drills and tornado drills, but that's quite the ode to society that my first grader has to do Lock-Down Drills in case of criminals (or more likely but not said to them, in case of in-school shooting issues). Sad. Of course tonight at 9:30 pm Kaylee came out of her room a little upset, because she'd been imagining bad things happening with fire, tornadoes, and criminals. *sigh*...

Thank You

For the calls, emails, and cards today for Sidney's birthday. They mean a lot to Steve and I, and even Kaylee, believe it or not. We always appreciate you friends and family members who let us know you're thinking of us on the anniversary of a very difficult time in our lives, thinking of our little guy on his birthday and 'angel' day.

Thank you.

Truth in Aviation

One fine hot Summer's afternoon saw a Cessna 150 flying in the pattern at a quiet country airfield. The Instructor was getting quite bothered with the student's inability to maintain altitude in the thermals and was getting impatient at sometimes having to take over the controls. Just then he saw a twin engine Cessna 5,000ft above him and thought "Another 1,000 hrs of this and I qualify for that twin charter job! Aaahh.. to be a real pilot.. going somewhere!"

The Cessna 402 was already late and the boss told him this charter was for one of the Company's premier clients. He'd already set MCT and the cylinders didn't like it in the heat of this Summer's day. He was at 6,000 ft and the winds were now a 20 kt headwind. Today was the 6th day straight and he was pretty tired of fighting these engines. Maybe if he got 10,000 ft out of them the wind might die off... geez those cylinder temps! He looked out momentarily and saw a B737 leaving a contrail at 33,000ft in the serene blue sky. "Oh man" he thought, "My interview is next month. I hope I just don't blow it! Outta G/A, nice jet job, above the weather... no snotty passengers to wait for ... aahhh."

The Boeing 737 bucked and weaved in the heavy CAT at FL330 and ATC advised that lower levels were not available due traffic. The Captain, who was only recently advised that his destination was below RVR minimums had slowed to LRC to try and hold off a possible inflight diversion, and arrange an ETA that would helpfully ensure the fog had lifted to CATII minima. The Company negotiations broke down yesterday and looked as if everyone was going to take a pay cut. The F/O's will be particularly hard hit as their pay wasn't anything to speak of anyway. Finally deciding on a speed compromise between LRC and turbulence penetration, the Captain looked up and saw Concorde at Mach 2+. Tapping his F/O's shoulder as the 737 took another bashing, he said "Now THAT'S what we should be on... huge pay ... super fast... not too many routes... not too many legs... above the CAT... yep! What a life...!"

FL590 was not what he wanted anyway and considered FL570. Already the TAT was creeping up again and either they would have to descend or slow down. That rear fuel transfer pump was becoming unreliable and the F/E had said moments ago that the radiation meter was not reading numbers that he'd like to see. Concorde descended to FL570 but the radiation was still quite high even though the NOTAM indicated hunky dory below FL610. Fuel flow was up and the transfer pump was intermittent. Evening turned into night as they passed over the Atlantic. Looking up, the F/O could see a tiny white dot moving against the backdrop of a myriad of stars. "Hey Captain" he called as he pointed. "Must be the Shuttle. "The Captain looked for a moment and agreed. Quietly he thought how a Shuttle mission, while complicated, must be the be all and end all in aviation. Above the crap, no radiation problems, no stinking fuel transfer problems... aaah. Must be a great way to earn a buck."

Discovery was into its 27th orbit and perigee was 200 ft out from nominated rendezvous altitude with the commsat. The robot arm was virtually U/S and a walk may become necessary. The 200 ft predicted error would necessitate a corrective burn and Discovery needed that fuel if a walk was to be required. Houston continually asked what the Commander wanted to do but the advice they proffered wasn't much help. The Commander had already been 12 hours on station sorting out the problem and just wanted 10 minutes to himself. Just then a mission specialist, who had tilted the telescope down to the surface for a minute or two, called the Commander to the scope.

"Have a look at this Sir, isn't this the kinda flying you said you wanted to do after you finish up with NASA?" The Commander peered through the telescope and cried "Ooooohhhhh yeah! Now THAT'S flying! Man, that's what its all about! Geez I'd give my left leg just to be doing THAT down there!"

What the Discovery Commander was looking at was a Cessna 150 in the pattern at a quiet country airfield on a nice bright sunny afternoon.

Boy, I'll tell you... pilots are never happy unless they are drinking coke and looking for a better job!

Tuesday Top Ten: Ten Things I Do For Myself

Okay, this was last week's topic, but I missed it, and we don't have a this week's topic being sent out yet, so I'll do this one. One of these weeks I'll catch back up with the group. ;)

Tuesday Top Ten: Ten Things I Do For Myself:

1. Bathe. Okay, that's not for me, that's for those around me. Sorry, I needed something to get me going. But a long hot shower with a lot of water pressure, or a hot tub on a cool night certainly works for me.

2. Read. It's always nice to take a mini (or maxi) break and slip into a good book.

3. Snap photos. Makes me feel good to capture moments, and I like it even better if the picture turns out halfway decently. Why do I feel like I've done this top ten before? Hmmm.

4. Tune Out. Put in my iPod and close my eyes and just relax and unwind, alone, in silence. It recharges my batteries.

5. Travel. It used to be "hop in my car and drive around with tapes for my stereo and snacks". These days it's more often "hop in an airplane and fly around with my iPod plugged in". Something about driving (formerly) or flying (currently), the act itself has been something I enjoy. I guess seeing the world pass by my windshield.

6. Friends. It's nice to be able to connect with people who know you and care about you, with whom you can share problems and excitement, questions and just life in general. It's also always nice to be able to drag somebody else along to help you do stuff you don't want to do but have to. When they come along, it can make a daunting prospect just a little more entertaining. :)

7. Internet. I spend time on the internet for myself. It helps with #6 too, but also because I like looking up stuff, reading things, learning stuff, and yes, talking to friends. Some days I've spent too much time on the internet, other days not enough as I let work get behind. But all in all, it's definitely something I enjoy doing for myself when I can.

8. Ben & Jerry's. Not fond of their politics, but love their ice cream. ;) Any ice cream that has all those chunks and nuts and chocolate and...yum. I'm getting hungry...

9. Be Myself. I dress comfortably, I'm not out to try to impress anybody in looks or anything else, and I always do try to just be honest about who I am. It was hard to do that at first, after all the years of wanting to please everybody all the time and be the perfect 'everything' to every one. But I can't be, nobody can, and I've found that being myself just makes my own life a lot less complicated and stressful. :)

10. Kid Time. Whether it be devotions with Kaylee, or snuggling for a few minutes, or sitting and just talking about whatever is on her mind-she's a sweet, smart girl, and she's growing up so fast. I know it won't be long and she won't fit on my lap any more, or want to cuddle early in the morning, or be as open with her feelings. Sometimes we argue, tis true, but many times she just melts my heart. :)

Sidney Stants

Well, it's now 1 a.m., which officially makes it August 28th. I should be in bed, and I am definitely headed that way. But first I wanted to say Happy Birthday to our niece, Rania, and a Happy Birthday to our son, Sidney. Eight years ago tonight he was born, and eight years ago tonight he left us. I have so few memories to share, and the few I have I have already shared many times over. So I'm left with no photographs, few memories, and only the knowledge that he was born, he was here, he was loved, he will always be a part of our family, he is missed, and we won't forget.

Sheridan Air Show 2007!

It's our first official air show, and it went off better than we could have even hoped! The weather was gorgeous, the crowd was double what we expected (estimates around 400-500 people), and the performers did a fantastic job. The performers even expressed their compliments at the organization of the event. The food was delicious, the safety crew did a terrific job moving planes around and keeping traffic moving, parking was plentiful, and man, all in all this really was a blast. I'm so glad I made it after all instead of having to take Kaylee to cheer. :)

I took two pages worth of photos, wearing my camera out as usual. It was fantastic, and I came home excited and pleased for all involved. I do believe we're going to do this again next year, and it will probably be bigger and better!

Oooookay

I have a catch-up post to do before tonight or I'll forget. I am getting older you know.

First of all, my Mt. Comfort/Indianapolis Air Show photos are currently loading up as I type. Five pages of photos for three days is a lot even for me. But this time I took more flying shots too. I haven't labeled everything yet, but there's a start anyway. My camera battery is also recharging as I type this, so I'll have it available tonight for our mini-airshow at Sheridan Airport. We lost our skydivers as they had a death in the family (not job related!), so no jumpers tonight which is a major bummer. But the show must go on.

I couldn't sleep last night. My mind went spinning around on stuff and I was wide awake until well past 2 a.m. I woke Steve up, talked to him for awhile, and then HE couldn't get back to sleep though I finally did. (Oops! Sorry dear!) Even though I finally passed out, I woke up too early too, and Steve got almost no sleep. So together we're a pretty sad looking couple today.

When I woke up this morning, my head felt funny, and I don't mean "ha ha" funny. It felt all hot and tight and tingly. I get up, go to the mirror, and I see a protuberance sticking off my head. I have an egg-shaped...lump...on my forehead, and it's almost as big as the palm of my hand. It's all squishy and fluid. It's not even sunburned right there. It's weird and it felt weird and gross. I'm guessing I got a bit of sun poisoning yesterday. I got nothing anywhere else-but my head, oh it hurt. I took some Tylenol to reduce swelling and pain, and it seems to be doing fairly well now. I can't even really feel the squishy part any more, which I think means it may have dispersed under my skin. I can't put make up on my forehead though, so I have my normal face on plus a hot pink forehead. Ah yes, attractive! But that's okay, I'm going to top off my attraction levels by adding a hat on my head whenever I'm outside today. The shower was bad enough-I'd have skipped it if I hadn't just come back from frying the day before. But subjecting my poor head to any more sun today, well, that would just be on the unintelligent side I'd say. (Can you get cancer on your scalp?)

Speaking of wounds, Steve was wounded in the line of duty this weekend too. We had two large coolers full of drinks strapped to the back of the Jeep, and when he released a bungee cord, it snapped back and hit him in the mouth and nose. It busted his lip on the inside of his mouth, and gave him a red mark on the end of his nose. He was Very lucky that it didn't knock his teeth out, break his nose, or smash into his glasses. I missed The Perfect Photo Op though. Not with him getting hit, come on, that would be mean! I guess Nathan came around the corner in time to see Chuck holding Steve's face in his hands, up close, with Steve's lips puckered. Now, obviously Chuck is a concerned friend who was checking out the damage the bungee cord did when Steve staggered backwards after getting hit, to assess how bad it was. But what a photo opportunity that would have been. I couldn't convince anyone to recreate the moment for me, but the closest I got was the photo of them on the first page of the weekends' photos. ;)

Kaylee came back with another "C" on a paper. They were supposed to write the letter below the picture of what the picture was. So for example, you see a lamp, you write "L" under it. Kaylee's known what words start with since we started playing the "letter game" when she was 2 1/2 to 3 years old. The problem is, under a bucket, she put "b". The teacher wanted "p" for "pail". Kaylee put "s" for "sheep", and the teacher wanted "l" for "lamb". Kaylee put "c" for "coin", teacher wanted "q" for "quarter". And so on. I asked Kaylee if they were told what the photos were, and she said no, they were just given the papers, told to write the letters, and then the teacher collected them, graded them, and put them in the folder to take home. Kaylee's answers-again-were right for what she thought she was supposed to do, and frankly, how is she supposed to know if the teacher calls it a pail or a bucket, a sheep or a lamb, etc.? I really don't have a problem with school if Kaylee gets a bad grade because she didn't study, or if she just had trouble learning, or if she was ignoring the teacher. But this...no. So, I guess we'll set up a time to have a conversation with the teacher. Whee...

And on that note, I guess I'm done procrastinating, I need to get some stuff caught up and done around here.

Mt Comfort Day III

Or as they are calling it now that it's bigger "The Indianapolis Air Show".

Well, I am home. Tired, burned to a crisp on top of my head, with 6,130 additional pre-cancer cells forming and 96 new freckles, but home. It was a great day.

I actually woke up and got up before either Steve or Kaylee, which should be some kind of Guinness Book of Laura Record. We had breakfast, checked out of our lovely hotel, and headed for the campground. The cars were backed up onto the highway, and it took a long time to get to the airport, because it was gorgous today and the crowds were out en-masse. It was not nearly as hot, and there wasn't a cloud in the sky-it was just that beautiful blue. If we can get a day like this for our BBQ Bash, we'll be in Excellent shape.

We took the kids over to the kid play area, and Jamie and Kaylee went on the slides, the Blue Angel jumpy thing, climbed up the "rock wall", and went on the slingshot jumper thingy. How's that for descriptive? Don't worry, I'll share pictures later when I get them done. I only took 251 photos this weekend, so I'm sure it'll take no time at all to get them sorted, saved, and posted. ;) Kaylee was doing great on the rock wall until she slipped, and then she just clung to the wall just under 3/4 of the way up. I think if I'd have had her go again she probably would have made it up-she just climbed up the first part like a monkey. The Indianapolis Air Show Photographer that was standing there took her photo as she climbed. In a dress, naturally, but we had the dress tucked in modestly with the safety harness. From there we headed to the flight line to meet up with Nathan at the Mustang, and the air show was under way. I didn't take as many air show photos today because I did so many yesterday, but today's sky was the right one for the backdrop. Oh well. The kids like the Wing Walker lady the best. I like the Red Bull folks. The parachuters are nuts, they come whipping down at 70mph in their chutes; the Red Bull Mig does an excellent routine, and the Red Bull Helicopter does loops, inverted flight, etc. which is nuts in a helicopter. Of course the Red Bull Racing isn't known for its sanity, and their performers keep up the hype nicely. There's also a neat routine with four Army helicopters who do formation flight and routines, something I've personally never seen before at an airshow.

Chuck, Kaylee and I headed to the Warbird tent, where they have 'free' food available for the Air Crew of the performers, and we are included in that. So we get in line, and the guy ahead of us is taking a long time. He turns around, says "Sorry, but I'm Air Crew and getting food for more of the guys." Chuck responds with "So are we." Mr. Pilot says "I guess if you're in here, you are." We weren't in a hurry, so hey. They had a pretty nice spread for the pilots and air crew actually. I sat there and looked around at all the flight suits and hats to determine who was flying or with what aircraft. That was a little enjoyable actually. But the best part about the Warbird tent was the access to the flight line. You leave the tent, and there's a section with a bunch of tables and chairs, and it's fenced off so the crowd can't get in. And I set up my camera right there on the edge of the flight line and had one of the best views in the place. I was just in time for the Warbirds show, and I got several photos of the planes, the "Wall of Fire", Nathan's passes, lots of stuff. The only problem with my view was that there was no shade, and I fried the top of my head, and my legs between the bottom of my pants and the top of my socks. I have a farmer's tan on my legs like you wouldn't believe! But ah the view was worth it. Unobstructed by man or pole. The only thing better would have been to be sitting in one of the planes. ;)

After the last bomber run, we packed up finally and headed back to the Mustang to pick up Nathan; waited for fuel for over an hour before giving up and heading back to the camp site, where we set up just in time to watch the Blue Angels. Because the weather was so gorgeous, they did their "High Show" today, with lots of gorgeous vertical splits. I think I got a photo of one or two of them.

Chuck packed up and headed out before the Angels were done with their routine, and Nathan flew on home in the Mustang, so Charlie, Dawn and Steve packed up the last of their things, and we finally headed home in the Jeep around 7 something pm. We got to watch the sunset all the way home, and enjoy a few hot air balloons they were sending up too. A lovely finish to a lovely day.

It's hard work being Air Crew. (Okay, so there are things to do too, but this go around I didn't have any of them to do. Chuck and Charlie did most if not all of the work.)

Okay, I feel the need to work on photos and see what I got. :)

Mt. Comfort Day II

Our hotel room is very nice. We came back tonight and they'd not only done the typical bed-making, they put back together Kaylee's pull-out couch, folded her dirty dress and underpants, and placed her little stuffed animals neatly on the couch. Our toiletries were now lying on a little towel in the bathroom. Can I have one of these folks follow me home?? I could sure stand to walk into my home and find everything in perfect order no matter how I left it earlier that morning.

This morning after breakfast, we headed back out to the airport, just in time for the air show to start. The skies were gray and unpleasant, but just high enough for the show to mostly go on. Chuck, Judy, Steve, Jamie, Kaylee and myself headed to the flight line on our official golf cart, and went over to the Mustang. We got to watch the show from there, and miraculously the weather held off the entire day. There was a 50% chance of storms today, and we saw some dark skies, but somehow they always missed us. The show went on, and I think I got a grand total of 5 rain drops on my shirt once. Finally it was time for the warbird show, so we sat on our golf cart behind the Mustang and the P47s, and we watched everybody fire up and taxi out. Those birds can blow my hair any time they like, thank you very much. Nathan was the lead for the bomb run, and it was a good show. I got a few photos, but didn't have my telephoto lens with me, so I don't know how good they'll end up. We all like the "Wall of Fire" at the end. After a burger of suspicious meat origin but decent taste, and after the Warbird show was over, we headed back to camp to set up tables and chairs and awnings for the dinner that evening. Shortly after we had that going on, John Dale came trucking in with Ty and Justin, and our chef was here. It was time for the Blue Angels, so we set up chairs on the other side of the trailer, and sat and watched the show. They had to do their low show because of the cloud ceilings, but there's still something quite stirring about afterburners and formation flying. I took several photos this year, so we'll see if anything turns out. I took a photo of the Osprey, the four-helicopter-routine (those guys were good), Nathan's bomb runs, stuff like that. And of course the kids. Can't forget them. ;)

Sometime after 6 pm, the steaks were done, and John Dale did a wonderful job as always. We had corn on the cob, baked potatoes, fillet, fresh tomatoes, and key lime pay and flange (custard) for dessert. Nathan provided the meat, John provided the cooking, and Charlie and Dawn provided a lot of the prep work and set up stuff. I didn't provide anything but the beverages and an extra stomach to feed. It was quite good. We had a much smaller crowd than we did last year. Last year we had the Mail Call guys and all the warbird pilots. This year it was mostly the Glenndale folks, and Duane and his son Trey. Less work on everyone's part, if nothing else. :)

After the meal the chef packed up and took his entourage home, and we just sat around and chatted until it was time to head to the hotel. I don't mind the hotel at all, I must admit. It feels a little odd not having a trailer out there when you arrive or it gets late, but coming back to a soft squishy bed and a giant powerful shower and a wonderful air conditioner that stays on all night long? Yeeeeah. Not Bad.

Tomorrow it's Kids Play on Stuff day and FlightLine Air Show Watching Day, and Nathan flies again probably around 1:30 or so....

Okay...

I tried to get as much done as I could prior to this weekend, and I made some progress, but not quite enough. Well, all I can do is step back in on Monday!

The flight with the reporter & photographer was cancelled, so I don't get to torture any unsuspecting 'civilians' today. That's okay, it's H O T again. I'm all packed up and ready to go. Camera battery-charging. Ipod Battery-charging. DVD player-charging. Kaylee's toys-packed. Cat food-on deck. Cats-disappeared because they see the bags and know I'm about to put them on the deck to join their food. A/C-turned up warmer. Books to read during down time and glasses to be able to read them-packed. Mustang t-shirts-packed. Badges for the flight line-printed and packed. Snacks for weekend-packed. Drinks for the weekend-we'll stop on our way there. We'll hit lunch here, pick up Kaylee after school, and drive on our way. Seems ironic to drive to an air show, but one needs transportation while one is there, too.

Hope you all have a good weekend-I'm packing my laptop but have no idea if I'll have access. If nothing else, I'll "see" you Sunday night/Monday afternoon!

Mt. Comfort

It was busy, as Fridays usually are. I spent the morning running around the house doing last minute packing and getting ready to head out. I made it out to Glenndale in time for lunch (enchiladas and they were good), ran home to print off labels for Dale's wife, out to the post office and the grocery store, then off to pick up Kaylee at school. We headed right back out to Glenndale where we packed up the Jeep, and away we went to Tipton to pick up Jamie. From there we headed to Mt. Comfort, IN for the airshow. We're part of the crew for the Mustang, so we even get car passes and official badges that say so. You'd think we were somebody or something. ;)

On the way here, Jamie was telling Kaylee about his girlfriend Jessica. He then asked Kaylee if she had a boyfriend. "Yes" she responded, as I tweaked my ears around. "What's his name?" asks Jamie. "Jamie" Kaylee answers. "Oh, what does he look like?" says Jamie. "Jamie DAVIS" says Kaylee. Pause, silence, and then "Oh, ME??" Then there was quiet, and everybody in the back seat seemed content with that. The front seat was trying not to crack up at the whole conversation. Kaylee has absolutely no clue what "boyfriend" means other than a boy who is a friend and you like. :)

For dinner tonight we made a pilgrimage into town to a place called Lord Ashleys. I had a fillet smothered with blue cheese and may I add it was Quite tasty. While we were there, a big old nasty storm rolled through, cutting off the satellite in there. You could see the wind throwing things around, and then it got calm again and quit right before we left. We headed off to check into our hotel suite, and it's pretty nice. Kaylee's on a bed in the other room, and we've got the 'master bedroom'. It's comfortable. We headed back to Nathan's bus to watch "The Right Stuff" and get in the mood for tomorrow, and then back to our room to crash. Which is what I'm getting ready to do right now. *yawn*

Let's See...

I spoke to Kaylee's teacher today and discussed a few things quickly. I'm still uncertain as to the right course of action, but...for now there seems to be an understanding.

Tomorrow morning I am giving a First Flight to a reporter and a photographer in a 172 for a story out of a newspaper north of us. Steve told me I can't say the words "Hey y'all, watch this", or do anything to make them fear for their lives. Such a party pooper he is. ;)

Then it'll be lunch time at Glenndale, and then time to pick Kaylee up from school, then on to Tipton to pick up a little friend, and then down to Mt. Comfort for the airshow weekend. Busy day I have coming-and man, I'd better get cracking on laundry and packing tonight!

Ty and I flew the Baron for about an hour, doing all that fun single-engine emergency work. Flew around for awhile at 6,000' with one engine fully stopped. It's always a little odd for folks to look out and see one of your engines fully stopped in the air. In the Senecas we had, I'd only do one of those prior to the checkride, because restarting the engine was always an ordeal, and, well, not getting it restarted isn't exactly great. They are required to demo one for the checkride though, so it's prudent to actually try one rather than doing one for the first time ever on 'game day'. In the Baron though, it's a complete non-event. It restarts just beautifully, with no hiding from the nervous student the effort or secret sweating or quiet murmuring of "come on baby, GO!"

It is Bloody Hot today. Air-sucking-out-of-your-lungs, effort-to-breathe, stuck-to-yourself HOT. Ugh ugh ugh.

A quote and then I need to go get some prep work done for tomorrow and the weekend!

"Those who don't get their feet wet don't catch fish."
~Chinese Proverb

BumpityBump & Growling Grump

I spent much time in various airplanes today. This morning Ty and I flew the Baron for a good hour and a half, and did some ground stuff for another hour and change. We took a break for lunch, where I met up with the fellows at Culvers. I left Culvers an hour later and went back out to Kokomo where I was to take Nathan over to Muncie in the Saratoga. We took out the two back seats and shoved in a huge box containing a windshield, which took up most of the available space back there, and got on our way. We joke if we can get an object through the door we can haul it, and such was the case today. It was bumpy, hot, hazy, and horribly muggy. I was sufficiently miserable by the time I got back to the airport. I arrived back at Kokomo in time to run off and pick up Kaylee from school, and run her home to stay with Grandma & Grandpa for a few hours while I ran out to Glenndale to fly in the 172 with Sami. We finished at 7 pm, and it was time to head home, extra hot and sweaty. Not a lot of down time today, for sure, and I'm way behind on the computer again!

Kaylee got a 75% on a math test today, which is a "C"...after getting all the answers on the test correct. Now this bothers me, I admit. She got 6 out of 24 points taken off because on 6 problems she was supposed to draw circles for the numbers. So for example, 4+2= ___ and she's supposed to draw four circles over the four, and two circles over the two, and then just put the correct answer in the blank. She didn't draw the circles, she just knew and put down the correct answer without having to draw it out. And with a 100% correctly answered test, she got a 75%. I do understand they have to follow directions too, but this just is not sitting well with me. Coming from the girl who used to write her papers first and then go back and write up a fake "rough draft" because it was "required" to have a rough draft, even though I edited as I wrote and therefore didn't HAVE a rough draft. Where is the logic in giving a 1st grader that big of a penalty for not needing to draw the circles in order to get the answer?? Okay, the more I talk about it the more it annoys me. This is the biggest reason I know for homeschooling. Give me a break. I told Kaylee that she does need to pay attention and follow the directions, but I also told her she did a great job with actually DOING her math and getting it all right. This kind of "stuff you in a box" attitude drives me nuts. (She also didn't deliberately ignore the circles, she Didn't Know she was supposed to draw them for those six problems. Big difference there, too.) Kaylee seemed to take it okay when she told me about it, but I can imagine how it went down initially, when she found out she got a "C" on this test where she got all the right answers. She is very eager to please, to do the right thing, to do her best, and she's very proud when she does well; I imagine she was sad and upset, and that makes me...annoyed and upset. So far this week, school has been as much of a transition for me as it has been for her. I don't like that her teacher was switched out without my input. I don't think I like how her teacher interacts with her. (She's come home and said the teacher gets mad at the kids, and one day she came home and said she didn't think her teacher liked her. She's since denied the feeling.) I don't like how her class seems to be authoritarian and not loving like her previous three classes were. You can have control of your class without being cold and harsh, particularly when the children are SIX. I'm just not overly pleased right now...but a bit at a loss of what to do about if anything right now, except keep an eye on it. She's loved school these last three years, and the thought of this year taking the joy out of school for her, well, it just makes me Angry. I realize at this point I am most likely over-reacting to this, as I'm a tad sensitive to the topic. But I didn't have to feel this way in Preschool, Pre-K or Kindergarten. I don't want to feel that way now, and I know she'll have 'difficult' teachers in the future-but I don't think First Grade is the time to have to deal with them.

I guess I'm done talking to myself, End Rant...
*sigh*

Of Plates, Pussycats & Pilots

Today's weather still didn't support decent flying, so it was Errand Day instead. I hit the usual suspects, and a few unusual suspects too. For one thing, Steve called me and asked me to come out to the airport, pick up the Jeep registration, and go back into the License Branch because his license plates had expired oh about a year ago and none of us knew it. I did that, and it went very painlessly again, for which I am quite grateful! If I'd have been thinking, I would have gotten him Purdue license plates if available, to make him drive around with the "enemy" on his car for two years. But alas, I did not think fast enough.

I did get the "In God We Trust" plates. Color me contrary, but 1) that blue is a very lovely color and 2) it's my finger in the eye of political correctness. Political Correctness bugs me on principle-I don't even like political correctness that benefits me. I'm saddened that you rarely hear or find cards that say "Merry Christmas" any more, etc., but for a few years here anyway the state of Indiana is somehow getting away with putting the "G word" on a license plate. I have no doubt it won't last, but for the few years it does, I don't mind sporting it. Actually, the city of Kokomo at least is quite full of blue plates, I've noticed.

Another errand I performed today took me to the book store, where I picked up the third installment of a Dekker book, "White". It's not like me to read the first two of a trilogy and then break it up with a different book, but I didn't have a choice as "White" wasn't available when I last checked. It is now, and I'm planning on finishing it during one of Kaylee's extracurricular activities coming up here.

I somehow managed to book a veterinary appointment for my two cats at the same time as I am supposed to pick up Kaylee from school. I had a ten minute window, so I arrived early to get Kaylee with one cat in our carrier and the other cat loose in my lap. Kaylee crawled in, and I drove to the vet clinic, where Dr. Hiss (No I'm Not Making That Up) looked over the two cats to see if he could help me determine why they were doing a booty scooty and maybe why Roadie is still peeing outside of her litter box. We talked for quite awhile, and he has some ideas for me to try too. He also did a lovely procedure called "Expressing their Anal Glands". Now I am nobody's Princess, but I didn't need the view or the odor of that particular procedure. He used a paper towel and squeezed up there and then thought I'd like to see the results. "Oh look", he said in an excited voice, "Dulce had an impacted anal gland. That may be part of her problem. See how full of puss and poop it was?" as he holds the nasty napkin up to me. Are you grossed out yet? GOOD, because if I have to deal with it, so do you. Be thankful this is not a scratch and sniff capable blog. I couldn't decide if I was supposed to clap in glee or take it to admire it or what, but all I did was glance at it, raise an eyebrow, look back up at him and say "Well, I certainly hope she feels better."

And I come back to, Thank Heavens I Didn't Become A Vet. Slipping the Surly Bonds of Earth vs. Expressing Anal Glands from scared, hurt, and angry pets. Even when I knew I could go to flight school, I thought briefly about staying in veterinary school and just doing flying on the side. I can't even begin to imagine where I'd be, who I'd be with (it wouldn't have been Steve, Mr. Former Animal Detester!), what my life would be like as Laura/Laurie, Pet Doc. I probably would have stayed single, had 15 cats, a great cable or satellite TV package, a fridge full of comfort food, and a house crammed floor to ceiling with books. Probably would have never heard of SMA, never started a 'charity' organization, never knew what it was like to ride shotgun in a fighter plane or fly above a cloud deck at sunset, and found contentment elsewhere. I'll never know now, as my path has already twisted away from that other destination.

This thinking led me to the diaries I kept since I was a kid, and to the one I kept at vet school where I was wishing I could fly while still thinking I was supposed to be at vet school. Here are a couple of excerpts made by me at age 18/19 that now make me laugh, smile, groan, shake my head, and/or all the above. One thing these entries tell me is that writing after midnight should be a criminal offense.

"Today Tiffany, Kevin, Jeff and I went to see 'Air America' with Mel Gibson. Ooomph! It only cost a dollar, and I didn't complain-Mel for a buck! Fun movie! I WILL FLY. (Please God, let me fly?)" 1:37 a.m.

"Well, today was rather depressing. I talked to Stephanie about war and flying and life. If only I could be a pilot. Yeah, right. You know what? I am sick of school. I've gone for 13 1/2 years and I WANT OUT. I want to have my own place, to be free. I want my car, an apartment, and a job-then I'll go be a vet or pilot or whatever. I'm tired of being strangled by others. I just want to be free." 2:04 a.m.

"I came up with a philosophy today. It was cold and rainy so I stared at my feet as I walked. I remembered track coaches telling me to watch the goal, not my feet. Well, whenever I did, I'd get tired and discouraged when I saw how far away the finish line was. I also tripped a lot more often. It was easier to stare at my feet and take one step at a time until I arrived. Well, put that to life. Zoology makes me sick. Looking at the obstacles between me and flying depresses me, makes me tired and makes me feel like just quitting. So, look at my feet. Pass this quiz. Then the test Friday. The semester, one step at a time. Plod along and for heaven's sake, don't look up at the big picture until it gets a little closer, or I probably will fall on my face-never make it there." 1:11 a.m.

"I WANT TO FLY! Today I got stuff from the FAA, and it had tons of pilot jobs I never thought of-I'm in heaven! I get a fluttery feeling every time I THINK about flying. I don't WANT to be a veterinarian! Is it because I'm too lazy to go 8 years, or because I really don't want to? I wish I could get a skywriting answer, a "This is it, kid." 12:24 a.m.

"Today before we left Cedarville I saw in my mailbox a little notice saying I had an Official Reprimand for excessive chapel cuts. One is supposed to be excused. If they don't excuse it, I am expelled from this college because of the Official Warning I already have from daring to have my mom sleep in our dorm. Pretty dorky, isn't it? Little Miss Do-Gooder gets kicked out of school. Humph."

"We got up early and went to church in Florida (spring break). They made us stand up as visitors, and when the pastor announced we were young people from college, everyone started clapping. We stayed in a retirement Weslyian Village, so they were all 'old' people. It was pretty funny-we all felt like bowing when these old people clapped at us because we were young. One old guy said "It's great to see somebody with dark hair. It's great to see somebody with HAIR!"

"After supper I went to the mail and got my stuff from Vincennes! I filled out the application by hand. I've taken almost all the classes except the actual flying ones, so I could probably be done in 1 1/2 years! I called Mom, and she said she was nervous over me being in an apartment going to a state university, but it sounded good to her. Let me be accepted! I don't know what to do. I'm confused and uncertain and scared and excited and I hate it. And I love it. Either let me be accepted, or tell me what to do!" 12:26 a.m.

"Tonight I got the call. I'm accepted into Vincennes! I can fly!! I CAN FLY!!!!!!! In a year and a half, I'll be a Pilot! This is really going to happen."

"Right now I'm at Vincennes University in the Aviation Program. Go figure! I love it. And I've been asked out more in the past two weeks of school than I have the rest of my life put together. I've done stalls for the first time today, and Minimum Controllable Airspeed. Fun stuff! I'm Flying! Yes, you'd best beware. I'm also the only girl in my class, and the only girl I see at the airport other than the secretary. I get some flak about it by the guys. Honey, I ain't in Cedarville any more!" 12:25 a.m.

"Today I got a 100% on my Ground School test, and flew--I did MCA, landing stalls, take-off stalls, and 45 degree steep turns. One time I was turning, and Shaun Smith (my instructor) pulled my engine. He said "We're going down. So what are you going to do now?" I said, in a stroke of brilliance, "Um" Next time he pulled it I knew what to do. How to land on a field in an emergency. Cool stuff! Then later he took my roommate and me up for a night flight! We circled Vincennes, the stars were out, it was a full moon, totally clear and breathtaking." 1:05 a.m.

And it goes from there. I'm sure my Cedarville friends would love to read the rest of the book prior to Vincennes, because I have lots of good stories in there I'd forgotten about until reading them tonight. Blackmail Time!! :D On the other hand, some folks would probably like to read the rest of my flight school entries for a little blackmail of their own on me, but sorry, I do believe this is all you get. ;)

Man, this got long enough! I hope you stopped mid-read for a snack...

Storms and School

After dropping Kaylee off at school, I headed to Kokomo airport, where my original plans were altered a couple of times. Ty is beginning his multi-engine training now, and today was to be our first flight. But we had another plane that needed transported to Muncie, as did Nathan to pick up his Cheyenne, so Ty took the other plane while I flew Nathan over there. Ty and I were getting ready to leave to go do our flight, when Steve called and informed us that the weather had gotten wonky at Kokomo and to wait for awhile. An impromptu breakfast at the restaurant on field ensued, until we got the next call: "There's a break in the weather, get headed home NOW before it closes back in!" Away we went, with our on-board radar and nexrad, and as we landed at home and taxied off the runway, the rain came in. We opened the hangar door with a remote control and taxied the plane right up under the door, so we didn't get a hair on our heads wet as we got out and got things put away. Can't beat that. ;)

When I picked Kaylee up at school, she was happy to inform me that she didn't "pull a card" today. When I inquired what that was, she said that when you got in trouble, you "pulled a card", and the bottom line is that you lose 5 minutes of recess for the first card, 15 minutes of recess for the second card, and you lose recess all together if you get a third card. This led me to the next question: "Oh, have you pulled a card before today?" She responded in the affirmative. I then said "Did you get in trouble for talking too much?" Yep, indeed she did. And Laura's Legacy *does* live on in there, as I remember the many sentences I had to write for talking too much in class in grade school as well.

I was more amused last night though. At dinner we were discussing the Mt. Comfort Airshow we are attending this weekend, and Kaylee couldn't remember it. Finally I said "Remember the climbing wall, and how far up it you got for your first time ever?" She remembered that, and in fact remembered she got higher up than an older boy who went after her. Her next comment was along the lines of "I'm going to go last so I can make sure I can go higher. I won't let him get higher than me-I'm going to beat him again." Said with a little gleam in her eye. I started laughing out loud...I don't know where she could have gotten that attitude.

Today in ballet, Kaylee was sitting in the circle, and the teacher had told the girls to all pick their favorite colors. Kaylee's friend Jordan told Kaylee to pick the color pink. Pink happens to be Kaylee's favorite color. When her turn arrived, Kaylee looks over at Jordan, who is mouthing the word 'pink', then turned back at the teacher and said "White". Jordan shoots Kaylee a dirty look, and says "Pink!" for her turn. Kaylee smiles and is quite content. Let's see. So what I'm saying here is that my daughter, whose favorite color is most definitely not white, chose to say white as her favorite color rather than saying the color that really was her favorite color, just because somebody else told her to say it. Did I mention I snorted in a most unladylike fashion in the middle of the ballet moms when I heard that? Yes, I did. Another of Life's greatest ironies...in the future I will have to have a talk with Kaylee about persistence and determination versus stupid stubborn. Who'd have thunk it...

Laura Crashes

Okay, in retrospect that may not be the best title for an entry on a blog that frequently talks about flying. I mean 'crash' physically, not literally.

Last night around 9 pm Steve was talking to me, and some "mixed martial arts" fight was on TV, and I remember Steve asking me what the $12.95 a month charge was from some place, and me responding with something mumbled like "idunnowhy", and my laptop was on in my lap and...I was down for the count. Apparently the cats were chasing around a moth in the living room, over my head, around me, until the moth flew into the candle right by me and the cats climbed all over my area looking at it...never heard a thing. I guess I was sitting there with the laptop on my lap and my mouth hanging open and I was OUT. I obviously have no memory of any of this. The first thing I recall is waking up at 12:30 and being the only one sitting there at the moment. I crawled into bed and passed back out and didn't get up until 9:30 this morning. By my calculations, that makes it about a 12-hour night's sleep, which is rather impressive. I could feel the wave of somnolence crash over me and was powerless to stop it. Or that's my story and I'm sticking to it. Apparently I needed to catch up on a bit of sleep.

Kaylee and Steve are working outside, catching up on a lot of the house stuff that was getting behind. Trimming trees, replanting bushes, that kind of stuff. Meanwhile I ran to the store and spent an inhuman amount of money on food and toiletries, since I haven't been to a store in a long time. It took me forever to put it all away, but at least now when we see what there is to eat we have more options than saltines and cereal. I'm still plowing through laundry-adding to it now a comforter that a cat threw up on. At least the comforter fits in my washer/dryer. Let's see--bill paying, mail decluttering, and maybe a little book time sounds like the rest of the afternoon...

My Catch-Up Day

Well, sort of.

I got most of my laundry washed at least, and I caught up on several emails, though I have quite a few to go. I did get my kitchen mopped too, though Kaylee now has playdough crumbles all over under her chair. *sigh*

I also hit the wall sometime today, and find myself really wiped out. I'd have taken a nap except I knew that I'd be up until 3 or 4 am if I did, so I just muddled through. I finally woke up a bit when I took Kaylee over to Kokomo and flew the Saratoga over to Sheridan. On my way over I circled over Nathan's house. Found out later he called Steve and said "Since you answered the phone, it must be Laura over my house right now." Busted. :) Justin picked us up in the 172SP for the trip home. I could see the Indy skyline today-the visibility was finally good. And for the 3rd time in a row, a wad of rain that was headed our way just...disappeared before it got here.

I feel like there was something I was going to talk about, but right now it is escaping me. So I'll post this and then it will come to me, I'm sure.

Quotes

"The only limit to our realization of tomorrow will be our doubts of today."
~Franklin Delano Roosevelt

"Train a child in the way he should go, and walk there yourself once in a while."
~American Proverb

"Do not pray for easy lives, pray to be stronger men! Do not pray for tasks equal to your powers, pray for powers equal to your tasks."
~Phillips Brooks

"Anyone can hold the helm when the sea is calm."
~Publilius Syrus

"There are those of us who are always about to live. We are waiting until things change, until there is more time, until we are less tired, until we get a promotion, until we settle down -- until, until, until. It always seems as if there is some major event that must occur in our lives before we begin living."
~George Sheehan

"When you judge someone, you don't define them, you define yourself."
~Wayne Dyer

Final Day of the Week

The work week anyway. Sort of.

Kaylee got in trouble today for kissing a boy on the ear. I explained that she's an affectionate girl and doesn't think twice about it, but I'll try to explain to her not to hug or kiss other kids. I find it a little sad to have to have this conversation with a kid who just wants to show someone she likes them and doesn't understand being rebuffed or getting in trouble for it. At least, that's what I thought until I asked her about it, and she responded with "He was pulling my shirt and he wouldn't quit!" I say "After you kissed him?" "No". "You kissed him and then he pulled on your shirt?" "No. He just wouldn't stop pulling my shirt." "What does that have to do with you kissing him, Kaylee?" "Well Mommy, boys don't like it when girls kiss them, so I kissed him and it made him leave me alone!" *Snort* I explained that we kissed family/good friends to show them we love them, that we don't use kisses as weapons against people, and tried not to laugh at her creativity. Gives new meaning to "killing them with kindness". ;)

No flying for me today-a first in awhile. It felt a little wrong on a finally pretty day, and I was tempted to take up the Citabria, but quashed the urge. Another time...

I ran the usual errands, and headed out to the airport until it was time to pick up Kaylee at school. When I got her home, it was time to eat, and then I started in on The House Mess that's accumulated this last week in particular. I haven't gotten very far yet, but at least I'm getting laundry washed and dishes done. The rest of the place is in disarray, which is annoying since I've had it very decluttered and clean for a few months straight here. And yet my motivation to wade into it again is rather low. There are other things I'd rather be doing. Like reading a book. Watching a movie. Sleeping. Or nothing at all. Kaylee's now in bed, Steve's out with the fellows, and I'm attempting domesticity and failing. Maybe I'll let Scooba mop my kitchen floor and feel like I accomplished something there. *sigh*

Ah, Mission Accomplished

And doesn't THAT feel good??

This morning I woke up at 5:30 a.m. I don't know what woke me up, but I felt my mind start spooling up and once it got going, I couldn't shut it off to go back to sleep. So finally I gave up and got up at 6 am, which ended up working out well anyway. I did some last minute checkride stuff, looking up some things, preparing my end. I called the examiner to make sure all was good (the weather was kind of hazy) and he asked if we could be there at 8:30 instead of 9. We were going to practice from 8:30-9, but I said "of course", and I got out there at 7:30 instead, where Doug was already waiting. I signed all his paperwork and logbook, and we loaded up and took off. Did the one last practice on the way to Muncie, but the visibilities were horrid. It was a gray white-out, no horizon. That makes it *very* difficult for a pilot to do some of the maneuvers he was going to have to do, and we hoped it would burn off prior to the checkride. We arrived right as the examiner did, and Doug went in for his oral exam (that's where they ask you all sorts of questions about the multi-engine aircraft, rules, how it works, etc.) while I went off to the restaurant on field to get breakfast. I was through my 6th cup of coffee when it occurred to me I was getting a little jittery and I'd be better off laying off the java! :) Next I saw him and the examiner hopping into the plane for the flight portion of it-I sat outside and watched for awhile. Well, he passed his MEI (Multi-Engine Instructor) checkride, accomplishing quite a feat in just a few days. He worked really hard, and he deserved it!

We took off out of Muncie to head back into Glenndale for his first real short-field landing, where we were going to pick up Nathan and Chuck, but as we got closer to Glenndale, the visibilities got worse and worse, and the ceiling started dropping down too. I called up the weather, and it was saying it was 1000' overcast and 4 miles. We continued on towards Glenndale for a minute, and Doug and I finally said "Look, this is going downhill, let's go straight to Kokomo instead." We turned for Kokomo, and met the definition of "scud running" for those last 4 miles. By the time we landed, weather was 800' and 3 miles with haze, meaning you could see what was right under you and that's it. It stayed fine in other directions, and we had several good options should we have needed them.

Nathan and Chuck came out and everybody discussed flying back over to Muncie for a celebration lunch, but it just didn't sound fun to most of us, so we headed to Applebees instead. Steve called me and said he was flying over our heads as we were sitting down, and Ty was out flying too and stopped in for lunch afterwards. Apparently it was CFI Fly In Scud Day!

Nathan re-measured my head for my helmet today-after the helmet place lost his last set of measurements. So that should be on the way in the not-too-distant future anyway.

So...we made it! A celebration is in order.

Speaking of celebrations, I get to go to the below, and I'm looking forward to it!

"Gathering Of Mustangs" Gains Momentum
A once-in-a-lifetime aviation event is in the works for next month, when up to 100 Mustangs will fly into Rickenbacker International Airport in Columbus, Ohio, for the "Gathering of Mustangs and Legends." The last such gathering took place in Florida in 1999. This year's event is billed as "The Final Round-up," as it might be the last chance for many of the original Mustang pilots and crew from World War II to attend. About 50 such "legends" are expected at the event, including Aces, crew chiefs, WASPs and others who were part of the P-51 family. The event will take place Sept. 27 to 30. Besides Mustangs, the show will feature the U.S. Air Force Thunderbirds, the F-22 Raptor, the Red Baron Stearman squadron, air show pilots Patty Wagstaff and Mike Goulian and more. But the real focus of the event, according to the Web site, is not the aircraft but the men and women who flew and took care of them. "This is what the event is all about -- to reunite them together again: to honor, to thank, to hear their stories one more time," the organizer says.

P.S. Steve made me laugh-he picked Kaylee up at school yesterday while I flew, and he relayed the "Kaylee needs to wear shorts under her dresses" conversation. Apparently the teacher commented that during activities like recess the boys were noticing under Kaylee's dress, and that she should wear shorts under it. Kaylee's response was "Well, they shouldn't be looking!"

The Next Day

This morning I took Kaylee to her 2nd day of school, and she was ready to go. She know the way to her classroom right off the bat, and made sure I brought her tennis shoes so she could play on the school playground. Apparently tomorrow she has to wear shorts, as it is PE day. Hey, a school that still has PE twice a week! And serves fruit, milk and veggies for lunch along with a main dish. Not bad. :)

Something funny to me is that she likes to wear dresses-and the school told her she has to wear shorts under her dresses or just shorts by themselves. That's the total opposite of when I was growing up, and you had to wear dresses and no shorts were allowed on girls in school or church functions.

Speaking of that, the other day in the car, Kaylee asked me "Mommy, what does 'H' 'O' spell?" I said "H O? Um, like Santa's ho ho? Where did you see that?" She responds with "It's written in the grass in front of that house." So the next time I drive by the house, sure enough, I see what looks like "ho" painted on the grass with an arrow pointing to someone's house. I'm mildly amused and curious about the back story, but I forget about it, until the next day, when I now see a sign up in the front yard exclaiming that "ISSY IS 40!" Whomever painted the "40" on their yard did it in such a way it looks like "ho" from the street. Mental note to self...watch which way you paint the "40" on the grass.

Anyway, this morning Doug and I had one last flight, and after a quick break, we flew over to Marion, Ohio, where he took his Commercial Multi-Engine Instrument checkride. We arrived about 30 minutes early. This was quite the experience. If I wasn't so wiped out I might try to explain it. Let's see. The woman behind the desk was also a flight instructor, which was interesting...and then I found out she also flew a Gulfstream. (This is a jet, and a nice one at that). The room didn't have a bathroom, any drinks or snacks, and no courtesy car. So I basically hung out in a chair for several hours. But I did have the company of a huge black dog and a little black cat, each of which took up their own seat. Had anyone else come in, they would have been seatless. The room was tiny and old and worn, but when you open the hangar door, it was packed full of big, expensive airplanes. The lady typed up the certificate on an old typewriter for the examiner, but she flew a Gulfstream. It was a little bit of world-meshing. Everyone was very nice to a couple of strangers. Except for one thing-an FAA Inspector was on field, and he was 'observing' the checkride. Now that's just a rotten thing to do to a pilot...have him show up and say "Hi, here is your examiner, and by the way, the FAA is going to be observing this checkride." Eek. But they picked the right guy-Doug couldn't care less about it, and he blazed through the oral exam. I was personally concerned that the FAA guy was going to ride in the plane with them. It's a hot day, lots of gas in the plane, no wind to help, and the plane performs just okay with two people in it on one engine today. Throw a third one in the back in those conditions, and it would get trickier, and you don't need trickier on a checkride. But thankfully the inspector wasn't interested in flying around in the back of the plane while they shut an engine off, and got out at the end of the runway after listening to the pre-take off briefing. Doug passed with flying colors, and has added a member to the crew of multi-engine pilots. :)

We flew home from Marion, and he flew from the right to practice for his Multi-Engine Instructor Certificate, which is next. I ran home and picked up Kaylee and Steve, and we headed to Outback Steakhouse to celebrate the successful checkride with Nathan, Chuck and Doug. A good way to end the day!

Now it's 10:30 pm and I'm going to go to bed. One more busy day-get up early, go out and fly a bit before Doug's second checkride of the week, which starts at 9 am in Muncie. He's a glutton for punishment! :)

One down, one to go!

Tuesday

Tuesday was Kaylee's First Day of First Grade. It was only a half day, to get them started, and she did just fine. She met a new friend named Magie, and she's excited that the school has strawberry, chocolate and white milk for lunch, and a "really cool playground with teeter totters and everything!" She's not too tired yet, so far so good! I picked her up at 12:30 and she seemed pleased with her teacher and her new school. Here she is on her way to her first day. :)

After I dropped her off, Doug and I flew the Baron quite a bit, hitting on single engine instrument approaches and checkride prep, until lunch time. After I picked up Kaylee, we all headed to Ruby Tuesdays, and froze in their air conditioning. Doug and I flew some more, until it was time to run home and change shirts and run back out to Kokomo to fly the Pizza Hut folks over to Peoria. I was over in Illinois until 11:30 p.m. or so, while they had a meeting at the ball park during a "Peoria Chiefs" baseball game. We left at the conclusion of the game (when one of 'our' guys won a hot dog eating contest at the field), and I landed for the last time that day around 12:20 a.m., put everything away, closed up the hangar and got the plane ready again for the next day, and made it home around 1:15 a.m. It was almost 2 when I fell asleep.

*Yawn*

This Is Not My Day

From running low on gas in my car to making a series of phone calls to strangers for an afternoon to Kaylee being 'off' to me being 'off' to having a mess-up on one of the checkrides for this week to having scheduling conflicts to Kaylee not getting the 1st grade teacher she was supposed to have (a friend of her former Kindergarten teacher) to Roadie peeing on bath mats and the deck again to...whatever. I've eaten a grand total of 1 1/2 cinnamon raisin biscuits and half of a turtle sundae today. I feel...stressed out.

I did not have a good day.

Fly Day I

Doug and I flew from 8 am through about 10, stopped for brunch at IHOP, then took Gayle to Cleveland in the Baron. It was a nice cool flight up at altitude; Cleveland was busy as Cleveland always is, and the airport reminded me of Meiggs...on the water with the city skyline (albeit smaller) right there. We were just there for a little while before heading back to Kokomo and practicing maneuvers one more time. When we got done, Chuck was waiting for us, and after we fueled up and got the plane put away, Steve and Kaylee were landing on their way home from Missouri. We put the Saratoga away, locked up, and headed to Nathan's house for some burgers on the grill and some cool beverages.

Poor Kaylee was exhausted and still is. She hasn't felt well all weekend, and she fell asleep in the car on the way home, snuggling her doll. I couldn't even get her to change into pajamas, brush her teeth, or go to the bathroom. She just woke up now, not really making a lot of sense, and she felt really hot to me. I got her some Tylenol, and when I took her temp it was 101.7 in her ear, and I didn't get a good check. So....we'll need to keep an eye on Miss Kaylee. And she's supposed to start school Tuesday. :(

Sunny Saturday

It was another hot one. I flew from 10-1, and got to solo Steve's student, our friend's son. (That means someone flew an airplane by himself for the first time today!) Chuck, Judy, James and I took a quick lunch at Subway and then I headed over to Kokomo to fly with a young man working towards his flight instructor license from 2-4. We got done right at 4 pm, and I heard a Mooney coming in to land right after us-that was Doug and Gayle making it in from California. We put everything away and met back up at Applebees for dinner, before calling it an evening.

It seems like I did a lot more than that one little paragraph today, but now I know why Steve doesn't blog. (I'm sure it's only for this one reason too. :D) But if you spend the day in an airplane, there really isn't much to say about it unless you want to talk about "and then we did turns about a point. And then we did stalls. And then we did a short field landing." Yes, not that exciting to read about, huh?

I can say that the house is amazingly and oddly quiet with Steve and Kaylee gone. It's like a house knows that its masters are far far away. It felt weird going to sleep with everybody gone, even my next door neighbors who are in Tennessee this week. :)

Tonight was also the annual Candlelighting for SMA. 8 pm in every time zone around the world, a candle lit symbolically in honor of our SMA children both here and gone. I'm just now going to blow mine out, at midnight...

Time to go to bed so I can get up tomorrow early. Night!

Friday's Foibles

I packed Kaylee's bag this morning, and am hoping I didn't forget anything. We headed out to Glenndale around 10:30 after hitting the post office and bank, and stayed through lunch. Meatloaf. I hear it was pretty good. I know the deviled eggs and potato salad were.

At 2 I flew with J for over an hour and a half, then we took a break at Kokomo waiting for Steve and Kaylee to arrive so I could fly them to Muncie in the Baron. They left from Muncie in the Saratoga to head to Missouri. I haven't heard that they made it there, but I assume so. :) Kaylee was pretty excited to go visit her grandma. J and I headed back to Kokomo and did some final flying for the day. When I got out of the 172, my clothes were completely covered in sweat. No more light-colored pants on plastic seats on hot days-I looked like somebody poured a bucket of water down my entire back side, all the way to the knees. It was ridiculous. Jeans it is from now on.

I put away the 172 all by myself, with a plain old towbar, uphill both ways in the snow into a crowded hangar (said for posterity), and finally headed home around 6:30pm. I realized I hadn't really eaten much today, having skipped breakfast and had a light-ish lunch, but I also was not in the mood to stop at a grocery store, even though I had no milk and little food in the house. Ah, the Marathon Station to the rescue. The prices were over-blown, but it was on my way home, and not having to drive across town to get a few items...priceless. My bachelorette items for the night? Milk, frozen pizza, and ice cream. The Dinner of Champions. ;)

I should do a bit of studying tonight, and it would be nice if I could accomplish a few other things as well, but I won't. Kaylee's laundry will have to wait one more day to be put away. Tomorrow I fly with J from 10-1, then T from 2-5. At some point Doug hits town tomorrow too, so the Great Multi-Engine Escapade begins. Sunday is a trip to Cleveland, Monday is a checkride, Tuesday is a Pizza Hut flight to Illinois, Wednesday is a fly all day day and Thursday is another checkride. Giddy-up!

Thursday Thoughts

Hey, I'm on a roll. (Riiiight)

Actually, I'm not in the mood to write. It's hot. I went to lunch at Ruby Tuesday's, and we had the slowest waitress in history. It took her forever to do everything-and they weren't that busy. She also forgot to put in Kaylee's order, so everybody else got their food except Kaylee. Poor girl wasn't too pleased with that one.

I did all our laundry today so Steve and Kaylee could pack for a trip to Missouri tomorrow. I am going to be here all weekend by my lonesome self to fly with a friend from California while Steve & Kaylee go visit Grandma & Grandpa in Missouri. I've got a couple of Steve's students tomorrow through Saturday, and after that it'll be me and this friend knocking off his multi-engine rating.

I saw "Stomp the Yard", and was left with the premise that "stepping" is basically cheerleading for boys. "Stomping" seems to be angry dancing/cheerleading for boys. The movie was okay, but basically looked like "Bring It" for African-American males. Or the drum-line movie (which I actually liked).

I have a question. Our newest cat addition, Roadie, will often pee right in front of the litter box. She usually will use it properly, and always uses it properly to poop, but every once in awhile she'll just pee right in front of it. She does this on the deck and in the house both (we have two boxes.) It doesn't just happen when the litter box is full or messy, because one of them is an automatic scooper one. I can't find anything specific that triggers it. But I HATE it, I don't want things to smell like cat pee, and I just HOPE the only place she's doing it is in front of the litter boxes. We haven't caught her doing it anywhere else yet, but I wonder. She's been fixed, so that isn't it, and I've tried rubbing her nose in it and saying "no", but isn't that more a dog thing? I don't know. Any thoughts or ideas?

Shameless Child Bragging & Stuff

Okay, if you're not interested in shameless child bragging, don't continue any further. You've been warned.

This morning I actually slept in kind of late, which is still leaving me feeling guilty considering how hard Steve is working these days in the horrible hot sun. But once I was up and about, I told Kaylee to get ready so we could head out for our errands. She hides herself away for awhile, and when she comes out, she is in heeled shoes, a nice shirt/shorts outfit, her hair is combed and pulled back into a nice ponytail low on her head, and she has lip gloss on. Next she brings out two purses that her grandmother gave her, tried them each out with her outfit on, and decided the bright yellow hand bag went best with her bright colorful shirt. She determined that her brown purse would be better for me in my current outfit, so she swapped all my stuff out into that purse for me, after having me hold up both purses with my outfit so she could determine which was best. She stood there all tall and lean and calm (and matching) waiting for me to leave, and I was just taken aback with how beautiful and grown-up she was looking/acting. Sometimes she amazes me, almost humbles me, and it's like I catch a glimpse of her as she'd be at 25 years too.

In the car she said to me, "I'm tired, but I'm in a very good mood. Say something mean to me!" I said "NO, I'm not saying something mean to you, even in pretend." She said "I want to prove I'm in a good mood! Come on, say something mean!" "No Kaylee, I'm not saying anything mean. I can't think of anything anyway." So she replies with "Say, 'you smell bad'." I laugh and say "Okay, you smell bad." I turn around and look at her, and she gives me a dead-pan look for a minute before grinning and saying "That's all right, I don't mind. See, I'm in a good mood!"

Steve. Poor Steve. He was out of house very early this morning, and won't make it back home until almost 2 a.m. Then tomorrow he has to be out at the airport at 7:30 am. That's crazy...

Kaylee and I are headed to a Fish Fry fundraiser for a local church with Chuck & Judy. I'm not even a big fan of fish, but they do a good job there and it's pretty tasty!

Here are a few quotes for the Day:

"The meeting of two personalities is like the contact of two chemical substances: If there is any reaction, both are transformed."
~Carl Jung

"Your biggest challenge isn't someone else. It's the ache in your lungs and the burning in your legs, and the little voice inside you that yells, "can't!" But you don't listen; you just push harder and then you hear the voice whisper "can" and you realize the person you thought you were is no match for the one you really are."
~Unknown

Tuesday's Tribulations & Tuesday Top Ten-Ten Ways To Beat The Heat

Alliteration Rules.

Today hasn't been a great day for anybody. So, I'm going to complain. Just briefly, and then an attitude adjustment will ensue, but for a minute, I'm going to complain. Skip it if you wish. :)

I woke up with a scratchy sore throat and a headache. Just a normal, garden-variety headache this time at least! It took me awhile to get going; I wonder if it is allergies that are getting to me. Anyway. I watched "Premonition". Now if you haven't watched this yet and want to, don't read this next paragraph, because I'm going to 'spoil' it.

Sandra Bullock (whom I like) keeps living a week out of sequence. She has a normal life through Monday morning-but when she wakes up on Monday it's really Thursday, and the police notify her that her husband has been killed in a car accident. She wakes up and it's really the previous Sunday and he's home. Next time she wakes up it's Friday and he's been dead for a day and she finds out a few more facts of his and her life. Back to the next Monday and he's still alive. Saturday is the funeral. Etc. Finally she figures out that he dies on Wednesday. Throughout the movie, you see her living out the days out of order, putting all the pieces together. And here's the kicker. She can't change anything that happens. Her daughter still goes through a plate glass door and cuts her face. She still gets institutionalized and drugged as a crazy person when she keeps trying to tell people her husband's not dead yet. Etc. And in the end, she's on the phone with him, in a car right behind him, begging him to turn around and get out of the way, when she watches a semi jack-knife and crush him anyway. The movie ends with her pregnant with their third child, conceived the night before he died, and that they were given that miracle. The other thing to make it 'right' was that they got to repair their relationship and reconnect with each other in those 10 minutes before he was killed. Oh, and that he was bothered by her warning so he tripled his life insurance the morning he was killed so his family was taken care of financially. I was more in the mood for the bubble-gum everybody-lives-happily-ever-after ending where she saves him from being killed, but if you're in the mood for ha-ha-this-time-they-killed-off-the-guy-anyway, you'd be pleased. I'm not sure being a single parent of three is better than being a single parent of two, but who am I to complain about their semi-happy ending?

Today it's hot. I mean....hot. And muggy. Triple-digit heat index 'hot'. Even brand new car's air conditioning can't keep up with it 'hot'. Kaylee and I ran some computer cords out to Glenndale for Steve, and stopped at Wendy's for lunch on the way out. The airport was stifling hot and empty, so Kaylee and I sat and ate for awhile. Wendy's got my order wrong, giving me a spicy chicken sandwich (which I don't like by the way), after Arby's got my order wrong last night giving me hot ham & cheese (which I also don't like). The last three steaks I ordered medium or medium rare came back well done. So I'm a little tired of not getting food the way I ordered it. Steve was up flying, and when he landed, he walked in and his face was purple from just being hot and sweaty. He's having a worse day than I am, so I'm glad I had a frosty for him to enjoy. ;)

Flew with the new student, "S", in the 172 today. She's walking on water excited about flying, and that's always fun. Even though it was heat-stroke hot outside, she had a great time. I took the Saratoga over to Muncie this evening when it started thinking about cooling down, and Chuck gave me a ride home in the Citabria. The Citabria is one of the 'coolest' airplanes to fly in-you can open the window wide, and the airflow feels GOOD. Nothing else keeps you as cool on a hot day-except the air conditioned Seneca, which is no more. *sniff*

Tuesday Top Ten: Ten Ways To Beat The Heat

1. Don't Fly in Small Airplanes. They are little glass-enclosed heat machines. Sauna rooms. Sweat shops. Stink factories. I think you get the drift.

2. Don't Leave Your House. My house is set up just perfectly with shades pulled and air temp set right where I like it.

3. Ice Cold Beverages. Water is best, but don't ask me if I'm drinking it, or enough of it. An ice cold Diet Coke or Diet Mt. Dew hits the spot many times too. Iced tea. A Wendy's Frosty. If it's cold, it's a terrific way to beat the heat.

4. Ice Cream and Popsicles. Creamy, cold, and tasty. In fact, I wish I had some in the house, because I've just made myself hungry for it.

5. Don't exercise. You know, I've been looking for an excuse to not exercise for many years now, and I finally have one! It's too hot-it's NOT good for me to exercise in this heat. Big girls like me who exercise in heat like this are asking to stroke out.

6. Put ice packs or frozen water bottles in your shorts/shirt. An actual trick for folks wearing flight suits. It's unbelievably hot in say the Mustang, so the suggestion comes from Chuck/Nathan. You may come out wet when everything melts under your clothes, but it provides at least a measure of coolness. I'd hate to walk around with that in my pants in public, but if I get desperate enough...

7. Hit the water. Whether it's a wading pool, a sprinkler, a beach, or the public pool, water somehow makes it a little more bearable. Kaylee loves to put on a swimsuit and run in the water in the back yard. I'm sure our water bill doesn't appreciate it, but hey, you're only a kid during the summertime once.

8. Light Cotton. No nylon. No polyester. Just cotton, and light cotton at that. Absorbent for sweat, keeps you cool, and sticks to me much less than anything else. *Definitely* no silk, which sticks to me like plastic wrap. No dark colors, no heavy materials.

9. Hit the Movies! They always keep those places freezing cold. It's dark, it's cool, you can have a nice drink and sit in complete comfort for a couple of hours.

10. You Can't-Just Give Up. It's 105 degrees Fahrenheit with the heat index. It's miserable, it's horrible, and unless you curl up in your underwear on your living room floor with the air cranked up to its max and an ice pack on your head, you can't beat the heat. Quit while you're behind and wait for Fall like the rest of us!

Monday's Matters

I ran a ton of errands today-I even filled up my car, washed it and (don't fall over) vacuumed it out. I only had $.75 on me and that's what it took for the vacuum, so I sped through so I wouldn't run out of time on it, but I managed to do a decent job. And then it rained on my newly washed car. *sigh* Thanks, Murphy, ole pal.

Kaylee had a busy evening-she had ballet and tap from 4:30-5:30 pm, and when she was done there we drove right to her very first cheerleading practice, which went from 6:00 - 7:30 pm. In between I got her a small snack and had her change clothes. She LOVED the cheer practice. They worked for 45 minutes upstairs with music, dancing and cheer, and then came downstairs for 45 minutes to do tumbling, floor work, lifts, and some exercise. They were holding their body weight up by their arms with their knees tucked, etc. That takes some decent abs and good arm strength too. They also got to be lifted up, and practiced safe ways to do that, with three (sometimes four) spotters. I'll be honest-I'd rather she not be interested in cheerleading. In fact, it's probably the worst thing (that is legal anyway) I can think of for my daughter to like. But she does like it, it's good exercise, and she's not me, she is her own person. I'm not going to try to make her be like me. She came out of there today totally excited and pumped up about it, she loved being "lifted", she loved learning something new and fun, she loved jumping around, and she can't wait for next week. So, while the irony in this is pretty deep, here are four words I never thought I'd say: "My Daughter the Cheerleader".

(I really hope she outgrows this before Junior High/High School....really really. She doesn't have to like airplanes, but does it HAVE to be CHEER??)

I have to add, I just had another first-I went to my first ever cheer and pom pom website to order shoes for Kaylee. Naturally they have special shoes for cheer too, didn't you know that?? :)

I just finished a book written by a pastor here in Kokomo. He grew up in Germany during WWII, as a half-Jew, and he and his family suffered quite a few trials. Ironically enough, he lived in Milwaukee, Wisconsin (close to where I lived), Lincoln, Nebraska (where I lived), and Kokomo, Indiana (where I live.) He's also a pilot. That's about where our likeness stops, as he's a very...different...fellow. But anyway, he learned to fly out of our airport quite awhile ago, and occasionally flies with Steve. He gave Steve a copy of his book, and that's what I just finished. I thought I'd quote the paragraph where he talked about Glenndale, because it made me laugh.

"I took my first lessons at a little airport about four miles directly south of our home. The grass landing strip was about 2,000 feet long and 100 feet wide, with a low spot in the middle that turned into a mud puddle every time it rained. There were some high tension wires on the north end of the runway, so when landing from the north, you had to clear those wires and then make a steep descent to ensure enough runway to come to a stop. Then, of course, if it had been raining, you had to try to leave as much mud puddle on one side of the airplane as you could. Learning to fly at that particular airport sometimes included plenty of adventure, and at other times nothing but, "Help me, Jesus!"

That made me laugh. And a little proud, I admit. ;) To this day he flies out of the bigger, paved airport by the way...(bawk bawk!) lol

Ugh

I woke up early this morning to a headache. For most people that's no big deal, but for me it's a problem and I knew what that could mean, so I got up and popped some Tylenol and headed back to bed to kick it. Unfortunately it didn't work, and when I got back up it was to a bad one. I took some Excedrin Migraine and tried to wait for it to kick in, but pretty soon was feeling pretty bad. By 1 pm I was about to throw up, so I tried one more thing-a Darvocet. (At $25 per pill, I save my Imitrex in case of flying emergencies.) At that point, the stomach pain from the headache pain was probably about equal to the stomach problems from the meds, and I gave up and crawled back into bed and put a pillow over my head. Around 2 pm I got back up and was feeling shaky but a little better. Finally around 3 pm I felt almost human again. Almost.

Meanwhile, Kaylee and Steve had a camp-out last night. At 4 a.m. they made a big bed on our living room floor, and passed out the rest of the night there. The first time I got up to get medicine I had to quietly tiptoe past the sleeping crew-they were pretty cute. Steve got the deck scrubbed down and some yard work done, and I got the inside of the house straightened up fairly well and finished stuffing envelopes for Glenndale's billing. We had a little balloon party (I about blacked out after blowing up just 8 big balloons, so I still wasn't quite myself!) and Kaylee decorated the room with hand-drawn and cut-out decorations. Finally we ended the night by making up a tent in Kaylee's room on her bed for her to sleep in, and she seems to have passed out very hard and very quickly. She didn't get a lot of sleep last night, and tomorrow she has both ballet/tap and her first cheerleading lesson, so I hope she rests well tonight!

And I treat you to one more short, concise, and somewhat pointless post!

Ba ha ha!

http://keyetv.com/watercooler/watercooler_story_215231718.html

This is a real news story! I can honestly say I've never seen a plane crash story with this type of focus before. *snort*

While I'm talking about news stories, something not quite so funny. There was another story about a girl who landed on a golf course after she ran out of gas in a plane. Now here's what is annoying to me. Folks talked about whether or not she was good looking, and folks talked about how at least she didn't panic at the emergency, and one witness said he'd fly with her any time because she did a good job not hitting anybody on her way down. That's all nice, but any time any other pilot lands because he's out of gas, it's crucifixion time. I never hear a witness say "I'd fly with him any time" after an emergency landing from fuel exhaustion. I rarely hear "at least he kept his cool when he landed" like it was some big surprise that he did. And I certainly don't hear people talking about how attractive the pilot is or is not. Give me a break. The pilot didn't check her fuel before she took off and she ran it out of gas. She messed up in a big way, she got it on the ground safely, and how she looks doesn't matter one darn bit. She didn't panic--goodie, she'd better not, she's a pilot and you should never take the time to panic until you're safe on the ground. The whole thing just felt condescending and annoying. And if physical appearance is the new judge of good or bad piloting skills, I know some folks in a lot of trouble. ;) At least I know that if *I* were to run it out of gas and land on a golf course, no matter what I look like, I would catch a world of hurt from it-and I wouldn't want it any other way!

Doppelganger

It was a typical Saturday. Steve was up and out of the house pretty early, and Kaylee and I joined him at the airport a bit later. While he flew, I entered time sheets towards billing for the airport. Then around 12:45 pm, my 'discovery flight' came in, about 15 minutes early. She wanted to know everything; how it worked, why, when, so we spent a lot of time talking about the airplane, some of its systems, how things like the airspeed indicator work, things that most people don't ask. She was fascinated by it all, and excited to be there, and that always makes it fun. We took off, and an area of rain showers moved over Kokomo. It was only a couple of miles long and pretty narrow, and there were no thunderstorms related to it, and we just stayed north of the city in the clear and flew around, practiced some things, and waited for it to clear off of Glenndale. At one point I called up the Air Force base here and requested a low pass over their runway. They cleared me to go by ("Check gear down, cleared for low pass, don't touch your wheels down!") so I did a slow flight right over the runway. She took several photos, and we waved at the tower. Finally Glenndale was mostly clear of the rain, so I took the plane and flew it back in. Of course on final it started raining pretty hard again, but really, that plane desperately needed a washing anyway! :)

Funnily enough, this lady seems like a Doppelganger to me. She's like the 'me' I'd be in another universe. Not physically, though she joins me in the minority of brown-eyed pilots out there. But we are very alike, even having similar dislikes of things touching our heads/face/neck. I noticed it right away, but actually started laughing when she said "I never expected to get a female instructor-I usually relate much better to men than women. I don't do the shopping thing, I just don't 'get' typical women things, and I'm excited to have a female instructor who seems to be an awful lot like me!" I laughed some more when she said "If someone doesn't want to hear the answer, they had best not ask me the question in the first place." She has one daughter and two cats. She drives a yellow Mustang with a radar detector, and was excited to hear about the faster airplanes that we have available for "later" things too. I believe we'll get along well, which is good considering she's very excited about flying and wants to go all the way through, from Private on up through all the licenses/ratings/endorsements. It's funny, I've never had to say to someone "I can get you your private, taildragger, complex, high performance, basic aerobatics, commercial, instrument, instructor, instrument instructor, multi-engine and multi-engine instructor, but I can't get you helicopter, sea plane, or A&P." How limited I am! lol Should be fun.

When we left the airport, Kaylee and I headed to Arby's to eat while Steve stayed behind to finish off billing. Now that it's 6:37 pm, I'm ready to take a big ole nap...I need to straighten the house again; it's been clean and tidy for almost a month, but you just get tired for a few days straight, and poof, clutter reproduces with itself, I swear...

I Think This Is Beautiful

This is a routine by two Mustangs at Oshkosh (not sure which year). They are (so far) the only aerobatic Mustang team in the world, and they go by the name "The Horsemen". I love the music, I love the video, and I love the routine. I hear the pilots are kind of arrogant jerks, but putting that aside, these 8 minutes still really made me smile. I hope you enjoy!