So long! Farewell! Aufwiedersehn, Adieu.

Though I feared my sanity was at stake, I decided to pack the dear dogs into the car, have a stern conversation with the GPS and haul my self and 1000 items of luggage (I swear the dogs are like kids, and I was never a light traveler) on an 8-hour drive down to Enterprise, Alabama. After 4 months away, I have been missing some of my dearest friends from our old neighborhood and since one particular family is so inconveniently moving to Germany in a few weeks (boo Army) I figured it was time to show my face again. The sweet wife of this dynamic couple has been sending me care packages ever since I left town, so lately I’ve been racking my brains about what I could do for them in return. I did indeed hit upon a flash of inspiration. Anybody remember Forrest’s and my doggy trays of old? Well, excuse me for stealing my own theme- but …you can guess the rest.

My delivery mission was a success and my old pals seemed suitably charmed by my efforts. (Chad flies Apaches, the two Blondies are Abby and Gracie- their sweet spaniels and the German theme is self-explanatory).

Aufwiedersehn, Temples…miss you already.

Apache patch

Though I don’t entirely count out the possibility of making multi-millions with my savvy business ability and award-winning artworks one of these days (cough)…..I’m still kinda one for doing favors since y’know, what goes around comes around. I try to keep on good terms with Karma. So when one of my favorite neighbors of old asked me to design a patch for his Apache helicopter class, how could I say no? I couldn’t! I didn’t.

There is this crazy thing with Apaches, where the pilots are trained to fly ‘the bag’. That is, with all the windows blacked out. Flying ‘blind’. Talk about a rite of passage into an elite group. I was lucky enough to witness one of these training sessions from the ATC tower one sunny Saturday morning in January. Some of the (often unintentional) Apache acrobatics performed by the flight school students were a bit dizzying, to say the least.

So, these bright young things fly helicopters to keep America safe. I design their patches to keep them happy. Good deal. The design- as I know you have guessed- is an apache student flying ‘the bag’. Your powers of deduction are second to none.

So I approached my house the other day, to a waiting box. The kind of box that says ‘get excited, I am full of treats’. There ain’t no better type of box. So while I didn’t ask for payment, this sweet class of pilots sent me a gift basket full of delights (thank you, I DO like to smell of ‘orchid blossom’ whenever possible!), and of course, one of the patches. I think it’s pretty neat. Glad I could help!

One, Two, Skip a few....(and suddenly it's June!)

Oh I have been a bad blogger. A bad bad blogger......Four short months ago we moved house. And State. The dog, the turtle, ourselves. Hello Clarksville, Tennessee!

Amid confusion and chaos, my Greencard showed up. Irony is....just when I finally get the freedom to be with and stay with my husband, he was preparing to get whisked away from me. The Army can be such a party pooper! Forrest was settling in at work under the expectation of being deployed at the click of somebody's fingers, while I unpacked boxes, cooked meals, promised Rudy that everything was okay (our dear emotional Shepherd!). My family visited (from England!), we acquired Mister Felix (emotional Shepherds: Part II), I started eating meat. I learned to use the lawn mower. The weed eater. The DVD player (I'm still a bit fuzzy on that one actually....).

We met neighbours. We made friends. We went to football games. We drank wine. We took photos.

Then we turned into me. Me and the dogs, that is. The dogs and the turtle.

Now I am a pro at catching mosquito eaters. I am a disaster at swatting flies. I am a wreck at the sight of (HUGE Tennessee) spiders. I'm paying the bills. Watching the news with one ear closed. Getting less sleep. Drinking more coffee.

It's been busy around here....the laundry needs doing and the puppy just sprinted past with one of my slippers. I've missed you bloggers and readers, commenters and friends. This is me making my return....sneaking in the side door. Pretending like I was never gone. How've you all been?! And what did I miss?

Back-tracking and catching up!

February tiptoed past, silently blogless. The past month has been a whirlwind. Remind me, which way is up?

January ended with good news and bad news and good news again (good wins every time!). Firstly, my Greencard arrived (hip-hooray for being an almost permanent fixture over here). Secondly we discovered that almost immediately after our impending arrival at our new duty station, Forrest would be unceremoniously stolen from our happy home to be deployed to Afghanistan (sucker punch, meet my stomach). Thirdly, gloriously and tipping the balance in favor of smiles, Forrest graduated flight school- and I got the chance to pin his wings (stab myself in the thumb), and blink back a bucket-load of proud tears.

January turned into February where my hours, days, weeks and moons were all consumed with packing. Celebrating our youth and exercising our ignorance, we decided to move ourselves. Who needs movers for the 10 hour trip from Enterprise, AL to Clarksville, TN? Even if it IS below freezing and there is snow and we have a million things, a dog, a turtle and we haven’t slept much lately? Not us! Fist pumps, back-slaps and…..yawn, stoopid.

Fast-forward a month. Slam on the breaks and here you will find me at our new home in Tennessee. There is much more to show and tell. Soon, I will get around to doing it!

Congraduations!

If I were the sentimental type, I’d write this with a tear in my eye. I’m not, so I’ll just flash a ridiculous grin instead. This week my clever husband graduates flight school! Yes, I’m now expecting free helicopter tours of Alaska and the Grand Canyon, and yes I’ve been assured that I will not be getting them. Sigh….

Forrest’s Chinook class asked that I draw their picture for the plaque that they present to their instructors upon graduation. Probably against my better judgment, I accepted said challenge, saluted my pen box, and said a prayer. Helicopters aren’t exactly my specialty…but well, everybody loves a trier. And boy, did I try.

So for Forrest and CH47 Class 10-10- lemme hear some wolf whistles, gimme a Mexican wave, throw off your hats….it’s graduation time. Congratulations!

Mistletoe and Wine

Christmastime. The newest installment in my memory museum is bright with adventure and new experiences. During our Christmas road trip to California we managed to pass through just about every city that was making the news for horrendous weather conditions. However, with steely determination (and single minded intent to get to my Mother-in-law’s homemade cookies), we arrived in Tahoe just in time for some hot pretzels and another giant dumping of snow. Snow shoeing ensued, snowballs were thrown, snow angels promptly made. The skies were generous with the white stuff…. though time on the other hand always seemed in short supply.

This time around we took Rudy along, and apart from demanding ball-throwing sessions in the -25c temperatures that we witnessed along the route, the boy did a sterling job. Forrest and I were proudest parents. From looking cute in the back seat to providing cuddles when I was cold, Rudy was a help rather than a hindrance and more than worth the compromises made to take him with us. But then again, with my melted heart, it’s difficult to see anything less than perfection when it comes to that boy…..my judgment can’t be trusted!

Christmas in Napa with family-Neumann was everything I needed to keep homesickness at bay (for my first Christmas away from the Father and Mothership), and winetasting, wedding showers, and catching up with old friends and family kept the schedule pretty much overflowing until it was time to leave again. Fast-forward to 2011, and the snowstorms were back for round two, new years resolutions hung questioningly in the air, my immigration paperwork required more attention and Forrest’s impending flight school graduation were the reality checks that reined us back down to earth and out of the heady orbit of Christmas euphoria. Talk about a welcome to the new year….

The next few months hold a lot of changes and challenges for our family of three, with Forrest’s possible deployment to Afghanistan hanging over me like a grey cloud. First though, it’s time to pack up our things and move to Tennessee for Forrest’s next duty station. Do the countdown with me…. Holy cowboy hats, it’s only three weeks!

Aspirations to be an Elf

Well, Thanksgiving swept me sideways and it took me a while to find my sea legs again. It was my first year of hosting all the Neumanns, (and my first year as a Neumann) and I've got to say, I was not prepared for the sheer quantity of pie that entered my world. I welcomed it though, oh yes I did. It was a wonderful holiday- calorific and fun filled. In hindsight however, it appears that it distracted me from things that I would normally have begun gearing up for weeks ago. Namely; Christmas! (if I could make it flash gold and red and sing as well, I would do it. Green was the best I could do....). I had big plans this year too, so there was catching up to do. With my sparkly new printing press winking at me from across the room, I plunged into some 'trial and error' crafting that has resulted in an unexpected aversion to turpentine, an almost sliced-off finger (gore!) and a stack of Christmas cards that would rival your most glitter filled-fantasy. Are they perfect? Not on your nelly. Do I think they are a tiny bit charming? I'll let you decide.....

To know me, is to know my dog, so it seemed only right that Rudy be my muse for my first homemade christmas cards on his first-ever Christmas. We did name him Rudolph (for about 2 minutes) after all! The tree is up, the house smells like cookies and next up, hand-printed gift wrap….Somewhere along the way (Mister Neumann, I hope you are paying attention) I have my fingers crossed for mulled wine. 'Tis the season to be merry, after all :)