Songs to subject you to

Lisa writes:

Röyksopp "What Else Is There?" Haunting Norwegian electronica and I wish I were brave enough to go through life without eye make-up and still look this good.

Dirty Projectors "Stillness Is the Move" The video is sort of embarrassing (the choreography! the weird halter-top dresses!) but slightly awesome (jodhpurs! when the llama pops his head up at 1:06!) but the song is so catchy.



The Roots "Lovely, Love My Family" On Yo, Gabba Gabba! The tuba guy is my favorite. It's not often the tubas get to rock out.

Middle-age

Lisa writes: Am I middle-aged yet? I'm looking at the U.S. Census Bureau's 2009 Statistical Abstract. For a white woman born in 1970 (like me), the expectation of life expectancy is 75.6 years. For a white man born in 1970 (like Tom), the life expectancy is 68.0 years. Now, hopefully our non-smoking, non-drinking, light-on-the-McDonald's lifestyles means we'll do a little better than average, but if "middle" means "half-way" then didn't I hit middle age last year? And shouldn't Tom be driving a Corvette by now?*

*I'm kidding. He'd never drive a Corvette. He wants a Jag.

Things we learn from teaching the 6-year-old Sunday School class

Lisa writes: We go around the circle and ask the kids to share one thing that's happened since we last met. One boy pipes up, "My dog has giardia!"

Frugality is the new black

Lisa writes: Part of me is cringe-y about writing this, but the other part of me is smuggy about it. See that toothbrush sitting on the sink in the previous entry? The $138 Philips Sonicare? Bought it on eBay. Sure did.

Bathroom demolition has begun

Lisa writes: Goodbye, decorative trim in the pattern of eight repeating lighthouses.
Goodbye, little seafoam green anchor vinyl wallpaper.
Goodbye, sliding shower doors with 45 years of encrusted, irremovable soap scum.
Goodbye, green sink, and you too, green toilet. It's been a good run.
Don't forget to write.

Working on the railroad

Lisa writes: My brother-in-law just got a new job working as a railroad line crew chief. Isn't that the coolest "Thomas the Tank Engine" meets "Atlas Shrugged" job you can think of? I knew there were some other relatives who had worked on the railroad and quizzed my dad. He said:

"My dad worked on the railroad. He was a plumber. He fixed leaky water towers. Got in some big fights when he first got in. There were some real slobs working there. He cleaned up their area while they were all on their shift, and they came back and were belligerent that this little guy had cleaned up all their stuff; moved all their stuff around. He was short, a boxer-type of guy. One guy reached for a poker to hit him, a fire poker. Dad saw him reach for it. The guy was leaning back in his chair and Dad kicked him over and jumped on him. Knocked him out of the car and rolled him down the hill. They liked him after that, after he beat 'em all up. ... It was a strange life he lived. Don't know how he survived it.

"My mom's dad fixed worn out wheels on trains. That's what he did. I didn't know that until not too long ago." [An Idaho census identified him later as a "potato counter," but that doesn't mean he hadn't done both jobs.]

Style: Fall

Lisa writes: Yay! It's Fall! Which means I can go back to wearing black tights with EVERYTHING like I do EVERY YEAR. Hurray! And I can bring out the wool skirts and sweaters, and the high boots, gloves, my cute wool coat, hats, and everything I own with long sleeves!

Tom writes: Yay! It's Fall! Which means ... I'm just going to keep wearing what I usually wear. Maybe put on a scarf....

Donny's new RC airplane

Lisa writes: My little brother Donny got a new remote controlled airplane. He is very excited about it.

So excited, he sent pictures.

You know what doesn't photograph particularly well? The excitement of flying a remoted-controlled airplane.

(We tease because we love, Don Don.)

High School: Cosima Swintak

Lisa writes: Until I went to my 20th high school reunion two summers ago, I honestly hadn't given more than a few minutes thought to anybody from high school in years. (Except you, Kris, and Jenny, and James, and Amy, and Karen. I think about you every day.) I'm not good with names. It takes me a long time to learn them and then I quickly forget them. But occasionally somebody sticks. There was this girl, Cosima Swintak, who was in 11th grade when I moved to Tennessee in 10th. I was in a couple of classes with her and thought she was just the coolest thing. She was one of the smartest people in the school, for one thing, AND she was pretty, AND she was poised. She won all kinds of scholarships and academic awards. At the end-of-the-year honors celebration, they just kept calling her up to the stage for award after award: "Cosima Swintak!" "Cosima Swintak!" "Cosima Swintak!" She was as modest and elegant as an 11th-grader can be. The Jackie O of Clarksville, Tennessee. She made such an impression that I've remembered her name for 22 years. Just now, I looked her up on the internet. Found her. She's an Instructor of Psychiatry at the Mayo Clinic. Apparently my high school instincts were right on! Wish I'd used them to buy some stocks back then...

Things I've made

Lisa writes: On the right side of the blog, under the list of old posts, I added a list of things I've made, am inspired to make, or can recommend making. I like the quote Martha Stewart gave in an interview with Wired Magazine: "You own it if you made it." Click on the links and you can make them too!

Halloween 2009

Lisa writes: Halloween 2009. Here we are reprising our costumes from 1998. (Costume debut here.)
The tuxedo was Tom's concert band uniform from college in 1988. It still fits.

After getting dolled up, we went to Tom's bro-in-law's birthday party. Mark is married to Tom's sister, Betsy. They met after Betsy responded to Mark's want ad in the paper. (Kids, imagine Match.com, but on paper.) They are the parents of 15 year old Julia.
From the birthday party, we went to Tom's Tai Chi school's Halloween party. The school constructed this crazily-elaborate haunted house (which we waited to go through until after all the ghouls and zombies left to get snacks).

This is witch Cynthia (another student), "Boris Badeno from Rocky and Bullwinkle" Coach Pei, and "Lurch" Tom. Coach was bummed because nobody figured out his costume. They all thought he was trying to be Neo from The Matrix.
Cynthia and I had the same wig. It's like we're identical twins!
Here's the outfit and make-up minus the wig. What do you think? I'm thinking this should be my new look. You can't really tell from the pic, but the false eyelashes are about an inch long.
Here's Tom's new look.
Last year, Tom was in Olympic form.

Two years ago, I said that buzzing sound you hear right now is probably your pancreas.

Songs to subject to you

Lisa writes: Go watch and listen to ...

The Noisettes here. This might be what would happen if Grace Jones fronted a fun 60's girl group. I also love their cover of "When You Were Young."

Sigur Ros here. Icelandic, and so beautiful I can't even say anything about it. Watch it.

Fatboy Slim video starring the dancing talents of ... Christopher Walken. I love it when somebody awesome turns out to be even awesomer than you thought.

Chemical Brothers here. I am embarrassed to admit I watched at least two minutes of this before realizing what the "deal" was. How long will it take you?

Las Vegas: If I put a dollar into a machine, I expect a candy bar to drop out of the bottom

Lisa writes: The tally of our Las Vegas debauchery.

Tom gambled $10 on his mom's behalf. Ended up with $2.

Lisa put in $5. Ended up with $11.25.

Tom put in $5, because, like Eve, I did it it first and told him to. Ended up with $1.25.

So, nope, definitely not paying off the mortgage this time around. I spent all my winnings on ice cream.

Lisa and Tom go to Las Vegas

Lisa writes: Click any pix to enlarge.

Hi Gang, Las Vegas pics. Here we are at Hoover Dam, and in the power plant at the bottom of the dam. They're building a big suspension bridge next to the dam to keep people from having to drive over the dam (security risk). I'll stop saying dam now.

Lisa and Tom, posing absolutely no security risk.

Lisa and Dad standing on dam road (whoops, one more time) with the new bridge behind us. It is scary high up!

Something like 60,000 gallons of water per second going through here.

Dad, Tom, Lori, Mom and strangers waiting to go up the elevator. They said they get ringtail cats down in the tunnels.

Here's a ringtail cat from the internet. I've never seen one.

We went to visit Tom's family friend, Paulina, and her kids. This is Little Bob wearing Tom's Big Shoes.

Paulina, Tom, and "Izzy."

Next day, we went to Red Rock Canyon and hiked around on some red rocks and saw two lizards. They were fast. We were slow.

Lisa and Uncle Tim.

Then we met the family at the Old Mormon Fort. Long story short: A handful of Mormons were sent down here to try to grow crops, mine lead, and convert the Paiute indians to Christianity. One of the Mormons was my great-great-great-great-great-uncle. The project only lasted two years before everybody gave up and went home, but then the Union Army appropriated the fort for a while during the Civil War. Here's the Civil Ward reenactor who gave us a tour. I think the one thing we all learned from the tour was to be reeeeal careful with your ramrod. (While demonstrating how to reload the musket, the guide accidentally smacked himself across the bridge of his nose. The cut gently bled through the rest of the tour, as we politely pretended not to notice.)

What's the mpg on this thing?

Lori and Debbie playing some Civil War checkers. Winner gets the loser's hardtack for the day. (I just made that up.)

Right about then Christian and the gang arrived!

Madison's castle on the Strip. (Excalibur)

Count the Elvises! One ... two ...

... three! Madison, Tom, and Debbie with her new pixie cut. (M&M store)

Conservatory at the Bellagio

Lobby of the Bellagio. (I got in trouble for lying down on the floor to get this shot. I bet nobody would have blinked an eye if I'd been lying down on the floor at the Luxor.)

Attempting to redeem ourselves on Sunday. Here we are at church with Uncle Tim and Madison (who is getting really TALL).

Donny and Christian.

Tom and Aunt Joyce.

Saying goodbye to cousin Stephanie as she was working in the church library.

Lisa and kids. See what I mean about the tallness? This has to stop!

The mafia family hits Las Vegas

From left to right, Mafia Donny, Mafia Lisa, Mafia Debbie, Mafia Mom, Mafia Dad, Mafia Lori, and Mafia Christi.

Viva Las Vegas

Lisa writes: Dear Family and Friends,

We are headed out tomorrow to meet up with the rest of the Robbins in Las Vegas for some good, old-fashioned, family fun. Tom has never been to Las Vegas. Up until now, the wickedest place he's ever been is Rio. He is SO EXCITED for this trip. Nothing wicked ever happens in Washington, D.C.

I just got my flu shot. I've been spotty about getting them in past. Some years, yeah; some years, nah. I shouldn't have been surprised to discover that the line of people waiting to get their shots (for free, through our employer) was wound around outside the door and into the lobby. I've never seen so many people so eager to get a jab in the arm.

EDUCATIONAL MEDICAL TIDBIT: My old physician assistant roommate, Molly, explained her technique for identifying which patients had the flu. "If the patient is dressed, washed, and/or drove himself to the clinic, it's not the flu. If the patient is still in pajamas at 3 p.m., has hasn't had a shower in days, is curled into a fetal position on the exam table, and won't make eye contact, it's the flu."

Last night Tom and I went over to my sis- and bro-in-law's house to watch the niece and nephew for a couple of hours so she could work on some projects. Boy, age 3, and Girl, age 15 months went on a walk with us to the grocery store. Every visit with the kids is educational. Last night, for example, we learned what happens when you wake a sleeping three-year-old from his nap before he's ready. I won't spoil the surprise by telling you the answer, but I'll give you a hint: It's loud. Long and loud. We strapped some shoes on the both of them anyway and walked to the grocery store. We went the long way, deliberately, in the hope that Boy would run out of tantrum before we had to go into the store. (He eventually did.) It's interesting that the worse one child is behaving, the more charming and adorable the other one becomes. Girl toddled along happily the whole time, holding my finger and singing to herself. I think it's an evolutionary thing whereby the smarter child is less likely to be eaten by its exasperated parents.

The weather has started to turn cool here, but it's lovely sweater weather, not horrible "Eisenhower Tunnel is closed due to black ice" weather. I tore out all of the 3 foot high corn stalks from the garden. The stumpy cornstalks that gave us stumpy ears of corn this summer that tasted like Kindergarten paste. I left the enormous tomato plants. They produced exactly zero tomatoes, but did get impressively tall and are still green so, like, maybe there's still hope. (There's not.)

So, a few more hours of work, then home to pack for Sin City. Tom's mom gave him $10 to put in the slots for her. He's bringing a couple of Hamiltons of his own for the roulette wheel. Tom is secretly hoping to use this trip to pay off the mortgage. I tell you this so that, in case you see him on Monday, you'll understand why he looks so disappointed.

Love,
Lisa

Make

Lisa writes: Did you know you could...

Make your own brown sugar?

Make your own laundry detergent (for about 2 cents a load)?

Make your own yogurt?

Make your own English muffins?

Deb's locks of love

Lisa writes: This was a surprise. My little sister, Debbie, just donated her hair to Locks of Love. My mom wrote: "Our Darling Deb - Pretty as ever in any style. And always giving to others. (After the shock, Dad said, 'It is cute!')"





I think it's kind of a Laugh-In era Goldie Hawn look. Minus the false eyelashes and bikinis and body painting.

Blogs Lisa loves

Lisa writes: Here are some blogs I read regularly.

Owlhaven Mom of 10 kids from three countries. Most of her recent posts are about a $70/week grocery challenge she set up for herself, but she also talks about her work with Ethiopia, her oldest daughter's recent wedding, and funny stuff her kids do. I'm kind of a sucker for funny stuff people's kids do.

Beautopotamus Mom of eight kids -- all made the old-fashioned way -- talks about funny stuff her kids do [see above], growing up as an only child, her 20th high school reunion, and being a black Mormon woman in Utah.

Somewhere on the Masthead Recently laid-off magazine writer/journalist dad tells stories of his crazy upbringing, which maybe doesn't sound amazing but it IS because he tells them SO WELL.

Sweet Juniper Lawyer/writer/dad quits his job when the baby is born because he hates his job and his wife likes hers. Becomes stay-at-home dad and photographs the decaying urban splendor that is Detroit.

TravelingCouple Young marrieds leave Alaska to travel around the globe for a year. Lots of great pictures. I have no desire to follow in their footsteps, but am happy to experience their travels vicariously.

Tiny Art Director Artist dad gets illustration requests from his belligerent and highly opinionated 4 year old. He draws the pictures. She tells him what's wrong with them.

Wardrobe Refashion People sign up, take "The Two-month Pledge" (I pledge that I shall refashion, renovate, recycle preloved items for myself for the term of the contract -- and not buy anything new.) and then post pictures and descriptions of their creations. Occasionally brilliant. Often hilarious. (Be sure to scroll down to the toilet seat cover.) Seeing other people's homemade refashioning attempts is extremely educational. As Catherine Aird said, "If you can't be a good example, then you'll just have to serve as a horrible warning."

Made More remodeling of big-people-clothes into little-people-clothes. I especially love the shirt dress and t-shirt dress. She introduced me to elastic thread and freezer paper stencils.

Branson, Missouri

Lisa writes: For their 40th wedding anniversary, my parents went to Branson, Missouri. I've never been there, but from the pics, I'd say it's sort of Las Vegas meets Nashville meets Provo. My mom is a very enthusiastic fan of anybody with singing/dancing/instrumental talent. Very, very enthusiastic. For my mom, Branson was like a petting zoo -- she got to go see the shows, then meet the singers in person.

Mom and Dad both got to drive the Duckmobile.


Mom writes: "We were told at church that we should see 'SIX: An Orchestra of Human Voices.' This is an LDS Family of 10 boys. Six perform in astonishing vocal ranges with no orchestra. They make the orchestra with their mouths! (This week there were over 60 shows to choose from.) [The picture is] Brother Knudsen with his SIX sons and us after the show. The the audience was welcomed with, 'You are in Branson, where you can talk about God, Family, Country, and In God we Trust.' Roy stood in every show that week to be honored as a Veteran."

"These cute guys are all dads, returned missionaries, and so fun. They made fun of their hair and no hair! Kevin stated, 'My hair is a product of Clorox and Miracle Grow!'"




The Duttons were Top Ten finalists on America's Got Talent. "Dad is a Bishop and was a professor at BYU when he decide to take his talented family on the road. Sister Dutton says, 'His real goal in life was to be truck driver.'"




The real reason to come to Branson was to see the Osmonds. Dad surprised Mom with front row center seats. Jimmy reached from the stage to shake her hand.




"I had a surprise for all of the brothers. We had film of us together with their Daddy, George Osmond, when Brother and Sister Osmond served their mission at the Laie Temple in the '80s. We were stationed in the Army on Oahu at that time. From my laptop we shared the footage backstage at Intermission."

This is a guy named George Dyer. He picked Mom from the audience to come up on stage while he was singing.

I don't think Dad has anything to worry about.

I wish I had a mountain goat of my very own

Lisa's sister, Lori, writes: David grew up looking out at the Olympic mountains. One of these peaks was called "The Brothers." He decided he would hike it one day with his brothers. They finally did it this August '09. Jon wasn't able to make it but Paul, David, Sam, and Danny plus one brother-in-law Kory had a great hike. They even made friends with a mountain goat who led the way. On the way back down the goat received his "tour guide" payment...getting to lick the salty sweat off of Kory's hand. The brothers celebrated with milkshakes at the ice-cream shop their Dad used to take them to traditionally after hikes.

Evelyn's green top

Lisa's sister, Lori, writes: Aunt Lisa made this shirt for Evelyn. Perfect for the hot, sunny weather we've had (LOVE IT! The weather and the shirt that is). The last picture is the perfect little gift basket. --Lori

Catmulls

Lisa writes: My mom sent us this picture last week. It's my grandfather, Rex (far left), and his siblings Merlin, Bernice, and Dorsal. Rex, Merline, and Bernice have passed away. Uncle Dorsal just turned 90. My mother, Rexene, is named after her dad.

(It only just now occurred to me that if the name-the-first-daughter-after-the-dad tradition had caught on, I'd be Royina. Thanks Mom and Dad!)

Christi and Company head for the desert

Lisa's sister, Christi, writes: "Labor Day Weekend at Big Creek Ranch. Kids had a great time riding golf carts all over a golf course in the middle of the Nevada Desert, riding in Uncle Carl's helicopter, exploring on 4-wheelers, skeet shooting and playing with their cousins, all 5 dogs and one kitten. We all went to church on Sunday, it was great. The branch is an hour away, but branches are my favorite. Tim got in a game of golf w/ Uncle Carl, they spent most of their time searching the sage brush for their golf balls. Larry is the BBQ master, we had some seriously good eatin'. The only picture I didn't get was Tim pushing the car in the middle of the desert when we ran out of gas...dang...maybe next time. Thanks for a great weekend Uncle Carl, Larry, Tammy, Tiffany & Ashley!"

Happy 40th anniversay, Mom and Dad

Lisa writes: Today is my parents' 40th wedding anniversary. They were married in Salt Lake City in 1969. The Vietnam War was still on. They met when Dad was stationed at Hill Air Force Base outside of Logan, Utah. Here, Mom was 21 and a BYU student. Dad was 23 and just back from serving in Greece and Thailand. Click any picture to enlarge.



Dad was overseas for 18 months. They wrote love letters. Mom's letters were typed with red typewriter ribbon on pink paper. They got married 12 days after he got back.


Above: The wedding party: Mom's little brother, Curt; Mom's mother, June, and father, Rex; Dad's mother, Edna, and father, Lester; Dad's brother, Harry; Mom, Rexene; Dad, Roy; Mom's sisters, Joyce and Marilyn; Mom's college friend, Maurine.

Below: The little lady on the right in the pink dress is Dad's aunt or great-aunt, Helen. Mom's parents were in Idaho, Dad's parents were in California, so Aunt Helen was the closest family. Mom and Dad did a lot of their "courting" on her front porch and Dad proposed while sitting in Mom's Karman Ghia in front of her little house in Salt Lake. He meant to propose on the porch, but it was cold that night. Dad's advice, "Never propose in a very small car to someone who has a tendency to squeal when she's excited."

Happy birthday: Taylor is 11

Benjamin on the trampoline

Alien babies

Lisa writes: By the way, this isn't the first time Benjamin has been abducted. Remember this?

I'm thinking he just wasn't really that hungry for yogurt

Ava in the grass

Lisa writes: It only grows like this in Washington.

Evelyn says, "Faster!"

Lisa writes: Evelyn aboard the tour train in the Dole Pineapple fields in Hawaii. She has a need for speed.

ECHO: Ecumenical Community Helping Others

Lisa writes: For Lent, Catholics try to do fasting, prayer, and almsgiving. As part of our almsgiving, Tom was looking for someplace that we could volunteer part-time, during our after-work hours.

I currently work in the Appeals department of a large and much-hated insurance company. Our unofficial motto is "Appeals: Shattering hopes and dreams." I was looking for someplace that would help me work my way back into heaven after denying medical claims all day.

We found ECHO through VolunteerMatch. ECHO is just one of a series of very well-organized charity organizations in Northern Virginia. Each is arranged to serve a particular geographic area. For example, ECHO services Springfield, ACCA serves Annandale, Fairfax FISH services Fairfax, etc. They provide food, clothing, bedding and kitchen supplies, school supplies, emergency rent assistance, and financial education. Patrons must schedule an appointment in advance in order to meet with a counsellor who helps them figure out what services they will receive. Donations are received at certain times in the evening and are sorted and organized by teams of volunteers (including me and Tom). Everything going in and out is tracked in the computer system. Volunteers are scheduled a month in advance and must first attend an orientation.

ECHO is smart. So often, volunteer orgs are staffed by people who are well-meaning, but too kind or clueless to get organized and therefore end up getting taken advantage of or falling apart. ECHO really, really has their act together, and they've been doing this since 1968.

ECHO's website is here, and the phone number to volunteer is 703 569-9160. You have to call during their office hours of Monday through Friday, 9:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. or Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursdays 7:00 - 9:00 p.m. Don't get discouraged if you can't get through to somebody on the first try -- the phones are very busy. If all else fails, email me and I can give you the volunteer organizer's direct number.

Insert your own punchline [here]

Lisa writes: Tomorrow is our 3rd anniversary. I just looked up traditional anniversary gifts and found this:
Since this tradition comes from medieval Germany, I'm assuming "leather" means something like ... a new saddle? Shoes? A nice wallet? I don't know, but I'm sure it was something very, very innocent.

By the way, did you know in the United States, one can receive a greeting from the President for any wedding anniversary on or after the 50th? In the U.K., you can get a message from the Queen starting at your 60th.