Mukilteo Musings

Me--I'm Boring....

You know, I like my dog, I like flowers, I like my church, I like to go out to dinner, I like to look at the water with binoculars and I like to hike. And that is pretty much it and all it takes to make me happy. I am boring. My family who I love, on the other hand, fascinates me. I have talked to each of them on the phone today (or in the case of my husband, in person, last night) and here are some gems.

1. My Mom: She is 78 years old and never sits still. She walks her dog everyday on Mount Helena and travels to Ashland, Oregon to watch Shakespeare. Actually, she just got back from Oregon a week or so ago. Not only that but she takes classes at Carroll College by audit and is currently studying Anthropology. And as an accountant, she not only keeps her church on track but she helps the entire Episcopal Diocese of Montana stay on track financially. Finally, she was tired of being left out so she recently purchased a computer and is now online.

2. My husband: He got back from California last night and is dragging me kicking and screaming to his family reunion in Kansas this weekend. I have never met any of these people in my life except for Dave's brother and sister. I will enjoy spending time with them but...Kansas and football and golf and strangers?? Maybe I'll find out a few clues to the dark skin, black hair and Mediterranean noses. Ok, that was off topic.

My husband told me last night that the tabloid "Star Magazine" contacted him. They want an expert's point of view about the drugs found in Anna Nicole Smith's son's body. Oh man, yes, he does have a PhD in pharmacology but he has spent his career as a toxicologist/cancer research scientist. And yes, he has become nationally known for his arsenic and dioxin expertise but no way does he want to be mixed up with that tragic tragic scenario. He politely referred the "journalist" elsewhere.

3. My son: He called both last night and this afternoon. The Rolling Stones performed in Missoula last night and it was the biggest thing ever to have happened there. Lucas did not have a ticket. He didn't need one because they performed at an outdoor stadium and the mountains served as a natural ampitheater. The light show and the music were about as good as being inside. Besides, he said the people with tickets were: "People who have been somewhere in a shed for forty years and the only other time they come out is for hempfest!" Knowing Missoula, I could not understand where Mick and his buddies stayed. I mean, I can't picture them at the Holiday Inn Express. Evidently, a wealthy Californian who has a fancy house somewhere in the surrounding mountains served as host.

Oh yes, and Lucas has a French girlfriend who he met in Missoula, not France. Not only does she rock climb but she plays the cello. I guess she enjoyed the fabulous Missoula symphony concert over the weekend where Lucas played his viola as part of the orchestra.

4. My daughter: Her head is in the clouds. She has been communicating with a boy online. She has seen him in person in a coffeehouse playing the piano and singing. Literally, they saw each other a second time across the room in the coffeehouse and sparks flew. This weekend they will have a real date---yes, of course, at the coffeehouse.

But her band with fellow Whitman students is gaining quite a reputation. Kaley explains their success by the fact that the three of them are "intrinsically musical." Last night, they auditioned at a club in Walla Walla. The owner signed them up for an hour and a half set. And I guess he was quite complimentary. He told them he had heard about them from several other people. They write their own music and lyrics and at the moment have enough material for about 45 minutes so they need to get to work! Kaley tells me she controls the two male members of her group when they bicker by telling them she will take a long time to get ready. Being male, I guess they hate that. It is so weird to me that I have not heard them perform.

5. And me: A few minutes ago out of my window I noticed some birds pestering something in the water. It was a sea lion and he was eating his salmon dinner. He was having quite a time thrashing the fish around. This is exciting, too, isn't it?

Tomorrow I go to Kansas...without my binoculars.