On Ohio and dial-up and other stuff

We're here in Ohio and the weather is... Ohio-ish. We've had a few gorgeous, warm days and DS2 informed me that it's not cold here and what was I talking about when I had them pack long pants, anyway? And then there have been days like today where it's maybe 45 and rainy and DS2 is wearing three shirts, 2 pairsof pants, 2 pairs of socks and a fleece and is still frozen solid after 5 minutes. This morning, the rain was definitely snow-like. Oh, and there was a thunder storm last night and they were having tornadoes just across the Indiana border (which my dad was more mad about because they kept interrupting the golf on TV, not because the storm could veer toward us and we could get blown off the face of the earth or even altruistic notions of worrying about the people in Indiana).

They test the tornado sirens every Wednesday for just a couple of seconds, except the first Weds of the month, when it runs for a couple of minutes. Woooooo the excitement last week!

I have seen a lot of my sister and her family. My mom is still taking care of her kids while she's on maternity leave, so I've seen even more of her kids than I have of her. All the cousins are enjoying each other, mostly, though the honeyoon periodis sort of wearing off. And DS2 seems to be stealing Nephew1's next-door neighbor girlfriend. OK, not really, but he's the same age she is and they're having fun playing together in a 6 1/2 year old way insteasd of a 5 year-old way. Though DS1 and Nephew1 have also played the run-and-hide-from-the-other-kid game, which the neighbor girl discovered isn't as much fun when they're running from you as when you're running from your little sister.

I had dinner last night with a friend from high school that I hadn't seen in ages and ages except once in passing when she was working in a retail store here in town (that has since closed along the vast quantities of dead retail space around where Walmart used to be before it moved just out of town so it wouldn't have to pay city taxes while it ruined the rest of the city's economy). Anyway, she's working as an accountant at the university and taking computer classes and looks good (Hi Liz!). And she had just run into another old friend from high school that neither of us had seen in ages and ages and so she stopped by for a while and we exchanged email addresses (Hi Taff!).

And Peggy's supposed to be calling me... (Hi Peggy!)

It has been a nice visit and I'm starting to get ready to go home. I want to live closer, but I don't think I could actually live here in this town again. Well, I suppose I could because it's a great town, but outside of the university, there aren't so very many jobs around and there isn't a whole lot that's family-oriented, like anywhere at all to take kids to play indoors if the weather is bad, unless you go to the university's Rec center.

I made shorter sticks out of a big bamboo pole my mom had and DS1 and I have practiced his stick techniques a few times. We need to pratcice some more and I should call the karate school to ask if we're doing it right and what else he's supposed to know for the belt test he needs to do the week we get back. I think it was mostly review, but we should, well, review it, before we go back. And now I know the stick work, too, and someday whe I am a big advanced belt like him, I will already have done it. Yay me!

DD is thrilled to have a ride-in Playskool car to get into and out of and into and out of. And then drive backwards in a circle and high sppeds until it swerves a bit and she runs into something and then gets frustrated because she's stuck because she can't figure out how to get it to go forward. I took a lovely little movie with my camera which I will post when we're back in California. She's not so thrilled by all the closed doors around here - closed so she doesn't fall down the stairs to the basement, closed so she doesn't all down the stairs to the garage, etc etc. She's very good at knocking and yelling.

Let's see.....

Those are the highlights. The fit-for-public-consumption highlights, at least.

And DH and I are going to go out to an Indian restaurant tonight. At least, I guess I should call to be sure it's open tonight, since it's Monday.

Oops, here comes my dad to tell me DD's awake.