When I was a kid and Jenny was just a tiny baby, our parents set out to corner the turnip market. I guess the turnip bubble burst and our millions were lost. We got to keep the plow though:



*My dad gets all the credit for the cool composite photo.

The last few days have been crazy, but things are slowly getting back to their normal abnormal state. Annabelle and I started back to Pilates today after more than a month of being away from it (between my ankle and all that traveling, it just got pushed aside). It felt amazing as always, but when I got home I needed a nap in the worst way. We both agree that we feel taller and can't wait to go back again on Friday.

This morning I did a huge purge of our fridge and pantry. The downside to living in one place for 4 years now (yikes!) is all the junk that accumulates. We should have purged and moved twice by now, which would have naturally led to getting rid of those strange odds and ends. I tossed out candy that I bought in Germany in 2006!

Ginger came home from the kennel today. Her original reservation was through today, and I just couldn't face bringing her home in the midst of all the insanity around getting Harvey settled, etc. She was thrilled to be home but not so thrilled to see that Harvey is still around. He hisses at here and arches his back like the world's least-scarey Halloween cat, but she is terrified. She seems to think that if she doesn't look at him, he can't see her, so she spends a lot of time averting her eyes. I hope that they can become friends, because Ginger really is Harvey's best shot at a playmate. Eddie isn't aggressive, but he is NOT interested in playing either.

1. I don't like the time difference. When we were in Germany and Fred was in Iraq, we were off by 2 or 3 hours. Now the time difference is 8-and-a-half hours. We're almost on opposite days! And, I'm sorry, but 8-and-a-half is just a stupid time difference.

2. I wonder how long it will take me to stop thinking, "Oh, Fred's here!" every time I see the Blazer and start thinking, "Oh, Mike's here!"

Remember back in April when I posted the picture of our friend who had a brain tumor dancing with his daughter at prom? Well, he died on Thursday, which prompted our early return from Florida. Yesterday was the visitation at the funeral home, and today was the memorial, followed by mass and a ceremony at the cemetery.

Everything was lovely as far as those things go. The memorial was especially moving, a joyous celebration of Mark's life, just as he wanted. His family put together a wonderful slideshow of pictures, and somebody read aloud beautiful letters written by his wife and kids. One of the speakers told a story about Mark that I had also read about in a note that a friend posted to their online guestbook:

He loved his family more than anything else, and he talked about you and the kids nonstop. I remember I noticed a sticky note on his desk one day. It said in all caps, "CALL HOME NOW!" Months passed, and that sticky note remained there. One day I asked him what that was all about. He said that is was a permanent reminder to call the family because in the middle of the workday, it's important to have a reminder for what matters the most.

I didn't know Mark very well, but Mike is close friends with his sons and considers their family to be his home away from home. He always comes home laughing about something funny that Mark said or did. Last Monday, Mike left the following note on their guestbook:

Hello Eastman family!

Hello from Florida! Just signing in to wish you all the best, and I hope that everything is going okay. I have a somewhat random story that you all may appreciate.

I bought a new acoustic guitar the other day, and one of my friends asked me what I was going to name it. I thought it was kind of silly to name a guitar, but I started thinking on it. As I was driving home from Orlando this evening, I started humming the tune to "Sherri" by Frankie Valley and the Four Seasons and knew that I had found my name.

That song reminds me of Mr. Eastman every time that I hear it. I remember when he would drive Mark and I to a show, we would always listen to his iPod, and would sing along to the Jersey Boys soundtrack (of course Mr. Eastman was the loudest;).

I remember he would always talk to Mark and I about how to make it big into the music business; writing a thousand songs using the same three chords like the Four Seasons and the Beatles did. These pep speeches were always really inspiring to me and left me feeling ready to conquer the world.

Essentially, these talks were all about following our dreams and living every day to the fullest, something that Mr. Eastman was always a pro at. So I am hereby naming the guitar Sherri, and I hope to use it to follow my dreams and use for what I love, just as he would.

I just want to say thank you to Mr. Eastman and his wonderful family for teaching me to live for what I love. This message was probably super awkward and long, but I just want you all to know that you have made an impact on me.

I love my second family and I can't wait to see you all again:)!

Love,
Mike Taylor

I think that follow your dreams, live for what you love, and call home now are excellent words to live by.

Harvey and Eddie are not getting along quite as wonderfully as Harvey and my parents' cats did. Whereas Willis and Arlo were always up for a game of tag or a feisty round of ear- and neck-chewing, Eddie just hisses occasionally and runs away. That doesn't stop Harvey from trying to start something up though. I hope things get better, but I'm starting to think Ginger (who is still in the kennel from our vacation) might be Harvey's best chance for a playmate. Of course, last time they saw each other, she was scared of him, and he has only gotten bigger and rougher, so who knows how that will go?

I still think Harvey is perfectly adorable, except between 5 and 6 every morning, when I think he is a perfect pain. That seems to be his chosen time for waking me up by chewing on my hair or playing with my eyelashes. This morning I got up, stuffed him in the Sherpa bag, and shut the bag in the bathroom so I could get another couple hours of sleep.

I have got a couple of really rough days coming up--crazy busy days full of emotional stress and work deadlines. So I spent today shopping for a tower for Harvey:

Sorry I forgot about blogging last night. I didn't actually forget. It's just that by the time I remembered, I was already in bed in my in-laws' house and couldn't get a signal on my cell phone. I was feeling too lazy to go back upstairs and use the computer, so I blew it off.

One nice thing about cutting the trip unexpectedly short was that I usually spend my last couple of days in Florida whining about how much I'm dreading the drive back up. Leaving early spared me (and everyone around me) that special joy. And the drive turned out to be fairly OK as far as 800+ mile trips go. Mostly we listened to Life of Pi on CD.

I have so much to get done this weekend, but tonight I am being a complete slug. I am going to sit here in bed and try to get caught up on my email and maybe watch some TV.