2 Exhausted 2 Write Newsletter Archive
"This writing business. Pencils and whatnot. Overrated, if you ask me."
Eeyore from " ? "
The 2 Exhausted 2 Write Newsletter
1999
I know it's been an odd year when this is the only 2 Exhausted 2 Write sent; thank you notes for Christmas and twin birthdays haven't been sent (I am horrified); and the 1998 artificial Christmas tree is still up. I'm not horrified about the tree. I've said all 1999, if Ella can keep her tree up all year, so can I: On the one hand, Nikki & Kilory will remember this is as the best year ever; on the other hand, my parents are ready to crucify me they're so ashamed.
Quick synopsis: PawPaw Weis had a July medical emergency; Greatpa Morrison died 7/13; PawPaw Cummings retired 7/17; Alan canoed for a week in August; Alan & Chrissie in Paris 10/15 to 11/2 ; Buki Weis loses left eye 11/2; Derrick Briggs Morrison born 11/4; Great-Aunt Bea Holland died 11/5.
1999 details: By popular vote our 1998 "Hundred Aker Wood" Christmas lights won
us a Best Christmas Decorations award.
For her fourth birthday Kilory wanted a
Blue's Clues
party, and Nikki wanted a Barbie birthday party. Grownups enjoy a Sabbath
lunch celebration, but kids
like a Sunday party at "the jumping gym." So Sabbath lunch for grownups was
served on pink tablecloths with Barbie service ware. I created a four-tier
pink Pink PINK cake with cascading tulle, ribbon and Barbie hairbobs. Upon
seeing the cake, the girls paused, dropped their jaws a tad, then Nikki said,
"I'm impressed." The next day kids of all ages frolicked in the foam pit, and
jumped on trampolines at Peterson's Gym. We ate blue Blue BLUE Blue's Clues
cake with spoons decorated like Shovel, and drank juice out of cups decorated
like Pail. So far they're angling for another Blue's Clues party, and a
Sleeping Beauty party, in 2000.
After the birthday party rush, I completed the Green Gables Playhouse {you just gotta see this!} with paint, trim, hand-me-down furniture, etc. Amarillo PawPaw pronounced it good enough to live in; a mockingbird agreed and nested in the arbor. I painted four file cabinets (three on the bottom crowned with a discarded countertop and one file centered on top) to look like a fireplace with textured bricks, mortar and all. I presented it to them. Nikki: "It's not a fireplace, Mom! They're drawers!" You can't pull anything over on her. When Green Gables was finished I painted their room. They ask me where Eeyore lives so I painted Texas on the wall in relationship to Great Britain on the wall, along with world maps here and there. It's sponged Eeyore purple and the closet doors are blackboard. They love chalk drawing on it.
Both Grammas, Alan, and I took the girls to see the ballet "Coppelia" at the
Bass Hall in April. The girls were better behaved than Alan at "Rent" in
March. They are Nutcracker fanatics like their mom, so I had told them if they
behaved properly at "Coppelia" I'd take them to
"The Nutcracker"
at Christmas. During the intermission, and after the ballet, Kilory asked if
she had been good. "Yes!" "So is it
Christmas
yet?!" On 12/22 Alan and I took them to a
Children's Nutcracker Party
at Fair Hall then a matinee performance. They were enthralled with the ballet.
And they can hardly wait to go again.
The girls began tap and ballet lessons in June. They tapped "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer" in shows on December 4, 13, 14 and 16. I could cry. I made the decision not to continue the lessons into 2000 before I realized the ballet recital is in Spring 2000. *sniff sniff blubber sniff*
It was yet another drought and heat wave summer for us, but it didn't hurt my xeriscopic butterfly garden . And the plagues of grasshoppers found xeriscopic butterfly plants inedible. My backyard was ablaze with blooms and butterflies. I bored people with my enthusiastic reports of what new butterfly I'd seen that day. The dill and fennel I planted for the caterpillars were overtaken by them. I bought another antique rose in Brenham , and planted it on one side of a cheap rose arbor. The Cecile Brunner rose might have swept over the arbor if my Cypress Vine hadn't overwhelmed it first and collapsed it.
In July Alan went to Amarillo to be with his dad. His heart was very weak and was depriving his body of oxygen. Alan convinced the doctors to put in a pacemaker now rather than later; did odd jobs; and sanded and painted the shower for ‘rillo PawPaw and Gramma.
The day Alan returned from Amarillo he had to fly to D.C.; the day he returned from D.C., Mom made him the messenger that Grampa was dead after a two-week death-bed vigil. Mom and Dad drove to Star, Idaho where Grampa was laid to rest next to Gramma after two years apart. For better and worse his example and genetics formed the Militant Mule Me marshaling multitudes, mastering matters and dismissing the many whom I miff along the way. I have a confrontational, dissident, insubordinate side which genetically I can only trace to him. If you do not believe this of me, thank Gramma and Mom.
After the scare with ‘rillo PawPaw, and condolence gestures upon Grampa's death, I established the Weis Heritage Scholarship at SWAU. I'm hoping that whenever the inevitable happens to a Weis, people will be inspired to honor the deceased through supporting Christian education. Such a gift would bless and honor many until Armageddon; flowers bless and honor one family for a week.
August brought the twins Pre-K with Mrs. Gray, and piano lessons with Mrs. Gilleroth, although Kilory already has her sights set on violin. August also sent Alan camp canoeing with the Dennys in Minnesota's Sam Campbell country – a childhood dream Alan has long shared with Craig Denny. Relaxing around the campfire with friends and listening to the sound of the loons was a great way to end each day.
I prepared the girls for my
Paris escape
by watching Madeline videos and reading our Madeline book every day, pointing
out to them the places Daddy and I would see while they were at The Farm. They
got into the Madeline stuff so well that they renamed Rudi as "Genevieve" after
Madeline's brave pooch. Where they got "Zippy" for Bubba is still a mystery.
PawPaw was a little apprehensive about the twins staying with them for three
weeks: their favorite activity is playing "Joseph" wherein they tie PawPaw's
hands to their little Jeep and drive around until they sell him into slavery in
Egypt. Mom says the girls would get "morose" and miss us until they were
sufficiently distracted, but Buki didn't care if we ever came home. He had the
time of his life up until the point he picked a dogfight that cost him his left
eye.
Paris: I thought we'd run out of things to do with three weeks in a city I'd been to twice before. Wrong! I need to go back! Now! Fortunately, to keep a running gag going, we must return in May 2001 for my third Mother's Day in Paris. We went gargoyle crazy. Spent hours on top of Notre Dame photographing the maligned creatures. Alan caught my gargoyle/chimièra fever but bad! What he caught to an even worse degree is my clock obsession. In September our curio Grandfather Clock was delivered. So what do we do? We go bonkers at Paris brocante markets and buy a large wall clock, an anniversary clock (our 2nd such), and a small wind-up clock to haul home. "It's hard to believe such a calamity" but this turned out to be the "Too Much Time On Our Hands/Gargoyle & Chimièra" trip. We'd like to thank Farm Gramma & PawPaw, and Ella & Carl for donating gifts of time and money toward this trip.
Alan introduced the girls to camping by pitching a tent in the backyard this spring. He took them to Cl-b-rn- State Park to camp over Friday night twice in November. They enjoyed it so much they think they should camp every Friday. Alan let them take pictures with his camera. That gives me heart failure. But, equipped with disposable cameras they have shown themselves to be quite the photographers!
This Thanksgiving was the best Thanksgiving within memory. I can't remember laughing so much at the table. Cari – my mom's new daughter, and Deb – Alan's colleague from work, had a lot to do with it. I've dubbed the three of us the Hootenannies. Mom, Aunt Louise and Carl & Ella joined in on the "Hootenannies + Dad" for a raucous good time. Nikki & Kilory sat with Forrest, Cari's son, at their own little table and had a frolicking good time outside, before and after the meal. (Nikki and Forrest got married in October and have their own house and Jeep at the farm. They're an adorable couple.) Alan camped with the Dennys Thanksgiving weekend so the "Hundred Aker Wood" wasn't up when expected. Parents approach us saying their kids beg every night to see the "Hundred Aker Wood," so when is it going up? I love Alan's animated Tigger waving from the Tigger tire swing I made last year. It's soooo cute! Nikki and Kilory "helped" this year building Eeyore's stick shanty and "digging" Rabbit's carrots.
I broke a rib December 2. Alan banished me to sitting motionless in front of the TV for a week -- Bill and Buki thought it was the greatest thing that ever happened to them!
That's more than enough for now. Have a great millenium.
Destined to be destitute when the electric bill arrives in 2000,
Chrissie, Alan, Nikki & Kilory
We hope you enjoy your visit.
