A Whirl Wind Week

As summer's ending the schedule heats up (including squeezing in the relaxation events). Saturday we visited friends for kayaking on Glen Charlie Pond, supper, and relaxed partying. Sunday Corey & I went and set up the final 4-H tent for the upcoming fair, then we all headed to Hanson for swimming and canoeing. Monday was final shopping for back-to-school, which was Tuesday - getting them out the door in the morning and filling out the emergency/permission forms in the evening. Wednesday was our adventure-filled Anniversary "off" day - kids on the bus, 5 mile bike ride, train to Boston, subway to the Library for research, lunch with Mary, more research, trains back home, kids to 4-H, out to dinner, pick up kids. Thursday more 4-H after work and grocery shopping and send Sue TO work. Friday - straight from work to bring Yon to work to 4-H (fair opens at 5:00pm) to catch up with everyone else. Although the fair runs late on friday, all day & night saturday, and sunday morning - that is actually a sort of relaxing time where other than keeping a loose eye out on the kids, I get to poke around all day and sit/watch and bid on a few pieces of junk/treasure at the auction on both nights, and eat fried dough. Sunday afternoon brings the Edwards Family cookout. With any luck, Monday will be a day without too much labor - as I sit around putting off for another day all of the obvious cleaning/fixing projects that I have been putting off for another day!

The Dividing Line

25 years ago today was the last day we would be single people. I was 28-1/2 years old and Sue was 20-1/2. Needless to say, stepping from that lifestyle into the “Married” life is a big change at any age. I recall that leading up to the proposal was rather nerve-wracking, but the night before the wedding I was nonchalant. She was an amazing and intriguing, wonderful person, who I (along with everyone else in the world) loved. Of course I assumed we would have a long lifetime of grand adventures – that went without saying, so it probably did.

“well I know it’s kind’a strange but every time I’m near you I just run out of things to say. I hope you understand. Every time I tried to tell you, the words just came out wrong, so I’ll have to say I love you in a song” (Jim Croce)

Early on couples are still figuring each other out, learning all of the quirks and foibles – fatal flaws and quaint eccentricities – that the other had managed to successfully suppress during the courtship period. Some of us worry too much about things that aren’t that big an issue, while some of us don’t place enough concern over things we really should attend to more seriously. Are we always this way or is there a point in time where we say to ourselves “I need to fix this”? And which one of us gets to determine who is over-reacting and who is not responding enough?

I am still nonchalant about a lot of marriage stuff, but is it actually that the whole experience has left me peacefully content, or that I am still selfishly oblivious and taking things for granted? I am not yet at the dividing line where I have spent more of my life married than not – I won’t get there for another three years. Once my “married” longevity exceeds the length of my “bachelorhood” will I start to see the error of my ways, finally give in to reality and “get it right”? Does it take that long for the wife to finally break the hubby’s old "bachelor habits"? Does it take that long for me to finally firmly grip that it really IS all my fault? Unfortunately for her, she crossed the dividing line five years ago. Is she doomed to suffer another three years waiting for me to join her in the same stage of life? I just hope and pray that she will put up with me long enough for me to find out the answer. It goes without saying that it has been 25 amazing years of grand adventures and wedded bliss (maybe not so much so for her! – sorry, I’m stealing HER line here) but my biggest baddest fatal flaw is still allowing it to go unsaid.

“every time the time is right all the words just come out wrong, so I’ll have to say I love you in a song”

Happy 25th Anniversary Eve, baby – I Love You.

We've been together since way back when

Sometimes I never want to see you again

But I want you to know After all these years

You're still the one I want whisperin' in my ear

You're still the one I want to talk to in bed

Still the one That turns my head

We're still having fun And you're still the one

Changing, our love is going gold

Even though we grow old, it grows new

You're still the one That I love to touch

Still the one And I can't get enough

We're still having fun And you're still the one

(Orleans)

Fruits of our labor - 2008

Still trying - at least THIS time I passed

So I answered the Craigslist ad - Classic Rock singer/guitarist needed for South Shore band. I went to jam/audition with three guys trying to put a band together. They were "guitar (lead/rhythm), bass and drums with strong backup vocals who just need to find someone who can sing & play lots of 60's-70's rock". I do get to say I passed their audition with flying colors. Sadly, they didn't pass my audition. Nice guys, for sure - with a nice well equiped practice set-up.
Strong backing vocals? Not even close.
Instrumentally polished? My kitchen floor is more polished than their musical presentation (and you've seen my kichen floor!).
The guitar player was the closest to competent, vocally and instrumentally - someone who under the right circumastances I could possibly work with.
The drummer was uninspired and not exactly a human metronome, and didn't sing at all (maybe he was simply the smartest of the three) - you could envision getting by with him with plenty of practice and a strong surrounding band.
The bass player was rough (to put it nicely) on his instrument, and although he was obliviously bad as a lead singer he was clueless at harmonies - he was an enthusiastic singer though.
They loved the songs that I played, while their proposed playlist was boring and lame - but certainly plenty of standards that everyone would recognize and would take me no time to learn. The final nail in the coffin was when they asked if I could sing "House of the rising sun" (but give me credit - I sang as much as I could remember). If I was going to find a group to be virtually my backup band, I would actually want them to be a bit better than me. I am not great by any measure, so if I were to be head-and-shoulders the best in the band, that band is doomed.

Did I mention they were real nice guys? If we randomly met at a house party and just decided to jam for the heck of it with no expectations, it would have been a lot of fun (and this post would sound much more positive and enthusiastic).

It is extremely difficult to put a band together (or fit into an existing one) at this age and time.
When we were teenagers we hung out with friends who together learned to play music. Because we were friends (a group) first (without music) with common backgrounds, tastes, experiences, we were eager to push each other to become better, because there was comraderie and mutual benefit to this joint effort. We had all the time in the world to hang out - playing together and letting things simply evolve (or not - if it didn't pan out, we were still going to be friends). Now as adults, there is no pre-established bond, there are tight time constrictions, and everybody assembled expects the others to be of comparable skill. We don't count on being close friends outside of the band, time is of the essence, and it's a business. It's got to happen fast and be good, and if not we cut our losses and move on. We are much more judgemental towards each other.

I think I still want to play in a band. Playing music with other musicians is still enticing. The logistics of putting a band together and getting it onto a stage in a paying gig are daunting. When I'm not pursuing it, I wish I was. When I am, I question my sanity (and I'm probably not the only one).

stinging criticism

Apparently a hive of yellow jackets didn't like the way I was weeding and trimming around the apple trees. They let me know in no uncertain terms. The first one made his "point" loud and clear inside my right ear lobe. While I was trying to rebuke him, I realized that my arms, shoulder and neck were receiving the same message. I started to utter a few profanities as I swatted and backpeddled, and then decided opening my mouth might not be the best idea. Running and yanking off my shirt seemed like a smarter choice (as the dead bee inside my "Bee"tles t-shirt proved). Julie heard the commotion from inside the house and asked the obvious question -"Bee's?" So thinking of Jamies need for the epi-pen, I grabbed some Benadryl and water and waited to see if my breathing or swallowing was going to get difficult. I assumed I would be able to at least whisper to julie "911" if necessary - which it wasn't. About an hour later I decided it was safe to call Sue (at the Marshfield fair Rabbit Show") and let her know of my mis-adventure.

Uncle Corey says Happy Birthday to Mary

me: my baby Mary turns 24 today

MEIGGSCRM: happy birthday to her....damn it wasn't that long ago i was holding her..when she was a baby..well that was my snap shot of her the last time i was up there

Mary's Anniversary Gift to us

Mary planned and organized a days worth of activity in honor of Sue's and mine approaching 25th Anniversay. The kids all managed to keep the plan a secret. We only knew that there WAS a plan and that it started with us all leaving the house at 9:30am and we were to be dressed nicely and in shades of blue. Sue quickly concluded that this meant a professional family photo (she was right). We assumed that part of the plan would include a lunch somewhere. We were also instructed to bring play clothes to change into (assuming some sort of outdoor adventure). Mary is totally proving to be her mothers own child. So we left the house right on time - to arrive at (stop #1) C & J's photo studio about 10 minutes early. Sue is ALWAYS early - never "fashionably" late (or any other excuse for late). Carol at the studio (the same studio that my parents brought us to 50 years ago for our family photos) was very impressed - first at the size of the family, and then at the efficiency that everybody fell into line and positioned and repositioned to get the optimal shots. We finished so quickly that we had close to an hour before our (stop #2) 11:30 lunch reservation at The Hitching Post. So where do we go when we have time to kill??? Of course - a cemetary. Fern Hill is the final resting place of many McClellan, Annis, and Everson ancestors - and it was a beautiful morning for head(stone) hunting. After burying ourselves in this pursuit, we headed for lunch - except we discovered that the Hitching Post serves only breakfast until 1:30 on Sundays, so we ate a hearty late breakfast. Mary then presented everybody with team T-Shirts that said BLAUSS 25 on the back, and off we went to (stop #3) my old Softball Team stomping grounds for a game of whiffleball. We broke into two teams and played 4 inning. Naturally the Blauss Team won, so according to an old tradition we went to (stop #4) DQ for a victory ice cream.

Nicely done, Mary!

http://picasaweb.google.com/don.sueblauss/25th

(I think I can say "nicely done, Sue & Donnie!" Our kids made us proud today!)

((PS: technically, the "25th" is on the 27th))

Green Harbor scientific research

Laurie is leading an effort to restore tidal flow into the Green Harbor River (site of our family island where we spend much of our childhoos summer vacations).
http://30phillipsst.blogspot.com/2007/02/island-games-by-eric-wes.html

http://web.whrsd.org/faculty/bianchi_laurie/River%20Project/ixRiver.htm

Much of the study has to do with catching fish on each side of the dyke and see how it changes when a limited amount of tide is allowed back into the river. Julie is using it as an opportunity to accumulate the required hours of community service she needs for school. Lots of other family members have also been pitching in. Today I got to help out for the first time.

Green Harbor Fish Pier

After leaving the Beach we circled around by the pier at Green Harbor - a true working pier. Jamie and Joe explored up and down the docks and checked out the boats and then a fisherman mentioned a boat was coming in with an 800 pound tuna. Despite Tim's impatience, we decided to stick around to see how big an 800lb tuna
really was. As we waited, word must have been spreading because more and more people started arriving to see the fish that had not yet arrived. After 45 minutes the boat tied up to the dock, with one very large fish laying on it's deck. With about 50 spectators leaning over railing for a better look, the 5ft long fish was winched up (officially weighed in at only 650lb) and into the waiting refrigerated fish market truck.

Brant Rock at low tide

For Corey Meiggs - if you can't get back to visit Brant Rock, I'll just have to send Brant Rock to you!

PS: Suzie says "Hi".

Julie's back from her big adventure

Julie spent the week with her favorite ex-teacher at Martha's Vineyard teaching art to 4-9 year olds. The perfect dream job (except for the no pay part) for her.