Chaos

My mind is racing too fast and it has too many different mental folders going. I hate it when life is like that. The only way out of the mess is to keep working and slowly but surely the folders will get put away. I have been in a conundrum over whether to just kick back and go play today or stay home and work.
I need to have fun. Way too much work over the last couple of years. But we have a freezing rain thing coming in and I really need to spend the day working on cleaning up my mind, the studio and getting suitcases packed for Africa(Quite a chore) .
I think it is settled-stay home, cave up like I should and get my life in order. Africa is beckoning.

Holiday Pictures

Country Christmas

Christmas 2010

more pics to come

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas everyone!

We hope you have peace, wonderful memories and safe travel!

The Kalinowski's

Good morning!

Well hello everyone!
Long time no blog. It has been a very busy period for me and our family. The show was wonderful. Now that costume demands are getting more manageable, we were able to concentrate a little more on props and decorations. We also had some really nice musical acts along with the dancing which seemed to balance out the spiritual with the holly jolly. I always feel like the show is the beginning of my Christmas.
Out of pure necessity we have all the desktops up and running tip top and printers are not far behind. I finally moved all my paper clutter out of the extra room/den and it feels pretty good to have the office area finally getting reined in.
As I have mentioned we had a STUFF overload. Office stuff was not exempt. Grandma K. was just not on top of things in the memory department and like My Granny buying the same bag of craft items 4 or 5 times, it seems Adele (mother in law) had a thing for office supplies and the like. Our children will never have to purchase staples or paperclips. In fact, my grandchildren may never have to purchase that stuff. The same goes for certain label sizes and calculators. Too bad batteries only have a shelf life of a few years. There was literally a small storage tote full that we inherited.
But like every other area in the household, it is getting a major cleaning and organizing. Slowly but surely the house is keeping the proper amount of STUFF and not STUFF from 3 or more households.
Christmas is gently sweeping in this year. I think because it lands on a Saturday. Or maybe because I was able to get a little head start. All I know is that I will not be wrapping at 11:00pm on Christmas eve and I like that plan.
Well, I will say adios for now. I have a little extra paperwork to do, then it is off to wrap and see what I still have to run out for. Take care and be safe in your travels.

Update

I am not posting as much as I want. There is just no time. The show is 1 1/2 weeks away so I will be on hiatus until after the show. In the meantime, enjoy your holiday preparations.

Holiday Buzyness

I am drowning in sorting and organizing. We moved everything over to the barn and I just LOVE it, but it just got moved over there and dropped. Now I am going through the long arduous process of putting everything in it's proper place and order. It all takes time and light. Hopefully I'll have lights strung up in there today.
So it seems that is all I do at the moment.
On top of everything else, I MUST reorganize my educational stuff. I have more tutoring work that I know what to do with at the moment and I need to get my stuff easily. Right now things are a bit disheveled.
Lastly, we have a very special guest coming for Thanksgiving and we will have a 1 year old staying with us. I need to get things at least a little baby proof.
We will be starting to decorate for Christmas this week. Thankfully that was all organized after Christmas last year.
My organizing inundation is the long result of several geriatric relatives passing on over the last 5 years and the collections they left behind. Very creative people leave behind a beautiful legacy but they also leave behind a lot of STUFF.
However, I think I can safely estimate that by New Year's 2011, the STUFF we will have around the Kalinowski spread will be stuff we want and enjoy and not everyone elses collections they could never part with.
Make no mistake I am very appreciative for the STUFF as it has brought a huge lifestyle improvement to Rakieta & co. and others who needed things, but it is very exhausting to store it, especially when the parties who originally owned the STUFF were very stingy and possessive in life. That residue hangs around even after they have moved on to be with our Father.
Well, it is fully daylight now so I must say "Bonjour" and get busy with my very active day.

Update on Kassoum

I spent 3 days trying to make a decent connection to Ouagadougou earlier this week. In the process of the telephone system chaos, I missed getting to talk to Kassoum. When I finally got through I was told there was BIG news. Kassoum got a phone call on Tuesday night that he was accepted into police school. The family is ecstatic.
Of course we are happy for him.
BUT no computer school. This will not do.
I said "Now who is going to go to computer school? " ( I am not ready to give up on my dream of a computer literate life with the Tapsoba family.)
Rakieta said "Maybe I can go to computer school." I said "Maybe you can".
Stay tuned. This story will probably have many twists and turns.

Wouldn't Ya Know It?!

So, it is so funny how God blesses you in little ways.
The lack of computer skills by the Burkinabe people is pretty amazing in our fast paced techno world, but I am always pleased and made to smile by their innovation and "Little Train that Could" attitude.
But, what we go through to try to communicate always makes for entertaining stories and if we aren't laughing we are crying.
So, here is where our guardian angels have gotten into the picture:
Kassoum, one of our main characters in the saga of the Kalinowski's and Burkina Faso, is at a major crossroads in his life. I'll fill you all in here.
Kassoum is Rakieta's older brother and one of the only sons in the Tapsoba clan of Lassane and his 3 wives. For a Muslim guy, he is pretty cool. He has many, many sisters, one of whom is Rakieta, who has some American ideas and is a prosthetic wearer. Plus he has 3 moms. Needless to say, he is pretty mellow and used to dealing with a lot of estrogen. In the last year, Lassane (the dad) has developed some major health hazard which I will guess is a hernia. So, who do you think is working hard to feed this bunch?
You guessed it.....Kassoum. At this point, he has all the responsibilities of a middle aged man with 3 wives and none of the perks.
Burkina Faso has this crazy system where half the people who go to school never end up with the diploma for many reasons. A lot of it originates with lack of $$.
Well without the diploma, it is impossible to get into any of the government jobs. Yes, this is a socialist country modeled after the best of them, France.
But, Burkina Faso's idea of a benefit is to have enough rice for everyone every day. In other words, none of the sloughing off stuff European socialism is famous for.
Kassoum can not seem to get his baccalaureate (diploma) even with many attempts. There have been many reasons, but suffice it to say he is now 22, has to work like a dog to feed the masses and he needs a solution.
So, he asked Rakieta to tell me he needed Matt and I's advice. This started the dialog that we have now had. Now we spent the better part of 3 weeks in miss-communication because of the lack of computer savvy on that end. But where there is a will there is a way and finally we have connected.
I had suggested he give up making the baccalaureate his highest priority in exchange for getting training in some kind of trade. In the meantime he was trying to tell me that he wanted our opinion and blessing on computer school. So see where I say the angels were looking over us?!
Computer school costs $62.00 for the year and we look at it this way: if NOTHING else, our $62.00 will get that family and anyone else we need to talk to there into the cyber world in a way that is actually practical.
That is a very good deal from our point of view!

Family

Family comes in all shapes and sizes. I wasn't blessed with a huge extended family through birth or marriage but we have accumulated a huge extended family through hosting and mission work. I am happy to report that through Facebook we are now in contact with all but one of the kids who we were lucky enough to have in our lives. The last one is a bit tough because she is from Japan, but I am certain that she too will one day find us.
When used for good, Facebook is a wonderful tool.
I can't wait to get Rakieta and her family on there. Stephanie is, but unfortunately no one in Rakieta's entourage has figured it out yet. I am sure after my trip over, we'll have this worked out.
I hope all of you are entering a wonderful holiday season with your families too.

Fall Back

Well, I seem to be adjusted to Fall Back. Only 3 days. This might be one of the easiest transitions ever. I don't know if it is the mild weather, the fact that I am so busy or if some magic fairy sprinkled dust around here, BUT I am very grateful.
Things are clicking along like they should around here. I am getting geared up for sewing season and the usual chaos that ensues with the Christmas show. It should be very nice this year.
I am actually looking forward to it.
I should be leaving for Africa right after the new year. Rakieta and company are very relieved.
This is supposed to be a very mild time of year for them so hopefully it will be a little easier on me.

SKYPE

Wow! Skype is very, very cool. Today Matt finally got things under control and organized for a conversation with Keshav, his motorcycle friend who has a new job in Belgium. I feel like I am living on the Starship Enterprise!
Now to just get this stuff figured out to try to make it work for Burkina Faso. I think we'll be just using the telephone part. The video stuff is probably beyond what most, even the cyber cafes, have available at the moment.
It sure is cool though!
The other cute news I have is that Rakieta hauled put a word search I had sent over and was learning to play the games. It is a great way to keep her up on her English grammar.
We are so blessed to have her and her kooky family as part of ours!

Writer's Block

There is a lot going on on Brown City Rd as always. BUT I seem to have a huge writer's block. Some of it is that I have been in this "Can't find the forest for the trees" place for many months. Some of it is that I was legitimately overwhelmed. However, slowly but surely I am finding my way. I am figuring out who I am now that I am a mother of adult children and not a caretaker of two very active geriatric folks. So I have had more contemplative time at my disposal. Considering I haven't had that luxury in 25 years, it was a bit of an adjustment.
This adjustment has been pretty stressful, especially with Matt going through his own hell, but with each thing on the to do list checked off I am feeling a bit lighter and I think he is too.

AND.....God has a way of not letting a person get too complacent. So just as my parenting of my birth kids has ended (I am still Mom and moms always "mom" though) and care taking the first set of old folks has ended, others who need love and guidance have entered the picture or are getting more attention (Africa) and the next set of old folks are beginning to need extra care. The good thing is this time there are other siblings to help carry the load.

So, I continue to sort, mail, talk by e-mail and phone and live life and slowly but surely I have found my path and the way out of the forest.

Next, I hope to find my witty writing style that was so entertaining for us all in earlier blog posts. I am assuming it is hanging on a tree branch some patiently waiting for me to grab it as I walk by.

Update This Week

Well, I am still stranded, but busy as ever. In a way, this little road block was actually good. I am able to focus completely on Burkina now except for the usual stuff so when I finally get there it will be a well planned and very enjoyable visit.
My only phobia is flying over the Atlantic in early January.
So here is my update:
1. Kassoum, Rakieta's brother, is trying to figure out where to go with his future. Hard work trying to figure things out across the ocean, language barrier and cultural differences, but we will persevere.
2. Tutoring is finally settling down to a dull roar. I will be so glad when we get new folks in Lansing next week and people start doing logical things in every way, but this educational mess needs help ASAP.
3. G & G J seem to be settling in to their winter home with my sister in Fla just fine.
4. Finally getting a handle on the stuff for Africa, some of which has taken over the upstairs hall and made it an unruly mess.
5. Patterns getting sorted, costumes getting sorted, educational stuff getting sorted. I am just a sorting fool at the moment.
6.Been a great dance year so far. Lots of old and dear relationships back in our lives.
7.Clinic in Ouagadougou is finally getting all the donated prosthetic supplies donated to me. It cost an arm and a leg to mail, but they are ecstatic and it has made life very good for Rakieta. They really treat her well.
Now back over to Flint to beg for more.
8. I Love it that my horses have the system down to a fine science. No chasing, arguing, etc. Everyone just does their routine like a well written ballet.
That is about it for today.
Have a great one everyone!

French Demonstrations and Rioting!

Ok, so I am grounded. The French are in a heated dispute over changing their social security benefits from age 60 to 62. It has gone from heated debate to demonstrations, rioting, cutting off of services and some violence. Airlines are down.
All that means I sit here in the good ol' US of A because if I am going to be stranded , I would much rather be here than Paris at the airport.
So.....if I don't get out of here soon, I have to wait until early January because that is when the show is over and our family has quiet time once again.
The upside is that my panic over not being ready is dissipating. I am getting much needed time to get very prepared at this point.
This is one of those "you can't unride a bike" situations. It is excrutiatingly difficult to deal with, but once it is done, the knowlege gained makes upcoming problems very small.

Life

I love my life!
It is hectic!
It is busy, so busy I can't even think some days. But it is always interesting and full of love and happiness.
Life is not about how rich you are (although in America, having enough money to be comfortable is a good thing), it is not about how much stuff you accumulate, it is all about relationships and loving, happy experiences.
My tutored kids have had a great week. Little by little we are conquering the overwhelming homework monsters. The schools around here are handing out an astronomical, overwhelming amount of homework and it is mostly causing chaos, ulcers and very confused kids. You can't push concepts at kids that are not developmentally ready for it in the hopes that more information sooner will make smarter kids. No, all Granholm's edicts are doing is creating very stressed, confused kids who are getting glassy eyed and not caring about the process. This is one of those things that in theory sounded good, but in practice, especially in the smaller schools, it is a huge public school mess.......Again.
Just Dance rocks! The kids are awesome as always and our families, new and old are excellent and make me love what I do. I am looking forward to the Christmas show.
As always I love living in the thumb of Michigan! I love being rural and love the values and personalities I deal with every day. People here may not be the fanciest, sophisticated, or wealthy but they sure have good hearts.
Little by little I am getting myself ready for my big trip. I feel like I am not seeing the progress I want, but each morning feels a little more right. Last time I went the week after the show and that was just too much. I have so much thinking to do once there I need to be in great shape mentally and physically (Good health is important, but I am thinking more about resources for this situation.) Temps are still in the 90's there most days and NO AIR CONDITIONING in most places.
Kassoum is going to get Rakieta's family 4 plastic chairs so when I get there there will be more chairs. That will help a lot.
Well, the morning is flying by and I need to get moving. Have a good day all.

Calgon, Take me Away!

I need extra hands, fingers and legs. I feel like I just can never get everything done in a timely manner and get to Africa and back before things get too busy for the show.
Yet, I know things are coming along. So I am probably being too hard on myself (as usual) and in a few days the ticket will be ordered on schedule and I will actually leave with my suitcases and mind in a good place.
Make no mistake, traveling overseas is a whole lot more difficult than it once was. Last time my bags were checked at least 3 times on the way over and we were herded through extra security on the way back. When our family first became involved in mission work, we used to send everything including the kitchen sink back with them in simple duffel bags. Not so today.
But by far the worst of the stress and worry comes from trying to get organized for all the work we need to do once I arrive.
Mail takes 3 weeks or so, ATM's do not exist, Shampoo and toilet paper are not easily picked up at the corner store. I think I am making my point.
And I have to get a lot accomplished by American standards.............and Africa just does not like to work at the same pace so it is really important that I get it right before I go because after the long flight and numerous expenses to not be able to get things accomplished would be very disappointing for everyone.

Chickens Running Amuck.

Saturday was a miserable, cold, dreary day. It also happened to be a day that Matt and I were at a wedding open house for a friend from Matt's work. So we were gone for many hours and I never bothered to open the coop since it was so wretched out side. I went in to do evening chores rather late and to my chagrin I found a new baby running around shrieking at the top of his lungs. GREAT......Now I had to try to figure out who it belonged to and look for more. All the chickens were now eating and so he really did look abandoned.
I quickly put him in a container and waited for Mama to begin her clucking to him. Shortly I was able to figure out the mother.
She was a young one who had been dutifully sitting on her clutch and I thought she would be very successful. However the last week other hens were laying on top of her eggs and she wasn't roosting so I figured I needed to clean out the nest. Another thing on my long list of to do's.
I went over to the nest and began to clean it out. Everything was ice cold. Not a good sign. Unfortunately as I cleaned I found 3 other chicks cold and wet who had not survived. From this I surmised that the little trouble maker who was still shrieking very loudly had jumped out of the nest and she had followed forgetting the rest of her babies.
I collected the eggs, the baby, and the mom and headed into the warm kitchen.
I was deciding what to do with my problems when I began to hear tapping and chirping. So upon closer inspection while sorting I separated about 10 eggs that looked like thay might still have a chance. As of yesterday we had 6 babies and one casualty. That is pretty amazing and a testament to the will to survie and God's miracle of life.
Now to just figure out where to keep these little buggers until they can go outside.

Burkina News

Well, my old and dear friend Dr. Ogboh, has come to the rescue once again. His practice is in Brown City, a little burg just to the north of us. I went to get my prescriptions for my upcoming trip to Burkina and as always, he was extremely interested in Rakieta and her fate.
He is from Ghana and was very helpful when she was here living with us. He gave me sage advice, as always, and also is going to work with us to help set up a holiday in Ghana so that Rakieta can have a visit with everyone. That is very uplifting news. You see the Burkinabe people only need their national ID to go to Ghana or a passport to fly there. It is only about 150 miles from Ouagadougou to the coast of Ghana but the roads are very poor so it is a long ride by bus. But they are used to that and time moving much slower so the bus ride is very doable for the family.
It is much easier and less expensive for us to fly to Ghana than Burkina and it is an English speaking country. A huge +++++++.
Not to mention it has beaches since it is on the coast. This may take a long time to get all planned out, BUT it will be a wonderful experience to be able to have both families together at once and the experience of a lifetime for all of us, but especially them.

Africa Update

Well, I still don't have the entire story, BUT It may have been that the visa lottery winner, rather than a possible victim of fraud, may have been a bit of a scammer after all. He has disappeared to Ghana and I am told that the sewing school money was stolen and fingers are pointing to him.
God only knows on this one.................
All the boxes have made it to Africa. I have a doctors appt tomorrow for my meds for my trip. So....now it is time to get my ticket.
The Tapsoba clan appears to be quiet and low stress for now.

Fabulous Sunday!

Today has been a wonderful, wonderful day!
To begin with, the entire family was at Mass and we got out the door on time. Matt likes the new priest at the church in town and when Matt is happy, it makes everyone else less stressed out. We got out early enough to get breakfast in town and still had time to ride and get other things done. So this is our new ritual and getting new rituals established is always the struggle as things and families change-getting into a new groove. But now that is taken care of.
We got home early enough to get chores done and still be ready to ride at the right time. Brandon, one of my tutored and horse kids, came over to spend the day so I took him on a short ride on Ellie Mae. Even though she is the youngest and still a little untrustworthy, when it comes to taking kids on a ride with me by her side, she is stellar. Then us big guys went on a beautiful, picturesque ride. Towards the end the wind picked up, but all in all, it was a wonderful ride.
While we were riding, Brandon and Mr. Matt worked on the studio. Brandon had to patch Mr. Matt up because he sliced his finger. Brandon thought that was pretty cool. Now the 2 guys and Jeni are off on a road trip looking at a small bike for Jeni for work. Brandon is a "hands on" kind of kid so this has been a really good day for him too.
Now I am off to begin getting dinner in the oven. The heater is on in the den so sadly, we have to accept fall is truly here.

Melancholy

I am melancholy. I don't have a great reason. I just am. I am officially exhausted from dealing with Matt's bereavement issues. That is probably 90% of the problem.
I am glad to be done with my share of the construction projects. Now I am getting ready for Africa and beginning to think about the Christmas show.
Well out of stuff to say and need to get my day started so........adios for today.

Is Life finally Getting back to Normal? What is normal anyway?

I am sitting in the waiting room, dance work all done, typing on my laptop because we were able to move the router to set up internet out here. It feels pretty nice.
The waiting room is not done-done, but it is roomy anf comfy and seems about perfect for our cozy group and families.
I have phone service, a tv, room to sew, and finally internet service. The lists of stuff I need to bring out created by the students seems to be ebbing so I think we are getting settled nicely.
For years I have created costumes by listening and watching the girls. It has made the task seem easy, but once we moved the students out to the barn in back and the waiting room stayed inside, it became much more difficult. I am very grateful and content to be sitting listening to dance music each evening once again. It also helps us all to be connected and to communicate much better.
They seem to be on a disco kick right now.

Fall is Settling In

Well, we opened the studio for the fall yesterday. The waiting room is a wonderful addition. It keeps the mess and clutter out of the studio and gives parents an opportunity to watch and keep up with the studio happenings. One of the best $3,000 ever spent.
With the classes beginning, that puts all of us on a much stricter schedule. I love the busy social chaos that is normal for us , but I also relish the quiet and lack of structure of summer. Only this year, it never happened because of the construction of both the barn and the waiting room. I am absolutely pooped. So I am hoping that the new schedule will help quiet my crankiness from the construction woes.
Rakieta was pretty down in spirit when we talked today. A friend from sewing school died. They accept death more readily there because of the lack of medical care and higher mortality rate, but something tells me this is one of the first young people close to her that she has lost. I'll know more tomorrow.
Slowly but surely things are beginning to be put where they really belong. We have been so crowded for so long, it feels pretty good to finally have a place for everything.

Visa Lottery

Just as I was settling down to a nice relaxing time focusing on Burkina Faso and the tasks at hand there, Rakieta informed me that Marie had written a letter via computer. As usual nothing had arrived. They can not seem to get the hang of things like checking the .whatever. They all use .fr on most everything and I assume the computers over there, getting newer like everyone elses, are automating the .fr
So once again I am notified of a huge crisis with no facts or concrete useful information to back things up.
It makes it very hard to get things accomplished.
Anyway, evidently a young man has won the visa lottery. By the way the story has been relayed to me, it sounds majorly like fraud. Then I got the song and dance that he is arriving in Michigan this weekend. Now we have not agreed to anything yet, but typical Burkina style , everyone runs off half cocked and the next thing I know our names are supposedly dropped off at the Embassy.
So after several days of no real clarity in any direction, I called the Embassy. This is always exciting.
To begin with, there are only a couple of real Americans there. The rest are Burkinabe people who do not understand American law. In addition, most would sign every visa application that walked through the door because they believe that everyone's problems would be solved if they could just get to America. So here I am trying to get questions answered by people who speak very poor English at best, who are not familiar nor do they care about American red tape or rules and regulations but they have absorbed the attitude of the most entrenched bureaucrat with ease.
I was told they could not verify that he was indeed a winner, that yes, indeed they would just drop him off in the US and that he would manage to get by and that our sponsorship was only a moral agreement not a legal one. Oh yeah, and no, there was no one else higher for me to speak to. The usual Burkina silliness. This folks, is why they have so much trouble getting visas. Having Al Keida cells in the outer wilderness is not helping either.
I wasn't as patient with her as I should have been. That may or may not be something to deal with later, but I just could not believe what I was hearing.
So, I went on the internet, did the homework this woman wouldn't do and found the supporting documents to communicate about this.
Now there is no guarantee the aforementioned young man wasn't scammed, but we shall find out today. I found out last night that he has virtually no English. So today Rakieta will translate. I am still hoping that our government has not completely lost it's mind, but I am not ruling anything out yet.
One thing is for sure, sponsorship is a huge commitment and is not done lightly. In addition, the government is giving 50,00 of these things out a year right now. That scares me some. Quite a lot actually. That is a small city every year. Our corrupt politicians at work again I see.

Rakieta Stuff

Well the sewing machine is up and running and she is already getting some side jobs so she is gaining confidence and growing up some more.
First letter to her very own post office box ready to go out tomorrow. Another sign of growing up. Seems so long ago that she was "like a chicken" and couldn't even dial her family back in Burkina on the phone or couldn't write her name.
Rakieta is baby #3 and now is 19. I am no longer a mother of young children, that is for sure.
I am getting very excited to go over now. Not looking forward to the rotten climate, but I am looking forward to the visit.

Starting to Surface

I am slowly but surely about to surface and finally be free of all the shackles I have worn for what seems like a long time. As of Monday, Rakieta and her family will be my biggest problem. That is right about where things should be and it feels pretty good.
Paperwork is not completely done on Grandma and Grandpa but it is close. I will be able to close out the last of the affairs shortly.
The barn is at a good spot now so we don't need to frantically work anymore.
The dance program is getting caught up.
The farm is doing well.
In the meantime I have had a great summer. I ended up with 3 tutored kids and 6 horse kids. The horse kids are keeping our hairy loved ones in spa treatments and they love it.
Tutoring I have always loved and it bumped back into to me this spring and I am so glad I said yes. It has snow balled and I am up to 3 kids now. My biggest problem is finding time to fit it all in.
The chicken yard is quite peaceful and entertaining. I am meeting many people as word gets out that I am now selling fluffy babies.
I am very blessed and am very grateful for my life!

Friday Catch Up

Here I am at 7:00pm on a Friday doing paperwork and bills. It has been a very long time since I was in the routine I have been in for most of my marriage, which is to run errands and get bills paid on Fridays. In the last 10 years I have gradually gone from paying my bills in person or by mail to online payments. That meant a gradual change over to spending usually Friday evenings online keeping things caught up and done. However off and on since last fall when the grandparents got so bad I have had to skip this ritual and try to catch up here and there during the week.
Today I am proud to report that the sitting/den room is tidy, the gentle breeze is cool and humidity free, NCIS is on the tube and I am actually in command of the papers. It feels very good. I was able to get several important errands run which make our electronic/technological life easier and I didn't have to grab carry out for dinner. Life is good!
Now just to get the packages for Africa ready and in the mail! Then I would say life is completely back to normal for us. The recovery from our very difficult journey is almost complete.

Barn Update

(Pics posted soon)
Well, every muscle and bone in my body hurts and hurts and hurts. I feel old. But, the barn is almost done being painted. We hired a young man to do the peaks and after a lot of experimenting, we ended up with a scaffold which is working well. A huge accomplishment. Now just a cupola and finishing the doors. The garage doors will be here tomorrow and I will get door knobs this weekend. Then it will be weatherproof and critterproof. We already had a bird come in and start a nest.
It is so nice to have storage finally. We don't have a good basement and our outbuildings were all old barns so it has been a long time coming and it is really nice to have someplace large to put things and keep them out of the elements.
Matt is working on getting the stud walls in to get it ready for electricity. The dancers will stay put for this year. Too much work to do to move them yet.
We are slowly getting the pond weeds down and it is starting to look civilized. That property has brought a huge amount of joy to all of us. It is a decision no one regrets. Now to just the Hillsdale County piece sold.

Lazy summer Sunday

Today is Matt and I's 23rd anniversary. We celebrated yesterday since we had no people around. We finished up on our to do list for the day and headed up to the tip of the thumb. We were on a mission for unique cupolas to help us design one for the barn/garage. Then we were looking for a nice place to eat, preferably on the lake. Both missions were accomplished. However in the chaos of the day I managed to leave my glasses at a garage sale. So bright and early this am I had to head back to the garage sale to retrieve them.
Well, glasses are back on the nose and so I am whole once again.
The construction crew has one last task and then they will be gone. The concrete is still not poured and it looks like they will miss tomorrow since the rain is coming. But we are moving things in and slowly but surely it is becoming home. For the first time in several years the porches will be tub free. I am looking so forward to that.
Between the bugs and the heat, the horses are getting a lot of extra attention. They love it. Everything else is going pretty well. I am finally starting to feel like I have some control over my time and I am very grateful. Now to begin the arduous task of planning the trip to Africa.

Yard Work

Today I cut down an over 3 foot tall thistle. The darn thing weighed about 20lbs too. I feel better. I am still very overwhelmed. It just seems like there is not enough hours in a day, but I am at least beginning to get stuff on the "to do" list done. I just want time to stop and smell the roses. I need it very bad. I think by fall we should be there. I am telling you I do not need to climb any mountains or conquer any wars for a while. I just need to hang out for a bit in a peaceful place.
The horses are making me very happy. It is really nice to have horses that are very placid and happy go lucky.
I have rodents in the chicken coop. Oh joy! So out came the rat poison before it gets out of hand.
Tomorrow temps in the high 60's. This is one weird summer. It should bring some relief to the horses who are using a whole bottle of bug spray a day right now.
Well off to make bug spray and eat dinner.

Look at Those Feet!

It seems we have a small crisis in Ouagadougou. Rakieta was helping to sweep water out of the house she is living at during one of the heavy rains. In the process she broke her foot on her old tried and true prosthetic. It was in tough shape-it has been that way pretty much since she got it. Between the clinic in Ouagadougou and us sending things over, we have been keeping her going.
The upside of this latest accident is that she was forced to practice harder and get the hang of her new leg faster. The downside is that her buddy at the clinic explained that getting the size foot she needs to replace the old one is very difficult and she would have to wait.
Hmm...perhaps this is how she ended up with a high heeled foot on her new prosthetic.
Translation-they don't have the supplies and evidently can't just order them. That makes sense if you have ever been to a 3rd world medical establishment or worked in one. It has taken about a year for the new leg to be ordered, completed and her walking in it.

Now that the "Just Dance"show is over, I have time to catch up on stuff. So out to the camper I went to go through the prosthetic donations. (Other people's discards) Well, after going through all the pieces and having Rakieta measure her foot, we found at least 3 feet in the pile that will work. I tried the feet in one of my shoes........perfect fit! So I think we have this problem solved. Viola! Had I known how many feet we had I would have looked a long time ago. Problem was I picked up the stuff during the period when Grandma and Grandpa K. were getting bad so I never looked. I just loaded the stuff in the camper and walked away.
It was such a neat surprise to find all this. Such a small effort on the business's part to donate but such a huge blessing to the clinic and Rakieta in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso.

Still Slaving!

STILL SEWING.
SHOW IN ONE WEEK.
WILL COME UP FOR AIR THEN.

Update on all of Us

Today is only going to be in the 60's. While I wouldn't want a whole summer of this, I certainly don't mind today. Better cool and rainy then hot and rainy.
In the last two weeks we have only had a couple of days that were high and dry.
I am still sewing, sewing, sewing. No concrete for the garage yet. Too wet. Hopefully tomorrow.
Matt is doing a lot of motorcycle/dirt bike riding.
Girls are fine. We are just really busy getting ready for the show.
Rakieta broke her prosthetic foot. I think that is under control.
Sewing machine should have arrived yesterday or today. She has had a tumultuous week. Hopefully her spirits will be better now.
Well that is all for now. No time or energy to be witty or entertaining.

I'm Still Stumbling!

As soon as I finish typing, I am heading off to my beddy-bye to watch tv and make the never ending list for tomorrow.
I am still exhausted. I am getting used to it I guess. I am less grouchy and frustrated that I am not feeling more exuberant over all that is going on. However, I am clumsy and dropping things. That is total exhaustion. No riding for me until I get a good night's sleep.
Matt is totally sacked out on the couch. It has been a long couple of days. The garage is looking wonderful and I think we can go ahead and move the dancers in there this summer. It is soooooo beautiful and everyone is very excited for us. The builder said we have only spent an extra $2500 by doing things this way and yet we will get so much more than $2500 worth of use out of it.
The paddle boat took it's maiden voyage this morning. It was pretty cool. I love paddle boating almost as much as riding. Lots of pond cleaning to do though.
Tomorrow AM we ride. It is supposed to get hot, rain and then cool off so if we want to get riding in in the next couple of days, we have to get moving early.
I'll be doing my first mowing at the property this weekend. Lots of great stuff, but man, I am beat!

Exaustion Setting In

Life is good. Very, very good actually. But I am just about dead on my feet. I am also grouchy and teary. Tonight I am putting myself to bed early, making a manageable list for tomorrow and watching NCIS. Hopefully tomorrow I will be able to tackle everything with zest and not the melancholy that comes with being overwhelmed.
Tomorrow I will try to post a few pics of the garage/barn/studio. It is pretty awesome. I also promise a more intelligent update.

African Servitude

Today Rakieta and I talked about the sewing machines again. It turns out that the electricity needed to run a sewing business is not all that expensive. Rakieta'a mentor for sewing explained to her that it was not expensive to have electricity for a sewing machine. So it turns out that Marie C. was fibbing to Rakieta. I asked if she was just having a bad day and over reacting. Rakieta assured me no, that Marie was just keeping Rakieta in her place as a a "little person." This is not the first time this has happened.
Marie has provided Rakieta with a safe, sanitary environment which we are very grateful for and I am sure that she cares deeply for Rakieta, but I just think jealousy gets the better of her some times. The women over there can get so vicious.
Anyway, we will persevere and Marie will get over this hump, just as she has all the others, but I really get irritated and weary of this whole African attitude of needing to make some of the people servants of others. They are their own worst enemies and as long as they continue this practice, they will never really modernize.

Everything Done but Costumes

Well, a productive day if I do say so, myself! Grass is 90% cut. I am not one to speed cut, BUT a girl has to do what a girl has to do. So I sped around the yard and finished all but by the trampoline. That can be done tomorrow or Monday.
Rakieta got called, her letter got written, Stephanie and Grandma got e-mails, plus several others that were long overdue. Animal costumes all reined in, clown costumes still all over living room but decisions on Tiger Rag hats made.
Now I am finishing up my night while watching NCIS with Matt.
While I do NOT enjoy being so overwhelmed, I feel pretty confident we will make it with time to spare this year.
Night all!

Update 5/15/10

So much to do, so little time! The house is completely out of control again. But that is normal for this time of year. I have cleaned us back up twice already, but when you are making costumes, it is easy for things to spread into every room. It is very fun, but I always am glad when it is over because it literally consumes us for at least a couple of months and I miss the other parts of my life.
The grass is also completely out of control. I love mowing, but oh the time....or lack of it. I can't let Matt touch it because he mows over everything. One disadvantage to our "park like setting". Merry may be helping since she isn't too busy today.
The garage is still....NOT. We got so much rain the last two weeks that nothing can move forward. The plan is they will start Monday. We shall see.
Meanwhile all the rain is wreaking havoc on our tubs of costumes. I am very weary of drying things out.
Well, off to call Rakieta, sort eggs, cut grass and work on costumes.

Sewing Machine News

Well it looks like the sewing machine is FINALLY a go. It will be a white one which is both electric and manual and has more than straight stitch. Rakieta is absolutely ecstatic. And impatient. "When is my mom coming to Africa"?
Soon kid, soon.

Much Needed Update

A dolphin jumping at Marineland in St. Augustine. This is a worthwhile activity. Just go early or late I think for the best view and seating.

I should not be writing this update right now. I do not have the time. But, I am just in need of some "me" time so I write.
Our trip to Florida was awesome and very refreshing. I came home very rested which is a good thing because I hit the ground running within hours of getting home. The garage has not been started yet but I think the permit will be granted this week. I will not get excited until we have permit in hand.
Jeni started a new job, one that is absolutely perfect for her. Merry graduated from college yesterday. It was wonderful. Patriotic, which surprised me since colleges tend to be so liberal, but it was great. Rakieta is absolutely ecstatic about getting her new sewing machine. Our first long ride of the season was FANTASTIC. The girls are so settled and calm compared to last year. In a couple weeks we'll all start switching out horses so all the horses are used to all of us. So life, while moving very fast, is going very well. Of course I am eyeball deep into sewing season so I am not stopping to smell the roses a whole lot right now. I love the job. I hate it when the pace gets too frantic though. But this too shall pass.
Have a great day everyone.

Eyjafjallajokull

This volcano that erupted in Iceland is going to be a trouble maker I think. International flights are practically at a stand still. If things don't settle down it will mean transporting of goods and services will be a huge problem. The global economy will be on it's knees. But, something still unknown is whether it will wreak havoc with weather all over the world. If so, this may be the year to begin a garden. We may be back to eating local foods for a while. Looks like my trip to Africa may be problematic also. Yeesh, it is always something.


Today, May 15, more closures. At least once a week this thing has been making mischief. So far it hasn't affected Michigan climate too drastically.

Batley the Catley lives another day.

Remember Batley from a few posts back? Well, she is allowed to live here for a bit longer. Last night Matt and I carefully, very carefully, dismantled the heating vent enough to dislodge the things the cat had sent flying down the hole while she was playing. Sure enough the tiny box holding the camera disks was in there. 4 disks and one of them had everything from Africa which the family over there was having a heart attack over. I was never so happy to see something in all my life.
So I feel like I am complete once again and yes, the disks are being stored in a larger box. Not only that but the hole will be filled in a way that she can't lose things down there anymore. Lesson learned.

Phone Woes

This morning we are getting a light snow. The weather isn't so bad. It is mild, but cloudy and murky. It is a let down after the nice days of the last 2 weeks. But I have inside work to do anyway and there are 2 good marathons on the tube so........you make the best of it. Upside, this is the worst of the precipitation for the weekend. Originally rain was predicted for 3 days, but now just this little dusting of snow. I can live with this. It's the several days of murky clouds that gets you down.
I have been trying to call Rakieta all week. The phones are acting crazy again. This gets very irritating. I swear they use Spaghetti for phone line and they must use pie tins on the cell towers. Such is life in Burkina Faso.

Kitty Cat Woes

See this cat? This is Batley and she is pretty cute and loved around here most of the time. HOWEVER.....she likes to sit eye level with humans. That means she spends a lot of time on tables and desks. Guess what else sits on tables and desks. Small, shiny objects. She insists upon throwing these things around and dropping them onto the floor. Then she chases these small objects until they lodge into cracks and crevices she can't reach. Well, she has managed to lose my little case full of digital camera memory cards. There were no less than 5 of them in the case and one had all the African pictures on it. Needless to say, I have torn apart my first floor looking for these tiny. priceless objects.
Luckily, I have put many of the pictures on the blog............Otherwise, our African family would never forgive us.

Washer Woes

Last week Matt washed his clothes and had no problem letting one load take over 2 hours because the water was coming out very slowly. So I gave him the ultimatum. It had to be fixed before the week was out. He waited until the last possible minute and then I had to deal with the cussing and swearing and tantrums but we did change the hose filters. Unfortunately, as is the case with this man most of the time, no test run. So on Matt's laundry day, he promptkly starts his laundry again and disappears. Many HOURS later I went in the laundry room to check on the chicks and it was STILL filling. So I did something profound and actually looked in the washer. This time the water was just dripping into the washer. The problem was actually worse than before. I switched temps to at least get the load done and of course I gave him more than an exasperated look. (Remember everyone, it is MOTORCYCLE season.) Anyway, now everyone is home from vacation and that means a lot of laundry. So yesterday we loaded the washer by bucketful. This morning I greeted him with the sternest attitude I could muster first thing out of bed and made it clear we had a date in the laundry room. This time we actually let the hoses run and as soon as I took the new filter out of the hose, there was at least a quarter cup of chunky rust sitting there. Mystery solved! Now the washer is running wonderfully.
So folks, when I tell you that the rust in the water in the thumb of Michigan is so hard you can chew it, it is no joke. Too bad we can't mine for rust. We'd be rich.

Springtime

The weather here is beautiful today. Last week was until Thursday night. Then we had 3 straight days of rain. Luckily it was a slow drizzle. We had a lot of snow to melt and the ground was pretty frozen so it would have been a bad thing to have heavy rain. As it has turned out, things are damp but not soggy and the temps today were around 60 and sunny. You can't beat that. Hopefully the rest of the week will be just as nice. Tomorrow the surveyors are coming out to reset the markers on the property. It looks like that is coming together for us. I am afraid to get excited just yet. I love being over there, but until we sign the final papers I don't want to get too attached.
I have 2 baby banties and another trying to peck his way out. They are pretty cute and seem strong. Hopefully they stay that way. My last batch all died. Weird, they lived at least 3 weeks, but they must have just not been very healthy even though they looked fine.

A Few Pics of Hawaii

Whale watching

Turtles heading out to sea

Merry at Buddhist temple

Jeni in tree

Jeni and Kyle at Aquarium

Girls in front of Hawaiian royalty

Girls all dressed up for luau

Humpback whale's hump

Update On Us.

Merry, Jeni and Kyle are off in Hawaii this week. Travel club was rough and tough, but they all persevered and were able to pull off the trip to Hawaii. There were about 12 of them who went. They are having a blast.
Myself, I am enjoying the week not having too much structured time and I am actually getting most of the stuff on the to do list done.
Today was a great day with the horses. The girls really understand what we want them to do now and it is going to be a really good spring/summer/fall with them and the lesson kids. In fact, Copper even called out to me to go to work. That is a first because everyone who knows Copper knows how much she hates working,
Matt is really getting the motorcycle riding bug since the weather is getting so nice.
All in all things are going pretty well for the Kalinowski clan.

Olga has internet!

I don't write about Olga often because communication has been pretty hit and miss, but technology is now allowing us to become close even though we have never officially met. For those of you who aren't aware, we hosted a little Russian girl many, many years ago. She went back to Russia and went on to be adopted by Americans. However, before she left her orphanage, she gave Olga our information. Eventually we got a letter from Olga out of the blue. In those days, translations were so tedious as they had to be translated by hand. I bought a very good translating cd as we got involved with Rakieta several months later so at least I could type in English and translate it into Russian characters. Otherwise we may never have gotten the relationship off the ground.
Anyway, Olga just informed me that I was not writing back fast enough (something all the girls are accusing me of-I just can't seem to get control of my time because of all work involved with the grandparents and their passing) and that she now has wireless internet so she can talk all the time. I am not sure if she has internet via phone or if she now has a computer, but Olga is now officially online! I will assume that there will be nonstop communication now if she is like most other young people. So as soon as I get a new photo I will post it here.
This is pretty cool. When we met Olga, I had to address her packages and letters in Russian characters and Rakieta's family who only spoke tribal dialect required 6 months of actively looking for a translator to communicate at all. That seems a like a lifetime ago now. Rakieta's family now has internet skills, multiple cell phones and a mailbox sponsored by us and now Olga is able to be online regularly.
I thank God a lot for the gift of modern technology!

Rakieta's Leg

Me thinks the Prosthetic clinic is doing a very, very good job with Rakieta's new leg.
It would appear they have the skills to do a very good job. Their problem is that they lack the tools and patients with any money. Insurance is a concept that is foreign there. So it is all cash. Now What she requires would be about $25, 000 in America. There the cost has been about $1200. However, in Burkina Faso, it might as well be $25,000 because many families there survive on less than $1.00 per day.
The clinic is treating her wonderfully. They are picking her up and dropping her off free of charge, they are working with her on walking, they are fixing the old leg (yet again) and doing all kinds of other little things to just make this a great experience. The building is nothing more than a very hot pole barn, but I am very proud to report that the skill and service level is every bit as good if not better than a facility in a western nation. I am very surprised at how pleased we are.

Farm News

After we got a healthy amount of snow last weekend, we have consistently been in the mid 30's all week. Not only that, but we have also had sunshine and just gentle spring breezes. It really brings on the spring fever.
Actually it hasn't been to bad of a winter overall. We had a bit more cold than usual in January, BUT no real precipitation and definitely no big blizzards, which is very uncommon. Overall the winter's snowfall this year is quite low. That probably means a rainy spring. That means we may have a rotten mud season. Oh joy!
Well, after a lot of walking on the piece of land we were so excited about and lengthy discussions with both the health department, the surveyor and septic engineer, we had to sadly decline the property. It has beautiful farm soil, but it is almost impossible to put a house on some day and that made it a deal breaker. So.......back to grousing about our measily 2 1/3 acres.
I got all my chickens successfully moved to the proper coops. That is step one in my getting the right males with the right females to get the chicks I am looking for. I am very excited. I am also able to seperate out the eggs now better which makes for better use in the kitchen.
We may get to ride tomorrow. It may be too muddy, but at least we should be able to play with the horses.
We are starting to make plans to finally get going on a garage. That will get the storage tubs under control and that will make us all less cranky. Storage is a huge issue for us.
I just can't wait to get outside for large portions of the day. I have cabin fever in a big way.

Spring is Here!

Today was beautiful! As in 36*, sunny and the most wonderful spring breezes. I am so inspired for warmer weather. I collected my first batch of eggs for incubating. I am officially in the "do not wash eggs" camp. Since my unwashed babies have been very healthy and no casualties and my washed egg babies all were pretty sickly.
Today the news announced that the unemployed in the state of Michigan may lose any and all benefits beginning in March. That is not good. There are at least 100,000 people in the state of Michigan who will be SOL if this happens AND it will set an already precarious situation into a free fall I am afraid. I am not an advocate of the government taking care of everyone, but this would definitely send the state over a cliff. I do hope this is worked out and I really hope jobs begin to surface once again sooner rather than later.
I love our dance moms. Tonight is an unusually animated conversation in the kitchen about everything from geo thermal heating to TMJ. I always feel like the worlds' problems are a little more manageable after dance nights.

Crazy Saturday!

The girls sent me off to set up for the horse show too early this morning. That was ok because it gave me time to get some computer work done. Then the people started showing up. First ones in were Jimmy and Kara, who are pretty adorable but who are very active today and in scrappy moods, especially with each other. Then the calls started coming from home. My brother, who is not the best decision maker, and who is borrowing our old farm car until he gets his truck fixed, decided to go straight to Saginaw to pick up his daughter instead of trading cars. Matt is livid. Combine this with the dogs barking, the radio up too loud and it made for a very busy hour or two. At about noon I get to leave this insane asylum and go home to Matt and Kyle putting up my other ceiling moulding thing that surrounds the dining room fan. The living room one was quite an ordeal. And Matt's opinion on anything like this is "the more drama the better."
Tomorrow is Valentine's Day. Matt wanted to go to a movie tonight, but I think it may have moved on already. So I don't know what we are going to do. We do need to walk the property again so maybe that and then go out for dinner. We'll figure something out.
The nice thing about these shows is that a lot of the people are friends and neighbors. So it is always good to see everyone.

Rakieta and her sewing machine-Part too many to count

Today's crisis: Rakieta is having a nervous breakdown because Marie Compaore told her she couldn't bring her electric sewing machine to the house unless she could afford to pay for the electricity. Electricity is expensive in Burkina ....and unreliable, but she is also messing with Rakieta's head. So I just reminded her to think American. To be respectful, but to not let Marie stomp out her dreams. The people of Burkina are very gentle and sweet, but there is a dark side to these and many other tribal people I am sure. Here in the US, we are all equal. But in these very old cultures, royalty and servitude are very entrenched. This is just another attempt to make our Wacki remember her place. She is a "have not" and the "haves" never want the "have nots" to get any better off. Don't forget the "Frenchness" of these guys.
All that being said, Marie still provides Rakieta with a much better home and more comfort than she could have with her parents so I usually end the advice with "She's probably just having a bad day. Let it go."
Rakieta is also giving herself ulsers again because she doesn't think she sews well enough to have a sewing business someday. This is why I call 3 times a week. When I don't things go really wonky. So, while parenting across the ocean is challenging, it can be done. It must be done. To this one girl and the people's lives she touches, it makes all the difference.

What A Day!

Yesterday I drove down to our property on the border of the state in Southern Hillsdale County. While we were using it, we loved it. However, as more and more people moved out from where ever, it began to lose it's charm. Then the economy started to turn.....at that point it was just a little. The girls needed to be back in Lapeer County and it was necessary in order for us to resolve our orphan issues. It was just time. Turns out it was a really wise choice. We made the decision Christmas holiday 2004. Just think of all the economic doom and gloom since. Well, with all the chaos from caring for Grandpa and Grandma we didn't get down last year during warm weather. So I made the decision to go yesterday just to check on things.
It was a little disheartening to deal with everything I witnessed. Of course there were a very large amount of reposessions. There are everywhere in Michigan. But where I was driving, there was also a huge amount of vandalism. That was a little spooky. Then when I got to the property, I was greeted with the fact that someone had stolen our 3 sided sheds.
As I was getting my bearings about that, I noticed a weird truck casing the road. More on him in a minute. Anyway, the 40 acre parcel of woods across the street was raped of it's trees. It was being logged, but you could tell the work was VERY, VERY shoddy. The piece will be ruined when they are done. Weird creepy guy still casing neighborhood. Then I drove up to the last house on our side of the state line. Completely empty. As in repo'ed empty. Then my missing sheds began to make sense as this family had a habit of having sticky fingers. Meanwhile the creepy guy was still hanging out. Now he was sitting in front of our place. So I drove down and talked to him. He was really creepy and was less than honest with me. So I decided I better talk to the neighbors. Anyway, as it turns out , creepy guy was part of the secondary wood crew. The land had been sold to Amish and they were logging it, but had either worked a deal with the creepy guy to finish clear cutting OR he was in there bootlegging. He had gotten into a big fight with our next door neighbor and that was probably the reason for the lurking and slinking. I think he was probably trying to see if he was home.
Of course during all the neighbor communicating I was doing, I had to hear all about the moron from Hell who lived up on the hill in the original farm house. Now he is harassing the neighbor closest to him over their generator. He has harassed every neighbor there including us. And those of you who know us at all, know we are not the type of neighbor who needs to be harassed. In addition, our sheds were not the only thing pilfered. The theft through there was so bad that one gentleman who had hunting land packed up his camper and moved everything home. So, things have not really changed there for the better. I was so very glad to get home and step foot on my crappy 2 1/3 acres and my beautiful old farmhouse! While things are sometimes boring in the thumb of Michigan, they are never insane like things seem to be all the time down there.
The good thing is that 2 neighbors both would like our land. So we shall see what transpires.

Cold Blustery Saturday

Well, our short little warm spell is over. I guess we need to blame that big DC storm. No snow here but a rotten northeast wind that is very biting. Chickens will not be let out today. They'd freeze their little tukases.
Mostly I am in front of the heater at the horse show so I stay pretty toasty, but when the doors get opened too much I am forced to deal with the reality of how cold it really is. I need to put on my long johns because later Matt and I will be out marching around on what will hopefully be our new property. 1mile from the house on a dirt road and very close to where we already ride. I have waited so long for this, I don't even know how I feel.

Box For Rakieta's Mom

I am pretty excited about this box. Rakieta's mom is a sister to me. First of all, she has lent us her daughter. I can never thank her enough for that. 2nd of all, she has spunk and character. All of her children have been to school. She has sacrificed a lot for this, but all have attended school. Rakieta was the one exception because of her handicap, but education and broadening horizons is very important to her. Rakieta's life has taken a dramatic turn because very few of her people have left the region, let alone been to America. So it is with great care that I pack her box. Of course there are the normal goodies like shampoo, toothpaste, etc but I also have spoons, wall hangers, pillows and other things moms care about. She is going to be ecstatic. When I go this time, I am making sure she gets a plastic chair or 2 and probably some chickens. If we get started on a hut for Rakieta, she will live there.
It is her spunk that has made for such thunder and lightening between she and her husband, but when I look at the 2nd wife's children with the blank, hungry stares and know how grim their future is, I have very deep respect and admiration for this woman.

Painting

Our dining room is in desperate need of an update. And yet I dread this job. Our dining room is the catch all room for the house. All the computers are in there, it is still loaded with school supplies, the sewing machines are set up in there and of course we eat in there.
In addition it has not been painted since 1994. It needs work! So Jeni and I are starting the slow process of beginning the job. I am not excited, but it will be worth the effort in the end.
I think I would love a day in the 50"s and sunshine so I can avoid this job and go outside.

Good Morning!

I am in a silent house, at 8:56 am on a Saturday. This is very abnormal. The dog is out, the girls are at a dance convention, Matt is sleeping and the cats are napping. Even the chicks are quiet. Maybe because it is soooooo cold.
I should be at Home Depot already, but I am not motivated enough and I have a lengthy to do list. What else is new?!
I am also a dismal failure at finding good graphics online now that I am not using Incredimail anymore. And back when all the computers blew up, I lost all my very sacred clip art I had so dutifully saved from my Incredimail stationary. What is a girl to do?

Still for all my grousing, Life is humming along pretty good. Olga and Stephanie checked in and I will have a long conversation with Rakieta today. So all daughters, birth and adopted are accounted for. I can't always say that. The Kalinowski Family is in a place of completion. So many dreams and goals finally can be moved to the done pile. It really feels good. I also feel really blessed. Right now it seems the folks from above are working pretty hard on us. I can feel beings around, but more tangibly, I can see the results. Thanks everyone.

Well, I need to get my butt out of my chair and start my day. So adios for now. I'll check in later.

Paperwork Blues

Today I get to cook for the snack bar and then I get to sit and do paperwork most or all of the day. Did I ever mention how much I hate paperwork?? I am a social butterfly.
I do not mind sitting for a couple of hours weekly on the normal household stuff, but I really hate lengthy, monotonous stuff like filing, income taxes, G&G's final passing paperwork, Rakieta's embassy paperwork, you get it.....
Unfortunately, I am finding the older and more established we get, the worse this paperwork issue is getting. Good thing I have more patience now than when I was in my 20's.
Anyway, I have a plethora of monotonous stuff today. I hope there is decent stuff on tv to listen to while I suffer through my tasks.
Upside, I don't feel overwhlmed with all this any more. So all my weeks, months, and years of sitting here getting things under control one piece of paper at a time and not going out to play is finally paying off.
I am getting pretty close to being ready for the rollar coaster ride of going to Burkina Faso once again and the fast paced frenzy of our production this year which is "Circus."
Now to just get the house completely repainted before things get too busy once again.

Damp, Michigan Winter Weather

Today it was a high of 37*. Yet, my body aches, my nose is a little runny and I have flem in my throat. I haven't taken off my extra sweater all day. Did I mention the sun hasn't shone all day? Welcome to southern Michigan's damp, dreary weather. Seriously, if it was 20* and sunny, it would be much more pleasant.
But at least all the ice is almost melted. It was a little rough getting around all week and a bit dangerous.
Tomorrow is supposed to be in the 40's and rain. I don't mind as long as it doesn't turn everything to a sheet of ice once again.

Becoming a Middle Aged Woman

This is something I think about every time it is made obvious and yet it just creeps up on us women sort of silently.
I am no longer a young mom or a mom with young kids. I was a relatively young mother. I was 21 when Merry was born. So I have been parenting for 25 years. Add to that the fact that I was the oldest of 6 kids and you could say I have been mothering my whole life. Needless to say I am quite competent at it and it just comes second nature.
However, most of the time I am not running around with kids in tow anymore. I get to enjoy the old days when I am with our African girls, the nieces or even the dance kids. But a lot of my life is spent mentoring in a way that is a little more hands off. I don't think it is as fun as the dragging kids from here to there days, but it just kind of happens naturally and it is rewarding too.
What I have found is that my world is pretty huge. The amount of people, especially young people, who consider me one of their VIPS is large. Way larger than when I was so busy parenting.
I never thought this part of my life would be as nice as it is turning out to be.
But I am as excited as ever when I get the chance to deal with the stress, noise and activity of "momming".

Tapping fingers on Counter..............

I have a lot of things I want to say about a lot of things. But, I can't make my mind still enough to write coherently so here I sit tapping my fingers on the counter.
Things seem to be plugging along in my world. My own family is doing well, has many blessings and makes me give thanks many times daily. Unfortunately the state of affairs in Michigan is not so fortunate for everyone. Times are still really tough. However, I think we may have gently turned a corner. It may be people are just used to their new reality and fighting back, it may be that people have paid off enough bills that they are a little more optimistic, but it also seems that the shops are finally getting their heads above water a LITTLE. In other words, production is a long way from where things were even 5 years ago, but things no longer seem to be plummeting at the speed of light. I really hope so as so many families really need the relief.
I am mailing a large quantity of stuff to Africa in advance this time. The whole flying experience is getting more and more stressful. I just don't want to deal with having to dump a suitcase and all it's contents because we go into a high security situation and they change the rules on us mid trip. So I shall be mailing everything this time. Now if the postwoman from Hell would just stop giving me so much grief.
My 2nd season of the Dead Zone just arrived. I can't wait to crack it open, but I have to finish monster Quest 1st. The dvds are really good because they have more info on each episode that what gets shown on TV.
So far no baby chicks from this batch. I think the eggs may just have been too old.
Well, I will sign off for now. I have a lot of work to do.

Haiti

The pictures and videos are starting to reach the rest of us and it is very grim. Haiti was already a very corrupt, violent country where most of the people were really suffering. And it was a violent suffering. Burkina Faso, while poorer still, is a peaceful country with loving people. A lot of the Haitian existence is a Hell. There are tons of people from other nations already trying to help.........but the corruption.
Please prey especially for the children in the orphanages whose adoptions have been completed but have been sitting for YEARS waiting on both governments for passports and visas. Now that this has happened, they may never be processed or the paperwork will have to be resubmitted to wait years again. This is very expensive, time consuming and in some of the childrens' situations, the documents were lost during the last political upheaval. Seeing the devistation and loss of life there is truly gut wrenching.
Good places to donate to: Red Cross, Doctors without Borders, Project Medishare.
www.wjr.net has a link you can use. WJR is the big Detroit Talk Radio station. For those of you out of the area, it is the station Ernie Harwell always announced Tiger baseball on.
Also www.rainbowkids.com has a list of links to groups already in the country working with the orphanages. The list gets a thumbs up from me. Very well established and reputable organizations.
Thanks to everyone who is reaching out.

Pray for Haiti

What a mess! These people need our prayers and anything else we can help with. Haiti was rough enough before. I can only imagine the agony these people are facing.

Dead Zone

This is my new favorite show. I never thought I would be a Steven king fan, but...........
This is a really good show.
Helps me keep my spiritual, psychic side balanced. I haven't been so attached to a show since I discovered Charmed all those years ago.

Long Time, No Post!

It seems like forever since I sat down and wrote, answered any e-mails or commented on anything. It was a very necessary hiatus. I wish I could say that I was rested and relaxed. No I am not, but I feel way less stressed out than I did the last time I checked in.
The paperwork is about half done. Advice-Make sure you have many, many original copies of the death certificates. We had 10 and ran out. But some are slowly coming back to us now. Also try to know what you are dealing with before the passing if possible, even if you can't legally have conversation with the agencies/organizations. By knowing what we had to deal with it made the mountain at least crossable. I can only imagine the stress and nightmare if we had no idea what we were trying to complete for Lee and Adele. I had spent approximately 1 1/2 years working with her on getting her affairs in order prior to the end. While things were not perfect, it was much better than had I had to start at the beginning after they passed.
In the meantime, Rakieta's leg is just about done, the dance show was a huge success as always, another batch of chicks was hatched and the holidays were especially sweet this year. Thanksgiving choked everyone up as we passed the Cold Duck around in memory of Gramps, but things are getting back to normal now and everyone who knew them in their last months can laugh and recall lots of silly, goofy, happy times. That is how it should be.
Once I spend at least one quiet week I will begin to plan my trip to Burkina to be with our girls. They are chomping at the bit which is to be expected. This time the weather should be much more pleasant for me, the Michigander. The plan is to get Rakieta's documents up to date, work on sewing, get computer skills under control and of course, just have fun and see everyone!