Camping in the Hills

We spent the weekend camping at Hocking Hills State Park, in beautiful Southeastern Ohio, with our friend Jesse. We had a fabulous time, and had perfect weather for it. Hiked 6 miles yesterday, over verrrry hilly terrain that really gave this old body a workout. It was so good to feel my body moving in the middle of this old growth forest. I felt the stress of life just fall from my shoulders with every step I took deeper into the woods. Oh by the way, shopping for camping supplies in a town just hit by a hurricane is fruitless, lol.

You know it’s football season.... all over the hollow could be heard the cries of OH-IO. If you’re not from around here, that’s the Buckeye Battle Cry. The sheer cliff walls of Blackhand sandstone make for great echoes.

It’s a 2 ½ hour drive over there, but what a gorgeous drive it is. And confusing as hell. This was the first time I have made the drive by myself – I mean, as the only adult navigating- and those old, twisty, country roads really throw me off. I got myself quite turned around and had to stop and ask locals for directions a couple of times. That’s because directions down in those parts consist of “Go to the bottom of the hill (which ends up being about 5 miles), and turn right at the mobile home. If it’s still there.” I’m not kidding, lol.

Here are a few of the pictures I took. My camera settings were acting screwy at one point, and I’m not sure why, so some of these are very out of focus. These are thumbnails; click for full size.

As always, it is hard to come back to the busyness of life......but nice to come back to a bed. :)

We were lucky

Now that I have ventured out of my own neighborhood, I realize even more just how lucky we were! 200,000 people in Dayton – including many of my co-workers - are still without power and probably will be for several days. I’m sick thinking about all the food they have lost in their refrigerators and freezers! Many people have taken up refuge in hotel rooms. Several grocery stores in the area are also without power. I have heard some terrible news stories about robberies taking place.

Everyone is wandering around like dazed war refugees, examining the damage. Hundreds and hundreds of trees broken in half, and many uprooted. But we were lucky in that we had a good hard rain Friday – if the ground had been drier, many more trees would have uprooted. I am so thankful that we only had a small piece of a window broken.

The kids are still out of school, and Noelle is quite upset about it. She has a boyfriend now, you see, and he lives on the other side of town so they only see each other at school. Never thought I’d see a child pout about school being cancelled!

We wore ourselves out tonight cleaning up debris in the yard, and there is more to do. I had to hire a professional to come out and cut down the top half of my maple tree, as it was broken and hanging. So lucky it didn’t fall on the house!

Welcome to Ohio, Ike!

We had 60 mph sustained winds here with gusts up to 75 mph for several hours today, the outer remnants of Hurricane Ike. Let me tell you, it got very scary at times. We were without power, in the basement with the cell phone and weather radio. I can't imagine how scary it must have been to be anywhere along the coast during Ike, because it was bad enough just riding out the outer band of it here in Ohio.

When the winds finally died down and the power came back on, I stepped outside to survey the damage. I had several large limbs down in my yard, and one in the driveway just a foot from my car. I also had a piece of an upstairs storm window broken. But none of that compares to what I saw as I started walking down the street. Here is some of what I saw....

Amazing that there were no injuries in our neighborhood. My neighbors checked in to make sure Noelle and I were okay, which was much appreciated. Now the sound of chainsaws fills the air. You can't tell from these pics, but right now my street is unnavigable by car. The news says several main roads are blocked by huge trees and there are structural fires throughout the surrounding towns. I'm just thankful no one I know was hurt.

Let me be the first to congratulate Sarah Palin

I thought it was my ear infection that was causing me to feel dizzy these past few days. But I had a revelation last night: it’s actually the effects of whiplash from the lighting fast speed at which the Republicans have done a 180 on some of their most foundational principles.... the most obvious one being their sudden embracement of feminism.

Listening to the conservative pundits and analysts over the last few days, I am repeatedly astounded to hear them call out the “leftist, liberal media” for questioning Sarah Palin’s ability to be a mother and Vice President at the same time. Case in point: Sally Quinn’s recent Newsweek article which questions how evangelicals can possibly vote for a woman who so goes against their principles. The conservative pundits have eaten her alive for holding up this very painful mirror. But instead of acknowledging their own reflection, they have instead insisited that we have no right to question whether a woman can have babies and a career. As Karl Rove said last night, “How dare they?!”

Are we expected to believe that they don’t recognize their own vitriol when it’s rhetorically put back at them? Are we to believe that the entire Republican party has suddenly come down with a case of dementia, causing them to forget what they themselves have preached for over 100 years now? Let’s be clear: we “leftist liberals” have no problem with a woman raising a family and being Vice President, or President. We just can’t understand why they don’t, either.

For my entire lifetime, and many lifetimes before that, the Republican conservatives have preached a message that women with children have no business having careers. They have brow-beat us with the message that leaving our kids in daycare to go to work is tantamount to child abuse. They have told us that women who strive to mother and work are selfish for wanting to have our cake and eat it, too. They have written entire libraries about the so-called “feminist ideology” which embraces the diabolical goal of women filling positions previously held only by men, AND getting paid the same for it, while we pay babysitters to raise our children for us. They have made it abundantly clear that such ideals are a curse that is sending America to hell in a hand-basket.

But something has clearly changed all this. I woke up Saturday morning to find that, overnight, the Republican party had become a champion of career-orientated mothers all across America. Their new message is: Yes you CAN have it all! You can raise a family and have a career. And not just any old career - you can be the leader of the free world!

Well… congratulations, Sarah. That is one hell of an accomplishment.

Has it really been 3 weeks since I posted?

Hello strangers! Yes, I am still alive…barely. Believe it or not, I am still wrestling with this ear problem. It is a hundred times better than it was two weeks ago. But I still have twinges of pain in both ears, and a persistent feeling of being underwater in one. I went back to the ENT specialist on Friday, who for a $50 co-pay recommended I use diluted vinegar to rinse my ears out. I have now spent over $300 in co-pays and prescriptions on this ear infection, finally to be told what some old barefoot mountain doctor could have told me for free. And I have nothing against the barefoot mountain doctors. I’m just opposed to having my insurance company charges hundreds for dollars for mountain doctor remedies. I’ve come to the conclusion that 95% of the doctors in this country don’t know what they’re talking about. And if we have the best health care in the world…I shudder to think.

My baby started high school! She is off and running already, getting involved in as many activities as time and money will allow. She is home less and less, abandoning her dear old mother for the company of her friends instead. Imagine! She was chosen to compete in the statewide Tae Kwon Do tournament being held here in Dayton next month. I’m so proud!

My bathroom has been undergoing renovation for the past two weeks. I think I mentioned before that I had a mold problem. I didn’t know just how bad it was until the contractor started breaking into things… it was BAD. The mold had eaten away my drywall to the point that parts of the ceiling fell down when he went to install the fan. My pipes were all corroded. It’s been one surprise after another. But I think it will be done in another day, and it’s going to look very nice. Now I get to start paying it off!

This weekend I will be at the Greek Festival, registering voters. I promise not to burn the Republican cards. But I AM waiting with baited breath for John McCain’s announcement that he got Labor Day confused with April Fool’s.