The DRIVEWAY Report!! Departure...

Watch "video-2012-06-18-09-50-53.mp4" on YouTube

Cornyness Achieved

The forty-five day corn has finally run its course, much to the delight of our little farmer.  He finally got to pick the corn he just could not live without when we went to buy his gardening supplies in the early Spring.  He is so happy right now.  I'll cook his little ear of corn and we'll give the late bloomers these last three days to make more kernels before we leave.

The trip puts a kink in his garden experience, but he seems to be adjusting well to the realization that he won't be here when his garden comes to fruition.  da Daddy will have to put up the Romas, and da Grampa will come get the "Big Boy" tomatoes when they are ripe.  As for the basil, I will make one more pesto dinner and that will be that for our gardening.

This is the tomato temple...it's seven feet tall now, and mommy keeps lazily and disorganizedly (no, that's not a word, but vocabulary just isn't what it used to be) tying the vines up.  We don't pull suckers, or tend things like I would if we were earnestly going to make FOOD with this garden.  It was more of a thought form for da Creature.

Next year, we're definitely making FOOD (renting a tiller, making rows, the whole nine yards).  He is really rather good at all of this.  Normally, I just plant things and they die, and I resolve myself to that process.  His stuff seems to grow, almost effortlessly.  It's sort of not fair, if you ask me, but I like that he enjoys growing vegetables and herbs and eating them, so I can't complain too much about the disparity of our talents.

For now, though...there are big boys in the garden (of various sorts)  and a certain corny resolve to make light of not seeing the end of the story.   da Daddy and da Grampa will tend it for us while we're gone, and maybe there will still be tomatoes and basil enough for Mommy's Pasta Rustica when we get back from our adventure.

So for now, we will say goodbye and leave da Creature's Garden to our friend (who we've allowed to grow from a tiny little thing to this massive, sci-fi-inspiring monster of a leaf-clipper named "Munches"):

Just a reminder for our friend Munches:  you may enjoy the fruits of our labors while we are away, but please don't invite your friends and have parties while we're gone.  
Thanks, the mgmt.

IT IS TIME and a request for a big FAVOR

Note:  you will notice there are new tabs on the bar above.  They will be useful once the trip starts.  We depart on Monday, June 18th.  

Time to make the final lists.

Time to breathe deeply and enjoy those last moments of simple comforts of home.

Time to start packing, and then unpacking, taking things out that are too heavy and not really needed, then packing again.

Time to buy the very last necessary bits I've put off or forgotten until now.

Time to ask for a favor from my friends---

Would you please help me find some nice people to read this little blog for 23 days?  Just for the trip so that da Creature sees that he is worthy, funny, and people really do exist outside the confines of his strange little mind?  You may join us over on that Google connect thing, or follow me on FB (link is here) where I'll post notices about new things as they come up, and I ask you to please share the web address for this blog with anyone, but especially with those who have special needs children and might enjoy tagging along on our adventure with us.

After the 23 days are done, and he has shared well and happily with the world, I plan to go back to my usual habits of not really blogging very often and would fully expect our trip followers to go back to their usual net habits too.

So, please to share?  Just for a little while?  Thank you all very much.  da Creature will be much more likely to engage the live humans in front of him if he can see that he has people who support him in his quiet safe internet world.

Testing how mobile blogging might work.

Using mobile blogger and youtube.   It seems like there might be a better way than a link.  hmmmm.
Watch "video-2012-06-04-07-10-52.mp4" on YouTube

Testing how other things work as well:

I would like to be able to use the phone to help da Creature blog while we're on the road.  One wonders about the picture quality... hmmmm.

Took this one with the phone, set settings to "original" and it looks a bit better, but still the blogger mobile thingey is mystifying.  Does anyone know how to work this thing?

Cucumbers with Comeback Dressing ala da Creature

da Creture was allowed to pick one of his cucumbers today and he only eats cucumbers with da Mama's special Comeback Dressing. 

He wants everyone to know how to make it, so I decided to share a recipe for a change.

This is an evolution of my grandmother's shrimp sauce that was one of those happy accidents a long time ago when I didn't know the difference between cayenne pepper and chili powder and has been a family favorite ever since.  It is good on cucumbers, shrimp, sharp cheddar cheese, salads and as a coleslaw dressing (just cabbage and comeback, yum!)


da Mama's Comeback Dressing

1/4 c. mayo (I use Kraft)
1 1/2-3 Tbsp ketchup (I like it more ketchupish for shrimp, less for cabbage and salads)
1/2 tsp prepared mustard
Four or five good shakes of Worcesteshire sauce
1/4 tsp chili powder
1/4 tsp garlic powder
lots of fresh ground black pepper (or cayenne)

Whisk together.    Adjust it to your tastes at will and enjoy! :)

da Creature's Garden, or "How do your Triffids Grow?"

Growth is inevitable.

Sometimes, growth is perceptible.

Then there is da Creature's Garden, where growth is a little bit reminiscent of Sci Fi horror flicks.

Every day we go out there and things are proliferating and giantizing (there is substantial growth one can SEE every four hours or so...creepy creepy creepy).  We are convinced that if you stand still for a bit, the cucumber plant is going to grab hold of you.    For instance...this cucumber was two inches shorter just yesterday morning:

So, da Creature is quite proud.  That picture is of his seedling from science at school.  He was absolutely the best in class at growing cucumber seeds, and so the result had to, of course, migrate to our kitchen table when it was no longer part of science class, and here we are, a few scant weeks later, and I find myself wondering, "whatever will I do with this massive proliferation of pickles?"  :)

Then there is the corn.  He insisted on planting corn.  We warned him that da Mama wasn't gonna till the whole back yard so he could have corn and that it didn't like standing up all alone and that we wouldn't be here when it "corned" but still....he HAD to have corn.  So there is his corn, all staked and tied up in unnatural contraptions so it won't blow over in the wind.  It is now beginning to flower.  It's huge already and causing the occasional Triffid nightmares. 


He loves gardening.  I love basil and oregano and making super de dooper pasta, so he tolerates my herbs in his tomato, corn, and cucumber garden.  The rosemary tree which interferes with his gardening gets pruned each year to allow sunlight to get to the tomatoes.  But I know, come winter, when I want to make PORK or ROASTED POTATOES, that I'll have fresh rosemary and the tomatoes will be compost.  Corn?  I scoff at you, da Creature.

da Creature's Bird-day Party

We LOVE Angry birds.  I have bought every single logo bearing product available in our area and many from the internet, most for this party.  We gave away as much as he received.  A good time was had by all.  There were games, giant birds, giant pigs, golden eggs to find, jumping, tossing of birds, chanting of rhymes, and cake, ice cream, and red and green Hi-C.  You're either on the King Pig's team, or your on the Red Bird's team... choose your side.

As for the whole "sensory processing disorders" in bright glare, too much color, noise, smells, and chaos, it was, well, stimulating, to say the least.  We kept the kids searching for the golden eggs we hid before the party in their slack times, and forced a lot of social games to keep people playing with da Creature.  He never noticed the kids playing with each other rather than with him.  I consider that a real triumph of the day.  They probably interacted with him more than they do at school, which is good, but still there is understandable distance.  After all, they have been up close and personal with meltdowns, flying books, choking Brody, and various screaming and slamming of fists, talking in gibberish, and generally causing the teacher to stop everything and deal with him.  This makes the ease of interaction fall apart.  It is noticeable in larger groups.  I used to feel sad, now I just make better plans.

Everyone there won a prize.  This helps.  You won prizes when you played games that involved da Creature.  This helps too.  Positive reinforcers.

Da Creature's perception of the party was entirely positive.  :)



These are ALL the great shots from the party, and captioned for your entertainment.  Happy Eighth Bird-day, my darling baby boy.  It has definitely been a trip getting here.  SLIDESHOW NAVIGATION NOTE:  To restart the slideshow, just reload the page.  Don't click on the arrow, it takes you to Picasa Web Albums directly, which is kind of hard to use.