Coast weekend

Just got back from another weekend at the coast with the whole (Portland) fam-damily. My mother-in-law found a big, comfy house in Arch Cape for us to rent for the weekend. We had a wonderful time at the beach and a wonderful time together as a family. But what was the best part about this big, comfy house? Keep reading to find out!

But first: the Clam Report. We still don't know how to dig for razor clams. What was more annoying this time around was how everyone else on the beach had already "limited," which is clamming talk for...reaching the limit of clams you can dig. Stupid smug probably native Oregonians. But watch out. Back at the house, we researched how to find them on Youtube, and now we are pretty sure we are going to regulate on some clams next chance we get.

We did all earn our tidepooling badges, however! When I was a little girl I grew up learning about all sorts of Arkansas fauna, like water moccasins and armadillos. Anneke gets to run her fingers over sea anemones and starfish. I want to do what I can to make sure she's not squeamish about all of these amazing critters and creepy-crawlies. A tidepool would have seemed like a dream come true when I was little. It still does.

There was much gluttony, including mounds of my mother-in-law's wonderful sausage rolles and the 2010 cake #3 (counting the pecan pie): The Scarlet Empress, a la Rose Levy Berenbaum. Technically, it's a charlotte. It was in honor of Dave's birthday.

And the best part about the house? A SECRET TUNNEL TO THE BEACH! We were all musing that the only drawback to the house was the distance to the beach, up a hill and across the highway. Then a neighbor clued us in to The Tunnel, down a little trail at the bottom of the hill. It felt very James Bond/The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe.

Head trauma

Anneke got her first owie that almost required stitches. Actually, when we took her into the doctor the next morning, said doctor very gently and kindly indicated she might have taken her own two-year-old to the ER that night. Hmph. Well, we called the on-call doctor right after it happened, and she said we could probably just bring her in that morning. Faced with the prospect of waiting in the ER for someone to stitch up a cut between our daughter's eyes about two hours past her bedtime, followed by a $400 hospital bill, we opted for the laissez-faire approach.

Oh, how did it happen? Umm, she tumbled head-first out of the shopping cart after I told Dave, "oh,we can let her ride in the basket as long as we don't let her stand up. It'll be fine." That's how we all rode around back in the 80s, right? Well, no more shopping cart monkey business for this 21st century girl!

Easter

Easter again! This year's was very nice. Anneke and I went to church and got there early enough to have a seat, so it was maybe the most enjoyable Easter service I've been to in years. Also, I went in with an attitude adjustment. It's awesome that my church is overflowing on Easter. Welcome, everyone!

I have a lot of complicated feelings and thoughts and beliefs about the Easter story, and I don't think the mommy blog is where I feel like incoherently exploring them. But Easter means something different to me every year. This year Good Friday got my attention in a new way. I read about the events that lead to Jesus execution, and I recognized the fear, greed, selfishness, laziness, apathy, and all those other ugly things about human nature--not to be dramatic, but I related to it.

But on Sunday morning I felt my bone-deep faith in the power of redemption and forgiveness, and I felt so glad to be there, sharing it with Anneke who did her "wheels on the bus" dance to "The Strife is O'er" and once again splashing her hands in the Baptismal font.

But before the Easter Bunny comes, eggs must be dyed. With a very enthusiastic daddy who draws crayon snoopies on said eggs.

Thanks, Easter Bunny!

and thanks, Grandma, for a fabulous Easter brunch!

And April's cake is...the Lane cake--apparently an old Southern recipe, but one I have never eaten before this. Must be an east of the Mississippi thing. White butter cake filled with cherry preserves, coconut, pecans, and bourbon. yeehaw!

Next adventure

Remember our trip to Mexico, with the giant parrot fish and crocodile feeding? Well, let me take this opportunity to announce it wasn't just a vacation, but a fact-finding mission as the MannBowles family planned a new chapter in our life.

That's to say, we're moving to Mexico! Gulp.

Okay, but just for a couple of years. So Dave has never lived anywhere but Oregon save for a six-month stint in B.C. And my dreams of living abroad in a third-world country were long thwarted by...a desire for hot water. But Dave and I were reflecting on our lives and musing that it's kind of now or never. If there's any chance of us doing this at a time that's fair to Anneke, it's now.

So we're looking at this as sort of a Peace Corps assignment, only with hot water, Dave telecommuting, and me learning how to say "hausfrau" in Spanish. We're still nailing down the details, but we scouted around and are fairly certain about renting a casita in Playa del Carmen.

We're so excited, although as I type this I'm already nervous. We'll miss our life here, especially our friends and family. We'll rent our house out while we're gone. One advantage is that we'll actually be a little closer to my family (I'm pretty sure), though I'm not sure it will be any less expensive to fly.

Details to follow. Wish us luck!

You may as well...

...look your best.

Life is hard, so you may as well look your best, or so goes the philosophy of my very wise grandmother.

I think she's right. Sometimes I manage, but mostly I live by the tenets of the smart ladies who commented on my earlier posting: you may as well eat, play, eat ice cream, find and enjoy sweetness where ever you can, say your prayers, and have a restorative cocktail. Oh, and just accept that life is hard. I think taking part in the above tasks helps me accomplish the last one, when I manage to.

The Woods

During our trip to Arkansas Anneke got to visit The Woods, also known as The Deer Woods, also known as Mamo's land (technically a misnomer since we spent the afternoon at Aunt Alma's land). My grandmother and all of her siblings each have a piece of land in South Arkansas, near, on, or around the part of the world where my mother's side of the family lived for generations. When I was growing up we used to drive up to the deer woods to cut fire wood and hang out in the country. I don't think I've been there since high school. It's a powerful feeling to be in the place where you know your roots run deepest.

This is the branch (prounounced "brah-eench," please) where I used to play and where my grandmother used to play when she was a little girl.

This is the road where Papaw warned us of the dangers of wampus cats (imaginary) and wild hogs (real: if you run into one, climb a tree. fast. )

This is the church my grandmother's family attended when they lived in Jacinto, Arkansas, just down the road from The Deer Woods. Every year they hold a Homecoming, which I attended once when I was in first grade. It's complete with dinner on the grounds and old-timey hymns. Mamo invited me to come to Homecoming again, maybe when I was in college? And I believe at the time I was too "busy." Sigh. Oh, twenty-year-old self. Where do I even start?

This pavilion was designed by Rodney Parham, as in Rodney Parham Road in LR. His family is from here, too. Our families go way back, back to the deer woods and one-room churches.

South Arkansas signage

On the way to Camden

Good to know

The preacher's window

Not exactly a sign, but definitely emblematic of this part of the world, although why one needs deer corn in a place where the deer are as numerous as squirrels beats me.

I didn't get a photo of the Israeli flag flying in front of Believer's World Outreach Church. As silly as I find it when we gentiles break out the Yiddish, I think the most succinct response to that display is, "oy."

I think the Southern version of that is "oh Lawd, have mercy!"