Rain on a Tin Roof

My parents own 300 acres, as seen recently in the Asher post. Kellie and I were talking about the future and we decided we really want a cabin out there that will hold the entire family (which is growing rapidly) and will be a place where kids can hang out. The current hunting cabin only sleeps 8 and is not kid-friendly. So we started mentally designing and planning the Asher Cabin.

We envision it being built on the flat spot over the big pond that my parents chose when they considered living on the property. We see a large, open downstairs with a kitchen area, dining area (large table), fireplace (maybe two), and sitting area. Lots of windows, probably east facing so that it gets warm in the winter, with storm shutters so we can protect the glass and block out sun in the summer. There would be stairs to a loft, where half walls will divide beds (reserved for adults always).

There are challenges to this. Running electricity out that far is expensive (we have electric on the main road, but we'd have to run it in and only the first two poles are free), so we'd have to plan for, initially, no electricity (though possibly a generator). Plumbing also doesn't run out there, so we'd have to plan for no running water, including toilets. But eventually, we could add a septic tank and maybe drill a well (we have several natural springs). It'd be a bit rustic to start, but it's the middle of the woods, what do you expect?

Kellie and I talked about the added bonus after mom and dad are gone - we'd have a "family home". Big enough to accommodate both our families, we see Christmas trees (we cut ours from Asher anyway) and fires and lots of kids and, someday, grandkids. We even timelined the building of it (my dad always says for anything that's happening, he's got a daughter with a list and a daughter with a plan). Our parents are preparing to expand their house (three additions), so after that's done (we're calling it 18 months even though dad says a year) then we can start actually laying plans. By then, we should all be able to pitch in, so it's three households helping pay for it instead of one.

Last night, I fell asleep to the sound of rain on my sister's metal roof. I think we should have a metal roof at the Asher Cabin, just so we can sleep to the sound of rain on it.

And we'll even let the hunters use it when we're not there...

Unexpected Joy

Tonight, my parents went to the 70th birthday part of a member of my parents' Sunday School class, Floyd. I've met him and his wife, Becky, before at church and at a few get-togethers at my parents' house, but I don't know them very well. I could tell my mom wanted to spend more time together (we got our nails done and poked around antique stores this afternoon) and that they expected to not know a lot of the people there. Floyd is a car enthusiast (he drove his Edsel) and his car club was most of the people there. So I went, mainly to keep my parents company.

No need, of course. My parents never met strangers (my sister and I come by it honestly) and enough of their Sunday School class was present that they were kept socially happy the entire time. I settled in to ignore people after wishing the birthday boy happiness, only to be bombarded by his wife (who might be one of my favorites). Soon I was talking to people there about tracing family lines, NYC, and other various topics. We stayed around after everyone had left to help clean up and chat with Floyd and Becky.

It struck me, later, how something I had no interest in doing produced some beautiful moments. An elderly couple told me how they were both from OKC, but he had moved to California as a child. Incredible happenstance brought them together, back in OKC as young adults. His parents were welders during WWII. His mother was so small, they put her in the tight places to weld since she could fit. We discussed how my maternal grandfather couldn't join because he was so small, all his uniforms would have had to be custom fitted, so he made A26 Invaders in Tulsa, where he met my grandmother, who was a wing inspector for the B24 Liberator made in the same factory. It was just a lovely moment.

So we go to things we don't care about, but if we go with an open mind, sometimes we'll leave with a beautiful new moment.

Hard Labor in the Heartland

Today I woke up at an egregious hour to join my dad on our property in Asher for a morning of work. The early hour wasn't so much of a problem as the heat. It was 90 by 9 am and 110 when we left at 1. Oye.

My parents own 300 acres of undeveloped land in Asher, OK. They've owned it most of my life (bought in 1987). My uncle Tom and his boys (and their boys) have used it for hunting property for years. My dad doesn't hunt, but he goes out with them some times to read a book and enjoy the company.

Originally, the land was undeveloped entirely. Now, there's a hunting cabin, shed, and outhouse (recent addition!) in a area that previously was setup with tents. Dad has used the land to drop trees for firewood and we get our Christmas trees from there. Now, he and my brother-in-law have started reworking the land to make parts of it marketable for hay or general grazing land. It's not easy work - dad says the land was used to plant cotton and terraced accordingly, which has now caused deep ravines of erosion. We've got to fill those ravines, which means hauling burned out trees (we had a fire a few years ago from someone dropping a cigarette on the roadside) into them, evening out the slopes to discourage future erosion, and moving the dirt to bury the trees. That's long, hard work in the sun and we're all doing our time.

We took Indy out with us. He did well, despite the heat. He checked in on each of us working, then crawled under the truck. I got to drive the Bobcat awhile and knock an hour off of my needed 15 to get licensed. My biggest challenge is that you need to be able to provide weight on your feet and hands at the same time, which is hard when you're struggling to reach the peddles, but I manage. 






Overall, it was a good, if incredibly hot day. And the shower I got when I came home might have been the most glorious thing ever. I got to break in mom's snake boots (I haven't lived somewhere where they were necessary in a long time) and see my dog survive as a country dog. I also got a reminder of how beautiful it is out there. I couldn't live in it - the isolation would kill me - but it's great to visit. I now need my family to build a proper cabin for staying in so we can go and enjoy it. 


More pictures available at Asher album.

Colorguard Mini-Reunion

When I was in high school, I was in colorguard my sophomore through senior year. I was captain my senior that, during which we had 16 new girls on a 21 girls squad. I grew very close to those girls during that year, starting the grueling summer schedule off with a sleepover at my house. I hope I made the schedule of fundraisers and summer training less painful by trying to develop an esprit de corps. It remains some of my fondest high school memories.

Today, we had a little mini-reunion with some of the girls. A few from later years came too, but I was the oldest and several my freshmen were there. They're wives, mothers, and professionals now, but they still look like they did then, at least to me. We met in a park, nothing fancy, and brought our own lunches. Some of the girls have remained friends. We talked about what happened after I left and they told me about the trial and tribulations (and oh, the drama!) that they suffered. It was a lot of fun.

One of the girls, who I distinctly recall suffering the most from our horrible uniform which created incredibly unflattering tan lines, sat down next to me shortly after she arrived with her adorable nine-month-old in tow. She told me that the opening sleepover had really been an awesome thing for her since she didn't know the other girls and was nervous, and that I had been a great leader. That was the first time that someone has told me that something I did in high school mattered to them. It was incredibly sweet.

While I was unsure about the entire thing to begin with, I have to say I had a fabulous time. I ended up spending the rest of the day with my godchildren and their mother, which included teaching my 11-year-old goddaughter the boxstep (in heels) and how to curtsy. Overall, a really enjoyable day, rather unexpectedly.

Time with Sister

Proof that Oklahoma has hills.

I spent today and yesterday with my sister, her son, and her husband at their house. They've got 10 acres and it's just beautiful out there. They've got a large creek and pond, which floods their pastureland, but their house is on a hill so they don't have to worry about it flooding their home. Lots of trees and space for them to have a large vegetable patch.

Once she finished work today, we went to the coffee shop, which is a really cool locally owned place that outlasted Starbucks (and also made the best chai latte I've ever had) and chatted. It was nice to get to talk and relax - and the little man was an angel. We talked about perceptions and how meeting people does amazing things to change that. For example, anyone who went to Basic Training at Ft. Sill knows that Oklahoma is not flat. The three counties of the panhandle are, but the rest of it is foothills, mountains (little ones, but still mountains), and lots and lots of water (the most man made coastline in the country). The dirt, however, is red and will stain your clothes. That's true.

We also talked about the idea that exposure reduces the harsh opinions of other groups. People are people, whether they be straight people, gay people, black people, white people...I explained the idea in the gay community that if everyone were to come out to their families, it would go a long way in reducing the hate that comes with the unknown. It's so much harder to hate all gays when that includes your child. That doesn't make it easy, certainly, and I understand the fears. But Kellie seemed to get the concept and we talked about gay marriage and such.

I remember when my sister asked me how it's possible for it to be okay to be gay. She was in high school, barely, and encountering the issue for the first time. What she wanted to know was how to reconcile it with the Bible. I set her up with a dear friend of mine who answered her questions, someone who was gay and had studied the issue. Living with me in DC, she got her first exposure to members of the community, rather than just individuals. And she came out of it with an incredibly mature understanding that people are people and you have to love all people, you can't pick and choose. It makes me so very proud of her.

I admit, the winds do sweep down the plain...

We left New York Sunday night at 8 p.m. Around 4 a.m. on Tuesday, we pulled in to my parents' house in Shawnee. Loooooooong drive. Indy did great, managed to survive the entire drive despite my refusal to feed him and his tiny little space in the back seat (most of the back seat was luggage). Dalton also kicked butt. That little boy is not even 6 months old and he's traveled via car to New York and back. While teething. Kid's a pro. Well, more likely, he's an Eiland (no matter what his surname) since we are all champ travelers from infancy.

Since being here, I've inventoried my dad's shop, acquired about a dozen mosquito bites, remembered the joys of country living (specifically, naked hot tubbing in the middle of the day), and driven around town to see what has changed. I haven't lived here for 12 years, twice as long as I did live here, but it was nice to poke around the town. While driving downtown (we have a historic downtown that is both beautiful and depressing), the bat signal flashed from a window (seriously!) and I discovered that my town has a comic book shop. I went it, naturally, and they also sell used books. I found a bunch of Nora Roberts, which I will be acquiring, as well as a few gaming books I want to pick up. I will be back!

Mostly I've been decompressing. I'll start tackling my Honors Thesis next week as well as beginning to finalize arrangements for the next stage of moving, which happens in August. I have people to see. But right now, it's nice to relax (though it is weird living in my sister's old bedroom).