Stargazing

This weekend's full moon hangs lower in the sky than any other full moon of 2007, according to NASA, and it's a good time to be fooled.
When low on the horizon, the Moon can appear to be larger than when it's higher in the sky. It's all an illusion, scientists say, and it does not involve any enlarging effects of the atmosphere. Rather, it's all in your mind.
Here's how it works:
Our brains think things on the horizon are farther away than stuff overhead, because we're used to seeing overhead clouds that are close compared to those on the horizon. In the mind's eye, the sky is a flattened dome.
With this dome as a reference, we expect something on the horizon (such as the moon) to be father, and because it is actually no farther than when overhead, our brains goof and imagine that it is larger.
Skeptical? You can test this from home.
When the moon first rises, hold something small like the eraser of a pencil at arms length and compare its size to the moon on the horizon. Do the same a couple hours later when the moon is higher. Or try this: Take a picture of the moon in both positions, then cut, paste and compare. Another trick: Make a tube from rolled-up paper so the opening is just slightly larger than the moon when it rises. Tape the tube so the size stays fixed, then check later to see if the moon has changed sizes.
The big-moon-rising effect will be evident Friday, Saturday and Sunday. On each evening, the moon will appear nearly full. Interestingly, the moon is never fully full from our point of view, but that's another story.
While you're out, check out Venus and Saturn, which are snuggling close together in the western sky as darkness falls.

Flight Camp

The kids participated in Top Gun Flight Camp last week, and as part of the package, they are allowed to go on a one hour flight in a small aircraft. They are up in the air at this very moment, and of course I'm a nervous wreck. When I say they're flying, I don't mean they're sitting back enjoying the view - I mean, they're FLYING. Taking the controls. They practiced in simulators all last week, and of course the pilot is able to take control if necessary - so it should be fine. My good friend Angela and her husband John run the municipal airport and not only is John the pilot, their daughter (and Devon's good friend) Isabelle is along for the flight. They're going to Merrill and then to Antigo. Devon took the first leg and Rowan will fly the last, and I plan to take the video camera along to record their landing in about 25 minutes or so. Here are some photos from the takeoff!

Concerts on the Square

The Summer Series has officially started, with the first of 8 Concerts on the Square tonight. Now in it's 15th year (is that possible!?) the season has begun with my good friend John Greiner's band, Swing Shift. His wife Dana, also a good friend (not the one I went to Mexico with - different Dana!) sings with the group, performing big band style hits from the WW2 era. I love these Wednesday night shows. We pack a picnic, grab a bottle of wine, and head to the same spot we've been hitting for years. Every year the series grows. I took a panaoramic photo with my digital camera - though it's not the best lighting (we were in the shade by then) you can get an idea of how many people were there to enjoy the show. Debbie brought her "world famous" fruit kabobs, and I made paninis for everyone before we left home.
Next week there's no show with the 4th of July, but the week after John Greiner is back along with another good friend, John Altenburgh with their award winning group, Johnny and the Mo-Tones. Their current CD is number 4 on the national blues chart, and it should be a roaring good show.

New Car Stereo

I love my convertible Cabrio, but the stereo in the thing is terrible. It has a 6 CD changer in the trunk that sometimes plays, and sometimes does not. Plus, you can click forward on a CD but never backward. It's been a pain. So I finally bought a new car stereo today. Sound World is installing it for me on Monday afternoon, and I can't wait. I think it looks great - plus, it has a detachable face plate, rear outputs for my XM, and a front input for my ipod, so I can take my tunes with me when I'm on the move this summer!

Stories from the Weekend

It's been a good weekend here in Wausau, with plenty to do and great weather to do it in. Friday, Rowan went on an overnight mountain bike trip with his scout troop, so Devon and David and I went to the St. Anne's church festival. We ate and had a beer (well, root beer for Devon, that is), played some silly games and tried unsucessfully to win a cake. Saturday's weather was fantastic, so we headed up to Rib Mountain for the first in the summer Concert in the Clouds series. Featured this week was Minneapolis native Kathy Schlegel, whose bluegrass and acoustic rock was the perfect background for a gorgeous setting atop Rib. I brought along my favorite Pillar Red wine and was totally mellow by the time I got back home.
Today it's mid-80's, but we expect 90's by tomorrow. Devon had his first soccer practice of the season tonight (and ROASTED) but we all cooled off in the pool afterward.
In other news, DEVON MADE IT into the Choraliers, and will be singing with the group beginning in September. I can't tell you how excited he is! The letter came on Saturday! Not only that, but he got a call from the CVA asking if they could display two of his art pieces in the gallery for their next show, since he is a past student - so he's feeling pretty on top of the world.
The only thing marring the weekend was our sadness at having all our summer adventures without my father, who was always with us. He went to every festival, every concert - he loved them all. It isn't the same without him. Devon had a good time at St. Anne's - but after about an hour or so he suddenly burst into tears - saying it just wasn't the same without his BeBop. And truly, it wasn't. I took him home and we both cried the whole way back to the house.....just one of those nights.
I read something recently about grief in terms of it being a passive state.....grief is something that happens to you - but mourning is the process of dealing with the grief. I don't know when grief ends and mourning begins - but I know it's a slow process.

Rainy Days and the Blues

The storms finally arrived late this afternoon. I love to listen to the thunder, hear the rain on the roof, see the flashes of light. The winds have died down now, so I've opened my office windows to let the cool air in, and it feels great. It's the type of night that makes you want to light all the candles in the house, dim the lights, put on your favorite pajamas (hideous but comfortable), and pour yourself a drink (make it a double). So that's what I've done. Not, mind you, that this day has been exactly - well - perfect. The cleaning lady quit (nervous breakdown! go figure!), the phone didn't stop ringing all day, I tripped over the dog and smashed my now broken toe into a chair leg (idiot!), and got into an argument with my mother. But the last of the Stolichnya mixed well with the last of my garlic olives (bad breath for sure) and I'm feeling nice and mellow. Throw on some Thelonious Monk and I'll be groovy.

Get Out the Chalk.....

It's getting closer - Chalk Fest 2007 happens this year on July 7th and 8th.
The City Square in downtown Wausau will once again be transformed by artists and their colorful chalk drawings. This is the fourth year for this community event which is for artists of all ages and levels of ability to participate and for art lovers to observe and enjoy. Last year, Devon and I both entered drawings - he with an anime character, and I with a favorite Picasso reproduction. Of course we didn't win, but it was so much fun to participate. Looking forward to this year - we always meet interesting artists from all over the place, and it's an atmosphere of camraderie and artistic support, more so than you would expect. I have posted some of the photos from past festivals - such amazing artwork, all done in chalk. Now I just have to find the perfect pick for this year's entry - another Picasso? We'll see.

Simon

Thank goodness for second opinions.
After nearly throwing in the towel with Simon, I took him to another vet for a second opinion - one that came highly recommended. More blood work, more examinations, more head-scratching - until on a hunch they looked at a smear of his blood under a microscope, and Voila! - a parasite in his blood! It seems he is badly infected with a tick-borne parasite that is rapidly multiplying in his blood, causing the joint pain, malaise, severe weight loss, fever and more. The bad news is that he is acutely infected, more so than this vet has ever seen in a cat - but the good news is that the condition usually is treatable with doxycycline, which we started him on immediately. I again have hope that he's going to pull through this and once again be my curious cat who loves lying in sunny window wells and chasing his sister, Sasha.
Meanwhile, another gorgeous day here in central Wisconsin. A mama duck and thirteen ducklings were crossing the road in front of our house - very cute.

Wednesday

Today was my day off, and thanks to a bit of beautiful weather I really enjoyed myself. Getting up early, I bummed around downtown on my scooter, hitting my favorite coffee shop, Allister Deacon's - then getting some new reads from the library. Afterward, I stopped at our Wednesday farmer's market which was brimming with fresh, locally grown produce, and picked up the few items I needed to make dinner tonight - some fresh tomatoes, basil, cucumbers, and strawberries picked this morning. I love the farmer's market - for ten bucks I had a full basket including a bunch of flowers for my table. Then, much of the day was spent reading in my pool lounger. The kids were up north so it was unusually quiet today.
The day was marred only by the deterioration of Simon, my cat - who has again taken a turn for the worse. Now he's not using the litterbox - and it's awful. I had his records faxed to a different vet for a second opinion and will take him there on Friday. I just cannot accept that my formerly robust two year old cat has something we can't fix. I love my animals - so this is just devastating for me and for the kids. I don't understand how, if it's leukemia, the antibiotics would have initially helped - that doesn't make sense. But we'll see on Friday.

Get out the ALOE

Ouch! Five days in Mexico and I didn't have a sunburn - but give me two or three hours in the pool and I'm lobster red. Cripes!
The weather was gorgeous today and I truly appreciated having the pool and deck. One of those perfect weather days. Summer in Wisconsin can be beautiful, but the colors don't seem as bright this year without my dad.
The cat started eating again today. He hadn't eaten in almost a week and was all skin and bones....collar hanging from his tiny little neck....but finally I'm seeing marked improvement in his behavior. Not the curious cat quite yet, but he's doing more than lying on the chaise lounge refusing food.....so I have to say I'm guardedly hopeful that he may in fact have the systemic infection rather than the cancer. Time will tell, and I'm keeping my fingers crossed for a full recovery.
Meanwhile, I sat down over the weekend and mapped out our finances. My goal this summer is to trim the budget any way I can. Instead of buying books this summer (my two a week habit) - I'm hitting the library. Not buying books will save a bibliophile like me nearly $300 this summer alone. I'm considering giving up my Blackberry and switching to a normal phone without the $40 a month data charge. For a week, I'm planning to keep track of how much I actually USE the Blackberry's features, and whether it's fiscally responsible - or just another luxury for the tech geek that I am. And, whenever it's not raining and I'm going anywhere alone, I'm taking my moped - a 2006 Yamaha Vino Classic I bought last year that boasts 100 miles per gallon. And no more car washes - I can do that myself!
Why the change? After spelling out how much I make vs. how much I spend - it's ridiculous that I can't be farther ahead in paying off the house or the car. Time to save the money for the really important stuff.
The photos here are the boys playing instruments during their end of year program, all of us (including my brother David) at the Holy Name festival having the first cheese curds of the season, and Devon holding Sasha, the sister of the cat who is sick.

Summertime, Summertime

After an admittedly long hiatus, I am back to posting. David and the kids and I went on the first cookout of the season Memorial Day weekend - David was trying to teach Rowan how to grill properly! We had a good time at Marathon Park in Wausau.
Summer vacation began Wednesday afternoon and we have all breathed a collective sigh of relief. Looking forward to long, hot summer days and getting into the pool. But the summer began on a sour note, as our beloved cat Simon has fallen ill with what we now believe to be leukemia. We are still hoping it's a massive system infection that can be cured, but as the days pass and the antibiotics are failing to make a difference, that seems less likely. Then, on Thursday night, we found our little guinea pig, Cheddar, dead in her cage.
Not a good week for small animals around the Flynn household, I'm afraid.
On a brighter note Devon has tried out for the Wausau Conservatory Choraliers, a singing groupu that he is interested in perforning with, and we are anxiously awaiting a letter in the mail to tell him whether he is in our out. I think he has great potential.....but then, I'm awfully biased!