first snow

we got up this morning to the first snow and went right out before breakfast.

hand/eye update

Hennie has been spending more and more time engrossed in her drawing tablets and we're really excited about everything she does. She seems to get a lot of satisfaction out of it and can spend long uninterrupted stretches in concentration. She's also started to draw objects while sitting in front of them, looking back and forth from her paper and trying to really draw what she sees. I'm sure that most or all of this is probably common, but we think its all brilliant.

from bottom to top, according to hennie's explanation:
the floor, the radiator and the bookshelf/nightstand next to it (w/ rectangular opening), the CD/DVD player sitting on top of that (with the large round volume knob), and the LCD screen (w/ side-mounted speakers) hung on the wall above.

a Giraffe jumping on a trampoline. a spider is sitting on his back.

this she did whie we were all sitting in the girls room yesterday drawing. Mette is as happy to make marks as Hennie so far. I was drawing Mette.* Hennie did this when I left the room briefly. She wanted to make sure that Hege & I understood that she'd remembered to draw the single pigtail Mette always wears on the top of her head.

*hennie's was better.

ER

This was a long, pretty awful night. But all in all, it went really smoothly and we were very happy with all the doctors and how good both girls were throughout. Mette was fairly severely dehyrdated, according to the bloodwork, so we stayed until about 2AM getting an IV drip. We were afraid that we'd have to admit her to the hospital and stay for much of the following day as well, but she responded incredibly well and quickly to the fluids and the doctor was comfortable to let her go home. I took Hennie and Mother over to Johnny's house and they got to bed at 11 or so - it was an adventure to Hennie. The other cases in the ER that night, all documented via easy eavesdropping across privacy curtains:

1. a 14 yr. old girl who'd been kicked in the ribs by an intruder in her home while her mother was out (AT THE EMERGENCY ROOM) with her grandmother. Her entire extended family were surrounding her and the doctors were carefully trying to extract as much detailed information from her as if they were detectives. When they took her away for x-rays, there was a big family discussion that immediately agreed that the girl was probably fabricating the entire story. She was a wild child and frequently caught in elaborate lies. After agreeing on this and expressing annoyed concern, they fell into a fantasticlly casual stream of consciousness conversation which went from descriptions of each of their cell phone plans, which dogs in their neighborhoods would attack without provocation, their dream Living Room Furniture Suites, to nostalgic Christmas memories. One held court for quite a while about how Christmas didn't smell as good as it used to when she was a child. She said she missed the smell of wood and apples, which were now totally absent from all their christmas houses. and she recalled the favorite pies her mother used to make:
Chess Pie (also a tradition in our family), Buttermilk Pie, and, incredibly , something she called "Jelly Pie".

2. a teenager who had a gunshot wood to the foot. It had happened previously and he was in because of swelling or some other aggrevating problem. I first assumed it was a hunting accident, but the doctor and he and his mother began discussing the history of the wound in very hushed tones that aroused my suspicisions as to stupidity or foul play. I never found out the details.

3. a stocky redneck guy, shorter than me, with some kind of pro-wrestling t-shirt on walked in and sat on the exam table next to hennie before the doctor slid the curtain closed and asked him why he was there. He was sheepish and said he'd probably been bitten by a spider or something and thought it was time to have "somebody take a look at this". The doctor asked him when, and he said , "I don't know, about 2 days ago. I put a ice-pack on it for 2 nights but i done got up this morning and said I better go on and come in and let somebody look at this thing." So the doctor, who's drawl was actually identical to the patient, said, with a hint of curiousity: "Oh, well, allrightthen, lemme take a looka that then." there was a moment of shuffling and then an immediate exhale: "Daaamn, you ain't kidding. When did you say you think this happened?" "'bout 2 days ago." "and you been draining like this at home?" so obviously, the guy had been bitten by a black widow and had a hole in him that was rapidly growing and 'draining" the doctor hastily went and came with some kind of plumbing assistance, which he 'installed' with a lot of bemused grunting . he said that he thought the 'thing' was drainin' pretty darn good on its own, but he'd go ahead and put in the tube. the patient sat alone for quite a while behind the curtain trying to stay quiet but making constant gasps at pain control and discomfort.

kids museum

We went into Monroe one day with Mette becoming rapidly dehydrated (though we didn't know that yet), and, after both kids throwing up all over themselves and the car, and in a restauarant (which we had to leave before ordering), we finally made it to the Children's Museum. Despite her look, Mette had a good time.

There was a Kids Cafe in the Museum which had a dining area with tables, a maitre 'd station w/ telephone that would periodically ring (to make reservations), and a diner-like lunch counter with coffee makers and elaborate menus on the walls (w/ prices). The kitchen was fully stocked with little wooden ovens, stoves, sinks, washing machines and cooking tools and dining utensils. The group of kids there that day understood it immediately and started working together to take their parents orders, run to answer the phone, prepare the food and serve it, and bus the tables and clean the dishes. There was a rack of chef's aprons and hats for them. It was hilarious. They handed us a menu and Hege ordered tacos. I ordered pizza. Mother ordered fish. We also asked for bagels and choclate cake, all of which were listed on the color menus. Hennie and the other kids ran back to the kitchen and quickly came back with plates for everyone with the exact orders. It was hilarious - almost amazing how well they acted every aspect of their roles.

Mette serving Coffee at the diner.

This was a large metal ring which pulled a giant bubble up around the person standing in the middle. I'm pulling a rope, which isn't visible in the picture.

milinary moment at the breakfast counter in Mother's living room.

even more thanksgiving

This is the rope bridge that runs from their deck across to the next lot. Its rotten now and we don't walk on it.

Hennie & Durwood in the yard

We spent a lot of time around the chiminea feeding a fire that was started at breakfast and burned until we finished our last bottle of wine at night

Mother & Durwood had a few binoculers in which Hennie was extremely interested. She had to take a second look at almost everything, no matter how close we were, or even if we were outside or not.

We took mette for a short walk to some of the neighboring property before sunset one day. this is an area that obviously floods easily and often.

cypress tree

again, the colors are hard to capture, but it was muted and beautiful.

more thanksgiving

Mette was starting to get sick on the second day of the stay, so Hege stayed at the house with her while we took a boat ride down the Ouachita.

If Durwood tried to speed up, Hennie would yell at him to slow down because it scared her. She's old enough now to enjoy the boat and we spent most of the time cruising slowly along the riverbanks and trying to get close enough to turtles to catch one. (this would never happen)

we stopped at a sandbar and got out to explore while Durwood did a few laps to open up the engine and get his speed fix.

(Technically in Luna)

We got into Monroe on Thanksgiving day, after some delays in Memphis and after Mette had a diaper explosion (we were on a small, 30-seat turboprop plane and couldn't change her). We drove out to the house about 40 minutes or so out into West Monroe (technically in Luna, I think). It was beautiful, and warm most of the day. The colors this time of year are hard to get accurate in a photo, but its beautiful and quiet. especially out in the woods on a bend in the river where Mother and Durwood live.

Down the road from them are a couple who live on a large clay cliff bank. They raised or kept as pets: turkeys, chickens & roosters, 2 large angry geese, a large hog that their son-in-law had found in the woods, and of course dogs. There was also a large koi pond filled with bass-sized goldfish. Hennie especially loved it and we had a nice afternoon down there. We'd drive from the house to the chicken coops and around in the back of Durwoods pickup truck and Hennie got so happy at one point she jumped up, threw her arms around me and said "I love you and mama so much" and gave me a kiss.

fattening up

hennie on the bank of the Ouachita River

on the (short) drive back to the house we stopped at a cane grove and cut enough to use as skewers for hotdogs, shrimp and marshmellows (not all on the same kebob) which we roasted over a fire that night for dinner.

before Thanksgiving

Both have been pretty compulsive about drawing and I bring all my extra, outdated, or wasted drawing sets home from work to keep them stocked with paper. Hennie is wearing a wool cap that Hege just finished knitting for her.


Mette at the art table.


after a long bath, waiting to get a new diaper, pajamas and to go to bed.