Stuff, some of it disturbing

I am with Light now in Pennsylvania. It's good to be here, good to see her. We'll go see her art exhibit tomorrow evening... in the snow, evidently. Right now it's sunny and pretty here, but it's supposed to get very cold and wet, beginning with rain in the early hours tomorrow, but staying above freezing  most of the day. By night, though, it's supposed to change to snow. Then I leave the day after, in ice and snow it looks like. I'll be driving to the Bloggerpalooza in Lewes, DE on Thursday. Looks like I'll need to add a couple of hours to my drive time for this weather. I think this is the system the Weather Channel is calling Vulcan. OK, just looked at the report and this part of PA will only get light snow. But what about the water that falls before the freeze? East of here, and into DE won't be affected, snow-wise, so maybe it'll be OK.

And I'm super-duper looking forward to the Bloggerpalooza, even though the man who SHOULD be with me is back at home dealing with shit. I'll get to that in a minute. He and I are both really pissed that he could not come this time.

So, the shit at home concerns Sproing this time. He had his follow-up court appearance today, his chance before the judge after spending a few weeks (5, I think it was) in the evaluation center, what I like to call "jail lite." The DJJ office and the attorney recommended that he be put on probation, with the understanding that if he violated probation at all he'd be put back into DJJ custody for the remainder of his term. But no, not this judge. As Superman said, he got the hangin' judge today. She sent his ass to jail for 9 months. I am upset. Superman is upset. Sproing is beside himself. Superman said he was crying when they took him away. He'll be back at the eval center for a few weeks (60 days, but probably less) then be put into "placement." Don't know what placement means. The nice lady from DJJ said that could mean anything from foster care to group home to "I'd like to vacation here." So we'll see. He'll be subject to random drug tests, be enrolled in whatever school is available where he's placed, and maybe some other stuff but I can't remember what else Superman read to me.

Sproing has been doing so much better recently. He definitely learned that he doesn't want to go back to jail after his first stint in the jail lite. I really hope he doesn't become bitter and harder from this. It might work to his advantage, you know. He might learn a very valuable lesson and become a better person, etc. I can hope.

Why don't they do this with Diva?? She's the one who really needs to get the hell out of the home. She has some charges pending, but no news yet on when she'll go to court. I hope she gets this same judge, though. I'd love for her to be sent away. Maybe something like this would improve her attitude, too.

Anyway, I'm pretty upset about Sproing being sent away. And I'm upset about Diva still being at home. Actually, right  now I'm just kinda upset. Think I'll go sew for a while, listen to some happy music, and try to chill.

P.S. I had a fantastic road trip yesterday. Left home at 4 a.m. and drove for about 13 hours to get to Light's place. Had a really good trip, listened to some awesome music, didn't use a map or directions or anything and got here MAKING NO WRONG TURNS AT ALL!!!! I'm particularly proud of that. I will need directions to Lewes, though, because I don't know how to get there from here. The directions are printed out and attached to an official looking clipboard in my truck. I'll let you know how it goes.

INTERWEBZ!!

OMG y'all, it's the Internet! I haven't been online since Monday, and on Monday I forgot to post. I got so wrapped up in email that I spaced a post. Sorry. Before Monday I hadn't been online since the previous Wednesday. Holy crap, y'all. That's a long time!

I'm on the homeward leg of my trip. OMG I have had a fantastic time. I camped. There are pictures.

Today is the longest day of the year. Taking full advantage of that, I woke up at 4:30 this morning to break camp and head out. Left the campground around 6, iirc, and headed east to St. Johnsbury, VT. Strange name. Pretty town. Got gas and caffeinated coffee!! First caffeine I've had for days! It was utterly thrilling!! I still feel buzzed from it. OK, not really. I feel buzzed from being over-tired. I drove through a bunch of New Hampshire then into Maine, down the center (or something - not the coast) to New Hampshire again, because one must go through New Hampshire to get to Massachusetts from Maine. So I did. I got as far as Southington, Connecticut.

OMG, y'all, I haven't told you about Skippy yet! He's Skippy the Wander Bear. Because he goes with me when I wander. I got him in North Carolina in a little shop on the Blue Ridge Parkway. Here he is in the truck when we got to the campground in Vermont. He's excited about it, but it's hard to tell. This is the mess of my truck after approximately 10 days on the road. Skippy is very patient with me. He makes an excellent traveling companion. I can talk to him and he doesn't argue with me.

Although I didn't have access to the interwebz, I did take notes. I've got lots of stuff written in a little notebook, mostly the kind of things I'd write here if I could. Since I wrote down the info about Skippy, I forgot that I hadn't actually told you for real. I'll get back to that (I hope), transcribing (or interpreting) my notes into blog posts. I'll tell you then how Skippy got his name. Waffle House is involved.

My mind is all over the place. Beer is a contributing factor, but I was pretty crazy before I had my first. I've only just started on my second. I'd better hurry and write before I get to my third, because I have no idea what kind of foolishness will spill out from there.

Tonight's selections include Third Shift and Samuel Adams' Irish Red. Happiness ensues.

You wanna see the conestoga? I made sure to take pictures this morning before I took it down.

How groovy is that? From another perspective, how redneck (hick, podunk, hillbilly, white trash, bootleg) is that? WTF, I like it. I mentioned in the last post that I hadn't figured what to do about the sides. Well, I got an inspiration at the Black and Blue store (Red White and Blue thrift store in Pittsburgh, but I like to call it Black and Blue because it's fun and it irritates Light). Shower curtains!! They already have holes in them for hangin' and they're about the right length. Two of the three I got are extremely light weight. And I think they are all pretty. Put together with that crazy plaid, it all looks, well, bootleg, but what the fuck. Maybe one day I'll get it all color coordinated, but if not, what the hell? 

Here's the rundown of the trip so far. I went first to Indiana, PA to visit Light. There is more to say about that, but for now I'll say I had a lovely time. I was there from ... Saturday to Friday (6/8 to 6/14). Then I drove to Troy, New York to visit Breen Acres (Sean and Jeffrey). I was there until Tuesday 6/18. Man, what fun!! Of course I also saw Harvey Milk and Rita Mae Brown. They are the stars of the show, no doubt. I had a truly marvelous time visiting the Breens. 

On Tuesday I went to Vermont. I've been fascinated with Vermont for a while. Superman researched the state for a story he wrote, and he is pretty fascinated with the place as well. I wish he could have been with me. I drove from the capital district of New York to Bennington, VT, then hit highway 7 north to Rutland, Middlebury, and Burlington. I hung a southeast out of Burlington on highway 2 to Montpelier. From there I continued on US 2 to Groton Forest Road (called New Discovery Rd on Google Maps, but whatever). The campground where I stayed is called Groton Forest Rd Campground, so we'll call the road Groton Forest Road. OK? It's a small privately owned campground. Simple, but with nice facilities. Definitely functional and handy. I set up between two very nice camper trailers. Oh, yeah, I looked very hillbilly. I'll let you know if I start to give a shit about that. 

Did you get to see tonight's full moon? Actually, I think it's maybe a day short of full, but close enough. The sky here is very clear and the moon is awesome. How cool is it that the Summer Solstice coincides with a full moon? Very. 

I'm at the Days Inn in Southington, CT tonight. Skippy says that camping is fun and all, but Hey! Hotel rooms are really nice! 

Beer #2 is gone, and I've been awake and active for approximately 19 hours. Since I'd like to get to Virginia tomorrow, sleep would be an excellent idea right about now. 

There is more to say, but you will have to wait. 

Oh, except this one thing. Ur-Spo, I drove through Tewksbury today! No rats were consumed. *N.B. Massachusetts spells the town "Tewksbury" whereas England adds an "e": Tewkesbury. Not sure how rats are involved, but I suspect it's a rather sordid affair. 

(Just realized that today I've been to every state in New England except Rhode Island. Is that why I'm tired?)

Finally on my own! (for a little while)

I am writing this from the most adorable coffee shop called The Cathedral Cafe in downtown Fayetteville, West Virginia. I am staying in Babcock State Park in southeast West Virginia in the cutest little rustic cabin. It's a one room cabin with full kitchen, bunk double beds (low clearance) and a lovely screened porch. I took pictures until my camera batteries died. Batteries are on my list of things to get today while I'm out. The cabin has a small (and I mean small) bathroom tacked on as if an afterthought. It has a small shower stall, a low toilet, and a small sink that I wash my face in while sitting on the toilet. Convenient, no? 

On my list of things to do today: go to this café, enjoy the stained glass windows and coffee, and get online! (Except right now the internet connection has gone flunky, so I’m typing this on a word doc until I can hook up again.) I also need to find a laundromat. I stopped at the library in here in Fayetteville to inquire about a laundromat. Nope. No such creature in this town. The nice library man gave me directions to a laundromat in Oak Hill, about five miles down the highway. It’s across the street from a Rite Aid, which is cool because I need one of those too.

I got myself some healthy food at the grocery when I tumbled into town on Tuesday. Or maybe I went Wednesday morning after a good night sleep since I got to the cabin at 8:00 p.m. I don’t remember, honestly. I fixed myself a grilled chicken salad last night, grilling the chicken on the charcoal grill outside my cabin beside the picnic table. Cool beans! Tonight I intend to have a veggie burger (grilled: see above). There’s leftover salad for lunch, or to accompany the burger. I also have plans for an omelet with mushrooms, onions, and tomato.

I leave tomorrow (Friday). Heading back home, where I will once again be reunited with Superman. He and I are both looking forward to that. Before coming to West Virginia I was in Indiana, Pennsylvania with my darling Light. Tuesday was her 23^rd birthday. I was there that morning, left shortly after noon. It was very good to see her.

The ostensible reason for this trip is to take Sproing to Pennsylvania to spend a couple of weeks with his sister Light, away from his sister Diva. Which I did. Sproing and I left South Carolina on Saturday, July 7^th and headed south to Florida. Saw Mama in the Orlando area, my brother Mike came down to hang with us Sunday. On Tuesday Sproing and I went to Gainesville to see my dad and brother. We left there … Thursday? I can’t remember exactly. It took us two days to get from Gainesville, Florida to Indiana, Pennsylvania. By the time we got to Light’s place Sproing and I had traveled together 1700 miles. That’s a loooooooong way to spend in the car with a hyperactive 14 year old!!! We were both tired of being with each other by the time we got to Light’s place.

I am an introvert. We’ve had this discussion before, I believe. That means I like to spend time alone. From the 7^th until the 17^th of July I was in almost constant contact with Sproing. I love the kid, and usually like him pretty well. But my gods! He’s high energy and high maintenance. Light is also a joy to be with, but after so many many many days of not having any alone time I was going bugnuts! As much as I love that girl, I was very glad to leave. I’ve been alone almost constantly since I left her place Tuesday afternoon. Relief!

From all accounts Sproing and Light are doing well together. I set Sproing up with a short term guest membership at the fitness center where Light goes. He spends lots of time over there! He really likes it. When I went to see him there Tuesday morning he was doing drills with one of the guys who works there. They seem to have taken a liking to him, and I believe he’s doing very well. He wants more money so he can join some kind of class there. Light is working with him on that. I left her money to help with his expenses. She’s bribing him daily with an allowance that’s tied to his behavior. She’s such a smart girl.

On the home front, Diva is behaving perfectly for her daddy. Pisses me off, though I’m glad she’s being easy for Superman. Superman himself is doing pretty well. He got sick yesterday, finally. Seems to be some kind of short viral thing. He always gets sick when I leave him. This time he lasted 2.5 weeks before getting sick! I’m so impressed. And this is the longest I’ve ever been away from him, if I recall. It’s hard on him. I’m having a blast, though I miss him. When I’m the one who is away, I don’t have trouble. When he’s gone and I’m at home, I don’t do so well. Especially if he leaves me with those wicked children. Poor guy. I go home tomorrow. I miss him a lot. I wish he could be here with me. We’d have lots of fun in the state park. I think he’d like the cabin, mostly. The low clearance on the bed would be troublesome. He’s a tall fella. I told him that we need to come back in the fall, just the two of us, and get a cabin for a long weekend. Or a whole week! We could get one of the cabins that isn’t so rustic and maybe has a bed that isn’t stacked.

I’m rambling. Again. And I need to do my laundry and get back to the cabin for lunch. So I’m off. Suppose I’ll post again when I get home, probably over the weekend. I expect to be home late tomorrow, as I want to check out another cute town in the other direction from the park on my way out of West Virginia.

I must say, West Virginia sure is beautiful. It has a bad reputation for some things, for sure, but it is one of the most beautiful places I’ve ever been. 

Daily frustration

I miss Pennsylvania. I miss the climate, mostly. It's very hot and humid here. Hot and humid is incredibly uncomfortable.

And I'm irritable today. I had a whole week away from Diva and Sproing, but I'm back with them again. They drain the umph out of me. I don't like younger teenagers. I'm often fond of older teens, like 18 and 19 years old, especially if they aren't my own children. These 13-year-olds are driving me over the edge.

After I woke up from my nap Saturday I drove Twitch back to Charlotte, NC. Sproing came with. We had a pleasant drive. I like driving. Sproing likes traveling. As much as he and I fuss with each other, a road trip with him is usually pleasant. We stopped at the IHOP on Cox (say it out loud) Road in Gastonia, NC for supper and I had jizz pancakes again. Love those things. They seem to taste better at the IHOP on Cox.

I miss being in school. I miss working on my art, working with clay. I could do it, but I don't. Why not? I don't know. I've got some clay that is my very own at the studio at school. I have special permission to work in there. But I stay home to keep the kids from killing each other. Or whatever other excuse might work. Perhaps tomorrow morning I'll go over there and work for a few hours. I should. I need it.

Meh. That's all I'm going to talk about today. Unless I think of something else and add an update or something.