October is a busy month

So busy that I do not have time to blog! I just couldn't resist one quick post, though. This is a really busy month in Ridgecrest. The weather is delightful and thus absolutely everything is scheduled for this month. The weekend after the Gem-O-Rama there was something called the Maturango Junction, which I didn't understand, so we didn't go, but I guess it was quite the thing (whatever it was). This past Thursday, Rocket Boy and I hired a babysitter and attended a meeting of the Searles Lake Gem & Mineral Society (the folks who put on the Gem-O-Rama) and heard a young woman talk about her archaeological research in the area. Friday night was a Plotting and Planning meeting for the Ridgecrest NaNoWriMo group (more about that later). This weekend was the Desert Empire Fair, kind of like a county fair, out at the fairgrounds. On Saturday we and the babies parked ourselves at the corner of Norma and Ridgecrest Blvd to watch the Desert Empire Fair parade go by, and then that night we went to the actual fair for an hour, saw cows and pigs and goats up close, and shared a Funnel Cake -- a first for all four of us!

And of course Halloween is coming. This afternoon we attended a pumpkin-carving party at the home of one of RB's work friends. I had been a little iffy about going, since I have so much to do, but I don't like to turn down opportunities for socializing, since we have so few. It turned out to be not only pleasant company, but also extremely useful, as I got 2 pumpkins carved! They're out in our backyard now. The babies like to carry them around.

But the main thing taking my time these days is costume construction. Why on earth did I think it was a good idea to make costumes for the babies instead of buying them? I hadn't sewed anything in years and years and years -- how many years? Ten? Fifteen? Did I sew anything the entire time I lived in Colorado? And here I am making a bear costume and a mouse costume. It is October 25, or rather, it is 7 minutes into October 26, and the bear costume is ALMOST but NOT QUITE done, and the mouse costume is not even cut out. My sister told me to think of it as a term paper that I need to stay up all night to finish at the last minute. It is a lot like that, actually. Tonight RB decided to help, and he got the mouse costume all pinned to the fabric but not cut out. I might cut some of it out tomorrow afternoon, that is, if I actually finish the bear costume. The head of the bear costume is so adorable but we think it may be too small. I am going to try it on Baby B tomorrow, and if it's too small, I'll have to make another one. Or cry. Or both.

We were planning to go to Los Angeles for Halloween but now we're thinking we'll stay here, because one of our cats is very ill (in the hospital on IV fluids). The day after Halloween, November 1st, we'll go to LA for my grand-niece and grand-nephew's family birthday party. That day is also the first day of NaNoWriMo, which means that after we get home and put the babies to bed, I'll have to sit down and write 1667 words of a novel. But at least the costumes will be done.

Rocks

A few days ago, on a walk, I was thinking that one of the good things about Ridgecrest is the large number and variety of available rocks. Everywhere you go there are rocks. This is not something that would have impressed me a few years ago. Rocket Boy is a rock enthusiast (that's the "geo" in his geophysics background), but not me. But as I have mentioned before, the babies really like rocks, so it is nice to be able to provide them so readily. As we walk along, if a baby cries, I can reach down and pick up a rock for him. Sometimes we come home from a walk with a stroller full of rocks. Sometimes we go out with a stroller full of rocks from our yard and redistribute them as we walk.

Today we had the opportunity to interact with even more rocks. It is the weekend of the Gem-O-Rama (see http://www1.iwvisp.com/tronagemclub/GEM-O-RAMA.htm), put on every year by the Searles Lake Gem & Mineral Society in Trona (about 25 miles northeast of us). It is a huge event, with thousands of people converging on this sad little town. The highlight of the weekend is the three "field trips" to collect minerals. We decided to go on the Blow Hole field trip, which cost $10/car. The goal of this trip is to collect crystals that are found 30-50 feet below the surface of the salt flats. A few days before the field trip, the organizers dig little holes in the ground, put dynamite in them and blast deep holes, and then they put hoses down into the holes and blow out the contents.

The trip was to start at 2:30 pm. We arrived in "downtown" Trona a little after 2pm, and were directed to park near the front of line 14 in parking lot 2. There were about 15 cars in each line, and maybe 20 lines in each parking lot? Anyway, a lot of cars. Even though we didn't have long to wait, it was too long. The temperature was only in the 80s, but the sun was just fierce, and of course it was shining right on Baby A. And we couldn't move the car. And Baby A wouldn't let us hang a towel up to block the sun. He screamed and screamed. I rolled up all the windows, turned on the car and the air conditioning, and kept checking my watch.

Finally at 2:30 the cars started driving to the site, first all the cars in line 1, then line 2.... finally we got to go too. When we got to the salt flats, we parked, put the babies in the hiking stroller, and wandered over to the area where the blow holes had spewed their contents, already completely overrun with frantic rockhounds, all digging digging digging in the mud and salt and brine. It was quite a sight. Everywhere you looked -- and walked -- there were crystals. It was like being in a very muddy fairy tale. The crystals were hanksite and borax and halite, but it was easy to imagine that they were rubies and emeralds and sapphires.

The babies were not at their happiest -- hadn't had good naps -- but the strangeness of the scene calmed them down. After pushing them around the perimeter of the digging area, we parked the stroller and let them get out and explore. We had brought their sand buckets, and it was fun to watch them collecting rocks. Baby B collected some rocks and then dumped them on the ground. Baby A, however, filled his bucket.

At 4pm they blew another hole, as a demonstration. It was quite a sight. When it was through blowing, everyone rushed forward to dig through what had been deposited. Everyone except us. We went back to the car, scraped the mud off our shoes and the stroller wheels, and headed home. With our rocks.

A shopping trip

Yesterday (Sunday) we went shopping. We wanted to go to Bed Bath & Beyond, JoAnn Fabrics, and Whole Foods. Since none of those stores are anywhere near us, we drove to Los Angeles. And thus began a typical Ridgecrest shopping day.

We left the house at 10am, after spending an hour or so getting ready -- packing up everything the twins could possibly need (plus more), filling the back of the car with recycling (and the double stroller), changing diapers (and again). We filled the gas tank and were officially on the road at 10:07. A little over 2 hours and exactly 142 miles later we found ourselves at the Bed Bath & Beyond in Canoga Park.

You know, it's a nice store, but 142 miles? We bought two boards with rows of hooks on them, one for the entryway and one for the bedroom. Next door was a Carters store, where I spent almost $100 on sleepers and shirts and socks for the little ones.

We had lunch at a Coco's. The babies ate pancakes, scrambled eggs, and fruit. Rocket Boy and I both had quiche. The waitress was very nice, gave us lots of napkins and generally seemed to know what we would need.

Shopping trips always seem to include visits to family and friends, just as visits to family and friends always include shopping. It just seems like we can't drive that far just to go to a couple of stores/can't drive that far and NOT go to a couple of stores. Next stop was our friend Chris's new house. Chris and his wife were not home, they were on vacation, but we wanted to see their house. It took us a while to find it. RB got out of the car and knocked on the door, just for show. Then we visited Cousin June and her family, and spent a couple of hours there.

At 4:40 pm we headed for JoAnn Fabrics. I had wanted to buy material for Halloween costumes, but it was just too late for such complicated shopping. The babies were tired, I was tired, and it was a terrible store, hard to find anything. RB managed to buy a piece of velcro.

Then it was off to the Whole Foods in Northridge, which we eventually tracked down after quite a bit of wandering. I bought 4 boxes of my favorite cereal, a jug of Planet laundry detergent, grapes, muffins, and a few other little things. Unfortunately they were not accepting any recycling other than CRV items, so we had to bring all our recycling home with us (should have put it in Cousin June's bin, but forgot).

By then it was past 6pm. We got on the highway and drove for an hour to Lancaster, where we found a Carrow's (which is almost identical to Coco's). By now it was after 7pm, and I had the idea that we needed to eat dinner. Baby B had fallen asleep in the car and we had to wake him up. We carried the babies into the restaurant, got them settled in high chairs. They both began to cry. We ordered dinner, which took ages to arrive. The waitstaff were not helpful. To pass the time I took Baby A to the restroom and changed his diaper (no changing table, so I did this on the floor), took Baby B on a walk around the restaurant, and finally knelt on the floor between their two highchairs, put my hands on their backs and begged them to stop crying. The restaurant was not crowded, but there was a woman, eating alone, seated very near us, and a couple on the other side of the room. The food arrived: an omelet for RB, a turkey sandwich for me, chicken nuggets and fruit for the babies. The babies ate some grapes, Baby B ate some of my turkey and a couple of my fries. My turkey sandwich was on a croissant. Every time I took a bite, the entire contents of the sandwich fell out. Over and over I put the turkey, cheese, avocado, lettuce, and tomato, back inside the croissant and took another bite. Blurp went the contents onto my plate. Baby A threw some chicken on the floor. I sat there eating french fries, wondering if we would ever get home.

We made it home by 9:30pm and put the babies to bed immediately. Baby A cried as if his heart would break, but we couldn't figure out why.

Living in Ridgecrest, one often finds oneself posing the question: is shopping worth it?

October is the wonderfullest month

I just love October -- even in Ridgecrest! My Weight Watchers leader said that October is the best month in Ridgecrest, and I believe her. It is so wonderful to feel the crisp cool air after that long long long hot horrible summer. I'd say the only downside so far is that we've turned off the swamp cooler and immediately my skin dried out. I need to start using lotion again. I wash my hands about 50,000 times a day, due to changing diapers and doing dishes and whatnot, and my fingertips are starting to feel really scratchy.

If I were in Boulder I'd be sad, because Clifford's big oak tree would be turning color and he wouldn't be there to see it, and I wouldn't be able to carve him a jack-o-lantern as I've done for the past several years. At least I don't have to think of him being lonely in Boulder without us and without a pumpkin. He's moved on.

Today was Flex Friday, so Rocket Boy and I took the babies to daycare together and then went out to lunch, as is our wont. As we were driving, we had a huge argument about Rancho Cucamonga. One of RB's coworkers thinks I should move to Rancho Cucamonga and RB could live in Ridgecrest during the week and visit me and the boys on weekends. I said, "I don't want to live in Rancho Cucamonga!!! Why would anyone want to live in Rancho Cucamonga?!!!" I found myself attempting to defend Ridgecrest and failing just as utterly as letter writers to the Daily Independent do. "Rancho Cucamonga doesn't have mountains nearby!" (Actually I think it does.) "Rancho Cucamonga doesn't have nice places to walk!" (How do I know?) "Rancho Cucamonga is hot!" (What was my point?)

I actually know nothing about Rancho Cucamonga except that we went to a wedding there a few years ago, in August, and it was hot. But I don't want to live there.

I swear Ridgecrest is growing on me. Like a fungus.

After dinner tonight we took a walk, even though it was getting dark. The moon was ALMOST full. I sang moon songs: "Oh in the moonlight, I want to hold somebody's hand," and "I see the moon, the moon sees me, the moon sees the one I want to see." I also discovered that I can ALMOST recite "Goodnight Moon" by heart.

You probably couldn't even see the moon in Rancho Cucamonga, too smoggy or foggy or something. It probably isn't even October there.