The Commune: Reproducing?

Dear Commune Followers,

The following post was written the second week in June, so please forgive the references to warm weather, sunshine, porch-sitting, gardening and outdoor sports... Enjoy!

So, one of the odder things my dad said last weekend when he and my mom came  to visit and see Flashdance's dance recital was this: "Civilizations in  crisis tend to reproduce." Well. We've got some good news here. We're NOT reproducing, as in procreating. Instead, we've picked up an associate member. See "Grownup Update."

Grown Up Update: Kat's still getting nibbles in her job search, which is awesome. She even got a local phone number! That's a big step and counters the nightmare I had last night where she sat me down and said "We're moving back." Whew! We do daily potato checks together to see how the vegetable garden's growing. We even split (with John, too) the two sugar snap peas we harvested.

John's on his way to Iowa to see family for his grandmother's memorial. I'm more than a little bummed that I couldn't go with him and Dragonslayer. I really like hanging out with my significant other-in-law and her family. They've brought me in like I'm one of their own (plus I LOVE family reunions...and ramen noodle salad...and chit chat).He'll be gone for almost the whole weekend, which tips the male/female ratio in girl favor for about 48 hours. Bring on the pink! And the flowers! Okay, not really.

I earned about $2.31 last week at my new freelancing job and spent the rest of my writing time doing my other job, which is completely volunteer and precludes all forms of real employment when it's in season. Obviously I still haven't quite figured out how to flip-flop my time-spent/money-earned ratio yet. Right now, I'm deliberately ignoring the near-constant beeping of my email notifications to write this, which is also volunteer. Hey -- any takers on a reality television show yet? We have no problem setting up a sound stage in a trailer on the driveway. None whatsoever.

But back to reproducing. Let me introduce the also inappropriately-named Norm. She's a she (unlike Phoebe the he) and one of our friends who stops by on her way home from work, on her way to the store (for whatever little item she "forgot" to get the day before), in between carpool runs, and any other time she feels like it. Like Kat and I, she enjoys sitting on the patio and discussing world issues. Well, more like relationship issues. Our current affair topic is her suspiciously-named sister Cliff's current affair. Drama, intrigue, patterns of behavior, groaning, and problem-solving has been the back yard experience du jour for a few "jours" lately. Norm hasn't signed The Commune poster yet...but may as soon as her time here exceeds her time at her regular home. I'm thinking next Tuesday.

Cat Update: The  neighborhood cats have figured out it's a purrty fun here all the time (my  apologies, that was bad!). One morning Kat went outside to see  the two across-the-street bullies...er, cats, wrestling with Phoebe.  They've come around since then, too. I'm hoping they don't figure out how to work the cat door into the house or this will be a nutty place. Also,  we've been presented with a finch (who was brought into the house alive  by one cat, taken outside alive by one grownup, and brought back dead by a  different cat), three mice, and a barely buzzing dragonfly. Last night, Jupiter pulled one of his all-nighters outside and didn't bring us a dead thing. I'm a little disappointed, but already trained to check underfoot in case I step on something squishy.

Kid Update: Last  Friday we had a full Commune contingent. Dragonslayer met Rook and they  got along fabulously, even venturing outside (as in, out of the video  game heaven known as the basement) to play basketball with Flashdance.  Lettuce and Cubes were here with them for a short time, too, so it was  all of us in the same place at the same time! And we survived! Granted, it was only an hour. This weekend would have been a full weekend, but with John and Dragonslayer gone and Cubes on a school trip, it's actually quiet.

Kid Profile -- Lettuce: In case you're wondering, Lettuce is the oldest of all the boys, my first-born, and the apple that fell off my tree. We call him Lettuce because he's got the best hair, ever. I once watched a YouTube video parody about lacrosse players with hair  like his (okay, not exactly like his...since his is enviable beyond  belief) and they coined the phrase "lettuce". When he wears his lacrosse helmet, it flutters out the back with bounce and shine those Clairol models would kill for. He doesn't eat much lettuce since he prefers anything other than healthy food. His hobbies are building a Minecraft server and playing lacrosse. My current hopes for him are that he will get up soon, mow the grass, and clean out the gutters. It seems we have a little disconnect.

Sponsorship: In our continued hope that someone, somewhere will decide we need sponsorship (and a giant infusion of cash), we'd like to name the official foods and drinks of The Commune.

Official Food: Cheez-its. As far as I can tell, it's Rook's meal of choice for both breakfast and lunch. Once I even saw him eat them for dinner. The bummer is that it's also my comfort food, so we're fighting over the crumbs later this afternoon. Because I eat them so often, I'm bigger...so I've got a good chance to win.

Official Drink: Diet Mt. Dew. I'm a little embarrassed that I can drink a 6-pack a day if left unchecked. Kat and John are both addicted as well. Thank goodness for Costco's 36-pack. Also thank goodness I haven't found any liquor that mixes well with DMD because I'd be drinking it all day AND all night.

Okay, that's it for this week! Write us any time and for any reason! You can post comments on this blog or find us at touchingthetrees@gmail.com. We'd love to hear from you...and remember, the juicier the better so we have something to discuss on the patio.