Esquire Coffinberry's Great-Grand-Niece

The other day, on an expedition to the K-mart, a dvd of The Muppet's Christmas Carol landed in the cart and in due course came home. It has become my daughter's favorite Christmas video, and has played every day (and sometimes twice a day) since. She has two favorite tunes, the Scrooge opening number (mentioned above), and the "Marley and Marley" number. Though it is playing constantly, I know there are worse things out there (such as my childhood favorite "Santa Claus is Coming to Town", or worse yet I could be hearing the refrain "You'll shoot your eye out! You'll shoot your eye out!"). Tonight's movie, though, for after the supper and the story from Luke, will be the incomparable "It's a Wonderful Life."

200 years. Today marks 200 years since Joseph Smith, the prophet of the Restoration, was born. Mr. Coffinberry and I celebrated the day with a trip down to the temple in Littleton. It was a particularly special trip, because some close friends of ours were having a special ceremony to celebrate the adoption of their youngest son. It was an emotional occasion. For a second day in a row, I shed many tears. *** In other news, poor Shadowfax got a hot surprise when he decided to jump up onto the table this evening. Mr. Coffinberry had just set two pizzas hot from the oven on the table, and had turned to tell the kids to come for supper; I was fetching the pizza slicer from the kitchen drawer. Out of the corner of my eye, I see a black and white streak do a somersault in the air, land on the floor, and zip down the stairs. Looking over the counter, I see the reason for his sudden acrobatics - two footprints squashed through the cheese, hot tomatosauce oozing between toe marks. Poor baby. H...

I wept. It was good. Better than I hoped. I've read the entire series aloud to my children twice (once for the older set, once for the younger), and I was glad for the loving touch the filmmaker brought to the tale.

The dough for the cinnamon rolls is rising, Santa's sleigh is loaded, the children have all been shopping (using their own money, which made them very careful and thoughtful shoppers); let Christmas come. Mr. Coffinberry poked his head up the stairs this morning, announcing news from Slash-Dot, news that will probably make front page in tomorrow's Daily Times-Call, news that probably make for a nervous holiday for many of our friends. Seagate bought Maxtor. That makes for a lot of redundancy, and we all know what tech companies do when there's a redundancy, and they do it with a vengeance. This is not going to be good for the local economy. Ouch.

It is taking my body a little time to adjust to this downtime. I hadn't realized how adrenalized my life had been. So, since y'all heard from me last: - Survived Contracts, Property, Torts and CivPro. - The furnace got fixed. - I killed my lap top (never in a fit of pique slap your hand down on the quadrant where the hard-drive resides, the drive head doesn't like to make contact with the disk) - My laptop got fixed - Attended the Music Boosters meeting. Got jealous to learn that the Choir is going to Las Vegas this spring, and the Orchestra to Austria in 2007. - Enjoyed the Orchestra concert (though I had to bring the Property stuff to study, sorry to the middle school orchestra... ). - Attended the elementary school music program where I heard that the other reindeer left "poor Rudolph" out of their Monopoly Game. - And at the middle school choir concert, I heard that the reindeer spend their off time dancing their little behinds away - and the annual appearance...

I had to flake on my study partner this afternoon. I just gotta get some time to GROK Property & Torts, just by myself, before returning to the endless outline double-checking and running over the practice exams. There is just so much to grasp, darn it. And it's parent-teacher conferences tonight at LHS, and two concerts tomorrow night. So after school hours are just eaten up. Bleh. Why am I writing here then???

There is no more perfect marriage of music and word than John Rutter's "What Sweeter Music." Driving to or from school, I pop the "Cambridge Singers' Christmas Companion" in the cd-player, and it ends up being the song playing when I get where I'm going. I have to stop and wait and listen for it to finish. It is divine. What sweeter music can we bring Than a carol, for to sing The birth of this our heavenly King? Awake the voice! Awake the string! Dark and dull night, fly hence away, And give the honour to this day That sees December turned to May. Why does the chilling winter's morn Smile, like a field beset with corn? Or smell like a meadow newly shorn Thus on the sudden? Come and see The cause, why things thus fragrant be: 'Tis he is born. whose quickening birth Gives life and lustre, public mirth, To heaven and the under-earth. We see him come, and know him ours, Who, with his sunshine and his showers, Turns all the patient ground to flowers....

I realized last night two things. First, this is the last Thanksgiving with all the kids at home, as kids. One of our children becomes an adult before the next Thanksgiving, and will probably by away at school come November. And then we begin the phase with someone away on a mission or bringing home a girlfriend, and by the time the decade is out, grandbabies, maybe. But this is the last one with just our own babies. Which is what reminded me of the other thing. It was the night before Thanksgiving that Mr. Coffinberry proposed. Twenty years, now, I've worn this ring on my left hand. So glad he asked. So glad I said yes. *** An apple, a cherry, a pecan, and two pumpkin pies sit waiting in the refrigerator (we demolished one pumpkin pie and two lemon tarts last night with supper). Big bird is going into the oven as soon as I finish this. Then, while ol' Tom bakes, I shall try to boil down my contracts outline. Thirty-seven pages is way too long.

Today is Pie Day. Daughter has planned all the pies we shall make this afternoon: pumpkin, pecan, blueberry, cherry, maybe apple. We shall eat pie all weekend. *** Harry Potter IV was very enjoyable. Saw it last night, on a date with my beloved, after going out together to a delicious dinner at the Thai Kitchen, on north Main in Longmont. I highly recommend this surprising little restaurant. *** My Mom's Basic Pie Crust For every shell (a top or bottom crust counts as one shell) you need: 1 c. flour 1/3 t. salt 1/3 c. chilled shortening (I prefer butter Crisco) 3 T. COLD water (in Colorado, where everything is so DRY, I find it needs a somewhat more than this) You also need a rolling pin and a fine-weave cloth (I like flour-sack tea-towels from the farm-supply store). In bowl, combine flour & salt. Cut shortening into flour mixture using fork, pastry blender, or electric mixer, until it is grainy like cornmeal (don't mix together so that it gets doughy - if you do, you'...

"To Flush Out" - to rid, to purge, to eliminate. "To Flesh Out" - to elaborate, to give body and substance to, to complete the picture. I realize it's just a slight pronunciative nuance of schwa here, but please, use the right one! I am tired of hearing about people having to "flush out" the analysis of the Open Memo factors. I mean, really, doing that might clog up the toilets in Fleming, and that just would Not be a good thing coming into finals, now would it?

Today, I am glad for my personal policy of no-law-school stuff on Sundays. But, it creeps in anyway. I was helping out in the church nursery during Sunday School today, sitting on the floor and singing songs and reading stories to 1-1/2 and 2-year-olds. In the room was one of those light-weight pop-up play castles; another adult playing with the kids was picking the castle up and putting it over different children (essentially playing peek-a-boo). And what I found coming out of my mouth was, "See, a castle is a good under the Uniform Commercial Code..." You just can't get away from it. *** Daughter-one-and-only wants an Easy-Bake Oven for Christmas. I remember wanting one when I was her age. (Oh the joy of retro-toys.) And getting one. And being sadly disappointed at how hard it was to use, and what it couldn't do. Waiting forever for a tiny cake with next-to-no-flavor; washing the pans (see them rust). And when you ran out of the tiny stale cake mix packages, not be...

Saturday afternoon. Son One, in kitchen eating a clementine, turns and suddenly says: "Oh, by the way, I heard about All-State." (long pause) "And...." say I. "I'm in. Mixed Choir. Bass." Hooray!

Offering your youth, Years you could have spent elsewhere. Thank you for serving. For Uncle Homer, who repaired airplanes, and Uncle Willie, who heard the call only to be struck down with a brain tumor and die in a military hospital, in WWII. Mr. C., who played in the Band. Aunt Jeannie, who nursed the wounded boys in Viet Nam, and died 25 years later from the virus she caught there. My husband, who spent years on a submarine watching over nukes, while I and my classmates debated the SALT II treaty and nuclear winter in our high-schools, in the waning days of the Cold War. Great-gran'ther John, 37 years old, who stepped up to preserve the Union, and marched 500 miles in the cold and wet on meager food and foul water, and died for the country he loved. Alexander, James, Nicholas, John and many others, who wouldn't let the British undo our freedom, in 1812. And Jonathan, Henry, John, Nicholas, Joseph, Jacob, David, Johannes, David, George, David, and a whole host of others whom I...

This time last Friday I was re-reading and re-tweaking my Open Memo, when I finally had to say "Enough! print it out already and be done with it!" Everyone had been so supportive and tolerant of my insanity going into those final hours, and I'm really grateful. It was so nice to have it finished, and dropped safely into the "box of doom" (as I called it when I gave my family a tour of the law building that weekend). That night, Son One had an audition for All-State Choir in Fort Collins (hurrah for being old enough to drive - and no, we don't know yet how he did), Son Two had a dress rehearsal for a symphony concert, and Son Three and Daughter-one-and-only had a Harvest Festival at the elementary school (Son Three was invited because he had been part of the fifth grade last year that did so well on the CSAP that the school was getting a special award that night). Had fun at the Festival... until Daughter, in the middle of doing the toy-walk (like a cake-walk...

A small town in eastern Tennessee discovered that by requiring commercial property owners to make their own arrangements for trash pick-up, the town would save $6,000 on landfill fees. The town signs a new contract with the trash-pickup guy. What a brilliant political move - conserving taxpayer's money! Three weeks later, the mayor comes blustering in to the council meeting: “He has not picked up city hall’s garbage for three weeks,” the mayor exclaims. “He says we are commercial which we are not and that if we want our garbage picked up we will have to get a dumpster or pay the dumping fee.” The town council members are perplexed. "You mean we are paying him all that money and he won’t even pick up our garbage?" says one. And another wonders how come the trash-pickup guy isn't honoring a past agreement to pick up government trash. A third council member has already checked this out with the town attorney (whom, it seems, nobody thought to consult before signing the...

Yesterday's tort's practice mid-term was interesting. In retrospect, I can see that I totally blew off the respondat superior analysis, treating the agency issue in a completely conclusory way (oops). I had the elements of battery, but was foggy on how to apply them to the facts (oops). Did well, I think, on the likely privilege of consent. It was amazing how much had to be addressed in just the one hour! The suggested Calabresi reading the appendix was helpful (Prof. Calhoun does want to see policy analysis on her exam responses), but I suspect that the Posner Law-and-Economics reading that was immediately before it might have been as much if not more helpful, considering that Posner (the same one? I am showing my ignorance) was the appellate judge for Mathias v. Accor Lodging(2003) , which appears to have been the real-world source for the fact pattern. I was gratified to see my analysis of the battery, however baby-steps, conclusory, and incomplete it may have been, was at...

I am sooooo not wanting to study for the CivPro midterm. And I am sooooo not wanting to look up Riske v. King Soopers, or look at any more IIMD stuff. Anyone got some motivation handy??? (roots around for chocolate)

Just got this email from one of our tutors... "If you do not get these emails, you are not on my [class name deleted] list. Please notify me immediately if this is the case. " Uh, right...

At last! A little bit of a vacation. Since my husband has to work, and the kidlets have school, it's just as well that I've got loads of outlining to do (along with a practice mid-term or two) and an open memo to research. But this afternoon, I just couldn't face studying. So I made two homemade beef pot pies and a pair of pumpkin pies. They're in the oven this very minute. Mmm-mmm! They smell delish! And the cinnamon crispies made from the leftover dough are yummy, too! **** Imaginary phone call with Sony: Sony Customer Service: Hello, how can we help you today? [see, you should be able to tell this imaginary right there!] Me: Do you have any cat-proof keyboards? SCS: What kind of keyboards? Me: Cat-proof. For my Vaio laptop. My cat keeps biting off the keypads, and I have to crawl around on the floor looking for the little pieces, and with with my old eyes, they're awful hard to put back together. I even broke a pin off one tiny piece yesterday. SCS: Our keyboards...

This morning's drive brought this to mind: WHEN the frost is on the punkin and the fodder's in the shock, And you hear the kyouck and gobble of the struttin' turkey-cock, And the clackin' of the guineys, and the cluckin' of the hens, And the rooster's hallylooyer as he tiptoes on the fence; O, it's then the time a feller is a-feelin' at his best, With the risin' sun to greet him from a night of peaceful rest, As he leaves the house, bareheaded, and goes out to feed the stock, When the frost is on the punkin and the fodder's in the shock. They's something kindo' harty-like about the atmusfere When the heat of summer's over and the coolin' fall is here— Of course we miss the flowers, and the blossoms on the trees, And the mumble of the hummin'-birds and buzzin' of the bees; But the air's so appetizin'; and the landscape through the haze Of a crisp and sunny morning of the airly autumn days Is a pictur' that no pa...

A surreal moment in Torts yesterday: entering upon Washington v. Louisiana Power and Light Co. , Prof. Calhoun selected her victim, and the first thing out of the young thing's mouth was that she didn't know what a citizens band radio antenna thing was. Oh my. Technology has come so far since I was a kid. Back when I was a child, before there were cell phones and Blackberries, there were CB Radios. You know, like "Convoy" and "Smokey and the Bandit." When my parents left me at home in charge of my six siblings, they kept in touch by radio - we had a big ol' base station, and they had mobile sets in the cars. And before microminiature technology, with chip generated waves, the radio depended on actual crystals to vibrate... in order to talk on another channel, you had to have another crystal in your set. Those in the know, and not wanting to have the general public in on every conversation, opened up their radios, unplugged the crystal, and turned it arou...

A new week, a new chore; this week it is one-and-only-daughter whose lot it is to do laundry (which means that really, it is my chore, since she's only 7, and 6 people are an awful lot of people to wash up after). My actual chore this week is cleaning the living room. *** It is Spirit Week at LHS; today is "Super Hero Day". Now, SonOne can't be bothered with such silliness, but SonTwo left the house this morning with a red blanket tied into a cape across his shoulders, a colander pot on his head, and a tool belt loaded with celery, carrots, broccoli and tomatoes: he is Captain Vegetable! (Of Sesame Street fame...) And in his newly acquired baritone, he is more than happy to belt out It is I! Captain Vegetable, with my carrots, and my celery! Eating Crunchy vegetables are good for me... *** And now, it's time to review Torts.

Reading about Dynasty Trusts... (p. 338 in Property, Dukeminier & Krier, 5th ed) Question 2 about "If your ancestor had, in 1800, created a perpetual trust for his descendants, how many beneficiaries would there be today? Would you know where they are?" At last! The whole time I'm reading about the Rule against Perpetuities and the USRAP etc., I'm thinking "Do these people ever stop to consider just how many descendants there will be of somebody some 360 years or whatever insane time down the road? The genealogist in me is chuckling madly - Bwa-ha-ha-ha! Talk about vested future interests subject to open! I know that the book in my possession written back in 1965 thoroughly detailing all the descendants of Friedrich Krebill (1788-1849) and his wife Anna Risser (1794-1857) was a thumb-thick, with an average of twelve persons per page - my brother was the youngest child in that book... there's been almost two generations more since then; the descendants n...

Late last night, (after movie & pizza night -- Papa Murphy's Sicilian Pizza is yum, and Robots is a cute funny movie -- the kids watched it twice) I was studying CivPro. My husband asked, "Coming to bed?" and I answered "Yeah, just after these last two questions... I'll be right there." And then the problem reached out and grabbed me. I understood the issue being asked in the hypo - when is a respondent required to answer a request for admission (Rule 36). I just was having the dickens of a time imagining how the plaintiff's counsel could have thought it had a case against this particular defendant given the facts (I was thinking to myself, time for a JMOL here). It's Problems 2 &3 on pp.424-5: Scout trips on tent wire (sic. A wire? Rope maybe, but wire?), sues the BSA, another kid tells defense counsel he's seen four other kids trip on the same wire that night. Plaintiff requests an admission to the fact that other kids had tripped on t...

Michelle's posts make me laugh. **** Somebody must have read my blog comment about the Closed Memo people... because none other than Marsha Brady appears in the Open Memo fact sheet. lol. **** I am satisfied with my Closed Memo results. It was fun to show the paper to my sons; they were impressed that I could make so many mistakes, and have so much writing in the margins. They saw the score, and I was impressed with their savvy, when the first thing they asked was "So, what was the curve?" And of course, I had to tell them, I have no idea. My best guess is that the average was 9 (given that the prof said the average for each sub-score was 3 on a 5 scale). Make of it what you will. **** The Open Memo is much fun to research. There's a certain sense of 'pulling it all together' from the substantive courses that comes from digging into the cases. A lot of the CivPro falls into place, reading about how the different pleadings and motions affected the outcomes I r...

Just once, I wish tutoring and westlaw-training and what-all was at 8:00 AM, not in the afternoon. I have missed each and every thing so far, and don't expect it to ever change. Grrrrr.....

In theory (though there's never been any evidence thereof...) this blog also keeps kith and kin in the loop on what is going on at the Coffinberry home... so those who read from the Law School, sorry if I'm blathering. Let's see, what have I been doing this past week? In Torts we've arrived at Causation, and starting with Hoyt 's hotel fire, we've distinguished general from specific causation, and begun delving into joint and several liability (note: if you take your novice buddies out quail hunting, don't let a quail get between you and your buddies!). In Contracts we've now covered the basics of Classical Contracting (Offer+Acceptance+Consideration), Promissory Estoppel (Promise+Reliance), and Restitution theory ("moral" obligation). In Property, we've finished up Acquisition by Capture, Creation, and Adverse Possession and are now beginning (eek!) Future Estates (which remaineth a mystery unto me). Civil Procedure has finally finished it...

The rainy weather down here last night brought snow to our eponymous mountain above us, its broad shoulders mantled in white this morning. The long summer days collapse into long autumn nights, and the trees begin to show a hint of the painter's blush. If I've gotta commute, I'm grateful for the one I have. It's a beautiful world. **** Wake-up call for my cluelessness... I didn't for a moment catch on to the South Park references in the writing assignment. As a matter of fact, the only pop-culture bell they rang was that Marsha Brady was played by Maureen McCormick. I... am... old. sigh. **** Oh, and he did get on to the Youth Symphony....

Just another week. Things are running relatively smoothly now, though the homework tonight was a bit heavy. Calling it a night. Sweet dreams, folks!

A day to sleep in ('til 7:30). The young'uns who've slept over are already up playing video games. My husband has a youth leader training over at church this morning. It's my week for kitchen, so I've got a load of dishes to wash this morning, and a couple of loads of clothes to fold, and I want to work some on the open memo assignment, too. Off in the distance, i hear a viola playing... hmmm. (I think we do music at our house the way other families do sports.) Son Two: Mom, I've got an audition this afternoon. I'm trying out for the Longmont Youth Symphony. Me: Cool. ST: Will you be my accompanist? Me: Uhhh.... sure. What are you playing? ST: Well, the fast piece is the one I did for recital last spring. Me: Good, I already know that one. ST: And the slow piece is this Brahms Waltz. Me: We don't have the accompaniment for that one. ST: Maybe Miller Music has it. (I phone. They do. We drive. We buy. We come home. And I practice. Then we practice.... all ...

are upon us. For weeks now, Daughter-One-and-Only has been asking me about Hallowe'en costumes. [See that apostrophe? I still remember the spelling test in second grade that required that apostrophe to mark the missing 'v'. Shows you how old I am. I don't think you need the apostrophe any more.] Anyway, as I was saying, (a pair of throat-clearer phrases if ever there were any) she's apparently well internalized the fact that I won't be available to make her (yup, I used to do that) a costume this year on account of Law school. So she took matters in her own hands. Quite some time ago she asked me when Hallowe'en costumes would be for sale in the stores, and I told her, quite innocently, "Oh, the day after Labor Day." So after school she met me in the kitchen where I was chopping vegetables for soup and informed me that we needed to go shopping. Today. Right now. Because TODAY the Hallowe'en costumes were for sale. So off to the store we went,...

So, the class of '08 has a reputation already? Apparently in back-room discussion, the professors have agreed that we are "serious" and "hesitant to stand out."

Labor Day - Hurrah to the laborers of the early 2oth century, whose sacrifices made possible many of the conveniences and rights we enjoy today. *** It was darned hot and sunny at Riverside Zoo in Scottsbluff, where the animals had more sense than we humans wandering listlessly among the cages... the critters knew that 1 in the afternoon is time to sleep in the shade, not frolick and play. But the greedy carp, ducks, and catfish in the pond were as fun as ever. I think we blew twenty-five quarters on the dog-food dispensers. The poor turtle... he never could quite swim fast enough to get food. So we'd throw food way far away so the ducks and fish would leave Mr. Turtle alone; in this way Mr. Turtle got to eat three bits of kibble. *** The property reading for tomorrow was L-O-N-G. But interesting. Let's see... build your own gosh-darn news-gathering network... you can copy the uncopyrighted... it's dumb to threaten Volkswagen... don't make a Vanna robot without her perm...

meaning the overwhelming Katrina-induced suffering and loss (I strongly encourage you to do what you can, however limited it may be)... or the historic two-empty-spots on the Supreme Court... I turn to another issue altogether. My tech-minded husband brought this to my attention (he is a Slashdot junkie): Box-wrap Patent Infringement http://tinyurl.com/d5p78 With all of two-weeks worth of Contracts under my belt, I'm thinking "Can they Do this?" (Is there a meeting of the minds, an offer, an acceptance, consideration?) Quickly it becomes obvious that (1) I don't have a clue. (2) This really doesn't seem fair. (Ha! how's that for a non-instrumental policy opinion?) (3) What happened to reduce-reuse-recycle? (4) How on earth would anybody enforce it? (5) As a Customer-relations move, isn't this rather stupid? Does Lexmark (oy vey, a Longmont company) have enough of a strangle-hold on all ink cartridges to get away with this? What if we all bought foreign kn...

is that sometimes you get too far ahead. So when I'm sitting there thinking "Ok, how does what he's talking about affect the writing assignment," and scribbling notes on my draft pleading, when I hear my name go by... Shoot, he's just switched to dealing with the case... and I haven't got those notes at the front of my computer screen. Thud-thud goes the heart... Ok, here's the answer... Yes, but why? Prof. Waggoner asks. Uh.... "I have no Idea." And then the sea of hands shoots up with people with the ready answer. Ah, the humbling begins.

The search-by-party-name feature at WestLaw is just begging me to see if any cases of genealogical significance lay hidden in its digital bowels... Must...study...torts... Civ Pro... property...

Honest to gosh, the first thing Prof. Peppet asks Mwitterone is: "So, Michelle, how old are you?" After all that birthday angst last week, I couldn't help laugh out loud! I think I blew my cover. **** Speaking of Birthdays... Happy Birthday to my Grandmas! Both my maternal and paternal grandmothers were born on August 25th. Today, were they living, they would be 88 and 89 years old. Both were educators by training, one taught elementary school. The other taught home-economics, and later in life transitioned into pioneering Special Education services in their local school district. Both were immensely loved by the local folk in their small Iowa town. So, in honor of the occasion, a recipe that became locally famous, just the way she published it in the church women's group cookbook: Basic Sweet Roll 1 cup boiling water 1 cup shortening 3/4 cup sugar 2 tsp. salt 2 cakes compressed or active dry yeast 1/2 cup luke warm water 4 eggs 7 1/2 cups sifted flour 1 cup water In ...

Besides Mwitterone, I mean (yes, you're somebody!)... Emily Calhoun's Torts I class has been permanently moved to 8:50 AM-10:00 AM (Same place). Hurrah! Easier to get to school, easier to get the snarls gently removed from my daughter's hair and all the kidlets out the door. **** In other news, I stopped by the middle school on the way home this afternoon to apologize to the teacher. We've fixed the problem (yes, there's an awful lot of legal junk that has to be done, but we made up a waiver and I signed it to make a temporary solution), and fixed the relationship. **** I'm finding the constant 'fit study in between everything else' to be a bit discombobulating. Especially the whole got-a-minute-hurry-study thing. Apparently the mind and body likes to ease into studying with little transitional acts; skipping those acts seems to trigger adrenaline. That, plus I'm a bit short on sleep... so I feel jittery. But I took a 20 minute nap this afternoon, a...

That was me. Twice this week. Somehow, upon arriving home both afternoons so far, I've been greeted with problems that have compelled me to get on the phone and call somebody and express displeasure with how somebody's done something. Today I managed to hack off one of the staff members at the middle school. As a rule, I don't diss teachers or school staff - these are mighty important people who do mighty important work that I am profoundly grateful for. But somehow the fact of not having a kid at the school for one year meant that the rep I'd built up as a parent had melted away - the school has all new staff and principal this year, and so I had nobody that could say "Oh yeah, Mrs. Coffinberry... let's get right to this problem and fix it." Nope. I get the patient long-winded explanation, and I'm busting at the seams thinking "Can we please cut to the chase and identify why this happened and what we're going to do about it?" Particularl...

How do I describe day one? First lesson... arrive Really Really Really Really (I cannot emphasize this enough) Really early to the classroom. A half hour before class, the ROOM IS FULL. And some profs set the assigned seats that first day. Which is why I got the farthest back left-most seat in Civ Pro. (I at least got to pick my seat for Torts today). Second lesson... the food in the Hearsay Cafe is too expensive. So today, I have an almond-butter and Jelly sandwich with apple slices and caramel sauce for dessert. Remind me not to enter the library until after lunch. Third lesson... Torts problems are a lot of fun to discuss at the dinner table. I got a lot of help from my sons that way last night. Fourth lesson... I love it. ***** Quote of the day: "Some might question whether encouraging homemakers to become lawyers contributes to the common good, but I suppose that is for the judges to decide." - John G. Roberts, Supreme Court Nominee

I went downstairs to get some notes I'd printed off the printer, and announced to my husband: "The printer claims it's out of ink." Son Two popped his head up from what he was reading and said: "Oh my gosh! Mom's talking like a lawyer!" "What?" I exclaim. "What are you talking about?" "Normally, you'd holler 'The printer's outta ink!'" he explained. "But no, you said it 'claims' to be out of ink, like maybe it wasn't, and you weren't sure." Oh dear. I think he may be right. Last night, watching Because of Winn Dixie , I found myself thinking "there's a tort... there's a tort..." all through the chase through the grocery store scene and the animals sniffing/gnawing on the state trooper scene (a very good movie, by the way). And yes, as instructed by Prof. Peppet, we did watch Legally Blonde , as well. (Also a good movie).

Ha... not what you think! I want to know why , if there are only so many state highway patrol cars in the Whole-Entire-State, there were THREE of them on the Boulder-Longmont Diagonal just south of IBM this morning when I went by at 7:30 AM (one followed me there from Niwot... I hate it when traffic is doing 5 over, and I've got a smokey bear on my tail... do I slow down or do I go with the flow -- yeah, yeah, I know, go with the flow... but it makes me sweat bullets). Then, this afternoon, leaving Fleming, in line to turn left off Broadway onto Baseline, I witness a wreck... which seemed to be a hit and run, and once the one hit got his senses back enough, he started his truck and did a u-turn over the broken glass and chased the vehicle that hit him up Baseline. Fun times. Re: law school. I picked which thing I wanted to sign up for, and made it so. Just one. I'm not sure I've got the time to devote to more than that...

Parts of 7 chapters plus one case. That was last night's assignment... which meant, of course, first the books had to be located and bought, and traffic (!) navigated back home. Whew! Today wasn't so bad... yet.

Cabbageburgers 1 lb. ground beef 1/2 head cabbage Salt Pepper 2 c. milk 1/2 c. butter 5 1/3 c. flour 2 pkgs. yeast 2 T. sugar 1 1/2 t. salt 3 eggs Crumble ground beef into a large frypan, and brown well. Drain. Chop cabbage, and add to beef. Salt and pepper well (really well), cover and put back on low heat. Allow to steam (cabbage should get nice and limp and nearly colorless). While that is going on over there (stir it once in a while), this is going on over here. Measure milk and butter into a microwave safe bowl, and heat in the microwave for about 4 minutes (until butter melts). In a large mixing bowl, combine flour, yeast, sugar, and salt. Crack the eggs into a small bowl and beat them. Pour eggs and milk-butter mixture into the flour mixture. Stir well and long (I use a Kitchen-aid with a dough hook for 10 minutes... but back when I was a newly-wed student, I kneaded it by hand). Set aside to rise. Punch down when dough is doubled, and let rise again. Set oven to 400 degrees. On...

This morning, I shall be released from my church responsibilities. The LDS Church uses a lay clergy; we pretty much take turns doing different assignments. For the last 9 years, I've been on the board that oversees the children's ministry in all 9 Longmont Congregations, responsible for instruction of lay leaders in Music and for Cub Scouting. For the last three, have been a member of the presidency over the whole kit-and-caboodle, but especially responsible for training and teaching. Today, I will officially no longer be doing those things (for now). It is a good change (it leaves me with much more time to manage school stuff). It isn't often that I'm doing 'nothing'... and it probably won't last very long. But whatever I do end up doing next, it probably won't be the same kind of intensive as what I've been doing. So, here's to moving on...

I realized, at 8:30 this morning, that though I had filled out all the paperwork, signed all the parental papers, and written all the checks and applied sticky notes showing where the papers yet needed the student's signature, and tucked them, neatly clipped with paper clips according to which drop-off station they should be submitted, into a big manila envelope... I forgot to tell Son One that this morning at 8:00 AM was the Senior picture/locker/schedule day. (It was written on the calendar, but he hadn't noticed it there, and he hadn't seen the letter from the school, because I just filed it away with all the papers for me to fill out.) Oops. But the good part is that he got there only 45 minutes late (that was one fast shower and dressing!) and that meant there was no line for him to wait in. So sometimes, late pays. Of course, Sophomore Son Two, who has somewhat more of a social life, had been involved in all kinds of phone calls organizing who was going to meet whom ...

Thursday. Trash day. Got some new shoes and some school clothes for me, yesterday. I need to plug my schedule into my Clie, so I can be able to respond about my life availability in general from here on out. I'm not kidding... this is such a huge change for me. Not that I've been sitting around eating bon-bons and watching soaps (I hate soaps, but the bon-bon thing, well...) and not that I've not been dealing with deadlines and stuff, it's just that it's been a good many years since I've up and gone out on a regular schedule, somebody else's schedule. This will take some getting used to. The Court of Honor last night (and the Dairy Queen visit afterward) went very well. Son Two came home with seven merit badges in addition (or should I say, making possible) to his Life Rank. And Son One is remotivated to finish up that Eagle (now that's a countdown... ten months remaining before time runs out forever). Saw in today's Times-Call that the Law School hi...

Son One and I went down to the Aurora Cannery today, and helped can a couple tons of peaches. Some of the time we worked the inspection line (that means making sure the pits are out of the peaches, and that any rotten spots are cut out and no little bits of pits are stuck to the peach half), some of the time (at different times) we were pumping the hot sugar-syrup into the cans, some of the time I was helping sort the peaches into the conveyor belt at the beginning, some of the time I was wiping off the finished cans and dropping them in the labelling machine. A lot of the time Son One was lifting cut peaches into the can filler machine (which is why his chest muscles are sore tonight... we estimate he lifted about a ton of peaches one binful at a time). We were sticky and covered with peach juice when we were done, but it was a good kind of sticky. The afternoon was spent shuttling (or supervising, since Son Two now has a permit) Son Two and Son Three to their Merit Badge Counselor......

Ok, I've got nine days (eleven minus two Sundays) to get all the cr*p I moved out of my house into the garage and porch put back into the house and put away. But hooray! That means all the hard work is done... the carpet was laid down yesterday. The new floorings look great! And somewhere in there, I really need to get a hair cut (yes, me too, Michelle), and go get me some school clothes since I painted in just about everything I've got (and the chiropractor informed me yesterday that I've got blue ink on the seat of my best summer shorts that I hadn't painted in - argh!). And I need some good school shoes (besides my sneakers). My parking pass arrived. It is blue and gold, and has a shiny holographic sticker on it. Now I just need my schedule, so I can figure out the kids' Karate/instrument lesson/Scouts schedule and make sure everyone can get everywhere they need to be (including escorting littlest one from school).

Friday would have been young Jon-Benet Ramsey's 15th birthday. Well do I remember that Boxing-Day morning, when the alarm went off (heaven preserve us! why was the alarm clock set to go off on December 26th?), and I heard the voice of Steve Kelly on KOA say there was bad news, a child was missing in Boulder. A family friend was closely involved in the investigation (he's been seen on national news, I'll just say that); it was a sad and confusing story, all the way around. To this day, nobody knows if there is somebody out there who might 'do it again.' Now that I have my own little girl, though, I don't spend much time worrying about it either (but then again, is that why she is in Karate?). Now don't you go get the idea I've been obsessed over the JBR... no, I only know the date because little Jon-Benet and Son Two share the exact same birthdate in the exact same year. So sometimes, when I look at him, I do think of Jon-Benet, and think of all the thing...

Safeway's donuts ("D'uts" at our house, ever since Son One was 2 and couldn't say donuts right) are a wonderful blessing to Saturday mornings, at $2.99 for a box of 14. Combine with chocolate milk, and you're ready to work all day. Buzz-buzz. So, the vinyl went down yesterday, and wall-paper went up in the masterbath this afternoon. All is finished in the kids' bathroom except for the installation of the plumbing, which will happen Monday AM. Son Two has been tasked to repair the burst pipe in the sprinkler-system. He dug it all up earlier this week, and is on his third iteration of trying to build a leakless repair. There is something to be said for patience. Spouse dearest is taking a break from trying to fix what got broke when he was re-routing the wireless system in the house (what should have taken 10 minutes ended up taking him 4 hours); so he's finishing up the last two chapters of HP6. The Laundry Queen (who shall remain anonymous today) did...

I've been thinking about this (and re-read the part with Slughorn), and whether Harry could be himself a Horcrux. I also considered the Priori Incantum spell we observed at the end of book 4. Here's what we know: 1. That EVERY murder rips a piece of the soul from the murderer. (note to self... did Snape save Harry from ripping his own soul at the time of the attack on Draco and again the attacks on Snape?) 2. The effect of the Horcrux is to capture this bit of torn soul and preserve it, tie it to earth (as opposed, I suppose, to allowing it to descend into Hell or ascend into Heaven), for later reclamation. 3. The soul-bit is preserved in a tangible thing... we know it was preserved in the Ring and in the Diary, we suspect also the Locket and Nagini (didn't Voldemort meet up with Nagini AFTER the Prof. Quirrell disaster?). We know from the Diary that the soul-bits thus preserved contain sufficient personality to take independent action when given the opportunity. (questio...

Of Raspberry Jam. It was a lovely cool evening, and I picked two quarts of berries off the bushes in the yard... mashed 'em up, set 'em in the 'fridge overnight. And thanks to the lovely cool morning, was able to cook 'em with 7 cups of sugar (!) and a box of pectin. Run 'em through the canner and Voila! Jam! A little bit of summer saved for the winter. *** The first tomato is ripe today. *** In other news, the wall-paper is down in the master bath and up in the dining room. Got the ceiling in the other bath painted last night, and the contractor has the tub surround tiled at last (that was a problem in its own self, but I won't go into it.)

The one photo available so far at KMGH.com ( http://images.ibsys.com/2005/0726/4768250_200X150.jpg ) only makes it worse... the council flag visible at lower right seems to have the abbreviation for Wyoming in the middle, and the one for Longs Peak Council would read CO-WY-NE... I don't have any boys at Jambo, but I do know many adult leaders who have gone, and one of my son's best friends is out there. What is going on out at APHill!??? *** UPDATE The leaders involved were from Troop 711 out of Alaska. This is so very sad.

Glory be! It is pouring! And it is delightfully cool! Hallelujah!

When I was a teen, way back during the 'recession' of the late '70s/early '80s, when Jake Butcher ravished the State of Tennessee with the S&L collapse, our family existed on a little farm way back in the hills, complete with two-seater outhouse and outdoor hose shower. Being city folk really (ok, my mom was raised on a farm, but my step-dad certainly wasn't), we were rather inept in our attempt at living off the land. Anyway, we experimented with raising poultry (chickens are dumb... they all run into one corner of the barn during thunderstorms, and only the top layer survive - and besides, when you miss lopping their heads off, the results aren't pretty), turkeys (they attacked arriving visitors' tires), goats (curiosity killed the goat when he tried to follow someone into the truck and got the door slammed on his neck for his trouble), and bunnies (my little sisters put the kybosh on that dinner menu option). We also raised a couple o'pigs. I don...

Hey y'all, don't miss the Boulder County Fair Parade, tomorrow (Saturday) at 10:00 AM, downtown Longmont! Arrive early and sit in the shade...

I was talking about HP&theHBP with my husband this morning when I realized... with all the folks in western countries so desperate to find out how book 7 comes out, somebody had BETTER keep J. K. Rowling safe from the terrorists!

It was the farthest I've ever driven without switching off with somebody. The teens from the 9 Longmont congregations of our church are participating in a Pioneer Trek this weekend. This means dressing up in mid-19th century clothing (which is why the very first thing I did this summer- before the remodeling - was sewing... authentic shirts for my two boys), packing minimal necessities, and pulling their own handcarts and gear along the historic trail just west of Devil's Gate. I was one of the drivers this morning... I think there was something like 20 or 25 Minivans and SUVs in our caravan, quite a little convoy. Up I-25 to I-80 to Rawlins, then up US 287 to WYO-220, then 17 more miles. 4 1/4 hours up with 6 teens (my oldest riding shot-gun, doing the naviguessing). Then 4 1/4 hours back all by myself. It was a lovely day for a drive. Hooray for my CB radio to keep me company. Also finished listening to all my LEEWS tapes. I guess I'll know in January if listening thereun...

Just got an email notification... I got a parking permit for lot 402! (as a commuter, that really matters!)

The vinyl installers arrived today. They walked in, pulled up the carpet, and walked out (charging me a trip charge at that), saying "no can do." The subfloor was rotted away. I have to replace it. All the way under the tub. So, now we add a bathroom remodel to the saga... and the vinyl and carpet have to wait two weeks. On another topic, this morning Grandpa went on his way to wherever it is he is going next. His stay was remarkably short; already the children miss him greatly.

Darn it! Where is book Seven! Will I finish Law School before I can lay my hands on it??? Grr....

I ended up buying two... one for us, and one for Grandpa to take with him when he goes. So far, Son Two has finished the book. Son One, who got the book second at around 2:30 this afternoon, is cloistered in his room, at about page 275 and cruising. Grandpa is to about 117. I, having had to sneak opportunities when others were not thereof occupied, am only to page 168. That second chapter grabs you, and you just can't put it down, know what I mean? I'm usually a straight-through front-to-back reader, but not this time, I don't get the luxury. So for the first time, I've been forced to savor the thrill of not-knowing-what-comes-next.

He left his diabetic supplies at the previous place of staying? Two days with no insulin... no wonder he was getting lost and his car kept breaking down. So, he got in at two this AM. At the moment, my husband has taken him up to the VA hospital in Cheyenne (the Denver one was so overloaded, the wouldn't even return a phone call until next Monday), hoping to finagle some stuff until the goods can be shipped here. The fun never ends. As for me, I'm picking wallpaper. Looking at the wallpaper books at my desk, rather than in Home Depot, is quite nice. Ordered drapes from J.C.Penney earlier. Later tonight, maybe I'll get to move my kitchen back into its proper place. And of course, the kids haven't let me forget... Waldenbooks at the mall has an item for me to pick up, first thing tomorrow morning. So, any bets on just WHO is the Half-blood Prince?

Staying up late into the night last night, the rooms were taped, the ceilings in all the remaining rooms were painted (popcorn ceilings should be a sin), and the two children's bedrooms each got a coat of primer. Rising early, my husband helped me get the finish coats on the two rooms before I ran off to swim lessons and he ran off to a meeting (Son Three passed Level 5: woo-hah! and Daughter One and Only jumped off the three-meter board and swam back to the wall all by herself for the first time!). After Karate and lunch, we peeled the tape, moved furniture back (but didn't unbox any books or toys... in anticipation of the carpet's arrival next week), and lugged four nasty ancient twin-size mattresses to the dump. Then to Sam's, where four nice new Serta mattresses fit neatly into the back of the pick-up truck. While in the checkout line, my husband rang my cell: Dad's broke down in Julesburg (this after breaking down in Des Moines, Lincoln, and North Platte alrea...

We're sitting around, eating delicious grilled catfish out in the backyard, the tent set up for the kids to sleep in because their rooms are torn apart, the kitchen utterly disconnected, living with just the two bathroom sinks for sanitation and paint-brush cleaning, when the phone rang. "Hello?" "You'll arrive Thursday? That's wonderful. We'll see you then." My husband turns to me... "My dad's coming for a visit Thursday." Yup, it figures. Delighted to see him, but the worst possible timing. So, hurry hurry hurry let's get the paint on the walls and ceilings, folks!

In four hours, the kitchen contractor will arrive, and the major aspect of the remodelling will commence. My oldest is eager for his assigned task of cooking for the family using the dutch oven. He fell in love with this manner of food preparation while at Scout camp earlier this summer, and so is tickled to get a week of opportunities for practice. Swim lessons continue; fortunately, the weather and water have come up to temp, making it a much more pleasant experience. Son Three is developing his Butterfly and Breaststroke; he is aiming at becoming a lifeguard himself some day (about 4 more years); Daughter One and Only has at last become a swimmer, having mastered treading water in the deep end late last week, hurrah! Daughter One and Only sat on the couch yesterday beside the pile of perused periodical (otherwise known as the Daily Times-Call) and observed "It's time to go shopping for back-to-school stuff, Mom." Indeed. There is deep inside me that little girl excitem...

The discussion of what factors might be considered in CU's Predictive Index got me thinking of this poem I memorized in my childhood: This bathroom cost a lotta money, Shore set me back a heap o' dough. You may think it kinda funny, But pleeze folks, Pay as you go! 5 cents. A plaque sporting these words (with a slot for the nickel) were right at a new-reader's eye level, beside the toilet-roll dispenser, in my grandparents' bathroom. I read them every time I was in there, and wondered if I needed to put a nickel in myself. It was a humorous gift from one of my aunts, to celebrate the addition - at last! - of real indoor plumbing in my grandparents house, the year I was born. My grandparents raised five children in that farmhouse, but not until all were grown and gone could they afford to put in a bathroom. My aunts told stories of washing hair in the kitchen sink (which got its water from the rain-catching cistern - precious drinking water came from well, pumped once a ...