MaeLyn's Musings

The greatest pictures From a fantastic weekend... Now where's the camera? {Insert picture of me scratching my head in consternation.} Trunk-or-Treat, costumes No pictures to help me boast 'bout all our awards! I did my homework, But now I can't turn it in. Where is that camera? I know I had it all the way to the end of the Trunk-or-Treat... Did I leave it in the car?  In the parking lot?  Is it in a pocket?  Is it in one of the kids' rooms? Where on earth could it be????? I'm going to be really, really upset if it doesn't turn up in the next day or two.

As Peter and I huddled under my big blue and white umbrella on our way through the pouring rain to school this morning, a long suppressed memory surfaced in my mind. Thirty years or so ago, when I was a little girl growing up in Goleta, California, it seemed like when it rained, it really poured. I remembered my mom dropping my older sister and me off at school on rainy days. (Most days, we walked to school.) We rushed through the crowded parking lot, dodging cars, people, and raindrops as we hurried to the entrance to the multipurpose room (Cafeteria/ Gym/ Auditorium) where we were to wait until school would begin. The multipurpose room was always crowded and humid. The hard floor would be wet, slippery and often muddy. The room would be packed with hundreds of children of all ages clustered together, talking and laughing, playing games, sometimes throwing balls or paper airplanes. It was incredibly loud and chaotic. With so many people, the room soon became sweltering hot and...

Leaves carpet the lawn; A cool breeze brings gentle rain. Fall enters stage left. I've been taking a photography class over the last month or so. It's an online course through the local community college, with classes twice a week for six weeks. I've learned a lot about how to use my little point-and-shoot camera in ways I hadn't realized it was capable of. Hopefully some of the pictures I post here will be improved in some ways as I practice the skills I've been learning. The class has also greatly increased my desire to acquire an SLR camera sometime in the future. It's frustrating to finally have some understanding of what f-stops and shutter speeds are supposed to do and have no way to get experience using them.  Meanwhile, I do have a camera, and it works fine for now. I am grateful that I have it, and that I have the chance to take this class which has taught me how to better use it.

Saturday afternoon we attended a court of honor during which both John and Josh received awards.  John received his Star rank advancement, and a whole bunch of merit badges.  Joshua received his Tenderfoot, Second Class and First Class Rank advancements. He also received nine merit badges. Good job boys!

This summer, the Boy Scouts of America changed the Cub Scouting program . They got new books, new requirements, new awards. This was about the same time that Peter turned 10 and joined the Webelos Den of which I'm the Den Master. We currently only have two boys, Peter, and his friend Brian. Since June, we've completed Cast Iron Chef (cooking), First Responder (1st Aid), Stronger Faster Higher (Fitness), and this past month our project was Webelos Walkabout (Hiking). To complete this achievement, we went on a 3 mile hike on Saturday. We met at our house and packed lunches and trail mix. Then we piled into the car and drove to the Rocky Mountain Arsenal National Wildlife Refuge . Peter was the trail leader, so he had the papers with the trail map. We parked in the parking lot by the Visitor's Center, then hiked the Legacy Trail around Lake Mary and back. We ate our lunch at a picnic table near Lake Mary, and picked up some trash around the picnic area. The boys ta...