everything was ready to go April 14, 2010

After dinner they all worked together to bring everything inside.  Violet’s father took her upstairs and started her bath for her while her mother put everything away in the kitchen.  Once she was safely in the tub he headed down to watch tv.

Violet’s mother had packed up all of the clothes that she had laid out; while Violet was taking her bath.  When she got out she saw everything was ready to go for when they woke up in the morning.  Her backpack with the workbooks in it, her duffel for camping and the suitcase for the big trip.

Violet was so excited, that she really was thinking she would never be able to fall asleep.  But the truth was that almost as soon as her mother kissed her and told her goodnight, and shut off the light she was sound asleep.

Her dreams were filled with birds, and stars and bar-b-q’s and more.  When she woke up it was to her father saying — “Violet, wake up sweetie.  There you are good morning!”

“Good morning”  Violet was confused as she was waking up, she had not remembered yet today was a big day.

“Honey I have to get out there, but I wanted to tell you good bye and that I love you, before you left today.”  He gave her a big hug, kissed her on the forehead and told her to have fun and he would see her Sunday.

Violet was  wide awake and ready to get going, as her daddy was leaving she was happily headed to get dressed and brush her teeth.

“Oh good you are up!  Hurry and get finished we will eat in the car on the way there.  I already have my things in the car and will take down your stuff.  Well I will leave the backpack you bring that down, oh and a pillow bring a pillow.”

Violet chose her necklace for the day, and was trying to decide where to put the pouch with the necklaces in it and decided safe in her backpack was probably best.  She grabbed a pillow and the pack and headed down the stairs to start their adventure. ©

just now in the barn, well there is a problem April 12, 2010

“Daddy I don’t know!”  She was excited that she was right, and she was glad he was happy but she really did not know and she did not like the way that felt, not at all.  “Daddy look.”  She pointed to the back of the barn where one of the men was running out of the barn, towards the fencing; he was looking around and they both knew he was looking for her father.

“Looking for me?” her dad hollered as he stood up and together they started to walk towards the back of the barn.

“Yes Dean I am, hello Violet.  Dean just now in the barn, well there is a problem.”  Violet and her father looked at each other and smiled, because they both had heard the big noise but had forgotten about it as soon as it happened; they were so focused instead on the birds and their secret.

“Well I guess I better get to work shorty, you going to be ok?  Why don’t you head back to the house and find something to do.”

“Yes daddy I will.”  She turned and ran to the house wondering what she would do.  Just as she got to the back door her mother was coming out the door.

“Oh there you are, I was just coming to holler for you.  I am going to run into town real quick and get groceries for your dad to take camping and pick up a couple of things for our trip to the city.  You go in and watch tv till I get back.”

“Ok!”  Violet did not get to watch tv often, and hardly ever during the day so she was very excited.  Plus she would be all by herself and would get to choose what channel to watch.  She hugged her mother goodbye, quickly said I love you and went to the living room to turn on the tv.  There were shows on her favorite channel PBS and she sat down to watch the kids on “Electric Company” all the time thinking it would be fun one day to get to play on tv.©

It is a game? April 10, 2010

“How would we play a game?  It is scary when it happens, and it just happens and only two times, maybe it won’t happen any more?”

“Actually Violet I think it will be happening more and I think that people will not understand it so it needs to be a secret.  As you get older you will be able to control it better.  So maybe if we practice some..I know come on.”

Her father turned around and helped Violet crawl up on his shoulders; then they walked over to the shady side of the barn.

“See up there, in the tree?  See the birds?”

“Yes I see them.”

“Close your eyes and think, which bird is going to fly away first.”

“Ok”  Violet looked again at the tree, and then closed her eyes tightly, thinking really hard about the birds.  Nothing happened, nothing at all.  “Daddy it doesn’t work it is just dark when I close my eyes.”

“That is ok, it will be practice.  Now what bird do you think will fly away first?  Just look at them.”

Violet was still perched on her fathers shoulders and she absently put her necklace in her left hand and put the stone up to her lips while she was thinking.  She was thinking that she was not sure this game was a good idea and what if her father got mad at her for not being able to know what bird would fly away first and then it happened.

She felt a little off balance as her body rocked back a little, and at the same time she could hear her father saying “Shorty you can not lean back like that, you could fall.” while he was leaning them forward and putting his hands on her legs; she also saw a flash of a woodpecker flying out of the tree and then all of the small black birds.

“The woodpecker, I guess the woodpecker!”

Just then there was a loud crash from inside of the barn it startled Violet and her father and the birds!  The woodpecker flew out of the tree and towards the house, and right after all of the small birds flew out too.

“Violet you did it!” You did it! How did you do it?  What did you do?”

Her father was swinging her down to stand on the ground, and he squatted down in front of her so they could see almost eye to eye. ©

carrying a suitcase and a tote bag March 31, 2010

While she was brushing her teeth Violet decided that she would tell her father what had happened and see what he said about it.  Part of her was afraid of what happened ; how she knew it, saw it.  But part of her thought it was pretty cool and that maybe she could learn how to do it for other things.

Her mother came into her room as she was getting dressed, carrying a suitcase and a tote bag.  She walked to Violet’s bed and laid one on each side of the bed.  “I need you to help out.  I want you to plan out what you will take with you and wear; both for the trip to the city and to the camp out Sunday on the way home.   I want you to use the suitcase for the city stuff, and the bag for Sunday.  For example a towel, swimsuit, shorts and stuff for Sunday and nice clothes and shoes for the city.  Do not pack anything, just lay it out for each day on the side of the bed that it will be packed in and add two nice outfits for going out on Friday and Saturday night.   Do you understand what I expect?”

“Yes I know how to do that, I can do that.  Mom where will I pack the necklaces that I am not wearing?”

“Oh well in the suitcase with the clothes I suppose.   We are going to have a manners lunch today, and a manners tea this afternoon to make sure you practice before we go.  I will call you when lunch is ready when you get done with the clothes you can play up here until I call you.”

Violet’s mother headed out of the room and down the stairs and Violet got ready trying to decide what she would need to pack.  She decided to start with the stuff for Sunday first because it would be easier.  Then she counted out what she would need for the city – pajamas, slippers, two dress up piles with socks and her nice shoes, two piles of clothes for Friday and Saturday and then she added an extra pile of what she could wear in the car on the drive to the city.

Violet made sure she had socks and underwear and then thought she should take her sweater for the nice clothes but her zip up sweatshirt for the other times.  When she was done she sat down on the floor to play with her stacking logs building a cabin, and adding the trees around it.  ©

that was a secret she was only to tell her father March 26, 2010

Violet finished up her breakfast and was getting her stuff in the sink, and the cereal put away; when her mother came in from the barn.

“Good morning did you sleep well on the couch?”

“Yes I did.  Mom when I went upstairs to get my necklace” as she was talking she took the necklace in her hand “the cat came out of your room after there was a big noise.”

“Wonderful, I wonder what he has done now?”

Violet saw a flash, a picture of her parents bedroom and the cat up on the window; sliding some on the salt in the window and knocking over a lamp as he jumped down.

“Violet are you listening to me?  Violet?!”  Her mothers voice made the picture go away and Violet let go of the necklace at the same time.  “Violet are you alright?”

“Yes I think so, I am sorry.”

“Sorry for what?”

“Not listening, I should go brush my teeth and get dressed.”

“I will come with you, see what the cat has done and help you get your bags.  Today I want you to lay out the clothes you will take for the weekend.”

They headed up the stairs.  Violet wanted to tell her mom what she saw in the kitchen; but it was like what she saw with the boat and that was a secret she was only to tell her father.  She also wanted to know if the lamp was knocked down like she saw it.  “Can I see what the cat did?”

“Sure come on.”  Together they walked into the bedroom, and Violet quickly looked to the window.  The lamp was knocked over, and the curtain was pulled loose on that side of the window.  Violet gasped when she saw it, because it did look so much like what she saw happen in the kitchen.

“It is ok, I can put it all back easily. “  Her mother was walking over to the window, picking up the lamp and then she noticed the salt.  “Hmmmmmm”

Violet walked over and asked “Mom, what is wrong?”

“Nothing, it is fine…just seeing the salt line is no longer in place.  I wonder if that is what caused this?”  Her mother seemed to be talking more to herself than to Violet and it was making Violet very uneasy.  “I am going to go get dressed and brush my teeth.”

“Yes I will be there in a minute, go ahead.” ©

all night long, on the couch March 25, 2010

It was not very long before she fell asleep.   When she woke up it was morning, she realized her parents had let her sleep on the couch all night long.  Violet heard the back door closing and wondered who was coming in or going out.  She closed her eyes and lay very still, listening.  There were no more sounds so she slid off of the couch and went to peek in the kitchen.  No one was there.

Violet decided she would have breakfast, and as she was getting her bowl and cup, with out thinking about it she reached up for her necklace.   It was then she remembered that she had taken one off last night before her bath and never put one back on and that since she slept on the couch, she did not sleep with them under her pillow.   That was one of the rules, and she had broken it with out even thinking about it.

She turned to run up the stairs to her room, wondering what it would mean, and if it would be ok.  As Violet reached the top of the stairs she heard a noise from her mothers room.  She took a deep breath and darted quickly into her own room.  Quickly grabbing the bag, dumping the three necklaces on her bed; she was looking at them carefully and they all seemed to be fine.  “1, 2, 3 which one is for me?” as she said it she closed her eyes and just reached for one.  Just as she was grabbing one there was a crash from the direction of her mothers room.  Violet jumped, slid the necklace over her head, the other two back in the bag quickly said thank you and went to see what the noise had been.

She was crossing the landing at the top of the stairs in time to see the cat come out of her parents bedroom.  Violet decided it was best to just head back down stairs since she was not supposed to be in their room unless she was invited in.

Violet got back to the kitchen and quickly made her breakfast and sat down to eat.  While she was looking at the back of the cereal box she was wondering if it was ok that she had not followed the rules for the necklaces.  She wondered if she should ask her mom or just keep the secret to herself. ©

enough with the cookies March 23, 2010

“I was thinking you could take a bath and then you and I would eat dinner in front of the tv.  Just take it easy in our slippers and jammies and lay around and then we would make ice cream sundaes later.  Does that sound good?”

“That sounds great!”

Her mother was laughing.  “Ok well enough with the cookies, I will go start your bath and you can play in it as long as you want.  I will get the laundry started, and dinner going too.”

Violet was happy to go play in the bath, it was always a lot of fun and having dinner in front of the tv was a rare treat.  She decided to take her necklace off and return it to the pouch under her pillow before her bath.   Her mother called up the stairs a couple of times asking if she was still ok, or ready to get out; and Violet was so happy to holler back “not yet!” each time.

Finally her mother came in and said “time to be done, because dinner is done.”  Her mother helped her out of the tub and into her towel and she ran to her room to get into her pajamas and head to the living room to see what was for dinner.

Dinner was set out on tv trays, one in front of her mothers chair and one in front of the couch.  Violet crawled over the couch and sat in front of her tray.  She was excited to see they were having salmon and baked potato and salad.  It was a favorite dinner but her mom was in the kitchen, so Violet sat politely waiting.  When her mother came in she had two small plates.  She sat one on her tv tray and brought the other to Violet.  “Here you go, some tiny shrimp and crackers.”

“This is a big dinner mom and it looks really good.”

“Glad to hear it, eat up, and remember later we will do ice cream sundaes too.”  They settled into eating, and not talking, just watching the tv.   During commercials her mother cleared the dinner dishes, and as the laundry loads were dried she brought them up to fold in front of the tv. ©

a treasure chest February 23, 2010

“Violet why are you sitting on the floor? Get up and get into your pajamas and get your teeth brushed.  I will be back in a few minutes to get tell you goodnight.”

Violet jumped right up and did as she was told, hurrying to get everything done quickly and quietly.  But on the way to the bathroom to brush her teeth, she noticed her mother was on her knees in her sewing room, looking into her cedar chest.  She walked very slowly past the door trying to peek in and see what was happening.  Only one other time had she seen her mother open the chest.

That time Violet had been allowed to peek inside.  It had a wonderful smell, her mom said it was the wood the cedar chest was lined with.  Inside there had been many treasures, each wrapped in fabric or in glass jars.

She had come to a full stop and was staring into the room, when her mother pulled a mirror out of the chest.  Afraid she would be seen Violet hurried to the bathroom, brushed her teeth very quickly and quietly opened the door to sneak back into her room.

Violet was excited to see the light was still on in the sewing room, as she crept by she noticed her mother was still looking into the chest.  Next to her was the mirror, a candle, a jar of something white and some black lace.

Her mother turned and saw her watching and quickly closed the lid to the chest.  “Violet are you ready for bed?” as she was asking she was walking toward the door and she reached over flipped the light switch to off and closed the door behind her.

“Mom what were you doing?”

“That is none of your business Missy!  Come on lets get you into bed.”  Her mom sounded happy, so Violet tried one more time.  “Were you looking in your cedar treasure chest?’

“I think you know the answer to that already, now get into bed.  I love you, sweet dreams.  You can read if you want, but stay in your bed.”

“I love you too.”

“I will come in later and shut off your light.”

Violet put her necklace away, opened her book and stared at the page.  She was trying to remember everything she saw in the sewing room and trying to figure out what her mother was going to do with the treasures she had taken out.   Then she remembered her mother saying something about a mirror and salt when the electricity went out.

What an interesting secret, and Violet was excited to try to figure it out. ©

bring a hose in February 10, 2010

Violet was so sad to hear about Cocoa, and was trying so hard not to cry.  All of a sudden though she could remember flashes of the morning and they made sense.  Her mother seemed mad, her dad said NO she could not see the calf, Max was outside when they left.

Violet realized she was holding the necklace in her hand, and as she let go of the necklaces the pictures she was seeing from the morning were gone.   Sara’s voice interrupted her thoughts “Now we can start making the goop, this is the fun part.  See all of these papers that are torn into long strips?  We will take those one at a time, get them in the goop, scrape the extra off and then lay them over the masks.  It will make a shell of paper and goop.”

“It sounds fun!”

Sara laughed “Yes it is fun.  But we will be bored with it by the last head I think.”

The girls got busy mixing up the bucket of “goop” and had made a large mess all over the floor and table in no time at all.  The first two heads went really fast, and they were on the third one when Aunt Ellie came in to check on them and have them take a lunch break.

“Well I can see we will have to bring a hose in to clean up in here.  Oh Violet I am teasing, it is not that bad, put a smile back on.   I am thinking that instead of a kitchen lunch though we should have a classroom lunch to keep all the cleanup in one place.  I will go finish it all up, pack it into a picnic basket and bring it all down here.  You two get washed up and find a place the three of us can eat.   Oh and Violet, I have some sad news for you.  Your father wanted me to tell you that the calf died last night.  It was too weak and it just was not meant to be, he was afraid you would be too upset to be there today.   Are you ok?”

Violet was still sad, but she was trying not to laugh too.  “Thank you Aunt Ellie I am fine.” But she started to cry and her aunt came and wrapped her arms around her “It is ok Violet, nothing wrong with a good cry, I love you.  Oh ..”

As Ellie stepped a bit back from Violet she realized she had sticky paper mache all over her clothing – she started to laugh and then so did the girls.  “Give me sometime to clean up a bit too.  I will be back in about 10 minutes with lunch.”

Sara and Violet burst into laughter as soon as she was gone, whispering and giggling about how the pinky swear promise was safe and about the mess on Ellie’s clothes.   They worked quickly to get a place cleaned up for lunch.  ©

one shadow or two? February 2, 2010

When they got back from the mailbox it was time for her father to head back out and get some work done.  Violet was sent to her room, to stay out of the way and play until it was time for dinner.  She headed up the stairs, and started to play with her baby.  Putting it in the stroller, or the crib and back again; reading a story and such.

Then she heard her mother calling her for dinner.  After dinner her father took her downstairs to feed the calf one last time before her bath and bedtime.  As they walked over to the sink to prepare the bottle her father remarked “It is cold down here tonight, that doesn’t make any sense.”

“It is not cold” she replied laughing at his silly joke, but as he turned to look at her Violet was surprised that he looked puzzled.  “You are not cold?”

“No.”

He was walking toward her now, handing the bottle over and he said “You are right it is not cold over here, just over at the sink; now that is odd.”

Violet looked over at the sink and saw her fathers shadow, it seemed really big and dark and she quickly looked back at her father.  But as they started to walk into the room where Max and Cocoa were sleeping she saw his shadow on the door in front of them…she quickly turned and saw the black shadow still at the sink.

“Why do you have two shadows?” she asked her father.

“No I have one shadow, the other one is you, look” as he said it he pointed to himself and to her and the shadows on the door in front of them moved.  “No that shadow” Violet said pointing at the sink.

Her father turned around just in time to see the black shadow quickly move to the side and disappear.  “Oh I think it is just because it is so dark and the light is overhead, it just caught me coming and going.”  His voice sounded sure, but the look on his face did not, he glanced back at the sink again and said “Hurry up lets get this calf fed so you can get to bed.”

They laughed that he had made a rhyme, fed the calf, put Max out for a few minutes and then closed them back up in the room.  Up the stairs they went.

Violet’s mother already had her bath ready and before long she had placed her necklace with the others under the pillow and was fast asleep. ©