First of all, we went online and ordered her some gardening tools that will fit her hands. (Mama never remembers more than one thing at a time, or at least it seems that way.) Then we spent some time bookmarking web resources on gardening on her computer, and I ordered a couple of interesting books.
For some strange reason, there's only one gardening "book" out there that is available for use on a computer. The author is the first to enter the computer age I guess, as the entire thing is written in HTML and works with any PC or Mac (not that I'd have a Mac). Well, anyway, since Kimiko likes rhododendrons, I ordered that one. It's called "The Rhododendron Guide." The title seems a bit pretentious, but it says that it has several thousand photographs, so that alone makes it a go.
Besides setting her up for gardening, the major goal of this was some real "girl bonding." I've never had a younger sister and she's never had a truly older sister, so we're both feeling our way.
As it's turning out, it's rather nice having her around. We both like computers, and we both like sports.
Like the Parkour thing. Mama really can be dense sometimes. After Kumiko had told us about Kimiko's experiments in gymnastics, and I had her demonstrate some more techniques, it became completely clear that I didn't need to find Kimi a teacher. There's this thing called the Internet, and YouTube has thousands of videos of Parkour.
Easy as pie to watch them with her and then go outdoors and get to practicing. We don't have a lot of buildings here, but we do have LOTS of trees. Maples, oaks, firs.
It took less than four hours before Kimi was bouncing from branch to branch like she'd done it forever. It even turned out be useful.
After she'd worked out the bugs in her climbing, we'd gone inside for lunch. After that, I rigged up one of my really old backpacks so that it fit her and stuffed it full of monitoring equipment. Then we went back out and gave it a go. She'd take a running start right at me, and I'd throw her up to a lower branch of one of the big firs, about 4 meters up. She'd climb to where she had a clear sight of the land around, and then she'd set up the new surveillance equipment for me.
Pretty nice that she's small too. I could never climb that high without breaking either a branch or myself. A couple of small solar cells to power the highest ones, and the rest could transfer data by ambient backscatter. Cool!
The rest of the day we watched old movies and practiced Hapkido. Who'd think that there'd be another 9 year old movie buff like I was at her age? Turns out that her favorites are from the 1930's -- believe it or not! (But I have to admit that the old Burns and Allen movies are kinda cute.)
Hapkido you say? You thought she couldn't attack anything and was hopeless at it? Bingo! You're right. BUT as Mama had hoped, she didn't have a problem learning the evasive skills. Combining that with her new-found ability to climb trees will keep her as safe as anything else I can teach her. (Well, yes, of course she can climb buildings too. Do I have to tell you everything twice?)
Anyway, Mama's transponder code just lit up on the board, so it's time to find out how the two of them did in Seattle. Talk to you later....ah......uh.....what was I doing? Oh yeah, going to see Mama and Kumiko.
"We're home! Have you two been able to keep busy? And what the heck happened to you Kimi? Did you get in a fight with someone?
"What in the 9 hells is the matter with you? How could I possibly get into a fight out here? With the squirrels maybe? And speaking of which, what made ya think I'd do something stupid like that anyway? Did your Master Oh give you a concussion?
"I love you too Kimi-chan. I've missed you. Your sharp tongue, not so much. I asked if you'd been in a fight because you have scrapes all over you. You know, those places on your arms, legs, and face where you have fresh wounds? It's not a totally unreasonable conclusion."
Kimiko and Jane looked at each other, then down at Kimi's arms and legs, and then both blushed.
Jane managed to get out a weak: "Oh...that...."
"Yes, that. Give."
"Well, you see Mama, it's like this. When you train in Hapkido you get bruises, right? In Parkour you get abrasions. That's all."
"Yeah, right. I can see some asphalt burns as a possibility, but we don't have asphalt or concrete for her to get scrapes on, they're too small to be from wiping out during a faceplant, and they look suspiciously like the ones we used to get pushing through brush when we were clearing out the undergrowth when we first got here."
"Uh...well. Tell you what. Why don't you two dump your stuff, get a shower, and Kimi and I will get the laundry going. Then we'll show you. OK?"
"All right, but don't think that I'll forget between now and then."
"Do not discount me either. I am looking forward to this demonstration as well, and I also shall not forget. So do not try to...what is the phrase...weasel out of it."
With that, Karla and Kumiko turned toward each other, nodded their heads, and broke out in big smiles. Then, holding hands, they walked toward the big bathroom with the four person shower and soaking tub.
"OK Kimi, we have half an hour. Now do you see why I wanted you wearing jeans and long sleeves?"
Kimiko waved away the protest. "The injuries are nothing compared to....to....something that happened to a young man I once knew. Somehow I can't remember the details. Anyway I'll just go put on something that Ka-chan will find more appropriate. Parents must be placated even when they're wrong -- to a point."
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Kimiko trotted down the hall to her room to find something to wear, leaving Jane to deal with the laundry by herself.
Later, with two freshly bathed, and two about to get dirty again, all four family members went outside.
"OK Mama, we'll show you what Kimi-chan has been doing. First by herself, then together."
Kimiko had started bouncing, on her toes only, as soon as they got outside. Almost before Jane had finished talking, she was bouncing for real, this time off of walls, overhanging tree limbs, and the roof of the (former) pole barn.
Then Jane tossed Kimiko into the lowest branch of one of the tall firs. Kimi was shortly leaning out from near the top of the tree waving to everyone.
"Kimiko, down, NOW!" Karla's face was alternating between flushed and pasty white.
"Coming."
About a minute later, Kimiko had slithered down from the tree and dropped lightly from the lowest branch, which was almost five meters up.
"Do not EVER do that again. It's far too dangerous!"
Then Karla rounded on Jane and was about to start in when there were several thunks around her. There was a small throwing knife about 4 inches to the side of each shoulder, one between her legs, and one about 6 inches above her head.
"Mama, don't make the mistake of thinking that you know everything. You of all people should know how ta control your emotions. If you could not, ya wouldn't have been able to do your work. Yes, Jane has told me of some of it. Had she not, Kumiko or I might make mistakes in talking to people.
"Now, listen up! I am the one who will decide what is or is not dangerous IF it is something where I know more than you do. In this area, I do. Just as I know how ta throw a knife properly.
"In areas where you know more than I, I shall listen to you. But do not EVER try to tell me what to do when I know more than you about something!"
Kimiko was standing there with her hands on her hips, giving me a glare that was a scaled down version of Master Oh. I was certainly not going to tell her that though. More than anything else, she looked like an empress giving an advisor a dressing down.
"All right. We'll discuss those ideas of yours as time goes by. Now, explain the knives. It's a good thing I was standing in front of all this plywood. It'd be hard to explain how the house got a bunch of holes in it when the repairman came."
"A good thing? Weren't you listening? I'd never have thrown them if you hadn't been standing there. I'd have waited till there was some other suitable backing. THINK!
"Kumiko and I are adults in more ways than you can imagine right now. Growing up where we did ages you quickly, or you end up a...what's the phrase....a basket case!
"I found the knives in the street when I was about six. Some drunk wearing a gi was staggering home and fell not 10 meters from me. He got up and went on his way, but he'd dropped something. Yes, it was a sheath holding 4 throwing knives. I've been practicing for the past five years."
I took a deep breath, OK maybe a dozen or so -- I lost count -- and tried to think. The gears were spinning but they weren't engaging. What I didn't, couldn't wrap my mind around was the knives. Where did they come from? I knew that she didn't have them when we "rescued" her. She was only wearing that rag of a chemise. Since they were all staring at me, I blurted out the first thing that I thought of. "But you don't like hurting people. You can't even throw practice punches in the dojo. How could you ever use a knife on someone?"
"That was that and this is this. If someone tries ta hit me, I can now evade and run away. It is not right ta hurt someone when ya don't need to. There's nothing wrong in escaping from an attacker. It is shameful ta hurt someone when it is not needful.
"But, if someone threatens the life of you or your family, and there is no way to evade or escape, you do what you must to stay alive. I may be a child, but with these I can protect myself and my family, just as I always have, whether it is with these or by bashing someone over the head with a potted plant. And so I shall again if there is a great enough need."
Kimiko was standing there looking as fierce as any guard dog, and, I almost hate to admit, just as intimidating. My brain was still in neutral and I couldn't thing of anything more to say or do when the need to do so was tabled by the tones indicating that Jerry's truck had passed the entrance gate sounded.
<
It's genetic. You should know that we're just not built to deal with sudden surprises. What? You caught me looking like an idiot, and you think that it's funny? You just wait mister. You'll get yours when I get back there. So there. Now, shut up and let me get on with it.>>
Jane turned to me. "Are you expecting a delivery Mama?"
I took one more deep breath then responded in what I hoped was a normal manner, "Nope. Not me. Guess you aren't either. I wonder what's up."
We found out about 40 seconds later when Jerry drove up, followed by a car full of people.
As soon as both had pulled up, said extra people swarmed out of the car, up into the truck, and started carrying things into the house.
"I told them to use the first room on the right of the T off the main hall, as you said. Sorry it took so long. Some of the stuff that Jane wanted was hard to track down. Looks like we're in time though. I don't see him here, so I guess he hasn't arrived yet."
"That's nice Jerry. So what in the flaming hell are you talking about!?"
"Huh. You still asleep Karla?"
He pulled a small notebook out of his shirt pocket and flipped it open. "It's all here. Bedroom furniture and clothes for a boy age 13, height 5' 7," slim build. He likes mostly green but some dark blues are OK too.
"Let me tell you, getting a computer like that built so fast was really hard Jane. I had to order the external drives. Nobody locally had multiple three terrabyte ones so I'll bring them by when they come in. What I still can't believe is that one of the local shops had the video cards you wanted. An nVIDIA Tesla C2075s and a Quadro K6000! Finding even one of them just lying around is like finding a hen's tooth. But both of them in the same shop? Amazing luck that.."
About then I saw one of the women who'd come with Jerry walk past with a stack of 3 boxes that were labeled as containing 27" monitors. Three?
Jerry was talking again, or maybe still. Piling this on top of Kimiko's knives was definitely overloading my ability to respond rationally.
"I agree that that room is the best choice. That way the girls can have the one closest to their bedroom in the south wing for their workroom, and the one farthest away down the side hall to the north will work for his, if he needs one. Someone with a computer like that usually stays where the computer is though. Speaking of which, we had to get a custom desk to hold the computer and all three monitors, but he won't be sharing the room, so no problem.
"Anyway, we'll be finished here within forty-five minutes or so. Only the bed and desk need any assembly."
"So, now that that's all straightened out, and since this time you're here, here's the bill. You can pay me now."
And with that, he just stood and looked at me, pointedly.
"Ah, sure, I'll just go get my checkbook."