Everyday Life 30 :: 27


He's no groundhog. He didn't have a shadow. And seeing him amidst all of this clover, one might assume it is Spring!
It's not very well focused, but he was darting and flitting before I could adjust the lens, and even if the image is not very good, the memory it evokes is.


Our first 2 Pizza Nights were well underway, before Geoff could get home. He never got to contribute his own unique recipe. Last night was different! He was home soon enough to help chop tomatoes and zucchinis, to set out the cheese and put a fresh cloth on the table. Max got some advice about his latest Lego creation, which he hope to make fly. Geoff was home in time to show me that it really is possible to roll out a thin crust pizza. And I had to zip-it when I began objecting to Swedish meatballs on the pizza... and by the time Geoff and Maria were popping marshmallows on top, I knew better than to say anything at all! And I thought I was the Weird one. Two nights of experience gathering perfect ingredients and mastering the dough is nothing compared with natural pizza intuition. I bow before greatness.

Everyday Life 30 :: 26

Found it!
Yeesh. Yesterday was not pretty. Nothing tragic. Nothing major. Just the everyday setbacks that can topple an empire or make a mom feel grossly incompetent.


Alex has been doing battle with a virus that leaves him lethargic, gives him congestion and a sore throat. And even though his good friend Mitchell does have strep throat, Alex was given the "all clear" when I took him to the doctor Wednesday. For good measure the doctor added, "Well, seeing he has been sick for a week and no one else has gotten sick, I don't believe he's contagious." Oh Lord... has ever a more fate-tempting statement ever been uttered?


Up all night, writhing and suffering, William is sick now too. And, he does not want to be seen.


And Max is sick. He does not want to be seen. Building an army of Lego knights is helping him pass the time while he feels "horrible."


Maria does not appear to be sick, but she is moody and tender, which is an early warning sign, I believe. Also, she did not want her picture taken, and is satisfied to close her eyes to avoid detection.


Maria is passing the time writing letters and delivering them to everyone.

And I am sick. Ugh. My eyeballs hurt, and so does my head and throat. Ugh. Sigh. Moan.


My happy distraction has been sketching and stitching, so now I have a little rooster, that I would love to add to a quilt some day.


Maybe it will be a sampler quilt, with embroidered vignettes, favorite themes, and favorite colors.

On the good advice of my friend Pamela, I am going to sit back and enjoy this whirlwind time in my life. It may have its challenges, but it is fleeting and good, so I don't want to miss any of it.

Oh! One more thing. I am enjoying some small amount of satisfaction in saying "I knew it, and I told them so," regarding the economy and the housing market. And I love it when someone else has the time to write about the stuff I am thinking." Of course my pleasure is limited to anticipating the down-turn, the ride itself will not be enjoyable. It's difficult to foresee all of the possible affects.
*edited 02/02/08
Someone thinks I am being too vague about my opinions on the housing market/economy. So, for clarity:
1. We rent. This has been painful and we have been ridiculed and ostracized for not drinking the Kool-Aid.
2. We have been waiting for this Bubble to burst. We have been anticipating what we saw as an inevitable economic downturn.
3. We shared our concerns with many.
4. I am sad and sympathetic. I do not take any pleasure whatsoever in anyone's strife, anguish or suffering.
5. I hope that when the easy-money, free-for all is over, we will be able to buy a reasonably priced house to call our own.
6. I hope that every real estate agent, counselor and landlord that ever guffawed, laughed or heckled me is enjoying the ride that would, "Never, ever happen."

Everyday Life 30 :: 25
Has anyone seen my camera battery?
How about my glasses?
Is it Thursday?

Everyday Life 30 :: 24
Wordless Wednesday

Everyday Life 30 :: 23


My thoughts are too rough around the edges, still taking shape. And, as this is not Wordless Wednesday, I think I should offer you some links.

1. Music. Sweet music. If you live on the East Coast you have many options for seeing Daniel Littleton and Elizabeth Mitchell in concert. The rest of us will have to settle for this little studio performance.


2. Humor.

This was a little something we amused ourselves with last week.
Maybe it works... he's been home 3 nights in a row! Now that he's home, we may have more time to play together, but we should not get addicted to TETRIS, again!

3. Nice Blog. There are so many.
Recently I have been enjoying the beautiful photographs at "Sallad Says..."

This one falls in the category of: "Sigh. She's Doing What I Wish I Were Doing." It's a mixture of admiration and envy that applies to anyone with their own home, chickens, a garden, or the motivation to effectively, successfully pursue their dreams.

And, speaking of pursuing dreams... I just love Laura Jane's stories. She is an interesting woman, doing interesting things.

4. Invest. When my check comes I may invest here. I am not sure it's what our President has in mind for saving our economy, but it suits my ideals.

5. Thinking of Phil, Bill, Hans, Gretchen, Alison: This Fatty's for you! OKay... I don't know if it's a good one or not, but it is nominated for a Bloggie.

Now back to my own thoughts, and debating whether or not to shower before I go to the gym.

Everyday Life 30 :: 22

They say we had record rainfall, but I'm not so sure. Usually a lot of rainfall brings our pond in through the backdoor and into the kitchen. This is low tide. There was certainly plenty of wind. Yesterday it was blowing north and clashing mightily with the cold front that came from the Pacific Northwest.


Here is Joe. He didn't seem to mind our weather. Being a 7 year old bunny he's seen many good storms.


Maybe the sun will come out and we can watch Joe hop on the lawn for a while.

In the meantime, I have some everyday kinds of errands to run, like getting groceries and sending a package to Grandma Nancy. We have school work to do, and schedules to fine tune.

A thought: Do you find that conversations with women with children are disjointed and full of great lapses, long pauses, incomplete statements... that basically conversations can go unfinished for days, even months at a time? I think many moms recognize this, know that having children means having distractions and interruptions. I don't blame children or implicate them in a conspiracy of selfish or rude behavior. I am only observing that attentive mothers, busy women that are responsible for children do not often have the luxury of completing sentences, expounding on theories or providing elaborate feedback... not every time. Happily, between sympathetic women, there is an understanding that this is true, and we can actually manage very well weaving in and out of conversations, answering pressing queries 2 weeks after they were posed. It's our gift. We multi-task. We have patience. We know our deep thoughts and other musings will surface eventually, and will be understood and well received by other distracted, responsible, caring women.

What I wonder is: How well does this translate in emails and through blogs? I do not answer every email or respond directly to each comment. Do readers know that I read every comment? That I am listening and thinking appreciatively about the generous and thoughtful remarks and feedback they send to my inbox and to Chickenblog? I feel as though I have a dozen or more half finished conversations hanging in the air everyday, and there are a lot interesting points brought to my attention that I may not find time to appreciate for weeks or months. I cringe each and every time it dawns on me that I have neglected to get back to that conversation we were having last month, or to reply about the *whatever* you asked me about. You cannot see that Maria jumped in my lap, when I was reading your wonderful post about *____* and I really did mean to leave a comment congratulating, consoling, sympathizing, cheering, commiserating, or LOL-ing.

I so admire the bloggers that in one way or another respond to all of their readers. It's very impressive to find responses to my comments and wonderful to receive nice, newsy emails from friends, and if I haven't got back to you, I am sorry. Really. If I were as good as my thoughts, you would all have fruit baskets and hand written letters from me on a quarterly basis. Instead just picture me trying to keep my head above water, thinking of ways to feed 4 children, working to lose weight, clearing the kitchen drain, teaching algebra and grammar, answering the phone, sorting mail, driving here and there, making appointments, keeping appointments, intervening, interjecting, objecting, making peace, whirling peas and kissing boo-boos. That is Everyday Life. LOL

Everyday Life 30 :: 21

Maria's corner. Her starry lights hang over her "bunny bed." I painted the salvaged furniture last Summer, and now she has a place to stash her books, Mr. Potato and her dancing accessories. Today her baby doll and the baby doll's "mommy doll" are tucked in under Geoff's birthday quilt. She likes her space.

If everything holds together down at the office, if the game doesn't irrupt or implode, there is a very good chance that Geoff will be home all day. Home. Well, almost home. We are cleaning today, and he went to get a storage solution for some Lego bricks, so he is at the home improvement store. He just called to tell me that lumber is affordable again. I love the smell of 2x4's, the hope of construction, the dream of a home of our own.

It's a soft day. It rained and blew all night. We are sorting and dusting and putting away all the things that wander from shelves and drawers. Later we will go to Holly and Rich's, to play with Nick and Izzy. Nothing feels rushed or harried. A lot is getting done, and my thoughts wander, dreamily. What a very soft day it is... I cannot say whether it is the light, or the air, or the notions that cross my heart and mind.

Whimsical notions, like following rainbows.

And look at this magic that just arrived in my mailbox.
Aloha.