Done

I while back, I posted about Eva and I getting ready to read all of the Magic Tree House books in order. I wanted to post an update and say that we are {officially} done. Done, as in, she doesn't want to read them anymore. I have no idea whether this desire to read-them-all-in-order will resurface at some point {again} and am left feeling alternately relieved, confused and even a little wistful, asking myself bittersweet questions like, "If I had agreed to read-them-all-in-order before, would we have hit them at just the right time and gotten through them?" Or even- "Was it my willingness to read-them-all-in-order that finally allowed us to not read-them-all-in-order?" Such questions, though, are better left for 4:00 a.m. wakings, when they can really dig in and drive me crazy. Eva seemed absolutely fine when she said she didn't want to read them anymore. She simply said, "Yeah, I don't really want to read them anymore," and went off unceremoniously to do something else. And that was that. I'm trying to follow suit. Maybe posting about it will help. Or returning the others to the library. Out of sight, out of mind, and all that.



And- our dog Jack. Listening to what the kids are up to in the next room.

C. I've got nothing. Except cats.



Agnes posing for her 18th birthday photo. She turned 18 this past Saturday (02-26-11).

Be

All I could think of was beauty, when the sun shone through the clouds. And the color of the sky,bright blue, spanning half the sky, bringing with it suggestions of park walks and pea plantings (finally).

And bushtits busy in the blueberry bushes, watching as I approached.

A is for Ant

A is for ant. Or ants. With his friends. Curiously meandering all through my home...

The ant scouts came early- or so it seems to me now. It seems like I remember sunshine and a bit more warmth for their initial spring entrance, which is not the case currently. (Or is it more likely that I have one or two memories of ants and sunshine, in this house, and have glossed over the rest? Or is it simply rainier this year? Or, is this exactly when the ants usually show up- the perfect ant time? They certainly seem to think so.) Of course- the bit with the sunshine and the warmth- that also might be later, when they come out with their queens and high hopes of expansion.

These current ants are scouts, out wandering, looking for snacks, ever optimistic that sweet goodness will be found within these walls. My walls. Their walls. They make no distinction. Why should I. And truly, as long as they don't bring back long lines of friends, I mostly leave them alone (save to take one or two back outside to spend time with other friends). Even then, even with long lines of friends, I'm pretty sure I wouldn't do much beyond sprinkling cinnamon and pepper around their trails. Then I'd bring out the caulking gun. (Just because they are here, doesn't mean they need to stay. But I'm friendly while we share a space.)

And, because I know I am friendly, I also make sure to keep juices and apple peels and all sorts of ant goodies picked up, cleaned up, and out of most spaces, because ants are quick and will come to stay, if given the right invitation. I've had run-ins with ants before and felt powerless in their presence, their large numbers taking over my kitchen, my laundry room, my pet food. Now I'm very clear. They are welcome. In {very} small numbers. And I'll do my bit to keep those numbers from growing.

I'm certain the ants are here because of the rain, too. I just found out that Portland broke a 130 year rain record by over an inch yesterday. So there are ants. In the house. To get out. Of the rain. {But no thunder, because it's Portland.}

last day

The last day of February. I actually managed to post every day this month, albeit challengingly (not a word, but you get the idea.) I got an email from the national post each day on your blog people today. I didn't do a theme for February, unless it was post-at-any-cost, but I was intrigued by the theme for March and am wondering if it will be interesting to use (or interesting to be motivated by), at least in part, for posting each day in March. I am also wondering if I am up for that in March, because March is Birthday Month in our family. Samuel will be turning 11 in March and Eva will be 8. Gasp. That's getting to be a lot of candles on the cake(s). I will certainly need to buy more candles this March, an event that hasn't occurred for some time. I've been getting by with the same candles from year to year for a while now.

{Back to posting}- The theme for NaBloPoMo March is In a Word, which was intriguing to me. I like the idea of picking a word each day to write about. What word defined my day. What word do I hope will define my day. What word came up for me repeatedly that day. What word did my kids make up that day. Or even- take a picture to illustrate a word that day. You get the idea. Actually, I really like that last idea and am definitely going to give posting each day some more thought.

Organizing the Halo guys-

Eva's knit skirt

And I finished Eva's skirt!





Close-ups of some of the yarn and the i-cord cinched waist. Let's see, it's about 14 inches long and wide. The main yarn/color is a worsted weight from Malabrigo at 5 stitches/ inch.