Laowai

This weekend I sat in the sun and read a book. The light was striped with branch shadows. The birds sung all around me – sounding so happy, so clear, so bright. I kept getting interrupted by the bird sounds. I wish I knew which birds made which sounds. I looked into the branches searching for the birds that I could hear so clearly – but it was hard to put my eyes on the one I heard. What a different world they live in – such a different 3-D space in the branches. I saw a butterfly on my pachysandra flowers. I noticed a familiar squirrel lounging on a branch overhead. He was stretched out along the branch – quiet and still in the warmth. Then I got tired of being distracted and re-reading paragraphs in my book. I closed my eyes and enjoyed the scent of my neighbor’s magnolia tree. SPRING!

I also planted some spinach.

 

Brian and I celebrated (not much) our anniversary over the weekend. 14 years!

Brian does this thing that is sweet. When he’s home and the girls are tucked into bed we often sit down to watch TV or a movie. We don’t have ice cream or any kind of dessert or pop corn or chips. We eat cheese. Brian selects two or three kinds and we settle onto the couch. The sweet part is that he carefully puts a bit of cheese on a cracker and gives it to me. I never, ever serve myself cheese. Sometimes if I eat slowly he’ll line up crackers on my knee. After we fill ourselves with yummy cheese he always asks which was my favorite. I would never have learned to love cheese if it weren’t for Brian. Putting cheese on a cracker is not a huge gesture – and yet the ritual of it is. I have come to love it. It’s his way of making me enjoy something that he enjoys – it’s a small thing that we do together. Plus, it makes up for the cheese stench that often punches me in the face when I open our fridge.

He’s nice isn’t he.

My lawn chair was falling apart. I was in danger of falling through the disintegrating plastic straps. So I thought of my Grandpa Dice. Yes, Grandpa Dice used to refashion lawn chairs with macrame so I thought I would give it a try. I found directions on line (yay internet). It wasn’t hard but it was a little back breaking and the plastic yarn felt yucky on my fingers.

Take a look:

It kind of delights me to think of my Grandpa Dice doing this – it does not seem like something he would do. I suspect he picked it up in Florida. It has a pleasant kitschy vibe that I could imagine being cultivated between shuffleboard games.

I’m looking forward to some warm weather so I can sit outside in my new old chair.

This Spring has been teasing us with a warm day now and then. I take a moment to look around the yard and see all the bits of green popping up. I wonder what it would feel like if Spring was turned on like a light switch instead of the two steps forward one step back style. It probably wouldn’t be as sweet without the bitter cold rain thrown in. 

My little rhubarb is coming up strong – and some alliums too:

I made two more tops Claire took some not so great photos:

Claire and I made a birdie nest craft to welcome Spring:

Over the weekend we went to Ann Arbor so Brian could run a very cold marathon – brrrrrrrr. We also spent a little time bumming around Ann Arbor – telling the girls that this is where Aunt Jennifer and Daddy went to school. We popped into a nice independent book store and they had an old typewriter the basement. Wow, what a fascinating thing for the girls. It was fun describing how it worked and showing them how to use it. Bea was surprised to learn that you couldn’t delete. They got such a kick out of typing out their names. I typed a saying that came from Brian’s grandma: Love Mommy, Love Daddy, Love your own belly best.

We colored eggs on Saturday and also went to our neighborhood egg hunt. Bea was at a friend’s house but Claire ran and gathered some eggs. It’s nice – she sees lots of her friends and our neighbors. Plus, I like to see Brian running around with a little basket in his hand.

On Sunday we had an early morning egg hunt in our jammies and then we had a big breakfast.

I made these bunnies from this free pattern – quick and easy.

Later that day Brian took the girls for a bike ride and they went nearly 10 miles! I got some much needed quiet time.

We just got back from a few days in Midland. A good trip – here are some pics.

Easter’s on its way.

We got another big box full of peeps in the mail from Aunt Sandy. She also included some peep cookie cutters. The girls decided Aunt Sandy should be known as Aunt Peep from now on. Thanks for the goodies Aunt Peep!

Well even thought we’ve had some pretty uneventful days lately, I’ve got to keep this blog thing going. Here goes.

I did some pruning and brought the branches in to force. 

I bought new swimsuits for the girls and I can’t get enough of the pattern on Bea’s suit. It looks so cute on her.

Also, I’m loving the pattern on this tablecloth that I found at a church rummage sale. I love it with my new curtains pattern – it’s way too much pattern but in a good way.

I made two shirts for myself. The first one was too big. This one was just right. It’s made from a gauzy fabric that feels like soft nothing. I think I’ll make this pattern again – it includes really good instructions for doing an FBA. It’s the first time I feel like I’ve successfully altered a pattern to fit ME. Yay – here’s to learning something new!

We had a little movie night last Friday and the girls slept in the TV room. I came down in the morning and was surprised to find them still asleep in their nest of pillows and blankets. I like those last moments of quiet before they wake up.

Claire and I made this today:

And we made this unicorn bank in our art class:

Sometimes we find crumpled up pieces of paper – Bea’s little notes and drawings. Sometimes they are grouchy faces that come out when she is frustrated. Sometimes it’s a penguin making five kinds of ice cream. And then there was this one – I don’t know what it means.

And now I’ll leave you with some pictures of the girls enjoying their swing and some warm weather.