underwhelming

Underwhelming. That is the word of the spring. Here it is, almost May, and we haven't opened windows yet!  It was 42 this morning when I got up.  Yes, it gets nice later, and yes, this is good gardening weather, but still.... I want to hear the birds outside. Usually it gets warm enough to open windows just as the awful yellow pollen starts to accumulate. This year the pollen is finished and the temperatures are still cool.

Nothing has bloomed as well as normal. The daffodils gave a paltry showing, as did the crocus. Only one branch of the dogwood tree bloomed at all. The Lady Banks Rose has bloomed pleasantly, but not exuberantly. I want exuberant. I want overwhelming. I'm looking for something more than adequate. Not just pretty, but beautiful. Not just nice, but incredible.  I'm not asking too much, am I?

Here are some up to date-ish pictures of the front gardens.

See? Color and lush growth, but nothing to write home about. I'm looking for excitement!

selling him

This is a transcript of an actual conversation I had with my child. I'm thinking the child should remain anonymous so that if I ever try to sell him give him away someone might still want him.

# I need a whatchamacallit for school.

* Go look in the cupboard.

[20 second look through cupboard by child]

# We don't have any. (said with a whine, implying blame that Mom has not supplied him with any whatchamacallits)

[30 second look through cupboard by Mom]

* Here are a pile of whatchamacallits for you.

# glare (honestly- he was that annoyed that I'd found them)

[half hour later when child has used the whatchamacallits and is otherwise occupied]

* Please put away the things in the cupboard.

#  But I didn't get them out!

Selling him. Definitely selling him.

I have a guy

"I have a guy."

Haven't you ever found yourself jealous when your friend or neighbor says this?

I actually have three guys.  I know! Two are brothers. They can do just about anything for you and they're thorough and licensed.  The other guy is strong as an ox and asks for so little money it feels wrong.

It was the later guy who was over yesterday while CD and the boys were out of town, camping. I've already had two friends ask for his number.  I'm not really eager to share. He'll just have less time for me.


In five hours he ripped out as much English Ivy as I could have cleared in two full spring seasons. Amazing really. The backyard is back on schedule for the Great Ivy Removal Project. The two thirds of the backyard that we're working on are almost clear. There is ivy returning which needs attention, but I think its easier to pull it the second time. I asked my new guy if he could come back and he said he'd come over next week.

Despite having a guy, I have work ahead of me now because  I like to do the planting myself. I've got five small azaleas to put in the ground asap. Maybe I'll go get a dozen more while they're still so cheap. This is the part of the backyard that shows from the street above the driveway. Since I'm going to have to water up there this summer regardless, I might as well fill the area right away and make it look nice.

antsy

I had no idea how long this kitchen renovation was going to drag out!  I'd waited until the new year to get started and had hopes that it would be done by spring break. Its spring break now and we're still discussing a start date. O Holy Cabinetry! Let's get this going!

This is the first time we've had a project important enough? big enough? expensive enough? confusing enough! to need an architect. Usually we've contacted our Always Available Home Project Dude and he's come in and begun immediately. Design decisions were made as needed. 

This time we dawdled around with our architect/designer friend. We'd take a few days to comment back to her, she'd take a few days before contacting us again and then a few days to make changes to the blueprints.  Weeks went by without a firm decision made on anything. We didn't meet with House Builder Jack until late February. I was still optimistic that it would be started Soon.  Oh, no. Another month went by with intent to drop off some cabinet stain samples, some countertop materials, some tile and our time spent agonizing over the differences between flax and taupe.

I feel like I've done by part. We've chosen cabinets. We've chosen a counter material and a backsplash tile. I even encountered a sale at one of the big box stores that included the stove and oven I'd chosen, so I've ordered them. I asked House Builder Jack when to have them delivered and his suggestion of April 30 still had me optimistic. (We'd be ready for appliances by April 30!) No. He wants everything on site (translation: in our garage) before starting.

At this point we won't be done before school is out at the end of May. We'll be lucky if they're done before we leave town on a planned summer trip.  This is just as tedious as the nursery rhyme.

"This is the house that Jack built..."
by Mother Goose
This is the house that Jack built.

This is the malt
That lay in the house that Jack built.

This is the rat,
That ate the malt
That lay in the house that Jack built.

This is the cat,
That killed the rat,
That ate the malt
That lay in the house that Jack built.

This is the dog,
That worried the cat,
That killed the rat,
That ate the malt
That lay in the house that Jack built.

This is the cow with the crumpled horn,
That tossed the dog,
That worried the cat,
That killed the rat,
That ate the malt
That lay in the house that Jack built.

This is the maiden all forlorn,
That milked the cow with the crumpled horn,
That tossed the dog,
That worried the cat,
That killed the rat,
That ate the malt
That lay in the house that Jack built.

This is the man all tattered and torn,
That kissed the maiden all forlorn,
That milked the cow with the crumpled horn,
That tossed the dog,
That worried the cat,
That killed the rat,
That ate the malt
That lay in the house that Jack built.

This is the priest all shaven and shorn,
That married the man all tattered and torn,
That kissed the maiden all forlorn,
That milked the cow with the crumpled horn,
That tossed the dog,
That worried the cat,
That killed the rat,
That ate the malt
That lay in the house that Jack built.

This is the cock that crowed in the morn,
That waked the priest all shaven and shorn,
That married the man all tattered and torn,
That kissed the maiden all forlorn,
That milked the cow with the crumpled horn,
That tossed the dog,
That worried the cat,
That killed the rat,
That ate the malt
That lay in the house that Jack built.

This is the farmer sowing his corn,
That kept the cock that crowed in the morn,
That waked the priest all shaven and shorn,
That married the man all tattered and torn,
That kissed the maiden all forlorn,
That milked the cow with the crumpled horn,
That tossed the dog,
That worried the cat,
That killed the rat,
That ate the malt
That lay in the house that Jack built.

bright copper kettles

I was looking around our living room realizing that I will soon need to pack up some of the Stuff. (Yes, construction starts soon!) I realized we have a lot of Stuff. I'm not a pack rat, and in fact I often toss things I then find I need again, so my mind immediately went to "what here can I toss?"  But then I saw this:

This is a carving made a long time ago by my father from one solid piece of wood. Now it has links and working gears. I've always loved fiddling with it and I keep it out on an end table so others can enjoy playing with it too.

I realized that most of the Stuff around me is important to me. Yes, there are probably a few things that won't make it back out of the boxes, but most of it will. I began to walk around my house looking for more of My Favorite Things.


My recipe file. This used to be my grandmother's. She was a great baker and I remember seeing the relative size of the recipe sections inside it when I received it after her death. There were an equal amount of cards under each category of "desserts" "cookies" "cakes" "pies/pastries" and "frostings/fillings." Yes really. The sweets took up most of the file. I suppose the cooking she did was by memory; a roast chicken didn't need a recipe card but baking usually does. I've tied up and put away a good number of her recipes to make room for my own, but the cut-out fruits on the top, matching her kitchen wallpaper, remind me of her every time I use it. (I seem to accumulate both cookie recipes and appetizers. She'd be proud.)

The Hummels on my dresser are from another grandmother. When she passed away, family members found multiple, conflicting lists of items she wanted to give away. Headache. I'm grateful to have these from her collection. Are they valuable? I don't know and I don't care. They're valuable to me regardless.

 The bear toward the right is my Teddy. I've had him most of my life and I'm happy to have him here in Bug's room, still nearby.  Next to him is Easter. (I leaned toward practical names) Her original dress, which matched the plaid in her ears, was left tied to a hotel bedpost somewhere between CA and IN in 1974. Sister M.D. made the jointed bear on the left. And the red overalls he gets to wear. My china doll is on the end.  Bug is sentimental enough to enjoy having them around.


This is a baby sized baseball hat. It used to fit my baby. I keep it hanging in my bedroom because Bug inherited that sentimentality from someone legitimately. I should have put something next to it to show the relative size. It fit him until he could sit independently, so still tiny (in that Bug was ever tiny.)


This takes more explanation. I don't even remember what year this is from, but I'll guess that Bug was three or four. I just remember that I was going to fly to Indianapolis with the boys and leave CD home alone. Bug was trying to express how much he would miss his daddy by stretching his arms wide. I took a long piece of masking tape and let him show me. He helped write on it "I will miss Daddy when I leave T H I S much." When the kitchen is finished and repainted should this be removed and the door repainted? Probably. But only if the tape comes off intact.

Rodgers And Hammerstein
My Favorite Things

Raindrops on roses and whiskers on kittens
Bright copper kettles and warm woolen mittens
Brown paper packages tied up with strings
These are a few of my favorite things

Cream colored ponies and crisp apple strudels
Door bells and sleigh bells and schnitzel with noodles
Wild geese that fly with the moon on their wings
These are a few of my favorite things

Girls in white dresses with blue satin sashes
Snowflakes that stay on my nose and eyelashes
Silver white winters that melt into Springs
These are a few of my favorite things

When the dog bites
When the bee stings
When I'm feeling sad
I simply remember my favorite things
And then I don't feel so bad.