Friday again

Most mornings, we can see a dove perched on our neighbor's roof.  He sits up there and coos.  We dig it.  Earlier this week, our dove and a friend stopped by our pond.  Can you find them?

We haven't turned on the pump yet, so we're not getting the zen-like sounds of gently flowing water.  Soon.

 The indoor seeds are sprouting (along with a little mold, it appears).  I also fed our houseplants for the first time in ... ever?  I can't remember giving them any food.  I'm halfway expecting the houseplants to turn back flips!  I'll let you know if that happens.

And the first baseball game is scheduled for tomorrow--but so is an 80% chance of rain.  In case of a rainout, I have plenty of reading material to see me through.

Happy weekend!

Improved

{Big exhale} That's much better.

Boy, Friday was a downer, wasn't it?  I decided that I couldn't wait for the weather to improve to cheer me up, so Caitlin and I went in search of our own cheer.  We had a nice long trip to the grocery store where we bought ice cream and lots of fixin's for sundaes.  I think we all had some ice cream Friday night. 

And Saturday!  Well, I think you could hear everyone in the county tear off their coats, run outside and raise their arms to the sky and shout, "finally!"  A much-needed day of sunshine and warmth.  Oh, it did wonders for the spirit.  I finally made it outside to the garden.  We added in some fresh organic soil and put in some seeds.

Yesterday Bobby participated in the Pinewood Derby regionals.  He did well--even came home with a small trophy.  I think Rob is already planning next year's car.

Tonight is one of those crazy nights--Caitlin has dance from 4:30 to 5:30, and Bobby has baseball practice at 6.  I have a meeting at 7:30.  I'm planning on spaghetti and meatballs.  But as I typed this out, I saw that we don't really have a window of time to sit down and eat together (somehow I was thinking there was more than a half-hour of time between activities--Bobby will be practically jumping out of one car and into another).  I think I'll make the meal early this afternoon, and then serve it in shifts--or I'll bring Bobby's dinner to dance!  We'll just make it up as we go!

This week I'll try to take more pictures of my New York cardigan.  It's still in progress, but now I can see light at the end of the tunnel!

I wish you all a happy Monday!

Ten Things

It's Friday again, and I'm wondering if I can come up with ten things...it seems the delayed Spring is affecting my mood.  Here goes:

 1.  I feel like I've been in a creative funk.  Or rather, I am working on some things, but I feel like completing them is taking forever, or there are so many things I want to make, but I have limited time, I don't know.  It's sort of a rushed feeling--or a not-enough-time feeling--does that make sense? 

2. In general, I'm battling an overall crabby mood (mine) around the house.  And I feel like I'm nagging myself.  And nobody responds well to nagging.  I think it's time to give myself some grace.

3. Remember these pillows that I recovered recently?  Well, even all prettied up, they're still a thorn in my side because I'm still finding them all over the floor.  I am seriously contemplating following Larissa's lead and pitching them.  And I may also pare down the blanket collection in the family room too for the same reason.

 4.  Caitlin was sent home from school yesterday with a temperature of 101.5, so she's home again today.  I was on my way to Lowe's yesterday to buy garden soil so I could finally get started on our veggies when I got the call from the nurse.  I may take her over there today, but it's supposed to rain today...maybe I'll just do it tomorrow when the weather is supposed to improve.  Sigh.  Delayed gratification can be difficult.

 5.  We have one more Lenten supper to go.  This Wednesday night is a special night at our church.  It is the actual anniversary date of our church's founding--150 years!  I'm looking forward to the celebration, but I will also be very glad to have this year's suppers behind me.

 6.  We are planning our summer vacation already.  It looks like we're going to take a road trip to Niagara Falls and then over to Toronto.  This means passports for the kids.  Would you believe I have an appointment at the post office for the kids' passports for 8:30 on a Saturday morning?  I don't even want to think about how early that is!  I don't know the last time all five of us rolled out to be anywhere by 8:30 in the morning. 

 7.  Kristyn left a great comment last week about dinner recipes to help get through baseball season.  It's a great one to think over.  Right now, I'm stumped!  All of Bobby's weeknight games are scheduled for 6:00, and he probably has to be at the field by 5:45 at the latest.  I want the kids (and the adults, if we can) to eat before the game.  Eating dinner at 8:00 on a school night is not conducive to a peaceful bedtime.  So, that leaves us eating dinner around 5:00, 5:15 at the latest.  I'll let you know what we come up with.

 8.  I have not been taking pictures.  Maybe looking through the camera will help me see things in a more positive light.  Pulling up some of these old pictures has been a treat.  See how stinkin' cute Bobby was?

 9.  Hey--I'm all the way to nine!  That's kind of a cheat, isn't it?

10.  I'm going to take a deep breath and go plan something fun for all of us for tonight.

April (Or, everyone say, "Hi, Mike!")

It was T.S. Eliot who wrote that "April is the cruelest month..."  I know, because I looked it up.  It's the first thought I had when I looked out the window this morning.  Here, have a look out my window:

Not so promising, is it?  The kids have a half-day today. This afternoon, we're going to the movies.

Bobby's baseball schedule has been published, so we're looking at a whole lotta crazy for the next couple of months, because it's not just two ball games a week, it's also dance picture day, dance dress rehearsal day, cub scout field trips, two cub scout meetings that we have to run, spring strings concert, spring chorus concert, et cetera, et cetera.

What's with the "Hi, Mike!"?  He's my brother.  He requested more frequent blog posts.  So there you have it.  I'm all about customer service.

And just because Mike loves the Phillies so much--here's Rob and Cliff Lee on Wednesday night.

Bobby has been pulling teeth like it's his job.  He also just asks us for the money--he can't be bothered by any Tooth Fairy middleman.

Even though the weather looks like winter, the ants know it's spring, because they've resumed their annual assault on my house.  I won't say any more on that topic.  Unless you have any advice--I'll take advice!

And that's a wrap for this week!  I hope you are able to find some signs of spring wherever you are!

All over the place

I really admire those of you who can continue to post regularly through life's busy seasons.  Even though I may not post for a while, rest assured I'm still reading--even if I don't comment.  When life gets crazy, something has to give...so we've been busy.  The birthday weekend was full of just about everything.  There was even a parenting lesson that became painfully obvious while watching our now-nine-year-old crash and burn at her birthday dinner.  There is such a thing as too much stimulation, even at that age!

 The family celebration on Sunday was a low-key affair.  The time change really did a number on me this year!  Last week I splurged at the local fabric store--I bought a couple of the pricey Echino half-yard cuts and I made a new spring bag:

 And another tote-type bag, too.  Because I might have some knitting or reading to haul around once baseball season begins.

 Last Friday our temperature went up to 70 degrees.  We had windows open.  The kids wanted to grill dinner.  The kids also wanted to get on their bathing suits (I vetoed that one).  And yesterday it was snowing.  I told Caroline that it was the last snow she'd see for the year. Until this morning, when it was lightly snowing/sleeting/raining again.

 This weekend, the boys are going to work on their rockets for the next scout derby.  I think I'll be working on the garden.  This is my first try at sowing seeds indoors.  Wish me luck!

I wish you all a relaxing weekend that is full of whatever you need!

Bathroom Re-do

It's done!  Our downstairs bathroom is done!

This is Before.  The walls had a suede finish, and you can see where I tried to paint over the places where the kids pulled the toilet paper holder out of the wall.  The little ledges over the toilet have been empty since early January.  I used to put seasonal decorations on them, but I didn't really have enough to make it a go year-round.  Ditto with the pictures on the wall--they're still from fall.  This room needed a freshening up!

So here's a During picture.  I primed the walls.  This was taken after I was done with the cutting in.  I like to paint secret pictures on the walls before I go over them with the roller, besides, it's fun to hide hearts on the walls!

I applied two coats of paint.  This room is so tiny (like 5' x 5'), that it really took no time at all to paint.  The color is Morning Lake, and I bought it from Lowe's.

And here is the After:

I am trying again with a wall-mounted toilet paper holder.  The kids are older now, so I think I can trust them not to rip it out of the wall.  And I could go on for days about how much I love the new art on the walls.  They're reproductions of old WPA posters, and they were quite affordable.

I am hoping to purchase a small cabinet to put opposite the toilet so that I can keep spare towels and toilet paper in the bathroom.  The sink is a pedestal, so there's no storage.  Even without a cabinet, I love it!

Now it's time to start getting ready for the parties--I have to start baking cupcakes and cleaning this house!  At least I don't have to worry about the bathroom!

Evans Family March Madness

It's here--Evans Family March Madness!  This Friday is Rob's birthday, and Saturday is Caitlin's birthday.  There is a Father-Daughter dance on Friday night (this year it's a luau theme), a birthday party at our house on Saturday afternoon, and a large family celebration here on Sunday, complete with turkey dinner!


Last weekend we went to an outlet mall.  I bought a new salt pig!

 I'm also going to paint our downstairs bathroom this week.  It's all good.  I should add that it's a very small room--like 5' by 5'--so I'm confident I can finish this in a couple of days.

Ordering supplies for Caitlin's party was the perfect excuse to finally buy this baker's twine.

In knitting news, I have set the Tomten on the back burner for now.  I had Bobby try it on to check the sleeve length (I was maybe three-quarters done on one sleeve) and we discovered that the decreases as written were making the sleeve way too skinny.  Bobby wasn't exactly jumping up and down for me to finish it immediately, so I pulled out some of my yarn stash and got to work on a springy knit for me.  I have really started to love purple in the last year or so--I don't think I'll be painting any walls purple, but it's great to wear.

My new knit--the New York cardigan.

Next week marks the first of five soup suppers at church.  I am in charge of the committee that oversees those, so the next five weeks will fly by.  For our first supper, I'm going to make the broccoli soup recipe from Apples for Jam.  It's easy, and Bobby even requested it!



On Sunday, we went to the 11:00 service, so I had time to make a Spanish omelet for breakfast.



So there's what I'm up to this week.  Maybe if we're lucky, I can post some before and after bathroom shots later this week.  I am really excited about it.