Mary and Martha

Outside, it's been so chilly at night . . .

. . . that I found frost on the crocuses

when I walked Todd to the bus stop this morning.

Inside, I'm building a "mama heating pad brooder" . . .

. . . to keep some little chicks warm while we build a chicken tractor for them.

(A chicken tractor is a mobile coop with no floor

that allows chickens to forage in your yard in a safe environment.)

This quirky project was inspired by my Uncle Jim, who used to keep three Golden Comet hens

in a chicken tractor that he would move to a new patch of his lawn each day.

He said the camo paint job was kind of ugly, but the chickens were fun!

Our two little chicks are named Mary and Martha (hatched 27 March 2023).

They belong to a category of chickens called Plymouth Rocks

(which seemed very fitting, since we live in Massachusetts).

Plymouth Rocks come in a range of colors (white, brown, silver, etc.).

Ours will have black and white stripes, and are called "Barred Rocks."

They are known for being hardy, friendly chickens which lay lots of eggs. 

I didn't tell the kids I was buying chicks today,

and I was curious to see how quickly they would notice 

puffy little creatures peeping in a corner of our kitchen.

Todd spotted them as soon as he sat down for his after-school snack.

Everyone else took a while longer.

I guess when you're a younger kid with less on your mind,

you're more likely to stop and smell the roses

(or listen to the noises in your kitchen).

Math Mysteries and Fashionable Guinea Pigs

This evening, the kids and I headed to Todd's school for 

Math and Literacy Night!

"What's that?" you might ask.

Um, we weren't sure what to expect either.

But it kind of sounded like a party,

and we're always up for parties!

We got to solve a math mystery . . .

. . . play Apples to Apples in the library . . .

 . . . and read a delightful picture book entitled "Mother Bruce"

(about baby goslings who think a grumpy bear is their mom)

to a cute but rather bored-looking dog.

Then we ate a quick dinner and headed to the church

for our Tuesday night activities.

Todd's Primary Boy group cut and tied fleece blankets for kids in need.

Todd loved that our fleece was covered with guinea pigs

wearing cute little hats and bow ties.

Mint and Bok Choy

Most people have a hobby

that they keep coming back to year after year.

For me, it's gardening.

And trying new things.

Like trying to sprout some grocery store mint

that I brought home from California 

(it was left over from Andrew's dozen or so batches of agua fresca).

It doesn't seem to be in a hurry to sprout,

but I'm pretty sure it will in the coming weeks.

Although the mint isn't in a rush to grow yet,

my baby bok choy experiment is a different story.

I chopped the leaves off a few days ago to make a salad,

then stuck the stems in water by a sunny window.

Four days later, they've already put out big, new leaves!

Plants can be kind of magical like that.

Hello, Spring!

Spring officially started earlier this week.

Sometimes the vernal equinox just feels like another chilly day,

but this time there really seems to be a change in the weather.

The air feels warmer, the sun seems brighter,

and I feel more alive.

After months of grey and white winter,

it's fun to see green daffodils . . .

. . . and crocuses poking up in our little berry patch.

We don't want weeds to poke up around our bushes though,

so it's time to add this year's layer of mulch.

Thanks for your help, Anna!

Two Daniels

I met with Daniel and Anna's teachers for spring conferences today.

The conversations went well, but as usual,

my favorite part about visiting my kids' classrooms . . .

. . . was reading the pithy posters on the teachers' walls.

Speaking of responsibility,

Daniel started his first job today!

He was recently hired to bag groceries at Market Basket

where Joy works as a cashier.

He was "trained" by another Daniel,

who only had one more day of work experience than our Daniel did.

Fortunately, his sister was working a few feet away 

and supplemented his training with some helpful tips.

Views from Three Windows

To paraphrase "Gigi" (my kids' nickname for my paternal grandma),

my California trip is gone, and it didn't take long.

I had a great time with my family, but yesterday morning it was time to head home.

Here are the views I've seen out of a few windows in the last 24 hours:

Southern California:

Pleasant and sunny (two days after it rained on our garden party :P )

Central California:

A giant patchwork quilt of farmland

Seattle:

Cloudy and rainy.  Because, Seattle.

Massachusetts:

Super snowy.  

Those aren't little flurries falling out of the sky.  

They're big clumps of snowflakes.

I'm sure glad the storm blew in AFTER my plane landed last night!

With snow blanketing the world outside,

it was a perfect day to bake a Dutch apple pie,

and play "Race to Pi" with my family.

I hope you had a happy Pi(e) Day too!

Sunday with Red Grandma

I stayed at Red Grandma's house after her birthday party last night . . .

. . . then we went to church together this morning.

Most ward members have aged a lot since the last time I saw them

(and I suppose I have too) . . .

. . . but my dad's truck still looks pretty much the same.

He sold his work truck to a friend before he and Red Grandma left on their mission to Georgia,

and it was fun to see that familiar white pickup in the church parking lot today.

It even has the same license plate, with all of the "lucky 8s" on it.

After church, we went back to Mom's house for a family brunch

(somehow, the only picture I took was of Joe showing off the fancy socks

Joy bought for her dad and uncles at Christmastime),

then Mom and I took Aunt Lisa to the airport . . .

. . . and paid a visit to the Yorba Linda Temple construction site on our way home.

There's not much to see there at the moment . . .

. . . except the steeple of the old chapel the Church tore down

so we can build something even better in the coming years.

The last thing on our agenda was a walk to Mom's neighbor's house

so she could show me his fun topiaries.

They remind Mom of one of her favorite picture books:

"The Night Gardener"

Strangers in Her Garage

It's Surprise Party Day!

Red Grandma's sister Lisa took her shopping for the afternoon . . .

. . . so we could come over and prep for the party.

We chose a garden party theme,

and some guests decided to wear (very) floral attire.

We planned to set up tables on her patio,

but sunny California is getting a lot of rain this spring

and today was no exception,

so we had to put the tables indoors.

As we eagerly watched her car pull up the driveway,

Heather received a text from her.

We thought we'd disabled Red Grandma's garage door opener so she'd come in her front door, 

but apparently we didn't do it right, because she opened the garage and saw the caterers.

Grandma's text to Heather: "Who are the strangers in my garage?"

Heather's panicked response: "I don't know.  Just come in the front door."

'Cuz that's not fishy at all. :-/

Heather then went out and said she'd decided to have their little family dinner catered.

(Nice recovery, Heather!)

Then the birthday girl walked in the front door,

and we all got to surprise her!

Happy 70th birthday, Red Grandma!

We all love ya bunches!!! 

Surprise Party Eve

While I was staying with Heather today, I got to . . .

. . . pet a cute little kitty . . .

. . . read with Jojo . . .

. . . look at sweet family pictures

on Heather's electric picture frame . . .

. . . help pick up a vintage birthday present for my mom

(it's a Ford Galaxy like the one she used to drive in high school,

and it broke down on the freeway 

while we were driving it to Heather's house) . . .

. . . and hug my brother Andrew when he arrived in town!

We're counting down the hours till Mom's party tomorrow!

Ironically, when Mom called Heather this afternoon,

Heather asked what Mom would like her to cook for her birthday dinner tomorrow.

Mom said, "Just surprise me."

I think we can definitely grant that wish.

Leaving for a Party

This morning, I said . . .

"So long, Boston! I'm heading to California, 

for my mom's surprise 70th birthday party!!!"

I was looking forward to having a window seat,

until I got to my row and realized

it had no window.

Who knew windowless airplane rows were even a thing?

I'm staying with my sister Heather for a couple days

while we get things ready for the party.

Tonight I got to help her take care of the horses . . .

. . . and change the bandage on Hurricane's ankle.

Get well soon, buddy!

Unexpected Things

I saw some interesting sights this afternoon.

First, there were these weird, curvy icicles

on a shed at the transfer station (AKA, the dump).

Then Cici got scared and flew into the family room.

Apparently, she decided that the safest place for her to land

was the ceiling fan.

We concluded that the most effective way to get her down

was to turn on the fan.

It eventually got going so fast that she lost her grip . . .

. . . and flapped to a nice, stable, non-spinning refrigerator instead.