Todd Ties

It is such a blessing to have friends with skills I don't possess

who are happy to share their talents.

Todd's church activity group sewed ties for Father's Day earlier this month.

The bad news is that I have neither a sewing machine, nor anything beyond basic sewing skills.

The good news is that our friend Laura Thomas has both . . .

. . . and kindly showed Todd how to sew a tie for himself and his dad.

She even invited us over to her house to finish them today, 

since we didn't have quite enough time to complete them at the activity.

Thank you, Laura!

Hints of Summer

It's beginning to feel like summer around here.

We've set up a hefty, dual-hose AC unit next to our family room window . . .

. . . someone parked a huge bull statue by the gas station

to remind one and all of the carnival this weekend . . .

. . . the kids played with friends at the park today

(Todd was in his pajamas, and Daniel was dressed for winter) . . .

. . . and my bucket garden is thriving.

All my alpine strawberry plants are laden with delicious red gems.

Life is good.

Bringing Joy to Parker

This afternoon, Joy and I headed to Parker for the last school pickup of the year.

We met Daniel and Anna in the lobby . . .

and Joy commented that it was her first time being inside Parker.

Daddy and I have been there for teacher conferences,

I worked as a Parker sub for a few months last year,

and Daniel and Anna obviously know their way around there.

Somehow it never occurred to me that Joy hadn't even been inside

a school that feels so familiar to most of our family.

With the lobby tour complete,

Joy and I drove Daniel home while Anna

went on an end-of-school outing with some friends.

Good thing we had an umbrella in the van that she could borrow 

for the soggy walk to Ruby Donuts.

Coral Bells and a Lime Zinger

One of my favorite plants . . .

. . . is an ornamental oregano called "Kent's Beauty."

I usually don't bother planting annuals that won't survive the winter,

but I'm a sucker for this one because its blooms are so unique.

I've also decided to liven up our mailbox area

with some hardy perennials like coral bells . . .

. . . a few interesting sedums (like this "Lime Zinger") . . .

. . . and a mallow plant.

All of these plants are supposed to be very hardy

and unappetizing to cute little bunnies.

In the past, I figured that at least the flowerbeds out by the road

might be safe from adorable, landscape-devouring woodland creatures.

'Cuz the cars and dog walkers would scare them away, right?

Then I saw this guy hop out of my neighbor's bushes next to Rosie

(who is blooming like crazy--yay!).

I guess I should just assume if I plant anything that rabbits find tasty,

it's going to get chomped no matter where it is in our yard.

Hopefully this one isn't hungry for a rose bush salad.

Looking Fierce in a Fancy Dress

Joy heard that a local library

was hosting a flamenco demonstration today,

and she asked if I wanted to come along and watch it with her.

Sure! Why not?

We learned that this Spanish style of dancing

can be performed sitting or standing,

and it's as much about sound as movement.

The performers played castanets . . .

. . . and danced on wooden boards so we could hear every time

their special shoes struck the floor.

Their demonstration was fun to watch,

and I came away half tempted to sign up for flamenco lessons . . .

. . . but I probably smile too much.

Whether Spaniards are dancing or fighting bulls,

there seems to be a rule that the performers

have to look really fierce.

Actually, I might be willing to look fierce for a little while,

if I got to wear a dress like that.

Birb Spaghetti

After dinner this evening . . .

. . . we headed over to Todd's school . . .

. . . to check out some of the artwork

he and his classmates have made this year.

Like paper mache ice cream cones . . .

. . . and ceramic paint tubes.

Todd decided to dub his mixed-media masterpiece

"Birb Spaghetti Gold and Saucy Red."

Because, you know, Cici.

The Albumblatt Is Prettier Than It Sounds

Our piano teacher hosted her annual student recital yesterday.

Todd played a couple minuets by J. S. Bach . . .

. . . and Anna performed a beautiful song with an ugly name:

"Albumblatt Opus 66."

Apparently, "albumblatt" is German for "album leaf,"

and it means a short, instrumental composition.

That's all well and good, but to our un-German ears,

the word sounds like someone gagging.

It felt a little strange to not see Daniel's name on the program this year.

Daniel decided to stop taking formal piano lessons a few months ago,

but he still plays the piano almost daily--

a mix of old favorites, new pieces he's polishing, and his own compositions.

He says he may start lessons again someday,

but for now I'm glad he enjoys the piano so much

that he keeps honing his skills and learning new songs.

A Little Help from My Friend

A while back, I purchased some woodworking plans on Etsy . . .

. . . to build a planter box . . .

. . . that holds five-gallon buckets.

Woo-hoo! Bucket garden upgrade!

My carpentry skills are somewhat limited,

but my friend Jean loves to help with carpentry projects and yard work,

so she happily volunteered to give me a hand.

She's also helping me tear out the hydrangeas out front,

so I can replace them with something that doesn't look like

a sad bunch of bare sticks for most of the year.

Thank you, Jean!!!

Pirates and Not Owls

The last day of school for Parker seniors

almost has a carnival atmosphere.

The senior class picked a theme 

(this year's group chose an ocean theme--think pirates and mermaids),

then they decorated portions of the school . . .

. . . and this car . . .

. . . and even the younger students

(if you look closely at Anna's cheeks,

you can see that she's been painted with pink "mermaid" glitter).

Incidentally, the balloon Anna's holding 

has nothing to do with the ocean or the seniors.

One of her friends likes to draw creatures that look like owls,

but she insists they are definitely not owls.

Anna asked her friend to teach her how to draw "not owls,"

and the drawing on the balloon is Anna's handiwork.

I'd rather have her bring home a "not owl" than a pirate.

A mermaid might be fun, but we don't have a pool.

Blanket Flowers and Mallow

There's something about springtime that suddenly makes me want to do

ALL THE GARDEN THINGS.

Now that I've planted veggie vines and fruit bushes,

I've started scouring the local garden centers for perennial flowers . . .

. . . like blanket flowers to add color to the berry patch . . .

. . . as well as this mallow plant . . .

. . . and some sedums to liven up the area near our mailbox.

I also picked up a coleus because it wilts dramatically when it dries out, but recovers quickly.

I bought it as a "canary" for my bucket garden, to show me when I need to water it.

And this red yarrow?

I'd like to say I bought it because it attracts beneficial insects,

but the truth is that I couldn't resist the striking red color.

Cycle Gear

We heard that Cycle Gear was having a Memorial Day Sale this weekend . . . 

. . . so we went on a little family outing this afternoon.

We figured it would be wise to have properly-fitting helmets and jackets

when Daddy takes the kids (or Mama) on a motorcycle ride.

We also took some family pictures this weekend.

You be the judge--who wore Mom's sunglasses best?

Anna?

Todd?

Or Joy?

Yeah . . . definitely Joy.

Girls' Night Out

Anna has outgrown a bunch of her clothes,

so the girls and I went shopping in Leominster this afternoon.

We tried on a few practical things . . .

. . . and some slightly less practical ones . . .

. . . then went to dinner at Olive Garden.

It's fun to have a girls' night out, now and then.

A Hare-Brained Home-Cooling Experiment

It has long irked me that our main floor gets so hot in summer,

while our basement stays nice and cool.

If only we could somehow get that cool air into the the upper floors!

This week, I persuaded my reluctant husband to try an experiment.

What if we propped the bulkhead door open,

and turned on the whole-house fan to pull air up through the basement?

We tried it, and that seemed to help with the temperature of our home,

but we couldn't just leave the door wide open

because of my other summertime nemesis: mosquitos.

So . . .

. . . we built a bulkhead cover out of scrap lumber and hardware cloth.

We didn't have enough hardware cloth to cover the top,

so we used metal fabric from an old screen,

then covered it with cardboard so the fabric wouldn't tear 

the moment a chipmunk or squirrel hopped up onto it.

Abby: That monstrosity is a crime against carpentry.

Martha: Think it'll work?

Abby: It would take a miracle.

Unfortunately, Abby was right, but not for any reason I would have anticipated.

Humidity is the percentage of moisture that air can hold, and hot air can hold more water,

so guess what happens when you pull hot, humid air into a cool basement?

The temperature drops, but the amount of water doesn't, so the cooled air becomes VERY humid.

And super-humid air is NOT what you want in your basement.

Once we realized how musty our basement was getting, we closed the bulkhead, turned off the fan,

and Phillip headed to his office to research portable AC units, which is what he had wanted to do all along.

Thank you, dear husband, for helping me try my wacky experiment,

and being gracious about how badly it turned out.

Second Story Photo Shoot

The weather is starting to heat up again . . .

. . . so it's time for Joy to climb up onto the roof

and put the cover back on our skylight.

Joy has an odd fascination with clambering around on our roof,

and as usual, she asked me to take pictures of her

perching on the tallest, most precarious parts of our house.

Mom: I'll take a few quick photos,

then come down immediately before you get hurt!

Teenage Daughter: OK, just a minute.  Let me fix my hair,

and get my pose just right.

Teenage Daughter: All right, I'm ready.  

After this shot, can we take some more pictures 

over there by the chimney?

Mom: No. Come down before you break something.

Teenage Daughter: (Exasperated sigh.)