Some Women Knit Booties

Some women (even me) have been known to make booties in the third trimester. I get crazy ideas about making giant sculptures out of sticks in the yard. It takes all types to make a world. Last year I posted about my first round of pruning the apple tree, and this year I knew another big whack needed to be taken at it but it was a daunting task for a pregnant chica in winter. Teetering on a ladder in January with a saw is now always advised in prenatal texts. Wow was I relieved and excited when A surprised me and manifested his own spontaneous interest in fruit tree pruning and decided to practice on our apple! Whew! He really went to town and took off several limbs I was too intimidated to try to saw through. When he was finished there was a giant pile of sticks and branches sitting on the lawn. He hauled some of them to the curb for spring cleaning pick-up by the city and then I stopped him because a wild, hair-brained idea struck.

Beginnings. A big heap of apple trimmings. You can see how I was starting to lay out the arch shape, flat on the ground on the left side of the photo.

"Leave the rest! I'm going to build something!" And so I did.

And here's the finished project...at least as finished as it gets until it has plant occupants.

Lots of scratches on the arms and loads of grunting, hoisting and weaving later...we have a giant stick sculpture arbor that leads from our driveway into the back garden. Kind of fun! I'm not sure how long it will last, its not exactly permanent but for now it is a pretty fun thing to have accomplished. I was thinking of the hood-type willow weaving I did in our condo garden a couple of years ago and then as I worked it ended up being a lot bigger than I was expecting. Am still trying to decide if it needs some kind of foot anchoring via stakes or something or some other reinforcement but it is pretty heavy and although it flexes a little in the wind it has managed to stay standing quite solidly so far. Now...the big question is what to plant on it! Clematis? Morning glories? Climbing roses? Honeysuckle?

Spring, Full-On!

Here I am, back at the beginning of a new week again. We're having real spring here, we're deep the midst of a forsythia explosion, and the daffodils are working to best them in sunny glow. Its a good time of year. Little bouquets come in with me from every single gardening session, my own or gifts from the boys, at least one cluster from our own yard on the table at a time, usually two or three.

Violets from our lawn. Two different colors. :)

We had a great time celebrating Ru's birthday and Easter although it did take a little psychological trimming on my part to pull it all off without any meltdowns. We had an Easter hunt instead of a hunt and filled baskets waiting on the breakfast table. I cut the candy level way down and gave the boys some mini-Lego sets, seed packets and some energy bars to fill out their loot collection.

Happy birthday big man!

I bought myself a new dress but just dressed the boys and A in dress clothes they already had, no mass wrangling into new, stiff ties and matching dress shirts. Easter meal was modestified a bit too, a special lamb roast but otherwise it was simple veggie dishes and easy no prep appetizer type nibbley bits: a small smoked trout, some fresh berries, a blue cheese, some nuts...etc. Special but low fuss was my goal. For Ru's birthday we mostly spent a day together as a family in small celebration and then included friends with another fuss-free event...a nature scavenger hunt at a local park with celebratory glasses of lemonade together afterwards. Less is often more. (How many times do I need to tell myself this in order to actually absorb it?)

Family shot on Easter morning.

Belly-twin shot with a great friend who is due a week or two after me. She is having a girl that she plans to name Ulla...I am having a surprise but if we have a girl, Una is tops on our list. That'll get confusing, eh?

Am feeling the itch and thinking seriously about making this week be my spring cleaning week. I've talked before about The Seasonal Scrub from Brocante Home which is my favorite way to tackle the house with zest and vim. I just printed off her cleaning list and am thinking about opening all the windows and doors next. Its a new week, its a new season and the holiday is behind me...time to nest!

Six Times Around

He's having a great day and he's been around the sun six whole times now! Today Ru turns six years old. We're celebrating some today (lunch at the local cafe, cake and special dinner at home and maybe, maybe a short romp at The Children's Museum this afternoon) and then a little more on Saturday after Daddy A has had a chance to get out and do a little top secret shopping for the man-of-the-hour.

Am so pleased to have shared a little over half a decade with this spunky boy. He's all buzz and high octane, has taught me a lot about myself and about children and been the source of loads of wonderful memories already. I cannot wait for another year of them. Am reminding myself of all the little ways I'm thankful for this boy with the twinkly eyes and the dimple and trying to keep things cheery for him in the midst of this really busy week. BUT...that said, I can't stay long....its nap-time which means it is time for all good birthday fairies to get busy with balloon arranging and cake decorating and burger prepping for all manner of party goodness which will go down tonight!