laeroport

the view from here

I keep my laptop on the kitchen table.  When it is time to eat, I move it to the little book case next to my chair, along with all the mail and school papers that threaten to overwhelm us from time to time.  I spend probably 50% of my time each day sitting in this spot.  When it is cold, I love the feel of the warm sun at my back.  It doesn't hurt that my chair is directly over the heat vent.  It is a good place to read a magazine or work out our menu for the week or do a little sewing by hand.  I have a straight view to the front door, the dining room, the family room and what's on the tv, and out the kitchen window. 

And yesterday, while going through photos for the annual Christmas calendar, I discovered two photos from this spot.  In January:

and in October:

I wish I had taken one in April when that redbud tree was in all it's glory.  But just look at the way those succulents on the windowsill have grown!  All from a little cutting from Ben & Martha's wedding almost exactly two years ago.  Amazing how things grow with a little love and light and a good view.

more randomness...

fewer photos.

• Friday's school Valentine party went well.  How could we go wrong with $5.00 pizzas and opening up the valentines?
• Friday night we parked on the couch with more pizza for the splendor of the Olympics opening ceremony.  I loved it.  The whales, the trees, K.D. Lang.... all fantastic.  The only thing I didn't really care for was that version of O, Canada!  Someone commented on a friend's fb page that it sounded "Americanized".  It made me sad to think that "Americanized" equals crappy.  It's hard to be a Yank, sometimes.  Especially when you have such a love for the rest of the world.
• I am now on a Canadian music jag.  K.D. Lang, Sarah McLachlan, Holly Cole, the Weakerthans... ::bliss::
• Saturday was a busy day.  Eliot had soccer and the kids went to a concert with the grandparents, while I went to watch my niece, Kate, play basketball.  It was good to hang out (and laugh! so hard!) with my brother and his family.  We also visited my Grandma in the acute care facility that she had been in since early December.  She goes home today.  Hallelujah!  Which means that her dog will go home from my parents' house as well, putting an end to cute photos like this:

• Saturday night we watched the Olympic coverage from my parent's house, during which my mother - after 25+ years of requests - finally taught me to crochet.  She always wrote me off as un-teachable because I'm a lefty.  Guess what?  I crochet (and do many other things) right handed. 
• So far, I've crocheted two doll scarves, a doll hat (for Kit) and a scarf for Aidin.  None of which have been very good, but I am enjoying the practice.
• We celebrated St. Valentine's Chinese New Year with Chinese take-out, not a good home cooked meal like Kirsten's family.  But we did have chopsticks, courtesy of Santa in our stockings at Christmas.
• Sunday I did not get out of my pajamas.  And that was a very good thing. (Trust me, you didn't need a photo of that!)
• Tonight I'm thinking Red Beans and Rice for Mardi Gras.  I tell you, February is full of celebrations!
• Gratituitous photo in Mardi Gras colors.  Happy (Fat) Tuesday! 

 

a list of randomness

*I love it when things just come together.  Last week the Happiness Project Challenge was to give proofs of love.  Well, nothing new here.  From February 1st through Valentine's Day, for as long as we've been married, I've left Tim little notes on his pillow or taped to the bathroom mirror.  Often they are inscribed with bad puns and taped to some little gift that was probably on the grocery list anyway.  This year has been no different. (And that signature: It's Lovi, not Lori.  In 1996 Tim and I spent a month traveling around India by train.  They post the reservations list on the outside of the carriages, so you can check which one you're in.  He was listed as Tin and I was listed as Lovi. We liked it.  We got a giggle out of it.  And it stuck.)  
 
 For today, I left a CD of not-so-sappy love songs in his car.  And now, I can't get "Time in a Bottle" out of my head, although I've been singing the original, not the Muppet version.  But really, who can resist Muppets?


* Last Saturday Eliot had another birthday party to attend, and I made yet another tote bag as a gift.  The birthday boy punched Eliot in the nose earlier in the week, so I wasn't very excited about making him something REALLY cool.  What was that about "give proofs of love"?  Uh, yeah.

 

* I'm on a mission to turn my kids into musical junkies.  This is nothing new, really.  Netflix is a great enabler.  Last week I introduced them to The Music Man.  This week:  Hello, Dolly!  It helped to sell Eliot on HD to know it was source material for Wall-E.  And this morning we had an in-depth discussion about how Wall-E rhymed with Dolly.  Hmmm.... interesting.



* It's Valentine central over here.  And all our project ideas came from Family Fun.  Aidin finished up her ipods yesterday.  Eliot still has to finish up his owls tonight.



* Tomorrow holds the school Valentine parties (I'm in charge of Aidin's) and the opening ceremony of the Vancouver Olympics.  We are excited on all counts!

* There is a lot more rattling around in my head, but I'll spare you, for now..... :)
 

20 days

That's how long it has been since my last blog post.  Rather pathetic.  And yet, that is how I am feeling at the moment.  Nothing I'm doing is particularly blog-worthy, but I guess I'll go ahead and fill you in:

• I went to the pumpkin patch with Eliot's class

 

• I went on a field trip with Aidin's class
• I took a friend to and from her colonoscopy
• I belly danced at a school fund raiser
• I spent five of the last six weekend days as a single parent, thanks to Tim working football games - that's not a complaint, it is just a fact.  I'll taking the padding to the holiday fund. :) 
• I attended a funeral visitation and sent a sympathy card for another I couldn't attend
• I made a birthday bag and pencil roll

 

• I had a night out with my girlfriends
• I worked in the school garden
• I organized Halloween costumes for my family, went to a potluck Halloween party/bonfire and took the kids to Trunk or Treat

 

• I enjoyed a fusion concert of jazz and middle eastern music with my belly dance friends
• I planned and organized Aidin's class Halloween party for tomorrow. I'm baking cupcakes tonight.
• I held a Brownie Girl Scout meeting and took the troop roller skating

 

• I experimented with the same granola bar recipe three times. It still needs a little work, but it's coming along
• I started Christmas shopping and making lists
• We FINALLY finished watching all of Battlestar Gallactica
• We are halfway through watching Roots

I've also been blog reading, which has made me wanty.  Wanty for more time in my day, more organization in my life.  What I really would like to do is quit my day job and just volunteer at school and stay home and be domestic.  Too bad that doesn't pay the bills.  Despite the fact that we lead a rather frugal existence, we still like having my paycheck to pay down the mortgage and car loan and keep us otherwise debt free.  Maybe once the little man is in public school...

And at the moment I have a couple of pentagon baby ballsin production, a boy's toothfairy pillow to complete, some birthday and baby shower gifts.  So if I drop off the blogosphere again, you'll know where I am.  Just busy....

Mwwwah! - L

when busy weeks collide

In the space of nine days (last Friday through next Sunday) we have:

• Two comedy stage shows which included two video projects.  My husband had two VERY late nights.  Michelle and I went to the show on Friday.  It started at 10 p.m.  We left at 10 minutes to 1 a.m. and there was still another 20 minutes to come.  Oy.  Funny stuff. (The photo is from last year's Victor Continental Show.)  Really funny (to me) was being asked by a fellow parent Saturday morning, as I walked out of Eliot's school where I was picking him up from a slumber party, "Can I ask you a strange question?  Was that possibly your kids I saw in a video at the Victor Continental Show last night?"  Yes, yes it was. :)

• Four birthdays.  There was a double party for my nephews on Saturday.  I swore I wouldn't make anything - I'd just give them gift certificates, but Saturday morning I decided I couldn't NOT make something, so I whipped up little wallets for the boys.  The dividers are recycled inner bits of a computer keyboard.  Aidin  has two more birthday parties on Tuesday and Saturday.  Bag production begins tonight.  Sorry girls, no pencil rolls this week.

 

• A going away party for Eliot's teacher, who we have known for six years.  She was Aidin's afternoon teacher in the toddler class before Eliot was even born.  We will miss her when she leaves for San Franscisco and further education, but wish her all the best.  I'm in the middle of making something for her, but I think I'll mail it to her instead of expecting her to pack it.
• Two tech rehearsals. Sunday in KC for the Fringe Festival and next Saturday for our Lawrence shows.   Sunday before our rehearsal I spent about an hour gathering up all the little costume bits that I needed for the shows.  Since finishing that tech, I'm adding a hand-held fan and towel to the bag of stuff.
• Five belly dance shows, beginning at 7 p.m. on Tuesday at XS Lighting, 16th & Broadway.  There's parking in the back (hint, hint, KC friends).  If you want more information, the original post is here.
• And I don't know how many pages of Harry Potter.  I finished re-reading the Half Blood Prince and had to immediatly start The Deathly Hallows.  I had forgotten a LOT of the finer plot details.  Maybe next week we can go see the movie, to celebrate getting through this week.

On top of all that, we had both cars broken into in our driveway sometime between 4:30 a.m. and 8:30 a.m. on Saturday.  They nicked Tim's ipod, but that was all. 

So if you don't hear from me this week, you know why.  And you also will understand why my One Local Summer week 7 meal just didn't happen.  We've been eating a lot of cereal for dinner and cherry tomatoes, straight from the garden.

Happy {bench} Monday!

it sounds all too familiar

Pickles, Baby Blues and Get Fuzzy are those little bright spots in my morning after my three mile walk, before a shower, relaxing with my cup of coffee.  Kids still safely tucked in bed.

I knew that today's Pickles strip would bring a smile to the faces of my fabric loving friends.  You can click on the picture to see it bigger.

 

I have some belly dance costume bits to finish sewing and a double nephew birthday party on the weekend.  So today, I've got nothing but this.

Enjoy.

news from the garden

 

Our first cherry tomato finally ripened last week.  I cannot overemphasize how happy this made me.  I took this photo, popped it into my mouth and didn't tell a soul.  Just call me The Little Red Hen.   Since then, we've had a few more, which I have shared, but none have made it as far as the kitchen.  And in case you think this looks a bit anemic, it is a sun gold orange cherry.  One of my favorite varieties.

I have a little raised bed off our back patio that is filled with zinnias, cosmos, two cherry tomato plants and a few new perennials that I planted this year.  In mid-May, it looked like this:

 

and this morning.  And this was taken AFTER I'd cut a healthy bouquet of cosmos and zinnias to take into Eliot's classroom.  My favorite of the zinnias are the ones in my header - persian carpet.

What a difference!  My perennials are thriving - asters, scabosia (pincushion flower), mums and lupine, most of which I bought at the Monarch Watch spring plant sale.  Now if I'd just see a monarch!

The trellis is completely lost to the morning glories.

 

They make me almost as happy as the cherry tomatoes. 

 

Now if I could just find a little time to weed.  How does your garden grow?

reasons to smile

* I don't have to work tomorrow.

* zinnias from my garden.

 

* lots of sewing projects and some weekend time to tackle them.

How about you?

Making me smile:

 

• My blooming catalpa tree
• Coffee and the morning paper on the patio
• Having two kids at the same place for most of the summer
• Fresh local produce
• Eliot asking us to refer to him as "Mr. Healthy Pants"
• Monkey meditation.

• Belly dance rehearsals
• Early morning walks
• Planning a few big, secret projects
• Keeping an eye on the President.
• Finding my name up on the wall of the camp dining hall (for earning my Girl Scout Gold Award).

What about you?

happy monday

A few things making me happy today:

• Friday night's date with my husband.  Thanks for babysitting, Grandma and Grandpa!
• Good deeds returned. 

I made bread for my neighbors several weeks ago and when I went again later to take them some soup and more bread on one of those cold days we had recently, she gave me a viola.  Such sweet neighbors we have. :)



• Having a completely cleaned offkitchen table - we'll see how long that lasts! - and new placemats and napkins to make it springy (they are a perfect match for my favorite coffee cup, sent to my by Vallen).

        

• And a napkin ring Eliot might try to keep track of.

        

• A bit of luck and a bonus from Melissa in the mail.  I love these so very much.  I won the four leaf clover in a drawing on her blog and when I mentioned on flickr that I once worked for the head of the KU Botany department, who specialized in ferns, she sent along a fiddlehead as well.   Thank you, my friend!

         

• All of you laughing along with my last post.  That boy.  Ornery!  Thanks for commiserating.

What is giving you reason to smile today?