Today was the first day of Fairy House season 2015! The kids were up and at 'em by 8:30 this morning. What is it with not sleeping in during vacation?? Anyway, it's the second or third day in a row that they've spent significant time outside--swinging, running across the rock wall, playing with a homemade bow and arrow (Sis), swordfighting, biking, and now building fairy houses. Gommie was outside, too, but didn't build one. Pretty soon--once the ground temp stays at 50F, which isn't quite yet--Sis will plant some bulbs that my friend Miss D, also our ASL teacher, gave me as a gift for my recovery.
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Another gardening thing: I learned a new flower. This is a Glory of the Snow, according to my FB friends. Ours have appeared randomly in a few parts of the yard, not planted or planned by us at all. Very pretty.
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A big THANK YOU to Granny Q who sent a lovely Edible Arrangement to the house on Friday. That was so sweet of you. And we really enjoyed it--ALL of us, as you can see in the picture of Albus eating the ribbon--it was gone by the end of the day!
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Gommie and I watched "Wolf Hall" episode 2 today, enjoying the characterizations and especially the lovely period details. Of course, we know how it all progresses (having seen "The Tudors,"
A Man For All Seasons, Anne of a Thousand Days, etc.), but I'm absolutely caught up in it all. Really fantastic television.
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Which reminds me that a year ago, we were in England having the trip of a lifetime. I think of that trip pretty much everyday, in some way or another. Thank you, Lambeth and Mrs. Lambeth, for hosting us to the most wonderful of visits. I'm trying heartily not to be too down that we won't be returning this December, instead recalling all the
great times we had.
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Today was rather an "eh" day. Achy, tired, tight. Not terrible just not great, kind of like last Wednesday (but not quite as much.) So, if I have a mediocre day every five days or so, I'd say I'm doing pretty well.
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This morning, Miss D, my friend and ASL teacher came for a visit. Not a lesson, just a chat. We had a great time talking about our kids, contact lenses, Zentangling, our visit to the British shoppe yesterday, baking, even teaching Gommie how to sign "good morning" (which she kept doing with more of those f**k you gestures, accidentally, making us all laugh.) She asked me if I had ever talked with a deaf person before her and I mentioned the deaf camp counselor I knew as a teenager 30 years ago. She was shocked then at my skills when she met me last year and said my signing was amazing, essentially for someone who hadn't signed much at all. Wow. That felt SO wonderful. Sometimes I feel so bumbling--trip up my fingerspelling, confuse signs with one another, can't always follow what she says--but, in total, I'm actually doing really well. I can't say how happy that makes me. And how happy I am to have made a new friend.
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As you know, Sis and I like to watch "Switched at Birth" together, the story of the two teenage girls, one who is deaf, who are switched and whose families come together when they discover it 15 or so years later. We watch it for the ASL (and Marlee Matlin!), though there are definitely bits that are too old for her. With Gommie, we also started watching "Little House on the Prairie," beginning with the two-hour pilot movie. It's been so long since I've watched that show . . . and in many ways, it's so dated--the pacing is very slow, the drama more low key than dramas these days, even some of the 1970s hair peeking through. But I love the history, period details, and wholesome moral tales; and I'm much more interested in what Ma is up to in the show than I ever was before. Sis, who has read all the books (except
Farmer Boy--me neither!) countless times, is enjoying it, too, even if it's not exactly like the books.
And now I've found a show to watch with Bud: BBC's "Merlin," which I'd watched a few years back. It's definitely a family tale, with sympathetic teenage Merlin (or maybe early 20s??) finding his path, a monster/crisis of the week, and all those wonderful faux fantasy medieval trappings. Bud seems to really enjoy it and I like watching it with him. Plus, he likes identifying all those British actors who were also in "Doctor Who!"
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The basement boys aka NYCats are becoming more bold. Mojito has been "knocking" to be let out of the basement in the late afternoon almost everyday for a few months. He even slept on the couch with Mama for a couple of hours yesterday! But now Mr. Big Tabby is also coming up, ostensibly to eat the upstairs cat food, but also to poke around. It's very heartening to see the boys come up. (And since we always quietly lock the Connecticats up, it's a stress-free visit.) The time-share is starting to work out.
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Gommie leaves on Friday and the sad countdown has already begun, but she has some plans for the week to distract them. We are so very grateful to her for her help and support these last two weeks. While we could keep her here indefinitely, I'm gaining strength everyday, can be left alone without any trouble, and can do minor house things with the kids' help (like getting them out the door in the morning.) It means the world that she's been here, though.
