I can't believe it

I just frittered away an hour doing two things:

1) Paging through the "old school" pictures of an elementary school classmate on Facebook. Not even a friend, folks - we just rode the same bus and lived in the same neighborhood. AND, I'm not even friends with her on Facebook. I accidentally bumped into her name through another persons's page. The pictures were junior high/high school, well after I had moved to an entirely different school district and town. I recognized a lot of people, though. Weird.

2) Spitting all over my computer screen chortling over this site: Awkward Family Photos. Go down to the bottom and hit "Older Posts" - that's where the good stuff is. This is the page that created the most spittle to clean up, though the cat skeleton is the weirdest. Wow.

Mishmash

• Truen got his cast off today - his little right leg was furry, scaly, and softer and smaller than his left leg. Saaaaad. But he's walking, a bit. With a limp. All in due time...
• There was a Public Hearing for our Small Town's proposed library project - and the townsfolk were 100% in favor of it. There wasn't one naysayer. Yesssssss.
• Ohhhhhh . . . perhaps I forgot to tell you? A building in town was donated to the city for the library. They are moving ahead with the application, have hired an architect, and we will be getting a new library. Not if, but when. Maybe by next spring? Less than a year and a half after we formed our Friends group! Yesssssssss - high-five!
• I stopped reading through Wendell Berry's Agrarian Essays about half-way through. It wasn't that I wasn't interested, but because the writing is so meaty and it spurred so much contemplation. As spring has picked up the speed of life, I just didn't have the time or umph to keep on. I'll pick it up again when I have the time to give it the attention it deserves.
• Meanwhile, on to something a little more easily digested - The Dirt on Clean: And Unsanitized History by Katherine Ashenburg
• I realize how hysterical this may seem to some people . . . this is my relaxing reading?? Oh, but it is! It feeds my insatiable curiosity and reads like a breeze.
• Don't you think the history of personal hygiene sounds fascinating...?

Here Come the ABCs

Diego self-initiated a spontaneous interest in drawing letters this week. (He's 4.5) We were coloring with sidewalk chalk with the cousins on Wednesday, and he drew an "X", "T" and "i".

"Look! I drew letters, Mama!" he said.

Later that night, at home, he picked out the exact same letters from our refrigerator magnets to show Squeeze what he had drawn that day. Again, all on his own, though the only letter he could verbally identify was the "T".

The next day, he drew "X", "T", "M" and "P". When I asked him what each letter was, "X" was "H", "M" was "K", "T" was correct again, and "P" was "Little D". I thought that was particularly interesting, as "P" truly is a flipped "d". I wonder if that was actually connected in his mind...? Perhaps subconsciously.

He still can't say his alphabet (I don't drill him on it), but I think I'm going to have some copy work ready for him when he is feeling inspired. We did a little bit of it yesterday and his favorite letters were "A", "I", "H", "X", "T" and "P". He tried "C" too, only it was square-ish and backwards, which he was disappointed about.

It is so fun to see the beginnings of reading readiness showing up . . . and so spontaneously, too.

Gadding about

After almost a week of gallivanting and visiting with family and friends, Diego said it best last night as he ran inside to go potty.

"I am glad to be at my house," he said, so happily. Part of the pleasure in that statement for me is that he spent a good chunk of time in woe before we left, sad to say goodbye to his "beautiful cousins".

But yes, it feels very good to be home --
Though visiting is so fun. Love it.

At Lyndi's house in St. Paul with Uncle Brent --

Schlepping across the sidewalk in his new roller skates,

Thrifted. He was so excited about them!

With Great-Grands O.,

and a Great-Aunt and Uncle,

and a Great-Great Aunt

who couldn't wait to get home to feed the cats.

Brent snuggling with Gram O.

Sidewalk chalk with some of the cousins.

Truen had me write,
"Grandpa, Grandma, I love you."

He's a cautious one

As I was reading The Marvelous Journey Through the Night aloud to Truen this morning, a book about sleepy-time dreams, a particular portion of the illustrations really stuck out to him.

He pointed to it and said, "Dat guy walking over da house! Dat's daaaaaaangerous."

So it's true: they must be born that way.

News, Part II

I forgot . . . I left something out.

• Does everyone know that one of our future goals is to operate a CSA...? Still a few years out, but definitely something we are working towards.
• With that in mind, this summer we are experimenting with two local ginea pigs: a family and an individual, both interested in subscribing to that weekly box of fresh produce, at rock-bottom prices. We need some practice and figured it was a good idea to start out small...really small. I'll be making my weekly delivery on Wednesdays: Library Day.

News from the homestead

• Our garden is half-planted (we are 18 days ahead of last year): peas, kale, cabbage, spinach, leeks, lettuce, two rows of potatoes, a new asparagus bed, etc.
• We have been harvesting parsnips and salsify that we wintered over in the ground - perfect timing, because just ran out of root-cellared carrots last month.
• We are getting around 18 eggs a day.
• The chickens are running free again, which cuts down on feed costs; and this year, Squeeze put up 3 foot chicken wire around the perimeter of our flower/herb gardens to keep them from digging (and destruction). Amazingly, this is working.
• We are going to have a "West Garden" in addition to our existing garden, now known as the "East Garden".
• West Garden = sweet corn, pumpkins, squash, watermelon, musk melon, potatoes, pole beans
• East Garden = carrots, radish, cabbage, broccoli, kale, chard, potatoes, parsnips, salsify, peppers, tomatoes, peas, bush beans, lettuce, horseradish, sunflowers, celery, okra, decorative corn, tomatillos, eggplant, leeks, onions
• We are taking back the perimeter of our property from the corn/soybean commodity crop rotation and plant it with native grasses and flowers. We took back the "Front Four" acres last growing season, which our neighbor planted with alfalfa - a three year commitment.
• Those pesky rabbits killed more of our fruit trees - a couple of apples and a plum. The snow was so high that they were able to get over the barrier and chew almost all the bark off around several saplings. Squeeze is going to encase them in chicken wire to their very tips this year: evidently, 4 feet wasn't high enough in an extra-snowy winter. Doh!

A Special Truen Update:

• He is scooting, rolling around, getting up and off of furniture, climbing stairs, crawling, doing somersaults, and going down the slide - I would say it is safe to conclude that his pain has desisted. Thankfully.
• We go into the Orthopedic Surgeon again this Thursday afternoon for a check-up. I'm sure they will do another x-ray and assess the situation. At the last check-up, they cut his cast on the side and put in a wedge to move the break to a 4 degree angle (previously healing at a 9 degree angle).
• If all goes according to the forecasted plan, Tru-babes should have his cast off in a week or so. I can. not. wait.
• Based off the stories from my 5 yo nephew, who broke his leg in the same spot in January, it may take awhile for him to ease back into walking. They said there was a lot of cramping at first and it took awhile for him to gain the strength and courage to try walking again. It makes sense . . . those muscles aren't getting used inside the cast. Our nephew is still limping in April - not because it hurts, but because his leg is weak. He was in his cast for 7 weeks, though, and his break was worse; I'm really hoping we can drop Truen's cast like a hot rock at 4 weeks. Maybe our transition will be easier? I can only hope. I want this over with.

Be My Wife

I adore David Bowie. Be My Wife is one of my favorite songs, off my favorite album, Low, cut my favorite year, 1977. And, in addition to all the other venerated things about Bowie, I really enjoy his theatrics. And pizzaz. And smarts. He's the package deal.

The title of my last post reminded me of this song for obvious reasons.

Be my wife

This afternoon, Diego cried piteously over the fact that he cannot marry me when he grows up. "But I want you to be my wife!" he wailed. "You are the most beautiful!"

The poor little guy. I remember a similar conversation very well, around the age of five, with my own father. My dad was tucking me into bed for the night and explaining why he couldn't marry me, because he already was married to my mom. I remember it boggled my mind at the time. How could I not marry my dad? He was the best!

The feelings were that of the desire to be with him, and my parents, forever. Taken care of. Safe. Loved. Not that I could have explained that then. But I can so easily remember those emotions, and the feeling of being a little scared that I couldn't marry my dad when I grew up. What else was there?

And that is exactly what Diego displayed this afternoon. "I don't want anyone else!" he bawled. "I want you!"

And you know, it makes me feel a little sad too. It is hard to remember that it won't "always be like this". Life changes gradually, and I know it is and feels normal, but trying to imagine that change now hurts.

I am reminded of the time when Diego was two months old, when I sat in our room, holding my beautiful baby, and wept miserably - grieving over the horrible truth that he would never be two months old again. So silly, I know, but my throat hurts and my eyes smart just thinking of it.

My mom has said something to the effect of, "You love them all along the way." Love grows and changes with them. I love Diego just as fiercely and affectionately as I did when he was a baby, only he is four years old now.

An earnest little four year old who wants to marry his mama.

I love him so much, it hurts. ♥

Way more demanding than usual

Just checking in to say --

Having a 2.5 year old with a broken leg is a lot like having a baby again, only this baby is enormous, cranky, and knows what he's missing out on.

He has also slipped back into long-gone nasty habits, like waking me up all night long demanding to nurse, then howling angrily when he doesn't get what he wants. Bah! It's terrible.

I should say, though, that little Truen is doing very well overall. His pain is nearly non-existent and he is starting to move around - stand, scoot, roll-over, etc. He plays with his toys with equal exuberance from his little stool next to the loveseat as if he were standing at the play-table.

That being said, I can't wait until things are back to normal.