smell the flowers, find the bugs

Bugs, flowers, bunnies, weeds…
Lunches, commuting, bills, groceries…
Baseball, appointments, and a desk job…
Logix, cement, backfill and floors…
Birthdays and Father’s Day…

And the weather is holding. And the socks are still being knit.

Things are good right now. We are about to have our last regular softball game of the season, which means that our Monday and Wednesday nights will be spent at home once more. There is still playoffs, and provincials and many more practices, but the weeknights will be ours once again.
The weekday schedule has changed however, and I’m now spending my days in a blur of typing and phone calls as I pretend to be the world’s most efficient secretary at Chadd’s office. I’m filling in (a bit unexpectedly) for the regular secretary, and since I know how the office runs (sort of), I’m the best candidate for the job (for a month.)
There is an upside and a downside to having to be the one to fill in; the hours are very accommodating to me having an hour or so at the allotment on the way home from work (I bring the digging fork, gloves and a change of clothes in the trunk), but…I hate so very much sitting in front of a computer all day.
So now that I’m chained to a desk for most of the day, I’m very happy to spend all of the rest of it weeding the allotment and squishing the bugs on the roses, drenching myself in mosquito repellant, and going for bike rides.
Bike riding, to the the new basement that now has concrete in between the Logix forms; bike riding with Elena who got a brand new Nutcase watermelon helmet for her 13th birthday and looks so cute in it. So fun to mosey along the bike paths together.
And in the midst of it all, a bit of sock knitting that is keeping me happy and calm. Socks, I’ve discovered, are the perfect counterpoint to building a house. Sock knitting is quick, the different parts of the sock are interesting and easy to complete, each portion completed gets you closer to the toe, they are portable, and the materials purchased result in a soft, comforting, completed project. And I can do it all by myself, no weather or contractors required.
And so it goes; flowers, bugs and all.

happy bunny

If I could keep the bunny out of the flower garden, and the deer out of the veggie garden, I’d be a happy bunny, too!

time and how you spend it

I was woken up by the rain Friday morning, at the ever-so-inappropriate hour of 5:30. I cringed as I heard it, because I had not gotten the garden planted the day before as I’d planned. I could just imagine how beautifully beneficial the cool rain would have been, if only I had made it out to the allotment with spade, rake and trowel in hand. And by the forecast, it was supposed to rain intermittently all weekend. (Thankfully, it didn’t.)

Instead, that Thursday, after running an all-important new kitchen errand, I stopped by my mother in law’s to drop off two flowers that I had promised to pick up for her at the garden centre. I didn’t have time to chat, (must put chicken in the oven to roast before getting out to the garden) but as I walked through the back door, I was greeted by three of Chadd’s aunts, and his uncle.

I stayed for a cup of tea, because Auntie Vange was there. Actually, I stayed for a cup of tea because his family is awesome, and they are so excited when they get to chat with “the younger generation” (as they call us,) so interested in our news and our doings. But I had a story to tell Auntie Vange, so I was very happy to see her.

This story is a very important one to me, as I honestly think that it had a geat deal of influence on me as a person, and the next chapter of my life at that point. And so it goes…

Chadd and I were at that stage of our dating acquaintance (three dates total!) that we were still trying to find out, accomodate and interest each other, and so we were having dinner at a trendy chain restaurant that served kung pao. (Kung pao, that spicy chicken with noodles and hot chili peppers that he would order with the same number of chilies as I did, even though he was not accustomed to spicy food.) We were just starting our meal, and I looked over at a booth a few tables over from us. I remember a distinguished looking older gentleman with a moustache, and his lovely wife, and they were toasting with the couple that sat across from them, glasses raised.

I wanted (so badly in that moment), to one day experience that for myself. To have good, full friendships that were worthy of a celebratory glass. To have friendships that brought me joy and a sense of being belonging and mutual appreciation. I wanted to one day be smiling across the table at old friends.

I turned to Chadd, and commented on how lovely that was, a group of friends raising a toast to each other. He turned around, and smiled, replying, “That’s my Uncle Raymond and Auntie Vange.”

Of course, Auntie Vange loved the story. She made sure to tell me that she and Uncle Raymond had 52 years together. I made sure to tell her that I realized then that I should marry Chadd if he came from such good family.

But the other part of the story happened one Saturday in February. We were invited to a restaurant, an evening out with good friends; and as we sat around the table, lifting our glasses to each other, I smiled. Because yes, of all the toast-worthy occassions of our lives, this one was just as good as I thought it would be. Good, good friends; and our friendship worthy of a skoal!

(Thank you, Auntie Vange and Uncle Raymond.)

spring flowers and such

Going to be a bit strange, seeing these flowers come up in not-my-yard-anymore next spring.

nest building on a smaller scale

The sun is shining! The Logix on the basement is two blocks high! The sun is shining!

June is a big month for us; being hopeful for an awful lot of progress on the house, it is so much better when the sun is shining. The progress on the basement was delayed by two days of rain last week, the concrete was supposed to have been poured yesterday, but the walls aren’t up yet, so of course the framing is pushed back a bit, too.

It’s sweetly reassuring to see the birds still building their nests; these guys are right outside the front window in the cedars.  Being sparrows, they are completely fearless, and often perch on the window sill, seemingly curious as to the world on the other side of the glass.  But as long as they respect the fact that it is glass, and not go flying into it, I’m happy to watch the progress on their home build! 

Wanting to make sure that every part of our home build is being coordinated in a timely manner has been a bit distracting, to say the least.  It’s hard being in the waiting-madrush-waiting-madrush holding pattern.  Waiting to get call backs, waiting for good weather, waiting for schedules to coordinate.  Rushing about, confirming kitchen bits and paying deposits, and making time for the phone calls that need to be made today.  Chadd claims that he could tell that it was “getting to me,” and took me yarn shopping.  With a ten minute time limit.  Which made the ladies in the shop burst out in shocked laughter when he entered the shop ten minutes after me, announcing, “All right, dear, time is up.  Pay for the yarn and let’s go.”  When she stopped laughing, one little old lady gave him a sweet little lecture about yarn shopping and time…one other lady rolled her eyes as she told the room that she had “left her children in the car.”  Being Chadd, he then proceeded to shock them all, insisting on a pair of purple socks for himself, a pair for me (in a gorgeous, squishy Manos Del Uruguay), and approved the colour chosen for his mom.  Just for good measure, the Fleece Artist BFL got plunked on the counter, and he pulled out his wallet. 

My stress has somehow evaporated into thin air, and I’ve just got a big grin on my face.  The yarn…is…so…lovely.  I’ve never owned such a gorgeous pile of squishy lovely in my life.  I can’t wait to start knitting…I’m having a hard time deciding…but of course Chadd’s socks should come first…

So much more, more, more has been going on here, and I’m going to have to leave it for now, as I run off on a kitchen errand. Softball, and a trip to weed the garden plot are in the works for tonight. The back yard is not finished yet…only about a dozen more pots to plant…or so. And then, of course, there is all that sock yarn waiting for me!

this didn’t do what I wanted it to

Just not good, people, not good at all.

Oh, I know it looks just great. But…I’m going to have to do something that I’ve never done before, and that is to rip the sock back to “just yarn” and begin all over again, with new yarn and new colours and a stitch count that will be quite a few less than what I am currently working with.

I was so excited about this sock. The vibrant, well contrasting colours that worked so well with the pattern, the interest of braid and colourwork, and all the yarn came from the bin under the bed. But it’s just no good. The yarn is horribly unsuited for a sock, somehow, with too tight a twist. Instead of being soft and “springy,” the result is saggy, yet with hard ridges that stretch in a uncomfortable way. The heel was new to me, but sadly isn’t one that fits my foot. And since the socks were meant for Elena’s folk costume, back to square one (with modifications) is where you’ll find me.

progress report week 22

Busy, busy week. If life was a cup, it would have spilled over long since!

Over the weekend, (the wildly windy weekend!) Elena won gold with her softball team. It was a really good moment, to see the great sportsmanship, teamwork and love of the game as they hoisted the trophy above their heads.

While she was at her ball practice on Friday, us other three took a bike ride to the house lot, the grocery store, and then went for a walk in the woods near our neighbourhood. It’s a very nice trail in among the trees, beside a slough, and meandering alongside and over a creek. The frogs in the pond were making the best noise in the world, and we also saw a family of foxes, the mama keeping a watchful eye on the humans, as well as her four cubs. A local wood carving artist has decorated the trails with “wood spirits” in the deadfall, and it was fun to keep an eye out for those, while enjoying all the wild berry bushes in bloom, and the bright green of the new leaves.

In between work, and trying to keep up with the contractors and church and other commitments, we’ve managed a bike ride out to the new house site every day…and every day something new is done. Today, the forms for the basement walls are being delivered. It’s thrilling to be able to track the progress, and know what’s coming next!

And speaking of next…with the one sunny day (off from work) in the forecast, the garden centre awaits! (After one quick call to another contractor…!)