Tomato, Eggplant, Broccoli
Our first group of seeds have been started. They’re currently taking up prime sunbathing space under our bedroom window.
And the garden has a fresh layer of compost!
Yesterday we spread all of that compost in our t-shirts and (muddy!) bare feet, today we got six inches of snow in three hours and it’s still coming down.
Cheeks likes to see his picture on the screen of our digital camera. If I take a picture of him, he will immediately come running up to me pointing and demanding, “Baby?!” Today he saw the camera on the desk and requested that I take his picture. That’s a new one, and even though he doesn’t have a word in his toddler-speak for ‘camera’ he always manages to get his point across.
“Da?” *pointing*
“You want me to take your picture?”
“Yeah. Please?”
“O.K. Go over there and stand in front of the bookcase.”
*scampers, turns, backs into the bookcase*
this is how he chose to stand and then he waited patiently for me to take his picture.
*scampers and points*
“Baby!?”
“There you are! Can we take a picture together?”
“Yeah. Up?”
*climbs into my lap*
“Smile!”
“Baby?”
“Look! It’s us!”
“Me and Mama!”
He then asked for a pony, ice cream for dinner, a puppy, a tree fort, and the keys to the car. I obliged, because who could say no after that?
Over the last couple of weeks Cody has been working on and off on a special project. He’s been making the lower half of our hallway wall into a chalkboard for Cheeks! Here’s how he did it:
First there was measuring and taping. Then came the sanding, followed by the washing off of all the dust.
Next, he applied a whole lot of sheetrock compound to the wall and let it dry overnight.
Then he sanded some more….And some more…And some more. When he was finished the wall was smooth.
Then I stupidly forgot to take pictures of the next couple of steps, but it went like this:
When all of that was finished we had this:
Cheeks waited patiently while the paint cured for the next three days.
And then it was time to condition the new chalkboard by covering the whole thing with chalk and then wiping it off.
Cheeks didn’t want to wait until we’d finished wiping it off.
I forgot that it was the end of our three day wait period and so didn’t get new chalk and an eraser, but I had a big chunky piece of gray chalk on hand for the festivities. We’ll go out and get some awesome new colors soon.
That strange looking devil-beast that Cody drew at the top? That’s Frankie. We like to include everyone in our family projects.
I think we need a mid-month assessment for this month’s change to hang dry our laundry.
I love the idea, but I confess, I haven’t been doing very well! Hang drying in the basement has been a challenge. I’ve done load after load of laundry this month…Let’s just say we’ve run into a few diaper challenges…but the little clothesline in the basement is only big enough for a few things! What I do hang up takes all night to dry because it’s in the basement and not out in the sunny, fresh air. Then there’s the little problem of my feeling like I could really use a shower every time I go down the stairs. Needless to say I can’t wait to move this project outside.
But how do we solve this problem until Cody can get a proper clothesline up? Maybe more basement line? That doesn’t really solve anything though. Perhaps I could just do what my Grandma would politely call “country” (and my Mom has called “hillbilly”) and hang things on the back porch? I am not above the country way! And to respect the neighbors I wouldn’t hang any underwear out there…Yet.
Any suggestions?
