March Pleasures

March is almost over and we still can't be sure spring is here. Saturday was hot and toasty; yesterday afternoon we had a fire to get the chill out of the family room. But spring is sure to come. Pictured above is my lilac bush. Our plant isn't as magnificent as those at the nursery, but it's coming along. Every morning I go out to visit.

This picture is probably harder to figure out. Mackenzie has been decorating the patio with heart stickers. Hearts on the gate to my friend's yard are quite appropriate.

Silly stuff, I know, but it has made my heart lighter.

Enjoy the rest of March, you guys.

Thirty-Eight Years and Counting

I am tempted to say, "I really wanted a much better picture than this," but in many ways this is one of the most familiar and endearing sides of my husband, so the photo stands. Thirty-eight years ago today I married Jim, and I have not regretted it for a single instant. He is always kind; he is always generous. He always treats me as if I am the most important thing in his world. He faces the day-to-day challenges of this household calmly (mostly) and I think he always believes that happy times are just around the corner. I hope we have another thirty-eight years ahead of us. Whatever we have, I know it will be wonderful. His children love him, his grandchildren love him, and I will always love him.

What's Important

Life has been pretty hectic for the last couple of weeks - I fell behind while Scott was here, wanting to spend as much time with him as I possibly could - and for some reason I just haven't been able to get back on track. But I realized tonight that it's because I was trying to get the wrong part of my life "back on track." I've been stressing over the house, work, Jim's job, keeping the kids clean and neat. What I forgot to enjoy was the living. I wouldn't trade one hour that we had with Scott. I wish we were able to spend more time with Mom and Ed. The best part of today was going to the nursery with my friend Judie for a new tomato plant. That stack of books I blogged about contains one that is really grabbing my interest. Sitting and drinking a glass of wine with friends was so relaxing when I "should" have been fixing dinner for the family. The family fared just fine without my help and I got to enjoy a spring evening outdoors.

Life will be as hectic as you allow it to be, and hectic does not always mean stressful. I wouldn't give up helping put the kids to bed for anything. On Monday nights, I'm really tired and grouchy. I don't want to make Christian brush his teeth, but it sure warms my heart when he wants me to put him to bed. It won't always be so.

So despite my complaints, my life is much as I want it to be, I guess. We aren't at the place where we can comfortably go away for a weekend, but we can push a little harder to get away for little bits of time. And then to come back, to where we are needed and loved.

Sorry if this is a little sappy; probably the wine talking.

I'll Be Back

Now I'm feeling guilty for not blogging. I'll be back!!

TBR

Do you see this really scary pile? This is the reason why I should not be blogging, I should not be knitting, I should not be watching television. This is my "To Be Read" pile and I should not be doing anything except reading. The really scary part is that these are all library books and I've gotten myself in an even bigger mess than usual. Included in the pile are The President's House by Margaret Truman; Coventry by Helen Humphreys; The Spirit of Dr. Bindelof by Rosemarie Pilkington; All the Colors of Darkness by Peter Robinson. Scott and Mike, I really think you'd like the last two. Anyway, thought I'd share.

Irish Soda Bread

Last night was our annual St. Patrick's Day dinner. We don't give many parties, but this one we always look forward to. The guest list gets a little bigger every year -26 this year including kids. The menu remains essentially the same, although I do try different recipes for the corned beef or the beef and guiness stew. This year I cooked way too much food and spent way too little time talking to my guests, but I loved every minute of it.

This year was the first year I made Irish soda bread for the party. I've made it just for having, but never for the party. My recipe has golden reisins and caraway seeds - a luscious treat, especially with Irish butter and a cup of hot tea. Think I better make some more for Tuesday.

Brothers, Part 2

Well, tomorrow Scott wings his way home, after a full couple of weeks. There's been a lot of laughter and a few tears, but what I will carry from this time is a sense of healing, of being rejoined. I don't think I ever realized how being with my brothers makes me feel - whole. We've been scattered fro quite a while now, and Scott has been the best one in making the effort to get us all together again. Well, I hope we don't let this being apart continue. Jim told me he hasn't seen me laugh or smile so much in a long time; I'm going to make every effort I can to be with you guys as often as I can. I love you.

Happy Birthday, Beck

We love you.

Puddle Jump

There's nothing like a big messy puddle and new rain boots. What a bad grandma I am to encourage such reckless behavior. They got muddy. They got messy. The insides of their boots didn't dry out for days.

But it was so much fun!! Can't wait for another rainy day so we can do it again.

Gregor Demarkian

This is seriously one of my favoriet book series. The detective is an Armenian ex-FBI agent who lives in Philadelphia, and the cast of neighborhood characters is much of the fun. Not A Creature Was Stirring is the first in the series; many of the titles involve major holidays. Some of the older books are out of print, which I think is a shame. Maybe I need to form a Jane Haddam fan club and see if it helps.

Spring's A-Comin'

Yesterday we were promised rain (a promise not fulfilled) and I decided it would be a good time to get some new plants in. So off to the nursery. I came home with pansies for some of the hanging pots and some plants I'd never heard of for the fountain garden. The two new ones are at the front - a lily-of-the-valley shrub and some purple spready stuff in the pot behind the cat crossing sign. I love new plantings.

This & That

There've been no grand ideas for blogging - not much going on in my head that anyone would want to read. I'm not reading as much as usual, knitting has kind of hit a rut, life seems a little dull. I've been thinking I need a few changes - a new hobby, a class, I don't know what yet. We spent the evening sharing wine and "whine" (kid problems are universal) with some neighbors and I realized just how insulated we keep ourselves here. Not a healthy thing, I think, so I'll have to think on it. Today I started a Facebook Page - will it be fun?

It's been great having Scott here to visit. We've shared laughter and tears and I hope it's been as healing for him as it has been for me. Beck will be part of our lives forever and we won't stop missing her. Jim found a picture of her today that I hadn't seen before.

Happy Birthday, Dad

If Dad were still alive, he would have been 78 years old today - exactly twice the age he was when he passed away. With Scott here for a couple of weeks, we've been talking about Dad a lot, some good and some not so good. We all have different memories of him and remember him in different ways, but I know we all wish we knew him better. And so we remember the best of him - the fun, the intelligence, the happy memories. My mom's family loved him so much because he always brought good times and was so good to them. His parents adored him and he was very good to him. His last years were marred by illness, fatigue and pain; our memories of him are affected by that. But some day we will know him in his wholeness. He's still here with us, and some day we will all be together.