August 10: Snagging. . . and the like

Click on that picture to see the newest denizen of our front porch: yes, a HUGE spherical spider, and, to add to the whole horror movie effect, she's white and orange. EWWWWWWW! I am hoping that someone will decide to relocate her humanely and quickly, but I don't think that someone will be me, as I'd have to get too close to her. She's outside, so killing isn't the ethical thing, but, really---yuk.

On the brighter side, we're down to the details. I ran into the phrase "snagging list" in a novel on home reconstruction, and it means all the final things that need to be done to be truly DONE. Some stuff--buying a new mattress and box spring, for example--is a tad larger than just snagging, but we have plenty o' pictures to hang, decorating decisions to make, the final two bits of baseboard that we overlooked before to denail, fill, paint and replace. . .etc. I have been working full out for several days, and Andy has too. The boys have been on and off for the past few, but when we fall into bed tonight. . . I'm hoping we'll be DONE. Well, maybe "done and with a snagging list." Do those EVER get completed????

August 8: Summer of Boys

It's Sunday morning; in less than a week we'll have picked up the new member of our family, our exchange student Silas. Partially as a result, we've been working very hard on some house projects lately, and the odd side effect of that focus has been some wonderful family times.

My 'family of origin' was light on money and heavy on projects which were, therefore, fueled by our own muscle power and time. We all joke now about how we complained and whined and moaned at the time but now romanticize that life--stacking wood, shoveling, weeding the garden, even getting in hay and cleaning chicken pens. I've noticed the same pattern in my current family's life: the boys will moan and complain when we pick a day to rake leaves or put in screens, but then they'll say, "Remember how we always used to. . . " and the memory is whine-free.

So when Andy and I planned to refloor the den and paint my study ivory instead of pink for Silas's sojourn, I expected the same pattern. Imagine my shock when

it didn't happen.

The boys have been fun! They have volunteered to join in and work! They have moved from one project to the next without having to be rooted out of the corners where they might hide. . . I even heard Lyle telling a friend that he was sorry he couldn't make it to the friend's party last night because "I don't have a ride"--which he did, in fact.

I attribute a huge amount of their enthusiasm to the intense effect of homedecoration on a run down room, but also to the addition of a ROPE SWING to our front yard. After working for a bit, they'll slide out to the front and swing for awhile, Lyle boosting Nate onto the seat, or Nate pushing Lyle. There have been a few bumps and bruises, and there's certainly been fine-tuning of the swing itself, but overall, the swing has added serenity and fun to our work for this summer. Paint a bit--swing. Clear moldy cardboard out of the cellar--swing. Do a good deal of family work that needs to get done--swing--then eat a terrific dinner of hot potato salad and free range tbone steaks on the deck and talk about what we want to do when Silas comes--swing some more--then collapse into bed. Great memories, minus the whining. Amazing.

7/30: Friday!

Well it's a lovely cool morning and Andy and I are pausing before (I hOPE!) leaping into a day of great productivity. With Silas arriving in just about 16 days, we have a lot of house issues to square away, to say nothing of general stuff we just want to do. Yesterday we got ten boxes of laminate flooring at Marden's, and soon Lyle and Andy are going to pull up the nasty carpet in the den. . . meanwhile, I am about one file drawer and several armloads away from having the whole den cleaned out and ready to be painted, emptied of the futon, reloaded with the bed (with a possible new mattress), and just plain readied for the arrival of a 17 year old boy for the year!

So: TADA!

And MOm comes up tonight and Sweeney Todd launches. Last night A and I went to see a "showcase," which was a nice selection of various scenes from famous works the kids had worked on--Romeo and Juliet, Macbeth, Importance of Being Ernest. . . . Much fun to see them all, and it really made me feel that they were doing "theater camp" and not just "putting on a play." THEN we got ICE CREAM. :)

Coffee time!

July 16: Happy Birthday, Nate!

And he's fourteen! WOW!

Today will involve: making a midday b'day celebration snack for the gang at Grand Camp
--delivering said snack
--an hour of tidying work in the Silas zone
--a hard swim workout (2000 meters here we come!)
--German Choc. Cake icing
--some school/library phone calls
--work on Kole's bootie #2.

Rock on.

Happy b'day to my sweet, funny, smart, quirky, tender-hearted Nateus Nuteus.

July 12: Onwards!

GREAT rain all day yesterday, and I got unwhiny, and the boys and I had a nice afternoon/evening and Andy did come home from B'wick and. . . it was a nice day. Today is hot, still, and sunny.

List:
--laundry out
--finish A's jams, while listening to Vol. 3 of Great Expectations (am loving that book!)
--possibly finish A's socks
--work on the great Closet Consolidation
--bike ride and/or swim (hip is better, but running is definitely not good for it right now)
--stop by the Farmer's Market for vegs for pasta salad
--possible Library stop for more fluff (tho I keep finding books to read in the study. . . )

TaDA!

July 11: A Little Whining

It's raining, and that's GREAT. In fact, I wish it would rain a little harder for the whole afternoon. We need it, and since Nate and I have to work on Andy's belated Dad's Day jammies, it's a perfect setting for our afternoon plans. I even swam this morning so I am off the hook for exercise (I think I've inflamed my left hip bursa, so I think I'll skip running for a bit. Am trying to be good with ibu and icing. Might try for a hike or two this week instead, and lotsa swimming). BUT

everything in the house is sticky due to the humidity! There is NOT a breath of wind, and we need the lights on. This always bothers me. Bleah.

So I plan to eat some lunch, read my Katie Fforde book (pure fluff), and then sew. Probably with some loud music on to get me unwhiny.

And the rain is nice.

July 7: Action!

Hot but lovely. Even a breeze. Here's what I have done today:
--made Lyle's b'day cake layers.
--finished reading Volume II of Great Expectations. That's 16 days early, thank you very much!
--set up the second blog over Volume II of GE for my students.
--finished Julie's letter.
--run the dishwasher.
--made iced tea.
--started cleaning out my closet so I can move out of the study for Silas to move in.
--cleaned out my wallet.
--swum across the river with Andy.
--gone driving around the neighborhood with Lyle, practicing his shifting.

I plan to also
--run with Nate (then probably swim with him too)
--wrap L's presents
--food shop/go to the bank and the libe with the boys
--finish the closet (at least the clothes hanging part, maybe not the piles of stuff part).

WHOOSH! Take THAT, July 7!!!!