A Ray Davies Kind of Weekend.....
What a weekend....an up and down trio of days I guess. Friday evening was great-----sitting in the yard with friends (thanks for the wine AND the tomato plant Mel), then Artists Against Aids where I got to meet Gnightgirl and Heather (note: damn it, damn it, damn it....now I can't remember if that's her name...I mean I remember her I'm just bad at this....trying to go through my comments to find her but don't have enough time right now....anyway if your name isn't Heather TELL me!!LOL), hug Kirsten, buy a painting and a pair of earrings (what's money anyway?)....and then dinner with my beloved Ann and Bob at Black Dog in Urbana. Life's been so hectic that this was the first time we'd made it over there....loved my sandwich but the smoked chicken wings and pit beans really sang so to speak.....a lovely evening in all....
Saturday, yeah, well on Saturday the weekend pretty much went to hell. We did some errands first----ran to PACA to see if they had bricks (they do but are surrounded by too much mud to get at the moment). I decided I'm a terrible mother because my children were NOT particularly well behaved and at one point later in the day one of them infuriated me SO much while I was standing in the bathroom that I picked up their new SpongeBob bubble bath and threw it in the tub so hard that I broke the plastic bottle. Yup.....mother of the year time I guess. And here I'm always lecturing Ernie not to lose his temper with the boys, etc., etc...... I must admit that I love to throw things when I'm mad but I usually resist the urge.... Then we borrowed a neighbor's tiller and the damn thing BROKE so Ernie spent half the day with our crazy (and beloved) neighbor Dave trying to figure it out. The evening went long, we tried to grill, let the fire go down to low and finally finished the food in the microwave. I ate it and promptly went to bed.
Owen woke me up at 6:20 on Sunday morning to tell me that he didn't think we should go out to breakfast because it would make Leo grumpy and ruin the whole day. I said FINE (grumpily because who the hell cares if MOM is grumpy) and went back to sleep for a little while. We did have the wonderful treat of a quick visit with our friend Annette who was in town for the weekend so that started turning things around.
Despite the fact that we really didn't feel like working inside, we started working on moving Leo's room into Judi's old room. Leo was feeling sad about some new rules we'd laid down and told me he thought the whole earth was boring. Usually I want to smack him when he tells me he's bored but thinking the whole earth is boring is just downright sad so we started work on the long delayed move. When I'd tried to start before I'd gotten overwhelmed by going through Judi's things....and not that there weren't a few sad moments, but it was easier this time.....and Leo? Well, not one thing in this world is more wonderful than a happy Leo..... He adores his new room and spent the afternoon working on arranging his Lego and trains of the shelves....and periodically just laying on his bed with his hands behind his head surveying the glory of his new room. Then he came and sat with me on the porch and just chatted chatted, chatted. A wondrous thing, the happy Leo. After school today Ernie and the guys are going over to my mother's house to get my father's desk. It's the antique desk he used in his law office and he wanted Leo to have it. Leo is shall we say VERY excited and is making plans for what he'll keep in the drawers.
He also wants to put the quilt/wall hanging that Judi made for him when he was a baby over his bed in his new room which pleased me. In fact----there was one very bright spot on Saturday despite the rest of it. Owen got a package from Judi's dear friend and fellow quilter Nancy. Judi had made Leo's quilt for him when he was maybe a year old..... Owen, as is ever the fact with the second child (and mind you I'm the third child----just TRY looking for photo documentation of me as a baby....much less a baby book...HA!) didn't get his on quite the same schedule. I'd gone with Judi in South Carolina once with her to help pick out fabrics. Sometimes when we were down there she'd show me the progress she'd made and we laughed about Owen being in high school when he'd finally get it.... So in the last year she did some more work on it but she couldn't finish it before she got so ill. Nancy kindly took it and told her she'd finish it for her. So on Saturday, Owen opened the box addressed to him to find his quilt. Leo and their friend Ricky were there and they all thought it was wonderful. I was so touched---in every way. Nancy put a heart on the underside of it that says "For Owen, love, Aunt Judi, January 2009 (Owen told me that's his favorite part). Of course you know perfectly well that it brought me to tears.... It's really not meant to be a quilt for a bed but Owen slept under it nonetheless the other night-----with legs and arms sticking out---and has carried it around....folding it neatly when he's not using it.....
our kale seedlings that the boys planted last weekend:
So all in all.....in this ridiculously rambling post.....I guess it was a Ray Davies kind of weekend. Ernie has some quote from Ray Davies about a good day having highs and lows so we always call those kind of days Ray Davies days....
We ended up the weekend by getting the last (well, for now....the boys still have their own gardens to do) of our plants and seeds in. We've got tomato plants, kale, swiss chard, cucumbers, zucchini, summer squash, lots of herbs and a jalapeno plant. Given that we don't have tons ofsun things are far too crowded but what the hell.....also planted lots and lots of zinnias, nasturtiums and morning glories. It felt wonderful to sit on the porch (gartersnake-free zone) and look out at everything.....