Tetchy Boys and Damn Those Japanese Beetles!
Yesterday was just a day and a half if you know what I mean. Half of our family has short tempers and the other half is very stubborn so the combination can make things just a little....mmmmm.....tetchy, I guess you could say. And that's how things were in the latter part of the weekend. It makes me tired.
Ernie and I went on the garden walk Saturday morning. We try to go every year and we weren't sure we could fit it in but we did it at hyper speed and managed to see it all. As always, it makes me realize how much I like our garden despite its chaotic quality. And what I'm jealous of, yet again, is mulch and new walkways, brick paths and the like. I have some pictures but I can't find them right now so they'll have to wait.
We got home, scooped up our children and our chili and headed for the Chili Cookoff. I liked my chili although it hadn't thickened up as much as I wanted it to and we were out of time....so off we went. Owen immediately plunged into the back yard at the party, happy to see friends. Leo? Not so much. He's gotten a bit better about parties but it was not to be on Saturday. After an hour or more of watching him looking miserable and refusing to move from where he'd glued himself to the garage I finally gave up and took him home. It's one thing to say 'just let him be' and it's another to be able to enjoy yourself watching him get more miserable and people making valiant efforts to cheer him up and getting virtually no response. I grabbed Ernie's keys, went over and said, 'come on, I'm taking you home." He obediently trotted behind me and climbed in the car. I didn't say a thing....we just drove home and went into the house. When we walked in he said hesitantly, "Mom, did I do something to upset you?" Good Lord....he hadn't a clue. So we had a long, serious talk about behavior at parties and the polite way to act even if you find you don't want to be there. He nodded very solemnly and said he would try. God I love that boy. And it's a good thing. sigh.
Ernie and Owen came home a couple of hours later, triumphantly bearing a third place trophy for our chili! Ernie was ridiculously tickled. Good Lord I guess I love all three of them even though I kind of want to kill them all this morning. Sigh again.
And this is what the fucking Japanese beetles are up to:
Hisssssssssss.
And look what they're doing to my kale.
And I think maybe we need a new mattress because lately my back hurts every morning and whenever we stay at a motel I almost swoon over how comfortable the bed is. I'm thinking the quality of hotel beds hasn't suddenly skyrocketed....and perhaps it's time for us to shell out some money. Refrigerators, mattresses.....what boring things to spend money on. Sigh again.
Oh well....it's not all bad. The Japanese beetles aren't eating everything and I suppose someday I will love my family again. And maybe we'll go see Toy Story 3 tonight. I'm sure the day will turn around. Right?
and LORD but I love that little crimson spot in the middle of Queen Anne's Lace!