Tempus Fugit

Blossoms

Here we are and it is almost Spring and looking back I see I haven't blogged since the Summer. Well my friends it has been a long hard winter. I, like so many of my countrymen, got consumed by the Presidential Election back in November. I was disappointed in the results, not because the candidate I favored lost, but because a candidate, to my mind, who represented the worst we are as a country won. I had hoped we might have been turning a corner in race relations, and protections for those who have suffered abuse. It hurt to see a candidate who espoused bigotry, and misogyny come to the fore It hurt as a survivor of abuse to see an abuser take the highest office in the land. It hurt as an immigrant to see someone soon to be our leader calling for border walls and advocating the separation of families. It hurt as the widow of someone who had a 'preexisting' condition to see a person who wanted to go back to the way things were in healthcare be put in charge.Unfortunately that is where we are as a country. I spent a lot of the winter angry, frustrated and hurt. I couldn't understand how so many of Christian friends and neighbors could have voted for someone who seemed to be the antithesis of Christian values. Along the way something happened I started putting my anger to use. I attended a protest for the first time in my life. I started emailing and calling my representatives in Congress and I got down on my knees and prayed. I didn't pray for things to turn out the way I wanted; but I did pray for what I needed to do. I put everything back in God's hands and stopped trying to wrest the control away from Him. I live in a country that despite its flaws, still allows me to speak freely. I have learned to take extra care with my speech so my words are a reflection of my faith. I have learned to take extra care with my actions so they too are a reflection of my faith.

Winter is almost over. Spring is coming and I have a bunch of projects, books, and travels I want to share with you. I have many of the Bumper's adventure's I want to share with you. I have missed blogging. I am glad to be back.

Meatless Monday: Breathing space and Frontyard Gardens

Butterfly enjoying our marigolds

I try to keep the tone of this Blog light and homey. I talk about crafts, cooking, writing, reading and of course The Bumper. With what has been going on in this country lately, those kinds of things just didn't seem very important. What is the point of chatting about flowers, or how many beans we have been picking (a lot!), the progress made on my latest pair of socks, or crochet project; when we have two shootings of un-armed Black men in a week, the retaliatory killings of police officers who were just trying to do their jobs, yet another un-armed Black man shot by a police officer this week, and hateful, fearing mongering political rhetoric on the parts of the candidates for the highest office in the United States.

I wanted to cry out: "Where are you God?!" It seemed like He was very far away. I almost decided to give up blogging.  Then I read a note from a friend of mine's mother "We can rest assured that nothing is happening God did not allow, even though we may not understand." Okay slow down take a deep breath the world is not coming to and our country is not going down the tubes, in spite of what sensationalized media stories and self serving politicians would have me believe. Please note I am not being dismissive of those in true need. I am not saying I am going to bury my head in the sand about issues I feel strongly about and simply say "God's in charge and I don't have to do anything." I am saying that being overly fearful and anxious is counter productive. I am saying I am not going to let negativity depress me. I am saying will I will continue to blog about my family, crafts etc because these things are important to me and bring me joy.  I will continue to to blog about these things to be a place of thoughtfulness, rest, calm, comfort and encouragement in a media world dominated by the sensational, cruel and vapid.

We are leaving for vacation to Vancouver British Columbia Canada on Thursday. I hope to have some great pictures and stories to share.

The cherry tomatoes do not stand a chance!

In the meantime this Meatless Monday is all about the front yard garden We started a front yard garden last summer and have continued it this year. We are growing tomatoes, peppers, eggplant right along our front walkway. It so fun and easy to pick things as they ripen on our way back inside the house after a long day or even first thing in the morning after checking the mail and fetching the newspaper. The Bumper loves to eat cherry tomatoes, as soon as she picks them.  I love sneaking her vegetables in on her this way! I highly recommend front yard gardening who says walkways are only reserved for flowers?

p.s. Expect another post on canning tomatoes and pepper relish this year!

Peace,
Kim

Blast Off to Kindergarten

Getting Ready

I celebrated a  small but sentimental milestone; the Bumper finished Pre-Kindergarten today. She came home with a real report card and everything. Next year she will be a real live Kindergartner. Her class put on  a performance for the parents. They danced and sang songs to show what they have learned this year, among them were the ABC's, Los Colores, and Abra Mis Ojos (Open My Eyes Lord). It was cute beyond words.

Jet Packs!

Afterwards we sat in the playground and the Bumper crawled up on my lap. "Mom," she said, "I'm sad."
"Why?" I asked.
"Because I won't see my friends for the whole summer, and even when we come back Mrs. H won't be my teacher. It won't be the same."
I had nothing to say, so I sat an rocked her for a while. She was right and all I could do was hold her and let her know I was not going anywhere.

I am glad she is still little and her mama rocking her was enough to chase the sadness away.

Praise God for a Good Year

Kim

Bring on the Summer

The Bumper gets her green thumb from her Nana

The Bumper's last day of pre-k is tomorrow. She is excited for summer vacation to begin. The Bumper is not a morning person (except on Saturday) and it has been a struggle to get her to school by 8am every morning. I am looking forward to the break from that at least.

The Bumper has a a wonderful school year, but not without some rough patches. She is a very high energy little girl and behavior no one would blink at in a boy often gets question when she does it. That being said she got into trouble the third day of school for yelling at her teacher. Her teacher however is very savvy in the ways of wee ones and quickly figured out the Bumper had misbehaved because she wanted to get sent home. So her teacher and I came up with a better way to deal with her disobedience. If she misbehaved in class she would not get to play on the playground at recess or after school. For the most part this worked very well all year. This school year also taught me I am the parent of THAT child. The one who makes other parents shake their heads and raise their eye brows, but that is a post for another day.

This summer we are going on a trip out to Vancouver B.C. Canada. It will be the first time the Bumper has ever flown. I am nervous, she is thrilled and asks about it everyday. She has began X-ing out the days until we leave. Unfortunately we do not leave until the end of July. It is going to be a long wait!
I have been very busy meeting personal writing goals for my novel. Writing is hard work and has not left much time for blogging. Still I hope find some balance this summer and I am looking forward to spending time with the Bumper and just slowing our pace down a little.

Kim

Sleepy and Slow

This morning was one of those mornings. The kind where I get up too late and run around in circles trying to get the Bumper out the door when she has emphatically stated she does not want to go to school. She was tired and I was tired and rather than get into a power struggle I slowed the pace way down. We had a breakfast of cold cereal, much to the Bumper's dismay as she prefers a hot breakfast and the Bumper pulled out all the stops on the go slow chart. She wanted to do everything except get dressed for school. I let her. I went about as though she were not there, putting things away, and starting my morning work routine. In between times I manged to get her dressed in her school uniform. I then told her if she was sick, by all means she ought to stay home--in bed. She decided she would much rather go to school. It was an hour late, but we went.

I understand her reluctance. For some reason the time change hit all of us especially hard this year; and we were all out late last night celebrating St. Patrick's day, which made getting up this morning very difficult.  Still I had to be firm and make her go. I was glad I did; because as soon as we got to school the Bumper perked up. We walked in on her teacher asking what Easter is really about, instead and the Bumper slid into her seat, like a ball player heading for home base, hand waving wildly in the air shouting "Jesus!".

Enthusiasm is a good thing.

Kim

Randomly on Friday

Snowsaurus

Right now Mother Nature is laughing at us. This morning we woke up, much to the Bumper's delight, to a blanket of white fluffy snow, and by this afternoon it was gone. Her school, much to the Bumper's dismay, remained open; so she had only a few minutes to make a mini-snowman, eat her syrup snow and pelt me with snowballs on the way to the car. Since it was my volunteer day in the school cafeteria I stayed at school all day. Because we are still in Lent the kids were served macaroni and cheese with a corn muffin and carrots. By the end of lunch time I felt sorry for the poor little carrots as they all got left behind while the kids took only the trays with the pasta.

In keeping with our Lenten theme of Meatless Simplicity the Bumper ate left over  cheese pizza from yesterday's lunch, I ate a peanut butter and jelly sandwich and Nana ate soup. After standing on my feet all day preparing and serving food the last thing I wanted to do was come home and cook. Friday and weekends in general we keep it pretty informal, sometimes we even just grab some tortilla chips, salsa, popcorn, and maybe hot dogs (not during Lent of course) for the Bumper and Nana, and a veggie burger for me and we sit in the living room and watch a movie together.

This weekend we are looking forward to a play date with one of the Bumper's friends and I hope to get to my knit group to enjoy some crafty me time.

Kim

Restless

Bare Trees

I've reached the point in the year where I am restless. I am tired of winter and ready for spring to be here. I am ready to go outside for walks and to soak up some sunshine. I am ready to send the Bumper out with her Nana into the garden and flowerbeds to begin Spring planting. I will gladly take allergy medicine just as long as I can leave my jacket, scarf and gloves behind. We have had unusually mild winter, which makes it all the more aggravating and I know winter is not done with us yet. Sure the calendar says there are only three weeks until the first day of Spring, but last year we got a snowstorm on that day, so I'm more than a little skeptical.

I just love a white picket fence

Spring also means the feast of the Resurrection is close at hand and our Lenten fast will end. I am looking forward to a family get together and singing Alleluia in church. Until then we have lots to occupy us including an auction fundraiser at the Bumper's school, Stations of the Cross and Meatless Fridays.

To get rid of some of my restlessness the other day I managed to go for a walk. The day was warm and sunny it felt so good to be outside. As I sit typing this the temperature  outside has dipped to uncomfortably just above freezing. I am glad I got out when I did-- before the next round of stormy weather.

Hope you are enjoying yourself wherever you are and whatever your weather.
p.s.
Does anybody else get restless this time of year?

Kim

Sick Day or Month or Whatever

This January is turning out to be the month of illness. First I was sick, still am, with some sort of stomach bug, then a sinus infection which turned into asthmatic bronchitis. I was bed ridden pretty much until this past Sunday; even then  I coughed my way through most of the service. Then the Bumper came down with a version of the stomach flu. She started vomiting at around 10pm on Saturday  and kept going at two hour interval until 8am on Sunday. At least two of the episodes she caught me full in the face. Yep I spent most of the night covered in kid barf... ah the joys of motherhood. I know I was sleep deprived because I found it funny that we were being ceremonially re baptized ( Whereby the priest sprinkles the entire congregation with holy water) and a scant two hours before I was drenched in vomit. I saw it as a rather blunt metaphor for sin and redemption through Christ.
The Bumper was feeling much better today and she should be ready to go back to school tomorrow, but now Nana is sick. We have all been drinking loads of hot tea and eating lots of soup.

Kim
p.s. The Bumper's mittens turned out rather Seussian

Christmas is coming!

Happy Advent!

I have not abandoned the blog. That being said I have been running full tilt since October, right up until I got a virus that put me in bed for two weeks. I have also hosted a birthday party for my five year old Bumper (Where did the time go?)

Currently we are getting ready for Christmas. Two weeks ago I put in 15 volunteer hours at the Bumper's school. The Cafeteria lady and I baked, wrapped, and put angel stickers on  500 sugar cookies to be given out at the Christmas play. It was intense and did not leave much time for anything else.We have three candles on the Advent Wreath.

The infamous sugar cookie

This weekend we pulled down the decorations and managed to put up the outside lights, and the mantle garland, but the tree is still bare and the Nativity still in the box. I have 2 hat and scarf sets to knits, mittens and a blanket to crochet (which the Bumper informed me must be finished by Christmas). We also have yet to send out our Christmas cards, or do the baking. We still need to make Chocolate Chip Cookies, Oatmeal Cookies, Butter Tarts, and a birthday cake for baby Jesus(the Bumper's idea).

In the middle of all this business, one thought anchors me : On Christmas Eve we will go to Midnight Mass and let the gratttitide, love, and joy we have be reflectin on over Advent come pouring forth in song, and praise as we proclaim and celebrate the birth of our Savior Jesus Christ! This the core, the most important part. Everything else is gravy.

Peace of Christ this Holiday
Kim

Of Peppers and Pretzels

Argh! I had such hopes and I was really excited for Vegan MoFo this year, but back to school laid me flat!. Yes I have more time for writing (the novel takes precedence over the Blog), however there are things I did not count on: The first week of school everybody went a half day, and there was the new sleep schedule to adjust to. I now get up at 6:00am to get the Bumper out the door by 7:45am. Then there are the parental volunteer commitments. I don't mind, I just did not expect to have so may late night meetings to attend. The Bumper also started soccer with practice on Wednesday and games on Saturday.
I am still game to finish out the month and I like the prompts so much that I will be using the ones I miss throughout the coming year.
 Yesterday's prompt was to  make or eat a local dish. I live on Maryland's Easter Shore and the local dishes are not vegan friendly. We are talking scrapple, also called head cheese, which is made from various pig parts, crab cakes, raw oysters, and steamed crabs. So no thank you. There is one Eastern Shore local dish that is vegan: Pepper Relish (I can't eat pepper relish because it makes me break out in hives) and one that can be easily veganized: Pretzel Salad.
The Pepper Relish Recipe is courtsey of my friend Beverly L a life long resident of the Eastern Shore. It is her grandmother's recipe.


Pepper Relish

14 red peppers
10 green peppers
12 onions
Syrup:
3 cups vinegar
2 T salt
4 cups sugar
1 tablespoon celery seed
2 tablespoons mustard seed
Clean onions and peppers, removing seeds and  white pulp from peppers.
Grind in food processor to fine consistancy
Put in large pot or basin and pour boiling water over. Let sit five minutes.
Drain in colander and pick out large chunks.
Prepare syrup in large pot. Add pepper mix and boil 25 minutes. Can in
hot jars and seal. Makes 6-7 pints

Pretzel Salad

Pretzel Salad is made with crushed pretzels, cream cheese, sugar, frozen strawberries, and strawberry jello.
I subbed the dairy cheese for Tofutti brand and omitted the strawberry jello since I couldn't find vegan gelatin.

2 cups pretzels crushed
1 tub non-dairy cream cheese of choice
2Tbs of lemon juice
3/4 cups vegan margarine
1 package of frozen strawberries
3TBS + 1Cup sugar (divided)
Preheat oven to 400F

Crush pretzels and combine with margarine and the 3Tbs sugar. Line the bottom of a greased 9x13 glass baking dish. Bake at 400F for 8-10 min until set. (pretzels should be brown but not burnt)
Take out frozen frozen strawberries and put in bowl. Stir in lemon juice and 1/4cup sugar. Let sit for 10-15 min or until there is a layer of strawberry juice syrup at the bottom of the bowl.
Mix together softened cream cheese, and 1 1/2 cup of sugar, spread over crust, top with strawberries and refrigerate until chilled through.
This version does not have the traditional jello-like top layer but it is still delicious. If you have access to vegan gelatin by all means use it. Just prepare according to package directions and pour over the frozen strawberries before putting it in the refrigerator.

Happy Eating!
Kim
p.s. Most versions use a layer of whipped cream too, but I don't like it that way.

Catching Summer As She Hurries By

Marigolds are loving the rain!

They say time flies when you are having fun, well it also flies when you have an active four year old. This summer has been all about ice-pops, sprinklers and parties. We are enjoying ourselves tremendously, but it has left very little time for blogging. The Bumper is in summer camp every morning, swimming three times a week and digging in the dirt with Nana. We have also been making the birthday party rounds. So far every weekend in July the Bumper has gone to a party and there is no end in sight. Superheroes are the theme among the pre-school set, but Bumper has wanted to wear princess dresses. When one of her friends challenged her about her choice, she promptly replied "Princesses are superheroes!" I am not going to argue with that.

Because one thing at a time makes too much sense.

I have been busy writing on my novel and I am super excited, the writing is going well and I am starting to like my characters. I am still working on my second sock; I started a dishcloth, and a blanket. 

This Sunflower says perfectly how we feel about the heat!

The weather here has been hot and muggy. We have had lots and lots of rain, great for the grass; not so much for the mower. Remembering how cold it was this past winter, however, I am not complaining!  For the most part the past few weeks have been too hot to play in the day, but since daylight still lingers past seven in the evening, there is plenty of time to go outside once things cool down. Bumper loves stalking fire flies in the long tall grass at the back of our yard. I like watching her, it never fails to put a smile on my face. This is also prime reading weather, and while I have been indulging in a marvelous mystery series revolving around knitting, Bumper has been patiently listening to her read along books and coaxing extra bedtime stories out of me!  Bumper has told me she can't wait for winter to comeback so she can play in the snow and eat maple sugar candy (syrup snow). As for me I am enjoying these rapid fire days as best I can, even if it is when I flop into bed sweaty and exhausted.

Hope, wherever you are, your summer is going well.
Kim

America the Beautiful

Today is July 4th, Independence Day, and this year we are spending it with friends at an out door picnic followed by sparklers. While I love a rousing rendition of the 1812 overture complete with canon fire, flag waving and fireworks; today I also want to celebrate our National Parks. Our National Parks are one of the this which make the United States great. I am fortunate enough to live only 30 minutes from the Assateague Island National Seashore. It is a refuge for birds, deer, and wild ponies. At various times I have seen Great Blue Heron's White Cattle Egrets, and once even a Glossy Billed Ibis. I am thankful such place exist and are protected for the future. Someone once said civilizations rise and fall, people come and go but the land endures.
Happy Fourth of July!
Kim

Meatless Monday- Fire Up the Grill

Roses, not asparagus, but very pretty

Two words: Grilled Asparagus.

I had never had grilled asparagus before yesterday. Having it grilled changed the way I viewed this under appreciated vegetable. It was bright green and tender with out being mushy. Unfortunately I do not have any pictures, because it got eaten before I could take any. Nana brushed it with a little olive oil, salt and pepper, wrapped it in foil and put it on the grill.

Fun in the water

Yesterday was father's day here in the States. First I lit a candle, in the Bumper's Dad's memory, at church, the we spent the rest of the day with the Bumper's godfather, who is a great dad in his own right, and his family. The Bumper played outside until dark, and the rest of us chatted either on the back porch or inside the house where it was cool. A quiet (not really because the Bumper was very loud) Sunday with family and friends.
Hope your weekend was as pleasant.

Kim

Busy

School is out, and I am busy. Busy keeping up with the Bumper, busy knitting my second sock, busy making a hat and booties for a friend's daughter's baby, busy writing two short stories and a novel. I have been so busy that blogging has slipped way down on my priority list. I find that I miss it. So here I am back again.
The Bumper is also busy. She is busy painting, dancing in the rain, playing, running in the mud and just being a kid.
Nana is busy putting in the garden, emptying her office of twenty years, and trying to adjust to being retired.
Busy is good. Busy keeps me from being bored or dwelling on unpleasant thoughts, busy also prevents silly arguments and fruitless battles of will, but busy can have its downside. I have been so busy I have neglected my prayer time, the time I spend reading the Bible and being in the Lord's presence. It occurs to me that I shouldn't be quite so busy that I forget Jesus.  Yet once entered into I find busyness takes on a life of its' own. This summer I want to find balance between busy and still. Between construction and contemplation. No small feat when caring for a little person who wakes up busy and doesn't stop until she goes to sleep.  This weekend will be spent in busyness with friends and family, but I a going to try and slip away and be still for just a little while.

Kim

Thank Heaven for Little Girls

Have a girl people told me when my late husband and I expressed our desire to start a family. Little girls are so sweet people said. Raising girls is so much easier Nana's friends said nodding their gray heads in wisdom. I have come to the conclusion that the people who say such things have either forgotten what is like raising small children or have never had children.

The Bumper is indeed a sweet, loving, sympathetic child, but easy? No. She is also quite independent, strong willed and loud. She loves to be out of doors, she loves running, jumping, climbing and swinging. At her school playground she can often be found playing with the boys because they like the same things she does. She learned how to jump from a swing when she was three years old. The Bumper still can't pump on a swing, but she sure can jump out of one! I am convinced I am not going to get out of her childhood without at least one trip to the emergency room for a broken something.

Right now her favorite activity is gardening with her Nana. Both Nana and I encourage this because we want her to know where her food comes from and gives her a positive outlet for her energy. The Bumper likes it because she gets to make "dirt angles" and to swim in the mud after she waters the plants.

A while back a Mennonite friend of mine gave me some of her little girl's outgrown and nearly worn out dresses. She was concerned because I was still dressing the Bumper in trousers and she was three, but after watching the Bumper play she understood-- the Bumper is hard on clothes and frilly dresses will not stand up to her level of activity. I was a bit confused, but she said "Trust me, you'll need these." Sure enough she was right. All of a sudden this year the Bumper is in love with dresses. She wants  to wear them almost all of the time, but she also wants to do all of the running, climbing and mud swimming she did before. The dresses have saved both our tempers and the washing machine. They are one step up from the rag pile, and meant to be played in the way the Bumper plays. She can twirl like a princess and still climb trees.

Easy? Nope! A contradiction? Yes. I wouldn't have it any other way.

Kim

Spring, Sprang, Sprung

I had all these plans to write blog daily: meatless Mondays, and Friday focus and all that, but then I got sick. I am talking lie down or fall down sick, for nearly three weeks. I love springtime. I really do and I have lots of lovely springtime pictures to share, but winter must give me annual amnesia because I always forget that spring is when everything thing blooms, and as pretty as the blossoms and flowers are it also means nature is out to get me. I have nasty seasonal allergies so until we get the first good spring rain shower every time I venture out of doors my eyes turn red and itchy and I sneeze, sniff and cough constantly.  As far as I am concerned that does not make for great blog fodder. Neither does breaking my left pinkie toe. I was helping out a neighbor and whacked it on a chair.
On the up side. I have been writing more on my novel. I finished a hat for a friend and started making more baby hats because the Bumper saw fit to confiscate the last batch and use them for her baby dolls.
I spent the last days of February and most of March eagerly awaiting Spring. I had my camera at the
ready and I was going to promptly put  the pictures of all the pretty flowers on my Blog, but it seems that no sooner did I take them the weather changed and now the trees are all green with nary a blossom in sight!  One day bare branches, the blossoms and the day after that BOOM green trees.

Last Saturday, April 18th, would have been my 6th wedding anniversary. Even though we went to a birthday party for one of the Bumper's friends, the day still felt a little sad. I couldn't help but reflect on my wedding day. A more perfect one I could not have asked for, warm, full of spring flowers, a celebration with friends and family. I remember how we held hands and sang our favorite hymns, how our friends and family rallied to provide the decorations, and the music for our first dance. One of our friends, who has also passed away even organized games for the guest to play.  Then I remember what we became after the verbal abuse started, and my husbands illness grew worse. It was not until near the end, that I finally began to understand what a toll his illness took on his mental state, his health, and our marriage. It makes me sad, and yet even more grateful for the Bumper's health.

Kim

Randomly on Thursday

1.Today is Holy Thursday,  as part of our preparation for Easter Sunday we will commemorate the Last Supper in a special way at church tonight. First we will read Exodus 12:1-8, 11-14, Psalms 116:12-13, 15-18, 1 Corinthians 11:23-26, and John 13:1-15. Then the priest will wash the feet of some of the parishioners ( in a parish as larges as ours it would be impractical for everyone to have their feet washed so usually it is members of various volunteer groups). It is a time for us to reflect on the importance of the Holy Eucharist and on our service to one another (and the world at large) as brothers and sisters in Christ in imitation of our Savior. The altar is stripped bare and the statues removed, we depart in silence, all that is left is the core of our faith: Christ crucified  for our sins to rise again on Easter Sunday morn defying death and becoming our salvation.

2. We are hosting Easter Sunday supper this year, which means Nana and I will be frantically trying to get the house "company clean".

3. The weather was so nice today, Nana and the Bumper spent the whole afternoon outside.

4. I opened all the windows to let in the Springtime air and drive out the mustiness of winter.

5. There will be very little crafting or writing getting done over the next few days unless I am determined to get up very early or go to be very late.

Kim

Tidbits of an Ordinary Day

It is such a relief to finally start feeling better! I volunteered at the Bumper's school this morning, I made sure to have a cup of coffee before hand. A group of twelve four year old has a LOT of energy and I needed to fortify myself. I really do enjoy volunteering, but I can only take so much. There is a reason after all that I am not a pre-school teacher. They did a unit on dinosaurs. There was lots painting, coloring, and building going on. The children were all energetic and very happy. I think it takes a special kind of person to deal with that many small children on a daily basis. I have nothing but respect for teachers.

After my stint at the pre-school this morning I came home to finish up some house work and maybe get a little crafting and writing done. Having a project or two or three on the hop keeps me very satisfied and creatively happy. It took me a long time to realize this, but if I don't have something to work on I get frustrated irritable and depressed. I finished the third baby hat and started the fourth. Hopefully  I will be able to mail them all out in a couple of weeks.

The day was warm enough for the Bumper to spend some extra time playing outside with her friends from school. I didn't mind, after being in bed for a week and a half I enjoyed the fresh air as much as  she did. Spring is fickle, so I try to take advantage of every opportunity to be outdoors.

We are half-way through Holy Week and headed for my favorite holiday: Easter. This year we are having some friends over and I am going to try my hand at making hot cross buns.
Kim

Some Days Are Just Like That

I am still sick, not as bad as last week but still not myself. I am very congested, unable to smell a thing and only able to taste sweet, salty and sour; hence no meatless Monday post as I can't be trusted with seasonings yet. Nana has picked up the slack and created some wonderfully vegan soups, sauteed greens(Tuscany kale, cabbage, parsley, onion, garlic, ginger, and red and green peppers), and chili.

I, on the other hand, have slept a lot, most of last week in fact. I went to the doctor, but I did not have an infection, just a really stubborn cold virus, so no anti-biotic. The doctor told me to keep doing what I was already doing: rest and drink plenty of liquids. She also said it could take around six-teen days to recover. Not the news I wanted to hear. Nana has been wonderful, because she has watched the Bumper every day since I became ill. The Bumper loves her Nana time. Unfortunately this also means she has taken advantage of the the situation and decided to act out knowing I have been too sick to discipline her properly or consistently. She got quite a shock today when I started clamping down and nipping the unruliness in the bud. It will take a few more weeks for us to get back to normal ( it just takes a bit for her to understand than Mom means business).

Spring has finally decided to grace us with its presence today and the daffodils are blooming. The weather has been mild enough for the Bumper to play outside or help Nana plant more flowers. I have even been able to sit outside a bit and soak up the sunshine. I just took some more cold medicine and am going to head back to bed. Nana and the Bumper have headed out in search of baby chicks.
I hope to be back to more regular posting soon, but in the meantime I am taking it one day at a time.

P.S. May your Holy Week (if you celebrate it) be a prayer filled and fruitful one.

Kim

A Quick Jaunt to the Seaside (Which sounds more adventureous than a "Drive to the Beach")

As is the way with March around here, Wednesday was glorious. Temperatures in the mid to upper sixty degrees Fahrenheit. The Bumper could hardly be kept indoors and I did not want to keep in. We found every excuse to be outside. Checking the mail, getting the morning paper, feeding the birds, prepping her raised bed (Nana helped the Bumper with that), I even opened up the windows and doors to let in fresh air. We could practically feel the warmth of spring on the breeze and we basked in it.

And then there was yesterday. Yesterday was cold and blustery enough to make Winnie the Pooh proud. It was rather a nasty shock, as it meant the Bumper and her friends had no playground time at school. Maybe it was the splendor of the day before which prompted her, but in the middle of all our grousing and complain about the shift in weather Nana suggested we go for a drive. Since being stuck for the rest of the afternoon with a grumpy, pent up four year old was not in the least appealing I readily agreed. The Bumper on the other hand, took some convincing. She wanted a firm destination; she wanted to go to a playground, but it was too cold.  So Nana told her we were going to listen to the frogs sing. This intrigued the Bumper enough to get in the car are we were off to find spring peepers.

I'm sure the cars behind us though we were crazy as Nana stopped the car every so often and the Bumper stuck her head out the window occasionally exclaiming "I hear them Nana! I hear them!"
I meanwhile ,bundled up in my coat, tried to crochet. I found it was better to pretend to concentrate on my work, than to let the Bumper think I was laughing at her enthusiasm. I wasn't really, I was very happy she was so excited y something as simple as springtime frogs. On and on we drove in this fashion until we finally arrived at Assateague Island National Seashore.

The wind coming off the ocean was far too bitter for us to go walking, but that did not stop us from spotting and taking pictures of the islands most famous inhabitants: the wild ponies.  Apparently the Bumper did not remember seeing them last year, she was enthralled and asked a whole bunch questions and even took some pictures all by herself.

All in all the drive did us good. We got out of the house, got the hear an evening chorus of frogs, watching the ever shifting blues of the ocean and even spotted a lone para sail! We return home in much better spirits than when we left.

I am eagerly awaiting for the warmer temperatures and longer days I know are coming, in the meantime I will make the best of what tempestuous March has to offer.

Kim