The WIP

Band Night

Sunday Walk

Shoes

Knitting

Lemons

Lemonade on the Porch

A good weekend all around, even though I was under the weather.  I had a very sore throat for three days, but I feel better now.  Good news, because I thought I was in for a full-blown miserable cold.  I don't have time for such things.

Friday night was band night, and it was great as usual.  Good food, good music, and good people equals good times.  The next one is at our house, which makes me a little nervous, but I have weeks to plan and prepare.  I have a feeling the crock pot will make an appearance, and perhaps disposable dishes.

Saturday, I rested.  Kev took Daphne to the water park, and I went back to bed.  In the evening, we all went to Leesburg's BRAND NEW DAIRY QUEEN!  Yum.  Nothing can soothe a sore throat like ice cream.

Sunday, I got up early and went for a walk by myself.  The town was pretty much deserted and very quiet.  And I managed to get out while it was still cool outside.  I stopped in Shoes for a mocha - first customer of the day.  I wish I could do this every single morning.  I think I would be a lot more fun to be around the rest of the day if I did.

Sunday, I spent the day at home again.  Kev went to the NoVa Brewfest, and Daphne and I experimented with a lemonade recipe for her upcoming lemonade stand.  I did some knitting, and we drank lemonade on the porch, which seems like what Sundays in the summer are made for.

Things are about to get a little crazy around here, and I hope to find some blogging time.  For now, I'm off to get another cup of coffee.  Hope your weekend was good!

Morning Surprise

You might be wondering why Daphne is standing in the driveway early in the morning in her PJs and sock monkey slippers.  So, I will tell you.

Because, when Kev opened the garage door, a big surprise was revealed.  Daphne's VERY OWN LEMONADE STAND!!!!!!!!

It isn't quite finished yet.  We have to attach the posts and make a banner.  Actually, I made a banner, but it's too long, so we have to make another banner.  Kev was up late last night finishing the painting.  It's really cute, and Daphne was so excited when she saw it.  Today, she's been working on a business plan.  She's having her first sale during the 4th of July parade, and donating half of the profits to the local animal shelter.  Which is awesome.  So, come on by, and bring your dog.  We're giving away dog biscuits when you buy a lemonade!

UPDATE:  We now have a banner.

Tuned Out

 

Yesterday was Tuned Out Tuesday.  We kept the TV off, and I limited my computer time to a couple of email checks, but no Facebook, Pinterest, or blogs. I'm not sure how successful it was.  Daphne and I spent the morning doing spin art, and walking to Safeway, and we spent the afternoon at the library and baking blueberry biscuits with a friend.  So, that was all good.  But the point of tuning out, for me, was to get off the computer and get some things done, which I couldn't do because since Daphne couldn't watch TV, she needed a lot of help figuring out What To Do.  So, I got nothing done.  I did get some quality Daphne time, so that was a plus.  And here is our groovy collection of spin art:

Anyway, maybe Daphne's TV-free day and my computer-free day should not coincide.  I'll have to think it over.

My cousin was on Jeopardy last night.  It was filmed months ago, and he wasn't allowed to tell us anything about it.  So, we were all set to watch it last night, breaking all the Tuned-Out-Tuesday rules.  We turned it on, saw the first 5 minutes af the show, and then BLAM - out went the Verizon FIOS.  No FIOS, no Jeopardy.  What are the odds?  So, my parents have it recorded, and I'll go watch it later, but I already know the outcome (he didn't win).  I was pretty mad that my TV chose that moment to refuse to work.  Kev said it was probably mad at us for tuning out all day.

This morning, I got up early and enjoyed a very quiet breakfast of coffee and blueberry biscuits.  Then, I went upstairs and found this note on my office chair:

I had ben doing pretty good, but was even better after that.  Tonight, we are having lasagna.  And it's already cooked.  I like today.

Father's Day WIP

This Father's Day was brought to us (mostly) by the letter B:  Bikes, breakfast, balloons, beer, band practice, barbecue, books, bowling, burgers, and...um...a stepping stone with a giant "D" on it.

It was a great weekend.  Lots of good food and lots of hanging out with the family.  The house was (and miraculously is still) clean.  Today there was lasagna, and there are left-overs to look forward to.  Tomorrow, we are experimenting with Tuned-Out Tuesday, during which there will be no TV or internet (except to check email a couple of times).  Actually, there will be TV this time, but only for 30 minutes because my cousin is on Jeopardy.  Other than that, we're totally tuned out.  We will be forced to find other forms of entertainment.  I'm looking forward to it.

This week is mostly about catching up on little things and hanging out with friends.  And I am in search of a new knitting project. 

Happy Father's Day to all the great dad's out there.  I hope you had a good one.  You deserve it!

The Napkin Horses

Well, we are slowly adjusting to Life After Kindergarten.  It's been an eventful week since our do-nothing Monday.  Piano, art, multiple trips to the grocery store, a reptile show at the library, baking a blueberry crisp, a movie with friends, and a picnic. The picnic was Daphne's idea.  Yesterday was warm, but not hot, and there was a nice breeze.  I suggested lunch on the porch, but Daphne wanted to have a picnic.  "A ground picnic, Mommy!"  But the ground was wet from a whole day of rain on Tuesday.  So, she set up our picnic on the patio. 

I sent her to get us some napkins and told her not to let the wind blow them away.  "Don't worry, I've got the napkin horses," she told me.  I went outside, and sure enough, there were the napkin horses, just like she said.  And no napkins blew away.  From now on, all picnics in my family will have napkin horses.

It's been fun having picnics and going to reptile shows and movies and things with Daphne, but I'm having trouble getting things done that need to get done, and I have to admit I'm missing my alone-time a little bit.  I'm having trouble figuring out how to balance entertaining Daphne and letting her entertain herself so I can clean and take care of stuff around the house.  But we'll figure it out.  Soon enough, she'll be back in school - all day - and there will be no more Wednesday ground picnics with napkin horses for a while.

Summertime...

Friday was the last day of school.  Daphne's last day of Kindergarten.  It was a strange day.  She was sad, but excited.  I was excited, but sad.  We walked home from school and stopped for ice cream.  (I think we'll make that a tradition).  As the kids left the building, all the teachers lined up and blew party horns.  I like Daphne's school.

We jumped right in to summer break by going to pick blueberries early Saturday morning.

We picked 8 1/2 pounds of blueberries.  And I have plans for all of them.  So stay tuned for that on the other blog. 

After all that blueberry picking, I was glad there was a lemonade stand at the farm.  So was Daphne.

 Saturday afternoon, Kev bought a car.  A brand new car.  Not only from this decade, but from this year!

The car shopping experience was pretty painless, thanks to decent weather and good babysitters.  Kev loves his new car, and I'm happy for him.  I'm happy for me too, because that means I get my car back and will not be stuck walking around all summer.

Saturday night, we celebrated summer and cars with blueberry pancakes.  

Sunday, we didn't do a lot.  Leftover blueberry pancakes, a little shopping for pants, salmon on the grill, and a girls' night out with some friends.  A good weekend all around.

This morning, I woke up, ready to face summer full steam ahead.  I had big plans for the day.  But Daphne declared she needed a day of rest, and so we're easing into summer instead.  Fine by me.  Action can wait.  We have like 10 weeks before school starts.

In other news, I finished knitting and felting my karakul bag:

 I am very happy with it.  Now it just needs a closure and a strap of some kind.  I'm ready for my next project.

Also, my visit to the retina guy went very well.  There appears to be improvement and progress, and though my vision may never be completely normal, it seems to be slowly getting better.  I have one more treatment next month, and then we'll re-assess and go from there.  I am encouraged.

Well, I am being paged.  Daphne got walkie-talkies for her birthday, and they are awesome.  No more yelling through the house!  "Mom...I am kinda hungry...over."  So, I better head downstairs.  (I finally moved the computer upstairs...we'll see how it works out).  See ya later...over.

Happy Monday

A good way to start off summer break...


Thank you, Mister Rogers.

Some Happy Pictures for Retina Thursday

Orange Mother's Day Shoes

Cherries at the Farmers Market

Chili Lime Butter

Fresh Mint

Hydrangeas in the House

Off to the doctor soon.  Wish me luck.

Big Birthday and Some Crafty Stuff

Well, here's my six-year-old.  Crazy.  Last night, after a very long day, she got a cupcake.  But the morning started off with a surprise donut delivery from our neighbors:

Then we had field day at school.  I didn't take my camera, but I couldn't have taken pictures even if I wanted to.  From 12:00 to 2:00, I had a constant stream of students coming through my station: The Baseball Throw.  Let's see...I had 10 classes, with an average of about 20 students each, and each student got to throw three baseballs, and that equals, well, a LOT of stooping to retrieve baseballs.  Needless to say, I'm feeling the pain today, especially going up and down the stairs.  But it was fun, and a really nice thing for the kids.  Daphne had a blast.

Plus, since it was her birthday, she got a lot of extra attention in class, and a birthday crown:

 Looks like she was pretty happy, huh?

In the evening, we walked down to Fireworks for pizza birthday dinner.  Daph ordered hers with no sauce, no cheese, just pineapple, apples, and ham.  I hesitate to call that a "pizza," but it was her birthday, and she was happy with it.  Except for the crust, which was soggy from the pineapple juice.  So she just ate the toppings.  Then we came home for the above cupcake, and some presents.  She got, among other things,  a bow and arrow and an American Indian outfit.  This is her brave warrior face:

Meanwhile, I have been enjoying my new coasters:

I was so excited to be able to knit, that I bought this kit at the farm, so that I could make a felted bag:

I am already almost finished knitting it.  I have six rows of the flap to go, then I need to sew up the bottom, make a strap, and felt it. These are the natural un-dyed colors of the karakul sheep at the farm:

Thank you, sheep!

They look a lot like my bag, don't they!

Daphne got a lot of crafty gifts for her birthday.  This is a magnetic mosaic board, which she tried out this morning and loved.  It's going to be a very crafty summer.  Especially if I don't have a car.

I am hoping that tomorrow at the retina office, I get good news that will indicate things are improving, so that once I DO have a car, I will be able to drive it beyond the town.  Until then, though, my confidence is boosted by the fact that I can knit, so I am now going to attempt to ride my bike and see how it goes.  Don't worry, Mom.  I'm just going about 1/2 a mile up the trail to visit Miss B before she moves.  I'll be fine.

UPDATE:  Just returned from a very successful and delightful bike excursion.  In my orange Mother's Day shoes.  Yay!

Six

Happy birthday, Peanut.  I'm so proud of you.  You make me happy every single day.  Six will be a great age...even better than five. 

The WIP - Big Start to June

Daisy Troop Donation at the Animal Shelter

New Friend

Relay for Life

Becoming a Dalmatian

Hula Hoop Contest

Karakul Sheep at Red Gate Farm

Karakul Coaster - thank you, sheep!

Pretty

Big Daddy Turkey

Before Felting

Felted Coasters Done!

We packed a LOT into two days.  Errands on Saturday morning - Target, post office, Dollar Tree, Jersey Mike's for the World's Messiest Sandwich, and finally to the Loudoun County Animal Shelter to deliver some items and money collected by the troop.  Daphne was given a tour as a bonus, and she got to hold a Guinea pig, play with kittens, and give every dog a bacon-y treat.  Pretty cool.  They told us that kids can volunteer there (with a parent) beginning at age 10, so Daphne is already counting down.

In the afternoon, I took her to the Relay for Life event at a local high school, where she walked and walked and ran and walked and played and got a face painting and hula-hooped and walked.  It was a really nice event.  The first two hours were for kids, and then we stayed to watch the opening ceremony and the survivor lap.  It was a pretty emotional scene, and I was happy to be a part of it.  Daphne said, as we were watching the survivors (two of which we knew personally), "Mom, after this, on the way home, can I go get a shot so that I NEVER get cancer?"  I wish it was that easy.  I was proud of Daphne...she walked 2.25 miles and raised $125.00.  Every little bit helps.

Saturday night, we decided to take advantage of the beautiful weather and walk downtown to eat.  It turned out the car show was going on, so we got hot dogs and ice cream, looked at cool cars, and ran into several friends.  I like this little town.

Sunday, I went with my friend Jill to Red Gate Farm (A different one from the place with the horses) for a tour and knitting workshop.  We met some nice sheep, chickens, cats, dogs, and turkeys, saw some honey bees, and learned to felt by hand.  I made one coaster at the workshop, and finished the other two on the porch when I got home.  I love them.  They are drying on the front porch.  I can't wait to use them.  It was a really nice farm, and I'm so glad we went.  I am already excited about the next one, which isn't until September.  And the best part is, that I discovered that even though I have Crazy Eye, I can STILL KNIT!  I can't tell you how happy this makes me.  There will be projects this summer after all.  Yay!

Kev spent most of the weekend doing stuff like cleaning the garage, mowing the lawn, and fixing stuff.  I don't think he had quite as much fun as I did.  Next weekend, we don't really have much going on.  That will be good.

Today begins the last week of school.  Tomorrow is field day and Daphne's birthday.  Thursday is my retina appointment.  And Friday is the last day of school.  The weather should be nice and cool all week, so I plan to do a lot of walking and sitting on the porch before it gets hot again next week.  I'm going to start working on a Summer Plan.  And on that note, it's time to check Pinterest for ideas.

I hope your weekend was a good one.  Happy Last Monday of School!