Rock To Wind A String Around

It’s been so long since I’ve offered a post of any merit, I thought I’d post a laundry list of current happenings and we can pretend that you gleaned all of this information from several thoughtful, witty posts.

A.  fencing camp:  Elliott finished his two weeks of fencing camp with a strong measure of enthusiasm.  We were warned that 3 weeks of 9-5 fencing camp would be too much for the lad, so we opted for two, but Elliott had energy to spare at the end of the day and daily reports suggested that he worked hard–so I should start saving my pennies now to fund the third week next year.  At the end of week 1 we received the unhappy news that Astrid Meklit’s main squeeze aka Elliott’s fencing coach would be leaving the gym for a new job in Texas.  We are happy for him, but sad for us–Sergey is an amazing coach–he knew exactly what Elliott needed to push him without frustrating him.  The gym is closed for classes until labor day (although private lessons now with Sasha will continue)–I may take up a foreign language or a new hobby in all of the extra time I will have each week.

Oh wait, instead I will attend to my volunteer duties!  Enkutatash (Ethiopian New Year) is just two months away (celebration on September 18th here in Cowtown)–lots to do for that and The Dead of Winter Gala is being planned in earnest.  So many fabulous items are rolling in for the silent auction, now the team needs to work their magic and help me find sponsors and libation donations.

In addition to these delightful events, I am also co-planning 2! baby showers for the month of August both to be held here at Mary Poppins.  MP’s spacious living area makes her a popular gal at parties.  I tag along for the ride–Mary doesn’t seem to mind.

With fencing camp is over and my mom  still visiting, we’ve opted to make this last week together ‘Vacation Week.”  Fencing camp ended Saturday at noon and Elliott was immediately whisked to a 3D showing of ‘Creature from the Black Lagoon’ at the Drexel, and then off to the splash pad/playground with the rest of us to kick off the week.

Sunday was filled with all of the best sorts of 4th of July activities:  a parade, water ice, a cookout with friends, and fireworks hours after bedtime. 

That should be enough joy for anyone, but wait!  there’s more…

Monday was my dad’s birthday.  I wisely planned a day-long outing to The Wilds which proved an excellent distraction.  It really is beautiful there and we got several terrific photos (as well as loads of bad ones) of animals out in the open. 

By the end of the day we were very hot, and tired and blissfully distracted.  My mom and I agreed that my dad’s birthday, while sad, was much easier than Father’s Day.

On Tuesday we hopped over to Chuck E Cheese (AM wants you to know that she loved it as much as she thought she would) and then my mom and Elliott went to the movies while the little gal took a much-needed nap.  Which is good, because today we toddled off to Holmes County to see all things Amish, which was fun, and involved horses and buggies but there was no nap to be seen and we didn’t make it home until almost 9.

Tomorrow’s vacation week activity will be much lower key.  Certain girls will nap.  Certain mothers (mine) will probably join certain girls in this activity.

Rounding out the rest of the affairs:  Albert was scheduled to work in town this week, but is in, yep, you guessed it, 103 degree DC instead.  We are hosting an Art Party on Saturday  to gather submissions for EOR’s art contest. And, there is BIG news, but you’ll need to tune in tomorrow to find out all about it.

And that’s the state of the state…

So I may have mentioned (a time or two) how incredible Mary P’s yard is.  The people who owned the house last were amazing landscapers–there is balance, 4 season color, and a measure of restraint (there is also a surprising lack of spring bulbs–odd!).  The yard is, well,   daunting.  Our primary goal the first summer was not to kill anything.  We added a few trees, but mostly worked to keep things alive and fairly tamed.  Last year, we were eager to add our own stamp to the yard, but we also thought we were moving.  We again focused on plant preservation, replaced a few dead items and enjoyed the R family’s efforts.

This year we’re staying put so we’ve been more aggressive in our efforts.  We’ve added trees and bushes, ripped out plants ill-suited for their space (pleased to note that even the most experienced gardeners don’t always get it right) AND in a fit of brilliance or madness, found an out-of-the-way spot in the yard to put in two raised garden beds.  We’ve wanted a vegetable garden since we moved in, but the yard is so beautiful, it seemed like adding a toilet planter to Longwood Gardens.

Yesterday, a landscaping company dumped a load of soil and a load of mulch on the driveway.  Heavy crazy rain was predicted for the weekend and into the week but yesterday morning dawned fairly clear, although cloudy.  Albert & Elliott returned from the fencing lesson around lunchtime and the work began–lunch forgotten, nap time forgotten–we worked with a fervor I didn’t know we possessed.  By the time I brought Astrid in around 6:30, I had loaded and unloaded more than 55 wheelbarrows of mulch, enough to cover every bed in the front yard.  Albert and Elliott had one raised bed built and the other staked and Elliott managed to mow the lawn.  Astrid Meklit did her part by playing happily and shoveling a fair bit of mulch and dirt herself (although I can’t say much for her aim).  By the time we staggered inside, we had blisters on our blisters and all sorts of muscles registered complaints.  The heavy rain began to fall (dramatically) as Albert hung the last tool on its hook…

This morning, I was hoping the rain would continue–I was so sore, I thought I’d work on the tasks throughout the week.  Instead, there was sun, SUN to be reckoned with.  A hasty breakfast was finished by mid morning and we were back at it–the first bed is complete, the second is built, and I loaded a ton of dirt and mulch again.  Oy!  As unpleasant as it was to think we might not get around to everything this weekend (the next two are jammed with activities, including a trip to Portland), I’m glad the rain held off long enough to get some real work accomplished.  Mary P is sweeter than a spoonful of sugar, but she is a pretty high-maintenance gal.

A small laundry list for you to peruse:

This is the prettiest spring I’ve ever witnessed in the midwest.  Everything is in bloom, plants I gave up for dead are springing to life after 2 years of dormancy, etc.  I’ve mentioned the yard of Mary Poppins many times before, usually in conjunction with the major amount of upkeep it entails, but really, it is stunning–I’m SO glad we live here.

Elliott’s bff/future wife was here for the weekend from West Virginia.  The goddaughter of our friends, Scott & Jim, we met E last summer when she was here for a few weeks.  Bored with the antics of the three year olds at S & J’s, she began to spend hours here–she and Elliott are thick as thieves.  A Columbus Day weekend visit was scuttled, resulting in an 8 month separation.  Her family was here for the weekend, and lucky us, we wrangled a sleepover so E squared had lots of time together.  A summer week is in the planning stages and it can’t come too soon.  I can’t imagine that they’ll enjoy one another’s company this much for much longer, but at this stage, they are totally simpatico.

My birthday party was mentioned, but not discussed.  Sweet Elliott decided to surprise me with a party on my birthday.  An Enkutatash meeting was already scheduled for the 7th, so I wasn’t sure what he could cook up, but he managed to:  a.  ask people to bring dinner, including another Edible Arrangement  b.  invite people not on the planning committee to the event  c.  order flowers and decorate for the party and d.  keep the whole thing more or less secret.  He even managed to bake a gf birthday cake, although I knew he was doing that.  It was all very sweet and thoughtful, if a bit chaotic.  He now thinks he might be a party planner when he becomes an adult.

Astrid Meklit, loquacious and charming, has been VERY funny lately.  She has the vocabulary of a much older child, but the pronunciation skills of a three year old which adds to the mirth.

I did her hair in braids with big ballies on the end this week, and she made up a joke about it:

“Why do I have duck hair?”

Um, I don’t know, why do you have duck hair?

“Because when I walk my hair goes quack-quack.” (the ballies clack-clack when they bang together)

We were talking about clothes the other day, who has pants in our family, who has sweaters, who has skirts, etc.  AM is the only family member with dog underpants, but not the only one in the family with a tutu.  Apparently, daddy has a tutu around his leg and on his arm.  Others might call it a tattoo, but whatever…

The other night, Elliott allowed Astrid Meklit to help with the dishes (oh, the joy!).  Elliott asked if she liked that idea, and she yelled, “cool beets!”  Elliott tried to convince her  (loudly) that the expression is “cool beans” which made her yell “cool beets” that much louder.  It was funnier than it sounds in print.  Really.

I’m off to weed and weed, and maybe….weed.    Cool beets!