Now, just like that; it's Spring!
Spring!!
And then, just like that, it was spring!
That’s how it happens. Living in the Midwest can be very discombobulating. For at least half the year, we have no idea what our wardrobe should be. There are so many days that start with one season and end with another. A rule I learned from my Mom, decades back, was ‘never go to a kids baseball game without a parka’. It could be 80 degrees when the game starts at 3:30 and 40 degrees by the time the last out occurs at 7:00. After the post-game snacks and packing up of kids and equipment, you’ll be really glad you brought a stocking hat.
I don’t think we’ve actually hit 60 degrees yet but since my return from the desert, we’ve had several afternoons in the mid to high 50s before the setting sun let things cool down again. I love it when I can open windows and let the fresh air wash out my stinky house! That’s my single least favorite thing about winter: having to keep all the windows closed and breathing the same air for months on end. Bleh.
I’ve had a ton of work to catch up on after my week of playing hooky. Plus, Margy flew in to do the finishing touches on Mom and Dad’s house to get it ready for sale. With a little help and a lot of work, she’s hoping to get it on the market next week, so I went over to lend a hand when I could.
Margy has done a spectacular job with that house. It’s been 15 years since Mom and Dad moved in and as with any house, the place needed a spruce up. In the main floor bedrooms, we discovered lovely hard wood floors beneath the carpeting which had been laid right before Mom and Dad bought the place. It has been refinished and buffed to perfection. The carpet in the basement was also pulled up and replaced with new, darker, sculpted carpeting that will show less dirt and wear. All the window treatments have been removed, letting sunshine fill every corner of the house and all the light fixtures have been replaced with cutting edge of fashion bling. Finally, every wall in the house sports a fresh coat of paint and most of the dark wood in the upstairs has been painted light bouncing white. The only things left dark were the beams in the ceiling of the great room. The kitchen island has also been painted a gorgeous blue that brings out the blue in the quartz counters Mom and Dad put in. My mother is a world class cook and the kitchen she designed 13 years ago is still all any cook/chef could possibly want, now with new appliances and an updated look. The open concept first floor will sell that house the moment house hunters step through the front door. The outside has also been freshly painted a nice dark grey with white trim and a bright green front door. The house looks better than it ever has.
It shouldn’t take long to sell. Then that’ll be one less thing for mom and dad to worry about.
Last week, we had a two day paint class. We used the first day to lay in the values and get some color notes down and the second day to have some real fun, layering on paint and pulling out the highlights. Our topic was ‘containers’, which could mean a whole slew of things. I chose a weird, copper gourd shaped thing my Mom had picked up years ago at an estate sale for practically nothing. She kept it on her hearth just because she liked the way it looked. So, since she no longer has a hearth to keep it on, I thought she’d like a painting of it. I’m pleased with the way the canvas turned out and even if no one else can tell what it is, she will. She hasn’t seen it yet, it’s too wet still to bring over to her house.
I’ve taken the soffits of their unit and turned them into my own gallery walls. A lot of the little 8x10 canvases that I like are now up above her kitchen. Jay’s just happy they’re not cluttering up our house any more.
Friday night, Margy, Mike M. and I went to the Z-Fest finals at the Mall of America. We joined several hundred theater geeks to celebrate the top 11 short films in this year’s festival. Uptop productions seven minute short, Red Flags, was up for 13 awards, including Best Picture. My sister Katie, who wrote the script and played a part, was nominated for Best Supporting Actress. She did not win but the film took 3rd overall and Audience favorite, so it was a tremendous night. Katie was not there, because she was in DisneyWorld with her daughter (who was also in the film and I thought the funniest part of it!) but she got a big shout out from the producer for her considerable contribution to the project when they took the 3rd place trophy. All the shorts were very good; the two that came in ahead of Red Flags were excellent. I had no complaints (except that I’m personally so over zombies, which the winning short was about). All in all, a very fun time!
I got home from the film festival to find that Jay has discovered the show Billions. He was up to the third or fourth episode of season 1. We watched two more before calling it a night.
On Sunday night, I went up to Katie and Adam’s. I had dinner with them, helped Katie get the girls bathed and to bed, then spent the night. The nanny was taking one of her very infrequent days off, so I filled in. The girls and I had a perfectly delightful time!
They couldn’t have been any more accommodating; they ate their breakfast and helped me clean up. They were eager to show me all the colors they know and point out all the different letters they know. Keep in mind, they’ve barely turned 2! They are both very smart. (says their grandmother.)
We packed up the car and went to visit Grandma Punkin and John G. BoopityBoop enjoyed having a new audience for their Itsy Bitsy Spider and Skinamarinki-dink routines . We all went upstairs to have lunch at the café. As you can imagine, a pair of delightful toddlers were quite the hit of the senior living facility! Especially two as friendly and well behaved as Boopity Boop. Well, Boop is friendly and Boopity is well behaved, so it was fine.
By the time I got the girls back home, I was wiped out. They of course, decided that nap time was not going to happen. In fact, Boopity chose Monday afternoon to climb out of her crib at home for the first time. She was organizing a protest march when I gave up and let them out of their room.
We were all back in the play room (it used to be the living room, back in the pre-twins mist of time) and I was sort of dozing on the couch when Boop brought me the TV remote and said, clear as a bell “Tarzan.” Then, just in case I didn’t understand, both girls did their Tarzan yells, which are very good!
So we were watching Tarzan when Adam got home from work.
I got home in time for Jay to cook me a perfect pork chop out on the grill, which had been under several feet of snow a week or two ago.
Spring! Time to fix the roof that winter destroyed and bring the lawn back to life!
I love it.
Next week, my heroic sister in law, Royana will be donating a kidney to a dear friend. Prayers are welcomed!