Sunday, April 24, 2011

Easter Weekend

It's finally here and it's been a perfect weekend.  Got out for my long run on Friday and did a pretty good job of it though that wind at the end was just insane.  Saturday the sun peeked out and it seemed to take everyone by surprise.  I tore it up on a 5K and earned enough wine to make my dinner completely delightful!  Got the grill fired up and took out my "Flintstone" cut of steak.  Total bliss.   While I was waiting for the perfect moment to slap that slab onto the grill I wandered around my yard checking to see what was returning.

I'm delighted that much of the perennials that because of location I assumed wouldn't make it through the winter, are waking up and either sending out shoots or budding.  I was even able to trim a palm full of fresh chives for my baked potato.  The only problem with all the gorgeous weather is that reminder that I need to get out there and clean up the debris from last year.  I'm in no rush as the real spring weather seems to be in no rush to show up either.

I was up ungodly early this morning after trying to watch "The Ten Commandments" (an Easter Tradition for me) and only getting to the Exodus when the timer shut the TV off at five minutes after midnight evicting me from the living room and effectively telling me to go to bed.  Around 6am I was roused by the sound of a little person opening his door and discovering his Easter basket.  Then hearing the rustle of the packaging as he tried to gnaw his way through to the chocolate Thomas the Tank Engine.  The following hunt only took five minutes.  We are getting less creative every year and they, after getting a few fist fulls of chocolate, lose interest.  Then it's a matter of picking up all the stray eggs to ensure the dogs don't get an Easter Treat.

I managed to get some breakfast into them before we headed out for church.  Of course church was filled with the usual C&E Catholics.  Parking was scarce and the kids were fairly well behaved.  The disturbing part was discovering that some asshat had taken the evening before as an opportunity to smash the churches flood lights and even try to damage a stained glass window.  Luckily, the church had the forethought to protect its precious windows with some security glass.  The priest accidentally left his mic on at the back of the church prior to the mass and was going on about something and all you could really make out is "seniors....it's seniors".   He explained that the window and lights had been vandalized and that he said it was the seniors.  It was the perfect ruse...who would suspect them!" hahah.  He is so droll!  He even managed to work in the bit about church being open on Sundays.

Another delightful day, another round of delightful but lighter meals.  Gone are the traditional heavy cream, bread laden meals.  Sorry family but no homemade brioche this year.  In fact, there will be a round of roasted beets (K's new favourite).  I'd go out for an after dinner run but E will need help with his homework and I should be there to make sure that he starts in on it but then I've got the opportunity to burn off some major calories by cleaning the kitchen of it's Easter traffic.

Tragic part is that I've got 12 hard boiled, heavily decorated eggs that need to be consumed.  I'm not sure anyone wants to have that much egg salad! Rather, who'd want to be around us after all that egg salad! hahah

Monday, April 18, 2011

April...what?

I'm really wondering if Spring will ever really arrive.  Like a worried mother I peer out my window each morning at my emerging strawberry plants wondering if cold weather is damaging them.  Nervous for their tender leaves. 

I haven't put any of the winter gear away.  At first I justified it as saying that I needed it for skating lessons.  That arena being so very cold.  The kids needing the snow pants as padding.  With the temperatures swinging around I figured there would still be a storm front that would bring some snow.  Yesterday proved that.  On my way out of church to rush off to a running clinic, there it was.  A coating of wet heavy snow draped over everything. 

I had planned to just wear my windbreaker and crops to run in but after seeing that snow I opted for the winter jacket and hat.  Good call because on the return portion of the clinic's run yesterday the sky opened up and sent down snow, wind and frozen rain pellets.  It was coming down so hard we missed the turn in the park and it sent us more than a kilometer out of our way.  I have to admit that was just the insult to injury.  I don't think I've ever wanted the end of a run quite so badly before.

There is a threat of more snow to come this week.  Oddly, it feels like I'm back living in Winnipeg.  This is the kind of weather I would have normally expected there.  *shakes first at the sky* 

Monday, April 4, 2011

Yah baby!

Woke up to rain and a little thunder after a night snuggling with my little boy who crept into the bed without so much as a peep.  He had a nightmare and sought comfort and comfort he got.  When I finally stopped hitting snooze on the alarm clock I looked over and he was hogging the entire bed.   What a kid!

I don't begrudge him the comfort. He's a really good little guy and I don't get nearly enough snuggle time with him any more because he is now at that magic age where he wants to be so fiercely independant and getting a kiss from mom in front of his friends is baby-ish *sniff sob*.  

Spring was in the air, though the air was still chilly.  The kids in their raincoats and rubber boots.  Me in my non-transitional winter coat.  I really need to get a better spring jacket.  Though I'm sure if I blink I'd hardly need it.  After double school drop-off I headed out to Crappy Tire (Canadian Tire) to pick up a gel seat to sheild my bum for the inevidable hurting Sheree was going to inflict.  I was immediately distracted by the gardening displays.

They were stacked tall with seed potatoes and packaged onion, shallots and garlic bulbs.  All of which quickly found their way into my basket.  I was giddy when I finally wheeled up to the check out.  What's better than gardening supplies?  Not spending a cent of real money on any of it.  I finally pulled out the huge wad of Crappy Tire money that I'd been saving up through out the year and bought the whole lot.  So now, my earliest crops will be free!  So worth the effort of preparing the soil early.

Navigating the mine field of weirner dog poop, I made my way out to my pyramid garden box to see what the green was that was pushing its way up through the bracken left behind from fall.  (I didn't clear out the boxes, leaving the leftover greens to sheild and insulate the more tender perrenials from the harshest part of the snow and frost).  This paid off in spades.  Sure it will be a pain to clean up but if a plant lives through the winter than all the better!  The green turned out to be the strawberry plants $40 worth invested last spring,  that I feared wouldn't survive the cold, what with being in the top of the box.  I also discovered that they sent out major runners last summer and now I'm going to need to dig around and relocate a few plants once they are a little bigger.  So looks like I'm all set for berries for this new season.  *happy dance* 

Now I need to get down to the nitty gritty and clean up the gardens and that means cleaning up the fertilizer that wieners so aptly supplied to the lawn.  I'll have the greenest grass on the block again.  What can I say shit happens!  Get the spuds and garlic/shallots and onions going.  Then start planning the rest of my bumper crops.  Environment Canada is promising another hot sunny summer!  Soon we'll be putting out the patio furniture and sipping iced tea.

I'm giddy....yipee!

Friday, April 1, 2011

Grocery Store Antics

Wow grocery shopping on four hours of sleep is a lot of fun.  Well actually it wasn't horrible or anything just different.  My kids bantered back and forth with their silly time killing games which of course drove me a little nuts.  Every where I wheeled the cart they'd find someone else to try to entertain with their silliness.  Good thing the store wasn't terribly busy.

Then I handed over the list to one of them and made the other one my look out.  E would call out the item from the part of the list that corresponded to the section of the store we were in.  Then L would scan the stacks and see if he could point it out to me before I could put my hand on it.  A good way of chewing up some time and getting the items in the cart.  Then I spent about two minutes going on about how Savoy Cabbage was really a vegetable brain.  "oooh a brain....brainssss".  This tore them up with laughter.  Wait until I make it for dinner and we'll see who's laughing! 

By the half way point I had heard twice "oohh enjoy this age, it passes so fast!"  I must have looked harrassed or something.  Are they assuming that I'm not enjoying them at any age?  Why would strange women say that to me?  I mean do you feel compelled to say things like that to total strangers?  Any way, chalk it up to what people say to each other when they don't have anything else to say but feel they must say something, I suppose.

I wheeled us into the check-out line closest to the wine store and gazed at it lovingly as we waited for the person in front of us to buy what appeared to be all the bottled water that the store carried.  I actually said to the boys "look over there, did you notice how peaceful and serene the wine store looks.....gee I wonder why that is?"  It's likely a good thing they can't tell I'm being sarcastic and to get even for the times when they ignored my request to stop touching each other they'll get twice as much broccoli for dinner than they would have normally.