Ups & Downers

Whew! Finally made it to a new week. Monday. Although, the word does fill some with dread - for me it's a fresh start, a clean slate and a day of QUIET. ah. All I can hear is the hum of the CPU and the gentle swish of the washing machine - the only thing missing is a tweeting bird and a cuppa.. easily remedied, while the lovely late summer works its magic. As we can see by the gorgeous giant sunflowers blooming up a craze in the yard. I've never been a huge fan of growing sunflowers, although each year I do, I seem to like them more and more. Thank you, global climate change!

Last week was a first for a few things - first week of school, first time driving a school bus on the first day of school for the hubs, and a first job in 8 years for me. Oh! And a big first for Kyra - her first catch while out fishing! We had also applied for a rescue dog and were turned down. Turned down!? Weird, I know, as there are so many unwanted pets out there but I guess we were far too honest in our interview... Sigh. There are other rescue places to go to, so that's what we'll do. Once our wounds are licked and some yard work gets completed..

Until then, we'll keep up the drive for the biggest catch, the best school marks and the awesome-est garden.

Two Years Worth.. maybe.

It's been a long time between posts, I admit. But I have a good excuse... I lost touch and fell into a pit of ambivalence... I wanted to say things, I truly did. And in my mind, I have pages of script. But, dammit, I didn't type them down here and they're mostly gone.. *sniff*..

Let's see.. 2 years, huh..

I've knitted 100 items.

I've run a 1000 km.

I've put together about 10000 snacks.. (well, it feels like it).

On the home front:

We've watched a "home play" from the girls at least once a week. Although sometimes, we're treated to magic shows which often involve us closing our eyes in order for the trick to come to fruition. And sometimes, the shows have singing and dancing. It's like off-off-off-broadway... For example, as I type this they have just announced a play called, "Going On An Adventure, Hobbit"... I'm not sure of the plot but there's a lot of discussion about radishes and potatoes at the moment..

We're ready for hot chocolate!!

We put down our Shiba Inu, Kinny, last year. Her kidneys finally gave out and at 14 years old, we said good bye to her. I'll always remember her for her great camping and canoeing skills, her endless desire to chase cat toys and her love of mushrooms & tuna.. Oh, and the way her fuzzy little ears would stick out to the sides when she'd greet us at the door with her toy stuffie in her mouth. She was a good dog. A little neurotic, but a good dog.

Tux

We acquired a second cat (did I mention the first one?). We saved a cat from the Meow foundation and have given him all the food he can eat, all the lovin' he can handle and all the monkeys he can hump. (Don't ask). Tia, the first cat, is still fairly unimpressed by this newcomber but will indulge him with violent head-smacking when she feels it necessary.

School has been going well. Both the girls are excellent students so far and love to read at home. Sometimes it's a bit difficult to leave the house while noses are stuck in Tin-tin books, but we're still pretty happy that they prefer books to tv.

Early April weather brought some amazing things..

The garden is looking amazing. Each year it gets bigger, much to the chagrin of the kids, and the amount of food we get from it increases just that little bit more. We have successfully grown garlic this year which almost trumps the broccoli we grew last year. Broccoli!! No bugs and a whole summer's worth. It was so sweet and tasty. I can't wait to do it again next year.

Well, enough for today... I've gotta run anyway, the day is still gorgeous and the girls want to go for a bike ride..

Yup. Life is never dull around here.