First Grade!

Sep3

At 4:00AM Ivy was trying to get us up so she could go to school.

At 4:05AM John was trying to get her to go back to sleep in her own bed.

At 4:10AM he had given up and gone back to bed himself.

At 6:30AM she was back – “I’m all ready, all I need is my shoes and breakfast.”

At 6:35AM John was begging her to go back to bed for a little big longer.

At 6:40AM he gave up and got up to have breakfast with Ivy.

At 7:15AM she came back to get me up so I could take her picture.

At 7:30AM I dragged myself outside and took some pictures of her.

At 7:40AM they finally left for school.

At 7:50AM Ivy decided she needed her Dad to walk her into school.

At 7:55AM Ivy saw her friends and left her Dad without a goodbye or a backward glance.

At 3:55PM Ivy got off the bus.At 4:00PM Ivy told us how great her first day was.

At 5:15PM I said I was going to name a fictional Great Dane Reinold Von Hoobie Doobie and I “ruined her first day of school!”

At 6:15PM Ivy tried to eat the entire contents of the kitchen for dinner.

At 8:00PM I tucked her in bed.

At 8:05PM there was a fracas and Clara was moved to a different room!

And at 8:05PM and thirty seconds Ivy was sound asleep!

Good Fortune

Aug30

I love frogs and I hear (through the wonders of a Google search) that I’m not the only one.

In general they are considered to be good luck to have both inside and outside your home.

But, more interestingly, I also hear that the Egyptian goddess of childbirth had a frogs head, and that frogs scare away werewolves.

This week I found one treefrog in an empty garbage can, one sitting on a flower in the garden…

…one swimming in a rain barrel, one on the sidewalk…

…and three catching bugs on the door.

So, if you have an impending childbirth, werewolf problems, or are in need of a bit of good fortune come on over, we’ve got enough frogs to share!

Taking Time To Stop and…

Aug27

Officially moved into the new house, we are not yet officially moved out of the old.

But in the midst of moving the firewood, and setting up garbage service and figuring out phone lines and trying to find the box with the leather gloves, and moving the ducks in we’ve managed to have some visitors…

Uncle Jim came over from Michigan to see Granny’s tiny toad (and the rest of us as well).

…and to be visitors…

The Barry/Stevens family gathered from everywhere to visit and reminisce about growing up in Racine.

The Barry/Stevens family gathered for a visit and to reminisce about growing up in Racine. (Photo by Al Barry)

… and to start puppy sitting!

Meet Digby! We are puppy sitting during the day, more on that later!

Meet Digby! We are going to be puppy sitting during the day. Isn’t he a cutie!?

Amidst all the fun my list of things to do can feel overwhelming.

So, I try to remember to slow down and breathe.

To enjoy the new place.

I stop.

I listen to the sound of the barking dogs.

And take some time to look at the woodchuck in the tree.

That’s right.

A woodchuck.

In a tree.

I’ve seen it.

I believe it.

It’s weird.

(Check out How Much Wood… and Woodchuck In A Tree if you’d like to read about last years woodchuck adventures.)

The Tale of the Perfect Little Chicken Coop

Aug21

Once upon a time a wonderful family built a girl the Perfect Little Chicken Coop for her birthday.

And the girl loved it.

Then the EVIL DOT swooped in leaving a trail of chaos and stress in it’s wake and the girl was forced to move away from her Perfect Little Chicken Coop.

Fortunately, the girl’s family was so wonderful and generous that they offered to move it to her new home for her.

So, they came and they blocked it up high enough to drive a trailer under it.

And the girl looked at it and thought it was a bit bigger than she remembered.

Then the wonderful, generous family put the coop on the trailer and drove it to her new home and there was no doubt about it.

It had grown.

As they drove through the neighbors orchard it continued to grow…

… and grow!

The Little Chicken Coop grew so big that by the time they reached the pine trees a little trimming had to happen…

… and then a bit more trimming.

But the Quite Large Chicken Coop kept growing until the wonderful, generous, hardworking family was forced to hook it up to the tractor to navigate the tight turn through the trees.

And it was still a very…

…tight squeeze!

When they were through the pine trees the wonderful, generous, hardworking family rejoiced – but it was too soon.

The Little Chicken Coop had become a Giant Enormous Chicken Coop and the wonderful, generous, hardworking and intelligent family had to come up with new ideas to squeeeze the Giant Enormous Chicken Coop down the trail to it’s new home.

Finally the The Giant Enormous Chicken Coop reached it’s resting place and began to shrink back to it’s normal size.

But it was still a Quite Large Chicken Coop!

Inch by inch the wonderful, generous, hardworking, intelligent and patient family lowered the Quite Large Chicken Coop down to the ground.

As the coop was slowly lowered to the ground the girl had to leave and take her children to swim lessons. When they returned home, and all ate dinner, and said goodbye and all the little ones were tucked in bed, the girl went out in the dark to look at her chicken coop.

And there at her new house, just where she wanted it was her Perfect Little Chicken Coop.

The End.

While you may be inclined to believe that the above was a fantastical fairy tell let me assure you that it was all true. Except that if you read this to Clara she would point out that it is actually the brooder house. And, while the ducks are going to be temporary tenants, true chickens rarely grace it’s hallowed walls, they have their own perfect coop.

Baby Jonas

Aug19

Jonas Richard Eloranta

Born at 2pm on 8-14-2013

21 inches

8 pounds 2 ounces

Sarah, Jonas (and Tyler too) were all doing so well after Jonas was born that they went out shopping.

And bought a house.

Which is great because Tyler is getting a new job.

So, new baby, new house, new job and look, two out of the three of them are still smiling!

Congratulations guys!

Sadly, I’ve yet to get to meet my new nephew. Thank goodness for digital cameras and e-mail!

Animal Update

Aug15

Moving to the new house has been an adjustment for everyone, animals included.

While the chickens walked out of their coop into the middle of the apple trees, took in the fallen apples and bugs and were convinced they had gone to chicken heaven, the other animals have been a bit more reserved in their feelings.

Louie (the under-appreciated dove) was the next to recover. Happy to be out in the living room and no longer stuck behind piles of boxes (you can see his cage in the background here) he’s happily cooing and taking in the activity around him.

Fiona had been spending her days hiding in the bed but some kitty drugs have worked wonders and now she’s out, about and nearly back to normal.

Trip spent the first day wondering why we got so mad when he ran under the gate in the backyard to explore his new home turf and then frustrated by the fact that he now has a normal large sized yard to run in instead of a five acre field.

Then he discovered chipmunks.

Now he’s practicing his digging and climbing skills. Since I routinely warn people about his holes and have recently found him on top of a round bale I figure it’s only a matter of time before he excavates the entire yard, climbs the willow tree or both.

Storm was a little longer settling in. Chipmunks weren’t doing it for her. She was busy doing her best attempt at becoming John’s shadow when she discovered the apple trees.

More specifically she discovered the apples.

Now, think of an apple, how it feels when you hold it in the palm of your hand. Smooth, roundish, firm. Some apples are shaped to fit the hand so perfectly that if you were to sample it and find it not to your liking you might just throw it off into the bushes and find a new one. Yes, what I’m saying is that apples are like balls and sometimes, without thinking about it, we throw them.

If the horror of this situation has not yet occurred to you go read my post on Storm’s Sticks. Substitute the word “ball” every time you see “stick,” realize that Jane is now old enough to throw apples and you will understand why Storm is a very happy dog… …and I am wondering what on earth we were thinking moving to a place with a small orchard!

I Saw Your Yoga

Aug14

Ivy: “Mom! I saw your yoga!”

I am confused.

I don’t do yoga.

I’m not sure that I have “a yoga.”

I’m not sure what “a yoga” would be.

I ask for clarification.

I get none.

After a long circular conversation Ivy sighs with exasperation and goes to show me “my yoga.”

We find it on the bookshelf.

The bookshelf, which I might add, goes floor to ceiling, has enough room for all my books and my baby gargoyle.

The unpacking is coming along.

Slowly but surely it’s coming along!

Please Hold

Aug12

We are in the new house.

We are exhausted.

We are unpacking.

We are eating apple crisp.

We request that you please hold and enjoy some previously written posts until we find our way out of the cardboard box hell we have become mired in.

I’m taking pictures.

I’m planning blog posts.

A virtual tour is being contemplated.

But right now all I’m ready to share are these roses.

They are pretty.

I’m still working on the house.

Please hold.

Croquet, Canoeing and Crepuscular Rays

Aug6

The 2013 WWCWR :

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Melts In Your Mouth…

Aug1

Poor Jane.

She came to me, M&M in hand, bemoaning the fact that it did indeed melt in her hand, not in her mouth.

Jane went on to explain that since the first was clearly defective she would like another to replace it.

Sadly, in this world you can’t make it to your second birthday before you learn the realities of marketing ploys and the even harsher news about reading the “fine print”.

Because, as I explained to her, even if the “not in your hand” part of the slogan were a true warranty I’m certain that the fine print on such a thing would ensure that any moisture on the M&M would render the entire warranty null and void.