Gilleon poses for his holiday card photo...

Aphid Invasions (and other tales from the dark side).

There are going to be so many bugs this year. Little insects with giant chompers all set to devour my fruit and veg. It's beginning with the irises and a major aphid invasion. This will be #1 on the after school to-do list this week.

I was lame and didn't go to school at all this weekend. I'll be frantic in the morning, but who could pass up the chance to enjoy this beautiful 83 degree Seattle day. I'm in love with the weather. It makes me long for summer with every inch of skin that can remain uncovered. It smelled like summer, looked like summer, and except for the fact that Kylene is currently picking out outfits for the week to come, it could have been summer...

We majorly tackled the task of edging today. And, as I said to my roommate: "It doesn't look good, but it does look better." The backyard in fact, is almost starting to look good. It depends a lot on where you stand, but if you pick just the right place, where you can see the pretty parts and hear the bees buzzing, life looks really good.

As for the front yard, if you look from far away, it almost looks good. I'm dreaming of apples. At least AN apple. Fingers crossed. As for crossing unnecessary, check out the carrots...

The over-wintered ones worked so well, I'm going to plant a whole bed next year! All the carrots are ready for eating, at least a month before the seasonal ones can even go in the ground. Hooray!

Potatoes are surfacing, peas are trellising, marigolds have been planted. See, summer?! I'm ready!

Who says you can't do it all?

On Thursday Jellybean and I found ourselves with a list. I can't remember all the things that were on it. But, some were:

1. Bake a cake.
2. Prep ingredients for souffles.
3. Make curry and have Kelli to dinner.
4. Make and write birthday cards.
5. Pack for an overnight on the peninsula.
6. Organize for Friday at work.

And...there were many more...Including, dig some soil for a colleague who got the cool science kit and gets to teach about worms. It was when I found myself digging the soil into a classy 5-gallon bucket, in my RED FLATS that I decided I might have bitten off more than I could chew. Or, maybe I bit off just enough to enjoy it. All the jobs got done in the end. Maybe thanks to the shoes?

New Friends Arrive!!!

First...I drove all 10,142 of my newest friends from Silverdale (where K.___ & Daddy-O got for me these new buddies) to Seattle. They enjoyed most of the ferry ride except for the one part where this pilot-jerk and his girlfriend mocked the idea of bee-ownership.

Second, I left my friends alone in the backyard while I drove Kumquat to get her car.

Next, I suited up in the really awesome make-shift suit you're soon to see pictured. I did not get stung even once, so I give it five stars on the fake-suit-a-meter.

Finally. It was time. Here are the newest family members at 726. All 10,142 shall be called: Elizabeth (I jest, boys are not called Elizabeth).

Now, you will see how I squirt the bees with delicious, calming sugar water and open the food-trap very careful like:

Now, you will see how remove the queen and discuss the process with her. "You will stay nicely inside this box until your future lovers eat through the marshmallow to get to you. Isn't that romantic? They are so in love with you they will consume an entire-fluffy-white-cloud to be by your side!" 

This part is very delicate. The queen must be carefully inserted into the hive so the other bees can find her and eat her marshmallow. It is very tricky when your hands are shaking because you're worried you will injure the queen. 

Now...There are lots-o-bees-a-buzzin'.

Bees are going into the hive...

They are sealed up tight.

They are making themselves at home. 

I am so happy about my new friends!

Here are a few other things happening around the yard, here on this first weekend in May. 

Lilacs are blooming:

There's a new pot-tower in town:

The first iris has bloomed:

The raspberries have become a jungle:

Artie is barely contained:

Strawberries have doubled in size:

The tulips and daffodils are on their last legs:

T

The tomatoes are creeping out of the greenhouse:

Happy Bee Day!

Almost time for the reveal...

We've been working hard in the back bedroom and it's almost time for the make-over reveal. But, since there are still a few more things to complete, I must hold off. In the meantime...

Potatoes have been planted. And, so much changes in the yard in a week it makes me want to shout "Hooray for spring"...

Reflections on a project gone (pretty much) according to plan...

By pretty much according to plan I mean to say there were a number of unanticipated disasters. And, we pretty much specialize in unanticipated disasters here around 726...

Fun Blast-From-the-Past:

The kitchen when we bought the house. 

The kitchen after the remodel. 

I was chatting with Mr. Perfect on the phone today, relaying the part about the story where I stood in the center of a room 3/4 of the way done and cried about not being good enough, and he asked: Why didn't you just wait for help? I think, this is why...

When we bought the house...And, we still bought the house.

What the trim, etc. has looked like pretty much since then. 

I'm pretty much all about learning. I tell my students all the time: The human brain learns by doing. You've got to jump in head first, get your hands dirty, be unabashedly afraid to make mistakes (now, the tears were largely about wishing that the mistakes I had made weren't permanent fixtures in my home, but whatever). I looked at this project and figured there was only one way I was going to learn...By giving it a try. By cutting a few pieces of trim wrong and by calling in my right-hand-woman to fill in some thick caulk lines. And, when I really got myself into a closet door pickle, by calling first my dad and then our friend Woody for a rescue. 

It isn't 100% finished. There is touch-up painting happening as I type. There are curtain rods that need a toggle-bolt hanging. I need to figure out how to get the new door. I must learn how to rewire those ugly ceiling lights. Pillows must be sewn. Beds must be made. But, Kumquat reports she's been reading away this rainy Sunday in the new library nook.

And, it feels kind of nice, at the end of it all, despite all the imperfections, to be the kind of girl that builds window-sils and installs moulding and then goes and gets a manicure afterwards. Who is imperfect. Who doesn't know what she's doing 3/4 of the time. But, who also isn't afraid to try. That's something, isn't it?

It was Jelly-Bean who looked at this corner and said:
"This will be perfect for your books." 

To be sure, putting away books was one of the first jobs. 

Trim and moulding and a new arrangement. Hooray!

I Heart Lyla

Our friend Lyla came to play for a few extra days. She's at the best age. This is not really my story to tell, (and, yes...It makes me a little weird to write about other people's children, still)...but I'm going to write it because it's been making us smile and laugh when things around us are not all smiles and laughter...

She was at the park with her mom and dad the other day playing on the swings when her dad asked: "Do you want an underdog." She replied, "No, I want a Gilleon." Hilarious! See what I mean? The funniest age.

She's so helpful, so I asked her..."Lyla, will you please go put this fabric in the craft room for me?" She wanders down the hallway: "Is this the CRAP room?" "Yes, Lyla, that's the craft room." (Though I gotta say, crap room is a much better descriptor...).

We plopped that baby right into the bath tub after a trip to the beach where she got covered in Flash-Slobber. I suggested some plastic cups and Kumquat delivered a black measuring cup and an orange plastic drinking glass. I  posed the question: Which cup do you think has a greater volume, the orange or the black? Let's fill them to capacity to find out! Kylene laughed at me about this...But, that smart baby-girl figured out the orange one did. Who says bath time can't be math-time?

She also laughed at me the next day when I suggested we segment some phonemes while playing with alphabet cards. Lyla was having fun. And, when Jamie and Woody go to the kindergarten conference and the teacher announces: "Lyla has a very well-developed sense of phonemic awareness," who will be laughing then?

Since we all spent the night at M & T's Lyla thought it would be nice to return the favor:"Tell Matt and Tom next time they can come to my house and sleep in my bed with my Hello Kitty blanket!"

I love that baby, who is not a baby anymore, but such a smart, big girl with her eyes open to all that is happening in the world and a heart already big enough to embrace it all:

Lyla: "Remember when I was crying the other day?"

Me: "No, sweetheart, why were you crying?"

Lyla: "Remember, I was crying in the car because I missed my Nana. She is in the hoSpidal."

Me: "I bet she misses you, too."