Camping in the sideyard

I have the house to myself for a bit this evening. Perhaps the entire night, if the rest of my family toughs it out for their first ever sleep out (in the tent, in our side yard, with the fence latched, thank you very much).

For a bit I could hear quite a ruckus emanating from the fabric dome a level below, but now it is quiet. Sweet dreams, sweetie pies.

I Miss My Sister

she's in New York, doing New York stuff and being an artist. Sigh. I hope she is having a great time.

Nearly every time we get in the car Pickle asks, "Wheose Gumba? Wheose Auttee Jed?"

We all miss her.

Potatoes, Pintos, and Pesto

If anyone (including me) ever thought that stay-at-home moms had a cushy life, WHAT WAS SHE THINKING? Clearly that attitude comes from a complete lack of experience and imagination.

Tending to two pre-school age children (in my case, highly energetic boys) leads to utter exhaustion and total abandonment of all previously held standards for housekeeping. That, alas, includes cooking. Somewhere in the past, I loved to cook. Actually, I still do but my current audience would choose "bonzo" beans straight from the can over homemade macaroni and cheese every time. Thus tonight we dined on baked potatoes, steamed broccoli and canned pinto beans.

I want pesto, and a wife.

Gone with the Pepto

Gallant Gold and D'anjou Pear have replaced the aged pepto pink on the walls (well, mostly). Who knew that choosing a new color for the living room would be so problematic.

When Pinto came home last week and viewed my work, he proclaimed "It looks like it was painted with rainbow!" Clearly, this kid has not seen enough rainbows in his life. We will have to add that to our list of things to do.

LBB is out of town tonight and also Friday. That could make for a long couple of days of single parenthood. Hopefully everyone will sleep and I will not lose my mind.

Interior Decorating

Currently there are four different colors of paint on our living room walls. Not coordinating colors, mind you, but downright contrasting, even lurid colors. I started out thinking that a nice greeny-blue would work well, then moved on to consider something in the yellow family since it is VERY GREY in the PNW for half the year. For some reason, LBB suggested a shade in the rose family that (now that it is on the wall) looks like really old Pepto Bismal. When he came home at lunch and saw the swathes of color on the wall, he claimed to have no memory of suggesting the Pepto.

I have some fond memories of when everything in my home used to be a rosy shade of white.

I also have some fond memories of when my furniture was clean and in good repair. Even as recently as a few years ago I did not own a leather sofa decorated with a black Sharpie, nor did I have to disguise my favorite chair with a huge bag of a "Surefit" slipcover.

Interior design is overrated.

Perils of Pauline

Well, actually not Pauline, but me. I pruned the bejeezes out of a reasonably good looking hedge on Tuesday. The morning glory vines had wound there way up to the top and were weaving their insidious way into the apple tree. It pissed me off.

I don't think I meant to hack the host shrub to its ankles (so to speak), but once I started pruning, I quickly passed the point of no return. LBB told me it looked like a crazy person had got loose in our yard. Sadly, I think he may be onto something.

Really I just get so frustrated trying to accomplish anything. No task ever seems complete. I nearly finished the fireplace and then those damned Chimney Swifts arrived. (Remind me to tell you about The Visitation sometime.)

When I started toying with the notion of this blog I thought it would be about what is wrong with OTHER people, but at the moment it seems to be more about what's wrong with ME!

Salmon Picatta

lunch with the hubby at Sorrento. What could be better than that for a Tuesday?