Right Now

 

Right now, I'm...

...finally getting the last of the fancy dishes washed, dried, & stacked away.

...feeling irritated at Amazon, who lost our order of matching wine glasses and forced us to piece-meal our glassware for our Thanksgiving feast (boo-hoo).

...struggling to find new things to do with all 335 green tomatoes that came in over the weekend ahead of our first freeze! So far I've done some blanched whole (small) tomatoes for the freezer, a roasted green tomato salsa, some more roasted green tomatoes for a green enchilada sauce for dinner tonight, and a big pot of green tomato sauce ready for the canner. I still have 75 tomatoes to go.

...loving being in the kitchen with my budding pastry chef during his first attempt at eclairs- 95% made by himself- featuring a real pâte à choux, milk chocolate pastry cream, and Nutella on top. 

...feeling a bit of a leaning towards maybe starting to think about pulling out some Christmas decorations, even though it is the most beautiful, crisp, clear, chilly fall day ever.

Right now we're pulling on sweatshirts, pulling out soup recipes, and probably putting on some Christmas music, because it's almost December and we're ready! Wishing all a beautiful Monday! 

Right Now

Our three-day weekend went by in a blur, and even though we're all at home and you could argue that almost every day feels like a weekend these days, I would also argue that we did our best to make this past weekend feel a just a little different from the same-old same old...

...we finished the waterfall! (The gnomes approve)

...we smoked a brisket.

...we had Easter baskets and a long morning in pj's.

...some of us started said morning even later than others...

...we made the season's first fruit pizza.

...some of us also got extra screen time.

Not pictured are the other projects we worked on that took full advantage of the beautiful weather- we moved the playhouse into the old dog run to start the ball rolling on the new chicken setup, we trimmed a bunch of trees and started our next bonfire pile, we started working out Phase Two of the front yard landscaping, and we even might have ventured over to a friend's house for an outside egg hunt and a little safely-distanced company to mark the Easter holiday.

Now it's chilly, it's Tuesday, and it's back to business as usual- more conference calls, Zoom meetings, and Google Classroom projects- you know, the same-old same-old. It won't be long before there's another weekend upon us and another opportunity to think it through to really make it feel like something different from the other days of us all stacked on top of each other... so here's to a week of work and a weekend of play, however that might shape up to look like for all of us! Happy Tuesday!

Right Now...

So we're already a week into February, huh? Not sure how that happened...

Anyho, right now, I'm...

...cold! We were blasted with our usual early-February cold front yesterday, and once again had a light and magical dusting of snow. Not enough to close down schools or make driving too hard, but definitely enough to bring another round of hot chocolate by the fireplace last night.

...still smiling at my guy here, who painstakingly took no less than 3 full minutes to humanely capture a spider that his Sissy wanted to squish so he could release it outside and 'save' it (never mind that it was about 25 degrees when he tossed the spider out). He has such a tender heart.

...also still smiling at our pooch's attempts at being irresistible every time we're within eyeshot to provoke just one more belly scratch. Seriously, she'll stay like this- not even blinking- until you either leave the room or love on her a little.

...feeling impressed with the rocket setup Hen built by himself that Daddy then helped to wire so it now has lights... this thing is super cool, and Henry is so proud of it he's even been sketching it on scraps and in notebooks whenever he sits still. It's one of the first substantial Lego projects he's done without his sister's help.

...loving my furry old man and how cuddly (dare I say needy?) he gets when he's chilly. As soon as I wake up, through my morning routine, as soon as I get home, and all the way til I'm in bed at night, he's right there. He'll be 15 this summer and even though it can be pretty annoying at times, I'm trying to be mindful that it won't be forever that I'll have him under foot. And if I'm being honest, he's the best kind of annoying, anyway.

Right now, I'm also very mindful of the fact that this post was a little Henry-heavy and made mention of Audrey only in the context of his stories... and that's because right now we're struggling with a little pre-teen defiance that's manifesting in wanting the opposite of everything perceived to be desirable (read: she won't let anyone take her picture or profess to be enjoying anything right now). We're navigating it as thoughtfully as we can, but it doesn't make for very nice blog photos.

 Right now I'm wrapped in wool, drinking hot bevs like they're going out of style, and pining for a weekend with lots of movies and fires and time in pjs... and as fast as February is already flying by, the weekend will be here before we know it! Happy Thursday, friends!

Right Now

Right now, I'm...

...feeling that seasonal tugging and pulling outward to our outdoor projects; this past weekend I finally made the time to break up my iris and move them away from an area where Suka had basically trodden them down to nothing. In their place now stands several large boulders that I'd like to see her destroy! Hardscaping for the win!
...gearing up for our first weeknight soccer game (tonight) that will probably keep us out until 9pm. I hope our little guys can last that long... and it's still so hot, too!
...spending a lot of time feeding bees. This hot and dry streak we can't seem to break is really delaying the fall nectar flow, and even hives that had good stores coming through the summer are needing a little help. Keeping fingers crossed that we'll get some rain- and then a nice fall bloom- before it freezes!
...looking forward to a Wednesday night out to participate in a wine dinner at a local farm-to-table restaurant with some friends, and hoping us bigs can last that long (because we'll probably be out after 9pm on another weeknight... unheard of)!
...fighting all of nature right now to keep my hens and eggs! We're now down to three hens and our young mosaic rooster, and I have a suspicion as the seasons change that the attention they're getting right now from all the predators is only going to increase. We may need to give that automatic door a break for a bit and coop them up (ahem) while we lock down and fortify the run. Plans are already underway.
...beginning to think about a certain girl's eleventh birthday, now only about three weeks away (as I have been recently reminded). This year she is choosing to pilot a new celebration idea- the Yes Day. Instead of a typical party with friends and favors and such, Sister wants to have a day where we do whatever she wants (within reason) and no one can say no from the moment she wakes up until she goes to bed. She is practically giddy with all the things she thinks she's going to ask to do, and the list keeps growing. It will be interesting to say the least... and Little Brother is watching and taking notes!
...feeling absolutely weary of the mid-90's, the humidity, and the absolute lack of anything autumnal. Could we at least have a puff of fresh air? This summer feels like it will never end, and all the fall ads with flannel and hot drinks and fires are making me feel rather jealous.

Right now I'm alternating between hiding out in air conditioning and sweating my everything off working outside, making grand plans for when it finally cools off, and wishing that we weren't flying so quickly towards Eleven Years Old and the end of the year, all at the same time. So same old, same old.

Right Now

Per our new normal, things have been going top-speed and wall-to-wall, and each evening when I could be sitting down to write about something amazing or beautiful all I want to do is go to bed. So I do. That's not to say that we're all work, no play, of course.

Right now, we're...

...finding little thoughts all over the house, scribbled out on newly-favored yellow lined notepads, including this little flashback to my middle-school days and that undying 'S' thing we all did without understanding why (and now I know... sorta).

...polishing off the last of the leftovers from our first little test-run with Kyle's new tabletop hibachi grill. It was awesome (despite the ongoing work on the chimney), but it melted the tablecloth underneath. Mental note: no tablecloth next time.

...encountering lots of reptiles and amphibians in our rock wall, including this toad (safely relocated), a copperhead snake (now dead), and a green rainforest-esque tree frog clinging to a mossy spot. It's been very exciting.

...suffering through another round with the Conehead, because this Sukagirl won't stop bothering her foot wound, and it's just not healing (it's been almost a month). The vet has recommended she have her cone back on "until at least Monday, maybe longer, depending on how it looks." Gosh, I hope it looks swell come Monday, because uuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuugh.

...worrying over my Ror, who has started showing trouble jumping up on things (bed, bathroom counter top, laps, window sills...). Methinks he'll be visiting said vet in the near future for some hip x-rays. He still looks handsome, though... not bad for a 13-year-old!

...appreciating a newly rebuilt, repainted, and watertight chimney. I can now relax during the next cold front-bearing thunderstorm.

...pretty much just feeling exhausted all the time. Life cares not that we work all day and do chores all evening, weekend, and in our dreams. Stuff is still lining up like it always had, and we're still rolling up our sleeves and trying to stay on top of things. Sometimes, though, that adds up to a few more days between posts. I make it by, though. I'm hanging in there. 

Right Now

We got a ton of rain about a week ago, and a reoccurring problem reared it's ugly head- a leak around our formal living room fireplace. It appeared gradually, as long hours of rain fell and fell, and as a result we once again had to deal with ugly creosote-brown stains down the walls, puddles on the floors and mantle, and a new casualty- a screwy TV (mounted to the leaky wall).

This leak has been something we've been trying to DIY-handle for over a year, but this past weekend made it obvious we needed to bite the bullet and get some professionals involved. We thought it would just be a matter of taking down the leaky masonry and redoing the outside of the chimney. Once the stone was taken down, however, it became apparent that this was a much bigger problem than what we'd thought.

So Kyle had to take a day off, call a friend, and have his dad up to spot them so they could climb up onto the roof and cut out all the rotting wood and soggy drywall. Then, in the same day, they were able to do a fast rebuild of the structure of the chimney so the pros coming back to finish the job could stay on schedule. We are now almost at the end of this project, with the new finish coming along nicely... and, I'm happy to say, quite waterproof. Good thing, too, because it appears we're in for another round of rain in the near future...

...but can I just say I am so thankful for the handy-ness of the people in our lives, and the willingness of my partner in this life to tackle the tough stuff with his own bare hands!

Right Now

We've got a little catching up to do, don't we?

Right now, we're...

...trying to get used to having a seven-year-old little man in the house... we had a birthday party the weekend before his proper birthDay, then did a little nod to the real thing while we were out of town for a wedding. He's full of himself now; didn't you know being Seven means you're so much more mature? We're starting to get an idea... 

...still getting used to having an Uncle John in the family, but feeling so glad we were invited to be a part of it all!

...still working on finding a new rhythm where roles are different, everyone pitches in, and things keep moving!

Right now, we're enjoying the first weekend in more than a month where there are a few hours to be found that can be filled with whatever we choose... and we're taking full advantage of it! Wishing all a few hours this weekend to do the same!

Happy weekending!