A: A.P. Reunion planning is underway! I had lunch at my house on Wednesday with two of my favorite students of all time, Erin S. and Allison C. We planned the decor and menu for the July reunion. I love the class of 2008 and can't wait to see many of them again!
B: Blueberries! Katie and Amie and I picked more blueberries today. Although the heat made us hustle, we have discovered the secret to blueberry picking: if you get down by the base of the plant and look upward, there are whole treasure troves of blueberry clusters visible that are not visible if you look downward at the plant. Picking blueberries is so meditative for me. I think I want to plant some bushes in my backyard.
C: Chariyasatit, Alexander Edward. Steve and Carol had their first baby, a son, early this morning. He is adorable, and I can't wait to meet little Alexander! I love him already as part of our extended friends-like-family.
D: David is helping to bring over all of the garage items from our old house. We made an afternoon run today over to the old house together, and it was strange being back there and it feeling so familiar and yet not like home. I had a wave of nostalgia when I peeked at my morning glories and the prunis trees and thought of all the time Kate and I spent back there. It made me miss her, and home truly is where she and Bill are.
E: Eyeglasses are pretty important. Note to self: always make sure you know where your eyeglasses are BEFORE taking out your contacts---otherwise you will be searching blindly for awhile, as I was just doing moments before working on this blog. Silly, silly.
F: Father's Day plans are well in the works! I finally started our craft projects for both Grandpa and Bill. Grandpa's is done and is drying. I am almost done with Bill's, but it needs finishing touches. Kate was able to do a part of each craft, and I am liking how they are turning out. We are having a big Father's Day party here for three families on Sunday.
G: Grumpy dwarf came for a visit in my body earlier this week, but I found a family doze/reading time in the family room yesterday to be a restorative. I loved being all together and hearing the waterfall outside and the breeze. I woke up feeling much more at peace. I love when the three of us are together being cozy.
H: Happiness is cuddling with my daughter in the evening and reading to her and smelling her hair and giving her kisses.
I: iPhone fun in our house today: we decided to get Bill the new iPhone for his upcoming birthday. He really loves it, and we had a good time trying out the voice recognition feature. Somehow when I said, "Play Moody Blues," it decided I told it to play The Ventures instead. More practice to come!
J: Jumping around---I am actually doing all of these letters out of order, here. I think I will go back to "H" now.
K: Kate brings me happiness all the time!
L: Love, for my husband and for Kate. I am very lucky to have both of them...always.
M: Midsummer Night's Eve is coming up on June 23rd, and of course I am planning a dessert party and midsummer festivities. I bought a pair of fairy wings today for Kate to wear, and I plan to use the fire pit (bonfires are a big part of the tradition abroad), to make fairy cakes, and a nonalcoholic midsummer syllabub. I want to celebrate the renewal and life the solstice brings, and I like having a celebration in June for Katie June to enjoy. This is the first year I decided to do this, so I plan to build on it as the years go on. I started planning a little late, like a couple days ago, so I am rushing a bit...but I think it will be memorable this year nonetheless. I also need to brush up on my corresponding Shakespeare play...maybe prepare a reading as we make s'mores.
N: Neatly stacked piles of classic Little Golden books make me happy, and Kate loves them, too. We received our Amazon parcel of several old titles this week. I am in love with all Eloise Wilkin books and several of the Little Golden books from the 1950s and 1960s.
O: Orange and lemon marmalade: My mom made the most delicious version of this, EVER! I usually am not a huge fan of the store brands because I don't like the sour afternotes. But my mom's has a sweet finish, and I love it. I bought a sour dough loaf to enjoy with the marmalade. I want to try making some myself. It is truly delicious! (Wait, is it weird that I don't like the sour notes in some marmalades but like to eat it with sour dough bread...Hm, a sure sign that I really am crazy).
P: Party-time on Saturday for Bill's 60th birthday! All of the McGaughs are coming over, and I am still working on the menu for that.
Q: Quietude: the air conditioning just went off. The only sound now in the house is my typing.
R: Resting is good, but my brain has been going a mile a minute this week and has been having a difficult time settling down---too much to do!
S: Sad fish: Phelps, our betta, had some slime spots (or ich, hard to know which) on him yesterday. Dad and David got him some medicine and we're treating him...but I hope my "fish killa" past isn't going to repeat itself here... What is it with me and fish? Keep your fingers crossed.
T: Thank-you letter: I received the sweetest thank you letter from Nana for her tea. I will keep it always, and have always considered myself lucky that she was my grandma...
U: Umami---the fifth taste on the tongue. Now that Kate is older, I am returning more passionately to my hobby of cooking and menu planning. I have some yummy things I want to make....
V: Very happy that we might be starting a chicken coop soon....I am much more skilled at keeping chickens alive than fish.
W: Watering my flowers has taken a magical turn for me, as I found an old-fashioned watering can hiding in the backyard, left behind by the previous owners. I have been watering all of my flowers with the watering can for about a week now, and I prefer it to the hose. A watering can slows down the process and makes the actions more deliberate. I really feel like I am working for my flowers, and I like that. Kate also says "watering can" now. I've always wanted a watering can... I love old-fashioned things.
X: Xylophone. Or X-ray. I think that is all Kate's alphabet books offer me on this one.
Y: You have the power to make each day a magical one worthy of celebration.
Z: Zzzzzzzzzzzz, time for bed now!
