The Weather Around Here

Where is global warming when you need it? My garden is currnetly being snowed on, hailed on, and most likely blown away (Isn't it the end of April?). I had to fill my kindergartener's pockets full of rocks this morning to keep her from blowing away on her way to the bus. I am headed to my Grandma's 85th Birthday party later today, as long as we don't get snowed in. At least the party destination is down wind. Maybe I'll go drive the lawnmower around instead, just to help speed up the global warming...a person has to get spring somehow.

Michael Jackson Comes Out of Hiding

I was in late elementary school when Michael Jackson was really popular, and I was also a dancer. The timing of these two things made me a big fan. I made up dances to at least a half dozen of his songs, and even had a Michael Jackson doll. While his behavoir went decidedly down hill, a soft spot remained in my heart for his music. Despite his odd and disturbing couduct, I think most of his later songs are just as good.

After I got married, James wouldn't let me buy any of his music because he didn't want to take part in funding the bad things that money would be spent on. Shortly after MJ died, a box set of his music arrived in the mail. Thank you James. As soon as I played the music, Wendy became a fast fan. She would tote around the book that came with the set and ask me several questions about him every day. She even asked me if he went to heaven...luckily that's not for me to decide! Soon she had a few of his facts memorized and was singing the words to his songs. Since the only button she knows how to push on the CD player is the play button, we would often listen to the same disk four times in a day, until I got so sick of it, I went and changed the disk. Still, she requested it every time we put in music, which, around here, is a lot! After a while, everyone (except Wendy) got so sick of it (we also got tired since you can't listen to his music without dancing), we had to ban it for a month. That month is up and just today we have listened to two disks. She just can't get enough. It is a funny sight to see her singing and dancing to music that was popular when I was a kid. Get ready for a dance duet, Wendy and I and the return of the "Beat it" dance from years and years ago, and long live Michael Jackson!

Blizzard to Garden in Two Days

Tuesday morning we woke up to 4 inches of fresh snow. Not exactly what I was hoping for in April. I was grumpy all day, wondering about the people who first came to this part of the country, and decided to stay. What were they thinking? And I have a sturdy shelter to live in, and grocery stores to to buy food from when there is absolutely nothing fresh growing whithn a very large radius-still they decided to stay...hmmm.

By Thursday it was 70 and I was planting peas, carrots, spinach, kale, and radishes. The raspberries are hoed (is that a word??) and mulched, the strawberries are trimmed, and all of the fruit trees pruned. Yay for spring. I even went on my first run of the season Saturday. It was great! It's amazing what two days and some sunshine can do to a person's disposition! I can already taste the first fresh salad and peas of spring. I can only guess that those first settlers came in spring and got so attatched to the area by winter that they just couldn't leave, but spent the whole winter hunkered down, thinking about spring. Who knows what they ate to survive that first winter...still, they stayed.

Twenty questions from each kid and one from me

Our cat, Boots got neutered yesterday. The kids' questions came immediately and rapidly. Here's a sampling: Why did they cut off his bum? What did they do with it (my personal favorite)? How will that make him fight less? Does that mean he's a girl now? Do they do that to human boys too? Did they do it on purpose?...You get the point.

My question came from the post-surgery literature, the section that tells you the things you are supposed to monitor: (1)loss of appetite, (2)refusal to drink water, (3)weakness, (4)depression, (5)vomiting, (6)diarrhea. They all seem fairly clear except number 4-I'm not sure how to tell if Boots is depressed. What exactly does a depressed cat look like? I decided to do some research, and here's what I found: "Has your normally friendly cat started to hide under beds, cower in corners, and generally avoid interaction?" OK, I guess that would be obvious. Now, here's what you're supposed to do if your cat is showing signs of depression: "A vet visit is a must! Your vet will help try and figure out what's causing, and how to help treat your kitty's depression. Sometimes medication for a period of time can be of help." I had no idea. I would love to sit in on one of those evaluations where the vet "tries to figure out what's causing...your kitty's depression". But, for now, I'm off to check the litter box for diarrhea.

What's For Dinner?

What are we having for dinner today
Said little Sallyann Mackay?
It's something very new
It's Lentil Sweet Potato Stew
Man, I'd have to say,
It has a lot of vitamin A.
Today you have to try it.
It's a wonderful thing to add to your diet.

This is a poem Christine wrote after asking me that very question, and she's right, it does have a lot of vitamin A. I would share the recipe, but let's just say it wasn't a hit. God's help was called into action in the dinner prayer, "Please bless that this food will taste better than it looks." That prayer was left unanswered.

Spring Has Sprung (a leak) I Think

I'm sure it's spring somewhere in the world, but here, we went to bed to the lulling sound of a raging blizzard and woke up to a foot of new white snow. The family's reactions were mixed. Nicole was happy because she was "starting to miss the snow" (which had been melted for about a week before this last round of snow storms). Christine and Amber were surprised, but indifferent, and Wendy exclaimed,"When is that beaver going to stop seeing his shadow?!" I, personally agree with Wendy.