Creative maneuvering with books

Summer days are anything but lazy when you have active monkeys who like to live outdoors.  It's an odd feeling then to talk about my efforts to try and keep them indoors, since I emphatically prefer things to the contrary.  It's just hard to get the household tasks done though when my presence is perpetually required outdoors.  I have to get creative to lure those little ones inside.  Like making mini pizzas.  :o) 

Thunderstorms are another excuse to stay cozy indoors, but a surefire (and my personal favourite) way to keep the kiddies in is story time.  They love reading.  Cuddling up to mom (or D, or Grandma as the case may be) on the sofa with a good book is guaranteed bliss to their little souls.  I will tell you that they live for our bimonthly library visits.  M loves to spend time with the puzzles, while J explores the kiddie section on her own terms.  Then we choose our books and bring them home.

I love that they love reading.  Books were such a colossal fixture of my childhood (some things never change) that I can't imagine how children can enjoy life fully without them.  Mine live for our bimonthly library visits.  M especially loves to spend time with the puzzles, while J explores the kiddie section on her own terms.  Then we choose our books and bring them home.

It's a perfect arrangement.

Here's a mom who hopes that some things never change...

Seed time!

Today we plant.  It is a perfect day to think of seeds - sunny, warm and full of apple blossom petals blown willy-nilly by the wind.  Our modest crop will include parsley, mint, and whatever else the kids decide to fill the last pot with.  It's a potted garden for us this year - can't be too ambitious with a baby coming next month.

But there's always help needed with grandma's ample beds.  Nothing can beat the smell of fresh tilled earth.  (Unless it's fresh bread, but I digress...)  I can only imagine how farmers felt as they worked the ground in the spring.  What a feeling.  

Notwithstanding the beautiful weather, I triumphantly proclaim that I have not neglected my crocheting!  Every day I make sure to finish at least one row in a baby blanket project I started during the winter.  I doubt it'll be done before baby comes, but at least it's not sitting neglected in a corner.  

I shall leave you with a glimpse or two of those little critters that I finished for a Pascha gift but never had a chance to showcase.  They about the size of my palm and terribly cute.  I'll have to refine the pattern for the head to include a little snout next time.  :o)  I'm sort of addicted to mini crocheted animals now.  (Maybe because they take less time to finish...?)

Cheers!

A day of hope!

First of all... Christ is risen!

Bright Mondays seem to be filled with the same grace of Pashca, but with an element of quiet rest. I can't explain why, but it always seems like a more gentle affirmation to the Resurrection.  There is  plenty of joy and sunshine, but the new excitement of the Feast gives way to acceptance, reflection and a subsequent deeper, quieter joy.

D. and I were talking last night how even on Pascha, for some, their joy is still tarnished with the sorrows of life - death, suffering and pain.  We remembered the captive bishops of Aleppo, friends who are still in mourning for loved ones who have died, and those suffering all over the world.  We remember you all, and our hope is directed towards that day where there will be no more tears or sorrows to mar our joy.

A blessed Pascha to you!