Much to our delight, a Mr. and Mrs. Cardinal have taken up residence in a tree (which I'm pretty sure is actually just a shrub that has been ignored so long it has become tree-like) in our backyard. Mrs. Cardinal spends most of the day in the nest, and I've been impressed at the frequent sightings of Mr. Cardinal. Is he bringing her special treats? Giving her wing rubs? Helping her solidify her birth plan? Harper has given considerable thought to how she is going to help protect the babies when they appear. We have a semi-feral neighborhood cat who enjoys our backyard on occasion (which I actually don't mind VERY much because I am 97% certain we have a Mouse Issue under our deck) and the plan is that Harper will be posted near the nest with a spray bottle filled with water. I didn't point out that her very loud voice would likely be plenty to scare off the cat. I'm frankly amazed "exceedingly LOUD neighbors" didn't show up in the real estate listing when the Cardinals were selecting their nesting place. We ran into Mrs. B at Target yesterday morning and she told us that cardinals apparently return to their nesting place each year. Which would be really nifty if we weren't planning to move. Hopefully the new tenants will be as zealous with the spray bottle as we plan to be.
While we were spying on Mrs. Cardinal from the window above my bed yesterday morning, I realized my own nest was in dire need of tending. I took down all of the curtains in our room and Hudson's and washed them. For the first time in three years. So, DISGUSTING. Horrifying. I actually haven't put the curtains back up and it is much brighter. Though the rising temperatures will probably necessitate I put them back sometime in the next couple of weeks or oven-like conditions will ensue.
A couple of weeks ago I grabbed some sushi for my lunch during a quick trip to Central Market. Harper noticed the wasabi and asked if I was going to eat it. I told her I wasn't really a fan of the wasabi and she said, "Mommy! You are JUST like MATER!" and I laughed because I'm pretty sure that's the first time a mom buying herself some sushi at Central Market has EVER been compared to an animated, severely grammar-impaired rusty tow truck voiced by Larry the Cable Guy. In case you haven't seen the movie, there is a scene my kids think is HIGH-larious in which Mater is in Japan and mistakenly thinks wasabi is pistachio ice cream and takes an enormous bite.
Grrr, wasabi! Hudson looks tall in this picture, doesn't he? And that hair is wild. Which reminds me that maybe one of these days I need to update that photo collage up in my header. Hudson was around 6 months old, small, and hairless. The reason I haven't changed it is because I do not know how. The husband did that one and he's been pretty busy for the past four and a half years.
I have decided this is officially the summer in which I really should not wear shorts in public. I feel younger than I actually am, but these are the legs of someone who has no business wearing shorts. Which means I either need to go shopping or I need to stay home any time the temperature rises above 85 degrees. I'll let you know what I decide.
2 comments:
Well, darn. I know you thought you were doing a good thing by washing the curtains, but now I'll be forced to own up to the three-years-plus undusted blinds in the house. They are, as you aptly wrote, DISGUSTING. But there is always something to do instead of that, something more urgent. Like laundry.
I re-read Operating Instructions and decided I was half-blind when I first read it. All I noticed was the blissful baby talk, how much she loved him, blah blah blah. And there I was with my own baby loving her so much, too. This time, the anger was so seethingly apparent. The book dripped with it, actually, and she seems so broken and so done, such a product of a damaged childhood. In an unplanned move, I picked up Traveling Mercies to find a quote and am now re-reading it, too. It's more polished and complete. And I feel better now than I did upon finishing OI. But having been immersed in hers and Sam's lives to such an extent, I requested Some Assembly Required (about her grandson) from the library. Sam, apparently, fathered the boy at age 19. So now we know how that turned out. I'll give you the review when I'm done.
Caroline has finally stated to talk in sentences, and one of the first things she said was "Mama have shorts." (I know. I wait two years for her to talk, and THIS is what she was thinking?) But it turns out she is obsessed by shorts, and likes to point out when book characters or complete strangers are wearing them. (Another of her first sentences is "I love shorts.")
Anyway, you are far too young to give up on shorts. My mom still wears shorts. My grandmother wore shorts into well into her 60s. I am confident that you have many more shorts years ahead of you.
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