Already we are as busy here as we were in Port Townsend. Mornings my mom and I go workout at the Y while the kids cavort in “Busy Town” (the childcare facilities there). Monday, Wednesday, and Friday Sophie goes to preschool; Thursday, Nels does. Tuesday and Thursday are Sophie’s swim lessons. Every night I go to bed early, exhausted (from working out and living at my parents) and annoyed because I can’t really nest the way I want to. Anyway, forget I wrote that. It’s a tired story. I am lucky, I repeat goddamned lucky, to have such a great family to shore us up while we try to find a place to hang our hats.
My mom and Sophie, just before church last Sunday. Sophie has a secret. Can you guess what it is? She is not wearing panties. Before she went to church, I told my mom, “Make sure she’s wearing panties.” Guess when my mom found out she wasn’t? During church service.
For me, to chase the blues away: a little materialism goes a long way. In this case, abovementioned DC hoodie and:
A pair of Keen shoes. The shoes are not yet broken in but soon, I will wear practically nothing else. On my feet, I mean. (hoodie and shoes courtesy of zappos.com – the closest online thing to instant gratification).
Mom and I trade off cooking each night and everyone else benefits. My brother had several helpings of my Vietnamese Sticky Chicken with Spicy Peanut Sauce.
Weekends, I sometimes cook a special breakfast. (this version is made with a cardamom-challah made locally at the Farmer’s Market – open year-round here).
OK, just to prove to you how weird my family is (mostly my mom and brother), they made this “dog hair sculpture” after my mom gave Tuck his cut.
Actual dog, post-haircut. I try to be nice to him. He has “issues”.
Today: my father has his nasty chemo and my brother and I try to feed him milkshakes (this went very badly) and I try to keep the kids upstairs so he can sleep.