Time waits for no one

This one is turing 12.  I am laying low...I finally felt 100% back to normal this morning, at least mentally, but my body has let me know that, nope, not 100% yet.  Trying to relax so I can participate in all the festivity and celebration of Sag's birth on the morrow!

Peace and love.

Weekend

There was time with grandparents.  There was a Baba dinner: steaks (beef and salmon), potatoes, broccoli and rice.  There was a football game.  There was a massage.

There was time in the pool.  There was a serious workout due to being the only kid present.  There was backstroke, breast stroke, butterfly, freestyle, diving and practicing flip turns.

There was Comic Con.  There was catching up with a favorite artist (who was impressed with the depth of Sag's knowledge of his oeuvre).  There was a trip to Kinokuniya.  There was a late lunch of Carnegie Deli.

There was homework.  There was too much homework and not enough time.  There was pouting.

There was a birthday breakfast out.  There was catching up, good coffee and Sunrise Quesadilla.

There was a drawing throwdown.  There was a really nice camaraderie and respect fest between birthday buddies (born 36 years apart).

There was time with a dear friend.  There was catching up and the jolt of realization that this friendship was born in 1989.  (There was a smile for a photograph!!!)

There was a long awaited, hotly anticipated release of two Pokemon video games.  There was leaving the house at 8:40 to get to the early opening at Gamestop.  There was hours of playing.  There was much joy.

There was coffee on Donna's front steps.  There was sweet, sweet Daisy.  There was drenching sun and long conversation.

There was more...it was a weekend full to the brim.  

(Cap lost his keys Saturday and, thankfully, I found them on Monday.  Turns out replacing Prius keys costs an arm and a leg.)

(I got to tour Tiina's in-the-midst-of-renovation house.)

(I drove Gem and myself into Manhattan.  It went well, but I hate driving on highways and the anticipatory anxiety was an ass.)

(The Red Sox lost a nail biter Friday night and won a nail biter Saturday night.)

(I have not been able to settle into the first of my three library books.)

(I have a ton of tv piling up in the DVR.)

Peace and love.

Shifting

Tomorrow some beginnings will spring forth...the rebirth of familiar fauna, the arrival of new shoots.

• daily morning Qigong for me.  perhaps with the setting of an alarm clock to nudge me into an earlier to bed/earlier to rise pattern.

• piggybacking on gluten-free, and going sugar-free.  a tweet I saw today said it all: "The key to a healthy diet is to cook or live with someone who does."  the last few weeks I have loosened up on meal planning, which is not good for the budget...but it has been good for taking pressure I wasn't even aware of, off of my shoulders.  removing a component like sugar from one's whole foods leaning diet means making a commitment to cooking/baking more of your own food.  it takes a commitment of true time and energy, in addition to a sense of mission/intent/discipline.  I have recovered enough energy to renew my commitment to cooking more.  and improving the health of myself and our family.

• sigh.  it's that time again.  renewal.  making a list of my tv commitments and cutting down.  I heart watching tv.  but it's the thing that has got to give a bit right now.

Game of Thrones

Mad Men

Amazing Race (ends soon)

The Good Wife

House of Lies (ends this week)

Shameless (ends this week)

Top of the Lake

The Following

Revolution

The Mindy Project

Nashville

The Americans

Southland

The Soup

Project Runway (ends soon)

Parks and Rec

Community 

Legit

Hannibal

Spartacus (ends this week)

Real Time

sheesh.  not including the shows ending this week, that's 15 16 hours a week.  I was going to reduce to 7 hours a week, but I don't think I can...  (wow...in addition to these shows I marathon watched two Cinemax series...Hunted and Banshee...in late winter/early spring!  and Downton Abbey was on for two months there...and The Walking Dead...and Justified!)  I also have the first season of Call The Midwife on my dvr and am recording the second season.  *deep cleansing breath*  yes, I love good tv.  oh my god I just remembered I started watching Hannibal...and it's really good.  and the baseball season just started so we're watching Red Sox games.  the Good Wife...I crossed it out, but dang, two weeks ago they put out a top notch episode.  it was so good.  Nashville is my guilty pleasure.  Amazing Race and Project Runway are ending in the new few weeks.  I could drop Project Runway now except I've given it so much of my time already I kind of want to see who wins.  it has been an interesting season with crazy judging.  a friend on Facebook pointed out that things will slow down with summer, which is true.  it feels good to just take an accounting.  to face the situation.  and looking at this list, yes, it's long, but if I cut The Following and Revolution, there isn't much garbage in there.  I guess what will be culled will be culled organically, as time and new commitments dictate.  (see above, setting morning alarm.)

• new rule pertaining to electronics: no electronics until after day's table activities, cleaning work and outdoor time are done.  this is a biggie and will be tres challenging for the kids and me.  but I think the bump to a different reality will be enlightening.  I have no idea how I am going to deal with checking my e-mail.

Here are some photos that tell other parts of the story of my day/weekend:

the upside to sugar is enjoying a bowl like this: vanilla ice cream with a splash of Pedro Ximenez sherry.  so, so scrumptious.

switched the seasonal shelf to a Spring tableau.  I asked the kids if they were still into it and their response was immediate and unequivocal: yes.

the Japanese corner.  the rock and its stand belonged to my paternal grandfather.  the card came from an aunt.  the card holder is from Japan, too.

the gnomes are from our Waldorf days.  they arrived in Christmas stockings, I think.  the rock was painted by Sag in an art class a few years ago.

decluttered the linen closet and now have a supermarket paper bag full of old linens to donate to our local animal shelter.  these towels on top were a commitment ceremony gift to us...twenty year towels.  special.

some chemical shifting within has already begun.  I eschewed the Chinese food I thought I wanted for lunch for simpler home fare.  the last of the goat Brie with baby spinach in a brown rice wrap with grape tomatoes on the side.  yum.

this is what my corner of the apartment looks like at the moment.  a way station for decluttered stuff from the kids' room and the living room.  some day, hopefully sooner rather than later, this area will be my morning Qigong spot.  visions of Qigong, meditation and yoga dance in my head.  it is a process...always.

Peace and love.

Books unread

Feeling the chaos today. Receiving that frequency most clear.

So tired. Despite sleeping.

Focusing on bits and moving forward.

Post office, dry cleaning, book store return, latte break with a friend, baby registry gift, cleaning out the fridge, lunch for the kids, ordering a label maker, revising the "to do" list, and organizing a shelf of books.

The books, as happy-making and appealing as they are, are a grim reminder of desires unfulfilled. Books unread.

Peace.

Sunday snapshots

I am having one of those days where I woke up talking (after a night of dreaming) and I feel like there isn't a moment to spare.

I am, finally, reading Christiane Northrup's book about menopause and finding it enlightening and a comfort.  I see that it is 41% off at Amazon and am considering breaking my Amazon embargo.  The Faber and Mazlish book for teens (they author the How To Talk So ____ Will Listen books) is 32% off.  Will I sell off a piece of my soul for $14?

Ellie's birthday celebration was delicious and bustling.  I cannot believe this peanut is six.

Danielle, who is not quite two, is a master at delving into and sating her curiosity.  A perfect model for living, if you ask me.  She took this photo:

We dropped my mom off on our way home.  Ninth Avenue was, as usual, car-logged.  But, I caught this shot, which made my moment.

Wishing you a happy weekend, a long weekend for some.

Peace.

47 = prime

 +

 =

These are the zucchini rolls Tiina made.  They are stuffed with artichoke hearts, garlic and a nut...I think almond.  For my the first course of my birthday, I paired a couple of cold zucchini rolls with a dollop of leftover basil aioli made with homemade olive oil mayo.  Yum.  Leftover deviled eggs chasers were involved.

I thought a walk in the woods would happen today, but the snow and sleet and threats of sickness may just do those plans in.  The call for cozy is so strong that I am going to cancel my probably-was-going-to-happen birthday session with Vinny this evening (seeing him tomorrow anyway).

Reading, catching up on my Sunday night shows...chilling (oh, the pun of it all) without guilt is sounding really good right now.

47 is a prime number and I am looking forward to what this primal year brings me.  I also look forward to digging a bit deeper to bring about more prime for myself.

Peace.

More joy

It occurred to me today that in a future time when Gem inhabits the body of a full grown man, he may have fleeting warm and fuzzy remembrances of sitting on this couch, in his spot.  Side note: we have discovered he likes toasted cashews dusted with pink Hawaiian salt.  He has enjoyed pears his whole eating life.

Peace.

Ambassador of the cosmos

"When I hold a piece of bread, I look at it, and sometimes I smile at it.  The piece of bread is an ambassador of the cosmos offering nourishment and support.  Looking deeply into the piece of bread, I see the sunshine, the clouds, the great earth.  Without the sunshine, no wheat can grow.  Without the clouds, there is no rain for the wheat to grow.  Without the great earth, nothing can grow.  That is why the piece of bread that I hold in my hand is a wonder of life.  It is there for all of us.  We have to be there for it."  ~Thich Nhat Hanh

Bread?  Really?

Of course, "bread" is symbolic.  Although I am feeling that sugar-has-left-the-building lethargy in my bones, I have not had any cravings yet.  I have not missed bread or rice at all.  I have been eating some fruit every day, which is a way of getting some sweet into me.

I am dreaming more and remembering more pieces of my dreams...though the pieces have not been staying with me long enough to think about them when I am fully awake.  So, I am sleeping better.  But, there is some healing to do in this department.  Much balance still to be struck.

The lethargy, which I know will pass as my body and brain adjust to the new normal, has me waking around 8am feeling dull of mind and body (they prefer to wake at or before 7am).  Yesterday I did not practice Qigong (except for a couple of minutes of Dragon right before getting into bed), nor did I go outside. 

Yet, I am not the wet noodle I remember being reduced to in the past, rendered immobile by the process of detoxing. 

I spent most of the day going through bookmarked (and starred in Google Reader) recipes in my now one-year old laptop.  I printed over forty Paleo recipes.  Very late in the afternoon I shifted to hole-punching and organizing the recipes with dividers in an old binder.  I made two, actually, a Paleo binder for me and a kid-friendly recipes binder.  Then I emptied the recipe binder I have been stuffing with recipes (many on the backs of envelopes and scraps of paper) for years.  I kept what was useful and placed them in either my binder or the kid one.  I am giving my sister a folder full of recipes I know we won't use.

This morning, I had about half an hour to devise a meal plan for the week because Cap was going to the farmer's market for me before meeting with a colleague.  (The man works all the time, I tell you.)  It felt really good to be able to flip through my binder, select some recipes and jot down the ingredients I needed picked up.

The organization helped free mental space to think about things like how Anthony's meats, as delectable as they are, are frozen solid when we buy them on Saturday mornings.  So, for the Hungarian Goulash I want to make today, I will need to get the beef from the local butcher.  (The butcher is great and has pastured and organic meat...it just necessitates a separate trip.)

It will be much easier on the bank account to plan out meals with an eye towards balancing the economy of cuts of meat rather than scanning the lovelies at Anthony's stand and picking and choosing from recipes I can think of on the spot.  ("Rib-eye steak is easy!")

I likely over-killed it this morning.  The excitement of a new system and all.  This weekend I am trying two new recipes for Hungarian Goulash (beef) and Ginger Orange Drumsticks.  My mom made goulash a few times when I was a kid and I remember loving it.  I am curious if this version will wake up any taste memories.

Also on the week's menu: Denise's turkey stuffed butternut squash, Moroccan Meatballs, Slow Cooker Roast Chicken with Gravy and beef short ribs.  Plus, we are hosting common meal this week.  I am going to make an Italian Sausage Frittata, a big green salad and cut up a pineapple.  I will ask Cap to make a Finnish carrot pancake, a sheet of corn bread and a little bday cake (we never had our celebration for Sag with this group).

Phew.  That's a lot of freaking food.

Peace and love.

P.S.  I am not done with the meal planning.  Still need to think about breakfasts and lunches, fruit staples, etc.  Once the shopping list is done there will be the dreaded food shopping to contend with...ugh.

P.P.S.  Those recipes on scraps of paper I mentioned?  I want to wrangle those this morning.  I am going to type them up and print them or I am going to tape them onto sheets of loose-leaf paper.  How anal retentive/efficient will I be in my efforts to get them into a binder?

P.P.P.S.  It's funny how there are myriad (upon myriad) ways "to be there for it".

Roasted

I like roasted veggies a lot.  But, frankly, find preparing them tedious.  First world problem.

Spent most of the day working on creating an organized recipe system.  Am not done (which is sigh-inducing), will continue tomorrow.  Just gotta keep on truckin'.

Peace.

Miracles

"Around us, life bursts forth with miracles---a glass of water, a ray of sunshine, a leaf, a caterpillar, a flower, laughter, raindrops.  If you live in awareness, it is easy to see miracles everywhere.  Each human being is a multiplicity of miracles.  Eyes that see thousands of colors, shapes, and forms; ears that hear a bee flying or a thunderclap; a brain that ponders a speck of dust as easily as the entire cosmos; a heart that beats in rhythm with the heartbeat of all beings.  When we are tired and feel discouraged by life's daily struggles, we may not notice these miracles, but they are always there."  ~ Thich Nhat Hanh

What a great meditation to wake up to.

I woke up feeling dull and thirsty.  It's cloudy.  The (drying) heat has been cranking because it has been so cold outside.

I felt hungry.  The Paleo shift has my system in a tizzy.  It literally seems to be confused.  I have spells of feeling very hungry and then not at all and then hungry and then not again...in the span of a few minutes.

(Overall it has been a smooth transition.  Barely any headache, no body ache...in fact, my overall stiffness is receding quickly due to diet change and the little bit of walking and Qigong, and deeper sleep...though I am not falling to sleep easily yet.)

Thinking of food got me thinking about another job for me: putting together a binder of Paleo recipes.  I bought the Nom Nom Paleo iPad app the other day, but I still lean heavily towards paper recipes and cookbooks.  I've bookmarked a ton of Paleo recipes in the last year that I have not tried.  I think that I would if they were in paper form in a handy organizer.  Also, food planning, would be made easier.

(Another job: decluttering food planning and food shopping protocols and practices.  A needed first step towards writing a new household budget...which brings us to job number seven?)

So, within a quick few minutes of waking up, alive and well, this morning, I was blah this blah that.  I had a nice message back from a friend on Facebook, but it was the tail end of a "talk" (through typing) we had last night because she had been blindsided with some news that had her feeling really bad...

Then, the meditation.  A simple reminder about miracles.  Gratitude bloomed within me.  I was filled with deep breath.

Peace and love.

P.S.  The meditations come from Your True Home by Thich Nhat Hahn.

Time and ringtones

I am procrastinating doing one of the things I hate most: waking the kids up.  I am a firm believer in the restorative and healing power of sleep.  Sleep is good, 'nuff said.  But, this morning I must to traffic court.  At least I finagled an early morning playdate for them so they don't have to come to court with me.

Another thing I believe is that time is many things: fluid, elastic, cross- and inter-dimensional...and, yes, linear.  I realized this morning, apropos of nothing, really, that in two years I will have not worked full-time for as long as I did.  Food for thought, for sure.

A Facebook friend posted something about ringtones that reminded me that one of the fun things I can do with my new phone is play with ringtones.  I am adding that to the ever enormous pile of "things to do".

Off to sip some Irish Breakfast tea and wake the kiddos...

Cozy in connection

I am feeling a bit better today.

Ran a Christmas-y errand driving our "sled" through the snow and got lost inside the mall (which still perplexes me).

  

I am sensing, gratefully, a financially calmer holiday season.  I am not being as conscious/intentional/attentional to our finances as I could be, but am having some moments/flashes of clarity which are helping.

I have been more aware of my/our time.

Our cards are made, paid for, and in da house.  Hoping to get to addressing envelopes this week.

Kids' big presents have been chosen, bought and hidden.

The December weekends seem a little less crazy than the November ones.  Just a little.

This afternoon I have delegated and canceled and taken time to rest.  It has been nice to cozy up inside as the snow fell steadily outside.

The internet shared some cozy, too, about reading, knitting, unionizing...and transforming/persisting/inspiring/overcoming odds and naysayers:

Peace and love.

Library love

Ran into Kelly and her powerful warm hugs. Had some delicious, fair trade, organic and/or locally sourced soup, pie and espresso which was at least one thing too many. Picked up a long-awaited book. Had an hour to myself.

Warm wool

This shawlette was finished over a year ago...at least. Actually, it has been waiting to be blocked for probably closer to two or maybe even three years. Time can be weird that way. I simply do not accept time as purely linear. In a case such as this, it would just be too painful.

I'm wearing an unusual get up today because both my bras are being laundered. My go to in this situation is what I think of as a dancer's top. It's a leotard-y tank. The 3/4 sleeve cotton cardi was not cutting it against the morning chill.

I had already prompted Gem to keep his neck warm as he headed out this morning with his brother and father, handing him a cozy scarf. It has become that time of year.

The shawlette caught my eye when I grabbed his scarf out the "hat box". Throwing years of non-action to the wind, when I felt the chill myself, amidst math figures and the latest spit bubble wonders, I placed this beauty upon my shoulders.

And once more was reminded of the magic of wool. Of fiber art. Of how it all connects and comes together.

Warmly. Absolutely. Incredibly. Simply.

Peace and yarny stitches.

The 411

Sleep...good solid complete sleep has been tricky since Williamsburg.  While we were there our bodies were crashing into bed after all the active delights of the days...but the beds were not as comfy as our own.  Then we had three nights at home (the first of which was an exhausted and late one after the day spent traveling home) followed by five nights with houseguests.  We gave them (a family of four) the big bed/room and Cap and I slept on the pullout in the living room.  The boys were not able to make their semi-regular migrations to the big bed.  Our guests left before dawn on Monday.  Four days later we four are struggling to find our sleep mojo.  It'll come, these things can take time.  In the meantime, I gaze upon this photo of a child sleeping soundly in broad daylight...and smile.

Interesting PMS this month.  Some sweet-n-salty type cravings (dinner tonight was a bowl of ruffle chips and homemade ranch-y dip...dessert will be what remains of my pint of Ben & Jerry's Pistachio Pistachio...an ice cream that renders all other ice cream irrelevant).  Some sleep difficulty.  Some mood stuff.  Some "crazy" internal/sensory stuff.  All very manageable and knowable.

But, there's a new sheriff in town and she has caught me off guard.  I bought Gillian Flynn's first novel, Sharp Objects, last week because I could not get it through the library and had been waiting for her third (and highly acclaimed) novel for awhile from the library.  It was a fast, intense and solid read.  And left me wanting more.  I requested her second novel before I finished the first one.  But, there is a wait for that one, too.  In a fit of PMS-y impulsivity, I bought the second novel yesterday.  Last night I sat down and read a page of it.

It was chilling.  And creepy.  And then the chilling, creepy protagonist sounded absolutely "normal"...and I freaked out.  Exponentially chilling and creepy!  I couldn't read anymore I was so freaked.  I can't remember the last time I felt this kind of emotional vulnerability reading a book.  One page of a book.

Oy.  My cycle.  You keep me on my toes.

My latest batch of crap to process is kicking my ass.  This is what it has looked like on the big table for a couple of days now.  Cap invited some gamers over to play Villains and Vigilantes with him and the kids tonight so I was bumping up against a deadline.  In the end, I moved most of this crap right back on top of my dresser (ie. hidden from company) because I spent much of the afternoon doing this...

This has been my jewelry box since elementary school.  It holds a lot.  I went through it today with determination and I am almost done (including the bunch of smaller boxes that contained a further assortment of random jewelry).  I think I reduced my collection by nearly 50%.  It was sweet remembering the (so) many stories that accompany the pieces.

A mood cross.  So funny.  I don't remember how this came in my possession, but I do remember loving it as a kid.  Very sixties, don't you think?  A keeper.

My parents gave this to me in grade school.  My name is engraved on the girl.  Keeper.

I am letting go of a lot of earrings.  I amassed quite a collection, mostly during college and my year in Hiroshima.  My mother has also given me many pairs from her various travels.  I am keeping maybe two dozen pair and getting rid of easily double that.  This lovely handmade pair I am keeping.  Diane made these for me in college.  I have always loved them dearly.

So I guess it could be said that I have a watch collection.  Surprise!  Again, each one has a story.  Each a souvenir of a specific time and/or place in my life (three of them were gifts).  I decided to keep all of them, for now.

Old jewelry/accessories.  Each object has its history...a story to tell.  Junk or treasure depending on the (be)holder.  

I am considering punching through my old pierced ear lobes.  I stopped wearing earrings altogether after Gem was born.  (His birth was preceded by a decade of working with very young kids with special needs where wearing dangle-y jewelry from ears, neck or wrist could invite yanks, twists and breaks...which precipitated a decline in my level of self-adornment.)  Realizing what a trove of pretties I have at my disposal...makes me want to wear them again.

I also made some food today.  I've been tired and PMS-y and I guess a tad overwhelmed.  Not much cooking has been happening.  But the CSA veggies keep coming!  The Jersey toms have been delectable.  Fresh, local mozzarella, red Hawaiian sea salt, a drizzle of olive oil...I barely missed the fresh basil.  (And loved the chives we got this week!)

Peace and love.

Whole30 food : : 12

I wish I had thought to take a photo of my lunch at Terra today.  But, I was grooving on the slow food vibe and some unexpected time alone while I waited for Donna.  And it never even occurred to me.  I tend to think of this as a good thing...except for the fact that I literally cannot share it with you now.

Instead, I was happy to order just a salad (kind of unthinkable in my pre-Whole30 days) with a protein boost of hard-boiled egg.  I savored a Persian Nectar iced tea.  I perused the fair trade wares and picked up some gifts.  I bought a sweet potato for my next sausage frittata.

I'm not going to lie, my eyes definitely lingered over the selection of prettily wrapped dark chocolates across the café.  But, I didn't feel any physical craving.  None.  It actually made me feel a little lonesome.  (Not analyzing that one!)

My friend arrived as I was tucking into my luscious green salad spiked with dill with sliced egg on top.  We fell into talking immediately.  No thoughts of photographing food whatsoever.

So, today, I have a photo I took yesterday, of a meal I had again tonight for dinner.  Except today I added a big dollop of guacamole to the mix.  This is baked chicken thigh/leg with sautéed komatsuna.  (I love the jellied bits...yum.)

And so it begins

Here I am again at the first day of the rest of my life.  A post by Gluten-Free Goddess resonated yesterday...I appreciated what she mused about time.

I've been eating sugar and not only grains, but gluten, like a lunatic.  To "party" before the change.  (Lunacy = continuing to party even though it makes you feel like crap.)

On the precipice, here I am:

• grouchy (just ask my suffering partner...he's the one that gets lashed with my acid tongue).

• mucousy.

• teary eyes (not from crying).

• fuzzy mind.

• during butt punches I could feel my butt getting warm from the outside yet felt no internal heat.  I'll call this: wall of non-feeling very impermeable.  in other words, energy channels are blocked and/or stagnant.  in other words, internal inflammation flourishing.

• weight: 164 lbs.  (the least of my problems, really, but the return of the pendulum is hard to ignore.)

Changes afoot:

• deleted my e-mail inbox from 800 to 700.  by end of week down to under 100?  10?

• good time for a tv break.  the kids and I are watching Next Food Network Star but most of my shows are on hiatus.  True Blood was kind of a dud last night.  but I may watch it for Tara.  Breaking Bad starts July 15.

• last day of Whole30 will be July 18.  so yes, quieting down the tv screen for the next 30 days.

• perhaps the computer screen will quiet down, too.

• pushing myself to practice Qigong and go outside every day, even if it is just for 20 minutes or a walk around the block.

• specific work for the family: create a new budget by July 1, continue declutter, plan out summer homeschooling.

• specific personal work: get started with highly sensitive reading and modules, push to really consider a knitting project.

Peace and love.

Grateful

I realized this morning that 2 1/2 weeks with no kid respite is just a bit too long, for me.  Next time I will plan to embed chunks of time to/for myself.

Last night was a nadir.  I was chowing on pomegranate chocolate chip coconut ice cream (that Sag had picked out to make a milkshake with) while watching Gene Simmons Family Jewels at 11pm.  I'd been in a bad mood all day.  I've been putting the new pickles from the farmer's market to the comfort eating test (finished a quart and free pint bought Saturday tonight) and last night I finally turned to ice cream.

Then, I stayed up till nearly 3am.

Today has been quite fine, despite all that.

After yet another whatever's-in-the-fridge-or-pantry meal, I called the faraway health food store and they are kindly holding two bags of Gem's favorite spice cake mix for us till later this week.  This meant our errands today stayed quite local.

• the post office for some international stamps

• the hardware store to get what turned out to be a super expensive special size battery for our new car flashlight

• the ATM to withdraw cash from the savings account to cover us till pay day (le sigh)

• the bookstore where I sneakily picked up some birthday books for Gem, got some details about tomorrow night's Bloggess event, and plucked some Father's Day/get well/sympathy cards

• the library where this was waiting for me

• my fave cafe where we picked up local eggs, honey and the Irish breakfast tea I fell in love with last Fall

• the supermarket where we bought the bare minimum for today and tomorrow's needs

(I love living in this town...at every stop of our errands we were recognized and treated warmly.)

Once home, we lunched, I made some tea and then we played Carcassonne.  Sag was under the weather again, but the game seemed to cheer him up.  With the recent expansion set we got, the games are now close to two hours long!

Finally, the game ended and it was on to homework and reading for the kids while I made dinner.

After dinner, the kids were showered, the tea basket was decluttered, and the kitchen was cleaned.  Now the kids are watching a birthday gift which arrived in the mail today (thank you, Auntie Barbra :-) and we are all sipping herbal tea with honey.

And so, a pretty productive day draws to an end.  Not without its share of moans/groans and shrieks/eeks from each of us, but relatively mellow.

Here is a song we've been digging lately.  Peace and love.