Bounce and Paint
the boy
Another Day in the Basement and a Scout
Today I put the first coats of paint on the basement walls -- at least half of the wall space. Perhaps a little more than that.
Will it work? Well, it worked today.
More importantly, the Boy made his first BSA rank: scout.
And the Girl? She drove to Asheville to spend the day with her best friend. Yet another sign that she's growing up -- not quite as fast as she thinks she is, but still...
Day with the Family
Busy Saturday
Family Ride
It's been a while since K joined E and me on a bike ride. (What about L? When it comes to cycling, forget about L: biking is not her thing anymore, and we're not going to try to force that on her. )
We headed south to Hickory Knob State Park, which has a six-mile bike trail that winds along beside a lake. Only 300 feet of climbing, so it seemed like something K would be comfortable with. After all, she's on a suspension-less hybrid bike with 32mm tires: it's not going to do well at a lot of the places E and I like.
We got started, took a few pictures along the way, found a turtle in the middle of the trail (rescued it), rounded a bend in the trail to discover huge, dark clouds just a few hundred feet from us.
We knew it might start raining: it was in the forecast. But we hoped it might hold out, that we might survive with a few sprinkles.
Within a few minutes, it wasn't sprinkling; it wasn't raining; it was a monsoon.
What else could we do except continue pedaling?
Pressuring Washing Monopoly Blueberries
There is a tsunami approaching: we got the first hints today. Hidden here and there among the pale blue berries are a few dark, ripe ones. There were not many this morning, but there were enough to fill a small cup. What awaits us, though, is overwhelming -- in the most positive way, to be sure, but overwhelming nonetheless.
We picked them after we spent a bit of time blasting off the last bit of paint on the ramp that leads to our side entrance.
It was the ramp we built to help us get Nana and Papa into their new quarters a little over four years ago. We don't have much need for it now -- we could survive with a simple path and a couple of steps, but of course, we would never go through the time and expense of taking out the ramp and putting in a walkway in. As with the walk-in shower, it's a reminder of a time now gone, of family now gone, of times never to return.
And so, as if almost in an unconscious effort to make the most of the times we have together, we did something we haven't done as a family in a while: play a board game. L, of course, won -- she almost always wins. The Boy came in last, as he frequently and sadly does. K and I, not worrying about who's winning or losing as the game progresses, end up in the middle.
A perfect evening in the middle of the week. We need more of them.
Paint Peeling
We'll definitely be doing some repainting this summer...
Elementary School Graduation
Today, our Boy finished elementary school. "I mean, I have to go three more days after that," he explained to me the other day, "but once I get that piece of paper, I'm basically done."
Our daughter has two more years of high school; our son starts middle school next year...
Jocassee
Darts and Baptism
