Spring Break 2019 Day 2
the boy
Spring Break 2019 Day 1
The first day of spring break, and I spent the morning in the attic, putting additional insulation to compensate for the fact that the insulation we blew in eleven years ago has settled significantly: all the rafters, once hidden beneath several inches of insulation were once again visible.
This time, though, I decided simply to buy some R19 batts and hope for a little longer break than eleven years before I need to do it again. Part of this is due to the fact that to get to the attic above the upper part of the house, we have to take everything — absolutely everything — out of L’s closet. That in itself will be a task. Today, though, I just focused on the lower part of the house.
While all that went on, our regular construction guys worked on our new windows in the basement and the siding for the closed-in bedroom/bathroom we’re building for Nana and Papa.
Additionally, two other fellows came in to start putting up the drywall and eventually finish the bathroom.
During all of this, the kids took care of themselves. The Boy spent the day playing with neighborhood kids, an activity that included me at least once saying, “Where’s E?” and having to go look for him. He was right where I thought he would be, but we’ll to establish some new protocols with him now that his independence is steadily increasing.
Palm Sunday 2019
The day started with Mass -- sort of. I went to Mass at our usual church in order to photograph the Palm Sunday liturgy, the procession and all that. It's a lovely liturgy, and to be honest, I just enjoy photographing the Mass more than simply sitting through it.
I was alone because the rest of the family was planning on going to Polish Mass in the afternoon. Palm Sunday is always a Polish Mass day, and there's always a potluck and small get-together afterward. There's always a contests for the best babka, a contest for the most beautifully-decorated palm, and some performance or another.
Then again, get more than a couple of Poles together and you'll end up having one of two things: speeches or songs. Or perhaps you'll have both.
When the call went out for anyone who wanted to perform, it didn't take too much asking to get the Girl up to sing. She sang a verse from "Stabat Mater" -- in Latin. From memory.
Back at home, we had some fun with Clover and bubbles.
Thursday Exporing
Playing in the Backyard
Boosterthon 2019
Frog and Toad
The Boy performed with all the other first graders this evening. They put on a small musical about Frog and Toad, about whom we’ve read in countless books.
All the parents were thrilled to watch their kids; we were thrilled to have an opportunity to watch so many parents.
Walking the Dog
The Girl went to Asheville to spend the weekend with T and C, cousins for all intents and purposes. While K went to retrieve her this afternoon, the Boy and I headed to a scout meeting and then to our favorite park to walk Clover. With all the upheaval in our lives lately, we really neglected the dog. Our nightly jogs/walks have all but ceased: with K taking care of Nana and Papa until the renovation is done, and we move them in, I’m reticent to leave the kids in the house alone. They’d do fine, I’m sure: L stays alone regularly without any problem, but if the Boy were to wake while I were out, it might be problematic. Plus, I’ve been going to bed at 9:30 on a regular basis. So today we decided that we had to get Clover out and about.
We met a few dogs along the way. It’s always a little stressful for me when that happens while the Boy is leading the dog. Clover gets so very excited so very quickly, and her excitement becomes manic and borderline aggressive, so I always tell him “Choke up” as we approach.
Today we also encountered a group out for a photo shoot. The photographer sat on one railing of the bridge, with two cameras worth somewhere in the neighborhood of $5000 I would guess based on the peek I took as we passed; the subject sat on the other; we walked in between them, at their behest.
“That’s not smart, sitting like that,” I said to the Boy.
“I know,” he said in utmost seriousness.
Monday Afternoon with the Kids and Dog Down at the Trampoline
Cool Spring Sunday
