Out my window: rain. Which is a good thing, especially since we turned on the sprinklers Saturday and saw the huge crack in the system. I hope the rain can tide us over till I can get someone out here to fix in… in June.
In the garden: the lettuce has finally come up, and the peas are a few inches tall. Historically I haven’t had great luck with peas. Either I plant them too late, so that it’s too hot by the time they’re mature, or hail kills them all off. Fingers crossed…
Around the house: we’re contemplating moving furniture. We still haven’t found the right configuration for the living room. I suspect it’s because we bought the couches (very large) before we had the room, and two of the walls are shortened by the diagonal fireplace wall. First World Problem.
In the kitchen: I’m working on May’s menu. This month I’m going to try to make more vegetable side dishes.(My normal tendency is to put a plate of fresh vegetables bowl of fruit on the table.)
In the school room: I’m still struggling with the diaspora of my children around the house during the school day. By the time I’ve tracked them all down to check in with them, I’m too tired to be the enforcer. I do believe in the value of Phoebe’s free, imaginative play and Moriah’s endless crafting. Last week Owen spent all his free time (and some of his school time) reading Blackout, and Jonah is writing stories again. It’s all good, but at some point, the math and the Spanish and the chemistry have to get done, too.
All that to say that this week, I’m going to hold the assignment sheets on a clipboard and make them check with me to get their next assignment. Or maybe each hour. And the clipboard will be handing for whacking them with.
I’m reading: Ebola by David Quammen (it’s an extract from his longer work Spillover, which is now on my TBR list). King Lear (Shakespeare). Cry the Beloved Country (Alan Paton).
a message the chalk fairies left me last week
In my shoes: This is a lower-mileage week for me after increasing my long runs during April. Saturday I ran 8 miles, and my plan calls for 9 miles on Mother’s Day.
I’m running the Colfax Urban 10 miler on May 17 to raise money for Project Worthmore, a local organization that supports refugees from Burma. (If you would like to donate, here’s the link to my fundraising page.)
Grateful for: pancit with Pam, Phoebe’s cast coming off last Thursday, date night on Saturday.
Praying for: Kara and her family, Nepal, our friends serving overseas, Kristin, Jan, Mandy, Judy, Clare, refugees all over the world.
Learning As We Go 