G's been obsessed with The Backyardigans lately, which is a bit weird because she stopped watching the rest of the Nick Jr. preschool shows about a year ago. I think she likes it because it's about exploring and having adventures -- two things she aspires to do herself. Anyway, we were watching an episode earlier this evening, and she noticed that Pablo the penguin is the only one of the anthropomorphic animal kids who doesn't have fingers. (Although he does have a convenient opposable thumb built into each flipper.) We decided that snack time would be difficult if one of your friends was a penguin. You'd have to toss goldfish crackers into his mouth the way the trainers at Sea World throw smelt.
She actually asked to go to bed right after the show ended, partly because of the time change, and partly because she's been under the weather for a few days. She started coming down with a cold on Thursday, and while it's never gotten really severe, it's definitely been enough to slow her down. She was doing better this morning and asked to go to Target with me, but I don't think it was good for her, because the congestion and coughing came back full force after we got home. I'm pretty sure we're not going to take her out tomorrow night because of it. She's already been trick or treating at Disneyland and Boo at the Zoo, so she's okay with just staying home and handing out candy instead. God knows we've got to get some of this candy out of the house before I inhale it all!
Sunday, October 30, 2005
Wednesday, October 26, 2005
All about friends
I read an interesting article about children and friendships last night. Apparently, between ages 6 and about 12, kids pass through a series of stages in which their concepts of friendship, and their expectations of a friend, slowly change and grow more complex. The stages are:
Stage 1: "Play partner": In the earliest stage of friendship, the relationship is based on "play-partnership". A friend is seen as someone who engages the child in play and permits the child to use or borrow her playthings.
Stage 2: "People to chat to": The sharing of interests becomes an important element in friendship choice. Conversations between "friends" are no longer related simply to the game or activity in which the children are directly engaged.
Stage 3: "Help and encouragement": At this stage the friend is seen as someone who will offer help, support or encouragement. However, the advantages of friendship flow in one direction; the child does not yet see himself as having the obligation to provide help or support in return.
Stage 4: "Intimacy/empathy": The child now realises that in friendship the need and obligation to give comfort and support flows both ways and, indeed, the giving of affection, as well as receiving it, becomes an important element in the relationship. This stage sees a deepening of intimacy; an emotional sharing and bonding.
Stage 5: At this stage friendship is perceived as a deep and lasting relationship of trust, fidelity and unconditional acceptance.
After reading this, I was curious about what stage G was in, so this evening I asked her some questions about friends and friendship. Here's what she said.
It sounds as if she's combining elements from several of the stages: she thinks that friends play together (stage 1), but also talk about things that interest them (stage 2) and support each other emotionally (stages 3 and 4). Based on the way I've seen her actually interact with her friends, I'd say she's around stage 2 with some stage 3 mixed in. She loves to chat, and it can be funny to listen to at times. For instance, a few weeks ago, she and her friend from next door were out riding bikes, and when they stopped to sit down and rest, they had a conversation that was basically the kid version of adult dinner-table talk:
And so forth. They might as well have been married. :-)
One thing that's really neat about G is her willingness to play anything with anyone. She loves to dress up and put on fashion shows and play dolls with other girls, but she plays with boys just as easily; two of her good friends are boys, and she talks about playing superheroes and spies with the boys in her class at recess. I think being with her father so much has helped her learn how to relate to boys: she knows how to play the sorts of games they like because that's what her dad plays with her. She can switch from being a squealing girly girl to pretending that her bike is a police car in two seconds flat. All that may change in a year or two, when she reaches the inevitable "boys are gross" stage, but for now it's wonderful to see.
Stage 1: "Play partner": In the earliest stage of friendship, the relationship is based on "play-partnership". A friend is seen as someone who engages the child in play and permits the child to use or borrow her playthings.
Stage 2: "People to chat to": The sharing of interests becomes an important element in friendship choice. Conversations between "friends" are no longer related simply to the game or activity in which the children are directly engaged.
Stage 3: "Help and encouragement": At this stage the friend is seen as someone who will offer help, support or encouragement. However, the advantages of friendship flow in one direction; the child does not yet see himself as having the obligation to provide help or support in return.
Stage 4: "Intimacy/empathy": The child now realises that in friendship the need and obligation to give comfort and support flows both ways and, indeed, the giving of affection, as well as receiving it, becomes an important element in the relationship. This stage sees a deepening of intimacy; an emotional sharing and bonding.
Stage 5: At this stage friendship is perceived as a deep and lasting relationship of trust, fidelity and unconditional acceptance.
After reading this, I was curious about what stage G was in, so this evening I asked her some questions about friends and friendship. Here's what she said.
Q. What makes someone your friend?
A. If you're nice to each other and say nice words and make each other happy when you're sad.
Q. What do you want a friend to do with you?
A. Play together and have sleepovers.
Q. How would you make friends with someone?
A. Well, I could introduce myself if they're new in my class. And then they would introduce themselves to me. And then blah, blah, blah and all that other stuff. [I assume she meant that she and the other kid would talk at this point.]
Q. Do you have a best friend?
A. Yes.
Q. Who is it?
A. Tabitha.
Q. Why is Tabitha your best friend?
A. Because we've been friends ever since we were toddlers.
It sounds as if she's combining elements from several of the stages: she thinks that friends play together (stage 1), but also talk about things that interest them (stage 2) and support each other emotionally (stages 3 and 4). Based on the way I've seen her actually interact with her friends, I'd say she's around stage 2 with some stage 3 mixed in. She loves to chat, and it can be funny to listen to at times. For instance, a few weeks ago, she and her friend from next door were out riding bikes, and when they stopped to sit down and rest, they had a conversation that was basically the kid version of adult dinner-table talk:
He: How was your day at school?
She: It was good; how was yours?
He: It was good too.
[pause]
She: So, what are you going to be for Halloween?
He: I'm going to be a Power Ranger.
She: Oh! I'm going to be Juliet, you know, like in Romeo and Juliet.
He: That's nice.
And so forth. They might as well have been married. :-)
One thing that's really neat about G is her willingness to play anything with anyone. She loves to dress up and put on fashion shows and play dolls with other girls, but she plays with boys just as easily; two of her good friends are boys, and she talks about playing superheroes and spies with the boys in her class at recess. I think being with her father so much has helped her learn how to relate to boys: she knows how to play the sorts of games they like because that's what her dad plays with her. She can switch from being a squealing girly girl to pretending that her bike is a police car in two seconds flat. All that may change in a year or two, when she reaches the inevitable "boys are gross" stage, but for now it's wonderful to see.
Tuesday, October 18, 2005
Dear Santa
G made out her Christmas list the other night. It's remarkably light on toys this year: she wants a handheld DVD player, a pair of Heelys and an interactive Serafina, which she asked for last year and didn't get because the stores were sold out. I'm not keen on buying Serafina this year either -- it got horrible user reviews, and I know G will play with it for a day or two and then abandon it at the bottom of the stuffed-animal basket -- but since she asked for so few things, Santa will probably bring it anyway. I'll get her some arts and crafts supplies too; she she never seems to have enough of those.
In the meantime, we're still waiting for Halloween. We all went to the pumpkin patch over the weekend, where G picked a pumpkin, rode a pony, and got her face painted, sort of. I say sort of because instead of a professional face painter, they had a table with regular paintbrushes and cups of poster paint so the kids could paint themselves. The girl ahead of us seemed determined to paint every inch of exposed skin on her face and arms -- her mother kept saying "Come on, give someone else a turn" and "You don't have anyplace left to paint," and she kept protesting that she wanted to do more, more, more. By the time Mom finally dragged her away, she was painted like a Pict, only not as blue. G agreed to let me paint a small pumpkin on her cheek and leave it at that. Sensible girl. :-) She had a great time at the patch, and we timed it just right: when we got there, it was warm and sunny, and by the time we got home, it was cold and windy and threatening rain. Gotta love that crazy October weather.
In the meantime, we're still waiting for Halloween. We all went to the pumpkin patch over the weekend, where G picked a pumpkin, rode a pony, and got her face painted, sort of. I say sort of because instead of a professional face painter, they had a table with regular paintbrushes and cups of poster paint so the kids could paint themselves. The girl ahead of us seemed determined to paint every inch of exposed skin on her face and arms -- her mother kept saying "Come on, give someone else a turn" and "You don't have anyplace left to paint," and she kept protesting that she wanted to do more, more, more. By the time Mom finally dragged her away, she was painted like a Pict, only not as blue. G agreed to let me paint a small pumpkin on her cheek and leave it at that. Sensible girl. :-) She had a great time at the patch, and we timed it just right: when we got there, it was warm and sunny, and by the time we got home, it was cold and windy and threatening rain. Gotta love that crazy October weather.
Saturday, October 15, 2005
Things that annoy me, part 938274950
Every morning when I go downstairs to get coffee at work, someone is there ahead of me, coffee cup in one hand, milk jug in the other, pouring and stirring and tasting as if s/he is going for first prize in the World Coffee Mixing Championships. (Brought to you by Starbucks!) Three drops of milk; whirl with the little wooden stick; sip; wrinkle nose and repeat ad infinitum, all while blocking the entire coffee area and preventing me from getting my cup of black decaf. Every time, I want to shriek It's coffee, not a chemistry experiment! Dump in the milk and step to the left! I don't care if you spend your morning concocting the perfect blend when you're at home, but in a public venue, your job is to do your business and clear out as quickly as possible. The same goes for restrooms -- no hogging the sinks for half an hour while you brush your teeth, apply makeup, highlight your hair and wax your upper lip -- and any sort of line at a cash register.
Ah! That was cathartic. I feel better now.
Ah! That was cathartic. I feel better now.
Thursday, October 06, 2005
Brownies
G came home on Monday with a flier inviting girls to join her school's Brownie troop. They sent the same flier around last year, and she wasn't interested then, but this time she was wildly excited and begged to join. All I heard for days was "We're signing up for Brownies on Thursday!" and "Don't forget to take me to the Brownie meeting!" So, tonight we went down to the school to fill out the paperwork. Well, I filled out the paperwork; she ate a snack and did crafts with the other girls. (Paperwork: reason 2,049,871 why it sucks to be a grownup.)
I must say, things have changed since I was a Brownie in 1978. The only thing I remember doing that year is making a cushion out of crumpled newspaper and stapled-together squares of wallpaper. Her troop has two regular meetings and two night/weekend events, plus a fundraiser, in the next month alone. I can see we're going to be very busy. However, the troop leaders and the other mothers seem very nice, and G had a great time -- so great that she cried when it was time to go home -- so I'm sure it will be worth it. The only major drawback I can see is that the meetings are the same day as her dance class. She'll have an hour between school and dance, then an hour between dance and Brownies, and then she'll have to eat dinner and go straight to bed. That's a long day for a little girl. Oh well, at least it'll only be twice a month.
I must say, things have changed since I was a Brownie in 1978. The only thing I remember doing that year is making a cushion out of crumpled newspaper and stapled-together squares of wallpaper. Her troop has two regular meetings and two night/weekend events, plus a fundraiser, in the next month alone. I can see we're going to be very busy. However, the troop leaders and the other mothers seem very nice, and G had a great time -- so great that she cried when it was time to go home -- so I'm sure it will be worth it. The only major drawback I can see is that the meetings are the same day as her dance class. She'll have an hour between school and dance, then an hour between dance and Brownies, and then she'll have to eat dinner and go straight to bed. That's a long day for a little girl. Oh well, at least it'll only be twice a month.
Tuesday, October 04, 2005
Cannibal family
Conversation with G:
She: Hey, Mommy, want to play Pollies?
Me: I would love to, but I have to cook the pasta. Because if I don't, we'll starve! We'll hold our stomachs like this, and we'll fall on the floor, and we'll moan, "I'M SO HUNGR--"
She (interrupting): No, I'll just eat you.
Well! Maybe I should mention that not eating meat includes not eating people. *g*
She: Hey, Mommy, want to play Pollies?
Me: I would love to, but I have to cook the pasta. Because if I don't, we'll starve! We'll hold our stomachs like this, and we'll fall on the floor, and we'll moan, "I'M SO HUNGR--"
She (interrupting): No, I'll just eat you.
Well! Maybe I should mention that not eating meat includes not eating people. *g*
Monday, October 03, 2005
A little lady
Six must be a magic number. Why? Because as soon as G turned six, she became more mature than I ever imagined she would be. I took her to the pediatrician this afternoon, and she sat tranquilly in the waiting room and read a book with me, walked to the examining room without a fuss, and calmly explained her symptoms and answered the doctor's questions like a grown-up. She's just been so pleasant and reasonable and fun to be with lately. I was sorry I had to drop her off at home and go back to work after the appointment -- I wanted to keep hanging out with her!
She and I did put up our fall decorations over the weekend, despite the blazing heat. It's hard to get in a seasonal frame of mind when you're eating ice cream as a fan blasts at you, but we managed. We have pumpkins and colored leaves on the hearth, a (fake) jack o'lantern on the table next to the door, and orange lights on the wall over the couch. For the inside of the front door, we made our own decorations: a ghost, a Frankenstein monster head, a moon with a bat silhouette, two spiders, two pumpkins, and black letters that spell out "GO BACK" and "EEK" and "BOO." G loves it all and has been begging to sit around at night with all the lights off except for the jack o'lantern and orange light string. I hope the novelty wears off a bit before Halloween. It's hard to navigate through the shadowy gloom. :-)
She and I did put up our fall decorations over the weekend, despite the blazing heat. It's hard to get in a seasonal frame of mind when you're eating ice cream as a fan blasts at you, but we managed. We have pumpkins and colored leaves on the hearth, a (fake) jack o'lantern on the table next to the door, and orange lights on the wall over the couch. For the inside of the front door, we made our own decorations: a ghost, a Frankenstein monster head, a moon with a bat silhouette, two spiders, two pumpkins, and black letters that spell out "GO BACK" and "EEK" and "BOO." G loves it all and has been begging to sit around at night with all the lights off except for the jack o'lantern and orange light string. I hope the novelty wears off a bit before Halloween. It's hard to navigate through the shadowy gloom. :-)
Friday, September 30, 2005
Burning up
It's the last day of September, so of course we're in the midst of our annual autumn heat wave. I've lived here for nearly 25 years, and it's happened every single autumn, but for some reason I keep hoping each year that this will be the year we get to skip it. Maybe this will be the year, I think, that we have a nice crisp autumn with crackling leaf piles and frosty mornings, the way the rest of the country does. Then the temperature hits 104 degrees, the hot wind screams down the canyons, and people's heads spontaneously combust.
I hope it's cooler tomorrow. I'm planning to get out our autumn decorations, and it just feels wrong to cover the fireplace hearth with fake pumpkins and leaves while electric fans are blasting in every room. What wouldn't I give for central air!
I hope it's cooler tomorrow. I'm planning to get out our autumn decorations, and it just feels wrong to cover the fireplace hearth with fake pumpkins and leaves while electric fans are blasting in every room. What wouldn't I give for central air!
Friday, September 16, 2005
Back in the groove
G's been back in school for two weeks now. She likes her teacher, and so far everything's been good. I must say, though, I'm surprised at how serious and, well, academic first grade is in comparison to kindergarten. Starting next week there will be nightly homework -- not very difficult homework, judging by the samples I've seen, but still a lot more than before. In-class birthday parties are no longer allowed because they take too much time away from instruction. Each kid will receive a behavior report at the end of every week. It seems strict, but G probably needs the extra structure. Like a lot of bright, creative kids, she tends to get distracted and goof around, and I think it'll be good for her to have a teacher who keeps her focused on learning.
Pete and I are both a little bit worried about her being bored, though. Last year she was the only kid in her class who could read at all (not at a high level or anything, but she knew enough words to read "Dick and Jane"-type books). The assignments were easy for her, so she'd sit around and talk to the kid next to her, thereby preventing him from doing his work, and then fill in her own worksheet at lightning speed at the last minute. One of her teachers used to have to set a timer for 30 seconds per page to motivate her. (When I found out about this, I said, "Thirty seconds?" and she said "Trust me, she can do it in twenty." She was right.)
This year it looks like they're going to be working on basic phonics, and that's not what she needs to learn. She knows all the consonant and short and long vowel sounds; all the consonant blends; the common vowel digraphs; word endings like -ed and -ing; the soft -ce sound; etcetera. What she really needs help with is applying everything she knows. She recognizes lots of words by sight, and that makes her a little bit lazy when she comes to a word she doesn't recognize -- instead of trying to work it out with phonics, she just guesses at it (usually incorrectly) so she can move on. If we sound out the first couple of letters together, she'll get it right, but I have to initiate that activity. I think she's realized that sounding out doesn't always work because phonics rules don't apply to all words, so she doesn't bother. I'm hoping her teacher will be able to impress upon her that you always try sounding out first, and maybe give her some strategies to use when sounding out fails. The question is, will he have time to do that when he's busy teaching the other 19 kids in the class how to string together the sounds in "cat" and "hat?" However, he seems very organized and together, so if anyone can do it, he probably can.
Pete and I are both a little bit worried about her being bored, though. Last year she was the only kid in her class who could read at all (not at a high level or anything, but she knew enough words to read "Dick and Jane"-type books). The assignments were easy for her, so she'd sit around and talk to the kid next to her, thereby preventing him from doing his work, and then fill in her own worksheet at lightning speed at the last minute. One of her teachers used to have to set a timer for 30 seconds per page to motivate her. (When I found out about this, I said, "Thirty seconds?" and she said "Trust me, she can do it in twenty." She was right.)
This year it looks like they're going to be working on basic phonics, and that's not what she needs to learn. She knows all the consonant and short and long vowel sounds; all the consonant blends; the common vowel digraphs; word endings like -ed and -ing; the soft -ce sound; etcetera. What she really needs help with is applying everything she knows. She recognizes lots of words by sight, and that makes her a little bit lazy when she comes to a word she doesn't recognize -- instead of trying to work it out with phonics, she just guesses at it (usually incorrectly) so she can move on. If we sound out the first couple of letters together, she'll get it right, but I have to initiate that activity. I think she's realized that sounding out doesn't always work because phonics rules don't apply to all words, so she doesn't bother. I'm hoping her teacher will be able to impress upon her that you always try sounding out first, and maybe give her some strategies to use when sounding out fails. The question is, will he have time to do that when he's busy teaching the other 19 kids in the class how to string together the sounds in "cat" and "hat?" However, he seems very organized and together, so if anyone can do it, he probably can.
Wednesday, August 24, 2005
Playing catch-up
Yikes. I've been lazy about updating lately. Here's a quick summary of the last month and a half:
July: We went to the local science center, attended a birthday party, went to the county fair twice, saw Wicked: The Musical, and visited friends at their new home. G also went to day camp for two weeks. (It was only supposed to be one week, but she loved it so much we signed her up for the following session too.) I finally finished my dental ordeal, though I have to go back in October for yet another cleaning. Dun dun dunnnn!
August: This month was a little bit calmer. P's brother came to visit from NYC one weekend and bought Gsome nifty school clothes -- what a great uncle! We also went to the zoo with G's 14-month-old cousin, and G herself went to a very fancy christening party with her grandma and aunts.
G starts first grade in a little less than two weeks, and I'm both looking forward to it and wishing the summer could last longer. We've done a lot, but there was so much I wanted to do that we didn't get around to -- the beach, the aquarium, the King Tut exhibit. I know she's had a great vacation, though, and she's learned tons of things. Her printing and spelling have improved. She's learned the addition doubles facts up to 20 and the names of all the Greek gods and their myths (we read Roman and Norse myths too, but the Greek ones were her favorites). She helped me make a mobile of the solar system. And her reading is much better than it was in June, although she's not quite ready for chapter books yet.
Also, thanks to her father, she's become a huge Duran Duran fan, LOL. They rented a DVD of old Duran Duran videos from Netflix, and now she can sing "New Moon on Monday" and thinks Simon LeBon is cute. Most importantly, though, she had plenty of time to play and relax and hang out with me and Pete and the rest of her family. Now she's eager for the new school year to begin.
July: We went to the local science center, attended a birthday party, went to the county fair twice, saw Wicked: The Musical, and visited friends at their new home. G also went to day camp for two weeks. (It was only supposed to be one week, but she loved it so much we signed her up for the following session too.) I finally finished my dental ordeal, though I have to go back in October for yet another cleaning. Dun dun dunnnn!
August: This month was a little bit calmer. P's brother came to visit from NYC one weekend and bought Gsome nifty school clothes -- what a great uncle! We also went to the zoo with G's 14-month-old cousin, and G herself went to a very fancy christening party with her grandma and aunts.
G starts first grade in a little less than two weeks, and I'm both looking forward to it and wishing the summer could last longer. We've done a lot, but there was so much I wanted to do that we didn't get around to -- the beach, the aquarium, the King Tut exhibit. I know she's had a great vacation, though, and she's learned tons of things. Her printing and spelling have improved. She's learned the addition doubles facts up to 20 and the names of all the Greek gods and their myths (we read Roman and Norse myths too, but the Greek ones were her favorites). She helped me make a mobile of the solar system. And her reading is much better than it was in June, although she's not quite ready for chapter books yet.
Also, thanks to her father, she's become a huge Duran Duran fan, LOL. They rented a DVD of old Duran Duran videos from Netflix, and now she can sing "New Moon on Monday" and thinks Simon LeBon is cute. Most importantly, though, she had plenty of time to play and relax and hang out with me and Pete and the rest of her family. Now she's eager for the new school year to begin.
Monday, July 25, 2005
They say it's your birthday
Just getting on here to wish my grandmother a happy birthday. She's 80 years old and still one of the sharpest, funniest, strongest and kindest people I know. I only hope I turn out half as well. Happy birthday, Grams -- I love you!
Wednesday, July 06, 2005
Hey, Torquemada, what do you say?
Today I had another session of root planing and scaling. For those not in the know, this is like a dental cleaning performed by a ruthless sadist in a black mask and spiked collar, except that in this case the sadist is actually my otherwise pleasant dentist. When I had the right side of my mouth done, I went into the bathroom afterward and nearly fainted at the sight of bloodstains all over my face. This time it wasn't quite so brutal, but my jaw is just as sore. I have to go back again at the end of the month to get a filling and possibly two crowns. I swear, you don't go to the dentist for two or three years and your teeth just run wild in there!
Saturday, July 02, 2005
Perhaps I spoke too soon
Not four hours after I complained about the picky birds, I looked out the window again and saw a sparrow sitting on the edge of the feeder, eating seed. I ran to get G, and we stood there watching him till he'd finished and flapped away. That's right, bird. You'd better eat if you know what's good for you. ;-)
G and I had a busy day. In addition to the library trip, we bought a new lawn chair to replace the one I had to throw out, some butterflies on a stick to brighten up the back yard, and a Scooby-Doo checker game. Against my better judgment, we also bought seed packets. We've had limited success with growing seeds in pots, but the earth in our back yard is like the Gobi Desert: anything we plant there is fated either to struggle vainly for a while and then keel over, or never come up at all (or get weed-whacked and pruned to death by the landlord's gardening service). It wasn't like that when we moved in. Believe it or not, at the time the yard, with its deep, lush grass and vegetable beds, was the main thing that convinced me to rent this place. Within six months, the grass had died, the vegetables had succumbed to some sort of mysterious leaf rot, and there was nothing out back but my potted geraniums and one sickly rosebush. Ever since then, I've been trying to restore the yard to its original splendor, or at least to get it to stop being an eyesore. I'm a little bit hopeful about the morning-glory seeds we bought today -- morning-glory vines grow wild in the gravel side yard despite a complete lack of water and the gardeners' dogged efforts to root them out, so you'd think they'd be happy to grow in the nice, recently fertilized bed where the vegetables used to live.
After the shopping, G and I watered the front lawn with both hose and sprinklers, which gave her a chance to run around barefoot and get soaked. Hey, that's what summer's all about, isn't it? We all had an early dinner, and then G and I picked up some ice cream from Baskin-Robbins. (I'm in love with their Nutty Coconut flavor. In fact, you should stop reading this right now and go get yourself a scoop or two!) She took a long bath afterward and is still watching TV while she waits for her hair to dry. It's so thick that drying is a two-hour affair, and even the hair dryer takes a good 45 minutes.
G and I had a busy day. In addition to the library trip, we bought a new lawn chair to replace the one I had to throw out, some butterflies on a stick to brighten up the back yard, and a Scooby-Doo checker game. Against my better judgment, we also bought seed packets. We've had limited success with growing seeds in pots, but the earth in our back yard is like the Gobi Desert: anything we plant there is fated either to struggle vainly for a while and then keel over, or never come up at all (or get weed-whacked and pruned to death by the landlord's gardening service). It wasn't like that when we moved in. Believe it or not, at the time the yard, with its deep, lush grass and vegetable beds, was the main thing that convinced me to rent this place. Within six months, the grass had died, the vegetables had succumbed to some sort of mysterious leaf rot, and there was nothing out back but my potted geraniums and one sickly rosebush. Ever since then, I've been trying to restore the yard to its original splendor, or at least to get it to stop being an eyesore. I'm a little bit hopeful about the morning-glory seeds we bought today -- morning-glory vines grow wild in the gravel side yard despite a complete lack of water and the gardeners' dogged efforts to root them out, so you'd think they'd be happy to grow in the nice, recently fertilized bed where the vegetables used to live.
After the shopping, G and I watered the front lawn with both hose and sprinklers, which gave her a chance to run around barefoot and get soaked. Hey, that's what summer's all about, isn't it? We all had an early dinner, and then G and I picked up some ice cream from Baskin-Robbins. (I'm in love with their Nutty Coconut flavor. In fact, you should stop reading this right now and go get yourself a scoop or two!) She took a long bath afterward and is still watching TV while she waits for her hair to dry. It's so thick that drying is a two-hour affair, and even the hair dryer takes a good 45 minutes.
For the birds
G and I put a bird feeder in our backyard a couple of weeks ago. So far, we have not seen one bird visit it. Well, I just looked out the kitchen window, and the yard was full of birds sitting on the wall, fluttering back and forth from tree to tree, hopping around on the patch of bare dirt where no grass dares show its face ... and completely ignoring our feeder. Argh! I was ready to open the back door and yell "Eat, you ungrateful little buggers! EAT!" I guess they don't like the seed mix we're offering, and are therefore turning their beaks up at it. What do they think this is, a restaurant?
Friday, July 01, 2005
Rubbish
Today was one of my favorite days of the year. No, not Christmas: it was the annual large-item trash pickup day in our neighborhood. Large-item day is like the reverse of Christmas -- instead of a bunch of new crap coming into the house, a bunch of old crap goes out. Barbecue that we used once before it rusted in last year's rains? Gone. Broken lawn chair that sags alarmingly whenever someone sits in it? Gone. G's old sand table? Gone. It's good for the soul.
Wouldn't it be great if you could get rid of emotional junk that easily? I'd love to be able to drag all my grudges and disappointments and failures out to the curb once a year and have someone come by with a truck and take them away. Ah well, I can dream.
So this is the beginning of the long weekend. Tomorrow, G and I have to find and return her overdue library book before the library police come and haul us off in the paddy wagon. I think they're a little overzealous: the book is a couple of weeks overdue, and they've already sent us a letter threatening to report us to a collection agency. Of course, this is the same library that made me pay a $7 overdue fine for a book I checked out in 1983 when I applied for an adult card in 1995. Busted! I actually think we've returned this book already, so it'll just be a matter of going to the shelf and finding it.
Other than the library, and a trip to the science center on Sunday, we really don't have any plans for the next few days. I'm sure there'll be some sort of family event on Monday for the fourth, and we'll see fireworks -- G and I discovered last year that we can stand out on the sidewalk that runs in front of our lawn and watch a huge display a few miles away for free. Also, "safe and sane" fireworks are still legal in our city, and believe me, the neighbors take full advantage of them. I'm not sure how safe and sane the fireworks are when you're launching them from a nine-foot aluminum ladder in the middle of the street, but they are pretty to look at. :-)
Wouldn't it be great if you could get rid of emotional junk that easily? I'd love to be able to drag all my grudges and disappointments and failures out to the curb once a year and have someone come by with a truck and take them away. Ah well, I can dream.
So this is the beginning of the long weekend. Tomorrow, G and I have to find and return her overdue library book before the library police come and haul us off in the paddy wagon. I think they're a little overzealous: the book is a couple of weeks overdue, and they've already sent us a letter threatening to report us to a collection agency. Of course, this is the same library that made me pay a $7 overdue fine for a book I checked out in 1983 when I applied for an adult card in 1995. Busted! I actually think we've returned this book already, so it'll just be a matter of going to the shelf and finding it.
Other than the library, and a trip to the science center on Sunday, we really don't have any plans for the next few days. I'm sure there'll be some sort of family event on Monday for the fourth, and we'll see fireworks -- G and I discovered last year that we can stand out on the sidewalk that runs in front of our lawn and watch a huge display a few miles away for free. Also, "safe and sane" fireworks are still legal in our city, and believe me, the neighbors take full advantage of them. I'm not sure how safe and sane the fireworks are when you're launching them from a nine-foot aluminum ladder in the middle of the street, but they are pretty to look at. :-)
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