Blooms

I've been on a Trader Joe's binge lately. They opened in Colorado almost a year ago, but it took me a long time to actually visit the store because I'm not a fan of crowds. (It was very crowded for the first few months after it opened.)

One of my favorite things about Trader Joe's is the fresh cut and reasonably priced flowers.  But I don't buy them; I just admire them and dream about spontaneously purchasing some.

However, I was finally swayed by the amaryllis kits in November. Not QUITE fresh cut flowers – but still something that might bloom. They were so inexpensive. I worried that something was wrong with them. I might be throwing away money. But it did bloom! I LOVE blooming stuff in the winter. Also, there's something about patiently waiting for it to bloom that makes it all the more lovely.

The christmas cactus is pretty happy, too. Must be all the neglect it's gotten since Trixie was born. Honestly, there have been several casualties among the houseplants in the last two years.

Speaking of casualties the first of the crocuses (croci?) are due any day now...except. Except. I've noticed an awful lot of rabbits hopping around our yard. "Liquid fence!" My mother tells me. But I'm not into the idea of battling the rabbits. It's one thing to plant hope, it's another thing to go to battle. Spending money on repellant so that I can spend MORE time spraying stuff around the yard every two weeks just to keep the crocuses blooming after all the time spent planting the crocuses...when does it stop? I think I'd rather do something else. Maybe I'm giving up too easily. But sometimes, you should listen to Mother Nature, you know?

See, I'm not much of a gardener after all.

Diversion Links

My phone is so hopelessly outdated that I try not to be caught using in it in public. Maybe this guy feels the same:

(The original tweet is here.)

This makes me smile. But you may want to think twice before you give your munchkins new words to a familiar tune. Better yet, save it for the next snow day.

Noah and Mattias are big fans of this video. Spoiler Alert/Assuring Voice: the squirrel survives.

(That's all I've got for now.)

Reverberation & Holes

I always forget: disruption in the schedule reverberates for a few days before and after. Fritz came back from Germany, but then there was so much work for him to catch up on that he was barely home. The kids stopped being sick, but they stopped being sick slowly, not like someone switched a light and they were suddenly better.

So anyway, NOW, now we are finally back to what feels like a normal routine. Today there is a huge storm in the northeast and my parents and brothers are probably feeling pretty miserable: BUT! here, in Colorado, the forecast says 70s. Noah begged me to wear shorts today and I let him. Although...I fussed about the shorts enough that he packed a pair of jeans in his backpack to appease me.

I hope this is a nice, long January thaw, because I really want to sit outside and soak it up for several days. For now, I refuse to look at the extended forecast and see my hopes dashed.

The renovation continues to move along. I've never been on the client side of a project like this; I find it quite fascinating. It feels almost too easy to just sit here and let someone else do the work (and worrying)! I kind of like it, to be honest.

(Photo of Mattias and Noah starring at holes in the floor)

That said, the electrical and plumbing work are not nearly as fun to watch as demolition and framing. Seemingly random holes are popping up all over our house. I find it disturbing. Every new hole I think about all the work to fix each hole and make it blend in with the wall/floor/whatever and I feel...grumpy. We won't be the ones fixing it. But sometimes, I'm not sure how I would fix it, if I had to. Which concerns me. How will they fix that? I wonder. Is the future floor going to creak in that spot? 

Wait! Didn't I just type that I'm not worrying? Clearly, I'm worrying some. Well. It's still easier than doing it ourselves.