Dying eggs

Making paper at the Forest Products Lab tour

the Easter Bonnet parade!

two of Elise's friends on stilts (the bunny and the orange flower)

candy shop!

weekend of family

We didn't remember to get the camera out when the little birthday girl was opening her gifts or blowing out candles, otherwise we'd have almost matching family photos.  Ah well.  We had a lovely time visiting everyone, and will have to get back a little more often this summer.

Elise stayed with my parents and Grandma for a few days.  They were going to bring her home and visit with us a few days, but plans changed unexpectedly.  I drove up yesterday to pick her up halfway.  We had to wait a day as a terrific snow storm was moving through the territory.  Egad.  It's all melted down here now, and a few daffodils are blooming.

Karl and I had a chance to use our gift certificate and stay Monday night at the New Glarus Chalet Landhaus.  We had an amazing dinner (cheese fondue and roesti are really good!), watched Stephen Colbert, and even slept in.  Albin had a good time holding down fort here, with Al and Clover.

Today, Elise and I are going to dye eggshells and fill them with candy, make a rainbow cake, and plant more peas.  I'd get the ground ready for raspberries and currants, but it's still really wet, and supposed to rain all day tomorrow, too.  Maybe next week.

thank goodness for laundry

I love my new sewing machine.  And look, I found a fabulous desk at a garage sale to put it on.  I have drawers for the manual, scissors, accessories, etc.  There's room on the desk to lay out a pattern or the sewing book I'm using.  In fact, that's what I was doing this morning--turning a gifted tea towel (from one of my mil trips abroad) into a cute and useful bag for Elise.  I was just starting work on the handle, when my machine gave up the ghost.  Sigh!!  I was pretty sure I should get it serviced and into tip-top shape when it arrived, now I have no choice.  Sigh again!!  I have such bad luck with sewing machines.  I don't know why something I love so much should be so perverse, but there it is.  And maybe it will be fine, but just so you know, this is the fifth machine (that I can count offhand) to snag my sewing ability in some way.

So of course I was feeling very downhearted about it.  It is, however, a beautiful day, and I had laundry to hang on the line.  I love hanging laundry.  Grandma's flowers are blooming in the back by the lilac tree, and we are about to meet friends to give a tour of Karl's work.  There's a silver lining somewhere : ).

That boy of mine is turning into a terrific and very handsome young man.  I know he'll roll his eyes at that, but I'm his mother and allowed to state my pride at being related to him once in a while.  We celebrated his half-birthday a few days ago, and I made Jane Brocket-esque style cupcakes.  Elise decorated several more cupcakes in Magic colors and frosted a small cake to resemble a Magic card, as well.  No pictures of those--they didn't last long enough.

Last night we invited all of our smallest homeschool group over for games, pancakes, and cake.  One family took us up on the offer, and we had an evening full of music and gaming.  We'll really have to do that again soon.  At one time, we had two fiddles, a cello, and a banjo out...

I have decided that this weekend I'm not allowed to worry about anything.  Fretting and wringing my hands is such a habit, I think the only way to stop is to give myself periodic breaks, and slowly make them longer and longer.  I caught the woodchuck sitting in the newly planted pea row?  Can't worry about it.  Elise hasn't done her homework or cleaned her room?  Can't worry about it.  See how easy that is so far?

Our friends with chickens are out of town this weekend, so we get to pick eggs tonight.  I bet we get enough for Albin to make the turkey cheese oven egg roll--yum!  I've been getting chicken books out of the library, and dreaming of coops this week, so it will be nice to visit some real live clucks.

today

Today in my free time I: bought several good books at 60% off, had a cup of tea at the Sow's Ear and knit two rows on the alpaca baby shawl, browsed through The Simpler Family and Chick Days, practiced my banjo, planted carrots and beets in the garden, hung decorative tiles on the back fence, made spinach pie for supper, and started a list of all the things I like to see if I can ferret out my Element. 

Elise is looking grumpy in this picture from yesterday, when we were preparing the beds, but note the landry hanging in the background!  I love hanging out laundry.

We have a few crocuses in the backyard this year.  Next fall, remind me to get a bunch of bulbs.  I had big plans the fall after we visited Tasha Tudor's garden, to buy oodles from the same company she did and make rivers of flowers in my front yard.  Maybe this year.  I bought Elise some spring bulbs from the grocery store, and we're going to put them in her flower garden in back.

homework recital

the birthday boy

We celebrated Karl's birthday a few days early, as we had more time together on Saturday than we will on Monday (due to work and biology class).  We made little cheesecakes, and there was much horsing around while opening gifts.  Who knew shiny things and sunlight could be so fun?

And isn't that the best family self-portrait you've ever seen??  It was the first shot, too.