Just this past week, all the trees have fully leafed out and the serviceberries are blooming and the gardens are taking off. Spring has sproinged. I’ve been picking lots of asparagus, daffodils and tulips:
Anna’s house-buying preparations continue and wow, is there a lot to keep track of. Mortgage brokers, insurance brokers, house inspectors, septic inspectors, appraisers, lawyers, real estate agents – emailing people and attending appointments has been almost a full-time job for her for more than a week now. It has completely cured me of any desire to move. What a hassle.
Buying a house has also been instructive for her (and me and our immediate family) when it comes to what we all thought were reasonably good relationships. There’s nothing like taking a big, scary step to show you which people in your life are supportive and excited for you and which people can only criticize or, almost worse, can’t be bothered to say a thing. It will never fail to amaze me how certain people who are more than old enough to know better do not in fact know better.
On a less infuriating note, it was a pretty good week for wildlife:
While I’m always watching the trees, Charlotte spotted this handsome devil in the grass:
Evie was a capable assistant in the garden on Friday afternoon, shredding weeds for the compost and breaking down old corn stalks and trying to eat bumblebees and barking at birds and following along behind me to remove little twigs I inserted to help identify where I’d sown seeds.
Sunday was Mother’s Day and we had a nice lunch here with the kids and my mother. I spent the afternoon on the couch with my feet up, watching the ball game and taking no responsibility for meal plans and it was great.
With so much to discuss in the evenings, I still haven’t been reading or watching as much as usual, but that’s okay because there will be more than enough time for that all too soon. In the few minutes before bed each night, I’ve been enjoying Murder on the Ballarat Train by Kerry Greenwood. On Saturday and Sunday, Anna and I binged on several episodes of Stath Lets Flats, which I adore. It’s brilliant.