Whew! That went well.

Sleepover is over. The boys had a blast. Literally. Sunday afternoon, L marched them out into the middle of the east field where they launched some rockets (which is something L and T enjoy together). Even though one rocket got hopelessly lost, they had a great time.

The rest of the weekend went something like this: pick up other 2 boys; much running around outside; lunch in a quasi-trough style; public pool for the afternoon; supper -- homemade pizza crusts and they topped their own; rented some movies which they watched while playing with Bionicles and assorted things until the wee hours; shuffled them off to bed; was roused too early (considering how late they'd stayed up); breakfast of more eggs than I've ever cooked in my life; much more running about outside and playing with Pokemon cards in T's tree fort; lunch of many, many, many hotdogs bbq'ed by L; afternoon of rocket launching.

I supposed it's a testament to how good their weekend was that when each boy's parents came to pick them up, there was a lot of whinging and begging to stay another night. T was so incredibly thrilled with the whole thing. Beaming would be an apt description.

Weekend sleepover

T and 2 pals are sleeping over at our house tomorrow night. Can I handle 3 boys (nearly 10, 11, and 12 years old) at the same time? I think there's a reason I only had the one kid. The thought of 3 for an overnight has me nervous.

Really, it's 2 days and a night. We'll be picking up the others boys Sat. morning. They're coming back to our house for lunch, then I'm taking them to the pool in a town about 20 minutes away for the afternoon. Then, it's back here for pizza, rented movies and games and such. Then the overnight. Sunday, they'll be here for breakfast and through lunch and their respective parents are picking them up around mid-afternoon.

I don't know what to do with Sunday. T says he's taking them to his tree-fort in the woodlot, where he has stashed a plastic box full of Pokemon cards for them to play. I hope that entertains them for a while. Maybe I will bring them their lunch to eat in the tree-fort.

T is very excited. L and I are decluttering like mad (which we only seem to do when company's coming). I hope they all have a great time, and I don't get the lamest mom award when it's over.

Swimming ... and swimming

Swimming lessons start tomorrow. T's best summer buddy arrived last week at his g-ma's (a sort-of neighbour, if you can call 6 miles away a neighbour). T's pal lives in the Big City, but usually spends a month of summer at his g-ma's. Those two boys made a fast friendship 2 summers ago -- still going strong.

They are both enrolled in the swimming lessons. And, I have been informed that there will be at least 2 sleep-overs. 1 at our place. 1 at g-ma's place. I'm quite happy for T. He and this boy connect on similar interests (Sci-fi, game design, digital film-making, Pokemon, Legos, rockets). T can't seem to find local boys with similar interests very easily. Or, if he does, they are older boys who often aren't interested in a little kid as a pal. This confuses T, who has no age restrictions on friendship. Fortunately, T's summer pal (also homeschooled, btw) has no age restrictions either -- he's a year and a half older than T.

T has always been what I would call a happy child. Few complaints and a sunny, trusting outlook on the world. To see him so extra-pleased to be running through the barely up flax crop chasing down a rocket with his summer pal... well, that brings both a smile and a tear.

Farmer's Market madness

Farmer's Market began in my nearby little town yesterday. It's been a very late, late spring and that affected everyone pretty harshly. Luckily enough for us, our greenhouse venture (our first ever was this spring) paid off, and we actually had lots of nice cherry tomatoes to offer, plus the lettuce and spring onions. We were also opening the first pick of strawberries this weekend, so had some pamphlets on that available.

People can be so bitchy.

We sold out of produce in the first half hour and were down to just my potions (some handmade soaps and lotions and oil blends). So many people were bitching at all of the vendors for not having more produce. Sorry folks, but Nature didn't play us any favours this year. As a group, we did well. Those with produce sold out completely. Those with only baking or specialty items didn't fare as well, but still did okay.

It's likely that we won't participate in every market this year. Our little market doesn't require a big membership or commitment. Basically, you're welcome when you want to come and you come when you can. L does not want to do the market alone, but with my good job, I can't always be available Fridays. I pointed out to L that T will help, but L is just NOT a salesperson, not a crowd person and definitely not a put-up-with-asshats person.

I guess we'll have to play it week by week and see how it goes.

I would wave a flag, but...

that would be so unCanadian of me. I've been officially a Canadian citizen for 5 years now, having taken my oath on Canada Day of 2004. I formally renounced my previous citizenship tout de suite thereafter.

Happy birthday, Canada, and thanks for welcoming me in like family.

New clothes and a new personal project

Went in to the big town today and shopped a bit for summer clothes. I've dropped a couple of sizes since last summer, so I needed it. Although I love my tallness, it makes shopping for the capri pants I'd like rather difficult, so it was nice to find that the shop I like now carries many of their pants styles in Talls.

After coming home and making supper (I recently figured out ciabbatta bread. We had scrumptious sandwiches for supper, with a lovely roasted red pepper relish), I made a deal with L. He's been asking me for many years to teach him to read music. Since I've been teaching T piano over the last 6 months or so, he's been an over-the-shoulder at every lesson, but it's a tough concept for him to grasp.

I told him I'd help him with reading music, if he'll return the patience and teach me guitar. I've always sort of started and stopped trying to figure it out on my own over the years. I never managed to learn anything. Here's hoping we can help each other succeed.

Hatchet meet shallow, well-marked grave

Ah, the joys of small town politics.

I do a little work for the little town near me -- a bit of consulting on development issues. Last summer, I was hired to do a feasibility study for additions to the recreation park. The outcomes weren't terribly inspiring, but then neither is the town's budget, nor its willingness to fundraise for anything that isn't a big tractor or snow removal equipment. There was a lot that could have been done, though -- if someone cared.

So, the feasibility study lay somewhere for a year doing nothing -- much like the town council. After so long, apparently they forgot they even received the study. Not one of them would admit to remembering the 2 hour long presentation of the study (complete with multiple copies, a one-sheet, and a power point presentation).

And they sent me a letter demanding I return the money I was paid because I had not done the study. WTF??!!??

So, I spent today bitching at what passes for a mayor. I was very insulted by the insulting wording of the letter, and just a bit more than livid at the accusations contained within. Luckily for me, someone does take minutes of council meetings. I knew the date of the presentation and demanded he look up the minutes. Then I went home and waited for the apology I was owed.

A couple of hours later, the town secretary called to give the weakest apology I've ever heard in my life. It consisted of "Oh, yeah. We found the minutes, and I found a copy of your study. Mayor says he hopes you're not still mad. Hope we can bury the hatchet, eh?"

Oh, sure. It's buried -- in that shallow, well-marked grave.

Hey! That looks like summer!

Finally, the warm weather has settled in, and we're so happy to bask in it. Seeding is long finished; the garden has finally got some much needed attention; the patio furniture has been hauled out, dusted off and set up. We'll be having our first al fresco supper of the season tonight.

ETA: Oh my! Was that ever nice. L made his famous burgers. He has a secret "seasoning mix" that he uses. I don't attempt to ruin the specialness of his creation by sneaking into his seasoning jar, but there is definitely some thyme going on in there that is heavenly. I also made some sweet potato fries and some crudites with a roasted red pepper dip. Dessert was T's favourite orange-orange jello (which is just orange jello with mandarin oranges in it) topped with fresh whipped cream. He like that stuff better than ice cream.

Redecorating?

I just redecorated the blog -- didn't want to, but it turned out kind of nice anyway. Now, I'm looking at redecorating the living room.

A few weeks ago, our antique (read: shabby, old) sofa let a spring loose that nearly skewered poor T. The matching chair had been hanging on by the barest of threads, too. So, we looked at the "house money fund" and decided that instead of upstairs carpeting, we would get a new sofa and a loveseat. We found something we liked and it arrived yesterday.

Now, looking around the living room, it is clear we need to redecorate a bit more. Walls need painting; a new area rug would be decent; furniture re-arrangement could be explored; a few other items could be replaced.

The problem is that I don't have a lot of extra time on my hands with summer coming -- farmer's markets to manage; U-pick to operate; swimming lessons and other activities for T. My job's workload gets busier in summer, too. Also, I'm not up to date on what's up to date in decor these days. My decor strategy the last 11 years has been to keep everything neat and clean, repair it when needed and make do with it until it wears out. That's not terribly fashionable. But, you know what? I'd really like to be a little more fashionable (not trendy) in the house. The sofa and loveseat are so nice. I'd like the rest to live up to that.

I like neat, clean lines, but not that minimalist black & chrome look. Other than that, I'm not sure what I like. Space is always an issue, too. I don't even know where to begin looking for things. I've got a couple of copies of House & Home and Cottage Life, but they're not terribly helpful (since I don't live in Toronto and have no access to the very exclusive little shops where all those great items they list are sold.)

Help?

Summer reading

Today is a slow day. T wanted something else to read and asked if we could go to the library. The library is closed on Sundays, but I have the key, so we went anyway.

T picked most of the Bunnicula books as his "summer reading." I will keep to myself what I think of Bunnicula, and let the kid read 'em all if he wants. I'm not such a book snob that I would begrudge anyone their fun reading.

I'm just happy that he's so happy.