quite satisfying actually

I woke this morning when JoJo jumped onto the bed before 6:00, curled herself onto my hip, and growled when I moved out from under her.

I rolled out of bed several minutes later and realized that I would not be spending the day with one of my favorite little girls on her 6th birthday. Frowny face.

Figured out just moments later that today would not be a day spent with friends either. Boo.

But then I realized the weather was pretty much perfect. Sunny, warm, bit of a breeze.

A perfect day to start some laundry and then head out to the gardens for the long neglected task of cleanup. Raking the beds, cutting back the perennials with the new loppers Jack bought, and after a while, watching as Jack pruned the pine tree and the spruce tree so the sidewalk would be once again available for walkers.

Before I knew it, it was time to head over to see Sarah for a perm and haircut, and then time to see the ladies at Mimi's for a pedicure. And because I was pampering myself, I also picked up a Mexican pizza at Taco Bell and ate it all up. Yum.

I returned home to find Jack and Jr still pruning and also raking. So much raking to be done around here.

The breeze picked up, turning into a real wind that laughed at us, swirling the debris into the air as we tried to rake it into nice tidy piles. But we won. We shoveled and tossed the needles and clippings into the back of the trailer for delivery to the recycling part of the landfill where it can all become mulch for someone's garden.

The newly curly hair, the hot pink toenails, and the satisfaction of seeing tips of new growth emerging from the soil. Missed seeing the birthday girl. Missed hanging with friends. Missed hockey and pizza night with Stu and girls. But still. Pretty much a good day.

bright spots

There's work to be done in these here gardens. It must be spring because I'm feeling ready to get at it.

waiting in traffic

Got on the freeway tonight after school. Immediately realized traffic was stopped. More stopped than usual through the construction zone that is more than half of my school commute.

Blah.

But it was a beautiful day.

And I didn't have anyplace specific to be.

So I drove. Five miles per hour in the slow lane. Until I passed the big suburban that had stalled in the middle lane. Stopped at an odd angle, obviously, the woman driving it had tried to get it off to the side of the road, but there is no side of the road there, and I suspect no one would let her over as she coasted to a stop. Poor dear.

Picked up the pace a bit after that. Up to ten miles per hour. Still in the slow lane. Until I passed the emergency vehicles and tow truck and clean up crew--and the car that had been on fire. Whoa. Bad day for that dude.

Picked up the pace again. Fifteen miles per hour through that part of the construction where we drop from four down to three lanes. Stop. Go. Stop. Go. Merging traffic into the slow lane. Hey wait, is that guy behind me Dale Earnhardt Jr? Looks like him. Where are they racing this weekend? Oh, wait. Can't be him. He's driving a Honda Civic. No way Jr's driving a Honda. Or a stinkin' Ford.

Nice day for a slow drive today.

multiple choice question

So. Which of the following best explains why I am having such a hard time remembering stuff in my classes right now:

a. I'm just too old to remember stuff anymore.
b. Freshly back from spring break and not in remembering mode (and apparently can't be bothered to include a subject noun--is that a real grammar phrase?--in this option)
c. Less than four weeks until graduation (again, gaaa--not even a complete sentence)
d. My brain is too full after all these years of (1) life, and (2) school, and it can only remember important stuff like (1) keep breathing and keep heart beating, and (2) the faces of those I love.
e. I haven't read any pages in my texts this semester. Which is apparently the way most, if not all, of my fellow classmates approach school, so why not, right? Dude.

probably the last post about the spring break trip

Jr and I laughed and talked and eased our way to and from California.

Likely the trip went as well as it did because of the play list he put together on his iPOD--all of his favorite artists, shuffled, that played for all 13 hours there and at least 10 of the hours coming back. (Adele, Florence & the Machine, Pink, Regina Spector, Robin, and a whole bunch more that I can't remember but expect he'll identify in the comments below.) There were only a couple of repeats--mostly the ones I requested so I could sing them a second time. [Little boxes on the hillside, little boxes made of ticky-tacky...]

And if that weren't enough, he also downloaded podcasts of This American Life, which is my favorite hour on the radio each week even though I rarely hear it because I don't usually have the radio on on the weekends, so we listened to it as we drove through the dark, snowing, blowing storm between Wendover and Tooele. Those podcasts are probably the thing that got us through nightmare. That and the new tires.

Also, Jr honked his horn all the way through the Carlin tunnel that I-80 goes through just before Elko, because I told him it's the law. Or, maybe it would just be fun. And we laughed out loud all the way through it and he realized it was highly exhilarating, and if it isn't required by the law, maybe, just maybe it should be.

I'm glad he suggested we go and I'm glad we decided to go and I'm really glad we have such good times together. [gentle fist/knuckle bump inserted here.]

things i want to remember about that trip to california

This is our trip back through the Sierra Nevada mountains. We thought it was intense, driving through snow and fog on slippery roads with police directing people to either go ahead or stop to put on chains or turn around. Several hours later though, it seemed like nothing compared to the hour drive just this side of Wendover when the snow and wind began and was so furious that we could only see the lines on the road and maybe five feet in front of the car. Driving in the dark in a snowstorm is way more scary that driving in a daytime/fog/snowstorm.

All in all, Jr and I had a great little spring break. So many good times to remember--I'll remember these:

1. Enjoying hours and hours with my sweet, patient girl.
2. Watching Jr enjoy parktime and oceantime and drivingtime with Jessie's girls. How many uncles do this and have fun?
3. Cailin's extreme need to impress on us all how very much she likes going to the park to feed the ducks. Seeing her earnest face looking up at us after overhearing me mention to Jessie that we could go to the park to feed the ducks, loudly exclaiming PAAARKKK FEEEEED DUCKSSS, LLLLLLLLLLLOVE PAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRK, FEEEEEEEED DUCKSSSSS...only wish I'd had my camera handy.
4. Janey's frequent use of the words, "Got it?" Apparently she's heard her mom use that phrase (go find some socks and get your shoes and put them on, got it?) and so she says it. Often. Adorable. (Gramma, let's watch Dora, got it? or Let's play on the swings now, got it? or I'll have the green pancakes, got it?) Jr said he thought he'd heard it 100 times during our trip to San Francisco. But seriously. It's completely adorable.
5. This one is somewhat bittersweet, but, well, Breanne is growing up and it seems that when you are six, you might prefer to sit and play and chat with your uncle instead of just sitting on your gramma's lap while she strokes your hair and hugs you tight. I'd been told this might happen, and really, I'm okay with it, at least the growing up part, but dang, again, something I didn't see coming that I should have sensed and maybe prepared for, as if I knew how to do that. But then just when I think I'll be okay with it all, she slides onto my lap or rushes up and wraps her arms around my neck and gives me a tight squeeze and I realize she is still my granddarling, but just needs to be herself and oh boy am I very much glad to see her become her own person. I'm good with that.

and then today

Jessie has totally obliged me for the past few days.

She did it again today--shared a mexican pizza with me from Taco Bell and then drove us north over bridges, up hills and down hills.

Yes, it was a lot of driving, but also a lot of great sites and much fun.