The heart of a man

Earlier this spring, when there was still frost in the ground and too early to do any planting, MK asked her dad for help making some raised beds.  Being the good father that he is he went up to the barn and selcted timbers the proper length and brought them down to the shop in preparation for building the beds.  There they stood, leaning against the wall in the lean to waiting for the weather to be suitable for planting. 

A couple of weeks ago on a Saturday afternoon Doug went into the lean to for the timbers in order to build the beds for his daughter.  On the top of one he spied this nest and in it was a clutch of robins eggs.  Other men would have simply relocated the nest and gone on with their project but that is not in the heart of my man. 

Off to the barn he went to find other lumber suitable for the job since the first batch was currently occupied providing a home for the soon to be born baby birds.  Momma robin sits regally on her nest protecting her young knowing that the human that saw them as eggs will not allow her babies to be threatened.

That is the heart of my man.

The Simple Womans Daybook 7 April 2012

Outside my window...the sun is shining and it looks like today will shape up to be another beautiful spring day.  The forecast is for temperatures in the 70's with lots of sun.  A good day to hang all the laundry on the lines since the dryer is still broken.  Too bad the dishes couldn't be taken care of in the same way.

I am thinking...that though today is supposed to be a beautiful day, one that should by rights, be enjoyed outside, I will have to discipline myself and stay inside finishing projects and cleaning the house that was sorely neglected over the weekend.

I am thankful...however for the ability to do all that I need to do and for the weekend that I just enjoyed that left my home so much in disarray.

From the kitchen....some cooking must go on as well as the cleaning.  There are not enough leftovers for me to fall back on since cooking was something that was also neglected yesterday.

I am wearing...sweats and a tee shirt.

I am creating...magnificent creations of beauty to be worn by young children.

I am going...to be staying home as much as possible all week.  Lots of sewing, yard work, reading, writing, and general staying at home to be accomplished this week.

I am reading...David Copperfield by Charles Dickens.  I am in a mood to revisit some childhood favorites.

I am hoping...to get some pictures took and those pictures loaded on my Etsy page this week.

I am hearing...Layn and Melissa upstairs doing morning chores, Matthew in the other room doing his usual morning things, and the washer valiantly working on its first load of the day.

Around the house....you really don't want to know.  My sewing room looks like a cross between a disaster area and a storage space.  The kitchen looks like a bomb went off.  The living room looks like there was a sleep over last night and I don't even want to describe the bathrooms.

One of my favorite things....listening to stories with Layn.

A few plans for the rest of the week...get all of the lawns mowed and trimmed before the next time it rains, try to get all the sewing projects in the basket done and posted on my Etsy page, and do a little job searching online.

Here is a picture thought that I am sharing with you...

Planting corn is serious business so Layn has taken it upon himself to be the foreman of the whole job.

Murphy's law or just the realities of life?

     Some may call it Murphy's law but I happen to know that it is only the realities of life.  Things happen in three's around here.  When you take into account the fact that we live in an old barn of a farmhouse and that everything here is older than dirt (ok, not older than dirt since that is my husband's age but close) you can bet that Murphy and reality are going to be in competition for supremacy.
     The first is my laptop.  It hasn't died completely yet it is being dramatic and making that slow slide into oblivion.  I think high end electronics like a computer prefer to go in a more theatrical way than say a toaster or can opener.  They are much more mundane.
     Next it was the dishwasher.  When that breaks we tend to bury our heads in the proverbial sand and ignore the symptoms until it is unavoidable.  But alas the dishwasher is totally disabled and the kit that was ordered to fix it seems to be the wrong one so it will sit awhile longer until it can be fixed.  That is one broken appliance that cuts me to the heart when it breaks. 
     Last night it was the dryer.  The breakdown of a one of the laundry appliances is tantamount to a tragedy in this house.  That is like a death in the family.  I feel the need to dress in black and wear a veil over my face.  My poor husband has been in the laundry room for a couple of hours now trying to figure out why it won't turn on.  My hand, even now, hovers over the phone ready to call the repairman and have him come to fix it or pronounce it dead.  Matthew has the .22 loaded and ready in case we have to haul it out and put it out of our misery. 
     Aged appliances and an even older house make for one of two possible scenarios.  The inhabitants can either develop a good sense of humor and excellent all around fixing skills or they can go slowly mad.  It is really hard to tell which of those things is happening around here.

Finally, some warm weather!

Yesterday the weather turned warm again.  Our high got to be in the upper 70's with the humidity around 78%.  When Ian got home from work and Melissa got home from shopping it was a good time to go out and finish setting the posts for the horse arena.  Layn, as usual was game to help.

Out came the wagon and he and his mom went out to pick up stones to pound around the posts so that they would be solid in the ground.  Then they came back and the fun began. Layn's job was to drop the stones into the holes around the posts so that Ian could pound them down with the bar.  Then Alex would shovel dirt in. They would repeat this process until the holes were full and the posts were solid in the ground.

As you can see Layn taks his part of the job very seriously.  (The white puddle is where Ian spilled his beer! Never leave a beer on top of a wiggly post)

The only problem with this whole process that Layn could find was waiting around for the others to perform their jobs.  They were far too slow for his liking.

Too slow and that mud puddle was way too compelling.  Finally the call of the mud became too irresistable.  When everyone's backs were turned....

boy and mud were joined!

The rest, as they say is history.

There is however nothing that a long soak and a good scrubbing cannot cure.  Once again our little boy is restored to his sweet smelling cleanness.

My latest creative spurt

Both dresses are size 5 sundresses.  Made from the same pattern Easy Stitch 5370.  The fabric is seersucker from the Tutti Frutti collection. Anyone interested in purchasing one or both should comment here with their email.  Price each: $45.