KateAndDally

serene satisfaction

so now we are the family who does too much...did Altar Guild this a.m., then set up my so-called "Tomato Success Kit" (self-watering variety) and assembled a 3x3 raised bed planter.  Then off to fencing, which featured the most intense series of bouts I've had in quite some time (and I'll have some lovely bruises tomorrow); and then I whizzed into the Home Depot on the off-chance they might have the replacement cushions I need for the lawn chairs; and lo and behold, they did, and for an entirely reasonable price, I might add; then home where UO said "let's go bike shopping for you right now", and we did, and we bought this and loaded it onto the bike rack...at which point I told UO I'd pay him to take the kids to a local festival TLO had been clamoring to see, and zipped back to Home Depot to get the rest of the cushions (the first was an experiment to see if it fit); upon my return I realized that: no-one's home but me and the dogs.  So I sat in the backyard, ate quiche and caesar salad and drank sauv blanc, this time from Napa.  Life is good.

Raining here...

Major thunderstorms.  It's a fencing night and UO has offered to take The Littlelest Offering with him to a bike clinic, but that would leave Offering Boy enduring the Tornados of Doom all by himself, and he'd be cranky.  So here I am with a decent Bordeaux and exotic cherry tomatoes for dinner.  Dally, the Family Dog Emeritus and Kate, our Family Dog Adjunct, lie quietly in their separate hidey-holes.  Dally hides behind the recliner in the rec room or under UO's desk; Kate, at the behest of her adoring public, reclineson a soft fuzzy blankie in her kennel.  We love her, but we can only sustain so much puppy teeth love. 

I completely agree with UO about Atrios' post on the passing of Falwell.  And Atrios is exactly right: imagine Jerry's surprise at the folks around him in Heaven.  The perfect revenge comeuppance.

The Bordeaux is soft, fruity, notes of currant and strawberries, well-balanced tannins and a smooth finish.  Also under $10.  It's French, a 60/40 Cabernet/Merlot split and it's got other blends/varietals/whatevers-but-not-imitators out there, so take a look. 

I needs must go help TLO pick out a pretty dress for tomorrow.  Good night and don't forget to floss.

Mother's Day

Well, we survived the first sleepover...

Offering Boy turns 11 at the end of the month, when we will be in Williamsburg.  So we had his birthday party here last night.  He wanted a sleepover.  Yesterday afternoon five of his friends came over with their sleeping bags and Game Boys; we ordered up lots of pizza; and UO and I physically restrained The Littlelest Offering to keep her from bugging the bejeezuz out of the boys.  Of course, she was also needy and grumpy, and required a lot of attention and laps to sit on; and then we had a mother of all thunderstorms, which scared her to death because, since the Kansas storm, she knows that thunderstorms can beget tornadoes.  So when she insisted that she sleep in our bed, we said yes.  Which we picked out when I was pregnant with her, and chose because it was wide enough for the two of us and a baby.  TLO is not a baby anymore.

The wonderful boys were very wired and very loud.  OB and two others made it through the night without sleep; two others crashed.  The three of us, we happy few, slept on and off.  Mostly off.  At 4 a.m. the boys came upstairs and began to do loud things on the computer in the kids' room, so I said "someone needs to go in there and tell them to knock it off," at which point TLO swung her legs out of bed and said, "I'LL go."

(I made UO go.)

Anyway, the party was a success.  Everyone went home happy, and OB had the birthday he wanted. 

It was a very non-Mother's Day Mother's Day.  The boys left, UO went for a bike ride; OB (still wired on Diet Coke and AHDH) descended to the rec room to watch TV; TLO hunkered down in my room watching my tv; and I sat outside in the backyard with the dogs reading a really good mystery I'd picked up at CVS.  Then it was time to go get ready for fencing.

Did I tell you I was a fencer?  Not a very good one; unrated, I've only been doing this since September.  But it's a hell of an aerobic workout.  Today one of my clubmates who is also a photographer had asked some of us to come in so her photog club could get some shots of us in action on the strip.  As I was getting ready to go, TLO asked if she could come along... so I said yes.   On the way to the club, I received this:    

And I was well-pleased.

TLO says she wants to learn how to fence.  I'm not so sure but I offer these images for your enjoyment.

And this one, which I call "Hey, Sailor!"

Topping it off, I discovered a lovely little wine shop, where I picked up a shiraz from Hope Vineyards in western Australia.  $21/bottle, more expensive than I like, but yummy just the same.