I'm going to have to stop being overwhelmed with finding something interesting to write here and just post moments.
We had a good afternoon yesterday with it snowing most of the day off and on, alternating with melting and ending with heavy flurries.
There was a 2-hour delay in school starting, and Ryan had an appointment, so we got Kate dropped off for a few minutes before she had to walk to school at 11:00. Quick in and out and a good chilly hug. It's still hard for me to send her out without following behind to see if she gets to school okay. I'm sure I'll never like it.
I can't even remember what Elise and I did all morning. The usual tidying up, herding and feeding the cats, watching the snow, her meditating and me catching up on emails and following the morning's always atrocious news.
I did a little crocheting and heard Gray come in first around 3:00 since there was no soccer practice, a bonus for me! I feel like I never see her. It's time for her band challenge to defend her first chair position, so she was immediately on the flute practicing. She does sound markedly improved since her last challenge. She says she's still nervous, but I bet the others are too.
She asked if she could practice her crocheting next, and we got things ready. It didn't go well enough to please her, especially getting used to how to hold the yarn in her left hand. We watched a few videos, and she still got frustrated, but she was pretty proud that she made a long even chain without any big loose spots.
She wants to immediately create something, and it's hard to keep her interested. We did a few single crochets after that, and she was on to other things!
She and Elise conferred over which fruity and spicy tea they wanted, and I went along with them, although I can't get to where I really like hot tea. I can drink cold unsweetened tea all day long, but give me a cup of hot tea, and I'm immediately bored. Elise spends a lot of time adding spices and fruits and making quite a ritual out of it, which helps her, and then with the meditation, she's in a good place.
Kate then came in in a whirlwind of snow and boots and scarves. She had to have some tea and conversation, and we got it straight how long they were going to stay. Emily was working in Bellevue, and there had been a small blizzard during the morning but was just lightly snowing then. I'm always glad to get her home!
Elise reminded me there were some old sewing kits in the sewing room closet I needed to get rid of, so we got out the stuffed cat one for some closure and her first sewing venture. It took them all more time than I thought necessary to pick out their cat colors and thread and much discussion, but they were finally all three actually sewing at one time! I was there for undoing knots, finding the scissors and handing out the stuffing. No one finished, but they did make some progress, and it was a sweet time of laughing and chattering.
Carly finally showed up with the pottery pieces the girls made at her birthday party last weekend and a picture of all three of them. So sweet. Katherine did an axolotl that was lovely and named him Sun. Graysen was not thrilled with hers because she had a soccer game and came in too late to finish hers. But it was fun anyway and fun to add Carly into the cat-making mix.
This picture!
A perfect example of Monday afternoon: From bottom right clockwise -
Two cups of tea. One in a Christmas cup because it got left out of the packing-up process and is still in the cup cabinet. Mine in my favorite cat cup Debby gave me 9 years ago when we moved here. A strawberry Japanese drink and chips from an earlier snack. Graysen's flute lying abandoned after less than 10 minutes of practice. Gray looking relaxed and happy. Carly popping in and being her usual sweet self. Elise taking her stitching seriously and Katherine just kind of flitting around and showing off her axolotl. Behind them all, the snow drifting down peacefully and the lamp leaning from too many cat accidents, which is the reason for the spray bottle on the window sill - not that it does much to keep them from jumping up there to view the world outside.
I love afternoons like this, even if I do get a little anxious nowadays when too much is going on around me. I never did well with chaos, and I have to talk myself into not letting it bother me. I have felt really well the past few days with fewer knee pain and all-over aches and tiredness. I don't know the reason why, but I'll take it and enjoy.
After the girls played in the park for a while and Emily picked them up, Elise and I ate a little bit for supper and watched a new series since we finished Downton Abbey Sunday night and miss it. I just subscribed to Britbox because of DA, and we found Cranford. More about that later. We watched two episodes before we got sleepy and thought it was hilarious. It was a bonus to discover Jim Carter is in it - Carson from Downton Abbey. Can't wait to get immersed in it this week.
