This weekend feels like a gift - none of us will get in a car for over 48 hours (a truly Sabbath weekend!). I'm treasuring the hours at home together. For a number of reasons (not the least of which is some lingering health concerns that are to date unresolved), I feel like I'm not only needing this time here at home focused on our family life together but also savoring it all the way to my core! We kicked off the weekend last evening with a fun family night.
On our way home from an only very moderately successful trip into town, Jason and I chuckled about the fact that even when we try to be a "normal" family we fail miserably. You see the girls have these "free Friday wrist bands" from the library's summer reading program and last evening they could each play a round of mini-golf at Mulligan's for free. Most of our Fridays coming up are already spoken for and this was at the top of Kali's list anyway. So off we set shortly after 7 p.m. On our way to the car, I felt the first drop of rain and the feeling in the air "was not good" for a family set out to go mini-golfing! By the time we were on our way down 11 South it was raining. Plan B. We would just fork over the money and go bowling. Jason went in, confirmed it was open to the public and came out to fetch us. I was proud of my foresight when grabbing socks for those of us with sandals on (just in case). We soon learned from the staff person at the desk that the only option available to us was Cosmic bowling, which was $10/person for a 2 hour block. That started at 8 and it was about 7:40 p.m. We asked if we could just play one regular game. No, because we wouldn't be done by 8. We asked if just the girls could play a regular game. No, the manager had said no one on the lanes before 8.
We deliberated for all of 5 seconds before heading out. Plan C. We stopped at Sharp Shopper right before closing, picked up some special snacks and headed home. We set up our own duck pin bowling (complete with duck) and had a grand time, ending the family evening with a game of Upwords! The girls were amazingly flexible, not complaining at all when what they had been looking forward to doing was no longer possible, and in the end I think we had way more fun than we would have at either Plan A or B.
Here was one of the creative uses we have found for our duck pins. Make sure to have the volume turned up to catch Alida's belly laugh! Kali tried her hardest to get the duckling to follow her down the "lane" and knock down the "pins" but the best she got was the duckling nibbling on one and knocking it over that way.
Since we are on the subject of the duckling, I'll share two additional videos. Please know that I'm using restraint (there are a lot more where these came from)! It's kind of like a new baby in the household. Everything it does (except its constant peeping when it hears Kali's voice and it is not with her) is pretty cute.
It now can move quite quickly but can't yet keep up with Kali on our slippery floors. But it sure tries!!
This little video gives a glimpse into what was a common scene in our back kitchen for a day or two earlier this week. The girls would play next to the duckling's basin so they could play in peace (or I could cook in peace). And the duckling got to try out Legos too.
It really loves nothing more than to be snuggled up with Kali while she is reading. It seems to like to find its way behind her hair on the back of her neck (under its mama's feathers I guess). I'm not sure how the transition will go with it moving to its own pen outdoors but we have a little while before we have to cross that bridge. In the meantime, we are all enjoying its presence indoors. Kali takes it out for little adventures - to eat ants on the front walk or down to the little pond Jason is digging to splash around. Once Alida wakes and this downpour stops, I have a feeling the girls will head out with the duckling to the fire ring for a swim as it is completely flooded several inches of water.
Even though the weather prediction this morning looked less like rain than when I checked yesterday, it seems like we are getting rain when they call for a small chance of showers. It was saying "cloudy" for today when I checked after lunch and it sure is cloudy right now but it is also dumping rain down at a very fast clip. We got an inch last night and I'm guessing we have already gotten more than that in the time I've been typing. Jason just waddled into the house completely drenched. He sheepishly informed me that he had forgotten that the goats were tethered out. Apparently he found Oreo standing with his ears dripping water looking pretty pathetic and Cookie Dough huddled by the wall of the composting chicken coop as far out of the rain as he could get and NOT on his leash. We have no idea how he managed that but he wasn't going anywhere very fast. They were very glad to get back to their little refurbished washing machine house.
Anyway, due to the possible rain predictions, I headed out first thing with Kali and some bowls and baskets to do some harvesting. It's one of my favorite morning activities right now. The air is cool and the bugs are still moving slowly. This photo is what I got on my first round out with Alida. The tea is now steeping on the stove (we have been going through about 2 gallons of mint tea daily). The oregano has been made into pesto and deemed quite edible at lunch. The parsley was also made into pesto and got the same affirmation. The lettuce and kale are washed and in the fridge waiting for us to be able to fit more green stuff into our bellies. The last of the garlic scapes were used promptly with some snow peas for a saute to go with our breakfast (which was closer to brunch by the time we got around to it). I stringed the sugar snap peas and we are snacking on them whenever the urge hits us. I've frozen gallons of snow peas and sugar snap peas for the first time ever!
Before lunch, the girls and I walked up the hill to deliver some peas to our neighbors and on the way were reminded of all the fruit coming ripe! We ate black raspberries as we meandered up the hill and upon our return I got containers for all three of us. The girls went up and down the driveway and got a nice little mess of black raspberries. I checked out our red raspberry patch and in about 10 minutes had filled my quart container, and wasn't nearly done. That, along with the first blueberries we picked next door yesterday, made for a wonderful lunchtime treat! While we were picking berries, Jason picked the hull peas (probably the last major picking before we pull the vines and plant green beans), which are waiting for me to shell and freeze. I think I'll move to that next, as there is really nothing more enjoyable than shelling peas during a rainstorm.
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