After 'The Visit'

This morning's coffee is a mild Timothy's Breakfast Blend. The coffee maker doesn't like it and tells me I need to de-scale. I've started to sweeten my morning coffee with one spoon of white sugar - it really lends a lovely flavour - and one spoon of coconut sugar. 

I think I'm starting to recover from the Weekend of Visits. It might be helpful if I just talk about wee bits at a time. First up: a positive! My mom has recently been to New Orleans. While there she popped into a yarn shop, 'The Quarter Stitch', and bought a ball of Malabrigo Rios that she gave to me when she was here this weekend. It's lovely. 

It's meant to be a baby sweater. I've agreed to knit it. We've chosen the pattern 'Sweet Poppy' and if this silly blogger app was better, I'd link for you. My brother and his wife - the last of our sibling group to procreate and seen at the footer of my blog in a very old picture - are expecting a baby in September. The baby shower is in a couple of weekends. I think I'm supposed to have this knit for the shower. Not sure. So I figure I'll just knit it up quickly and count the 200m toward my woeful attempts at the Stash Dash. 

It's an interesting construction. Add the tiniest size makes it go quickly. The little neck edge is in the top, middle of the knitted piece so far. The sleeves use a seamless construction and have a cable running down the outside of them. I'm hoping the pattern is generous in stating the required yardage. I have one skein of yarn to work with - approx. 210 yards - and the smallest size calls for 200 yards. I'm just about finished the sleeve increases and I am looking forward to seeing what the pattern does next. In typical Mrs. A fashion, I have not read ahead...

My dogs are not having a good time. Leash training was going well until I hurt my shoulder quite badly. It's feeling much better now, with three weeks rest. I'm afraid to begin walking the two beasts together again as they are so hard to manage. The alternative is to walk them separately. Of course, that would be fine, but the one left at home is an absolute chore to keep settled and the time required means I do nothing else but walk dogs. We've had some success with having the two dogs off leash with us in the pool enclosure. I think part of the problem is that they have no place to play here. They used to play for hours at the other house. But here, even being off leash in the fenced-in pool area, it's more like patrolling rather than playing. As the pool warms, we're hoping to get them both swimming which is great mental and physical exercise for them. As I sort this out, I have a dog which has taken up barking at people when they come in the door, the little one is picking up bad habits, the big one is showing increasingly jealous behavior and insists on getting into the garbage as soon as we turn our backs. But what do they do as we go about our day? 

They sloth. Oh yes...the baby gate. The gate is for the dogs. 

It's been installed to seperate our upstairs main floor and the downstairs. The idea is to have the ability to have the dogs out of their crates, having access to their food and water, but seperate from company or open doors if necessary. That's the idea in theory. In practice, I will have two pissed off huskies sitting on the steps, shoving their heads under the gate, howling bloody murder that they can't chase the toddlers or careen off into the sunset. 

On today's agenda is a bit of school work. The Girl is working on an Anatomy and Physiology (A&P) assignment. I have her latest test to mark. The Boy is still working through Algebra I. He's almost done. We're spending much of our together learning time watching short documentaries on social issues, deconstructing them for structure and practicing writing essays. I'm pushing hard with discussion questions, expanding ideas, backing up points, relevant research, drawing conclusions. We're finishing a Romeo and Juliet Literature Study - they both really like Shakespeare...if I've done anything 'right', I put this at the top of the list - and there's a few bits and bobs to clear off the shelf before the summer courses start that I need to get to. 

This is our last 'at home' day this week. Tomorrow is car maintenance, library meeting, end of year Homeschooler bowling gathering and part-time job for The Girl. Friday is GPS History challenge, Father's Day prep and youth group. 

♥Mrs. A.