Walking in the sun to the markets with Nell, and walking home again with tomato seeds that were sold out online, seedlings of pineapple sage, lemongrass and French tarragon, daffodils and lemon curd, which I eat standing at the fridge, scooping it out of the jar with my finger.
Planting seeds with Lu: pak choi, Hong Kong broccoli, rocket, broccoletti, poppies, lettuce (sucrine, brown romaine, cos verdi, purple oak leaf), coriander, sugar snap peas, hailstone radishes. Also planting seed potatoes (Nicola) and one of those mini-peach trees I used to be so snobbish about (peach-zee, really!)
Thinking (hoping, hoping) Lu may in fact be potty trained, wee-wise. Oh, the joy.
Baking apple and coconut muffins, cheese bics and an apple and rhubarb cake for dessert with Lu standing beside me, commenting and tasting.
Nell's first independent foray into the veggie garden.
A chicken and chutney sandwich in the backyard sun.
Reading a book - a whole book!
Cockatoos swooping down and eating the old walnuts in the tree out the back.
My pre-baby jeans fitting me again.
But also:
5 hours sleep instead of seven hours.
Bumbling about with Lucy and Jasper in the area and catching sight of an outdoor setting - the very type I've been looking for for over two years - at a garage sale down the road. Starting down, turning back to find the lost lead and then walking sloooowly with my two year old, watching people pull up and nab those tables and chairs just as we finally made it to the driveway.
Lucy on at me and on at me for a 'big bit of chicken, not those little cut bits, the big bits', on and on, when there's only the slivers, and she won't eat them anyway. On and on, with me explaining there's none until finally I yell, loud and shocking, "There's none to be had", and my child starts crying in fear of my anger.
But now a bit of West Wing and my honey, under the doona on the couch, scoffing the rest of the cake.
8 comments:
What an amazing post. Beautifully written, beautifully.
Swings and roundabouts ;)
Suse - Exactly. In fact, I was going to call the post that very thing!
Thanks Blue Milk. By the way, I just read your post re: a walk with Lauca and it sounds so familiar, starting out for a pleasant stroll and ending up a packhorse. Also, the weeing in the street.
Kris,
I needed to read this today--I was not appreciating all the moments that were passing--I was just counting them until it was bedtime. This helped my day shift into something better. I'm so happy to have found your blog--I'm loving going through your posts right now.
See sweetie--I do love you!!
And here's some extra validation:
This is lovely Kris. Beautifully written and so true.
The joys of parenthood: Ro accidentially stepped on a snail yesterday and said, "uh oh, I deaded it." It's difficult to discuss a concept such as death when you're doubled over with laughter.
Keep enjoying the small stuff :)
Thanks Janine. When things die in our house they 'go to Hobart' - the goat down the road, various chickens, Carmen and Anthony's cat and our old dog Pete all live there now. As to whether Hobart is heaven, hell or purgatory, well I guess that depends on your perspective.
LOL! It's the town of death! As Gwen Harwood said about her time there:
"It's a sinister little place, Hobart, and sometimes as I wander around my confined (how that word keeps cropping up!) orbit . . . [it] fills me with seedy terror."
That photo of Nell is really gorgeous. What a beautiful smile.
I loved your description of going for a walk with a toddler.
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