So this is what it must be like...

The boys are playing together outside, and I have managed to get the yogurt marinade made and onto the chicken. I have not been interrupted once. This is truly amazing, people. Is this what it’s going to be like as the boys get older? Granted, they are sawing, hammering and so forth on the deck which is being demolished tomorrow and henceforth, no tools will be allowed on the deck, and the poop talk has returned in full force. Oliver keeps saying “me I did, workin’ hard, workin’ weelwee (really) hard” while Jack keeps saying, “Mom look what Oliver did.” But they are acting as totally independent youths. AMAZING! LIBERATING!

So, my dinner plans, in their entirety!, will actually come together with this extra time. I’m about to grate and salt my zucchini so it can drain for a while. Will do the flatbreads last, after the boys are in bed. Whee!

Do y’all read the Science section of the Tuesday NYTimes? Love it! And tomorrow is Dining. Do we have sun in our future? What is happening in Libya? Japan? I gotta get current. Ok, off to grate!

Tulips, good menu

Thank goodness we had a day of sun and warmth yesterday because today it’s pouring brickbats and gray again. But yesterday was such a balm, for me and my garden. I love tulips whose buds are plump, the color showing itself finally (I always think I’ll either remember which bulbs I placed where, or mark them properly, but I don’t), and you just know that soon, you’ll have the happiest bed of flowers. The reds are always the tallest and most assertive, and isn’t that just typical. I can see a few pinks and those cool purply-black ones coming along as well though.

And, do you know Bleeding Hearts? I just love them. They seem old-fashioned yet still stylish, and mine are so healthy this year. My poor peony plant, which tries so hard despite our lack of sun, has its annual one bud coming along. And our sugar maple is just leafing out to beat sixty. It’s so beautiful, but I meet its buds with mixed feelings because once it’s leafed out, our yard gets even less sun. Nonetheless, the plants are really looking good this year. I moved all kinds of things around and each seems happy in its new home. Coral Bells, Columbines, Hydrangeas, my mom’s Irises, Astillbes and hopefully some ferns…

The deck guys start demolition tomorrow- yay! Jack has done such a fine job sawing the ballisters from the 2x4s that I’m starting to think it’s probably not real safe out there anymore. So this will be a timely start.

And, T is on his way home so I have a yummy menu planned: those freaking coriander flatbreads I’m forever harping about, yogurt-chicken kebabs and feta-zucchini fritters. Delish!

Aah, I spy the sun! Maybe the weathermen were wrong!!!

Remarkable

I am not exaggerating: for the first time ever, I have just washed my face, brushed my hair, etc, without one or both boys barging into my bathroom or wailing at its door because I’ve locked them out. This doesn’t even happen when Tom is here, much less when he’s not. They are playing, nicely, and, even more remarkable, I have not heard the word ‘poop’ once!!! Non-scatological fun by themselves? Three cheers boys!