Having recently gone through a growth spurt, Cait was in need of some new clothes. So off to the Mall we went. We always concentrate our efforts in this one particular store, because we always have good luck finding cloths that fit and that Cait will actually wear.
The tradition is to make our way around each department — shoes, pants, tops, etc.– until, at the very end, we come to the fancy dress section. This is where the fun begins.
You see, Cait has always loved playing dress-up and still does. So the first time we came upon the glittering racks of evening wear, she thought she’d died and gone to heaven. When it didn’t occur to her that there was anything wrong with “just trying on the dresses,” I squashed my initial impulse to say no and instead said, “Sure, why not?” She had a blast, and I must admit so did I. Ever since, we’ve always saved time for the gowns and party dresses.
The rules are that she’s allowed to try on any dress that catches her fancy — no matter how gaudy or age-inappropriate. And since there will be no purchase, I keep all editorial comments to myself. Thus, great fun is had by all.
She’d gone through several dresses, when she pulled out a shimmery black and metallic green number. It was interesting trying to get her into it because there was no zipper, but lots of laces. So we pushed and we pulled and we tugged. And she lost her footing and wound up tumbling backward on the dressing room floor.
With her hair tussled over her face, the dress up around her neck, and her legs and arms in the air, she held the pose and blurted, “Dead Dung Beetle!”
I’ll be darned if that’s not exactly what she looked like! We both cracked up laughing so hard that it took a few minutes to compose ourselves.
All the while, my daughter was still trying to wrestle herself out of this ridiculous dress. Once she finally emerged, she sighed, looked at me with a grin and said, “Stick THAT in your Happy Box!”
Indeed, that was eminently worthy of the Happy Box, and got immediately and safely tucked inside.
Other items that have made it into my Happy Box this week:
Because the animals have been rising earlier and earlier and some like to eat right away while others prefer to wait until the sun comes up, I’ve had to devise a way to keep track. Hence the White Board on the dog food closet. This way, on the off chance that one of us can manage to get a little more shut-eye, the other will know who’s going to legitimately be looking for breakfast and who’s going to try to trick us into a 2nd feeding.
So, the sign– Wink has been off his food this past week because he hasn’t been feeling well; he’s contracted Lyme Disease. (I’ll post my current regiment on Lyme treatment next week.) I hadn’t had any luck trying to get him to eat this morning. So seeing this sign left by Andrew was definitely cause for celebration.
Cait never got around to planting her Sunflowers this year, so I’d reconciled myself to going without the special cheer they bring. But I’d also mentioned previously about getting to live vicariously through my “gifts and guests” this growing season. Looks like a few stray seeds made it to the ground last year and lo and behold…! Mother Nature — ain’t she a beautiful thing.
And speaking of Mother Nature… Our pond is an ongoing source of delight for us nature buffs around here. Every year, along with the regulars (our Great Blue Heron, King Fishers, wild turkeys, sundry other birds, muskrats, deer, coyotes, foxes, et.al.) it continues to attract an ever-widening circle of wild life. Its most recent tenants are this little duck family.
Oh yeah, and last but never least! The garlic harvest is done! : )
AND it looks like I’m going to have a bumper crop of grapes this year!
What have you placed in your Happy Box this week?
What’s perfect about this year is that the moon will have set before the meteors come out to play from around 10 p.m. through 3 a.m., so the sky should be nice and dark for optimal viewing. There could be as many as 100 to 150 meteors an hour!
But we northern gardeners have to learn early on to accept the vagaries of unpredictable weather. So I’ve been taking full advantage of the unseasonable warmth and have gotten started laying down a new garden bed.
