Random

It was a whirlwind week here, which means that I am really behind on blogging.  Here are some noteworthy little things to read about:

• After yet another cold, rainy week, the weather this weekend was beautiful and amazing, which meant that we tried to be outside enjoying the sunshine and sixty five degrees as much as we possibly could in the midst of all the activities that were taking place in our family.   There was a gaggle of kids on our end of the street running back and forth between yards, having a splendidly wild time.  
• My husband the tree pruner went crazy this weekend.  He loves pruning trees.  I just can’t get on board.  I KNOW pruning trees is good for them, but I just can’t handle watching it.  I also can’t calmly give up control when I see him wandering around with various saws. I get a little screechy.   Most of the tree pruning happened while I was singing the Brahms Requiem on Saturday.
• Various circumstances led us to the fact that we needed to do a deep clean in the girls’ room on Friday.  Dr. Peds and I worked ALL day, getting into every crevice.  We removed 5 bags of trash and sent 7 bags and two boxes to the thrift store while the girls were at school.  We didn’t finish fixing and cleaning until bedtime.  It was actually pretty exhausting.  Thankfully we were working together, which kept us both a little more cheerful through all the wonderful treasures that we found, (like a lunch box with an uneaten school lunch from January).  I have somehow raised hoarders.
• YaYa came to see the Brahms Requiem on Saturday night.  Despite her insistence that she despises “opera,” she picked the beautiful fifth movement, centered around an amazingly sung soprano solo as her favorite part.  When I mentioned that maybe she really didn’t hate opera after all, she retracted, saying that she probably does like operas, just not me singing opera around the house.
• The Banana came to see the Brahms Requiem on Sunday afternoon.  On the way home, she told me, “I think if I really work hard, I could someday play violin like that orchestra.”  Such a stellar attitude! Learning the violin is so, so hard, and she just has this massive perseverance.  When we are practicing every day (at 5:45 a.m., mind you) I have to stop and fix something with her bow like every five notes, it seems.   While it is really frustrating, obnoxiously frustrating, so frustrating that I personally probably would have given up long ago, she just takes a deep breath, gives me a quick scowl sometimes, and keeps going.  And going.  Her progress every week amazes me.
• Mr. Trouble on Feet loves being outside when it isn’t raining.  He zooms around on scooters and bikes, and is especially delighted that the sandbox is no longer frozen.