exhausted already...

How is it that I've only been awake an hour and I am ready to crawl back in bed.  I'm worn out already. Our sweet Belle is full of fire and vinegar today.  She has been pushing to have her own way and do what she wants for the past hour.  Almost snagged herself a bird and thought she was big enough to chase down a few deer. She has been on full diva mode since she woke up.  Dad took her toy and threw it back in the house so we could walk, she ran back and grabbed it. Then gave  him the stink eye when he picked it up where she dropped it and took it back in.   She pounced poor Beau non-stop and even managed to over turn the water bowl.  Whew!

Now she is lying all sweet and calm on the sofa acting like she is the queen of the world.  Oops, spoke too soon, she was actually lying in wait to pounce Beau yet again.

She is definitely a stinker. It's going to be a long year to eighteen months while she outgrows her teenage years. And I think she just slid headlong into them. Truth is, it will be just like with our kids and it will fly by in a flash and we will wonder where it went.  I look at their baby pictures and cannot believe those sweet tiny babies are my big babies now. 

Thank goodness that at this point my baby Beau is proving to be very laid back and relaxed.  He is not in the least bit interested in her shenanigans. He's Mr. Mellow.  I am so thankful. I love her high spirits, but Beau is more my spirit animal.  Life is swirling all around him and he's just sitting there taking it in and being him.  

Belle is watching TV with Dad.

All of this has happened in an hour.  I feel it is going to be a long day, oh well... I wouldn't trade them for the world I am so blessed. 

So... how did everyone celebrate Ostara?  Did you get a bit of gardening in (if you are in the warmer areas of the hemisphere)? Maybe started plants inside?  Were you able to walk in the sunshine? Did you take full advantage of the longer daylight?  

We sure did. We skipped a winery in favor of going to lunch with our oldest and sitting out on the patio having margaritas and visiting.  It was absolutely wonderful, we don't usually get time alone with just her. We finally have the chance to really get to know her, to learn about the parts of her life that we missed.

Later in the day we took the babies walking in the neighborhood.  We saw a bunch of our favorite neighbors and had the chance to chat and catch up.  Making plans for the warmer months, there is definitely going to be wine and patios/back decks involved. Several neighbors even mowed their lawns already.  Wow, did I feel like a slacker, because I haven't even cleaned up all the leaves that have blown in since the last time I tidied it in January. Oh well, we'd decided it was a perfect day for kicking back and relaxing and that is absolutely what we did. 

Hubs is having his team over for lunch today.  So I have a bit of cleaning up to do, having two boisterous puppies means that is a never ending cycle.  I also need to get a dessert made, Hubs has a crazy sweet tooth and he loves to have something sweet to end a meal. 

It looks like the rain is going to hold off, so after everyone leaves I will get my doors finished and maybe even tidy the front beds a bit.  We'll see what mother nature decides to do.  It sure would be a blessing. 

I know I mentioned the work I was going to do on the featherweight case, well it has taken a completely different direction.  That wood is unbelievably dry and brittle, it is very evident that it has been very wet and possibly dropped in its 70+ years of life.  I'm not giving up on it, but we are definitely going with a plan B for repairing it.  Removing the hardware was a bust, I have the damaged fingers to prove it, but I have been able to remove all the glue and will sand it once all of the wood glue has dried for 48 hours.  

After that all happens I am going to start applying wood conditioner to it. I think I am ultimately going to paint it, but have a few other ideas bouncing around in my head to make it stronger and possibly usable again. First I need to see if we can put some life back into the wood.  I've decided to leave the hardware attached and work around it.  It will be far more difficult than the original plan, but it's simply too old and damaged to follow that course of action. I've already talked to my sister in law and she is a-okay with whatever and not at all worried.  Thank goodness. 

Well... as much as I want to sit here in the sunshine and sip my coffee I need to get busy. I haven't taught the pups to do housework and Hubs is working, so that leaves me... 

Enjoy this wonderful day that we have been blessed with.  Find a way to do absolute good for one another and savor each moment.  They truly do go by in a flash. 

love and peace...