We’re visiting Lloyd’s family in Missouri this weekend and attending an auction for the new Lutheran high there. Since we’re gone, your job is either to tell a funny joke or come up with a caption for this picture:
Stupid Lauren
My preschoolers are studying plants and seeds right now. This year I was perfectly up front with them and said, “Mrs. Sommerer is no good at growing plants. We’re going to plant seeds today, and every other year we’ve done this they sprout…and then they die. It is up to you guys to remind me to water them.” (They are delighted now to point out my shortcomings. “You’re no good at plants, huh? Is Mr. Sommerer?” “Nope.”) I even told them about Mr. Royuk who comes to our house every summer to take care of the plants.
Anyway, I’m really putting in the effort this year. We’ve soaked seeds and opened them to see the (doomed) baby plants inside, and children have been bringing seeds, plants and flowers to look at. Today I even went to a nursery in Lincoln to get some interesting plants. Brad’s always showing me Lemon Verbena and some chocolate-smelling plant that you can rub on your hands and then want to eat your fingers. It’s too early in the season for those, but I picked up a rosemary plant and an apple mint plant.
I also bought a teeny-tiny cactus. Being a preserver of the earth’s resources, I told the checkout lady, ‘No bag for me, please”. I put in a great spot in the truck where it couldn’t tip over.
Idiot! How am I going to get that out???
Bit ‘o Culture
Did you know that the U.S. Poet Laureate (2004-06) lives in Garland, a little town about eight miles from here? I bet you didn’t. (Beth, you don’t count.)
Our little once-weekly newspaper has a little poetry section in it that Ted Kooser (Mr. Laureate to you) ‘hosts’ He picks two poems from all ’round the nation and prints them, with permission. I don’t have permission and I’m doing it anyway. There have been a couple that I regret not keeping, because now my feeble memory can’t even remember what they were about – just that they were awesome.
I’ll reprint “Catching the Moles” by Judith Kitchen:
First we tamp down the ridges that criss-cross the yard
then wait for the ground to move again.
I hold the shoe box, you, the trowel.
When I give you the signal you dig in behind
and flip forward. Out he pops into daylight,
blind velvet.
We nudge him into the box, carry him down the hill.
Four times we’ve done it. The children worry.
Have we let them all go at the very same spot?
Will they find each other? We can’t be sure ourselves,
only just beginning to learn the fragile rules of uprooting.
Some fine art!
Since we missed Easter due to Lloyd’s illness, it was nice to be able to share the Easter story daily with the preschoolers. To re-tell the story, we use Resurrection Eggs, a wonderful teaching tool that has plastic eggs wtih symbols of Easter inside – a plastic donkey, crown of thorns, a stone, etc.
My kids came up with some pretty great drawings on their own. It’s so neat to see how far they’ve come from their ‘circles with legs’ stage. Here is a sampling of their work:
Josh’s says, “Good Friday when Jesus was whapped.” Reece drew Jesus on the cross, complete with nails and crown of thorns, and Riley has the soldier throwing dice for Jesus’ clothes. Thanks, Resurrection Eggs! Thanks, Jesus!
Taxes – Check!
They’re done, with only days to spare. Way to go, Lloyd! I have no picture of it actually taking place, but Lloyd said, “Just use any ol’ picture of me sitting at the computer.” Ok, how ’bout a montage?
That’s all.  Safe travels to Amsterdam, Brad. Don’t die, and don’t have any fun, either.
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Nuthin’
I got nothing. We spent most of our day sleeping (Lloyd with the help of medication, me with the help of natural laziness).  The Ham Fairy came by during our nap, which was a nice surprise. (Friday’s Soup Fairy must have been in cahoots with her.)Â
Happy Monday. Â