Spring is here?

OK, here we go, back to our "normal" state again.

Easter is behind us.

Spring has sprung (finally).

We had a fabulous time having my beautiful boy here over Easter.

As usual, he watched a movie on the "long drive" to grandma's house (my car has everything).

When we got here on Saturday, we set about making cinnamon buns for his Mom.  He is remarkably comfortable (and eager to help) in the kitchen, fairly adept at measuring precisely and especially good at breaking eggs.  Once all the ingredients were placed in the bread maker and I told him how long it would be to the next step, he went off to amuse himself and kept checking back to see if it was time to tend to those buns yet.  He delighted in the rolling of the dough and then was intrigued when I showed him how to cut the rolls with the thread; he immediately took over that task and did a stellar job.

Then of course the constant question from both him and his grandfather became, "When can we have a cinnamon bun?"

Dinner that evening was a culinary delight for John.  He prepared a lavish meal for the two of them:  froglegs and scallops (yucko!);  I had chicken.  There was also rice and broccoli and salad (which MBB had also helped prepare).  When I asked John why he was going to such fuss (he laid out an incredible spread!), he said "because it was very special having the monster here."  For dessert, they finally got that cinnamon roll for which they had been salivating.

I prepared MBB's "room" (my sanctuary) for him to hunker down for the night and he crawled into bed with his ever-present book, the television playing, and try as I might, I couldn't outlast him.  So I said my goodnights and instructed him to turn out the light ten minutes hence.  When I checked in on him some 30 minutes later, the light was out.  He is such a responsible young man.

The next morning, I was up at my usual 5:00am and made the coffee.  John brought me my newspaper at about 5:30am and I returned to bed to read, waiting for signs of life from MBB.  Some time around 6:15am, I heard John talking to him so I hollered for him to come see me.  Turns out he had been up since about 5:15am, reading.  He "didn't want to bother" me.  Silly boy!

He wasn't in a hurry for breakfast because "sometimes on weekends he doesn't have breakfast until later," so we took our time starting our day.  But John wanted to go to the gun club so eventually we had to get moving.

When we got to the dining room, we discovered that the Easter Bunny had left a treat for each of us.  There was an empty six-pack egg carton at MBB's place, suggesting that he should find six eggs.  So he went on a hunt and found his goodies (he doesn't actually believe in the Easter Bunny but he played along nicely).  And he didn't even attempt to eat any of that chocolate until after he'd had breakfast (who raised this child?).

Once John left, we dismantled his bed and returned my sanctuary to its normal state and he packed his stuff together so that he'd be ready when it was time to go.  His Mom called around 10:00am and we arranged to meet at the half-way point at 11:00am.

Again, on the return trip, he watched a movie (the only time that VES is used is when MBB is a passenger).

I got back here from the drop-off at about 11:45am and set about doing some spring cleaning that I've been wanting to tackle (but I'm pacing myself).

I really do wish I didn't have this pacing thing hanging over me because there are certain things I'd like to do and I'd like to just go at it, the way I used to be able to.  But I have to keep stopping, and resting, and waiting for energy before I can continue.  Everything takes so much longer than should be necessary.

Late yesterday afternoon, while John was out, I managed to put the canopy on the swing set (usually that's a job that we did together) so when he saw that it was ready, he thought we should have our pre-dinner drinks on the deck.  Watching the sun set through the trees from that spot reminds us of how lucky we are to live where we live.  Since we were out there, I got a hankering for cleaning the deck.  Once I picked up the broom, John got into the act and before long the deck was looking pretty good (it's not finished yet but it's sure a lot better than it was!).  Perhaps we'll get it completed today.

Then we'll tackle the porch.

With my need to pace myself, spring cleaning might be done by the time summer gets here.