It’s been another gloomy day, cool and overcast and, now, increasingly breezy. I wore a sweater vest over a long-sleeve shirt today and felt that I didn’t dress warm enough. Rain is in the forecast for tonight and tomorrow. I just checked the garden to do a little weeding – just had to get outside for a little bit -- and all the plants look healthy. The ferns literally burst upon the backyard scene during the past week. We’ve had enough warm weather and precipitation for everything to be ahead of schedule actually. I remember some previous Mays around Mother’s Day when the leaves on the trees were still in the bud stage. When I survey the scene outside the sliding glass doors of the family room, it almost looks like summer, there’s so much “full” green.
I still have half a flat each of marigolds and begonias to plant. I debated with myself whether or not to dig some earth once I finished my weed patrol, but I couldn’t get into the mood. I won’t have a lot of time this weekend as Andy is playing in another baseball tournament – two games on Saturday and one on Sunday. We’re invited to a party – the entire family – Saturday evening. Fortunately, the majority of the planting is done.
All four of us had commitments yesterday evening. JoAnna attended the annual Wisconsin Women in Government banquet at the Frank Lloyd Wright Convention Center in Madison. She went to that event directly from work. Both boys had soccer games, Eddie’s at 5:30 in Middleton, and Andy’s in Fitchburg, a 20-minute drive from here, at 6:45. Fortunately, I was able to make arrangements to have Andy ride to and from his game with one of his teammates. Eddie’s game concluded at 6:30, which gave me enough time to buy him a Happy Meal on the drive home and then get to a library board meeting at 7:00. That meant that Eddie was home alone for an hour or so, not a new experience for him. He knows not to answer the door or the phone in that situation. I told him the approximate time that Andy would be home.
I smelled gas in the house last night and again this morning. It seemed to be coming from the furnace, which I had turned off about a week ago. This morning I called Madison Gas & Electric, and a service rep arrived within the hour. He found a hairline crack along the inlet side of the gas valve. I have no idea as to how this happened as the valve is inside the furnace. We had already decided to replace it during the summer. It has needed a major cleaning during each of the last three heating seasons. Another major expense, but we have our home equity credit line to pay for it, so we don’t have to make any special financial arrangements to have this project done.
JoAnna just returned from the health club, her first visit there in a week. Monday evening the two of us took a 40-minute walk. It seemed a little weird coming home from work after the boys had already been home for two hours, having supper together (tacos), and then JoAnna and I leaving the house after the kitchen was cleaned up.
The boys haven’t seen too much of us today,” I commented during our walk. But then it’s a refreshing change of pace for JoAnna and I to have some time together. It’s nice to be able to trust the boys on their own.
JoAnna and I can tell that the school year is coming to an end. The boys haven’t had any homework this week. Andy has two or three field trips per week between now and the last day of school, probably something to do with the 5th graders being “seniors” at Elm Lawn. Eddie’s class also has a number of outings scheduled, including a trip to the International Crane Foundation in Baraboo next Thursday. I think I might volunteer as a chaperone for that one.
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