Weekend Things

I was pleased to come home Friday to a copy of Kindred in my mailbox, with my essay "This Good Field" in its pages. I've been enjoying the gorgeous photography in this issue, and reading bits and pieces of poems and stories here and there.

We spent a lot of the weekend recovering from our vacation––trying to catch up on laundry and housework and sleep.

I had been hoping for a go-nowhere weekend, but places to go  piled––Halloween parties and soccer awards parties.

I'm afraid my inner Halloween curmudgeon is rearing its head this year. I made a conscious decision to not even think about Halloween until we got back from Colorado, and then after we got back I still didn't want to think about it. So just before they headed off to their school party on Friday night, I sent E and Z up to the dress-up box to come up with some kind of costume. And then I did the same Saturday night before we headed off to a family party. Quite possibly the same thing will happen again Thursday night before we go trick-or-treating (I figure after 28 Halloween costumes I deserve a break, don't I?).

Sunday morning, I took a little photo tour of our yard and garden.

We still have lots of gorgeous Swiss chard (and calendula I never harvested...or ever will harvest),

And carrots. 

Later I clipped all those broccoli leaves and put them in this soup (substituting veggie sausage and broth) and they were surprisingly delicious (all their strong broccoli flavor cooked out, and left behind lovely-textured greens).

Z and I went on another 5K walk.

He opted to walk along with me this time (worn out, I think, by running around with brothers and dogs at Saturday night's Halloween party).

We stopped and peeked into this graveyard on our road that I've hardly ever even noticed before.

I don't know if it's the weather, or the transition to school, or we're all tired out from last week's vacation, or I'm just being cranky, but the boys have been driving me crazy lately. They fight constantly and are being really defiant.

(I actually said this to them Saturday. "You guys are driving me crazy!" And Z said, "Then why did you have three kids?" And I said, "I don't know!" And E yelled from another room, "You love us!" It provided a moment of comic relief, but only a moment).

M had a gig Sunday afternoon...performing with his buddy at a local bar. I have to say he really knocks my socks off. I know he's my kid and all, so I'm biased, but wow.

In the midst of it all, I'm trying to squeeze in some writing time. I have a few weeks left to finish my thesis. I've revised ten stories and run them by my mentor once. He says they're "good enough" for the thesis, but has provided a ton of suggestions for revisions to get them ready for publication. While I'm happy to be a "good enough" wife, mom, housekeeper, friend, employee, blogger, etc., I'd really like to incorporate as much of the revisions as possible before turning it in. I just need a magic time and energy spell.