kissed by sunshine

Ah, a beautiful 72 degree day in central Illinois in the beginning of March yesterday. What a blessing! We spent the day outside, working and playing, kissed by sunshine and cranking out the Vitamin D. Here are Kaleigh with her neighborhood friend, Marco, hauling firewood in the new firewood stacker we acquired. A few hours later, Kaleigh was in t-shirt, skirt, and bare feet, complaining how hot she was. We saw many Vs of geese flying over to the northwest.

First cleaned up the firewood and bark left over from our hydraulic log splitting day in November, in preparation for moving the wind-prone shed to a more sheltered spot. But Marco just wouldn't stop! That boy can work! He hauled wood and bark for the better part of five hours, and stacked up this log rack with split wood 4 and a half feet high. I felt bad that I only had a dollar in my wallet to give him, but I think he felt a need to be needed and appreciated. And that he received in abundance!

Kaleigh got into the unstoppable act by sweeping the sidewalk around the porch, and helping Marco in between rope swing tricks. Don sharpened his saw and cut some more elm, to the encouragement of the neighbor in whose driveway it sits. I hung out some laundry, including some pillows that got rather gross by being stuffed in unsuitable places during a bout of Pillow Pirates. (We really need to do some spring cleaning!) Then, I smoothed out the sheet-mulched bed we prepared last fall and sprinkled on the greens seeds. I put the mini-greenhouse frame in place, but left the cover off until the rain and snow cease. We had thunderstorms last night, cold chilly wetness today, and snow is predicted for tomorrow. Yes, March in Illinois, hold the tomatoes (tornadoes) please.

Today was a cold and drizzly day, and I couldn't find my hat. We spent most of the morning at the Y, where Kaleigh had a culture club class featuring Eskimos. I walked the track, and I tell you, there's nothing like the jumping fiddles of bluegrass to keep me moving almost as fast as the joggers. Then swimming class followed by an hour of free swimming and playing. Then we traveled northeast many blocks to the library on foot (what were we thinking?), and spent an hour coloring and reading. I am reading the Grandma's attic series to Kaleigh, and although it's more religious than she'd probably like, it's not disgustingly though. I was surprised to read a chapter about the Gypsies, about the stereotypes held by this small farming community, and how this family was Christian, and said God loved the Gypsies as much as the Christians, and who were they to judge or badmouth? It was cool. It's great to find real Christians as they are such a rare breed.

After the bus home, we found our friends waiting for us, Jed and Amanda, and two of the three kids. Kaleigh played with her friend Kimmy, dress-up and singing, and pretend out the wazoo, while we grownups hung out with the baby Rahlee who is recovering from bronchiolitis. It was fun. The rest of the day was spent with Don or I reading to Kaleigh, who could barely keep her stiff body awake after many hours of play and activity.

It's a beautiful evening in Zomba.

carey