Presenting... MISTER MULLINS!
Now that I have made a photographic appearance on my blog, it's time to bring Jeff forward as well. Yesterday was his open house at school, and it was a special treat to see him dashing off to catch the bus to work in a suit. So handsome!


Here he is with some of his kids' artwork. This is the primary form of learning/ discovery they use in thier classroom. It's really fun to see similar patterns in each child's work as they use different mediums.


The "Letter People" are also star performers in the educational adventure. Rumor has it that Jeff might be starting his own blog one of these days, talking about his delightful work with people with disabilities. His nickname with the nieces and nephews is Marchy, so some possible titles are along the lines of Marchy's Kids, or, my favorite, Marchy Madness. I can't wait.

Jeff had a long day at work yesterday, staying until mid-evening. He called and asked if we could do something to celebrate.
"Celebrate what?"
"You know, Thursday..."
I'm such a pushover. I ran to TJ's for party food before picking him up: baguette, mozarella balls, roasted veggie bruschetta, marinated artichoke hearts (my favorite) and the addictive Rittersport dark chocolate with hazelnuts. And wine. We had a party. It WAS Thursday, after all!

I am taking advantage of a day or so with a camera.... Documented here is the delight of picking flowers from our own garden spaces to bring inside-- I can't get over how fun and satisfying it is! I feel a little bit bad because I like the flower vendor at the farmer's market so much. I often go buy stuff from the same people each week, just to keep up relationship and to say hello. I love it when they expect to see me and ask where I was when I miss a Friday morning trip. So I'll probably keep buying flowers anyway... such a sucker for a friendly smile!

OK, I give in... Here is a profile, as of today, just about 8 months along. I have a couple of months left to expand.



I was laughing the other day when I found a side shot I did about 4 months ago. I looked tiny, but I remember thinking, "Wow, I look SO pregnant! I can't believe I'm going to get much bigger than that..." Looking in the mirror is always an adventure these days!


I just amended the post to add the photo I was talking about...

Checking in...
Well, I guess it's time to post again-- I know the disappointing feeling of seeing the same last entry every time you go to someone's blog. So I'll give a brief listing of local news.
1. Amelia is checking in at about three pounds, or three jars of peanut butter. We were surprised by how substantial that feels in your hands. Apparently, that is just right for 30 weeks.
2. We are going up to Portland tomorrow until Saturday, to celebrate Jeff's sister's daughter's (also called our niece) birthday. We will also spend a day with Joy and Chris and kids. This will be the last trip out of here for a little while, and we are looking forward to spending time with family.
3. The weather is really warming up, it's 82 degrees right now. I am trying to finish up the gardening tasks on my mental list before it gets too hot (and while I can still stand back up from sitting on the ground!)
4. Jeff is on spring break, and we have enjoyed being together all day working on projects and eating meals outside.
5. I have a rather nasty cold, but it did get me breakfast in bed yesterday! (More points for spring break...)
I'd like to say that I am really enjoying being able to read everyone elses' news and see pictures of what is going on in your heads, homes and yards!

So this is the Springtime Flower Post. I have been experiencing tremendous satisfaction lately with all of the flowers showing their appreciation for the time I have spent with them. We have one bed that is looking really great, making the ones I haven't gotten to yet look pretty awful. So I try not to look at those ones. Ranunculus are my favorite flower, and they have been producing way more flowers than I ever expected (especially since I expected them to die!) The nasturtium that H. Shack planted long ago have come back to life and have lots of flowers, same story on the roses-- they are gorgeous! Neighbor M and I are planning on planting lots of lavender and rosemary in the very front, right now there is just one of each. All of this rain has made the gardening easy. It is a lot of fun. Have I mentioned that our amazing landlord reimburses us for anything we spend on the yard? I keep thinking I must be dreaming!