Erka+Days

Glimpses of my everyday prompt me to write it down some days.

I have taken a huge break from doing so after online journaling for ten years plus. 1997-2007. What stopped me from writing….? my website just dissapeared in the midst of three family deaths and I never noticed until it was too late… The computer was stolen, knitting, spinning, unpleasant readership and ten years plus, pushed me over the edge. I have most of my entries, though I lost the last ones. The ones I wrote about three familly deaths and a wedding. I cried so much while writing them that I am sad that they are gone. Stains of my life erased.

Yesterday I saw icicles in the small stairway window through stained glass art and I felt a huge write it down surge.

There is a whole lot of news to expound on. Moo carried and birthed a baby boy born December 2, 2008. I am a Nonna. Erkanonna to be precise. I have just returned from a three week adventure in Italy trying out my Nonnahood. Papa and La Mamma are adjusting and loving their boy. Me, I am still speechless. Pop is aglow with GrandPoppyhood. Moo is getting along well speaking Italian, living Italian.

Neen is boasting another 4.0 and about to leave on an abroad program south of the border. Neen is excited to speak Spanish and think Spanish and breath Spanish and perhaps dream Spanish. He is leaving with instructions from me to pay close attention to recipes, and ingredients. His host family lists the simple fact that they eat together as a family. Need I say more? Neen has been writing proposals for summer internships at Berkeley and Wisconsin and Chicago. Send him good acceptance vibes please.

Miss Beth sent us a painting of Alex. I have not cried yet but, give me some time. It will hit me one day as I come around the corner and see Daddy looking down at me. We placed him on the wall above Hugh. She sent my Ma three small paintings of Alex framed. I do not have the heart to ask about a mary painting. But I think the honor must be done.

I did not plant garlic this fall. I will regret that in mid summer. I think I have enough from this past summers harvest to last that long. Our roof is leaking. Our chimney is cleaned, but we have no firewood. Both Saab and Saturn are still running, knock wood. Gray Gray and Stripe-o are still miffed at us being gone so long and have taken to stalking the mice they can hear in the wall near the book case. Buddy the dog is still alive but barely, he still begs for vegetable scraps, so he can’t be too far gone. Can he?

I am knitting a sweater out of the last of the Zoo llama wool blend, a top down raglan cardigan. Spinning up a pound of fiber from Spinners Hill, Wool-Mohair-Silk-Alpaca, in brown with some red and orange bursts.
The sun is out bright as can be this afternoon, green glows through my geranium leaves.

A look back at January of 1998 MotherDays….

We are in the middle of spastic winter…13 degrees one day, and then 55 the next , el nino.

John was walking around in a daze this morning getting ready for the first day of school after a lengthy winter holiday. He was looking for the hair brush. We are a family of four and never have more than one brush to our collective names. Meghan bless her soul calls out “here it is, I was sleeping with it.” go figure……

GoodLuck is bestowed to those that gathered my Kwanzaa font offering, NiaShani. NiaShani went out to folks all over the world. We are off to bigger and better things, back to work, back to school, back to procrastination and normal life endurances.

aging parents are a bain this day to my existance…somebody slap me.

Things that made the Mojo List. Malls and mall parking. Not making things by hand anymore. Not taking time. not having a desk all my own. not playing music. not loosing weight. not exercising. being crabby. not being able to put a book down and play with my kids. being selfish. using up all my energy at work and coming home with none. being empty. frustrated. freaked.

John ran in and told me that he chopped the celery just like I do, I use nice juicy french knifes. I believe the kid has the makings of top chef.. He was walking through the kitchen while I was talking to gramma mary about who was gonna cook what for dinner that evening and John hollared “I’ll make the salad” Ya gotta love that. He is also these days into making scrambled eggs for himself in the morning. This past sunday he figured out that you can add vegetables to the scramble.

I just wrote my old friend lisa doughty a long letter, she has readjusted her name to Alyiah…i guess i’ll think of her now as alyiahlisa, had to trerain an old dog new tricks.

Meghan has returned from Katrina’s birthday sleep over at wheels inn, in ontario she is still asleep (it is 1:30pm) and at 3:30p she will cross the street to lizzies 13th birthday sleep over. I wonder how long they will stay up tonight.

e have settled on a new home on a ridge overlooking 4.77 acres of woods, wetlands and various humps and bumps. We will be the third owners of a home built in 1945.

Meghan is now awake and when i asked if i could make her and eggy she said ” no i want smashed potatoes.” So, i made the spoiled chaild of the universe smashed potatos.

we got some snow!

Those gals stayed up til 7:00 am at lizzies 13th birthday sleepover.

we had a Bucko dinner last night. Crab and fried chicken caesar salad and potatoe salad. yum.

Atiba and his friend Ode came to visit. We hung out and got to know Ode some.

we have had a nuthatch vsit the yard. all month.

We got some snow action here in the motor city. Winter without snow in Michigan is rather lame. We are watching some backyard art happen this winter. John John has the picnic table propped up at one end on a sawhorse with a ladder up the back and a piece of plywood at the front end completing the sledding hill. The sledders patiently scoop fresh snow on the hill and then slide all afternoon. Then they hang out under the hill in the club house. The dog used to get up on top of the picnic table to prominently display his need to come in the house. Now he has to climb up the hill, which he finally figured out how to do. So he stands on the hill with his paws on the top of the ladder and looks in.

Amen