Friday, May 20, 2011

The Weather

It's always one of those cliche conversations but today it just feels so pervasive. It was muggy and overcast all day yesterday and today it's humid, sprinkly and completely gray except for the Alaska Range and Denali which was in full view as I drove down the Steese Highway this morning. The sky above the mountains was perfectly pale blue with tiny fluffy white clouds and it looked like our section of the sky was just painted with gray. Hopefully some of that weather moves up here.

The hills went green about two days ago and so even with the rain it's not that bad. Having that light, bright green everywhere makes this city so much more beautiful. Some irises I transplanted last year (against their will) have decided to make the best of it and have not only come back but seem to be increasing. I will finish planting my small garden this week probably; I usually do a box of lettuce for sandwiches and salads and a box of carrots, which are snacked on through the summer, and a box of wildflowers for my personal enjoyment. You don't expect to find anything pretty tucked away on the side of the house, so I like the concept of having a Secret Garden of sorts. I'm rather new at gardening but there is something so great about weeding so maybe I do have the knack for it.

I have the urge to drive directly to the store today and buy rice krispies, come home and make a giant pan of treats along with a huge pot of goulash. And gorge myself on carbs whilst hunkered under a cozy blanket with something brainless like A Knight's Tale to watch. That exact formula for happiness brings me back to our first apartment and what we did on rainy days. As a new bride I didn't cook veggies all that often and had about three recipes under my belt so even goulash I had to learn from my husband. I think I could make eggs, enchiladas, spaghetti, carrot cake, and pumpkin pie. Not a large repertoire, but he didn't criticize and now I can cook. I'm not gourmet or anything but most nights I make something homemade and eight years later it seems easy. Honey if you're reading this Happy 8-Year Anniversary this week, still think I'm the most fortunate woman in the world to have you and marrying you was one of the best decisions I ever made.

To rainy days! And sentimentality and melancholy thoughts and the color green. Oh, and a low fire season, sorry to everybody who makes money off of fire, but please Dear Lord could we please have a smoke-free summer?

I leave you with the song that's been stuck in my head for a couple of weeks:

Sumer is y-cumen in;
lhude sing, cucu!
Groweth sede and bloweth mede
and spring'th the wode nu!

Sing, cucu!
Awe bleteth ofter lomb,
low'th ofter calve cu;
bullock sterteth, bucke verteth;
murie sing, cucu!

Cucu, cucu,
well singest thu, cucu;
nae swik thu naver nu.

Tuesday, May 17, 2011

Bando

Well, we got a dog. His name is Bando. We were thinking about Bandit, but Mia kept saying "Bandaid", and I didn't want a dog named band aid. He's now 11 weeks old and a husky-beagle/lab mix. He's pretty cute and very puppyish. Meaning he pees in the house and teethes on everything including us. He's definitely a lot more work than I bargained for, but I'm not giving up and in three years or so he will be a great family dog. Hopefully my training will be so excellent that he will learn even faster than that and do his business outside like a civilized dog and stop terrorizing small children with his puppy exuberance.

Everyone including my husband keeps telling me that he's not a baby. Apparently they think I'm confused; I actually do feel a little confused and googled "puppy postpartum" in the days just after we brought him home. It really is strange how having him has brought back fresh all the memories of how unsettling it was to be a first-time mom. You're sure you're going to screw it up, the only horror is the anticipation of how. You have no sleep and everything becomes a huge deal. And you love your charge fiercely even though they seem to eliminate with impossible frequency. The best days are when I don't worry so much about him ending up with some incurable behavior problem. Or when I repeat what is supposed to be my new mantra: "He's a DOG." There have been a lot of awesome moments with him and he seems to be learning some things, so things are looking up. Change can be really good.




I was tucking Mia into bed the other night and we were discussing Bando. She affirmed that she liked him, that she loved him, and that he was her friend. I said,"He makes a lot of mistakes, doesn't he." And she said, "Yeah, but that's ok, we'll take care of him." I think that moment alone makes it all worth it.