being five...or four, or six

two squirrels i once knew

Okay, tonight Kirsten and Heidi were here together by coincidence. Heidi ran with her dog, all the way from her house a mile away. She does this for exercise, I guess, and to tire out the puppy. Kirsten drove. She lives further away.

So we were trying to talk, but the TV in the family room was so insanely loud! I yelled, "That volume cannot be over 20! Turn that TV down!"

Tim jumped up to do it, and Heidi informed me, "Mom. Of course it's loud. The Simpsons are about to go over a cliff."

???

Next they went over a waterfall, apparently. Later Maggie was missing, taken by a bear, but he didn't eat her--he adopted her.

Okay then. KEEP THE VOLUME UNDER 20.


Julia had a lot to tell us--about how she slammed her own finger in the car door at the fabric store. I've never heard of anyone slamming their own finger before. We had to sit in the parking lot a minute until it quit hurting so much, and bought Spree candies from a machine inside the door to help the pain. She made a pouch of the front of her shirt to carry them around.

And today she got to ride in the FRONT SEAT of the van with Dad and he shut off the air bag because it wasn't his own van, it's a rental van because Dad's van is getting worked on, and she saw a bird, and Sophia G invited her to her birthday party. No wait it's Sophia H. Not G. Sophia H. has long dark brown hair and Sophia G. you can tell has short blonde hair.

And this piece of purple Hello Kitty fabric I bought her is to make pajama bottoms or else a nightgown, but not until she's done using it for a blanket...

And could I go to the store and get bagels so she could have a bagel for breakfast tomorrow, please, please, please, please, and did I know Kari threw Tim's toothbrush out into the HALLWAY for no REASON??

Sigh. Well. Yes, I did hear that about the toothbrush, and I think it's unnecessarily hostile.

She nodded.

Heidi laughed, "Gosh, she's annoying."

Nah, I don't know about that. Mostly she's just five, just like Heidi and Kirsten both were a long time ago. Anybody remember those girls?

I do.


this is the two of them sitting in my grandparents' bedroom on thanksgiving. i sewed those blouses and pinafores. heidi said hers felt like the lead blanket at the dentist, which cracked me up, but i just wanted her to be warm.

Kirsten snickered, "If you GO to the STORE to buy bagels for that little diva..."

speaking of divas...i really did love having them for girls

No, no, no. Not tonight. Next time I go I will.

Then she interrupted again to tell us something urgent about another TV show.

Sigh. Ei-yi-yi.

that doll's name was "heavy," because she was full of beans and very heavy.

And Kari made lemonade. It was that concentrate where you pour in the sauce and then add 3 cans of water. Well, first she tried to measure the water in a Pyrex measuring cup--no, no, use the can, full cans of water.

"Oh, oh, I get it."

But she had the pitcher on the cupboard far from the sink and around, and carefully carried each can a pretty long way. I suggested moving the pitcher to the sink. She said, "No, no, I got it."

Then she went to get ice, and came back from the freezer with the ice in her shirt like Julia did earlier at the fabric store with her candy. As she plucked the ice cubes off her shirt and threw them in the pitcher, Kirsten covered her eyes.

I understand. I'm sure it's a pretty clean shirt though.

It's all good, the end of a very quiet Tuesday. Time for a glass of lemonade. love, Val