Glad

Glad is a funny word. It's not quite as happy as the word "happy". It makes me think of that white-haired Glad Man, selling garbage bags. It implies a sense of equal parts joy and relief.

So, I am glad to see the tail end of May. It has been a lovely month, but it's been awhile since I've been this busy. Mother's Day, two of my children's birthday parties, a visit from a longtime, faraway friend, trying to get the garden in, a baby shower. Do you ever look back over the month's calendar and marvel that you survived? Not only survived, but managed to do it all? If you managed even just some of it with a smile on your face, good on you! So, tomorrow I will wish a Happy Birthday to my dear friend Maureen at Twig and Toadstool, and look forward to a wonderful, crafty celebration with some marvellous women tomorrow night

And fun and full as it was, I bid a glad farewell to May.

Here are some of the highlights of the past weekend:

My beautiful, brilliant, and compassionate friend Gillian Jerome was on a poetry reading tour of Ontario and agreed to stop by our little local library to promote her book, Red Nest. We have been friends for 20 years, and don't see each other as often as we'd like, but when we do manage a visit, it's like it always is with good, old friends: like we just saw each other yesterday. It was so lovely to spend an evening discussing poetry, language, literacy, and the arts in general.

Last week's heat wave brought on the simultaneous blooming of dozens of clematis...this climbing plant holds a place of honour in the garden, and there are so many flowers, I don't even mind that Violet picks at least one a day!

Our school had a fundraiser on Friday. This photo of Margot just cracks me up; the slide was maybe 5 feet long but the perspective of the pic and the look on her face suggest that it is much more daunting!

Saturday was a day for errands: groceries, co-op for duck and chicken feed, return books and DVDs to the library (and alas, pay my fines), drop off Jude's swimming registration...this impressive list is even more impressive when you consider the fact that all three of my kids are still in car seats of one kind or another. When they started begging for a visit to the park, my mind wanted to say "No", as I just wanted to get everything done. But, my heart told them, "Yes"; we picked up some picnic-like food while we grocery shopped, and they had a long play. It was a good reminder to me to always consider the kids when I have a to-do list a mile long in my head.

With the busy-ness of this past month, I'll admit, I forgot about the shower I was supposed to attend today, until yesterday. And by now you'll know that running to Walmart for a generic baby gift was not an option. I found this pattern on Ravelry for a sweet little cardigan called "Baby Sophisticate". After the kids went to bed, I pulled a knitting all-nighter. I finished the second sleeve and the collar this morning, and gave it as a gift this afternoon! I'm exhausted, but very satisfied with the results of my night's labour. It's the first top-down sweater I've made, and I see more in my future. Those faint-of-heart knitting friends of mine (you know who you are)...you could do this! And I'll show you how!

Check out tomorrow's post to find out what else I made this past weekend, for my Twig and Toadstool friend's birthday!