Marvelous Monday

I am starting to wonder if it's time to tell some people about this blog.  However, I'm not sure if I'm really ready for readers.  Mike is on vacation this week, and we were super productive today.  I baked four loaves of bread, as scheduled.  I almost did the regular two, but I knew that if I was going to stick with the plan, I needed to start on it today.  I'm glad I made four!  One is in the freezer, two are in the bread box, and the final loaf was fully consumed at lunch.

We did some necessary shopping--shoes and goggles for Brian.  Socks and running shorts for me.  New clothesline to replace the one we lost in the October Snowstorm.

When Mike was taking care of some of the outside chores (clearing gutters), he discovered that the roof is heaved on the north side of the house.  We had the roof replaced six years ago, so it should still be in good shape.  Mike thinks it may be from the bad snowstorm in early 2011 when so many people had problems with ice dams building up on the edge of the roofs.  The whole year was one bad weather event after another, so it could have just been the constant abuse that led to the heaved shingles.  He has to go in the attic tomorrow to make sure we haven't been taking in water.  Not fun! I'm sorry that we need to spend his vacation doing household chores, but I'm really glad I have a husband who is handy around the house and who notices the details I miss.  We have plans to get a lot of these important maintenance projects done this week.  Although it isn't rest and relaxation, it will be refreshing to know that the house is well-maintained and that the time was spent wisely.

In other news, Elizabeth and I went strawberry picking with some friends this evening.  Tomorrow will include some jam-making.  Brian and I shared information with some neighbors about the CSA Farm Share through Gardening the Community.  Then, I went (a bit late), to dance class.

In hindsight, I can hardly believe how much we packed into one day.  Tomorrow I need to spend some read-aloud time with the little boys.  We're trying to finish Little House on the Prairie, and then Tommy has requested a Magic Treehouse book about the Civil War.  I also need to work through some of Michael's work to help him work through the third quarter.  He has been particularly diligent with his work the past few weeks, so I'm confident he'll be ready for 11th Grade in the fall.

We are planning an outing for Friday--taking the children to Mystic Seaport and Mystic Aquarium.  We haven't done any trips like that in a long time, so it will be nice to get out of town and see some new sites.

I hope to have an update on the laundry room by the end of the week!