Rainy Day off

At this point I feel like I am transported to some weird planet where the sun shines but rarely. It is June 19th. Last night it was something like 52 degrees here. When we were driving this a.m. we noticed green houses had covered their geraniums. This part of the NE is usually mid 70's this time of year. And in case you wondered, usually the sun shines pretty regularly. I have gotten so sun deprived that I celebrate when it comes out for 15 or 20 minutes.

Anyone else ever read Ray Bradbury? He wrote a short story about a planet where only one day every certain number of years would the sun shine. And a girl gets locked in the closet by her brothers that day and can't get out to play in the sun. I feel like that girl. Where is the dang sun? It has been warmer in Winnapeg Canada than it is in my part of the state. This is not normal folks.

And so I woke to more rain this a.m. and a forecast of predominantly rain for the next 5 days. I have decided I will not watch the weather any longer. It is too depressive. And it might inspire me to drive across the country and take out my vengeance on some part of the country that has hogged all the sun due to this crazy weather pattern!

On the positive side, we had a nice brunch at Friendlys. There is this one particular Friendlys that K and the kids usually visit on Tuesdays after one of the music classes. They are "regulars" there and I have been told by all of them how wonderful the food is. Wonderful is not an adjective that readily springs to mind when I think Friendlys but I have to say, they are right.

I had an omelet that was one of those that was not over cooked, not undercooked and totally delish. (funny side note is that I didn't need a menu; the kids had all ready informed me as to all the options I had available to me) Their usual waitress was filling in for an absent asst mgr but came over to greet us and made sure to see the kids before we left as well. They are all obviously very fond of one another; the kids had hugs for her, she had balloons for them, it was cool.

At home, due to the rain I felt sluggish. I still feel that way. I can go full speed for hours and hours when the sun is shining. In the rain, I feel like a nap every 20 minutes. One does not nap with 4 children! One drinks tea. One drinks coffee.

The boys and i played a cool word card game called Quiddler that Kirsty got the last time she and my mom went to their favorite toy store. It is a good game for an early reader like KC. He partnered with me and we could work on letter sounds. He is a bit weak in that area, primarily because he has amassed such a number of sight words that he has memorized that he has not had to sound out as much as he might otherwise. It is a skill that will help him progress though and it is a lot of fun to play the game to boot.

We went to Barnes and Noble this afternoon too. This is a field trip event to my family. We sit and read books. We play with the toys there. Eventually we buy an obscene amount of books, and then stop by the cafe to buy a snack to eat at home. I can't go there often. I have no moderation and very little inclination to develop moderation about books. I have loved reading ever since I can remember and even though I have very little time to read "big people" books at this point in my life, I love sharing my literary loves with my children. Rob got the last book in the Pendragon series he has been reading. It is an enormous book. Should keep him busy 3 or 4 days! I got Lissa a cute book that will help me work with her on colors. Everything is yellow lately. I am trying to expand her color awareness. KC wanted another school book! LOL I told him not till we finish the one we presently have. He settled for a seseme street art sticker book and having me read a number of books to him while we were there. I got Chet a Star Trek book. He loves them and is a member of the paper back swap club on line so he can hopefully trade it in for something else when he is done. I also got hte gift card for my FIL which is why I went there in the first place. He may be facing shoulder surgery in the coming months, but he too loves books and will I am sure find a way to turn the pages.

So despite the rain the day has been good. And it looks like we may have a small window of brief clearing after supper which will allow us to head to the park.