Recovering Nicely

Well, not Birch. Birch's voice is just about shot now that he's entered week four of his cold. Keats and I are just about over it completely with just a smidge of nose issues left. Thursday night nearly killed me with the baby screaming and constant feeding, but Friday night was better. Keats slept the whole night through to 5:30 a.m. and it was glorious (except that my body had apparently become used to the night before and I still woke up every hour, but fell back asleep somewhat easily each time). The truly crazy part was that he stayed awake just to eat then fell back asleep until 7:30, was awake for an hour, then back to sleep until 11:00! Whoa, there, Keats. We figure he must have been sleeping off the end of his cold because ever since he's barely showing any signs of illness.

Sadly, one of our shubunkin goldfish, Akiyo, died Saturday afternoon after only a day of illness. His death spurred us into action on the outdoor water container garden, though, and we went out in search of pond liner, plants, and mosquito fish. Came back with nothing as apparently (according to Summerwinds Nursery guy who was pretty annoying, actually), "Water garden season is in the spring." Uh, thanks Dude. We'll take a look at Yamagami's, just in case they're more helpful (because they usually are), but then we'll take a look online. Any suggestions for reputable (and ideally, sustainable) online pond supply stores? Birch and I will bury Akiyo today in the backyard. (Strangely, my sister's fish, Boris, died recently, too, all the way in England. Perhaps the two knew each other in a past life and wanted to be together again. Oh, fish...)

Among our many errands yesterday, we bought our Christmas tree! It's a beautiful bright orange and yellow Shishigashira Japanese Maple that is just stunning. Birch has a bonsai Japanese Maple and I've been wanting a larger one for a long time. So, on our search for pond supplies, we came across our beauty, rationalized the price, and just barely stuffed it into our somewhat lacking in storage space Toyota Corolla. With the nursery nearly completely cleared out of extraneous stuff, the tree with have a temporary home there with decorations, a skirt, and a few presents. Once it's all set up, expect pictures. :) Oh, and I practiced serious restraint in only buying one ornament from Cost Plus. Thank you, thank you. (Our tree will most likely lose its leaves by Christmas Eve, but our last two trees had nothing to begin with, so we're fine with that.)

With a holiday party to go to (hurray for party season!), we snagged some alcohol for the white elephant alcohol exchange, some cans for the "Guess Who Brought That" game (all the cans then went to charity), and some goodies from the Farmer's Market for our contribution to the serious cornucopia displayed on our friends' counter! What a feast! Egg rolls, lasagna, garlic bread, all kinds of chicken wings, salad, cookies, homemade sangria, and a fridge full of beer. Whoa. Since Birch and I brought two bottles for the white elephant exchange, we both were able to participate. However, we somehow ended up with two huge bottles of whiskey... So, Birch now has two free bottles of whiskey all to himself. Grrrrreeeeaaaat. My plan of action will most likely involve inviting over our baby group buddies and rely heavily on the daddy's helping Birch will his booty... or... you know what I mean.

So, today is relaxation day. We'll bury Akiyo, plant some fennel, go out briefly for hay and Puffs, take Olive for a big, long walk to the park to play frisbee, and drink lots and lots of hot water with honey and lemon (and Birch will add apple cider vinegar 'cause he's hardcore like that).

How has your weekend been?