Lillac Dreams

The other day the wind swung around to the south and we had a very nice warm day - ok, so I am still wearing a fleece jacket, but it was the warmest day we have had so far this spring. Little Boy wanted to lay out on the veranda and smell the beautiful lilacs. Mmmm, such a wonderful smell! We have numerous lillac bushes (more like trees they are so tall) both purple and white. So, I asked DH to lug his little mattress out there with the blankets and pillows (and Elmo, of course) and within minutes, he was sound asleep. Me, well I sat down right next to him to keep watch and worked on my knitting.

What am I knitting you ask? Socks! My sister knit a little pair for her son and when he outgrew them - they were passed on down to my son... who just so happened to fall in love with hand knit socks. Here is a photo of my sisters pair on my bars quilt. In anycase, more hand knit socks are needed so I bought a pattern and some beautiful Regia yarn and set to work (I already had the needles - don't you love it when you already have the correct size!). Never mind the fact that I have never knit a pair of socks in my entire life! It all went pretty well until I got to making the instep and then I was totalled baffled. A quick Google search turned up a wonderful knitting video where she shows you exactly what to do and once I saw it once, it was all perfectly clear. Sorry, can't remember the exact website address, but if you need it - just Google - I am sure it will come up! Here is a photo of my 1st sock - the 2nd one is almost done now!

Oh but wait - do you all realize how very unusual it is for my son to be napping in the middle of the day? He is actually very sick and there is a story to go along with it (fortunately he is on the mend).

Little Boy and I set off last week for a little bit of much needed R&R. I LOVE driving around New Brunswick - the scenery is just so beautiful. Here are 2 photos that I snapped while driving - I just picked up my camera and pushed the button without even bothering to look at the screen and amazingly enough - they turned out pretty good. Everything is so green right now. Oh, and there is never any traffic where we go!

So there we are miles away from home and LB develops a very high fever. He is crying. He is complaining. Now you have to understand, this boy hardly ever ever crys. So, I figure it is serious and will bring him to the medical clinic nearby after giving him some Tylenol. Except that doesn't exactly work out. We take a number and wait over and hour and then they tell me that after I pre-pay the $250 for the visit then we get put into the line again to wait for a doctor. Could be over another hour. Hummm. Tylenol is kicking in and he seems to have settled down some so I decide to just get in the truck and head for home to bring him to his own doctor. Even though the tank isn't on empty, I stop and get gas before heading out. The nice thing about New Brunswick is that gas prices are regulated so they are the same everywhere unless you live in a very rural area in which case the gas station is allowed to charge a few cents extra per litre for transportation. Umm - I live in the very rural area catagory so we pay a few extra cents. I was happy to pay $1.33 a litre for gas while away (there are 4 litres per gallon). Happy being a relative term if you consider paying almost $100 for gas a happy experience! Then again - I like to drive a good sized truck, and no, I am not the least bit interested in getting a smaller car. I like my truck.

Anyway - I call DH and tell him to please call our doctor and tell him that we are on the way. Oh, and Little Boy has a high fever and says his neck really hurts. Well, an hour after I drive past the big hospital DH gets in touch with me and tells me - our doctor says to head back to the big hospital because it is possible LB has meningitis (which it wasn't thankfully!). Not familar with the city I follow the H signs and arrive at a smallish hospital and after they look LB over they decide to send him over to the big hospital. I ask for directions and they tell me not to worry about it, they called me a cab, they don't want me to get lost on my way. I'll tell you - I was sooo worried and everyone being extra nice to me just made me worry even more! But when all was said and done... high fever from an ear infection and strained neck from this cold that just won't go away (sneeze, sneeze, sneeze and these pre-schoolers have such tiny necks for their bubble heads, plus he generally hurts all over from fever). MUCH too late to make it home by the time he is released, so we got a hotel for the night and headed home the next morning. Phew, so much for going away for R&R - it was all very stressful and I was happy to get back home with my sick little guy. And that story would explain why he is napping away having Lillac Dreams in the middle of the day!

Oh but wait - there is even more to this story. After all that driving, with a very sick child - right before I drove into my own driveway I ran over a nail. I got out of the truck and all I could hear was the air rushing out of the tire. Quick -DH jumped in and moved the truck up back where the land is level and sometime this coming week we will get around to getting that tire off and fixed. Now, no one likes a flat tire I am sure, but of all the best places to get a flat, it has to be in your very own driveway!!! Blessings all around.

And all that fresh air and extra napping must be doing him some good because yesterday we actually made up a batch of cupcakes (appetite is returning) AND washed the windows and sills - at least the 1st step. When windows are really caked with dust/dirt/pollen/salt spray - the best thing to do is to first go over them with a sponge or soft brush and warm water before you get down to the shiny clean window washing part. It is good to see him start to get a little bit of energy back again. And yes, I often use housework as a form of entertainment - might as well get some work done while having fun, right?

Let's hope he is back to being his busy little self in no time flat! Here is a photo of him right before he got sick- don't you love his wader boots? Soooo cute!!!