Swine Flu

It visited us!

Madeleine had it the worst of anyone, which is why she ended up in the doctor's office. John, Lydia and Clare were no worse off than if they'd had the seasonal flu. No one else caught it (so far? yet? ever?).

The first night Madeleine was sick, I do admit to being worried and playing over the worst of scenarios in my mind. I felt better after seeing the doctor, as then we had our instructions for knowing when to be concerned about Madeleine and/or the rest of the family. And she reinforced the best method of treatment: to get plenty of fluids and lots of rest. That we were already doing!

So, even though not everyone in the family has had it, I refuse to get stirred up by the media's panic. The doctor was quite calm about the diagnosis, the treatment and the prognosis. She went to medical school; I'm guessing the local news anchor and local newspaper editor did not. Yes, my sympathies do go out to those with underlying conditions which would cause complications. I do not minimize their plight. But, for anyone out there who is worried, do take comfort from the fact that I meet more people every day who have had it and lived to tell.

And I won't worry about this whole thing until I seem the same panic in the eyes of my doctor that one sees in the local television news crew. . . . ;-)

Garden Updates

It's been a while. Here are some garden photos.

This is the butterfly garden, which attracts not only butterflies, but also bees and birds. The finches have the most fun in this garden. The garden is looking a bit tired in this photo, but a number of the flowers have rebloomed one more time before the fall. Behind the fence, where it's all dirt, the neighbors just had sod put down. So, it's one big stretch of green now.

This sunflower is from another part of the garden. Another favorite with the bees and the finches.

This next photo was very hard to get. A monarch was flitting from flower to flower, but flew away whenever I got close with the camera. These flowers are Mexican sunflowers and they brought not only butterflies and bees to our garden, but also hummingbirds. The hummingbirds were a delight to watch. Once, we were able to see one perch on a branch of morning glory (climbing up the wall behind the sunflowers, but not visible in the photos). That was the first time I've ever seen one sitting still!

Alas, we lost most of this part of the garden in a severe thunderstorm, almost two weeks ago:

All the sunflowers, all the Mexican sunflower, all the cosmos came down in the storm. The tomatoes survived and the morning glory survived. One lonely Mexican sunflower is staked up with the tomatoes and one droopy sunflower is resting against the deck. We saw a hummingbird the day after the storm, but never again. I'm not sure if they are migrating, or if they've just given up on our garden!

The last few days have been acting more like the end of September, rather than the beginning of September. The cool weather is nice, but I hope we still get lots more tomatoes before the end of their growing season. Our tomatoes have been such a treat!

Emily's Big Day!

Somebody is officially a high schooler now!



From the reception (because it wouldn't be a blog post by Colleen without mention of food):

A group photo:

My Confirmation

Yes, I was Confirmed last week. The ceremony was very nice, and it was a good day.

Today, I played with water guns (with Maddy, John, Lydia, and Clare), and we also went in the sprinkler. My hair got extremely wet!

Some New Photos

I posted a few new photos on the Photo page. These include some pictures from the day of Emily's Confirmation (congratulations, Emily!) and some pictures from our family picnic/walk at the Transfiguration Center near Troy, Ohio.

Catching Up: Easter

Happy Easter!

Here are the children, in their Easter finery:



John received his First Communion at the Easter Vigil.

Easter day was lovely. We went for a walk in the woods and it wasn't too muddy.

I'll resist the urge to talk about what we ate. Surely, you will all be convinced that food is all I think about! Just one food story, I promise!

The special treat in the Easter baskets was British candy. Steve and I purchased the sweets from a local British food importer -- the sweet that was each person's favorite while we were living there. Not that Lydia remembered; not that Clare lived there.

Here's the joke from Lydia's Buttons package:

Q: Why did the Button cross the road?

A: He wanted to see his flat mate!

Not a joke I would have appreciated, if I hadn't been exposed to British culture!

Lovely Day

It is a glorious spring day today. I did some weeding in the garden and was pleased to see all sorts of our perennials, beginning to wake up for the season. The next two days are meant to be rainy, then some sun and warmth. Perfect for the garden. I have a few photos, eventually to be posted.

But, for now, here are some photos, snapped by Madeleine!

Last spring, Steve bought a baby swing for Clare. She liked it the first time and hated it ever after. This spring, we gave it another try; she still hated it. So, Steve put back the swinging bar that came with the swingset.

As you can see, she loves this! And never stops hanging from it.





Madeleine felt the need to capture these moments, too:

Lydia took her turn on the swing and Clare wasn't happy.

And when Clare fought back, Lydia wasn't happy, either!