suziebeezieland

hannah

She'd as soon bite you as look at you, but we love her anyway, if only for the comedic proportions of her grumpiness.

naptime

icecream + guacamole

Today I felt good again, and went a little nuts with the thrill of it.

First, I cleaned house and did laundry, big time.

Then after school, Claire and my niece and nephew and I grabbed some icecream. We visited a little and read a little, and experimented with gummy worms. 

Then Claire and I went to a plant nursery and bought a few pink flowers to put in the lonely pots of dirt on the back patio. Mostly I just wanted to be outside around nature, and the nursery seemed like a good, gentle way to ease back into it.

Then we called Bob to see if he wanted to meet close to his work for an early dinner, and he did. So we sat outside and had guacamole and fajitas and wow, the weather is great outside.

I've missed you, outside.

elevenses

To say that Bilbo's breath was taken away is no description at all. There are no words left to express his staggerment ... (JRR Tolkien, The Hobbit)

 I turned 46 last Friday, which as you may recall was 11/11/11.

My sweet husband surprised me with a Hobbit-themed "elevenses" party at 11:00 a.m. If you are not familiar with "elevenses," it is the meal that the Hobbits eat between second breakfast and luncheon. (They call it "elevensies".)

It is a brief, healing pause in the crisis of the day. :)

Hobbits prefer to eat six times a day: Breakfast, Second Breakfast, Elevensies, Luncheon, Afternoon Tea, Dinner, and Supper.

Bob had sent out funny Hobbit invitations, and gone to an English tearoom to buy some wonderful jams and drinks and sausage rolls. His mom and my mom helped him get set up, and he made scrambled eggs and cooked bangers (sausage) on the grill, and there were two types of bacon, and scones and REAL clotted cream, and he had decorated and had games for us to play ... riddles (Hobbits love riddles) and oh, it was so sweet I could hardly stand it.

Four of us there had just read The Hobbit this year, so that made it especially fun.

Long live elevenses, and Hobbits, and sweet husbands.

"'Never laugh at live dragons, Bilbo you fool!' he said to himself,
and it became a favorite saying of his later, and passed into a proverb."

"It does not do to leave a live dragon out of your calculations,
if you live near him."

"There is more in you of good than you know, child of the kindly West.
Some courage and some wisdom, blended in measure.
If more of us valued food and cheer and song above hoarded gold, it would be a merrier world.”

book character dress-up day at school

hyacinth

Our sweet Corgi, Hyacinth, died this morning.

Bob and I got her in the spring of 2000, when we lived in Virginia. Have you seen Corgi puppies before? They are all ears. 

We lived in a townhouse, with three stories, and she used to climb up to the top floor and be afraid to come down. So I would be down in the basement doing laundry, or we'd be watching t.v. down there, and we'd have to run up to the top floor to rescue this little scared puppy. My sister came out to visit and taught her how to go downstairs. Christy would put her front paws down one stair, and then her back paws, like she was a Slinky, and pretty soon, Hyacinth caught on and would fly down the stairs so fast that we were afraid she would wipe out.

Hyacinth is the sweetest pet we have ever had ... very gentle and obedient and calm and eager-to-please. And just good. Very good. 

When Hugo the Bunny often tried to eat her dog food while she was eating it herself, she took it in stride, and didn't even growl at him.

And when Violet came on the scene last year and wanted to be best friends, all the time, every second, Hyacinth took it in stride.

Well-lived, good dog Hyacinth. You were greatly loved and will be greatly missed.

xxoo

happy hallowe'en!

hold on, baby, hold on, 'cause it's closer than you think,and you're standing on the brink

in which claire takes to wearing her hallowe'en wig around the house on a regular basis

and we're all just minutes

Some of life's most exquisite little joys are found in the details of parenting, and there are these things so sweet, they can break your heart from the sweetness.

But they flicker by, and you have to slow down and pay attention. 

Because how else will you notice that Winnie-the-Pooh has pierced ears?

hannah

opening ceremonies + then breakfast at the el monte airport

This past Saturday, we went to our region's AYSO opening ceremonies.  We're especially excited this year because Claire's cousin Grace is on the team, and Bob is coaching again. They are called The Violet Incredibles. :D

Real Soccer Moms of the San Gabriel Valley: A New Reality Show.

So, hey, I don't want to give the impression that my family usually flits hither and yon to racetracks and airports for breakfast, because we do not. Breakfast is usually sitting in the kitchen with a bowl of cereal. 

But after the opening ceremonies we were all hungry, so we headed to the El Monte Airport (103 acres, 1 runway), which is a fun place to eat breakfast because you can watch the planes. The patio seating area is right next to the tarmac. (We didn't know about it, but my sister and brother-in-law told us.)

They serve yummy, homestyle Mexican food, where you feel cozy and happy and can hear your arteries slamming shut as you take the first bite, and you don't finish everything on your plate and you have to sit a spell before you leave, and you make a solemn promise to yourself that you will never eat again, because you'll always be full of pancakes, forever. 

mousie housie

first day of third grade

kitty + kit kittredge

wheeeee!!!!!!!!

Claire made a zipline for her doll. :)

pixie cut

meeting michelle d.

Something fun happened this past week! I got to meet our Michelle D. from Up North, with whom I have been corresponding for about six years.

Up North! And I got to meet her! 

{Trivia fact: Michelle D. came up with the name "suziebeezieland" when I was trying to think of a name for this blog, several years ago.}

She and her husband and boys have been down in our neck of the woods (there are no woods, but "neck of the beach" sounds weird) this month, and so Claire and I drove down to see them one afternoon.

Michelle and I spent a very nice time visiting while the kids played in the pool, and then we all had a delicious dinner, cooked by Mr. Michelle. :) It was so nice. 

I love her and I want her to stay here, but she stubbornly insists on returning to Canada, as if Canada is all that.

Then last night, our Susie S. and our Jenny L. and their kids all came to our house, and then Michelle and Mr. Michelle and their kids came up, and Susie and Jenny got to also meet Michelle. (Susie and Jenny already know each other.) (And they already know me.) (It's complicated.)

But now we all know each other, and the kids all know each other, and it's lovely.

We all had dinner and visited. It was so good to see Susie and Jenny again (it has been a long time), and we had so much fun.

There were nine kids and six adults. I was kind of bowled over by how well-behaved and sweet all the kids were. It was a really good group. We do not have a big house, but they all played so well, and were really cute.

The adults behaved really well, too, mostly. :D

{photo by Mr. Michelle + Susie S.}

the cone of shame

Violet got spayed this week, and in a few short days has perfected the art of looking completely pathetic.

She's actually feeling frisky and well, but pauses in her play several times each day to make her eyes as wide and round as possible, and to remind us with slow, disappointed, long-suffering blinks of the grievous nature of our transgressions against her.

baby chicks + a pizza shaped like a heart

Last night, we went over to our friends' home for dinner. They have baby chicks, which Claire was so excited to meet, hold, and feed. :)

We had pizzas barbecued on the grill. My friend shaped Claire's crust like a heart.