In Which Miss Ingu Ponders the Day

I'm sitting in my white chair as I write this. The day has just begun. I fell asleep with the blog in my lap last night before I could write anything! I promise - I'm trying to write!

Yesterday was a beautiful day with those grey Irish clouds that make all the greens look like dancing emeralds. Everyone's yard seemed bursting with blossoms that take on such a cool combination of colors when the sky is overcast. To day is the same, but the wind is blustery like a storms a-coming. The trees are blowing wildly and the sound of the trains has a strange muffle to it. And it's chilly. The heat is still on! Who ever heard of a June when the heat still came on.

My day began with Waylon licking my hand, then my cheek. I have heard that having a cat lick you is a special blessing. The licks start out tiny and tender then progress to a rough sand paper cleansing. My eyes are still closed; I'm ignoring him. I think about people who are allergic to cat saliva and wonder why Waylon licks me. Does my skin taste good? Or salty? Or does it stink to him, so he's cleaning me up? Or is he just doing it to annoy me? I try not to move. Maybe he'll go away.

Then Blue comes to the side of the bed. She breathes her dog breath into my face and takes her head and starts bumping the mattress, sort of like a baby goat. With every bump there's a tiny growl. If I hold still long enough will she go away? Nope. The bed bumping and growling increase with eash attempt to rouse me until the whole bed is slamming against the wall and each growl is accompanied by a sharp bark.

I think it's sibling rivalry. A cat and a dog trying to compete at who can make me get out of bed to open the back door and put food in their plates. After all is accomplished, they ignore me.

It's a Bird, It's a Plane. It's a Four Year Old Gymnast! Yesterday morning I went with Kaleidoscope Girl and SIE to his last gymnastics class. His teacher is moving to Corvalis. I had heard about gym class and wanted to see it for myself. The gym was a huge room the size of a basketball court. I'd pictured it smaller. It was sparsely filled with equipment, but had a lot of large, padded floor coverings of different shapes and colors. SIE ran, tumbled, bounced, colided with cushioned walls, and walked the high beam. He would start across the beam, then turn to wave and make sure we were watching. He was wearing his pajamas - more comfy for free movement even though the britches kept slipping down because they're a little too big for his tiny butt. He doesn't care about the slippage. He's mastered a slight-of-hand "pull up action" for such occassions!

After class we sent to check out the award winning roses at the Lloyd Center Ice Rink, stopping first at the bookstore where Sie mannaged to find several books we had to read right there on the spot. I guess that's better - otherwise you'd have to buy them. Then down to the ice rink. Where does all that ice go? We walked around the rink, but it wasn't open for viewing yet...so I still haven't seen Dr. Pottinger's rose in bloom. Then we found a pirate store. When I was little it was Peter Pan and Davy Crockett we loved. Today it's pirates, complete with bildge rats, sabres, and cool bandanas covering dread locks.

Next stop was the Sushi Train. Have I told you about that before? It's a little sushi bar where the sushi is put on a conveyer belt and you grab what you want as they dish passes by. The dishes are different prices according to the color of the plate, so the waiters can just add up your plates when you're finished. SIE is an expert sushi catcher. Miso soup and crab rolls are his favorites. Yesterday he ate 9 crab rolls and a bowl of jello.

Back home by way of the pet store to pick up some dog food. They have a parrot named Claude who talks and can say "Harper" and "Grandma". We stop to see him, as well as the baby guinea pigs and fish, a couple small snakes, and a lizard that hid under the sand.

I thought for sure that SIE would fall asleep on the drive home. But he was still awake and I decided to take him with me on a couple errands. We had to stop at the airport post office to pick up some 1 cent stamps (they're for all those Christmas cards that never got sent). They have a display case with model airplanes that he loves to look at while I'm in line.

Then we stopped at the craft store. I had a purpose in mind and they didn't have what I needed. But SIE found plenty. I could be more disciplined about getting things for him if I didn't like to play myself. I found a bag of blue marbles for Nimblethread's project. SIE explained why he would like a bag of blue marbles for himself - "Grandma, I've lost most of my marbles." We had a controversy over some sequins that were on sale. He claimed he wanted them for himself because "they are so really pretty to look at." I bought them, but took them home. I hope it didn't cause a fuss when he remembered them. We also found a model hot rod that he "really, really needed...please, grandma". I explained that I couldn't help him put it together, but he was quite confident his mom would know how. The clerk gave us a 50% off coupon, so that sealed the deal. And I last saw him sitting with his mom on their living room floor taking a million little pieces out of the box. It didn't look as easy as I thought. I thought I better get away fast! My apologies to Kaleidoscope Girl.