a place for everything (and everyone)

i may have mentioned that cosmo likes to put things where they belong. i wouldn't say he is obsessive about it (yet) but he seems to find great satisfaction in knowing where an item lives, and returning it to its home. i like that too. every time i move into a new place (which i have done a LOT of in my 40+ years) i have a renewed fantasy of finally having a place for everything. i know i could manage all the stuff i drag around, if i could just get it organized. and, i must say, over the years, and moves, i have made great strides. my art supplies, for instance, are compartmentalized. i have a bin labeled "glue and glue guns" one called "small paints and ink" a bin dedicated to "tape," i have a drawer with only small boxes, to be decorated, or otherwise crafted into something wonderful. so, it is not all fantasy.



recently, i have found an activity for cosmo and i that puts these "everything in its place" skills to use. we have been going to mother hubbard's cupboard one afternoon each week, to help stock the pantry shelves. MHC's food pantry is a wonderful place. the premise is to offer food to people in need, in a grocery store-like environment, where everyone is treated with dignity and respect. the criteria for shopping there is simple: you can shop if you don't have enough money to eat, and it operates mostly on an honor system. they serve an average of 1,878 people per week.



they also offer workshops on nutrition, gardening, and food preservation, and host an in-store lending library and resource shelf. many customers are also volunteers, and the result is an inclusive, close-knit, supportive community.



i wasn't sure, at first, if cosmo would enjoy it or not. i should have guessed that he would quickly get into the groove of taking items out of boxes, and placing them neatly on the shelves, in perfect rows, with the labels facing out. sometimes he likes to create elaborate systems of handing things up to me (if the shelf is too high) which may not be as "helpful," but it is cooperative, and engaging for both of us. he also likes to sort the recycling, and help tidy up before the shoppers arrive.



i thought he might get distracted by the food, and only want to taste things. this is often what happens when he "helps" me cook. but he understood early on, that we are just organizing the food, for other people, and he's fine with that. i also worried his interest would wane after a half hour or so, but he really likes being there, never wants to leave early, and cries if we can't make it to our shift. i am not sure if he gets the concept of "helping people," i think he just likes the idea of working, and of being needed, in a setting that is not his home. the staff are so welcoming, we both felt like part of the family right away.

it has been great for me too. i'm forming new friendships, and i had the chance to share my passion for local food preservation, by co-teaching their canning and jamming workshops last week. we've also passed on some of our excess produce from the garden, as part of the plant a row for the hungry program. i am grateful to live in such a vibrant community, and to have the opportunity to contribute.

old red returns

we got the stroller back! through the wonders of the bryan park neighborhood association listserv, our beloved stroller has come home. on a whim, i sent an email out, and one of the neighbors, a few blocks away, had found our stroller. we met half way to make the exchange (i gave her one of the brandywine tomatoes from our garden, to thank her for her kindness). we concluded that it had probably been taken for a joy ride by big kid with a skinny but. one of my zip-tie repairs was broken, which tells me that someone a little too heavy was sitting in the seat. in any case, we are so happy to have it back.



in other news, we moved into our new place, across the street from our old place. it is a bigger house, and a better house, yet we are paying significantly less rent. one of our favorite features is the screened in porch in the back. there is also ample garden space, which i have already planted for a fall garden.



after what seems likes weeks and weeks of schlepping stuff across the street, we are finally all the way out of the old house, and carl and i are taking it easy today. our dear friends shawna, lara and kevin made the official "moving day" possible, but their help came at the price of my utter embarrassment for the thousands of boxes of crap that i continue to haul around. would i ever miss that box labled "arch 346 student papers" were it to somehow disappear? the answer is no, and i hereby vow to eliminate many boxes of that nature prior to our next move.*

more on the new place once we get more settled.




*(exact number of boxes to be determined at a later date)

monkey swing

our next door neighbors have a rope swing that has been a lot of fun for cosmo and sylvan to practice swinging, and strengthening upper body muscles. cosmo and i got a long, red rope at biglots one day, and kevin (again, with the wonderful next door neighbors!) came over with the extension ladder, and got it tied to a tall branch in the silver maple tree.

a rope with knots is wonderful, but little arms tire rather quickly. carl tried tying a loop at the bottom, for a foothold. better, but a bit difficult for cosmo to do on his own.



our friend and neighbor, alan, suggested i make a wooden circle seat for it. i wasn't sure how comfortable that would be, or if i have the tools to cut a circle. i thought i'd just be on the look-out for something suitable.

the next day, we came home from some outing, and situated on the end of the rope was a plastic circle, just right for a little butt to sit and swing. alan had drilled a hole in one of those seats they make, for 5 gallon buckets. i don't have a good picture of the seat itself, but maybe you can tell from cosmo's face, it is perfect (or as cosmo says, "it's just the right thing").



cosmo cannot get enough. he swings on his own, but really loves it when we give him an "underdog," and swing him "super high!"

mantis mania

about a month ago, lara brought us an interesting cocoon/pod thing that she found while clearing out a garden bed. she knows we love stuff like that. it looked like a wad of that foamy stuff you spray from an areosol can, to seal cracks in walls. very cool. we poked it, sniffed it, shook it, and wondered, then stuck it in the corner of our kitchen, and kind of forgot about it.



easter morning, i noticed a baby praying mantis walking across carl's cosmas translation. i pointed it out to him, and then started wondering where it might have hatched from. i thought of the pod from lara, and looked over to see hundreds of baby praying mantis flowing out that foamy thing! they were everywhere!





i collected as many as i could, and took them out the garden. it was a bit cold, but i think they did fine. i put some on the seedlings in the office, thinking they could catch some of the tiny bugs flying around there. i misted the plants with water, and one of the mantis went right up to a droplet, and put its face in it. guess he was thirsty! some of them have died by now, but there are still tons in our house. i'll go to grab the scissors, and a mantis will jump off.



i've heard that finding a praying mantis in the house means good fortune. if so, we've got it made.

something blue

i'll tell you what, we've got a good thing goin' over here on dixie street. our neighbors are to-die-for. and i dare say, they feel the same way about us. yes, they are talented, funny, warm, smart, politically like-minded, generous, appreciative AND they have a boy close in age to cosmo (they are just now starting to play together really well), PLUS awesome teenage boys, who babysit! we all seem to understand the value of good neighbors. when we make something yummy to eat, we share. when they have a bonfire in the back yard, we're invited. when they need an hour of childcare, on short notice, we're happy to do it. you get the picture.



recently, said neighbors were given a hot tub. yes, i said GIVEN. apparently we are not the only ones fond of this delightful family. once they got it all set up and bubbling (between our houses), they made it clear that we had an open invitation to use it. we take them up on it frequently. the other day, cosmo and i, and their little boy, had a wonderful play date in the tub (with the temp turned way down for the wee ones). but mostly i like to slip into it on cold nights, with steam rising, and gaze up at a star filled sky. thanks neighbors!