The Life and Times - Mar 09 Edition

Did March start out like a lion or a lamb? I really can't recall. I do remember the weather being comfortable, so a lamb! :D

The month started out with a bang, everyone settling into the new RV and trying to remember where we put our things. Quite the adventure, that. It took a bit of fiddling but we managed to figure out the new stove/oven combo. Unfortunately, the oven doesn't have the correct knob, so we had to buy a temperature thing-a-ma-jig to hang in the oven. It takes forever to find the correct settings! The correct knob is still on order :(

Jeremy has been working on his pitching. We have a natural pitching mound at the base of our pine tree. Jeremy pitches from the tree, across the street, into the lot across from us. We have a home plate but no catchers gear. Dad has no problem catching, but I tend to get hit.

I've begun working on a new baby quilt. I'm using colors way outside my comfort zone, so we'll see how it turns out :)

I also started working on the gable hood for my Tudor gown project. I got as far as making the pattern for the gable and had to set it aside. I fear a bit more research is needed before I begin assembly. The directions I've collected so far are way more confusing than they need to be! And, since I'm busy with the aforementioned baby quilt, I really don't have the spare time!

Project 365 is still going strong. Unfortunately, I missed a day this month :(

About mid-month Chad had some time off so we went on a little trip to Manatee Springs State Park. It was utterly beautiful! We were too late to see the manatees but that afforded Chad and the kids the opportunity to swim in the springs - at a constant temperature of 72 degrees...brrr...that's a bit chilly really! But the water was just to beautiful to ignore. We also chose this park for it's many mountain biking trails. We rode lots of trails, some made of sand :( and some cut through the woods on hard pack :) We even got to climb down into a sink hole! A small one, but you could see the damage. It made an interesting topic of conversation and an impromptu school lesson!

March is the height of strawberry season here in Florida and we made sure to get our fill. I think we ate a quart a day for 3 weeks straight! And not once did we make shortcake - can you believe it? Towards the end of the month the berries started showing signs of decay :( I wish I could have made some freezer jam, but there's just no space for it in a RV!

We had a surprising early morning visitor this month. A clearly disillusioned red-headed woodpecker came knocking in the dusky hours of dawn. He was quite confused when he couldn't get his breakfast out of our RV windows! I caught him flitting from the pine tree along side the trailer onto the windowpane directly opposite. He must have assumed the reflection to be another tree! Alas, nothing to be gained there! I managed to grab the camera and catch him in the act and then he went on his way. Silly woodpecker!

The kids had a sleepover with their friends. This would not have been possible in the old RV, but the new one has much more space. We ordered pizza, had some rice krispie treats and ice cream. They played games, went swimming, watched a movie and had a great time.

The day before Chad's birthday he took Jeremy and a couple of his friends to the pre-season Braves/Red Sox game at Disney's Wide World of Sports. We were only able to get the tickets because Jeremy's old coach had tickets he wasn't going to be able to use. So we lucked out and Jeremy got to experience a Major League Baseball game.

And on the last day of the month we celebrated Chad's birthday. I gave him a few choices for his birthday cake/dessert and he chose my Blueberry Torte (yum!) He had a huge pile of gifts to open and instead of opening them as soon as he got home, he made the kids wait until after dinner. He said it gave us something to look forward to, but I think he used that time to study the packages and figure out what they were before he opened them. He does that. And he did it again. The only thing he didn't figure out was the item wrapped in a gift bag! We got him a nice soft foot stool (so he won't use my step ladder), a new rice cooker, and some lights to add to his outdoor kitchen.

All in all it was a good month. We kept pretty busy, as usual, because the time just flew right on by. Baseball is already half over now. Spring is passing into summer, the days, and the nights, are getting hotter.