fruits of our labors

The cantaloupe plant wins the prize for the best-producing member of our garden. Bunnies ate our bean leaves, we only got a couple of 3-inch corn cobs, the squash and watermelon plants just didn't make it, and our tomato crop has been sporadic. But the cantaloupes have never failed us. Several small but decent-tasting specimens have graced our table over the past month. And one character - the one in the picture - has been taking his sweet, juicy time to ripen over many weeks, swelling and swelling to perfection. Today, on Miss Bee's and my daily trip to "check on the garden", we found that fellow turned completely golden and ready to pick. A drop of water fell from the stem when I picked him; I hope this is a sign of juiciness. Anyway, now he is in the fridge, chilling until dinnertime. He's as big as the melons in the grocery store (isn't this a sign of success??). We can't wait to try him!

writing on the wall (and the piano, and the door...)

My school-age children don't like to write. (I have heaved many a sigh over this.) They are decent story-creators, but ask them to write one of their ideas down and it's like you just asked them to peel a bowl of grapes. So imagine my surprise (and dismay) when I came across the following writing samples:














(In case it's difficult to see, "H A" is scratched into the lacquer on the piano, and "mom is great" is written in pencil on the door.)

I have a pretty good idea of the culprits - our little Bee's favorite letters to write are "A" and "H", and Stuntman left a pointy arrowhead necklace he bought on his class field trip within her reach. As for the other graffiti, it was discovered on the door in what used to be Flip's room but is now dh's office. We tried painting over it, but as you can see, it remains. It looks like it says "mom is great", but it also looks like "great" might not have been the first adjective of choice. I can't make out what the crossed-out word is, but I have a scenario in my head that explains it. It plays out like this: Flip got sent to his room for some type of infraction, got mad at Mom for sending him, and started to write about his feelings (!) on his bedroom door. Then he thought better of it and crossed out whatever missive he initially wrote, and put "great" instead, remembering that Mom might actually see the work. This may be far from the true story, but inventing it was fun. What makes me laugh is that in my scenario, he ignores the fact that writing on doors is also an infraction, but I guess if you're going to break a rule, flatter your mother while you're doing it. Whatever the reason, I had to take a picture.

Maybe I shouldn't complain about my kids not liking to write anymore.