What a whirl of activity this weekend!  Dinner out with wonderful friends on Friday night, and a trip to our children's college for a performance of The Madwoman of Chaillot on Saturday.  It was my son's last college production, so it was a bittersweet moment to see him on stage and reflect how quickly the years have flown by.  He played an oil prospector, dressed in an old fashioned three piece suit, a Texas (think big) cowboy hat and a bit of a Southern drawl, tempered by a little Charlton Heston à la Ben Hur thrown in to keep things lively.  He was, as always, amazing and we were so proud of him.  Afterwards, it was our great pleasure to take our son and his girlfriend, plus our daughter and her fiance' out for ice cream and conversation.  Lots of conversation.  I've mentioned before that we like to TALK around a table, right?! 

Today was the first day it was really warm enough to work outside and wow, did that feel marvelous!  My hyancinths are blooming and you can see that the forsythia and lilacs won't be too long now.  Home Depot  lightened my purse a little...a beautiful Boston fern for the front porch plus a lovely yellow begonia hanging basket, bright yellow ranunculus for the front garden, a bashful pink bleeding heart for the shade garden, and several sunny yellow begonias and white snowflake plants for the pot by my front door literally jumped into my cart at the store.  They looked so happy and eager...how could I refuse to take them home and love them?  

One slight problem, that I imagine I'll be writing about more than once in the next few weeks...mama cardinal and I are in a standoff, and I am determined to win.  The hanging basket hadn't been up more than two hours before she was happily nesting in it, and now we are having a stare-down contest from my kitchen window.  She perches on the basket wire and looks right at me, as if daring me to make her move.  But as much as I want to see her happy, I don't think a big pot of begonias that need watering every couple of days is going to be quite the deluxe hotel she was imagining! 

And now it's Monday and only eleven work days (ten if you don't count today) until my husband and I leave on vacation!  Whoo-hoo!  I've started my list of what to pack...needlework, books, magazines, camera, itineraries, wine and picnic basket.  My husband has his list ready...golf clubs, golf cart, golf balls, golf shoes...well, you get the drift.  And we always have one very special item to pack, that goes with us on every vacation and camping outing, in case we find a breeze.  We never leave home without our very special family kite.  This week I'll be sharing some family kite stories, including our special kite designer father and his talented production assistant, my mother.  And along the way we'll even take a peek at my dad's own 'kite heaven.'  

Spring Fever by South Dakota artist Terry Redlin

 Kites 

by Joyce Carol Oates

Some-
thing there
is in the American
soul that soars with
kites that soar! Some-
thing alive with the roar
of the wind lifting the kite
that soars above rooftops, tree-
tops, and awestruck heads! And yet—
Something there is not in the
American soul to adore the
kite that fails to soar.
I've seen it, I've
feared it, and
so have you.

The kite whose tail
is tattered in the
TV antenna.
The kite that rises
thrillingly
at dawn
then crashes
vertically
at your feet.

in a
heap

I hope you have a lovely start to your week!