Another Five Things

I liked writing this so much last week that I will do it again this week. This week is also notable because I experienced my first sinus infection which has just been lovely! I think I feel better today?1. Monday was MLK Jr. Day and a school holiday so I worked it out that I didn’t have to be at the shop. The girls practiced their letters in the early morning. Jane is really coming along with her writing and Cate is definitely eager to help. We went to see Paddington in the theater in the afternoon – great fun. Mostly, I love to go to the theater because I get to hold a certain four-year-old girl for two hours straight.
2. Elizabeth came over on Sunday for a post-Christmas celebration we have been trying to work out for weeks. (Side note: I actually watched part of the game on Sunday and what’s even more remarkable, enjoyed it immensely. How exciting!). She got her fill of George, the girls, and I made Ina Garten’s seafood stew from her new cookbook for dinner. The recipe I linked to isn’t exactly the one I made but pretty close.
3. The girls are forever stealing my phone and taking arty, blurry shots of their Chapstick or worse, my face. This one, by Jane, of her little feet, actually turned out well. I love those little feet! 4. I was pretty much worthless after 3:00 PM every day this week so I read a lot. I was riveted by this book by Atul Gawande – about the end of life, about the failures of medicine and nursing homes and the rise of the palliative care movement. Gawande is one of my favorite New Yorker contributors and I think this is his finest book – so clear and approachable and hopeful and compassionately written. It’s personal too – he writes about the death of his own father.  Endings do matter and I think some things will change for the better in coming years. Read it.5. I am so thankful it’s Friday afternoon. Telfer’s home this weekend and Cate just got done with school. Telfer is going to run and pick up Jane here in a minute. I have a date with the laundry. I have no trouble doing the laundry, but putting it away? Not my strong suit. We don’t have a lot planned for this weekend. I am hoping to go to a yoga class, take George for a long walk and putter about tomorrow. Telfer is rereading Lord of the Rings and is about to finish Return of the King. I want to rent Boyhood. Make French Onion Soup. The girls want to play Candyland and do projects. Sounds just about right.