update for the week

Obviously I've been a little bit of a blogging and photographing slacker this week. To be perfectly honest, I haven't even turned on my camera. For *ME* that's a REAL stretch. But alas, the hardwood guys arrived in SIX SLEEPS, and the boxes don't pack themselves nor the furniture walk itself downstairs. Thus far the girls' bedrooms are barren save for the beds and dressers, the bedroom closets are mostly empty, and we've purchased our vinyl sheeting for taping off the doors and cupboards. The pictures and paintings are all down in Mr. K's room (beside the treadle sewing machine I found for a steal at Goodwill last week while dropping off a load of purge...) The plants will be living in his room, too. Tonight we're purging some more (yay!) and putting aside just the stuff we'll need for the week before everything else gets buried under stacks of household goods and furniture.

I guess I better get up the nerve to ask my Mom to babysit the guinea pigs soon, hey?

My sister is in town as well. She was up in NWT doing some research before heading home. Since she's passing through, we're going to bury my Dad's ashes this weekend. I'm not sure what I'm expecting of the day. I don't foresee any kind of closure - the idea of burying ashes in a graveyard seems odd to me. I'd be more tempted to let them sink to the bottom of the lake where he spent so much of his fair weather time. But it isn't up to me. Hopefully it'll bring some of the closure my step-mom needs. We made it through all the 'firsts' already. The last 'first' to cover is the first anniversary of his death. I ask for grace and patientce, and above all, the strength to make it through the day without freaking my kids out too much. Wil's new baby brother or sister is scheduled for c-section on August 3rd, and so it begins that August 3rd can return to being a day of joy, for my uncle Adolph & Auntie Doris's anniversary, for remembering my Daddy's time on this earth, and for celebrating this new baby's birthday.