Some kind of help….
Today is the first for fall cleanup. Most of the leaves are down and our town collects the leaves (i.e. sucks them up with a truck mounted vacuum from the sidewalk) every two weeks. Thus, we’re tasked with getting the leaves from the backyard to the front. Normally this takes me about 30 minutes. Today it took approximately one hour… likely due to the help (see above). Once the leaves are raked, they must be jumped in. Then re-raked and re-jumped. It’s a long process. Eventually the piles of leaves have to be moved to the front. They travel by bin.
Some of my best friends also travel by bin. Someone has to tamp down the leaves, you know.
How fast do you make friends?
As the daughter of two solid INTJs (see Myers-Briggs Personality Test), you’d think that Leda might approach the world with a bit of caution and take some time before opening up herself to friendship. Or perhaps it’s the case that as a four-year-old, the world appears to be uniformly friendly to you. Whatever the case, I have seen indisputable evidence that Leda can form “enduring” friendships faster than you or I could introduce ourselves. That was the case today at Loantaka, where it took all of 15 seconds for Leda to declare that she was having a great time with her new friend. This partnership was not transient as they continued to play together, happily, for more than a hour. Even though they had trouble remembering each others name (addressing each other as, “Hey, friend”), they had a great time. A question that sometimes haunts me at night: Will I be stuck with an ESFP?
An unrelated thought stemming from this idyllic picture at the pond: “Can you help me, Mr. Popeil?”
Super Halloween Celebration
Halloween always begins with the creative side of things. Pumpkins must be carved and decorated. Costumes must be assembled and tried out. All must be in readiness so that the orgy of candy and excitement can be fully realized. Leda both painted a pumpkin and instructed Daddy on how to carve the others. Then we put them outside so the squirrels could munch them.
Leda selected Tinkerbell as her costume theme this year. This idea was fully realized in her mind with the requirements of a magic wand and sprinkleable pixie dust. Many dust recipes were consulted until Tinkerbell’s own private mix was fashioned with a blend of 13 secret spices for Leda’s use. Unfortunately, no object was made to fly, regardless of its happy thought disposition.
Second kids can’t catch a break, and Cleo’s costume situation is a prime example. Though she looks smashing as an astronaut this year, Cleo must come to grips with the fact that her costume is a Leda hand-me-down from two years ago. Good things was, she didn’t seem to mind too much. Also, matching her daddy brought a smile to her face. We had a most fun Halloween. Photographic evidence supports in the gallery.
