Every Other Day

Inspirational song: One Way or Another (Blondie)

My dog Elsa can count to two. It takes us two days to split up a can of cat food among the pride, with each getting a glob about half the size of a small field mouse plus some crunchies at each meal. On the nights when the can is finished, Elsa will not settle down on her bed until she is escorted into the kitchen to have the empty can placed gently into her mouth, so she can remove every atom of cat food residue out of it overnight. She knows when it is Every Other Day. This is not the smartest dog in the world, but she holds her own, and she can absolutely count to two.

I have taken to dividing my time this week into days when I see the baby, and the days when I work in the yard. Today was a yard day. Tomorrow may be a combination of the two, helping the kids get some stuff done in their garden. (Mostly my job will be baby holding and cat wrangling.) A week or so ago, I tried to sprout seeds in a big square carton that once held 30 eggs. I imagined the cardboard structure would last at least a couple weeks, long enough to get the next raised bed constructed and filled with compost and soil that had been dug up and picked clean of weeds and roots. I was wrong. The first time I watered it, the carton started disintegrating. So rather than wait for seeds to sprout, I just dug out some of them and put them in the brand new bed. Because it was such a mess, I just dug trenches and mixed up all sorts of green beans in one row, stained-glass corn in another, and the few okra seeds I could identify in a patch. I planted sugar snap peas and carrots where I could fit them in the first bed made. And we now have one big and two tiny tomatoes going, plus a container where I sank a peat pot with what I believe are celery sprouts. This didn’t take a significantly long time to accomplish, but the sun was so bright it was quite enough for one day.

I got word that the grandbaby has gained back a few ounces, and has become what our family has always charmingly referred to as a “cheese factory.” I’m so glad to hear she is doing exactly what she is supposed to this week. I can’t wait to play with her tomorrow, on every other day.