Sad Shape

I. Sickness
We aren't doing great, as a family. I'm still healthy, but I'm the only one.

Owen is trotting around whining wherever he goes and demanding to be held whenever he sees an adult. (The adults might be hiding from him on purpose) His nose is chapped, red, and constantly leaking. His little voice his hoarse, and his croaks are punctuated by coughs. He's teething and still a little fevery, and he isn't sleeping well at night.

James has his voice back, but he's still coughing and sniffling every few minutes.

J's voice is completely gone. She can only whisper, and her swollen eyes (she was up a lot with Owen) are only half-open. She just got out of the shower, but she looks like she could head back to bed at any moment.

And the house doesn't look great. Because Owen isn't interested in eating he's been scattering food everywhere. Most of it is cleaned up, but as I look into the dining area I can see dried peas and pieces of cereal and bread under his high chair that I missed. There's a big marble run (James' creation) on the kitchen table and a stack of his library books as well. No one has the energy to stand up and clean them off.

Dinner has been a procession of soups. Our tea basket has been rediscovered. We're trying to get better.

II. The Basement
I finally paid for my mess in the basement. Between the high temperatures and the rain yesterday the basement flooded. By "flooded," I mean that there were a couple of puddles that drained to the appropriate place. But I had left out a trumpet case and a stack of music on the floor, even though I was dimly aware that I needed to be careful about such things. The case dried overnight, and I hope the music is salvageable. A lot of the ink ran, and there might be a funny odor. It's okay, I suppose, since it was mostly baroque music. We'll consider it performance practice.

III. Perfection
J has changed up her bread recipe and switched over to honey whole wheat bread instead of the simple white for the sandwich loaves she makes at the beginning of the week. It's amazing...it gets a butter brush once it comes out of the oven, and the inside is practically creamy. I've never been so excited to have peanut butter toast in the morning. (And to have lots of soup.)