Can you see it?  That longing pose that Fizzy has in behind those daffodils?  Yes, folks, the miracle has finally happened again this year - spring finally arrived.  Fizzy spends most days mooning about near the open window, sniffing the pollen filled air and watching birds flitter about in the maple outside the kitchen.  When she ventures into the yard, the big orange pirate cat, who hangs out in our back yard beats her up.

Do you remember this post about the crap in our back yard?  So glad that view is finally history - we spent last week working ourselves to the bone in the back yard.  Knocked down the old derelict wood shed, hauled a tonne of bricks and rotten wood and 50 years of rubbish and debris to the skip.  We now have a practically empty backyard, ready for "landscaping".  Ooooh, that sounds good, can I write it again... "laaaandscaping".  Mmmm.  At this stage it will probably only be a bobcat to smooth out the ex-building site and some grass seeds.  Maybe a bit of paving near the door.  Sounds a whole lot more fancy when you call it landscaping, though...


Here we are having a drink or two after day #1 of smashing buildings and hauling bricks.  Our friend U on the left and my relative Jānis on the right - two people sucked in to helping us with the demolition work.  Jānis stuck with us for all 4 days of work - amazingly, he was still smiling and having beers with us by the last day of hauling - day #4.  I know there's still a pile of crap in the background.  But that is a small, small pile compared to what we got rid of.


Another thing that happened recently is our week-long celebration of Mik's birthday.  I don't know how he got so old, but somehow the kid has made it to the ripe old age of 7.  Starting school this year.  Needless to say his 7th birthday was an excuse for lots of parties and spoiling, but I also that Jem and I have started to use that old threat for good behaviour :  "you're SEVEN now!  What a big boy!  Big boys don't.... (fill in the blanks: "pick their snot and eat it"; "have tantrums about losing a game"; "bite their brother" etc, etc).  Probably not a page out of "good parenting 101", but it seems to be working for now.


Mikus' "big pressie" from us was one of these table football games.  He is now an expert at the game after I gave him a bit of sage advice on the day he received it: "SPIN LIKE CRAZY!!!". This morning Mikus, all confident with his new fussball skills, made a wager with Jem:  that they play a game, and if he wins, he doesn't go upstairs and get dressed and go to kindergarten.  Foolishly, and buoyed by his own expert fussball experience, Jem agreed.  The outcome was painful, and not for Mikus...  ouch!


Last week we were in full mother's day mode.  Kindergarten concerts and all.  Gotta say I got a bit teary during Mikus' concert.  It wasn't because the "cool girl" of Mikus' class started to vomit on stage right in the middle of the proceedings.  Although that was definitely a moment you wished you were filming for a funny home videos show (said Jem).  It was because I realized that this was my last year of kindergarten mother's day goodness - and there is nothing better in the world than  those colourful, smiley pictures of you painted by your preschooler.