Fun Never Stops on a Hot Monday

The heat was brutal on Monday, and I spent the early part of the day working with HH on the barn. At least it was early, and the heat not too bad. Also we managed to get some of the soffit in, if you can believe that. She stayed until about 12:30, then had to head off to run errands, so the kids and I settled into a rare day of hanging out with not much in the way of plans.

In typical fashion, the kids brainstormed and came up with something to do, building a fort in the living room out of the scarves, blankets, and couch cushions. How can you not love that? Plus, there were no computers (sort of) or TVs involved. Just goes to show you, when push comes to shove, bored kids will figure out something to do. There is some merit to being bored and spending some time in your own head.

I, on the other hand, set about making some dumplings, and my apologies to the kids for being crabby as a result. On a bright note, if such a thing exists, they knew to stay out of my crabby way, and as a result, made their awesome fort.

Anyway, as I mentioned before, this past week was a rough one, and the last thing we wanted to do was deal with dumplings. Yes, that familiar feeling of dread was sinking back in. Letting things slide, however, always comes back to haunt you, and it was clear that we were going to be short on a certain dumplings. The only thing to do was to make up the deficit. No sense in whining about it, though I always manage to find a way.

First off, I had to make the fillings, and in the heat of the day, that’s a complete drag, but it doesn’t end there, because then I have to make and cook them. Cooking requires breaking out all the pots and pans, not to mention the stove and tent, also knowing that I’m going to have to clean them all before the market. Truth be told, it wouldn’t be so bad if it wasn’t so darn hot. Standing by the hot stove can really bring you down.

Okay, enough of my whining. I managed to get it done, the kids had fun, but it was non-stop work all day, because after the dumplings, I had to make supper before we set off for karate. To add to the fun, sensei H called and said he couldn’t make it to class. That meant that I was potentially going to have to lead class, which always gives me anxiety. My first impulse is to cancel, but the show must go on.

Fortunately, we’ve been lucky enough that Master H has been a regular, as has DC, black belt extraordinaire. Between the two of them, we’ve had great classes the past few weeks, even though our fearless leader hasn’t been able to attend. We miss him, but have managed in his absence. He works hard and teaches the class all on his own time, so nobody can complain. Hopefully he’ll be there the next time.

Until then, thanks for reading.