A bit of news

Missing: The yardstick.

Not working: The dryer. (It runs, but gets extremely hot and makes some kind of rusty rattling noise.)

Working: The basement clotheslines — one left behind, one we brought with us, strung up around the poles in a nice big triangle.

Surprising: Finding Amy sitting up in her crib. This evening I saw how she must have done it — she can sometimes scoot backwards on her belly, and now she can push herself back and up and twist into a sitting position. The crib rails probably gave her something to push against.

Nice: Going to Crossroads Evangelical Free church. A woman greeted us, sat with us along with her husband, showed me the nursery, and invited us to her family’s house for lunch, which was lovely. Their three kids are very friendly and were very interested in playing with Amy and showing us their toys and pictures and telling us all sorts of things. Oh, and did I mention that Amy had a perfectly lovely time in the nursery? She got rocked and put down for a nap, and after the service I returned to find her in the nursery worker’s arms, smiling and having a good time.

Possibly rescued: The tomato and pepper plants Mark’s dad saved for us and transplanted into our garden. I forgot all about the fact that you have to water these things when it doesn’t rain for a week, and I haven’t managed to get outside to go look at them either. Until tonight, when I went out to give them a nice drink. Some of them look fine, but others may not make it.

Solved: The basement door question. We needed some way to keep the door open just enough for the cat to get through, but not enough for Amy to get through. The friends who hosted us in Cleveland suggested a hook and eye like for a wooden gate, but the ones long enough were rather thicker than we wanted. Then it occurred to us to use small hooks and eyes attached to a bit of wood in the middle: