hyacinth

elenora and i have been having playdates all week.

monday afternoon we met up with s. and aurora downtown along the river. ella stood on top of the bridge running from one side to the other yelling "river!" and then looking at the other side of the bridge and pointing and saying "another!" we met a woman who was walking with her boy, gabriel, and her baby, sabbath, and their three-legged dog. i've seen this woman out around town for years--since gabriel was the one strapped into the sling she carries--and always thought she looked like someone who i would be friends with. it was so lovely to meet her finally and to find out how easy it was to talk with her. i hope i see her more. i just feel a kindredness with her somehow. ella loved watching the boy, who was very good at entertaining. she ended up getting muddier than she's ever been in her life, but it was a great time.

tuesday we had e. and penelope over for an afternoon playdate. it was so nice to see e. and i had so much to tell her about what is happening at work since she's left. i had my most stressful day in months on tuesday and came home in tears, so i really needed e.'s companionship since she understands more than anyone what is going on. she brought me a hyacinth. she said "this is to remind you that good things will blossom soon."

which has saved the rest of the week for me. wednesday i just kept thinking of my hyacinth and it really gave me the strength to have a much less stressful day.

we had j.l.-m. over yesterday afternoon. it's been a long time since i've seen her, so it was great to catch up.

today i got to work right at 7 am so that i could come home and take elenora to gordon to see a., an english professor of mine from the college days. a. and i always have good visits. i like to discuss literature with her, and she really enjoyed seeing elenora. since we were on campus, we gave momby a ring and met up for a walk and some lunch. ella just loves seeing her mam-aw.

tomorrow afternoon i have plans for dinner and drinks with h., and sunday evening j. and i will leave ella for an overnight at momby's while we go to the hutsons' for our annual oscar viewing party. we really should see another film before then...maybe slumdog or something.

it snowed an inch last night, which was washed away with rain this morning. we're on the brink; two steps towards spring and one step back.

i was counting with elenora (usually i go to about 4) yesterday and discovered that she knows pretty much every number to 10.

today my hyacinth is starting to bloom.