Sunshine!

Today is a sunny day! This means no rain pain, no dark and gloomy clouds. I got to sit out on my fire escape finally and enjoy the quiet of the morning before my neighborhood is truly awake. I even managed to talk my grumpy Punky into taking a picture with the laptop. So not a morning person, that one. Have I mentioned that before?

It's actually a really funny picture. I sort of wish that I could post it here, but I'm still trying to shake off a bit of paranoia regarding He Who Shall Not Be Named. I have taken to calling it The Family Portrait in my head, as all three of us are in it just a little bit.   >.> Maybe I will put it up later...

Let The Brat sit out there with me. He likes it because it's a privilege and I like it because it's just the two of us for a little bit. Ninety-nine percent of the time the things we do together as a family are three of us kinds of things, but even so Punky and I both find little moments to call our own. Laundry time with her and The Brat is a two of them kind of sport, and fire escape time is a two of us kind of one.

Even Porthos got a bit of sunshine time today. He likes walking off the fire escape on to the awning for the floor below us. He even hops across the wall of the building and circles about to the bedroom windows if he's feeling adventurous. Again, it sucks to take pics with the computer itself, but we might try for some of him.

The Fire Escape was not as mystical today as it normally was. I felt a little sad, sitting out there wondering where the magic had gone. It turns out, it was just too early, and also, I was sitting too close to the wall. Since I want The Brat to be careful out there, I lead by example. He's tiny and built out of toothpicks. If he leaned over the railing the wrong way a strong gust of wind would carry him off Mary Poppins style. So, I sat where I wanted him to sit. Which... is not where I usually sit.

The magic of my fire escape is being able to lay out and look at the clouds. It's being able to see up both sides of the Boulevard and feel like you're on top of a hill. For this, you have to stand at the railing sometimes and lean out over it. I got my magic back once The Brat shuffled off to his local Spring Break Camp Thing. I even got Punky out there to sun her Psoriasis since that usually makes it feel a little better.

I feel like it needs a little sprucing up though. The year before last we tricked it out for Halloween, and last summer I had a mini-farm out there. So far this year it is very very clean thanks to Punky, but also very very empty. Any ideas on some niceties that are weather proof that maybe could live out there for a while?

Today is also Easter Egg Coloring Day. When The Brat gets back we'll have lunch, popcorn chicken and maybe some corn, and get to dipping some eggs. Since Punky and I only just got our first lesson on natural dyes, this year we'll be using a kit from a store. It comes with a brush, some sponges, two kinds of dyes in lots of colors, and about five different ways to decorate the eggs. Those we will definitely take pictures of for the blog.

Last night, steak dinner was a success. Unfortunately, my family pounced the dinner before anyone could take a picture. The forty dollar investment in the skirt steak was a very very wise one. The pack came with far more than we could tell, and was just the tenderest most melt in your mouth piece of meat ever. Yum! We paired it with roasted potatoes and some french bread. A little bit bad to not have some greens there, but we did have a salad earlier, does that still count?

So far, for our next shopping trip we'll need to stock up on more onions, tomatoes, broccoli, corn and possibly cauliflower. We're covered on chicken breast, skirt steak, turkey meatballs, and fish. Soon it'll be time to stock up on grilling essentials. I can't wait to buy our new charcoal grill this year. We have one picked out at The Fenceway Center. They've also got good sales on charcoal, which only leaves us food and lighter fluid to worry about.

I sort of envy Punky's family in Georgia since they can pretty much grill year round. I hope they've been able to plant the seeds we sent down for them.

We may or may not have another play-date with The Raven. This is the codename for our lovely neighbor, a play on her e-mail address. Before three kids and life took over, she used to be one of our goth-y brethren. Her boys are awesome. Not into crafting as we had been thinking of, but definitely into cooking, which is also tons of fun and sort of a craft itself.

Punky is being an adorable vampire. She usually shuns the sun, but since she knows it affects my mood she went ahead and opened all the curtains. It's as bright in my room as it is outside. Well... almost as soon as I started blogging, she just passed right out in all the sunshine. Silly thing. She didn't even take off her shoes.

Off I go to pounce..
-Angelwick.

                                                       Punky the vampire!
                  That would be Aramis beside her. Scientific Name : Getofficus Mylapicus