Diffused Illumination

Nonetheless, with hours of sunshine despite non-spring temperatures, yesterday I ripped out the old diseased rose garden then spent a few hours researching a list of 85 different roses from the local nursery to replace them with. I stuck with only those ranked as excellent disease resistant varieties, as I hate spraying plants with poison that obliterates everything in addition to the bad stuff.

I assumed the new roses would be bareroot, or maybe little paperboard containers like they have at Costco since they only cost $7 more per bush. Oh no. I had to button up my coat this afternoon from the wind and survey a sprawling scene of roses in 5 gallon containers, then strategically lug and place 5 of them in my tiny shopping cart, shove it to checkout, then roll down an incline to the car without losing control with all the weight!

Planting those kicked my ass, but it's done and I installed a new drip hose & scattered one bag of mulch around before declaring it a day. The roses are our 5th anniversary present to ourselves in addition to 5 days in Victoria later, so there is a lot of symbolism to the one grandiflora in the center (Love, of course), two hybrid teas & two floribundas. I'll share pics this summer, and can't wait to have some in each room upstairs. My great-grandma made rose beads in New Zealand when she was a little girl that we still have today, I might tinker around to see if I can make them too.

In other news, the daffodils & hyacinths popped Friday afternoon, we've had two active sessions of chasing bubbles around the backyard, and Kieran adored his first 'moovie theater!' movie (Heffalump) with his usual quiet & focused approach to anything new, then constantly laughing and talking about Pooh and the heffalumps on the way to get Chinese food.

Do I look the same to you? 'Cause I don't feel so.
You know everything must change as time goes by.
Though it feels like yesterday when we first met.
I feel I'm sinking deeper.
Do you look the same to me? Well, I don't think so.
You know everything must change as time goes by.
Like the flowers that dry, locking inside
forever their beauty.

And they said this feeling fades,
it gets stronger everyday.
And they said that beauty fades.
You're more beautiful than ever.
They said we'd drift away,
we're still standing here.
And it feels like everyday is our anniversary.

Well, I stumble through the dark and light a candle
and the path the wax will take, no one can know.
And you said it looked like snow or maybe clouds,
and I think it looks like heaven.

So we make it into a ring and make a mold.
And we welt above the flames the whitest gold.
When hot and cold collide what's left in place
is forever and ever.

Some say things worth having take some time.
As they get older they get better.

Four years. I have a feeling the time flying by will be as incomprehensible at our fortieth as it is today.

And now for something completely different, Kieran has finally figured out how to roll from his back to his tummy. I was starting to worry because he's supposed to be able to do that by 6 months, which is Christmas Day. He rolled from tummy to back insanely early (11 weeks) so we thought we were in for it... but then he didn't go anywhere. He isn't too interested in taking over the house quite yet, but we're saving boxes to pack up everything upstairs fairly soon once he does.

We also managed to go out on a *gasp* date last night for the first time since Kieran was born. Cracked me up that my husband was more freaked out/worried than I was, but then again it was my mom who watched him. Felt very strange to be in a restaurant without a baby carseat balanced on a chair or booth nearby, but also kind of nice at the same time. Of course Kieran was fine, slept the whole time we were gone without a peep out of him. Maybe next time we'll be brave enough to leave before his bedtime?