That cat is on my map

Norman Mailer's apartment is for sale. It looks like a neat place to play, but maybe only if they sell it with the books, and I'd definitely want them to reinstall the rope swing and hammock that once hung from the ceiling. Then again, at 2.5 million dollars? I never really was a fan of his.

The snow was gone this morning, but in its place was a thin layer of ice. Thin, mind you, but as I type this it is hailing, and I'm really starting to wonder about spring.

Calvin's last class in the late-winter swim session was this morning. You hear that, spring? That was the last of the late winter classes.

He did really well, improved a lot, and had a great time. We'll repeat the preschool class at least once more, though, and I'm hoping to get him signed up for the spring session (hear that spring?).

And we spent some time in Spain today (we've done that for the past week, actually, but today I'm taking the time to two finger type about it). Mostly explored the map, and we also spent some time at the Prado. Books are wonderful, aren't they? They can take you just about anywhere.

Cookie really wanted to go with us, or else she has a thing about paper on the floor. I'll leave you to decide which of those is more likely, but we've all seen her getting friendly with paper before.

Monday, in 100 words

Some years from now I'll be scrolling back through old-ish photos and I will come across April shots of snowy cardinals in my garden and think they've been misfiled since that really can't be mid-April, can it? Of course, if I look back a year I might be equally surprised to see pictures of tulips fully emerged even a week earlier, and us frolicking through fields of green littered with bright yellow dandelions. Then I'll remember that we live in unpredictable Michigan. We spent this spring day inside with trains, books, piano, birds to watch, piano, games, and each other.

Sunday in pictures

Too windy to play outside...

Saturday in pictures

Broken

Broken fingers are not particularly conducive to typing, and because I now have a matching pair of these it is likely that my typing will be minimal for at least a week, if not a little longer. The doctor tells me I'm lucky because the breaks are small, but unlucky about the sprained fingers and wrist that go with them. It's a complete outfit, a fully coordinated injured hand, and since it's also my right hand, and I'm right handed, journaling, crafting, piano, it's all somewhat out the window right now. Bah.

There is a lesson to be learned in everything, though, and my incapacity generated a lengthy discussion today about handedness. Calvin had not previously noticed that he writes and draws with just one hand. He plays the piano with both hands, after all. In fact, it took an experiment to show him that not all hands are equal, a writing comparison experiment, and now that he's aware of it he's interested in rectifying the ability gap between the two. I think this is going to be fun, but don't expect me to wax poetic on the subject. You'll probably be seeing mostly pictures for a while.