I just realized that since I posted about fried rice last week, I haven't had a Pumpkin Clan update post in over two weeks. Let's see. Last week, the Pumpkin Daycare had a "natsumatsuri" or "summer carnival" in which the kids danced,
toted around a portable shrine,
whacked open and ate watermelon, and played games.
The Pumpkin Princess, (pleased to be wearing a Hello Kitty yukata (cotton summer kimono), got two goldfish, so the Pumpkin Daddy bought a small aquarium, complete with filter and air pump, and spent the afternoon setting it up. He made the mistake of feeding the fish after he finished, and when the Pumpkin Princess woke from her nap and was told the fish had already been fed, she threw a temper tantrum. She was pacified with sparklers.
The next morning (Sunday), the Pumpkin Princess got up before her mommy and daddy. She climbed on a chair in the kitchen to get the box of Cocoa Crispies, poured some of it into a bowl (and some of it on a floor), and had a makeshift breakfast (I should be grateful no milk was involved). Then she dragged the same chair to the aquarium and proceeded to give the goldfish breakfast.
I came downstairs to find a 1/4 inch thick layer of fish food floating on the top of the aquarium water, and screamed (it was a reflex of sorts, I couldn't help it). I managed to scoop most of it out before it sank to the bottom. We spent the workweek wincing at the fact that this was the Pumpkin Daddy's last week of paternity leave. He's done a great job, and I am going to miss coming home to a clean house and happy children.
Friday night, the Pumpkin Princess demanded to sleep at the Pumpkin Granny's. Granny was OK with it, so the Pumpkin Mommy and Daddy got to sleep in. The Pumpkin Granny did not fare as well, since the Pumpkin Princess got up no less than three times during the night, and woke up and got out of bed at 5:30 a.m.
The Pumpkin Parents woke to find a goldfish floating belly up.
After the Princess was brought home (not without much protest), fish funeral services were held and lunch was eaten, we headed out to a "matsuri" in the next city. It was raining. What do you do with the "dashi" (float) when it rains? Apparently, exactly the same you do to a Pumpkin Princess,
which is dress it in a raincoat...
The rain toned itself down just enough to allow the fireworks to happen.
Sunday was spent wincing at the arrival of the workweek and cleaning and playing with Legos and gardening. Someone needs to explain to me how on earth I can acquire nine mosquito bites in 15 minutes.
Another mystery of the Pumpkin Palace grounds: why we get beautiful tomatos every year, but can't seem to harvest a single zucchini (courgettes to my Brit friends). These are cooking tomatoes with thick skin, and made a lovely lasagna. Actually, they made two. One was eaten soon after it came out of the oven. The other will be eaten tomorrow as a workweek dinner.
And that's it for now. We'll see what and when I can post next...
5 comments:
Thanks for the update! The tomatoes look beautiful. And I am also a mosquito magnet, which is a pity, since I am also allergic to them.
How goes the other pumpkin fish?
He's rolling over with so much momentum, he goes all the way around and gets upset over it. He goes through the motions of crawling, and this propels him at a speed of about 12 inches an hour. Not bad for a 4 month-old!
I'm another one that can acquire mosquito bites at an alarming rate. Actually, any insect that bites will find me first!
Was the Pumpkin Princess traumatized? When my youngest brother was maybe two or three years old, he turned up the tank heater because the water felt cold. We lost a number of guppies and a catfish or two, as I recall, and he was quite upset about it.
And zucchini grows better than weeds around here. Most people I know who have planted it spend a lot of time trying to give it away because they have so much.
For a second there I thought the pumpkin princess had given the fish cocoa crispies :)
Blog hopping form Hyotenka. Nice to read about your family.
Love kindy festivals. Shou (3) and Marina (1.5) had theirs a few weeks back. Shaved ice, bouncy ballons with water in them, curry and rice and throw the hoop over the goodies.
And a zillion mozzies.
Katy in Oita.
Sheri, I used to feel like a loser because I'd thought you were supposed to be up to your ears in zucchini from the garden, and I harvested a single zucchini last season. Then I compared notes with friends, and found they had the same problem. Something about not enough pollinating insects in the area. My meticulous friend, who got up at five every morning to pollinate his zucchini blossoms, got a decent harvest, but I don't see that happening with me. As for the goldfish, I don't think she gets the whole concept of death yet, and is no more upset than when she broke one of her toys.
Hello, Katy, thanks for stopping by!
Post a Comment