The year is on the wane

It's hard to believe that July is more than half over already. I passed up even Friday the Thirteenth and Bastille Day with nary a post, which is a fair indication of how busy I must be. Some quick highlights of last week:

* I discovered that Wal-mart will price match local competitors' sales. Apparently they have been doing this for some time, and if the item is under $10, you don't even need to flourish the competitor's sale flier to get the price, although it is up to the manager's discretion what qualifies as local. This is a tremendous boon in the cheap food department, as Aldi, my best source of cheap staples, is an inconvenient distance off my beaten path.

* I tried my hand at homemade granola, and it turned out scrumptiously. The cold cereal dilemma was really getting to me, but I wasn't quite ready to get up at the stroke of 6 a.m. and fry eggs and toast for Michael's breakfast every morning just to keep him from eating overpriced and unwholesome cold cereal. Besides, I really really really don't want to weird him out too much with any health kicks. He's been most long-suffering with my whole wheat spaghetti and the brown-rice-flour-in-the-brownies fiasco, but still. I'm delighted that he's delighted by this new discovery. Jane and I like it, too. We eat it the European way, with yogurt (although, alas, my spoiled palate requires a liberal dose of maple syrup).

* I watched a friend's two kids on Friday, and discovered what a handful four little children can be. They are delightful children, 25 months and 12 months old, but so active, so inquisitive, so requiring of attention! Even with naps spelling my two, I did not get a single thing done. I read books, I helped share toys, I helped the guests not climb onto the hearth, but there was no getting supper ready or cleaning the house. The wonderful thing is that it made the rest of the week feel that much easier. Oh, only two to juggle? Not a problem in the least. Three children next weekend will be a positive breeze.

*We've been a little addicted to X-Files recently. A friend burned Seasons 1-3 onto disc for us and we've been watching them rather later than we ought each night. I find the endings decidedly inconclusive. We are told that the movie ties loose ends up a bit, which it jolly well better. Meanwhile I cannot be left alone in a dark house and keep expecting giant leeches to crawl out of the drains.

* Jane now knows all her letters and what sounds they make. Ella will be six months old at the end of the month. We may have occasion to be using our passports again ere long.