Another Stormy Day, Still We Rise

I slept in until 6 this morning—a rare treat. After getting dressed, I pulled my daily card from the Momento tarot deck and drew The Harp—another symbol of harmony and good news. Encouraging, especially with how things have been lately.

soothing. beautiful. heavenly. musical event. positivity heading your way. cosmos

Lily was supposed to be picked up today, and if the rain held off, I had hoped to send her down to work in the garden with Dameion for a bit. Unfortunately, that ended up falling through, so we shifted back into our usual routine.

Charlie still had 4 out of 5 baking recipes to finish up, so I decided not to add anything more to his plate today. For dinner, I chose shepherd’s pie and added the ingredients to our Walmart cart. With that out of the way, I turned my attention to prepping the girls’ schoolwork for the day.

snappy

The morning was moving at a sluggish pace. I was hoping Franklin might wake up early and take over the dogs so I could stay ahead, but no such luck. I moved through my usual rhythm—fed the sourdough starter, took care of Snappy, and then got started on the dogs.

aria getting grain

By the time I finished walking Harley, Franklin and the girls were finally up. He took over the rest of the dogs while I rushed through what was left. Aria came with me to feed the chickens—she loves her feathered friends—and afterward, we went to give Babushka her breakfast while Franklin finished the last of the dog walks.

aria feeding poultry

All that remained was feeding Jezebel, but her jug was empty, so I had to make a fresh batch of milk first. Once that was done, the girls were fed, dressed, and had cleaned their room, and Jezebel had her bottle in hand—our day had officially begun.

aria feeding bushka

While Dameion ran to the local co-op to pick up creep feed for Jezebel, I settled in with the girls for school. We started with today’s book, read a poem together, and played a count-by-3s game before moving into our graphing worksheets.

Charlie, in the meantime, assembled a shelf-saver for the bathroom to help with organizing now that the new toilet is in—it's definitely bigger than the last. Once Dameion returned, he slipped back into his normal animal routine. And since Lily's visit was canceled, the rest of the day returned to its usual pace. Before long, it was time for lunch and nap.

fresh organized bathroom

While the girls napped, the house shifted into a quiet hum. Charlie and Dameion teamed up to bake a loaf of bread, Franklin ordered Chinese for dinner, and a soft storm rolled in on the horizon.

old lady harley

After nap, we dove into our India packets and flashcards, and wrapped up with an activity where the girls made homemade lemonade and fruit trees—a fun and refreshing way to end their school day.

Everyone enjoyed dinner, and the girls wound down with cartoons before settling in for a movie and lights out. Meanwhile, the adults gathered around for a few rounds of Red Dragon Inn. I managed to knock out Franklin and Dameion and offered Charlie the choice to call a draw—I was completely wiped and ready for bed.

Here’s hoping tomorrow brings a little sunshine and a little more energy.

fruit palm trees