We spent most of yesterday at my parents house, giving Ian time at home alone, and after nap took a stroll outside. It was still quite chilly. By pure delightful coincidence, we encountered a little girl and her grandma that Mom knows in the neighborhood, and they invited us to join them on their walk to a nearby creek. Benji had been whining and having a difficult day, but meeting his friend and playing at the creek totally reset our mood. We had a very nice time.

Also, on the way to the creek, Benji and I went by a house with a long driveway that had a newspaper at the end of the driveway. Benji said he wanted to deliver the paper to the door, and I said sure. As he did, the lady came out and was effusive in the thanks and praise. She introduced herself and we chatted for a bit. I think it made her day much happier.

Today, Saturday, we’re waiting to bike until afternoon to let it warm up outside. It was 23° when I got up, and that’s too cold for me to spend three or four hours outside biking. Hopefully by noon it’ll warm up more. Anyway, that gave us all morning to play, and we decided to make fresh playdough. (For the record, I used this playdough recipe, with great success, and I didn’t even have all the cream of tartar it called for.)

I asked Benji what color he wanted, and he said, “Rainbow!”

Not too shabby, I feel.