Does Anybody Else See the Empty Roll?

Random happenings at the Markses Castle, if you can call an 1800 square-foot home built in 1975 a castle. We love it here.

At least it wasn't an emergency today.

• Yes, Mom is still the only one allowed to change out the toilet paper apparently.

• This week has been filled with more painting and "womanifying" at my brother's house. It looks great now. I've tried to remember not to interfere all the time with my opinions, but when he asks, I have a ready earful of them--all in love. It's been so fun to pretty up his house, and to make useable some kitchen cabinets that had been painted shut for... decades, I'm guessing.

• All the work at his house has me itching to finish some projects here at my house. The laundry room is a wreck, for instance. It functions as such, but the space-planner in me is going to town with ideas. Hehe, where's that pry bar? The idea is to get so far into the project, the only way out is forward. Makes sense, right?

• Speaking of projects, one of them tomorrow will be to walk the kids, step-by-step, through the process of completing each of their house chores. Proficiency is lacking. Back to the follow-through formula. It takes so much more effort to walk with them through this than to do it myself, though my hope is that it will pay off in the end. Nothing good ever comes easily.

• Driving around town, I still saw plenty of houses tonight with Christmas lights and trees blazing in the windows, lighting up their section of the world with joy. I can't bring myself to take down ours yet. The little lights shine out so cheerily. And our happy little snowman at the door never fails to greet us with a smile. He's staying for now. We need him.

• Kara and Kal have ideas spewing out about how to make their bedrooms into perfect havens, and their ideas are fabulous. I'm listening to all the ideas, trying desperately to bring a sense of reality. Yes, please dream, dream big, but let's also see if we can work with what we have to accomplish some of these dreams.

• When I was their age, I would draw houses and floorplans for hours, dreaming up what I thought was the perfect layout. I still do that in my head, although it's during housework now. Idle time is gone with childhood.

• Dreams are powerful. Nothing ever happened without first being an idea.

• Kara has helped with babysitting her little cousin this week. He's three months old and just the cutest thing around. He smiles in the most trusting and loving way.

• Now that virtual school is coming to an end, we have a good rhythm going for it finally.

• Our bunny, who we thought was a girl at first, is, in veterinarian-confirmed fact, a boy. Instead of Ginger Snap as a name, we have settled on Leo. Leo the Lion, Leo the Lionheart, Leo the Poop Machine.