Tree house

Today is a perfect, tree house kind of day. It's a little overcast, a teeny bit grey, hinting at a little rain later on, but for now, it's just gently moody. I like days like this if they're sprinkled between gloriously blue-skied sunny periods. I'm missing my last room which had a chair perched in front of a low window, so I could sit as if perched right in the tree outside. From where I write now, the trees feel more distant. That's ok though... they are there, which I appreciate. There must be something I'm allowed to read tucked on my bookshelf somewhere. Or more likely, squirrel away in a box in the basement.

A day like today just begs for some good reading. It calls for Sense and Sensibility, or A Tale of Two Cities. Too bad I've given up reading fiction for Lent, 'cause that's exactly what I'd do today. Instead I have the book Talking about Jane Austen in Baghdad, which I've mentioned before. I'm floundering a bit, 86 pages in. One of the women involved is not terribly sympathetic (and when she's the woman at risk in Iraq, the whole premise of the book is shaky) so I'm not very motivated to keep turning the pages.
We have very nearly survived March Break, here at the House of Nuts. Peanuts One to Three have been home from school and thanks in large part to the wonderful spring weather we've been having, they have done a superb job of pretending to be civilized creatures. (I'm teasing them, of course. They are all of them, really good boys.) There has been very little recourse to movies (to keep them quiet) as they have spent the bulk of every day out of doors, giving their mother heart attacks with their bicycle tricks and tree climbing. They've gone for long bike rides, and long car rides, long walks and shopping trips. The secret is to keep them occupied; boys don't seem to do well when at loose ends. I'd love to get my sister to write a book about raising boys. Maybe I'll ghost it for her.

What I'm really doing today is wallowing in football. That's right, Dear Reader...soccer again. There was a really big game today, you see. TBTE (Manchester United) at home against Liverpool (also known as 'pool, Liverpoo, and Scousers). The two teams are bitter rivals as one is a former powerhouse and one is the current Team To Beat. Sadly, the last three times pool played United, they have won. So it was important that United win today, not only for points, but for pride as well. And they did, Dear Reader, they did! 2-1. But that's not all. Right this very moment, Chelsea (also known as Chelski in honour of their Russian oil baron owner) is playing as well. They are nipping at the heels of United (and Arsenal, who are also hovering in reach of top spot) with the advantage of a game in hand (meaning they have one more game to play than United, which is one more chance to gain three points) Chelsea have a secret weapon in one of their players who is built like the Uruk hai from Lord of the Rings. He's a scary fellow, and has a real knack for scoring goals. It's important for United that Chelsea not win outright today. A tie would be ok, but a loss far preferable. So far they're leading but there's still a lot of football to be played.

Here are two of the best commentator quotes of the day:

"He's wearing lilac boots. An interesting fashion turn, today. I didn't even know what lilac was, before this."

"It's Fletcher... Carrick... the shins of Evra..."