In the Last Week

Zoe spent all of last week in (in, not on) Mars at the Family Retreat Center for Language Camp where she learned French (campers had a choice of that, German, and Spanish. We went to pick her up on Saturday morning and saw the closing performance which included a skit and a few songs they'd learned. I was seriously impressed with the amount of French she'd learned and her pronunciation. She said that she found it easy to read, which is great; I do also, but recognize that many (her father, par example) do not. It appeared that she made a lot of new friends there - one of whom lives just a few blocks up the street from us and is also named Zoe - and is eager to return next summer. Good deal.

Speaking of France, my Khoreys will be returning on Sunday, a day that will cap off with a belated birthday party for Nina who turned twelve (or twenty-two, which is what it really seems like) on the twelfth. It'll be great to have them back. Also, it will be sweet to be able to do laundry at my leisure again, rather than doing it once or twice a week at Kellie's house (thank you so much, Boot!) and having to use more disposable diapers than I'd care to use because I'm trying to stretch the cloth ones till the next wash day. Having laundry privileges at a place of employment is a benefit of such magnitude - particularly for a family of four with one in cloth diapers - that words cannot properly describe.

On the home front I was hard at work on my mural, as it occurred to me that I need to be wrapping that up sometime next month and August's end is in sight. Rob and Zoe have been dutifully keeping me company while I've scampered all around the back apartment, jumping from panel to panel, turning them on their sides to align with their side or upper-lower neighbors. To convey what's going on in my "studio" apartment, there are fourteen rather large panels of medium-density fiberboard that weigh a whole lot more than they look like they ought to lining the walls of our old abode. The bulk of the mural - the ark and all non-winged animals - is happening on the eight largest panels, four across and two high, so planning is key. I can't go to the church to drill the panels up onto the wall only to find that they're not joining together properly. Aside from the birds that will fill the sky, I'm done with the sketch and nearly ready to commence the very exciting task of applying the paint! Another minor detail is getting reference photos of some of the animals in the mural that also live in the zoo here, just to make it a little more personal (if to no one else but Rob and me). Mrithi and Ibo, the lead silverback gorilla and the silly, expressive little ball-shaped female are featured, and I plan to have Gracie, the aviary's beloved and recently deceased toucan, perched at the helm, with a fictional mate flying alongside her. Zoe brought up the question that I hadn't even considered: "Are you going to paint Joseph?" I assumed she had her Biblical tales crossed, but then she realized her error and switched Joseph to Jonah. I reminded her that Jonah was the one that landed himself in the belly of the whale - in a similar vein of the ark, I suppose - and that she meant Noah. I probably ought to paint old Noah somewhere in the mural, right? He's the one who made the voyage possible, the captain. But who will be my Noah? Could it be Rob bedecked in Genesis-era garb? I can think of no other candidates. Stay tuned for some images in the coming week.