And there's a covered wagon mural at the library

Kids are rad. My housemates are rad. Capitol Hill is (surprisingly) rad. School is (bad?). My after-(sometimes before-)school program is rad.

I got out of my housemate Micah's car this morning and into (surprisingly) a hug from a third-grader in a pink feather boa. That was rad.

I am getting my ear-pierced this week, and my housemate Katherine is getting her nose pierced. We are waiting for her cold to go away. She is getting a kitten. We are going to see Regina Spektor for sixteen dollars. (Jenny Lewis for 35.) I recorded a song this weekend (with Braxton and Micah). Dewayne (a 4th grader) brought my snack TO me today, and yesterday (at the after school program).

We are saying "no" to the girl who wants to sleep on our couch for 6 weeks. We discussed it around our royal blue dining room table.

[I'm not good at disciplining kids. I'm good at making art with kids. The second grade is making a poster-that's-a-city, and the fourth grade is making a poster-about-communication. But no one is learning to read.] (Yet.)

["What can Miss Bell be for Halloween?"
"A bell. Ha ha ha."
"A princess."

...

"A diamond."]


::Musical interval::

[Micah wears his Sunday best.
Katherine's tired she needs a rest.
The kids are playing up downstairs.
Sister's sighing in her sleep
ohohohoh
Sophie's got a date to keep.
She can't hang around.]

"Braxton got a ticket [to Jenny Lewis] pass it on," says Micah from his bedroom.

"Get in the fridge," says Katherine all the time. [It means "chill out."]

"Man, I love our house," says Sophie from her bedroom.


Come over.

I miss you.

Love, Elsie.