Category — Photos

It was one of those clear, sharp, mustless days
That summer and man delight in.
Never had Heaven seemed quite so high,
Never had earth seemed quite so green,
Never had the world seemed quite so clean
Or sky so nigh.
And I heard the Deity’s voice in

The sun’s warm rays,
And the white cloud’s intricate maze,
And the blue sky’s beautiful sheen.

-e.e.cummings, “The Eagle”

Friday series inspired by SouleMama

“{this moment}: A Friday ritual. A single photo – no words – capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember.”

Friday series inspired by SouleMama

“{this moment}: A Friday ritual. A single photo – no words – capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember.”

Friday series inspired by SouleMama

“{this moment}: A Friday ritual. A single photo – no words – capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember.”

I’ve been hoping to find time to blog again soon, but even when time was found I was unsure where to begin. A lot has happened in such a short amount of time and I’m still processing much of it. Some things are just so all consuming that the rest of life must very stubbornly seep through, eventually.

And that is one of the things I so admire about life. You can try to dam it back, close your eyes and pretend your floating in a lazy river, but we all know that nothing stops the current. It is defiant it its attempts to keep us moving. Thank God.

One of the markers of passing time in life’s great current is the seasons change. This Father’s Day weekend we’ll kiss Spring goodbye (is it REALLY still Spring?) and embrace full fledged Summer. Currently, the mosquitoes surrounding my home are holding us hostage indoors (and if you know us, that means WE ARE GOING PLUMB MAD!) and has me dreaming of Portland bug-free sunny months of bliss. But a few things make up for it, gently reaffirming that we ARE where we need to be (in no particular order):

For one, the fire flies. Oh, what I would give to be able to capture in photographs these creatures dance outside my window at night. I can hardly close my eyes when I lay in bed waiting for the next one to surprise me with its electrical body outside my window and drift this way and that. There are dozens of them floating outside at any given moment, lighting up the darkness like evening fairies worshiping the moon. Last night I even dreamed I went outside and scouted some glow worms. I’m downright enchanted with them!

For another, the community. The network of family and friends we have been welcomed into in just 4 short months (is that ALL?) is everything I hoped it would be and more. When breaking bread with loved ones, it often feels as if we have never NOT been here. I am so grateful for such a vibrant, loving, healthy community of adults and children to bring up my own in. The more I plug into the good people I have come to know here, the more impressed I am with their hearts and lives – all so very, very different from one another. What a colorful tapestry of folks!

Allow me to paint you a picture of my neighborhood alone: I have been befriended by a neighbor on one side, a nursery worker, single mom to two young boys – the kinda lady who will talk your ear off about Irises and give you the shirt off your back if you asked her (or even if you don’t!). Our lives collide with theirs in ways only nature could orchestrate: rescuing a young tortoise from the street, climbing trees together, or exchanging plants and seeds.

Across the street I am greeted by three friendly neighbors in a row, all of whom I see and speak with pretty much daily. One is a warm, funky grandma with a major green thumb whose home features a set of prayer flags (as does ours). She walks and rides her bike passed our home frequently, often with her two young grandchildren and dog accompanying her.

Next to her is the areas Rabbi with his family of adopted toddlers. He pulls up to his on-street parking several times a day blasting talk radio, mows his lawn shirtless (my, what a healthy sense of self you have!), and is another brilliant botanist. He can name you just about any plant you have and tell you more about it than you really needed to know. We made a greater connection recently, as he prepares to head out of town he showed us an area where he wants us to remove and keep LOTS of yellow lillies off his property, which just so happen to be underneath an apricot tree spilling ripe fruit that we are also welcome to collect. Yippee!

And of course, our sweet friends next to him are a writer and her partner, the kinda gals so genuine that they welcome being knocked to their feet by my 4 year old’s hugs when we run into each other at the Farmer’s Market. We’ve found deeper support from these neighbors than the rest and I have a feeling as I get the courage to join their writing group that we will become closer as time goes on.

Down the way are more families speckling the neighborhood with color and charm, some we know by name and others we don’t. Many who, like us, seem to strive to make their front yard their “Third Place” where community happens.

As I type, Ethan wakes up and without even asking for breakfast declares, “I’m going to the front yard!” His tree swing turns him into a super hero for awhile, and when that loses its novelty there are endless bugs to search for under rocks. I have to coax him back inside for eating, eventually. This morning might be harder than others, however: he has found himself a tortoise.

One of the nice things about living in the city is the walks through neighborhoods like mine. But then, the country walks – spotting bugs, flowers, and deer, presents a networking community as well. Yes, we dream of our little plot of land. A lot.

But more on that later.

In the meantime, some pictures of our in-town life this Summer:

Ver in the garden…

Pole beans reaching up!

Swiss chard, a colorful and tasty addition to our backyard veg bed

A new Summertime tradition: a Marigold Bath!

Ants rummage a strawberry blossom

Peek-a-booing amongst the trees…

{simple pleasures}

a new weekend Mama Seasons series about finding pleasure in something inexpensive or free in search of :The Good Life:

Farmers market: a $3 sun hat, as well as the usual locally grown veggies to eat and plants to grow. And an ice cold latte
A turnip man (free)
Bubbles (free)

Library finds:
In and Out of the Garden, Sara Midda
Taming the Truffle; The History, Lore and Science of the Ultimate Mushroom, Hall, Brown, and Zambonelli
Time of Wonder, Robert McClosky

Thrifted (vintage):
a pully for tree climbing adventures
tablecloth, bright and Summery
OJ pitcher for Saturday morning fresh squeezed orange juice
(pictures to come)

Gifted:
Lilly’s in bloom from a neighbor

Bartered:
Possibility of website work for a local bookstore in exchange for books!

Borrowed:
Rodales Successful Gardening Organic Herbs

Created:
A fort on an enchanted island, where the prince asks nicely for the fairy godmother to bake him magical cookies so he has the energy to escape the green aliens with big ears and bumpy toes that taste like bananas and regrow when they are bitten off.

We’ve been loving “Mama, is it summer yet” by McClure – it is so timely as we feel the heat coming on strong and the gardens coming up tall.

Here are some pictures of our last week, when things got a little closer to feeling like summer is almost upon us… though, not quite yet.

sharing a raw/cultured cheesecake and frozen blueberries on a blanket with some books

Hosing off in the heat

Friday series inspired by SouleMama

“{this moment}: A Friday ritual. A single photo – no words – capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember.”

For those of you who haven’t heard, Chris interviewed for a job through a temp agency on Friday and they took the bait! He began working on Monday, woo hoo!

It sure has been different these last few days- going to bed early, waking up early… both kids usually stay asleep, allowing me at least 30 minutes to myself. What a treat to eat, drink my coffee, check my email, and knit for awhile in front of an open window as the neighborhood birds wake up. Bliss! Finding time to work, that’s another story. I can’t stay up late to work anymore or else I’m zombie mama in the morning and godzilla mama by the afternoon. I’m working on opening up a 3 days per week waldorf-inspired playschool, which I’m so excited about, but I have lots of logistics to iron out first. In the meantime, I’m trusting that I’ll find the time and energy to continue bringing in my share of the income while taking care of the youngins too. Just an adjustment, really. Life is so full of them!

A cardinal nest just outside our door reminds us that we are not the ONLY family living on this property

The days are long without adult company – I almost forgot what it was like. I allow myself only 5-10 minutes to pop onto the internet during the day so I don’t get sidetracked from the multitude of things I have to do around the house now that Chris is gone (sooo… laundry and dishes and trash and bathroom cleaning doesn’t just magically happen. Who knew?)

When there isn’t something to clean or something to cook or some one’s butt to wipe — believe it or not, there are teeny tiny windows of time where I am NOT doing one of the above — there is our Waldorf-inspired kindergarten curriculum (3 days per week), walks, gardening, stories, art, games, and so on. The part that is so outside the norm is the lack of adult conversation. I don’t know how single moms, or those with husbands working two jobs or also in night classes, do it. I suppose this is why community support and extended family around is such a necessity.

We have been baking a lot. A new favorite around here is the recipe I found for chocolate cookies using whole wheat pastry flour, raw sugar, and crunchy sea salt on top. Finally, a replacement for that darn addictive cookie dough from Immaculate Baking Co.! One batch of this recipe costs about the same as a pack of the dough, but makes probably 4 times the servings. I’ll share more pics and the link to the recipe later this week…

However, I’m enjoying it. There are low points to the day, but that’s a given. All in all, it is really nice to focus on just the house/kids/myself without having to take into account and balance the needs and conversations of another adult. And it makes the evening time together that much more special.

Yay, dad’s home!

We are currently reading through “Radical Homemakers ; Reclaiming Domesticity from a Consumer Culture”. I love it. Wait, no, I didn’t say that right. I LOVE THIS BOOK AND THINK EVERY ONE SHOULD READ IT. NOW. PERIOD. THE END.

But more on that another day.

With all the rain, we’ve resorted to hanging laundry indoors. Cloth diapering without a dryer is… interesting.

With all the rain (A week or more of straight up RAIN, thunder, and lightening. NOTHING like the rain I was used to in Portland. This is torrential downpour weather) we realized that the chicken coop was placed in an area of the yard that was quickly becoming a mudslide — and not the yummy, ice creamy kind. So it was moved to a place further up on the “hill” where they are happily not feather deep in goop.

This opened up a new space in the yard that gets lots of sun and lots of rain. I am fast at work on a garden plan that would put more raised beds in that space, along with container blueberry plants, tater tires, and perhaps a fruit tree or two.

Coming this summer: dwarf sugar peas, pole beans, dragon tongue beans, and heirloom watermelon!

Our pole beans are shooting right up, as well. When the sun peeks out again, we’ll be setting up an 8′ high bean tepee in the yard to let them climb for a shady summer resting spot. It’s down right magical to watch little tiny seeds become plants taller than you are.

Life is beckoning me to live it now, so until next time…

I enjoy having a daughter immensely. It is so true what they say. You wonder how you’ll ever love another living creature as much as your first child and then whoosh [insert moans and cries of agony and hard work]: the second child arrives. Your heart grows double the size to accommodate all that you feel. The more love felt, the more growth experienced to keep up. Like breastmilk – supply meets demand. If I ever decide to have more children, I’m certain this mother-child-mathematics will continue. I’m convinced that there is never a shortage of love for your children, be they one or one hundred.

One thing I particularly like about having my Ver Bear is how lovely it is to have a daughter to knit for

Some patterns just call to me. This one did. I waited around for its release for days, and once it was available I had purchased it within a few minutes.

The yarn for this project, (Verity’s birthday gift), is the soft, one might even describe as doughy, Rowan Summer Tweed – Brilliance (70% silk, 30% cotton), plus a trimming of a heathery dark teal worsted stash yarn. I adore the feel of the sweater, though must say, the yarn was a little tricky to work with. It is so delicate you can actually tear it apart if you don’t go easy on it (and I did that. Twice. Talk about panic attack when your knitting along and then SNAP! But I saved it — phew.)

I finally began working on this again last weekend and finished yesterday, 3 weeks late for her birthday but just in time for the cool weather today. The chic fabric buttons I ordered for it on Etsy ended up being too big for the button holes (a mistake I happen to make frequently) but I found what I think was a nice alternative embellishment in my button stash. These copper, vintage inspired buttons were purchased over a year ago at a button store in Portland. They were so me. But I never found the right project for them. Nothing seemed worthy enough. Until now, that is

It’s fits just right, with wiggle room for her to wear through Fall/Winter next year. I couldn’t be more pleased to see my daughter staying cozy and cute in her new sweater, handknit with loads of love.