being a dreamer

  I often think about why some people love to read while others look at it as a chore (hello to my brother Mike).  Maybe it is a personality thing?  I often wish I could be more outgoing and more relaxed around new faces.  I love to hear people talking about their experiences, their families…to see their animated faces sharing their happiness. 

Reading books transports me to another place and time.  I remember the first time I read the Emily series by LM Montgomery (same author as Anne of Greene Gables).  It was profound.  Her thoughts were so similar to my thoughts, the way she wrote about nature and the land.  Her words about being a child, it has stayed with me all these years. Those books made me feel like it was okay to dream.  To dream about stuff no one else would understand.  Like the way the water ripples on a pond when the wind rolls in before the rain.  Is there a proper adjective for that?  It just makes me feel something.

Books are everywhere in this house.

A good book makes you think, it stays with you.

While most of our books have their place on a shelf we still have many stacked about. Radiators make great shelves during the summer

My kids are all dreamers.  Like most kids they create plans and get so excited about them.  I suppose it is something that indirectly I have always thought was okay—to encourage them to keep doing that.  To be excited about stuff.  The oldest girls are now “grown ups”.  I love hearing their ideas and plans.  Their someday thoughts.  It’s okay to dream because I know. I know.

Happy weekend to you, hope it’s full of good stuff!

g’afternoon

Golly I think this summer should win an award for Best Weather Ever.  At least around here.

The weather hasn’t gotten in the way of anything, really.  The one rainy week I remember was in perfect timing to my lay in bed and read all day mood at the time.  It hasn’t been too hot to cook food.  We sit on the porch and enjoy the air gliding through at the perfect speed. 

The cats are comfortable window shopping for birds on the wide open windows. 

Though it does take all day to dry a load of towels on the line. 

The kids don’t sleep in the tent but they have hauled enough stuff out into it that I am surprised there is room to even sit in it.

When I’m in the house I feel as though I should be outside enjoying the weather and getting the garden weeded (hahahahaha). When I’m outside I think of all the housework that needs doing inside.  It’s hard to live in the moment and enjoy what is right under your nose!

on a Monday morning

Before I leave my room each morning I rush around and get dressed and barely comb my hair, I make my bed and make sure the room looks a little tidy.  I do this in about five minutes flat which really explains my appearance each day. If I don’t do this the day starts bad,  I end up standing in a messy kitchen in my pajamas and then before I know it is almost lunchtime.

This morning however, I broke all my rules and came downstairs very early and had my breakfast in my sitting room on the little bed in there.  The windows were open and the songbirds were loud.  The air is fresh and cool for a morning in August.  The kind of air I missed every day I lived in Texas (sorry Texans). 

I wish I had pictures to share that could encompass how happy it made me.  The first morning in many that put a smile on my face.  Mornings lately have been a little hard.  Parts of each day…hard.  I wish I could get used to all this stuff.  But as you can guess it’s hard! I have been missing myself if that makes any sense to anyone.

On Saturday the church next door had their annual fair to raise money for charities. It is a charming little set up with a rummage sale, used book sale, auction and games for the kids that make you smile.  Nothing is modern about it, even most of the people.  The church has never missed a year for 152 years now.  The first fairs were for children to raise money to support needs during the Civil War. We live on Main st in this little town and the hay ride goes up and down all day and I wave to all the children each time and because I am a goon it makes me get a lump in my throat when I see their little happy faces while riding in a hay wagon.

My brother Mike and my mother come up every year.  And this year my father came, too.  Mike and I are the youngest of a big family and never experienced having “mom and dad” as they divorced while we were young. We were kind of giddy having both our parents together and just us two kids. We might have acted a bit foolish taking pictures and such and probably making our parents kind of uncomfortable.

After my dad left my brother and my husband lit the huge burn pile we had in the back.  (don’t worry we had a permit to burn) it was a ginormous fire and the kids ran wild and my son lit fireworks and scared the chickens and I sat to the side and thought about all the books I bought at the fair that morning.

Yesterday we went blueberry picking for the second time, my husband is home to do this with us which is very, very nice.  We picked all together about 45 pounds. And by we I mean my husband and teenagers while I sat under the biggest blueberry bush I could find and rested my neck on a perfect fluff of straw.

I have no pictures of the blueberry picking which is too bad as Henry wore engineer striped overalls and a Red Sox hat, which is so very cute when you are six (and not so cute if you are 40).

Since I am not sharing many pics I will share this one of my parents with 5 of our 6 kids.

As you can see Sam is growing very tall and Maggie likes to have that chunk of frayed short hem hanging down.  I tried to cut it off and she went hysterical.  Maggie made Sam’s shirt—isn’t it cute?  I think this is called bragging about one’s kids???  And since I am I will tell you Hadley our oldest is missing from this picture, she is in TX working because she graduated this year. From college!  She has a degree in linguistics and I am so proud of her.  We put her through so much during her education, with all the moving and military stuff.  But now she is finished! And she is only 20!  Proud of that girl!

Sometimes I get overwhelmed with gratitude as if I knew during my 20’s and 30’s what I know now I would have been afraid to have 6 kids.  But Somebody knew what I wanted even more than I did.  These kids make me so happy!