birds eye view

Climbing atop a mountain is a breathless struggle.  Once you do it and are able to stand straight and look around you can immediately realize it was worth all the effort.  Such a metaphor for life.

We drove up to Acadia in Maine. It was so beautiful!  My husband used to live on Bartlett’s Island which is off the coast of Bar Harbor.  He loves it up there and I guess I love it by marriage now, too.  The wind was howling like it was from an old musty novel from years gone by.

We drove up the coast, like all the way up.  Stopping here and there.  I was a little apprehensive about going, lately I just like to be home.  It’s comfortable!  But now of course I am so happy I went! 

Molly and Henry picked a bag full of smooth flat rocks to skip in the pond next to our house.  We spend so much time here at home on those dirty banks looking for the perfect stone to skip….to see those stone beaches with millions of the perfect skipping rocks?  It was too exciting!  Certainly better than any gift shop.

It was a good week and now we are back to our home feeling renewed about all the springtime chores that need doing. It is a long list, but as far as seasonal chore lists go—spring is my favorite.  I have 150 starter pots in my daughter’s bedroom.  She will be home from college soon so I better hurry up and get started!

 

the evolution of color

Golly the air is nice today.  It was the first walk of the year I didn’t put a hat on the babes. 

I took him out of his buggy near the center of town and he was like hello? who? what is happening???  Now keeping him in his buggy is surely to be a problem but we’ll worry about that later.

We ran in little bursts much like frolicking newborn animals do.  The ground is very squishy with melted snow and our boots were suctioned in with each step.  Other than our rubber boots and the blue sky there wasn’t any color to be found.  There are no buds on the trees or clumps of green grass, it takes mother nature ages to make it up this far north.

Then just when you think she forgot about us, the green appears and it is lovely….so lovely.

Until then you must improvise.  I love how color evolves throughout the year.  Our red front door gives a statement this time of year, but during the fall it hides behind those glorious colored leaves.  In the summer it lets the red potted geraniums on the stoop have some well deserved attention.

Hope you are having a colorful fair weather day, friends!

of faults and reassurances

Oh dear dear dear.  It is spring and my thoughts are brimming with projects and ideas.  Just thinking about everything is making me too tired to do anything.  Though I have been pretty good at setting up things…ie going to the store and buying my list of items with such exact extremes it would make your eyes roll.  Then I drive away and my home routines take over.  The same ones I have had for years.  You know, laundry, dinner planning and keeping all these floors clean. 

Also the daily caring of my precious, sweet children.  One is about to go to England, one has a bark cough, one is about to move home from Texas (!!!!), one is working on his license (oh boy, he hit one of our cars with another of our cars in the driveway--even though I was hollering and jumping up and down telling him he was about to hit it). Then there is my wee lad who gets into so much stuff then innocently says “sorry mom”.  Then he gets into more stuff.

Those are some poorly written sentences up there.  You don’t mind, do you?

If you really want to know what my nonfamily thoughts are made of I shall tell you:

deployments

moving

keeping healthy

my home

sewing

I only have pictures of the last one.  And like my poor grammar the pictures aren’t so great either.

I made a knit maxi dress and really like it.  I tried on dresses in  the store and laughed at my jiggily flat rear end.  I felt the need to customize my very own dress.  Maxi dresses are not made for short people that have grown six children in their body.

This shirt was too easy to make so made a whole bunch of them.  I like the way the fabric drapes (any fabric, too, I’ve tried knit, cottons, and polyester).  It makes me feel like a girl unlike a tee shirt which makes me feel like I should be working in an oil change mart.

Now it is the time of day to pick up the track athletes.  And since I am their mother I shall be the one to do it.