a few things...

Illustration by Harry Rountree

First, I want to say that part of the reason why I never blog anymore is that my blogging app is no longer supported & the only option I've found as a replacement is absolutely miserable. Secondly, my life is so busy right now, it's crazy stupid. I'd love to share my day, even though it's rather boring to hear over the interwebs, because, one day I'll want to remember all the details of this busy life. I could tell you everything from my first sip of halfcaf coffee to eating cold mashed potatoes & zucchini out of a large measuring cup for dinner, but that sounds like a tedious, maniacal prospect. Instead, I'll share with you the items in my day that actually matter to me. Daniel is now driving. He's eighteen, has published two articles for a magazine in England, and has collaborated with some of the big names in his industry on games, music videos, & VR experiences. He has an amazing resume & online portfolio, and has set aside enough money (on his own) to pay for an associates degree, but until recently he just has had no desire to get his license- which is totally fine with me. It's one of the things I love about homeschooling; your kids can be themselves without all the pressure to do things just because that's what everyone else is doing. Anyway, he's a great driver & I don't feel totally panicked when I'm riding with him. So, we visited the college today. We've been there a lot lately: first to check out the fitness center, then to meet with an advisor, & then to talk with someone about scholarships [sometime over the next few days, I have to materialize a highschool transcript-one of the things I don't love about homeschooling.] We had a few other errands to run after that & then we headed home to unload groceries & eat lunch. In the morning, before we left, I posted for our business Instagram over breakfast & now over lunch, I updated the business Pinterest account. After that, I helped Hannah get her setup ready for art fair. Her 100% wool felt, hand-sewn creations are beautiful and amazing! She has the usual lineup of monkey, lion, elephant, aardvark, & blue-billed platypus, but also has some unique characters she invented, one with a mushroom hat, one with wings, & a bunny-looking creature with a star on its head. They're roughly 4-5 inches tall and $20-$30. [We still have to make a sign for pricing, print an artist statement, & pick up tissue paper & bags.] Emmeli also needs help with her art fair setup which we'll work on today, right after I package some herbs, strain some herbal infusions, take care of an important insurance matter, & go back to the college so Daniel can meet his instructor. Her little cards, notebooks, & tags are also beautiful. She uses black ink on kraft paper & does such designs as a foxglove, a clock, some gears, & a quail egg, just whatever is on her mind. Lately, she's also done a little character she created in all sorts of different complicated poses, like eating a cookie while lifting off the ground, holding on to a balloon. I'll try to post some pictures on my Instgram if you want to see. So next in my day, I headed out with Ben to put in some new herb rows. We borrowed a tractor & put in 11 new rows approximately 10 ft. X 50 ft. Despite the fact that there was no breeze & it was horribly hot & muggy, it was a beautiful evening, & I was extremely thankful that we even have the opportunity to do such things. I managed to snap a few pictures for Instagram & there was even a rainbow, because, you know, God is just awesome like that. So you know the rest of the story... in at 10pm to cold left-over supper & every bowl/plate we own in the dishwasher. Then, a quick shower, & into bed to start typing this blog. Life is so well documented these days. It may seem like it's just one more thing, but really, I think we need to drag this anchor to slow us down a bit. I didn't mention Snow, but she was there...kissing my cheek on the way out the door, lending her advice on art fair pricing & setups, picking up sticks to clear the way for new herbs, & even helping me edit this blog, but mostly typing away in her room & that's okay too. Writers are naturally reclusive like that & that's what makes them awesome; they have time to think.

out of the woods...

Illustration by Emily Winfield Martin

  Literally counting down the days! I'm so excited. Some of you know, but those of you who don't, I'll tell you in a bit. I own this picture, but I've been waiting for the appropriate timing to take it out of its sleeve and hang it on my wall. I really am truly greatful, and, I can't say too much right now, but you probably know what it's about. ❥

sweet child of mine...

Illustration by Mary Blair

Emmeli is such a sweet, nature-lovin' soul, so happy, so silly, & she loves holidays! No mater what holiday- Preesident's Day, Columbus Day... whatever, she's ready to celebrate. I really don't think she knows about obscure holidays like Sibling's Day and Talk Like Shakespeare Day; it's probably a good thing. Anyway, today is the pinnacle of holidays, the loveliest, happiest day of the year, because it's Emmeli's birthday! Lately, in home church, we've been praying for everyone's special requests. We pray for world events & family & troubles, etc..., but we also pray for dreams and goals, because (1) we want the Lord to be included and (2) He wants to be included. The kids thought it was really awkward at first, to pray for seemingly frivolous requests, but they came around. It's been neat for us, as parents, to pray with them for what's on their hearts. So, everybody here already knows that Emmeli likes baking. When I used to work at Whole Foods Bakery, she used to say that she wanted to work there, too, someday. But I had no idea until we started hearing these prayer requests that Em really does want to open her bakery someday. So we're having a baking party. Hannah & Snow helped me decorate & set up the kitchen like a little bake shop. It looks really sweet. One of the tables was left empty with just a sign that says, "Baking Station". That was what Em commented on first when she came in this morning. It wasn't the flowers, the decorations, or the treats; she just saw that empty table & said, "Baking station...awesome." K. Gotta go. We have lots of baking to do, right after I go get eggs, (kind of important). *Click on the image to visit the Magic of Mary Blair, a site created by the nieces of Mary Blair.

goody two shoes...

Illustration by Kate Pugsley

 Hi. Me again. You know, the new me who is very modern, so modern and technological that you can click on this photo to see more art by this artist if you feel so inclined. It's cool! I'm not getting paid for this, at least not yet, I'm just that awesome. But I didn't come here just to say that. I wanted to tell you about my new boots. ❥ I feel a bit silly for bringing it up, but I've wanted these boots for every birthday for the past four birthdays! (I have a pin on Pinterest to prove it.) So, trust me, It's allowed. So these are tall, black, waterproof boots that make it so I can pretty much do anything I want while looking adorable and keeping my little toes dry. Yesterday, I went for a walk in our swampy woods and tromped right out into the middle of our woodland lake with the water almost up to my knees. I went out with my camera and took pictures of the tiny plants holding their breath under the water. How do they live like that? All the old logs in there are covered with bright green moss & today, me & my boots are going back with Ben to have our picture taken. Basically we're just going to get lots of pictures of my feet traipsing about the countryside. It's gonna be great!

critters have feelings...

 

           

Illustration by Cicely Mary Barker

"This morning I will examine a hibernating albino bat who sleeps in a box in my refrigerator," not me- Paul Brand. He's the author of "Fearfully and Wonderfully Made," an amazing book, by the way. It's about the life & science of a man who devoted his life to helping leprosy patients. But we got about this far into the book before Emmeli said, "That does not sound like a very happy career for a bat," which is precisely what I was thinking. It's a good thing there are so many different types of people in the world. And it's also nice when people are the same.

i decided on gryphon...

 

Illustration by Erin Kelso

I'm finally blogging again. ❥ I haven't written anything yet, but I've been blogging in my head, so I know it's coming. Sometimes I just need a little push. I'm making a public announcement now. Ready? Moving forward, All of my illustrations may not be vintage. I've been thinking about this for a little bit, but this picture helped me decide. For sometime now, I've known Blog was a gryphon. He's a who, but he's really more of a what and he's make-believe and lovable and he's kind of a secret pet. So, all that being said, I'm sure you agree. Also, since you're in on the secret, you can share him with me, because as you can see, he's pretty awesome. So, this post will be brief, because I really just wanted to make that announcement, but thanks for listening. Let's meet again tomorrow. 

it was just like that...

Illustration by Cicely Mary Barker

Today Ben told me I have a cute personality, and, well, I just don't ever want to forget that. (Heeee likes my spark!!!!!!) ^_^

 

the house with numbers...

Illustration by Roger Duvoisin

This is an attempt to blog about the number eight. I was going to title it "The Number Eight", but I've found I'm much to fickle to decide these things in advance. Who knew that cleaning the basement would inspire so many new blogs? Well, the number eight is a mailbox sticker, a very large mailbox sticker which I purchased shortly after moving into this house, some years ago. There were three other numbers. They're all supposed to go together, and they're all supposed to be on the mailbox. Since we moved in, our basement has flooded almost every year, which has led to lots of frantic scurryings to get everything to higher ground. At this point, pretty much everything down there is in a plastic tub with a lid, because that is the only way. So, one year we had what we like to call the Great flood. So much of our stuff was ruined and tossed out, and anything dry was quickly tossed into any random box with a lid in the chaos. We now have several large tubs filled with who knows what. This is the same situation which led to my previous post "Chris's Keys". So, every once in a while, when I'm in the basement rummaging through, looking for something, I'll come across one of these numbers. I have high hopes that one day they'll all come together and go on the mailbox. As it is, our post-man just knows that our mailbox is the one with no numbers. I could go out and just buy new numbers, and I've thought about it before while standing in Home Depot. I was right there in the sticker section trying to tell myself that the original numbers were way too big anyway, and I should just replace them; but I couldn't do it. I really just feel that, one day, it'll work out. One day... my shower will work, Snow's wall will be patched, the kitchen will have cabinets, & the rooms will have baseboards. The decks will be done, Sage won't run off, the mice won't get in, and the boxes in the basement will be completely organized. That is when I'll find them. The numbers will be there. You know what, I should take number 8 out there right now, just in case, before it gets lost. I wonder if it'll confuse the mailman if I just start sticking them on as I find them. Anyway, that's all. I'll let you know how it all pans out.

 

Chris's keys...

Way back a few years ago, when my kids were a little much smaller than today, there was a key. The key belonged to the house of Annie, a neighbor's dog. The neighbor was named Chris. Chris had issued the key to my children for Annie's sake, so she could get outside in the afternoons while he was away. Annie loved it, the kids loved it, and Chris loved it, and all was well, until one day, we lost the key. I say we, because I feel some responsibilty (the kids being so small), but I want you to know, I never touched the key. This was an arrangement between Chris and the kids, which they seemingly had under control. I was a little embarrased to have to admit we had lost the key to his house, but Chris just laughed and went out and made a new key. After maybe a week or so, we repeated that exact same scenario. Then, again a while after that. At some point, Chris gave us a ring with two or three house keys. Personally, at this point, I would have had my locks changed, but he didn't seem too concerned. Honestly, I don't know that he had any other options for Annie. It was definitely awkward for me; I was mortified to mention to him on numerous occasions that we had lost the key yet again. It reminds somewhat of a feeling I experienced in school when I was tardy at over and over, that feeling, walking into the administrators office and having to come up with fresh excuses again & again. I still haven't gotten over my phobia of administrators. So anyway, these shenanigans with Chris and Annie all took place about 6 or 7 years ago. They are no longer our neighbors. In fact, they no longer live in our old neighborhood. So a few weeks ago, we were cleaning the basement. I hope you are already laughing; we laughed so hard. A few weeks ago, Daniel, Hannah, Emmeli, and I were going through some junk boxes in the basement. I had been down there all day cleaning and organizing and wanted to get to some sort of stopping point, so I had called in the reinforcements. It was the end of the day & the kids were all being so silly. They just didn't understand the seriousness of the situation; I really needed to get the heck outa there. So they're just pilfering through, stuffing their pockets with long lost treasues. Daniel was DJ and he was playing the worst music he could imagine, in an attempt to force me outa there, so I would stop giving orders and just let them party. But I hung in there. There were only a few things left to do, and I was enjoying having everyone around me after being down there by myself all day. I was fighting with Daniel to change the music, trying to get Emmeli to take off the roller blades (and then get off the skateboard), & trying to get Hannah to stop getting so distracted by all the shiny objects and get down to business. "What's this? What's that? Oh yah, I remember that." And then suddenly, she blurts out, "Chris's keys!" I think it took a half second for all of us to get passed thinking, who's Chris? Then, we all burst out laughing (everyone except Emmeli, I think, who's probably still thinking, who's Chris?)

 

Lighting the way...

Illustration by Adrienne Adams

If you follow me on instagram, then you already know that, yesterday, I was up in Hannah's room snapping pictures. I've been thinking about that a lot lately. I've been wanting to take pictures of simple things like: the ukulele leaning in the corner of my room next to an unhung painting of a banjo, a crocheted rhino standing on the metal shelf in my closet, or a cup of coffee in the shadow of a stack of school books. We take for granted that we'll remember these peaceful mini-vistas. They are the backdrop and part of the setting for so many memories. Things that are so familiar today will one day be forgotten. I can remember when my kids were a bit younger, I used to think "these are the glory years", but now, I think these are the glory years. They haven't replaced the former ones, they are just a very long extension. I love these days.

So, yesterday, I went up to see Hannah during her writing time. She was sitting on the floor next to her mushroom stool, listening to music, and talking to herself as she wrote. I could hear her as I was walking up the stairs. Last year, on her birthday, which is steadily approaching again, she set a goal to write a book & she's now almost done with the first draft. The book has nine chapters, which she laid out in the beginning. Each chapter highlights a new adventure or encounter experienced by a little boy named Erven. The sweetness of the book is Erven's unique perspective. As you observe his antics, you find yourself growing and stretching and shrinking as well, and I mean that in the most philosophical way. The largeness of your world will be swallowed up by the smallness of his; you'll find yourself understanding things you already knew. You'll find that you're a better person after a short walk home from school with Erven. So anyway, that's the best I can do to describe it on short notice & I'm excited for you to read it. It's amazing when your kids are writers. As they painstakingly light the way, you get to see all the shiny things hiding under the surface of the day to day.

 

She must be in the dungeon...

Illustration by N.C. Wyeth

First off, if this seems a little rushed, it's because it is. There are three things I want to blog about and I don't think I'll have time, but, considering the recent lack of inspiration, I wanted to at least get started. For the past two days, I've been toiling in the basement. Although disgusting and exhausting, it's also been a sweet experience filled with memories and reminders. Kids scurrying up the stairs with pilfered treasures, reminiscence, delirium, and laughter mark my time in the dungeon. Now, I've emerged with fresh insights and a weight off my shoulders. As a reminder for myself, because I may have to go at any moment, my next three blogs will be Chris's Keys, The Number Eight, and Painting Icebergs. I'm borrowing Hannah's idea to lay out the titles first. Hannah's been writing a book and I want to tell you all about that too, but I'll wait on the title for that one. For now, I have to go. The dryer is beeping, I need to call my grandma, I'm going to a friend's house, and I need to get the basement to some sort of stopping point. When I come back, I'm going to see if I can get Daniel to help me with "Chris's Keys", because he's so much funnier than me. And since this blog really has no substance, I just want to end by saying, if your basement is in need of some affection, go for it. There are treasures to be found, there are stories to be told.

 

full speed ahead...

Nothing motivates like fallish weather; must be ingrained from my childhood; you know, all that scurrying, shopping for school supplies, & whatnot. For us, it's kinda weird, because we never stop having school, but still, come fall, things do become a little more urgent-like. I think this year I might buy everyone some school supplies, just for fun. I always loved that about back-to-school. Anyway, we still have a couple more weeks before we switch gears to start the new school year (& we're still finishing up the last four weeks of last year), nevertheless, I'm getting excited. I'll be using the same program for Hannah & Em that I used for Snow & Daniel at this stage, so as I'm reading through the booklists for this year, everything is familiar to me and I love it. Not only that, but we've been doing a chronological study of history and we have now come full circle, back to where we started, and will go trough it all again, building on what we've learned. That means Hannah & Em already have a foundation for everything we'll be covering this year. I feel so blessed that this has been my life, to keep my kids home with me, to learn together at our own pace, to watch my kids grow into their own personalities without the extreme influence of peer pressure and outside agendas. I'm not always so vocal about homeschooling, because I'm always afraid I might offend someone, but this is my heart on the matter. Right now, Hannah is drinking her orange juice with a glow straw in a "galaxy of shoes" (in the shoe closet). Let's face it, you just can't do that in traditional school, and even if you could, mom wouldn't be invited. The End.

 

lucky bunny...

Illustration by Art Seiden

Snow bought baby bunnies! They are so fluffy and so beautiful! I can hardly stand it! They are like little clouds that you can name, and hold, and walk on a leash. This isn't what they look like. This is me, ^_^ I'm the lucky one. The rabbits are French angoras. Bergamot looks like swirls of smoke, black & grey with a black face. She reminds me of a little black rain cloud. Chamomile looks somewhat like a wild rabbit and that's what Snow loves about her. But you've never seen a wild rabbit this fluffy. There's so much fluff, if it weren't for the long ears, you might forget there's a rabbit under there. She has the same smokey appearance as Bergamot, but she has peppery tan speckled highlights and her ears are outlined in black. If you follow my herb blog, I'll be posting lots of pictures there. We also recently acquired some butterfly koi. They are almost equally as lovely, but not cuddly like Chamomile and Bergamot. We named the fish after the planets, including Pluto, because there are 9 of them. Funny thing, I called the smallest one Pluto right off, just because he was smaller than all the others. Then, I noticed there were 9, & that's what started the planet thing. I didn't know at the time, but it turns out that Pluto actually isn't a butterfly koi. He's the only regular koi in the bunch. I don't know what you want to do with that bit of information, I just thought it was interesting. My favorite of the koi, I named Venus Callypso. She is very special, so she gets a special name. Mercury is also amazing, he looks just like liquid mercury. They are all amazing. So anyway, I just wanted to send out the announcement. If you live within driving distance, I highly recommend coming over. This little herb farm is fast becoming my happy place.

 

sugar, spice, and everything nice...

Illustration by Millicent Sowerby

I don't know if you're a Pinterest person or not. I am sometimes. I like it, scrolling through my own little collection of images, ideas, & interests. It certainly beats scrolling through, say, Reuters, where I can simultaneously see ads from where they've been snooping into my Amazon account. And when I like photos on instagram, where do they go? I have no idea. I can click on a little heart & see what other people have liked, but what about what I like? I just save my favorite instagram likes on Pinterest. That seems to be working for now. Where was I going with this? Oh ya. Pinterest has created a new update. Now it gives a little description at the top of each board, telling people what sorts of things are to be found there. Nobody ever fills in descriptions, so they've just taken to doing it for us. Whatever. Anyway, there's one page where you can view all the pins that you've ever pinned. Since there's a handy little description there, you can, at a glance, find out just what you're all about. It's like a visual personality assesment. All you have to do is sort through millions of images of which you will choose a handful of your favorites & voila, Pinterest will tell you who you are, in a nutshell. It takes a little time, but it's better than jellifying your brain with questions that have no good answer. I don't know, all those images can be a bit stupefying as well. Maybe it's not any better. But this assesment is pretty painless, seeing that it's actually going on while you're just minding your own business. Wait. You mean, at the click of a button, the whole world can see right through me and lump me into a mass to be squished around and shaped, flattend, & cut out with cute little cookie cutters? This age of tracking & categorizing is kind of scary. The interwebs keeps getting stickier & stickier. So anyway, the consensus is that my brain is full of lavender, herbs, foraging, plants, teas, honey, flowers, basil, dandelions, bees, bouquets, and healing. Not sure what anyone's going to do with all that information, hopefully nothing too sinister. Me, I'm going to take it to mean that inside my head is quite lovely. I mean, you can almost hear the birdies chirping in that garden. And that's just the way I like it.

 

safe and sound...

The past few days I've been going through all sorts of old photos. I've been looking for pictures of Snow, Daniel, Hannah, & Emmeli around the farm. We're now, officially, calling it a farm; and today, Ben was even driving around, plowing up gardens with a tractor. It was a little tractor, & a borrowed tractor, but a tractor none the less. So that was pretty exciting & it made the whole farm persona feel rather legit. But I won't talk too much about that now, because I already have a farm blog where I'm letting everyone know all about our herb farm adventures. So, once I dug up all those beautiful photos of the kids in the garden & in the trees & whatnot, I was really anxious to share them on the blog. See, the blog is two-fold. It's for random people who are interested in what's going on on the farm, but it's also for me. Of course I want to include those beautiful memories of our earliest days scratching in the dirt! But I just couldn't do it. About 5 min. after posting a sweet mini bio about Em, & after plastering her sweet face onto the interwebs, it occurred to me that that just wasn't happening. So I deleted it. I was going to do a little intro for everyone on the farm, but...well, now I'm not. For now, I'm just going to be redepositing this here for safekeeping. Anyway, this is what It looked like:

__________________________________________

A very good place to start...

"So my next few posts might be a little retro (retro here meaning- a couple of years old). We only bought this house six years ago, but six years is half your life when you're twelve. I never thought of it 'til just now, but Emmeli has spent half her life growing up on the farm. Well, it wasn't a farm in the beginning. We've gradually transformed this place from 'house with a very big yard' to herb farm with orchard, forest gardens, pond, bike trails, bridges, & bees. Emmeli is our youngest daughter. She's a barefoot girl with long blonde hair who sometimes stumbles right out to the garden in her jammies with a rake and shovel. She loves the pond with all it's frogs; she catches garter snakes with her bare hands; & she's looking florward to the day when we have animals. We're planning to put in a pasture, & hopefully someday get some sheep & possibly some goats. I'm hoping that we also get a guard donkey; & if we do, I'm going to name him Heimlich."

 

peaceful slumber...

So, this isn't exactly the terrain, but just imagine that those are seabirds and they're flying over the ocean. There's no need for a scarecrow. Just imagine how it feels to nap with the sound of the ocean waves and a lovely breeze. The birds are chirping and you're surrounded by fluffy bunnies. You don't have on pirate boots, but you do have on a piratey head scarf. Actually, the more I look at this picture, the more ridiculous it seems, but as I was lying in the hammock looking for a good blog pic, I really could relate to this pirate kitty in his peaceful slumber, being surrounded by birds and flowers and bunnies. So lovely. Well, it was really a lovely thought until Snow told me that, actually, he's pretending to be dead so he can catch those rabbits for the farmer to eat. K. Happy feeling gone. But there really is nothing better than a traveling hammock, let's focus on that. You stuff it into a little sack and take it with you wherever you go. It really is amazing. If I ever start a non-profit, I think we'll go around and hand out hammocks & colorful bandana's stuffed with "Kind" bars and tied to sticks; you know, so hobos can carry them easily over their shoulders. I think using Kind bars instead of Cliff bars or Powerbars will really have a nice effect. Kind are the best anyway. Sorry for the rabbit trail, I was really having a nice thought there and I just decided to go with it. Anyway, we're here on this beautiful island again, only this time we have the minions & it's the best thing ever. Hannah & Daniel got to jump off a cliff, Emmeli's been chasing lizards non-stop, Ben & I swam with a sea turtle, and Snow is inventing new uses for coconut fiber. This really is the optimum time for a family vacation. I'm telling you, if you have 4 kids and the youngest is 12, go now! on a family adventure; that is unless your teenagers are punks, which mine are not. When I say punk, I don't mean it in the usual way. What I'm trying to say is, if your kids are agressive and violent young criminals, just stay home and see if you can get that worked out first. Well, I'm going to sign off for now, but I hope to do some more writing while I'm here. Funny thing, the last time I wrote was right after my last trip here. Apparently this place has a nice effect on my psyche. And another little tidbit: I looked up the definition for slumber- a natural and periodic state of rest during which consciousness of the world is suspended. To me, that actually sounds like an excellent definition for vacation. Thanks for reading my blog. You guys are the best.

 

comforts of home...

Here is a blog to get me blogging. I don't know what happened to that part of me that liked to spill the beans. Lately I'm forever sweeping them up. But, today, I will scatter them like rain and then tread on those tiny pebbles 'til my bare feet hurt and I want to go home. Lovely vistas, rocky places, random forms of wildlife relaxing in the road... it doesn't really matter what you talk about, or how, or when. What matters is that you do talk, otherwise you're nothing more than a mute banjo hanging by a thread.

All my life I've wanted someone to love me the way he did that one time we went to the treetops and recorded the sunrise. It was a lovely dream that awakened to the sudden sound of surf, a shower of rain, and a near-pass-by that almost resulted in a head-on colllision. There were night walks with giant land crabs, treacherous climbs, and lots of swimmings hand-in-hand. We had breakfast, lunch, & dinner & a jeep named Sunny. We saw some of everything there was to see and left unmarred. At the end, it was like when Cinderella's beautiful ball gown turned into a homely house dress and apron, only it was a lovely fish taco which transformed into a cheese quesadilla. All you have to do is blink and stand in line for three hours, and you're gone. One minute you're diving into the ocean surrounded by all that is lovely in the world, and then, next thing you know, you're wet, salty, sticky, & have sand in your shoes. What's interesting is that you don't do anything about it, because you're still coasting down from that lovely green peak. Now, you just ready yourself to round the next curve, which will likely land you on the brink of a herd of goats; but as you squeal your brakes and go around, what do you do? You snap a picture. Why? Because even though those stumpy road blocks interrupt your lovely traverse and could send you driving off the side of a cliff, they are a part of the story, one you will likely forget if you don't write it down. And without obstacles and obstructions, there's nothing but nothingness, and if there were no twists & turns, all would be straight. Somehow, crumbly canyon walls, deep dark crevices where anything could be lurking, and sliding backwards down a muddy hillside with no railings in the middle of a rainstorm bring as much meaning to the picture as butterflies and rainbows. I don't really get it, but I kind of sort of do; and dwelling on it in this way is better for me than not. This is life... everyone knows it. Ups & downs, goods & bads, vacations & homecomings; is it a wonder I should need to talk it out? So anyway, aside from the beauty & wonder of the tropics, home is where my heart is and now it is time for me to leave this blog and get back there. Lovely adventures always land you back in the snugness of your well-kept hobbit hole.

 

just along for the ride...

Illustration by Richard Scary

A couple of times now I have wanted to write some things down. The first being at a nearby zoo-like thingy where they keep a few animals in cages for the publics' passing fancy of visiting such places. We were visiting some lemurs, some of the typical variety with strip-ed tales, and one solid little fellow who was sitting right next to the mesh that surrounded him, peering into the eyes of anyone who would come down to his level. I knew right off that this little guy posessed an upper level of intelligence. Wherever he came from, he was probably the brains of the group; & now all his buddies, left behind in the wild, are probably wandering in circles. So, anyway, I said something brilliant like, "That guy looks super smart." I don't know. When you walk up to animals behind bars, you are supposed to comment. At first I didn't notice that Hannah took an interest in what I said, but moments later, she was over there giving that little guy instructions on how to break out of there. All the other monkeys were oblivious, but no doubt he'll let them tag along when he makes his escape. My Hannah always knows what to do. Clearly, she's the brains of the group. Now this last bit is completely unrelated. It happens to be the next thing I thought of jotting down after the zoo incident; that's the only relation. I just saw some words in a book that seemed to fit exactly my family standards, my life goals, my plan of attack, so I adopted them to myself in the order in which they were diplayed. And now I will share them here with you, unchanged, because I liked them just the way they were. It's called copyright infringement. Kind of reminds me of those other monkeys waiting for that one guy to open the latch. That's a scary thought. You know what, why risk it? I think I'll just keep it to myself. You really can learn a great deal about yourself from reading books, though, perusing other people's words about life. Sometimes you make connections, & it's like, 'Ya, me too!' You might be a follower, but for that brief moment you will feel really awesome, like you thought up that thought all on your own. It's totally worth it.

 

 

tomorrowland...

Sadly, i do not know the artist

When I get old, I'm going to tie a scarf around my head, and dress, and live, and dream as if i live in a tiny storybook cottage in the wood. This is what's lovely about getting old. You can wear soft colors, and aprons, and long skirts. You can dress yourself like a little doll and be a child all over again. Once upon a time there was an old lady who liked to stop by for free samples now and again. I love blessing her with free coffee. I think she thanked me for my smile once. One day, my boss decided to make free sample cups more accessible (customers used to have to ask). So when this lady came to me seeking a cup, i reluctantly told her that she didn't need to ask anymore, but i asked her if she would, please, still get my attention and say hello when she comes in... and she does, every time. I don't think she speaks much English and we don't say much...just hello. Once she told me about a trip to California to see her grandkids. She doesn't wear a scarf on her head, but she looks like she would, if she were in her home country, perhaps (which i would guess to be Poland). She looks like she deserves a little cottage in the woods, a cottage with a chimney, and a son who chops firewood, and grandchildren all around. Something about the scarf made me think of her; and don't ask me where the scarf came from, it was just pretend.

 

the sad swing switch...

Illustration by Dorothy Lathrop

 

Sunday, we moved our rope swing out to the garden tree. It now has a lovely wooden seat & you can see the pond while you swing & be near our resident cat bird & see the sunflowers in the garden (as soon as we plant some). You can sit and view the orchard, and the lovely berries, and you don't have to worry about dust from the random car that passes by. That being said, there are some who were quite attached to the old swing in it's old location & it was a painful thing to see someone sawing away at that old rope way up in the treetops. So there was a secret memorial which consisted of a ring of daisies in the sandy spot where little feet used to drag the ground at the base of the old swing tree. Either that or a few stray tears just happened to produce that ring of flowers, I'm not sure, because they just appeared there. Either way, there was sadness involved. There was a certain someone who disappeared into the woods while the whole switcheroo took place, someone who looks a lot like the anenome-picking mermaid in this picture; but she emerged from the wood, eventually, and it just-so-happens she was quite happy with this new sit-down swing, remembering how much it reminds her of the old old swing which preceded the rope swing. That wooden seat broke in two when the kids accidentally maliciously piled all the cousins along with themselves onto the swing together, all at once, for a very short ride. My sweet little family; we're all so very nostalgic and rambunctious. I think we will try to hang another rope swing in front at some point, if we haven't all lost our nerve and someone is still brave enough to climb up there and hang it. I mean, we already have the bald spot in the grass, there might as well be a swing there to go with it. Who says we can't have a rope swing and a sit-down swing. I always thought the rope swing was too skinny anyway. Who can sit on that wee little knot? Not I? All's well that ends well, I suppose, but as long as we're having memorials, this can be mine.

 

whatever you wish for you keep...

Illustration by Mary Blair

Not long ago I posted a blog with the title 'i'm keeping them all'. It was a blog about words. All my blogs are about blogs, you know.... blogs, words, thoughts, feelings, pictures, and etc... All these things go so well together, and they are conglomerately my happy place. I don't really know what to do with them, so i just keep picking them up, rearranging them, and setting them back down again...kind of miserly i suppose, but i've started a new little project which might prove to be a bit more instrumental to some purpose, i know not what. I decided that my sweet little blogs are going to put on their Sunday best and matching socks and head out into the world to be noticed by someone. It's going to be a parade of sorts, a parade of lovelies, where you can scroll to your hearts delight. What i really want to do is share all the wonderful images i've collected, but i want to do it properly, so it's going to take a little time for us to get ready (captions & credits & whatnot). For instance, i think if you click on this image above, you will find that it's an illustration by Mary Blair. That is something that everyone should know. Me, myself, i prefer to be unknown, but i'll keep my position here as the mysterious narrator, like Lemony Snicket or Dr. Claw. (Dr. Claw isn't really a narrator, but you only ever get to see the back of his swivel chair and the world outside his windshield, so it makes sense, trust me.) So anyway, i just wanted to share my little plan. I'm excited; and i hope all the world is a lovelier, truer, more honorable place as a result.

 

the sky is included...

Illustration by Jesse Wilcox Smith

So many added blessings in every day, just thrown on top... heaped up, lobbed over, largely unnoticed, but available, plentiful, ready, and waiting for your enjoyment.

 

once upon a misty morning...

Illustration by Katharine Pyle

This is how i feel today. It's true i don't always feel this way. And so i pulled over just to say, as a reminder to me, since i can't always see that every body can't always like every other body. And that really is O.K. I was just feeling very content thinking about the fact that there are people you will get along with in this world and there are other people who you may not get along with. Normally, it's quite painful for me to admit that, because, of course, i want everyone to like me. But the fact is everybody does not like me, and everybody i ever meet in the future is not guaranteed to like me. I'm sure i unwittingly step on other people's toes all the time. But enough about that. Since for some unknown reason this thought occurred to me out of the blue; and for whatever reason i was completely okay with the idea that there are probably a great many people in this world who want nothing to do with me, I thought i better write it down before i forget it. Oh, and i even made it into a snappy little rhyme- not sure why, sometimes that just happens.

Ps. I'm not sure where that title came from, it was the first thing that came to me. I googled it to see if it was a remnant from a nursery rhyme or something, but alas all i could find was "One Misty, Moisty, Morning" (a lovely rhyme by the way). Anyway, if i ever write a book i may start it that way. I like it. If you happen to have heard that phrase before, and you know where it came from, will you please let me know? Thanks.

 

 

end of the line...

Illustration by Roberto Innocenti

March is absolutely missing, I'm completely out of patches, and i'm okay with that. It was a great run. Six whole years of non-stop blogging. And now i guess we'll just settle down into a new routine where we don't care what month it is, not in the least. No more patches, no more excuses. What a relief! Meanwhile, Snow & i are trying to start an etsy shop for vintage finds which i know i'm going to have a very hard time parting with. Also, I've been feeling so nostalgic lately. What's the deal?! Let's see... I started my herb garden; and there's a baby bunny living all by his lonesome under the pile of wood beneath my bathroom window. (Emmeli named him Little Ball Bunny. At first, i thought she was saying little bald bunny. Little Ball Bunny is so much nicer. Nobody likes a bald bunny....kinda defeats the point of being a rabbit.) Our new bees are now nestled in their squatty little hives; we have frogs galore wildly reproducing and populating our pond with tadpoles; and that's pretty much it. I really just wanted to pop in & lay to rest my old ideals. I'm thru with that business once and for all. Really, it changes nothing, other than, hopefully, i'll stop talking about it all the time. The End. (I just wanted to say that. This is not the end.) i mean... it's the end of excuses. It is not the end of the blog. Ok. Gotta go now.

 

back to nature...

Illustration by Robert Lawson

After my last blog, I thought it best to keep this simple, so I'll try to find the simplest route to get you to the place where Ferdinand the bull is actually a dog, and his name is not Ferdinand, but Owen. Or, I can keep it really really simple, and you can just take my word for it. We do have a picture of Owen picking a dandelion, if that helps. Just email me and i'll send you proof. So anyway, he's adorable. He's 4 years old now, and I still call him puppy, because he is so very much so. He loves life; he's a simple dog who comes when you say come; he loves his master; and he sits when you ask him (or, at least, he very much wants to sit, but he'll often choose to shake hands instead). Oops, i forgot to mention that, of course, like most dogs, he loves the outdoors. And now, we're finally coming around to what i wanted to tell you, though i'm not sure how to describe it. Besides the fact that yesterday i read something that pretty much told me that my writing style is pure jargon, which is causing me to thoroughly analyze everything i want to say, this is a thing which is just difficult to explain. Owen has developed a certain fondness for a fern in the living room. He likes to bury his head in the foliage and simply hang out like that. It's some sort of symbiotic relationship which we don't quite understand. Seeing him like that reminded me of the dandelion picture, and i realized, this dog simply loves nature. No doubt, as he's standing there with his little leaf hat, he's dreaming of far away places where he can act like the natives and not be told to sit. I love my puppy. He's the sweetest puppy ever and super duper sophisticated. I know that everything he does makes perfect sense somehow, and i'm willing to accept, that in this area, apparently i'm just not capable of reasoning it out.

 

i'm still here...

Illustration by Libico Maraja

Sometimes i think i got too much attention as a child (bc i was the youngest), then i think maybe i didn't get enough (bc both of my parents worked). Not sure which is true, but the fact is, somehow i feel like i need people to notice me all the time. Really, it's much more complicated than that, because i don't just want people to notice me, i want everyone to like me. Ordinarily, I just sort it out by retreating to my inner lair and trying to think happy thoughts that have nothing to do with myself. Is this normal!? And should i be ignoring my kids to prepare them for the real world? That is an excellent question. The world is a busy place and people just don't have time to be noticing people all the time. Life is very complex. I wonder how people manage it all. I'm going to break away now and say something sensational. Life is like a cup of coffee... it's only pleasant if you add milk and honey, and that's all i have to say about that.

 

 

sharing is caring...

Illustration by Judith Kerr

So, i want to start off by saying, that if you receive this email, it's because you are one of my top ten favorite people of and for all time. There are lots of people who I really really do like a lot, who do not receive it, because I'm still debating with myself about whether or not I think they would care to read my silly rants. I recently discovered why I like writing so much. It's because you can ERASE! I can't tell you how many times I say things out loud only to think, later, how the thing definitely could have been worded better. But that is getting off topic. I was going to go on to say, (now that we're here and I can be myself), that I must have checked my email 50 times yesterday to see if anyone responded to an album I posted. I'm just throwing that out there. It's part of my personality, I guess. We all have one (a personality). If you are wondering about yours, there are tests you can take that will explain to you why you do such things, but they're awkward; I wouldn't recommend it. I think this is why I gave up Facebook. If I posted stuff every day, there'd be no end to checking back for responses. The thing about this online communication is that response time is so delayed! Who can stand it?! Anyway, now that the urge to keep checking back has worn off, I'm feeling brave, so I just wanted to stop by here and admit my nutiness.

sneakpeek...

Illustration by Mary Blair

I'll probably go back and change this image later, because I'm kinda funny like that, but for now, I like this little splash of color. My brain is stuck in a whorl of Walt Disney tinged by Tim Burton. I wish I had something to tell you, but my only thoughts are of things of no consequence... little tea party embellishments and frills, velour top hats, and whiskers. These are the things that make the woods woody, but they are not to be spoken of. For, like the magic of many things, they ninja vanish the instant they are discovered. They have to be noticed peripherally and if you per chance wish to photograph them, it must be in a fog or with a shaded lense, which is exactly what I intend to do. I caught wind of a gathering, and I will most certainly be there as an observer. If I find anything worth mentioning, I'll be back here to report my findings. As of now, all I know is that there will be tea and crumpets, plum jam, a couple of tweedles, and a massive, manly, march hare. Also, sweet, sweet Petunia...I mean Alice now has a proper petticoat; and I would not doubt it if all the buds on the trees burst forth to shade the event. I think they know something is up. All the birds are talking about it as well. If only there were violets in the wood. I do dearly love violets, but I think they are hiding. In the meantime, if we are all very patient, I think things will happen as they should without any further assistance. Sometimes, I confess, when I see these things stirring, I want to pitch in a little something, but I have to be very sneaky about it. Don't get me wrong, I'm not trying to give the impression that these things are done on a whim. No doubt they take very careful planning, but by whom? That is the question. I am perfectly suited for this particular variety of stealth, though. In fact, if I could not be so stealthy now & then what would I do? Remember what Bambi's mom said... "Bambi. Quick! The thicket!" Thickets are where I belong; and that's where I'll be if you need me... waiting and watching like a little dormouse, sneaking a morsel of crumpet and plum jam.

 

ready, set, go...

Illustration by Milo Winter

Highlights of my day: A flat white with hazelnut & whipped cream (I'm being serious, it's worth mentioning); a trip to REI with Ben to get pants & ski poles (it's always fun to spend money that you don't have), & an afternoon playing Minecraft with Em. I know that all sounds pretty unexciting, but it was so awesome to spend the day doing nothing noteworthy; and playing Minecraft when you're doing nothing makes you feel so productive. The coffee really was amazing and I hope to repeat the whole process tomorrow. First...church, then...out for coffee, then...frag swap in place of REI, and then...back to me casa to squander more time building with blocks, digging, chopping, cooking, and feeding my glitchy dog, Lazarus, some rotten zombie flesh. I know that sounds really disgusting. I can't help it. The fact is, that's what he eats. So, anyway, I just want to finish by saying that I've wanted to blog pretty much every day, for the past few days, so that's a good sign. Now that I'm here, I just can't remember what I wanted to talk about. So, I'll be off then, but I really feel this may be the start of something. Oh, and I almost forgot to mention the bluebird out my window. There were five, actually, but I got a picture of one. He was so cute, and beautiful too. I love bluebirds and they love me. I know, because they're always poking around outside my windows. K. That's quite enough for today. You have to ease into these things, you know. Bye for now.

Ps. for clarification... A frag swap is an event where aquarium people mostly swap fragments of coral for cash. It is not strictly a barter system.

 

when blogs go missing...

Illustration by Libico Maraja

So, this is my second third fourth fifth attempt at blogging this blog. The first was accidentally deleted. Then, after writing it again, I hated it, but left it here to be revisited at a later date, and so on and so forth, until here we are at it again. I was actually pretty happy with #4 until, unfortunately, it too was deleted. There were several attempts made which contained a great many words which were set forth to explain a thing which I will not attempt to explain again. It's simply too difficult to put in so much persuasive feeling the fifth time around! You are probably wondering, then why even mention it?! Right? Well, there are just some things in life which have to be resurrected, especially when they are the only blog you started in January. And since my original blog was about missing digits, this lovely picture suits my new purpose quite well, which is to illustrate a person attempting to force her way through an impassable door, a person who is likely chasing after a white rabbit. So, now that i've decided to leave off of my retrospective fretting about missing digits and be done with it, i just want to say, that this original blog had something to do with working for zero dollars. It's quite fitting, actually, that this blog should amount to nothing, and I didn't even plan that! Now, if i could only think of a proper ending to this fiasco...but i can't. The whole thing is just awkward.

 

new topick...

This is a pick (a person or a thing chosen or selected) for an old blog which I never entered. And it's perfect, because it was perfectly abandoned here, like some other things I won't quite yet mention.... neglected and abandoned and looking a little lost in spite of its cuteness. This blog was to be about Emmeli telling me that "her life would not be complete until she sees a proper top hat, a proper tuxedo, & a proper goatee," (an utterance which should in no wise be left undocumented). Several weeks ago, (and by several I mean more than a few) we saw a man in an alleyway downtown all dressed up and playing his guitar for cash & coin. Emmeli later asked me if that man was wearing a tuxedo. I guess it was a tuxedo of sorts, but sort of a gypsy's version of a tuxedo (in my opinion more lovely, but not quite a "proper" tuxedo). I tried to answer appropriately and soon uncovered the why of the asking, but never quite got to the bottom of where this 'proper' business had its origins. She is quite serious about it. Tell me, how exactly does one know what is a proper goatee? Because I've seen many a fine goatee which turned out not to be quite proper enough. Anyway, whatever started this little head on this mighty quest, we're on it; I'll try to keep you informed on the latest findings....which brings me back to my reason for coming here. I guess I am officially off my blogging once a month routine. It's sad in a way, but perhaps there'll be a comeback, and perhaps the blogger will be much improved. In the meantime, my plan is to be here as often as I can, to keep my eyes open, to try not to let too much slip by unnoticed, so as not to let this documentary fade into oblivion.

(Added 2/24/15) The nakedest statement of all: I missed a blog, hence the comment about 'officially being off my once a month routine'. But i found a note i jotted down in November, which was a quote from ben. I used my mindpowers to turn it into a blog. And i'm so happy to have it. (See "retrovision.") So happy to patch up that hole. And i'm not ashamed, really. A few patches here and there just make it all the more piratey.

retrovision...

Illustration by Maurice Lalau

"If i had to do it all over, i'd do it again, same way." - ben

In retrospect, i recall how you held me and, out of the blue, spoke to me something which told me, this was no ordinary hug. There was nothing particular going on that day, but in you, there were torrents. The light seeped in and you reforested my heart like magic beans.

 

goody goody gumdrops...

Does anyone here happen to know what it was that urged Little Red Riding Hood to brave the deep dark woods and the big bad wolf? I know, and I'll tell you. She had to deliver piping hot goodies to Grandma. How about the sweet little petit four marked 'eat me' which was left for Alice in Wonderland, wasn't it so cute & irresistable? Also, do you remember why those poor, naughty little kittens were always crying? All they wanted was pie. Little Jack Horner (pie), Hansel & Gretel (lured into a house made of cookies), the Gingerbread Man (cookie). Let's face it, fairytales and rhymes are rife with pastries. Do you know why? Because everybody knows that everybody wants pastries. They supply the exact symbolism of joy and good cheer, satisfaction, generosity, enticement. Even the promised land came with (no, not fruits & veggies) complimentary milk & honey. For what purpose? For making pastries, no doubt. You know what will brighten anyones's day? A cupcake. A cinnamon roll. Even in our gluten-free, dairy-free, sugar-free society, people want their own versions of this stuff. All of that jargon, so poorly articulated to say this, working in a bakery is sweet. No, I'm not trying to pun. I really mean it's sweet. The use of the term 'sweet' there was the natural thing to say. This just goes to show you that even our vocabulary is infected with confectionary allusions. If I only had the time, I could tell you about all the lovely bakery sights & wonderful smells, et al. But alas, I must get to school so I can teach my children about Napoleon, (who, by the way, has a treat named after him). So far it sounds like he was a pretty nice guy, which I wouldn't have guessed. Maybe I'll write something about him when we're done. But before I go, I just want you to know... just as Napoleon's are flaky on the outside, but have hidden layers of sweetness, bakeries can be deceiving at first glance. Like Forest Gump says, you never know what you're gonna get. Sometimes strange things happen in bakeries, leaving you to wonder, 'What's going on in this candy-coated heart of darkness?!'

 

damsel in distress...

Illustration by Henri Faivre

Sometimes, when things are going along just swimmingly, there may, at some point, be something which appears altogether wrong/ out of place/ not in sync. I'm trying hard not to focus on such things. For instance, if I walk into a room which is perfectly clean and tidy, it may, perchance, come to my attention that there is a painting on the wall which is slightly askew. Now, if the room were a disaster, would I have noticed? Probably not; I'd probably be too busy noticing some other more bothersome annoyance. So this is what I'm trying to teach myself to remember. When, sometimes, there is some very irksome thing, think, why is that so bothersome? And the answer is... because it's not in harmony with the whole. Why is it not in harmony with the whole? Because it is a wrong in a room full of right. Seriously, you can't expect to have it all! And what joy that there is but one grievance! This is brilliant! Now, when I walk into a room which is chock-full o' congruence, I shall say, 'Wow! Just look at how nicely that sofa lines up with that coffee table; and isn't it lovely how the rug, too, agrees with the set pattern of lines!' And in so doing, I shall be at peace with my surroundings. Now, that being said, sometimes that one thing which is out of place may be, say, a wolf who wants to eat you, or Hitler. I'm thinking on a bit wider scale now. I was just thinking how sometimes it is not good to turn a blind eye to things which are begging to be adjusted. (Hitler was the first thing that came to mind.) I don't want to lead anyone astray here. If your crooked picture is Hitler, by all means, straighten it.

 

ode to milkman...

So, I never told you before, but we have a milkman. This guy named Dan comes to our house every Wednesday and leaves 6 glass bottles of cold milk with various colored plastic caps. He picks up 6 empty glass bottles and carts them back to his big white milk truck, all the while the dogs are going berzerk. It's really fun. We call him Dan the Milkman. I've never met him before, actually, because I'm always in my pj's when he comes, but Ben met him once. But I've always liked Dan, just because. I mean come on, he's a milkman. How many milkmen do you think there are in the world? Not too many, I dare say. And he always comes right on time, bearing delicious gifts for hungry cereal eaters and anxious coffee drinkers. I know you'll probably think I'm silly, but having a milkman has been one of the joys of life. To be quite honest, I wish that Dan the Milkman would trade in his big white milk truck for a horse and milk cart like Reb Tevye. Well, this is not meant to be a sad post, but the time has come to say goodbye to Dan the Milkman. Working at Whole Foods means we're going to get 20% off milk, and we won't need home delivery if I can just bring the stuff home. So that's that. But I thought to myself, we can't just let Dan the Milkman slip away without a word or two for posterity. Don't worry, I'm not really going to make a rhyme about Dan. I thought I might at first, just so I could keep this catchy title, but I'm not going to. Would you believe me if I told you I don't even know what he looks like. I just felt that it was too silly to peep through the curtain to catch a glimpse, and I'm usually too busy trying to quiet the dogs, so Dan can do his job in peace. But I'm kind of glad of that really- to just let Dan live in my imagination as a stereotype.

Ps. Believe it or not, I wrote this post before I knew this pic had a horse in the background. I've been wanting to blog about the milkman for a while now, so one day I saw a retro pic of a milkman & saved it without ever having noticed the horse. Everytime I think of that pic, I just see that smily milkman. It's funny to me, because I felt silly for mentioning that bit about the milk cart (even though it is true). But, when I went to retrieve the pic and saw the horse in the background, I just thought that was neat. That happens to me all the time, by the way- where the Lord blesses me in some trifling way that just sounds ridiculous if I try to explain it to someone; so I've sort of given up trying to tell people those things. Sometime, when my post script isn't getting way too long, maybe I'll tell you more (since I know I can trust you), but not now, I really gotta go.

 

go forth to the dances of the merrymakers...

So what is it with the long titles?! Sheesh! When you wake up with catchy tunes from My Fair Lady swimming around in your noggin, you know it's going to be a happy day! Do you ever say really dumb stuff when you really don't need to say anything at all? Or maybe a simple 'good morning' would suffice, but you end up blurting out your whole life story. I have a problem in this area. Too much. Too soon. So, I'm feeling a little nervous about meeting all those new people next week. Normally, if people think you're a weirdo, they just walk away, but what happens when you're tethered together with people in the workplace and they can't leave? Or even worse, what if they are the weirdo! Wait. I retract that last statement. I don't think I'll have a problem with that. Unless they're like scary strange, that's different. I have so much to do today. I don't know what I'm doing sitting around here talking to myself. Am I the only one who has controversial, introspective, reasonings that beg to be delivered up to the public every morning? I don't just think thoughts, they pour out of me like so much helium squealing out of a party balloon, leaving me all deflated and rumpled up on the floor. Get up you flimsy little fribble and frolic for goodness sake! Think lofty thoughts, get some fresh air, and hold your breath as long as you can, then you can dance until dawn with the merrymakers. Speaking of making merry, Emmeli has found a new station on Pandora. She listens to it non-stop, and she has infected us all with her merriment. There's one particular song, which I think is Alvin and the chipmunks singing Old Macdonald in Spanish, very catchy. Honestly, you can not worry about anything when you hear this stuff. She's been uping (now there's a word you won't find in the dictionary; fribble by the way is in the dictionary, if you use the right dictionary) all the classic, vintage Disney scores and really has created something special. People are no longer asking her to turn it off, which is interesting. Every once in a while it brings up a song from movies like Fiddler on the Roof or My Fair Lady, which is why I now have those songs stuck in my head. Okay, we've come full circle now and we're back to happy little ditties. This is where I get off.

Ps. The soundtrack from "The Artist" is lovely for happy mornings. It was introduced to Em by another of her beloved stations- the "Ratatouille" station.

 

it is much like that with me as well...

So, I think I have said it once before, but sometimes I say things twice, just to be sure. In some other cases, I don't say anything at all and just expect you to know what I'm thinking. I understand this can be very frustrating and I apologize. Before I reiterate, though, just let me also apologize in advance for any peculiarities in speech. I recently watched The King and I, and I think, as a result, it has damaged my ability to speak properly. Anyway, I am not so much in the mood for writing this morning. It's this picture which has forced me here. I found it yesterday & I wanted to deposit it here right away.The thing you may remember me having said once before is this: that pictures usually come as an afterthought in this blogging process; hardly ever do I actually have the picture first and then try to fit in the words. I hope this makes clear to you, then, that this particular picture holds, with me, some significance. In fact, I really think the intended sentiment is so glaringly obvious, that words may here actually serve as an impediment to its meaningfulness. If you have ever been to my house early in the morning or sometime after dinner, then you know precisely what it is that I'm not telling you. If you have not had that pleasure, then I can see that this blog shall be terribly annoying for you.

 

ready or not...

It is time for me to find my inner morning person. I got the job at Whole Foods. (That is assuming I pass the criminal check.) I'm really rather excited to get up and go to work every morning! Is that weird?! I'm sure it'll wear off soon enough. So this is the dawn of a new day and somehow it feels like it needs a proper slogan, though I don't know what that would be. There really is something about working outside the home that makes a person feel official. Why is that? I know what it is, actually. It's that we've all been brainwashed. Honestly, I believe that staying home and raising your own children is the way to go. I, for one, am perfectly happy at home. But now that I know I've got a job, what is this feel that has me visualizing myself as some swampy thing resurfacing from the underground? Looking at myself, I find that very backwards and strange. So maybe we are a bit underground, but it's not swampy! Infact, it's more like I'm heading out into the swamp; and I think I'm going to need some muck boots. I'd like to rewire that thought right now. I'm starting to wonder if that whole "a woman's place is in the home" era wasn't enacted as a measure of reverse psychology for women. If we tell woman her place is in the home, maybe she'll want to go to work! Well anyway, I don't know why I'm so gumptiony this morning. And, no, I'm not having second thoughts about the job. I just found it a bit odd that I was having even an inkling of self-worth in regards to heading out into the workplace. (Here is where I insert the definition of inkling so as to be clear and not embarrass myself as a result of mine own undisguised frankness.) {Inkling: a half-light; a glimmer; a misty haze; a dim, faded, almost unrecognizable, infinitesimal speck of a shadow, covered up and resting under a pillow.} Nevertheless, there was an inkling and it caught my attention, so I felt the need to wrestle away his little pillow and shoo him out the window. Come to think of it, maybe all this wrestling is somehow related to feeling guilty about sleeping in. Anyway, it does feel nice to pitch in, and I feel really so very blessed that everything has worked out so perfectly with the hours and whatnot. The whole thing is really quite doable. All I have to do is get up early. It's a small price to pay. And we get to keep the lizards. All in all, I think it's a grand way to do it, if it must be done. In conclusion I'd like to say: though I am looking forward to doing something new (simply because I like mixing things up a bit every now and then), it's important for me to know that you know that I have no aspirations to be a modern woman. And whatever other little inklings there are out there, don't get too comfy, I'm onto you.