Invite grandma to spend it with you. Pick her lots of flowers. She will even mow the lawn for you, especially if you feed her frittata and artichokes fresh from the garden.
Obtain the first Harry Potter movie from the library. Make sure everyone is suitably excited and attired.
Provide authentic edibles.
Relax and enjoy (even if you don't make it past the first hour and a hlaf as the rest is full of scary bits).
Which, as you no doubt know by now, could be the title of any one of the posts here.
Friday saw us eating watermelon on the back porch, Ana in her new "Star Wars characters crossing Abbey Road" tshirt, bought with her own pocket money.
I also stayed up late finishing a novel that I read purely for pleasure. It felt terribly decadent.
Saturday morning saw the usual rounds: chores (Asher filled the kitchen with Bon Ami to a depth of 1cm. I am still wiping it off of every surface), children's classes, farmer's market, and me to the bakery for a coffee, rice pudding and lab report. The rice pudding was delictible; the lab report not nearly so palatable.
Asher spent part of the afternoon playing with his friend, and then I rounded up all of the children and convinced them that we must Get Out as it was the last rain-free day in the foreseeable forecast.
Before we even left the parking area, Bella had us busy gathering wild chamomile.
Am I the only one who finds old cemetaries peaceful and soothing? Surely not. We like to pause quietly here for a few minutes, admiring the old stones and fences, wondering who has come to rest here.
As we headed into the forested bit, the birds were positively raucous! I did wish I could have recorded the constant singing surrounding us. The cow parsley was in full strength, towering over us. I also found licorice-root fern to add to our chamomile for tea.
The stream was rushing and cold and clear. I was astonished to find we were the only ones there. The children paddled and waded and splooshed rocks. I only had to issue one reminder for them to be kind to one another, and they were off and so very busy and contented.
We stopped for snack and found mint to add to our tea as well.
The walk back through the forest was just as lovely as the way in. Chipmunks kept darting back and forth across the path, but I am never fast enough to catch them in a photo. I spied thimbleberry bushes in full flower that we will have to visit again, a farm building peeking through, dappled light through maple canopy and a boy flitting between mossy tree trunks.
We had to stop on the way home to pick some rose petals (Ana's insistance).
There is much more to share, but I will do that when I have a bit more time again. I am grateful we had such a lovely afternoon yesterday-- it is pouring rain now.
Some of you may have noticed that I am now on Instagram. I tend to use it out on weekends, and am keeping it private for now. I do post my favourites here, though!
I really must stop waking up at 5:30 on the few mornings when I can sleep in. I would blame the sunshine, but I love it so, I cannot bear to balme it for anything.
Asher popped up not too long afterwards and very sweetly asked if he could make me toast.
We spent today visiting my mum and dad. We do not generally celebrate Mother's day, but this year was a bit different. My mother is often difficult to get presents for (well, that may not be true-- I am generally very bad at finding gifts for people!), but this year I found the perfect thing: a set of Jane Austen Penguin Classics. So of course we had to celebrate.
We paddled in fountains and found newts.
Climbed the old tree.
Wandered through flowers.
Tried to remember all fifty states,
Found my old "Poppet and Dear One" book I made ten years ago.
Had a picnic.
Read inside and outside (until he finished "The Sorcerer's Stone").
Remembered books that made us cry.
Wandered home again...
... and stopped to admire the slowly sinking, golden glowing sun, before we made our way to our beds, and are now doing our best to get to sleep in a warm, not so very dark, night.
We have been eating. In the beginning of the week, things like roast chicken with asparagus and root vegetables. In the middle of the week, salads using greens from the garden (Asher hums while he eats his). Towards the end of the week, we end up with what I call "Mother Hubbard" dinners. I scour the pnatry and garden and back of the fridge, and then make something of it. Yesterday yielded half a row of beet greens, an onion, a small bunch of mint, two shrivelled mangoes, and half a jar of yogurt. So we had beet green and onion pakoras with mango/mint lassis and Asher told me I should open a restaurant when I finish school.
Aside from eating, we have experimented with steam and microwaved a bar of ivory soap in the microwave so that it expanded into a cloud of soap flakes which were good for another hour's worth of entertainment. Especially when accompanied by comprehensively dreadful "blues" singing.
Some have been to children's classes.
Read lots of Harry Potter. And had a hair cut.
And of course, played guitar (she, for the record, has forgiven a lifetime of having a camera in her face for this photo).
And done laundry.
But mostly, every free minute has found us outside in the garden. We wonder at how every colombine is so different, at the delicate saxifrage and the first roses and the promise of blueberries and lupines. The vast majority of time and energy is focused on the vegetables, though. We got almost all of our summer seeds and starts in this week: tomatoes, peppers, squashes, beans, cucumbers, melons, carrots, potatoes, onions... It is extensive and exhausting, and enormously satisfying. I am keeping track of the vegetable garden on this Pinterest board, if you are truly interested.
It was so warm and lovely today that I made sun tea (with our own mint!).
I am also very excited (perhaps overly so) by the growth in our "woodland bed." When we moved in, there was nothing growing here except for the two trees. This spring it is truly beginning to come alive. The Solomon's seal are my favourite, although really, it is hard to say that when gazing at something else. Today I learned that they have the most delicate, beautiful scent and look particularly interesting from underneath. 'Tis true.
We are heartbroken that the beautiful barn next door is coming down. Sigh.
Ana is learning new songs every time I turn around, it seems. She earned her elbow badge after a run in with a rock wall. It won. But so did she-- she started to have a panic attack, but Bella was right there with her and they got through it just fine. My wonderful girls.
And Asher is officially on his way to Hogwarts, making Uncle Lukas proud. I am going to restrict which books he is allowed to read, however. One and "Quidditch Through the Ages" as well as "Fantastic Beasts" will have to do for now. I wonder how long it will take before he begins requesting butterbeer and sausages? The girls always did once they got into Potter land.
Wednesday afternoon, poor Ana had a panic attack at school. She has never had one before, and it was not dealt with very well. The staff with her were lovely, but they took her word that she was ok, and put her on the bus home. She wasn't ok, and when I finally managed to get to her, she was in a lot of distress. But I know how to handle stress. Tea! Well yes, breathing properly, but tea does seem to fix most things. We were also pleased to find spectacular post from daddy (maps and stories and letters) and a beautiful Ridvan gift. The panic attack was alarming, but seemed to be in response to physical stress and pain,and we now know how to deal with it and what to expect next time. Still, I kept her home with me Thursday to make sure.
Friday afternoon and all day Saturday were heavy-duty gardening days. Things are growing so swiftly: the lily of the valley and tiny star flowers are blooming in the woodland bed, the artichokes are appearing, the kale and winter carrots and beets all had to be pulled out.
Early Saturday morning, the garden club had their yearly sale. For $24, I bought 3 ferns, 3 solomon's seal, 3 columbine, 2 red currants, a violet and a snowball bush. Thank heavens Mum came down shortly! We got it all planted (except for the snowball bush), the vegetable beds uncovered (except for the one corner reserved for the tadpoles), new carrots and beets sown, two sinks full of kale to deal with, two hanging baskets up, the catmint in, and the thyme redistributed between the freshly weeded flagstones. The children helped a lot, too. Especially Asher! Although he kept disappearing to lie down on the warm gravel between the beds.
We got to eat some of the fruits (vegetables) of our labour, too, which is always good.
Saturday evening we went to a friend's concert of Leonard Bernstein music (he is part of the master chorus). It was great fun, with wonderful music! The children were completely engrossed, and Asher got to inspect the kettle drums during intermission. Ana had to come home and pratice her guitar despite it being past bedtime.
Today we spent a slower morning folding laundry and playing tiddly-winks. Tacos for lunch. Then Mum had to head home to visit Dad and the children and I went to Philomath for Ruhi Book 5. We stopped on our way to pick up things for a picnic dinner afterwards, though. I love that my children are adventerous eaters: baguette, sheep's milk cheese, watercress, tangerines, ginger beer, sweet potato crisps and almond pastries. Yes please.
We stopped by the wetlands on the way home. What a glorious place!
The children dabbled and explored and discovered and ran back and forth to their hearts' content. The sun was warm and the birds were singing continuously. Especially the redwinged blackbirds.
We had our picnic supper closer to home. The park was an absolute sea of daisies. Bella showed Asher how to make a chain. She is a bit of a funny one, that Bella.
Ouch.
You know, I am reading Oscar Wilde right now, but I do not think he would have stooped quite so low as that title.
In any case, without further a-do, horse pictures for April:
Percherons
Shires (I think these were my favourites. Also, those little whitish lumps in the background are sheep with lambs. It was rather idyllic, yes).
Belgians
Mules (not horses).
We attended an event co-sponsored by the Oregon Draft Horse Association and the Yamhill County Historical Society. I also interviewed a few of the teamsters for an Anthropology paper I had to do. It was all quite interesting, and we enjoyed getting to see the horses and mules put to work. It quickly became obvious that there was a huge difference between teams-- the percherons, for example, were trained to pull and it was all their teamster could do to keep them down to plowing pace. The mules, on the other hand, seemed quite happy to meander back and forth. We admired the percherons' deep chests, the shires' feathered hooves, the belgians' strong hindquarters and the mules' sturdy utility. The people were pretty interesting, too:
The children also got to investigate a replica of a covered wagon:
Some sheep:
Spinning and lace making:
Ducklings:
And even released a homing pigeon:
I was quite proud of Bella as she was the only child who actually managed to hold on to her bird until the appropriate time.
Asher's favourite part was the blacksmith's, of course, and Simon's the sawmill.
We even spotted the steam tractor on the go. It was quite the day.
The good news is that I did not get lost on this week's hike. It was a sedate affair over well-known hills with pauses to admire the chipmunks or trout lilies or mushrooms, and to listen to the meadowlarks.
Yesterday we attended the neighbouring county's historical farm festival that focused on plowing with teams of draught horses and mules. I did some observation for my anthropology class, and took many photos-- more on that later this week as I get it organised.
There were momentary pauses for dandelion blowing, a visit to grandparents, and the first visit for ice cream of the year.
This morning we are catching up with household chores before plunging into the inevitable busy-ness of this life that seems to be ours.
Wishing you all well, friends.
There may be some confusion, so I thought I would clarify things.
This is (was) Mia Farrow:
(she is much older now).
This is Asher:
(he is younger, smaller and has slightly darker/longer hair. He would probably also like me to point out that he is a boy).
This is Ai Ana:
(young, tall and lighter/shorter hair. She is not a boy, although I don't think I need to point that out. Also, she does not wear fake eyelashes).
And lest you worry, Bella remains as ever, despite appearing somewhat startled when snuck-up-upon by a camera weilding mother:
(She has kept her hair on, and does not wear false eyelashes, either).
Dear God,
Thank You for small graces.
Thank you for a cancelled class that meant an unexpectedly free morning, and for the lovely company of Bella who is home today for ortho appointments.
Thank you for a day of golden sunshine that almost brings tears to my eyes, it is so precious and appreciated.
Thank you for wee blossoms from even our bare yard that mean bits of happiness tucked away in corners.
Thank you for friends who encourage and help calrify our priorities and direction when we need it most.
Thank you for coming home to a front window that looks like this when I peek inside.
Reprieve when we sorely need it. Just when I had almost given up entirely, life demonstrates that it is good and gracious after all.
