On the Farm

During our renovations, we took time to stop for play and rest. One of the things we did was take Acorn to visit a local farm.

Growing up in farm country, farms were old hat to me. Half of my friends grew up on farms! But living in the suburbs, Acorn's missing out on really seeing the animals he sees in his books. Luckily, there's a small farm about 3 minutes from my best friend's house that had an open house and tour last weekend.

So we loaded our little dude in to the car and drove across town to get our fill of farm fresh cheese and yogurt (from sheep and goats! No cows here.), touch all the wool blankets and skeins and roving that I wanted to throw all of our money at, and of course, visit with the animals.

There were some little lambs that we were able to get up close with and Acorn was maybe a bit too excited about them; especially their tails! So I had to hold him back to keep him from hug/tackling them or trying to drag one home by its tail. Poor things!

We *do* have horses next door to us, so while he was incredibly interested, and even a little freaked out by, the sheep and goats he was completely comfortable around the horses. I laughed at how he gave this friendly old guy the brush off - "quit sniffing my hair, horse!"

We'll definitely go back when they have their next open weekend!

Veggies, Renovations, and Summer Scenes

There's been quite a lot going on here lately, and due to the relentless heat, I'm grateful that a lot of it has been inside or in the shade!

Acorn's been super in to helping Joe and I out with every thing we do lately; when I'm in the kitchen he pulls out the folding step stool and drags it over for me to unfold so he can "help" with cooking dinner. Since he still tries to touch the stove or grab knives, he helps by standing at the edge of the counter holding the spice jars. And, if something is cool, putting ingredients in the bowl/pot and adding those spices.

Over the weekend, he helped me make two jars of fridge pickles. Then helped Joe mow the lawn while I started my very first batch of sauerkraut.

We've been prepping the house this past week for our first major renovation in the 5 years since we moved in. We're tearing up the carpet in the living room and 2 hallways and replacing them with high quality laminate, and changing the wall colors. Since we'll be replacing the floors, we need to move all of the furniture out, which means we needed to take all of the stuff off of it. We also had to take all of the pictures and paintings off the walls, which makes our home feel awfully naked.

Our poor cat, Molly, has been freaking out as things disappear, while Luna and Acorn are unphased. Molly's moved enough times to know that usually when stuff gets packed away, it means he's going to get stuck in a crate in the car at some point. Poor thing.

When it's been cooler in the evenings, we've been pushing Acorn on his swing and hanging in our hammocks watching the fireflies and bats and taking a reprieve from all of the work that's been or is waiting to be done.

I'm learning how to hold on to the to-do list a little less tightly and to chillax every now and then. Even in the midst of a major project.

Gratitude*Sunday A Day Late

Each Sunday I stop and count my blessings.

Taking time to honor the things I've been grateful for throughout the week. A quiet, weekly practice of appreciation and positivity. A time to breath and reflect. A small step towards a more simplistic and appreciative outlook. Feel free to join in. <3

This Week I am Grateful For:

* A patient, loving, unwavering husband who is my rock through the even the stormiest periods of my anxiety and depression.
* Getting some time with a beautiful friend who I don't see as often as I'd like, who is in a huge transitional period. The fact that she takes the time to talk and care about other people's shit during her own upheaval is wondrous.
* Sipping sangria poolside. Seeing Acorn actually enjoy the pool for a little bit.
* Our neighbors treating us to a delicious lunch.
* Speaking what I want aloud, even though it sounds so cheesy. Letting go of judgement of that cheese.
* New hammock straps that make it a cinch to put up - hammock hangs after bedtime with my love. Watching fireflies dance around us, bats fluttering overhead, and a huge owl swooping out of our pine trees. I guess I know why I haven't seen as many hawks around the yard this year.
* Going through and paring down my jewelry & fabric collections. Letting go of things is far more freeing than I'd anticipated.
* Acorn picking a flower for his friend, then dumping dirt in her hair 5 minutes later, then a few minutes after that ripping out an entire plant to give to her which Joe quickly replanted. It's the thought that counts, right? :)
* Having a very light, happy, uplifting weekend. Seriously, I'd call it perfect.

Dolls, Desires, and a River

Hey! Remember this?

I've been slowly working through projects and reading books, but haven't felt much like blogging so haven't shared. While I've been away, I completed a baby quilt that is a few months late but my friends will definitely not mind, repaired the seat in our bike trailer for Acorn, finished 2 new paintings, and have been steadily working through all of the categories of stuff in my house Konmari style to pare down to the things that truly bring me joy!

I've also finished a few books, which you can keep up with if you're on goodreads. You can find me here. I'd *highly* recommend Glennon Doyle Melton's first novel Carry on Warrior if you're wanting some woman, mother, wife comradery and musings on life that will hit you right in the feels. My copy is dog eared, underlined, circled and tear stained and I only read it once.

That all cleared up, what am I working on this week?

I'm working on a waldorf doll for Acorn using this amazing tutorial from Faith and String. I've never made any sort of doll before and this has been a super easy tutorial so far. I'm really enjoying the process and the only thing I had to buy was the knit for the skin. So I'm $6 in to this. Not bad!

I'm currently reading two books at once. Danielle LaPorte's Desire Map as recommended to me by several friends (and my therapist two days after I had bought it!) and Cathrine Ryan Hyde's ( of Pay it Forward fame) new novel for a review with TLC Book Tours.

What are you all up to?

Gratitude*Sunday

Each Sunday I stop and count my blessings.

Taking time to honor the things I've been grateful for throughout the week. A quiet, weekly practice of appreciation and positivity. A time to breath and reflect. A small step towards a more simplistic and appreciative outlook. Feel free to join in. <3 align="center" p="">



This Week I am Grateful For:

* Good chats with friends and the husband.
* Empathy.
* Sunny days and Summer showers.
* Getting the last of the flooring bought for our big living room renovation. Now we just have to wait for Joe to get his time off sorted out!
* New flowers in the garden.
* Creative time with friends. Chatting about Desire.
* A patient, steadfast, loving husband. My rock in the storm.
* Acorn's attempts to stall bedtime by giving me tons of kisses. So sweet.
* Making the decision to accept help in all of its forms. I have a referral out, waiting to make the appointment.
* Books that make me nod in agreement, laugh in commiseration, and sob in understanding.
* All the iced coffee.
* Accidental altars.
* The fireflies being back.

The End of October

edited to add: I've been working on this post since early November, but due to some internet bugs I'm only just now finishing it. Que Sera, Sera.

We spent the last half of October up North in the woods of Pennsylvania. Joe spent a week of that time helping his best friend get the house he and his wife just bought in to move-in condition. Little dude and I spent most of our time with my sister, her husband and their daughter.

Lately

Over the past few weeks, we've had quite a few things going on.

Adventures were had. New cities explored. A first pair of shoes was purchased and then boycotted.

A second pair of shoes was purchased and was more well received, though Acorn (and myself, if I'm being completely honest) still spend most of our time barefoot.

My best friend of 26 years came down from New Jersey to visit with us for a week and it was wonderful to have her here; not least of all because I didn't have to wash a single dish the entire week! ;) We spent a good deal of time eating our way through town, lavishing the boy with affection, and I even took a few showers without an audience! Ah, the little things, right?



During her visit we took a painting class, wandered a beautiful college campus, enjoyed craft beers, explored Asheville, NC, and went out to a piano bar where I sang karaoke. There's video, but I'm not sharing!

She went back home and life continued on as it did before, only a little more quiet and a little more incomplete feeling, as it always feels for a few days after our friends and family from back home leave.

There hasn't been much time to focus on those feelings, though. There are molars growing in that require comfort, the last of Acorns baby friend's celebrated her 1st birthday (and I very nearly sobbed singing to her, because now it's really real - all of our kids aren't babies anymore), the laundry has piled up in it's mysterious fashion, Joe and I have been working on home projects, our anniversary is coming up, October and its annual whirlwind of activity is fast approaching and I'm preparing for an Artisan Fair next month.

Tonight, for reasons I'm blaming on the Equinox, my anxiety is through the roof. So rather than work on anything, I'm planning to drink some tea, eat some cheese, crochet a bit, post my first picture for the 100 Happy Days Project and go to bed early so that tomorrow I might feel a little less jittery and on edge.

Deglorifying Busy

Busy feels like a requirement, something that you need to be in order to live a fulfilling life. It's put on a pedestal and glorified. For my part, if I can't enumerate all that I got accomplished in a day to my husband or tell someone how much I've been up to since last we met, I feel slightly embarrassed and lazy. If I have free time, I often have to fight off the urge to fill it up with something. (usually an empty distraction)

And I know I'm not alone. So many people I know live such hectic and packed lives that we can't even manage to meet up and grab a coffee or a glass of wine once every six months. And if we do, many of them fill in the gaps in conversation by pulling out their phones to check email and social media. (my biggest pet peeve)