Lately

One day getting sunburnt, the next bundling up in layers because it's downright chilly out.

Sunshine, rain, hail, in quick succession.

This is Spring in our part of Oregon... At least we haven't had any late snowfalls this year.

It is turning so green outside that it sometimes hurts my eyes. Glowing shades of the brightest chartreuse with flowers, flowers, flowers everywhere. Cherry blossoms and dogwood and lilacs and the bulbs springing from the ground. The earth has waited long enough and all of that saved up energy is bursting into the air, leaving behind a dusting of pollen on every surface.

He wants to eat the double blooms on the flowering cherry because they look like cotton candy... She breathes them in so deeply that they tickle her nostrils and make her laugh.

Vignettes from an Antique Show

One of my favorite places to be is out looking at a thousand or so booths full of old things.

So much history. So much potential to add to an item's personal story.

And now, thanks to my smart phone (Moto X), I can capture little bits of the experience to share with you...

The Month of June

The vast majority of these photos were stolen from my Instagram account. Because apparently I can't be bothered these days to pick up a real camera to take a better picture. It has just been too darn hot. June in our part of the world is supposed to be lovely and green and lush, with sunny days separated by plenty of rain to keep things cool-ish. But no, this month was all about the bright sun and barely a drop of moisture to be found. The grass is all brown everywhere; along the highways and roadways and around our house.

Except for the front yard, which was just re-planted, and therefore has been kept watered faithfully (thank goodness we're on a well and don't have to pay for the water!). More about that in another post.

I think the garden is the only member of our family that is happy about all the sun. I don't think we've ever had a better batch of crops, and we are already seeing green tomatoes, which is completely unheard of around these parts.

I am generally very uninspired by hot dry weather, and the sun just blazes down on me burning my poor white skin, sapping my desire to do anything more than just exist. The inside of the house is dark, because I have blankets and quilts hanging over all of the West-facing windows in order to try to keep the interior below 80 degrees. It works most days, but I'm tired of not being able to look out the windows or go out the back doors onto the deck. We are very seriously considering getting some air conditioning installed. We've lived just fine in this house for fifteen years without it, but this year we're wishing for a different way of dealing with the heat.

But other than the heat, it has been the best of times. The days are just me and the kids, reading books, playing, visiting here and there, enjoying cousins and a few friends from school. Catching up on the backlog of projects and piles that were just too big to tackle during the school year. Both of my sisters are back in the area for the first time in three years, so we've been trying to fit in as many visits as possible before one of them moves to Montana at the end of July. When all of us that live in the PNW get together, there are ten adults and ten kids under ten. It can be a little chaotic, but it is good for my soul all the same.

I've been doing plenty of stitching and designing and pattern assembly, and once again my walls are bare while a truckload of my models visit The Silver Needle in Oklahoma for the month of July.

And that's about it in a nutshell. I'll try very hard to be better about blogging from here on out, and I made a promise to my camera to stop ignoring her, so hopefully all of you Instagrammers won't have to keep looking at the same pictures over and over again.

Home Safe :: I Prefer My Roses on the Wild Side :: The Next Ladies Prim Society Design :: I Heart Succulents :: My Office Wall :: Guitar Lessons :: Summer Read-Aloud #1, The Cricket in Times Square :: Tall Grass and Chickens :: Farmgirl's Bouquet :: Happy Garden :: Clean Car :: Tiny Bubbles :: Kitchen Windowsill :: Happy as a Field Full of Daisies :: BFFs :: My Happy Place :: Lavender is My Favorite :: My Other Happy Place :: Cloud Patterns :: My Mother's Day Basket :: Blueberry Season :: Red Elderberries :: Still Life With Eggs :: A Country Girl's Stained Glass :: Barn :: Mock Orange :: What if we didn't try so hard to hide our flaws? :: Mountain Huckleberries :: Bunting for a Sweet Baby :: And There They Go Again...