Lately

The youngest had her tonsils and adenoids removed two and a half weeks ago. She is like a brand new person, now that she has healed. Energy levels, appetite, every part of her improved. She had a bout with something tonsil related back in January, and was never the same in the throat. Same thing happened to her brother at the same age. I know tonsillectomies aren't standard anymore, and most pediatricians will try to convince you to put them off, but for both of my kids it was the best possible solution, and I have seen the almost immediate benefits to their health.

Otherwise, much has been the same. School, errands, charting and stitching, filling orders, cooking meals, bathing dirty bodies, cleaning dirty dishes, washing dirty clothes. We are on the final countdown to the last day of school, which is June 5th in our district. None of us can wait! We all have plans and lists of things we want to do together and apart during our free months. Time will tell if we can squeeze it all in.

Grandma's Birdbath :: First S'more of Summer :: Surgery Bound :: Sunny Iris :: Planning Samplers :: Snowballs in May :: Sprouting Greenhouse :: Reflect :: Well Hello Neigh-bor :: Budding Sage :: Smell the Lilacs :: Best Place to Grow Up Ever :: Love in the Rearview Mirror :: Sunny Day at the Park :: Old Bouquet (Beatrice Godfrey) :: Mother's Day Selfie :: Coming Soon :: The Good Stuff :: BFF

Last Hurrah

The peak of our Autumn color season is here.

This doesn't mean endless expanses of orange-gold-red like you will find in other regions of the country. Rather, our ubiquitous verdant green becomes punctuated with a fireworks display of Autumn glory. Pockets of surprisingly brilliant color (enhanced by the shimmer of dew and rain) burst from an otherwise steady backdrop of conifer and grass (which has responded nicely to the early season rains by greening back up from the late Summer brown).

Fungus of all shapes and sizes spring happily up from every surface imaginable. I can't walk across any expanse without tripping over mini mushroom forests or large clustered communes.

The air smells of mist and damp and woodsmoke. If not careful, we slip and slide on the wet mossy and muddy ground. The clouds roll in and out, but mostly in, making the rare beams of sunshine feel like a hug from Heaven.

It is the last hurrah of this year's leaves, and they are doing their very best to make it a memorable end.

Lately

It finally feels like Summer is here. Nearly four weeks into the school break, and we are catching up on all of the pressing tasks that were on my list. Going through toy collections and piles of to-be-sorted-later. There has been a wedding, a few picnics, doctor's appointments and haircuts. Now, after just a few more to-dos, I might be able to tackle my mending and sewing list. And start planning that 15th anniversary party and the 40th birthday party too (big year for this girl!). But first, a glimpse of some of the things that have caught my attention in past days...

Phlox :: Three Cousins and an Uncle :: Daisies :: Tiny Trio :: Multnomah Falls :: Columbine :: Feast for Mimi :: Chives :: Sword Fern :: Triple Chocolate Cake :: the Garden Grows :: Mowing the Orchard :: Stick Play :: Mama School :: Huckleberries :: Lone Daisy :: Finding Faces :: On the Back of Her Head :: Robin :: Reflection :: Looking for Handouts :: Watering the Dahlias :: The Allowance Game (circa 1978) :: Bunny in Clover :: Herb Garden :: Sparklers :: the Moon with Mars on the Right :: Fun with Eyeballs