I have a little project going...

365 paintings-- not nessisarly one a day but, I'm moving toward painting more. Ending my day with a 4" x 4" painting. Big enough to fufill my soul and communicate something. Small enough to finish in one sitting.

I only have pictures of the ones I've given away. Like this one.

New Resolve

I'm wondering why everything in my life begins with a good house scrubbing. But, it does.

I think I put my excuses to bed here yesterday and I went home thinking. I can do this. So I did. I threw open the windows and doors. I tied on my Grandma's apron. And I set about to cook dinner, do laundry, vacuum and dust. Scrub and wash.

We had a peaceful, simple family meal. And Isabel says, in her impromptu like fashion, "Let's do our 'Mostly I love about yous." which means we say what we love about each individual person in the house--  Lucy-dog included. And we had extra time to read library books and snuggle before bed.

I finished up all my tasks, post-bed time. 

And as the dishwasher hummed--  I sat down at the end of the night, listening to music across the kitchen table from Eric, I penned a few letters while he paid bills. A tiny date in the midst of the week.

I'm content. I just needed to realign myself, my home, my priorities.

I can't think of a better evening. Scrubbed house, gleaming heart? I think so.



*This is a little painting I made for a friend, remind me to tell you about my project!

To Tell the Truth

Here I am, at the end of a hard summer. We've had run the gamut of death, family illness, last minute traveling, weekends away, break ups of close friends.

And settling into school year routine, I feel like it's a steep learning curve.

And so the truth is, I would like the summer to have been a bit more carefree. Perhaps a tad lazier? Or a tad more constructive? Or absent of all the weighty conversations.

But that is not what it was. It was beautiful, in its own way. And I'm learning things I wouldn't have learned otherwise.

So I will not wish away this season, I will live with my feet firmly planted in these fall days. We will look again to what grounds us. And march forward our only motto, "Today is better than yesterday."

Weekending: What Remains

Last weekend was encompassed by a certain vibe, if we named that vibe it would be: embrace the remains of summer.

We ate a thrown together meal of hot dogs, macaroni and cheese, spinach salad with grapes and broccoli (homemade honey mustard!) and pickles. We followed our meal with a bonfire and s'mores with crazy large marshmallows.

Saturday held a lazy breakfast, and a day in town, followed by one melt down and two birthday parties. Then we all floated to dream land together. 

Sunday was just as dreamy another lazy breakfast of monkey bread muffins (recipe below), pears and cups of coffee.  Church. Sunday Lunch with friends.

Later in the weekend, we took our last swim out at Paullina. It was warm, the beach was empty and there was lots of giggling.

These two girls love each other so. It's been amazing to watch them grow.

And at the end of it all, I wasn't begging for more weekend (though I'll always take more), I was really content for the weekend we had and excited for the week ahead of us. And isn't that what weekends are for? Giving some time to stop, regroup, rest and then propelling us forward?


**********

Monkey Bread Muffins
1 Can Grands homestyle biscuits
1/2 Cup White Sugar
1/2 tsp Cinnamon

Glaze:
3 tblsp Butter
3 tblsp Brewed Coffee
1/4 Brown Sugar
1/4 tsp cinnamon

Cut the biscuits into 1/8ths or smaller (about nickle sized pieces). In a shallow bowl, combine sugar and cinnamon. Roll biscuit pieces into the sugar/cinnamon. Fill lined muffin cups with pieces (about 6 per cup).
On medium heat in a skillet or saucepan, melt butter, mix with brewed coffee. Once combined, add brown sugar and cinnamon. Wisk until sugar is dissolved and bubbling.

Spoon glaze over each 'muffin' (about 1/2 a tablespoon).

Bake for 15-20 minutes, or until golden brown.

Turn out gently, the sugar glaze is very hot!

The Big Day: Truman

What a few weeks it has been. We're finally settling into September. And now that I have Truman's first day of school photos unlocked from my camera, I will share them with you. It's hard to be proactive about downloading/uploading photos without at computer!

Truman was so excited for school, the two weeks that he had to wait and walking Isabel to school every morning was agony. "But when do I get to go to school!?" He would ask.

Finally, last week he got his chance!

 

And he wore his 'traveling' backpack-- which is now too small for a big boy with bigger toys. So he got to take his tiny Cars pack to school.  And we all know how much he loves Cars!

He ran into school, put his backpack away and started with his day. He ran in so quick we didn't get a Mother/Son, Father/Son photo. Oh, well.

Now we have two little people, who can't get enough of school! I'm proud!

Thoughts and Musings...

Hello my dears,

It's been a while hasn't it?

I feel like I've hit the ground running and haven't stopped, so I decided to take an inventory of what I've done since I talked with you last. The dinner above was a beautiful stopping point in this long weekend. Simple soup (recipe to follow), sweet bread (apple sauce bread on the left, chocolate chip banana bread on the right) and sliced pears. Throw in a few sweet faces, some funny conversation and you have a near perfect meal.

So journey with me as I focus on the present and treasure the beauty of the past.

Since we last spoke, I've been to California and back.
I spoke and listened to my Grandmother, bodily cared for her for a too short weekend.
Conquered two first days of school (one you'll see tomorrow!).

Thanks to donated garden produce... I canned 12 quarts of tomato sauce, 4 pints of apple sauce, 4 pints + 1 quart of pickles.
Lost one iMac (so long sweet computer).
Designed a dissertation workbook.
Knitted 1.5 washcloths.
Packed 8 lunches.
Attended a super-fun pre-labor day BBQ.
Finished reading this book.

Stopped at Pumpkinland with some wonderful friends.
Wore my new fall coat, because I was actually cold.
Made fried green tomatoes.
Painted one tiny painting.
Nursed two tiny people's colds.
Wondered when the tiny people got to be so big.
Made a batch of laundry detergent.
Drank lattes and ate pancakes with friends-- with homemade whip cream and strawberry sauce.

And I'm wondering, what have you been up to lately? Keep me up to date-- I feel out of the loop.