Mountain Mama

Peace

These older folks were standing on the courthouse square during a street festival this weekend.

Owen wanted to see the dog. I wanted to speak to the demonstrators. One told me he was a WWII veteran.

"Is that the dog's name around his neck?" Owen asked me.

"No," I told her, and then I tried to explain what the signs mean, what "Peace" means.

Suddenly, unexpectedly, I found myself in tears and unable to speak. Finally I choked out an explanation and gave her a hug before moving on to enjoy the festival.

This Memorial Day I am remembering those who have died for us, and I am praying that there will be peace so that no more have to die.

Published

I have two poems in the June (Y Chromosome) issue of Western North Carolina Woman--a local magazine.

Check it out: http://wnc-woman.com/

This is me, letting go creatively. I was even so bold as to list myself as a "photographer and writer". I am definitely letting go a little

(Which reminds me: I never did show you guys my collage I made with the images you so kindly sent me. I will do that this week--six months later. So sorry).

(Not entirely) Wordless Wednesday

My house is filled with flowers these days. Every one from my own yard.

Sigh.

Our weekend

Friday:

Rainy. Hanging out with Barrett all day while Paul went to school. A trip to the bookstore; groceries at the big store in the neighboring town; home and reading our new books; much cooking and eating of wooden play food; some porch play; several dramas of the three-year-old ilk; picking up sister at school (the highlight of Barrett's day, usually); admiring the cocoon that Owen's show-and-tell caterpillar made while she was at school; sibling arguments; kiss and make up; more play.  Then Paul home for our first ever pizza-and-family-movie night.

Saturday:

Farmer's tailgate market for cucumbers; three gallons of strawberries (for jam); a question for the Bee Lady answered; hummus; dill spread; eggs; handmade soap; jumping in a bouncy house.

Cleaning house and getting ready for an evening dinner to say goodbye to Samantha (our babysitter), and Daisy and Maryann (our friends). Chatting, eating homemade lemon bars and strawberry shortcake, exchange of gifts, rushing our goodbyes for a baby's bedtime, just as well or we would have all been crying.

Sunday:

Up early and out to Asheville for church and lunch with Paul's family. Discovering their cherry trees full of ripened fruit left for the birds. Getting a few for ourselves and for my dad (who loves fresh cherries).

Home to make strawberry jam.

Quick salmon dinner, using our "bad" (didn't set) batch of marmalade as a sauce. Then Dad and Paul off to see Iron Man, while I give the girls a bath and put them to bed.

Folding clothes fresh from the dryer when Paul gets home, talking quietly together before bed.

Another lovely ordinary weekend.

Blog Technical Issues

have been resolved. Thanks to the Typepad team!

You should be able to access the blogs without password problems and comment freely.

So sorry for any problems you've had with it. Please please let me know if you run into anything else.

How does your garden grow?

Mine is doing quite well, thank you.

Actually, thanks to Dad, as always. It's kind of nice to have a personal gardener.

Even so, every year it's something. This year, according to my neighbor, the coyotes have moved on, which means the rabbit populace is thriving. Every morning this neighbor rises before dawn and leaves for work and every morning, he says, his lights shine on our garden full of fat happy rabbits.

They've eaten the kohlrabi down to nubs, attacked the broccoli and devastated the cabbage. The lettuce, however, they've left alone so we're overrun with lettuce, which I'm trying to give away before it bolts (anyone want any? anyone?).

 

See? It's quite pretty, and yummy, too.

We also have kale, radishes, beans (planted by Owen from seedlings she grew at school)...

a variety of peppers,  some lovely peas (green and yellow),

tomatoes, of course.

And then there's my herb garden, planted as usual in pots on my porch. Basil (from seed, so there's nothing much to see yet),

oregano,

thyme,

sage,

stevia (which Owen and Barrett like to just snack on all summer),

 

and parsley and cilantro and dill.

Oh yes. It will be a delicious summer, I'm sure.

What's growing in your garden this year?

Something ventured

I have a new blog.

I know. I tried this before, writing two blogs. But this is different. Bear with me. And don't worry: I am keeping this blog, yes, for a while probably.

As you may know for years my mom has kept a running Joy List. A simple list of things and moments that give her joy. She has filled books and books with them. And over time she has inspired me to make my own Joy Lists, which I, admittedly, have kept much more sporadically.

I've decided, however, to try again. This time with a separate blog. Along the lines of habit or 1000awesomethings or any number of gratitude lists, I've decided to keep a daily log of things that bring me joy.

One item per day, every day (except only once on weekends).

I'm calling it Jelly Jar Daisies, because, well, a bouquet of handpicked daisies in a jelly jar is just one of those simple things that bring me joy.

Check it out, if you like, at www.jellyjardaisies.com. Maybe then you'll want to keep your own Joy List.

(Thank you Mom).

Oh, and don't leave me here--I will continue to post here. In fact, I have some photos of my garden to share. Soon.

Oh and one more thing: Typepad now allows me to add to my blogs this cool little Facebook "Like" button (on the sidebar). If you want to and you're on Facebook, no pressure or anything, but you could just click right over there and say you "like" my blog.

Thanks!

Wordless Wednesday

Spring Camping Trip--Photo Update

Friday afternoon I sat in the pick-up line at Owen's school with my dog in the back, Barrett in her seat, my mom beside me, camping gear packed around everyone, and the canoe on top of the car. The window was down; the sun warmed my face; a breeze kept me from getting too hot, and Van Morrison's "Bright Side of the Road" was on the stereo. My husband and Dad and friends were waiting at the park nearby--their trucks similarly packed with stuff.

The weekend only got better from there.

There was the lake, of course. And the woods.

Cooking, eating, some wine, some champagne.

Lots of sitting. And talking. And reading. And sitting.

There was fishing, and swimming, and playing in the woods.

And on Sunday (our anniversary), a morning canoe trip on a still lake, with the sounds of an occasional fishing boat, our paddles, coyotes on the mountain, loons on the lake, and our own silent prayers of praise and thanksgiving.

Oh, and a chattering little girl in the front of the boat.

 But that was okay, because she loved it all, too.

Update

This is going to require a list (a rather long one):

1. The semester is over. Woohoo. This was to be our hardest year so far of Paul in graduate school, because he was required to complete a residency year, basically attending full-time for 12 months. While working full-time. While being a father and husband. Adding to that, I took on a heavier load of classes this semester--more than ever before. So we were both working quite a bit for the last five months, and Paul even longer than that.

But we got through it without too much trouble. Paul made an A in a difficult class (yay, sweetie!) and our marriage and family stayed intact and strong through the stress.

2. Although the semester is over and our summer break has officially begun, we're not actually free this summer. Paul will be working intensely on his research and will need to be in the lab quite a bit.

And...I have taken a new position and will start in early June. I will still be at the community college, still part-time, but instead of teaching I will be the Disability Services Coordinator. It's an exciting opportunity for me to use my degree and training and to build a program from the ground up.

And still have a family life. Imagine that.

3. Our sweet dear wonderful babysitter Samantha is leaving us to go to graduate school herself. We are very excited for her but sad to be losing her. She has been such a blessing to us and to the girls and we're going to miss her terribly.

In addition to Samantha leaving, our friend Daisy (and her family) is also moving away. Daisy and Barrett shared Samantha most every day the last year. So my girls are losing their babysitter AND our friends.

Naturally, as sad as we are, we've decided to have a little going away party for them before everyone disperses at the beginning of the summer.

4. Of course, this leaves us without a child care option for the summer--and with my starting a new job and Paul working on his research.

Luckily a local church (right on the University campus)  is putting on a day camp for school-aged children and for preschoolers, so we're hoping we can do that. Owen will probably prefer to be in a group environment anyway and it's really time for Barrett to be with other kids as well.

Keep your fingers crossed that we can enroll them. And that we can get Barrett into the University child care center for fall, too. I'm working on that one. While there is a waiting list, the Director told me today that they are going to expand to another classroom, so there might be space after all and being part of the University means we get priority. Please pray that we can get her in because that will be the best option for us then.

5. All of this makes me wonder if I need to start reading a different set of blogs--those of moms who work outside the home. I keep reading the blogs of moms who don't work outside the family and who homeschool and I start feeling inadequate that I don't have time to bake bread and make homemade granola and make all of my own cleaning products and grow huge gardens and preserve everything in it and sew clothing for my children and do art and nature projects with them daily and run a photography business on the side...

I used to feel bad about myself reading all those blogs, but lately I've begun to think that maybe I just need to start reading something different...

6. I've also been thinking of, perhaps, quitting blogging myself. This semester was so hard that I neglected this poor space severely and my stats have dropped significantly. And, even worse, I've just not been feeling it lately with the blog.

But then Paul (and my friends) remind me that this blog (and the other one) constitute a record of my girls' childhood. Or more accurately a record of myself during their childhood. And I can't give that up. So I will persist. I hope you'll hang in there with me.

7. I am doing a few things for myself this summer. First, I am taking a four-week (once-a-week for four weeks) writing workshop which will hopefully stimulate me into writing more, maybe even blogging more. Also I am taking this photography e-course--and I am very excited about it. I finally get to learn (hopefully) how to really use my camera.  I will definitely share with you here the fruits of my lessons.

8. I do have a few weeks before my job starts and during which we hope to spend some family time together. We're going camping this weekend with friends (Hi Pat! Hi Steve!) and family, taking the canoe for some paddling and basically relaxing.

9. While camping, we will celebrate our 12th wedding anniversary (which, oddly, always seems to fall during trips with my family). To honor our marriage, Paul & I are hoping to take an entire day (one day next week) from sunrise to evening together. Mom's going to babysit and we're going to get up early early and head out, hiking and exploring and taking pictures, eating a picnic lunch, maybe dinner somewhere nice and, if we're not too tired, maybe even a movie. Just a day for us. So nice.

10. There is more to say (about strawberries and summer lists and gardens and reading and such), but I am tired and this post has grown too long already. You've pretty much got the scoop now.

I cannot promise another post until we return from our camping trip, but I can promise there will be photos then.

Thanks for staying with me.