Summer . . .

Summer means fresh tomatoes from the garden . . . stacks of books to read . . . 

. . . and sunglasses.  

Life is just better when you are wearing sparkly sunglasses.

good things today . . .

More origami cranes today . . . this time with Mr. Ford's 4th graders.

I wish I could post a picture of all of the their faces . . . so instead I will go with some of their t-shirts.  I love all the t-shirts I see everyday at school.  I am thinking there may be a photo project there . . . I will have to give that some more thought. 

This group really caught on . . . and were finishing cranes in record time.  

PEACE ~ LOVE ~ CRANES

GOOD THINGS TODAY . . . 

1. Folding paper cranes with Room 11

2. Making smoothies with our Ninja (I love this thing)

3. Fresh zucchini from the garden

4. Someone doing me a big favor . . . going above and beyond

5. My work family - they really are amazing!

6. Coctel de Camarones . . . thank you Jessica!

7. Sleeping baby photo . . . our dear little Avery Rose

8. Coming home . . . 

9. Making some time to paint

10. Finding a boysenberry cobbler on my desk this morning . . . made by my boss

Let her sleep, for when she wakes up

she will move mountains.

Spring Break . . .

 Spring Break meant a week off from work.  It also meant dying Easter eggs, going to the park, planting, painting flower pots, and holding babies.  

The days spent with my granddaughters are the best days.  Throw in some beautiful Spring weather and I have come to believe . . . that life doesn't get any better!

"Just living is not enough . . . 

one must have sunshine, freedom, and a little flower."

~ Hans Christian Andersen

happy tuesday . . .

 I think I am glad the holiday weekend is over . . . even though holiday weekends are fun.

Family, fireworks, homemade pie . . . 

This week is going to be full of relaxing, creating, and being good to myself. 

HAPPY TUESDAY!

enjoy the process . . .

"To live a creative life, we must

lose our fear of being wrong."

~ Joseph Chilton Pearce

 I seem to like my practice painting better than the other things I am working on, 

but I am thinking of it as a process . . . and I always try to ENJOY THE PROCESS.

I'll just have to see where this crane painting goes . . . I don't like it - but who knows . . . I still might.

Now that I think about it, I do that when I make dolls all the time.  When I don't like how a doll is looking . . . I know that eventually I will come up with something and then I will like it.  Hopefully that happens with painting also.  (Enjoy the process . . . right?)  I probably need to paint more like Charlotte . . . just paint . . . and then proclaim, "Look, it's so beautiful!"

We can learn a lot from children!

This weekend went by way to quickly, but then weekends have a way of doing that.  

The weather was everything you could ask for on a weekend . . . perfect for being outside.  

We even had a small surprise thunderstorm last night . . . nothing huge, but enough thunder and lightening to make sitting on the patio while watching Fear the Walking Dead a little more fun.

GOOD THINGS THIS WEEKEND . . . 

1. Charlotte's help watering the garden

2. Lunch with Jennifer and Lily

3. Working on my rock peace sign in the backyard (finally)

4. Charlotte wanting to paint rocks.

5. Sarah coming over . . . staying late . . . and drinking champagne

6. A little thunder and lightening

7. "Love Suds" Open House . . . a friend of Jennifer's makes her own natural and organic spa products.  They are wonderful!

8. Sitting outside reading 

9. Richard making a fabulous dinner

10.  A relaxed, lazy Sunday . . . 

from the garden . . .

What a difference a day makes . . . I took each of these pictures about the same time each day.  I wish I had started a few days earlier.  I am thinking by this afternoon when I get home that I will probably be able to add these to tonight's salad.  If Charlotte goes out to the garden with me . . . she will usually eat a couple cherry tomatoes as we are picking them.  

More than a busy day at work, but just a few more days . . . 

life's been busy . . . life's been fun . . .

I have only a few more days to work, but already I am enjoying this Summer.  There is something about Summer that makes life feel a little less complicated . . .

The last two weeks have been the kind of busy that seems to go on and on, but I can see the end of that and I am looking forward to a very relaxing summer . . . that's exactly what I need!

Summer days . . .

'cause a little bit of  Summer 

is what the whole year is all about

~ John Mayer

Summer is here and it's wonderful.  I didn't spend my weekend quite like I had planned, but it was a great weekend.  I had planned on working on some projects . . . but instead I let the summer heat draw me outside.  I love hot weather . . . so we did some yard work, spent sometime by the pool, and barbecued with the kids . . . with plenty of water and sunscreen.   

Summer afternoon

"Summer afternoon - summer afternoon; 

to me those have always been 

the two most beautiful words in the English language."

~ Henry James

The sun was shining bright (complete with a sun bow) and the temperature was over 90 degrees . . .

 my favorite kind of day to work in the yard.  

Most of my giant sunflowers did not make it this year.  This is the second year in a row . . . I have about had it with snails.  I hesitate to use something to kill them because of Charlotte helping me in the garden, but next year I am going to have to do something.  I do have my one plant that came up all on it's own in one of my raised garden beds.  I will miss not having the giant flowers . . . but I am enjoying this beautiful plant.  It measured in Saturday at 13 feet and we have new sunflowers blooming every day.   I do believe this plant came up just to bring me joy!