Slowing down..

It's been a very busy couple of weeks: dress making, cake making, wedding festivities, and then a full week off for both my husband and I, which meant coming up with some fun things to do to make our vacation "count".  Towards the end of the week, my daughter came down with Coxsackie virus (if you've never heard of it, don't worry - I hadn't, either), so she was a miserable camper for a few days, and we ended up having to postpone our planned trip to the ocean.  Now I've got the same miserable sore throat that she had, and am finally listening to my body's cues to just slow down a little.  Hence the renewed quiet on the blogging front (I know, I've spent most of the summer apologizing for being quiet!)

The end of the summer always brings a particular frenzy of activity: that first burst of fall color in the trees sparks a sense of urgency, as I try to squeeze in every last one those activities planned back when summer was just an oasis glimpsed distantly through winter-sick eyes.  Complicating and adding to that last burst of planned fun, I always seem to experience a huge creativity surge as the weather gets cooler.  If you've ever played Sims2, they hit the nail on the head - the characters are more motivated to learn and do crafty things in the fall.  Not that I've had any time for such games since the stork dropped off LW, but the analogy comes back to me at times like these, just the same.

Anyway, I've got skirt patterns, patterns for LW, plans to make more throw pillows, and stacks of books that I'm gathering to read; plans to pick apples and put away crisps and butter like last year; harvesting, preserving, and also have some other ideas and projects that have been waiting for cooler weather and more indoor time.  I'm reflecting more on faith, on vocation, on who I am and who God is calling me to be.  I suppose it's always this way at the change of a season (which makes me wonder, what is it like in those parts of the world with no, or different, seasons?) - the space between seasons is a transition time, a "time-between-times" as in Celtic mythology, and as such, is a perfect time for reflecting, taking stock, and also for making plans for the future.  However, this end-of-summer cold is reminding me not to burn myself out in a frenzy of "enjoyment," but rather, to take some time just to be; to go on walks, or maybe just lay in bed and listen to the breeze (if I can get LW to occupy herself, somehow!)  In short, to enjoy the "now" of the end of summer.

So, what about all of you?  Do you experience an end-of-summer frenzy, or a burst of creative energy at the beginning of Fall?  Or how do you stay in the moment, in the midst of the always-moving busyness of life?

Blog silence

I'm not meaning to be on hiatus at the moment, just have about six too many irons in the proverbial fire.  My husband's twin brother's wedding is next weekend (for which I am, as mentioned before, making the cake).  I also, after a fruitless attempt to find a dress to wear to the wedding locally, decided I would just make a dress to wear...  I hadn't done any sewing projects since LW was born, and let me tell you: this one reminded me all over again why I haven't!

But, I have it nearly done, just need to do some hand sewing details to finish it, and do the hem.  I really like it - I found this reallly pretty embroidered linen on the bargain rack (ok, it was still $7/a yard, but that was half off what it usually is), in this pretty light blue, and also found a darker blue/teal shawl to wear as a wrap to Mass, since the dress itself has spaghetti straps.  My husband has been a champ, watching LW and taking her for walks and such so that I could get the majority of it done; now I will be retiring the sewing machine again for awhile (actually, probably not for too long, as I saved enough of the material to make a little something for LW herself).  I love these sorts of projects - after they are done, that is!

I'm also trying to make some real world time to catch up with a few friends, and spend some summer evenings with husband and daughter.  The summer has totally gotten away from me; I can't believe that it is nearly August already!

On which subject - our second wedding anniversary is next week.  I simply cannot believe that we've been married for two years already.  The time truly has flown, and I am happy to say that our bond continues to deepen, and we definitely (or at least I believe we do) understand each other a lot better now than two years ago. 

The garden, like the rest of my life, is growing out of control; LW is teething (great, more teeth to develop cavities); life is just busy, busy, busy.  Today, at the end of a long, hot, sweaty, sticky, cranky-baby day, I actually momentarily longed for winter - for hot cocoa at the start of the day, for the cozy comforts of hunkering down at home to wait out a snowstorm, and the much more quiet, methodical pace of life that comes with shorter daylight and reduced ability or desire to go anywhere.  But then I snapped back to reality, because I hate winter. 

In other news - I'm finally taking a week's vacation the second week in August, and I cannot wait for that time off.  Since I work only part time from home, I no longer receive paid vacation or paid days off, so I have to put in extra time in advance in order to take any time off; thus days off are extra precious, and this will be the first real vacation that I've had in a year, since I went back to work after LW was born.  I haven't taken more than two days off in a row in the last year, and essentially every time I did that, we were traveling somewhere for a holiday, so this should be a real treat.

Anyway, I know this post has little or no real substance to it - just a quick explanation of things being so quiet here!  In reality, quiet in the blogosphere equates to insanely busy in the "real" world.  But never fear - in a few weeks or so, once fall really settles in, I'm sure I'll have more than enough to say (not that I don't now!), and more importantly, time enough to say it.

God bless, now get outside and enjoy the quickly speeding summer!

Ups, Downs, and All Arounds..

My apologies for being so "quiet" lately.  Life has been crazy - sometimes crazy good, sometimes crazy bad, and it's been hard to find a moment to do laundry (hence three loads are sitting on my basement floor) much less sit down to construct a coherent post.

First, the "down":  I had to take my 13 month old to the dentist yesterday.  Jim and I used to joke years ago that if we ever got married, our kids would be doomed - we both had so many problems with cavities and such - and evidently (dentally?) it's not so much of a joke when it actually happens. LW has two cavities behind her front middle teeth, and now it's a race to try and find a second opinion as far as what to do about them.  Dentist #1 was brusque, uninformative, performed a sealing procedure without asking or explaining first, and is insisting that we night wean (and preferably stop feeding on demand in the daytime as well).  Of course, as I know from previous experience, dentists really would be most happy if they could get all their patients to be fed via stomach tube and never have anything touch their teeth...  Anyway, that is the current crisis of our days.  I really don't want to night wean her yet, as she's still nursing 3-4 times a night, receives quite a lot of calories that way, and it gets us all the maximum amount of shut-eye.  SO.. prayers, please, for healing and also for us to find a decent dentist who is willing to work with the whole baby, not just focusing exclusively on her teeth (side note - this has been a bad year for this particular topic; we had to shell $2500 out of pocket in March when Jim had a dental abscess, so this came as a particularly annoying blow).

The literal "up": LW is standing up on her own (as in, in the middle of the floor, without anything to pull up on), and taking a few steps from there!  Her toddle-waddle is one of the cutest things I've ever seen.  She is pushing "further up and further in," in the form of climbing everything (chairs, couches, people) in sight.  She's also beginning to master more words (like "bath"), and every day becomes more like a little toddler-person rather than a baby.

Also literally "up": the garden is entering into its full glory:

  We recently harvested the first of the tomatoes and peas:

They are *super* tasty.  I had forgotten how good a cherry tomato or snap pea straight off the vine can taste.  My buds have gotten used to the bland store bought stuff.

The peas are actually kind of funny, because when we left for 4th of July weekend, there was one bud about to bloom; when we returned, the whole tops of the bushes were covered, and the next morning, there were full pea pods waiting to be harvested.

This might, of course, have something to do with the "all around": the all encompassing heat wave we've been experiencing.  Remember this post?  It's even hotter than that now, and ridiculously high humidity levels as well.  Yesterday, I gave in, and let Jim put the AC in the bedroom window (being mistress of frugality, it has to be seriously hot for me to allow the use of the AC).  It was worth it, though, for the three of us to actually get a good night's sleep.

In one other piece of "all around" news - our BG's are working great!  She hasn't been any redder than she ever was in the disposables in weeks, and we've got a good wash/dry routine down.  The only problem is that with this hot weather, she's been running around in her diaper, and has now figured out how to open the Velcro tabs.  I'm super excited about not spending all that $$ on the disposables anymore (although, technically, it'll take 6+ months to recoup the investment in the BG's).  We're still using one sposie at night - any suggestions for good overnight solutions?  She might be OK overnight, I just haven't dared risk it yet.  That being said, she pretty routinely leaks out of the disposable at night anyway...

Oh, and the other "up" piece of news: we're looking at a house that we actually really like, which might even be in our price range!  5.5 acres of a land, an older farmhouse that needs some renovations but would be livable until we were able to do so, and only about 30 min from where Jim works (not ideal, but better than it could be).  God willing, we're hoping to move on to the house inspector step, after taking one more look at it.

Now... time for that laundry :)

A Dandelion Wine day..

"Yes, summer was rituals, each with its natural time and place.  The ritual of lemonade or ice tea making, the ritual of wine, shoes, or no shoes, and at last, swiftly following the others, with quiet dignity, the ritual of the front porch swing" - Dandelion Wine, Ray Bradbury

This summer is the first one in a long time that really feels like a summer to me.  It may be an unfortunate consequence of homeschooling that I never became properly "institutionalized" - never learned to accept working day in and day out with no long stretches of vacation to look forward to.  Two weeks doesn't cut it for me; I need long stretches where it doesn't matter if a day ends up wasted or not quite perfect.

Anyway, this is the first summer in a long time when I've consistently had time (or at least the presence of mind) to really *notice* the summerness.  Last summer I had a brand new newborn, the summer before that I was planning a wedding, the summer before that I was a camp counselor (fun, and "summery", but utterly exhausting), and the three summers before that I was working.  So, while I'm technically working this summer, I also have time (with the Little Wum), to really enjoy the traditions of summer.  I have a whole list going of things that I want to do... and have already started on many - The Garden (growing up it was always in capitals in my mind, probably because my parents' garden was about 20 times the size of the one I'm currently working on), sun tea, shady/sunny blanket time, afternoon book reading, listening to the sound of the fan and the hum of distant lawnmowers out the window as I relax for an afternoon doze...

The creemies have already started, and soon there'll be s'mores, bbq chicken, potato salad (so much of what I associate with summer is food!)  I want to try my hand at mint juleps (another L'Engle inspired suggestion) and margaritas, and find time to chase a few fireflies.  Walks by the lake, walks at my parents' house down to the covered bridge or the congregational church graveyard, picnicking and sharing a bottle of orange-mango juice with a special someone...  For now, though, reading Dandelion Wine while LW sleeps - the perfect book for a summer day.

Wordless Wednesday: the "It's 90 degrees in the shade" edition.

Garden progress!

I can't resist sharing a few photos of the progress of my garden. They're a little blurry (camera phone photos), but they give the general idea, and show the pea fence that I put up today :) My dad will be so proud... Also a gratuitous LW and husband photo - they kept me company while I put up the fence. Sometimes my husband and I sort of reverse the "traditional" roles - I tend to do the gardening and sometimes "Mr. Fix-it" stuff, because my dad taught me really well, and hence I enjoy doing those tasks because they remind me of him. But then again, Jim, looking over my shoulder as I write this, just said, "Hey! I do Mr. Fix-it stuff too! And better!"

Anyway, on to the pictures :)

The lettuces have made progress...

On the right are the chives, sage, basil, and spearmint.

The (slightly leaning) pea fence, with freshly planted (non-visible) peas.

Last, but very definitely not least - the two loves of my life :)

And now.. to bed :)