Eva took this photo of the paints all lined up and ready to paint. It's challenging to get them all in one place at the same time...

all grown up

Sometimes no matter what you do, things happen anyway. The mesclun bolted when I wasn't looking. I went out to the garden today and was amazed to see lovely yellow flowers on several of the mesclun plants. I had thought that the slightly chillier, rainy weather would slow the bolting process. I am so glad I harvested all the mesclun that I did the other day when I suspected bolting. On the up side there is now a lovely spot for the tomatoes I plan to buy for Mother's Day this weekend at the Farmers Market. I was wondering where they would go, what with all of the kale and mesclun and spinach and peas. Peas! Wow have I got peas! And I am happy to say there are mainly sweet peas and shelling peas this year with a spattering of sugar snap peas thrown in for good measure. Every year I plant a ton of sugar snap peas and there are just too many for me to eat. I prefer shelling peas and love to freeze some of those for later as well. And of course my love for sweet peas is well documented in photos on this blog and elsewhere. Surely they are one of the prettiest and most fragrant flowers out there?

Tonight I had spinach and chard and onions straight from the garden. I feel squeaky clean with the freshness of the food!


mesclun blooming

Eva said today while she painted outside on the patio in the sunshine that there is nothing so wonderful as painting when you are very very sick because painting is soothing and relaxing. Here she is feeling very very sick and mixing colors and painting. I was happy there was enough warmth out on the patio today that she could spend some time outside while sick.





Here is Samuel simultaneously playing Super Mario Galaxy on the wii and talking to his friend Jack on the phone (note headset, a birthday gift from Jack for said purpose) and giving me a very silly look presumably for taking his picture at this time. I can only guess what he is thinking about but know that look well. It suggests good-natured humor and something to do with me being a huge nut, again.

Yesterday Samuel asked me if there is anything that is truly silly or if everything people call silly is just a matter of opinion. Yep, all pretty much a matter of opinion and perspective. He walked away nodding his head in agreement. Yep, just what he thought.

oh to be a bee

or a hummingbird or an earwig or one of those yellow crab spiders or...

no bikes found today

Catch it while you can. Wow! The rain came pouring down. A break in the rain brought an amazing double rainbow, triple at some points. Spectacular. What can really be said about a rainbow after a downpour at the height of spring, flowers blooming all around? No sooner had I reveled in its magnificence, pulled Eva out into the still pouring rain, run back in to retrieve my camera, taken a picture, run back inside and out again, the rainbow was gone. Not a trace to be found. Catch it while you can. It is times like these that I marvel at being here at all.

We bought paints today while we were out looking for a bike for Samuel. Eva has been busy with them since we returned.

picnic on a lake with white water rapids at the end
picture of me with a spiral heart
forest girl

I am reading Nine Kinds of Naked by Tony Vigorito and am loving his story of synchronicity. Here's something- "the Big Bang is a beatific, radiant requiem of rapture that yodels the illusion of all-that-is only so that it may rediscover itself and continue to love." Rain, sunshine, rainbow, over and over, again and again. Yes! In the story one of the characters realizes that destiny is "inviting" us rather than "inevitable" and that we use our free will to follow what we love which then takes us to our destiny. I see it as an invitation to live our lives through love...

craft and play and such

Samuel's Hattifatteners he made for the homeschool market



So many little guys- and here they are in their home.



Such a picnic!

I keep forgetting to take my camera with me when we are out and have missed several photo opportunities with the kids and some of their friends and others of us just out and about. We went to the Arboretum yesterday and located the little table and tea set that was placed up on a branch in a tree. I was convinced it would have been blown down after the winter storms and the snow that we had but no! the table and tea set were there. I think I saw one of the chairs as well. The next time we go to the Arboretum I will remember to take my camera. A picture of that perplexing scene would be fun. We always like to wonder about who set up the tea party in the trees.

I am feeling a little like I am walking through mud and am going to take that as a sign that I need a break from the computer. Here is a great memory to me that my children can sit together peacefully in a chair! Have I posted others? I should compile an entire album of peaceful chair photos. Such inspiration!