A friend of mine launched a great kid’s clothing line this past year: Roen Design. I’m especially loving the Leelanau County map pieces, as seen above. Some are handmade like the dress and some are upcycled items like the darling collared shirt. You can find Forest’s unique designs at some of the Leelanau County farmer’s markets this summer or contact her with a custom order through her Etsy shop. Congratulations, Forest!
Thanks for clicking in on me today. I just wanted to let you know how grateful I am for you, my lovely readers. Truly! Your comments and e-mails to me are important and I value this interaction. Many people leave home every day to go to a job where there is a paycheck and they have a water cooler or a coffee station, or an area where the donuts and cookies accumulate (and disappear): some kind of collective space to take a break, reflect, gossip, connect. When I’m home all day, every day, as a Mom, many days run together like a marathon of tantrums, crocodile tears, laughter, snuggles, negotiations and wonder, a roller coaster of emotions. And really early mornings when I try to cram in some work to pay my bills.
This space, Facebook, Twitter, and e-mail often serve as my water cooler, a place to share and connect. So from me to you, thank you!
If you also find value in what you find here, subscribe to the blog over there on the right-hand side. You’ll receive an e-mail when something new is published. Or heck, throw some change at me, to keep it going. My readership is growing each week and I’m thinking of adding a few sponsors to help keep ye ole blog going too. Know any small businesses who might be interested?
So happy to know you and appreciate your participation in this funny Cyberspace. Bliggity blog on!
A miraculous thing happened last night. Lots of late summer sunsets and parties caught up with the little birdie and she went to sleep at 6 p.m.! Lovelies, this has NEVER happened before. I’ve heard of children going to sleep at a reasonably earlyish time and sleeping for twelve hours, but Wren is not one of those. I was cursing myself for putting her down so early because I knew she would wake up at 7:30 or 8 and then be up for a few more hours, arrggh. But she was so crabby and we just couldn’t take anymore of each other. Usually when Wren naps in the afternoon, I rush around and try to cram in as many things as I possibly can because I never know when she’ll wake up and require my attention. Could be in 45 minutes or the very rare, three hours.
So what was I to do with this gifted time? Read a book? Take a bath? While those sounded appealing, I just couldn’t ignore the garden anymore so I went on a long-overdue, no-holds-barred weeding rampage. I know, right?! I have some extra time and what do I do with it? Weed. Because I over-planted last year’s garden, it didn’t have any weeds. But this year, well, a completely different story. One ripe with clover. Sigh.
The thing about weeding is that there’s just no space for the kind of feverish activity that I usually cram into any extra time that lands in my lap. I was forced to slow down, be methodical and eventually let my mind wander. After about an hour or so of bending over, my preggers heartburn kicked in and I had to take a break. I went inside, drank a glass of water, consumed a couple Tums, aka “Mama’s medsin,” listened for the little birdie and hearing nothing, headed back outside. It took about another solid hour of bending and pulling, oof.
Miracle: the birdie didn’t wake up AND the weeding is done. For now anyway. And it actually looks like a garden again with pleasingly distinct rows of strawberry plants, asparagus ferns, fingerling potatoes, beets, carrots, tomatoes, nasturtium, basil, dill, tomatillos and peppers. Where the parsley is hiding I still have no idea, but I’m still holding out hope that it will emerge. Slow to germinate, right?!
The same simple geometry cannot be found further south in the squash and melon patch. I came across an absolute deluge of volunteer plants likely from last year’s compost and my rule became: if it looks even remotely edible, it stays. A few tomato plants here, what looks like tomatillo or maybe a couple sunflowers there, and a pumpkin or two? So let’s just say it’s even more organic down there…
Once I settled into the weeding routine, it reminded me a lot of my yoga practice. The way my mind wanders and my body protests at first, then my mind slows and focuses and my body finds its flow. I’ve been really missing my ashtanga yoga practice during this pregnancy so maybe that’s why I found the weeding so gratifying, almost meditative. The sun crept lower, the traffic quieted, I stopped hearing lawn mowers, edgers, radios.
“They know, they just know where to grow, how to dupe you, and how to camouflage themselves among the perfectly respectable plants, they just know, and therefore, I’ve concluded weeds must have brains.” ~Dianne Benson, Dirt
The weeds will certainly be back and I’ve got to admire their resiliency. Albeit completely terrorizing!
What are your thoughts on weeding, lovelies? Do you also have a love/hate relationship with them in your garden?
As you can see, I’m finally past the awkward stage of early pregnancy where people don’t really know for sure if you’re pregnant or if you probably just had a really long winter (read: brats and beer). A bit of both would likely be true… But no, I’m definitely looking pregnant these days and at 22 weeks, even the cashiers are commenting to me about how I’m going to have my hands full as they chuckle through the little birdie’s shenanigans and stare at The Bump.
We’ve had a gloomy, chilly, rainy, lots-of-movies first official week of summer here. The upside? It looks like a jungle out there! The downside? It really IS a jungle out there! Clover has overtaken our garden, hmmpph.
Got any big weekend plans, lovelies? I hope to pickle the last of spring’s radishes – this will allow me to check something off my summer list! Woot-woot!
I hope you have a wonderful, restful weekend. XO
One thing that’s fun about having a little person around is that it makes you look at the world through new eyes. It’s refreshing to try to simplify the world’s visual beauty and chaos into the basic building blocks: colors and shapes. Did you also see the series on stripes that I posted the other day? Enjoy!
This last photo was taken last weekend on our trip to the Iris Farm. Wren and I thought these geese were very funny. And spoiled with so many pools. I dare say that the little birdie might have been jealous of her feathered-friends…
Welcome, summer! We’re happy you’re here. So here goes, my lazy summer list 2011. Won’t you please join me, lovelies?
Happy longest day of the year, lovelies! Any fun pagan rituals planned for tonight? Since I get up a bit after 5, I’m not much fun after 9 at night, but I’m going to try to stay up late to enjoy the longest day. Because as Chris likes to remind me, it’s all downhill from here to a long, dark winter…
Do you have a lazy summer list to share too, lovelies? Please send me a link and happy summer to you.
Happy Father’s Day weekend to all of you! What are you doing to celebrate all the father-figures in your lives?
Here are some links to keep you clicking on over the weekend. Enjoy!
Sorry, lovelies, I am not giving a trip away. But it’s true, Jordan IS giving away a trip for two to Paris. Enter to win here. Heck, someone has to win so why not you? Contest ends Monday, June 20 so click on over. It’s really so easy to enter – do you have 30 seconds? Thought so.