graceful designs

Blueberries

When we had the fire I was distaught. Scared, angry, anxious...I was so upset at the devastation caused by a probable cigarette, carelessy tossed. Then someone mentioned blueberries. How they would thrive in the charred remains, and I became slightly hopeful. As the seasons have changed I've been watching the terrain, wondering if there would be a blueberry bounty.

Yesterday Braeden and I went to check it out.

It was a glorious sight, a mountain carpeted in blueberries.


They are simply everywhere. Stand and look up the mountain~blueberries. Look down the mountain~blueberries. Look down at your feet~blueberries. And not the blueberries that I am accustomed to picking, where you search the forest floor, looking for bright spots of blue. These berries are growing in huge clusters. I simply held the basket under the bush and ran my hands along the branches, and fistfuls fell into the basket.

It was overwhelming, to be surrounded by such beauty. To have a neverending supply of organic deliciousness right at my fingertips.

Can you guess where I will be spending today?

A Wee Ball of Fluff

There's lots of cuddling going on around here today...

If you are looking for me...

I am probably in a garden.

Most likely with a child.

Some love it,

others have mixed feelings.

Personally, I find playing in dirt deeply satisfying. Many hours have been spent in the school garden, digging, planting, reading, weeding, singing...

Many, many more hours have been spent in the family veggie patch.

Laura has created her own garden this year, and I am so excited to spend time with her there.

I'll be back soon, with much more to say.

A scary bear

 

 

 

It was fun.

Fun  hasn't been a frequent word in my vocabulary lately. If you've talked to me lately, I've been using words like stressed. anxious. tense. frustrated.

This weekend was different though. I was more relaxed, and really enjoyed my time with family.
Gavin and I ran in our first race together, and we had a blast. The sun was shining, the temperature was perfect, lots of family ran with us, and it was just fun. It felt so good to be outside and happy, with people I loved.

I am hoping to carry these good feelings over into the next few days.

For the locals, we plan to run the Lowes 5K and the  Kingston Classic. We would love to have more running partners.

Hi.

What I've been dealing with:

(with some pharmaceutical and therapeutic aid, I am feeling hopeful)

What I've been doing:

(zig-zag stitch and freehand quilting- not my specialty)

(I learned how to use the walking foot and quilting bar thingy. Yeah!)

Who I am spending my day with:

(he just cracks me up)

What I am avoiding

(stupid cats)

So...

There is an inverse relationship between the amount of stress in my life, and the amount of blogging that I do.

An interesting tidbit- I just looked at my blog stats, and this past week (the week with no posts) was a heavily visited week. Hmm...

Last Monday Braeden and I went swimming, and he fell and broke his finger. Just a hairline fracture, and he already seems to be completely recovered. But that mama guilt hit me full force, and I was feeling pretty down for a few days.

I have had some stressful interpersonal interactions this week. It seems that I needed to grow a backbone, and that process can be difficult. This certainly has been a week of personal growth for me.

I don't have any pictures because my camera is acting up.

If I was taking pictures I would show you all the fabric Laura and I bought yesterday. We had a lovely day shopping together, and I am completely in love with her wild tastes. Laura apparently has no inhibitions when it comes to fashion. And if she has her way, she will be attending Kindergarten in hot pink satiny evening gowns. I forsee some serious negotiations in the near future.

I miss crafting and blogging, and visiting my friends who inspire me so. 

Happy Valentine's Day

Hope your day is filled with hugs and kisses...

A Songwriters Debut

Laura wrote her first song yesterday.

Once a Day
I would be great
Never be bad
I would be very kind
Never put people down
I would help do chores
And be kind.

I might be a little biased, but I'm thinking this is quite possibly one of the best songs ever written.

It's ten degrees, and...

we're planning a garden. Our school garden, to be specific. The family garden will come next.

It still feels like winter will never end, but this week seems to be the official start of the growing season. There has been a flurry of e-mails regarding fresh food, composting, recycling, wellness committees...

When I went into the school today I heard teachers were requesting bluebird houses, and wondering what the plans for the garden would be this year. Some are looking to start planning their beds, so it's time to get everything in order.

Planning a school garden is different that a home garden for so many reasons. There are many different classes, some wanting to be more involved than others. There are many different people on our committee, and it takes time and a lot of communication to coordinate everything. And our growing season is pretty short, since school dismisses in June, so we need to plan accordingly.  Make sure there is food to be harvested before school lets out, and also plantings done so food and flowers can greet the students in the fall.

Then there is the final planning of the shed the high school is building for us, and the acquiring of rain barrels, and the actual ordering of seeds and starting supplies. And getting the gate built so the deer don't get in again.

And we have the nature trail to be built this spring, which requires planning and research, and then the supervision of the high school students who want to help out, and of course we need to establish our composting program in the cafeteria, and, and, and...

 
Last week was so simple, this week is simply overwhelming.