Girl Stuff

Here's Cinderella viewing a little television

Miss Bug sharing her breakfast blueberries

Essential accessory: crown

Princess Aurora clomping across the lawn

Taking turns . . . sort of

also needy

Can you see the "I miss my mommy" look in their eyes?

It's nap time. Bill's napping, too. Jeff came over to do some computer work for Kelli and Bryan's business and Birdie hugged and hugged him. She's used to seeing him almost every day when he comes to work in their home office. When she scraped her leg (climbing through the cat door) she began to long for her mommy, but she's been a sweet lamb and she laughs at my jokes. Bug is content. It's easier when you are the little sister.

I haven't had a shower, I have quite a bit of yard mud on my clothes, and I haven't had a moment to read or crochet. Go figure. The hugs and kisses are delicious.

Sunflower Houses

Hello posies! Have you read this book? Reve borrowed it from the library and I've been reading it this morning. It is VERY lovely. You'll want to buy some sunflower seeds AND some morning glory seeds and plant yourself a sunflower house. I don't think it's too late to plant another wall out in the leafy, hideaway corner. Maybe this morning . . .
Come on in. Let's look around.

These two can't seem to get along. One will take a leap off the bench and the other might refuse to sit face to face. At least they have a snapdragon festooning their sitting spot.

Oregano and thyme for the fairy garden. When I place the fairy bench in the tiny herbs, I'll take a picture for you.


Samantha Rose came over yesterday afternoon. She ate pears, drank bottles of formula, played happily, and snoozed. She's so nice.

I'm a little nervous for my long granny stay at Birdie and Bug's house. I don't want them to be too sad, missing their mommy and daddy. I'll comfort myself (and them) with visions of sand and surf. Mommy really needs a sweet dose of tropical air, restaurant meals, and uninterrupted naps. Daddy, too.



Before I go, I'll plant some petunias (and those herbs) and pack my backpack. I'm off to mail some packages, too. I'll take lots of pictures if I have free hands and maybe Kelli will send me some pictures of Hawaii so we can all enjoy some South Pacific delight.

Maybe I'll pull a weed or two when I am playing in the backyard of Kelli's house. I wanted the girls to plant these pinwheels in our garden, but they insisted on taking them home after all.

So it's diapers, sippy cups, toddler meals, two big dogs, three cats, humidifiers, bedtime stories, splashy baths, three dresses a day, and toy clean up for Pom Pom, for six days. I'll keep you posted.

Garden Center and Book Winner

Reve and I went to the garden center today and I had too many pretty pictures, so I made a couple collages. You can click on them to enlarge. The flowers were astonishing and the garden doo dads were abundant. I bought some petunias, a fairy bench (I'll show you that later), two pinwheels and some tiny herbs for the fairy garden. On the way home we stopped for . . . you got it! Ice cream cones!

Here are the sweet new friends from the class I took last week. We had so much fun being table mates. Pam is an English teacher, too. She's on the left. Both Ann and Karen teach second grade. They made the week so bright and sunny.

This is the ocean of Cambodia. Our earth is good. So pretty. Bill is coming home Tuesday! That's the day I go over to live at Kelli's so she and Bryan can go to Hawaii. Lucky ducks! Bill will come over to sleep with me. He leaves for Brazil and Uruguay very soon.

It rained and greened the grass and plants!

Reve called late yesterday afternoon to alert me of the marvel below. Thank you, God.

Here's what I'm reading. My sweetie pie Irish friend, MM, suggested it to me. It's pretty amazing, so it needs a candle and a pretty book mark.

Drum roll please . . . Kelli was over working on some of Bill's paperwork, so I had her pick a winner for my favorite descriptive novel, The Shell Seekers. The winner is Gumbo Lily! I'll get it in the mail as soon as I can, Jody! Enjoy!
I hope you've all enjoyed a relaxing Sunday. I've been spending a lot of time lying on our bed reading. I've watched some movies. No cooking since the boys are off camping and Bill won't be home until Tuesday. For dinner tonight . . . frozen pizza? Peanut butter toast? Popcorn?
What did you do over the weekend? (BIG SQUEEZE AND SMOOCH!) We'll talk again very soon.

Snuggle

Some of my favorite films are my favorites because I like the sets. I love the glimpse into houses. This picture is from The Holiday. Look at all that clobber at the door. Mmmmmmm.

This set is also from The Holiday. A blue velvet bench/coffee table. White book shelves. Pillows. I'm jumping in.

You've Got Mail is an old favorite. The soft bed. The quilt. The lamp light spilling onto the pillow. Gorgeous.

Look at this little apartment interior. Open door sporting an old and worn knob. Blue/green paint. Fruit. Scones. Tea.

Another set from You've Got Mail. Wreath on the window. Old table with a stout lamp. Wooden dish rack.

Some other favorite "house" movies: One True Thing, Father of the Bride 1 and 2, Home Alone, Sense and Sensibility, Anne of Green Gables, The Secret Garden (simply because of Scottish Martha), Harriet the Spy, Tara Road, Sleepless in Seattle, Mama Mia. Can you think of any others?

What do you think makes a house warm and comfortable?
I like a fire in the fireplace, candles, flowers, and lamp light.
Soft pillows, quilts at the ready,stacks of books, baskets of knitting, fruit bowls, brightly patterned rugs.
Red. Ribbons tied around pillars and posts. Rows of small pitchers. Simple, gathered curtains made of cotton.
The smell of coffee and toast.
Soup on the stove.
A clean floor.


Do you feel like dancing now? Let's put on our soft calico dresses, our apron pinafores, our bonnets. Let's hold hands and laugh, squeal, stomp, and fill our homes with JOY!

Admired or Known?

Welcome!
It's almost time for me to get organized and dash out the door. I wanted to pop in and say hello and ask you something.

Come up and sit in my nest a minute.

You can snuggle in with one of my birdies.

Here's the question that formed in my morning mind as I read in one of my devotionals.
Most of the time, do I want to be admired more than I want to be known?

Most of the time, even though I feel compelled to be gregarious, I really want to be shy. Simply being admired (and we admire everyone for something, really) is easier than letting people really know me. I find myself controlling how much people know about me. This is largely because most people don't push too hard. Bill does. He asks great questions and keeps asking. He knocks at my private little hide-away of a heart. He knocks and knocks and finally I come to the door all exasperated like Rabbit when Winnie the Pooh persists at his little rabbit hole, and really I'm quite relieved that someone loves me so much and cares about my thinking so much. Our kids know me. They ask questions and pay attention. So I care more about being known than being admired on the family front. But other fronts . . . I am not sure. I'm pretty sure I could use a little more vulnerability. Just wondering a bit. What do you think?

As I've been arranging my little Pom Pom den, I've been admiring my books. I love them so. I haven't read all of these. I'm going to choose a few to read closely this summer. THEN, I'm going to roar through pages of my journal and write and write and write and write.

I miss this little flower girl. After I stay with Bird and Bug for a week while their parents go to Hawaii, I'm going to tool up to Ft. Collins to see this happy family. Next Tuesday, Kelli and Bryan leave and Granny shall move into their house. Grampy will be home from Cambodia and pop in and out.

Oh, let's just look at flowers now.

I'm out the back door to water a bit and then I shall have a quiet weekend because Jeff and some of his friends are taking a road trip around Colorado. The class I'm taking has been happy. The women at my table are VERY fun and we've been going out to lunch together (the best part of the day, I think!) I'll see if I can take some photos of them today. They are nice so I think they'll say yes.

I wish you a blissful day. Maybe you will really enjoy the tea berry taste in your cup today or maybe your peanut butter sandwich will assault your taste buds with an extra special zing. Maybe your kids will say something funny or maybe you'll create something you like today. Whatever little encouragement comes your way, I hope you'll bump up against someone who really wants to know you. I know someone who already does.