i am grateful

We hopped in the car and headed up the mountain.  This was the conversation.....

Solomon:  Mom, I think I'm coughing up blood.

Me:  Seriously?!  Have you been picking your nose?

Solomon:  Umm...

Me: (Amelia and I glancing at each other in amusement)  Well, I'm glad you aren't dying!

Eli: Mom?

Me:  Yes, sweet love.

Eli:  My lips are cemented shut.

Me:  Well, I think they're better now?

Me, Amelia, Solomon and Eli:  (laughter) 

I am grateful for teetering rocks.

I am grateful for this monolithic hunk of earth and tender new growth.

I am grateful for wildflowers.

taken by Solomon

I am grateful for ginormous tree mushrooms.

I am grateful for laughter and my kids are definitely grateful for crepes with Nutella.

I am grateful for stinky, dirty little boy feet.

I am grateful for my daughter who tells me that I'm beautiful.

I am grateful for so many things.  Too many to count.

in the kitchen

Art and food always seem to go together.

being outside

 

 

 

I am trying to be outside as much as possible.  It's so easy for me to fall into a routine of staying home and "getting things done".  The kids need to be outside and I do too.

Last week I started feeling dizzy and my heart was racing.  It was a terrible feeling but I told myself that it would pass.  By the weekend I felt so weak and drained that I decided to call the doctor on Monday.  After some tests the doctor found that my thyroid medicine was too much for me (which is what I suspected) and we lowered my dose.  I felt better.  Things are well.

But it was pretty stressful and on this beautiful walk in the desert over that weekend, it was all I could do to take step after step up that mountain.  It was so enormous up there.  We were on the top of the world and all I could do was cry.  I don't like it when I get this way but it happens sometimes.  What really brought me out of it was being up there.  Just being outdoors away from town, away from technology and my laundry pile.

I've realized that I just need my dose of nature every week, every day.  Being in my garden isn't good enough.

We went up to the lake last week, just the kids and I.  We brought our snacks and just a few other things and set ourselves down on the beach.  The water is really high this year because of the amount of snow we got.   It's so insanely gorgeous up there.  But, I'm a little biased.

It took me a while to really relax.  Isn't it true?  We don't realize how stressed we can get until we get to somewhere in nature.  Then we can start to breathe again.  I remember that moment I started breathing again.  Amelia and I were in the water hugging each other, smiling and talking.  I looked out into the sparkly, afternoon water and just felt a gazillion times better.  It was a good day.  Now, I'm headed off for a hike somewhere.  I don't know where just yet but I'll figure it out when I hop in the car.

Peace!

growing food and flowers

We are well into summer gardening season and I have to say that I love the green-ess of it all.  Not at all lush by others' standards but we're at the peak of green in the the high desert.

The one thing about our area is that the nasty, prickly and dangerous weeds love hanging out with us.  Goat's heads anyone?  If you've ever stepped on a goat's head or ran over one with your bike, well, you know what I'm talking about.  They're stealth ninjas, talented at camouflaging themselves.  Not until they reach the size of a large cat, spread out several feet do I notice them.  And they produce the most beautiful little yellow flowers capable of sweet talking just about anyone.

What are we growing in our garden this year?  Lots of stuff.  The usual that everyone grows.  We have to have our tomatoes, carrots, basil, kale, sunflowers, onions, etc...  We're always learning and evolving with our garden.  I tell you what,  I will  never know everything about growing food.

This year we are growing quinoa for the first time.  Well, my daughter is growing it if you ask.  But, I water most days and do the weeding.  Technically, it's her garden.  Each one of us has our own garden area they keeps on getting bigger every year.  It's the nature of the beast.   This is our quinoa.  Isn't it beautiful?

I also enjoy growing flowers.  They make me happy. 

 

 

The thing about growing food is that some years I'll have a bumper crop of one thing and the next year not.  It keeps me on my toes. It humbles me and makes me feel grateful....ever so grateful for the farmers that grow food for my family.

summer is.....

Summer fruit from the farmers' market.  We're in a a great summer groove and have made it there every week this summer.  Now,  if I could get to jam making before it all disappears!  The stone fruit has been really amazing this year.

Bouquets of flowers from my kids.   I honestly like these beautiful arrangements more than anything I could get from a store.

Playing scrooge, a game Jonathan and I used to play on the weekend with his parents, before kids came into the picture.  We're getting Amelia hooked (insert evil laugh).

Going to the lake.