Friday night grateful moment

So perhaps my little moment of "I'm back" (see NYE post) was a little premature. You think? Sigh. My heart was in the right place, for sure. My brain and ability to follow through has been completely used up elsewhere the past few months. But, no matter. Somewhere mid-afternoon today I decided I'd post tonight, and here I am. No more or less grateful than any other Friday night, but just here. Rusty but writing.

It's spring here in Walla Walla, with all that that implies. Sun some moments, rain at others. And oh how we need the rain, so I'm not arguing with that, even though I get chilled and maybe a wee bit crabby about that. I will remain grateful for whatever moisture we can drum up before the real warmth starts and we go into official drought mode. We are greener than green right now, and that makes me very happy.

Seth approaches his last weeks of high school, and I'm so grateful for these days together. He's done pretty well at keeping "senioritis" at bay, and has been busy with many extracurricular activities, but he's here and he's happy with his college choice (Pacific Lutheran University in Tacoma) and feeling ready to move on to this next phase. Yay for endings and beginnings and all the things that make these passages significant. (With Seth's graduation will come visiting family, and I'm really looking forward to that!)

This has been a rough few months (year?) locally and further afield, for family, friends and friends of friends, in all areas of health, grieving and loss. I can't really even tally the number of cancer diagnoses, deaths, divorces and other heartaches, and on some level, I feel a little numb. A bit in the arena of, don't let it all in, because it's really just a big ball of sadness. But for the living/currently undiagnosed, it's one foot in front of the other. What else can you do? I'm grateful for my health, for sure, and don't take it for granted. I'm grateful for another day to hug my husband and child and assure them of my love.

One of my favorite things from these past few months is that we have acquired a few chickens. This is especially exciting given our collective love of eggs, of course. And now we have on hand at any moment the freshest of eggs. There have been many lovely golden omelets and deviled eggs, and Seth's breakfast egg sandwich is extra delicious--so I've been told. My Saturday morning poached egg ritual has also risen a notch or two. It took me a bit to taper off my usual egg grocery purchases, so we were fairly swimming in egg options there for a bit. Now, we've got it more or less down to a steady diet.

My mom has been traveling with her sisters this week, and I've enjoyed thinking about their time together, grateful they have each other. Sisters are awesome, whether by blood or by marriage or by choice. I am grateful to have lovely sisters in the last two of those categories.

For Mother's Day the boys treated me to a day in TriCities with a couple of glorious nursery visits as well as lunch out together. It was exactly what I wanted and needed. Now, to get the plants in their appropriate spots. I have dug up my dahlia bed (it took a big hit this winter, though I'm not sure exactly why, given it wasn't a very severe winter) and am transplanting them elsewhere. The snowball bushes and lilacs both bloomed gloriously, and the irises and peonies are currently going to town!

And now for a couple of random pics I found on my phone. I am very grateful for my phone. I love having a camera with me every minute of the day. I know, how weird. But I like to document things, however mundane. Go figure.

I am ready for this weekend and all the rest and recuperation that implies, physically, mentally and spiritually. I hope that whatever your weekend holds, it's all that you wish for.

Peace.

Wordless Wednesday

Sunny Saturday in May

t was just the perfect kind of day to relax and appreciate the season... a little wander in the yard with my iPhone and Instagram app later, and my love of Walla Walla in the spring is at full bloom.

The one thing I wish I could have captured was a bunny frolic in the front yard. I caught two young ones hopping and jumping over each other in an almost-choreographed dance. Absolutely precious, but you'll have to take my word for it, as I was inside, upstairs, no camera within arms reach, and I couldn't pull myself away from watching to go and find one. A priceless moment.

I had brief hopes of a balloon floating over the house this afternoon (this is the annual hot air balloon festival weekend around here), as we are out of the flight path for morning lift-offs. In years past though, given the right conditions in the late afternoons, we've seen them land in the fields around us, quite close. Such was not our luck this gorgeous afternoon... 

What's blooming in your yard these days?

Wordless Wednesday: Heavenly lilacs!

Friday night grateful moment

o very much to be grateful for, as this weekend kicks off.

I am in love with our apricot tree, in full bloom! The scent is positively heady. And so far (knock on wood) no major frosts to crumple my fruit desires... I am grateful for everything that nature brings right to our door.

It was a week with a lot of rain--that made everything pop and bloom and green up nicely! I love having blooms in the yard, finally, as well as the house.

But I'll take blooms anywhere and everywhere right now. I have primroses inside...

And tulips too. Beautiful peach tulips.

I have a soft spot for holidays that give reason to hauling out the food coloring! (Tomorrow when we cut into the sweet treat, I will share what's inside.) (And no, it's not a leprechaun.) I'm grateful for frosting and flavoring, and silly ideas that somehow come to life in the course of an hour or two.

OK, I may have gotten carried away taking pictures of the shamrock cake... I will admit that much.

I have the dearest nieces and love to hear about their fun accomplishments. Maizy just finished her first sewing project, and that brings back a lot of memories for me!  In related crafty news, I spent some time painting pottery this afternoon for a local fundraiser, and thought of my nieces a lot, and how I'd love to take them there one day. For crafty stuff, it's great to have girls around!! I am grateful for Maizy and Lucy.

I finally succumbed to the pull of the Instagram, can you tell? I had quite a bit of fun playing with the different filters and settings this afternoon. I can see why people get so "into" it... my favorite filters seem to be ones that have borders, with a kind of vintage-y look. Grateful as always for technology and all it's able to assist with in our lives. I'm thankful that Seth is home safely from his tennis match, and that he and his doubles partner won solidly. They had a good time, too. (What's not to love about hours on your butt in those school buses? Ow.)

Husband is a frequenter of this grateful list, and for good reason. He's truly a gem. I could spend the whole list just on him, but he would not find that very good form, being modest and what have you. So take it from me, I am grateful and blessed.

Oh the weekend, the weekend, the joyous, restful weekend. I am grateful to be here, right here in this very spot, at the start of two lovely days with my men, and anticipating what it will bring.

What does your weekend hold? I hope only good things!

Peace.

Friday night grateful moment

ild wind is howling, gusting around the house quite fiercely. This is *so* not how I wanted to head into the weekend, a weekend where I dream of peaceful sleep, rest, quiet--you know, the opposite of a windstorm.

But the wind is here, and I'm here, and I'm nothing if not resourceful. Earplugs at the ready, I will sleep No. Matter. What. And be grateful. Not for the wind per se, but for plenty of other things:

rununculus

A day spent with husband, just doing our thing. It was a lovely time together, especially given that it was a weekday, and hookey days are really rare for him. For me they have been much less rare, but when he'll take a day off, I jump at it, and I'm grateful for our chats and discussions throughout our time together, too.

sunflower

For morning energy, I am grateful... to get up and go, to meet each day with enthusiasm--no doubt helpfully fueled by coffee, but still, I'm moving, right? It's so amazing how our minds and bodies bounce back from fatigue. Given a bit of rest, we get up and go again. Thank goodness for that!

cherryblossoms

Spring is coming! I can feel it. The dahlia catalog has been perused, now to pare the order down. Seeds have been purchased. There's talk of rototilling on Sunday, but it will really depend on the weather between now and then. Regardless, it's warmer and warmer, and sprouts and such are appearing. Oh happy day!

daisy

The dear boy is off at a jazz festival in Idaho with his jazz band compatriots. We'll be so glad to see him tomorrow night when his bus rolls back into town. I am so grateful for his smiles and hugs and our talks. They may not always be the light-hearted chats of his tween years, but I am grateful to remember what being 15 was like (sometimes all too vividly), and also glad that I can empathize. I could not be persuaded to go back to the angst-filled teen years for ANYTHING. No thanks.

 forgetmenots

I am always so grateful when I see generosity in people. Not necessarily generosity of stuff, or money (though that's fine too!), but generosity of spirit. People who are big enough to give others props without thinking it somehow diminishes their own light. Those who regard others with an open heart, not worrying about what they will receive in return. I love those people. Those people make the world a better place.

Chief

I am SO grateful for Chief. I can't imagine what the house would be like without him right now. He is like a shadow for both husband and I, staying right beside us as we move through the house. That can be a little bit of an obstacle if you're looking to get somewhere quickly, but I can deal with it, knowing all he's been through this winter. He's seen his pack disappear, and when I took him to get his teeth cleaned this week, boy did he not want to go. Pretty unusual for our social beast, but he seemed pretty convinced that only bad things happen behind that door in the vet's office. Poor sweet thing, he did make it through OK and get the "great teeth" stamp of approval, too!

(This is where I confess how dorky I've gotten about Chief. When we were having lunch out today, I told husband I wished Chief could text, just so we could check in on him. Good grief, that's a level of doggy closeness I hadn't anticipated. I used to make fun of my friends who would leave messages on the answering machines for their dogs, but I think I'm about half a step removed from that nonsense. Seriously, wouldn't that be cool? "How's things?" "Fine, bring me back a treat." Kind of like a teenager, eh?)

bells

Color continues to make my world go round, in these early spring days when green still feels a bit sparse. Can't wait for all the colors of spring and summer in our garden; but until then, I've sprinkled some of my favorite colorful flowery finds (well, other than Chief!) throughout my grateful list, for you.

I hope your weekend brings you all the good things you need to face another week!

Peace.

Friday night grateful moment

A wild and crazy busy week. Doing what is anyone's guess, but it was busy.

And filled with many things to be grateful for:

* Week 2 of No Hoses Chewed by Little Miss Ruby. I know I will jinx things by bringing it up, but I can't help myself. She is doing WAY better than last summer. Next week will be the real test as I get the drip part of the irrigation back up and running... she has pretty much decimated that over the winter and I need a full day or two to diagnose and repair, so I've been (yep) procrastinating and moving hoses. No more. Time for the rubber to meet the pvc, so to speak. (Oh, in the interest of full disclosure, there was one sprinker head--one of those cheapy green ring guys--that got munched, but still, overall and compared to last year...)


Little Miss Ruby in all her glory!

*I'm grateful for all the blooms that surround me. Here's what Wordless Wednesday WOULD have been, Kim, if I'd only had a brain (I completely spaced it this week!):


Red yarrow. I love how different this looks from that yellow version I grew up knowing, and not liking much.

Two of my favorite David Austen roses... can't remember their official names but I love how full and peony-like they are.


This is the best year yet for our clematis out front. It was here when we moved and has only bloomed so-so until this year... maybe it was the hatchet job I did on it last fall?

*I am grateful for the storm that came through last night, for the rain it brought. I love weather diversity, and we certainly have had some of that the past few months.

*I am grateful for people I know who walk their talk. It is so so common anymore for people to put on different faces for different people and situations, and I suppose some of that is inevitable. But when I meet a genuine article, it just is so refreshing... not like I'm a genius at spotting them, it's just one of those a-ha moments. I love it.

*Grateful for my men and their love and devotion. And their communication. I'm blessed to live in a house with men who talk! Yeah.

*So thankful for health. I keep those close with health issues and concerns in my prayers daily; know that we think of you.

* Grateful for watermelon. We have had some of the loveliest watermelon already this year. I don't even want to contemplate the carbon footprint on it, but nothing says Hey Summer like a bunch of watermelon chunks in a bowl. Heaven. They can also kind of bust open that grocery budget but it's well worth it, I say.

*Grateful that Seth had the opportunity to learn the trumpet this year and get to know his pretty awesome band teacher. But, also very glad to be done with band concerts for the year! Sometimes these blessings do have their flip side...

* Grateful to believe and know that I am exactly where I should be, doing what I can do to make my small part of the world a better place, every day. What's that "bloom where you are planted" saying? Something like that. Can't say every day is a roaring success, but I'm also a big one for each day starting anew. Here's my favorite quote toward that end: Finish each day and be done with it. You have done what you could. Some blunders and absurdities no doubt crept in, forget them as soon as you can. Tomorrow is a new day, you shall begin it well and serenely... Ralph Waldo Emerson

* Grateful that no matter how wild the week is, now matter how empty my grateful list can feel on Monday, Tuesday or even Wednesday, by the time Friday rolls around I usually have pulled my head out of my... well, let's just say I generally have found some clarity and through all the flim-flam I manage to remember that I have so much to be grateful for. Circular logic, that. But it works. Grateful for being grateful.

* UPDATED. Almost forgot! Both Seth and I are so very stoked that Philip Chbeeb made it to the top 20 of So You Think You Can Dance, season 5. So stoked. Check him out. He has done an amazing job of coming out of his own style and learning choreography for other styles and worked his butt off to get to where he is. Yeah for him!

Here's the url. Having a real bugaboo with posting video tonight, so I'll just send you to youtube.

Blessings, and have a great weekend!

Wordless Wednesday: Signs of spring abound