lily of the valley

 Sylvia just came in from playing at the neighbors with this fresh bouquet of lily of the valley and it smells so good.

We are moving in 4 days (!) which means we need to catch every glimpse of joy possible these days.  And I will say now that most of the packing has been done, our days have been pretty joy-filled (not that we won't be cramming odds and ends into boxes late Friday night, there will be some of that).  We have been soaking up the sunshine and friend-love as much as possible, (including a fire/potluck/jam session with lots of old friends this weekend.  Can't beat that! )  This whole moving process has thrown me into a bit of survival mode, but I'm determined to enjoy these last few days.  So far, so good.

.  

{this moment}

{this moment} - A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember.

Olbrich Gardens (and a ramble)

Did it really snow here about two weeks ago?  Today was 85 F and sunny.  We rode our bikes to Olbrich Botanical Gardens today and had to bike over to get gelato to cool off afterwards.  Sylvia and Ayla do well in the bike trailer together, and I can barely keep up with Camille now though it was only a month ago that she started riding without training wheels.  That girl can cruise!

Two-and-a-half weeks 'til our big move to the country.  I can only imagine in what ways our lives will change, what will stay the same...

When I was in high school I told my best friend that I wanted to travel and live off of the land, etc.  I think I wished it was the seventies, although it was the early nineties.  After listening to me ramble about my dreams, she said, "You sound like you want to be a hobo...or a farmer...", neither of which sounded at all appealing to her.  Well, I grew up in the suburbs, I knew I wanted something different.  I left home after I graduated high school, and I did travel rather hobo-style off and on during my late teens/early twenties.  Then, I settled in the city, and have been enjoying the community / friendships / opportunities here.  

Now, it's apparently time for my next big shift.  I know I will be thrilled and challenged, satisfied and rattled in all new ways, and I welcome it (I can't wait for the actual "move" to be over, but I welcome it nonetheless).  So, I am ready to stretch muscles that have lain dormant, and push my comfort zone way back, and see what this new life has to offer for us.  And when I need a good dose of old friends (and the Willy St. Co-op), I can drive in for the day and it will all still be here changing and evolving in its own way as I will be in mine...    

a few quick photos

 pool fun with Grandma

Fancy Nancy party at the library

 so simple:  lotion + glitter = body glitter

 fancy, ragamuffin-style

 puppy love

nothing

We needed a day to "do nothing" after lots of productive packing early in the week, and lots of SUNSHINE yesterday.  Our nothing looked something like this:

*stickers and markers and card stock for card-making

*Cbeebies and stringing beads on pipe-cleaners (with Sylvia)

*tumbling and wrestling on the mattress downstairs (S and C)

*watching Xena: Warrior Princess and eating gluten-free grilled cheeses (with Camille)

*almost mastering standing without holding on (that would be Ayla)

*handsewing a zipper into a vintage dress for Camille to wear to a Fancy Nancy party at the library (that would be me)

*singing and general carrying on (all of us :)

...and my evening plans include such excitement as dropping stuff at the thrift store, trying to find some funky tights to go with the vintage dress, and going to the fabric store for buttons for my (almost) finished knitting project, with only ONE child along.  A fine day of doing nothing...to be sure.

coded message

It was very sweet to decipher Camille's coded message.