Books….

My love of books is well known in our household. Everyone knows I will cling to paper bound novels, and go kicking and screaming into the digital age.

I know every parent doubts the job they are doing now and again, or looks back and wonders if they could have done something differently. With both of the kids’ struggles with school, and distaste for reading for a long time, I often wonder, if I could have done more. A very insensitive person once insinuated that perhaps the kids struggled because I didn’t read to them enough.

We.read.every.night.

So there smarty pants.

Not to mention the weekly trips to the library and home with our totes packed with books, that is another post altogether.

I used to worry because the kids never really seemed to have a favorite book that they brought to me again and again, we always read a lot of different books.

Today, I went to the bookstore with Princess Textsalot to buy a few books for my boss’s new baby.

So, I heard…..”Oh, you have to get this one.” – “Remember this one?”

and “She needs Harold and the Purple Crayon, remember we had all of them!”

“These were the best!”

And, it started to occur to me. We did have favorites. They may have brought me a pile of books every night, but there were always a few consistent ones in there. 

Sandra Boyton was a consistent theme.

They were sing-songy and easy to follow – I realize now, easy for my challenged readers to memorize and follow along, and finish the sentences for me by the time we put them away on the shelf permanently.

We imitated so many of the animals in Eric Carle’s book, I had it memorized for months.

To hear Princess Textsalot excited to look for these favorites for our purchase, gave me hope that maybe I didn’t mess them up forever!

There is a box in the attic full of the books I wanted to save for the next generation. I saved them because they were *my* favorites, but now I realize, they were my favorite because they were the kid’s favorites. It’s a pretty big box. So, I guess I did ok.

But, there are two that will remain in my heart forever and ever….

This is the only I think I remember reading almost every night. The babysitter I had when the kids were very small used it for some of her lessons, and we HAD to get a copy of it for at home. I can still remember a lot of it -

A told B, and B told C, I’ll meet you at the top of the Alphabet Tree.  “whee!”, said D to EFG, “I’ll beat you to the top of the Alphabet Tree"!” -

No, I did not have to look that up.

The best part – THEY REMEMBER. Just when  I think my babies have been replaced by these alien unrecognizable beings at times, THEY REMEMBER.

But this one.

This wonderful, beautiful book….has been the source of one of the phrases I, and I think a lot of parents, continue to use with my kids to this day. We made sure it was included in our gift today.

Throughout this entire book, Little Nut Brown Hare tries to “one up” his Dad on how much he loves him.  Each trick that he can do, and distance he can think of proves how much  more he loves his Dad, than his Dad loves him.

Until Dad gets the better of him on the very last page. I believe it sums up whatever parent feels and no child can know until they parent as well.

Little Nut Brown Hare is finally being tucked into bed, sleepy, and says to Big Nut Brown Hare, “I love you to the moon!” which to him seems like the ultimate measure of love. Until, as he is drifting off, Big Nut Brown Hare, leans down and whispers,

“I love you to the  moon……and back.”

Farming Fish-bowl style

I have such fond memories of gardening with my grandmother, that I couldn't NOT have a garden of my own.
Strawberries are my first attempt and finally this year, they are yielding enough to actually EAT them more than two at a time!! It has only taken about 5 seasons. I remember when I put them in, everyone said, "oh they will take over soon. You will have more than could ever eat"...well, that never happened!!
I also hit up our friend's organic farm and put 3 gallons in the freezer for my smoothies all winter!

This would be when the rabbits become the "Damn Rabbits".
And you will notice, they only ever eat half! No idea why, but they leave this half eaten beauties all over the vines. Deceiving me into thinking there is a lovely ripe strawberry hanging there until I pick it!

Organic fresh raspberries -- again our friend's farm....we are thinking of putting our own blueberry and raspberry bushes in along the back of the year this fall. These babies became scones. Nomnom!

Guess what this became!?!  Pesto!! Made a nice pesto and roasted tomato pizza on the grill!!

You haven't lived until you make the crust fresh, grill it and put that fresh pesto on it!

Unfortunately now, we experience another not so great perk of growing our own stuff -- something is eating my basil. Grrrr......researching their early death, but trying to make it natural so I can eat the basil without poisoning me too!

Also way way tooooo many herbs this year! The oregano was taking over the bed!! So I found a use for the greenhouses in the summer -- drying!! Bunched these up and in less than 3 days I had completely dry herbs! Score!

waiting for these babies -- sauce sauce sauce all winter!!

And I think I over did it a bit. The cukes had to get planted in the flower beds since I ran our of room in the garden....I am really planning on pickles....we'll see what happens. I have a feeling I am going to have more pickles than I could ever eat. There are some seeds that I had started in my new greenhouses. I am so proud! Most of the other things I started too late, but the cukes are doing well. Considering that last year I had softballs instead of cukes, these are looking good!

Why, hello my pretty!!

Already planning changed for next season!!

Wait a minute....

Didn't all of this *just* leave my house??
Starting the pool on how long it sits like this!
Teehee....
She wants to make her room more like a dorm room.
Apparently, she has gotten used to her "space".
Apparently, there will be lots of "rearranging" before her summer babysitting job starts.

Could an entire school year have passed already?

All of the preparation.
All of the nerves,
the happy tears,
the excitement.

Blink of an eye.

By society's standards, probably not the most successful year.
By my standards, I am insanely proud of Princess Textsalot!
She completed her first year of college!
Not without it's struggles.
Not without it's growing pains.
But also with a lot of positive outcomes!
She has learned a lot about herself as a person,
as a student and what she does and does not want to do.
I am proud of her for being able to admit Millersville is not the place for her.

So proud of her for working through this year.
School has never come easy for her.
Social situations, never easy.
Combine the two, well, let's just say,
there were some pretty rough patches to get through.
But,
she.did.it.

Proud of her for deciding to pursue an entirely different path
in preschool education, probably special education.

She is home now.

The re-adjustment has begun!
But this fall, we won't have to say goodbye to her again.
She is staying this time.
Just as the meloncoly doesn't hit me so much anymore,
and we have started to appreciate the quiet......

she is our whirlwind, we wouldn't trade her for the world.
She brings noise, chaos, humor, smiles,
and screeches into our days.

And apparently, we didn't need that pack of extra toilet paper!

Getaway.....

Two years ago, for our anniversary, we pulled off a long weekend in Lake Seneca NY, wine tasting and relaxing. 
We managed to pull off another trip this weekend, only took two years. It was supposed to be a return trip to Seneca, but at literally, the last minute -- ok, two weeks -- on the advice of a friend, we rearranged everything and wound up in Northern Va; a thriving wine country, in case you  were not aware. Highly recommend it to anyone who enjoys such a thing. Pretty much, a lot of people just tease us about our wine hobby. To which I say, "To each his own!"
We enjoy quiet time together, sipping good wine, eating good food, soaking in the local beauty, and meeting fun people.

I find it interesting that people we met, that discovered what we were up to, automatically assumed we were "getting away from the kids". Well, not really. It is more about "getting away from life". The kids just happen to be a part of that. We honestly enjoy traveling with the kids, and spending time with them. We have also just decided it is important to us as a couple and as individuals, to getaway from the cacophony that is life.
The best part of the weekend....
The quiet.
Not the lack of sound.
But the lack of noise.
We do not realize the amount of needless noise there is in our days and the effect on us.
We wound up outside of Purcellville, Va. in a 1700's farmhouse that had been "converted" into a bed and breakfast.
The beauty, other than the house itself and farm, was no tv or radio in our room. There was one in the common areas, that we found ourselves, not in the least tempted to turn on. It was heaven.
Moving to our own rhythm. Our own speed. Not one determined by outside forces.

  

The entire house is furnished in 1700's civil war era antiques, and is run by an adorable woman who made my children look calm!
She was described in some of the reviews as "eccentric", but I hesitate to use the term. Eccentric itself, denotes some level of insanity. This woman was anything but insane. She was a busy, energetic, eager to share her wealth of knowledge, welcoming individual, and great cook to boot! She was a civil war buff who could tell you anything about battles of the civil war, local history and the history of most of her antiques, as well as her house. She has lived here since 1970, when she and her husband moved with 5 kids into the house with no running water, or electric and her husband was sent to Vietnam. She claims she just "did what she had to do". Raised her family in the house, and after her husband died in 1988, decided she would open the doors to others. She raises chickens, sells the eggs, has half an acre of blueberry bushes she picks herself, uses at the B&B and sells to locals including many of the local restaurants, as well as up keep of the house, and going out every night at 1 am to deliver 100 newspapers because, "it pays $2000 a month! can't turn my nose up at that!" "Fortitude" is what comes to mind when I think of her. She is a ball of energy, warm and welcoming, yet I have a feeling doesn't take crap from anyone.Our room was clean, the sheets were crisp and the towels were fluffy. What more could we want?


 
We had the room at the end of the hall, with our own bathroom across the hall, and access to the library and sitting room downstairs, through a spiral staircase in our room. Sir Fartsalot insisted we use that entrance every time because it was "cool".  Not a darn thing was brand new in the entire house, the kitchen was a lovely eclectic collection of found pieces that just seemed happy arranged together. I loved it. I literally had to crawl up on my hands and knees to get into the bed.

The rest of the rooms were along the hall. Yes, those are original floors. Did I mention she raised 5 kids here?

Our bathroom. Nothing but the sound of the birds. This was an addition recently.

The staircase up to our room from the library. 

"Our" sitting room. To the left was a bank of doors that opened up to the deck. The outside did need a bit of work, which of course, seemed to be ongoing. 

Looking up into the room. Yes, there was a second bed on the other side of the room.

Kitchen side of the house. The chicken house and Barbara's "Office" -- a converted out building -- sit to the left. Along with a gardening "house" I would kill for! 

Just a small peek at some of her gardens. Nothing was perfectly manicured, which had been a complaint on one of the reviews. I, instead, found it more inviting, and charming that way. 

The front of the house.
I sat on the porch to read almost every morning.
Quiet. Birds. Cats coming to purr at my feet. The creak of my rocker.
Sounds.
Not noise.

Our "end of the house" -- we had the upstairs bedroom and the sitting room and library underneath.

Some of the out buildings by the "creek".

I really wanted to ask her if there were any ghost stories about the house.
I can only imagine the residents prior to her family,
but I was not brave enough to ask while we were staying.
I really didn't need those stories in my head at night!

Lovely irises in the front.

The kitchen. Behind me was a sun room that opens out to the side of the house, chicken coop and her "office". We sat in the kitchen for breakfast at our request and just have to smile at her energy and chatter while she finished our breakfast. Deliciously made from her own eggs, local organic milk and Va meats. She asked me Friday if I was a good cook, and we talked at length about some time she spent in France living and learning to cook! She even tried a recipe on Sunday for sticky buns so she could get my opinion.

This here, will visually define the keeper of the house. This is  stack of magazines and books, perched on a footstool in the library.  Perched to nearly falling, yet did not fall. Disorganized, appearing to be ready to fall over at any moment, but steadfast.  I just smiled to myself when I saw this pile, because it so perfectly personified her and the house. 

Oh and did I mention, it had been part of the underground railroad?? This is the trap door that is in the original "one" room of the original farmhouse.
Other than a creepy inconvenient *small* stink bug infestation, our stay was very pleasant.
we were literally welcomed right into her home. I felt so bad not helping in the kitchen, but the one place she said another person was not welcome to help her was her kitchen, since she had "her way" and everyone else just got in "her way". This as well made me smile, as I get the same way.

So, this was "home base" and we traveled out each day in a different direction exploring the local area.......
at our own speed.
in our own time.
with the radio off.
It was heaven.

My deep dark secret

(because this is where my brain goes at times)
Yes.

It's time to come clean.

In our  medicine chest, lies my darkest secret.

Nestled with the innocent OTC medicines, hair removal creams, and unknowing razors.

The Vicks has no idea it is sitting on the same shelf with such a travesty!

What could this horror possibly be?





Guesses?

Yes, those are all the little samples for floss that the hygenist so caringly places in my little paper bag every six months. 
Yes, I faithfully see the dentist.

But....

I. Don't. Floss.

There. I said it. feels good to get it off my chest.  Don't hate me.

I mean to.
Honest I do.
See? I SAVE them all.
Penny pincher Sir Fartsalot would never ever throw them away. Lord knows we may need to McGyver something with it some day!

My jaw is tight. My teeth are extremely tight, as my orthodontist.

I can barely get one hand in my mouth, let alone the fingers from two hands.

I give up.  I have tried those little stick things.
They tear. (I told you my teeth are tight!)
I tried Glide.
The thinnest brand.
  I just can't do it.
My jaw winds up killing me, and I wind up gagging.

What I don't do....is lie about it.

When she inevidably asks,
"Have you been flossing?"
Nope!
And now she isn't the only one who knows.

The dress

 

 22 years ago -- yesterday -- April 27, 1991 -- five years to the day after we met.
Seems like a lifetime ago, seems like just yesterday.

I made this photo my Facebook profile picture yesterday, just for the fun of it. IT is my favorite of all of our weddings pictures. Very *us*, very casual, outside in the sun. In the process of the comments, we got to talking about my dress and a wonderful memory came flooding back to me.

I then sat back and thought about it.

In this day and age, *this* blog is where I dump my thoughts my diary so to speak.
This is where I tell our stories.

This is where my grandchildren will read about their parents' lives as children, and my stories.
They will probably be saying things like, "can you believe Grandma actuall had to type!?"

They may also say, "why on earth did she think that was important?" -- but here goes.
Someday, they may want to alter the dress and wear it for their wedding. One never knows!
If I don't tell the story here, it won't get told.

First, chuckle if you may, the dress was the epitome of fashion in the late 80's and early 90's. The age of *big* - big hair, shoulder pads, poofy things...the bigger the sleeves the better, and the sheer high neckline was on everyone's wish list. It also had the most beautiful beaded lace at the ends of the sleeves, around the shoulders, and bottom of the dress and along the train. You can also take note of my curled up bang poof and Sir Fartsalot mullet.

My girlfriend Jackie and I had stopped at Anne Bailey's Bridal during spring break my senior year in school. (Now you know why we were together 5 years before we got married. Four  years of college and a year to work. Yes, we made sure we could AFFORD the wedding....I know, we were rebels!)  I, of course, had torn all of the pictures from magazines, and made my wish list, presented it to the bridal clerk and she went in search of *the* dress.

And she found it.
The first one I tried on, the one I wanted.
The most awesome part is that she checked the pricing twice because she thought there is no way the price tag was correct. $800. (who knows what my grandchildren will say about that price, but then, it was a STEAL with all that beading and lace) Teh average price of such a dress at the time was $1500 or so. I put down the deposit and ran out of there before they could come tell me there was a mistake. Thankfully, my mom was not to upset only cried a little to not have been included in the process. Jackie and I never expected to find anything, we were just hanging out and decided on a whim to try some things on. Mom did come for one fitting, but I lived in Conshohocken at the time, and the dress shoppe was in Doylestown, so it was crazy for her to try to be there for each fitting.

Fast forward to *the* day.
The dress hanging on the curtain rod in my mom's bedroom because that was the only place high enough to hang it that the train could hang.
All of my bridesmaids at the house getting dressed and made  up.
My mom lived in a row of townhouses. Each was not huge, but enough for the two of them. The front door was at the bottom of the stairs. The stairs led up to my mom's bedroom and bathroom, all that was on the second floor.  My mom always, and mean ALWAYS, had a wreath or decoration hanging on that door. Changed with the season and holiday. ALWAYS. Just like she ALWAYS had her seasonal decorations inside. (That will have to be another blog post as well).  I often think to myself how remiss she would be of my lack of attention to decor on my front door. I am lucky if I remember at Christmas. But anyway, I digress....which is usually the problem when I start writing....

The front door, however, did not have a screen door.

Often, since they did not routinely use that door,
there was a bird that decided to make the decor on her front door into a home.

You can see where I am going here?

The innocent flower delivery man came to the door with our flowers. In the hustle and bustle, the mama bird got caught off gaurd IN the nest, when the door was opened.

The door opened INWARD.

So, she flew out.

And straight up the stairs.

To my mom's room at the top of the stairs.

Straight to the shoulder of my dress.

Yes, ON the dress.

All I can really recall is hearing my  mom yell, "Do NOT scare that bird! It'll sh*t on the dress!"

I can not remember how we did it, other than that there was a pretty crazy few minutes of shooing,dress grabbing and door slamming. We did manage to get the bird out of the house, with no damage to the dress and.....

There was much debate later about whether this was a good omen, or bad omen etc etc, if you believe in that sort of thing. Much akin to the "rain keeps the bad spirits away" , which is nothing more than a way to make a bride feel better about rain on her wedding day.

Looking back after 22 years of marriage, ups and downs, struggles and joys, growing together and apart, surviving raising teenagers, and aging parents, I can say we have made our own way. With our faith and willingness to work together, I can safely say, that little bird gave us nothing more than a funny story to tell 20 years later.

Spring has sprung!

WARNING! Photo laden post!
I need to get back in the habit of writing more often!


Look what my wonderful husband and son built for me!
Pinterest win! A project that actually came to fruition.
I am trying to much harder to be more energy conscience, a good steward of the earth, as well as knowing where my food is coming from and what I am eating. I have wanted to start my own seeds for years. This year, I saw this project on Pinterest, made from old windows. We happen to have a TON of old windows Sir Fartsalot found  "dumpster diving" -- my affectionate term for all of the crap he finds driving along and stops to pick up -- about two years ago when I was into altering them for photos and wall hangings. The most awesome part of the project was Sir Fartsalot and The Dude worked on it so well together. The Dude actually used his CAD program -- yes, all 16 year olds have one of those on their computer to design houses, don't they? -- and they worked on it together for two weekends! Makes my heart swell HUGE to listen to them work together, and for Sir Fartsalot to teach The Dude the things he knows, and for The Dude to occasionally teach his father something!
I LOVE it!!

However, I do believe I got a bit overzealous -- Me? Never! -- with the seeds!!
Again, I tried to up-cycle, so I used egg cartons that we get at the recycling center to start the seeds.

Tried to get all organic and no GMO seeds!

And look how pretty they look all lined up in the greenhouse!
I however, need to figure out what I am going to do with 12 cucumber plants, 24 pepper plants, and the miriad of lettuces and broccoli I started as well! Even started my basil!! And, decide where I am going to put all of these plants. I fear my enthusiasm is FAR larger than my garden. As well as the simple little fact that *I* am the only one that consumes anything I grow. So, warning, dear friends, I will be giving away plants and veggies most likely!

The Dude really is as awesome as he thinks he is!

He split ALL of this! Lots of backyard bonfires this summer! one of our favorite family activities. So glad the kids still don't mins hanging there with us, or even inviting a friend or two! We do try to keep the embarrassing moments to a minimum. Love the conversations we have around the fire. it also helps that The Dude is a little fire bug who jumps at the chance to build one.

The flower beds are starting to come alive! The tulips, daffs and "bluebells" are up.

As well as some pansies I potted for some color at the front walk.....

Unfortunately, that also means the pear trees are blooming. While they may be pretty to look at, their smell leaves a lot to be desired. Not a sweet flowery scent at all. Most musky, not entirely unpleasant but not entirely pleasant either.

It will look like it snowed here in a day or two.

These on the other hand, smell divine! They have such a short bloom cycle, it is so disappointing to see them finish. I can not for the life of me remember what they are. Some type of bush we planted by the pond for privacy. The landscaper told us they had a wonderful scent, and she was right!

This is the difference a week makes, look how pretty the pink flowers have gotten!


The rabbits eat all the crocus, but thankfully leave these beauties alone. They too, have such a short bloom cycle, it is so sad to see them go, but so exciting to know the other things will fill in shortlly. 

This is an ground cover that tagged along with some plants that my MIL sent home with usa few years ago. It is starting to spread and cover the area under those wonderful smelling trees. They may be forgetmenots, but I don't think so......

And, of course, to my delight, these guys are back and there are tadpoles in the skimmer scaring the begeezus out of Sir Fartsalot every day! They think I can't see them in the sticks and grass. We'll just let them keep believing that, now won't we?

 Another wonderful gift, I wait for each year, is the Judas tree blooming. It gets the prettiest little pink/red buds all along the branches. These will soon be replaced but the infamous heart shaped leaves. These as well, were a gift brought home from my MIL's gardens, and I think of both of them often when I see them start to bloom. 

"I think that no matter how old or infirm I may become, I will always plant a large garden in the spring.  Who can resist the feelings of hope and joy that one gets from participating in nature's rebirth?"  ~Edward Giobbi