SouleMama

what i love :: ocean gold

what i love :: the yellow gold of the ocean that shines at sunset.

Thank you for your beautifully kind, lovely, and funny comments and emails this week! You make me smile. Wishing you a wonderful weekend...

what i love :: some yellow with my green

What I love :: this vintage hair clip from a birthday visit to Ferdinand. Who doesn't need a row of lemons in their hair? Exactly. My little girl got the strawberries. SO cute.
 

What I love :: these little flower/weed things (that's how much I know) that grow right outside my front door, even though I've never noticed them before. I think they make me sneeze, but I still can't stop smiling when Ezra places them in every empty vessel throughout the house (and hair).

What I love :: my new shoes!

what i love : end of day ordinary

scene from the end of a day -

the favorite, softest summery cotton pajama pants - slipped on just as the sun sets :: a few more striped rocks added to the pile from the day's adventure :: the splashing, laughing, tired sound of 'three soules in a tub' :: late summer flowers from a visiting friends' garden :: earrings and hairbands removed with a deep sigh and sink into at-home end-of-day comfort :: all resting on my grandmother's linen.

What I love: The everyday, ordinary, mundane and beautiful moments at the end of the day.

what i love : coastal cruises, and fabric shops

I love the rare car ride alone with my love, on our way to other errands. Made all the better when it's along the coast. (It just about makes up for missed overnight getaway dates.) The uninterrupted talking (that invariably results in talking about how much we miss the kids), the silence, the music, the laughter. It's all very, very good.

The drive is made all the better by the impromptu stops along the way. Particularly for those involving a sign with FABRIC on it. Yeah, must stop at those. On this particular day, we found a lovely and old, but new-to-me fabric shop, Alewives near Damariscotta (hello Rhea! Lovely to meet you!). I'm far too shy to have taken pictures in the store, but I will tell you I was so pleased to see their selection include some of my favorites - Freshcut, Amy Butler, Heather Ross, and Joel Dewberry. It was a treat to find somewhat-locally what I've only admired or purchased online before.

All very good indeed.

I hope you're having a wonderful weekend...

what i love :: backyard blankets, and what goes on them

Often, just as fun as a summer outing to the beach, is the everyday kind of outing to the backyard. The kind of lazy summer afternoons that involve: chapter after swing/snack/sandbox/bike ride-interrupted-chapter of what is surely our most-read family book (thank you dear Amy and family for this beautiful Lizbeth Zwerger version); blocks brought outside to construct a log cabin 'for gram to live in right next to our house'; dolls brought out to nap in the sun, but only after a little lullabye; and the ultimate treat of the first of the backyard blueberry season.
Oh, yes. This is good. 

what i love :: girlfriends...

...and hot summer nights, watermelon in a thrifted pyrex bowl, vintage skirts and handmade skirts, the river (with only a mild amount of trespassing involved - because the water belongs to us all), a bald eagle sighting, cabernet sauvignon, tzatziki and pita, ice cream, and much laughter. All in one beautiful evening.

I hope you're enjoying your weekend!

what i love :: family art

instead of dinner ...
snacks and family art night outside, with the day's beach treasures as inspiration.

Oh, Summer...

small comforts are where it's at

Ever so slowly this week life will start to head towards 'normal' once again. It's amazing how those little four-legged beings can have such a huge presence, isn't it? We miss Luka. A lot. And we miss Mow, too. We've never not had a dog - it feels very different around here.

Amidst all of that, though, lots of small comforts abound:

::Flowers. Everywhere right now - outside and in. (And a belated Happy Solstice to you, by the way).

::Remembering. Planting, playing, and climbing the trees in our new 'Dog Garden" in the woods; writing a Blurb book about sweet Lu for the littles; and reading and talking lots with the kids about their (and our) sadness. There's lots of great books out there for kids on grieving, some of which we have. But truth be told, we always find comfort, truth, clarity, and gentleness in dear Mr. Rogers. Because that man was amazing.

::Thrifting. Of course. This little paint-by-number piece is my new favorite studio art. I find the freaky eyes oddly cute.

::Blogreading. Sometimes staring at the screen for hours on end is a very welcome break, indeed. And really, there's so much goodness going on out there. And how about Miss Lydia? Oh gosh, just beautiful. This is one of those times when the downside of 'blog friends' (um, that pesky continent between us - sorry Midwesterners) is seriously bumming me out. Oh, how I would love to pop into the Karol house with some food and hugs, ears for the birth story (I love a good birth story), and a kiss for that soft baby head. Congratulations Amy, Pete, Sadie, and Delia, And Welcome, sweet Lydia - you picked the right family, girl!

::More Thrifting. I've had my eye out for one of these for a while. It's the exact model I used as a child (my father's), but it's in perfect condition, with a case, the instructions and warranty (expired in '67. dang.). I am thrilled to have one of these to play with (and so is Ezra).

::Sewing. Yes, there's been some of that. Lots of that.

::Dancing. There's always dancing on the sun porch. The guaranteed-to-lift-your-spirits kind of dancing. Good stuff, that dancing.

what I love :: everyday rituals

Ah, morning rituals. Like tea, and toast and on Sundays - the crossword puzzle. A little moment of peace amidst the chaos. If I had taken this photo a little wider out you would see the full picture - the boys eating their third bowl of yogurt of the morning with granola spilling over the table, the babe opening the fridge and pulling out her own rice milk (onto the floor), the cat scratching at anyone nearby to be fed, and the dog underfoot and picking up the remains of the morning. Usually there's enough 'still' time to at least finish the toast, and to dive into just a corner of the puzzle. No worries - I figure I've got years ahead of me when mornings will include a full crossword puzzle without interruption. Until then...I'm content with my morning ritual of stillness just the way it is. All two minutes of it.

We're headed North into the woods later today - to retrieve my babe, and frolick by the lake for a few days.  I'll be back here on Wednesday! Have a lovely (long, I hope) weekend!

what I love :: Boy

I love hearing language develop, and new words being added to Adelaide's repertoire each day (this week's favorite: 'ca-co-cone,' or telephone). I love hearing her play around with words in her mouth, rolling them around until they come out just as she'd like - "Poppy," "Momeeee," Zazie". She can't say "Calvin" the way she wants, so she calls him, "Boy". Love that. We've all taken to calling him "Boy" now (himself included), which pleases her to no end.

The Lady A and I are missing our Boy today, as he's off with Grammie and Grampie on his first overnight adventure sans parents. I've been talking (and talking) with him about what he can do if he gets sad, misses us, etc, which has only been met with puzzlement, and a matter of fact, "But Mom. Why would I miss you? I'm going to see you tomorrow."

Right. I guess I'm the one who'll be doing the missing.