Art

"The secret of happiness lies in taking a genuine interest in all the details of daily life, and in elevating them to art."

 ~William Morris

Soft scents, natural, purples, smoky haze curling 

Green, rough, lightly lit - enduring

Soft white, lime green ... remnants of a yummy meal

Round noses, strawberry blond, comfort

Heirloom, textures, memories

Stories, laughter, Food For Thought, hanging them instead of stacking

Simple reflections of me and mine, our own art - as perfect and as planned and as cherished as some lofty professional piece

Rainbow colors, eyes that can see colors, concentration and creativity

Clean, colorful, ready to transport nourishment and refreshment, a moment to work together

Sun baked, fluttering, efficient

stacks, rows, glass, ceramics, clay, steel, bamboo

art. 

Grey, Hair, and Biscuits

Sickness has made itself quite comfy at our house. When a cold/fever staggers it's way through a family of six it seems to last forever. Two weeks is forever. I think we are at the end of it though with my hubby being the last to get the chills. I've made at least 20 cups of a tea a day, pints of raw honey mixed with freshly squeezed lemon, we've gone through a whole bottle of apple cider vinegar, and finished of my bottle of eucalyptus essential oil. It's been a quiet time, a reading time, a play doh time, a Food Network time. It's been a time I'm happy is over. 

I was talking to Squirrel yesterday about how we never know what's going to happen in our lives. We make plans and dreams and some of them come true, some of them are put on hold - some things are canceled because of sickness or other reasons. It's so easy to feel frustrated at change, at time, at long cycles of hopelessness and exhaustion - and it's okay to feel the "tired." It's okay to feel the overwhelmed. In the long run what matters is that you are kind and that you talk to the One who hears. I love having little conversations like this with my Squirrel - keeps me in check too! 

My "cycle of exhaustion" ended yesterday THUS my blog post and to my family's GREAT pleasure - a basket of biscuits. What says love more than biscuits? Not much in my book (with the exception of good Lemon Curd...)

And while my man slept downstairs, all burrowed up in my daisy duvet, with the blinds drawn - every now and then a shake from the chill let me know that he was still with us - I chopped off our Bug's hair. He was none to pleased to have the buzzing clippers close to his little ears. I cooed and went on and on about how "mommy is so gentle, she isn't going to get your ears" but he still wasn't impressed. For a little one, scared of bath water, reading glasses, butterflies, the color blue (for now), having his hair cut seemed to be a major trauma. We worked through it though, and in the end...my little boy looked five inches taller and like a big boy instead of a giant cherub. I will miss his long blond curls, but I love seeing those little ears and the crook down the back of his neck. His rosy cheeks seem even more kissable now (if that's possible) and gone are the long dreaded detangling sessions before Sunday morning (we limit our baths to Saturday nights before Sunday services around here yall...just kidding - that bit of wit just popped in my head and I had to write it for fear of depriving others from my humor - anyone else read Farmer Boy when they were a child and become obsessed with the picture of him taking his Saturday night bath?) 

All the kids said they really liked Finn's hair, and after he was calmed and had a sucker in hand he was fine. He did ask me before his nap "mom, you put it on?" I couldn't at all figure out what he was trying to communicate and then I asked "your hair?!" He nodded his little head "yes" and I assured him that there still was hair on his head and it will grow. After nap he didn't miss it - as if he woke up feeling the same way he went to sleep and there wasn't a problem. 

Before I close out this post - I wanted to show a little bit of change about the place. After almost all winter of sitting on my couch and facing towards a grey wall, I realized that if I could reconfigure the living room to have the couch face the window - it could possibly lift my mood. So, one afternoon my muscles and I pushed around furniture, rearranged a couple pictures, brought my Himalayan Salt Lamp upstairs - and I haven't felt blue ONCE since facing the window. The little white dresser with just a simple plant and that beautiful glow just make me feel happy, warm - zen? 

Also, we found this amazingly sturdy coffee table at the Goodwill Outlet for FIVE dollars. With a little bit of dark stain it turned out really beautiful.
 I love taking care of our home. It can be tasking - dirty dishes and matted toddler hair and grey walls and fevers...it can be tasking. But at the end of it all, I'm content here in my little rental, trying to make the best of what we have with the people I love the most.

Blessings,
Alyssa Spring *

“After all," Anne had said to Marilla once, "I believe the nicest and sweetest days are not those on which anything very splendid or wonderful or exciting happens but just those that bring simple little pleasures, following one another softly, like pearls slipping off a string.” 
― L.M. Montgomery, Anne of Avonlea

Hello Spring...and Friends

O the green things growing, the green things growing,
The faint sweet smell of the green things growing!
I should like to live, whether I smile or grieve,
Just to watch the happy life of my green things growing.

- Dinah Maria Mulock Craik 

The sun finally came out, and as I do every spring...I try to remember what it is that I love. Lemonade? Oh yes - I do love you. Good bye hot beverages! Light layers and freckles and sun kissed shoulders - oh yes, I do love all of those. Good bye thick wool and flaky skin. Colorful crafts and sitting outside with incense burning, my yoga mat laid out, wood wind chimes clanking - i love spring. 

  

I'm on a mission to get crafty again - who knew you could make a fairy skirt out of bath loofahs and artificial flowers? The library told me so and I took it's word on it - squirrel wasn't disappointed. 

The days are longer and warmer offering a little more peace and space to play. Nights don't feel as rushed as they did even two months ago and sometimes, if we are blessed, we can see bits of orange and pink from the sunset peeking over our neighbors houses. 

My littles have all grown leaps and bounds since the last time I visited this space. Brady has gone from being shaggy chic to short and slicked back (hair) and his legs are at least two miles longer. Trinity and I both chopped our hair off to the shoulders and have decided that we want to be musical together - she wants to learn violin and I would love to find a second hand piano. Tristan is still working on learning to read and is doing awesome. He feels insecure with his speech impediment and at first is nervous and says he doesn't know how to "do this" and then he is brave...and he sounds out the letters and I cheer as if he just scored the winning goal and he smiles and is confident. He is such a beautiful soul. My little Finn bug isn't so little anymore. In fact, he's not that much shorter then Tristan but is still very much the baby. Finn will be four in about five weeks and I'm feeling shocked about it as I always do when a one of my little's birthdays are near. 

I've missed all of you here in blog land and now that it's warm and there is life to take pictures of - I will see you again shortly. Hope your evening is full of golden light and sweet smells and love.