day 20 : bokeh

day 19 : orange

A birthday is not complete without celebratory sweets.  But, this was not just a birthday.  It marked the big four-oh. 

40.

Yikes.

It was a good birthday, celebrated a bit early with a visit from my twin sister.  We went horseback riding, swimming and scrapbooking.   Our last night together was even spent with our cousin who shares the same special day.  

I am ready to conquer the year.   Take flight.  

day 18 : your shoes



day 17 : technology

One of the tasks on the hub's summer to do list is to upgrade our cell phone service.  We still have our old flip phone from several years back.   

Here he is doing some further research after speaking with a salesperson. 

The next day we became owners of shiny new tech toys.  

day 16 : long exposure

Two flat sheets, two chairs, couch cushions, pillows and blankets --- they are the ingredients needed for an afternoon of fun for the K-kiddos.  Except, this fort has been propped in our living room for a week now and the kiddos are loving it.  

The kiddos love making, playing and being in a fort.

I have fond childhood memories of building forts and couch cushion mazes.  All the cushions and pillows in the house would become one mismatched configuration from room to room.  It was hours of entertainment for my siblings and myself.   Loved it.  

I hope the kiddos remember these fun fort days, too.  

day 14 : eyes

The eyes are the windows to the soul. 

- English proverb

I love staring in the eyes of these beloved folks, the hubs and the K-kiddos.  I find myself wondering what they're thinking, what they'll see in the future, how they see things today.  When I look into their eyes I see the patience, dreams, mischief, playfulness, worry and love.

I see their soul.   I feel their love.

day 13 : thirteen things

photo by K-girl

Thirteen tiny tomatoes in an array of yellow, orange and red were harvested from the garden.  And, then shared, along with zucchini and squash, with family members.   I enjoy sharing our love and veggies with others.

I love this photo taken by the sweetest K-girl and how my hands together form a heart.   Love. 

day 11 : something blue

When we moved to our quaint country neighborhood in 2002, one of the selling points was the beautiful pasture view from our front porch. The natural golden grass would dance in the breeze as the sun rose over the horizon onto the railroad tracks. Peaceful. 

Fast forward about about six or seven years and lots of grumbling.

Now, in that field, stands an unsighltly blue building surrounded by a hunk of junk and every clanking noise possible.



image via google

 It is very far from the serene surroundings that drew us to the small rural town we call home. And, I am sure it will be what drives us away.

day 10 : childhood memory

Oh gosh, I have so many childhood memories ---- family, toys, gatherings, bowling, yardwork, shows, friends. But, regardless, they all included delicious food, made with the hands and heart of family and friends.

And always, there was a pot of rice to be found on our table. It was a staple.

We had white rice almost every day with our dinner and my dad gave us lessons in making the perfect pot of white rice. The simple steps --- rinse rice until water is clear, put rice in cooker and add water until it is almost to your wrist. Ready to cook. And almost always perfect. If not, it was a hard lesson learned as another pot of rice was made or the maker would make it again the next night for practice.

My favorite rice dishes growing up, and even now, include fried rice, spam musubi, tomagomaishi [steam rice, egg and lap chong] and sushi.

So many things about rice trigger memories of my dad and childhood.  And, still, rice remains a steadfast at our family gatherings.  

day nine : someone you love

This man, my hubby ...

• is artistically talented
• is full of interesting knowledge
• is gardener to our little plot of veggies
• has a heart of gold
• is mender of all things broken
• is key to my heart
• has the dreamiest eyes
• is the rock in our rollin' world
• is an awesome daddy to two cute K-kiddos
• is lucky to be on summer vacation
• is loved unconditionally by one lucky gal [me!]

He said to me recently as discussing the kiddos' version of sibling rivalry, "They are alot like us --- left hand and right hand.  Regardless of differences, they always fit perfectly together."

Sweet hubs, I love you. Today. Tomorrow. Always. 

day eight : bad habit

 

Our laundry room is outside of our main country home.  It is housed in a storage-type building with a finished interior.  It has been painted a beautiful shade of olive - the hubs pick of colors since he is the one that sees it most.  I am ever thankful that L drags the dirty laundry outside and switches the clothes from washer to dryer.

My part in the laundry routine is to fold, hang and put away.

Or pile it.

Yep, it is a nasty habit.  

Baskets, sometimes the two rectangular baskets and two taller hampers, are filled with clean laundry, just awaiting some attention.  But, I always -- always -- put it off until it forms a small mountain, then I tackle it at one time.

The hubs said to me once, "Why is it that I trip over baskets of clean laundry for five days when it takes you only five minutes to fold them?"   

I have no answer really.  

While I looooooooove the smell of fresh dried laundry, still warm in touch and scent, it is not my favorite job. 

Thank you, honey, for tackling Mt. Washmore.  Now, I shall come face to face with Mount FoldMe. 

day seven : fruit



 fruit : before I sliced and diced them [and with a vintage action]

 I love fresh fruit and include them each day in our meals, mostly lunch.

The K-boy usually eats more strawberries than anything else, but the K-girl will munch on any fresh fruit put in front of her. She loves their sweetness.

Yesterday as she was home with dad, she was cutting up a pear, a peach and strawberries. When he questioned her about her chopping, with a butter knife, she said she wanted to "chop them just like Mom does." Sweet.

And, I do.

I pack a bento box -- large clear bowl and lid with yellow and red compartment bowls -- in their lunch bags. Fruits, and some baby carrots, tend to fill two of those compartments. Strawberries are hulled. Apples are quartered and sliced. Oranges are halved and sliced. Grapes are picked.

I love their freshness. Moreso, I love that K-girl thought about how I prepare the fruits for them and wanted to prepare them in the same manner. 

day six : from a low angle

This little ole crooked country house is our home.  Casa de chaos.  

While its looks may not be pristine to some, it is full of beauty in my eyes.  This white house, built in 1908, has offered us lots to love and lots of love.  It has offered us a warm place to gather with family, a safe place for the kiddos to grow and a comfortable place for us to raise our children. 

It has its downfalls, just as any other house would, but we accept her in all her glory.  

The peeling paint shows her age and the tough job she has had to withstand many a storms and winds, yet always providing us with safety.  Her base has shifted slightly with each of those storms yet she still remains strong for our family.   She has seen some slight cosmetic changes, but she accepts them all as beautifying her soul.  

I know the kiddos will remember this house as they grow older and will probably want to come back to visit it in many years to come.   I hope she stands long enough for them to do that and remember how they ran through the hall, climbed out the window, played on the front porch, danced around the living room, helped cook in the country kitchen and played in the yard.   I hope their memories of her are fond.  

But moreso than that, I hope they remember the love our family shared in this house.

 

Side story:  Sometime within our first year in the house, we were given a bucketful of spineless cactus from our neighbors, Mr. and Mrs. G.  We promptly planted two of them, about a foot in height, along the front of the white picket fence that bordered the side yard.  They have grown there since and now cover both sides of the fence and stand just about as tall as myself.  Their growth is very symbolic of how our friendship has blossomed with the Gs through the years. 

day five : from a high angle

When a person only stands five feet and four inches tall, from a high angle has a completely different meaning.  I didn't feel like digging out a ladder, but did drag out the stepstool in yard to take a few photos. However, those were not too thrilling or exciting.


So, instead, I stood on the chair and repurposed table in our bedroom to take this photo.  It started as an empty bed, but in short intervals following my climbing atop the table, the kiddos came into the bedroom, one by one.   Just as they do oftentimes.   

OUR bed.  The family bed.

We might go to sleep here without a  kiddo, but most times one or the other makes their way into the bed during the night.  If not at night, then during the daytime hours they use it to lay and tell stories, they use it as a bouncy dance floor as they belt out tunes karaoke style with the computer nearby or they use it to show off their limber bodies in styles reminiscent to gymnastics.  

It does not matter to them that there is no fancy headboard or footboard duo. They do not care that the comforters are mismatched in color and pattern with the rest of the bedroom decor.  They don't even care that the bed is unmade.

What matters most to them, those two sweet K-kiddos, is that this bed is full of love.  They retreat here for comfort during the day and beg for hugs. They come here at night for a safe haven, a warm place to feel protected from all the fears of the night, and for a hug from us. 

I know one day too soon this will stop and they will not want to snuggle with us.  I will embrace these memories for a long, long time.

Simple love of our family.

day four : green again

This is a special mini me rendition of the green photo challenge.

  

Oftentimes we hear comments like "she's just like you" or "she looks just like you."  I agree, she does look like my daughter and has similar features as I do. 

But today, when she wore this green dress, K-girl looked just like me.  

The green dress, and another for my twin sister, was sewn by Mom.  It started as a floor-length style with puffy long sleeves that was made for a special occasion [Easter, I think].  We grew taller though and the dress got shorter.  Our arms grew longer and sleeves were altered to accommodate.  The dress is now tea-length with short sleeves, the same as I had worn it many, many years ago.  

I have carried it around for those years thinking it might get some more use. 

The K-girl is almost too big for the dress so today we HAD to take photos.  She will be starting second grade in the fall and the school photo is of myself in second grade.   

I love that we have similarities --- physical features, attitude and creativeness.   

I like having a mini me.  And I love that it is K-girl. 

day four : green

family photo : my shadow [top right] as I was taking photo from bridge

We enjoyed a Friday night family movie in the local park, then camped overnight.  I was looking forward to and dreading it all the same.  Temps have been summerlike already and muggy.  But, I knew the quick stay would be fun, too.  

It was a short adventure filled with movie, popcorn, playground, pizza, friends, creek, bridges, family, giggles and gnats. 

Now, I must have some coffee.  

my morning coffee : compliments of a handy dandy thermos

morning sun : this is what awaited us this morning while camping along the creek

day three : clouds

This morning, the K kiddos and I took a little stroll around our small rural town.  By around, I really mean that we took a brisk walk down the street, probably less than half-mile round trip.   We set out for our walk clad in shorts and tee-shirts because, even at nine o'clock, the sun was already warm.  Hot. 

They babbled on the way there about how this was strange because Mom [that's me] never lets them walk anywhere.  And, they hurriedly walked across the railroad tracks in fear of a train, even though it was evident in the quiet that no train was near.

All the while saying, "I can't believe we're walking over the train tracks." 

I can't believe it either.

But, their minds eased as we stopped in at the bakery and purchased some treats for them.  

My mind eased as they hushed and took in the nature around them -- looking at the thistle and cactus in the field, watching the bees swarm the prickly purple blooms [because "there's pollen!" said K-girl], seeing the clear blue sky.   It is always so nice to pause, to stop, and soak up the surroundings.  

They were glad to be home and out of the morning warmth, ready to devour their baked goods. 

Sweetness in many ways. 

day two : what you wore today

These grey and blue athletic shoes and I have have been buddies.

Not the best of buds as I really do not like them.

They are just not my type. They're not cute, they're not colorful and they just do not go with dress apparel I desire to wear. But, they have been by my side [well, on my feet] day in and day out and never fail. They are super comfortable with gel soles and offer lots of support. They are lined with a happy shade of pink inserts to help support the plantar fasciitis that cripples my right heel.

These shoes have faithfully offered support regardless of mood or weather or terrain --- or my bad talking them.

Now, if only I could rid my feet of the pain and the medical restrictions to wear athletic shoes, I could wear cute shoes in an array of colors and styles again.

And then, just then, might I truly appreciate these shoes.

day one : self portrait

This is me, taking in the sunshine and beauty of our garden.  Listening to the K-girl talk about the tomatoes ready to harvest and the birds chirping.

I am always amazed at the miracle a garden holds. 

Really. 

We planted a few plants [tomato, pepper and herbs] and seeds in mid-March.  Things have sprouted nicely and continue to grow, that is until the heat of the Texas summer gets the best of them.   We have enjoyed an abundance of fresh vegetables -- tomatoes, zucchini, squash, peppers, green beans, rosemary, mint and cilantro -- and lots of oooohs and aaaahs as we spot a new bloom.  

The little chickadees that have overtaken the martin house watch over our garden beds.   They fly to and from the house to the feeder and back, always providing us with music a-flutter as we provide them with a snack and a safe haven.     

When I'm out there, I could get lost in my own little world. 

But, the sounds of cute little K-kiddos playing on the playset, running in the lush green grass and giggling or the singing birds bring me back to reality with a smile upon my face and heart.     

I hope the K-kiddos remember the joys of our garden, just as I remember my childhood garden, and the home it has been to our crop, those not-so-cute little critters and lots of TLC.  

thirty days

My sweetest friend, Tania, and I are always sending each other scrapbooking challenges to keep us motivated and inspired.   This time 'round, it will be all about photos!

Starting today ...

This is going to be so much fun!