The Speed of Life

Hello, Friends.  I've missed connecting with you, but frankly I feel like the picture below!

Do you sometimes feel that life is just moving at a dizzying pace?  Summer is here and it is supposed to be a time to kick back...  A time of Rest and Relaxation....  Aahhh.....  But somehow it seems that the days got busier.  Honestly, I enjoy the busy-ness of tending the garden and taking the little ones to swim, but I tend to fail miserably and go downhill quickly if I let myself get too over-tired.  Know what I mean?  Life has really caught up with me this past week and I've teetered on the edge of being a stressed-out-caffiene-consuming-crazy-woman.  Ok, some  in the Hearth Room would argue the "teetering on the edge" part....  But the good news is I managed to recognize my downward spiral and do something about it.  After squeezing in the last few committments of the week and having a talk with myself about how the garden and kitchen floor demands CAN wait til the weekend, I feel much better. 

En route to my downward spiral was a wonderful little time away that served multiple purposes.  We attended a homeschool convention where Young Man was in his very first chess tournament and I got to surround myself with learning materials of every kind.  From there we headed to the shore for a bit of a camping adventure.  The very first thing I do is set up a 'kitchen' while the Guys put up the 'house'.  Part of setting up our 'kitchen' table requires decorations.  We particularyly liked this little heart shaped rock and oyster shell, since we were camping at the beach. 

Did you notice I said, "beach?"  Tent camping is a tricky combination of relaxing and working yourself silly, but beach camping is just more work than being home!  Sand.  Need I say more?  So the very few moments of calm were so special!  Sitting by the fire at night was great, roasting marshmallows with little ones.  But sitting by the fire in the morning was even better!  Calm, quiet, yarny goodness time by the fire!

With coffee!!!

All in all, it was a wonderful treat to visit some of the area where I grew up and I got to spend a little time with my mother and grandparents.  One of my favorite places is the little town of Lewes, Delaware.  It's a more quiet beauty as far as summer beach towns go if you know what I mean.  We also spent some time with the kids at Rehoboth Beach, but that consists of parking meters, crowded boardwalks and spending all the quarters that have collected in your house for the past year.  It's all good fun and we do love the candy shops and rides, but it can be a bit overwhelming.

It's always so nice to come back home after a few days away.  It was great fun to see the changes in the garden and to see that the weeds behaved while we were gone. 

And I was VERY happy to find that my concoction of homemade, natural pesticide worked like a champ and saved my poor cabbages.  There aren't poor any more!

The potato bags look great...  Well to me anyway, but I'm a fairly inexperienced Farm Girl!  Hope there are some taters growing in there!

And just a peek at one of my Moments of Whimsey:  My Unconventional Squash Patch.  Since we are still in the process of tearing out and rebuilding landscaping (and everything else at the Hearth Room), I decided to plant some squash seeds and nasturtiums along a portion of our patio out back. 

You can see here that we are still very much in the process of tearing out and fixing, but I am so in love with my little squash patch.  It's growing so nicely!  I have had to catch a few squash bugs lately and I'm not happy they have found me out so quickly, but so far things are looking good!

Here you can see there was a fairly unsightly, rock-walled, concrete-bottomed, very-dangerous-for-Sweet-Pea fish pond and waterfall here that has not been properly loved for years.  In the process of tearing it down we disturbed a very busy yellow jacket nest.  Yep, that halted production for a bit.  But we are back on track with our slow determination.  Just as soon as this 100 degree temperature business subsides. 

Keep cool and well where you are!  And don't get overworked or over tired and be a grump like me!

xoxo

Our Wintry Gift

Loving our snowy, wintry gift.

See the little, feathered friend?

It's always good to come back inside to something warm. 

How PerFect to find a sunshiny yellow sprinkled donut to match my mug!

Lemon Surprise, from Blue Collar Joes, of course.

Lemony sweet and pretty to eat!

It's supposed to be 60 degrees tomorrow, so I thought I'd better bond with this beautiful winter gift before my ideas change back to gardening prep!



A Hearthroom Anniversary Weekend

Yep, Saturday marked my first year of blogging.  I've enjoyed having this little space.  It may not be chock full of brilliance, but I've enjoyed writing about some of my days and making memories in a place we can look back and enjoy later.  I enjoy being here so friends, old and new,(you know how old you are!), can stop by and see what's happening here.  I so look forward to seeing how this little blog space will change and grow.  And I'm so excited about the new friends I'll meet, too!

This sweet little donut came from one of our FAVorite shops called Blue Collar Joes.  We love to pop over there and indulge our cravings whenever we find a little something to celebrate!  And we will celebrate almost anything here in the Hearthroom!   Check out their website and you'll see why! 

So, since Saturday was my Bloggy Anniversary you would think I would have written some elaborate post, but instead I was out enjoying a much needed 'girls day' with my dear Elite Runner Friend.  Did we run?  No, silly, of course NOT!  She had her lovely little bistro table set with cups AND SAUCERS...  She had the best quiche and muffins and rich coffee.  Aahhhh.  Have I mentioned that she also announced to me that she wants to LEARN TO CROCHET!!!!  That is me up there dancing on the tables, celebrating!  Wooo Hoooo!  Just kidding.   And what do you think inspired her?  Me, you say?  Nope...  It was Austentacious Crochet.  Have you seen this book?  It is absolutely beautiful and I can totally see why that got to her.  She wants to make everything in that book, I think.  Well, I do too, so it's going to work out perfectly.  Another Aaahhhh...  So it looks like we will be having some very wonderful Crochet Camp days here in the Hearthroom very soon.  Yay!  So after our brunch we had plans to drive up to a local mountain resort for a bit of a change of scenery and some relaxation - girl style.

Yes we did....  We had our toes done.  Now we are not extravagant people by any means and it does feel a bit selfish to enjoy such a thing as having one's feet pampered and painted, but it's kind of nice once in a while.  Actually, my favorite part is that each time I look down and see pretty colored toes I remember our day together.  Yes, those would be my chubby toes, lol. 

Speaking of crochet, I have vowed to finish the Curli-Q flowery scarf which has been sitting close by, feeling very neglected.  I do love it.  You know what happened?  I wasn't loving the colors.  Yep, that's how I am...  I know, it's a sad thing, but there you go. 

  But even worse is seeing that little basket of yarn sitting there feeling so neglected and unloved.   I can't have that, not at all! So I have been making flowers and will be finishing this very soon, I hope... Depending on my Little People, you see.

I think it's also a daunting task to imagine having to pin and block all those little leafy parts.  Isn't that the funniest thing about lots of us yarn lovers?  That we create and work along loving the process right up until the point when we have to actually finish the thing we have so loved creating.  Working in ends, blocking, snipping...  Time to put on my big girl panties and deal!  So hopefully I'll have a finished flowery scarf to post here and even better to WEAR!  Or gift... Hmmmm....

 

So just as we were embracing the thought of spring approaching and were beginning to plan on moving bulbs and tilling the garden, we finally received the gift of winter.  We LOVE winter and snow here in the Hearthroom.  We love to see the snow falling.  We love to be out in it and we love to sit snug and warm and watch it falling with great anticipation.  Ooooo... the excitement!

Little hyacinths with a frosty layer of new snow - probably not as excited.

Sweet, cold daffies getting a sugar coating, too.  It's ok...  It's supposed to 60 degrees in two days!

 

Even Woody Woodson likes a little snow action!  Yes, he does.  He jumps very high in the air to catch a snowball if you'll take the time to toss one to him.  He's such a good boy.  Have you met Woody before? What a special guy.  So much so that our dog-sitter kind of doesn't want to give him back after we travel.  We try to share the Woody love best we can.  Without losing a pet of course!

I know all too well that many folks do not love this wintry stuff as much as we do, so I hope you had a good weekend where you are, snowy or not. 

I've got to go get crackin' on those little flowers now before the motivation wears off!  Not to mention, I'm really trying to get to some other yarny goodness!  I can't have a little flowery scarf come in the way of that!

xoxo

An Historical Adventure

Not that our adventure was historical by any means, but rather that history was our adventure. 

 I just LOOOVE going back in time (you know what I mean).  Visiting places of importance and trying to get just a glimpse of what it was like, what it felt like for the very people who lived in that place, at that time, making monumental and trivial decisions alike.  

Did we walk in the very footsteps of George Washington or Martha? 

What little children really slept in that little wooden bed frame on the floor?

And isn't that an idea that could be considered here in our home?  Instead of enclosing our littles into cage like cribs, providing a safe little bed low to the floor where they can easily curl up when tired or step out when ready.  Deserves further thought at least...

As promised, a few of our favorite memories from Mt. Vernon. 

 It just needs to be experienced.  I only wish that you could have longer to tour, time to linger.  I wish the tour was a little more informative.  I know it's one of the most visited places in our country and they have so many people to accommodate, but I just wish there was more.

Of course not everyone ponders the same things that I do, and then there are many who are much more thoughtful about things than I, but I would love to be able to just sit quietly in these rooms.  I would love to have more time to look at mouldings and trims, paint colors and woodwork, the furniture...  To imagine the people walking through this home performing daily activities.  To have the time to envision what it was like to sit in these rooms, at the dining table or at Mr. Washington's desk, all by candlelight.

Not to mention the beauty that surrounds.  You really should visit.

And as I sit here, Hubby grumbling in the background about gloves that are absent from the Hearthroom's hearth (because I put the filthy things out into the garage, of course)...  I am pulled back to reality.  I'm enjoying a really rich cup of coffee as I write this.  A wonderfully thoughtful person gave a bit of Ugandan coffee to dear Hubby for us to try.  It really is a wonderful treat.  Even if it is accompanied by a Tootsie Roll.

The trick or treating stash is really ridiculous this year.  Young Man does not devour candy like some, so that really isn't such a worry.  It's my addiction to Tootsie Rolls that seems to only occur at this time of year, every year.  That's my concern.  At least I have a good cup of coffee to go with it.

And as it's Harry Potter Weekend on TV, I am totally comforted by familiar sounds, music, and voices from these movies that I will leave on for the duration.  Even though I have seen these movies more times than I can count, I love the familiarity of them.  I know, it's a simple thing, but there you go.  I adore the story. 

 The whole 7 book, 8 movie thing, deleted scenes and all. 

xo