Amanda

Please continue to pray for my niece, Amanda. Last Tuesday she had a shunt put in to drain the fluid building up in her cranium. She's been in terrible pain and has been placed back into the critical care unit today.

Thank you!

Happy Birthday, Sweet Lavender Girl!

The Lavender Beds
by William Brighty Rands

The garden was pleasant
with old-fashioned flowers,
The sunflowers and hollyhocks
stood up like towers:
There were dark turncap lilies
and jessamine rare,
And sweet thyme and marjoram
scented the air.

The moon made the sun-dial
tell the time wrong;
'Twas too late in the year
for the nightingale's song;
The box-trees were clipped,
and the alleys were straight,
Till you came to the shrubbery
hard by the gate.
The fairies stepped out
of the lavender beds,
With mob-caps, or wigs, on their quaint
little heads,
My lord had a sword and my lady a fan;
The music struck up and the dancing began.
I watched them go through with a grave minuet;
Wherever they footed the dew was not wet;
They bowled and they curtsied, the brave and the fair;
And laughter like chirping of crickets was there.

Then all of a sudden a church clock
struck loud:
A flutter, a shiver, was seen in the crowd,
The cock crew, the wind woke, the trees
tossed their heads,
And the fairy folk hid in the lavender beds.

Letting Go

While my Autumn Rain is revelling in her blossoming social life, this Mamablogger is having to learn to let go. And let me tell all of you coming along behind me, those of you who have only young ones at home, this day comes far to soon! It is very stretching to wake at 2 a.m. and realize that your child (she'll always be my child) is yet to come home. But I know my Autumn Rain, I trust her, I've raised her to be who she is, and I know that she is safe in my Father's hands. I've learned something else too, next time I'll send my cell phone along, just to make sure all is well.

Moving along!

This is the parking side and entrance to our house, not to be confused with the front.


The confusion coming from the fact that our home sits backwards on our property...to maximize the view from the living area, which in all the plans we looked at were found in the back of the house! The house looks equally nice from either back or front, however you choose to define them.


Looking up from the front yard.

Why the flowers, Mama?

Just because.....

While sitting here I'm reminded of another day, a different boquet. It must have been 12 years ago, before my friend "J" had left the outside work world or had any little ones of her own and I was looking like a Mama duck with four little ones in tow. My sweet friend dropped in during a downpour in the middle of the day, bearing a beautiful boquet.

"What for, dear friend?"

To which she replied, "Just because it's Tuesday."

Thank you, J, I'll always remember how you brightened that day!

Leisure

William H. Davies

What is this life if, full of care,
We have no time to stand and stare?

No time to stand beneath the boughs
And stare as long as sheep or cows.

No time to see, when woods we pass,
Where squirrels hide their nuts in grass.

No time to see, in broad daylight,
Streams full of stars, like skies at night.

No time to turn at Beauty's glance,
And watch her feet, how they can dance.

No time to wait till her mouth can
Enrich that smile her eyes began.

A poor life this if, full of care,
We have no time to stand and stare.

Friday's Musings

The weekend is just one sleep away.

This morning I hugged, kissed, and waved my scouts goodbye. They're off to test their skills against the rapids on the Rogue. Then the homefront became incredibly quiet. No music came resonating from the back bedroom of my home. No tall son telling me how hungry he is and asking what more he can snack on. No younger brother stick fighting in the front yard with the neighbor boy. In fact, even the neighbor boy is away and won't be ringing my doorbell asking for my sons all day, all weekend. And tonight, no love of my life to share my bed. I don't sleep well when he's away.

My big girls headed off to another day in the tea room...and a hot, sultry tea room it was today. My little girls disappeared into the back yard to their awaiting renovation project, turning the tool shed into a "hotel". They swept, dusted, threw out the junk, and created a wondrous world...complete with a cheery "fire" in the corner.

I swapped out the music selection in the CD player, carefully selecting for the mode I needed to enter. WORK MODE! I like jazz to work to, it keeps me moving. So in went the Wooden Nickel Jazz Band. The time had come to restore order, again, to my home. I put away the week's school books scattered about, dug out the hearth from beneath it's piles of newspapers and other sundry items that were dumped there in an effort to clear the table for dinners this week, then did the general sorts of things that are so easily neglected in the fury of the week. But I did it all at my own pace, stopping now and then to read another chapter in my book, which I finished this afternoon. I love a day to putter and see fruit and the end of it and not be completely frazzled in the process.

Now my Lavendar girl is off to a scavenger hunt with the kids at church, my Autumn Rain is taking time to restore her room, and my Moonchild and Ladybird are waiting for me to join them for a cuddle and movie time.

My home is clean, cozy and ready to be enjoyed throughout the weekend. And it will be ready and waiting for my hungry, dirty scouts when they return on Monday.

Sunday Morning Mist

A Whirlwind of Days

I've been caught up in the hustle and bustle of every day life ever since returning from our vacation days in Idaho. And there isn't much sign of the busy-ness letting up for a few more weeks yet. But they've been productive days, days that speak of order and routine returning to our lives after the varied rhythm of our summer days.

The first week of August was spent partially playing catch-up and partially in preparation for our new school year. I had MANY months of bank statements etc. hollering to be attended to and bedrooms needing to be dug out from under choas. Last year's school books needed to swapped out with the new. Binders needed to be organized with our new schedules.

Then the weekend arrived with a flurry of events. Friday night we very hurriedly and, sadly to say, not very ceremoniously celebrated Shannon's birthday. (Can we rewind and do it right?) Saturday morning, bright and early, 4 of us were up and out the door by 6:15 a.m. driving to the city for writing workshops and school testing. I brought Ladybird and Jabberwocky back home, went out for a quick look at the house progress, quickly threw together what I would need for my overnight with Autumn Rain, and headed back to the city.

Autumn rain and I had a wonderful weekend getaway. She was recognized at the Willamette Valley Writer's convention for winning the Kate Herzog scholarship and spent hours and hours soaking up the writing life at various seminars throughout the weekend. I, on the other hand, collapsed. I read, soaked in the tub, painted my nails and made another coveted trip to Trader Joe's. She filled the 1 1/2 drive home Sunday with the many new ideas spinning round in her head.

Monday brought one last day to clean up and prepare for the beginning of school. Tuesday was the grand kick off day, minus my Autumn Rain. Actually she's been here, just not studying with us. Everyone seems happy to have their books back in hand and their days filled with learning once again.

Now the weekend has come 'round once again and was packed with fun, exciting, new experiences! We shared the weekend camping with folks from our new church...and they have fun toys. Jet boats, wake boards, knee boards, biscuits...perfect fun for my growing kids and something more my pace, a sailboat. Of course, we've come home with a terrible case of the "I wants", but we'll just have to deal with that.

Today I'll restore order, again, and prepare my mind, again, for a few more days of school before next weeked's round of events. What's coming up? My guys are off for a long weekend of rafting with their scout troop on the Rogue River, the little girls and I will head north to spend some time with cousins, and alas my big girls will be busily working and saving for college expenses. It's hard growing up!

Building Update

Framing has begun!



The first two photos are from last Saturday, 8-5-06.



And this was the progress made during Monday and Tuesday of this week!