Live Free

annual pilgrimage

What a beautiful spring day in the Texas Hill Country! 

We took our annual pilgrimage to visit our favorite farm. I remember our trip from last year so very vividly. It was Beatrix's first time visiting as a walking/talking little person. She's grown so much since then. At least the bonnet still fits her. She just loves wearing it in the spring!

Like last year, it was heartwarming to watch her frolic around the grounds. She's so comfortable being outdoors and being around animals of all sorts. Although, she had a particular fondness for the chickens (never tires of trying to catch a hen) and the sheep (who doesn't). She was a bit more sophisticated this year. She enjoyed venturing off to different parts of the farm, opening gates and doors all by herself, without Byron or I right next to her. "I'm going around this way, Mommy and Daddy!" she would yell.  

As long as she stays within view or earshot of us, we are comfortable with this. In fact, it is exciting to watch her learn to explore familiar places in ways that she had not before.

So much has changed in one year. Some of our dreams have come closer to fruition. We've moved to the country and are enjoying the slower pace that a small town has to offer. Our little home and the little piece of land it sits on provides us with so much peace. It's a lot of fun turning our blank slate of a yard into a thriving farmette!! 

We are happy, healthy, and busy working and playing side by side. I couldn't ask for more. 

 

 

 

Notes on the first week of spring.

Hello! It's been a few days since I've spent a measurable amount of time at the computer. The weather just calls to me to come on out and play.

A strong thunderstorm passed through our parts a few days ago. We received a huge soaking. Plant life was already growing and blooming like crazy and well now, it's just beyond description. What a difference a year can make? The 50 year drought that we experienced last year definitely helps one to appreciate the beauty of abundance that we are blessed to have these days.

I'm such a spring/bloom geek. I love waking up and discovering what else is new out there. A new bud, a new blossom, a new egg, or maybe a set of secondary leaves, oh, I do love this time of year!  

First week of spring tidbits:

• One of our younger hens began laying eggs on St. Patrick's Day (also Bea's birthday). Her egg is petite and the perfect shade of robin's egg blue. Will I ever tire of checking for eggs every afternoon? I think not. 
• When we moved here six months ago, our ground was barren dirt. Now it entirely green except for a few small troubled spots. 
• This fall, Beatrix and I planted iris bulbs around a tree in our front yard. I came home from school today, to find one that is completely blooming and the others are so close to opening up too! 
• I've got onions, potatoes, peppers, and tomatoes already planted in the garden. I still have a few varieties of peppers and tomato seedlings growing in our utility room. I hope to add them into the garden once they are ready to transfer. 
• I've planted some herbs and perrenials in my garden bed alongside the front of our house. I am especially excited for my tiny 4" lavendar girls to spread their roots and flourish. 
• Sunflowers and zinnia seeds have been planted and should soon begin sprouting. 
• I've seeded our front and backyard with native grasses. I hope it "takes". Wild meadow ~ I so much desire you!
• And last but not least, it's porch season! No mosquitoes yet! 

No photos of plant life in the yard yet, but I do have this little snapshot of dinnertime a few nights ago. It was Bea and I sharing a simple meal of beans and rice. The spring evening sunlight was offering such a lovely soft glow to the dinner table. The windows were up, a breeze was blowing in. She chatted between bites. I listened both to her and to the sounds of our utensils clanking to the bowls. I couldn't help but feel at peace with that moment. 

Oh, and of course, one of the new eggs!

One more -- morning light shining on Bea's kitchen. 

 

Three is the magic number...

Oh boy, this past Saturday, Beatrix turned three years old! Three sounds so big, so official. Past the babyhood, past the toddlerhood, onto the pre-school years and beyond. 

There are, as always, sentimental words I could share on this whole matter of growing up. It's been a sweet week. Don't you worry, I did my share of flipping through photo albums, and reading through my archives on the blog. I shed a tear or two. But I also had a smashing time preparing and celebrating for her birthday. 

Family came. 

Friends came. 

There were cupcakes with icing sprinkles (as Bea calls them) and ice cream. 

Balloons, birds, and flowers. 

A mellow breeze and first eggs laid by young hens. All on her day. It was magical. 

Three years seems like yesterday, but it also seems like a long time ago. And that's life. It zooms by.  I'm feeling eager to sit back and enjoy it all.  

Little things collected

I suppose one could call me a collector. Which is ironic, because if you knew me in real life, you'd know of the discomfort I have with stuff, or worse yet, clutter. Oh, but I do like stuff. I'm wanty just like everyone else. It's just that I have a particular fondness for objects with age.

I'm linking up with Cory at Lady Cordelia today. She's beginning a little Thursday tradition called Thrifty Thursday. It should be fun. I love to thrift and I've been wanting to share more about this little hobby of mine for some time. So this is perfect, really.

This is a little cup and bowl set that Beatrix uses pretty often these days. She's extra careful with it because it's super special to our family. I didn't thrift it (and I'm already breaking a Thrifting Thursday rule, I believe). It was my mom's set when she was a little girl. My grandmother held on to it and took such good care of it for many years. My Mom knows of my love for vintage kitchen items and knew I would appreciate sharing this piece of her childhood with Beatrix. Now, Beatrix is known to eat granola and milk or cheerious and milk in the bowl. She sips water, tea, or milk from the cup. 

I love thinking about my mom as a little girl. A few years ago, we discovered a wooden amunition box filled with old family photos - most that were taken by my grandmother. There were so many of my mom and her brothers as young children, caught in the act of being ridiculously cute and/or ridiculously naughty. My grandmother was a stoic and serious woman. She was five feet tall, wore brown lace-up work boots or LLBean duck shoes to garden or work in the barnyard with her entire life that I knew her. So seeing the photos of these moments that she deemed worthy of capturing is like seeing a corner of her soul. There WAS lightness in her afterall - despite the sturdy bootwear. And of course, I knew that about her...

This is a picture of my mom as a toddler, resting in a tire that was laying flat in her yard. I can't help but wonder what her morning or afternoon was like prior to this moment in the tire. I mean, what/who was she chasing? Chickens? Her dog? A cat? Did she stop to hear the birds chirping? Was she singing? Did she find a good stick to walk with that day? Or a puddle to splash through? Was she in my grandmother's skirt as she hung out laundry on the clothesline? Or with my grandfather playing with scraps of wood while he worked in his wood shop? I can't help but wonder about the before and after... 

And that's what I love about vintage items. When you buy something old or if you are lucky enough to have items passed down to you from family, it's just plain romantic. There's a story. Everybody has a story. I think essentially we are all holding tight to our own stories, working in one way or another not to be forgotten. To imprint this world in some (hopefully) good way. It's our work to have the days of our lives permeate through time.

Our hands grasp the hands of those who came before us through these objects we inherit. 

Thrifting. I'm smitten. 

Gardening with the little one

We're at it again. It's our third year gardening together. I don't count the first year. She was just a tiny little peanut and I didn't get around to planting a garden that year. 

It's fun. I love being by her side in the dirt. I love seeing her dirty. I love watching her squoosh her toes and immerse her hands deep into the black soil without a single reservation. In these moments, I instantly feel like a rad mama. I'm so thrilled for her - that she can have these strong sensorial experiences with the earth while not feeling uptight about the filth.

When we are in the garden together, she's actually helpful now. She can discover the tiniest of the unfolding seedlings and identify plants. She loves earthworms - yes! She can plant seeds and cover them up ever so gently. She can whisper sweet nothings to them so they know not to feel alone or scared down there in the dark soil. She often likes to serenade the newly planted seeds - encouraging them more (it can't hurt, now can it) - to just grow up to the sun.

She's so funny. So wise. So tender. So joyful. So loving.

She's so unlike me.

For the most part, I find myself totally bewildered by her overflowing happiness. She is quite the spoonful of sugar in my medicine. 

 

weekending

This weekend was cold, dark, and wet. Only now, after four days, is the sun even attempting at peaking through the clouds. I have to say, the dreariness was a welcome excuse to indulge in the comforts of home. 

To celebrate our laziness, we drank hot cocoa, made brownies, snuggled with our favorite picture books under a newly thrifted afghan, and I even caught the sewing bug.

Yep, I just completed three twirly skirts for Ms. Bea. She's out at the library sporting her polka dot one as I type this. But the other two are here beside me, eagerly awaiting some warm weather, and little girl wear. 

I think these little outfits will look smashing with some sweet saltwater sandals, and a bonnet, or a sun hat! Sometimes I still can't believe I have a sweet little girl in which to sew for. 

I'm off to make bread and soup. Yes, I know, that's something I should have done during the cozy soup weather, but my hands were busy elsewhere. C'est la vie! 

Happy Spring! 

PS: Linking up with Amanda at The Habit of Being.

the day's end.

As is the custom in this house, I am the last one to bed. As I made one last round through the living and kitchen area fluffing pillows, placing remotes in the coffee table drawer, giving the kitchen countertop one last wipe down for the day and making sure all of the lights were turned off, I glanced at her little play area ~ all tidied up after a full day of play and activity by a joyful child who brings these play things to life. 

My heart swelled with love for that little girl cuddled up next to her daddy in our bed. She is a piece of art. 

simplicity, work, and enjoyment

 

 

I saw this video a few days ago. I keep thinking about Maia. Such a beautiful lady. Living a life so full of grace - even at 95 years old. Please watch it.

She says the key to a long life is simplicity, work, and enjoyment. That's it. Something to really ponder.  

Happy Saturday to you all!

Spring Days: In and Out

Our house is across the street from this vacant lot that I like to call a meadow. I escaped here for a few moments yesterday evening to see if anything interesting was growing there. Byron and Beatrix were in the backyard. I could here them clear as day. It was sweet to hear the sounds of our family while removed from the space. I often wonder what we sound like to everyone else around us. We're loud. But cute. Full of life and wonder.

Hello Friends.

Thank you so much for all of your words of encouragement, support, and just love from my last two big posts. I've read and reread each of your comments and they've all left me smiling and full of gratitude for the wonderful little circle of incredible ladies who visit this humble space of mine. I've had much to say in response, but I'm lacking the mental energy to go back there. Do you ever do that? - get a bunch of heavy stuff off of your chest and then find yourself completely exhausted to talk anymore about it? 

Well, I'm sort of at that point right now. 

It does feel good though. To make some important decisions about the direction in which we would like our lives to travel. It's like dusting off the soil of well worked hands at the end of a long day of gardening. And then dreaming of the evening's bath and how good and well deserved it will feel. Love that. 

Speaking of dirty hands. We've been adjusting to this new season. Most people call it spring. But here in Texas, it's more like two weeks until it's blistering hot. There's been lots and lots of time spent outdoors which feels so good and so right. I've been busy planting seeds, getting starter plants in the ground, going a bit berserk with flowering bulbs (which is silly since tulips and daffodils have a shelf life of about 6 hours here). Still, I can't shake my crush I have for them. They are some of my favorite flowers ever! There's a lot left to do. The rush is on, to get things planted before the very real and very hot heat of Texas settles in on us. 

On the chicken front: we are still waiting for the younger girls to start laying. It should be any day now. The big girls (as Beatrix calls them - even though all 8 of the girls are the same size now), are producing well. What beautiful eggs we collected today! 

Today, Beatrix and I walked to the library.

We ohhed and ahhed at these show stopping poppies.

On the way there, we stopped at a little shop that sells handmade items made by the senior citizens of our community. I was looking for a mug for Byron. I found a mug and I also found this little lady too.

I never buy toys spontaneously for Beatrix. Never. But today I did. She's handmade, and even handsewn in some areas. I adore the dress with the stripes and carrots. Oh my. Beatrix named her Clementine. Handmade, bunny, local, crazy cute dress, linen = $8. Sold. 

This is what my dish drying rack looked like after washing dishes mid day today. (In the off chance you are the least bit interested...)Do you see the green mug in the bottom center? That's the one I bought today. $5. Good deal. The blue and white one on the top left comes from the same shop and the same potter. $5 too. 

And this is what Beatrix likes to do now that the windows are almost always up: hang out of it while "talking" to Daddy on the phone. 

At night, and in our quiet time, I've been enjoying reading a bit of this and a bit of that. And it reminds me that I'd like to get to a point in my life where I can relax easily and turn the noise of the modern world off at the end of the day. 

More later. I'm migrating to the couch to enjoy a cup o' hot tea and a blanket (while the nights are still cool enough to enjoy), and a good read before I doze off for the day....