Live Free

Off the wagon

Oh my, I'm afraid I am off the "30 days" wagon for now.  I think leaving town for a week did me in. For a while, I had a good rhythm going of uploading and posting on the same day. But this week, I've been so busy, catching up on school and home odds and ends, that I've lost blogging steam.  Also, it's been so darn hot, that Bea and I hardly venture out. And poor Bea, you should see her.  She quite the little sweat machine!! We've been quite the pathetic duo over here! After all these years of living in the south, these summers still put the hurt on me.  

On the bright side, my garden is still thriving!  My tomatoes are still green but plentiful.  I'm hopeful they will ripen soon!! We've also got jalapeno and serrano peppers - mmm...can never have too much salsa. The herbs are taking over, even the spearmint which I was worried about a couple of months back. 

    

When we returned home, this crepe myrtle was in full bloom!! 

  

9:: 30 Days of Summer - Memory Lane

You can imagine my joy of discovering an old wooden amunition (probably from World War II) box in my mom's living room filled with never before seen photos from both my grandmother and mother's childhood. As I sat scrunched up in the corner where I found the box, I flipped through, gazed, wondered, and asked my mother tons of questions about the details of photos. I felt the greatest awe and nostalgia for a time in my dearest loved ones lives that came before me.  

Wonderful, timeless images. I can't say enough about how honored I felt to be peaking into the lives of my family members who lived a lot of life before I had the privilege of becoming a thread woven into their story! 

In so many photos, I saw objects that I've seen all my life at my grandparents' home -- cannisters, perculators, appliances, the barnyard, a baby highchair, a children's tractor and so much more. All of these things I know in the present. They've always been around. Taken for granted as the backdrop to their life. But looking at them in the background of photos from so many moons ago really resonated their life, their use, their function. People were born, grew up, and aged into adulthood while these objects maintained their purpose in their world.  

I saw my aging grandmother, as  a spirited, beautiful young lady who enjoyed posing in front of the camera. And who, even then, loved her animals -  especially cats and birds.  

I saw my mother as a toddler, documented in all her busyness and joy! And I can't help but sense my grandmother's awe of this little toddler girl as she captured these sweet, fleeting, moments in photos. She was a new mother - just like myself wanting to remember the simple moments of her daughter's childhood. And I think of my own mama as a little girl and I can imagine what a curious, charming little one she must have been. Just waiting to still the hearts of those around her. Following in the footsteps of the adults and older children around her. Hmmm...reminds me of someone near and dear to my heart today. 

The lives of my elders were modest at best. My grandparents always noted that the Depression didn't have as great of an impact on them as it did to people who were wealthier. They are were already poor as church mice. Of course, life improved once my grandfather returned from Europe.  

Yet when I held each photo and looked at the expressions on their faces, I could see happiness. I could see a full life. I could see an immense amount of love and lots of family. People of many different ages together in a photo - relaxed and smiling.  A hard, yet none the less, whole life.  

I can't help but share a handfew. I hope you see the simple goodness that I see when I look at the people in these images. 

My grandparents, very young.

My uncles, as little boys, obviously happy to be going fishing!

 

 

 

The little girl engaged in practical life activities: sweeping, spooning or eating?, feeding/talking to the chickens, having tea, etc. is my mom! What fun her little life looked to be.  
 

 

My grandfather watching as his children walk towards the barnyard. 

 

Oh, I LOVE  this one: My mom on her bike with cowboy hat!

   

And this one is probably my favorite. It's my grandmother. I love the light in this photo - the sun shining down on them and my grandmother laughing so wholeheartedly. The little baby in the bicycle basket is my mom and the little girls are my mom's cousins who lived right down the road from her. 
 
 

   

   

8:: 30 Days of Summer - Family Portraits

While home, my mom reminded us to please, please take a family photo! Yes, of course, we're one of those families, that have very few family photos. Byron or I usually have the camera in hand. Very rarely, are we both together with Bea in a photo. Not to mention, my mom is what some would call a family picture fanatic! What's a family gathering without the great hilarity of rounding up a whole tribe to pose for the lens. Oh, you can't imagine the thoughts behind the smiles of our family group photo shoots. But then again, you probably can! 

Thank goodness, our little family pictures still require slightly less drama than the great big family pictures. But still, it's hard to get that one shot where all three of us are looking happy! 

Mom, this is the best we could do!  

Look Granny, a little birdie! 

Marching off with Dolly in tow! Those two are inseparable you know!  

Seven:: 30 Days of Summer

What are summer months without a little time spent traveling - perhaps to places faraway, new, and unfamiliar or to places so comfortable one could navigate to and through them in blindness? 

Last week, we spent some time with family and good friends in Louisiana. Every summer we return home for a week or so. We spend time at my mom's. Catch up and hang out with my siblings, and squeeze in time to visit with old friends. Bea had a blast this year! She loves, loves her older cousins. I wish she could play with them more often! And of course, she loves her granny. And her granny loves her.  

I'm posting from this past week since I left the laptop at home. And though I did manage to peak into the internet world a bit here and there, I couldn't commit time to posting on a day to day basis. 

It's been so very, miserably hot here in the south lately. And humid. Oh lord, the humidity is fierce. While in Louisiana, I asked my brother. "Have summers always been this horrible? Or are we just getting old?" "Nah, it's not us. They're hotter." he said matter of factly.  

Anyhoo, we've been spending lots of time dodging the outdoors or else finding water to accompany us while outdoors. Such is summer in the deep south I suppose. 

We did manage to enjoy one pleasant evening on my brother and sister-in-law's front porch. The evening started off "warm". But in my brother's words, the night would "only get better". The breeze picked up ever so slightly as the temperatures dropped below 90! Ah, relief! In my book, nothing much compares to front porches and loved ones. Especially once the little one is fast asleep!  

By the way, isn't their porch the cutest? Who wouldn't want to hang out there! 

 

Six - Ad Hoc Brownies

 
I am not ashamed to admit. I am a simple, simple girl. A good brownie is probably one of my most favorite foods of all. But it has to be good. Not overly sweet. Moist. Rich. Savoring. Chocolatey. 

For no good reasons, the last couple of months, I've been using the same old brownie recipe to pacify my cravings. I kept getting disappointed. For awhile, I blamed the pan, then the stove. I tried different variables of each. And still - lame, flat brownies. Yuck!  

So when I saw that Thomas Keller had a recipe, I decided to see what good he is at making brownies. Ha...I should have known.  These brownies are heavenly. This is my recipe from now on (As long as I have 3 STICKS OF BUTTER to spare.)  If you have any appreciation for brownies, quick, go out and splurge on this beautiful, yet slightly intimidating cookbook.  The book aims to demonstrate simple, delicious, home cooked meals. The photography will no doubt impress. The skills and technique shared are meticulous and inspiring. Really, just humbling. 

Four - 30 Days of Summer

Bea and I are settling into a routine, or so it seems.  This afternoon, after she woke from her nap, we went on a little adventure to the south side of town. It seems as though a new fabric store opened several months ago and I heard nothing about it! Oh, all these months, beautiful fabric displayed in a beautiful little house  so close by. How could I not know about this? Where have I been? Oh, yeah, working...lots.  And now I'm not. Having the time to take little excursions for items (like Japanese prints) besides the weekly essential grocery list feels so divine. It's so easy to forget during the school year how good summers really are. But then again, I think it's great that I forget. That way, little treats like this become the nicest and most unexpected surprises.  

And I should also mention that I really, really hope this new little fabric store makes it! Since I moved to Austin five years ago, I've always been a little depressed by the lack of interesting fabric shops. But, this place cheers me up so much! 

And if you are wondering if I bought fabric. Well, of course, I couldn't resist. Rest assured, I didn't buy just for the sake of buying.  Oh no, I'm sensible, don't you know?  :) Yes, each and every window in our entire home is in need of curtains.  These mini-blinds have got to go (or at least be hidden). So there, that's one of my BIG summertime projects on my long list of to do's. I've been dragging on this project because 1) too tired from long work hours to think about it and 2) fabric for curtains can run up into some serious change.  I have a few ideas on how to create interesting and beautiful curtains on the cheap.  Stay tuned. 

    

30 Days of Summer- Day 3 - I Like Balloons

Bea loves balloons lately. Really, nothing gets her as excited as a simple helium balloon (unless there's a chicken or bird in sight). One of our grocery stores around here offer complimentary balloons for the little ones. So you can imagine her gasp and smile when she gets carted into the entrance only to receive her special treat for being such a good patron. 

When daddy made a trip to the grocery store without her, he thought of her still and brought home a single, red, balloon.  I love how she loves the simple things in life.  

L taught us the sweetest balloon song a couple of weeks ago at The Natural Child. We've been singing it ever since! Imagine that - Bea humming and swaying to this.