Sunday, August 21, 2011
Friday, August 19, 2011
Wednesday, August 17, 2011
sweater
I've been working on many things to help start the school year, and now my head hurts and I can't turn my head to the left. It is just stress, and I'm really ready to let it go. I'm ready to knit.
Saturday, August 13, 2011
end of summer
This is the last week of summer. Next monday we'll head back to school, the fouth grade and another year of kindergarten.
We are going to make one quick trip to the woods for a little camping before fall starts to settle in around us. Woods with wild ponies, blackberries, a big campfire, and quiet nights.
Thursday, August 11, 2011
6
We were a block away from home when we spotted this and jumped out of the car.
John had a great birthday. He was surprised by 22 kids and their families at the lake. We swam, played, and ate watermelon and ice cream sandwiches.
He said, "This is amazing".
Tuesday, August 09, 2011
Sunday, August 07, 2011
Sriracha Grilled Tofu
Wednesday, August 03, 2011
joytime
I took Ruby to the lake today, and she spent most of the time crouching down in the water and jumping up as high as she can. I asked her what she was doing and she replied over and over, 'jumping for joy".
We should all take a few more cues from three year olds.
lunchbox time
John needs to bring his lunch and snack in separate bags this year, so I think the snacks will be traveling in this little washable robot bag. I also ordered a couple of bamboo sporks and have plans for making a pile of cloth napkins.
Tuesday, August 02, 2011
floydfest X
We are home from four days of a music festival up on the mountain in beautiful Floyd, Virginia. I slept on a yoga mat in the woods for three nights, and it might be the year to invest in something more comfortable. On saturday night when I went to bed the ground was still vibrating with music, and I heard it didn't stop until four am. I still haven't declared a "favorite" for the weekend. Yonder Mountain String Band. Peter Rowan, Larry Keel, Old Crow Medicine Show. Too many to count really. It was a beautiful summer weekend with shooting stars, fireworks, thunderstorms, Dark Star Stout, friends, fiddles, banjos, dancing, and happy kids.
henna
Someone is growing up quicklly. No face paints for her this year, but she did want to get a henna design with a snake, the sun, and the moon.
Monday, August 01, 2011
Wednesday, July 27, 2011
Monday, July 25, 2011
Sunday, July 24, 2011
Moo
We were out at the park in Newport listening to some old time music, and the kids and I walked over to visit some cows and watch the swallows swooping and diving at twilight. The largest cow gave us a big "Moo", and Ruby thought that cow was talking just to her. She may have read about cows saying moo in storybooks, but this was her first real live cow conversation. This is her telling the story. Three is joyful, theatrical, and downright loud.
Saturday, July 23, 2011
festival
I have taken a little break from my camera this week, but I promise I'll be back with a vengeance. I've been in the car a lot and it has been too hot to leave it in there.
Yesterday we stayed up to our necks in lakewater as much as possible. Today the littlests are playing with Legos while papa and Ella bike from Wytheville to Galax.
Thursday, July 21, 2011
faerieland or bust
We are headed out to the magical woods next week for four days of camping and music. The kids don't want to talk about anything else.
John has been in bug camp all week, so the girls and I have been out and about. It it is hot and humid, and tomorrow we are going to the lake for the day.
Tuesday, July 19, 2011
Friday, July 15, 2011
Thursday, July 14, 2011
John, July 2008
The little man is about to turn six. These days he spends more time talking about Star Wars legos than cuddling baby dolls. Not that he knows the first thing about Star Wars, but he needs four hundred dollars for the Death Star.
He had some strange circular marks on his leg and shoulder the other day, and I took him to the doctor. They aren't really sure what it is, but they are going to treat him for Lyme disease just in case. At his age it is fourteen days of amoxicillan. He is pretending that it tastes great to make his sisters feel like they are missing out on something.
Monday, July 11, 2011
bread
Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day, a photo by ellajohn on Flickr.
Bake it. Life if really too short.
Friday, July 08, 2011
my little man
He has a lot of questions. The other day he said, "Mama, why do you girls wear your testicles on your chests?"
I thought I was going to fall down.
sunflower field
sunflower field, a photo by ellajohn on Flickr.
We visited some friends last week and spent the whole day with them. The children would have happily moved in with them and spent the rest of the summer. They took rabbits in the house and set up a bunny school. The two three year olds picked all the blackberries they could reach and then fed them to each other with Junebugs zooming and buzzing around the sunny field. We ate in the yard with the chickens, did some swinging, and then went swimming.
Tuesday, July 05, 2011
Sunday, July 03, 2011
summer
I'm at my mama's playing, cooking, reading, wine drinking, taking pictures, picking blackberries, eating fried green tomatoes, making peach pie, eating breakfast outside, going swimming, playing with rabbits, collecting bugs, and generally enjoying summer.
Tuesday, June 28, 2011
Monday, June 27, 2011
bench monday
This is the last week of the six week photography class that I'm taking. I want to do it again.
Sunday, June 26, 2011
blow {dandelion}
blow {dandelion}, a photo by ellajohn on Flickr.
Ruby fell down on the trail and hurt her hands, but she quickly turned her attention to blowing dandelions.
Saturday, June 25, 2011
summer saturday
red, a photo by ellajohn on Flickr.
I took John to a birthday pool party and then joined the rest of the family out in the country to listen to Laura Beth and Clover Hollow. The kids played in the creek, caught lightning bugs, and hulu hooped. The tall metal slide was slicked with wax paper for a fast ride.
Thursday, June 23, 2011
house for sale
Click on over and take a peek. There is sign in my front yard, and we should be on the MLS tonight. I feel a bit suspended in midair.
Wednesday, June 22, 2011
trying
Our house goes on the market in about four hours. I've been working to get it ready for months, but here in the final moments I feel like I've done nothing. Before five o'clock I've got to vacuum, mop, make two beds, and spread five bags of mulch. I've hauled carload after carload to the thrift stores, but we still have more things than we need or can move. We moved into this house when John was six months old. He'll turn six in a little more than a month. I'm certainly paying the price now, but for those years I was certainly a better mama than a housekeeper.
Friday, June 17, 2011
Tuesday, June 14, 2011
Friday, June 10, 2011
Wednesday, June 08, 2011
stonecrop farm flowers
I didn't even take a picture of my eggs. Tuesday is CSA day for us, and John got me a bouquets for the summer . Look at the larkspur and the sweet peas.