From the weekend...

 The Christmas tree expedition.

AX-MAN

 AX-MAN.  This is quite possibly the craziest most incredibly wonderful store you could ever have the chance to visit.  It is seriously strange and filled with all sorts of useless things you never even knew you didn't need.  Unless you're like me and you find all sorts of things you never knew you didn't need on a fully stocked shelf right in front of you and suddenly you find that,  "YES! I do need all of these tiny little bottles with itty bitty lids.  I need them for....for...for something, certainly I need them for something."

 Hmm, yes.   I better come up with something.

Soon.

You Are Here

Andy and I used to walk through this park together often when we were in Minnesota.  I always looked forward to the deep peace I felt when we were there and how it seemed to linger long after we left.  I enjoyed winding around the trails there with no real sense of time, holding hands, brushing along the tall grasses and talking about our dreams.  They are beautiful memories that are always with me.

When we walked in to the park this year everything felt so different.  I could see stretching out along the trail in front of me how much things have changed and oh how we've multiplied.  I could never have imagined how much my heart would grow as we moved along the path of our dreams from a couple to a family.  I could never have imagined that a place where I once felt so much peace could change so much with the addition of just a few small people.

Now of course it is not quite as peaceful as you can imagine, but it does feel exciting and magical.  These kids notice everything!  They don't want to just walk around and chat.  They want to run and see what's behind the next bend.  They want to examine every spider web, taste all the wild grapes they can and then run fast, so fast to break open a milkweed pod and scatter the seeds.  And, they want us to do it with them.  I felt pulled to experience this place in such a new and different way.  It was wonderful.

It's a privilege to visit a place that offers such a clear reflection of the path Andy and I have traveled together and are still traveling.  To be able to see so clearly along a dirt path the richness and growth these people have brought into our lives is such a treasure.  It's such a good reminder...

You Are Here.

Walk in the park

We took a nice walk around the park this morning after breakfast. I can't believe how much fall is in the air. I have been saying sometime since May that summer is over, but now it really is. These seasons go by so fast and these little people of ours just keep getting bigger. I feel like I need a pause button or at least slow motion setting. Something. Anything to just make it last a little bit longer.

Bowls

Okay so here it is. My own freaky little obsession.

Wooden bowls.

I love them, a lot. Do I have plenty of them. Why yes, I do. Do you think for one minute that having a good healthy supply of small wooden bowls stops me in any way from stalking them at yard sales and thrift shops? No. No it does not. And so today, with my three little babes by my side (because it's good for them to bear witness to this strange obsessive nature of their mother.) I tacked off through the thrift shop in search of MORE BOWLS!

Found some.

Have a great weekend everyone...

...and, if you see any small wooden bowls or or or oh my, even better, small wooden cups...yes, the elusive wooden cup...well well my friends, you know where to find me.

To the Zoo

This summer we have spent more time like this than any of us would have cared to.

One branch to the eye (Possibly, still not quite sure about that.).

One trip to the emergency room.

One corneal abrasion.

One nasty cut to the foot, by glass? (Again, not sure there.)

One more trip to the emergency room.

All of this equals one summer filled with a whole lot of follow-up care.

And so...

One trip to the zoo with a good buddy.

That can sure fix a lot of things, especially when you get to ride a white tiger.

Party day

Happy 4th Birthday to our dear friend Miss Ella!

What fun!

Gone Fishin'

Blue Skies

The Sugaring Tour

As sweet sap began to drip into buckets hanging from the trees in our yard, there was great excitement about what to expect. It was hard to patiently wait until we had enough sap to boil down ourselves. We were all wondering, how will this work? How long will it boil? What will it look like? What will it taste like from our trees? Will it be the same? All of these questions led us on a neighborhood sugaring tour where we got to see at least a couple of different operations.

There was bigger. Small pipes were running in all directions. Bright pieces of stainless steel sparkled against a backdrop of old barn wood. Fires were glowing as they pushed up steam out and over an old barn roof. Gallons and gallons of sap lay waiting in buckets, barrels and tanks for their chance to hit the fire in what seemed like syrup purgatory. Attendants lovingly poured over fogged up gauges to determine just the right temperature for the most deliciously sweet maple syrup I have ever tasted. Glorious.

And then there was smaller. A short walk out to the woods with old fall leaves crunching underfoot. A gentle breeze blowing up the hillside bringing with it the faint scent of fire that was beckoning the gallons of sap it had been waiting for . No gauges. No pipes. Just sweet maple sap, good conversation and a glowing fire. It was beautiful.

There are certainly sugaring operations going on all over right now producing maple syrup on a scale I'm certain I can't imagine and what we saw certainly couldn't compare to that. But there is something so incredibly beautiful about small. Small feels reasonable. Attainable. When I see our neighbors producing enough to cover their own consumption I think, Yes! This we can do.

And how sweet it will be.