Some of the Musicians in My Life...

I caught this couple of minutes of video of Bo, my dear husband, and his brother doing an impromptu rendition of "My Sweet Lord."

Swimmin'!

I had a couple of extra kids palling around with me, it was hot, and there were no other plans for the day. Sounds like the perfect opportunity for the first swim outing of the season. We loaded up with food and towels and swimsuits and kids and we set our course for the swim park we'd never been to. First thing I said to Bard as we headed from home was that it seemed to all go too easily, that something probably wasn't going to cooperate.

After we had arrived at the swim park, about two hours later than I'd hoped, and paid my $50 to get in, and laid all of our belongings out on the crowded grassy area, I heard thunder. And then multiple whistles.

"There has been lightening sighted. Everyone out of the pool. We'll resume swimming twenty minutes after the last lightening strike."

Which meant that our four hours of swimming has just been cut to three.

Of course, this news was followed by a steady downpour.

We loaded everything back up and squished into the small block building, where a large sign was posted saying, "NO REFUNDS. NO EXCEPTIONS."

"Not even if we just walked in and haven't even been in the pool yet?"

The young girl at the register shook her head. Only if they close the pool, she told me, and only if it's before 2:00 p.m. (it was), but it wasn't likely they'd close the pool, because this was just one tiny pop-up storm.

So we waited it out.

An hour later, the lifeguards are called to their stations and we're allowed to return to the pool. For about half-an-hour, until the swim break.

Then it's back to the pool. Most people have left because of the storm, so it's not even very crowded. It's warm, and the water feels good. The kids are having a great time.

And then the thunder rolls again.

Ah, well. At least we got an hour of swimming in for my $50 bucks. Oh, and a few good photos with my new waterproof camera.

Sweetheart splashin'

The play area.

My neice Bella was absolutely lovin' it.

The girl has no fear.

She saved these flowers from the cupcakes to give to her mommy.

The Baby

Today's Project: Basil Bread

When the basil comes in, the eatin' gets good. Today's basil project was Genovese Basil Bread. Hop on over to my food blog, Time to Cook, for the recipe and pictures of my helpers. :-)

I'm also working on the No-Knead Bread from the New York Times. You can check out that recipe and an article about it here, but I won't post it on my food blog until I see how it comes out.

If you want to see some *real* food blogs, check out Simply Recipes and Farmgirl Fare. Good stuff, I tell ya!

::: sweetheart's art :::

Sweetheart, the darling nine-year-old girl of the family, has recently taken to photography. She can very often be seen with a camera in her hand, usually Mom's Canon. Recently, after months of camera lust, I bought this little miracle, and now Sweetheart can take high-quality photos to her heart's content without me worrying that she'll drop the camera or get it wet. Here are a few of her photos.
Swing-out sister.

Self-portrait.

Cousin Bella's lovely locks.

Sisters.

Her favorite model.

::: what summer looks like :::

The view from my kitchen window. Look closely. :-)

Tomatoes, hollyhocks and a little girl.

The Scarecrow.

Petunias in a clay pot. See the lilies in the background?

An old, old, old cooler full of flowers.

A Trip to the Zoo

Yesterday, on a whim, we took a trip to the zoo in the Big City. It was a quick, low maintenance outing--grab the kids, throw some bottles of water in the bag, and out the door. It turned out to be one of the best outings we've had in a long time. The zoo was beautiful, the weather was very cooperative, and the kids were on their best behavior. How often does that happen?

Here's Monet taking a break from his self-appointed stroller-pushing duties. That rope bridge isn't very stroller-wheel friendly. ;-)
The girls were very impressed with the hugangous monarch caterpillar. I was very impressed with the amazing gardens!

An inside look at a cone-shaped hydrangea.

The jellyfish exhibit was absolutely incredible. God was very imaginative on the day he dreamed up these creatures.

The butterfly bench was quite creative, too. God must have been feeling very imaginative on the day he created creative human beings. :-)

Then tonight we had a family night, choosing for our movie disc 3 of Planet Earth, the Shallow Seas segment, which featured many of the animals we saw at the zoo. The series is awe-inspiring, giving us a glimpse of what goes on in places we'd likely never get to see otherwise. If you haven't seen it, you simply have to.

And now it's thunderstorming (good thing it wasn't doing this yesterday!), so it's time to shut down for the night. Blessings!

It's a hard life, but it's a good, good life...

Inch by inch, row by row
Gonna make this garden grow
All it takes is a rake and a hoe
And a piece of fertile ground
Inch by inch, row by row
Someone bless these seeds I sow
Someone warm them from below
'Til the rain comes tumbling down

Well, I kind of go back and forth between thinking my garden is going to kill me this year and loving it to death. Today, I'm kind of in-between and, if not one with nature, then at least we're oozing into each other a bit more.

Our beautiful hilltop home is surrounded by acres and acres of fertile fields. I can see them all from just about every window of my house. Notice, my friends, that I said, "surrounded by." What that means is that this fabulous peak that gives me such incredible views just doesn't have any good soil.

Pulling weeds and pickin' stones
Man is made from dreams and bones
Feel the need to grow my own
'Cause the time is close at hand
Grain for grain, sun and rain
Find my way in nature's chain
To my body and my brain
To the music from the land

So, for the past seven years, from the very moment that I stepped foot on this piece of paradise, I've been working to tame the land. Clay, sand, rock, and the neighbor's newly-planted trees that border--ah, yes, even hover--over my garden area have all been issues to contend with. I've had years when my tomatoes have been attacked by hornworms, and blossom end-rot, and calcium deficiency, and an attack of goats, and the neighbor's cows, and the other neighbor's children. I've had years when I tilled and turned and double-dug only to be thwarted by weeds that popped up and choked out everything practically overnight. I've had raised beds rot away, birds devour cherries just moments before they were ripe, curculio worms eat my peaches from the inside out, and chickens dig up every last newly sprouted nasturtium seedling. My dogs love rolling in freshly spread mulch and freshly planted perennials, and my cats, like all cats, can't resist a brand new litter box shaped like a flower bed.

But I persist. I'm not sure why. I think it's a combination of naivety, stubbornness and a strong desire to hold on to a dream.

Because I've always had this image of a house surrounded by beautiful flowers, productive fruit trees, plentiful vegetable gardens, and chickens gently scratching away the grubs and cabbage worms. Of big, lazy dogs lounging on the porch (not in the flower bed, you see), and cats stretched out among the catnip.

Plant your rows straight and long
Thicker than with pray'r and song
Mother Earth will make you strong
If you give her love and care
Old crow watchin' hungrily
From his perch in yonder tree
In my garden I'm as free
As that feathered thief up there

So, sure, I've had to do some adjusting. I've learned a bit about fences, and about multiple plantings, about sticking sharp things where you don't want animals to lay or dig or scratch. I know now that I have to pick the cabbage worms off the broccoli, cauliflower and cabbage every day, not just when I see the pretty white moths appear fluttering above my garden. I've finally figured out that when the dogs find a patch in the garden that they like, I don't chase them away and replant what they dig up. I just leave that spot empty for them, let them feel like they won the battle. Chasing them away just sends them to a new spot, anyway.

Inch by inch, row by row
Gonna make this garden grow
All it takes is a rake and a hoe
And a piece of fertile ground
Inch by inch, row by row
Someone bless the seeds I sow
Someone warm them from below
'Til the rain comes tumbling down

Anyone who tells you that gardening isn't hard work is probably growing something illegal. It's a heck of a lot of work, and there are days when I don't think it's worth it at all.

But today I do. And that's what will keep me going tomorrow.

That's the country life.

Happy Birthday, Houdin!

Houdin is away at camp as a counselor for the week, and today, on his birthday, I'm thinking of him. When he gets home, we'll have a birthday celebration for him and a Father's Day celebration for Bo and my dad.

It's pretty strange not having Houdin here. Dare I say it's quite a bit quieter? But at the same time, when I need someone to lift this or carry that or run here or hurry there, I remember how helpful he is. I'm sure he's enjoying his week of training at camp and will be a big hit with the camp kids; that environment is right up his alley.

So send birthday wishes his way, and we'll be sure he gets them when he gets home.

::: happy birthday, son! :::

::: scenes from the garden :::

Here are a few moments I wish I could savor forever. After returning from the trail and a trip to the thrift store, The Baby ushered Papa out to the garden to peruse her thrifted William Wegman book. Of course Sweetheart, Bard and Joy the Dog had to get in on the act. What a gorgeous day!

Some grad photos...

Bard graduated from high school this weekend. The ceremony was lovely, and we had the very perfect weather for her open house on Sunday. We made bins and bins of food--barbecued chicken, baked beans, potato salad, veggies and dip, cake, cookies--and we had a wonderful crowd of people to share it all with.

Now, she's off for the summer and will be a freshman at a Christian college on a full scholarship (room and board, books, tuition, AND a laptop all paid!) this Fall. I will miss her greatly, but she'll only be about an hour away, and will be closer geographically to some of her friends when she's there that she has been at home.

It's been a great ride, learning with this girl, from the moment she was born, even up through today. I look forward to many years of learning with my younger ones, too.

With Sweetheart, Mom, Dad and Grandma.

Aunt Marilyn and Cousin Bella on the hammock with Uncle Aaron providing the motion.

Some twilight guests.
And she'll be heading off to college with a very special gift from her whole family--aunts, uncles, grandparents, brothers, sisters, mom and dad. It's her very own guitar--which just happens to share her name.

::: a garden post :::

I posted a little bit about my garden happenings at my food blog, Time to Cook. Go take a gander.

::: fun stuff for cat lovers :::

I found this video over at Anderson Adventures and it gave me a good giggle. Take a moment to giggle, too. It's good for you!

Finally. New pictures of the kids.

After having those black and white pictures on my sidebar for so, so long, I finally have some new photos of the fam which I hope to get into that sidebar, if I can remember how!

The Baby

Sweetheart

Monet

Houdin

Bard

A Spring Photo

Well, it only took about two hours and fifty takes, but we got one decent family photo for the church directory and my mother-in-law who has been asking me for a family photo forever. Left to right: Bard, Monet, Houdin, The Baby, Bo, Sweetheart and Thicket Dweller.

Ain't no cure for the summertime blues...

Once the weather gets warm, and the trees jump into greenness, and the dirt invites a spade and some willing fingers, our family can be found outdoors at every chance.

Every year, I've taken a little more time and a little more effort to plant a vegetable garden and a couple of flower beds. This year, with gas prices being what they are, and food costs skyrocketing, I decided that it would be necessary to grow as big of a garden as I can possibly get, and that everyone in the family will work in it, no exceptions. So far, that plan has worked out, with just a few hitches.

The hitches are the computers. My boys, in particular, don't seem to be able to function properly if there is an electronic device within a hundred feet of them. I can assign them a chore and, as soon as I'm not looking, they disappear. I'll spend a half-hour pulling weeds, or hoeing a row, or hauling mulch, and then I realize that someone's missing. It seems that I spend half of my work day playing hide and seek, though it's never very hard to find them.

Usually the reason is that they had to go to the bathroom, or change their shoes, or get a drink. And once they're in the house, that computer is just too strong of a pull. They're sucked in to Frets on Fire or facebook. It's almost like they don't even know they're doing it.

But the girls? Well, when they're in the garden with me, it's right where they want to be. They will do whatever it takes to make the yard look pretty, and just to spend time with mom. And if they aren't working with mom, they're swinging on the swing, or playing with the animals, or pretending they're fairies, or picking flowers to weave into each others' hair. Bard will spend the entire day weeding, mulching and identifying emerging perennials in her garden.

Is it a hard-wiring thing? Are girls so programmed to nest and create environments that they aren't even tempted away?

Are boys so programmed to hunt and gather and protect that they'll drift away from their household duties in order to virtually hunt and gather and protect?

Whatever the reason, it causes some friction in the Thicket Dweller household. The girls, even though they love being with mom and enjoy housework to some extent, dont' appreciate it when they have to do all of it, and the boys get to run off and "play." And I, who have always intended to raise boys who can cook and clean just as well as they can work on cars and gather firewod, am simply maddened by their distractedness. It leaves all of us feeling resentful and trodden upon.

So I'm looking for solutions. I know that I can do some things in a very analog style, like taking the power supply or the wireless keyboard and mouse and locking them in the locker. But that doesn't change the heart issue, and that's what I need to address now.

Any commiserations or suggestions that you have would be warmly welcomed. Does anyone else deal with these issues? How do you handle them? Do you see a difference between boys and girls in this area?

I'll be staying tuned, but I won't be standing right by my computer. If you need me, I'll be in the garden.

::: a thought for today :::

Ten things I love about...stuff.

Here's what I love right now...

That Bard and her debate partner were the first place debate team in their very last debate tournament. Things started out pretty rocky this year, and I've been praying for a good outcome. While this may not be the entire outcome, I think it's part of it.

That the chives are up. They're so green and tall and encouraging! Chives are such a dependable harbinger of Spring.

That the pig is tilling my garden, even if I'm having a hard time getting her to till that one little section of sod and rocks. I hope to have a well-tilled plot of land to enjoy when she's all done, a place where I can plunk in some more leafy green things.

That Houdin was hired as a counselor, cook and pastor at a local camp this summer. I think he'll really enjoy it, and I'm sure the kids will love him.

That things are winding down for the year. Tournaments are over. Pretty soon, classes will be over, choir will be over, and it will be time to do some serious reading, to myself and aloud. Right now, I'm previewing The Benedict Society to read aloud to Monet, Sweetheart and The Baby (who needs a new nickname now that she's five and can answer the phone all by herself).

That relationships are healing. I pray that I can keep giving them over to God and that I can be obedient and humble, no matter what He asks me to do.

That Bard made her decision about college. She received a full academic scholarship for one of her top five choices, but she wasn't sure if it was the right place for her. She decided on Thursday that it was and will begin registering for classes this week. She was even offered a job in the writing lab; a very good friend of ours is the director of the lab and was happy to offer the position to Bard.

That we have the use of a second car. We were limping along with no car, then one car, and now we have two working cars. It makes a world of difference.

That there are visitors to the bird feeders on my porch every day.

That Houdin is able to take a second look at relationships and what they mean after a breakup with his girlfriend. I'm thankful that he's able to focus on his other interests again and just be a teenage boy.

Okay, eleven things: That I have a great walking partner who encourages me to get out there and get some exercise. I'd be a sloth without her.

I'm thankful for the changes that are taking place around me, both big and small. Thank you, God, for your incredible goodness. Please help me to remember to thank You daily!

::: birthday haircut :::

::: turning 39 :::

On my 39th birthday, we had a great houseconcert with fabulous people present. It was a lot of work,but I think it was the best birthday I've had in a very, very long time.