roadside farmer's market

One of the best things about living here are the fresh fruit and vegies you can buy at the local produce stands.  But I am not ashamed to say that some of the produce I bring home has literally fallen off the truck.  I can not tell you how many beautiful sweet onions have come home with me rescued from various intersections that are near freshly harvested fields.  Today it was sweet corn.  The only downfall was that I could only find 3 ears along the roadside (over about a mile's drive).  That just won't be enough for dinner tomorrow.  Alas, I will have to go buy a few more at one of the stands, which will lead to the purchasing of  even more delectable fresh fruits and vegies.  Fresh produce in my house makes me feel rich.  Over the years Tim and I have gauged how well we are doing financially by how much fresh fruit is in the house : )  Its too bad that tomatoes and watermelon don't do well falling off of trucks.

I see squirrels

I came to the conclusion several years ago that I "flit". I can organize "stuff" and 14 different coupon transactions in my head, but, I get easily distracted when I am trying to get things done. I start with the best intentions and I tend to get a lot of stuff done - just not all in one place and most of it not completed.  I end most days feeling like I have accomplished little because it all looks like it did when I started the day. Not to mention, I live with 4 squirrels that have made it a little more challenging as the years have gone by.
So I am thinking that this is why I am so thrilled that my house "feels" clean today.  The dining room table is clear, there is less than a load of dishes in the sink awaiting transfer to the dishwasher, my laundry baskets are almost empty, I have the important areas dusted, the living room is tidy, my bedroom floor is clean, and ..... I am freshly showered all before noon.  I will savor it while it lasts.

being short one kid

So the last 2 weeks have been a trade off of either Hannah (1st week) or Luke (2nd week) being away at camp.   Hannah spent a great week at girls camp and Luke at his first year of Scout camp.  I am so thankful for all the leaders that take the time away from their own families to do things with my children and enrich their lives.  It is amazing how much quieter the house is when one of them are gone.  Now we are gearing up for August which is our traveling month this summer.  Our family will be going on a vacation to Idaho for a little water park, zip lining, a train ride, and a bbq with family we haven't seen for quite awhile.  We have been invited to the coast for a couple days with friends.  Then a week in Burns to spend with more family with a couple extra boys in tow.  Then a week to get ready for school.  Wow how July has flown.

Garden guilt and garden envy

My garden has suffered this year.  The only things that have grown are the ones that do it voluntarily each year.  Pretty much the chives, strawberries, and raspberries.  Now here is where the guilt comes in.  I haven't even had enough time to properly pick the raspberries - which I LOVE.  When I do go out, I see the ones I didn't save in time and wonder if you can be arrested for garden neglect.   At the same time I drive by some beautiful gardens and have a little envy.  OK a lot of envy. Retired people set the bar pretty high around here. I know what I want my garden to look like in a perfect world, but darn it all the kids and husband insist on eating everyday.  And more than once a day.  Sheesh.  Not to mention clean clothes and paid bills.  I haven't figured out how to spend all day outside and get the inside stuff done at the same time.  I wonder if there is a Nobel prize for that and if so... what category?  I will put it on my to do list.

Cats

I grew up with cats. And when I say cats I don't mean the pampered type that have collars and eat out of dishes in the house. I grew up with a herd of barn cats. Natural selection controlled the population (well, mostly the coyotes). The spring kittens were our adventure each year. First, with the covert military preciseness that my sisters and I would use to track a new momma kitty to her litter. (We could fake baby kitten meowing like nobody's business.) Then with the taming of the wild, spitting, hissing balls of fur once momma was tired of moving them.

Then the summer brought everything from fishing trips up the creek with cats in tow, to biking trips where we figured out how to configure baskets and bungee cords into first class seating on the way to the deep spot in the creek where we would swim. The dogs on the ranch were for working, the cats were for play.

Luckily I married a cat person. We have always had at least one cat since we have been married. We started with Squeaker - the peach point Siamese mix that came with Tim and considered me to be no less than that of the ultimate wicked stepmother.

We are currently down to one cat again - which feels strange. Abby is the last of our original pets that we brought with us when we moved. She showed up on our door - well actually flew in through the front door at our house in Burns one morning. She had been dumped near where we lived several miles from town. She soon became Hannah's constant companion and I am sure in her opinion was responsible for much of Hannah's formative early upbringing.

Now Abby at 14 is suddenly acting like a kitten again. She has developed a new bedtime routine at night now that our other cat is gone. She gets up on the bed (which isn't as easy as it used to be) and gets attention and then lays down for awhile. Then every night right on queue she jumps off the bed and goes to the corner of the room behind our bedroom door and starts to chase her tail. She does this for 10 minutes or so and then eventually jumps back up on the bed to sleep for the night. I don't know why she does it and I am not sure if she knows. But over the years I have learned some of my most important lessons from the animals in my life. I think Abby does it because she can. So I am thinking that I need to remember to do things because I can no matter what my age. And not worry about the 2 people across the room wondering why I am chasing my tail. : )

Love the curls

I have been wanting to start a blog for awhile. I wanted a way to keep a record of the life I love and had not had the greatest results from traditional paper journals. I type, and can be read much easier than my handwriting anyway. I can feel a shift happening in our home. I have a 15, 12 and 10 year old. I am only a few years away from complete teen madness in our house. I am feeling the transition from a house of toddlers to teenagers. (who am I kidding - it will be pretty similar : )

The title of my blog came from my lifelong love/hate relationship with my naturally curly hair. I have noticed that once I started working with it instead of against it I appreciated it more all the time. I have tried to take that same attitude with everything else in my life as well. Even more so since mom passed away in 2006 and I turned 40 in 2010.

With mom's birthday being yesterday I am reminded again of how fragile life is and how blessed I am that it doesn't bother me to get older. I see my mother's hands now when I look at my own. I giggle every time I use the air blade hand dryer at Costco in the bathroom and watch the skin on the back of my hands dance. I am blessed with so many things in my life that could be gone tomorrow. I am hoping to write a little about it on this blog so that on the rough days I can look back and remember how great it is to be curly.