Staying Here

I think Hell has come to stay at our little home for a while.

So, Oscar and I are making the best of our days. Filling them up with simple pleasures: morning walks, trips to the skate park, baked goods, warm drinks at local coffee houses and lots of Joy Juice.

On our walk this morning, we found some helicopters. I haven't played with these since I was a kid. These are the things that I'm relying on to keep my sanity, simplicity of nature.

Hope you too are filling your days with things that you love
until next time
a

Life with Red Berries

I had a seriously wonderfully, beautiful day Thanksgiving.
I surrounded myself with loved ones, great food and beautiful weather, what more could you ask for....
Hope you did too!
a

Off Day

Today was a pretty off day for me. Oscar and I returned home from Florida last night. After unloading the car, I was reminded of our water situation.
Our well water has been containmented. We're not sure of what the culprit is just yet, but I hope after this Holiday week we will hear something.
I feel like Hell has just invaded my home.
So, being pretty depressing around here, Oscar and I decided to take it out.
We headed to the local coffee shop. We played checkers, battleship and read comics. Just the way to spend a day. (and they also have good running water!)
I intended to mail out my Holiday Stocking Swap package this afternoon but they were closed by the time I got there. I think our post office closes before any others in town do. Lucky us.

Anyway, I'll leave you with a taste of the package that I will be sending out tomorrow morning. I had a blast putting together these little packages and I hope they are enjoyed by their receivers!

Here's to a better day tomorrow!
a

Returning Home

We have returned from a quick trip to Florida to visit my brother, his wife, Grandma Betty and Aunt Mel and my cutest niece and nephew.
Oscar and I rode down with my mom. And I say that was the quickest, best trip that I have taken in a while. Oscar listened to some Magic Tree books on tape and my mom and I listened to The Help on cd, which, by the way, is a great book!

We stayed again at the Hard Rock Hotel.

Built forts......


....and bathed in the morning sun

We drove over to see my Grandma Betty and Aunt Melody. My Grandma and Aunt have so many fun stories.
Grandma B was raised in England and grew up in pubs. She had so many stories to tell that we tried leaving many times and another hour would pass and 10 more stories would develop.
Get her and my aunt talking and they just tell story after story and laugh and laugh!

I just wished I had a recorder on hand to savor all the wonderful stories from her life. I could have spent all day there listening to her!

Above is the house Grandma grew up in. Her family lived in the left hand side and the middle was an Inn and a Pub on the right. If ever I get to England, I hope to visit the Bramblette Hotel.

Here she is with a table cloth she started embroidering on her grandmothers linen, over 125 years old. I hope she finishes it.....I would love to see the finished product.

Isn't she just the cutest?!

We, of course, visited my brother and his cute family. Little Reah turned ONE last week.....so cute!




And visited our new favorite ice cream shop, Heavenly Cafe and had some spicy chocolate gelato....yummo!



We paid a visit to the local Thrift Shop and picked up a new pet, Blue-Eyes. I picked up a few things that I couldn't put down.





We stopped by the beach, long enough to run up and down the beach before getting back to town.



Yes, he does.....Sage Rocks!

~Happy day to you~
a

Caps For Sale

Chad and I started giving Oscar an allowance for doing some simple chores around the house ~like keeping his room clean, feeding the dogs etc. And since then, he has, very diligently saved his money and spent some when he really wants to buy a toy or a book.

We started reading Caps For Sale and this thing in him happened.
I now have an entrepreneur on my hands.
He wanted to sell caps, then rocks, flowers and their seeds, golf balls, paper clips strung together to make necklaces anything that was going to him earn money.
So he set up shop on the back porch, set out his wares, money holder, pens, paper and chair. He sat. And sat. And waited for Chad to get home that night. Knowing that Dad (of course) will come around back to buy something from his shop. And that he did, which made Oscar a very happy boy.

The next day, I bought a cap, some rocks, some flower petals, a broken game piece, that I'm sure can be used for something else. (that's how it was sold to me) and a 'signed' golf ball.
Friends and family, very sweetly, paid visits to support Oscar's shop. For 4 straight days he set up shop and sold something everyday.
It started to rain the following days, so he closed up shop.

Maybe it'll open again soon.
I may need some more flower seeds soon!
Here's to accomplishment and some motivation for me!
Cheers
a

Speed Queen

Today we were forced to wash out clothes at the dreaded laundry mat. Or as Oscar calls it, 'the dirty mat'. Our well water has been off for some time and with that entails, week old dirty clothes, boiling water and bought gallon waters. It will soon be better, hopefully. *sigh*
So, that is where we met up with Speed Queen. She washes clothes in 35 minutes!

We were grateful to run into some friends who happily washed clothes with us. After our 'chores' we walked to the cafe and had some pick me ups. So, as un-fun as it is to have to go to the laundry mat, we in turn had a lovely day. Sometimes a little tweak in your daily task can turn out to be just what you need.

We picked up Crafting Fun: 101 Things to Make and Do with Kids from our neighborhood library, and I have been really diggin it! It's a craft book broken down into seasonal chapters. We dove right into making a clementine pomander.
I love this book because there are cute, simple projects that Oscar can conquer alone or that I can sit with him.

Come back to see what we create for the wintering birds!
a

Vintage Thrifts

Jenny, a friend that I have known for about a decade has an eye for finding the most wonderful vintage lovelies. She collects them, restores them and paints them. Then has an open house, in her own home once a year open to the public.
So, in a need for some balancing, (and some goodies), Oscar and I headed up to the mountains.
We found this lovely square quilt, not a vintage, but sewn with some vintage fabric. I couldn't pass this up, this will fit in perfectly with my new work space. (more on that later)

Oscar found these 2 vintage airplanes he could not live without. And the metal embroidery hoops are going to make great holiday gifts.

I just fell in love with this table cloth. It's so simple, I could not pass it up!

The flowers above are some that I picked up from the Farmers Market. They are called spider chrysanthemums, I've never seen anything like them before. They are the most beautiful, hardy, delicate flower. I bought a bunch of these and split them up to have in different places of the house. So, I have beauty everywhere I look, almost everywhere.

Hope you had beauty surrounding you this weekend as well!
Happy Monday!
a

The Plan

The Plan was to ~

• put up the tent in the backyard
  
• pick up some marshmallows via grocery store
  
• start a fire to roast the said marshmallows
• play inside tent all day
  
• bring new broom, puzzles, cards, bow and arrow and the camelbak into the tent

(the bow and arrow, just in case there were any coyotes)

• have chai tea and cheesy feet for snacks
• bring hand and head lamps
• as soon as it became dark, get in tent
  

And that we did, until midnight that is.

Oscar has never liked to sleep with covers on, not even outside when it's almost freezing.
So, after a long 4 hours of him sleeping and me covering up his freezing body, we headed inside.

Before falling asleep though there were lots of stories told, star gazing, flashlights flashing and lots of giggles as we settled into our sleeping bags for the cold night ahead.

I have very fond memories of going camping with my family and as I got older, my friends.
So, how could I pass up sweet blue eyes asking me if I wanted to camp out with him that night.
I couldn't.

Dumped Milk

Last week I witnessed 110 gallons of raw milk being dumped out on a friends farm. It was a very emotionally charged gathering but in a different way such a beautiful thing to have witnessed. Like minded folks joining together in hopes to bring about change.
If you would like to read more on this story you can find more information here.

I am hopeful for the future the Georgia will turn around this law and let people eat and drink what they chose within their own homes!

in hopes,
a

A Halloween Post....finally

A few months ago when I asked Oscar what he wanted to be for Halloween he says, a ghost cowboy. Ok. We went out and searched for the appropriate attire; cowboy boots, hat, shirt, pants, bandana and ghost paint? I knew that that would never fly with him, but I kept silent. (he's not the one to wear things on his face, masks, paint anything).

So, fast forward to Halloween night, he does not want to get dressed up. He says he wants to go as himself.

He sits and waits in the car until we finally meet him there, with Sally, of course.
(man, this kid is hard headed!)



We arrive at our destination unclothed. He comes around with seeing all the other kids dressed up. And was a very happy boy, collecting candy for the Halloween Fairie!

We ran into our friend, Major Bedhead!

And I did manage to get one photo of the visiting ghost cowboy. Spooky.

And the Halloween Fairie did come that night and left a beautiful handmade broom for Oscar to find the following morning.

And, it was a hit!
a

A Little Sauerkraut

We were gifted a lovely big cabbage from a dear friend. And as do most my veggies, it sat on the counter for a week before I unwrapped the bag to find the cabbage inside. It was still just as fresh as when I had received it. I thought about making some cabbage soup, never tried it or made it. But I settled for some sauerkraut. It was a hit with Oscar, he helped shred it, pound it, taste it and jar it.
I loved being able to connect with him on this level of making food. It is now and has been so important to me for Oscar to know where food comes from and the process it goes through so that we are able to eat or drink it.

And I love that he loves sauerkraut!

Have a lovely hump day!