Moving/Moving On.

I've got a lot going on right now, which I don't really say with glee. I'm not one of those people that must be busy, always on the look-out for something to do. Nope. I will get my chores done, but then I will sit here with my coffee and paints, thank you very much.

The biggest thing is....we're moving! We've been looking at places for the better part of a year and have finally found the one, a little (but surprisingly spacious) cottage, nestled among farmland and acre upon acre of space. SPACE. It's a notion I've become unfamiliar with. To be able to breathe something other than car exhaust and dust. Despite its country setting, it's only 15 minutes from one of the cutest towns in the area, and a whopping 22 minutes from the nearest city, which is overloaded with art and restaurants and markets and all kinds of other things.

We're excited but also completely overwhelmed. I had forgotten how expensive it is to move, all the initial cost of getting everything switched over and set-up. Yikes.

So I probably won't be visiting this space much. Definitely not over the next month or so. But I hope to reconnect with lots of pictures of our new abode. Blessings to you, friends.

xo

Fly On the Wall.

How we spend our mornings lately: in my little art room, on the computer, learning to draw his favorite things. I watch. I have no idea why I look so bitchy and displeased in this picture. Achy? Hungry? Resting bitch face? I couldn't say.

I found this goldenrod, Cynthia Rowley sweater at the Salvation Army, and I have been living in it to a ridiculous degree. Then my subconscious decided to buy some wool in the same color. And yes, it actually took me a few minutes with this knitting in my lap to go "Oooooo look!"

In other news, my brain is fried due to Minecraft birthday party planning. Also, math. Maths. Algebraic formulas a.k.a. the work of Satan.

This is an Enderman. He has come to steal my home goods and take them back to the Nether.

I need more coffee.

At home.

1. Using the odd china for succulents.
2. Excited every time this arrives in my mailbox.
3. Collaborative drawing with the boy.
4. Pretty packages for pretty people.
5. Scrap-paper banner I recently made during one of our (many) school closings.
6. Chocolate-cherry-peanut butter oatmeal.
7. Tiny feet.

busy.

There's a lot of good here. If I can just focus on it, hold it in my mind. Hayden has friends to play with, who live just steps away. We have a second-floor porch that I'm slowly turning into a gypsy-ish, private sitting spot, to drink coffee or wine in, to talk into the evening. The tree's are close, allowing me to observe the birds. I've made friends with a plump, male cardinal. He likes to show off.

sick days.

Some kind of virus is making the rounds here. Tea and rest, tea and rest, tea and rest.

all that's small and beautiful.

Lately, I am all jumbled, never really asleep, never really awake. I find myself up much later than I should be, painting or trying to write, or quietly padding around while my family sleeps, listening to house-noises I'm unfamiliar with. During the day I clean and unpack boxes, sort, donate or throw away even more stuff. Longer, sunnier days mean more porch sitting, and better chores done in the fresh air. Hayden flits around, back porch to front, then on his bike for a few rounds. I can't keep up with him anymore, so I stop straining to; I just watch him and guard him while he frolics. The husband is off at work for longer hours, beckoned by the sun. I miss him.

I paint, with music, or more frequently, in the quiet of day, with the house empty. I walk the hills and find trails, then wander back home achy and sweating. I collect feathers and leaves and strange rocks, and tell myself that they are omens and signs. I pray and am met by an enormous silence, both empty and full. I don't know yet what it means.

This is a strange time in my life. I'm not truly happy, and I'm not truly miserable. I feel a strong urge every day to keep silent, to watch. There is a lot of change happening.

xo

days, long and happy.

We are at home a lot right now. I often think way too much, but end up very satisfied and mellow at the end of the day. I need to constantly remind myself that it's okay to want and enjoy a quiet life.

We are all also feeling sort of off, queasy and easily tired. Could be fighting off a dreaded virus--our luck is going to run out at some point. If you need me, I'll be making rose hip tea and cooking food with lots of garlic.

to hunker down.

Enjoying these slow, quieter days before the new year. Days that are good for unmade beds, washing dishes to the sound of the radio, daydreaming, sketching and knitting, smoothies, lego-building, and unbrushed hair.

Happy new year to you all. xo

at home.

1. a nest my husband surprised me with.
2. banner I made late last night while listening to Billie Holiday.
3. coffee. Always coffee.
4. an old and favorite scarf.
5. sometimes I sit on the floor at a distance and just watch him. My favorite thing.

the glorious mundane.

"To be brutally honest, it doesn’t really matter what place you find yourself in right now. Your part is to bring Him glory-whether eating a sandwich on a lunch break, drinking coffee at 12:04 a.m. so you can stay awake to study, or watching your four-month-old take a nap."

--Francis Chan

All I do lately is cook and drink too much coffee.