The Turquoise Room

Ok, This:




is the color I have painted the new room
(new for me to use because a grown-up daughter moved out)

(this image is taken from
http://theinspiredroom.net/2010/01/25/colored-walls/
where there are a lot of great ideas)


My new room will be my office/reading room, and also, hopefully, a place for conversation. Daughter's bed will stay, in the form of a day bed piled with pillows for comfy lounging. I envision people reading there sometimes. My new writing desk will be there, too. I hope to get a lot of studying accomplished in my new room.

I am happy to see, in the photo above, that the floors are tan, because that's close to the color of the carpet I plan to put in there. I wanted the color of sand at the beach, only more speckled to hide the inevitable spills and wear that happen at my house.

I will show you more pictures as they happen. So far, the walls are painted.

I do like to paint... especially when my kids are working with me.


They have their own way of making it fun. (Really? A skull and crossbones?) I love these kids so much!

Next, another son is coming the week after next to paint the ceiling and add white crown molding.

I plan to hang a very old (over 100 yrs) door on the wall, sideways, as decoration, so this next week I want to get that cleaned up and ready to bring inside. Since it's been sitting outdoors, it's gotten dirty along the bottom edge. I want to clean it up but leave the weathered paint alone. This vintage door came from the old farm house at the far end of our land that used to belong to friends. We bought our land from that old farmer. They are gone now. The old house, built in 1897, is gone now. But I have a few pieces of it, and this old door is one of the pieces. I think it will look great, weathered white paint against the deep turquoise.

The carpet is ordered and waiting for these things to get done before it is installed.

It is so great that when I mentioned to Husband that I was thinking about turning this room into my office, he immediately agreed!

I will keep you posted as to my progress. I'm really excited about this. I do not get to redo a room very often, so this is a big deal! I am having a lot of fun with this!

new joys. constantly.

429. ripe, sweet pear, brought fresh this morning from the farmer's market, juicy goodness glistening in the sun

430. the luxury of a pedicure

431. bright pink nail polish

432. fresh paint, making a room new

433. subscriptions to online comics bringing me smiles every day

434. seeing a friendly dog downtown that reminded me of The Never Ending Story.

(She looks kind of like that big white friendly creature in the movie, doesn't she?)

435. Learning together with my midwifery sister-students. There is something special about being with these women. Hanging out with them nourishes my soul.

436. Adirondack chairs right outside my door, waiting for the break when I take a cup of tea, or a tall glass of water, and rest a few minutes

437. warm breezes after a run of fall-cool days. This feels better!

438. street musicians spreading music and good will all through the neighborhood

By the Campfire

- Star Flower -
Full moon rising over her shoulder
She sits by the fire, her long braids hanging.
Moonlight and firelight shine
On my beautiful daughter.

~klm~
8.30.10

Camping

Beautiful place! Near the junction of two slow-moving rivers, on an island... we had the place practically to ourselves.

The morning sun rising behind my sweet daughter helping with her little nephew Caleb.

Sweet Abigail in the morning.




Breakfast outdoors...
Hot coffee is the best first thing on a cool morning, sitting outdoors while the sausage cooks over the fire, eggs on the camp stove.




Watermelon at lunchtime!


Grandgirls everywhere!


Husband and son lumberjacking together, felling a dead tree for firewood. I love seeing the strength in them both.



Turns out I loved the boat!

I loved the feel of flying over the water, with the breeze blowing in my face, and the occasional cool spray on my skin.
I loved it when we went back over our wake, making our boat rise and fall in the water.
I loved seeing the beauty on both sides of me - the trees, the sand, the green, the cloudless blue above.
I loved seeing the bald eagle flying to the top of a tree and the swans on the water, and the egrets standing on long legs.
It made me laugh right out loud for the sheer joy of it all.
I loved the boat rides!

Bird Accomplishment!

The babies have learned to fly! Fat, feathered babies crowded into the nest so full of them that I thought they would fall out (how DO they sleep at night!) and finally they are flying.

The air over the back yard filled with birds they day they learned. It seemed the entire barn swallow community came to celebrate, to show them how it should be done, this flying business.

One bird stayed behind that day, huddled in the nest, watching. Noone bothered him. The next day or so, he was out there in the sky, indistinguishable from the others making circles in the air.

Each one learns at his own pace. Even in the bird world.

August Pleasures

383. second round of baby birds (the first, of course, was in the spring), squeezed tight in their little nest waiting for dinner to be delivered, clamoring in high pitched baby voices when it comes.

384. my birthday... all month! Claiming every celebration as my own!

385. basil and mint growing friendly together


386. hearing fireworks, from somewhere, celebrating something. I don't even know what... but isn't it fun to know someone, somewhere is celebrating?

387. Sunday night, family watching a movie all together

388. Hot temperatures calming down. Opening up my house to feel breezes again.

389. cicadas singing loud hot songs on long hot days

390. planning a party! for a beloved son who has earned it.

391. being proud of my kids in a mom sort of way, not proud of myself, but thrilled at the good qualities I see growing in them. I like these kids of mine!

Rainy morning pleasures

371. slow, gentle rain

372. raindrops gathering in puddles on the glass





373. or gathering in little rivulets and running down together





374. thirsty flowers happy





375. mist rising behind the trees across the valley

376. stone path shining wet





377. driving through a puddle and splashing water high, like an upsidedown waterfall spraying all over... and then being glad the brakes still work afterward

378. going out to breakfast with husband on a wet, drippy, dark, comfy morning

379. Eggs done just the way I like them, with fried potatoes perfectly crispy around the edges, and just right in the middle. (and having them cooked for me.)

379. coffee with cream, because I can. Just this once. Probably.

380. thunder... and even a little lightning

381. getting wet and not caring, even if it makes me cold. It is so good to actually feel the rain once in a while

382. tiny crystal raindrops hanging, sparkling ornaments everywhere. The whole world is decorated now.

Can you see them? Fuzzy in the photo, but crystal clear in real life, just imagine!


There is so much beauty everywhere, and so often I don't see it...
I have to choose where to focus.

Day at the Zoo

Yesterday, Husband was handling some paperwork here, and came to a question regarding our membership at the zoo. He called to talk to someone about it, who answered his question and then told him about all the cool things at the zoo this summer. By the time he got off the phone, he had decided we all should go to the zoo for the day!


Spontaneity rules the day!


We had a great time.


This is Mighty Mike, the zoo's huge new alligator. He was a nuisance alligator in Florida. The man who caught him (I'd love to hear that story!) was so impressed with him that instead of putting him down, he worked and worked until he found a place that would take him. Our zoo was wishing for an alligator, so it was a perfect fit!




Mighty Mike is said to weigh at least 500 pounds, and is somewhere around 15 feet long. They keep him separated from the other alligators, because given the chance he would eat them.


Husband was pretty impressed with the size of that alligator!


We all enjoyed the zoo. I enjoyed watching my children.



The flamingos were pretty cool.

(Ok, these are not flamingos, are they... but I don't know their names. Are they storks? Pelicans? I think they might be pelicans.)

They were looking at the Bald Eagles when they noticed a lost pacifier in the enclosure.
We laughed about that, imagining the scene when it happened.


One of the zoo's special attractions this summer is a Monarch exhibit.





They will release these butterflies in the fall so they can migrate.... so pretty!


I liked the turtles.


I think turtles are cool anyway.



These are my kids.

And this is my husband, who is pretty handsome, I think.

But I am not related to this guy...

He was just chillin' on this hot day.


Yeah, it was a good day.


I'm so glad Husband thought of it!

Visit to the Gardens

Back in May, it must have been...

we visited the Gardens,

daughter and I


they are in full bloom





and there are some beautiful glass sculptures there right now




(These are the spiky ones that fascinated us sticking tall out of the ground like that.)


and we also saw a couple frogs that she wants to identify. This guy and one other.


the gardens never fail to delight us!