Oklahoma

I have avoided reading anything but headlines on my facebook page about the Oklahoma tornadoes. I fear that if I did, I would never let my children leave the house again. While Son would think that was perfectly fine, Daughter would wither away into nothing, and really that's no way to live. My heart goes out to all those parents, and all those people whose lives have been turned upside down in a day. May you find some comfort.

If you wish to donate to relief efforts, you may do so easily from your phone, text STORM to 80888 for Salvation Army; REDCROSS to 90999 for Red Cross; FOOD to 32333 for Food Bank. I know that texting the Red Cross will donate $10 (which will be added to your phone bill), but I'm not sure about the rest. There should be a confirmation text before anything is donated though.

A love letter to Spring

Growing up we had two lilac trees, one by the front door and one by the side door. No matter where you entered in the spring it smelled of lilacs. I never thought much of it at the time, but once I left for school, I missed those lilac trees. When we were looking at houses, it was a definite bonus that it had a lilac tree. 

Now the blooming of lilacs means we're in the middle of Spring. I like Spring; the open windows, the people on the streets, and the sun. It's as if everyone hibernates in their houses all winter and we all come out in Spring. I get to catch up with the neighbors; they comment on how much the kids have grown over the winter. Truth be told, it's when I finally notice how much they've grown. When I see them on the same swing as last year; when I notice Daughter no longer fits in the sand box and Son no longer needs the baby swing. When they stretch out on the hammok together and I see how long their legs reach to the middle (and past the middle). 

Most of all though, Spring is a time of hope for me, much like ringing in the New Year is for others. There's the hope that the drought of last year is over, that the garden will produce an abundance of vegetables (at least enough to preserve, if I have enough to share, that would also be stellar), that people will be nicer and try a little harder to get along. I don't know if it's all the greenery, the new growth, the outside activity, or perhaps just more sunlight, but Spring, I love you (I'm even starting to like the thunderstorms, but the children could do without those).

It smells so good in my house

{this moment} - A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember. If you're inspired to do the same, please leave a link in the comments to your moment.

Tardis

It was so very hard to get a decent photo without a lot of glare, so I did the best I could. I wanted someone to hold it for me, but Daughter complained it was too heavy, Husband just complained, and I didn't trust Son not to drop it or hold still. 

Husband and I are currently on Season 4 of Doctor Who (the one that started in 2005 - I know, we're so far behind, but we got into it very late), so we've only seen 2 out of the 11 doctors up there (and it's not the first two since the series started and then stopped for a while, just in case you don't know because I wouldn't have known if I didn't watch it), but I didn't want to just cross stitch the latest three doctors. If I'm going to cross stitch them as pixel people then I'm going to go all in. I'm torn between my favorite being the mop top one that reminds me of an early Beatle or the scarf guy. Just look at that scarf (for you knitters, there's a whole blog dedicated to the knitting of every one of his scarves, one of them happens to be 12 feet long).

The pattern can be found at Wee Little Stitches, whose patterns I adore. They're quick, easy to follow, and well charted. 

Nature Walks Have Begun

Garden!

I'm not sure that I mentioned it last year, but the majority of my vegetable plants got trampled by the dog. I love that dog, but she really knows how to ruin some good eggplant, cabbage, peppers, and spinach.  So, this year we knew we'd be moving the garden to our side yard where she can't get to. The plan was to rent a desodder and just move a lot of sod and put it right into the ground. Then I came up with the brilliant idea of raised beds. Probably a little more expensive than renting a desodder, but less work and easier to weed. It wasn't hard to sell the idea. So the weekend was spent building, moving dirt, and planting. 

As a bonus, we added sand to one of the boxes and will be trying to grow onions, carrots, and potatoes for the first time (our ground soil is typically too compact). And to keep us on our toes, Mother Nature threw in a bit of frost. We got everything covered in time and when I took it off this morning everything was still in good shape. 

Outside Knitting!

{this moment} - A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember. If you're inspired to do the same, please leave a link in the comments to your moment.