Friday, September 26, 2014

{this moment}

A single photo, capturing a moment from the week.
A special moment. A moment I want to remember.

:: Inspired by Soule Mama ::

If you're inspired to do the same, leave a link to your 'moment' in the comments, for all to find and see.

Mama Thomson in the garden~ She is the broody Cuckoo Marans~

Thursday, September 25, 2014

What's In Your Color Palette?




What's your favorite color? It seems like when I was younger this was a significant question, one that invariably came up when making a new friend. What's your name? And then, How old are you? And sooner or later, What's your favorite color? Early on, I was blue. Firmly a blue, but secretly, and passionately deep sky blue with rose pink. When I was six, those two colors, side by side, pink and blue, made my heart flutter, gave me ideas about possibilities and loveliness for which I had no words. I was smitten. I had a long and devoted purple phase, and it's still dear to my heart and soul, but so is green, and blue with green, and I also adore a good, deep cranberry, almost hinting at maroon. Just when I think that sky blue and rose pink have lost favor with me, nature shows me a sunset sky in those tones, and I am six, again, struck by that passionate affection, which feels sweet, and limitless.

I still love blue. I cannot live without green. Green's no good without red. A white wall soothes my mind, gives me room to think. Teal, lavender, mustard, aquamarine, a rich chocolatey brown... all welcome, all good one place, or another. But which is my favorite? It is my current obsession to settle on a few colors for hearth and home. Alex gave me the decorating word I needed: Palette. I don't have to choose a favorite color, but for our home I feel like I need to settle on a color palette, because... because it would be nice. For me. I think. I've been a lot of places, in many homes, where I am instantly aware that the colors, the decor, the theme are good, comforting, pleasing, nice to be in. It impresses me, makes me happy, and inevitably makes me feel utterly lost and confused about my own taste, style, theme, and favorite color. You see, at the moment I have painted no less than six things different shades of blue. All of them "pretty," all of them chosen because I liked them, but looking around the yard, thinking about the composition of the whole space, it's making me a bit discomforted, kind of like blaring improvisational jazz, when I am more into a romantic aria. I crave harmony. I want to feel a flow, have some continuity. No surprise, I am mixing metaphors here... like my taste in colors, my taste in music is wide open, and impossible to pin down. But, please, no improvisational jazz, or day-glow, or leopard prints, for me, thank you.

Okay... so, back to the bit about the palette: I am trying to realize a family of colors that make me happy, that I can focus on for our house paint, exterior, and paint for interior rooms. Colors that I can use when we replace our weary and worn sofa, and paint to restore the wood table on the porch, the old potting bench. Colors I can bear in mind when I go to replace our twenty-five year old bath towels. I'll never be match-matchy, no one will ever suspect I hired a color specialist, or enlisted a team of decorators, and I won't lay down a strictly nautical-modernist-contemporary-rustic-aesthetic. But six! different shades of blue?? I'm sort of ranch, kind of cottage, a touch farm house a lot modern-clutter and terribly contemporary confused. My eclectic phase is out of hand! Color palette. Obsessively, I declare, the key to my domestic harmony and satisfaction lies in the discovery and embracing of my color palette!

This is a trivial pursuit of utmost insignificance! I am fully aware of the superficiality, the utter inconsequence of establishing an Aesthetic Me, of discovering my color palette. Not only have I taken to labeling boxes and drawers, shelves, and doors, but soon I will carry swatches, and paint chips, know my Prairie Grey from Seaside Buff, and I will be resolute in discerning the difference between Cozy Cottage and Completely Cluttered. That will be a good day, I think. It will feel settled, and I'll be less confused, less frayed and torn over decisions. But how to reach the point where my palette and I are united, confirmed, agreed? How do I decide my favorite colors for home and hearth, and also the style that goes with them? For to be truly trivial, and at peace, I feel compelled to declare at least a general decorating style to complement my color palette. These questions are filling the empty spaces in my day, talking to me in my sleep, and mocking my six different shades of blues. What is my favorite color? What colors should be in my color palette? Obviously, I am compelled to open a new Pinterest Board. The laundry, and litter box will have to wait. Pressing matters are at hand.

This palette notion, by the way, is very interesting. As soon as I opened up Pinterest with the search for "palette colors," I uncovered a whole new world. Maybe some of you are nodding your heads and thinking, "Uh. Yeah. Didn't she know?" Maybe some of you do know that there are neutrals, and bases, and accents. I am learning a lot. And seeing more. For now, I am drawn to the beach, with all the shades of blues, blue-grays, and suggestions of soft greens, the calm sand tones, with rich accents like the golden kelp. You would think that this would settle the matter, but as soon as I see one winter cabin, or daydream on a Swedish summerhouse... then I am six, again, and struck by a passionate affection for something altogether different, sweet, and comforting. It is... dare I say? Kind of fun? Geoff wants a decision, and soon. He votes for Hunter green, white trim. Said and done. But I plan to add my Pinterest account to his iPhone, and oh-so subtly I am going to lure him into my indecisive, obsession with colors, so we can be confused, together.

Tuesday, September 23, 2014

Because Awesome Things Happen

If you didn't know what I meant when said I made hencakes this morning, then this picture might clarify things. Hencakes have been a breakfast {lunch, dinner, snack} tradition for quite some time, but never-ever have my hencakes been so marvelously honored and appreciated as they have been today. Without further ado, I offer you Sarah C's exquisitely illustrated Very Small Man Riding Giant Rooster:

I didn't know this day could get much better! Sarah, for seeing the magic in the Hencake, you are officially the first recipient of the Chickenblog Hencake Circle of Awesome, with honors and benefits.

Early Hibernation and Other Autumn Pleasures

We are in fog. It's wonderful. Our neighborhood, the view from the bedroom window, is blanketed, soft, grey. Autumn is really here. There are trees with red and golden leaves, there are pumpkins in home gardens, the markets, dotting the farm field on the bluffs by the sea. Last night I lit a candle, set it in the hallway, and was inspired to organize the counter, there, dust the photographs and vases. This morning I made hencakes... that may have more to do with a good night's sleep than fog, but I am so blissfully pleased and content I will assign all good things to fog, and God. For a moment, my thoughts are insulated, too, and all the worries and sadness of the world are a safe distance away. For me, this season means calm, reflection, whimsy, gratitude, and it fills me with the happy anticipation of peace and light, of home and family holidays, of getting quiet, of giving. If this were a season for making wishes, I would wish that all of our best intentions, all of the lighthearted, and peace-minded celebrations would spread from home to home, from each of us to everywhere, for everyone.

Monday, September 22, 2014

Five Good Things

Tasha Tudor Goat & Ada Lovelace Goat

Good things...

1. No losses, except feathers, when the bobcat came to call.

2. Being invited. {Even if you cannot play, but especially if you can... it's just feels so nice to be included.}

3. Being invited and knowing when to, graciously, say 'no, thank you.'

4. These cool days, the grey, the mist, the relief.

5. Max planning a birthday celebration for his good friend Lucas, and seeing them happily immersed in their card game.

No, I don't love Mondays. And this one is being particularly crushing. I suppressed all the voices and urges to skip the good things, to itemize all the aggravations, and frustrations, and... it sort of helps? Who am I kidding? Sometimes a Monday is just too much, too soon, and it's a good thing I can get breakfast, lunch, clean clothes, brushed hair, a backpack, shoes, and two children where they need to go, all in twenty minutes... without any collateral damages. I sure hope you are having a serene, organized, healthy, and rested Monday morning. Please share some of your good things.