Saturday, February 13, 2016

International Book Giving Day!





On Valentine's Day you can give a book! February 14th is International Book Giving Day, and there are many ways to celebrate this inspired day, including:


Give a Book to a Friend or Relative.
  • Celebrate International Book Giving Day by giving a child a new, used or borrowed book.

Leave a Book in a Waiting Room or Lobby.
  • Choose a waiting room where kids are stuck waiting and there are few to no good books available. Purchase a good book, and deposit your book covertly or overtly in your waiting room of choice. The goal here is to spread the love of reading to kids, so choose a fun book, nothing controversial.

Donate a Book.
  • Wrap up a box of children’s books that your kids have outgrown and get them in the hands of children who could really use a book or two. Donate your books to your local second hand store, library, children’s hospital, or shelter.


There are some pretty bookmarks and bookplates available for free downloading at Book Giving Day.

Maria and I tidied up our Little Free Library for the special day. Fresh treats for our doggie friends, and fresh lemons and oranges for our neighbors.

We would love to hear how you plan to celebrate tomorrow!

{Special thanks to Maria for teaching me more HTML code... underlining and bullet points!}

Outside in The Morning With Chickens and Goats

















Foraged brunch salad, and a fallen branch for dessert. Liberty on the run, flower in the sun. Just a few minutes with our chicas and goats on this beautiful morning. So beautiful, even Mister Foo came out to pad through the dewy underbrush.

Carol's Orchid :: Forty Three

Oh, what a beautiful morning~

Thank you, Carol.

Happy Birthday Kim.



With Infinity More Monkeys, a picture a day.

Thursday, February 11, 2016

Four Eggs :: Forty One

Another day, another nest. More eggs. I am always awestruck, delighted, when I find my hens have left eggs. The sight of them is beautiful, the feeling it gives me is beautiful.

With Infinity More Monkeys, a picture a day.

Wednesday, February 10, 2016

Some Love

There are so many beautiful reminders of what I love showing up in my photographs, I decided I need to share some. Now, ideally, when speaking of love, I would have portraits of everyone in my family, extended, too. And I would be sure and mention every blessing and every last thankful thing, because I don't want to leave anyone or anything out... not my friends, not my cats, not my tortilla press, not my washer and dryer, not the bliss I feel when all are safe and sound. And in many ways these photographs, being worth a thousand words, or more, just about do represent all I love.

Milkmaid braids, riding in cars, loving school, packed lunch, our mornings with Geoff... thinking of just some of the ideas and feelings that this moment evokes. She's reading Heidi, she'll be George Washington next week for a history presentation. She's added peanut butter and jelly sandwiches to her list of likes!

Here's a moment that changed lives! And I can't help but smile and laugh, and feel like some kind of matchmaker! I was certain that I might come home with a kitten or bunny, or something adorable, when I had to visit the feed store for supplies. It's a beautiful place, and full of temptations, like these darling piggies. I posted their picture to FB, along with goats, and ducklings. Right away, my friend Bobbie was asking, "WHERE ARE THEY?????" {Yes, in all caps!} The very next day she posted a picture of the baby goats... they are teeny and look like cookies and cream! I could see Bobbie and Jesse were in deep!

Here's the momma with her kids.

And here's what Bobbie posted to my wall the very next day, adding: "Are you kidding me? And Jesse is with us. Goodbye common sense." I love this.

I've been marveling at my own acts of restraint.

I mean, seriously!

What I love about this is that I am reminded of how lucky I am. Not just for what I have, but for the luxury of being around beautiful things, seeing opportunities, feeling inspired. So many of my dreams have come true, which is something I whole heartedly attribute to Geoff... to his kindness, generosity, to his work ethics, to the love he demonstrates through everything he does, and I love that because of him, we enjoy a quite special life.

I love cornflower blue.
I love my H hook.
I love little travel scissors.
I love Maria taking all the squares I have and laying them out to make patterns, then counting for me how many more squares it might take to complete a blanket. She wrote all of this down in her journal.

The new pattern, to add to the three others I've made. There are two more I could make, which is something Maria calculated when Max taught her how to do factorials. I love that Max and Maria talk about math.

Lucas and Max are super.
I love that we had a Super Bowls Sundae party, and people brought bowls for soup, then salad, then ice cream.

We discovered that ice cream tastes better in fancy glasses. We had berries, bananas, cherries, nuts, sauces Poky, brownies, whipped cream, and of course ice creams. I love the look of love and satisfaction in Celine's eyes, smile. We played games, talked, hung out. No football, since we don't have cable. But I'd say the event scored!

Obviously, James is taking a moment to think about sportsing, and kicking home runs.


Paul got my memo about Super Bowls. He's a pro.

And Amira, Maria, and Leo are all stars!

We had a sundae made for Suki, too. She's in school, and for an rsvp she wrote, "My physical body is up in Humboldt, of course, but I clicked "going" so that my spirit could leave my body and drift into the birdhouse. If you could, would you please leave a bowl of ice cream on the dining room table so my soul has some nourishment before its long journey home? because I have class in the morning."

I love that Geoff was the surprise guest; he came home from work, and was able to hang out, too. We had friends, family, hot tortillas, hot soups, crisp salad, plenty of bananas and nuts {which is my greatest incentive for eating ice cream!} Oh, and cookies. Grant came with a box of cookies his mom had just baked, and I am still reveling in their taste sensation. I love that they evoked crazy-seventies-hippy-commune school memories... seriously weird, yet tasty. Grant thinks it was the hemp. I am Laughing Out Loud.

Meet Opal! This is the photograph I grabbed from Bobbie's FB page. It makes my heart soar. I was awake in the wee hours and trying to think of a perfect welcome home piggy gift! But, as you can see, she will lack for nothing. {When I was at the feed store I posted pictures to FB of all the adorable babies... like goats, ducklings, and piggies! Guess what!? If you think I am weak, you should meet my friends! They went to the store, and brought home one of the piggies and put a deposit on the kids! The picture of Jesse holding his baby girl is priceless. I have goosebumps! Tears well up in my eyes when I look into hers. She is sunk into his shoulder wearing a smile that says, "I am home, and I am loved." No one could ask for a better home than the one Jesse, Bobbie, and Jarett make for their animals.}

I love Chango.
I love that William takes pictures.

The day after the Super Bowls Party, and I am super thankful for having the foresight to stash two of the cookies.

I love the random bits, the things we pass each day. We see them, or we don't. But there they are. We are living here. I love our home, the settling in, spreading out, unpacking, unwinding, the comfort of seeing the same shells, the same stones, the last end of pink chalk.

I love avocados, cilantro, corn tortillas, old cloth napkins, waxed paper, the cast iron comal, salt, gas stoves, salad plates, and knowing how to cook.

I love that we can bring eggs into the kitchen from our backyard hens, and I love their colors, their taste, the way they look when I find them in the nest.

I love that Alex joined me, cooking breakfast, talking about ideas, and new things to make.

Blooms. Petunias, cosmos, a tiny kale, cilantro. I love that they are growing at our front door.

I love that the light is changing. Spring? The hens are laying, again. The cats want to go out of doors. The peach tree and apple trees are full of blossoms. I love that there are signs to notice, that change is good.

I love Tasha. I love my cameras, and goats, and chickens, and the time I have to sit at my computer putting my thoughts together, editing pictures, thinking about the moments that make life rich, satisfying, worthwhile. I love that Tasha's expression, those eyeballs, her hairy smile, are hilariously goofy and sincere, and really weirdo.

Chickens :: Forty

Lilikoi Buffington and Koa Ameraucana. I think they're trying to comprehend 80 degree weather in February. Or did they read about the New Hampshire primary results? Hot topics, both.

With Infinity More Monkeys, a picture a day.