Goodbye Social Networking

That being said, I find that my blog here is a fine way to network with other like-minded mamas and folks out there.

I signed off of my Facebook account about three weeks ago. I cannot really tell you why except that I felt that for the time spent I got little out of it. I was reading about what others are doing in their days while over-thinking any comments I left lest they be mistaken for insults or criticisms. So I'm back to the old fashioned methods of communication; email and texting, telephone and dare-I-say drop in guests. THESE are my favorite. Would you like to drop in unannounced? Please do!!

After three weeks of no facebook I'm missing nothing but a pebblekeeping friend's wonderful links, and I'm still able to catch up with her over at her blog. Maybe I'll actually start leaving comments again!

Maybe I'll start regular blogging again.

I have to admit I feel that I've been going through a bit of a blogging transformation. I do love to share what we've been doing, but for some time I felt like I was trying to "show" others what we were doing (does that make sense) rather than just sharing. So I'm trying to get back to the journalistic/photosharing/authentic Amanda-ish-ness that I want my blog to be.

So here's to new seasons. I love a new start.

Now I'm off, back to try and wrap up Middlest's last stripe in his bedroom. I've painted it a mossy green with a wide, low brown stripe. I wasn't thrilled with the brown, so I'm dropping a darker brown smallish stripe right on top to add the contrast I was looking for. Next is the Littlest's room (his is a big bedroom) that will be a yellowy-orange or an orangy yellow, we'll see.

That, and I keep wandering into the nurseries when I'm out and about. I bought teeny fuschias to go in our full shade window boxes. I have 5 to plant. I have two basil, two lavendar, two peppers and two perennials to plant. I suppose I'll have to take you on a photo tour one of these days.

I stopped into the fishy shoppe across the way and bought up some Sole for dinner. I have never prepared Sole, do you have any favorite methods?

Have a lovely day, and don't find me on facebook or any of those other silly places. Instead, pack up a book and I'll fix you tea, you can walk my teeny garden with me.
Amanda

More Cali Photos

Staying at My In Laws is just like this....quiet, peaceful, beautiful and restful.

Oh, and there are games...

and yummy food,

Pretty Pooch,

the best part;

family time

flying tricks,

and treats!!

A Little Northern Cali County Fair

Do you want to go to the fair, but NOT have tummy trouble for a week afterward from a greasy-delicious corn dog & spinny dizzy rides?

Have a seat with my littlest and his sweet cousin! We're going to the fair.

Biggest and his daddy. Don't they look-alike?

Middlest and I...don't we look alike? :)

Checking out the chickens

My three sons & the best-dad-on-the-planet.

Some BIG pig. I kept wondering how they "made" her go anywhere...?

Pure joy. I went on this ride b/c my littlest wanted to go, I couldn't bear the thought of letting him go alone. It was insane, my friends, to go on that ride at my 36 years and weak stomach. My stomach lurches just thinking of it.

Flaming hair

Cute cousins.

This is when I hadn't gone on any rides yet....I almost wet my pants laughing at my sweet-sister--in-law on this ride. Her face cracked me up. But then I went on a spinny ride, and I was so sorry I ever laughed. I felt sick for 6 days. SIX. The plane ride home sent me reeling again.

Littlest, with an ice cream cone & a monkey on his back.

Now, don't you feel that you've had a full experience going to the fair? And it's only June....

A week in Cali

Boys 'n Dads and the Big Guns

...and a walk in my Mom P's lovely garden, a little more on the soft side;

Reflections

 

 

 

God Be Ivy

I've been peeking in on all of your blogs, friends. I haven't forgotten you, in spite of the quiet over here.

We returned last night from a trip to see family, a lovely week of swimming, laughing, yummy food, cousins, grandparents and fun. Today I'm doing laundry so I can quickly pack it up again to head South and camp on the brimming river with more grandparents, cousins, food, laughter and fishing for the boys.

In the meantime, I'm reading some really great books. My heart and mind are chewing on things constantly. Maybe I'll get an opportunity to share all of it somehow one of these days. But for today this is what is on my mind as I water the garden;

God be Ivy.

God, won't you?

Will you be that thing in my life that invades? That pops up wherever it can, smothers every piece of me? Grow in my heart at a speed I cannot comprehend, take over it all.

My Week in 50 words or less (46, to be exact)

Shirts vs. Skins reff'd by the happy hound.

Naptime all curled up around the chair.

A lady(boy) bug in the garden

Ladybugs are good for the garden, they play in the water.

Grateful my laundry chute has a door, it can just stack right up.

Rambling Fool

Please enjoy the photos of our Day #4 of Funschool a couple of weeks back, whilst I ramble on.

Seven days. That was the answer to the question this morning, seven more days of school before summer break. The joyous refrain lasted until I let the cat out of the bag....we are going to do backward weekends in July and August...we'll do a little school two days a week this summer. That's the plan.

Of course the boys balked at it, but we have a bit to go in order to finish off their math books, and truthfully I don't want to have to start all over again in September. So we talked of all the fun to be had over the summer, and that we'd stop here and there to study a little. Little do they know I'm hoping to get so much good reading in this summer too. We're still working through our Little House series, it's taken us nearly a year to get through so I'd like to wrap it up. Meantime I can't help but read other books...We're reading Mr. Popper's Penguins & Mrs. Piggle Wiggle (a favorite, again) also to fill in the gaps.

Summer time is lovely, a break is fantastic for lounging and getting much neglected work & wanderings done. However, I've been doing this long enough to know that it's a shame to mess up a summer with too much nothingness...I'm hoping two days will add enough contrast that we'll fully enjoy the summer. Other things on our list for the summer:

learning to carve soap figures

weeding the garden, harvesting one day

watching our silk worms turn to spin and cocoon, then be born again

camp

a big ol' summer party the boys are planning

assigned reading (we haven't done much of this before)

more house painting (I'm 98% done with Joe's room)

library trips

bike rides

lots of ice cream and river trips

...and then this morning I was reminded that really, we only have today. This is all I can plan for. This brings me down out of my cloud of intentions to stop and pick up the pieces of our harried last weeks. I spent the last two days proctoring tests for 2nd graders (good fun) and so today is a day for getting back to normal, catching up laundry (so thankful for a loooong laundry chute) and getting Nate to the doctor.

Nate sped across our deck barefoot on Tuesday. He landed two huge splinters in his foot. I took him into urgent care Tuesday evening, they took out one splinter but the other is so deep and is quickly reddening and swelling. I'm certain there is another large chunk of wood in there, gone straight in. We've been soaking and soaking but to no avail. Poor, poor little foot, little boy.

So off to another rainy, but hope-filled day. A day for normal and goodness. A day for capturing the little joys and counting God's faithfulnesses.

What are you planning this summer?