Meditations on Life and Parenting
“It’s sad to grow old, but nice to ripen.” – Brigitte Bardot
Celebrating getting older. I just noticed in the picture with Mr. D and Miss O – he has a marshmallow gun and she has a fishing pole. Had she caught a fish — I think they might have been in for a surprise!
The Halloween costume that keeps on giving.
Life goes fast – and so do children!
Pure sweetness. And the homegrown strawberries are nice too.
Sign of the week.
“I scream, you scream, we all scream for ice cream.” – International kids chant
Ice Cream Joe made us run for 3 1/2 blocks in bare feet to catch him. But it felt like a rite of summer – and maybe of childhood too.
We went on a hike with Deb – yes, Closer to the Edge, blogger friend Deb!!! Before we met her, the kids were wondering how I knew her, and why we were friends but had never met. Afterwards, the kids were wondering how often we can see her. Yes, she is just as delightful in person as she is on the page!
Sprinkled with joy…another rite of summer!
We ate dinner at a firehouse and our friend let the kids test out all the rigs. I really think Seattle Fire ought to consider adding the kitty cat headbands to their official uniform.
Around home and the neighborhood
Miss O is the strawberry of my eye. Mr. D is glad we are growing them. He says, “Yum, I really like the leaves.” More fiber that way? 🙂
Sign of the week and heart of the week. The heart is a puddle left by the car on the garage floor. It rained on June 9th after 17 straight days of no rain. I’m afraid if this trend for dry, hot weather continues, Seattle is going to ruin its reputation.
“It is very important that we relearn the art of resting and relaxing. Not only does it help prevent the onset of many illnesses through chronic tension and worry; it allows us to clear our minds, focus, and find creative solutions to problems.” – Thich Nhat Hanh
In accordance with this quote, all these pictures are from our long weekend on Whidbey Island.
Whidbey wildlife. And yes, that’s an eagle standing on the beach.
I’m showing great restraint to only post three pictures of my evening beach walks because it was such a highlight of the weekend away for me.
Swimming season has started. Mr D is applying the lessons in kicking to other pursuits but I don’t see the “kick gambit” becoming a trend in chess.
Driftwood David (caption courtesy of my friend, Eric). It’s hard to resist the gazillion bawdy puns that come to mind but I’m doing my best.
As the 4th largest island in the contiguous US, there are a fair number of farms and ranches near where we stay on the beach. We are always happy to horse around when not at the beach or pool.
Forts (not built by us) and windows
Signs of the week.
And the heart of the week is charcoal on driftwood to fit with the beach theme.
“And so with the sunshine and the great burst of leaves growing on the trees, just as things grow in fast movies, I had that familiar conviction that life was beginning over again with the summer.” – The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald
Miss O bravely tried to see if a kneeboard worked for paddling. It didn’t….for paddling but still was a lot of fun.
Birds, bunnies, bugs, and borrowed dogs.
The first tries on a pedal bike with training wheels for Mr. D came with a lot of victory, walking the bike, and frustration. Here’s a pic of the former.
Water balloons!!
A heart in slime
Signs of the week
“Because of your smile, you make life more beautiful.” – Thich Nhat Hanh
Actually – can you burst my bubble? It’s kinda cool looking?
My Mother’s Day gifts…and the rose is nice too. 🙂
We haven’t outgrown backyard fun — but we have outgrown some of the toys.
Do you think the ducks and goslings celebrated Mother’s Day too?
I’m a little unclear on the current decoration theme for the neighborhood skeleton. Spring?
“The cure for anything is salt water – sweat, tears, or sea.” – Isak Dinesen
We spent an evening at the beach this week and it was glorious to dip our toes back into Puget Sound.
A field full of wishes and Mr. D showing us how to release them for their full effect.
Hanging around at home. Miss O wanted to mow the whole lawn herself for the first time. Mr. D said there was a lot of traffic on his imaginary road for pink cars…
Two dogs = one attentive audience
I found the perfect birthday gift for my friend that has everything.
It’s egg-sactly heart shaped. And Miss O must be eating all the right things since she’s spotting things as small as this heart on the pavement.
Signs of the week…
“Gather the crumbs of happiness and they will make you a loaf of contentment.” – anonymous
This yard in our neighborhood gets more and more impressive every year and I’m only capturing a portion of the bulbs they’ve planted!
Worms, wetness, and wheels
Learning to whistle
Exactly how I like to party these days!
Heart of the week….Hope you all enjoy the weekend!
“Whatever befalls the Earth, befalls the sons and daughters of the Earth. This we know. The Earth does not belong to people; people belong to the Earth. This we know. All things are connected like the blood which unites one family. All things are connected.” – Chief Seattle
In honor of Earth Day and inspired in part by Michelle at BoomerEcoCrusader, I’m changing up the photos of the week to be some of the things I’ve been lucky enough to see on planet Earth.
Mt Elbrus (part of the Caucus Mountain Range) in Russia
The Mexican Volcanoes
The Himalaya including Tengboche Monastery, the Khumbu Icefall and Mt. Everest left to right in the bottom row.
And my home territory – the mountains of the Pacific Northwest
And the waters of the Pacific Northwest.
Happy Earth Day, Everyone!
“Please excuse the mess, the children are making memories.” – unknown
This is an experiment that is an offshoot of Vicki’s post about Fresh Peeps and Pink Parasols last week. My kids love putting marshmallows in the microwave so why not a peep? Deb and Vicki, I hope you enjoy the results of this experiment and if you’re going to do it at home, 15 seconds should be good. More than that and you might need to refer to the quote above…
Speaking of bunnies and chicks, we were out visiting our neighborhood animal celebrities. Daisy and Hopper, the bunnies and the ducks, PJ & the New Guy – which isn’t really the duck’s name but seemed like an apt substitute.
More celebrities and sunshine
Puddles and bubbles
I think this “Question of the Day” bodes well for the WordPress community!
“I always look up at the moon and see it as the single most romantic place within the cosmos.” – Tom Hanks
I took my kids on an overnight to Bellingham. It was overly ambitious on my part because it was a lot of work for less than 24 hours – but the kids loved the pool – and the luggage cart — and the fold out bed. And did I mention the pool?
While my foot is recovering from the pool rash I earned doing a cannonball, Mr. D seems to have sustained a far more serious wound….April Fools!
Anyone remember my follow-up piece about the window after our next door neighbors moved and Miss O’s best friend was no longer on the other side of the fence? When I wrote about re-opening the window 6 months after that move and seeing a puppy on the other side, several people suggested that I should share the piece with the new neighbors. Guess what? I did – and now we have a new best friend that comes to visit from the other side of the fence.
There’s been an impressively quick turnaround on our neighborhood artwork after St. Patrick’s Day. Here’s the soda display.
As I mentioned after we ran into Macklemore, I’m not all that well versed in my rap culture. But this sign still made me chuckle. Except it wasn’t til several hours later that I got the “2 pac” part of the joke.
And the neighborhood skeleton is also looking hip – hippity hop, that is….
Surprised By Joy 