Catching up.

What have we been doing, you ask? Well, some of you have asked... so this is the post where I begin delivering those promised photos and catch ya'll up. Where to begin? Ahhh yes. Once upon a time, about 14 years ago, I met and fell in love with a super amazing little family: The McBrides. Here is the eldest of their 2 children, Kameron, GRADUATING from high school.

Omg. Feeling a little bit old over here. Seriously, though, I couldn't have been more proud of him. We were so honored to be a part of his day (Good luck, Kam! The world is a big one + lucky to have you and you are going to delight the hearts and minds of many!).

Oh yeah, We joined up for a CSA season with Gathering Together Farm out of Philomath, OR. SO EXCITED for green things to come! This has been one of my little, barely out-of-reach dreams for several years now... and let me just say: Ecstatic! Totally worth the wait. We received our first basket last Saturday... Green onions, spinach, mixed greens, romaine, purple potatoes, carrots, turnips, pea shoots, mint, berry jam... all local, organic & delicious. Our pick up location is at the Newport Farmers' Market, so we supplement our basket with other local goodies; usually fresh baked bread & pastries from Pacific Sourdough & local eggs (a dozen always comes with one green egg!).

Can you spot the green egg? This photo makes the subtlest of distinctions...

Subsequently, we have been devouring copious amounts of these luscious garden gifts:

Usually in stir fry or raw form...

Beyond that, we have been setting up house (and trying to keep up with the kid + dog made messes). Sebastian loves to spread his toys around the house and then crash into this chair/blanket combo for a little recharge.

Ben spends most of his time either out submitting resumes or sitting here at the computer tailoring his resume to specific jobs. He is on the job hunt. Fingers & toes crossed....

The lovely kitchen...

Mysterious red curtains (and a very strange little bathroom just off to the right of the refrigeratior):
Behind those curtains? Beautiful red machines that make laundry days so much sweeter! Dud's specifications for a washer dryer combo were that they be new, work well and be some beautiful shade of red. We definitely hit the criteria. Loving them!

BTW, for those of you who do not believe that Dud exists... here he is getting shtuff done in his home/office/bedroom. You'll just have to wait to meet him in the flesh to catch a sweet glimpse of his smiling face. :P

Back to the living room... Where we stare into the tube (+ Ben's super fun interpretation of Totoro).

Shiva is happily shedding, and refusing food... one little mouse named Lucky was set free this week as a result.

Gratuitous kid sleeping in chair photo... A second view only because I had to include some of the mess he left behind.

Where the kid should be sleeping... or usually does, I should say. This bedroom is much tinier than the one he had in Utah. Doesn't phase him, though. Like I said, he just decorates the rest of the house with his toys. Btw, those little purple and green IKEA frames harbor Sebastian's first paintings! On the right, a work in progress family and friends collage. Important people are missing... I better dig out the glue stick and get to work.

My safe haven! My fluffy Shasta Sioux spends most of her time at the foot of our bed + the door has a lock to keep the kiddo out when mama needs a tiny recharge.

Altar space...

The view from our bedroom window!

The view down below. This is our little shed. LOVE the extra space! Tomatoes have been planted. Hope hope hoping they work some magic and feed us well this summer.

I decided not to grace you with inside views of the bathrooms. Let's face it: a bathroom is a bathroom. Ummm... dining area has recently been home to all papers that need filing, so that shot will have to wait. Just trust that we are making our space cozy and loving every minute. Okay, honestly, not always loving every minute with the dog. He is so much work. Having to wrestle with the possibility that we just may not be dog people. Strange concept as I grew up with dogs. Murphy is too much a part of the family to not work it out with, but sometimes I think he is like the most challenging member in any family. Ahh well, it can't all be roses and rainbows. How boring that would be.

If you can spare some energy, please send the full-time w/benefits job love our way. We need all the sweet manifestation help we can muster. Big blessings and thanks!

The mysterious production of juice.

It's time for the grape harvest!!! We have been enjoying our many varieties of grapes in morning smoothies. As grape season is coming to a close and they are beginning to turn to raisins on the vine, Benjamin proposed a home made juice canning project. Here is just a small portion of the grapes we will/have juice(d). Ignore those silly zucchini... they are the last of the season and always eager to work themselves into any photo op.

We began with many boxes of grapes that looked something like this:

Then it was bath time!

Next, beautiful jars were cleansed & prepared...

just in time for the lovely juice to come:

Hooray! We are now the happy owners of many jars of home made grape juice. Not sure of all varieties used, but concord is the dominant flavor.

This naturally sweet (no sugar added) juice is ready for consumption, to be transformed into jelly... the possibilities are endless. Ben spent a good day and a half in the kitchen pumping out batch after batch. I helped in between caring for and occupying Sebastian. All in all, we ended up with 20 quarts (or 5 gallons). The crazy thing is: there are still loads of grapes on the vines! We are love love loving this harvest.

30 days of happiness: Living a joyful life.

It has been a lovely journey tagging along on the 30 days of happiness train with Erin fromBluebirdbaby. It was just the motivation I needed to seek out the joy and abundance that surrounds me. I confess, too, that part of me is sad to see it all come to a close. Of course the happiness will continue and is sure to shine through in the posts to come... but it was inspiring to be a part of something so simple and sweet and (dare I say?) communal. It has been fun to light upon beautiful blogs that were last month unknown to me; bloggers who also joined in on the 30 days posting. Most of all, it has been refreshing to realize that I spent the better part of a month focusing on the beauty of life and not much thinking about the fears, worries, state of the economy, or any of the nasties that can drag one down. So thank you very much, Erin, for lighting the way... & thanks to all of you who dare to reveal little snippets of your daily life; little snippets that stoke tiny fires of creativity in our hearts spurring many of us onward into peaceful action. You all rock!

And so I leave you all with some tiny snippets of my own... glimpses of my life today: food in the garden, tons of play in the yard, cool weather, togetherness, growth (chickens & Sebastian) & the turning of the foliage as a reminder that we are always cycling. May the joy, love, abundance & light of this little corner of the world be radiate forth.

30 days of happiness: The coop has risen!

It's done! Yep, except for a handful of mini details, the coop is complete & inhabited. Benjamin has been working his tail off the last few weeks. I definitely think that the wait was worth it. I had no idea just how fantastically handy my guy is. I mean, I knew that he could fix things... but build them? This opens up worlds of possibility. Methinks that the honey-do list is going to get a lot more complex.

Benjamin chose the jungle green to blend in with our wild garden foliage. It's a bit hard to tell, but the trim matches the sky on a clear day.

Today was moving day for the chicas. Two of them got a little crazy and flew around the coop a bit. Besides that, they settled right in. Looks like we will be trimming wings in the next few days.

In case you were wondering: 5 chicks in all. We are rubbing our hands in anticipation of the 5 eggs a day to come.

Not that the chickens care, but we are having a little trouble naming them. I'm firm on the white one being Clementine. I'll probably nickname her Darlin'. Ben wants to call the black one Knight Rider. Leave it to the boyfolk to come up with the weird names. It is almost certain that Knight Rider will be shortened to Kit. We've got to have a Mabel or Matilda or something. I'll keep you posted. Any suggestions?

Not 5 minutes after getting those girls into their new space did Miss pretending-to-sleep show up. That's my little stalker girl. If anything goes wonky coopside, I will know who to go questioning first.

It is so good to witness Ben's satisfaction at having completed a looming goal. I can't wait to see & share what he dreams up next.

Shades of Summer.