time flies away as i panic

it's the endless problem of time. i feel completely elated by all the amazing stuff i want to do (you would not believe the number of awesome bag, notepad, notebook, etc. ideas i have moshing in my brain every night!) and i don't even have time to adequately sweep the floor every day! i fantasize daily about sending my family away for a month. 30 days of time! i would only have to do what i wanted and my house would be clean! i would spend the first three days super-cleaning the house and FINALLY organizing the office for maximum efficiency. i would spend the rest working. cutting, sewing, gluing, assembling, knitting (in the evenings...i'm dying to try knitting play food)...i would dedicate the mornings to a quick clean-up...dishes, sweep, laundry, etc. i imagine this would take and hour or less if it was just me and i didn't have to stop to nurse the baby. or feed the baby. or help the girls with some project. or make lunch for four. etc. i would cook awesome dinners a couple of times a week, the rest would be left-overs and egg/toast/salad type affairs. my brain would blaze with creative energy, blessing me with some kind of adrenaline rush that would prevent me missing my family at all. i would make multiple trips to the print shop and master photoshop and have a work station on every available surface. i would be a bottlecap magnet machine. my fingers would be stained with ink and my floor littered with thread (til that morning clean up!) the supplies i need would always be available, never sold out and especially never on back-order...i'd build a giant, amazingly stylish and effective inventory, which i would photograph perfectly, post diligently and sell like hotcakes!

i would like to say more, but i am out of time. for the record, though, i do want them to come back after 30 days...maybe 30 days on, 30 days off? so rad!...

i'm grateful for:
1) quick, but delicious meals
2) my breath
3) my washing machine
4) my garden fences (which will allow me to utilize my clothesline this summer!)
5) that the kids can babysit jubal while i nap

home again, home again, jiggity jig

we had a good time in sun river. the days leading up to it were a bit rushed and stuffed, a little stressful...but not too bad. and everything went fine. wyatt wayne was amazing. i'm sure carly (dad's dog) disagrees, as he wanted to play with her all the time, and she wasn't having any of that...but he's a puppy and it's in his nature to want to play with other dogs. he had to spend more time than i would have liked shut away in our bedroom, but only because he was so excited about carly and the new people about. he only had two accidents in the house and when we took him outside he sniffed and played about, but didn't run off or misbehave. he came when called and pottied when asked. he didn't chew and destroy everything in sight, held in the contents of his bladder and intestines through the night and was sweet and fun.

we biked and hiked and saw falls. we attempted to visit the newberry caldera, but the roads were still closed due to snow. it was a good time, relaxing with our family, playing mancala with the kids, finishing reading (and then watching the movie of) The Golden Compass. it was nice to cuddle in bed and on the couch with rodney and lounge around in bed watching trash tv and feeling lovey.

it was excellent to get back home! first thing i did was to travel around the yard looking at all the plants. i planted out as many tomatoes as i could fit the morning we left and they were all hanging in there--looking fuller and greener than they did in the pots. my beet, chard, and collard seeds all hung in there and grew bigger. the carrots doubled in size. the beans jubal and i planted last week that were just barely breaking the surface when we left were up and had big, gorgeous green leaves. the radishes monumental. the onions deep green, tall and strong. the roses have buds. the spinach positively lush and shiny and with round, folic-looking leaves. the lettuces karen gave us all light green and filling out. amazing. the fruit trees that were in bloom lost all their blossoms and the maple out front got all its deep red leaves. so much can happen in just a few days.

back to regular life now...a trip into town today to get supplies for my sock knitting class and a cup for jubal that doesn't leach carcinogens into his water. lunch together and maybe a bit of walking around eugene. i have another soap order to make and multiple sewing projects on the horizon--i'm into these little notebook wallets now, fun and quick, and handy.

i'm feeling happy and enjoying the world and my place in it.

gratitudes:
the orders that keep sliding in
playing mancala with hazel, who taught me how
that ODE decided in our favor, even if it doesn't go where we want it to. some kind of justice prevails!
kisses from rodney, which are perfect and sweet, and blot out the rest of the world for their moments
jubal's strong body and perfect heart