I boil and peel beets, hopping back and forth over the large cast iron sink that sits in the middle of our kitchen floor so I can rinse my hands so I can help Ruby rethread her needle. Andy hollers from the bathroom babe, I need your help! And I quickly slip two more skins from the bloody roots before hopping back over the sink – noticing it’s ready for another coat of paint, noticing the animals need water – to rinse and help move our vanity in place.
Ben arrives. He’s our dear, old friend just back from Alaska before he heads to Antarctica. He grew up with Andy and was with Andy and me on our first date (you may remember he is also the gem who constructed our secret stairs). Alice is the first to greet him. She loves how he scratches her ears, pulling like milking a cow. The girls and cats leap like popcorn for his attention. I sneak in a beety-palm-up hug.
^ The universe’s most eligible bachelor. Here, pictured carrying my daughter on his shoulders while walking my dog. ^
Where are the apples?! Ruby squeals. Ben leaves and returns with a huge box of perfect macs that he picked off his sister’s tree. Now it is my turn to squeal, aware of the baskets and boxes of beets, corn, squash, tomatillos, tomatoes, grapes, pears and plums next to the sink in the middle of the floor. Ben leaves again and returns again with another huge box. Did I bring too many? he asks. Nope.
^ that’s about 1/8 of them ^
For a moment I consider apologizing for the chaos, for our grody floors, for him having to sleep on the couch that is currently covered in three loads of clean laundry that our cats are sleeping upon. But I don’t. He isn’t here five minutes when he grabs a broom and starts sweeping cheerfully declaring he is obsessed with sweeping to which I respond reason number 176 why you should just MOVE IN WITH US.
Another coat of high gloss Tomato Soup on the sink. Apples saucing. I clear a small space on the counter so we can make dinner. Fresh sockeye salmon from Ben, kale, golden beet soup.
The girls are focused on their project. It’s almost done! Ruby says looking at the strand that is half finished. Margot disagrees with her, looking at the strand that is half unfinished. Margot *did* do most of the work.
Because of all the bathroom mention and because I can’t wait to share…We still have several things to finish up (and eventually replace the vinyl floor on the shower wall!) in the bathroom and I will divulge all the glorious thrifty details soon…I do love our new loo:
We have a holiday stick (here, here, here) hanging in front of our picture window from which we hang seasonally appropriate objects. It’s a little holiday bling with a purpose: birds fly into that window if we don’t have something there. This fall we decided to shake it up with garland. I wanted a project that:
1. Encouraged conversation about this season.
2. The girls could do by themselves.
3. Is fun! (and pretty fast)
4. We’d want to keep. (made from beautiful, sustainable materials)
5. Is sturdy. (cannot be broken!)
Materials for 10-foot garland:
* 10 feet o’ yarn
* 1/2 yard assorted wool felt
* large needle
* sharp scissors
For felt colors: we talked about fall and why leaves change color and how our landscape shifts. Together, we chose gold, deep red, moss green, light gray and dark gray. Margot made our list for the fabric store. “It’s like a map, mom. Because I don’t know how to spell all the colors but I can write the numbers and then draw the colors and then you can, like, READ it. But in a different way.”
We liked the gold the best so we bought twice as much of that. For the yarn, we used a beautiful wool that our friend’s mom spun. I cut circles (I have had time to reconstitute my felt circle-cutting reserves since the cocksucker). And the kids strung them up, each working from an end. That’s it.
I really wanted something that would hold my daughters interest for a chunk of time so we could get all up in our food preserving and bathroom remodeling. This worked so well. They loved this project; it held their attention for hours – two days in a row – and I find the result to be quite charming. And they are so proud!
And while my lens was aimed at the garland and fall colors through the window, this was happening next to me, behind me: sisterly go fish, cat relaxation, dog with doll.
I like it all. The curated, crafted, framed image and the unscripted life spilling in from all sides. Honestly, I like the real life spill best. I’m best there, I do believe.
30 Comments
You’re serious. This man is straight and single? … send him to Oregon, lady.
Amazing, right? One must be willing to travel to/be ok with travel to far-reaching marine environments. Also, he didn’t endorse anything I said here and will be embarrassed. But that’s cool with me because I mean every word, including that I would love if he lived with us.
Oh, that loo!
Your girls. Just – swoon!
And the garland. And the beets.
(Nothing more satisfying than popping one out of its skin!)
Always love you, Sister.
I love this post. I love your spilling life and how it inspires me to live in mine. I am going to make a felt garland this weekend… in between sewing 7 halloween costumes for ages 2-6 (yup!). Oh, and will you ask Ben if he wants to marry me? I’m super cute. Since I’ve given up on Andy having a secret long lost brother so that your father in law can make me a mailbox too?!
I’ll send him a text right now.
Eeeexcellent. You have my email address 😉
I raise you one jacuzzi bathtub in the living room and a large window with a baseball size hole in the exterior double pane and even larger hole in the interior double pane (a rock thrown out by the lawn mower – which is an excuse not to mow). So instead of working on the “waiting to be dones”, my husband went looking for sapphires with a retired friend yesterday (he found a few) and took his gun out “kerplunking” at targets today with another friend and his explanation was he was sighting it in for hunting, but the reality was that days like these are way too nice to stay inside — winter is coming.
Did you introduce Ben to Melina? Or we can have him meet my friend Amy (who traveled to Galapagos this summer)…
I love the photos in this post. You and Kelle both made me smile tonight.
Oh you aren’t the first to have the Melina idea! 🙂 They’ve never met but Andy and I have talked about it MANY times!!!
are you getting bored of me saying ‘I love everything about this post’?
but damn it, its true everytime x
I adore your family and your fabulous life! I often think of you and your awesome parenting skills. Love that I can take something good away from each of your posts. Thank so much for sharing! Happy Fall!
The bathroom is the bomb Burb! LOVE it! I can’t wait to visit and see it in person. All your beautiful canning is a work of art; looks like a masterpiece sitting on your counter!
About Ben…possibly one of the kindest, thoughtful, loving, hardworking soul I have ever met….I would not mind if he lived with us for awhile too! (I thought of Melina too…)
Happy Fall my sweet daughter!!
Love to you all…You, Andy, Margot, Ruby, Alice, Sam, George, the “backyard” girls AND Ben! xo
I just love seeing pictures of your house and garden. They are both such welcoming spaces. They have this easy way of calling, “Come as you are!” Love that and want that in my home too. Inspiring 🙂
That is *so* what I hope my home is. Thank you!
I love it all, but I really like the pic where ( I think it’s Ruby? ) she’s sitting on the pallet, and the stream of garland is high above her. She’s just so small. They both are really. And yet, look at what they did; what they accomplished, and it’s lovely. I think it’s the sweetest pic.
Also, way to move that lens around and see life in motion.
-Angie
I love this comment. 🙂
I love your bathroom, and I love your paint color throughout your house. Would you be willing to share the color? Pretty please?
So many have asked about this and the label had worn off the can! I found it on my last visit to Lowe’s…thanks for the reminder to share. 🙂 It’s called Day Spa. It is a lovely color. Barely gray, looks yellow-ish in the morning and sage-ish in the evening.
Here is the link although that online color sample is way off:
http://www.lowes.com/pd_221389-4-AR1216-DAYSPA221389_0__?productId=3561402
Yep. That garland looks absolutely perfect. I LOVE it. Tell me the story of the piece of wood on casters holding your plants?
Margot looks so tall in that last picture! WOW!
I love your rug in the picture with Alice (my homegirl). Is that one of your thrifty finds, or did you buy it somewhere? If you bought at a store, will you pretty please tell me where? I have the perfect place for it in my house. THANKS.
::smooches to Alice::
Great Post. I just love, love the last picture. SO cute!
1.) Is Margot seriously that blonde right now?
2.) I’m in love with that simple garland.
3.) Angus the other morning: “It’s so cold. Will it snow today? Margot and Roovy are coming when it snows. I want there to be snow today.”
xo
Please tell Angus we WILL come when it snows! I hope he will show us around his ski hill. 🙂
Love. I love the garland ideas. I see them on blogs and always say “this time we’re gonna make one.” Sadly I have yet to follow through. Some day:-) As always, love the pics too!
This post is so great for so many reasons.
1) Ben. What’s not to love? A man that makes himself at home the moment he enters the door.
2) You house perking with activity! Reno, preserving, parenting, and hospitality simultaneously.
3) You ability to keep the ladies busy without a power cord. This is my favorite part because I cherish how my family’s life unfolds when it’s unplugged.
And on that note, I should shut down the computer….
I don’t often comment but I am in love with this post: Seriously
1) you are a multi-tasking maniac. I know as Mamas we all multitask but you should win some kind of award. Is there multitasking awards? There should be.
2) That garland is brilliant. I struggle to find fun interesting things that my kids can make and we can “display” they love to create but I am sorry I have issues with so much paper all the time. It creates so much clutter it makes me a little insane. I keep the best of the best and hang it on fishing line in the playroom but this is brilliant. (I said that already but it should be said again)
3) The picture of Margot with the carrots is so awesome for so many reasons. The height of your garden behind her, the huge bunch of carrots she is holding, the sweet proud smile she is sporting and that outfit…really? Is it wrong to be jealous of a 6 year old’s creativity and fashion sense? The stripes and the colour of those shoes…Rock it out girl!
I so enjoy your blog!
Much Love
You have such a gift for taking the every day activities of life, infusing them with attention, light, detail, and love. I really appreciate your sharing them with us and am always learning something from you. What a gift! My daughter left for college this fall so the days of finding something to keep her busy so that I can get a hundred things done are over….but I think we might have to make a felt garland together when she comes home for the holidays. xoxo
(I hope this comment works. I’ve had a hard time posting lately.)
As always, I love this post, and your life. You are such an inspiration to me as a newly minted SAHM. Too bad I live in an apartment without much green space for exploration and gardening. I love the garland idea, and I think my kids would too. That’s one activity we can do.
Gorgeous post. Full of Autumnal magic.
The garland!! Everything about it is just perfect, I might just try and get my little twinnies to sit still for long enough to give it a try 🙂
oh man! love it! love your space!
INSPIRING! I’m starting fall break soon and I’m hoping to find inspiration. I have a refrigerator full of tomatoes waiting for my attention and I’m ready to keep canning and freezing for 2 full weeks. Tucked in with family, and friends, and music, and dinner, but mostly comfort in the chaos. I could only hope a hot guy that likes to sweep and walks my dog and kids drops in… I’m looking…