traditions

it's her 3/4 birthday, she tells me. in three months, she'll advance a whole whole number. where has the time gone, i continually wonder. but then - look! thankfully, you're never too old for an egg tree...

early morning

by 8:30 a.m., i have been out and back again: had take-out coffee, shopped a bit, spied on the little girl's bus routine, stopped to pick some tansy. it feels strange to be doing so little when i am used to doing so much.

better get busy.

final show

after hanging on through the blockbuster and netflix years, the small video store in our town is now closing its doors. i worked a second job there once, nights and weekends, when the girl went off to college and the house was too quiet. i studied for graduate classes there, between checking out vhs tapes for customers and returning rented ones to the shelves. i worked with wonderful, funny women. i got to know my neighbors. it was a rich time in my life.

the "going out of business sign" drew me in. they were selling off their stock and it was cheap. i went to the drama section and found it: the movie i loved to play when i was working. i haven't seen it in years, but i bought it, just to have it, just for old times' sake.

march 12 of 12: rush hour

i know 12 of 12s are supposed to chronicle a day, the 12th of each month. but i wanted to see if i could fit twelve pictures into one hour's time. and what better hour than the busiest one of the day - between waking up and getting out the door. here i go!

this is the first weekday morning after the start of daylight saving time. it was so difficult to get up - after weeks of growing light, it's dark in the morning again. the first thing i see after i roll out of bed - the moon, still in the sky. and even some stars. it's way too early to be up. 

i hit the computer's power button on my way to the kitchen, drag a brush through my hair to get it out of my eyes so i can see. i'll be back with the first cup of coffee to check email, weather, and the overnight news. oh - and the iditarod, which i have been following closely since it began on the 3rd. 

these tulips fairly glow in the overhead light of the kitchen. they're such a vibrant, cheery color and i'm glad i bought them over the weekend. this close to spring, i'm so encouraged to see things green or in bloom. 

off to the bathroom with coffee. time for make-up, even though i'd rather use the time for something else. sometimes i don't know why i bother with this routine. i think i look the same with make up as i do without it. some morning i'm going to do only the right half my face and see if anyone even notices. 

hair products. three of them. and i need them all. 

back to the kitchen for a second cup of coffee. i made two so i could take one for the ride. but my circadian rhythms must be out of sync with the time change. i'm not waking up well and i really need this extra cup now. 

when i dry my hair, i hang it over my head and blow it dry it upside down. as i do this, i am close enough to the tile floor to be able to see every minuscule piece of lint or dust or wood shaving. see them? every morning, i stop working my hair for a moment and blow these offending particles off into the adjoining room where they don't look as glaring on the wood floor. and i clean it up later in the day. 

pocket stuff. i always have pockets, have to have them. and i know exactly which item goes in which pocket. 

the morning darkness surprises me again and i need to turn on another light to be sure i wear shoes that match. i haven't had to do that in weeks. 

a perfect banana for an on-the-go breakfast. it takes a long time to get them like this, all freckled but not soggy. i'll be eating a lot of bananas in the next few days. 

lunch, packed and ready to go. all last week, i took soup because i'd been sick. but today, it's a yogurt day! i guess i'm feeling better!

and i'm out the door, on time, wearing a jacket instead of a coat. i stand on the step for a moment, breathing the morning air, listening to birds really sing. for the first time, it almost smells and sounds like spring is in the air! 

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solstice 2011

sleepless on the longest night of the year. in the sky no stars, no moon, just adding to the darkness. i light a candle to acknowledge the brief moment when earth begins its journey back towards light, and when i go back to sleep, i leave a single window candle lit to shine on through the rest of the dark night.

late summer's eve

evenings seem to come earlier and earlier these days. as the daylight dims, the air cools quicker and there's a faint anticipation of fall to the air. biting insects are just about gone now and the yard becomes an outdoor extension of the house - quiet spots to read or work or dream. birdsong in the evening has ceased, sadly, but has been replaced by a chorale of crickets singing well into the night, an end-of-summer lullaby drifting through the still-open windows.

another year

this is time, passing by. mostly, i don't even notice, so caught up am i in family and friends, work and the wonderment of days. then there are days like this one, when i am so keenly aware of its marching on, whether i want it to or not.  and today, it has brought me another year to look forward to.

artifacts

it's amazing the things you can find while digging around in your garden. i wonder how old this bottle is. i wonder what swamp root is. i wonder who had to take it. and why. and when. living in this very old house and suddenly finding evidence of its other inhabitants and their lives always leaves me a bit awestruck, wondering for days afterward what life must have been like at this place one hundred, even two hundred years ago.

prioritizing christmas

and to think that i thought that i was too busy, that i wouldn't have time, that i was too tired and stressed - and that i almost missed decorating gingerbread men for santa with the little girl. thanks to the girl for making me see the light of christmas - and for making it happen.

just think...i almost missed gingerbread men with belly buttons.

labor day

when i think back on this summer, the night of this board game will be the memory that i'll hold most dear. i was together with people i love. we laughed and had fun. it was a bittersweet time and i will always be glad of having it.

mid august

the farther into august, the closer to end of vacation, the nearer to school time, the more glorious become the days. like today. here, scarlet runner beans finally advance up the pole, at long last begin to bloom.

finally summer

it's hard to believe it's august when i am in such a june state of mind. today was really my first feels-like-summer day: windows wide, shorts and a tee, flowers in vases, greens and balsamic vinegar for lunch, a nap in the sitting spot. these are the days that sustain me throughout the long new england winter. sure hope there's time enough to stockpile more as summer begins to wane.

beach grass

this is the last of the official vacation blog photographs, taken a few days ago from the edge of a rocky spot near the dock, looking though the grass and across the reach. two vacations in two weeks was so wonderful that i really don't want july to end. and so, following the lead of a wise friend, i have chosen not to turn the calendar to august. at least not yet.