summer projects

My two weeks of summer have been full of projects.  We've been working on the garden, trying to get things planted before it's too late.  The sun hasn't been helping much, though, so we've only got some potatoes and onions planted.  We've also been piling and burning brush on our property, which looks a lot better now.
Today the rain was so heavy that we decided to work inside, and this is what I did.

I just bought a pink lamp that looks somewhat like this

that is pink, so that is why I chose pink for the pencil-holder.  I never used to be a pink person, but lately- well, lately pink is just awesome.
Another summer project I'm making is a coral-pink and brown quilt.  It is one that my grandma started before she died and that I've been trying to finish.  It will be a twin-sized quilt and the squares are very nearly done and then I'll sew them all together and put some borders on.  I am hoping to finish it before school starts, but I'm pretty sure that will be hard.   Or maybe impossible.  Anyway, if I get it finished, I will use it in Moscow on my bed, which I think would be pretty awesome.  I would also like to make some pillows to use with it, so I hope to have enough scraps leftover to make some matching pillows.

haiku

My random haiku,
written way too late at night.
After ice cream party.

Just five syllables
and then it can be seven.
Then it's five again.

The wind yells and screams,
I'm not even listening.
But Moon hides himself.

Blue

Cuffed sleeves, blue striped shirt,

topped with a big blue bow-tie,

blue jeans and blue eyes.

summer is officially here

I have finished my sophomore year and am now a junior.  Super excited.  That also means that it is officially summer and that makes me super happy.  Pictures of this last week will follow.

thankful

[thankful list continued]
21. Friends who stay friends even when I'm stupid or a jerk.

22. Unexpected tea-times at school (especially on finals week when it's hard to see people unless they have a final at the same time as I do).

23. Sunshine and warmth that mean spring really is on the way.

24. Evening walks in the sun and lengthening shadows.

25. Ice cold water.

26. Guys who will just chat without getting all embarrassed to be seen talking with a girl (even at NSA, where everyone "knows" that our name "really" stands for Not Single Anymore).

27. My adorable nieces and nephews (see images)

28. Bobbi and Maria who put up with all my little-sisterly stuff.

29. Reeses pieces.

30. Summery clothes.

Wind Blown

Wind Blown

by me

Praise be to God for tumbleweeds

that cross the roads like twirling tops,

for swaying fields of golden seeds,

for ships with sails that swell and swap,

the flapping flag above the iron chain,

the swivel of the rusty weathervane.

Praise be to God for drifting garbage cans;

they cross the street and hit the neighbor’s car,

and plastic sacks are torn from hands,

(and chasing hats looks so bizarre),

the clothesline sheets careen and whirl,

they flutter and sway like skirts that twirl.

Praise be to God for angled windmill blades

that cut across the bloody evening sky,

and kites are hopeful renegades

they heave at strings and want to fly,

and trees applaud with pokey palms,

the air and wood are singing psalms.

Beautifully

I heard this song for the first time this afternoon and I can't get it out of my head.  It's dreadfully sad and it keeps catching my mind, holding on and running around and around with my other thoughts.

http://grooveshark.com/#/search?q=jay%20brannan

Happy Mother's Day

Happy Mother's Day to the best Mom in the whole wide world.  Yeah- I'm pretty sure she should have that title, even if others want it for their moms.  Thanks for the advice, the encouragement and the prayers.  Thanks for the love, the spankings and the hugs.  Thanks for the example you've set for me of how to be the kind of woman God wants me to be, and thanks for helping me get a closer to that goal.  If God had allowed me to decide what kind of a Mom I wanted, I could never have picked a better one than He did.  Never.  Ever.  I love you.