Freshly Potted Geranium + Sunshine

"The earth brought forth vegetation, plants yielding seed according to their own kinds, and trees bearing fruit in which is their seed, each according to its kind. And God saw that it was good."

Genesis 1:12

On Holiday

English and American English are funny things.  In general, I prefer American English (color just looks better than colour), which makes sense, since I am an American.  I have to say, however, that I do prefer the british term "on holiday" to the american term "on break."  "I'm on my Spring Break" sounds so much less happy than "I'm on my Spring Holiday."

Not to complain, dear old American English, but we could switch these around without doing any harm.

That said, guess what's happening this week!  Or, not happening.  Whichever way you like.

Being on holiday, I'm blogging.  I'm also catching up on some sewing projects - pajama pants from an '80's sheet with a bright yellow print, and a grocery bag from an adorable '70's sheet.  When the sun comes out, I'll take pictures to post.  I'm also working on a bag with leather handles... no guarantees on how that turns out, though.

Have you looked at the sky lately?  It is so inconstant this time of year - now a dull gray, now bright blue.  I love March rains, the kind that come so quickly and softly that they sound like a wind is rustling through the leaves.  

"To live is a thing so startling it leaves little time for anything else."  

Emily Dickinson

View from a Fire Tower

Life, lately

I've been at my desk, drinking tea and working on accounting.  What have you been up to?

How to Survive Winter, Part II: February

• Just say "February" as many times as possible.  It's a really fun word to say.
• Bring someone flowers.  The arrangement above cost less than $5, including the thrift store glass for a vase.  Alstroemeria (the white flowers) last a long time, are inexpensive, and have lots of foliage.  Check the sale flowers at your grocery store - they can usually be cleaned up very nicely.
• Make hearts to hang in your window.  And I typed that as "winder" at first.  I promise I don't really talk like that.
• Like in January, go for a walk!  Enjoy every bit of sunshine that you can.  Cat's really do know where it's at on this point.  Own that vitamin D.
• Make scones.  Drink them with tea.  Here's a nice looking recipe.
• Watch the sky.  It's changes so much, daily shifting from blue to blush to tangerine to violet to black to peach and back to that bright, aptly named sky blue.  February clouds are lovely, too.  Hardly anything in nature shouts God's awesomeness (and I mean that in the traditional, weighty sense of the word) as much as the sky.  
• Go to a maple syrup festival, if at all possible!   The one we enjoy is typically the last week of February and the first week of March.  If yours has maple syrup cotton candy, all the better.  You need to try this.  If you have a maple tree, you really should try your hand at tapping it and making syrup.  I'd love to join you.
• Smile at complete strangers, and tell your family and people you know how much you love them.  Often.

The Lake Isle of Innisfree

I will arise and go now, and go to Innisfree,

And a small cabin build there, of clay and wattles made:

Nine bean-rows will I have there, a hive for the honey-bee,

And live alone in the bee-loud glade.

And I shall have some peace there, for peace comes dropping slow,

Dropping from the veils of the mourning to where the cricket sings;

There midnight's all a glimmer, and noon a purple glow,

And evening full of the linnet's wings.

I will arise and go now, for always night and day

I hear lake water lapping with low sounds by the shore;

While I stand on the roadway, or on the pavements grey,

I hear it in the deep heart's core.

The Lake Isle of Innisfree

William Butler Yeats

How To Survive Winter, Part I: January

After Christmas, it's easy to let winter be kind of depressing.  Here are a few easy ways to enjoy it.

January

• Eat clementines.  Set them out where you can see them and enjoy the color.
• String white lights up - around a towel rack, under your cabinets, over your bed, around a door.  They don't have to be for Christmas only!
• Get your vitamin D!  Go for a walk when it's sunny, and eat eggs and fish, which are both high in vitamin D.  Here's my favorite salmon recipe.
• Be diligent.  It's such a good feeling to have everything done!  If getting up earlier helps, do that. I love to wake up and have a cup of tea while it's still dark.
• Listen to bright music. Folk, indie, classical, jazz - whatever floats your boat.  This, this, and this make me happy.  Get happy stations on Pandora.  Leave this page open.  I don't usually recommend any myspace pages, but you really should visit this one.
• Take a few minutes each day to look at pretty blogs.  Here's a good one. 

Rachel

     She came home from college!  Now she's back there, of course, but I got to see here while she was here.  We talked a lot.  And laughed a good deal.  She gave me a gift, and wrapped it in this adorable package (please note the torn paper on the tag - it's perfect).

Don't you just love seeing good friends?

Surprise Visit

 The honeymooners surprised me today by stopping by on their way back home!  They are too happy for words.

Don't worry, the dragons are henna.  The smiles are real.

I finally got my photo with Kate.  The only photo we took together the entire week that I was up there was in the dark, right before she and Ethan left.  Now I have this one, too!

Thirteen for '13

If you know me, you know that I love lists.  Grocery lists, reading lists, lists of things to plant, pack or do.  If it's a list, it's my friend.  Add a new year into the mix, and you get a list of things to do for that new year!  So, with some items serious, some lighthearted, I present to you Thirteen for '13:

1. Cook meals more often (enough of the salad, already.).
2. Paint and draw more, and work on hand lettering.
3. Read or finish: 
• Les Miserables by Victor Hugo
• How the Gospel Brings Us All the Way Home by Derek Thomas - Done!
• This Momentary Marriage by John Piper
• When Sinners Say I Do by Dave Harvey
• Walden by Henry David Thoreau - Done!
• The Seasons of America Past by Eric Sloane - Done!
• Art and the Bible by Francis Schaffer - Done!
4. Memorize Ephesians 3-6.
5. Run a 5k and a 10k.
6. Learn to tell the weather beyond "look, it's sunny outside!" or "it's raining" with the help of another Eric Sloane book.
7. Learn 3 new songs on the dulcimer each month (with chords!).
8. Study 1 and 2 Corinthians.
9. Finish up that Plant Science minor, and find an accounting internship for the fall summer.
10. Get up between 5:00 and 5:30 AM every day (hey, if you shoot for the moon, you'll land in the stars, right?), and therefore, get more done.  I'm most productive in the mornings, and don't mind going to bed early.  I'll start at 5:00 and see how realistic that is.  You're probably laughing already.
11. Preserve raspberry jam
12. Remove clutter like extra clothes, sewing and art supplies, papers, computer files, etc., and keep it out.
13. Take more photos!

What are some of your goals for the year?

Home

This is one of the loveliest songs I have ever heard.  Home, by Kate and Sarah Sparks.

Sugar. Cookies.

Wed

 Kate's mom and sister.

My parents.

The bride and groom.

Just a few of my favorite moments from the wedding day.   Congrats, Kate and Ethan!  God is so good.

A Morning Up North

Kate and Ethan are married!  I've known Ethan since I was two, and Kate since I was six.  Spending the week before the wedding with Kate and her family was so. much. fun.

Kate's little sister taught me a couple new card games.  She called me Carrot, I called her Cabbage (or Charlene, when she was sick of Cabbage).

This picture does not show how cold it was!  By the end of the week, the temperature had dropped to below zero.   I met a canadian lady on the way up, and even she said that North Dakota is where the really cold weather is.  I don't disagree, but oh, I do love that place!

Blessed

As I walked across campus this morning to take a final, I couldn't help but notice the frost.  This was the latest in the morning that it had stayed, so far.   You can see where the sun was beginning to melt the edges a bit.  The whole campus was shimmering, and the reflections on the pond (which is affectionately nicknamed Walden) were lovely.  I am so blessed to be here, studying in the shadow of the hills, close to home.

P.S.  I'm done with finals!