• How a mother should feel on the first day of kindergarten

    It was the first real day of kindergarten, and the rain was pouring down. Our original plan was to walk to school, and I’d escort my proud newbie to his class. But instead, I announced that they would be dropped off in carpool and walk in together. There were no tears, no waves over the shoulder, just an efficient evacuation out the back door and heads-down determination not to get too wet. When I pulled into the garage back home,…

  • JC Raulston Arboretum

    After uploading all these pictures, I don’t have much to say other than, “Go.” Go visit the JC Raulston Arboretum and soak up the beautiful textures and colors. This afternoon we went as a family and took a friend. While the kids played and explored, I took pictures. This never gets old! Joe and I were both taking mental notes of plants we’d love to eventually add to our yard. Forget new furniture, just give us new foliage.

  • Fall Planning

    It’s been a very slow summer in regards to making pottery. I had hoped to produce more, but happily traded productivity for pool time with my kids. Monday they will both be back full time, and I will then have some hours in the day to do something with, I figure about 30 hours a week. Here’s my estimated breakdown, which coincidentally does not add up to 30 hours: (8-10 hrs) My fall graduate course “Introduction to Land and Water…

  • Morning Garden Walk with Cameras and Kids

    It is the day before the first day of school, and we’ve had a summer full on sunshine, friends, light saber battles, and swimming. It also seems to be ending just in time. Earlier in the week, the boys followed me out to the garden and begged to take pictures, so I let them. The baby indiscriminately snapped shots of everything along his path. The big boy was more deliberate. They both wanted to take shots of me. I wondered…

  • Fried Red Okra

    At my kids’ soccer practice this morning, a good friend was relating to me how she picked and roasted okra, and I had to stop her mid-story to inform her that fried okra is the only way to do okra. She will likely live a longer, more mobile, more healthily radiant life than myself. I know other people have their own okra preferences, but the only way I eat okra is fried. Beyond only eating it fried, it has to…

  • Our Furry Girls

    Did I mention we got a new kitten? Meet June Carter Cash the Kitty. She has several other names: Junie, June Bug, and just Bug. My five year old usually calls her by her full name. We also have this 11 year old cat named Nala. She’s not a huge fan of June, but she’s hanging in there and is enjoying sneaking June’s kitten chow whenever she gets a chance. We give Nala a break at night and whenever we…