Monday, March 9, 2015

Scenes From a Weekend

Home.

Mostly enjoying the weather outback. Lounging around the yard now that the space is finally feeling complete. Watching the shadows dance across the lawn, pushing a ball back and forth with the baby, napping on the cool concrete after lunch. We didn't make it to any of the plans we had counted on for the weekend. I missed the flea market and they missed a birthday party. I didn't run to the grocery store or even glance at the long list of to-dos I had so diligently tapped to the side of the refrigerator in hopes that within each new search for a snack I might be moved to complete one of the tasks. A smart new tactic, tried and failed. I blame the sun.

Instead we made tacos and sat by the fireplace with friends in the evening. There were iced coffees - always one of the first signs of a warmer season shifting, as I am typically partial to a hot brew unless the sun is warm enough to switch my craving. Which it was. The boys played out in the yard stacking dominos and a few watering new plants. Barefoot and happy until they took to nagging near the end of the day about being "bored." Their father anchored in the drive way having unearthed the big forgotten project parked in the garage since Thanksgiving. A beat up old Volkswagen, which I know nothing about other than the fact that I found it quite hideous when he first brought it home. Mismatched colored panels, dents and all. But now with it's partial paint job I am starting to see that it might make a handsome companinion to a few of our summer adventures. If in fact we keep it that long.

The rest of the weekend was spent sorting mass amounts of laundry. Catching up and cleaning bathrooms. Even slightly rearranging the boy's room. The new table Mike made as a gift for Valentines day finally made its way into our dinning room. Looks beautiful. Something I imagine we will have forever. A handmade gift the boys will remember watching come together in the late nights out there in the garage. A sweet secret they all kept for well over a week until Leon accidentally spilled the beans: "Don't go in the garage ok, Mom? Dad is making a new table for someone and he doesn't want you to see it" on the day before the holiday. Leon is awful at keeping secrets. They all are for that matter. But we it gave us a laugh.And God bless the man who tires of trying to find you the old farm house table you've been pinning for for years on Craigslist, deciding instead to just make you one himself putting to use a few of the old wood beams that have been stacked outback for so long, just patiently waiting on a repectable purpose.

For now though the table is bare. With most meals happening outside, with the birds and the trees the plants and the sunlight. March wandering in bringing with it a refreshing change of pace. Slow and sunny. Perfectly Spring like.






11 comments:

  1. Gorgeous table-- lucky wife to have such a crafty partner. And love the blue painting framed on your wall-- framed child's art is just the best.

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    1. thank you! I wish I could remember who actually painted the blue one. It's my favorite too :(

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  2. Gosh, this post. This it's has soul. These are the quiet moments of life that don't seem so worthy of documentation to most of us, yet you capture so beautifully, reminding us to photograph the everyday, mundane things and not just the big stuff. Beautiful

    Can I ask what lens you shoot with and if you edit your photos with any photoshop actions or something like that? They're just so good! I remember the post when you first got your camera and were still trying to figure it out. You've come so far! You're a fantastic photographer. :)

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    1. It's true. i don't typically feel moved to document such mudane things like laundry and dishes and whatnot, which is strange because there are moments where I stumble across this regular home scenes and find such beauty there in the moments of simple disarray. Maybe I (we) should all make more of an effort to.

      As for the photos, thank you! I still don't know much, sadly. And I don't have any speical editing porgrams either. One day I hope to, but as of now I just mess around a little bit with the standard exposure and saturation levels there in iphoto. And the lens here is a 40 mm that I really like. Cheap and sufficiant. I believe the one I use was under 200$?

      Anyway, thanks for writing Katy!

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  3. Mike is one handy guy. The table is beautiful. And your writing? Always a delight to read, made only better by the beautiful images that accompany it.

    Does Mike know anything about treating rust on cars? Our Jeep has a spot on the floorboard that is prolonging making it drivable... can't put the floor in until the patch is done... can't put the back seat in until the floor is done... I'm sure you know how it goes. If he has anyone or knows anything that could help, I would be indebted.

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    1. oh man, rust is bad news. that's about what I got from Mike when I mentioned your issue. He says those cars are prone to it. I guess we had one once and all the calls that came in while trying to sell it asked about rust because it's known they are especially apt to get hit with it. Anyway, Mike says it can be very expensive (and "not even worth it" to fix sometimes) but does advise you to go to any run down, cheap shop to fix it if you want to avoid major money with it. He doesn't know of any in particular. He says he fixed rust panels himself once and it was a big pain in the ass. He also said to tell you that you can get the cheapest repairs done in Mexico, but that's just crazy Mike talking. He always throws in Mexico but never actually takes anything there. (won't let him)

      I hope it fixes up, though! It's the cutest car. Certainly needs to be out there cruising around this summer :D

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  4. Wow, what a nice Valentine's present. It's beautiful. I keep trying to convince my husband to craft some furniture. I'm currently pressing for media console to store records and keep the player on top. He's pretty handy but seems to be lacking confidence when it comes to furniture. Funny about Leon spilling the beans. My boys are terrible at keeping secrets, especially if it involves candy or gifts.
    Which one of your brood is the rainbow artist? My four year old is obsessed with rainbows. He draws them at home and at school and even guilts his teachers into drawing them for him too.

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    1. how funny, I was hinting at the same thing Cindy. I really want a wall mounted console for records too! I was actually trying to convince him to make them to sell. It's hard finding something suitable for that stuff and what I had in mind would be really cool if he would just listen to me :)

      The rainbow artist is one by Arlo in kindergarten and the other, a painting from Rex's penpal. I love the rainbow phase though. Isn't it the sweetest? You're lucky to have such an enthused artist of your own.

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  5. Wonderful table...and so much more special than anything from Craig's list since your hubby made it. He's sure talented!
    Love that photo of Leon. Looks so handsome and somewhat like Arlo there.

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    1. Thank you. I agree, KIm.

      An yes, isn't Leon so terribly handsome there? I thought the same thing when i saw it downloaded. What a great face that little boy has. And I do see some of Arlo too. Just recently though, which is fun.

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  6. aww there's muller's rainbow on the wall! that makes me so happy! and jealous because i wish he had made it for me haha ;) xo

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