I'm taking a bit of a blog breather....enjoy your summer days!
Oh, and the girls are playing out a part of "Anne of Green Gables"....can you guess which part...??
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The children are writing their birthday thank-you notes...and really gettin' into it with drawings, stamps, stickers--you name it! Not too long ago I discovered these sweet things on the "Free" table in a thrift store we love to visit in Freeport. Obviously, I loved the illustrations-but what I didn't realize was that they had Bible verses on the inside as well! I looked on the back and found that they were distributed by Dayspring. I looked the company up and found this page on a Ministry of Cards--or of giving cards! It's so true, isn't it? I'm always so touched when I receive a card in the mail--even if it's just a note! Have I mentioned before that my children are WAY more romantic than I ever hope to be? Just thought I'd mention it again....especially since I've been in such an only-what's-practical-and efficient mode lately! Somebody please tell the Romantic Mom to lighten up before her whole romantic cover is completely blown to smithereens! This is part of the reason I've been in such a 'get truckin' mind-set recently. You see, I just can't believe it's already into mid-July and I haven't even touched a tenth of the projects I was certain I'd have done, delivered, and sealed by now! Or is it done, sealed and delivered...signed, sealed, and delivered....is that better?? I haven't blogged for a couple of days--there's just so much to do when the weather is this cooperative....and when the grass grows SO fast....and the weeds grow SO tall.....overnight! And this.... For this.... And these....that we love and adore so much! OK, everyone all together now, "Hey Rom Mom, just lighten up!!" Next, we have the oh so slowly sorting through the plethora of stuff, stuff, and more stuff that's presently coming out of our ears! For the yard sale that I have yet to get organized.....why? The Infamous Shed....the shed that tortures me daily and keeps me tossing and turning with vicious nightmares in my bed at night....that turns me into a shrieking lunatic with wild eyes and hair sticking straight out of my head in all directions.....what more can I say...???....The SHED! It'll send shivers down your spine! Hmmmm....where do we start...let's see......maybe if we move this over here....or, well.....how about....??? I DON"T KNOW....!!! Aaaaagh!!! Down the wild flower path so gay, My daughter just took it upon herself to be the official pea sheller, so she plopped herself under a shade tree and started to shellin'! If you've never had the unique opportunity to shell peas before, then plop down here in the shade with us and let Heather give her wonderful demonstration on how to get those little peas from their pods (but you have to promise not to munch while you're doing this--OK, not too many anyway!).... I love those little crown tops pea pods have on their stems--aren't they so cute and dainty? Is that not just the perfect picture of domestic bliss...?? Ahhh! Baby's knocked over her water bucket again...she prefers the pool...much to the children's utter distress! And I kid you not they taste better raw than cooked....I'm not kiddin'! These are the sweetest peas I've ever tasted in my life! Beats M&M's any day! You've probably already witnessed by now on several occasions that my daughters love to dress 'old-fashioned' part of the time--or as much as I will cater to them anyway! Thank goodness my mom (a.k.a. Grandmom) has swooped in for the rescue with her wonderfully sewn skirts, aprons, and thrift store finds she's mailed up to us--as well as other family and friends who have contributed to the 'old-fashioned-attire' cause! These are the outfits the older girls wore strawberry pickin' day before yesterday. So here's how we got the look! If you'd like to know how incredibly simple these outfits are, come take a peek! All we have here is 1.) a white dress with a ruffled skirt on the bottom, or 2.) a skirt with ruffled bottom (see this super-simple way to make a petticoat skirt) and a sleeveless blouse on top--paired with an apron. What's really neat about this is that switching out aprons changes the whole look--how's that for easy....??!! My kinda deal! The pink apron above we just found at a thrift store for $2. And these other aprons were my Grandma Cady's aprons... Throw in the coordinating scarf...and Voila! Here ya go--you're off to go shell peas...or go churn some butter....or just go look adorably old-fashioned! It's July...can you get a whiff of that sweet somethin' in the air? We sure could yesterday as we pulled into the Stevenson's U-Pick Strawberry Farm with rows upon rows, clusters upon clusters of these.... Yes, take us to your berries...quick....before we are completely unable to fully contain our children! (I'm pretty much convinced that I really need a sign like this, too!) And our kiddos proved to be all around avoid-the-squishy-green-a little too-hard-yet-stay-in-our-designated-area stellar strawberry pickers! THEY"RE convinced we need vast acres of strawberries! I suppose the two sorta go together...although from slightly different quantities of work angles... By the way, I love how the fields up here are surrounded by the dense woods and huge pine trees....not only is it just beautiful, but it gives a real appreciation for what the farmers from an earlier time had to do to clear these fields for crops! Can you imagine....?? I can't even begin to imagine! As with most farms, they have more than just strawberries....they also have some sweet peas coming in....and they're very sweet, sweet peas! And these adorable baby calves (with a very loud vocal mama cow in the near vicinity)! For more fun photos from yesterday, click on my Flickr gallery! So now it's time to shell some peas, make some jam....and have heaps and piles of strawberry shortcake--wanna come join us...??!! Oh boy! This weekend has certainly proven why so many people throughout the generations have come to Maine in the summer time! A treat for Babycakes...who looks like she's in dire need of a treat! We went over to our friend's house Friday evening for some sparklers, watermelon, and dessert--with a total of 10 little sticky, dirty, bug-sprayed youngsters runnin' around willy-nilly! I'm kickin' myself 'cause I didn't realize how blurry this next one was....but you get the idea! Our bunnies were also given a new "leash" on life! My daughter took these photos of of her bunny,Truffles, attempting to reach full bunny tilt.... My husband also got more scything done and hay put up...with the added bonus of a hay ride for the kiddos! Woops!! And for more on our old-fashioned hay stack contraption, come on over to Green Pioneer! This wraps up our birthday celebrating for our twins...and fits right in with enjoying and appreciating the great freedoms we cherish in this country...and the price that is paid to preserve them....Have a joyful July Fourth weekend! Just a ways down the road from this beach is a little fishing village on the harbor called Five Islands--which happens to have a really great fish & chips place and the most scrumptious dutch chocolate ice cream my taste buds have ever had the chance to meet! When you have two brithdays wrapped up in one, it makes for ONE big day! Our big birthday celebrating started with a stop in Lewiston where Daddy had to drop off some work....and there happened to be these colorful lilies nearby... Then we were off to Portland! We stopped in at our favorite Swedish-inspired shop, Folly 101, owned by dearest Astrid. All I can say is that stepping over the threshold into Astrid's shop is like being instantly transported into the most wonderful, whimsical, romantic, beachy cottage you can possibly imagine! When we first started visiting Astrid a few years ago, it was just Astrid and her darlin' helper, Eroika, that always greeted us with such sweet enthusiasm....and they have always been such a delight to pop in and say Hi! to...and, of course, the children absolutely ADORE them! Folly 101 has gotten so busy and popular these days that Astrid has more wonderful women to help her out...so Astrid actually gets a day off once in awhile (when they can make her actually take it!)...and Eroika is off to college a chunk of the year now. So I was excited that we just happened to catch both of them there together at the same time....and all on the twin's birthday! What a treat!! Since the day just continued to be so warm, sunny, and beautiful, we decided to head off to Reid State Park for some beach and ocean fun! And I'll just have to continue this for tomorrow! |
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