Productivity x Two

Two weeks ago we returned from moving Naphtali done the street.

 Take my word: it's been busy here though you wouldn't know it from this picture.

Have I mentioned that we brought Proton home with us?

He's ours until the beginning of July.

This morning it felt like the chariot race from Ben Hur as I walked the dogs.

Tim's bathroom has been disassembled.

The carpet has been removed from the stairs.

I helped Tim build these garden beds, which he then planted.  

We were able to use compost from my own compost bin!

I bought and assembled this arbor thingy.  Planted a wisteria alongside.  I've also added

a hydrangea to the front of the house.

The planners/owners in this neighborhood love the narrow, L-shaped beds around the house - they are everywhere!  To me they just mean tight right angles for mowing.  

This was a problem area where grass wouldn't grow and mowing was awkward so it's 

been remedied with a new outline and mulch.  Much better! 

Summer school has begun.  The instructor for my latest (and last!) 

class is pushing a pretty tight schedule.

Oh, yes, as of yesterday the hammock has been hung.

Triggers

On a recent trip to Minneapolis I stumbled upon a cache of summertime memories tucked 

amid the travel and trial size bins at Walmart.
 This is what good marketing is all about!

The fragrance of this once familiar but long forgotten product 

is associated with two (2) distinct images:

Large purple rollers 

and 

the cabin at Okoboji.

Feel free to play along - once you've visualized the rollers and the cabin the memories just keep rolling... 

google images

I've been using it daily - have even replaced my travel-sized impulse with a full size jar!

My skin looks and feels better than it has in a long time.

The simple act of opening the jar to release the fragrance brings

 a smile to my face.

Surely we used it all year 'round but for some reason it speaks to me of summer.

A bird in hand

or a needle in a haystack

Recently, Naphtali and I spotted a silhouette of a dove as we were skimming through pinterest, 

following links, and well, I'm not too sure what we were doing or where the whole chain of our search began, but pallet furniture probably figured in...

Anyway.  We found this dove - not this dove

but the perfect dove and we both made an "ooohh" 

or something embarrassingly close

and immediately discussed ways it could be used for Christmas gifts/tags/ornaments.

Did we pin it?  Bookmark it? Save it in any way? No, No, and No.

I have since been looking for said dove.

The one pictured above courtesy of google images as are all the illustrations in this post is close - though ours had no wing.

The array of dove representations from which one may choose is close to overwhelming.

You have the traditional dove signifying peace:

The one pictured below connotes religion:

You can find the fanciful

  as well as its poor country cousin.

And many that aren't even doves!

Persistence has its reward: these may be what I want:

Simple, clean, elegant.  I'll let you know if they work.



In an aside:  I have been told that Christmas = hand-made for the Jordisons this year.
Can anyone confirm that for me??

Mother's Day

At some point during the next few days you may hear

  (find yourself humming along?)

 "M is for the many things... " as all around us

the annual phenomenon known as Mother's Day 

kicks into high gear.

(Yes, I did send cards.  Yes, I do send greetings. Yes, we'll stop in on Sunday.)

Unfortunately, this weekend M also means moving for Naphtali and Aidan.

We're making the run to the northlands to help/pack/load/move. 

Not your traditional Hallmark Mother's Day,

 but an opportunity to be available - to do what we can.

Mothering is a never-ending quest - a daunting job comprised of a
thousand delicate maneuvers each day.

Some accept that quest with fervor and grace -
and we marvel at them.

Others manage as best they can - and we pull for them.

Some lose sight of its fragile complexity in the day-to-day slog.

Others... 

Well, there are always others - they inspire, they challenge, they help, they...  

They do what needs to be done - they are mothers, after all.

Happy Mother's Day

To you and your's

Seriously...

It was a good day for bargains!

I picked up 4 (yes, four!) (took the whole display) of these pots for a buck each.

I am suddenly in love (but no less frugal) with this color for the garden and have passed by so 

many beautiful objet due to the price.  

This was serendipitous - I stopped in the Dollar Store this morning for some oddments 

and they were sitting there waiting for me!

They're 8-inch, BHG pots and a couple of them will travel this weekend as gifts.

But the real find of the day was waiting for me next door - at the Goodwill.

You can probably read the price tag - $1.79.  

What you can't read (poor photo editing options) - just above the tag it says

 "Redwing."  

That's right folks!

I scored this lovely Redwing basket for $1.79.

Finds like this always happen to someone else - always - so you'll have to excuse me while I 

bask/gloat/crow/smile.