WHAT?!!!

suddenly, my dashboard says i'm not following any blogs.

not one.  

has this happened to anyone else?  

every single link gone.  

boo.

crystal clear....

what if we'd gone for mexican?

what if i'd not held out my hand for

everyone else to choose their cookie first?

what if....

i had gone through life without the clarity of 

fortune cookie sageness?

easter camping...

the weather has been sending us invitations 

to camp that we would have been foolish to ignore. 

we pulled the kids out of school early, hooked up

the pop up, and headed south to the llano river.

after the brutal summer last year it was wonderful

to see it up and crystal clear. we swam for days, watched

the kids ride the rapids again and again,

cooked, read books and magazines, hiked, and laid

around in the shade and sun. 

i'll take an easter smelling like river and sun

over an itchy 'ol dress any day.

  

  

1)old sesquicentennial flag chris found at an antique store.

2)cutest folks i've ever met.

3)roxie showing off her chillin' skills.

4)morning dishes by the well.

5)all. you. need.

6)one of the spots on earth where the ground feels most solid beneath me.

7)the moon and river at midnight.

8)pure d love.

well, i'll beet...

when my grandmother was mildly surprised by

something she would say, 'well, i'll be.'

i inadvertently planted beets in my garden this year

and, for once, having my head in the clouds

worked in my favor.

i've never been a fan; stubbornly sticking by

my childhood line in the sand about them.

somehow, they ended up in my garden this year..

remember this? 

so, regardless of whether i intentionally 

planted them or not (i really have no idea and 

bought a bunch of seeds from the bulk bin at the 

feed store and the packages got wet and illegible)

my feelings about beets are warming. 

i've been taking them straight from the garden and 

adding them raw, leaves and all, to my smoothies.

the greens are as good (maybe better)

than spinach when sautéed.  next, i'm trying roasted.

raw beets have loads of folates, niacin, vitamin c,

antioxidants, vitamin a, fiber, iron, potassium.

you get the idea. 

• 
  

what a difference a season makes...

we recently went back here.  

there's not another human as far as you can see.

phones don't work.  internet nope. tv nowhere in sight.

it poured while we were there.  hurricane style.  

we kept a fire in the fireplace, played boardgames,

ate, drank, ate.  when the rain would slow in between

downpours, we would run to the hot tub and soak in 

the steamy quiet.  the kids were even more quiet

than normal. at times. we watched the river rise

at least 10 feet overnight.  sitting in the

hot tub we heard a giant sound moving towards us.

ripping, grating, cracking, splashing.

we held our breath and hoped whatever it was

wasn't hungry. 

an entire tree had let go of it's hold on the bank

and was slowly and with great effort on the river's

part, making it's way downriver.  we watched and

listened to it's unlikely journey until it was

gone from sight.

the rain finally ended our last day and in time

for a final sunset salute. 

ahoy....

last summer we sat on rocks in the middle of this..

house and tub perched up on the mountainside.  the river is down below. 

roxie eye view

a four year old's perspective in a dressing room.
discovered these on my phone today.  

buzzard roost..

buzzards start circling this tree at dusk,

landing on the tips for the night.

by the time the sky is dark they've covered it's

broken arms.  like they've pulled the dark down

from the sky with them to make the night. 

they sleep restlessly, making very un-avian like sounds.

we slept outdoors and near them all weekend. 

i assume buzzards are pretty germ-y and smelly.

so, not close enough for that, but near enough

to not forget they were there. 

fish hero...

when i was a kid and the lake would overflow from rain, it was

like going feral (with snacks).  my brothers and i 

would disappear from dusk to dawn, returning home

disguised by muck and mire. 

 an overnight waterfall manifestation

in texas is like a triple rainbow sunset. when it

happens, you put anything and everything else to 

the side and drink it up.  metaphorically.  lake water

is gross to drink. promise.

i live in texas for several reasons.  numero uno being:

it's texas. duh.

a close second: my kids getting to go out to where 

i grew up and go feral for the day. last weekend we hiked

around behind the dam and at the bottom of the

miracle waterfall was a sad, gasping carp.  

things were not going his way and probably had been 

heading south for quite a while.  there were

glittery scales all over the rocks and he 

had a definite resigned look in his eye.

i pushed him into a deeper pool...

 while the board of directors considered his fate.

 down swooped his/my hero!

 he wrote his gratitude in ripples and wakes....

sigh. sunday.

it rained and rained this weekend.  this morning

we woke to another cold, dreary day. the idea of another

day indoors had us herding kids out the door

to head to my folks' for a day we were determined

would end warm and sunny. actually, i 

was convinced, but no one else shared my positive

weather attitude.  ha! 

hope springs eternal

yes, it was muddy, soggy, mucky, and soaked..

but it was sunshiny and warm out of the shade.

whew..the weekend.

that was one long ass week.  

we have a three day weekend and i will

be spending the majority of it outdoors.

could definitely use a dose of this...

i wish i knew where this was.  

anyone?