Outside: Summer temperatures slow rolled but they are here now.  It is still very green which is a wonderful treat in the mountain west. We have discovered a young cherry tree at the edge of the woods which appears to have grown up near a larger mature tree.  It has a cheerful sprinkling of little red cherries this year, still a bit sour.  

Reading: I just finished Brideshead Revisited the day before last and am in the throes of book hangover.  It was an achingly beautiful book.  Though it was quite sobering in some respects it was also encouraging and helps me consider a much longer view.  Another author I put off far too long.  Trying to decide on what is next.  

Thinking About: Much.  I was musing during Brideshead over how much longer most things take than I expected as a younger women.  The hard things anyway.  That whole "it's a marathon, not a sprint," saying has taken on new meaning in middle age.  

From the Learning Room:

The girls have picked up the Key To Geometry books (link in sidebar) and are working through them.  We are having Morning Time every day and continuing an abbreviated school day due to upcoming travel.   Current stack looks like this….

The first poem in the Longfellow volume is Evangeline.  Sniff! I read it the first time to oldest children when we lived here in the 90's.  I remember crying and fully expect a repeat experience.  

Around the House:  As part of my continuing education effort I decided to learn to refinish furniture properly this summer.  We have some old pieces that needed serious work.  I have painted furniture before but learned the hard way what happens when you skip some of the instructions.  Turns out there actually ARE essential steps.  This time we got legit with a hand held sander and stripper fluid and have experimented with various wire brushes and sandpaper grit counts.  It was low risk project since the pieces were all free at some point in the past.  It has been hard physical work doing it "right" but also extremely gratifying.  Not gonna lie, this feels something like a super power.  

From the kitchen:

This tastes far better than you may think.  I've been lightly steaming collard greens and using them as wraps.  Super cheap and easy.  There is chicken salad inside these if I am remembering correctly but we have also done tuna and egg salad.  All good.  

Creating: The girls and I have pulled the sewing machine out to cut down some thrifted women's clothing to fit a tween who is all legs.  So far so good.  

Family Stuff:  The man of the house had a very happy birthday.  

I hope summer is off to a wonderful start wherever you are.  (Or winter for my Australian friends.)  It's been good to sit and gather all these little bits and pieces in one place again.  For a time I had been busier on popular social media.  It's so very convenient there as apps on the phone.  A thought can be tapped out as words almost as soon as you've thought it.  Perhaps that is not always a good thing. Morale suffers on a steady diet of contention so I am regrouping once more. Time to inhale all this sunshine and steady on with these many projects. 

Thank you,

For organizing birthday games,

For dressing up at Halloween, 

For helping with taxes and insurance forms, 

For shopping for first cars, 

For tying ties,

For making walls pink or taupe or gray or whatever would be SO cool, 

For hauling mulch and shoveling snow alongside, 

For showing them eclipses and aquariums and oceans and cathedrals,

For leading the rosary – even when we are tired,

For roasting by the grill, 

For coordinating schedules,

For always thinking "the kids would like that" and then making it happen.  

Happy Father's Day and Happy Birthday soon to come.  We are so glad you were born and so grateful for all you the ways you show love. 

“Beautiful is the man who leaves a legacy, that of shared love and life.

It is he who transfers meaning, assigns significance and conveys in his loving touch the fine art and gentle shaping of a life.

This man shall be called, Father.”

― Stella Payton

Some days it's called for.  We found ourselves uninspired at home so we piled into the van and found a local ice cream shop.  Before dinner.  #worthit   

Good stuff, y'all.  I prefer mine slightly steamed before carrying on with the roasting part. Makes it less bitter. 

We are doing a modified year 'round schedule this year since we have a lot of travel opportunities once again.  Right now we are in the thick of all things dirt – on a literary and a literal level.  Once the snow melted and the rains began to fall the weeds erupted in the open expanses of dirt we brought in the backyard last summer.  We laid landscaping fabric and hauled in a couple truckloads of mulch to bed it down and crossed our fingers.

Living here has been an ongoing real life lesson in soil content, quality, and enrichment. Our dirt is sub-par, a shallow layer resting upon rock.  That likely bodes better for our foundation stability than our landscaping options. We are using this experience as a launching point for a unit about soil and composting.  

Experiement with oil and water and why soap removes dirt better than water.

Tess felt "dirt" dessert would inspire lol

There will also be  Dust Bowl reading and perusing after learning about erosion and climate:

Dust Bowl Oral Interviews

More here

Topics to research here

End of unit questions here

Summer has officially kicked off. We have been working hard on the yard and helping some of the kids begin new ventures.  Weekends at home are sacrosanct however – especially holiday weekends.  This first long weekend of summer took us all over town.  The sun set on a good number of us here at home afterwards with hot dogs grilled over the fire and backyard games.  It's what we do and I love that even though they can go where they please these days they still sometimes choose to come here.

20 odd years ago I had a friend who was one of 13 children.  Her husband came from a similarly sized family.  She mentioned how much they loved going "home" to get together.  Over the years her in-law's had made thoughtful additions to their modest midwestern family home to ensure their growing clan always enjoyed their time there.  A swingset one year.  A swimming pool later.  A ping pong table.  It was one of those casual conversations that planted a seed in my mind.  

Everything we do around here is with an eye towards the time we spend together.  What would make it nice sitting on the deck or what games could half a dozen people play at once in the yard?

I never take for granted that the time our adult children take to come here is their vacation.  It's such a blessing when they choose to spend it with us.  There is nothing better than falling asleep with the windows open on a summer night and hearing their laughter and shouts wafting up to us.  

We are not perfect.  Neither are they. Sometimes we step on toes.  Sometimes we make grave missteps.  I hope they always appreciate the gift they have in each other and the ability to come home, no matter what else the world is offering.  

Child of mine
Come as you grow
In youth you will learn the secret places
The cave behind the waterfall
The arms of the oak that hold you high
The stars so near on a desert ledge
The important places
And as with age you choose your own way among the many faces of a busy world
May you always remember the path that leads you back
Back to the important places

(Dad to Forest, 1986 – Forest Woodward)