Run Lori Run!

Progress

Things are finally hopping in the garden!

We've had a crazy amount of sun in these parts and now my flowers and veggies are taking off. I never get tired of watching seedlings grow: a meager seed, given a little soil and water, start inching their way toward the sun. Gets me every time...

And this is a little something I made for my mom for Mother's Day. 

Hope you guys are getting some sun your way and if you're a mom (hell, even if you aren't a mom) I hope you don't lift a finger this weekend. Happy Mother's Day!

Hood River

Took a quick trip to Hood River this weekend and it was beautiful!  Sunshine and not a cloud in sight.

We visited my family's store and restaurant to take some food photos for the website. A nice perk of the job is that I get to eat my brother's cooking when I'm done!

I've been trying to paint the store for weeks now and I just can't get it right. The background is what's getting me the most. And the detailed work. And the color scheme. It's a frustrating process...

    
But I will persevere!

Unrest

There are 10 men in me and I do not know or understand one of them. ~ Carl Sandburg 

Gratitude

I'm joining Taryn and others over at Wooly Moss Roots today for Gratitude Sunday ~ taking the time to acknowledge all the things (big and small) that we're most grateful for in the past week.

• Springtime and tulips.  The buds on the trees. New growth, new life.

• The first signs of strawberry season. Hoods, baby!

• The miracle of seedlings (even leggy ones)

• My husband for taking the time out of his busy work and school schedule to build more raised beds and a hoop house

• The opportunity to see Brian Swimme's talk on the cosmic evolution of consciousness.  My mind was blown.
• Watching this episode of Nature.  My mind was blown twice this week!  
• That I am employed and make a *livable* wage.  I heard a little about American Winter on the radio the other day (yet another show filmed here in Portland) and it was incredibly eye-opening. 
• Beanie, always Beanie...

What are YOU grateful for this week?

Sunset

If the boy and girl walk off into the sunset hand-in-hand in the last scene, it adds 10 million to the box office. ~George Lucas

These Days

These days I've been:

• Planting flowers- Dahlias, Liatris, Euphorbia
  
• Planting veggies- Copra onions, Red Zeppelin onions, Sugar Snax carrots
• Listening to– this song (Thanks Colleen!)
  
• Smelling- Rosemary in the garden, lots of curry in the kitchen
  
• Watching- Alias (so I'm a little behind), The Life of Pi
  
• Reading- Wildwood, The Years of Rice and Salt, maybe Daughter of Smoke and Bone
  
• Eating- Honey glazed salmon, Salad rolls
• Hoping- to build this bench this summer
  
• Planning- my next vacation
  
• Loving- Spring! Finally there's some action in the garden!
  
• Feeling- grateful for more sunshine, amazed when things actually start growing from seed on my windowsill.

What are you up to these days?

Riot

A riot is the language of the unheard.

~Martin Luther King Jr

Bibs For A Good Cause

Craft Hope Project #20: Bibs and cloth diabers for orpahns in China. Learn more here.

"There are an estimated 145 million orphans in our world.  Nearly 3/5 of those orphans live in Asia. Sixty percent of the children in Chinese orphanages are children with special needs. You can help by making cloth baby bibs that will be distributed among the orphanges run by the New Hope Foundation."

Bibs can be any size (ages 0-7), color or design.  The only restrictions are NO LAMINATE FABRIC and no embellishments like buttons.

Bibs and cloth diapers can be mailed to:

Craft Hope c/o Carin Vogelzang
630 Griswold SE
Grand Rapids, MI 49507

The deadline for the project is April 1^st. Don't know how to make a bib? Click here to find tutorials.

Happy Chinese New Year!

Journey of the Universe

"...Hidden in this cosmic dust was the immense potentiality for bringing forth mountains and rivers, oyster shells and blue butterflies."

~ Journey of the Universe by Brian Thomas Swimme and Mary Evelyn Tucker

If you're looking for a good book, this one is awesome! What are you reading these days?

Her Gift

Ah, Caper was a good ol' girl. Her sweet, generous, loving spirit will be missed.

Caper was a pure spirit, full of love and affection. A gift. A blessing.