ancestors . . .

Two days ago I met the woman whose mama built this house. And yesterday I got to practice yoga with her. How beautiful is that?

new old stove

So, I just couldn't deal with the furnace wall oven (which overheated by about 300 degrees) and the bang-cooktop (which shorted every time you turned it on). So I found us an old electric range with two ovens (not exactly antique but retro for sure--but fully functional, precisely heating, and no shorting). Tim ripped out the other and installed this one. The arrangement is still a bit rough, but we are loving it.

summertime . . .

The days seem impossibly long. Doesn't get truly dark until 9:30 or so. Aurora just finished her first week of swimming lessons and she has been a star! The first day she wouldn't even get in the water, but now she is blowing bubbles and kicking and says she loves her teacher!

a little poem

I posted a little something on Craigslist to the tune of "you watch my hens and I'll watch yours. free yard eggs." I've gotten a few responses. This one is like a sweet poem:

Forgive the intrusion....I so loved your ad and photo...I would jump
at this joy...but I am
in Bastrop.....but only 3 chickens...??? they are cute...
Have fun...
Catine E. Perkins

pepper

Just thought I'd post a few shots of my gorgeous new Barred Rock, Pepper. Ain't she pretty? The chickens are putting up with her, for the most part. Just a little squabbling.

camp lisa

I took the kids today to listen to Lisa Loeb play a few things from her new album "Camp Lisa" at the B&N not too far from us. Aurora loved it, adored that we got to get her to sign our CD, and was astonished that the music on the CD was "the same music that lady was singing!!!"

father's day is around the corner . . .

Make a Smilebox photobook

crafty melty plastic

Remember this fun fine-motor skill activity? Great for busy little hands.

the heat

It has been roasting hot the past week or so, and the heat will continue. But the breeze does not let up. That is our saving grace.

We had to say goodbye to our Francesca. A raccoon or cat snatched her and left her beheaded beneath some bushes in the chicken run. It is sort of my fault because I left the coop open (even though the fence to the run was closed--and, I thought, impassible) because Francesca had been finding her way out in the mornings to peck about anyway, and I did not want her to be without water or without a way of getting back under cover should she need to. (Chickens are not so smart and just because she got out, she could not necessarily get back in.) She was a good head honcho chicken and I think the other two girls miss her. They seem a little less lively, a little less secure. I think she may have passed defending them. Mostly I don't really want to think about it too much. But I do batten down the hatches at night now, and the other two biddies are too chicken to explore as much as Francesca did. We will probably build a hyper-secure run (with a top) and acquire a replacement in the next few weeks. Aurora is convinced that it is a frog that got Francesca.

Anyhow. YAY OBAMA. Some good news. What a historical moment.