we weathered the storm

...and were lucky that only a few tree limbs fell from the willow tree and hardly any rain.
sending lots of love to those less fortunate!

hope children's festival

this weekend our HopeArts campers spent a wonderful last week at camp med-o-lark learning trapeze and circus acts all culminating in a performance at the Hope General Store for the Hope Children's Festival. Donations were accepted for Rosie the Elephant and Hope Library. Fun ws had by all and even mosey handmade made and appearance!

{this moment}

scenes from our week...
made new friends
laughed with old friends
explored the woods and lake
picked berries
played pretend
danced our hearts out
flew...

little ones garden

you see...we had some old old seeds, they had been on sale when i bought them years ago and shuffled from move to move. when we moved this spring i came across them and in the back of my mind i was thinking they might make a good first garden for out little bits. and so we let her go to town...pumpkins, squash, radish and peas...and as you can see a few are actually popping up! looks like there will be a late crop around here--and some thinning that will need doing...but t is kind of just glorious the way it is!

what we did today

this morning was full of the beach and the shore and the big great rock and lemonade stands...this afternoon was more a time for reflection as we honored my grandfathers long and full life!
but in both situations the sun was shining, the last little bits of august hanging on by a golden thread.
and i was ever so glad for the sun today.

heavy baby for the bebe

in all the hubbub of preparing for our little playschool i wanted to make sure little bits had something special (since she has given over many many of her dear toys)...i had a suggestion by dear sarah baldwin to hold one of these lovely lavender heavy babies...and i was sold! i brought it home for em and when she woke up from her nap i just had to show her...she had the sliest grin little on her face and she lit right up and started mothering her "too heavy baby"...so sweet.

one of the best things...

about having my morning glory sign ups trickle in are the little gifts here and there...flowering basil- why yes...fresh eggs-of course!
only 2 more spaces left in our playschool-and as my mom said "whoo-hoo"
happy days of fall ahead...

this time last year!

little bits is growing like a weed!

sunny~side~up

recently, beloved

recently a beloved place of mine has had to come to pass. you might remember the looking glass studio from this apartment therapy post...
and to put it into a few short words:

"originally built as a green house by my dad and i-- and made almost entirely of salvaged windows and glass doors.
the roof is corrugated tin and fiberglass from an old chicken coop and the floor is equal parts cobblestone and slate. the slate was purchased from a local quarry and the cobblestone was salvaged from a cobblestone street they tore up in downtown portland. my dad is a pretty resourceful guy and i like to indulge myself in thinking i've picked up a bit of that from him.
the windows we found mostly at the town dump and a few on curbs. many of the large windows were from the old post office building in town."

well folks, it was falling down...really and my dad was getting a new tin roof on the main house and so and so...it is now a pile of rubble. a kinda amazing pile of rubble. we already called dibs on the corrugated tin roof- (once a chicken coop and to be used again in OUR very own chicken coup now) and then there is the slate. the lovely dark grey, powdery, real deal slate...a whole stack. and you know i got this idea looking at it the other day wanting so badly to put it to use..
you see: i recently repainted the bathroom's wooden floor and i truly despise how it turned out. i just could't make it work...all that semi-gloss white makes it feels so ungrounded...and you see the SLATE, the SLATE is just the thing to bring that tiny space back down to earth. truth is the sink and toilet need replacing--the beloved clawfoot tub will be staying and the slate will be moving on in! it took a bit of convincing for my dad to part with it, but alas he saw it would go to good use.
so above are a few bathroom inspirations(and i shot of my feet on the old studio floor//a combo of cobblestone and granite)...
you know it sounds pretty funny, it's just there is no real good word for bathroom...
unless you indulge me and let me refer to it as the w.c.
now that would be too much fun!

***i have this mad idea i am going to polish it right up with beeswax...off to investigate and see if that is even a real thing people do...hrmmm***

open those windows throw open the sash

A perfect day is:
breezy (from the ocean, so a little foggy too first thing in the morning)
full of old and new friends
filled with the little squeals and scuffs of little ones underfoot
organized and helped along by loved ones
measured by how tuckered out everyone is at the end of the day
renegade carpentry tempered with an expert at hand (thanks j.s.!)
has unexpected twists and turns that lead you to a better place than the day before

what an open house we had. after much rushing around, a few unexpected visitors (not open house visitors but seperate visitors...strong and able to move playhousesin a single swoop...well almost), many hands a'helping, a little pep talk that could have been in french but wasn't....we opened our doors to the public.

we had a wonderful time sharing our home and the space we have worked so much on all summer with you all. we met many new friends and chatted with old ones. we talked chickens with children and drank fizzy lemonade. i hope everyone had as good a time as we.

and a special thanks to all my ladies who pitched in at the last minute with the little details of cooking and cleaning. xoxox

i had this very special moment where i stepped out onto the back back porch (which overlooks the backyard) and saw and heard all the children running about, i could just picture how much fun we are going to be having this fall!