This month was full of outdoor adventures. A year or two ago I found out about Wildwood Park for the Arts' annual lantern festival, but the weather was never the kind I wanted to be outside in. But this year I got tickets for myself and the Bigs, left the little one at home with his dad (who doesn't really like walking around outdoor things anyway), and ventured forth. The Bigs are finally getting old enough to do fun things with, things that involve walking, staying up late, and trying interesting new foods. Of the various cultures represented, Ireland was their favorite, as it involved making flower crowns and watching Irish dance. But getting a lantern to light on fire and put in the water in "India" was a close second. We decided that it definitely needs to be an annual thing. I also took my ballet-loving eldest to an outdoor highlights-of-the-season by Ballet Arkansas. It was a lovely variety of dance styles and costumes, and we got there a bit early and got iced

Knocked out this shop sample  Ric Raw Shawl  in a couple of weeks (it would have been less, but I took it to a movie to get a chunk of it done and got the stripes out of order in the dark and then spent two days catching back up). It was a bit odd and felt overdone, but it wasn't awful to make and now it's been exchanged for a nice store credit that I promptly turned into a project bag because I am trying to get a full rainbow. A rare sewing project, I was in a craft store looking for something else entirely and happened onto a quilting quarter with an avocado toast print that somehow found its way into my basket, along with a coordinating fabric and a spool of thread. I googled project ideas when I got home, liked the idea of bins but didn't like any of the patterns, so I made my own. I cut my quarters in half short ways then made them into box-bottomed totes, nested them, and hemmed them together around the tops. They are not perfect but they are cute and functional and I

As a kid, my mental marker for summer was strawberries. Creeping along the dusty rows in my grandparents' garden, trying not to get dirt in my sandals, peering between the wide green leaves for red berries, hoping that the turtles hadn't gotten a taste of the biggest ones before I could pick them. Brushing them clean and then biting into them, sun warmed and still a little gritty, but also delicious. I couldn't be trusted to help harvest without eating over half of what I picked like a scarlet version of  Blueberries for Sal, so I was left to it and my grandma would gather her own colander full to make strawberry shortcake with later. strawberry shortcake from a local restaurant, made with piecrust (like my grandma) and real whipped cream (she always used cool whip, which I always politely declined) My love of strawberries is shared by only one of my children, unsurprisingly born of the pregnancy during which I consumed a ridiculous amount of cherries (which I did not like

Some days it's too warm to keep the windows open, and I can once again drink my iced coffee without needing a jacket to do so comfortably. It's the month before birthday season (three out of the five of us are June or July babies) and the last chance to do outdoor things like go to the park or on a hike before it gets too hot and buggy for a few months. I've been relishing the slowness. I enjoyed last month -- traveling, exploring, having things every weekend to go and do, having meetings (Zoom and in person) multiple nights each week... but it's also nice to slow down and listen to the birds sing while lounging in a hammock. So we're reading and crafting and going on walks, playing outside and opening the windows whenever we can, which is not very much different from what we usually do and honestly I'm beginning to really like that.