plein air...

painting outside is fun...you don't have to worry about the drips, you can splatter to your heart's content, you can listen to the birds singing, the bees buzzing...

can you smell them...

the whole house smells sweet today, as I furiously bake batch after batch of chocolate chip cookies for Liam and Cassidy's marching band bake sale...and I can't eat any - you know - the whole migraine/chocolate thing. but I did make myself a few naked ones (without chocolate chips) and they were just as delicious. really.

he loves me...he loves me not...

he definitely loves me...

the feather fell...

...like a whisper from above...it is time to fly little bird, time to fly...

pandora's box...a short story for you...

She had been searching for weeks, when one day her eyes fell upon the unassuming brown box on her shelf. She took it down and opened it. Ah, yes - how could she have forgotten where it was? She took out the scrap of paper that was inside and carefully tucked it into her shirt, close to her heart. Instantly, a strange feeling spread throughout her body, a lightness of sorts. She then reached into her pocket and drew out a small scrap of paper that she had been carrying with her for quite some time. Without a second glance, she tossed this scrap into the box and quickly shut it. She found a ball of string and wound it around the box many, many times, making a tight knot underneath.

She carried the box to her closet and placed it high on a shelf, where it would not be found. She turned out the light and closed the door. She smiled.

It was only later that I found out, it was fear that she had tied up in the box and put in her dark closet...

...and courage that she took out and placed next to her heart.

so proud...

...he's come a long way since kindergarten...when he needed me to be right next to him for every single class...guiding him through every practice...reminding him of this and that...

not anymore...he flies alone now...playing his Bach solo last night on the big stage at a local college...so proud of this boy...

note to self...

the luckiest mom in the world...

My sixteenth mother's day was just awesome. I felt like a queen. I sat out on our deck all day long with my feet up, reading magazines. I was totally spoiled...flowers...a nice breakfast...sweet handmade cards...a delicious dinner...Cassidy made this dessert from one of our favorite cookbooks- it's called pavlova and it's a giant meringue, topped with fresh whipped cream and berries and homemade raspberry sauce...Heavenly! I feel truly blessed to have such great kids. I am the luckiest mom in the world.

sshhh...

The day is done and the darkness,

Falls from the wings of night,

As a feather is wafted downward,

From an eagle in his flight.

-Henry Wadsworth Longfellow-