Another picture of my awesome teammates, taken at our Corporate Challenge fundraiser on Sunday.
This was snapped just after I steered a boat that “huli’d” (or tipped over) in the Bay. Bet ya can’t tell that I’m soaking wet! And I do have to say that it felt good to get cooled off in the water. :)
Also this is one of the few pics of our novice crew that includes our coach, Dora, who’s standing in the center wearing a lei of blue orchids.
Went to the garden this morning, as is my usual routine, to greet the day. I said hello to the rosebushes, encouraged the fledgling cucumber plant, and gathered a large bunch of hibiscus blossoms for my table.
The bees were out in full force and a lizard came out of hiding briefly. A bird preened itself in the rosemary bush and a junebug startled me just a bit as it clacked and hummed through the canes of the climbing rose. I nibbled on two ripe strawberries (so sweet!) and picked some fennel and chewed the stem (such flavor!).
On my way to and from the garden I passed dozens of homes. Small apartment homes, full of life in the early morning. I heard the music, the vacuuming, the kitchen noises. I don’t know why, but living this way–so close to so many people–it enlivens me. I like the bustling community. I like smelling several different meals cooking, I feel comfort in hearing the cries of children as well as the hum of the lawnmower.
While in my garden I picked a zucchini and some green onions and some marjoram. I’ll eat them for lunch in an omelet.
The kids had their first-ever outrigger canoeing races on Saturday. What a fabulous experience for both of them!! Here you can see a picture of Catgirl as the steersman of the girls’ team. She commands that canoe like a pro!
Given that we just saw the new movie, it seemed high time to remind you of some of the ways the kiddos (& John) have celebrated their Harry Potter-love over the years…
Just had to share this picture of me with some of my team members after a recent outrigger race. They are such awesome strong women!
In two weeks we’ll be ‘graduating’ and moving up to being regular team members rather than 1st-year novices. This is so exciting!
Though I really love traveling, it feels delicious to get back into the routines of home and to sleep in my own cozy bed again. :)
I had a lot of time to think this past week while I was out of town, and as my mind turned to thoughts of home I started making some mental lists about my goals, values and priorities. So much of our home life reflects the intentional choices of our family.
For example, we embrace small footprint living, the effect of which is that we currently live in a small on-campus home rather than in a suburban tract. We spend our discretionary funds on travel rather than on late-model cars. Our clothes are functional but not fancy. We tend to eat fresh & local gourmet-style foods, and our kids can tell the difference between an artisan cheese and a supermarket imitation. We recycle and compost and grow our own. If you drop by, you will be offered a chair and a cup of tea or a glass of wine, as well as an earful of conversation.
While on the road I thumbed through some “home” magazines, admiring the beauty of the decor and comparing them to my own nothing-like-a-magazine-layout home. It made me feel sort of inadequate and empty. Wondering where I’d gone wrong because of my own lack of artfulness and taste. This thought came rather specifically as I thumbed through a “Coastal Living” magazine and fantasized a bit about having a beach cottage with pale blue walls and white linens (sigh). But…can you even imagine the nightmare of cat hair that would collect on a white couch?
I am just not a fancy living room person, nor would such decor mesh with my chosen lifestyle. I think I will forever be the kind of person who will have to scooch over a pile of books or a sleeping kitty to make space for you to sit down when you drop by. I might even have to wash a mug or two for that tea that we’ll share. And you might find me wearing my gardening jeans with their holes and mud-dirty hems, rather than anything fashionable.
Sometimes I wonder if I’m “doing it wrong,” and perhaps I should be setting my sights a bit higher, or working harder to have nicer “things” and be a better hostess. But I think I’m really more in the stage of life where I’ve realized that I just don’t find joy in those pursuits. I’d far rather have a lazy conversation with a friend, spend the afternoon puttering in my garden, take the kids to a new bookshop, go for a swim, read a novel, bake some muffins, paddle a canoe, or take pictures of the sunset.
I know my life is unusual, even strange, to many people who have made other types of lifestyle choices. And there are days that I wonder if maybe I should work harder to conform to society’s expectations or aspirations. But then I walk in that front door and melt into my favorite chair with a kitty at my side. I look out over the broad green field that we share with our adjacent neighbors and I see our garden off in the distance. I hear the kiddos chattering away in their room as they make their summer dream lists. I sip on a latte from a favorite flowery mug, my drink made by John after waking together this morning. And I am satisfied. To know that I am truly home.
Picture: a bunch of climbing roses cut from my garden in a vase placed on my back porch table that’s covered with a favorite vintage cloth that I found at a thrift shop many years ago. How’s that for picture-perfect? :)
Nothing profound to say today. Just wanted to share a bit of beauty with you.
:)
I’m too tired to write a full blogpost tonight, but I just wanted to post this quick pic from today’s Los Angeles adventure with two new friends (one of them was holding the camera for this shot as we rode the train back home).
And….thank you for all of your kindnesses and well-wishes. Three cheers to being ‘open’ to all of life’s pleasures and possibilities, I say! :) I refuse to live my life by fear and I refuse to let others’ choices diminish any of the joy that I feel on my journey.
:)
Today I said “Yes” to:
-an orange swishy skirt, my new favorite. feeling so good against my legs in the breeze
-edamame from my favorite blue bowl on the porch in the afternoon, with crushed sea salt on top (yum!)
-a new haircut (way overdue), from a new super-good stylist who invested more than an hour in my crop of thin hair, gave me an awesome scalp massage, and had me giggling the whole time. Anyone who needs a referral, drop a line in the comments!
-getting work done on my dissertation and making a significant discovery about two of “my” doctors.
-reading Moby Dick on the beach as the kiddos were at paddling practice in the early evening:
“Yes, as everyone knows, meditation and water are wedded for ever…”
PS: H/T to Maddie for the style of this post & photo. She is always an inspiration. :)
There’s something about these little flowers that just looks magical. Each time I look at them I make a wish and it feels as though it really will come true.
This is how I work best, methinks–with all the necessities close at hand!
A teammate leading me in a guided meditation/relaxation prior to our race. I really had the jitters and was quite exhausted due to recent travel and general lack of sleep–not to mention the emotional drain from my grandma’s funeral the day before.
As always, I just had to remember to breathe to find my strength.
PS: John’s composition with this photo really captured the beauty of the moment…
