In 2010, we were moving. In 2011, we were moving. In 2012, we were living in an apartment and thinking about moving. It's 2013. We have a house. We have a garden. We have vegetables.
I am loving this garden thing even more than I thought I would. Part of it is the shared excitement of doing this with the family. There's actually someone else who gets excited about news like "look, the carrots are coming up!" Peanut cheered at the table when I told the family we were eating salad from our garden. Pumpkin loves going out with a pair of scissors to cut herbs.
The unexpected gift of gardening has been watching the kids. Pumpkin helps with planting the seeds, dropping them into the holes or the rows and covering them with soil. Both help with watering the garden. I thought it would be my project. It's ours.
This one, on the other hand, is part of my project. I've been following Carolyn's blog for quite a while now. She makes nearly all of her own clothes. It's amazing and inspiring. I'd like to be making more of my own clothes as well.
My latest project was this light weight corduroy skirt. It's based on a Sew U pattern with pockets drafted by me. It's kind of my perfect skirt, simple, easy, and comfy. The puffy pockets are great for a tissue or my iPod. It's also just for riding the bicycle, which I do often enough living here!
I made the top last spring, I think. I drafted the pattern based on my favorite shirt from two winters ago. The pattern is still in progress, but it's getting better every time. I need to take in the shoulders by about a centimeter, so that will happen the next time around. The fabric is a bit too heavy. A bit more drape would be nice - and maybe make it less likely to mold to and constantly show off my little pouchy belly. Learning, learning, learning!
What are you growing? Making? Learning? Loving?
Oh, my friends. All those dreams, all those plans. Then reality hit in the form of (since January)...
...House purchase delayed for one week
...House painting, cleaning, floor installation - in 10 days or less
...Move
...10 days in new house during which we could not walk on new floor
...Week long delay in moving internet and phone
...Unpacking
...Weekly overnight trips for loving husband
...Family trip to Vienna
...Colds for me and Pumpkin
...Flat tire on the bicycle
...Grandparents arrive from North Carolina
...Birthday celebration (Pumpkin is 2!)
...Record-breaking 7 days of illness during which each and every member of our extended household gets sick and stays sick for at least 5 days. Each.
We're still in the middle of that last one. I'm just starting to feel like I might one day get a grip on things again - like life might one day be something other than a series of life-changing events. It just might be possible that there's a year or two in a row somewhere in our future that doesn't involve a move or a new job or new school or new family member. They're all wonderful things, but it would also be nice to catch a breath and take a minute to enjoy it all, too.
For now, let's take a minute an enjoy a house that's more than less unpacked. A house that's full of people I love - three generations of them, no less. A house that's going to be ours for a nice long while. A house where we can all stay in our pajamas for, say, three or four days in a row. Oh yes, and this yummy cup of honey lemon tea that will surely kick the doo-wop out of my cough!
