April Edition: Living in the Moment

Little Dude got this lovely little sticky/gooey/elastic-y party “favor” earlier in the day…It quickly became part of his personal arsenal: Be sure to picture in your mind the accompanying swooshing & shooting sounds he was making…And after swapping out weapons, Little Dude did something that none of the dudes have done thus far:He climbed up into the palms.  He didn’t climb too high; they’re not that big. But they are a whole lot bigger than they were when we planted them ten years ago.  Which made me flash back and then dig out some old pics of the “old days” …And yes, those two cuties above are now … teenagers.  And sadly, our grass is far from its glory days.
But this still remains:  all good battles should end with yummy avocado, salted and eaten straight from its skin.
As always, click on through to Anika‘s beautiful blog for more April Living in the Moment posts …

Weeds.

Popping and Purging.

What a mess.

 
But things often need to get messier before they can get tidier.  This desire/hankering/need to purge STUFF from the house has been growing stronger and stronger deep in my psyche for the last few months.  We’re not really packracks, per se.  But we homeschool and we run two businesses out of our home.  Which adds up to STUFF.  And I may just be that crazy lady who keeps nice boxes (especially the Crate & Barrel kind).  And perfectly good bubble wrap.  And packing material.  ‘Cause you never know when you’ll need that stuff.  And we may move someday (we’re not really the moving types).  And it seems a shame just to toss it in the recycle bin.  Y’know?  (please tell me I’m not that crazy, that I’m not the only one, that I’m in good company for good reason …).  Anywhooo, I decided to get over it.  I collapsed the boxes.  I conscripted some labor to flatten the bubble wrap.  Little Dude had two main methods: 

The hop-and-pop method … (the mask must have been his superpower)
And the run-and-stomp method.
His fun-filled, goofy ways made the process a mite less painful …
He had a fantastic third method (it resembled flamenco dancing and included one arm up in the air) that I failed to photograph because I was busy carting boxes, paper and bubble wrap to the garbage bin.  Painful though it is to throw away perfectly good packaging stuff, I’m glad for the extra space in the closet.  My psyche feels a little less annoyed.  A little freer.  A little lighter.  A little less fearful that Hoarders is going to come knocking at my door.  Now, on to those bookshelves…

Btw, I used this helpful tutorial at I Heart Faces to put together the animated .gif above (I essentially started at step 7).

If.

Sing for joy to God our strength; shout aloud to the God of Jacob!

Begin the music, strike the timbrel, play the melodious harp and lyre.

this is a decree for Israel, an ordinance of the God of Jacob.

When God went out against Egypt, He established it as a statute for Joseph.

In your distress you called and I rescued you,

I answered you out of a thundercloud;

I tested you at the waters of Meribah.

if you would only listen to Me, Israel!

You shall have no foreign god among you;

you shall not worship any god other than Me.

I am the Lord your God,

Open wide your mouth and I will fill it.

Israel would not submit to me.

So I gave them over to their stubborn hearts to follow their own devices.

if Israel would only follow My ways,

Those who hate the Lord would cringe before Him,

and their punishment would last forever.

But you would be fed with the finest of wheat;

with honey from the rock I would satisfy you.”

Sound the ram’s horn at the New Moon, and when the moon is full, on the day of our festival;

I heard an unknown voice say:  “I removed the burden from their shoulders;

their hands were set free from the basket.

Hear me, My people, and I will warn you—

Who brought you up out of Egypt.

“But my people would not listen to Me;

“If my people would only listen to Me,

how quickly I would subdue their enemies and turn my hand against their foes!

Psalm 81: 1-16

Four Cameras in the Canyon.

It was Big Dude’s first trip back to the canyon, post-broken-ankle.  ‘Twas sunny, warm.  There were lizards, snakes, bicyclists, walkers, ground squirrels, and rabbits galore.  Littlest Dude brought the Rebel and took this picture of the browning grass.So I whipped out my phone and took a picture of him taking a picture.And Big Dude whipped out his phone and took a picture of me taking a picture of him taking a picture.And if three cameras weren’t enough in the canyon, Middle Dude whipped out his camera and took a picture of … well, you know the rest.

The Getty. Los Angeles.

Our field trip last week with Little Dude’s 4th grade class.Our docent was pretty wonderful.  And she was completely delighted with our students.  They were engaged and enthusiastic and surprisingly [to her, anyway] knowledgeable and observant about biblical, mythological, and artistic nuances.And then there was this clueless twit.  Without a doubt, Van Gogh’s Irises was the most popular painting on exhibit.  There was a lengthy line of people waiting to take pictures.  And this clueless twit?  Yeah, he just stood there, right in line with the art and didn’t move the whole time I was there.No lines for Monet, Pissarro, Renoir or Manet …
Little Dude loved this field trip.  So did I.  (well, minus that whole 2-hour rush hour traffic to get there. bah.)

The Last 15 Minutes …

… before leaving for school.  Always look a lot like this.

It's a good thing I didn't feel the need to tidy this room before pushing the shutter, or this picture never would have happened.  (Erika says it's ok not to... Really.  And she'll give YOU permission not to tidy, too.)

Still More Poppies.

These poppies all have a touch of One Willow magic added to them:  Berry tone (from The Palette).