sunday

saturday

this Moment And A Weekend Wish...

{this moment} - A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember.

-Amanda Soule (SouleMama)

Here is mine for the week, all though I had many that night to choose from...

Looks like there is sun, sun, sun in the forecast which is way overdue out here. We will be taking advantage of every bit of daylight for sure. Are you as ready as we are for a break in the abnormal May rain we are having?

Wishin' you a great loooooong and dry weekend!

Step To It!

We finally painted the mismatched, pieced together, sawed down, boring fake-maple colored step stools that are all around the house out here. I love them now!

I really DIDN'T love them before no matter how useful they were. With three small people in the house we always need a little step up at the kitchen counter, or in the bathroom, or at the big desk. Plus, we use them to put stuff on and as extra seats for little bums.

Like I said-necessary? Yes. Cute? No, no they weren't.

We did some quick, efficient sanding,

and some very "neat" and meticulous painting as you can see. (We picked up some decent sized Martha Stewart Living paint sample cans at Home Depot for 3 bucks each.)

I tried really hard to be calm and patient. I tend to get a little tense with messy paint projects. Sully totally called me out on it. They teach us so much about ourselves don't they? Well, we had some leaning and bumping and little toddler drips but not too bad. I even kept it together when I could follow little blue foot prints all the way down the hallway. Minna got a little impatient herself when she wanted to nurse and I was covered in "Cornbread Yellow" paint and really wanted to finish the job. But even that was handled pretty well by both parties.

Satisfying messy paint experience for all I think.

Especially now that the stools are back to work, doing their very distinguished jobs and looking pretty darn good doing so.

Whereabouts-Weekly Pizza Day.

So this week I am sharing a "whereabouts", an actual, literally correct whereabouts. So this is where we actually are each and every Wednesday...

Minna and I tie our hair back (well, I do anyway) and put on our food service gloves to dish out pizza for the kid's school lunch! It is a big fundraiser for the school and is run completely by volunteers. Thanks everyone that made a pizza run, served or did anything at all for our kids pizza days!

Today was the last of the year so I had to take a few pictures to share. I only had my phone, so grainy cell phone pictures will have to do. I wish I had been able to get one of our truck stuffed to the brim with pizza boxes that fog up the windows with the heat they put off, but didn't mange to do so. Next year perhaps.

Most of the folks that come in to help have little ones that come to help too. They love seeing their big brothers and sisters during the day.

I am sure they don't mind sneaking grapes and scoring slices of the left over pizza and milk either.

Minna is especially lucky. She gets to have a two phase pizza lunch. First she sits with Sully and mingles with his class. The Kindergarten class comes in when the upper grades get ready to go out for recess. Minna then hugs Sully good bye and scoots in next to Colyer at his class table for round two.

All the kids LOVE having a little one join them and I am so happy our school is small enough that these fun little moments are allowed.

Hope you had a good Wednesday wherever you are and we will see you tomorrow for a pretty little step-stool update...

Canoodling.

Happy Monday!

The weather out here has been fickle, especially for middle May. Usually our boots are in hibernation for the summer by now and the house is littered with flip-flops. We have had to slip those boots on a few times in the past week due to rain and mud and digging around in the garden. Despite the cold...

...we started puttin' some of these guys in the planter boxes.

We used tiny little Minna fingers to dig perfectly sized holes for lil' flower seeds.

Then today we got to pick a few of these from the lemon hedge. They smell SO good.

I feel the motivation welling up inside after these trysts with spade and soil. Who knows where it will go with my track record in the gardening department but I really want to get to the nursery tomorrow. More tomatoes are a must.

Now, if you will excuse me, I have a date with some pretty colors and a paintbrush...

...oh yeah, in my lounge pants no less.

sunday

saturday

This Moment.

{this moment} - A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember.

-Amanda Soule (SouleMama)

Another school week completed! We are down to a handful of days left 'til I get my hardworking school boys free and clear. Then the lot of us can have more spontaneous, creative moments like this, together.

...so very excited.

Have a happy weekend folks!

Happy One Year Out Here!

One year!

I don't really have any meaningful or poignant things to say today really. Yet it has been a full year and it has been very meaningful for me to be able to process and put it all together here for myself and for anyone remotely interested.

Here is a run down of the big stuff...

A new, intense, fulfilling job and along with it a new intense schedule for all of us. We are doing it though!

A sweet little baby became a sweet little girl.

A beginner crafter made lots of stuff, got brave and tried to sell some of that stuff. (Made a few sales too!)

And in between the bigger events, I have been so lucky to have another year of days discovering and learning and playing and growing with this amazing family of mine...

...out here, in this amazing place we get to call home.

That's a darn good year.

Origami-again.

The Understudy wants to share the shots of the finished origami-folio.

It was instantly approved by it's new owner and was loaded up with origami essentials. The only speed bump during the making was a broken needle (my first!) because the layers became too thick and I was too determined to jam it all through my poor machine. All is well and I just had to hand sew in a few spots, it really was thick and I am glad I didn't break a finger! The only request Sully had was that his new bag be stiff and sturdy. Request granted...

So with that done and shared, I must mention an anniversary.

Not my 11 year wedding anniversary. No, no, that is NEXT week. But my blog anniversary is tomorrow! Yup, a whole year. I don't know how I am going mark it yet, probably a little year-in-review post or something. I do know though, that I am going to be putting together a few sets of Out Here'n Two Rock postcards to mark the occasion. Think sunflowers, cute little hands holding heart shaped rocks, dandelions and some of my blog banners. Can you picture it? I think I will sell them over at the THREADLINGS shop all wrapped up in fabric envelopes.

Sound kinda cute? We will see...

Hope your Wednesday was swell.

The Understudy.

So I have a temporary replacement for my trusty camera! It is actually an early "Father's Day present". (At least that is what I said when I brought it home and presented it to Jeff and let him take a few shots.) He really likes it and I am sure he will enjoy it in a few weeks when he can actually get the chance to use it. Right now it will be in my hip pocket ready for action.

She already helped me take a shot of the "Origami-folio" that is in the works for my bigger boy. I don't know what I was thinking when I decided not to use a pattern but it may just turn out O.K. It is sturdy enough for Sully and seems to be the perfect size. Should be done tonight so I will let you know.

I also got a shot of the little newborn baby gift that is on the craft table. There is a pattern being used here but I don't feel any more confident because of it. To be continued here too. (I am using that old sheet again, so soft and pretty.)

Lastly, here is my new sewing table! I am borrowing a little desk that I found buried in a storage building on the property and the landlord said I could use it. It is just a little white-washed child's desk but butted up against a big table, makes a perfect sewing-cutting-ironing area. One of these days I WILL take you on a tour. Maybe with the help of our new trusty camera.

Being an understudy isn't that bad really.

Look at all the fun things she's gonna get to do!

Check In...

Happy Monday!

Let's see... what little projects have been going on out here?

I have been trying to busy myself with things other than taking too many pictures. Instead, I have been sewing a bit- baby gifts need to be sent off! More on those when I have the camera again.

Plus, I have been busily sorting through the zillion pictures I already have. I have some printing and framing to do as well as a few photo books to put together. One very special book is top o'the list, my lil' sister's bridal shower memory book! Guess I should get that done before they are married and celebrating their first anniversary right?

I usually use Snapfish, Winkflash or Shutterfly to print but I think I want to branch out a little and see what else is out there. What photo processing site do you like? Do they create a nice book? I would love to know.

I gotta go play with my pictures now.

(And maybe fold some clothes. Maybe.)

Have a great start to your week!

Happy Friday Happy Campers!

Please welcome guest photographer- Sullivan!

He brought his camera along last weekend on a boys trip to Lake Sonoma. They hiked in with all their gear on their backs and spent a great night at waters edge with camp-stove blueberry pancakes for breakfast!

Here are some of the shots from their trip.

Look at the beautiful grassy hillside. Sully does landscapes.

They hiked and they hiked. Note the emergency whistle and sturdy walking stick.

Of course Sully does action shots.

The monocular was a great source of interest. (It is really neat.)

Sully does story shots too.

And if that isn't an "Out Here'n Two Rock" style picture, I don't know what is...

Great shots Sully and thanks for sharing. I love seeing through your lens. Will you contribute again someday?

Sully- "Yeah, but you still can't use my camera."

Oh.

No "wordless weekend" this week. Not just because of my camera being out of service, but because the computer is being moved to another room and will be taking a break until Jeff can hook her back up properly. We all know I can not be trusted to do so.

Have a great weekend!

Just Some "Needles" For Ya.

Well, the camera problem has become worse. Now I have to send my poor thing in to be repaired. Ugh, what am I going to do if I can't torture all around me with constant shooting?

I have been resorting to posting about past photos but since my backlog of pertinent pictures is dwindling, I need to go to plan B and C.

-Inviting guest photographers to share some shots (that would be my eldest, Sully).

-Borrowing our guest photographer's camera. (Please Sully?)

He says I don't let him use mine so he is being very protective of his. I can't blame him... I guess. I will keep working on him.

So while the whole situation is being worked out I have one of my last projects documented to share.

A wedding gift!

Fun! I already gave it to the happy couple and I think they liked it. I made "his-n-hers" reversible place mats with embroidered initials and matching napkins. I imagined them being used outdoors on one of their many BBQ dinner nights for two. I paired the linens with a really nice set of BBQ utensils.

Hope my embroidery stands up to washing because this is really my first time stitching something that will need to be laundered often. Hold tight little stitches! I also hope the napkins aren't too rough. They are made from a pretty hearty cotton so they should be up for the hard work of being out in the elements and wiping up homemade BBQ sauce.

I really, really liked making them and I still have two more important weddings coming up this summer. No surprises there if they end up with kitchen linens too. :)

Send good camera thoughts my way will ya?

Close Nature Call.

Last week, in the middle of the night, (of course a night when Jeff was at work), our cars had a close encounter with a huge oak branch. It missed the cars and the house, and most importantly no animals or people were around, phew! I didn't hear it but the dog did and woke me up. Being in my jams I decided not to investigate til morning...

The kids noticed it right away as we left for school saying, "There is a tree in the pond!"

Now it might not look like much but you should be able to see the two little ponds and the barn very clearly in this shot but the fallen branch is in the way. It was at least 30 feet long and fell probably 40 feet down. Poor Old Oak.

The kids were fascinated and didn't waste any time climbing and tunneling around in the leafy branches. They spent the afternoon hiding and making me find them in their little forts. We had a few giant leaf brooms sweeping the drive too. The sweeping was very helpful but cut short due to some more close calls with eyeballs.

A long lost RC plane that flew too high one day returned home.

Much to this pilot's excitement.

And before the neighbor made quick work of chopping the trunk for firewood and hauling the branches off to the brush pile, I collected some smaller ones to sand, paint and turn into some sort arrangement for the house.

Thanks Old Oak, you are a beautiful tree.

(PS-Unrelated: I miss my camera.)