We’ve had a lot of rain here in southwest Pennsylvania. As a firm lover of beautiful skies, this can be both good and bad. I love a beautiful blue sky and I love an interesting cloudy gray sky. Both can be delightful in their own ways. Rainy and foggy days have a cozy comfort of their own, but are hard to photograph. I know my garden plants are getting lots of good water, though, and after our drought here last summer, I’m happy to see lots of moisture for now.
Friday, May 2
My husband and I frequent a produce auction during the warmer months. Today he went for the first time this year and bought me hanging flower baskets for my backyard and Ninebark bushes that I will put somewhere. I love this Diablo variety that has dark purple leaves and pinky white cluster flowers. They are a new discovery for me here and I’ve added them to my favorites, along with rugosa roses, lilac, and hydrangea.
Saturday, May 3
After a morning in the kitchen, cleaning and prepping for the rest of the weekend, the kids and I pack a lunch and spend the bulk of the day at the park. There is a huge park complex near us with multiple playgrounds and pavilions and even a lake. We play at four different playgrounds, slide down a giant slide, and wind up walking all the way around the lake. There is an art challenge happening at one of the pavilions and I walk in and try my hand at speed painting for 30 minutes. We have a lot of fun. We come home and enjoy family movie night, watching The Peanuts Movie.
Sunday, May 4
Today, after church, is our Mother/Daughter banquet. About 40 women attend. We eat, chat, and exchange potted plants. It’s a great time of fellowship.
In the evening, we have a special service with a ventriloquist performance. We host the performer for the night. We do love having people in our home, hearing their stories, and making connections with people from all over.
Monday, May 5
The performer leaves early this morning. I’m up and on my walk at my usual time for the first time in a while. Even though I have chosen to be gentle with myself in this time of healing from illness, it feels great to be up at my usual time and walking earlier rather than later in the morning. It’s super foggy today, and I can’t see the graveyard from my porch, or my house from the graveyard once I’m in it. Everything is damp, and sounds are muffled. What birdsong there is seems almost offensively loud.
I work on my art piece later in the day. I think I’ve worked out the kinks and all I really need to do is sit down and do the work. Easier said than done though, as this step requires a deal of hand-stiching awkwardly on an already stretched canvas. Not easy on my hands.
Tuesday, May 6
The day starts with some beautiful sunny weather. The clouds look like nylon pantyhose with runs in it. I’m able to spend some time writing my talk for the art conference I’ll be speaking at later this summer. This has been quite the challenging experience, and I’m stewing a little in doubt about my topic. Thankfully, I can run my talk by several trusted people to get some productive feedback. I’m confident I can work out my words by July.
Wednesday, May 7
Tonight is my older kids’ encore performance from their musical. A dozen school groups are invited to share the best of their musicals and they all do amazing. Our group performs the finale so we don’t get home till almost 11:00 PM.
Thursday, May 8
Because of our late night last night we have a slow start of a morning. Everyone sleeps in, even my little guys who stayed home with a babysitter. I guess we all need the rest. I run some errands in town, we go to the local library and get some new books. We decide to have a delayed Cinco de Mayo dinner today since we weren’t able to keep our usual tradition on the 5th. Fajitas for dinner, sopapillas for dessert. My kids are super happy to have one of their favorite traditions restored even if it is a bit late.
Saturday, May 10
I rush around this morning, trying to get my little people out the door so we can make it to a local plant sale that specializes in native plants. I was told that they sell our fast so to be punctual. I found that to be sound advice as several plant spots are already bare when we get there a half hour after opening. I have a list, I get what I want, and I leave happily stocked with some new plants for the garden. Now, to get them all planted….
Sunday, May 11
Happy Mother’s Day to all my female readers! I know this holiday isn’t always easy for everyone, sometimes it’s very complicated. My heart goes out to all of you who may experience this. I am so very grateful to have a mother, a step-mother, and a mother-in-law that I love. Even though we haven’t always been easy in our relationship always, we are now, because God is good and redemptive in His work in our lives. Today, my mom and I get taken out to eat by our husbands and children. Such a blessing to have a meal I don’t have to prepare and that I don’t have to clean up after.
Monday, May 12
Today after lunch, the girls and I head to a friend’s house for tea. We are delighted to be provided with some delicious tea selections, gluten-free brownies and crackers we can eat. It’s nice to just chat and enjoy being girls together.
This first half of the month has been much more reasonable in it’s busyness. Back to my usual rhythms of mostly normal days with the occasional packed day. It’s exactly what we needed after the rush of the last couple of months. Thankfully, the rest of the month is similar.
I’ve been reading through the Psalms for my morning devotions. I am always in awe of how relevant they are, even thousands of years after they were written. God speaks so directly through them, through the full range of emotions we all experience.
We are all looking forward to the end of the month and the end of the school year. Also, birthday season begins with my youngest daughter’s birthday at the end of the month.