Coffee Catch UP – Still Life, With Cracker Crumbs..

It is currently 6 degrees here. 6, and with windchill it feels like -1. Safe to say it is pretty darn cold out there. I am happy to be sitting here in my big comfy sweater over my pajamas, a warm cup of coffee next to me. We do not have a real fireplace or woodstove (to my great and utter sadness) but we do have an electric fireplace that is pretty cute and warms up the den to toasty on these super chill mornings.

My current evening read (right now I have daytime book and a nighttime book) is A Woman in the Polar Night, and while I am not in the Arctic it sure feels it. However, I am so very Michigan that I took this photo outside after taking a shower with soaking wet hair. I remember when I was in middle school and on the swim team, I would wait outside for my mom to pick me up after practice, and my wet hair would freeze into little icicles. I loved that I could shake my head and hear them click together. My mom was never as happy or excited about that as I was. I didn’t stay outside taking this photo that long though, just a few seconds, so I barely felt the cold before I was back inside and warm again.

Anyway, back to what I wanted to share about the book. I have to say, Ritter’s motivations for heading to the Arctic sounded very much like an introvert’s dream. I have a feeling her ideas of what it would be like were a little off. She was joining her husband and after a bit, decided she would join him, writing, ” I could stay by the warm stove in the hut, knit socks, paint from the window, read thick books in the remote quiet and, not least, sleep to my heart’s content.” Ritter probably should have written travel brochures for Arctic expeditions because I would have signed right up with that description.

I have been craving fresh and green and citrusy these days. The end of winter always makes me feel this way. I made one of my favorite fresh tasting salads the other night, a Mediterranean tuna salad that is full of parsley and mint and lime and just deliciousness. We eat a few cozy comfort meals, then throw in something light and fresh and it is like a total wake up. I just got my newest soap order in yesterday as well – coconut orange and it smells like a creamsicle. My shampoo and conditioner bars don’t change though, I stick with lavender tea tree.

We had a snow day the other day and Wyatt took great delight in throwing snowballs at me. We had a lot of fun out in the snow, but I think we both liked the hot cocoa afterwards better. In November I had bought Wyatt pajamas that said “Snow Day Snooze” for him to wear on a snow day and we had to wait all the way until now to use them! I did have to wonder about what happens to the mittens and gloves though – it’s like the sock phenomenon over here. Wyatt has a few different pairs – apparently all missing their mates. (quick someone write a children’s book about a mitten or glove looking for its partner!)

I mean, seriously, what the heck?

We had Mermaid Girl over yesterday afternoon and the two cousins had a blast playing together. I played with my cousins like that as a kid and I am so happy to see Wyatt play with his the same way. There were games and toys and books and crayons strewn everywhere, and finally the kids settled in at the table to color and draw and in Mermaid Girl’s case, write a story. I had this Viking activity pack handy from Willow and Owl and they really had fun with it. It was a nice cold afternoon activity to finally settle down with.It’s

It has been a few days of just simplicity and simple things, simple pleasures and I am not complaining. These are the moments that life is really about, the everyday and what we do in those hours. And while we do have things we have to do, and have places we have to go to, we make the middle moments counts.

How are you all today?

Hey all!

Today I am drinking Aldi’s Adventure Blend coffee and it’s not bad! Anyone else an Aldi’s fan? I usually pick up a few things there every week in addition to our normal shopping at Kroger. I try to steer clear of that aisle of shame though, because it is so hard to not pick up something random to take home with you. Like the other day I went in for bread and coffee and saw a spinning composter for the yard and almost bought that too. A few weeks ago I found a really cool wine from the Aldi UK in our little store too, it was a rose, strawberry, and elderflower botanical, according to the bottle. And it said it was crafted in the their British Wineries. I guess I didn’t realize Aldi had any sort of winery at all? It wasn’t very wine-ish, but it was pretty light and refreshing and delicious.

My shaggy haired boy also got a new look last week!

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I have to admit, I was not prepared to see him transform into a little boy like that. It makes him look so different! His grandmas, his therapist, his swim instructor, everyone was so surprised to see his hair so short. Lol. While we all like his new ‘do, we all miss his shaggy hair. His hair grows so fast, it is already less defined with the fade so it won’t take long to return to his normal flowing locks. I think we will aim for a length that is not too long, but not this short either. Regardless, he is my handsome little guy!

Wyatt is also doing so well in swimming! We found a place (Aqua-Tots) that has swimming lessons for kids with different needs and he has been going for about four weeks now. They have him rolling over and he even kicked across the pool while holding a pool noodle under his arms last Friday. The instructor was very pleased with how he did, and so are we! He gets a little report card every week, it is so cute! They check off what he has done and what he still needs to do. Aqua-Tots is a different sort of swim program though, it is meant to be continuous lessons rather than a set number of weeks, and kids move up to different levels at their own speed. In fact my niece just leveled up! She is now a seahorse! Wyatt gets one-on-one lessons rather than group lessons due to his cerebral palsy and they are pricey lessons but he is learning a lot and it is so good for him. (and thank you grandpa for treating Wyatt to these lessons too!)

As for me, I am still just working away over here, getting things prepped for fall! I made a big batch of soap yesterday, and our house smells like lavender patchouli and I love it. We needed hand soap and now we have a ton all stored up for when we need it. This is only a small amount of what I made. Since this is for “everyday” (I feel so Little House saying that lol) it is not as pretty as the other soap I make. I made this in the long bread mold type thing and then sliced it up. I did add colorant though, to make it a light purple color. My pretty molds are all summery, frogs and mermaids and bees, and I may pick up a few that are more fall and winter.

My mom, sister-in-law Chrissy, her mom Michelle, and I are going to start having a craft night together once a month and I am so excited! I have a ton of projects I want to work on – needle felting, my patchwork rabbit, embroidery, and I never really craft in the summer for some reason. Maybe because I am busy with bugs and gardens? I put my rabbit on hold and I am looking forward to getting back to it again.

And I found a yoga class that works for me! It is outdoor, free, and at 8:30 in the morning on Wednesdays. I am going to drop Wyatt at my mom’s and then head over to yoga starting tomorrow. I am both nervous since it has been so long since I practiced but I am also very much looking forward to it. Then when I start school with Wyatt in two weeks, my mom is going to do his Social Studies/Geography with him while I am at yoga. I think it will be fun for them both!

Ok I feel like I should wrap this up. I will end on my most recently born butterfly, who escaped and flew around my office, taunting my cats on Sunday! When they first eclose their wings are all wet and need to dry before they can fly. I was checking to see if little Hallelujah was ready to be released, and he sure showed me! I had to hurry and scoot my cats out of the room and catch him. I was cracking up at having a butterfly floating around in my house! I eventually caught him when he took a little break on my plants and then released him into the zinnias outdoors. Also, please excuse the brown fronds on my little fern. In fact, does anyone know why that I have brown fronds?