Climbing High

My kids and friends had fun climbing a magnolia tree yesterday. Right after I snapped these tree shots Pilot fell from about 9 or 10 feet up. Am I a bad Mom that I let him be up there? Well, he was fine, just a little shook up. I guess everyone has to fall out of a tree at sometime in their life. right? I remember spending most of my time up in trees as a kids, and yes, I did fall out sometimes. I am sure glad my Mother let me clib those trees where I still have some of the best memories of my childhood.

Giant Zucchinis and more from our garden

Check out what we picked from our garden one morning this week. Yes, that is a
real zucchini! I feel like we live on a farm. Wow! I am still so amazed at what you can do with a small garden.

I think I could have one a prize for this squash. And, yes it is all organic.

 We made squash blossoms stuffed with cheese and fried in butter and olive oil
(something I learned from Boo).  We also made tons of zucchini pancakes.
Both were delicious.  

Jetta, as usual, was such a wonderful help cooking. Here she is stuffing the blossoms with cheese.

These squash blossoms were unbelievable! You have to eat them right when they come out of the pan, nice and hot. If they cool down the cheese gets hard and they don't taste as good.

These Gluten Free zucchini pancakes were so delicious. We took them to the beach with us. They were even good cold. 

This Moment: pure Joy

{This is a special moment from the past week that I want to stop, savor and enjoy. If you want to see other moments being shared this morning, go over to SouleMama.}

Saying goodbye...see you later

Saying goodbye is never easy to do though it seems that I would be used to it by now. I grew up in the military community over seas and had the opportunity to practice making new friends and saying goodbye to best friends more times that I wanted to. I know that when each door that closes, another door opens, but it doesn't take the sting out of the moment when you realize it is the last. The last time you will see a dear friend again (for a long time), the last time you will hear the sound of voices bouncing off these yellow walls, the last time your child will take a class with a favorite teacher, the last time you will see some of your students, the last time you will clean the little fingerprints off the mirrors, or the last time you will see the sunburst of yellow on the floors you and your daughter painted with your hands and feet together one perfect morning.

Even though these things seem ordinary, some how the last time feels important. You take notice of each nuance to store in your memory, hoping it will stick forever, but you know that the details will fade and new story's will take the place of old, and life will move on and new adventures will take hold. But I do believe that each one of those people or places we must say goodbye to is a piece of what makes us who we are. I know I can not hold or make time stop, nor do I want to, but for right now, I do want to stop and look back on these past few years and truly treasure these memories while they are fresh and clear.

I am at the same time looking forward to the next years and also breathing in this very precious moment. The present moment. Right now, right here. I am closeing a chapter of my life, and ready to start the next. I am so grateful for all the people who have made this life, this journey, so special. They will always have a home in my heart.

So, after looking back on my life and visiting these found memories, I just have to ask myself, what's next? I am pretty sure I have some more learning to do and many more adventures and wonderful people to explore with. So, instead of saying "goodbye", shall we say "see you later," because you just never know where the road might lead.

A View From Below

Little Yard, Big Crop

We have our first cucumber of the season! This year, inspired by my friend over at Chicken Counting, we made raised beds and put them in our front yard because it was the only place that had full sun. We used all organic soil and planted our favorite organic veggies.  Over the past few weeks our garden has gone from a healthy little garden to a vegetable wonderland that is spilling over with bounty. It is truly amazing what you can do when you only have a small space but big dreams. 

Here I am harvesting some of our chard early in the season and it is still growing strong.

Our first Zucchini..... Zucchini Pancakes anyone?

This Moment: Secret beach

{This is a special moment from the past week that I want to stop, savor and enjoy. If you want to see other moments being shared this morning, go over to SouleMama.}