A Day in the Life of the Farmhouse

What goes on in that farmhouse up on the hill?

 This morning we woke up and smiled!  Well Logan, the 2 year old, smiled and his dimples and zest for life in the morning made the rest of us smile.  Two of us took turns eating breakfast and playing with the happy busy boy instead of going on that morning run.  One of us woke up and went directly into the back yard and began working on his van conversion project.  One of us slept in because she could!

Not a bad place to work on your van.

After we had exhausted the acceptable activities inside the house it was time for a change of venue.  Outside we went to harvest lettuce for dinner.  Logan was happy to investigate the van conversion progress, play in the golf cart, play on the lawnmower, tromp through the garden, play a little ball, and just run around the yard.  We needed a focused activity!  Let's go pick strawberries!

We woke up sleeping beauty upstairs, loaded the car with berry boxes, interrupted the van progress and all headed to the u-pick....only to find it was "closed for the season".  There goes the fresh strawberry jam for this summer!  Oops!  On to the next activity.  Let's go pick up the lobster for tonight's feast.

They were open for business!!!

We procured our lobster and headed home.  Time for lunch and naps.  By the time we got back the cloudy sky had cleared.  We had successfully killed a morning and tired out one two year old!  Nap time on a sunny day is the best!  Just imagine the gentle breeze blowing through the house, curtains slightly waving, the sound of leaves rustling on the trees outside and the radio softly playing some seriously good tunes.  We are all busy doing just what we want to be doing.

One of us is reading in the hammock

One of us is in the sunroom reading and napping

One of us is very happy with the ceiling in the van!

One of us dug those potatoes, cooked them and made them into
potato salad for dinner.  When I was suddenly hit with a blog idea....

The littlest one is napping upstairs and I don't dare open that door for a photo for fear of waking him.  Trust me, he is sound asleep  powering up for his run on the sandbars later this afternoon.

A perfect day....quiet, simple, and beautiful.
Just the way we love them!

Bumping Along

I think the post vacation blues have hit me. It always happens. I should know to expect this. Like I said, "re-entry can be bumpy." I have gone from a rural existence and being around familiar faces everywhere I go to a life of urban sprawl and anonymity. Sure it's going to take a little time. I did my best to prolong the vacation and acclimate to city life by spending 4 days in NYC with my sisters.

But you can't postpone the inevitable forever.... can you hear me kicking and screaming from where you are yet?

It is not like there has been nothing going on around here either. TJ and I had a quick weekend trip to Baton Rouge 4 days after I got home to celebrate his mother's 80th birthday and our brother-in-law's 40th birthday. It was wonderful to be able to participate in both. We were even blessed by an early cool (read, less than 90 degrees with only 40% humidity!)front for the weekend! Add a little LSU football and two sister-in-laws from California to the weekend and it was great! Then we had to go home, again.

The real reality started to set in. No afternoon cocktails with friends, no picking fresh produce from the garden for dinner, no long walks in the refreshing breeze, no fixing, painting, cleaning, working and visiting to fill my days. Just me and Sadie looking forlornly at each other and wondering why we are here in this heat and humidity and who invited all those mosquitos!

There is something to be said for living in a house that always needs something done to it, aka the farmhouse. We are never at a loss for things to do. Maybe I should have gotten a fixer upper here in Texas. I did get one thing fixed last week though. We did not have a light fixture in our dining room because the previous owner took hers, so now....let there be light!



We got the light up just in time for a houseful of company....yea, visitors, let's pretend we are still on vacation! Another big "0" birthday party was last weekend and we had a house full of family. Excellent! All the beds were used and the dust upstairs got stirred around a bit. Nice to have some company to justify this big house that we only use 1/3 of most days.

Slowly but surely life is getting back to normal. One day at a time I forget what it was like at the shore and engage in this life. There are still times when I walk outside (because come on...you gotta get out and excercise sometime) that I feel like I am walking in lead boots and wearing a wet towel in a steam room, and it infuriates me because I know there are places in this world where being outside at this time of year is an absolute treat. Once the frustration passes and I accept it for what it is I am fine...until the next time I go outside and my clothes instantly bond to my body because of the hot sticky air and am reminded I am not in Canada anymore. BUMP!