sentiment of home

After weeks of no rain, yellow grass, and burn bans, a rainy weekend came as a welcome friend. There was a slight chill in the air and the house was just dim enough to turn on lamps and light the scented candles. With the house feeling cozy and smelling of warm vanilla, it made the perfect opportunity to turn on some Oscar Peterson and begin my sourdough bread.

There’s a fulfillment in bread making. Maybe that sounds silly, but honestly, if love were a food it would be a loaf of homemade bread: warm, comforting, filling, sustaining… So I guess to me, making bread is a way of telling my favorite people, “I love you.” And if you ever receive bread from me, you could just view it as a dozen roses.

I’ll be completely honest, the flower garden didn’t turn out quite the way I expected this year. Back in January and February, I had all these grand ambitions of planting beautiful perennials and working towards an English cottage garden that would make even Monty Don proud. But life has it’s seasons and this season included a newborn baby. So, I’ll take the baby, my rose bush, and the three awkward sunflowers that are sprouting up randomly in the vegetable garden and be grateful for the joy I can find in them.

When we first moved to our home 5 years ago, my parents thoughtfully bought us a few fruit trees (apple, apricot, and peach). I am pleased to say they are doing well and we should be harvesting a good deal of fruit this year.

Jake has been working hard to prepare us for winter. (I feel very “Ma Ingalls” saying that) But, honestly, every winter we think we have enough firewood to get us through, and by February, we’re scraping the bottom of the wood pile. But THIS year, we will be prepared! (maybe)

We may not have a full-fledged farm, but we do have chickens, a rooster, a dog, and two bunnies. I often dream about having sheep, but our 3/4 acres of a back yard just wouldn’t allow that. Maybe one day, but for now, we (again) learn contentment and gratitude… and I am so thankful for these chickens and their beautiful eggs. I love hearing them squawk in the mornings after they’ve laid their eggs. As if they’re saying, “come and get it!” The neighbor recently got a turkey and we hear it gobble all day. Jake finds it slightly annoying, but I kind of love it…. and am now trying to figure out how to squeeze a turkey in with these ladies.

Our Holly girl has been with us since the first year of our marriage, 9 years ago. She loves taking glamour shots and is quite good at it too.

I’m a huge fan of natural light. Usually the lights stay off until we’re all squinting and then I turn on the lamps, string lights, and anything that gives a soft, warm glow. Jake turns on the overhead lights (which I’m not even sure why we installed) and I’m usually following behind switching them off. He calls all of my little lights, a waist of electricity, I call it ambiance…. and on rainy days, we have A LOT of ambiance.

I’d like to say that during nap time on this particular day, I sat down with a good book and cappuccino in hand, but instead I cleaned the kitchen and got a head-start on dinner. Sometimes that can be just as calming when all the kids are down and the house is quiet. I’ll just turn on a podcast and go about my business, uninterrupted.

After nap time, Ice cream and sandwiches were served…

If you ever drive by my house, make sure to check the bay window for small children waving you down. They like to play this game where they guess what color car will drive by next. Julia wishes for pink, but alas, a Mary Kay car has yet to pass and delight her.

After dinner, we nestled into the living room and watched “The Love Bug” The kids loved it and somehow Jake ended up with all four and I got a couch to myself. Not complaining though; I enjoyed my view.

It was a lovely, rainy day. I’m thankful I pulled out my camera and looked for the sweet bits. When I keep my camera out, I view life differently. The day is no longer ordinary; it’s filled with special moments that are captured and re-lived each time they’re viewed. I love what Louisa May Alcott once said,

“The power of finding beauty in the humblest things makes home happy and life lovely.”

May we always look at life through a lens and find beauty in the simple moments

~Melanie