Resurrecting Flora

This week, I liked finding all these almost-dead flowers out in the garden and bringing them inside so they could kick it a little longer.

It was even better than picking perfect new blooms, I think.

Thankful.

Sometimes, people can see things in us that we can't see for ourselves.

And I think that's important.

Brevity is Best

Telling people about full life just got a lot easier. Check out the new, short and sweet address!

fulllifephoto.com

That's all you need to remember, folks.

And thanks to all you locals who're giving me a chance. You really are incredible.

Animal House

It used to be...

And now it's...


If you think having four pets is whack, you haven't met these pets.

Jim,

I just wanted to say, it's really sexy, the way you do the dishes.

And I wanted to give you a shout out, because when I started crying uncontrollably last week, you just stayed, and did the right things, and didn't try to fix it, and didn't give even the smallest hint that you thought it was weird. (Because it really was weird).

And when you saw me juggling my three jobs of matriarch, photographer and worker-out-of-the-home last week, you told me I really was a Proverbs 31 woman- and the look in your eyes said you really meant it.

You're good for me.

And I just wanted to say, you're unbelievable.

No, Seriously, I Meant 2 More Cats

As of last week, we're the proud owners of 2 farm fresh bouncing baby kittens.Meet Boots, and Bokeh. How fitting that just weeks ago, I had that epiphany about naming a new pet Bokeh, and now here we are with a fuzzy little kitten to bear the name. Go figure. Boots. His name needs no explanation. Don't those busy baby-kitty mommies look tired and burned out? It takes a lot of work, you know. They're doing a great job.

Bacon (who was not present for pictures, he was off sleeping somewhere) has taken the neutral position. Neither for, or against the feline invasion. Mostly, he refuses to make eye contact with them. Give him time.

And Bebo here, has seen the light.

A terrier through and through, he LIVES to go sniff out and find animals in the ground and kill them. Gophers, snakes, bunnies, mice, kitties- even fish, peeps. He's a hunter nose to tail. I mean, EVERY fiber of his being.

BUT, he's also extremely intelligent, loyal, and loving. We knew if he saw that these creatures were supposed to be here, that they were family now- he'd come around.

We entered into an intense Terrier Twelve Step Program, involving one-on-one time for Bebo and a kitty, with me as mediator, firmly embracing the fuzzy newcomer close to me, while holding the Kitty Murderer by the collar just far enough away that he could smell and lick, but not bite the baby. Good interaction was constantly praised. The occasional snap at baby's head was greatly discouraged. Then when he'd had enough (it was really stressful for him), we put the kitty away and gave him a piece of bacon. He barely ate or relaxed at all. Ever.

I held out hope. The girls prayed every night that Bebo would know the kitties were friends, not food.

Three days later, on a road to Damascus somewhere, that pooch had a reformation.

It just clicked.

He is 100% in love with his "babies". He licks them, cleans them, herds them, corrals them, protects them from Hudson's very eager love for them (too eager, if you know what I mean). He plays with them, follows them around, and cuddles them close beneath him to sleep, just like a Mama Kitty.

Sometimes I see him just watching them and happily wagging his tail. Just talking to him about his babies makes him brightly excited and happy.

Hallelujah, the kitties will live (as far as Bebo is concerned).

Good Boy, Bebo.

I Have 3 Cats to Let Out of a Bag.

I'll let the first one out today. I've been keeping something from you. Go here. Agh. Did I really just share that with you? Oh, you're all so sweet- I know you'll be nothing but kind. Oh, please be kind. Giving you that link makes me feel all naked and afraid.

I'll let two more cats out of a bag tomorrow. Literally. Just wait and see.

One Track Mind

I sat down to edit about 100 photos not long ago, and it was late, and when I saw this one, it just sliced me open. In a good way, I suppose. And so I spent the next hour with just this one. For whatever reason, I couldn't look away.

Look What Just Showed Up from Down Under

Look, I needed this.

I absolutely always wear my camera strap when I'm shooting. If I didn't, I would drop that baby every single time. I got no skills in the balance and grace department. Oh, and DSLR's are heavy little bundles of joy.

So I always wear my strap, and after shooting for a bit or so, my neck is always irritated- after shooting for an hour, my neck can feel the burn for a day or more. My strap wasn't that comfortable. Useful. But not comfortable. Certainly not sweet and cute.

I wanted one of these for a long time. Then I finally caved and picked out one of my very own on etsy.

Now, you can buy some elsewhere on etsy that are a whole strap- clips and all- those cost twice as much. And most of you already have a strap, so all you really need is a padded slipcover to be cuter and comfortabler, like me.

You could make one, but, unless you have "the gift" for sewing, let's face it- you're not going to. See a great tutorial here if you're so ambitious.

I know as much about sewing as my man knows about using an eyelash curler. And sorry, you amazing sewers, but I'm going to stay that way.

The sweet mum over at Happy Snapz made this one for me and sent it here all the way from Australia- the price was right, the product exactly what I wanted (lens cap pocket and all), and there were tons of great fabrics to choose from. She even customizes, if you feel customizable. The whole price, even after shipping across the world was under $20. Beat that, irritating strap.

It came quickly, was packaged cutely and with a personal note, as is the etsy way, and it is just wonderful. It really is super comfortable, and the lens cap pocket is perfect.

That's the one I got right up there- the picture is taken from her etsy store, and you can get there by clicking this right here.

She probably sits sewing these great creations in a lovely sunny spot, sipping something cold, watching kangaroos with joeys in their pockets out one window and Hugh Jackman pouring water over himself out another. Oh, the life.

Lettuce Pray

We grew lots of lettuce last year. It was such a great idea. We eat it. We all like it, within reason. Shoot, then, let's grow it! It's easy to grow. It comes straight out of the garden, all organic and leafy and right outside the back door, and ready to rinse and eat and enjoy.

Except that I realized last year that I can. not. stand. the sight of bugs on my food. I check every single raspberry for bugs when I get a carton at the store. Blagh.

List of things I will. not. eat. from the garden: broccoli, cauliflower, and now lettuce. Not ever. The first time I saw that lettuce, with a little down home dirt and a bug attached, well, I knew I couldn't get it in my mouth. My kids all ate it. Jim ate it. I abstained. I just couldn't do it. Yes, it was all cleaned and prepared with love and perfect for eating. But, Jose, no way.

Basically, I'm a fantastic role model.

I'll gladly eat my broccoli, cauliflower and lettuce all clean from the store, yes sir! I love all the other vegetables from our garden- I'm cool with those- it's just the leafy ones that make my throat quiver. Sorry. That's just the way it is.

Obviously, Jim had less zest about growing it this year. But did you know- lettuce, which comes from seed, just multiplies itself and grows back stronger the next year? And in the funniest of places? Hudson has some romaine growing right now in his egress window. And it's in a few other places outside our house around the garden- and the place where we grew it last year is a full-out lettuce bush, I tell you.

I just can't do it. But it is kinda pretty. So last night after a hard downpour, when the leaves were squeaky clean and vibrant and bugless, I cut a bunch of them and displayed them instead.

I've had all kinds of flowers in these votives this year- salvia, snapdragons, even big leaves wrapped under water all pretty, etc, etc... Lettuce is a first for me. Your body absorbs nutrient-rich fiber just looking at them. Really.

Whoa, dog, did I really wait almost a week to post these?

Here are some of the pictures we took last week.
It wasn't a super-formal affair- just my three ladies walking around at a favorite park.
I bought those dresses for $3.24 last spring for this specific purpose, and last week, lo and behold, we had a nice and beautiful and free-from-schedule day, so we threw them on and took off.
They like doing pictures, they like getting ice cream when the pictures are done. It was a good time.

Seeing my ladies meander around in one of the oldest and loveliest parks in our city barefoot in little dresses just instantly brought my mind to all those Jane Austen and Louisa May Alcott heroines that took in the air while walking around in a field or garden or the woods somewhere on a summer afternoon. So I was feeling very imaginative and wispy and thoughtful as I sifted through them later. So they've got a very ethereal look to them, since that's where my heart was for these at first sight.
I realize that sounds ridiculous. But that's where my mind goes, people. And that's where the set got it's name.

There's more where these came from, peeps. You're being spared, trust me.

White Dresses and Dirty Feet.

956 photos taken in one hour. You read that right.

Later trimmed to 540.

Then skimmed to 226.

226 images that are going to keep me blessedly busy in Photoshop for the rest of the week.

Pardon me if I just read your wonderful blogs and neglect my own.

I'm glorying in white dresses and dirty feet.

God does not call us to ease, but to faithful joy. -John Piper, Don't Waste Your Life

Preservationist

Every season, I seem to catch some key moments with each of my kids that really, really shows just who they are, just as they are, just as I see them, just as my mother heart wishes they could remain just a little longer. But they refuse to stay. They never, ever stay.

And so I am grateful for this age we live in, an age of digital cameras that allow me to take 1000 pictures if I like, and keep tight the best, and not waste time or money on the rest. And I'm grateful for the world of uploading and editing, and saving, and sharing with so much ease.

So I can keep their small hands, their cheeks, their frumpled clothes, their hair just so- and have them near as much as I am able for the future- and go on letting time move swift and smooth, letting them live and grow freely, me following just behind with my camera, and my weak pleading to please, please! could you just stop and stay right now here with me a little longer?!

But I know I can't. And they don't want to. And I know deep down I don't really want them to. We'd miss out on too much.

And each snapshot-slice-of-life can be preserved, cherished, found easily, shared effortlessly. Safe from fire, water, and wind indefinitely. Tucked away until the Return of our Lord on the World Wide Web.