The vehicle that makes me feel very safe in the snow yet I am still not proud to own sits right there in the driveway a lot more these days, it uses a hefty amount of gasoline. We've been hanging out at home and with local friends a great deal this summer, I can't believe it's half over and yet I feel perfectly content with all that has and has not been accomplished. Being home more has definitely fired up the crafting (and cooking and housekeeping, yay!) mojo, I think we've made something nearly everyday. Today there was a little work on this new banner for the market. While I worked, Emily did some money laundering... have you tried this with your kiddos yet? Brilliant. I have to say, when I told Emily I was going to set her up to do this activity, right in my studio so we could chat and hang out, she asked me "why" was she going to wash the money? Fair question. And do you know what I said? "Because you like shiny things." Yep, I did. It's like Blair wrote the script and it was perfect, no need to change a thing.

She scrubbed and I appliqued. Another summer afternoon...

The mind becomes clear and serene when the qualities of the heart are cultivated.    ~Patanjali

A mother waits by her kitchen window, doing her work by the light of the day.As she prepares a variety of teas to heal the body, she wonders if her sons needed healing, needed her. Six of her eight boys, barely men, were many miles away battling The Revolution. They wished she were closer, to offer healing and to provide the kind of strength that a general never could. On this day I felt entrenched in the hardship and simplicity of life.

It was Encampment Weekend at the Nathan Hale Homestead.

When you are out of bed at 5am on a Sunday morning to calm a frantic, trembling, drooling dog because of crazy, violent thunder storms... when the rest of the family is fully awake at 6am as the storm rages on... consider heading into the kitchen to make something you usually feel there "is no time to make." Because when you're up at 5am and the world outside is too crazy to enter, stay in and play around with some dough, watch it rise, you've got nothing but time. The yin and the yang of the day, and it's not even 10am.

Find the recipe here. I warn you though, they are perfect.

As I stepped out onto the deck this morning to check on the potted tomatoes, looked down at our cultivated plot below, and noticed the cluster of multi-families in the distance, I couldn't help feeling that our attempt at urban vegetable gardening this year has taught me incredible lessons in balance. Instead of focusing on what can't be done due to space and sun restrictions, we have focused on what we can do. And it turns out, what we can do is produce quite a few edibles... more than we thought was possible!

The beans just keep rolling in, our first cucumber was of course the tastiest of my entire life (similar to how your own babies are the most beautiful), raspberries are ripening a handful at a time, first harvest of broccoli was excellent (more going in this weekend), swiss chard, romaine, and two varieties of kale all grew like champions... and on and on.

I will heed the advice of a very kind farmer I met at the market last week. He answered all of my questions, sympathized with my challenges, and heard my excitement. At the end of our chat he left me with this, "Just remember, whatever it is you're doing, keep doing it. That's the most important thing." Yes sir, I will indeed.

Creating in the kitchen, creating with thread and needle. A very balanced day. A couple of great blueberry recipes here and here. This is the Blueberry Buckle, except I added some wild harvested black raspberries to this one.

We are just moving past several days of extreme heat, humidity, and sunshine. I actually don't mind it too much as I like summer to feel like summer. Today's gray skies and cool temps left me feeling a tad melancholy as I dropped Emily off at her art class and drove away. What to do with the morning, what to do?

How about a blueberry meditation... a perfect way to clear the mind and brighten the day.

In case you are curious... the skirt (made last summer) is from this tutorial. I love how you enter your measurement in the little calculator and it tells you the measurements to cut. Emily has one too, but she wanted it to fall just below the knee instead of the low calf so I just omitted the bottom tier on hers. Easy as can be.

Busy busy busy. In a very good way.