we celebrated two sweet years of marriage. we had a small celebration this past weekend with luke’s family. his younger siblings made a meal, set the table for two & served us the most delicious dinner & dessert. it was the sweetest time. on monday, luke brought home a bouquet of sunflowers & a handful of chicken feathers from the farm. we made a meal together at home & then went out for frozen yogurt.

with another year down & many more to come, it allows for some time of reflection. i’ve been thinking a lot about vulnerability & how that plays into one’s life. to be honest, i have a hard time being vulnerable in this space. but to be really honest, my life isn’t full of rainbows & sprinkles as it might sometimes appear in this space. luke & i are dealing with some really hard life stuff right now.

not even a week after we moved here, we bought a used truck with most of our savings. after being informed that the truck has much more damage than we previously believed, is unsafe to drive & isn’t worth more than about $400 at the salvage yard, we had a pretty big breakdown. because this town does not allow for alternative commuting with its uneducated drivers & limited sidewalks, we were forced to borrow a car from luke’s family until we figured everything out. well, we still haven’t figured it out. i start a new job next week & need to return their car the following week. being the poorest we have ever been & in a new community without that support we are so used to, we feel on edge with very little options.

throughout all of this struggle, though, we are growing closer. celebrating two years among all of this junk makes life a little more manageable & sweeter. i am learning, slowly, that it is all about perspective & the choice to focus on the positive rather than the negative. i now savor the moments at dinnertime instead of using the evening to check off my to do list. when i used to catch up on email & blogs throughout the weekend, i disconnect from my laptop & instead connect with my husband. these intentional choices are allowing us to grow together, learn together & create together. each day i am incredibly thankful to be with him, my sweet farmer, lover & friend. even if it feels like hell sometimes.

yesterday evening a cool breeze swept through our town & brought with it the most beautiful summer storm. we placed basil in his hutch before dark & sat all of the plants in the yard to take full advantage of the cool summer shower.

we enjoyed leek & potato soup for dinner.

& i added a bouquet of sage to the soup for a bit more of flavor.

i sliced cucumbers from the garden’s harvest to add to our feast. so crunchy & sweet.

luke brought home these beauties from the farm for me.
the chicken feathers will soon be made into earrings.

after dinner, we headed to the garden for some weeding & enjoying. we found this little guy tucked under a tomato leaf, chomping on our healthy plant.

this week has been a relief from the gloomy cloud that seems to have been hovering over my mental state. i am thankful for this peace. daily, i am reminded of the privilege to live such a comfortable life even when it isn’t necessarily deserved. friends, how are you doing?

due to technical difficulties (also known as the film lady scanned my negatives backward so i need to edit all of them), the farmers’ market photos will simply have to wait. although i am without pretty vegetable photos for today, i am so excited to express my love for the alberta neighborhood in portland. its an absolute gem! so funky & bursting with flavor.

i took this photo for luke, knowing he would get a kick out of seeing a greenhouse in a front yard. he loved it & wished we could do the same. amazing, right?

between the alberta co-op grocery, sweet little store fronts & the many urban gardens- i could see luke & i calling this wonderful neighborhood home. perhaps someday. for now, trips out west will do just fine.