i have found that once i begin to actually open up, good things happen. after writing to you all about my hard week, i instantly felt some relief. thanks so much listening. a few friends called me, too. there’s nothing better than a little woman-to-woman therapy.

so today, after so much love from you people, i actually got some stuff done around the roost! i hung some pictures on the wall, swept all of the floors & (gasp!) made our bed.

i worked in the garden, too. the rain clouds came in this afternoon & cooled it down a bit. i trained the cucumbers & butternut squash to their trellises & did some weeding.

i also stopped by the thrift & found these beauties. a bag of antique forks for 25 cents (i think i’ve never loved silverware so much!) & a hand stitched quilt for 2 bucks! i’m pretty sure i made a fool of myself right there in salvation army when i found that quilt just sitting there in a pile.

hey, it’s those little moments in life that really add up to the goodness of it all.

any goodness happening to you right now?

this past week was hard. to be totally honest, i haven’t felt such lows since moving here. the house was (& still is) a disaster & i couldn’t come up with one ounce of motivation to do much of anything. it is a tough reminder when you realize you are only human & really need a community to live life fully. once you move away from that community, life downright sucks sometimes. also, having a bright red kitchen & dining room doesn’t help much either. so i painted with my mom & brother. & it was just what i needed to bring me back. that green really speaks to me.

luke & i also made a trip to his family’s home for the goodness of comfort from such a hard week. we made a date of it, too, & had breakfast at brick house kitchen & a late morning of purchasing fresh foods from the farmer’s market. fennel & bowls of heirloom tomatoes- so good.

we had such good conversations with luke’s mom. just the right amount of clarity to keep you going even in the junk of life.

we headed back & spent sunday at our home-in-the-making. the garden is beginning to feel just right.

basil soaking up every bit of the summer heat

& our first sighting of tomatoes.

of course, things still aren’t peachy & every single day i am reminded of the process of living, but these little meltdowns are reminding me that i am growing & learning. just knowing that is reassuring.

we really enjoyed our long weekend spent at home & with family. we played in the summer heat & hung laundry to dry. luke made a delicious pesto focaccia & i harvested the first of this season’s lavender. basil played in the flower beds while i worked in the garden.

of course, no fourth of july is complete without american flags. just leave a link to your blog in the comments section… i’d love to see your weekend festivities!