A Huckleberry Over My Persimmon Has Moved

I've noticed I'm still getting daily traffic on this site, that makes me feel (good!) the need to post one last time here. Please be sure to visit our new website at www.ahuckleberryovermypersimmon.com. 

You may also update your RSS/Blog Reader feed by adding the link above to it, or by clicking here. Email updates are available as well, you can sign up by visiting the new site. 

I will no longer be updating this blogspot account, all posts will be hosted on the new and fancier .com site. Thank you so much for the support over the last four years, it helped me get here! 

iPhotodump

I had plans to get this up yesterday, but when I said I needed a break last week to get things done for the party and to spend time with our newly one year old I meant that would travel over in to a real break. I've barely done much of anything in the past week, and it drove me crazy. I think it made me tired, pregnancy can be weird like that. The minute you sit down you realize how tired you have the potential to be. So without further ado here are my mobile uploads from the last week and a half.

1. A new year, a new bump! I adore being pregnant.
2. Tuckered out after music class. I take a lot of these photos of her to send to her Papa throughout the day because he misses her.
3. Loving that new wagon. I love it too the more pregnant I get, it's easier to wheel her and the water hose around the garden at the same time now.
4. Best buddies.
5. The way she sits.
6. Papa got her a new book for her birthday. Mama is it Summer Yet?
7. We visit Papa most days at work. When we pull up and she sees the sign through the window she squeals, my heart instantly melts.
8. Eating the first strawberry of the year from our garden, on her birthday no less.
9. I David hung things! Bookshelves to come...
10. Did I mention I am loving food?
11. Stuck inside an unfinished project, with a balloon.
12. Reading a birthday book from her Great Auntie Ann. More later...
13. A sneak at Singer's birthday party badges.
14. Blocks from her pal James, she loves these.
15. More art. By the always lovely Laura Wood.
16. She falls asleep in her carseat 6 times out of ten. Sometimes I stand there, before I transfer her to her crib, just being in love.
17. Speaking of being in love, I am so in love with her crazy father. He's the good kind. Here you witness his amazing dance moves. Sorry babe.
18. She wants to stand on her head so Papa joins in.
19. Come on birdies....
20. The strawberries moved to the hill in the garden and I replaced their place in the planter with a creeper.
21. Hello handsome. Enjoying an afterwork beverage.
22. Each evening when David gets home he gathers up all of my gardening tools and puts them in my shed. It is a little thing like this that I will remember and appreciate greatly. He never fusses about how I leave them strewn about, or that rain is coming.
23. Elsie Lou was scared of the thunder last week, naturally Singer was worried about her.
24. So she went for a ride on my iron lamp that I've had since I was 3. Luckily I walked in the room just before things went south. Baby proofing upgrade duly noted.
25. The new crawl, perhaps the precursor to bipedalism...

Taking Some Time

Between now, Singers 1st birthday, and getting the new blog site up I'm going to take some time off from blogging to finish my tasks. I predict I'll be back in a week or so with lots to report.

I hate this lamp on our table. Add taking it back to my to do list. It just doesn't work.

I think these are probably going to be too skinny and tall. I might need to wait on the shutters. The curtains could throw the whole thing off. 

Be well friends....

Baby Sign Language: More

Last week it was already Wednesday before I realized I had only signed eat a few times in the past three days. It wasn't consistent enough to stick, so I beefed up our signing and she's paying attention. She's still a sometimes milk, all done, and dog signer. She didn't learn eat yet, but it's ok to move on this week to another helpful communicator.

Eat and more go hand in hand in our home. We actually started signing the word more with Singer on Saturday, I hope my brain continues on these lines of communicating with her while she is in her highchair or displaying signs of hunger. Next week we'll move on from food related signs, as this perfectly built little girl is clearly getting enough nutrition.  

All information below obtained from BabySignLanguage.com

More from Baby Sign Language on Vimeo.

Signing: To do the sign for more, flatten out your hands then bring your thumbs under to make an O shape. Then, bring your hands together and separate them repeatedly.


Your baby will often simplify more, gleefully clapping their fists together. As they get older and more proficient, you may want to encourage the more correct form of flattening out their hands and creating the “O ” shape with their thumbs as a fun way to help them develop fine motor skills.

Usage: More is one of the most popular signs with babies because it gives them a lot more control over their life. We start using more when eating or drinking to communicate when they have not quite had enough of something. So when I am giving our baby her bottle and she stops half way. I will ask her, “Do you wantmore?” (while at the same time doing the more sign). Then give her back the bottle.


Once your baby gets more advanced, we start using more in other contexts. For example when we are playing a game or tickling our baby, we might stop and ask “Do you want more tickles?” That kind of question/response pair is a great way to start getting your baby starting to learn how questions and responses work. Remember to do an exaggerated rising inflection in your voice when you ask the question, “Do you want more tickle?” Your baby is learning as much from your tone and body language as from anything else.

To Do List: Sunday To Do Prepping

The need to get as much done as I can in the next five months has certainly set in, but my month long challenge has aided that directly. Progression is certainly there, it's been a long road- saving up for items and keeping them to the side while we wait on proper weather or another part in order to complete a project. 

We cleaned out and planted two and a half flower beds yesterday. All of the hardwares, minus the fans, have been updated now, our bathroom is close to being painted, I'm working on wall hangings, (sort of, those baskets are going back) all of the bids for shutters are in, but... I've still got a few things to accomplish and only a week to do so in order to meet my goal. I know that I won't meet it entirely, but the list that I gave myself was a tall order for even the most super of women and I'm happy with where I am. 

This weekend we will gather with our family and Singer's friends for a party celebrating one year since her birth. One year of having her as our sunshine and best buddy. I love to set a big to do list for myself before a gathering at our home, guests won't notice what wasn't finished and neither will she because I haven't shown the lengthy list to anyone. 

I've had this mirror for at least a year and a half. I bought it at a family friend's antique shop for twenty bucks. It was such a deal and I needed a mirror to go over my vanity in our bedroom. When I got it home I realized that its oval shape didn't work well with the rectangle shape of the furniture, so it's been sitting around waiting for me to do something else instead...

I can't take credit for the antiquing of the mirror, it's probably not a good idea for me to play with chemicals that remove mirroring, so my sweet friend worked on it last night for me. I am loving the change, and she is going to tell me exactly where to hang it, hopefully I can get her to drive the first nail in the wall.

 Today Singer and I are leaving shortly to head back to Lowes and get some plywood to replace the broken seats in my grandmothers dining room chairs. My mom covered them with this old lady floral fabric and I found my grandmother's old fabric underneath that. I took a few shots for family to reminisce over.

 David or I always get this broken chair when we have guests over, it's become increasingly annoying so it's time for a simple upgrade.

I chose a plain khaki colored fabric so it wouldn't compete with the harp silhouette of the chairs. I've got some lattice fabric for the stools that you can see in the picture below.

The chairs need to be refinished. We'll either save up for a professional to do that or I'll tackle it during a few double nap times after the baby comes.

 When I went home a few weeks ago my dad sent an old family American flag with me. I'll get the story behind it from my Aunt. This week I'm working on the stoop, so we're going to pick up a flag pole today. Since this is an heirloom I won't treat it like many folks do vinyl flags, this one is "real". It will come in each night when I turn the front porch light on and back out each morning when the light gets shut off.

We're going to run by the fabric store too in search of cheap and sheer fabric for the sliding glass door. I've had plans for the burlap to move out to the garage windows for a while, replacing the dusty, plastic blinds that came with the joint. Window work has proven to take up more time than any other project I've worked on, and I haven't completed one single window yet. The foot work and planning has been time consuming, but it's time to make a decision on which way to go with it all, I'll be back with an update this week.

So we're off to prep for two rainy days and then it's back out to the garden while the sun is shining.

To Do List: Back in the Yard Again

We are up, at 'em, and out the door in five....

Singer gets buckwheat pancakes for the first time. 

I've been up (hungry) since 2am... thinking about breakfast. I only had a little sausage, lotsa everything else.  

David making himself a mimosa. 

 Jasmine to soon trail the garage. 

 The plants will go in the ground today. 

 Trailing plants for a hill near the driveway, blocked by the sun. 

 A Japanese Maple seedling donated to us by sweet friends, lots of flower seeds, and some tacky elephant ear bulbs.. I love 'em. 

 Placement for driveway plants, Delphinium seeds to go in the ground today towards the back. 

 When the rye seed was put down this winter the dogs kicked it up and it quickly sprouted through our deck beds. I have a lot of pulling to do today. There are a few open spots in the yard where Max has dug up grubs, I'll throw some grass in those places. (see the beautiful orchid in the back?)

 Herbs and strawberries. Ready to go. 

My favorite plant of all time, non-invasive wisteria. I'm going to put it up on the garden hill to trail the arbor. 

Hope you find some fun in the sunshine today! 

Friday iPhotodump

1. This morning after Singer finished her breakfast I placed her on the floor to play with my scarf as I finished my coffee and read the news of the day. This is what I found when I got up three minutes later. The path of an 11 month old who really enjoys discovering anything but a true toy.
2. Another path. Some mornings require more resting than others. This morning Singer wanted to get off the bed and play with my trinkets and books on the bedside table. I helped her crawl down tush first like we always do, so I could take the extra time in our bedroom to rest my eyes for five more minutes. This was her creation after 2 minutes of play.
3. Make all the messes you want cutie. We'll get the part where you help me clean them up soon enough.
4. There is a running joke that on the way home from anywhere our child will fall asleep on Ultimate Drive. She is always asleep by the stop sign if it is remotely near nap time. Sometimes we take bets.
5. The art of moving Singer from her carseat to her crib. It was so easy as a newborn, got a little hairy for a minute around 9 months, and has returned with ease. It is moments like these when I still see that little puckered face that she made when sleeping as a newborn. I take a pause during these moments.
6. This is what happens when you leave your garden gloves on the bumper of your vehicle. You find them at a stop sign in your neighborhood the next morning. Ran over, and wet.
7. I love these little bottles from my husband. I rarely wear perfume but they smell so good.
8. They did it! Soy and dairy free butter! I heard about it, but couldn't find it. Earth Fare didn't seem to have it when I went.. it was like unicorns and pots of gold at the end of a rainbow. See #12.
9. Sending pics of a friend's "third row" to David. We're moving in that direction, but I really want to hold on to my wagon as long as I can. We even got one of these for Christmas to add more space.
10. Athenian Buskers. ~CN.
11. My husband has found the perfect way to cook a steak, and I don't mean that I didn't think he cooked them perfectly before. I just love discovering a new method that surprisingly knocks you off your feet and confirms there's always another way.
12. This is one of our go to, I grew up on, comfort meals. Mashed potatoes (with fake butter for me) broccoli, and ribeye. We usually have a big one in the freezer that we share... Although my parents were always filet people and I thought I was too. My husband changed that. Ribeyes are surprising so much better to my tastebuds. The soy free butter is surprisingly good too, but David would argue with me on that one. See #11.
13. She reads most of her books upside down. Sometimes she just sits there and looks at them all spread out in front of her.
14. When things get quiet I go exploring. This is what I found this morning. She was just laying there loving, and being loved on. These two are thick as thieves.
15. So are these two.
16. Oh that tush.
17. I've been wanting to experiment with some Himalayan Sea Salt, but that last place we saw it the cost was a little more than we wanted to spend. So I went with the $1.99 Trader Joes salt. Perhaps it's "real".
18. If it's not sunny and at least 60 degrees our prince and yard dog demand to be inside. I don't blame them, I'm the same way.
19. Stargazers~ I can't wait for them to bloom!
20. Geraniums are the only annual plant I can talk myself into buying, otherwise I feel like I'm cheated and wasting money.
21. The project for next week. Looking for a new doormat and need to get our house numbers on the door.
22. Singer is a participant of the Books for Keeps program. Each month since birth they have sent her a quality book for her library. I cannot urge you moms and dads enough to find out if your community has a program like this. I have been incredibly impressed with it, and it's free! But we gave them a little donation and will continue too.
23. Watching her Papa cut the grass.
24. I think she would be thrilled to help him.
25. You don't even know.

75 and Sunny

Singer and I are headed to Lowes and plan on spending the day in the sunshine. One day I hope I can create a space as inspiring as these. We are closer than I ever thought we would be. All images from my Green Thumbs Pinterest Board.

Wednesday Photography Dump: Warts and All

Per stat counts Friday Photodump is without question the most popular blog I "write" each week. You folks haven spoken with your clicks and you want to see more pictures, less words. Here I compromise. I'll dump photographs from my dslr camera on Wednesdays. They'll have a bit more quality, and I'll host the entire photograph versus the photo collage. This is the perfect opportunity to practice, but I'll try not to give it too much thought, we'll beef up our collection even more, and to show you life around the Brinson homestead, warts and all.

Here's to hump day and you:

Singer has shown interest in gymnastics lately. Here she attempts a headstand. 

They are best friends. 

Where is my sun butter?

Remnants from a night of venison spaghetti. The days will soon be longer and warmer, this favorite comfort food will take a backseat before we know it. 

We potentially go through crates of berry varieties each week. The ladies of the house love them. The coffee? 1,000 Faces Finca El Injerto, via a ceramic drip. The best way I know. 

The overcast day was casting just the right light on my Day of the Dead guardian angel, from my mentor. 

Catalogues and tools, all over.

A rarely unmade bed due to a napping kitty. 

Rody produces the happiest squeals. 

She can't stop cleaning.... 

Or playing in the dirt. I'm taking a free-range approach. I let her get dirty. She digs in,  eats dirt, and lives to see another day... 

She fusses if I put a barrier between us. 

I quickly snap my picture... 

another... 

and another... 

and hurry back to her, she promptly regains her independence by pushing herself around...

visiting with friends...

Just being a kid, loving dirt. We got a remedy... and it's time for that bath.