uncluttered lightness

4.20.2017


Easter morning was quiet and slow.  We had an egg hunt for Thor in the back yard and then headed to the river.  We went to one of our favorite spots along the Clackamas and soaked up the beauty and solitude.  Seeing our little tech junkie get completely lost in the riverside worlds, to the point we had to call to him to go, was very heartening.  We all needed this time away from technology and our familiar daily tasks and surroundings to unclutter our minds and prepare for the week ahead, lightened and enlightened.

The past few weeks I have been working on a thorough sweep of the house, letting go of more things.  It seems like we are always doing this, but this time it's not just the little things or bags of clothes.  It's the things I always keep around just in case, or just because.  The things that just sit in the dark, that get in our way, that we never use, that we don't even especially like.  We took a pickup truck load to a donation site last weekend and are hoping for another this weekend.  I've always said that when my house is cluttered my mind feels cluttered.  Lightening up and letting go of so much stuff feels like such freedom, physically and mentally. (I also just really love a good project - up next is working on the yard, the never-ending project...)

Happy weekend!

siren song

4.01.2017


Rain on the windshield.  Sleepy silence in the back seat, steamy coffee curls and NPR in the front.  These pictures were taken over a month ago now.  It was one of those days we felt pulled to the coast, its siren song strong.  We got coffee in Gearhart at a favorite cafe, then headed to Battery Russell and the wreck of the Peter Iredale on the beach in Fort Stevens State Park.  My husband and I both have so many memories of this place from when we were kids.  My family used to take our beloved 1960s camper here for weekends with church/school groups, and my husband had (and still has) many a family adventure here as well.  It still mostly felt like winter, but the Scotch broom was starting to bloom, and we sat ever so still in our car as a coyote walked the edge next to us - a magical moment - filling us with a joyful wonder and anticipation of spring.  We then drove to Astoria, found a charming delapidated old blue house on the hill we almost bought right before we got married, and then ate at a vegan cafe where I had the best tempeh sandwich.  We drove a back way home, passing through Scappoose and a then a part of Portland we don't normally see.  Oh, Oregon coast.  Oh, family.  Oh, memories.    
by mlekoshi