Dreaming...

Maybe it's the coffee talking. Or my penchant to become excited about new things and ideas. Or both. Spending almost 2 years without a garden or even the freedom to work in the dirt (those darn fire ants!) seems to have lent fuel to frenzy of backyard homestead desires. (Flash back to 2 years spent in an apartment without the freedom to paint my walls--which exploded into an earnest frenzy of self expression through an ever changing palette of wall colors in our new home) Buying some chickens only added credibility to the thoughts of more sustainable, less consumerism living. I have been digging in the dirt and reclaiming wood for our backyard gardening endeavors. (Of course, the last time I tried to grow anything, it was a dismal failure. But this time I am armed with the ammunition of friends who "know everything there is to know" about such things) I have been knitting with a vengeance, taking the time of sitting at soccer practices to do something productive. "You can never have too many dishcloths" I assured my bemused husband. I've convinced Chris to drag out his mother's old sewing machine- I'm determined to learn how to use it this time, with visions of a litany of colorful sundresses for Chloe dancing off my machine. My latest (obsession) is the idea of soapmaking. It's not the actual process that has captured my fancy but the idea of a delicious array of scents and herb infused chunks of hand hewn, creamy goodness. I confess that I tend to jump into things with a definite view of what I imagine for the outcome and kinda skip over the details of exactly how to get there. (Mom, I still haven't grown out of that...) "I could make that" is now being parroted by the younger set of Cummings. Aidan was looking at soccer goals the other weekend, but was put off by the pricing and the thought of losing the contents of his wallet. Instead, after looking over the construction, he decided that we could just make one, and he should buy a nerf gun instead which was cheaper and much harder to duplicate.

See, there's something green growing. A brave little green pea, and a measure of hope.