dough & dress

Last week, the temperature actually began to remind me that it is fall.

We've had such a beautiful season so far- days that feel more like summer than June did -
flip-flops & tank-top type weather...which we've been drinking in because if anything is certain, it is that tomorrow it may all change.

So it's still gorgeous, only a little cooler in the mornings, when we start up the kitchen wood stove and take our time getting dressed and out into the day. Lots of coffee, NPR, and...dough...


very serious business, this purple playdough

Purple dough, pink with silver sparkles, tortilla dough, bread dough, some zucchini muffins...there is a perpetual crusty/gooey bowl and wooden spoon soaking in my sink. We are loving the recipe for Epic Play Dough from Dig This Chick - if you've never tried it - DO IT!



And my old garden in the Bitterroot, which we planted before moving, because we're crazy like that...is raining down late season goodness on us; carrots, beets, potatoes, winter squash...


these lovelies (veggies, not my toes) almost make up for the fact that I was near tomato-less this year...(big sigh)

In other domestic news, I sewed an entire article of clothing...from a pattern...that I pretty much followed! First time! My grandmother, Eileen, taught my sister and I how to sew when we'd visit our grandparents in the blazing hot desert in the middle of summer. She would take us to her very cool, air-conditioned guest house/sewing studio for the day and we'd sew dolls and t-shirts, and more dolls. She was also a gardener. I think about her when I sew or garden - although she is gone now, I feel such a connection to her through these small shared things.

My other grandmother, Betty, taught me many things, but I don't remember ever sewing with her. Somehow, though, I ended up with her sewing cupboard full of thread, pins, and tons of buttons. The buttons are great to sift through because my grandmother had fabulous clothes, and you can see it all reflected in these jars of buttons.

So, with the sewing knowledge from one grandmother, and the thread and buttons from another, I made Aven a dress.





Her favorite thing to do is fill this bucket with horse treats then wander out to Jack's pen, pointing and saying 'Jack!' 'Jack!' the whole way.

She is also mastering the dress-up trunk and the stairs to her bedroom...









And just like that, Shorty McShoo is outa here...!

flight

I saw my brother a few days ago. He's moving to Hawaii in December. He had spent a few days at our mom's house on the lake, a place that holds a lot of history for our family.

He told me I just kept thinking how, it could be years before I see the lake again.

I agreed, that it must feel strange to know you're leaving, but to not have left yet...and to leave Montana, the place he's lived all his life, the mountains he is named after. This is no small thing, I think.

Well, you've never left, either he said...and it's true.

If I could sit down with myself, my ten-years-ago-self...19, and certain the adventures were just beginning, I would not have believed that in only ten years I would have two daughters...that I would be a mom, that I would still be living in Montana.

But there is absolutely nowhere else I'd rather be.

Especially on a warm day in October...

"Oh, I'll never leave Montana, brother." - Norman Maclean, A River Runs Through It

going on a moose hunt

Last weekend, our little family packed up an unbelievable amount of gear and piled in the big black truck; in search of a relaxing weekend away, spectacular night skies, and (hopefully) a moose to fill Mike's once-in-a-lifetime moose tag and our brand new, empty freezer.





We rented a cabin on the ranch that Mike had permission to hunt. It is an old hand-hewn log cabin; very remote, completely off the grid, no running water (unless you count the spring), and no power unless you crank the generator, which we did each evening...so perhaps not quite as rugged as I made it sound at first, but it definitely gave me a new-found respect for pioneer mamas, or any mamas who go through their day without water or power.





It was so quiet. Quiet in a way we don't often experience.
No phone, cars passing by, not even the hum of a refrigerator.
We heard cows calling to their calves, coyotes each morning
before the sun rose, wind.

The sound of the world, without us making all our noise.

You feel a little closer to the elemental out there.
To the basics of your life. Cold mornings and woodsmoke,
that give way to brilliant, eye-throbbing blue skies.



You begin your day with the arrival of light pouring down the hills
and through your windows, pooling around the kitchen table
where you gather over coffee, oranges, and crayons.



You fill your day with simple, good things.




Amelia taught Aven how to watercolor without eating too much paint...non-toxic, right?


And how to build a log cabin...

Lots of sipping from the spring just beyond the front door...







Self-portrait with sleeping baby in backpack

Then there was the hunt.

The scouting, planning,
the straining your eyes for a black form among the willows.







The needle-in-a-haystack search. Mike leaving before it is light on the horse. In this kind of vast wildness, there is a new appreciation for the days spent doing nothing but searching, looking, waiting.

And sometimes you get lucky.

I will say that this was a new experience for me. Mike has brought home elk, deer and antelope, but it has always been brought home. I have such a new appreciation for the entire process, from the hunt to the packing out...in near 90 degree weather...with two small children in tow. Amelia was fascinated. I will admit that I was a little aprehensive about how she would react. But we had good talks about where our food comes from, that the moose lived a good life, that we will think about him, and appreciate him for many many meals to come. She wanted to know if I could put the entire moose in the oven.

We said thank you, moose,
thank you, moose
and we packed our mountain of stuff,
and our moose,
and headed home.

tree huggers

a little cinnamon and a little soil

One of those mornings,
where the list of errands to run before naptime
grows and grows
before we even leave the house…

The bathroom is swamped
after my shower; little hands keep pulling back the curtain
to toss bath toys into the tub for me. Two plastic fish
and a pink balloon float past my ankles…

I’m loading the car,
grocery bags, jugs for water,
diaper bag, lists…
when Amelia pushes a chair
up to the kitchen sink and begins to play
in the soap bubbles of our soaking
oatmeal pot…



Walking past, I hear her talking through
her recipe for a ‘soap-pie;’
a little cinnamon, and a little soil,
put it all together…

I love that combination.
I had to stop and play a little
in the sink, too.

At the end of the day,
what is it
that you remember stopping for,

making the time for.

lately

I love having an early morning to myself. It doesn't happen very often...Aven is still averaging 3x a night wake-and-nurse sessions, and Mike and my father-in-law, Marty, have been leaving the house early most mornings to haul grain. It is harvest time and hunting time in our part of the world, and that leads to early activity in our house just about every day of the week.

This morning I woke at 5:30, rocked Aven and put her back to bed, then tiptoed downstairs to a quiet, dark house. The sky was clear and starry and cold, so after standing on the porch breathing and waking up a bit, it was back inside to make a fire in our kitchen woodstove and some strong coffee.


ahh, a quiet house...

We've had a beautiufl end-of-summer. Days that still feel long, afternoon sun that still heats you through.



There is still time for new explorations; which can be as simple as pulling over on the side of the road while crossing the big hole valley. Because sometimes you just have to get out of car and stretch a little...or ride your motorcycle a bit...


biker babe

We've had good visits with some Bitterroot buddies,



and tried out new looks in our old tub.



Amelia started dance classes last week- which she loves.





And we've spent lots of time just enjoying our place on these last warm days.








daddy's closet = best hideout ever

We did a little painting to memorialize our first summer here.






Amelia proudly represents the family biz

Hope you're enjoying these last days of summer.