S'more

I had some girls over tonight to make s'mores.
The marshmallows were my own homemade ones and they were so good.
Know what else was so good?
The company.

Perfect

It was rainy today and I liked it.
My bathroom is my favorite room in the house and I especially like how the light in there looks when it's rainy outside. So I treated myself to a nice, long bath and an extended gaze through this window.

Different

I have played the piano for as long as I can remember. I was seven or so when my dad's buddy gave me a piano and my parents got me some lessons right away. I loved it. I've always loved it. But I love it for myself. When it comes time to play for others, I just lock up and forget everything and I hate it.
My relationship with the piano has always been tempestuous. It's the thing I love and the thing I fear, all at once. I'm drawn into it and I'm always terrified by it. I suppose that's because it has the potential to conquer me, or at least be the one thing I never really conquer.
That push and pull has resulted in years away from the piano at a time. I always come back to it, but usually for a few months and then I push it away again. I am determined that this time, I will stay.
But that has brought some interesting changes.
My younger self was far more timid than my today self. "Christy - play out!" was something I heard from every instructor on every instrument. I just wasn't confident enough that I was going to do it right - do it mistake-free - to really play out loud. It never mattered where I played or what kind of music I played. I just was never playing loud enough.
Something is different.
Maybe the changes that life has brought to me have brought my emotions closer to the surface. I know I'm bolder and more confident in many areas of my life. Somehow, without any effort on my part, my touch at the piano has changed. I am asked, more often than not, to reign it in.
"Scale it back a little, Christy."
"Play this a little more gently."
When I played at the end of last semester for the music faculty, the first thing someone said to my professor was, "She's a fiery one, isn't she?"
And I think that's interesting.
Because I am a fiery one.
I've just always kept it to myself.

Pretty

This handsome gentleman cardinal has been singing his lovely songs in my backyard this season. I'm so happy he's made himself at home! (click on the photo to see him a little bigger)

Vignette

Some of the true joys of raising creative children are the surprises that you stumble upon here and there.
This is especially true when the provider of such surprises is my Emma. Everywhere in my overly-cluttered house, I find little vignettes that offer glimpses into tiny moments that passed through her imagination.
Here is today's:



I walked into her room to put something in a drawer and found, on her bed, an open picnic basket.



In it was a tiny bird on a rubber band nest.



Charming!

Something Really Scary

This Might Be The Year!

Oh, my citrus trees are in full bloom and my yard smells wonderful! I just can't get enough of it! I was exploring my garden, checking in on things this morning and I am so excited to report that my pink lemon tree is finally blooming!
We've had it for two years now and it has grown some nice foliage, but never really bloomed. I was about to give up on it.
I am so excited about the blooms, but I'll be even more excited if we get a couple of pink lemons this year! That means next year, as in December 2012, we might actually have enough lemons to make pink lemonade.

Dang.

I am not a patient girl.

The waiting is so. hard.
But,
I think it will be worth it.