oh katie joy

Our Summer List

It isn’t sketched out on the (nonexistent) chalkboard wall. It isn’t hanging prettily from our fridge or thumbtacked to a corkboard. I had all these plans for a twee doodled list displayed in some twee crafty way but my summer scrooge got the best of me.

Our list looks like this:

It’s a short, brainstormed list written on the back of the month of May in my planner. We did it at Fantastic Sam’s while trying to keep the kids from getting bored while waiting for haircuts. When they got tired of thinking, I handed them the pen and paper and they drew on it. The heart doodle is mine though. (I’m quite the artist)

Our list isn’t chock full of every summer activity we could possibly want. It has a few big things, a few certain things (a trip to Michigan wouldn’t be complete without a rollercoaster ride or two), a few simple things. We might do all of them, we probably won’t, and I’m sure we’ll do lots of other things as well.

I love lists. I always have. And the idea of a full on comprehensive summer list a la Meg Duerksen sounds heavenly. But you know how long it took to make last year’s? Three hours. Not the list. The list took hardly any time at all. But making the pretty? Took forever. Jesse took the kids to the park and on a boat ride. I made a pretty list.

So this year we have a simple list. Made while waiting for haircuts.

And then we went out for ice cream.

Seems like a good way to start the summer.

A Gold Star Day

It may not ever turn into summer here, but life is full of goodness anyway.

I had some friends over for bagels and coffee. Our kids played and we caught up.

I got to hold and rock a baby-baby which I absolutely love – particularly when I know I’m not the one who has to get up at 3am to feed him.

I played Legos and had snuggle time with A which turned in to nap time.

V came home pukey-sick from school so we are all snuggled together sipping ginger ale, nipping at saltines, and watching movies.

Besides V feeling better, I really don’t think life could get much better.

A Clock

This clock got taken down about the time I bought my treasured card catalog. In our little house we only had so much wall space and while I always intended to get it back up, I think my husband was just as happy leaving it on a shelf in the basement. Then we moved and it sat on another shelf in another basement. Dusty. Batteries dead. A few water spots on the wood.

The clock was my grandparent’s. And it’s loud. You hear the mechanism with every back and forth of the pendulum. You hear the chime set at three minutes to the hour. And then the hour strikes. Jesse misses the first few moments of dialogue on his show and sighs, “Every single time.” he says. Every single time, I smile.

I remember lying on the floor, curled up in pillows and a cotton cool tie blanket made from old sheets. I remember my grandpa in scratchy wool flannel smelling of cigarettes and cut wood, how his pencils were always roughly sharpened with his pocket knife. I remember my Grandma with her housecoat aprons rinsing my hair with apple cider vinegar, doing her daily scramble, and watching Wheel of Fortune. I’d tickle my grandpa’s feet and steal my grandma’s Danielle Steele.

I miss my grandparents. My grandpa’s stern but kind heart and the way he called me “kid”. My grandma who cried any time she saw someone else cry and added ice to her coffee. I wish I could bring them back. But I can’t. I have however, returned their clock to it’s former glory.

I took it off the shelf. Dusted it. Put in new batteries. Repaired the water stains with a little olive oil and baking soda. Set the pendulum to swinging. And every single hour I hear it chime, I smile.

Who’s The Boss

I quit knitting for awhile. Every time I sat down to work on Jesse’s sweater, I was miserable. It wasn’t coming along well and I couldn’t just set it aside. I’m a checklist knitter. I start a project, finish it, start another. And because I didn’t want to finish my project, and I couldn’t start another until I finished it, I just couldn’t knit. Until I decided two things 1) I’m just going to frog the thing anyway so it’s not really a knitting project anymore and even if I wasn’t going to rip it out, 2) I’m the boss of me. If I want to have two knitting projects going at a time, I certainly can quickly followed by a “So there, knitting police in my head!!” (I’m mature like that.)

Here’s what I learned during my interlude from knitting:

1 – I have too many hobbies. Once my main hobby (knitting) wasn’t appealing, I had to choose between scrapbooking, blogging, embroidering, sewing, and reading all as back ups. Not to mention the hobby of just gazing lovingly at pinterest. Most of the time I just watched TV.

2 – Even when I’m not knitting, I really like thinking about knitting. I spend hours browsing yarns at purl, finding patterns on ravelry, and adding to my knitting pins.

3 – Knitting is a beautiful companion to Prozac. My mood since I’ve started working on this afghan is unbelievably better than it’s been in weeks. Knitting is restful but it’s also productive. Pretty awesome.

4 – And of course, that I’m the boss of me. I’m probably pretty late to the game on this lesson. Maybe not. Maybe a lot of us are arbitrary rule followers. While I know it sounds like a toddler throwing a tantrum, I’m really not. I’m not advocating going out and breaking societal norms willy-nilly or even saying that rules are a bad thing. I’m saying I’ve imposed a lot of ridiculous little rules (like I can’t be working on two knitting projects at the same time) that are just ridiculous little rules. I’ve spent a whole chunk of my life worrying about what I should be doing and what people would think if I did (insert some innocuous activity here) and if so-and-so thought I was “good”. I need to stop that.

Being the boss of me means I get to live a life aligned with my own values, filled with the people who matter most to me, and saved by grace.

Doesn’t that sound fun?

P.S.

I’m reading Stiff by Mary Roach right now and while some of the discussion has me a little squeamish, a good portion has me laughing out loud. And it’s fascinating – even if it is a little macabre. Highly recommend.

Friday Finds:: Quilts

Someday, I’ll learn to quilt. In the mean time, I’ll collect patterns and look at fabric and dream.

Source: 1,2,3,4,5,6,7

If you could learn any craft – what would it be?

Summer Comfort

This chicken pasta salad is a family favorite. I don’t think we have a cook out, birthday party, random family gathering between Memorial Day and Labor Day where it isn’t made. In fact, I posted it last year about this time at the old blog. As it’s one of our summer staples, I thought I’d post it again. I love it because I get to spend time chopping (one of my favorite kitchen activities), you can’t really screw it up, and everything just gets thrown in one big bowl.

When my mom first taught me the recipe she kept saying “just put in what looks right”. As it was one of my first experiences in the kitchen, that drove me crazy. So here is what looks right to me – but feel free to add or omit so that it works for you and your family.

-A box of cooked and cooled medium shells
-6 boiled and cooled eggs – chopped
-Almost all of a bunch of celery (i use the stalks that look nice and save the rest for stock) or a couple green peppers or a mix/mash of both – chopped
-8 oz of cheese – cubed. I do half co-jack and a half sharp cheddar because that’s what Mr. G likes, but use what you like and have on hand
-1 large onion – chopped
-2 large cans of chicken breast (or 3 poached chicken breasts – chunked)
-mayo (I like mine a little dry so I just put enough to make things “stick” together)
-salt and pepper to taste.

It’s easy. It’s yummy. It’s great a day or two after making. A batch feeds a whole crew. And it goes great with Wheat Thins or Triscuits (which is another family staple). And you can bet I’ve got all the ingredients ready for our own Memorial Day weekend!

What is one of your summer comfort foods?

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