a smattering of tidbits

Sometimes, when I haven't blogged in awhile, I feel that I have so much to catch up on that I hesitate to start writing because I don't know where to start. Then I wait even longer and the cycle perpetuates itself. So, I reckon I should just start with something.

Last week, I was graced with the wonderful presence of my friend Karen from Portland! I can count on one hand (and still have fingers left over) how many of my friends have come to visit me over the years. Not that I'm trying to say anything about anybody... I know life gets busy. I don't know what it is that has made it this way, it just is. But Karen left her three kids in the care of the school system and her wonderful husband to come visit me :) . I felt very special. 

 It rained, we watched movies in the middle of the day, made pear butter, finally went for a scenic outing once the weather cleared and just... enjoyed each other's company. It was lovely.

And when it rains, we all know how much I love to take pictures....

Naturally, I've also been paparazzing my most beautiful baby....

Also, I've been trying to get the house a bit more settled. I know, I know... we've been here for a year now. I'm going to use the baby excuse for not having things a bit more organized. My fantastic, wonderful husband pitched in a lot and we've gotten some things straightened out. Well.... two rooms anyway. 
Benjamin's room was no easy feat, actually. It was the catch-all-but-hopefully-craft-office room and looked like this:

And now, after getting the desk out, putting up his actual crib (and getting the mattress out of the "foyer" where it's been since April!) and doing some rearranging, it looks like this:

Jacob's room was also in need of a little love (and more shelving space). I'm not completely sure of the functionality of his room yet. We'll see how it works once he's lived in it for awhile.

Many other rooms look quite a bit more disheveled at this point. It's that thing where, to organize something, you have to disorganize it first. Sigh. Yeah... So, although my closet looks great, the floor in front of it is a disaster. And even though I've gone through numerous boxes from our shed (which I feel really good about, actually), the tv/guest room that looked so nice a week ago when Karen was here, looks like this now:

However, the closet in the back room has seen a bit of improvement. It now has a bunch of crafting things and whatnots on the shelves which I'll deal with at some point (ahem) but it does look better.

 
And coming from a line of serious savers, I am working to kick (some of) the habit. However, I will always be somewhat of a collector because.... well... it's who I am and it can be fun. 

Phew! If you're still here at this point, thank you. I think you deserve a prize! That's the basic catch-up on life. We are all well, the house is coming along and the weather has been beautiful. Maybe next time, my post can be a bit more introspective and not so far away. We'll just see what life is like, though, and roll with it.