Second and Edgemont: Creating Space for Beauty & Simplicity by Amy Johnson – Page 6

Cherry tomatoes

August 12, 2015

It’s been a good year for cherry tomatoes. I tucked them in amongst phlox and rudbeckia along the sidewalk where they get a bit more sun then other places in my garden. I used these to trellis this year. They are both sturdy and attractive and I love how easy they fold up for storage.

A few weeks back I had noticed many clusters of almost ripe fruit on the plants. When I went out a few days later for a taste there were none to be found. I chalked it up to dog walkers until Norah fessed up to being the tomato thief. I beat her to it this week!

I am aware that I am teasing you in this post with shots of the almost finished back porch. There are a few tasks still to be completed so I will save it all for it’s very own post. Soon I promise!

A visit with Nan

August 10, 2015

A few weeks back I had the pleasure of spending the day with Nan.
We spent time in the kitchen baking, ate lunch and drank several cups of tea together.

Visits are so different without Pop but it felt like he was with us all day long.
It’s comforting to Nan that his beautiful carpentry work is throughout my entire home.
We travel from room to room and reminisce as she strokes the many built-ins and woodwork that his hands once touched.

Another year at the lake

August 3, 2015

We had another blissful get away to the lake this summer.

The perfect reprieve from the hot and sticky week we had back home.

The weather was glorious and although it is so very hard to leave we all feel rested and renewed.

Just a little bit

July 14, 2015

Recently I was inspired by an article a friend posted on Facebook about a mother who limits screen time by essentially giving her kids unlimited screen time. It’s all accomplished with a list and once that list is completed they are free to stare at a screen all day long if they like.

The list is comprised of 4 or 5 “must dos” each day such as reading, keeping a tidy room, making one’s bed, homework and to engage in something creative for at least 45 minutes. Her children also have to complete one chore each day. The idea was that through these daily expectations, her kids might get wrapped up in some of the items on the list and that screen time may not even happen at all some days.

I decided to create our own modified version of this approach (with the help of my girls) and for the most part it is working for us. To be honest we don’t spend a ton of time on screens but I thought it might be a good way to encourage team work around the house and to instill a sense of routine and accomplishment each day. I love a good list and my girls seem to as well.

Not long after creating their list I began to ask myself why should this apply to just my girls?

Although I tend to not be the most consistent person in the world, I do appreciate some routine in my life. I have created some daily rituals that I truly appreciate and thought a few more were in order.

And so my own list was created. It’s a short and simple list, just the way I like things. My only rule was to choose things that brought me complete joy.

I have titled my list Just a Little Bit because I have found that if I don’t put any expectations on the items on my list other than to “just do a little bit of…..” , I tend to enjoy them more and find that sometimes I will spend a bit more time doing them than if I had a specific time limit or goal. Even if I only spend just 10 minutes in the garden or knitting just a few rows, it all adds up in the end. A little bit of something can lead to a lot. And with all of the other things that need to fit into a day, doing just a little bit of something feels more achievable and less overwhelming.

Today I set out with the intention of doing just a little bit of weeding. Before I knew it an hour had flown by and I had the entire front garden weed free!

I have been keeping to my list almost every day and even though we went away this past weekend I was able to keep to all but one item since most of them are portable.

I like how all of the items on my list are both enjoyable and lead to an accomplishment of some sort. Although I guess you can argue that all things enjoyable lead to joy and happiness which is a fine sort of accomplishment in my book.

My list is as follows.

Every day try to do just a little bit of…..

Knitting
Reading (a book)
Writing
Playing music (piano and/or ukelele)
Gardening

What are you doing just a little bit of each day?

Side note: My garden is happier than ever this summer!

The holiday weekend

July 8, 2015

We had a lovely holiday weekend at home full of festivities, food, fireworks and an outdoor cinema all right in our own backyard.

Not a day goes by where I don’t appreciate our community, our town, our neighborhood and the wonderful traditions we have created around them.

If I won the lottery I wouldn’t change a thing.

I would stay put right where we have so luckily landed.

Life is good.

Plinths and pedestals in the garden

June 26, 2015

Head on over to Tend where I talk about my love for plinths and pedestals in the garden.

Enjoy your weekend my friends.

We are headed to the beach!

Weekend fun

June 21, 2015

Our weekend has been full of family, friends, food and fun.

On Friday night we hosted our annual Media Five Miler Party. We had loads of fun as usual, so much I didn’t take the time to snap a single photo!

Last night we hosted family to celebrate Father’s day and my Nana’s 91st birthday. The evening ended outdoors with card games on the patio and then down to the ball field to release sky lanterns!

As you can see Chris has been busy building us a new back porch. It is not quite finished so stay tuned for an entire post on that project. We are excited to share with you the many details involved.

In the mean time check out the beautiful Kentucky Coffee Tree table he made for our patio, perfect for card games and a cold G&T! He’s thinking of burning a chess board into it!

Lighting

June 4, 2015

I tend to take most of the photos inside my home during the day soaking in the sun light that filters in but last night I looked up to see Hannah drawing lamp-side and had to grab my camera.

After I took the photo I walked around the house to click a few more photos, appreciating the soft light of each room.

Lighting is so very important to me. It sets the mood and tone of a room. I admit that from time to time in the evening I like to cross the street and look into my cozy glowing home.

There are only a few rooms in my house that have overhead lighting, the kitchen, the bathroom and the dining room and all of which are set with dimmers. These rooms also have lamps for the many times I do not want the overhead lights on.

Dimmers are my best friend. Whether I am taking a bath or cooking dinner I can decide how bright or how dim I want the mood to be. There are some in this household who like things a bit brighter than I do which results in the battle of the dimmer. I chuckle sometimes thinking at what the person walking by at night may think as they see the light show inside.

I have quite a collection of lamps in all shapes and sizes, mostly thrifted, some new and even hand made. Chris (the one who prefers bright overhead lighting) sometimes curses me each night as he turns off each lamp before retiring for the evening.

I think I may do a post soon dedicated to all of the lamps in my home. They each have their own story and perform individual roles in my home.

Would you like to see this sort of post?

As summer creeps in

June 4, 2015

Life has been busy as the school year comes to a close. Year end recitals, performances, sports games and classes are wrapping up and we are all looking forward to a slower pace as summer creeps closer.

I haven’t picked up my camera much these days but I did snap these four photos a few weeks ago.
I plan to get back to daily photography and more posting here in this space.

P.S. Don’t forget to visit me over at Tend and here too!