this weekend

i had my mom visit. we picked wild strawberries. we ate a whole cake. we visited the swimming pond again and again and again. we read. we napped. we watched the kittens play. we bricolé-d. we moved fences.  i taught mom that the electric screw thing is commonly called a drill. she re-taught me the wonders of using conditioner. we spent last night finishing a bottle of wine and snuggling with the animals on the couch. we woke up with the sun at 5:15 this morning, i had hot tea, she had iced tea. and then i went down to the barn to wake the animals and she continued on her way home.

there is nothing quite as calming for me as a weekend with my mother on the farm. whenever i feel a pang for our former lives in north carolina or california or france i like to remember how amazing it is to live within a morning's drive of our families.

and, remember that  neighbor who came by to give me hot soup and some perspective on the crap weather? well, he just recently also gave us his yurt. it has been sitting by the pond for nearly a decade now and he wants to pass the torch. so, it is ours. our neighbor gave us a yurt. i spent the morning cleaning and preparing it for an onslaught of summer guests. this is right up there with the 100 bales of hay our other neighbor gave us. and the blossoming tomato plants. and the chocolate covered almonds. and once a literal cup of sugar. and the quart of lard.

vermonters certainly seem to know how to do the neighbor thing quite well.

happy monday to you all.