The family has been working on a really big apple crop from our tree. We have prepared applesauce, frozen apples, dried apples, and caramel apples. Apples, apples, apples, apples, apples, apples, apples. I have named this weekend Apples.
Apples
Category: Home
Autumn shelves
I thought I’d do my part to conjure some autumn temperatures by removing the patriotic summer things from these shelves.
It’s still hot, but I feel better having something different to look at. This is a collection of mostly old things, arranged in a new way, and the sight is rejuvenating to me.
Goodbye, Tree
We are losing a tree this week, one of our tall Cottonwoods, and for some reason I didn’t take a hundred photos of it while it was alive. I took a moment last night before the carnage began to look up through its empty branches into the sky in gratitude.
Cottonwood trees sound like a canyon stream as the wind blows through their leaves. They have kept our yard cool and full of shade in the mornings, and given us privacy from neighbors. We have three Cottonwoods, and these trees were one of the things that drew us to this house, as their presence felt kind of sacred. We traveled hundreds of miles to see the Redwood trees one year, and the stillness and permanence of those forests made an impression on me. The blessed realization is that we have a similar feeling in our own backyard. It is a good thing to have tall trees and some wilderness space. I will miss our middle tree!
summertime snaps
We are in the final week of summer break. This morning I took some time to look over some snapshots and screenshots from the last few months, and chose a few to share. These are some of people and places I want to remember. Two really good friends passed away. We have been really focused on wedding preparations. Mark was gone a lot, and his social connections got stronger. Richard worked from home. I lived my own version of The Secret Garden, increasing my strength. We planted a lot of flowers, and I am especially proud of reclaiming my favorite corner of the yard, the one that feels like a forest. We sat beneath outdoor lights on many nights. Paige and Michael were especially helpful hanging the lights. Tim made it to Guam. We said goodbye to friends who are going on a mission. Lots of lasts and firsts this summer. This means growth.
Thou crownest the year with the goodness.
Psalm 65:11
Sara and Christopher
Sara and Christopher’s reception completes our summer as a wedding reception venue. I don’t have many photos, but it was a lovely evening. I love celebrating events and milestones at our house.
Besides the happy couple, my favorite memory is the cousins from Shari, Richard, and Rebecca’s families laughing and joking together in our kitchen as we packed up lots and lots of marbles and flowers. Little things.
Open House for Daniel and McKenna
This is what we have to show for our family’s efforts this summer, a party full of lights and people, a celebration for Daniel and McKenna.
So many people helped us, and I have kept a record of the tender mercies that got us to this day.
photo essay
Our tickets were not together, but we rode together on the train into Ute territory. (Note Richard Jaussi’s t-shirt.)
Summer?
This cold week, I feel more like making a cozy beef stew than anything else. Truly, that’s on the menu tonight. So weird. We decorated for summer, despite the snow and nonsense. Summer decorations in the kitchen signal good times ahead.
We have another Carpenter
One evening last week, Mark and Richard worked to set up our new entertainment center downstairs. Mark wouldn’t let me come down until it was all complete, wires hidden and pieces all in place.
Mark designed and made this piece in woodshop this year. He enjoys working with wood so much that he deferred Drivers Ed to be in this woods class. (He’s taking Drivers Ed this summer.) He agonized over the details and specifications of his design throughout the year, and now he can enjoy his project every day.
Ramble
Richard and I spent time in Salt Lake City to celebrate our anniversary. The hills north of downtown were verdant and vibrant. These hills are usually straw yellow, but the grasses were young and bright.
The high school flags line the front of the school, the last concerts are over, and a new class graduates this week. Time is so compressed for me lately, it doesn’t feel like a year since Tim graduated. But then again, our lives are so different now, that time must have carried us to this new place. We certainly haven’t arrived at this end of another school year by any conscious, overriding plan of our own. We just kept working and kept moving, and here we are.
Here is an important quote I keep using as I see complexities in how to balance love of God and love of neighbor (thanks to my mom for this one),
âIgnoring the first commandment, or reversing the order of the first and second commandments, risks a loss of balance in life and destructive deviations from the path of happiness and truth. Love of God and submission to Him provide checks against our tendency to corrupt virtues by pushing them to the extreme. Compassion for our neighborâs distress, for example, even when the suffering is brought about by his or her own transgression, is noble and good. But an unbridled compassion could lead us, ⌠to question Godâs justice and misunderstand His mercy.
“There are those, for example, who believe that loving others means we must twist or ignore Godâs laws in a way or ways that advocate or condone sin.â (Christofferson, The First Commandment First, 2022 BYU Devotional)
I work in the yard each day, trying to reclaim sections of neglected areas. It’s so satisfying. Dirt outside and thread and fabric inside are my materials for work lately. In June, I will move to paint as my medium, as we cover more surfaces in my grand plan (many years old) to repaint every inch of the house.
Someone asked me what we are doing this summer. A wedding. Two family reunions. Drivers Ed. A trip to Yellowstone. High Adventure. Pioneer Trek. These are big events, and this is my last morning with Mark at school for a little while. I just keep moving and keep working, and here we are.