I haven’t posted many garden pics this summer because I’m not doing much gardening–Jeremy is! I love my gardening man. He created a new stepping stone walkway in the former mud-bogged backyard after distributing yards and yards of new dirt. He planted the grass, kept it watered all summer long, picked and planted our annuals and some perennials, too, and keeps up with it all. He also composts, which satisfies the green homemaker within my soul. I may be a rare wife to admit this, but I even like the sweaty yard smell he wears after a few hours outdoors. [smile]

The following photos show my zinnias (a perfect flower for Nebraska summers), and Before and After shots of our backyard.

Up until now I have been the go-to girl for useless pop culture trivia. Though a bit ashamed of my knowledge and interests-which-bordered-on-obsession, I still subscribed to Entertainment Weekly (the literary equivalent of Skittles, a sweet treat by any account) and read up daily on entertainment tidbits from various websites. I can’t say I was obsessed with pop culture–I barely delved into this world compared to many other bloggers out there–but I knew what actor was being considered for which big role and who was dating/married to/divorced from whom in the celebrity biz.

I no longer receive Entertainment Weekly (after eating Skittles for awhile you start to crave a hardy bread pudding) and furthermore, we no longer have cable tv. In fact, we don’t get any channels at all and we probably won’t until I become desperate for PBS for Liv, and make a move to install an antenna.

Guess how much I miss my pop culture fix? Not much.

Ask me that question this fall when the new shows premiere and I have no clue what folks are talking about. Ask me that question again in January when LOST starts up and I’m certain you’ll find me weeping in my Rice Krispies. (Either that or I’ll be sitting on your couch, enjoying your cable subscription.)

Years ago friends from Oregon (we lived in Klamath Falls for a few years) drove across the country and stopped to visit us in Nebraska. They wanted a family photo taken in a cornfield and we didn’t have to drive far down the road to find a field sufficient for the purpose. I remember the crop being kind of measly that year, nothing like this year’s beautiful corn found in the shot above. Renae might want to kill me for posting this picture, but I’m certain her endless grace and astounding generosity will win out. ; )

This photo delights me to no end.

Renae, Joie, Brook and moi.

Today I am all caught up in my head. Swirling about my mind are problems too big for me to handle, stressors too burdensome for me to shoulder. As someone who typically wears her heart on her sleeve, I often take on others’ woes and count them as my own. And then there are the woes that do belong to me; they aren’t really deep or serious, and yet I am looking at them that way today.

I love this photo because, somehow, the beauty of the sun and clouds, the barely-there kite way up high reminds me to look up (to God for his provisions and saving grace) and out (to the world to see who I might serve). It’s so easy to get caught up in myself, to navel-gaze until I can no longer see hope and light. The solution? Look up, look out.

Why are you so downcast, O my soul?
Why so disturbed within me?
Put your hope in God,
for I will yet praise him,
my Savior and my God…

(Psalm 42:5,7-8)

I glanced up from a phone call this afternoon to notice my dry goods were being a little rude. Sugar and spice and everything nice? Hmph.

Livia has a new stuffed animal which she named Hammy (so as not to be confused with Blue Bear, yet another blue-toned Care Bear in her possession). Summoned from lunch prep yesterday by Jeremy telling me to bring a camera, I found my family + Hammy cuddled tight on the couch.

“Smile, Hammy,” Liv directed.

He did, and I snapped the picture.

*Like Jeannette, I just couldn’t resist.

* Blueprint Magazine. While I am snobbish in attempting to avoid trendy items (see how the snobbery actually backfires here?), and while I tend to dislike Martha Stewart the Woman and therefore would rather not passionately adore her products, I find myself enamored by this magazine. They had me at hello.

* McDonald’s Iced Coffee. I reserve this drink for special moments, specifically times when I am blissfully alone in the car, driving around town in silence. It is my special treat to be savored slowly.

* New-to-me websites where I can continue to surf links to my heart’s content.

* The sheer act of writing. Stephen King wrote something in his book,On Writing, about how, if someone loves to write, why on earth would they do anything else? I planned on submitting an article for publication by the end of Summer 2006 but my plans were waylaid a bit and I found myself in the cold months of 2007, wondering if there was a way for me to make some cashola from home. God provided, good people contacted me, and now I am working from the Prairie Box as a freelance writer. Really, it’s a dream come true. Words bounce around my mind, throwing themselves into unusual phrases and sometimes full sentences and paragraphs, throughout the day. Sometimes they make it to the light of day, or rather the innards of some Word file, but most of the time they play in my head and remind me of how much I love to write. Before I go setting myself up for massive failure in the minds of blog readers, let me tell you about the head of our statewide arboretum whose wife thinks they could do much more with their home garden, or the web developer who hasn’t updated his family’s website in a few years. Catch my drift? My writing here tends to be quick, breezy and sometimes non-existent. So don’t hold your breath for second, third or fourth draft quality. Ain’t gonna happen. Nonetheless, I am thrilled to be writing for pay — and I’m looking forward to seeing what I can do with the gifts God has apportioned me.