With an out of town baseball tournament for Keats and Gabe last weekend, I spent most of Saturday and Sunday with only Seth and Job. Our younger kids enjoy tournaments and playing with the younger siblings of other players, but I felt that the car ride was a bit too long for Job (and for me).
Even with most of my time being spent with just my oldest and youngest children, the weekend was actually really busy. A lot of time goes into preparing food and clothes and other necessities for tournaments. Jonny arrived home with the kids late Saturday night only to turn around and drive back the following morning. In the meantime I was soaking uniform pants, and trying to come up with healthy foods to prepare and pack. Not a tiny “x” did I stitch, nor a stitch did I knit.
I did start a painting project though…
I need to do some re arranging in the house, and I’ve also been wanting to try Annie Sloan’s chalk paint ever since my friend Lori told me about it. I sat up one night last week watching videos of Annie demonstrating different ways to use her paint, and knew I had to try it. Job watched while I washed down and prepared to paint a bookcase that Jonny built about eight years ago.
I spent some time trying to choose the perfect color and ended up with “French linen.”
The woman working in the store where I purchased the paint warned me that I wouldn’t like my bookcase after the first coat.
She was right, and I’m glad I was warned. The bookcase looked really ugly one coat in. I was worried. I said so to Seth, and he replied, “Well, it is kind of a boring color.”
(Seth used to flat out refuse to hold Job. He doesn’t anymore and that makes me happy.)
Two coats in and it looked better. Seth took another look at the bookcase and asked me, “Did you pick this color because it was the cheapest?” For some reason, retelling the story to Jonny that night, I could hardly spit out those words without laughing to the point of tears. Seth is a serious kid and rarely makes a joke. For some reason, that one really got me, so much so that I grabbed a scrap of paper and wrote it down so I wouldn’t forget it. I’m still working on the bookcase. I have distressed it a bit to break up the neutral sea that it is, and I’ve got to wax it, which should be interesting. I’ve not done that before.
Sunday afternoon, Seth, Job, and I took a trip to Belmont, mostly to wander the grounds and walk down to the river. Seth seemed happy enough, but told me that I was having a lot more fun than he was. Yes, I do enjoy that place. (More from Belmont on a beautiful fall day over three years ago, and then just this past summer.)
(New gift shop at Belmont. Lot’s of great things there! I told Jonny that if he needs to take the kids somewhere to buy me a Mother’s Day gift this is the place. I also mentioned that it might be really stressful. Maybe he should leave Silas at home.)
(Columbine)
(Bluebells)
(American Beech. The new leaves emerging are soft as a kitten.)
(White Oak)
(Don’t know. If you do, let’s call this unknown #1)
(Helleborus)
(Solomon’s Seal)
(unknown #2)
(Virginia Bluebells)
(Pawpaw)
The bluebells! I’ve never seen them in real life. Your photo took my breath away. The place seems like heaven in earth and a perfect shop to find a gift for mama indeed!
Hahah DID you pick it because it was the cheapest? Just kidding! I can’t wait to see the final product of the bookshelf, I bet it looks amazing!
How can anyone resist holding a beautiful baby? Glad Seth finally caved.
Great photos, your #2 are Aconites which I going to seed
Oh I can’t wait to see the results of the bookshelf!
Happy flowers, can’t wait for ours! Sounds like a lovely weekend for three.
You have a great eye. Such beautiful images.
I have not wandered around Belmont in years, many years. Experiencing its beauty through your lens takes me back and has me thinking you and your children might enjoy the book “Seeing Trees”, if you do not already have it.
Yes! We have that one. We love Nancy Ross Hugo’s books and are looking forward to her next release!
That made me laugh what he said about the paint being the cheapest! I like the color though.
Hi Ginny. I love your photos of your nature and it is just a little different from my danish nature, but not so much. Your #2 is ERÀNTIS HEIMÀLIS, a very common garden flower in the early spring in Denmark. Yor photo is of the seeds, nearly ripe and ready to spread. It is a wonderful plant, that flowers even when the snow covers the ground. Greetings from a grandmother i Denmark.
What a lovely place. We’re still all mud with the tiniest bit of green here in MN. I think unknown #2 is Sweet Woodruff, but not positive. Wonderful photos too!
Love the plant id’s. My mom has Solomon’s Seal and hadn’t identified it. Just love reading what you share!
Seth is so handsome! It’s so nice that you will have all of these beautiful memories in a huge blog to look back on one day. Such a wonderful family and life you have.
I never knew what a paw-paw looks like in bloom! Adding Belmont to my places to go… and I’ve never even heard of chalk paint! My horizons are expanded today!
looks like a neat store and a very busy weekend! God keep you all! Good to know what you are and are not up to, esp. with young Job… 🙂
It sounds like a very peaceful time with your boys. Seth looks so much like you! That photo of him holding the cat, especially.
Got a good laugh from Seth’s comment. So funny. The flower shots are just what I needed this morning -there is still snow on the ground here in places, and not much green poking through.
I love Seth’s comment-perhaps, though, he wasn’t trying to be funny . A friend just was talking about using chalk paint and loving the result.
The shelves that you are painting are the exact same color as the shelves in the shop you visited!
love seeing all that glass wear on a table right at a toddler’s eye level 🙂 Stressful indeed! I love little shops like that where you find all sorts of nifty gifts that you ordinarily cannot find. Lovely spring time photos 🙂
What a beautiful place! Looks like a wonderful place to walk, explore and ponder life.
I agree that unknown number 1 is a “wild” azalea whose flower buds are just about to open up.
I missing Virginia sooooo much ! Thank you for the walk!
What a beautiful post. I think you must have had a lovely weekend – esp. the little road trip. Thanks for sharing the gorgeous photos! Deer have begun to eat everything growing in our yard again which is a bummer but I am adjusting to living in the area!
You’re making me want to bust out the camera! One of these days I’ll get out of Auto mode.
Love the pictures! It’s a treat to see so much of Seth; he looks so grown up. Hey, you got a picture of a pawpaw. Have you ever eaten it’s fruit? I have read that they were once so common, but I have never seen one, much less taste one.
If #1 is a tree, perhaps Buckeye . For #2, possibly Lupine?
Hi Ginny,
I think unknown number 1 is a deciduous azalea. I love your photos and your writing very much. Pitch perfect actually. Thank you for sharing your thoughts and experiences through your blog.
I agree that it’s a deciduous azalea. I really love the orange and salmon colored ones. And they smell heavenly.