Author: Arla

Rose Hips There are no rose hips on our coffee table. These have grown to this beautiful in the cabin garden. Encyclopedia Brown books because a few grandchildren read them. A vase of zinnia of a color I cannot capture in a photo. No, I will not try to describe the color, only to say… Continue reading What’s On Your Coffee Table?

To comment that it's August already sounds cliche, I know. Summer always flies by, grandkids gear up for school, and the tomatoes start to ripen quickly. For once, I'm up for all of it. I won't miss the hot weather we endured this summer nor the accompanying noisy AC units. After two days of gray,… Continue reading August Gleanings

Here's how the cabin garden grows. We built this hulgelkultur garden the spring of 2020 during lockdown. It was one of those weekends when we stretched our lockdown borders to include our Minnesota cabin in the woods. Now I realize what a happy break it was. The garden is made of logs, tree trash, sod,… Continue reading Cabin Garden

It's been a long day. At home, mostly by myself. Elv is in the shop today and pops in once in a while to see how I'm doing. A virus caught up with me again. It's my own fault this time because I chose to continue to play with our grandkids who have been taking… Continue reading To Read a Book

The thing is, I haven't posted in awhile even with the built in reminders to do so on my phone. Now that I have this moment, there's all these pictures of our get-together, the garden, and wild flowers, of course. So many events and thoughts and memories. Don't worry, I'll not detract from yours, reciting… Continue reading Just Posting

I read a book this week. I empathized with people this week. We're studying in Colossians 2 this week. We're working on the cabin right now. And we're extra busy with life because Elv's work is two hours away. So, I got to thinking about how well we live. And about privilege and purpose we… Continue reading I’ve Been Thinking

This is not a good day to scribble. Because I'm irrationally tired and I should not be trying to say anything. At all. We just had a funeral where lots of cousins and friends converged. So many hugs and hellos and tears. Laughter, too. Shared memories. Unspoken reminders. It's a huge lurch being plunged into… Continue reading Not Today

She was called away to Heaven. In the middle of greenhouse season and before the dandelions went to seed. Right when it was time to plant and mend her lovely flower gardens that she'd made all around the property. Finally her joints are pain free so that she can do stairs just fine again. And… Continue reading Called Away

I made a bouquet for the table from the woods and lawn last night. After getting acquainted with the lawn, woods, and gardens here, and planning what to plant, besides cleaning up overgrowth, I can see the needs indoors again. The housework has languished on the half-ish side. The best place to begin the return… Continue reading May

Truly springtime weather, when the sun shines brilliantly through the leafless trees, the kids come in at supper with sunburned cheeks, and the first fragile little flowers show up through the dead leaves on the forest floor, is the first day of spring. It's the day I open the kitchen door to the porch to… Continue reading Spring Arrived Yesterday